movies

‘Give me your panties!!’ Taiwan Goes Wild for Panty-masked Japanese Superhero

‘Give me your panties!!’ Taiwan Goes Wild for Panty-masked Japanese Superhero

Since opening on May 3, Hentai Kamen has been a huge hit in Taiwan. Within three days of opening, it was off to a fantastic start with box-office takings of 4,680,000 Taiwan dollars (US$155,974). Not bad for a film whose hero derives his power from…wearing panties on his head?

The Hentai Kamen (English title: Ultimate!! Pervert Mask) movie, based on a short-lived comedy manga published in Shōnen Jump magazine, revolves around an unlikely hero whose superpowers are awakened when he puts a pair of panties on his head. I’m serious – I could not make this stuff up.

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【Photo Gallery】Original vs. Remade Versions of Horror Movie Posters

【Photo Gallery】Original vs. Remade Versions of Horror Movie Posters

There are almost too many movies being remade nowadays (did we really need another Rollerball?). There are also quite a few Japanese movies that have been remade into Hollywood films. It’s sometimes great to be able to watch your favorite movie redone using the most modern techniques and special effects, but not so great if a classic is butchered (we’re looking at you Red Dawn).

However, regardless of whether or not a remake lives up to the original, the newly designed movie posters are always interesting to look at. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of movie posters of the original and remake versions of 35 horror films. Most have managed to up the creepiness factor (with a few exceptions).

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Thai Fans Remake Entire Iron Man 3 Pre-Release Trailer by Hand, Blow Our Minds 【Video】

Thai Fans Remake Entire Iron Man 3 Pre-Release Trailer by Hand, Blow Our Minds 【Video】

If you’re a superhero fan living in North America, today very likely means only one thing: the launch of Iron Man 3. Perhaps waiting for a more suitable date to release the title, Marvel and Walt Disney Studios hung on until May 3 to unleash Tony Stark’s newest — and, according to some, best — supersuit-powered adventure, and millions of fans are champing at the bit to see it.

Despite having opened in Japan surprisingly early (Japanese releases are notoriously late, with movie fans forced to wait until this March for both Django Unchained and Wreck it Ralph alone), tongues are wagging all across the country today about Iron Man 3, but for an entirely different reason.

Put together by a clearly passionate and creative team of fans in Thailand, the following video recreates the official Iron Man 3 pre-release trailer shot by shot using little more than hand-crafted props, questionable make-up and models dangling from strings. Even so, it is nothing short of wonderful.

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Next Die Hard Movie to be Set in Tokyo, Possibly Have a Silly Title

Next Die Hard Movie to be Set in Tokyo, Possibly Have a Silly Title

See that face? It’s pretty much exactly the same as the one I pulled when I heard that there is to be yet another Die Hard movie. My expression when I heard that the production may be released under the title Die Hardest was like this, too, but as if a gang of irritated bees was also stinging my face and eyes.

That’s right, cinephiles, Bruce Willis is set to return in yet another action adventure extravaganza sometime in the near future, somehow evading bad guys with curious accents, speeding bullets and his own slowly encroaching retirement once again.

This time around, the mayhem is coming to none other than Japan’s capital city Tokyo. Our enigmatic reporter Mr. Sato has already locked himself away in a dimly lit room to study the past films at length and practice screaming in the hope of landing himself a walk-on part.

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Enjoy Your Ramen with a Side of Panties During the Hentai Ramen Event

Enjoy Your Ramen with a Side of Panties During the Hentai Ramen Event

On 13 April, the nationwide release of the long-awaited film adaptation of a few guys’ favorite manga Hentai Kamen (lit. “pervert mask”) took place. The film, which goes by the stylized title “HK”, tells the story of a young man who learns that he gains a variety of superpowers by wearing underwear over his head.

To celebrate, seven ramen shops around Japan are creating limited edition bowls of ramen which follow the Hentai Kamen theme of perviness. Each shop is selling its own extremely unique interpretation of HK through the medium of soup. You definitely haven’t seen ramen like this before.

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The Top 5 Ghibli Heroines as Chosen by Men Aged 20-40

The Top 5 Ghibli Heroines as Chosen by Men Aged 20-40

It’s not an easy question to answer, but of all the strong, cute and mysterious ladies from Studio Ghibli’s beautiful animated feature films, who is your favourite? This was the question put to 230 men aged 20-40 in a recent on-line poll.

With so many Ghibli girls to choose from, there had to be at least one that tugged on the hearts of men. So who came out on top?  We bring you the top five below:

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Forget 3D, Nagoya Movie Theater Goes 4D With Moving Seats, Wind, Smells

Forget 3D, Nagoya Movie Theater Goes 4D With Moving Seats, Wind, Smells

Japanese cinema chain Korona World has announced that it will be opening the country’s first full-body, immersive “4D” movie theater in Nagoya on the 26th of this month.

According to the company, the theater will be equipped with 4DX technology, a system developed in South Korea that adds motion, humidity, aromas, strobes, bubbles and other effects to the standard audio and video experience. Read More

Ads in Tokyo Stations for Western Horror Movie Deemed “Too Scary” for Japan’s Commuters

Ads in Tokyo Stations for Western Horror Movie Deemed “Too Scary” for Japan’s Commuters

Stroll through any of Tokyo’s larger train stations this week and you’ll inevitably come face to face with the vision of a disheveled teenage girl, trapped behind a layer of glass crying for your help.

As part of the promotional campaign for “multi-layered” horror movie Cabin (released in the west in 2012 as The Cabin in the Woods), a series of frightening advertisements is currently being displayed on 160 screens across 14 stations in and around the Tokyo area. For many, though, the ads were simply too scary, and an advertising standards agency has made the unusual step of asking for them to be toned down.

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Chinese Bootleg DVDs Improve on Originals in Every Way

Chinese Bootleg DVDs Improve on Originals in Every Way

Did you know that Star Wars: Episode I was distributed by Mac and had Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as Dutch from Predator?

Of course not because it’s not true, but how great would it be if it had been. This and the other images below of bootleg DVDs from China have been circulating the web for some time now. However, among all the laughter, people are overlooking the valuable lessons Hollywood studios could stand to learn from them.

Without exception, all of these comically mislabeled and wantonly Photoshopped covers improved on their originals.

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Two New Ghibli Films Out in Summer 2013, Posters Revealed!

Two New Ghibli Films Out in Summer 2013, Posters Revealed!

In case you needed another reason to hope the world doesn’t end on December 21, Studio Ghibli has officially announced it will release two new films on the same day in summer 2013.

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Fan-Made “Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga” Trailer is Finally Out! Take Notes, Hollywood

Fan-Made “Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga” Trailer is Finally Out! Take Notes, Hollywood

Big-budget live-action remakes of anime and manga are tricky business. One one hand, you’ve got to please the fans, who you know will be sitting in the theater with pen and paper scrutinizing every scene. But you also have to make money, which often means watering down the source material to make it digestible for regular movie-goers. As a result, live-action remakes are usually denounced by fans (and critics), but still manage to turn a profit in the box office.

This is why we love DragonBall Z: Saiyan Saga, a live-action non-profit Dragon Ball Z trailer made by fans not because they want to make a buck, but because they love the series so damn much.

The 5 minute 44 second trailer was finally released on YouTube yesterday after months of production, and looks absolutely amazing. Check it out below!

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Watch the Opening Minutes of Evangelion 3.0 & Official Utada Hikaru Music Video Now

Watch the Opening Minutes of Evangelion 3.0 & Official Utada Hikaru Music Video Now

After three years of waiting and months of promotional tie-insEvangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo finally debuted in theaters across Japan at midnight tonight.

To get fans pumped up for the long-awaited release (as if they weren’t enough already), Nippon Television Network aired both of the previous Rebuild of Evangelion movies over the past two Fridays— Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone on November 9 and Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance last night— and topped it off with a special treat by broadcasting the first six minutes and 36 seconds of Evangelion 3.0 after the ending credits of last night’s showing.

We are pleased to bring you those six minutes and 36 seconds, as well as the newly-released music video for Sakura Nagashi, the Evangelion 3.0 theme by Utada Hikaru, below.

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China Bans Fetuses From Movie Theaters?

China Bans Fetuses From Movie Theaters?

A few days ago, a pregnant woman was denied entrance to a movie theater in China, prompting a huge buzz on the net. The reason given by the theater? Movies are bad for the fetus. Read More

Survey Shows 16 Out of 16 Foreigners Would Like to Date a Japanese Person, but What Would They Like to do on Their Dates?

Survey Shows 16 Out of 16 Foreigners Would Like to Date a Japanese Person, but What Would They Like to do on Their Dates?

In the midst of present day globalization, and with international marriages on the rise, how do Japanese people fare on the ‘international stage’ of dating?

We decided to find out by sending our reporter to Comiket 82 earlier this month and asking REAL LIVE foreign visitors if they would like to date a Japanese person.

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Animated Film About Dystopian Society Powered By Feces Set For Japanese Release Next February

Animated Film About Dystopian Society Powered By Feces  Set For Japanese Release Next February

After eight years in the making, South Korean animated film Aaichi & Ssipak was finally released in its home country in 2006. Now, in February 2012, the film will finally be getting released on Japanese shores. But why the delay?

Well, for starters, Aaichi & Ssipak is a movie packed with graphic scenes of sex, violence, and poop. No, really.

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