Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 21, 2010 in Comic Books
This amazing set of beautiful posters were designed to celebrate the work of manga artist Takashi Yanase (by the way he’s over 90 years old!). His best known work is Anpanman which has never really caught on in United States, but I’d dare say it’s one of the best know manga (and anime) kids series in Japan. If you’re lucky enough to be in Japan there will be an exhibition of his work at the Kyoto International Manga Museum which starts on October 2. Read more…
Hello Kitty has no mouth yet these kitty speakers can amp up your iPod: Available in white and pink each Hello Kitty Dock Speaker for iPod features two speakers and a remote control. Although the cool thing about this neko gizmo is that you can also control the sound caressing kitty’s ears to turn the volume up and down.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2010 in Comic Books
Gangsta is a new manga series that will be put out by Comic Bunch. This artwork is just a preview, but I love the look of the character designs which feels like a cross between samurai and a wild west film: Read more…
It would look like this! Designer Satoshi Fumihara the genius behind the Japanese MTV series Golden Egg designed these funky Cubic Mouth Disney Key Cover which look cutting edge yet retain the cute qualities of Mickey and Mini. I’ve always admired how Disney has adapted to local culture in Japan by taking chances and this is always reflected in the merchandise — something which I wish Disney would do more often in the United States where the brand play it a bit too safe. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 5, 2010 in Comic Books
The Devil is So Cute is a collection of the work of manga artist Takako Shimura. What I really love about this cover is not that it’s just a good manga cover, but that the fact that it’s a beautiful illustration and well designed. Honestly when was the last time you found an American comic book that featured the color combination of chartreuse, pale yellow and mauve with polka dots? And even though I can’t read Japanese the ultra thin typography in gray looks wonderfully elegant.
The minute I looked at this illustration it caught my eye right away as the lead protagonist in the image is surrounded by a sea of screen shots of roll playing videogames and an assortment of brightly colored baubles and baked goods. This artwork is a promotional illustration for a new manga series that’s running in the latest issue of Margaret magazine and from my crude translation the name of the series is Controller Prince. From what I can see the manga focuses of the romantic adventures of a young lady online who plays “a good game of love”. Read more…
I love the illustrational complexity of Japanese emoticons — and now you can share these silly symbols in the real world with this Ginghami Kaoiro Emoticon Stamper. To me there’s something very appealing about taking digital iconography and coming up with such a primitive analog implementation: Read more…
If Josie and the Pussycats needed a guitar tuner it would look like this! The Korg Hello Kitty Guitar Clip Tuner comes in angel white and goth black. I think the only flaw in the design is that would be nice if Kitty was able to meow her approval when you hit the right key: Read more…
Danny Choo’s latest book entitled Otacool 3: Worldwide Workspaces has hit the shelves in Japan. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of Otacool, it’s a book that basically details an aspect of otaku culture. The first volume dealt with otaku rooms/living areas, while the second book dealt exclusively with cosplay. This third volume, currently available via J-List, deals with — you guessed it — otaku workspaces. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some pretty awesome workspaces — the book has plenty of them, and some of them are pretty impressive — but honestly, I fail to grasp the concept of a workspace, otaku or otherwise, being cool. Read more…
Generally, Japanese commercials tend to be a bit more outlandish than our own TV spots, so I was a bit surprised to learn that Apple hasn’t really done much to change the format of their recent iPhone 4 ads for an international market, aside from hiring Japanese actors of course. It would seem that Apple has focused almost entirely on their Face Time feature, hoping that live video chat would be enough to sell anyone on their reception-impaired smart phone. To be fair, a simple case can fix that, but why should there be a problem in the first place — right? Any ways, the commercials are still pretty cute. I just wonder if it’s enough to steal NTT Docomo’s loyal fan base.
If you’re a Clamp fan and are lucky enough to be in japan this August you may be able to get your hands on this very cute Kobato Hanato figurine from the manga (and anime) series Kobato (こばと。). Also included in the package is the blue stuffed dog Yogisanmo and a handy traveling bag which will set you back 1890 yen: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 10, 2010 in Animation
Yes I know that the furthest thing from your mind is celebrating a happy new year — but for hardcore otaku in Japan it’s the season to start thinking about which anime calendar to select for 2011! Shown here are a preview of a few of the calendars which will be available for pre-orders in Japan on September 26th. Shown above is One Piece and below is Naruto: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 8, 2010 in Comic Books
One of my joys is to walk through a Japanese bookstore and to gawk at all of the beautiful cover illustrations — they’re always so inspiring as a designer. Although I should note that with this collection that these these illustrations aren’t all covers for comic books — but sometimes covers for books that are done in a manga style. Shown above is Hoshikawa Ginza 4-Chome which caught my eye due the wonderful use of pastel colors. What follows are ten illustrations from Japan that recently caught my eye: Read more…
Frankly it’s not an authentic Godzilla film unless you have a maser cannon! Although the cannons have a mixed track record at best as sometimes they stop the giant monster in question — however sometimes those who operate the maser cannons wind up as stomping victims. This beautifully created Maser Cannon reproduction is from the Sci-Fi Revoltech series which is by Kaiyodo: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2010 in Animation
This very cute short film by Hiroki Mori should serve as proof to many a fanboy that anime doesn’t always have to look like anime (or feature ladies running around in maid outfits chasing giant robots). This film also illustrates what I love about animation itself which is that for really good animation you don’t need a translation as what’s going on the screen quickly communicates the story. Read more…
Shigeru Mizuki is the master of Japanese horror manga and he’ll be honored with a large scale exhibition in Japan which kicks off on August 11, and runs until August 23, 2010. The exhibit will show off original work from GeGeGe no Kitaro (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) and Mr. Devil manga series and other personal item associated with the master. Here’s a preview of some of the drawings that will be on display: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 17, 2010 in Comic Books
Illustrator Shigeyuki Fukumitsu created this hamburger themed manga shopping bag for Village Vanguard, a bookstore chain in Japan. What’s funny about it is that the illustration reminds me a great deal of the character Wimpy from Popeye who unlike his vegan sailor pal loved hamburgers: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 12, 2010 in Comic Books
To commemorate the July 13th release of the second volume of Koharu Perfect Weather there will be a competition in japan to win the really cool fan shown above. While the language barrier to enter the contest be a bit much for English speaking otaku you can order the manga in Japanese via Amazon.co.jp if you love dog themed manga: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 11, 2010 in Animation
Before Robotech there was Voltron which was the ultimate Japanese robot show about robots that came together: The series featured smaller robots that came together to form a larger robot, and the show itself was create by editing two anime series together (Beast King Go-Lion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV). Incubot is honoring this old school show with a Voltron Nekobot Flash Drive which will hold two gigs of storage and features a blazing sword. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 5, 2010 in Comic Books
If you’re lucky enough to be in Japan this July do yourself a favor and make it a point to see an exhibition which will be honoring Machiko Hasegawa (長谷川町子) at the Sazae Setagaya Literary Museum (here’s an Adobe Acrobat file with details in Japanese). Machiko lived from 1920 until 1992 and her best known work is her comic strip Sazae-san (サザエさん) which focused on modern family life in Japan during the post-war era. The manga was one of the longest running comics series in Japan (about 10,000 strips!) and lasted from 1946 until 1974 when Machiko retired. But it wasn’t just the quality and the quantity of her work that Machiko Hasegawa stand out as she was one of the first women manga artists in Japan, which is why I wish that more otaku knew about her work. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 4, 2010 in Comic Books
This August 2010 cover of Monthly Shonen Rival caught my eye because of the very hungry looking cat who seems to be enjoying eating a watermelon. The cat and cat girl are from the manga Was in! Medium Teacher (ほんとにあった！霊媒先生) which just published its fifth volume: Read more…
Gundam Café in Akihabara opened back in April and is a living shrine of all things Gundam. Shy of traveling to Japan this amazing photo essay by kozika gives you a feeling of what it’s like to hang out there, order dessert, buy some goodies and yes even visit the loo: Read more…
How sad is it that I found the Japanese TV spot for Robert Rodriguez’s Predators more enticing than the TV spot airing here in the states. Sure, Japan edited the spot to feature the Yakuza character a bit more, but that’s not really the point. I tried to put finger on it and finally I think I’ve figured out why — the edits they did make feature some actual action. While our own TV isn’t exactly boring, we’re given a number of second-long clips that feature explosions and gun fire. The Japanese TV spot, on the other hand, shows off the slightly longer initial clash between a Predator hunter, and the katana-wielding Yakuza. Needless to say, it was enough to seal the deal for me — I’ll be buying ticket opening day. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 29, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
With the upcoming release of Robert Rodriguez’s Predators a little over a week away, many of us have been scouring the net for as much information as we could find regarding the upcoming sequel. It’s a shame that we had to wait so long for a proper sequel to the franchise, but whether or not it’s actually good remains to be seen. I have yet to see any marketing stunts for the film stateside. In Japan, on the other hand, marketing stunts seem to be a near daily ritual, so I wasn’t too surprised when I heard that former sumo grand champion Akinori Asashoryu showed up on stage dressed as a predator to promote the film. In my opinion, he looks pretty awesome, and ridiculous at the same time — I can’t even imagine what Dutch would have done if he was confronted by that. Read more…
