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entertainment (Page 4)

A day in the life of a Japanese anime director

If you thought being an anime director was all cosplay groupies and cool action figures, think again. Turns out it’s long, long hours in front of a computer, less-than-fancy convenience store dinners and tons of office all-nighters.

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Dragon Quest slime hourglass makes interminable wait for cup noodles a little cuter

Square-Enix is offering this adorable, limited edition slime hourglass for Dragon Quest series fans with the munchies. The company says the hourglass is timed at about three minutes, which is around the same amount of time it takes to perfectly cook a cup of instant ramen noodles.

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Automated Dragon Quest playing computer levels your character up while you pay attention to your partner for once

If there’s one thing Massively Multiplayer Online RPGS (MMOs) are known for, other than their marriage-destroying addictive qualities and almost cult-like fan communities, it’s the absolutely mind-numbing repetition of doing the same quests and activities over and over again to level up your character.

Realizing computers are pretty good at that whole mindless repetition thing while humans generally dislike it, one entrepreneurial Japanese geek has figured out a way to jury-rig PCs that will perform a leveling task for you over and over again and is offering them for sale on bidding site Yahoo! Auctions right now.

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Green Day Vocalist Compares Psy to Herpes Infection, Psy Unsure if That’s a Good or Bad Thing

Looks like Green Day’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, needs to add anger issues to his growing list of ailments requiring rehab. Armstrong was apparently infuriated by the success of Korean pop star, Psy, and his record breaking sensation, Gangnam Style, which made its rounds while Armstrong was serving a stint in a clinic for alcohol and prescription pill abuse. The rocker experienced a “flareup” of sorts at the news that Psy’s epic follow-up, Gentleman, was racking up similar praise.

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Frozen Beer and Beer Cocktails – Mr. Sato Checks Out Kirin Ichiban Garden

With Golden Week over, it means summer and hot, humid days are just around the corner. Knowing you’ll need a cooling and refreshing oasis to escape to in the months ahead, Mr. Sato headed over to the Mori Trust Garden in Toranomom District, Tokyo to scope out the offerings at Kirin’s Ichiban Garden.

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Pocket Money for Leo: Django Unchained Star finds Extra Work Pimping Whiskey in Japan

Commercials: a lot of celebrities in the west won’t touch them with a borrowed pole. After working hard to build up their portfolio and making themselves a household name, for many professional actors the mere thought of putting their face on an advertisement is completely abhorrent.

In Japan, however, it’s a very different story. TV celebrities, singers and sports stars are a common feature on commercials, whether they be on television, magazines or even hanging over our heads as we take the train to work each morning. Watches, skin cream, beer, anti-hair loss, cars, language courses; you name it, someone famous is smiling and pretending they love it in exchange for a few extra yen.

This time it’s the turn of hollywood heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio to take the cash and smile for the camera. Because, as we all know, DiCaprio never shuts up about how much he loves Jim Beam whiskey usually…

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Disney’s Dreamland Illuminations in Harajuku Light up Your World, You Won’t Want to Go Home

In celebration of Walt Disney’s 110th Anniversary, Disney has put together a literal dreamland of illumination displays in Harajuku, Tokyo.  A part of the larger “Walt Disney 110th Anniversary Omotesando Harajuku Dream Together Project 2012,” these light displays are open from November 1st to December 25 and are already drawing crowds of viewers.

Our female correspondent visited the display last week and tells us that while Harajuku’s Disney Dreamland illumination event is a must see for Disney lovers, even if you aren’t a Disney fan, you will surely be impressed by this awesome display of lights.

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Tokyo Flashmobs Leave Japanese Smiling and Wanting More

It is a seemingly uneventful sunny afternoon in the park filled with the usual kinds of people who come out to enjoy themselves.  Suddenly there is a street performance before your eyes which looks utterly spontaneous as more and more people join in. That’s right! Flashmobs have finally come to Japan! Read More


  • Jul 4, 2012

That’s the Power of Music – It Really Does Bring Joy to the World!!

A delightful surprise performance that recently took place in Spain has been receiving acclaim from around the world on the internet, and we thought we’d share the feel-good story with you. It’s all captured in a video clip titled “Som Sabadell flashmob” and it begins when a girl drops a coin in a musician’s hat on May 19, 2012, in the city of Sabadell, Spain. But what follows is no ordinary musical performance. Everyone who happened to be there was in for a real treat!

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Maybe, along with the drive to to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before, we also want to explore our minds and consciousness. And maybe inevitably that sometimes comes out to be inventing new ways to mess with our own heads. And so, the eggheads at Riken Research have developed the “Substitutional Reality System“. Read More

No Escape! Fuji-Q Highland’s New Unforgiving Maze

This July 28, Fuji-Q will open the doors to its new attraction, “Fortress of No Hope”. They say they’re aiming for a 0% success rate of escape from the walk-through maze building. Guests will contend (presumably enjoyably) with innumerable doors, halls, and rooms, all under a time limit. In addition, you progress through levels of increasing difficulty, with more and more hidden clues and invisible doors. Read More

A Recession Hit Mickey Mouse Photographed in LA Magically Mutilating Himself For Money

The other day, I was walking through sunny Hollywood on my way to a job when, right before my eyes, I spotted everyone’s favorite rodent, Mickey Mouse. I had met Mickey once before in New York, but now he looked different – a little gaunter.

Thinking, “something’s not right” I approached him to ask for a photo like I did in NYC.

“Okay! But don’t forget to tip! Haha!”

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  • Jun 18, 2012

Cool, Cute and Eco-friendly! Supermarket Shopping in Summer Made Easy with New Hello Kitty Cooler Tote Bag

As you probably are already aware, Hello Kitty is definitely one very busy cat! In some of our past posts, we’ve seen her being baked into golden brown treats, or collaborating with Sadako from the “Ring” series. This time, Ms. Kitty will help make your shopping experience at the supermarket more environment-friendly and hassle free (on top of adding an element of cute, of course), with the new “Hello Kitty Premium Basket Cooler Tote Bag“. Read More


  • Jun 18, 2012

Are You Ready to Confront the Most Terrifying Toilet Paper in the World?

If you were terrified by the Ring series featuring Sadako, you may want to steer clear of this particular brand of toilet paper. But, you may ask, how can toilet paper be terrifying? Well, once you read about this unique toilet paper, I think you’ll agree that it’s one scary product! This toilet paper, made by tissue and toilet paper manufacturer Hayashi Paper, has printed on it a novella by Koji Suzuki, the author of the original Ring novels! And the best part? It’s now going to be available in English! Read More


  • Jun 16, 2012

Incredible (and almost impossible) paper craft – this rose doesn’t smell sweet but certainly is beautiful!

Do you enjoy the Japanese paper craft of origami? If you do, here’s a video that’s sure to fascinate you! The video shows an exquisite paper rose being made, and it’s been receiving a considerable amount of attention recently – and not just for the impressive skill demonstrated. It’s actually causing many internet viewers to cry out in frustration, and once you see the video, you’ll know the reason why. Read More


  • Jun 15, 2012

That’s no Battle Station! It’s an Ice Sphere – in the Shape of the Death Star!

Okay, we think all of you Star Wars fans out there will love this product! Do you remember being impressed when the Death Star appeared in the very first Star Wars movie accompanied by Ben Kenobi’s famous words, “That’s no moon. It’s a space station!”? Well, now you can create your own Death Star – from ice! Read More

Capture Highway Wackiness, Prove Your Driving Skills with this Rearview Mirror with Camera and LED Display

Now you can capture random moments of craziness or novelty happening while you’re driving with this new in-car camera / rearview mirror from Hamwha. It looks more or less like a normal rearview mirror but has an internal camera pointing forward to record what’s happening in front of your vehicle. Read More


  • Jun 6, 2012

Who looks like the former President of Finland? An unexpected case of look-alikes

In Japan, we say that there are (at least) three people in the world who look exactly like you. Well, we seem to have found 2, possibly 3 publicly recognizable figures who look very much like each other. Could they be doppelgängers? Read More

Epic, Heart-Melting Lip-Dub Proposal (video)

Still making the re-post rounds on the internet is this sweet, heartwarming and funny musical marriage proposal, “Isaac’s Live Lip-Dub Proposal“. Isaac Lamb got together over 60 friends and family, most certainly planned and rehearsed, and on the day of reckoning, invited his unsuspecting fiancee, Amy, over to be met by his brother …

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Use Your Sushi … On Your Smartphone

So you want to keep your smartphone on your desktop, but you don’t want to lay it flat to get inadvertently smothered by paperwork or worry about some careless mungo putting their coffee mug on it. Or you want to watch some videos on it so you prop it up against your coffee mug but the phone slides down and you actually want to drink your coffee at some point. Read More

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