|
Kawaii Llama Mania Grips Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 2, 2009 in Japanese TV
I just came across this strange collection of low budget but very cute adverts for aru Paca Friends and Skip Bunny from Sunward Co. Ltd. and Media Factory in Japan. Read more… Taiko no Tatsujin: Commercial for the Latest Wii Game
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 30, 2009 in Japanese TV, Videogames
This is a commercial for the latest Taiko no Tatsujin (太鼓の達人) videogame by Namco for the Wii. While one version of this game has came to America I’m still envious that the arcade version (shown in the commercial for a few seconds at the start) hasn’t come over here. Here’s an additional video which shows a bit more detail from the game — I love the fact that it comes with a drum peripheral: Read more… Monster Waste: A Retro Anime Public Service Announcement
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 24, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
I’m not sure of the date of this public service announcement, but my guess is that it’s from the 70s. This animated announcement by the japan Advertising Council warns about the dangers of wasting food. To an older generation (represented by the old man) who went through World War II food shortages weren’t theoretical — so it felt to be important to pass these values onto the next generation. SMAP Starring as Gatchaman
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 20, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
It’s amazing what you can discover on YouTube sometimes: The above commercial for NTT is from the year 2000 and features the J-Pop band SMAP as Gatchaman! Of course Gatchaman is known to use old school anime fans as Battle of the Planets which played a key role in introducing Americans to sci fi ninjas. There were four commercials in total and below is a fully animated spot which looks amazing: Read more… The Simpsons Slurping C.C. Lemon
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 17, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
I think The Simpsons are even better with Japanese voice acting, they somehow even seem sillier than usual! This advert is for C.C. Lemon a Japanese beverage that’s distributed by Kirin (I admit that I had hoped that it was a beer commercial!). Vintage Japanese Commercials Starring Brad Pitt
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 15, 2009 in Japanese TV
This first ad for the Honda Integra is kind of cute, although the 503 Basic Jeans commercial below is even better as it features a singing Brad Pitt: Read more… Soupy Sales: A Beloved Host to a Generation of Kids Passes Away
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 23, 2009 in Television
Sadly Soupy Sales has passed away, born as Milton Supman he earned his nickname Soupy from his childhood. During World War II while serving in the Navy he entertained his shipmates by telling jokes and playing crazy characters over the ship’s public address system. After the war he became a disc jockey and used his material from the Navy to eventually launch a long lasting career during the golden age of television. A generation of children grew up with Lunch with Soupy Sales which launched in 1953 and lasted until 1966. Soupy did everything else from game shows to voice acting in cartoons in his life, but his pioneering work from that golden age of television put him into the hearts of baby boomers who thought of him as family. Snoopy and Kaela Kimura are Hot
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 22, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
The thing that makes this commercial for me is seeing Sally from the Peanuts gang scratching records — and of course having Snoopy, Marcy, Peppermint Patty and Lucy back up J-pop star Kaela Kimur (木村カエラ) singing her Hot Pepper song pushes this advert to the next level. And so what is Hot Pepper? It seems to be some sort of food website which is sponsored by Recruit which is a job placement service. Read more… Roger Moore: Break the Bond and Love the Saint
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2009 in Cinema, Television
Today is the 82nd birthday of Sir Roger George Moore, who sadly is known to most folks as “the James Bond that isn’t Sean Connery!” Now I know it’s a classic fanboy argument to rate each James Bond and then chastise poor Roger Moore for being too slick, too smooth and too English to be James Bond. Yet I think that’s an unfair argument because to really appreciate why Moore got the 007 role you have to go a few years back in time to 1962 when Moore made his name as The Saint. Read more… Thirty Years Later Galactica: 1980 Remains Godawful
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 13, 2009 in Battlestar Galactica, Comic Books
Galactica to me was always a Diet Coke to a Star Wars chocolate shake. Not only was it a bad rip off, but it wasn’t even in the same category. But like a chubby kid with a sweet tooth for sci fi I drank it by the gallon back in the day and watched every damn episode. But even with a sweet tooth you hit a limit and for me that was the travesty called Galactica: 1980. Now those fancy producers who reimagined Galactica knew this; so they beat every bit of cheese out of the show they could find. Suddenly Galactica seemed to have more in common with Blade Runner. But like a dork trying to act cool, sooner or later the inner lame will manifest — and I’m proud to announce that with issue #2 of the Galactica: 1980 the franchise has jumped the shark for good: Read more… Hey! Say! JUMP Goes to the Zoo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 12, 2009 in Japanese TV
It’s been a while since I’ve followed Tensai! Shimura Dobutsu-en (aka Genius! Shimura Zoo) a Japanese kids show which features a new animal each episode. This latest show features the J-pop group Hey! Say! JUMP and shows band hanging out with run away cats, a sloth, a cute baby hedgehog and an ostrich: Read more… Sesame Street: The Pitch Film from 1968
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 5, 2009 in Television
What you’re about to watch is a pitch for a wild experiment: In 1969 television producer Joan Ganz Cooney took a crazy chance and came up with a show that would change history. Forty years later Sesame Street has educated two generations and reached every corner of the globe. Read more… Fit’s Dance Contest: Are You Ready Gumshoes?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 29, 2009 in Japanese TV
Fit’s is a Japanese chewing gum made by Lotte (which is really a South Korean company by the way) and a while ago they started to try their hand at viral video advertising with a series of surreal dance videos. They’ve started their “second season” of the campaign and videos are as strange as ever (which makes me happy). Read more… AKB48 at the New York Anime Festival
Posted by Christian Liendo on Sep 28, 2009 in Fandom, Japanese TV
All 48 team members of AKB48 didn’t show up for the New York Anime Festival, but we were very happy to have even just a few of the ever so cute J-pop divas at the show! Read more… Talking Doggie Saves Little Girl from Falling Piano
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 20, 2009 in Japanese TV
I love this series of cute commercials for Softbank in Japan, but then again what’s not to like about a talking doggie that can save a little girl from a falling piano? The use of classical music through out each spot adds to absurdity as well. And the oddest twist comes at the end when our hero is featured on a pair on sandals: Read more… Old School Cylon Rings
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 18, 2009 in Battlestar Galactica
The design for these rings date back to the good old days when Cylons looked like real Cylons! The coolest thing about the old school Cylons was that single glowing eye that darted back and forth and these Centurion rings pick up on that in a nice way (although i wish there was some sort of way that they could have animated it. Read more… Fame Hasn’t Gone to Coco’s Head
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Japanese TV
I have a total fascination with the pets section of the Japanese version of YouTube. And one viral video pet is a golden retriever named Coco who, umm — doesn’t do much of anything except maybe eat watermelon. In fact what makes Coco so cool is that Coco is a cool character, nonplussed by the world about. So what I love about the above is that how in an age of narcissistic reality TV stars how mellow Coco was after being discovered by NHK TV in Japan: Read more… Ten Years Ago Today: The Moon Broke Out of Earth’s Orbit
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 13, 2009 in Television
After years of storing radioactive waste on the the moon massive nuclear explosions tore the moon out of Earth’s orbit on September 13th, 1999 — on this very day ten years ago. Earlier in 1994 previous concerns resulted in the closing Nuclear Disposal Area One on the moon, however with the boom economy that followed after the global war of 1987 all the now obvious warning signs were overlooked. As of today 3,648 days have passed since this event, and numerous attempts have been made to contact the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha — whose fate is still unknown at this time. Read more… Miss Japan in Full SCA Cosplay Regalia
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2009 in Japanese TV
Ten Doctors: However Some Are Better Than Others
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 9, 2009 in Dr. Who
This wonderful fan made video features a scenario which calls all ten incarnations of Dr. Who into action. The funny thing is that for me this video has the unintended consequence of making you compare all the actors who have played the good doctor since the 60s. I hadn’t realized how much I really appreciated Tom Baker or hated Colin Baker until you see them all side-by-side. And of course with Dr. Who the acting and the script are everything because if you hide behind a high special effects budget the show just lacks its unique flavor. Read more… All Hail Sid Caesar: Conquering Hero Comedy of Television Comedy
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 8, 2009 in Television
I come not to bury Caesar but to praise him, because he’s still very much alive! Today legendary comedian, actor and all about television genius Sid Caesar will celebrate his 87th birthday today. Isaac Sidney “Sid” Caesar started life intent on a musical career and audited classes at the famous Juilliard School in New York City. His early music gig were in the Catskills where on the side he tried his hand at comedy before joining the Coast Guard in 1939. During the war that followed he was assigned to play in military revues, where in between sets he would do comedy numbers that started to outshine his musical skills. Read more… Tokyo Disneyland’s Halloween is Very Venetian Indeed
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
I was trying to figure out why this recent commercial for Tokyo Disneyland Disney Halloween looks so damn cool. I’m an anime fanboy so my thought was that anything with a Japanese voiceover would just seem cooler, but that’s not the case. Then it struck me: Mickey and Mini and decked out in Venetian costumes instead of the typical goth look associated with Halloween. The result is that our mouse suddenly takes on a magical European quality that I just doesn’t associate with Mickey who’s as American as you can get. Read more… Hey Kids: We’ve Got Pee-wee Herman and Madonna!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 30, 2009 in Television
You can tell that this 1988 promotional spot for Florida TV station WBFS was done on a low budget, but it’s impressive that it features the voice of Pee-wee Herman who had defiantly gone big time at that point. I also love the added touches of the MTV graphics and the matching Madonna soundtrack. It’s funny to think back to a previous era when you’d enter a contest by sending an old school analog letter instead of an email or tweet… Galactica Goes Kokeshi
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 26, 2009 in Battlestar Galactica
Temple7e has made my fanboy heart happy again with these wonderful Battlestar Galactica Kokeshi dolls! For those not in the know Kokeshi are traditional Japanese wooden dolls, however in this case artist Craig Galentine has updated the themes of the dolls with a sci fi touch: Read more… |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2025 Fanboy.com All rights reserved. Theme by Laptop Geek.
In 1992 
