If you’re too poor to afford an internet toy like the Chumby (which still costs $200) the next best thing may be the Pet’z (PEZ) PET-6008-PK Sandra animated alarm clock which costs about $32 plus shipping from Japan. This toy pig does double duty by acting as an alarm clock and virtual pet (which will get angry if you don’t feed it). The pink critter has the ability to produce animal sounds and features nine types of animated facial expressions: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 11, 2009 in Comic Books
Starting this month the Japanese book publisher Kodansha will publish a series of paperbacks titled The Complete Works of Tezuka which will include every manga that Osamu Tezuka created. The books will be published on a monthly basis and the series starts off with Astro Boy, future editions will include Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion), Princess Knight, W3 and Pinocchio: Read more…
The 49th All Japan Model Hobby Show will be finishing up this Sunday in Japan, the first two days of the event are for the trade but over the weekend the show opens up their doors to the public. One of the things I’ve always loved about Japanese toys and hobby kits is the wonderful level of detail and craftsmanship. There’s a wide range of old toys (i.e. trains, planes and automobiles) but every so often you’ll notice an anime themed knickknack. For example shown above is Hatsune Miku themed radio controlled BMW car, and below is a set of trucks which feature anime characters on the side (which was part of a larger set that included a train set): Read more…
This is video footage from the CEATEC conference in Japan which ends today: The show has a focus on cutting edge digital and electronics work. Shown above is a very eerie looking cosplay attired robot which uses Vocaloid software. What’s odd about this robot is that she blinks her eyes; In fact when I first looked at this video below it took me a bit to figure out (out of context of course) that I wasn’t looking at an actual human doing cosplay at an anime con: Read more…
I always love how in japan they’re willing to go that extra mile to promote a anime series in some special way! In this case the show Usavich (ウサビッチ) which features computer animated rabbits on MTV Japan was featured on an automobile: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Mobile Suit Gundam fanboys can now enjoy Char Aznable’s Spicy Curry Noodles from Nissin Foods which features a special reusable glass cup which features the infamous red Zaku suit. The instant soup is also colored red and features spicy and red peppers contrasted with just a hint of cheddar cheese flavor. Nissin is also selling refill sets, although my guess is that most Gundam fans won’t dare open the package. Here are some other shots of the product: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Weighing in at about 50 tons and costing $1.5 million dollars the now famous Gigantor (原寸大鉄人28号) statute is the hit of Kobe, Japan. I figured at this point that everyone has seen all the photos of this 60 foot tall wonder, however some amazing videos are just starting to flood YouTube. Here are some of the coolest that I’ve come across so far that can give you a sense of scale: Read more…
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…
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…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 27, 2009 in Videogames
This is the latest gameplay trailer for Lost Planet 2 which was shown at the Tokyo Game Show. The game is published by Capcom and looks amazing — after seeing this trailer I don’t have much of an idea what the gameplay is like, but the universe Jun Takeuchi and Kenji Oguro have created looks wonderfully rich in detail.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 25, 2009 in Animation, Fandom
I came across this very odd photo essay from a Japanese blog that shows some poor store manager in the Akihabara district of Tokyo who is forced to wear a suit and a Keroro mask in order to sell snacks based on the anime series that features frog stories aimed at fanboys: Read more…
The Toyota Automobile Museum (located in Nagakute Town, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) will be running a special exhibit on “The Car and Comics” from October 10th until March 7th, 2010. The exhibit will feature many autos from various popular manga titles and anime series like Initial D, Detective Conan, Speed Racer and my favorite the Lupin III film Castle of Cagliostro. Here’s a guide to the exhibit from the official museum website: Read more…
K-On! (けいおん!) candy is hitting the store shelves in Japan for sweet toothed otaku. The candy inside of the cool guitar packaging are chocolate and strawberry marshmallow treats (which are not in the shape of a guitar). Although some of the boxes include a Yui Hirasawa t-shirt treat at random. Read more…
My latest net addiction is the Japanese website cat.piq.jp which is essentially a cat version of the the old “hot-or-not” meme. Even though the instructions are in Japanese the game is pretty simple: You just click on one of the two cats that you think is the cutest. In return that kitty will keep getting higher ratings and thus appear more often. And if you’re more of a dog person there’s also dog.piq.jp…
A line of Lucky Star toys with a Macross theme (that’s Robotech for you American fanboys) is due to hit stores in Akihabara on September 26th. This photo series shows a preview of these goodies which are put out by Banpresto and will be awarded on some sort of lottery system: Read more…
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…
Summer is just about over but for a hardcore fanboy it’s never too late for anime themed flip-flops! These new flip-flops feature the characters from K-On! (けいおん!) and man are they too cute: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 15, 2009 in Animation, Tech
The stop motion animated spots above and below are for Google Japan and I’m just blown away by the quality of craftsmanship and creativity shown here. The spots are explaining how Google street maps will help ensure privacy by blurring out people’s faces and the like. In my humble opinion Google should tap the creative team behind these ads to enliven their branding in the United States which is a tad too dull for such an innovative company. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Videogames
Tekken 6 will appear on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan, however Microsoft would rather you buy it on the Xbox 360 of course! This latest version of Tekken includes a “rage” system which kicks in when the energy on characters is low (I wish I had that in the real world). Read more…
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…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2009 in Japanese TV
In 1992 Norika Fujiwara (藤原 紀香) was crowned Miss Japan, and since then she’s done everything from doing the voice over work for the Japanese dubbed version of Shrek to acting as a goodwill ambassador for international sports games. In this commercial for ALC she dresses up like a medieval knight leading the charge to teach young kids English (ALC is an educational publisher in Japan). While doing my research on Fujiwara I came across this cute variety show skit where she plays a game of basketball against a guy dressed up as a french poodle: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2009 in Animation, Fandom
Sadly all good things come to an end sooner or later: And thus I’m afraid for yours truly it’s a bit too soon as the giant Gundam on display in Tokyo is being taken apart! Part of me always assumed that the Gundam would be on display forever, but sadly I was wrong. And what makes it worse is that the damn robot just sits there and does nothing to defend itself against a wimpy looking crane…Read more…
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…
Despite having no mouth Hello Kitty has taken a huge bite out of America, yet most mundanes have no clue who Doraemon is! Example: When I came across this cute Doraemon flash light it was sadly listed as a “Space Kitty Rechargeable Flash Light”. Now looking at this site it’s clear to me that I’ve committed the crime of just shining the light on all things Sanrio — so here’s a quick intro to Doraemon, the other Japanese kitty you should know:Read more…
Weighing in at about 50 tons and costing $1.5 million dollars the now famous Gigantor (原寸大鉄人28号) statute is the hit of Kobe, Japan. I figured at this point that everyone has seen all the photos of this 60 foot tall wonder, however some amazing videos are just starting to flood YouTube. Here are some of the coolest that I’ve come across so far that can give you a sense of scale: 
The stop motion animated spots above and below are for Google Japan and I’m just blown away by the quality of craftsmanship and creativity shown here. The spots are explaining how Google street maps will 
In 1992 