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Get Ready for Work in Only 5 Minutes!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 24, 2009 in Japanese TV
This is a cute segment from a Japanese TV show which shows off how to get up, make breakfast and get dressed for work in five minutes. Although it’s somewhat telling that the segment is eight and a half minutes long… Invasion of the Robo-Girls: J-Pop Cyber Sounding Singers
Posted by Guest Author on Apr 20, 2009 in Japanese TV, Tech
In this article pop culture pundit Nick Kent gives us his insights into the growing trend of J-Pop singers who want to sound cyber: I’ve been noticing a mini-trend in Japanese pop music lately consisting of pretty female singers singing with android sounding vocals rather than natural sounding ones. I can’t help but to think Cher’s 1998 hit single “Believe” makes her the Borg Queen of this phenomenon: Read more… Domo is Dead: Long Live On-Chan Nendoroid!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 17, 2009 in Japanese TV
Time was not too long ago that Domo was the coolest thing not just for me — but for any self respecting hipster, creative professional or occasional otaku. But alas our favorite razor toothed character who was all but unknown in Japan conquered mainstream America, before you know it every damn yabbo could pick up a t-shirt at Walmart. But fear not as I have discovered a worthy mascot replacement: On-Chan Nendoroid (shown above) was created in 1997 to represent the Hokkaido Television Broadcasting Co. and he sports a pet monster called Guchi. So if you want to be the first kid on your block to own your very own Nendoroid this figurine can be ordered from National Console Support, Inc. By the way here’s Nendoroid in action: Read more… Monsters Inc. at Tokyo Disneyland
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 16, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
These two commercials for the Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek! attraction at Tokyo Disneyland are enjoyable on two levels: First it’s great to see these familiar Pixar characters speaking Japanese, it almost gives them an anime like quality. Next on the first ad above I love the intercuts of the typical Japanese family mirroring the actions of the animated characters. In fact the high quality of the Japanese voice actors almost makes me want to re-watch the film in Japanese with English subtitles just to see what they did. Read more… AKBINGO! Top Idol Competition
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 28, 2009 in Japanese TV
Shown above is a segment from the March 25th episode of AKBINGO! a variety show which features the J-Pop group AKB48 which includes some 46 divas (well they started with 48 young ladies but that was several years ago) divided into three teams. The group is unusual in that once a week they preform at their own theater which is located in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. Read more… Tess Tea: A Very British Drink for Japanese Anglophiles
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 4, 2009 in Japanese TV
This 80s advert for Tess Tea has a soundtrack that either inspired by the Katrina and the Waves hit Walking on Sunshine — or — the earlier Clash single Hitsville U.K. Although the irony of this is that much of British new wave music from that era owed a great deal to a reggae dancehall rhythm. I couldn’t find out much about Tess Tea online other than the fact that it was a brand from Suntory that must have been popular in the 80s. Here’s another anglophile commercial for Tess Tea from 1984: Read more… The Sapporo Ichiban Instant Fist of Death Technique
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 3, 2009 in Japanese TV
There’s something slightly violent lurching under this ever so moe commercial for Sapporo Ichiban instant noodles. From my crude translation my understanding is that these instant bowls of wonder come in three varieties: ramen, miso and udon. Vintage CGI Animation, Grapefruit Soda and a Girl in a Swimsuit
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 31, 2009 in Japanese TV
I can’t place an exact date on this Japanese advert for Kirin Mets Grapefruit although judging by the quality of the animation I’d say that it was produced in the 80s. During the early days of computer animation the technique was so expensive that using it became a visual gimmick to get attention — even if it had no connection to the product that you were selling. You get the feeling that the marketing department at Kirin was a bit worried and added the young lady in the swimsuit “just in case”. Vintage Nissin Silly Yakisoba Advert
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 23, 2009 in Japanese TV
My guess is that this spot os from the 80s judging by the wear-and-tear of the video tape and the colorful art direction. The commercial is for Chinese styled Yakisoba fried noodles but what sells the spot is the rambunctious children singing along with the music. Ken Shimura Stretching Soup Noodles
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 12, 2009 in Japanese TV
This is latest sketch from one of my favorite Japanese comedians — Ken Shimura (志村けん)! What I love about his work is that even if you don’t speak Japanese his comedy is physical enough to get a sense of what’s going on while making you laugh in the process: Swords & Sorcery Flavored Pocari Sweat
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 10, 2009 in Japanese TV
This Pocari Sweat advert is clearly aimed at the fanboys! You’ve got a little of everything here: A sword welding lady in full battle armor, an exotic kitty cat, sphinx and some sort of 3D CGI alien creature mascot sidekick. What more could you ask for? The Tale of a Japanese Cinderella and Her Cellphone
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 1, 2009 in Japanese TV
This 1997 advert stars Japanese actress Takako Tokiwa (常盤貴子) in the role of Cinderella! My favorite bit is the short bit of then cutting edge 3D animation of her magic horse drawn carriage. New Employment Opportunities for Rubber Suited Evildoers
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 27, 2008 in Japanese TV
Shown above is a series of adverts from 2006 for the Japanese magazine B-ing which is aimed at recruiting professionals. The villains shown are the shocker soldiers from the live action Rider series (仮面ライダーシリーズ) from the 70s: Read more… Amazing Animals: Humiliating Cats on Japanese TV
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 22, 2008 in Japanese TV
The above cute clip of costumed cats is from the Japanese TV program Amazing Animals (どうぶつ奇想天外！) which runs on TBS. The segment features cats from an upcoming calendar including the well known chubby kitty Pia-kun. Found via zaeega.com. Pop-up Gourd Island: Classic Japanese Puppet TV
Posted by Guest Author on Dec 16, 2008 in Animation, Japanese TV
Over the years I’ve kept running into the same group of 3D retro-styled characters in Japanese printed advertising and that at first reminded me of Rankin-Bass style stop motion characters but have their own original look. I was guessing they might be stop motion since they were photographed rather than drawn or rendered.
On doing some research I figured out they came from a mid 1960s series Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima (ひょっこりひょうたん島) which translates to something like “Unexpected Gourd Island” and the characters were puppets rather than animated. They have to be Japan’s most famous puppet TV show though of course the Muppets are seen all over and “Saku Saku” was trendy for a while. Read more… Kikaider: “Dr. Komyoji Designed Me to Protect the Kids!”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 9, 2008 in Japanese TV
The 1972 Japanese TV show Artificial Humanoid Kikaider (人造人間キカイダ) was a tribute of sorts to Astro Boy. The humanoid robot was created by Shotaro Ishinomori who actually worked for Osamu Tezuka a few years earlier, who in turn was inspired by both Pinocchio and Frankenstein. In the show Kikaider is created by Dr. Komyoji to protect himself and his very cute kids (who you can see in the clip above) from the dark Android which was created by the nefarious Professor Gill (who must have been upset that he didn’t get his doctorate in android engineering). The live action show was so popular back in the day that it inspired a manga and years later an anime series. Read more… Hangry & Angry: Former Morning Musume Members Go Punk/Gothlolita
Posted by Guest Author on Dec 1, 2008 in Japanese TV
What happens when you get two former Morning Musume (モーニング娘) members to go punk and gothlolita? I’d expect a merchandise bonanza for the boutique they represent.:
Robotto Paruta: Quirky Cardboard Robot Anime
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 29, 2008 in Animation, Japanese TV
I always love discovering anime that isn’t what you’d expect — there’s a real wealth of amazing kids cartoons that many fanboys just don’t know about: Robotto Paruta (ロボットパルタ) got started as a segment within the 1994 NHK show Cartoon Bubble Wrap. The series was directed by Katsushi Yasuda and in 2005 Pony Canyon released a four volume DVD set (which I couldn’t find, however you can buy quite a few DVDs from the series at Amazon.jp).
Kamen Rider versus Shocker
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 24, 2008 in Japanese TV
Kamen Rider was a TV show from the early 70s in Japan, but there were in fact three low budget films also made at the same time. This is a silly clip from Kamen Rider versus Shocker which revolves around a plot dealing with the secret plans for a gravity machine that becomes stolen during a birthday party for Professor Daidōji’s daughter. The best part of this 1972 film is clearly the evil rubber suited character running about with the daughter’s teddy bear while engaging in combat action with Kamen Rider. Read more… Mini Moni in Their Cute Astronaut Bunny Outfits
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 23, 2008 in Japanese TV
This number is an oldie but a goldie: It’s the J-pop group Mini Moni (ミニモニ) performing their breakout song Minimoni Jankenpyon! (ミニモニ。ジャンケンぴょん!) from way back when in 2001. Mini Moni is a subgroup of the Morning Musume (モーニング娘) and was active until 2004 when the group disbanded. Language Lessons with Berryz Kobo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 20, 2008 in Japanese TV
Berryz Kobo is a side project of the Hello! Project — this video is from a DVD magazine and features the members of the band saying “hello” in various languages. What makes the video for me the 60s game show music which nicely contrasts with the faux educational lesson, although it would have been just a tad cuter if each presenter had a matching outfit for each language. Will Japanese Gameshows Be the Next Anime?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 17, 2008 in Japanese TV
What’s great about Anime is that for the last 40 years it has introduced Japanese pop culture to a very wide global audience. Now while it’s true that J-pop has done very well in Asia, it’s never reached the critical mass that Anime has reaching everywhere from Russia to South Africa. While I wouldn’t expect Japanese gameshows to inspire the same depth of fandom, I think it could very well open the door to a different demographic that Anime might not include: Read more… Nintendo Game & Watch: Japanese & American Style
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 13, 2008 in Japanese TV, Videogames
Long before the Nintendo DS there was the Game & Watch (ゲーム＆ウオッチ Gēmu ando Wotchi) which were handheld games produced between 1980 and 1991. What’s funny looking at these commercials is that the Japanese ad above seems to be much more honest about what the product is, while the American ad below (which is from 1983) uses rather elaborate animation and shows the product in action for just a few seconds. Also notice how the Japanese ad is more aimed at young adults while the American ad is just for kids. Read more… Sing Along with Shimura and Mini Moni
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 9, 2008 in Japanese TV
What I love about comedian Ken Shimura (志村けん) is that you don’t have to understand Japanese for him to make you laugh. This little song was sung with the J-pop group Mini Moni (ミニモニ), a subgroup of Morning Musume (モーニング娘). My Japanese is rather lacking by he song has something to do with “eye-application gymnastics” according to my Google translation of the headline. |
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