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Staggered by historical preservation survey costs, Kyoto turns to anime girls to save its subway

February 25, 2015, 6:00 am
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With over 300,000 people piling into its trains each day, you’d think the Kyoto Municipal Subway would be sitting pretty financially. That’s actually not the case, though. The city’s status as the former capital of Japan is both a source of local pride and a huge draw for travelers, but being literally built atop the foundations of Japanese history means that any subterranean construction can only take place after extensive surveys ensure that no cultural artifacts would be damaged in the process.

As such, maintenance and expansion costs for the Kyoto subway are more than double what they would be in a similarly sized, less historically significant city. So in order to help raise the revenue necessary to treat Kyoto’s past with the respect it deserves, the subway’s operators are turning to something with more modern appeal: cute anime girls.

Ironically, Kyoto’s subway has the highest fares in the nation, with a ticket to just the next station along the line already costing 210 yen (US$1.80). Even still, the network has been operating at a huge deficit for years. In 2010, while averaging 330,000 passengers a day, the Kyoto subway still posted an 8.6 billion-yen loss for the year.

▼ As beautiful as Kyoto’s maples may look in red, the subway system’s accountants would prefer to keep the shade out of their books.

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In order to return to profitability, the Kyoto subway says it needs an additional 50,000 passengers a day. To that end, it’s enacted a number of marketing and branding tactics, such as putting markers on stairs to show the health-conscious how many calories they’re burning by skipping the escalator, or holding an election to decide which of the Kyoto Zoo’s animal residents should be the honorary station master for nearby Keage Station.

But the move that’s attracted the most attention is the creation of a group of anime-style subway mascots.

The Moe Moe Challenge Squad, a subgroup formed of the youngest members of the committee tasked with increasing the number of subway passengers, came up with the idea of giving a face to the subway network. And, as is usually the case in Japan, if you’re going to pick a face, it may as well be that of a cute anime schoolgirl, which is what led to the debut of Moe Uzumasa in 2011.

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Described as an earnest and energetic 17-year-old, Moe was soon joined by friends Saki Matsuga, an athletic member of her school’s track team, and the bespectacled guitarist Misa Ono, Moe’s childhood pal who she goes shopping with once a week (taking the subway, of course).

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While the characters appeared on pamphlets and prepaid subway cards, their popularity really began to soar after their designs were touched up by Kyoto-based illustrator Kamogawa, who brought them more in line with the aesthetics of contemporary Japanese animation.

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Moe and her friends are doing more than just aping the style of anime and manga, though. They’re actively helping to promote the art forms. The above animated clip of the three, all speaking in Kyoto dialect, features the voices of high schoolers Nana Hasegawa and Yui Tsukada as Moe and Saki, plus junior high student Mimori Tanigake as Misa. All three were the winners of a talent search done in conjunction with the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair, yet another example of the cross-promoting the Kyoto subway system and annual otaku-oriented event engage in.

The subway’s spokescharacters have also teamed up with Miyu Karasuma, the mascot of the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

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So have Moe, Saki, and Misa saved the Kyoto Municipal Subway? It’s still too early to say, but in 2013, the most recent period for which statistics are available, ridership was up to 348,000 passengers a day, putting the subway in striking distance of its goal of 375,000 by 2018. In the meantime, if you’d like to keep up on Moe’s burgeoning career but don’t happen to have a Kyoto subway station near your home, you can check out her personal Facebook page here.

Source: Naver Matome
Top image: Kyoto City Web (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Takara 777, Kyoto City Web (1, 2), Kyoto International Manga Museum, Kyoto City Web (3) (edited by RocketNews24)

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Origin: Staggered by historical preservation survey costs, Kyoto turns to anime girls to save its subway
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Here’s what Kyoto’s subway looks like plastered with anime girls

February 26, 2015, 7:00 pm
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As we recently reported, the bigwigs at the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau got together a while back and had a little brainstorming session regarding how to convince more people to use the subway. So what did they come up with?

Super-kawaii moe anime girls plastered all over the place! All part of the “Let’s ride the subway” advertising campaign, which hopes to bring in an extra 50,000 passengers a day. So how are people reacting to the sudden plethora of brightly colored cuteness all over their train platforms and carriages?

Promotional characters Moe Uzumasa (brown hair), Saki Matsuga (short, blonde hair) and Misa Ono (black hair, glasses) have completely taken over the Kyoto subway system, and you can now see their adorable faces plastered all over station walls, billboards, posters, and even special subway tickets! Let’s check out some pics!

▲ “Moe, Saki and Misa at Kyoto Shiyakushomae station. They’re all cute, but Moe is the most “high-school”, and Saki looks mischievous.”

▲ “When did this happen? Look what’s happened to Kyoto’s subway!”

▲ “The Kyoto subway anime commercial playing on a screen at Shijo Station. It gives the subway kind of a different, fresh feel. Check it out if you come to Kyoto.”

▲ “Kyoto’s subway girls are so cute. I wish we had this in Osaka.”

▲ “Misa Ono, the “meganekko” (cute girl in glasses) who’s been catching my attention all over Kyoto’s subway.”

▲ “Misa Ono is my wife. Whatcha gonna do ’bout it?”

▲ “The second ‘Let’s Ride the Subway’ poster has arrived. This time, they’re at Nijo Castle. If you buy an all-day subway pass from November 10 and visit Nijo Castle on the same day, you’ll get this poster free. Check out Saki and Misa linking arms.”

▲ “My Kyoto city bus pass featuring Moe Uzumasa from the “Let’s Ride the Subway” campaign.”

▲ “Kyoto’s travel cards, so very cute. Well done Kyoto.”

▲ “I’m the kind of Kyoto otaku who buys multiple prepaid travel cards.”

▲ “Kyoto subway all-day pass! 600 yen (US$ 5)! So cute. I love the girls from this campaign. The black-haired one with the twin tails plays guitar, and she’s called Misa Ono.”

▲ “I have 13 prepaid cards in my wallet now, is that weird? Oh, it’s a Misa Ono card this time!”

▲ “There’s a promotion between the Kyoto subway and the Kyoto City zoo featuring Moe and pals! If you buy an all-day subway pass and go to the zoo on the same day, you can get this poster free! Let’s go to the zoo everybody!”

▲ “The third “Let’s Ride the Subway” collaboration poster! This time for the National Manga Musuem. You can get a free poster apparently. It starts from the 18th!”

A fourth character, Sono Uzumasa (who is Moe’s cousin) has also been introduced for the purposes of promoting the subway to students of Kyoto’s universities:

▲ “Uzumasa cousins against a beautiful sunset! Wowwwww!”

▲ “Moe Uzumasa’s cousin, Sono Uzumasa has been appearing all over the place recently.”

▲ “Moe Uzumasa and Sono Uzumasa everywhere! EVERYWHERE! Oh thank you, thank you, so glad I live in Kyoto!”

What do you think of this promotional campaign, now you’ve seen what it looks like? Would it inspire you to use the subway on your next trip to Kyoto? Or do you think that moe girls clash with Kyoto’s traditional aesthetic? Let us know your thoughts!

Source: Naver Matome
Main Image: Twitter @_takadon

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Origin: Here’s what Kyoto’s subway looks like plastered with anime girls
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Anime pillow responds to your rubbing with moans and groans, gets angry if you get too grabby

February 27, 2015, 5:00 pm
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A proper anime character huggy pillow seems to have become a critical component of the full fetish and fantasy regalia of a well-rounded otaku, but there are certain things you just can’t do with such a 2-D crush. Sure, anime girl pillows will let you squeeze them and passionately insert your sweet nothings into their non-existent eardrums, but no matter how fervently romantic you become, you can’t expect any sort of pillow talk from your pillow.

Unless, that is, you’re curled up beneath the sheets with the Ita-Supo, the first talking huggy pillow that responds to your touch with verbal responses, including angry outbursts if you get too grabby.

Developer Koichi Uchimura used to be a researcher at Kyushu Institute of Technology. While we’re not sure what precise field of academia he was involved with at the Fukuoka Prefecture university, his current mission in life is developing new technologies with which to “support people’s otaku life.”

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No stranger to the allures of anime huggy pillows, or dakimakura, as they’re called in Japanese, Uchimura nonetheless was feeling unfulfilled. “When we’d sleep in the same bed, I’d start to think, ‘I wish she could talk,’ so I wanted to make that a reality.” The result was Rina Makuraba, whose family name is a pun on makura, the Japanese word for pillow.

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The Ita-Supo isn’t as rudimentary as a button-activated speaker inside a pillowcase, though. As Uchimura explains in the product’s introductory video, “If you don’t rub her, she won’t make any sounds. You have to rub her.”

▼ The inventor is happy to demonstrate his technique.

You can probably already see where this is going: straight to the breasts, which in this instance are accompanied by Rina meowing like a pleased kitty cat…

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…followed by an excursion in Crotchland, which elicits a breathy, “No, not there,” but capped with a telltale heart mark to show she’s being coquettishly consensual.

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“For otaku, this is the dakimakura of their dreams,” asserts Uchimura. But while that claim might make you imagine that Rina will let you do whatever you want with her, that’s actually not how the system works.

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As shown in the video, the sensor responds differently to different kinds of stroking. Mash your palm over Rina’s chest, and she’ll get upset, saying, “Hey, that hurts!” and “Hey, hands off!” Uchimura even alludes to a cumulative effect, where a continual lack of gentleness will put Rina in such a bad mood she’ll stop talking to you altogether.

On the other hand, a smoother, more measured groping will instead produce a string of increasingly positive reactions.

▼ “What’s gonna happen if I start to love you even more than I already do?”

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Otaku who’re worried about a limited phrase set ruining the mood by making it feel like they’re making out with a 1994 Sega Genesis sports game announcer will be pleased to know that the Ita-Supo comes preloaded with over 500 speech patterns. Uchimura says that expansions are also planned, which can be downloaded to your smartphone, then transferred into the pillow.

Despite proudly referring to Rina as his wife in the video, Uchimura seems to have no qualms about sharing, or even selling, his anime spouse, and his campaign on Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake has already raised 302,000 yen (US $2,560) of the 500,000 yen it’s seeking. 20,000 yen will get you your very own touch-responsive dakimakura, featuring either Rina or alternate Ita-Supo stars Shion Kamitsuki and Shiho Natsuki.

▼ Shion and Shiho’s family names aren’t as pun-tastic as Rina’s, but they do both contain the kanji character for “moon,” keeping with the nocturnal image of pillows (and bedtop hanky-panky).

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If you’re feeling like your bed is both too lonely and too quiet, you can throw some cash at Uchimura right here. Who knows, if the response is positive enough, maybe for his next project he’ll equip that giant six-meter (19.7-foot) anime dakimakura we saw last month with a megaphone.

Related: Ita-Supo Makuake campaign
Source: Ascii
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: YouTube, Ita-Supo Makuake campaign

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Singing nun in Japan gives heavenly concert, also spiritual advice to mothers of otaku

March 10, 2015, 8:00 pm
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Have you heard of Cristina Scuccia? She’s a 26-year-old Italian nun with a gift for singing, famous for winning The Voice of Italy in 2014, then going on to release an album including a music video to her own rendition of “Like a Virgin.”

Recently, she came to Japan to give a performance, and we were lucky enough to visit for ourselves. We have pictures and the full video of not just the sister singing in her divine voice, but also her giving a “mini confessional” by listening to problems from the audience and giving life advice.

Sister Cristina’s performance took place on March 9 at YouTube Space inside the Tokyo/Roppongi Hills Building. Her focus was on promoting her album, especially the Japanese version that includes her cover of the English version of “Ue o Muite Arukō” (“My First Lonely Night“), but she also gave a great live concert consisting of three songs, as well as giving audience members a chance to confess their sins and ask questions.

▼ Here she is first coming in, introducing herself in Japanese.

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▼ And posing for about eight-thousand media shots.

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▼ Then finally getting down to business belting out the tunes.

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Here’s the full video, with some translations of the more relevant/interesting parts below:

7:15
(Her greeting everyone in Japanese.)

9:15
Announcer (A): So what are your first impressions of Japan?
Cristina (C): It’s a country with a wonderful culture. Everything is so organized and orderly.
A: Have you tried any Japanese food?
C: I’ve had sushi before in Italy, but I’m looking forward to trying the authentic Japanese version here.
A: Ah, so you haven’t had any yet. Well please give it a try! We’ve also heard that you’ve been singing since you were a child.
C: I’ve loved singing ever since I was little. My passion for singing gives me energy for life.
A: Did your love of music have anything to do with you choosing to become a nun?
C: When I decided to become a nun, it was like I was hit by lighting. I was hit by God’s love, and it was so powerful I had to do something to respond to it.

12:26
A: We heard that at the beginning, there was some resistance against a nun singing pop music.
C: Yes, I was conflicted at the beginning too, wondering if faith and music can go hand in hand. But after working as a missionary in Brazil for two years, I came to the realization that faith and art can work together, that they are one in the same.
A: How did you feel first appearing on The Voice?
(Balloon pops.)
C: I felt like that! (the pop) I was very nervous at first. I was worried about whether everyone listening would accept the message I was trying to convey. And when I finally ended up winning, I don’t think it was myself that won necessarily, but rather that message I was trying to convey to everyone instead.

23:00
A: She’s cute, isn’t she!
C: Thank you.
A: So we heard that you’re donating the profits from this worldwide hit album of yours?
C: Yes, the profits will all be used to help with the social work that the order I belong to does, as well as future projects to help children and families around the world.
A: All right, so our last question: what kind of singer do you want to be?
C: I want to be a nun who sings, that’s all.
A: Well please continue to keep singing then, we love hearing you.
C: My singing is all thanks to God, so I will keep going for as long as I have his blessing to do so.
A: Thank you very much. We’re looking forward to hearing you more.
C: Thank you.

25:11
A: That’s the end of the questions, but now we’d like to have a “mini confessional,” where Sister Cristina can respond to problems given to us on Twitter and from the audience. Our first question is: “What should I do when I’m feeling depressed or frustrated?”
C: When I’m feeling down, I know that my whole body is down. I’m looking down, I feel bad inside, so what I try to do is look forward instead. I recommend looking up, keep walking forward, and trying to change your perspective a bit.
A: Thank you. Our next question: “My father recently passed away and I can’t get over it. What should I do?”
C: That is certainly a difficult time to go through. But thinking about it another way, your father is now at peace in Heaven. Like I said before, it might be best to try not to look down and focus on your own problems, but perhaps look around at the problems of others around you. Trying to help them and making them feel better will help you feel better as well.
A: Thank you. Next question: “No matter what I do, I can’t stop eating chips before I go to bed. What should I do?”
C: Maybe you should try eating something less oily than chips, like vegetables perhaps. If you eat oily things before bed then you probably won’t sleep well, and since I don’t think you want that, focus on being healthy instead. If you really want to eat those chips, then maybe enjoy them during lunch instead.
A: I think you’re giving the people who asked these questions a lot to think about! By the way, do you eat chips?
C: At the order we make lots of food with potatoes – boiled, fried – so I’m a fan of potatoes in all forms.

32:00
A: All right, last question: “I have a 20-year-old son obsessed with anime and not interested in girls. I’m worry I won’t have any grandchildren. What can I do to get him interested in women?”
C: There’s no need to worry. He’s only 20, so he still has plenty of time. I think that love is something that can come even if you’re not out actively looking for it.
A: Ah, what great answers. Thank you so much everyone who shared their troubles with us, and thank you Sister Cristina for taking the time to answer them.
C: Thank you.

34:04
(Live concert starts)
“Somewhere Only We Know”

37:44
“Fallin Free”

42:02
“Try”

45:25
A: Thank you very much. So everyone, what did you think of Sister Cristina’s live concert? Thank you for such wonderful music! Would you like to say something at the end here?
C: I feel very privileged to be able to come to Japan, and I’m very happy to have met you all here today. It has been a wonderful experience. Thank you all very much.
A: Thank you! Let’s give her a round of applause. One more time, that was Sister Cristina!
C: Thank you very much. Bye bye!

If you like what you hear, then feel free to order a copy of her CD. Like she said, all profits are going to a good cause, though getting to hear her sing is more than enough of a good cause in itself.

Source: YouTube
Photos © RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]

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Otaku’s mom finds out about his anime doll obsession, sews a set of Love Live! costumes for them

March 13, 2015, 10:30 am
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The tricky thing about social media is that announcing your passions to the world, by its nature, means you’re also announcing them to relatives and acquaintances you’d maybe rather keep in the dark regarding some of your more unusual pastimes. That’s why Twitter user Shitaraki Kongo set up his account and does his tweeting in a way that he hopes will obscure his true identity.

Nevertheless, his mom eventually managed to tie her son to the account, and his secret was revealed. That Kongo is an anime fan isn’t such a big deal, and given the current trends in the industry, the fact that he’s enjoying high school idol series Love Live! probably wasn’t a huge shock either.

Kongo is on the fringe of even otaku culture, though, as he’s also really into collecting posable dolls and dressing them up like the Love Live! cast. Odds are he was feeling pretty awkward when his mother discovered all this, but instead of disowning him out of embarrassment, dear old Mom instead grabbed a needle and made some new threads for her son’s anime crushes.

With over 6,000 followers, Kongo’s built up a decent-sized presence on Twitter. Looking through his tweets reveals an extensive amount of Love Live! merchandise, but his pride and joy appears to be the aforementioned dolls.

But about three weeks ago Kongo says his mom found out what he’s been doing with his free time. “I don’t know much about Twitter,” she said, broaching the subject, “but it seems like you’re really into dolls.”

Kongo doesn’t live with his parents, and since his collection isn’t cluttering up his mom’s home, she actually had the option of just choosing to forget what she’d seen, hoping that the next time she and her son got together the awkwardness would have blown over. Instead, she did something even more accepting.

“Give me the doll, and I’ll make whatever outfit you want for it,” she told her son. Kongo took her up on her offer, and three weeks later, he got his doll back, sporting some new clothes.

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For those who aren’t intimately familiar with Love Live!, that’s a rather nice recreation of the costumes the idols wear when performing the song “KiRa-KiRa Sensation!”

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Kongo was especially happy about the detailed ruffles his mom added to the skirt.

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Of course, as proper idols, the girls of Love Live! are constantly slipping into different costumes during their performances. Kongo’s dolls are covered on this front too, though, as Mom also sewed the outfit used for the song “Yume no Tobira.”

▼ Anime

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▼ Doll

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It turns out the understanding mom has a grateful son, too. “I think I’m going to send her something tasty to eat,” Kongo mused, referring to the common practice in Japan of sending high-quality fruit, sweets, or even meat as a thank-you gift. “And since she doesn’t know anything at all about Love Live!, maybe I’ll stick a Blu-ray box set of the show in with it.”

Somehow, we doubt that Kongo’s mom imagined that one day she’d be making doll clothes for her adult son, but seeing how the activity seems to have brought them closer together, it’s hard to disparage his unique hobby when the end result is parent and child both happy, and his dolls well-dressed.

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Source: Jin
Top image: Twitter (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Twitter (2), Wikia (1), Twitter (3), Wikia (2), Twitter (1) (edited by RocketNews24)

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Japanese girl accidentally finds a new use for her decorative sword: accessory organizer

March 13, 2015, 10:00 pm
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Sometimes people can be a little shy about their hobbies and may not always be upfront with their friends, even if it’s something they really like. Things like cosplay or model building aren’t always seen as the epitome of cool (although, many would argue otherwise!).

When one girl was asked by a friend why she bought a fake katana (Japanese sword), she came up with a pretty terrible fake reason. However, that lie turned out to be a really good idea!

Twitter user @homoshirazu posted a photo showing the best new use of a decorative katana since cosplay for which she originally bought the piece.

She writes:

“My friend asked why I’d buy a fake katana and in desperation I said, ‘To hang my accessories on… like necklaces and stuff.’ But actually, it works really well! I’m able to organize my necklaces and dress up as Kashu Kiyomitsu. It’s a big win-win.”

The photo shows a katana with a variety of necklaces hanging off it, which looks pretty odd, but if you’ve ever tried to untangle necklace chains, you’ll understand the benefits. It’s a pretty good idea!

Plus, she can use the sword to cosplay the character Kashu Kiyomitsu, from the online game Touken Ranbu, a game involving bringing inanimate objects – swords included – to life.

▼ Kashu Kiyomitsu is one such sword-person.

Kashuu

Netizens took kindly to her novel idea, and some made interesting remarks and other possible excuses for owning a fake katana:

“Whoa. Unexpected but not bad at all!”
“Weapon stores in Akihabara are going to be very profitable soon.”
“It looks like the count of how many heads this sword has cut off.”
“It’s kind of like you’re decorating the katana.”
“She’ll never have to worry about being attacked with that thing around.”
“It’ll be useful in the case of a zombie apocalypse.”

While we think that everyone should be able to freely express their hobbies and interests to their friends, this girl came up with a pretty great idea by hiding hers, so maybe there are benefits to keeping secrets after all.

Sources: Twitter (@homoshirazu) via Hamusoku, Wikia (Touken Ranbu)
Images: Twitter (@homoshirazu), Zerochan (Yumiji)

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Origin: Japanese girl accidentally finds a new use for her decorative sword: accessory organizer
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Swiss otaku is as crazy as he can be, and his Twitter followers can’t get enough

March 18, 2015, 7:00 am
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There are “impressive” people in every fandom, but Japanese anime, manga and game fans certainly know how to take things over the top. There are more volumes to read, more episodes to watch, and more merchandise to buy than for just about any other fandom out there. You never knew you wanted a mint case cover adorned with your favorite character until you saw it there in the store.

If you have the money to spend, Japan will have made something for you to buy. A self-proclaimed Swiss otaku seems to have some extra cash, and he often uses it to take his fandom beyond anything you could possibly imagine. His recent set of tweets are causing a ruckus on the Internet and most people can only muster one simple question: Why???

Tweeting under the name @meidocafe, this super fan is happy to share all the odd and strange things that he’s got going on. For some, his content might be a little cringeworthy, but he definitely knows what his followers want and he always delivers. Sometimes he even over-delivers.

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This…interesting…set of tweets begins with a character from KanColle. If you aren’t hip to the Kantai Collection, this particular character is Yudachi Kai Ni, a new version of an older character, whose face is in her signature “poi” pose. The Japanese word poi usually expresses the likeness of something to the noun before it, so for example, “kodomoppoi” would mean childlike. In this case, it is the character’s catch phrase or verbal tic, and she often adds it to the end of her sentences. In fact, this is the face she makes when she is saying her catchphrase, making this her “poi” face.

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As you can tell from the pictures, Yuudachi’s face is plastered all over the room, and it’s not just any room. It appears these pictures have covered the wall of a men’s bathroom! How does one calmly relieve oneself in the presence of so many watching eyes?

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Even @meidocafe can’t stand the new decorations and he decides to tear it all down.

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This is apparently what you do when you have a lot of free time, and enjoy doing zany things for your fans. If this wasn’t enough for you, he’s also got other projects, like a 30 minute video of him licking all of his figures. It’s something he really enjoys, and he wants to share it with all of you!

If you want more of his antics, you can follow him all over social media, he tweets and shares photos on his flickr @Meidocafe and he posts videos on YouTube under Melon pan. This is probably not the last weird thing he will do on the Internet, so tune in next time on “Extreme Swiss Otaku!”

Source: Culture Lab
Images: Twitter (@Meidocafe)

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Superfan buys treasure trove of idol-cover magazines, swims through it like Scrooge McOtakuduck

March 20, 2015, 1:30 pm
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In recent years, the idol singer industry in Japan has put a lot of power in the hands of fans. Multi-vocalist units like AKB48 and its numerous tri-letter, dual-digit sister groups often hold “elections,” in which votes are tallied to see which members will get the most prominent roles in upcoming music videos, live performances, and the like.

The idol world isn’t a perfect democracy, though, in that concepts like universal suffrage and “one person, one vote” don’t exist within it. Ballots are often packed inside CDs, DVDs, or other commercial goods, and the more you buy, the more you can vote, which is leading one dedicated fan to try to corner the market on manga anthologies.

For at least the last 20 years, weekly manga magazines and gurabia, Japan’s corps of models who pose in swimwear and other revealing outfits, have enjoyed a comfortable alliance. Gurabia appear in the pages of most manga anthologies, and are often plastered on their covers with far more prominence than the serialized comics that are ostensibly the publications’ main selling points.

Recently, Kodansha’s weekly Young Magazine has been involved in a collaborative effort with the extended AKB48 idol-verse. The publisher selected a number of idols from AKB48, Osaka’s NMB48, Nagoya’s SKE48, and Fukuoka’s HKT48, with the eventual goal of choosing one to appear in an exclusive gurabia photo shoot for the magazine. The list has now been whittled down to 20 contestants, and Shueisha is asking readers to make the next round of cuts by filling out a card included with new issues of Young Magazine.

Even though each volume is hundreds of pages long, weekly manga anthologies are printed with inexpensive materials, and an issue usually runs in the neighborhood of 500 yen (US$4.20). That affordable price point means that superfans like Twitter user Ryosuke@Boku Lager Man can afford to vote for their favorite idol multiple times.

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That’s at least a dozen issues he’s buying there, and possibly at two different locations, too. But while it’s obvious he’s doing this because he wants as many ballots as possible, it raises a storage question. It’s one thing to buy every copy of a magazine off the rack at the convenience store, but unless you’ve got a similar set-up at home, where do you keep them?

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Oh, of course, on the floor. How silly of us to ask.

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Fear not, in the above picture, it only looks like Ryosuke is humping his treasure trove of idol photos. As he explains in his tweet, he’s actually swimming the crawl, inspired by the AKB48 hit Sayonara Crawl, in celebration of having just gotten over a cold.

We’re glad to hear that Ryosuke is once again of sound body. His mind, on the other hand…

Source: Livedoor
Top image: Twitter (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Twitter (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)

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Origin: Superfan buys treasure trove of idol-cover magazines, swims through it like Scrooge McOtakuduck
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How washing your itasha makes it look more dirty than clean

March 26, 2015, 7:00 pm
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If you’re one of the people who already finds the whole concept of itasha creepy, then you’re about to get a whole lot more skeeved out. But if you enjoy borderline-inappropriate pictures of anime girls, then you’ll probably enjoy these automobile images. (Possibly NSFW)

For anyone not up to speed with their otaku lingo, an itasha is basically a car pimped out with anime designs painted all over it, either by fans or by companies themselves to promote their anime, video games, and so on. You’ll often see them at anime events or driving around Akihabara, with fans and bemused passers-by stopping to take photos. The name comes from the amalgamation of itai (痛い painful) and sha (車 car).

Otaku love itasha, and nowadays there are whole conventions where people can show their customizations off to other fans. They’re mostly decorated with doe-eyed anime girls; after all who wouldn’t want a ride inside their favourite waifu?

And when the car gets a little dirty from all the activity, of course it needs to be lovingly cleaned…

Why have these photos had so many shares and retweets? It’s just because people like to see others taking good care of their itasha, right? There’s nothing more to be seen in these images of lovely anime ladies covered in cloudy liquid, is there? Of course not, and if you think there is, you’re a dirty perv!

Source: Twitter via news.gamme.com.tw
Feature Image: Twitter via news.gamme.com.tw

Origin: How washing your itasha makes it look more dirty than clean
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Get closer to being an IRL waifu than ever before, no surgery required!

April 4, 2015, 10:00 pm
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Ever wanted to dress up as a sexy anime lady but not had the courage or skills? Now you can do it in the simplest of ways, and what’s more you can hide it underneath your regular clothes!

Recently there was a sort of Comiket-in-between-real-Comikets event held at Makuhari Messe on March 28-29 from 11am to 4pm. The event, called Comiket Special 6 -OTAKU SUMMIT 2015-, was attended by around 5,200 circles, and 67 companies participated. Unlike Comiket, purchase of a catalogue was required to enter.

Many doujinshi circles are made up of illustrators, and fans have their favourite circles who they will queue for hours for in order to get hold of some of their merch. This merch typically includes illustration books, posters, tapestries, and small goods such as keychains and so on. Browsing through the circles who would be attending, one particular item on sale caught our eye.

Illustrators Suzuya Ryohka (Suzuya Ryohka) and Hisutei (Izumi Tsubasa) have collaborated to bring otaku this tank top and boxers set, printed with a voluptuous anime woman’s body wearing cutesy underwear.

▼“Recommended for those who are reluctant about wearing women’s underwear.
This might be too ridiculous so we didn’t have the confidence to make too many.”

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▼And for another 3,000 yen you can also get this matching tank top printed with shiny, gravity-defying cleavage.

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As we’ve talked about before, dressing up as women is something enjoyed by a portion of the otaku community, referred to as otoko no ko, and this could be a first step for guys nervous about making the leap to real bras and panties.

▼”Your transformation into a lovely lady will be complete with these boxer shorts I’ve produced with Suzuya-san. We’ll be waiting for you courageous souls at Comiket Special.”

Both illustrators have worked on high-profile eroge (erotic games), with Suzuya providing many of the illustrations for game company feng (Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi) and Hisutei doing work for Palette (Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki), so no matter how bizarre the products on offer I’m sure the fans were still lining up to buy them. It might be one of those things where, even though you’ve never considered something like it before, when you see it you just have to have it.

Below you can see all the goods they had on offer at the event.

▼Book, clear file, and bag set for 500 yen.
Boxer shorts 2,500 yen.

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▼Latest book and bag set for 1,500 yen.
Blanket 4,000 yen. (Recognize that underwear?)
Phone pouch and keychain set 2,000 yen.
Tank top 3,000 yen.
Plus a free mask!

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Source: Suzuya and Hisutei via Otakomu
Images: @ryohka_jp & @tsubasu_izumi on Twitter

Origin: Get closer to being an IRL waifu than ever before, no surgery required!
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Otaku husbands and their cardboard, dating simulator waifus share photos of their newlywed bliss

April 10, 2015, 6:00 pm
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You know how some guys who are anime or game fanatics like to refer to their favorite characters as their waifu? Well, things just got real.

The creators of an erotic game, Golden Marriage Jewel Days, ran a promotional campaign that gave their fans a chance to win life-sized cardboard standees of their favorite in-game heroines, in exchange for photos of their lives as “newlyweds”. Check out the lucky winners and their 2-D blushing brides after the break!

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As its title suggests, Golden Marriage Jewel Days is a dating simulation game that revolves around the theme of marriage. The game features six adorable heroine characters, all of which the player has a chance at falling in love and tying the knot with. To hype things up, the creators of the game rolled out a “Sweet Newlywed Life Campaign” encouraging fans to experience an actual “newlywed” life with their favorite female lead.

▼ The six lovely brides: (left to right) Rei Amaya, Yukariko Kasugano, Marika Von Wittelsbach, Ruri Simakage, Kasumi Tange, Tohko Ichijoji

The concept of the campaign was simple. The makers would present six lucky winners with live-sized cardboard standees of their chosen character (one winner per character), and the winners would in turn have to send photo evidence of themselves enjoying their newlywed lives with their 2-D brides. Registrations were closed in February, the standees were sent out, and here are the blissful fans with their Golden Marriage spouses!

▼ Flower-viewing with Tohko

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▼ Enjoying the scenic view by the Tokyo Gate Bridge…

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▼ …followed by a date at Tokyo Tower

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▼ Getting lectured by Ruri because she found his collection of erotic games and tapestry

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▼ The caring Ruri served him a cup of tea while he was working. How sweet of her!

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▼ Kabe-don!

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▼ Honeymoon hot spring vacation with Rei

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▼ Taking a rest in the onsen inn

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▼ Having a moonlit drink with Rei

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▼ Snapping a selfie at the newly opened Iiyama Shinkansen station

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▼ Marika looks excited to be going for a drive

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▼ What a view!

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▼ Having their wedding ceremony at Tokyo University

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▼ Apparently things got steamy on their wedding night.

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▼ They also visited a shrine to wish for the safety of their family

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From romantic dinners to family prayers to kabe-don, it’s interesting and realistic how these six couples captured totally different aspects of their newlywed lives. It must have taken quite a bit of courage to pose with a cardboard standee of an erotic game character in public places! However, it also looks to have been worth the effort because they all seemed to enjoy their inter-dimensional marriage experience!

Would you have the guts to take a standee of your favorite character out on a date? Tell us about your dream date in the comments section below!

Source: Ensemble Game via Zhaizhai News
Images: Ensemble Game

Origin: Otaku husbands and their cardboard, dating simulator waifus share photos of their newlywed bliss
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The crazy Swiss otaku is back and he’s got the best Hestia costume to come out yet

April 14, 2015, 4:30 pm
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It’s been almost a month since we witnessed the “Extreme Swiss Otaku” breaking the Internet. If you thought his last crazy “Poi! Poi! Poi!” antics of plastering a men’s restroom with posters of Yudachi Kai Ni from Kantai Collection was nuts, just wait until you see his latest tomfoolery.

The self-proclaimed geek from Switzerland, known by his Twitter handle @meidocafe, only made his big break in March but he already has quite the fan base with nearly 7,000 followers on Twitter. What keeps bringing the netizens back for more are his wacky posts, which often involve cosplaying and awkward positions. Although they can be nearly cringeworthy at times, they are nonetheless entertaining.

His most recent foolishness involves another trending topic: Hestia from the anime Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka? (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?), also known as Danmachi. The voluptuous Hestia wears a skimpy white outfit with a curious blue ribbon around her bust and upper arms, leading some Japanese girls to question, “Can a simple ribbon give magical anime-style boob uplift?” Our dear Swiss friend was apparently also curious, so he prepared to do some cheap Hestia cosplay. 

▼ His budget costume involves a shopping bag and some blue ribbon.

He’s a little bit of a tease though, as he hinted to his fans about what’s to come, but then left them hanging, anxiously awaiting the craziness.

▼ “Noms! I’ll post the Hestia cosplay pics in the morning.”

His fans were expecting craziness, and he dished it out and then some. Prepare yourself for the most bizarre thing you’ll see today, and if you’re at work maybe you’ll want to make sure no one’s looking over your shoulder…

▼ Is that the male version of Hestia I see?

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▼Why it must be, look at those boobs!

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▼ Is that admiration or disdain on his face?

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▼ Well now, we probably should have expected this one.

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▼ Hestia is not pleased.

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▼ Is he turning into (has always been?) an otaku husband?

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As much as we love the Extreme Swiss Otaku for his wild and crazy humor, he’s not the only player in the game this time. Another male budget-cosplayer also took to the Internet to display his Hestia-form.

▼ He’s a bit more clothed.

The Swiss Otaku’s followers loved his Hestia cosplay as much as one would expect. He made it onto RocketNews24 twice in the space of a month, so it’s probably safe to say that you can expect to see more of this crazy guy soon. Stay tuned!

Source: Twitter (@meidocafe, @kurroku)
Images: Twitter (@meidocafe), Flickr (meidocafe)

Origin: The crazy Swiss otaku is back and he’s got the best Hestia costume to come out yet
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The running of the otaku! Event staffer learns not to get in fans’ way as gates open【Video】

April 27, 2015, 6:00 am
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With some jobs, the risks are obvious. Want to be an F1 racer? Driving cars at unsafe speeds is pretty much the extent of your work responsibilities. Firefighter? Be prepared to get up-close and personal with dangerous flames, because after all, the position isn’t called “fire-mediation-and-peacekeeping-liaison.”

Working the gate at a fan event for a video-sharing website seems like it should be relatively safe, though. That’s not always the case, though, as one man found out when he became a human speed bump standing against a crowd of stampeding fans at the recent Niconico Chokaigi.

Ostensibly, online video-sharing sites, such as Japan’s Niconico Douga, should have been the end of media consumers’ need to rush anywhere for their pop culture fix. Simply whip out your smartphone or fire up your PC, pull up the video you want to watch, and enjoy while you relax on your living room sofa, chair at work, or toilet (whichever happens to be your preferred viewing location).

Ironically, though, Niconico Douga has become so popular that parent company Dwango now hosts an annual event for fans called the Niconico Chokaigi (literally “Niconico Super Conference”). This year’s Chokaigi took place last weekend at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture, with a reported 151,115 attendees showing up over the two days. Not only was the crowd large, it was enthusiastic, with fans lined up before the official start of the festivities at 10 a.m., even on the second day.

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But while everyone seemed patient and well-mannered while they were outside the venue, the same couldn’t be said for what happened once organizers began letting people in, as shown in this crazy video from Twitter user rader2525.

As the mass of humanity surges forward, one fearless worker tries to slow them down.

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And he succeeds in stemming the tide…for about three seconds.

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After being sent tumbling and colliding with the concrete flooring with a solid thwack, the staffer picks himself up, fixes his hair, and gives a rueful hard stare at the crowd that just bowled him over. But while he seems to have been ill-prepared for the unstoppable force of a sprinting wave of otaku, the mad dash seems to have been within the rest of the organizers’ expectations, since it’s preceded by a race-style countdown and one staff member seems to have been posted specifically to record video of the spectacle.

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But it’s not all bad news. There’s a brief respite as the staff closes off the gate as part of the staggered entrance system, with just one more attendee, a young women, coming in as part of the first batch. As she barrels forward, she suddenly loses her footing and completely eats it, right in front of the man who was knocked over.

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Could this romantic comedy-like symmetry be the start of a beautiful friendship?

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Sadly, no. The woman is obviously in a hurry to see all of the exhibits at the Niconico Chokaigi and is gone in a heartbeat,  But at least this guy still has the memory of their encounter, and possibly the bruises from his surprisingly dangerous job.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: Niconico Chokaigi
Insert images: Twitter (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: The running of the otaku! Event staffer learns not to get in fans’ way as gates open【Video】
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Talking Black Butler anime robot will flirt with you if you ask to kiss, also clean your floors

April 28, 2015, 6:00 pm
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Up until now, you could say that Black Butler has followed the standard trajectory for a major hit in the anime world. It began as a manga about a suave and sophisticated demon entering into a pact to serve his master in return for the chance to eat his soul once his work is done. Next came an animated TV series, video game, stage musical, and live-action film. Really, pretty standard stuff for a mixed media franchise in today’s integrated otaku entertainment industry.

However, Black Butler is about to branch off into something very few anime, but almost all butlers, are involved with: keeping your home clean, as you can now order an official Black Butler cleaning robot that’ll vacuum your floors and even engage in flirtatious banter when you call out to it.

The high-tech piece of anime merchandise comes from a team-up between Aniplex and electronics manufacturer Sharp. Staring with Sharp’s Cocorobo RX-V200 model cleaning robot, a number of additions were made to create the Premium Cocorobo (Black Butler Version).

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Surpassingly, the unit is not black, although it does come decorated with an illustration of Sebastian Michaelis, the Black Butler himself. Turn the Cocorobo loose on your floors, and it’ll handle the cleaning duties, leaving you free to relax and catch up on all the anime you’ve been meaning to watch.

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Of course, a proper butler should be as competent in handling social situations as cleaning ones. The Black Butler cleaning robot comes preloaded with dozens of lines of dialogue from Sebastian’s voice actor, Daisuke Ono.

Displaying impeccable manners, the mecha Sebastian generally remains quiet and unobtrusive until spoken to. If you’d like it to get to work, simply command it “Kirei ni shite” (“Clean this place up”), and your disc-shaped servant will respond with a silky smooth “Yes, my lord” as it sees to its task.

Other promised exchanges (translated here into English) include:

“You’re good at cleaning.”
“What kind of butler would I be to the house of Phantomhive if I couldn’t even do this?”

“Let’s play.”
“Well now, whatever shall I do with such a spoiled boy as you?”

“How do these clothes look on me?”
“As the head of the Phantomhive household, dignified, traditional styles would suit you more than recent fads.”

“I’m going to bed.”
“Good night, and sweet dreams.”

“Stay by me.”
“Yes, my lord. If you so desire, I shall accompany you anywhere.”

“I love you.”
“I am afraid I am unworthy of such words.”

“Let’s kiss.”
“You truly are a naughty child.”

The Cocorobo can also be linked to a number of other services, such as weather reports and schedule calendars, and can also be used as an alarm clock. Once again, issuing related commands will produce a response in Sebastian’s voice, as he warns you to take an umbrella, avoid harsh UV rays, or inquires as to whether or not you’d like some early morning tea upon waking up.

▼ Sadly, lacking hands, the robot is incapable of actually making and serving said tea, however.

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Preorders are being accepted between now and May 31 through the Aniplex+ online store here, and delivery is scheduled for late June. The retailer cautions that quantities are limited, and should they all be sold before the preorder cutoff date, there are currently no plans to produce a second run. Good household help doesn’t come cheap, though, and the Black Butler Cocorobo’s price of 162,000 yen (US$1,360) will probably leave some fans with no option but to sell their soul to scrape together the cash.

Source: Comic Natalie via Jin
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: Aniplex+

Origin: Talking Black Butler anime robot will flirt with you if you ask to kiss, also clean your floors
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Otaku assemblyman elected in Ōta-ku, Tokyo

May 3, 2015, 7:00 pm
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Excitement was in the air all over Tokyo as the votes for regional elections to council seats were talli–hey where are you going!?

Sure, local politics aren’t all that electrifying aside from the occasional eccentrics who throw their shark-tooth necklaces into the ring. But it’s also sometimes the place where small but inspiring stories of success can happen.

Such is the case with Minoru Ogino who was recently elected to Ōta Ward (aka Ōta City) or Ōta-Ku in Japanese. It’s a fitting district to win in as Assemblyman Ogino is Love-Live-lovin’ Kankore sailing otaku himself.

■ Otaku through and through

Ogino wouldn’t be the first representative with otaku leanings, and there may be other closeted otaku serving the public. However, Ogino is possibly the first successful openly otaku politician in Japan.

His resume lists achievements such as participating at doujin circles at Comiket and distributing a fan-fiction based on Nomoko Fujiwara from Touho Project. Although politicians have visited events like Comiket before to curry favor, this may be the first time a Comiket attendee has crossed over the other way into politics.

■ Pressing the flesh

▼ “Ogino campaign headquarters, the signs were really difficult to put up”

Based on that description, you might think that Minoru Ogino was just another fringe candidate who got lucky. That couldn’t be further from the truth though, as Ogino spent the time leading up to the election making himself as visible as possible in the community and getting his name out there.

He made the appearances at the local fire hall and met with kids at schools for photo ops. He got the van decorated with slogans and made speeches in the street as any would-be assemblyman might. But it was his otaku background that really set him apart from the heard.

■ Manga campaign

Many are accrediting Ogino’s success to his use of manga in campaign literature. Rather than the word-heavy newspaper style pamphlets of other politicians, Ogino stylized his promises in the form of moe-girl-heavy comics.

▼ All of Ogino’s campaign manga can be viewed on his website.

Ogino said in an interview that the manga was a way to separate himself from the other candidates, but the strategy was savvier than that. He keenly noticed that a lot of time people hand out fliers on the street it’s often children who take them. By decorating his platform with cute characters he likely spared hundreds of fliers a quick trip to the trash bin.

Also by posting in the mailboxes of homeowners he can appeal to the crops of 30 and 40-year-olds who grew up with manga and may feel a subconscious attraction, even if they aren’t deep enough into it to be familiar with the works of Seiji Matsuyama and Takeshi Nogami who helped to produce the fliers.

■ Life in government

After getting elected, Ogino tweeted about his win and showed us some of the cool stuff local representatives get.

▼ “The winners’ meeting and ceremony finished. The term of office will begin next month but I got my badge. Once again I begin to doubt myself. I’ll do my best to repay the trust that you people have put in me.”

▼ “My winning certificate…”

▼ “Assembly members get free car and bicycle parking. Just stick this pass on the car’s license plate, or stick it to your bicycle and you get free parking for a year. I’m going to use it on my bicycle because I don’t have a car or a motorbike. I’ll go to assembly on my chari [Mama’s Chariot: a type of unstylish, utilitarian bicycle associated with busy mothers].”

His major campaign promises were to cut government spending and focus more on childcare efforts. However, that doesn’t mean he is abandoning his roots.

Ogino is ambitious to raise the reputation of Ōta to the international level through Japanese sub-cultures like cosplay and dojinshi. He hopes to make these types of events flourish and bring in valuable tourist revenue. He will be attending most of these events around Ōta himself because he knows well that a politician should always be among the people they serve.

Of course, he’d probably be there anyway.

Minoru Ogino
Website
Twitter

Source: Niconico News via My Game News Flash (Japanese)

Origin: Otaku assemblyman elected in Ōta-ku, Tokyo
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Is Hatsune Miku without twintails still Hatsune Miku?

May 7, 2015, 3:00 pm
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What defines an anime character? Digital idol Hatsune Miku’s most distinctive features are her long, turquoise blue pigtails – or twintails as they’re known in Japan.

But take those away and is she still Hatsune Miku?

What started out as an idle idea on a bulletin board has, I feel, revealed a pretty deep question about what makes an anime character.

▼Is the cute blue-haired girl below still the Miku you know and love?

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Cute, right?! Most Netizens agreed, although they did acknowledge that it fundamentally altered her appeal. Some even suggested that she’d never have become so popular without her famous twintails.

Sure, this is one of those things that you could point to as evidence that otaku have way too much time on their hands, but it does also raise some interesting questions. Anime character designs are simple, and the most distinctive characteristics are usually hair style and colour, and eye shape and colour. This is probably why clothes also become such an important part of the design, and anime characters rarely seem to change out of their designated outfit, which is often some kind of instantly recognizable uniform.

Otaku scholars such as Hiroki Azuma, author of Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals, have suggested that these days characters a designed from a “database” of traits which all have established associations and invoke particular moe responses in consumers. Companies are savvy to what turns otaku consumers on, and are able to draw from this pre-existing knowledge-bank when creating new characters in order to make them as marketable as possible. So Miku’s twintails could very well have been carefully chosen to initiate some kind of Pavlovian response from anime fans and get them to part from their cash, and without them she would have been nothing, or at most a flash-in-the-pan that was quickly forgotten about. Of course, now that she’s a famous and firmly entrenched character even variations on the theme will still be recognised, but in the early stages consistency and easy recognition are paramount.

Well, that all got a bit deep and cynical, didn’t it? Just in case you’re worried we’re turning into some kind of scholarly journal, we leave you with the image below to assuage your fears.

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Source & Images: 2chan via Seiyu Fan
Header Image: Miku Wing

Origin: Is Hatsune Miku without twintails still Hatsune Miku?
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Bonding through bondage – Anime fans in Japan slap collars on pictures of their 2-D crushes

May 12, 2015, 10:00 pm
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Last year, some anime fans with extremely specific tastes hit upon the idea of taking a picture of their favorite character, whether male or female, and subtly sliding a positive pregnancy test into the image. Not everyone is attracted to the healthy radiance of approaching motherhood, though, so now there’s a new burgeoning trend for those who want to dance on the razor-thin line between otaku creativeness and creepiness: using photo editing software to slip a chained collar around an anime character’s neck.

If you’re looking for someone to thank/blame for this artistic innovation, that would be Twitter user Kyoka, who recently whipped up a drawing of a collar with a transparent background.

Of course, keeping an empty collar around is just wasteful, so Kyoka quickly put it to use.

▼ So quickly that one of his models didn’t even have time to finish eating lunch, it seems.

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And with that, the idea of slapping collars on characters was ironically free and on its way to inspiring others to follow Kyoka’s lead.

▼ Remember, if you’re going to subdue an anime idol, traditional etiquette stipulates you also mention her measurements and age.

It’s not just female characters who’re suddenly finding themselves bound, either.

▼ It’s a good thing Ace of Diamond’s Eijun is a pitcher, because he’d need a mighty long chain on that collar if he was running all over the outfield.

▼ Likewise, as long the other end of that chain is attached to the cockpit of Inaho’s combat robot, the Aldnoah.Zero mecha jock should be able to do his job just fine (although maybe someone should get the dude a shirt).

If you’re ready to move on to advanced techniques, you can try rotating or reversing the image of the collar to better fit with the rest of the scene.

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And while the trend seems to be localized in Japan at the moment, that doesn’t mean characters from abroad aren’t also getting the collar treatment.

▼ Did Mike and Raph get away just in time, or are they the ones responsible for their ninja brothers’ current predicament?

And finally, not every fan artist sees this as a chance for some kinky fantasizing. After checking around, we found there’s at least one fairly accurate representation of the sort of unsexy reaction being drug around by the throat is more likely to actually produce.

Still, it seems for the majority of those participating in the fad, the idea is to use bondage to deepen their bonds with their 2-D crush.

Source: Jin
Top image: Twitter (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Twitter (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: Bonding through bondage – Anime fans in Japan slap collars on pictures of their 2-D crushes
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Japanese man completes tattoo homage to ’80s and ’90s Shonen Jump anime

May 29, 2015, 9:00 am
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Japan is known for having an extreme level of distrust and distaste for tattoos, while at the same time churning out some of the most amazing tattoo artwork in the world. There’s no shortage of anime-inspired tattoos either, and we’ve seen everything ranging from Evangelion to Love Live! to Studio Ghibli films.

But perhaps the most impressive belongs to Japanese Twitter user @Sound_mattsun, who last summer showed off the basic outlines of ’80s and ’90s anime tattoos that would fill up his entire back. Now, almost a year later, he’s back with the finished, fully-colored product, and it is truly a sight that would make any Shonen Jump otaku weep with joy.

It turns out that @Sound_mattsun is the bassist for the Japanese rock band SoundWitch, while also being a huge anime otaku. Along with posting pictures of his group’s concerts on Twitter, you also find gems like this:

▼ “Hooray! My Dragon Ball omikuji (fortune) says my power level is 530,000!”

▼ “Captain Tsubasa chocolates! Aw yeah, got some of those!”

▼ “I set my Yahoo! Mail to have a Dragon Ball skin and now it’s all written in Namekian and I can’t read it!”

And to forever memorialize his love of classic Shonen Jump, Mattsun has spent the last year and a total of 30 hours under the needle to produce this giant tattoo on his back:

There’s a lot going on in that picture, so let’s take a look at each part individually.

▼ First up is of course Goku from Dragon Ball. We’re guessing Mattsun spent a lot of time as a kid in front of his TV, screaming along to Saiyans powering up, just like we did.

▼ Then we get Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin, looking like he’s ready to cut anyone up if they dare call his anime “old.”

▼ Next up is Captain Tsubasa in his non-chocolate form.

▼ Here’s Slam Dunk’s Hanamichi Sakuragi – perhaps the inspiration for Mattsun’s choice of hair color?

▼ Changing it up from the tough guys a bit we get Makibao from Midori no Makibao, the most cow-looking mule I’ve ever seen.

▼ And then Yusuke Urameshi from YuYu Hakusho pointing his spirit gun right at you.

▼ The fairly obscure Magical Taruruto also makes an appearance, showing just how huge a fan Mattsun is of Shonen Jump, that such a small series made such an impact on him.

▼ City Hunter‘s Ryo Saeba looking like he’s ready to kick some ass and get some ladies’ phone numbers.

▼ And last but not least Hell Teacher Nube, equal parts elementary school teacher and possessed Demon’s Hand.

Just looking through the above pictures, you can feel Mattsun’s intense passion for his Shonen Jump idols. His tattoos are truly a work of art and a beautiful way to immortalize the characters that have had such an effect on his life. Now if only we could say the same about some other tattoos we’ve seen before….

Source: Facebook and Twitter via NetLab
Featured/top image: Facebook

Origin: Japanese man completes tattoo homage to ’80s and ’90s Shonen Jump anime
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

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Have this new Hatsune Miku toy which transforms into a… donkey

June 2, 2015, 10:30 am
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We all knew it was eventually going to happen.

As Hatsune Miku’s popularity grew – eventually landing her a much-lauded place on David Letterman, where her appearance was met with widespread confusion and much self-conscious head bobbing – we were all essentially certain that one day, like all other holographic semi-celebrities, our much beloved Hatsune would one day be immortalized in the form of a transforming donkey.

It is a story as old as time, after all: Fake hologram girl learns to sing and dance, fake hologram girl becomes famous, fake hologram girl becomes a donkey.

While the donkey-shaped, rideable toy Rody is a well-known curio in the West – occupying a not-insignificant percentage of homes with small children – the distinctive, rubbery plaything enjoys a different kind of cultural capital entirely in the toy’s native Japan. Second, perhaps, to Hello Kitty, Rody is known for its liberal licensing, going in for tie-ins with other popular intellectual properties such as the Eagle Talon crew and certain holographic singers.

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Thus, it seems, the Rody Hatsune Miku transformer was born.

Presented jointly by Bandai and Tamashi Nations, the Rody Hatsune Miku toy is manufactured under the “Cho-gokin” label of mega-high-quality toys. The toy line has a prestigious history dating as far back as the die-cast mecha toys of the early 1970s. Now, the line produces any number of toys based on more current IPs, like Yokai Watch.

Transforming Rody Hatsune Miku will set fans back a cool 7,344 yen (about US$65), meaning this one-of-a-kind tie-in is mostly intended for Hatsune Miku and/or the odd adult Rody super fans of the world. Little Hatsune even comes with a replaceable facial expression, an adorable tiny piano and even a handful of her signature leeks.

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As is generally the case with more or less all of the coolest Japanese goods, Rody Hatsune Miku is only available for delivery in Japan, but for the ones of you out there who are diehard Rody and Hatsune Miku fans, currently residing in Japan and primarily consuming your Japan news in the form of an English-language humorous news site, you can find more information here.

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Source and images: Tamashii.jp

Origin: Have this new Hatsune Miku toy which transforms into a… donkey
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

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Miyazaki-inspired prints are gorgeous mashup of pop and traditional Japanese art

June 4, 2015, 7:00 am
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According to his online profile, when freelance illustrator Bill Mudron is not working on stuff that pays the bills, he “draws ridiculously nerdy stuff that he wants to hang on his walls but hasn’t been made yet by anyone else.” I don’t know about ridiculously nerdy, but he’s definitely not the only one who’s going to want to decorate with these Hayao Miyazaki-inspired illustrations in Japanese woodblock style.

Available through his website for US$20.00 per 10.5 X 15.25-inch print, the illustrations focus more on the worlds in which the stories take place than on the characters. But even without a googly-eyed Totoro front and center, Miyazaki fans will know at a glance which movie it is from and the tiny details will they’ll find on closer inspection will charm them even more.

▼From the description: “Ashitaka lays eyes on the Forest Spirit for the first time while tending to one of Lady Eboshi’s injured workers.”

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▼”The spirits gather at Yubaba’s bathhouse.” Can you spot No-Face?Spirited_Away1

▼ “Lupin takes a smoke break while waiting for Jigen to change the tire on their ill-fated Fiat 500.”Cagliostro1

▼ “Serving as a waystation for air pirates in the Adriatic Sea, The Hotel Adriano is also a favorite retreat for one the world’s best pilots – Porco Rosso.”Porco_Rosso1

▼ “Kiki and Jiji takes a break from minding the bakery (and taking delivery orders) to watch the gulls and planes soar by.”Kiki1

▼ “Satsuki and Mei hanging out with Totoro & co. atop the freshly sprouted camphor tree in their garden.”Totoro1

▼There’s that googly-eyed Totoro!

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If one or all of these take your fancy, better order fast, as Mudron is making a limited number of each print.

But not to worry if you miss out, he’s got lots of other options for the interior decorating otaku.

▼Like world maps from old video games.

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▼ The sadly already sold out Baywheux Tapestry

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▼ Even a poster of the original Star Wars action figures, including the Millennium Falcon (drool)!

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Basically, there’s something for damn near every fandom, so go check it out and get your geek on.

© RocketNews24
Art reprinted with express permission of Bill Mudron

Origin: Miyazaki-inspired prints are gorgeous mashup of pop and traditional Japanese art
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

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