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Mr. Osomatsu Brothers Cosplay as Sailor Guardians for YOU Magazine
The brothers of Mr. Osomatsu are revealing their magical girl side on the May issue cover of YOU magazine today. Shueisha's manga magazine shows all of the Matsuno brothers dressed as Naoko Takeuchi's own Sailor Guardians. Osomatsu takes the lead as Sailor Moon, Karamatsu is Sailor Mercury, Choromatsu is Sailor Jupiter, Ichimatsu is Sailor Mars, Jūshimatsu is Sailor Venus, and Todomatsu is Sailor ...
Rina Hidaka Plays Kantai Collection Arcade Before Launch This Month
Voice actress Rina Hidaka (Mutsuki, Yayoi, Mochizuki) tested out the Kantai Collection Arcade game ahead of its nationwide launch on April 26. The game was initially planned for release last summer but has faced continued delays. Throngs of fans came out to Osaka for a location test last month. In the video, Hidaka shows off some of her characters that appear in the game, the room decorating featu...
Q-Pot Accessory Brand Reveals Mouth-Watering Sailor Moon Goods
The high-end accessory brand Q-pot's newest line of Sailor Moon accessories are set for release on June 30, in celebration of Usagi Tsukino's birthday. The accessories incorporate magical items from the third season, Sailor Moon S but with a tasty dessert twist. The items include: Cosmic Heart Macaron charm 13,000 yen (US$119.50) (*also comes in a necklace version for 15,000 yen/US$139) Rainbow M...
English Textbook Publisher Asks for Discretion in Portrayals of Teacher Character Ellen Baker
Asks for fan artists to complete permission form
― Last week we reported on the sudden online popularity of Ellen Baker, a young English teacher featured in the new edition of the Japanese English-language textbook New Horizon. Her cute appearance sparked a surge of interest on Twitter and Pixiv, with fan art, doctored images and English songs. As is usual for anything on the Internet, several of the...
Fight Flyaways With Cardcaptor Sakura Sealing Wand Hair Dryer
Cardcaptor Sakura's Sealing Wand isn't just for capturing Clow Cards, it also battles bad hair days. A new hair dryer modeled after the magical item is now available for pre-order until May 8. The item is the latest collaboration with mail-order otaku fashion site, SuperGroupies. The hair dyer costs 10,260 yen (US$94) and is expected to ship in July. The appliance folds at the neck for easy stora...
Pokémon General Election's Official Website Opens
The Pokémon General Election 720, a name that harkens to AKB48's own annual popularity contest, opened its official website on Thursday, ahead of upcoming poll. The "720" in the title means exactly what it sounds like: voters can choose from all 720 known Pokémon, from Bulbasaur to Hoopa. The upcoming Pokémon the Movie XY & Z: Volcanion to Karakuri no Magearna featured monsters Volcanion (#721) an...
Nintendo Celebrates 15 Years of Animal Crossing in New Video
On April 14, 2001, Nintendo released its first incarnation of Animal Crossing for the Nintendo 64 console. A world of talking with your animal neighbors, pulling weeds, decorating your house, and attempting to get out from under your crippling debt owed to Tom Nook. Nintendo began streaming a "Thank You" video for the franchise to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Nintendo released Animal Crossing: ...
Justin Bieber Shares His Anime Pin-Up Girl Coloring Page
The recently dreadlocked Justin Bieber has joined the coloring books for grown-ups trend. The singer, who was spotted perusing the coloring book section at Georgia Tech's Barnes & Noble, later shared his finished work on Instagram on Wednesday. The image is of an anime-style tribes girl licking a tomahawk. I colored this its dope Cuz I actually sat down for 30 min and finished I never can sit stil...
U.S. State Department Includes Japan's 'Unfettered' Access to Animated Porn in Human Rights Report
The U.S. State Department released its annual survey of human rights in nations throughout the world on Thursday, noting some improvements in Japan but also listing an array of problem areas. Among the problems listed are an "unfettered availability of sexually explicit cartoons, comics, and video games, some of which depicted scenes of violent sexual abuse and the rape of children." The reports s...
Grandpa Wants to Live His Pirate Dream in One Piece Burning Blood Live-Action Ad
One grandfather gets the opportunity to live his dream as The King of Pirates in a new live-action ad for One Piece: Burning Blood. After revealing his secret to his grandson, the two face off in battle with their own Devil Fruit powers. Grandson: Grandpa, when you were a kid, what did you wanna be when you grew up? Grandfather: The King of the Pirates. Grandson: Then we're enemies.... Grandfather...
Yummy Mart's Pokemon Lingerie Collection Captures the Sex Appeal
Peach John, the lingerie brand behind recent Evangelion and Sailor Moon collections have set their sights on GAME FREAK's most iconic monster. The company's sister brand Yummy Mart is releasing a lingerie and sleepwear line based on Pikachu beginning on April 20. The line-up includes: Pikachu towel poncho. 5,480 yen (US$50) Eye mask. 1,680 yen (US$15) A pajama set with Pikachu's PokeDex number fe...
Character Designer Akio Watanabe Draws Cardcaptor Sakura at Official Café
Character designer Akio Watanabe, also known as Poyoyon Rock, headed to one of the six Animate cafés hosting a Cardcaptor Sakura theme this month. He ordered the Tomoyo Afternoon Tea Set and Kuro-chan's Hot Orange Cocoa before drawing his rendition of the show's lead character. さくらかふぇ いってきたで〜(^O^)/☆ pic.twitter.com/NlJMu7fx6A— ぽよよんろっく㌠ (^-^)ﾉ☆ (@punipoyo) April 13, 2016 Watanabe is the character d...
Babymetal Album Is Japan's 1st to Crack U.S. Billboard's Top 40 in 53 Years
Kyu Sakamoto's Sukiyaki reached #14 in 1963; Utada ranked #69 in 2009
― Metal Resistance, the second album from the Japanese idol and heavy metal fusion group Babymetal, charted on the U.S. Billboard's Top 200 at #39 in its first week. It is the first Japanese album to chart on the U.S. Billboard Top 40 since Kyu Sakamoto's Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits in 1963, 53 years ago. Metal Resistance ship...
Animaniacs, Freakazoid Producer Credits Pokémon For WB Cartoon Decline
Producer, director, and animator Tom Ruegger held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit on Tuesday where the Animaniacs creator answered fan questions to celebrate the show's move on to Netflix. User "aznprd" asked what led to the decline of Warner Bros. cartoons, like Freakazoid, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Tiny Toon Adventures. Ruegger responded that it was the advent of Pokemon. According...
Persona 3 Films' Lotus Juice Covers Danganronpa Tracks
Japanese rapper Lotus Juice, the voice behind the Persona 3 films themes and songs from Soul Eater, Black Butler, C – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, recently played Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa PlayStation Portable/PlayStation Vita game. He found he really enjoyed the music, so the rapper wrote that before he knew it, he found himself writing to it and d...
Gainax Expands Into The World of Tomato Farming
Gainax, the animation studio behind Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann is expanding into the world of agriculture. The company is founding "Gainax Marche," an off-shoot company located in the vicinity of Gainax West and dedicated to growing organic tomatoes. The tomatoes and juice can be mail-ordered on the official website. The company is growing three varieties of tomatoes with different ...
Pom Pom Purin Dashes Ahead in Sanrio's 2016 Character Popularity Poll
Voting opened on Sunday for Sanrio's 2016 character popularity poll. Leading the pack is last year's winner Pom Pom Purin, followed by the steadfast Cinnamon in second, and My Melody in third. Despite his lackadaisical nature, Gudetama is sitting at fourth place, followed by Yoshikitty, the mascot created in collaboration with X Japan's Yoshiki. The current Top 10: Pom Pom Purin Cinnamon My Melod...
Slayers Illustrator Draws Megumi Hayashibara for Her Birthday
Accomplished singer and voice actress Megumi Hayashibara celebrated her 49th birthday on March 30. Hayashibara wrote on her blog on Tuesday that she received a special gift in the mail. Slayers light novel illustrator Rui Araizumi sent her a doodle of her character Lina Inverse and a portrait to wish her a happy birthday. Starting in 1986, Hayashibara has voiced fan-favorite characters like Faye V...
Prevent the Cockroach Uprising With Terraformars Bug Spray, Traps
The upcoming Terraformars live-action film film has some practical advice to prevent the eventual evolution of cockroaches into bipedal, man-killing monsters: pesticide and traps. The products are part of a larger marketing campaign that includes a Jouji Lab website, a company that appears in the film. The company is shown creating several real products by Earth Chemical, including Black Cap traps...
Cerevo Inc's Psycho-Pass Dominator Accessories for Sale
Cerevo Inc's Psycho-Pass Dominator smart toy went on sale on in March and the company recently opened pre-orders for its accompanying protective case and display stand. The Cerevo Dominator goes above and beyond previous Dominators created by Bandai's Proplica line and Ichiban Kuji's release with a camera viewer and wireless LAN capabilities, allowing users to view Crime Coefficients with their s...
Giant Robot Takes The Stage at Nana Mizuki's Tokyo Dome Concerts
Nana Mizuki welcomed an extra-large guest on to the stage during her two-day concert at the Tokyo Dome. 80,000 people attended the "NANA MIZUKI LIVE GALAXY 2016" concerts on Saturday and Sunday to see the Cross Ange singer perform but got a special surprise when a 7.7m tall, 1.5 ton robot joined her on stage. The "GALAXY-7" moved on the stage, allowing Mizuki to sit on it during her performance of...
Cocktail Prince Game Expands Its Stable of Intoxicating Love Interests
Geechs' Cocktail Ōji (Cocktail Prince) mobile game starring male characters inspired by alcoholic drinks is expanding its cast of characters before the game's release this fall. The simulation game lets players manage and decorate a bar and participate in training mini-games with their favorite guy. Geechs announced a total of nine characters so far, including three new ones. The official website ...
Event Report: Sailor Moon Fan Club Launch
Performances by Kotono Mitsuishi, Kenji Nojima, Mitsuko Horie, Momoiro Clover Z
― This past Sunday was the launch event for the official Sailor Moon Pretty Guardians fan club. Held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, over 2,000 pre-registered members lined up to pick up their membership cards and bonus lip gloss. The entrance was decorated with a giant moon that visitors could sit on and take a pict...
Industry Shares Messages After Digimon Singer's Passing
Kouji Wada's passing on April 3 touched Digimon fans and colleagues alike. The 42-year-old "Butter-Fly" singer passed away from cancer in his upper pharynx, a disease he had battled since a malignant tumor was discovered there and on a lymph node in his neck in 2003. The following are comments posted on Twitter from Wada's colleagues upon hearing the news of his passing. Koji Wada, you did a good ...
Upcoming Horror Film Rain Woman to be Screened in 4DX
Format lets you feel water, wind, motion and more
― Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On: The Grudge) is famous for his frightening horror movies, and his latest offering, Ame Onna ("Rain Woman"), seems like it won't disprove his reputation. The film follows Rika (Nana Seino), who's sinking into depression and alienating her boyfriend, Ryū (Shuntarō Yanagi). Every night she has the same dream: a little girl waits ...
Japanese Readers Pick Shonen Jump's Most Erotic Manga
Masakazu Katsura does well
― As Weekly Shonen Jump gradually becomes more sexualized, the Japanese survey site Goo Ranking wondered which older titles defied the magazine's young demographics to get its readers hot and bothered. Naturally, it surveyed Shonen Jump readers to see which series they remembered most fondly. The survey was carried out from March 29 to 31 and collected results from 250 men,...
Japan's Highway Service Stations Get Anthropomorphized in Web Novel
Character designs by Mel Kishida and Noizi Itō
― Just when you think you've seen everything get anthropomorphized into moe characters, something else comes along to prove otherwise. The latest project turns Japan's highway service stations into attractive female characters. NEXCO Central Japan, which operates highways in central Japan, in cooperation with the telecommunications company Dwango, is pub...
Postal Worker Uses [email protected] Alias to Commit Fraud
Steals $75,000 worth of parcels
― In late March, the postal worker Kazuki Kasai was arrested for theft and abusing his position to commit mail fraud. He used several aliases in his crimes, including "Hibiki Ganaha" — an [email protected] character. Kasai worked at the Kyoto Central Post Office, where he was in charge of directing parcels to their proper points of delivery. He took advantage of this po...
Production I.G Animates T.M. Revolution's Latest Music Video
T.M. Revolution, the singer who has performed theme songs for such anime as Rurouni Kenshin, Soul Eater, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, and Valvrave the Liberator, released a new music video on Saturday for his song "Committed RED" that features animation by Production I.G. The below video is region-locked and not available in all areas. The concept of the video is "the ...
Prime Minister Abe: Dōjinshi Safe Under TPP
Also: Japanese government targets illegal video hosting websites
― The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement signed in February between 12 Pacific Rim nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam), has long unsettled manga and anime fans because its intellectual property provisions could reclassify dōjinsh...
Japanese Netizens Pick the Most Handsome Pokémon
Charmander was Japanese college student's and ANN readers' favorite original starter Pokemon but gamers had a different pick when it came to the "most handsome." Plenty of attention is given to cute Pokemon, but a different set of criteria is considered when picking a handsome team of fighters. The top choice was the scientifically-created Mewtwo. Voters found his appearance stylish and his top-ti...
Yui Ogura Tries Out Police Work for a Day
Promotes traffic safety in hometown
― On April 6, voice actress and idol singer Yui Ogura (Tsukiko in The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat., Binkan-chan in SHIMONETA, Kokona in Yama no Susume) donned a police uniform for a day and took on the duties of a police chief in the mountain city of Kiryū her hometown in Gunma Prefecture northwest of Tokyo. She participated in a spring campaign to improve tr...
Job Listing in Japan Seeks Mr. Osomatsu Fans to Help with Their Favorite Show
Blu-Ray/DVD, manga editing position
― Mr. Osomatsu may have inspired pages and pages of fanart, but a new listing on the Japanese employment listing website an gives fans a chance to actually contribute to the production of their favorite show. The listing seeks a "hatarakimatsu" (hataraki means "working") to take part in editing sessions for a series of shorts to be included on the Mr. Osomatsu Blu-...
Savage Garden's Darren Hayes Gives a Shout-Out to Latest JoJo Ending
The second episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable premiered on Friday, and with it the show's opening and ending theme song. Like previous seasons, Diamond is Unbreakable tapped a Western artist to provide the ending theme, which is fitting, given the show's many references to Western pop and rock music. Season four makes use of duo Savage Garden's 1996 track "I Want You." Voc...
David Hayter Returns as Solid Snake in Ford YouTube Commercials
Original Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter is reprising his role in a pair of Ford commercials on YouTube. The "Overdubs" ads include "A Codec Call to Remember" and "A Meeting with Psycho Mantis." The first shows Solid Snake and Col. Roy Campbell (Paul Eiding) discussing the Ford Focus' "Practical Vehicular Action." The second ad has enemy Psycho Mantis trying to sell Snake on the merits of a 2...
English Teacher Illustrator Comments on Character's Sudden Popularity
"It's kind of amazing how much activity went into this"
― On Thursday, we wrote about the new Japanese middle school English-language textbook, New Horizon, and its cute English teacher character, Ellen Baker. Japanese netizens swiftly became infatuated with Ms. Baker, and Twitter and Pixiv have been flooded with fanart of her. (The previous article focuses on a particular meme involving Ms. Baker de...
Cancelled Metal Gear Solid Fan Remake Returns with David Hayter
The cancelled Metal Gear Solid Unreal Engine 4 "Shadow Moses" fan remake has reemerged as the The Fan Legacy: Metal Gear Solid. The new project is a virtual reality, first-person museum experience focusing on fan-art gifted from contributors of the "Shadow Moses" project. Original Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter has signed on to contribute to the project. It's slated for release for free for ...
Nintendo Offers Kirby, Super Smash Bros.-Themed Amiibo Diorama Kits
Both diorama kits available on April 28 in Japan
― Nintendo revealed on Thursday that it will offer diorama kits for its Amiibo figures. The company will offer Kirby- and Super Smash Bros.-themed diorama kits on April 28 in Japan. Each diorama kit will have space to display the Amiibo figures, as well as accessories to match the theme. Users can also fold the kits for storage or transport. The Kirby...
Anthropomorphized Version of Sanrio's Fillet Mascot Kirimi-chan Gets 2 Manga in April
Kirimi-chan credited for 1st manga, Soyogo Iwaki draws 2nd manga
― The official website of Kadokawa's Sylph magazine announced on Monday that the magazine will begin serializing a manga this month based on the anthropomorphized version of Sanrio's Kirimi-chan mascot. The manga is titled Kirimi-chan Gijinka Aquarium ~Kirimi-tachi no Legend~, and Kirimi-chan herself is credited as the writer, with assi...
Fans Recreate Classic Zelda in 3D for 30th Anniversary; Nintendo Takes it Down
Developers Mike McGee and Scott Lininger created an ode to Nintendo's classic The Legend of Zelda game for the franchise's 30th anniversary. The result was is a browser game that took the original pixel art from the NES game and brought it into a 3D world. Unfortunately, the game didn't get to stay up very long. Nintendo asked the creators to remove the game for copyright infringement not long aft...
Arina Tanemura Draws Idolish 7 Project's 'Koi no Kakera' Album Jacket
The CD jacket art for the Mezzo single, the latest CD release from Idolish 7 "big media-mix project" was revealed on Tuesday. Like the previous Good Night Awesome single, Arina Tanimura drew the jacket artwork. Kasumi Fukagawa (Persona 3 The Movie #1 Spring of Birth assistant animation director) also drew art for the release. MEZZO is a duo consisting of Tamaki Yotsuba (KENN) and Sogo Ohsaka (Atsu...
Erotic Sketch of Code Geass' C.C. Auctioned for 830,000 Yen
An erotic sketch of Code Geass' C.C. drawn by the series' character designer Takahiro Kimura fetched 830,000 yen (US$7,670) on the auction site Mandarake on Wednesday. The auction opened last month with a starting price of 60,000 yen (US$554) but climbed to its sale price after 60 bids. The sketch is signed by Takahiro Kimura with a January 4, 2009 date. If your curiosity has gotten the better of ...
Mega Man Creator Inafune Makes His Own Super Mario Maker Level
The Polygon website's YouTube channel streams an interesting series called "Devs Make Mario" where video game developers like Castlevania's Koji Igarashi and Shovel Knight's level designer Michael Herbster make their own Mario levels in Super Mario Maker. The latest developer is Mega Man's Keiji Inafune. He created a jump-focused level with a retro feel. Inafune is currently working on the crowd-f...
University Professor Uses Bakemonogatari in Japanese Literature Class
Wants to break down barriers between "literature" and "light novels"
― Are light novels "literature?" With their fantastic elements, casual writing style and dialogue, and young demographics, Japanese generally do not think so. They are rarely taught in university classes on Japanese literature. But Masahiro Hirose, a professor in the subject at the Aichi University of Education near Nagoya, is tryin...
English Textbook Character Inspires Battle-Ready Meme
The English-teaching textbook New Horizon released its newest edition and added a new character, Ellen Baker. Ellen is a cute, blonde assistant language teacher that appears through out the pages to help teach concepts. Her design has attracted attention on Twitter, not only for being cute but also because one particular image is ripe for meme images. In the original, Ellen-sensei is discussing he...
Future GPX Cyber Formula Zero Inspires New Merch Ahead of 2017
The Future GPX Cyber Formula Zero original video anime is inspiring a resurgence of merchandise. Why this particular OAV? Within the series, Formula Zero took place in 2017; a futuristic sounding year when the episodes were released in 1994. The line of goods includes two new zip-up parkas and a reprint of Bleed Kaga's earrings. The zip-up designs are based on Hayato Kazami's Sugo Asurada team an...
Sanrio Boys Get Their Own Line of Merchandise
The official Twitter account for the cute guys of "Sanrio Danshi" (Sanrio Boys) project announced that they will get their own line of merchandise starting in June. Sanrio will release clear files, keychains, a calendar, and more on a monthly basis. The project opened its website earlier this year. The project stars Kōta Hasegawa, a high school boy that loves the yellow Pom Pom Purin dog. By mere ...
Watch Babymetal Make Their U.S. Television Debut on The Late Show
The official YouTube channel for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert began streaming the Japanese idol group Babymetal's performance from last night's show. The trio performed the track "Gimme Chocolate!!" from their 2014 album Babymetal. Their new album, Metal Resistence was released on April 1. The trio's world tour kicked off with a performance at The SSE Arena Wembley in London on April 2. The ...
Oscar-Winning Studio Robot Animates 4th Marukome Miso Ad
The anime studio Robot returned to animate the fourth commercial for Marukome, a food company best known for its Ryōtei no Aji (First-Class Flavor) miso products. The 30-second and 90-second versions of the "Ryōtei no Aji-Eki Miso Jōkyo-Hen (Ryōtei no Aji Brand Liquid Miso Soup: Moving to Tokyo Chapter) ad are streaming on Marukome's website, and will debut on television on April 7. The story foll...
Sailor Moon Crystal: Season III's 1st Blu-ray/DVD Art Previewed
The first episode of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal: Season III debuted this week and pre-orders quickly opened for the season's first Blu-ray and DVD releases. The franchise's official website revealed that like previous seasons, the home video release will include a limited edition that comes in a special box. The first volume's box shows Uranus and Neptune. Special features include audio ...
Funassyi Follows Up Budōkan Announcement With Virtual Reality Stage Play
Funassyi is following up its solo Budōkan concert announcement with another one-of-a-kind mascot experience.The unofficial pear-fairy mascot of Funabashi City will star in a virtual reality stage play at the DMM VR theater beginning on June 30. The story is titled "Legend of Funassyi" and promises to be an "epic fantasy adventure" performed live on a holographic stage in full CG animation. Tickets...
Japan Anima(tor)'s Exhibition's Teddyloid, DAOKO, Hibiki Yoshizaki Return for College CM
The minds behind Japan Anima(tor)'s Exhibition's "ME! ME! ME!" and "GIRL" shorts teamed up for a commercial to promote HAL Tokyo College of Technology & Design. Composer Teddyloid (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Space Patrol Luluco), rapper DAOKO, director Hibiki Yoshizaki (Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~) and character designer PALOW created the commercial. The video streamed on YouTube ahead o...
Babymetal Idol Group's Late Show Appearance Confirmed
The official website for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert confirmed the Japanese idol group Babymetal will appear on the show tonight. The group's American distributor RED announced in February that the group was confirmed to appear on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert the week of the album's April 1 release. Since the announcement, the information was removed from RED's website for the album, ...
Latest Unreal Engine Fan Project is Castlevania
Fans have been revisiting classic video games and souping them up with the Unreal Engine for high-definition remakes. Amateur game developers have taken on Pokemon, environments from The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario 64. The "Shadow Moses" project was attempting to remake Metal Gear Solid but staff shuttered the project last month. YouTuber Dejawolfs spent four months on his own remake of Castl...
Wrestling Trio Go Super Saiyan for Wrestlemania 32
The WWE's Wrestlemania 32 kicked off on Sunday with plenty of surprises outside of headline matches between Roman Reigns and Triple H, the Undertaker and Shane McMahon, and Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar. One ring entry that grabbed anime fans was the trio The New Day. The group busted out of a giant cereal box to reveal themselves in Saiyan Armor from Dragon Ball Z. The #BootyOs are flowing on the...
Goku Cosplayer Takes His Flying Nimbus to Los Angeles
Goku cosplayers on flying nimbuses are popping up all over the world to delight and astound civilians. The latest cosplayer is Johannes from Melonboard Electric Skateboards who rode around on a few of company's boards in Los Angeles. YouTuber YUKON1 made a similar video in February where he rode around in Taipei. A previous Goku cosplayer was spotted flying around Dragon Con in Atlanta last year. ...
Life-Size Godzilla Reminds Visitors To Manage Their Oral Hygiene
Official Shinjuku tourism ambassador and rampaging monster Godzilla wants to remind visitors that taking care of their teeth is important for bodily health. The Godzilla bust atop Kabuki-cho's TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku can be seen holding an equally giant cup with the word "Isodine" written on the side. Isodine is a brand of mouthwash being promoted by Mundipharma in collaboration with Toho. The cup w...
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Takes Over Shibuya in Commercial, Wall Ads, Masks
Staff dressed as "Kabane" hand out tissues
― Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block began streaming a new commercial on Monday for WIT Studio's original television anime series Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri). The video features the main cast giving a message to fans and features animation from the upcoming series. Text: Shibuya-only commercial Cast: Everyone currently walking th...
4 New Versions of McDonald's Anime Shorts With AKB48 Idols Streamed
Chūgoku, Kyūshū, Hokkaido, Chūbu/Hokuriku versions streamed
― McDonald's is streaming four more versions of its "Mirai no Watashi" (The Future Me) campaign anime shorts. The first video is the Chūgoku version of the short, featuring the voice of Ikumi Nakano, who is from Tottori prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The second video, the Kyūshū version, features Narumi Kuranoo, who hails from Ku...
Zombie Schoolgirls ”Infest" Uniqlo to Promote I Am a Hero
Customers visiting Ikebukuro's Sunshine 60 shopping complex on April 1 were treated to an unusual sight at the Uniqlo outlet: 20 high school girls dancing in zombie-like makeup. They were impersonating ZQNs, the monsters of I Am a Hero, a horror-thriller manga with an upcoming live-action film adaptation. The ZQN-schoolgirls performed three times for three minutes each at the store entrance, in th...
Funassyi Gets Its Own Concert at the Budōkan
Freaks out over prospect
― Funassyi, the bizarre yet very excitable pear-based mascot unofficially representing Chiba Prefecture's Funabashi City, has amassed quite the fandom in Japan over the past few years, even eclipsing other, official yuru-chara (regional mascots). On April 1, it gained a privilege other yuru-chara can only dream of: a concert at Tokyo's famous Nippon Budōkan concert hall (whic...
Luffy Gets into Superhero Mode in Live-Action One Piece: Burning Blood Ad
Also: watch Japanese comedian get electrocuted
― Luffy tries out some Spider-Man-style aerobatics in the new (mostly) live-action ad for One Piece: Burning Blood, an upcoming fighting game. Tokyo is being assaulted by Crocodile and Enel, so who else are you gonna call? If you're interested in watching some gameplay footage, this Japanese ad has several minutes of it. It also attempts to recreate a ba...
Naruto Cheers on My Hero Academia's Deku
Words of support from Masashi Kishimoto
― With the premiere of the anime adaptation of Kōhei Horikoshi's hit Weekly Shonen Jump manga My Hero Academia swiftly approaching, its protagonist, Deku, recently got a shout-out in Shonen Jump issue 17 from a fellow aspiring warrior: Naruto. Naruto is shouting "Congrats on getting an anime! Believe it!!" (Yes, the "believe it" bit is actually dattebayo.) Naru...
Corporate Twitter Accounts Get Their Own 4-Panel Manga
Sharp and Tanita personified as handsome young men
― If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in corporate social media departments, Sharp, a major electronics manufacturer, and Tanita, a firm specializing in digital scales, have an entertaining answer. These companies attracted a following through their Twitter accounts, which led to a four-panel manga in the magazine Kurofune Zero abo...
One Hundred Famous Artists Scheduled for Exhibit on April 29
Ume Aoki, Otohiko Takano, Hajime Ueda, and 97 more
― Eshi 100-nin-Ten (100 Artist Exhibit) is scheduled for April 29 through May 8 this year. As the name indicates, it displays artwork from 100 prominent artists and illustrators in the anime, game, and light novel industries. This year's theme is "color." The theme transcends the word's dictionary definition to encompass the concepts "the condition t...
Character Designer Mel Kishida to be Maid for a Day
Gonzo illustrator Mel Kishida (Hanasaku Iroha, Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland) will try out a new job on April 3: maid. At a maid cafe, no less. He will carry on the proud tradition of cute Japanese maids, drawing pictures on omrice (omelets filled with rice) with ketchup and chanting cute incantations (his will be "Mel Mel"). He will also hold an autograph session. What Mel Kishida-chan ...
New Cannabis Works Art Book Explores Tatsuyuki Tanaka's Sensibility
13 years after the publication of the art book Cannabis Works, veteran animator Tatsuyuki Tanaka is back with a follow-up, Cannabis Works 2. The work contains book covers, magazine illustrations, CD jacket illustrations, art for the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2015, character designs for Short Peace (among other projects), drawings and sketches for various unrealized projects, and a 22-page story ...
Prince of Tennis Creator Will Sing Jump Shops' Theme Song
Takeshi Konomi, the manga artist best known for Prince of Tennis, has signed an exclusive artist contract with Shueisha. He became the publisher's one, and only, in-house recording artist. He kicked off his career with a stage show in January and is now recording a theme song for Shonen Jump Shops. (It should be noted that Konomi tweeted the image on April 1). 【JUMP SHOPのテーマ曲】をこの度依頼を受け作らせて戴きました(๑•...
Leiji Matsumoto Designs Sci-Fi Inspired Costumes for Idol Trio
Leiji Matsumoto , the man behind Galaxy Express 999, Star Blazers, and Captain Harlock can add "techno idol costume designer: to his long list of achievements. Matsumoto himself designed costumes for the idol trio Cupitron for their latest single covering the Galaxy Express 999 theme song. The designs were inspired around the motif of fairies in a digital world. Cupitron formed in 2014 and include...
Latest Dark Souls III Trailer Reimagines Game as B-Movie Splatter Film
From Software's Dark Souls III is a gothic horror-action game. Fans are already enjoying the title after its launch in Japan last week. Bandai Namco America decided to have a little fun on April 1 and released a trailer for the game edited to look like a cheap splatter film of the VHS era. The game is slated to ship in Europe and North America on April 12. The "Apocalypse Edition" available in Eur...
See All the Snow Miku 2016 Sights in Digest Video
Every year, Sapporo throws the Snow Miku 2016 festival and rakes in over 100 million yen (about US$839,433) in revenue, with about 40 different companies participating in the promotion. This year's design was sporty, with Miku decked out in owl-themed gear and ready to take on the slopes. The virtual idol's new song "Yuki Ga Tokeru Mae Ni" ("Before the Snow Melts") by Doriko debuted in November, S...
Wake Up, Girls! Miyagi Prefecture Promotional Short Streamed
Short highlights Miyagi prefecture's sights, local cuisine, culture
― Avex Pictures began streaming "Wake Up, Girls! no Miyagi PR Yarasete Kudasai!" (Wake Up Girls! Please Let Us Promote Miyagi!), a new anime short for the Wake Up, Girls! franchise, on Monday. The short is part of a larger "Wake Up, Miyagi! Fure-Ai Project in Taiwan" campaign to promote Miyagi (the anime's home prefecture) as a touri...
Sanrio Puroland Will Host Hatsune Miku Mystery Event
The world of Vocaloid will be cast into a spooky mystery at Sanrio Puroland for two weekends this summer. On July 30-31 and August 6-7, Rush Japan, in cooperation with the Exit Tunes record company, will host the "Bad ∞ End ∞ Night" event based on the song series composed and written by Hitoshizuku-P and Yama△ with illustrations by Suzunosuke and character designs by Hidari. The series includes si...
Anime/Manga/Game Industry Celebrates April Fool's Day 2016 Part II
It's that time of the year again: the cherry blossoms fall, and the April Fool's pranks fly. Japan's anime, manga and video game industries are fun-loving enough to participate in this tradition every year. Here are more of 2016's best anime-related April Fool's pranks. AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue The anime is now NEKOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Cat. sprite次回作・猫の彼方のフォーリズム-UMYAI-を発表しました。#ね...
Sanji Goes for Full Sex Appeal in Ab-Revealing Figure
Move over Nami and Robin, a new, brooding Sanji figure is upping the sex appeal ante. The Portrait of Pirates (P.O.P.) line of figures is adding a new acronym, "SOC." The SOC series celebrates the 12th anniversary of the P.O.P. figure line and will focus specifically on characters sitting in chairs and Sanji is kicking it off on April 1 by sitting in a leather chair in low-rise pants and an open ...
Anime/Manga/Game Industry Celebrates April Fool's Day 2016
Mr. Osomatsu, Fate/Grand Order, Is the order a rabbit?, and more
― It's that time of the year again: the cherry blossoms fall, and the April Fool's pranks fly. Japan's anime, manga and video game industries are fun-loving enough to participate in this tradition every year. Here are 2016's best anime-related April Fool's pranks. Bravely Default Work in progress.Don't miss it! pic.twitter.com/4D9hPSFN1...
Attack on Titan x Rascal Collaboration Substitutes Terror for Cuddles
Rascal the Raccoon is a popular collaborative partner, transforming Tiger & Bunny and Madoka Magica characters into cuddly furballs. The raccoon has set his sights on the Attack on Titan anime series for his next collaboration. The specifics are still under wraps with an official reveal scheduled for April 14. The collaboration's official webpage currently hosts the often parodied image of the Col...
Mini Documentary Discusses Importance of Sailor Moon for 90s LGBTQ Kids
Sailor Moon holds a unique place in the anime fandom as a common entry point for many 90s kids and introducing queer characters to children's television. DiC's adaptation of the first two seasons and Cloverway's release of S and SuperS both removed quite a bit of what was regarded as controversial content. Zoisite's gender was changed to female to remove his gay romance with fellow villain Kunzite...
5,000 Love Live! Fans Line-Up for Final Concert a Day Early—For Merch
The Love Live! School idol project idol unit μ's "final" concert issn't until March 31, but thousands of fans gathered outside the Tokyo Dome on March 29. The venue would start selling exclusive merchandise on March 30 and fans wanted to ensure they got their hands on it. The crowd grew throughout the day until the line was easily viewable from the nearby Tokyo Dome Hotel. 東京ドームホテルにて上からみたラブライブの物販列...
AKB48 Founder Appointed Honorary President of Yoyogi Animation Academy
The Yoyogi Animation Academy, which has branches around Japan, appointed AKB48 founder Yasushi Akimoto as its honorary president and general producer on Monday. Yoyogi Animation Academy recently acquired the "Ginga Gekijō" theater in Tokyo and will set up its "Practical Idol Course" training sessions beginning in June. Akimoto said at his inauguration that the move looks to further infuse the worl...
Japan Cabinet Office Posts Manga to Convey the Dangers of Drug Use
The Japanese government released a new manga in the hopes of combating the growing trend of illegal drug use. The Cabinet Office released the 10-page manga "Tatta Ichido no Ayamachi" (A Single Mistake) earlier this month about a male college student who begins to use marijuana at the urging of an upperclassman. The student's marijuana use leads to use of other drugs and addiction. One night, while...
Scratch and Sniff Your Fav Mr. Osomatsu Brother
Magazines have ridden the wave of Mr. Osomatsu popularity since the show helped sell out issues of PASH!, Otomedia, and Animage. The June issue of Shogakukan's shōjo manga magazine Ciao is next in line. The issue is including a page of scented Mr. Osomatsu stickers. 次号ちゃお6月号売り切れ必至パターン入りましたwおそ松シール&アイカツスターズカード封入www気をつけよう ٩(๑>◡<๑)۶:.｡+ﾟ#aikatsustars #ちゃお #おそ松さん pic.twitter.com/nwEOTlFkvj— [email protected]/...
New Cardcaptor Sakura Clow Card Set is Interactive
Takara Tomy will introduce line that includes Sealing Wand, Clow Card Book, Kero-chan that talks
― Cardcaptor Sakura's powerful Clow Cards are getting yet another reprint, but this time Takara Tomy is creating the set as part of an interactive line of products. The set of 52 cards will include RFID chips, so they interact with a brand-new Clow Card Book, a Sealing Wand (that lights up), Sealed Key, ...
Fans Speculate on Mr. Osomatsu Sequel Based on Hidden Messages
The Mr. Osomatsu anime series' came to an end on Monday, but cryptic messages in the episode's end card and hidden in the episode have fans speculating that it's only a matter of time before we see the sextuplets again. Of course, the staff could be simply poking fun at the concept of hidden messages all together. The rumors started when the series' official page and Twitter account went on tempor...
Halko Momoi is Seeking Suggestions for Male-Performed Anisongs to Cover
Singer and voice actress Halko Momoi is working on her new, tentatively titled album Self Kaba (Self Hippopotamus) and plans to include some fan-submitted cover songs. The album is slated for late July, but she'll accept suggestions until March 31. The only catch is Momoi is specifically asking for anime songs originally performed by male artists. Momoi has performed theme songs for almost 30 anim...
The Anthem of the Heart Characters Star in Sony Walkman, Headphones Ad
Aniplex Japan began streaming a 30-second ad for The Anthem of the Heart's collaboration with Sony high-resolution Walkman and headphones on Monday. (Note: the linked video is region-locked). Kokosake x Sony collab CM by pKjd The ad first premiered at the Aniplex booth at Anime Japan 2016 last weekend and will begin running on Japanese television next month. The Japanese Academy Prize nominated fi...
Fukushima Gainax's Miharu Tourism Anime's 1st Episode Streamed
The first episode of anime studio Gainax Fukushima's "Miharu no Arumiigo" net series to promote Miharu town in Fukushima began streaming on Monday. The series of cut-out animation shorts follows Harumi-chan, a young girl who visits her grandfather's house in Miharu. While looking for her grandfather, she hears voices coming from the storehouse. Inside she sees a trio of fairies and follows them in...
Bandai Namco Announces Plans to Open Virtual Reality Experience Center
Bandai Namco announced on Monday that the company will open a virtual reality "experience center" in Tokyo next month. "VR Zone: Project I Can" will give individuals to test out the latest in virtual reality technology without breaking the bank. In exchange, Bandai Namco gets valuable feedback on how to improve their virtual reality simulations. The company will offer six games to try out: Fear of...
Pepper Opens Cell Phone Store Staffed Entirely by Robots
Pepper, the humanoid robot designed to be "a genuine day-to-day companion," can also be adapted for business use. Softbank, the Japanese telecommunications company that co-developed it, is proving this point with a Softbank store along Tokyo's Omotesandō road staffed entirely by robots. When customers enter the store, they are greeted by four Peppers. They are equipped with monitors on their torso...
Results Announced for Love Live! Sunshine Mini-Units Name Poll
The official website for the Love Live! idol anime and music franchise announced the results of Dengeki G's Magazine's mini-unit name poll for Love Live! Sunshine!!'s AQUORS idols. Yō Watanabe, Ruby Kurosawa, and Chika Takami will form CYaRon! Dia Kurosawa, Kanan Matsuura, and Hanamaru Kunikida will form AZALEA Yoshiko Tsushima, Riko Sakurauchi, and Mari Ohara will form Guilty Kiss Voting opened o...
Enough Already: Survey Chooses Long-Running Anime That Need to End
One of Japan's most popular anime tops list
― We may all love anime, but we can also admit that there are some long-running shows that outlast their welcome and need to just end already? We can disagree on what these are, but everyone must have an experience of flipping through channels, seeing a show from your childhood, and wondering, "Why is this still on?" The Japanese website Cyzo Woman surveyed...
Space Adventure Cobra's Terasawa Draws Titular Character at Monaco Anime Game International Conferences
Space Adventure Cobra manga creator Buichi Terasawa attended this year's Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (MAGIC) last month. While at the event, he sat down to sketch Cobra's profile. American companies Onyx and Studio 37 planned to produce a live-action Space Adventure Cobra film with a budget of over US$100 million with Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja. The film was originally slate...
ERASED Creator Draws Manga Featured in Film Adaptation
Also: His comments on the film
― Satoru Fujinuma, the protagonist of ERASED, is a struggling manga artist. He's drawn the superhero manga Fight! Wonder Guy, but can't get it published, and still must work as a pizza deliveryman to make ends meet. The film adaptation of this story, which was released in Japanese theaters on March 19, features a neat bonus: an actual Wonder Guy book, drawn by Kei Sanbe...
Channel the Samurai Spirit Through Faux Armor Hoodies
Includes mask, crests
― Many an anime fan has dreamed of donning a suit of samurai armor and riding ferociously into battle, sword held aloft. But obviously, actually buying a suit of samurai armor is impractical — too expensive, too bulky, too heavy to wear. Luckily, Tokyo Otaku Mode is introducing a more convenient alternative: a line of hoodies that closely mimics samurai armor. The project ...
Book Design Blog Names Best-Designed Manga of 2015
The Black Museum: Ghost & Lady takes top spot
― While we're all taught not to judge books by their covers and accordingly read reviews and ask around to gauge the values of the stories they tell, it's hard to deny that an eye-catching, unique cover plays a big role in increasing interest in a book on a store shelf. KT certainly thinks so, and KT's blog, Yoi Comic ("Good Comics"), has gained the atten...
Voice Actress/Idol Suzuko Mimori Caught Ring-Handed
Brushes off ensuing furor
― Voice actress and singer Suzuko Mimori (Umi in Love Live! School idol project, Sherlock in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Alice in Lance N' Masques) appeared on the latest installment of the online video program Monthly Bushiroad TV to advertise the Bushiroad card game Weiss Schwarz. She plays its mascot, Shiyoko, and has appeared in several commercials for it. (Skip to around...
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