Bright summer weather here in Japan—but no sunshine for the denizens of Numazu, Japan, who are walking around with manhole-sized holes in their hearts. Last week, we reported on a few maniacal Love Live! anti-fans vandalizing Numazu’s Sunshine!!-themed manhole covers—or at least pretending to. But …Read more »
Starting June 30, Japanese travelers will be able to move at the speed of kawaii. That’s when the country’s Hello Kitty Shinkansen, or bullet train, is set to debut. Details about the train, including its look and a sneak peek movie, were revealed this week. …Read more »
Otaku of a certain age (or younger fans who just love old-school anime) will remember Gunbuster, aka Aim for the Top, the Gainax OVA that served as the directorial debut of one Hideaki Anno. The first episode of the OVA was released in October 1988, …Read more »
Wow, Yuki Yuna is a Hero! For a remote shrine in Kanonji, Japan, anyway. The shrine and its torii gate tower over the city and offer great views, but they’re hard to get to, and visits had waned in recent years. But thanks in part …Read more »
As the year comes to a close, we’re about to get hit with a spate of lists (actually, listing things has become pretty much a year-round affair, but I digress). Here’s a pretty interesting one for Japanophiles out there: a list of buzzwords heard in …Read more »
As the Japanophiles among us are no doubt aware, while in English the word “otaku” basically refers to fans of anime and manga, in the original Japanese it means something more along the lines of “someone who’s really into one specific thing.” Otaku have long …Read more »
Call it the crime of the century. A woman has been arrested in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan for stealing eight of her boyfriend’s anime DVDs, reports the Kobe Shimbun. Yup: the crime of stealing eight DVDs was enough to make the newspaper. To be fair, these …Read more »
Have you met the man or woman of your dreams? Is that man or woman… two-dimensional? If you’re looking to get hitched but there’s a slight, well, hitch, one company in Japan has the thing for you. Gatebox, a company that “lets you experience cohabitation …Read more »
To promote the upcoming live-action version of Fullmetal Alchemist, fans in Tokyo were provided with some special treats in celebration of this new development for one of the most beloved manga and anime series of the 2000s. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST x Princess Cafe Though the name …Read more »
It can be hard for an otaku to find love. Enter “Otapa,” short for otaku party, a matchmaking event that takes place in major Japanese cities. The otaku matchmaking parties, which are limited to otaku (participants must take a test to determine their otaku level …Read more »
Just when you thought things couldn’t get much weirder than hug pillows: Japanese variety goods retailer Village Vanguard has entered the “specialty” sleep market with these pillow-covering panties . The pillow cover, which retails for ¥2,376 (about $22) is pretty much as-described: it’s a pair …Read more »
Twitter is a social media service so perfect for Japan, it seems almost like it was created for the country. Take its 140-character limit: while in English it can feel, well, limiting, the compact nature of Japanese means users can fit a ton of content …Read more »
Studio Ghibli, the anime studio behind classics like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away , will open “Ghibli Park” in central Japan’s Aichi Prefecture by the early 2020s, it was reported today. The announcement was made by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and Aichi governor …Read more »
Hetalia: In the New World , a new musical based on Hetalia: Axis Powers , is opening this July in Japan, and now a series of photographs of the cast in costume has been revealed. Hetalia: In the New World plays from July 15 to …Read more »
In the wide world of storytelling tropes, the student-master relationship is a fan favorite. Watching a young, impudent learner grow thanks to a wise old sensei never seems to get old, and in the rare instance it does, someone comes along to give the old …Read more »
Matt Schley
Annie Zhong
