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Star Wars (Page 7)
Here at RocketNews24, we often send our English-speaking staff out to cover events and places of interest related to Japanese animation and movies. This week, though, we’re pulling a 180 by sending one of our Japanese language reporters, Yoshio, to Comic-Con in San Diego.
Yoshio completed Phase One of his mission with no problems by successfully flying the 10 hours from Tokyo to California. Next on his list of objectives: a blow-by-blow report of Comic-Con’s preview night.
So we’ve previously seen the fluffy Pomeranian who got an Attack on Titan makeover with its very own hand-made cardboard 3D maneuver gear and sassy Recon Corps cloak. Are cat owners going to sit back and watch as the puppies steal the limelight? Not a chance.
Check out these itty bitty kitties dressed up as well-known movie characters!
Ever since it hit the scene back in the ’70s, Star Wars was an early pioneer of movie merchandising. Decades later the gravy train of action figures, posters, lunch boxes, notebooks continues. Underoos, Shrinky Dinks, Jell-o molds, clothes hangers, chess sets, virtual keyboards, book ends, and um… I forgot where I was going with this.
For those of you who think it’s all been done before, we present to you something new from Bandai. Behold: Samurai Taisho Darth Vader.
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!
Darth Vader is a multi-talented guy. From choking subordinates with an invisible force to performing impromptu amputations on members of his family, he can perform all kinds of amazing feats. But did you know he’s also a major league slugger?
It’s true! As part of a collaboration between Lucasfilm and Japan pro-baseball’s Pacific League, Vader stepped up to the plate to show how the game should be played: with light-saber bats!
A couple of months ago, we wrote about a set of Star Wars-themed notebooks sold over at the online shopping website Run@town. Much to everyone’s surprise, the fandom those little books stirred up caused a massive run that led them to being sold out within an single hour.
Now, Run@town is hoping that the force with strike twice with a new product that could tickle the fancy of Star Wars fans everywhere even harder. It’s an R2-D2 virtual keyboard projector! You read that right–a tiny droid beams a keyboard onto any flat surface for you to actually type on.
A few weeks ago, online shopping site Run@Town began selling a series of special edition Star Wars themed notebooks. Although they were basically just a standard-issue school notebooks with jackets featuring images from the original three films, they sold out in the blink of an eye, and there are people still waiting for new stock to arrive. This week, the same online store announced another Star Wars tie-in, this time offering wooden hangers featuring busts of Yoda, C-3PO, a Stormtrooper, and smokes-20-a-day villain Darth Vader.
The best part is, by slipping them over the hanger, you can have the cast of characters wear your clothes, allowing you to create all kinds of weird mash-ups. And would you believe some of them actually look pretty cool? We have a feeling these are going to be Run@Town’s next sell-out item.
April is the start of the academic year in Japan, and for kids, parents and stationery manufacturers that means one thing: it’s back to school shopping season. And across Japan, as elementary school students carefully write their names in their notebooks for the new year, there’s a good chance that notebook will be Showa Noto brand. The company’s gakushucho (study notebooks) are a hugely popular series of school notebooks, used by school students all over the country. Showa Noto also makes character-branded goods, and we’re desperate to get our hands on one of these new Star Wars school notebooks!
A peculiar flower that resembles Darth Vader has just bloomed at the Kyoto Botanical Garden, causing rebels in the Kyoto metropolitan area to tremble in fear. With two deep pitted areas and a smaller one in the middle, as well as a bulbous cap with curled edges, it appears the Sith Lord has been reincarnated as a flower.
The humble stormtrooper. Shot, blown up, punched and jeered at on a near daily basis while the rebels–whom some would call “terrorists”–get all the fame and glory. It’s in their very nature to remain inconspicuous in their plain white armour, marching along in neat lines and even dying with a regimented clatter of boots on the cold metal Deathstar floors, and for that reason are rarely given a second thought by either their merciless dispatchers or the movie-going public.
But there comes a time when even the loyalest of the Empire’s helmeted servants has to get their groove on, and Japanese car maker Nissan’s newest ad campaign is allowing them to do just that.
Three days after every other person on the internet was posting “May the fourth be with you,” Tokyo Disneyland was flooded with Star Wars fans celebrating the grand reopening of Star Tours: the Adventures Continues. The ride offers a 3-D Star Wars experience with over 50 possible randomly selected story combinations. There’s no greater thrill than feeling as if you are rocketing through space, interacting with familiar Star Wars characters in the third dimension.
But what impressed our reporter, Tashiro-kun, the most was the fanfare that day. With around 200 Disney cast members dressed in Star Wars costume and more Disney-Star Wars merchandise than you can shake a light saber at, Tokyo Disneyland on May 7 was the place to be for Star Wars fans.
Some people like a little white noise or some relaxing music to help them sleep, but for us, sleep just won’t come unless there are epic sci-fi space battles playing out above our heads. Maybe we have a bizarrely specific type of sleep disorder.
Awhile back, we traveled to the desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe—well, the set of it, at least. Scenes from several of the Star Wars movies were filmed on location in Tunisia and many of the sets and landscapes seen in the movie, such as the port city of Mos Espa and Luke Skywalker’s house, can still be visited today.
This time we’d like to share our travel report of Ksar Hadada, one of three traditional fortified granaries scattered about southern Tunisia that were used in the filming of the Slave Quarters Row of Mos Espa in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
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
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of Lucas Films’ Star Wars, just 35 limited-edition, solid gold C-3PO figurines went on sale yesterday for a mere 500,000 yen (about $6000).
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
Beautiful new Final Fantasy T-shirt collection on the way from Uniqlo【Photos】
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to your favorite restaurant in Tsuruga City!
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
Giant, house-sized Starbucks Mug appears in Tokyo, so Mr. Sato grabs own huge mug to check it out
U.K. coffee brand Costa Coffee releases first ever matcha flavor with new Matcha Espresso Latte
New book teaches Japanese people English to help out foreign travelers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
New Studio Ghibli bedding sets are cool in all senses of the word
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
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 black curry “experiment” takes place at an unlikely restaurant branch in Tokyo
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ball
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyersForeign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
Uniqlo opens its first Furugi Project secondhand clothing pop-up shop in Tokyo
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
Toyota built a life-sized Miraidon Pokémon and are letting people test drive it this weekendNew 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 trainOur Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
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?
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
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
Giant, house-sized Starbucks Mug appears in Tokyo, so Mr. Sato grabs own huge mug to check it out
U.K. coffee brand Costa Coffee releases first ever matcha flavor with new Matcha Espresso Latte
New book teaches Japanese people English to help out foreign travelers
Japan’s most mysterious vending machine sells fukubako, boxes filled with…something【Photos】
What exactly is the treat known as a “kougnané” that’s sold outside Tokyo’s Yurakucho Station?
Seaweed Salt Potato Butter Bacon Teriyaki Egg Burgers from McDonald’s are a mouthful
Muji releases a new boba tea kit and we taste test it at home【Taste test】
What happens to Cup Noodle Mystery Meat when you cook it in a rice cooker?
Lawson convenience store sets up shop in Japan’s Parareal Akihabara metaverse
Majority of Nagasaki high schools and middle schools have white-underwear-only rules, study finds
Black Mont Blanc: The most loved ice cream in Japan you can only buy in Kyushu
Japanese black curry “experiment” takes place at an unlikely restaurant branch in Tokyo
