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 »
Here’s an absolutely adorable waste of your time for this Monday. As you are no doubt aware, Japan is rife with mascot characters, many of whom are big and cuddly. This is generally a good thing, but can prove a problem when these characters attempt …Read more »
You may have heard tales of Japan as a country where adults and children alike openly read manga without fear of criticism, and while adult comic readership is certainly higher than that in the west, grownups do sometimes get chided for sticking with their childhood …Read more »
In Japan it seems there’s a stereotype that shojo manga begets unrealistic expectations of romance from its readers. Rich, powerful, handsome men seem to always go dropping into the protagonists’ laps with implausible ease, so people assume that women who grow up reading shojo manga …Read more »
It’s hard to imagine for those of us whose nerdy hobbies went misunderstood by the rest of the family, but if Japanese Twitter is any indication, more and more kids are growing up with parents who enjoy anime and videogames. Despite concerns that birth rates …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 »
First, catch up on any action you missed! Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 Nights 6-8 Nights 9-10 Nights 11-12 Nights 13-16 Nights 17-19 The 27th G1 Climax may have come to a close, but our collective praise for this year’s …Read more »
The denizens of Tokyo can breathe safe again, as a Gundam mobile suit once more stands in defense of the city. Fans of the mecha franchise were heartbroken last December, when it was announced the RX-78-2 statue in Odaiba, Tokyo would be scrapped. It was …Read more »
Previously: Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 Nights 6-8 Nights 9-10 Nights 11-12 Nights 13-16 A sold out Ryogoku Sumo Hall played host to what were possibly the three greatest nights in G1 Climax history. Almost certainly the finest two. And most definitely …Read more »
Believe it or not, Gainax’s mecha anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann turns 10 years old this year. One of the things that made the series so popular was the brash, confident and eternally-positive character Kamina, who, as it turns out, served to inspire a …Read more »
Previously: Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 Nights 6-8 Nights 9-10 Nights 11-12 We’re 80 matches deep into the 2017 G1 Climax, and I have watched and written about all of them. Oh god, please send help. But first, enjoy this look back …Read more »
Previously: Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 Nights 6-8 Nights 9-10 I struggle to recall a time when the G1 Climax didn't consume our daily lives. Is it because the G1 has always been with us, or that we’re only truly alive when …Read more »
Zoom zoom. Taking a star turn in a new commercial for the Honda Civic is none other than Hideaki Anno, director of Evangelion and Shin Godzilla , who stars alongside band ONE OK ROCK. This isn’t actually the first commercial work Anno has done: he …Read more »
Previously: Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 Nights 6-8 The G1 Climax stops for no one, least of all you or I. As if to prove this as fact, lovely Nagoya — and what appeared to be a decommissioned Soviet prison camp in …Read more »
Previously: Primer Night 1 Night 2 Nights 3-5 “People won’t buy into wrestlers who want to have a long and healthy life.” - Hiroshi Tanahashi Words of wisdom? Perhaps not. But words all twenty G1 Climax competitors have clearly chosen to live by, as …Read more »
Matt Schley
Julian Gnam
Wes Black
