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The Sad Fate of the Ban Ban Nuts
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 8, 2009 in Japanese TV
Those poor Ban Ban nuts: They sing, they dance and then they get crushed up to be sprinkled over ramen! Although I was happy to see the the Bam Ban in the middle escaped the destruction of the marketing department of Acecook. Chocolate Craving Christmas Tree
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 7, 2009 in Japanese TV
What’s not to love about this Meiji chocolate commercial? I don’t know what’s cuter about the chocolate maker — the fact that she’s singing while making her cupcakes or that she’s so nonchalant about someone sneaking up on her dressed as a Christmas tree. And here’s a cute fruit flavored advert from Meiji for the few of you who don’t like chocolate or Christmas: Read more… Enter the Pachinko Matrix!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 6, 2009 in Japanese TV, Videogames
I just came across this amazing commercial for an Enter the Matrix Pachinko game which is from Daiichi (although I couldn’t find any info anywhere else on the web and the original version of the game came out in 2003). I love the Japanese twist of setting the commercial in a noodle shop — and the fact that the “special effect” is so low budget makes it all the better! The Xylish Flavor the Jungle
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 5, 2009 in Japanese TV
This Japanese gum commercial stars the lovely ladies Miki Nakatani and Ryoko Hirosue as double mint girls (the sad actor stuck in the jungle is Watabe Atsuro). I love the cute touch of having a monkey and a raccoon at the start of the advert. Don’t Go Tako, It’s a Cookbook!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 5, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
O-No! Sushi by Andrew Bell is an urban toy reaction from a vegetarian to sushi. I like the effect of the cartoony octopus looking on at horror at the presentation before him. Bell also has a similarly themed print up for sale at his website as well: Read more… 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… Gundam vs. GundamThis video of two Gundam robots slugging it out is from the recent 2009 International Robot Exhibition. I like how the decapitated Gundam continues to dance after defeat… 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… Silly Sound Effects in a Hurry
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 28, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Have you ever been in that particular situation where you need a quick sound effect like bubble wrap popping, a security alarm going off or a toilet flushing? Well neither have I but this these Japanese Funny Sound Button Keychains seem to make the possibilities entertaining! The only catch is that when you purchase these keychains you get them at random, although that’s part of the fun (which at $6 is pretty low budget). Here is a video of the keychains in action: Read more… For Your Ramusement
Posted by Nick Kent on Nov 27, 2009 in Fandom
I’ve often read about many unusually specialized museums in Japan such as the Towel Museum. One of the better known ones that I’ve actually been to is the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum. I’ve noticed various Blogs and Village Voice restaurant critics have called a Ramusement Park, though I’m pretty sure it’s a case of a witty phrase made up by some blogger and cut and pasted around on the net. Hey, convince me otherwise. Read more… The Secret Surprise in Doraemon Gum
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2009 in Design, Hobbies and Collections
We’ve all grown up with the Bazooka Joe gimmick: Half the fun of opening the single package of gun was to read the comic tucked inside. And of course the Cracker Jacks version is to give you a secret surprise inside the box — a technique that cereal companies turned into a fine art (not to forget McDonald’s Happy Meals as well). However today I leaned a twist on this old marketing hook thanks to an imported Japanese pack of Doraemon gum. Upon opening my gum I discovered that each individual wrapper had a unique design based on the well known anime cat: Read more… Why Don’t Anime Fandubs Exist?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 19, 2009 in Animation
What you’re looking at above is an example of the “good old days of anime” which weren’t so good. When it came out Captain Future wasn’t so bad in terms of quality, but the dubbing here is amateurish to say the least. This wasn’t so unusual in the early days of anime as small companies would blow everything they had to acquire the rights to a show — only to realize that they had little budget to do a proper dub. Read more… 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… Bleach: The Third Musical!
The third Bleach musical will take start on January 15th, 2010 and tour three cities in Japan: Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. What makes this show interesting is that it features some of the voice actors from the series. Tickets are 6600 yen and go on sale November 15th. Here’s the official flyer for the show: Read more… A Devo Inspired Anime Damsel
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 13, 2009 in Comic Books
This illustration by manga artist Hisashi Eguchi got my attention right away as the Christmas attired anime lady is sporting a vintage Devo cap. The drawing was created for a flyer promoting a Christmas concert in Japan which features the the musician Naoki Yamamoto (who is also works in the anime industry) and the hardcore band Surorana. Here is the illustration at full size (just click on the drawing): Read more… One Piece: Ever So Cutely Deformed by PansonWorks
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 1, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
PansonWorks from Japan has created a line of One Piece air-deformed (and super cuter) figurines. PansonWorks is best known for a hip collection of character designs known as Robin and his 100 Friends. The One Piece figurines go on pre-sale on December 14th. Here’s the rest of the collection: Read more… Cyborg 009: December ’09 is Your Last Chance to Celebrate 009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 31, 2009 in Animation, Comic Books
The December issue of HyperHobby magazine has a special treat for old school anime fanboys: A special supplement cover that features Cyborg 009! For those of you who may not know it Cyborg 009 started as a manga in 1964, there was an anime film in 1966 and a series in 1968 but the 1979 anime series really put the show on the map. Here’s the black-and-white intro from the first series, which still hold up pretty well: Read more… A New Documentary Film Celebrates Horror Manga Artist Kazuo Umezu
Introducing the the New Windows 7 Anime Spokesmodel
Tomorrow’s Joe: A Statuette Celebrates a Heavyweight Champion Anime Series
Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake Delight
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 17, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
My latest conquest from my local Asian grocery was the Chocolate Cookie: Meiji Takenoko No Sato Cheesecake and I have to say that I was quite impressed with my choice. Inside the package were seven individually wrapped white chocolate covered cookies that tasted amazing. I didn’t quite get the taste of cheese cake, but the cookies did have a nice vanilla flavor to them (the way the chocolate cookie title in this case was misleading). As for the package design I’ve seen more playful solutions before, but I do love the beatnik chocolate mushroom cartoon characters that adorned the box: Read more… Plush Sushi with a Hint of Moe
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 16, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Most of us grew up being told “don’t play with your food!” But the genius of Plush Sushi is that it was designed to be played with, although ThinkGeek notes that this toy is for grownups and not kids. Normally as a vegetarian I avoid salmon roe, tuna and shrimp but I think I might make an except for these cute creations: Read more… The Meiji Poporon Strawberry Cookie Will Kill You with Sweetness
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2009 in Design, Hobbies and Collections
I had such high hopes for the Meiji Poporon Strawberry Cookie but alas even with my sweet tooth I couldn’t eat more than just a few of these bite sized saccharine treats. They have puffy wheat outside and a super sweet strawberry filling on the inside as shown in the packaging. And as for the packaging it was slick, but I was a bit let down at the lack of cute illustrations that would have given it that extra something: 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… |
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While looking at 
Back in the day my friend Ardith Carlton (who now lives in Japan) would keep telling us about this amazing anime series called 
