The Japanese amusement park Seibu-en is going to be reopening May 19, and it will have a few changes. You’ll be able to stroll down a street designed to look like a bunch of stores from the Showa Era (1926-1989). And at the end of …Read more »
The presence of mascot characters is a major part of Japanese life. Everyone has them, from businesses to prefectures. Entire companies build brands around them for their own sake. You’ll see cities with official Pokémon, and tourist spots with their own big cuddly characters. It’s …Read more »
Sometimes you see cars driving around with ads on them. Well, in Japan a company called Cheer Drive is paying people to drive around with otaku ads. Japanese drivers who are interested can download the app and pick what otaku project they’d like to advertise. …Read more »
Japan loves making things for April Fools’ Day gags that should actually become a reality, and the latest has Good Smile Company mixing Fate/Grand Order up with Thunderbolt Fantasy. Naturally, when FGO goes Thunderbolt style it becomes a puppet show, so we’re treated to a …Read more »
Sailor Moon has had multiple stage musical adaptations. The most recent one, Kaguya-hime no Koibito, was supposed to premiere in 2019. It got bumped to 2020, and then 2020 happened, so of course it got bumped again. But today it was revealed that a new …Read more »
Kagawa prefecture is continuing to show its love for its Pokémon ambassador Slowpoke. Along with coming out with official merchandise, it has Slowpoke involved in the local mail. A Slowpoke-themed mailbox was recently unveiled, with a person in a Slowpoke costume there to help. But …Read more »
The bus stop Mekki, located in Toyama, the capital of Toyama Prefecture, has unwittingly gotten itself involved with Demon Slayer tourism. It’s for a reason non-Japanese speakers wouldn’t guess, but its characters are the reverse of how to write “Kimetsu” in Japanese. According to Japan’s …Read more »
There are special Kirby cafés dedicated to the little pink alien in both Tokyo and Hakata. April 27 marks Kirby’s 29th birthday, so of course the cafés are celebrating. The main part of this celebration will be special birthday cakes available throughout the month of …Read more »
Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama is originally from Hita City, Oita Prefecture, and the city likes to show its love for his creations. After unveiling statues of Eren, Mikasa and Armin near their dam, the city has opened an Attack on Titan museum. The …Read more »
This weekend marked the final performance of the Haikyu!! stage play, Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyu!! Itadaki no Keshiki (A View from the Top) 2, ending a five-year run for the series. The 11th show went down at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL in Tokyo on March …Read more »
The Chinese company Lenovo is coming out with a special Demon Slayer PC gaming chair. Rather than take inspiration from lead Tanjiro Kamado, it looks to Giyu Tomioka, copying his clothing design for the pattern on the chair. But what perhaps stands out most about …Read more »
Despite all the challenges posed by a pandemic, Japanese pop culture (especially in the forms of anime and manga) have seen their sales numbers grow exponentially during quarantine. The Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth put on a virtual panel to discuss this, and if you …Read more »
One of Japan’s claims to fame is its detailed plastic model kits of everything from cars to planes to giant robots. Apparently, around 80% of Japan’s plastic models are made in Shizuoka, the city home to companies like Bandai and Tamiya. Now Shizuoka is celebrating …Read more »
The manga Banana Fish got stage adaptations in 2005, 2009, and 2012, and it’s getting more in 2021. Today it was revealed that a two-part stage play based on the series will be coming out, with the first part debuting in Tokyo this summer. It’s …Read more »
After multiple delays related to COVID-19, Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan is here! Reporters from the site SoraNews24 were able to be there firsthand and shared pictures to give us an idea of what to expect. Here is the opening of Super Nintendo …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Kara Dennison
Joseph Luster
Matt Schley
