When it comes to otaku clothing, I’ve always found finding fashionable items to be a challenge. Sure there’s some gems out there, but generally speaking, it’s kind of hard to look sharp when you’re sporting a lounge shirt with your favorite Dragon Ball character printed all over it. These gloves, on the other hand, are hardly such an eyesore. Not only do they sport a slick NERV logo, they’re also utilitarian, making them perfect for your Vespa, motorcycle, or piloting your very own Evangelion unit. J-List has them for $60 before shipping but you can probably snag them cheaper elsewhere. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 16, 2011 in Animation, Fandom
You know how when you go to a really popular anime convention that there might be say a 100 people waiting on line to get their badge? Well back in the 80s those 100 people would be pretty much the sum total of anime fandom in New York City! Thanks to Saul Trabal (show in the photo above) we have a wonderful little photo essay from that era when anime was limited to getting VHS tapes from friends of friends who had pen pals in Japan: Read more…
I’ve been a big fan of NBC’s primetime programming — at least, what’s left of it — for awhile now, but Community hasn’t exactly been on my list of must-see programming. Perhaps it was last season’s slow start or the fact that I adore 30 Rock so much that I hold everything to that standard. To be honest, I probably shouldn’t. There’s probably plenty of reasons the network has been trailing, and until last week I felt Community might be one of them. Boy, was I wrong.
Shown here are two cosplay uniforms from Evangelion (Ichi Junior High School girls uniforms of the New Tokyo City 3) which are being released in Japan. According to an interview on the site selling the apparel they actually went a step further and added some additional detail that wasn’t in the anime series. And just to make sure those detail were right the character designer from the show was involved in the design process. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 31, 2011 in Animation, Fandom
This amazing footage is a must watch if your grew up with Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato) — it’s from a Japanese TV show which shows cast members breakdancing to the opening theme music while dressed in the appropriate costume. Found via Patrick Macias…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 24, 2011 in Animation, Fandom
Call it Danny Choo Syndrome! My favorite animation network in Taiwan recently slagged otaku as one of the reasons that Japanese men are losing their interest in sex with real women. Although there is something a bit ironic that the animators would use 3D techniques to render what a real women looks like (as seen on the left above) as opposed to the cartoony cheesecake version (as seen on the right). This was part of a larger segment on “Herbivorous men” which seems to be a Japanese take on metrosexuals: Read more…
As an old time anime fanboy I’ve been pleasantly surprised how NextTV from Taiwan has really knocked it out of the ballpark with their series of computer animated shorts on topical events: But when I took a look at their Weather Girls video segment I was blown away! This ongoing daily series of videos features seven bunny cosplay attired ladies presenting the temperatures in major American cities: Read more…
A few years back, Star Trek fans got together to produce a series of new episodes featuring the continued adventures of the USS Enterprise and their five year mission. Star Trek: New Voyages, as they called it, featured decent production values and less-than-spectacular acting, but I had to hand it to them for trying. Of course, that series took far too long for them to produce in a timely manner. Now, it would seem someone else has taken it upon themselves to produce yet another fan series, Star Trek: Phoenix — this time opting for an original approach. Read more…
I got a real kick out of the new line of Superhero Snapsuits which are aimed at fanboys and fangurls in training. The series includes Wonder Woman (shown above), Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Batman and of course Superman. What nice about this line is that it comes in several different sizes from six to twenty for months so you can keep up with your superkid! Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 13, 2010 in Fandom, Star Trek
These wonderful Victorian styled Star Trek photos are he handy work of an artist known as Rabittooth. I really love how the artist has matched the role of each character on the show with an appropriate historical counterpart: Read more…
I just love the level of detail on this recreation of Andy’s room from Toy Story which was made using lego bricks! The talented artist behind this effort is Matt De Lanoy who will be showing it off at the 9th Annual Lego Train Show at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois. Read more…
It seems like every geeky show or movie has some kind of ID card on it, whether the nametags that Chuck and the Nerd Herd wear on, uh, Chuck, to the CSI lab tech badges, to Jack Bauer’s Counter-Terrorism Unit ID cards (above). Of course, since those places and people don’t exist, we can’t just apply for jobs at those locations and grab a badge for ourselves. Thankfully, Identity Props exists, and they sell replicas of famous (or even obscure) ID cards from various media. Just what you need for your Commissioner Gordon cosplay. Don’t pretend like you haven’t been thinking about it. Read more…
The animation isn’t exactly Pixar, but the humor in Warriors of the Unknown will bring a smile to any gamers face. This video (which is available on DVD) was created by the Cosmic Radicals, a team of online gamers who know their subject perhaps a bit too well. Watching the videos I loved the juxtaposition of romantic fantasy elements set against conversations about dog food: Read more…
This is probably the coolest ice sculpture I’ve ever seen. In case it’s difficult to make out — it is ice, after all — you’re looking at a 28 foot tall Optimus Prime ice sculpture by Antti Pedrozo and Michel de Kok of Switzerland. While he doesn’t transform into a truck, I’m told frozen autobot makes a mean snow cone. I’m pretty confident than these guys won’t be outdone any time soon, but if someone wants to build an SDF-1, or a Valkyrie from Macross that’d probably do it for me. Until then, you can check out more photos below. And, if you like this work, follow Antti on Twitter.
ThinkGeek’s prepping for the holiday season with a ton of new merchandise, and I noticed this little gem amongst a slew of new products. It might not be the most attractive t-shirt I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the coolest. The Sci-Fi Armory, as they’re calling it, boasts an impressive array of weaponry from 1936’s Flash Gordon through 2009’s District 9. They manage to cover quite a bit, any fanboy can probably list off a few notable exceptions — BSG, Stargate, and Predator to name a few. Still, the fact that the shirt doesn’t outright list the origin of each weapon provides you with the opportunity to quiz your friends and family. Just don’t count on it winning your any dates. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 11, 2010 in Fandom, Horror
He’s always been a favorite amongst Lovecraft fans, but his cameo in recent episodes of South Park has brought him national attention. Rather than hide your obscure love for Lovecraft lore, you can choose to embrace it, and what better way to do that than with an adorable Cthulu hand puppet. Okay, I’m sure there’s probably better ways to do it, but this hand puppet is pretty killer. He’s made out of a soft ploy-fiber plush, giving you the ability to manipulate the claws and tentacles with ease. I don’t know if owning him will grant you admittance to the enigmatic Cult of Cthulu, but there’s no harm in trying. Head over to Neatoshop to order yours today. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 4, 2010 in Cinema, Fandom
Harrison Ford has had his fair share of roles over the years –he’s done everything from cracking whips to hunting replicants. It goes without saying that roles like those require quite a bit of stunt work, and while he might not always be the one throwing himself out a window — they have stunt doubles for that — he still has to lend his voice to those scenes. Though many directors would resort to using stock audio, such as the famous Wilhem scream, Ford has proven time and time again that he’s mastered the art of screaming. In doubt? Check out this hilarious video by Jon and Al Kaplan.
Filled with terrible acting and Trekkie humor, this web-series follows a family of Trekkers — I’d call them Trekkies, but the seemingly made a point to refer to themselves as Trekkers — who, in an attempt to prevent their Cardassian cosplaying neighbor from “shifting the balance of power in the quadrant,” plan a last minute trip to the annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. The series started back in late September and they’re already five episodes in with new episodes being released each week. It can be a little much at times, but they’ve peppered the scripts with enough references to keep you mildly entertained at the very least. It’s not quite as off the wall as Chad Vader, but it’s up there. If you’re interested, check out their YouTube channel or follow them of Facebook.
I have a good week or so to reflect on the New York Comic Con and I have to say that if they play their cards right the convention has everything that it takes to not just rival San Diego, but to beat them. However before hat happens they need to make the otaku and the fanboy cultures better mesh together to take the show to the next level. Read more…
Yes if you had the cash and spare time you cold fly many all the way to Japan to experience a maid cafe in person — but what’s a poor ramen-eating non-passport holding fanboy suppose to do? Well with the Akiba Maid Welcome Sensor you can replicate the sounds of maid cafe without the maids, amazing desserts and well stocked manga library. When you enter a room you’ll be greeted by cutely voiced phrases like “Irashaimase” or “Arigatou Gozaimasu”. Plus the magic microphone also works with a CD-ROM which will let you customize your faux cafe experience: Read more…
NASA, in conjunction with Etsy, is running a contest. The parameters: make something really cool by hand, and theme it around space exploration! There are already some really neat entries, like the above necktie based on the recently-declassified Apollo lander manual. The winner gets a $500 Etsy shopping spree and, presumably, the brag-worthy title of Artisan NASA Thought Was The Best.
Official rules are here — you have until November 2nd to turn in your entry. If you’re not the crafty type, you can always just keep an eye on the page and see what awesome space-y stuff the Etsians have come up with. Read more…
As an old time anime fanboy I’ve been pleasantly surprised how NextTV from Taiwan has really knocked it out of the ballpark with their series of computer animated shorts on topical events: But when I took a look at their 
