Master Blaster (Page 5)

Master Blaster

Writer / Translator

Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Steven Le Blanc and Masami M.

Steven Le Blanc is an English teacher in Osaka but born and raised on a steady diet of Street Fighter and Godzilla movies in Canada. You can often find him translating stories about the impending robot revolution, North Korea, poorly named products, or whatever else satiates the ADHD he diagnosed himself as having via wikipedia. He enjoys spending his free time by pondering deep linguistic questions like what the best way to start a sentence with the word "iPhone" is.

Masami M is a Japanese person born in Osaka but raised in Tokyo. A founder of one of the first Mahjong websites in Japan, Japanese Reach Mahjong for Beginners viewed by millions monthly, he was also responsible for a blog chronicling the fates of two NOVA teachers abandoned by the bankrupt company which was profiled on national TV as well as other media outlets. In addition to translating, writing and running websites he also works in advertising.

All Stories by Master Blaster

Newly Opened Café/Bar Shuminova Offers Mini 4WD Races and Nintendo with Your Chicken and Whiskey

Apr 6, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Opened on 3 April, Shuminova is a new kind of drinking and eating establishment. It’s named is derived from the Japanese word shumi which means hobby, and the nova refers to the explosion of nostalgia for middle-aged men contained within.

Among the guitars, laptops and game consoles are the main attraction of Shuminova: Tamiya Mini 4WD’s. You can enjoy some tasty food and drink while tinkering with your own customizable car utilizing advice from the owner, a Mini 4WD expert.

Apr 4, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Although David Bowie is known around the world, he has a special group of fans in Japan as noted by last month’s David Bowie Café to celebrate his newest album in 10 years, The Next Day.

Among these fans is our very own Mr. Sato. The lovable reporter has always looked up to David Bowie, and one day recently slammed his fist down on the table as hard as he could proclaiming; “That does it! I’ve waited too long and am going to make myself look like Ziggy Stardust once and for all!” He then ran out the office to find a beauty salon.

No one in the editorial department actually noticed him though. Someone thought they had heard a small dog barking in the distance around the same time.

Apr 4, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Late last year we reported on the development of a completely new kind of breakwater to prevent a tsunami from hitting the coast with its full might. Unlike other breakwaters that would otherwise hinder sea transportation and the aesthetics of the ocean, these remain at the ocean floor until called upon.

If a tsunami warning is in effect then they can rise up in a matter of minutes and disrupt the coming wave. On 28 March the first nine-meter segment of this system was constructed and successfully tested. Here is some video of the test.

Apr 4, 2013 by Master Blaster
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With 1 April behind us we can get back to the usual stream of dubious information on the Internet rather than the onslaught of April Fools’ hoaxes. For people and groups with legitimate announcements that day is a daring scheduling move.

Many thought the subcompact and poorly named AMC Gremlin was satirical when released on 1 April, 1970. SoftBank’s celebration of raising their reception to the “best in Japan” was met with widespread suspicion because of the timing and… well, it’s SoftBank.

And now we have the Oldlensgirl.jp opened on 1 April, 2013. The website’s mission is to catalog old camera lenses as moé (cute and anthropomorphic) girls. The website got popular pretty quickly due to how specific a niche it filled. However, it’s making even more news now as people are realizing it wasn’t a joke. A few days after 1 April, Oldlensgirl is going strong with plans to add more lens-girls.

Apr 4, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Word has been swirling in the weeks leading up to the release of Burger King’s “anime viewing hamburger” which, as its name suggests, is a burger designed to be enjoyed while watching anime. Watching anime certainly would be an ideal snacking time, so the concept seems solid, but how is it really?

Our fast food specialist Kuzo went to investigate. Here is his report.

Apr 3, 2013 by Master Blaster
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With over 40,000 stores around the world, everyone should be familiar with the 7-eleven chain of convenience stores. Part of the fun of travelling is seeing how these mega-chains adjust their wares to suit the tastes of the local culture be it the Big Gulps in America, the various onigiri in Japan, or melt-proof ice pops of China.

Take this 7-Eleven found on the Russian controlled island of Sakhalin. The orange green and red markings are instantly recognizable despite the foreign language. So what goods are Russians running out for at 2:00 am in their pajamas?

The answer may shock you.

Apr 3, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Walk into any amusement center with video game cabinets and you’re bound to run into a Taiko No Tatsujin machine, almost always with people young and old whacking away at it.

It’s a taiko (traditional Japanese drum) simulator rhythm game where you play J-Pop, classical or video game theme songs in the medium of taiko by hitting the drum in time with the various symbols that scroll by.

But for one guy playing at the Oni (demon) level of difficulty, it’s a brutal yet beautiful assault on the drums leaving spectators dazzled as they watched from a safe distance of about three meters.

Apr 2, 2013 by Master Blaster
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The city of Dandong lies on the border of China and North Korea separated by the 900-meter wide Yalu River. Taking the China-North Korea Friendship Bridge would take you right into Sinuiju, North Korea, if you have the right permission.

However, word has it that there’s a place upstream of the Yalu where it is only three or four meters across. The place is known as Yibu Kua (“a step across”) due to the fact that one could easily step into the other country by walking across the stones in the river. RocketNews24‘s Kuzo went to check it out.

Apr 1, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Have you ever had one of those nights when you’re starving but had no food in the house? Struggling for ideas you scrounge up two slices of bread and a tube of toothpaste- it almost looks like a marshmallow fluff sandwich. For those daring enough to try it, chances of cramping and diarrhea await due to the various additives such as fluoride.

It’s the eternal dilemma: toothpaste tastes great, and yet if we eat it we’re told that we can get sick or in the case of copious amounts even die. Why do we torture ourselves by keeping little tasty tubes of poison around the house?

Soon we may not have to anymore thanks to Neonisin, an all-natural and completely edible toothpaste that is just as efficient against germs as regular chemical-laden brands.

Mar 31, 2013 by Master Blaster
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It an Internet café located near Jilin University in China sits a young man who has spent six years of his life continuously playing online games after graduating from university.

Except for where he’ll be nearly 24 hours a day very little is known about this man called Li Meng. Even a reporter from Xinhua was only able to get brief shreds of information while he spent most of the time glued to his monitor.

Mar 31, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Imagine the horror of having your toes suddenly start to die and need amputation for seemingly no reason. Then imagine it turned out to be the result of a colleague attempting to kill you.

This bizarre situation has been reality for one unnamed woman in Yamanashi Prefecture for the past four months. A fellow employee, 40-year-old Tatsujiro Fukuzawa, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on 28 March.

Mar 31, 2013 by Master Blaster
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We’ve all seen bank vaults in movies and on TV. But when you think about it, there aren’t many people in the world who have actually used or gone into the real thing.

As luck would have it a chance to rent your very own bank vault has popped up as a listing on the Real Tokyo Estate website.

Mar 30, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Japan is to mascots what Broadway is to theatre or what France is to bicycle racing, and in Japan the Phantom of the Opera or [*name removed*] of mascots has got to be Domo-kun (simply “Domo” in other countries).

From his humble beginnings as a mascot for Japan’s national broadcaster he has achieved international notoriety and an ever expanding line of merchandise. Now, iPhone holding Domo fans may rejoice with the upcoming release of the cute and useful “iPhone Supported Smart Stuffed Toy: iDomo-kun.”

Mar 30, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Not too long ago, Mr. Sato was thumbing through a magazine when he came across an ad for something. On the page he could see a man sitting in a bath tub filled with cash. “Boy, he sure looks happy” Mr. Sato thought as he put down the magazine.

That image lingered in the back of his mind until the announcement of Loto 7’s biggest jackpot ever, 800 million yen (US$8.5M). Then it dawned on him. He could win the grand prize and realize his new dream of bathing in money.

“Winning the jackpot once should be no problem,” he thought to himself “but it’d be a little harder to win twice if I need that much to fill a tub.”

He had to be sure that 800 million yen was enough before he’d be foolish enough to play the lottery.

Mar 29, 2013 by Master Blaster
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East Asia is an especially disaster-prone part of the world. Threats of earthquakes, flooding and typhoons, just to name a few are always lingering. In these instances it may be important to evacuate a building as quickly as possible.

One building in Shanghai seems to have engineered an elegant solution to this which they say can evacuate a fifth floor tenant in 14 seconds: a wacky fun slide.

Mar 29, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Kao Japan is preparing to release the newest addition to their line of Healthya brand health drinks. In addition to their existing collection of waters and teas, things are getting a little more flavorful with fat-burning “Healthya Coffee.”

Mar 29, 2013 by Master Blaster
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On rainy days, especially in Asia, a dozen or so umbrellas can be seen sitting outside of stores and other buildings. For thieves or people with momentary rain-soaked lapses in conscience it the perfect chance to get a free bumbershoot.

To combat this we have the Lizard Umbrella – a 2012 Red Dot Design Award-winning concept by inventors Kim Seokhui, Kim Seongjin and Kim Dasol.

Mar 28, 2013 by Master Blaster
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A new paper released by RocketNews24’s department of Cybermammography addresses the controversial topic of images depicting women’s chests from below.

Having scoured countless images of scantily clad women researchers have found that women are mostly seen from the front or the top looking down. However, pictures taken from below are few and far between.

What exists beneath women’s breasts that makes photographers not want to view it? Realizing the possibility of encounters with minotaurs or magic, our team bravely inspects the underside of a woman’s chest.

Mar 28, 2013 by Master Blaster
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At the trial of Li Wan Hao, a web designer living in Hong Kong, the court was shocked at the extent of porn saved on his hard drive. Unfortunately for Li somewhere in that sea of explicit content were a few drops of “illegal material.”