Anyone who is a serious Star Wars fan knows that George Lucas drew heavily on old Japanese Samurai movies, mainly Akira Kurosawa, when making his space opera. Even if you aren’t that into Star Wars, just from watching the movies you can see the samurai imagery screaming out at you. Just take one look at Darth Vader and his stormtroopers and you can see it. But it isn’t simply that Lucas drew his inspiration from those movies, the whole story behind it actually has a few more moving parts then that. A new video from the YouTube channel Film School’d has illustrated that connection with some pretty sweet white board art to boot!
Our reporter takes her 71-year-old mother to a visual kei concert for the first time
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Beautiful new Final Fantasy T-shirt collection on the way from Uniqlo【Photos】
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
“2.5D Mask” lets you spend the day as an anime character, frighten pets and small children
Sakura season schedule is screwed up, so we had a no-cherry blossom cherry blossom party in the office
Fabulous new designer wedding dresses will give you the high-fashion wedding of your dreams
One of Tokyo’s most famous meeting-spot landmarks is closing for good
How can you maximize the calories you burn singing karaoke?【Experiment】
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
New Studio Ghibli bedding sets are cool in all senses of the word
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
There’s a park inside Japan where you can also see Japan inside the park
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ball
Hanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest pet product line announced by Square Enix
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
Japan’s bone-breaking and record-breaking roller coaster is permanently shutting down
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Foreign passenger shoves conductor on one of the last full runs for Japan’s Thunderbird train
Kyoto bans tourists from geisha alleys in Gion, with fines for those who don’t follow rules
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
Domino’s Japan now sells…pizza ears?
Toyota built a life-sized Miraidon Pokémon and are letting people test drive it this weekend
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli’s new desktop Howl’s Moving Castle will take your stationery on an adventure
Sakura season schedule is screwed up, so we had a no-cherry blossom cherry blossom party in the office
Fabulous new designer wedding dresses will give you the high-fashion wedding of your dreams
One of Tokyo’s most famous meeting-spot landmarks is closing for good
How can you maximize the calories you burn singing karaoke?【Experiment】
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
Anime/manga One-Punch Man to be turned into a Hollywood live-action movie
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
What happens to Cup Noodle Mystery Meat when you cook it in a rice cooker?
Haku is…Chihiro’s dead brother? Studio Ghibli fans blown away by Spirited Away theory
The Ultimate Battle for Ham Sandwich Supremacy – we rank Japan’s convenience store sandwiches
Krispy Kreme adds doughnut burgers to its menu in Japan
Hello Kitty and AKB48 collaborate for the ultimate fan merchandise from Thank You Mart
Six ice creams you should try at Baskin-Robbins Japan, according to staff who work there