Joystiq posted an article hinting that there may be a United States release of the Super Street Fighter IV anime that is currently only going to be available to Japanese gamers (as we discussed previously). One of the package deals of the game in Japan comes with an anime chronicling the history of the new character Juri, but as this follow-up article mentions, A Super Street Fighter IV anime project is in the works from the Gonzo animation com...

This is pretty strange but cool….Japan Probe posted this picture, gathered from some Japanese-language blog, of a cat with a cat-shaped design on its back. The cat looks a bit bothered by the camera being shoved in its face for this picture…but it’s still pretty amusing. I hope it’s real. Since it’s on the Internet, it could be someone’s creation, of course. I hold firm that this is probably a real image, howe...

I’d like to take a moment to talk about an awesome new website/iPhone application that is really innovative and, well, fun. TYPOGRAFFIT takes words you input into the service and reproduces them in artistic ways…that is, you enter a word or phrase into the box on the site (or the app, if you have an iPhone) and it displays your message in a variety of cool different ways. Check out this example from the website, concerning Conan O...

Currently BLOWING UP the video game world, Bayonetta is a video game created in Japan that is causing quite a ruckus worldwide. The New York Times wrote a nice review of the game, highlighting some of the reasons that gamers in the United States have reacted so positively to the game. An excerpt from the article: Imagine Sarah Palin equipped not only with glasses but also with Jennifer Lopez’s posterior poured into a backless black skintight...

“Ooooh, somebody’s got a sweet-tooth!” the grocery store clerk said to me as he scanned my items and put them into a paper bag. I glared at him, my razor stare attempting to cut into his thoughts in order to get at exactly what he was trying to communicate to me. He was abnormally skinny, so perhaps he was jealous and tortured by my delightfully sweet purchases. Lucky for me, I don’t live in Japan. Otherwise, this guy may have turned me ...

最近話題になっている「影の子どもたち-世界の終わりの魔法使い3」マンガの１巻を買ってみました。装丁がかわいらしいのと、キャラクターもかなりかわいらしい感じです。内容は、科学が滅んだ時代の魔法の村。何故か魔法が使えない少年ムギは、不思議な魔法使いの少女サン・フェアリー・アンと出会い、「世界の終わり」と闘...

早くも昨年末に公開された、「東のエデン 劇場版Ⅰ The King of Eden」DVDのリリースが決まったようです。現在話題の AR (拡張現実) 技術などをアニメの中ではエデンシステムとして描くなど、リアルとシンクロして話題になっています。DVDの仕様は３タイプあるようです BDプレミアム・エディション、BDスタンダード・エディション、DVD�...

Through my browsing of countless other Japanese-related blogs and websites, I came across this post with a picture of McDonald’s efforts to change its image a bit in Japan. I’m sure adding little cute characters on the McNugget boxes like this appeals to the kids who flock to McDonald’s on a regular basis. I haven’t seen much written about this on other sites on the Internet, and this post was dated back in November, so I...

I came across this article in the Huffington Post highlighting a new sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA. Tiger Sushi now stands where a lackluster place called Luckyfish sushi used to stand. An excerpt from the article makes this place sound pretty magical: As I popped edamame kernels into my mouth surveying the menu, I knew I would be spending much time here plumbing the depths of the interesting choices. There’s a Japanese Seafood Ch...

Partly because of World Cup Fever and partly because they always make cool random gadgets, BP Castrol Japan recently unveiled an “engine-driven free kick machine”, which proceeded to kick a soccer ball 125 mph, shattering the speed that soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo kicks a ball (at a reported 80 mph). Of course, this machine ISN’T NECESSARY at all, but it’s pretty awesome. BP Castrol is a sponsor of the World Cup, a...

As pointed out by this article from IGN, the Japanese release of the upcoming and highly-anticipated Super Street Fighter IV will come with a ‘Collector’s Package’, consisting of: a soundtrack featuring the arranged theme songs for all the Super characters, a promotional video collection showing nearly all the SFIV and Super SFIV trailer clips, and a character art collection. This limited edition will run 5,990 yen. In additi...

youtubeをネットサーフィンしていたら懐かしいゲームのOPトラックを見つけました。1999年に発売されました「ワイルドアームズ セカンドイグニッション」です。当時は夢中になってプレーしていましたね … とにかくOPのアニメーションが素晴らしかったのを懐かしく思い出しました。 -僕は、本当に「英雄」なのだろうか？- どこ�...

先日発表になったマンガ大賞2010の作品の10コにノミネートされた “虫の歌” という本を気になって買ってみました。まず表紙がスゴい好きな感じで、読者の評価もかなり高いようです！私もこれから読んでみます。気になった方は是非 a2a_config.linkname="マンガ大賞2010「虫の歌」"; a2a_config.linkurl="http://kawaiikakkoiisugoi.com/?p=1898"; a2a...

21-year old Lisa Courtney of Herfordshire, UK has done it. Due to her amassing, in her words, over 13,000 pieces of Pokemon memorabilia, she is now considered the world record-holder for Pokemon merchandise. She is included in the new Guinness Book of World Records 2010 Gamers Edition, due to her proclivity for Pikachu, Charmander, Blastoise and all those other little Poke-things. This video briefly discusses Courtney’s collection and she...

I don’t know how I missed this. Last February Japan appointed three women to be the country’s ‘Cute Ambassadors’, and they traveled all over the world in the months that followed, spreading the word about Japanese pop culture and all things cute. As this article from the Japan Times explained, It has also been playing up the growing popularity of Japanese pop culture worldwide. To target young people, the ministry chose t...