For about a week this July, there will be nary a human male in sight on the stage at New York’s Lincoln Center. That’s where the Takarazuka Revue, Japan’s all-female musical theater troupe, are making their U.S. debut, performing Chicago (in Japanese) between July 20 …Read more »
Anime has a way of popping up in mainstream news in some pretty bizarre ways. This time it was a via a remark from Republican strategist Rick Wilson, who appeared on MSNBC to discuss Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Donald Trump and had some choice words …Read more »
If you’re a Japanese car manufacturer, how do you get a generation raised on manga interested in your latest vehicular offering? How about transforming all of your car’s parts into anthropomorphized moe-style characters? That’s what Toyota has gone about doing with the ad campaign for …Read more »
Call it a shot heard around Twitter. On January 13, Twitter user @riekitazawa fired off a tweet that criticized the general public's view of otaku, using a metaphor that involved some Australian marsupials. The tweet quickly went viral, attracting almost 15,000 retweets and a lot …Read more »
Why raise a boring girlfriend when you could just buy one? A 1:1 (i.e. life-size) figure of Megumi Kato from Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend is up for preorder from Aniplex, and let’s just say this particular boring girlfriend does not come cheap. …Read more »
A 26-year-old man in Kyoto was arrested for possession of an illegal fake ID card, it was reported January 6. His motive for owning the card: to attend more AKB48 handshake events. Part of the charm (read: marketing gimmick) of idol group AKB48 is the …Read more »
This story hails way from way back in the December 2008 issue of Otaku USA Magazine . Since the issue is out of stock at our online store and basically impossible to obtain if you weren't a subscriber back then or didn't pick it up …Read more »
We’re pretty confident in saying this is the coolest wedding invitation of 2015. A Japanese couple’s nuptial invite has been making waves on social media thanks to its picture-perfect resemblance to a Dragon Quest game. The invite, wrapped in a DVD case, is designed to …Read more »
In celebration of the Girls und Panzer film, which debuted last month, stamp maker Itaindō is releasing this cool und dangerous looking set of stamps shaped like tank shells. The caps of the stamps, which come packaged in a unique Girls und Panzer ammunition box, …Read more »
One of the reasons for the explosive success of the iPhone was the creation of the App Store, wherein application creators were welcomed to find new and innovative ways to employ the phone’s hardware. This Japanese app maker has definitely done just that, though we …Read more »
Featured Spotlight: Anyone who has ever dreamed of being a voice actor for anime over at FUNimation now has the rare opportunity to give it a shot. FUNimation recently kicked off an with all FUNimation Streaming Service Subscribers eligible to enter between now and December …Read more »
A sightseeing group in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture has found itself in some hot water over a poster featuring a busty character from the anime Nōrin . The poster, which was created to promote a city-wide stamp rally, was pulled over the weekend after complaints of …Read more »
Before Adult Swim made InuYasha a hit, Rumiko Takahashi’s best-known work among American anime fans was probably Ranma 1/2 , the manga and anime about a martial arts-studying boy who’s sometimes a girl. American fans old enough to remember Ranma (or those who saw it …Read more »
Featured Spotlight: Viewster's OMAKASE subscription service launched with a special Kill la Kill themed box that packed in an exclusive Senketsu Scarf and more. Now you can get both that and the second box, which is full of Naruto goodies, together in a The Black …Read more »
Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news? “Geek” is now “mainstream.” Several of the most successful movies in the world and most popular shows on television are adaptations of comic books and SF novels. Multiple sitcoms, dramas, and unscripted “reality” programs …Read more »
Matt Schley
Otaku USA Staff
Daryl Surat