Andrew Kane – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Sat, 24 Dec 2016 01:06:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 Andrew Kane – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Japanese designer creates beautiful VR map of his country, destroys it with laser beams【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2016/12/24/japanese-designer-creates-beautiful-vr-map-of-his-country-destroys-it-with-laser-beams%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/24/japanese-designer-creates-beautiful-vr-map-of-his-country-destroys-it-with-laser-beams%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2016 01:00:19 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=359586 VoxelKei has been working to create the ultimate VR map of Japan, allowing people the chance to explore an extremely detailed rendering of the entire country. Oh, and also fire massive death rays at it.
Ever want to became a kaiju like Godzilla? Well prepare to get excited, because thanks to this new virtual reality program you may be bombarding Japan with laser beams in no time at all. Created by Japanese designer VoxelKei, the program was originally designed for decidedly peaceful purposes, offering an amazing 3-D replica of Japan painstakingly developed over the course of several years. The VR interface is offered through hardware like HTC Vive or OculusRift according to the developer, giving users a more immersive experience than popular applications like Google Maps.
Now, a recent update to the program has the Internet going wild. In a Twitter video demonstrating the latest function added to the program, VoxelKei shows that you can now also fire massive, explosion-causing laser beams across the country.
▼ You too can become a kaiju*!*
日本列島焼き尽くすVRになってしまう。 pic.twitter.com/MrDMoTmTGl
— VoxelKei (@VoxelKei) December 19, 2016
All giant-monster mayhem aside, VoxelKei’s map also represents an impressive technical achievement, and stands as a testament to the developer’s hard work over the years. According to their website, the project began development in early 2015 and was created using a variety of resources and topographical surveys, including materials created by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Unlike many other digital map projects, however, VoxelKei’s VR map of Japan doesn’t rely on pasting satellite photographs over a 3-D rendered surface. Everything you see is generated in realtime using the game engine Unity.
▼ No satellite photos were used to create the map’s texture!
▼ the program even renders atmospheric effects and snowfall!
The educational potential of a tool like this seems limitless, and for those of us without money for a private jet, or omnipotent, god-like powers, it seems like a great chance to learn more about Japanese geography no matter where you live! While you’re at it, why not get one of these tiny, 3-D printed models of Tokyo too?
Sources: Hachima Kikou, Terra Japan VR
Featured image: Twitter/@VoxelKei
Insert images: Terra Japan VR (1, 2)
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/24/japanese-designer-creates-beautiful-vr-map-of-his-country-destroys-it-with-laser-beams%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 359586 af-1 screen-shot-2016-12-23-at-12-31-54 screen-shot-2016-12-23-at-12-56-36 7-Eleven convenience stores in South Korea offer an electrifying new Pokémon item! https://soranews24.com/2016/12/20/7-eleven-convenience-stores-in-south-korea-offer-an-electrifying-new-pokemon-item/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/20/7-eleven-convenience-stores-in-south-korea-offer-an-electrifying-new-pokemon-item/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2016 04:00:31 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=359047 Pokémon lovers rejoice! There’s now a whole new way to celebrate your fandom with these Pikachu-themed lunch boxes now on sale in South Korea!
Dedicated fans of the Pokémon franchise and processed food items should book their plane tickets now for their chance to enjoy this uniquely adorable culinary experience, which is exclusive to locations of the well-known convenience store chain in South Korea.
That’s right, this totally-amazing Pikachu lunch box was sold starting from the first of December, just in time for hardcore Pokémon players to celebrate the recent release of Pokémon Sun and Moon, which came out in South Korea on November 18th, as it did in many other places in the world.
▼ Seriously, just look at this thing!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOEoKS-BoGK/
In addition to the obviously amazing Pikachu head-shaped breaded pork cutlet and white rice, the box comes packed with spaghetti, salad, pickled vegetables, and fried potato wedges. The best part? The whole thing will only set you back 3,900 won (about US$3.30)!
▼ The only thing that would be better is if it came in a Poké Ball.
We weren’t able to fly to Seoul to try one for ourselves, but Twitter user Call Me 1993 revealed an additional tidbit in a post celebrating the cute new lunchboxes, explaining that each lunch comes with a sticker. Additional research revealed that there are a total of ten “Pokémon Christmas” stickers, so if you’re an adult man like me, you can stick them all over your workspace in the office and impress your colleagues.
韓国のセブンイレブンで発売されてる
【ピカチュウ弁当】ピカチュウの部分はトンカツみたい
！
お値段は3900ウォン
ポケモンシールも付いていてポケモン好きにはたまらない
#韓国好きな人と繋がりたい #ポケモン #세븐일레븐 #韓国情報 #韓国情報 #피카츄 pic.twitter.com/OyYKnjGWub
— CALLME 1993 (@callme1993) December 2, 2016
Some people people even “Pika-choose” to decorate the contents of their lunch box with little facial features made from condiments, thereby maximizing cuteness and flavor in one fell swoop.
Many of us have probably grown accustomed to reading about ways in which we celebrate our fandom by eating our favorite characters from different franchises. Still, there’s something unnerving to me about eating the face of a beloved character, especially one as cute as Pikachu. Apparently some people out there don’t have the same qualms about eating certain, delicious-looking Pokémon.
And for millions of Pokémon fans that don’t suffer from this weird hang-up, there couldn’t be a better way to enjoy a late-night session of the latest game than with a freshly-microwaved, Pikachu-themed lunch box.
Source: Minna no Keizan Shinbun
Featured image: Twitter/@callme1993
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/20/7-eleven-convenience-stores-in-south-korea-offer-an-electrifying-new-pokemon-item/feed/ 0 359047 pb Japanese game magazine from 1988 shows SNES as we never knew it https://soranews24.com/2016/12/19/japanese-game-magazine-from-1988-shows-snes-as-we-never-knew-it/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/19/japanese-game-magazine-from-1988-shows-snes-as-we-never-knew-it/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2016 02:00:01 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=358923 This cool mock-up shows that writers at Beep predicted a console very different from the one we would all come to know and love.
For all of us eager gamers out there, wildly speculating about the potential for a new system has become a familiar ritual. What will the controller be like? What sort of specs will it boast? What sort of titles do we have to look forward to after launch? As soon as a new gaming system gets announced, it seems like we can’t help but fill the time it takes to wait imagining what the future might hold.
Gamers back in the 1980s were no different it would seem. So while Nintendo loyalists like myself eagerly await the release of the mysterious new Nintendo Switch and kill time playing Super Mario Run on our iPhones, we can take a trip back to simpler times, when Japanese players of the original NES, or Famicom as it’s known in Japan, were waiting for the Super Famicom to appear.
That’s thanks to Twitter user Ninty Memories who got their hands on this exciting bit of Nintendo-related ephemera and shared it with the world.
Nintendo Super Famicom mockup from BEEP! Magazine. (1988) #Japan pic.twitter.com/5Wg653aLwa
— Nintendo Memories (@NintendoMemo) December 13, 2016
So what are we looking at here, exactly? This is an excerpt from the gaming magazine Beep which was published by the Japanese company Softbank back in the day. The article describes, in somewhat indefinite terms, the features and specs they thought would likely be included with the follow-up to the popular Famicom system, which was originally released in Japan in 1983.
While it would be another two years until the Japanese release of the Super Famicom in 1990, the writers at Beep envisioned a system that would include many optional pieces of hardware, and (what was at the time) cutting-edge technology. Some examples described in the mock-up and the accompanying article include an optional keyboard, a modem, a detachable 2-inch video floppy disk drive (pictured at far right), and even a card reader for IC cards. The writers of the article also describe a small liquid-crystal panel display for showing short text-based messages to users unrelated to games.
We all know, of course, that the Super Famicom that ultimately came out looked considerably different than this, and didn’t include many of the features included in this write-up.
▼ A Japanese ad showing off the Super Famicom Japan became familiar with.
▼ It looks just a tad different from what Beep imagined.
At the end of the article, the writers also mention that the release of the Super Famicom had been delayed, and also allude to the rivalry to come between Nintendo’s new system and Sega’s powerful 16-bit Mega Drive system (known to Americans as Sega Genesis), which would’ve been sold in Japan for the first time around the time of the article’s release.
Though the predictions were a bit far off the mark, this article is an interesting artifact offering a glimpse into the not-so-distant past to would-be gaming historians. For another interesting vintage gaming “what if?”, check out this article about the ill-fated “Nintendo Playstation” console.
Source: Twitter/@NintendoMemo
Featured image: Twitter/@NintendoMemo
Insert image: YouTube/KazuyaGames
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/19/japanese-game-magazine-from-1988-shows-snes-as-we-never-knew-it/feed/ 0 358923 screen-shot-2016-12-18-at-9-41-51 screen-shot-2016-12-18-at-9-49-54 Japanese netizens create adorable, edible “cat bread” 【Pics】 https://soranews24.com/2016/12/18/japanese-netizens-create-adorable-edible-cat-bread-%e3%80%90pics%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/18/japanese-netizens-create-adorable-edible-cat-bread-%e3%80%90pics%e3%80%91/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2016 05:00:48 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=358837 
Cat meets toast! Read more to learn all about this simple, yet creative internet craze that’s sweeping Japan.
Japanese Twitter users are engaged in an escalating arms race of cute, competing to create the most adorable bread-based creations imaginable. Wait, bread? It seems that in addition to its reputation as a technological leader in the world, Japan also has a leg up in the department of cute bread products.
▼ A bit crusty, but lovable nonetheless
So how exactly does someone manage to take something as boring and ordinary as sliced bread and make it cute, you might wonder. Well, as our loyal readers surely know by now, if there’s anywhere in the world where someone can anthropomorphize even the dullest of inanimate objects, chances are it’s Japan.
Evidence of this gift for cute appears in ample abundance under the Twitter hashtag neko pan (literally “cat bread”). Contrary to the name, this isn’t bread you’d be feeding to your favorite feline friend, or even made by cats in tiny baker’s costumes, but bread that’s been artfully decorated to resemble an adorable cat’s face.
▼ The key seems to be mastering the ear technique!
ねこパン作ってみました
可愛いけど、味は普通の食パンww pic.twitter.com/Egzu06AkRi
— ケイたろうのゆるゆる垢☆彡 (@keionemax) October 29, 2016
As you can see from these wonderful pictures, these talented toast-enthusiasts have painstakingly arranged different ingredients on perfectly ordinary pieces of bread and other pastries to create characters so cute, it’s kind of messed up to imagine someone taking a big bite out of their cheerful, smiling faces.
https://twitter.com/NatsuM726/status/774468374474608640
Many variants seem to include conventional ingredients spread across toast or bread, and the facial features are little holes poked through the bread.
Many creators seem to go with this relatively simple approach, or just spread a little margarine and honey before toasting to give their cats a golden toasty glow.
ねこパン
焼きバージョン
食べるのがもったいな～～い、と思いつつマーガリンとはちみつを塗りたくってカブリつきました(笑) pic.twitter.com/7iKVElByrr
— ケイたろうのゆるゆる垢☆彡 (@keionemax) October 30, 2016
With a bit of jam, fruit, or other colorful ingredients, you too could be making your own brilliant bread art in no time at all, and charming the cat lover in your life with small edible replicas of their favorite animal. But why limit yourself to cat designs? Some users have been pulling out all the stops to take this bread art to new levels, with many proud posts showing off things like “flower toast.”
https://twitter.com/ROM1H1/status/801579630637387776
Indeed, it seems that designing cute or beautifully arranged food items has become something of a common pastime for many people in Japan. The good news is you don’t have to live in Japan to try this one out for yourself. Just get yourself down to the local grocery store, buy a loaf of bread, and go wild. And once you’ve created your masterpiece, read about how you can even turn the bread bag clip into a miniature cat!
Source: Matome Naver
Images: RocketNews24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/18/japanese-netizens-create-adorable-edible-cat-bread-%e3%80%90pics%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 358837 cute-bread-top image1 DBZ’s Frieza drums to “Attack on Titan” theme song【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2016/12/14/dbzs-frieza-drums-to-attack-on-titan-theme-song%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/14/dbzs-frieza-drums-to-attack-on-titan-theme-song%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2016 15:00:07 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=358271 In a video as puzzling as it is impressive, a Japanese man in a Frieza costume and facial make-up skillfully drums to the hit anime theme song.
Who ever said that getting violently exploded and then revived as a robot, and then getting sliced in half with a sword should prevent you from learning a musical instrument? Well, if this video is any indication, Frieza, that androgynous supervillain notorious for his intergalactic antics, has been proving the naysayers wrong by keeping busy after his ill-fated run as one of Goku’s deadliest foes on Dragon Ball Z. Actually, wait a second. This guy looks familiar.
OK, well it turns out that this isn’t actually Frieza, but Japanese YouTuber, Zack TheWasted. In this clip, he apparently calls himself “Freezack”.
▼ Now that’s a lot of stamina!
And while some might think it more fitting that a man dressed as the iconic Frieza play along to Chala Head Chala, this skilled drummer has opted for a more contemporary choice in music, providing some skillful percussive accompaninent to the song “Guren no Yumiya*“* (“The Scarlet Arrow”) by the Japanese group Linked Horizon. Anime fans will probably know this song as the first of two intro songs to the action-packed series, Attack on Titan. With its intense riffs and epic singing, the song lends itself well to the high-energy drumming this musician offers.
▼ DBZ meets Attack on Titan: still better than The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons.
Attack on Titan has taken the world by storm since its debut in manga form in 2009. Since then, the popular series, created by Hajime Isayama, has successfully made the transition to television with a well-received 25-episode anime series debuting in 2013, as well as a not-so-well-received multi-part live-action series of movies in more recent years. What better way to celebrate the recent announcement of a long-overdue second season than watching this video?
Source: YouTube/Zack TheWasted
Top image: YouTube/Zack TheWasted
Insert images: YouTube/Zack TheWasted
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/14/dbzs-frieza-drums-to-attack-on-titan-theme-song%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 358271 screen-shot-2016-12-12-at-22-12-21 screen-shot-2016-12-12-at-22-13-32 screen-shot-2016-12-12-at-22-15-43 Nostalgia overload: Ninja Turtles theme song recreated frame by frame in Mario Paint! 【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2016/12/10/nostalgia-overload-ninja-turtles-theme-song-recreated-frame-by-frame-in-mario-paint-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/10/nostalgia-overload-ninja-turtles-theme-song-recreated-frame-by-frame-in-mario-paint-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2016 20:30:27 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=357784 YouTube personality Mike Matei created this truly impressive tribute animation using nothing but this 16-bit era Super Nintendo game!
For people of a certain age, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains a beloved, if somewhat bizarre, pop cultural touchstone. So what happens when you combine that with the Super Nintendo, a similarly beloved retro artifact? Basically something like a nostalgia overdose.
▼ Geez, now I think I’m going to have to play this again!
Well, let’s offer our thanks to this devoted fan for a fond trip down memory lane. Matei, who’s a well-known fan of the iconic ’80s franchise and retro video games, created this impressive work of animation with determination, hard work, and a copy of the 1992 16-bit SNES masterpiece, Mario Paint, plus the help of musician James Ronald of Epic Game Music, who created the cover music for the video.
▼ Check out the video for yourself!
As you can see, the creative pair have lovingly, and somewhat obsessively, recreated the original intro sequence to the 1987 cartoon series with an almost distressing degree of fidelity using the drawing tool from Mario Paint to approximate each part of the opening.
For those not familiar with Mario Paint, a bit of an explanation. In 1992, this unique game stood apart from other console offerings in that it gave users the chance to use a mouse to create musical compositions and short (admittedly crude) animations. It might bear mentioning that the famous flash Internet cartoon, Homestar Runner, also got its start with a short made using Mario Paint.
So how much time did this take, you might be thinking to yourself? If you watch to the end of the video, Matei helpfully reveals the details surrounding this video’s inception. He explains that each frame took a whopping 30 minutes or more to create, a painstaking process that pushed the relatively simplistic functionality of the game to its technical limits.
“The way I did it was, I had the original cartoon intro on a television next to me, and then I paused the cartoon and would redraw each picture frame by frame.”
Now let’s take a look at the original opening sequence to get an idea of how impressive this labor of love truly is!
▼ Great, now this will be stuck in my head all day…
Not bad at all! While many of us that played Mario Paint game back in the day likely used the game to cruder, more scatological ends (ah memories), Matei’s work is really a sight to behold, especially to those of us with fond recollections of the turtles’ many teenaged antics and quips.
Source: Youtube/Cinemamassacre
Top image: Youtube/Cinemamassacre
Insert images: Rocketnews24, Youtube/Cinemamassacre
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/10/nostalgia-overload-ninja-turtles-theme-song-recreated-frame-by-frame-in-mario-paint-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 357784 screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-22-26-44 image1 screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-22-17-22 screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-22-19-47 Should Japan become the next Vegas or Macao? 57% of Japanese people say “no thanks” in new survey https://soranews24.com/2016/12/08/should-japan-become-the-next-vegas-or-macao-57-of-japanese-people-say-no-thanks-in-new-survey/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/08/should-japan-become-the-next-vegas-or-macao-57-of-japanese-people-say-no-thanks-in-new-survey/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2016 04:00:37 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=357147 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democrats intensify their push for legalized casinos in Japan, but a majority of Japanese people are calling their bluff!
A new survey conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper earlier this month has revealed that a significant majority of the Japanese public opposes a recent move to expand the types of gambling legally permitted in the country. The innocuously-titled “IR Law” (standing for “integrated resorts”) has rapidly gained momentum with the support of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), receiving a majority vote on December 6th in the Japanese Diet, the main legislative body in the country. The law’s subsequent adoption would eventually open the doors for casinos in Japan.
The debate surrounding the introduction of large resorts that include casinos in Japan has been simmering for many years, but has surfaced again with new intensity lately. The recent brouhaha over the issue has prompted many commentators to think long and hard about the forms of gambling already permitted under Japanese law. Until now, Japan permitted some forms of gambling, including betting at horse races, boat races, and perhaps most famously, pachinko.
▼ So that’s where they’re spending all that pension money!
The most recent survey, conducted between the 2nd and 4th of December, showed a slightly greater rate of public acceptance for the legalization of casinos than a similar poll conducted by the newspaper in 2014, when only 24 percent of respondents agreed the prohibition should be lifted. Still, opposition remains high at over 50 percent. The results also demonstrated that women oppose the idea at significantly greater rates than men, with 64 percent of female respondents indicating that they’re “against”.
▼ 57 percent of respondents were all like…
While the ruling LDP party has aggressively promoted legalization, many in Japan’s political world have also been equally firm in their criticism. Japan’s main opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, the Communist Party, and the Social Democratic Party all expressed strong dissatisfaction with the vote, with members of several parties abstaining from the vote in protest. Some members of the LDP’s main coalition party, the Buddhist-based New Komeito, also expressed distaste for the new law. In reaction, a prominent and flamboyant member of the right-leaning Osaka Ishin no Kai (English: Initiatives from Osaka) political party, Ichiro Matsui, insulted politicians opposing the law by calling one of the main opposition parties “stupid,” in a widely reported incident.
Critics of the effort to bring casinos to Japan believe that the introduction of additional forms of legalized gambling to the country could bring with it a litany of social ills, contributing to an increase in organized crime, money laundering, and general seediness. Furthermore, many commentators have expressed concern that the new law lacks provisions to address the problem of gambling addiction that would likely accompany the new forms of legalized gambling.
Advocates of the law argue that the revenue gained through this morally ambiguous new venture could fill the government’s coffers with sweet, sweet tax money at a time when it sorely needs it. Some have pointed to the successful introduction of casino resorts to infamously conservative Singapore as evidence that casinos can work, even in a country of straight-laced chewing gum haters.
It would appear that their argument ultimately won the day despite widespread opposition both in the political and private sphere. It remains to be seen, however, whether the promised-benefits will materialize. Does that mean Tokyo will become the next Sin City?
Judging from the rate these sorts of things take to happen in Japan, you’ll have plenty of time to wait. So why not read up in the meantime about some of Japan’s most ill-behaved pachinko customers?
Source: Yahoo! News Japan/Yomiuri Shimbun
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Gahag (1, 2)
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/08/should-japan-become-the-next-vegas-or-macao-57-of-japanese-people-say-no-thanks-in-new-survey/feed/ 0 357147 pokerchips pokerchips article-image-one Amateur filmmaker’s videos are a time capsule of Tokyo in the year 1990 【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2016/12/04/amateur-filmmakers-videos-are-a-time-capsule-of-tokyo-in-the-year-1990-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/12/04/amateur-filmmakers-videos-are-a-time-capsule-of-tokyo-in-the-year-1990-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2016 09:00:01 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=356786 
Take a trip back to the metropolis at the peak of the Bubble Era with this fascinating series of candid video montages.
1990 Japan. After 17 years of continuous growth and rapid development, the country emerged from post-war ruin to attain the status of global economic behemoth.
26 years later, Japan’s economic status has diminished somewhat, and though the country remains a cultural and culinary juggernaut on the global stage, the time in which its growth and conquest of the business world appeared inevitable belongs several decades in the past.
Now, thanks in no small part to consumer video technology that Japanese companies helped to pioneer in the 1970s, we can all travel back to those heady times. That’s because YouTuber Lyle Hiroshi Saxon has posted a series of his travel videos, which in the era of streaming content and self-produced internet videographers seems at once quaint and shockingly contemporary.
▼ Check out the video here.
His videos, with their frequent jump cuts and lengthy run time, take on a slightly mesmerizing quality. Saxon’s willingness to videotape seemingly everything he encounters verges on art, with the camera turning toward department store windows and other typical sights in the urban landscape.
In one of my favorite moments from a second video (one of dozens on his channel), he visits an old-school video game arcade in or around Shibuya.
▼A golden age of gaming!
Surprisingly, many people in the videos don’t appear to notice or care about this activity, strange considering that he was hauling around a fairly bulky, vintage VHS camcorder.
The video clocks in at a little over an hour, granting contemporary viewers a vivid and immersive portrait of Tokyo in the year 1990. In many ways, the scenes Saxon chooses to record seem aggressively ordinary: commuters rushing into trains, mannequins aligned in department stores, and seemingly interchangeable street scenes. But it’s these very qualities that make the video such a compelling time capsule.
A kind of work weirdly voyeuristic and obsessive work of art, Saxon seldom turns the camera off, capturing the kind of mundane details and glimpses of daily life that other tourists would likely miss in favor of the usual landmarks. He occasionally turns the camera toward himself to add some commentary, in a kind of proto-selfie.
▼ The man behind the camera.
Nostalgists and hipsters alike should find something to love in this video. The great 1990-era fashion of Tokyo, and the gritty, analog quality of the video makes this seem like a holy grail for those obsessed with the ever-so-slightly obsolete aesthetic and technological trappings of the recent past. An unapologetic lover of cultural ephemera myself, I’m grateful that Saxon shared his videologues with the world.
As a current resident of Tokyo, I have to say that it’s surreal to see how certain areas have changed or remained the same. And for those who haven’t haven’t had their fill of traveling back in time with (slightly) vintage Japanese video diaries, check out this HD footage from 1992.
Source: Youtube/Lyle Hiroshi Saxon via AOL Online Japan,
Images: Youtube/Lyle Hiroshi Saxon
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/12/04/amateur-filmmakers-videos-are-a-time-capsule-of-tokyo-in-the-year-1990-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 356786 screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-40-51-am screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-40-51-am screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-44-23-am screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-58-18-am screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-50-00-am screen-shot-2016-12-03-at-10-43-34-am Japanese Twitter user creates terrifying ‘fluorescent’ rice balls https://soranews24.com/2016/11/29/japanese-twitter-user-creates-terrifying-fluorescent-rice-balls/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/29/japanese-twitter-user-creates-terrifying-fluorescent-rice-balls/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2016 03:00:08 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=356123 Check out their recipe for creating these neon edibles and learn how to make your own!
Have you ever wanted to eat something that looks like it came out of the movie Tron? Well, your day has come, my friend, because you’ll soon have the chance to enjoy a (completely non-toxic, believe it or not) bite of iridescent rice, seaweed, and whatever else you might be hungry for.
That’s all thanks to Japanese Twitter user, @unatra, who has revealed their (ahem) “illuminating” secret to the world, ensuring that we’ll all have the chance to enjoy this glow-in-the-dark delicacy before long. Provided, of course, you have access to a few common ingredients.
https://twitter.com/unatra/status/799466441472757760
According to a series of posts, to recreate Unatra’s experiment you’ll need rice, dried seaweed, carbonated tonic water, vitamin B2 supplements (one or two pills), and green food coloring.
https://twitter.com/unatra/status/799468406902661120
To start with, Unatra instructs would-be food chemists to take all the ingredients, except the seaweed, and place them in a metal saucepan. The next step is to simply heat up the contents to cook the rice as one normally would. Remove the rice when it’s ready, and after molding it into the desired shape, wrap with seaweed. Easy, right?
https://twitter.com/unatra/status/799472237124292608
Apparently, that’s about it! For those of you thinking, “there must be a catch,” you’re correct. Sadly, this concoction won’t be glowing on its own, like some mass of cartoon radioactive waste.
Unatra reveals in their posts that the secret to all of this is a black light. When exposed to black light, the finished rice balls transform from ordinary-looking onigiri into otherworldly, luminescent orbs. Wow! Aside from the black light, apparently cooking the mixture imbues the rice balls with the phosphorescent properties of vitamin B2 which melts when heated. Science!
So pull out your black light bulbs, your psychedelic dorm-room posters, and enjoy your glow-in-the-dark feast while it’s still cool. And if you’re looking for an equally bright dessert to go with your meal, these awesome fluorescent jelly shots are sure to amaze all your family and friends!
Source: Yurutore News
Top image: Twitter/@Unatra
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/29/japanese-twitter-user-creates-terrifying-fluorescent-rice-balls/feed/ 0 356123 screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-23-23-43 New live action Japanese comedy will star Jesus Christ and Buddha hanging out together https://soranews24.com/2016/11/28/new-live-action-japanese-comedy-will-star-jesus-christ-and-buddha-hanging-out-together/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/28/new-live-action-japanese-comedy-will-star-jesus-christ-and-buddha-hanging-out-together/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2016 15:00:32 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=355913 
Saint Young Men, a popular manga series starring the two religious figures, will make the jump to live-action next year.
For North American audiences, the idea of a comedic story about the mundane misadventures of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha living as roommates might seem strange, perhaps even offensive. In Japan, however, an unlikely living arrangement between the divine duo serves as the premise for a long-running series of comics by artist Hikaru Nakamura.
The series, which has proven an unlikely critical and commercial success since its creation over a decade ago, started serialization in 2006 and has since yielded 13 complete volumes, as well as several anime adaptations, including an OVA series and feature film both released in 2013. Jesus and Buddha are both presented as easy-going, good-natured young men with ordinary interests like shopping, blog-writing, as well as frequent difficulties with their strict landlord.
The story revolves around the two heavenly beings as they attempt to navigate the typical challenges of mortal existence during an earthbound “vacation” in Tachikawa, a rather ordinary suburban area in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The series draws much of its humor from its matter-of-fact treatment of the two super-powered entities living a low-rent existence in a cheap, flop-house apartment, and includes plenty of observational humor about contemporary life in Japan.
You can watch the trailer of the theatrical version of Saint Young Men here:
▼ Buddha and Jesus: BFFs.
The two roommates get into many hijinks together, but basically demonstrate the kindness and compassion they’re both traditionally known for. While the series won’t likely win many converts amongst the devoutly religious set, a passing familiarity with some of the protagonists’ past exploits certainly adds to the humor. Animals constantly flock around Buddha, causing the pair trouble since they’re staying in an apartment building whose strict and nosey landlady strictly forbids pets of any kind. Jesus, meanwhile, inadvertently causes a scene by turning water into wine at the local bathhouse.
▼ Buddha assailed by his feathered-friends*.*
The announcement of the live-action adaptation was teased in a full-page ad featuring Jesus in a recent issue of Kodansha’s Morning Two magazine, which serializes the comic. Additional details weren’t immediately clear, but it seems additional information will be shared in the magazine on December 22nd.
In the meantime you can get ready by getting your own Buddha statue knit hat or Buddha-shaped chocolates. We’re sure the Buddha in Saint Young Men would approve.
Source: Mainichi Shinbun
Top image: RocketNews24
Insert images: Youtube/Cinema Today
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/28/new-live-action-japanese-comedy-will-star-jesus-christ-and-buddha-hanging-out-together/feed/ 0 355913 image1-12 image1-12 screen-shot-2016-11-26-at-10-52-48-pm screen-shot-2016-11-26-at-10-51-24-pm We take a tour through Japan’s largest prison https://soranews24.com/2016/11/26/we-take-a-tour-through-japans-largest-prison/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/26/we-take-a-tour-through-japans-largest-prison/#comments Sat, 26 Nov 2016 01:00:58 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=355353 
Our Japanese-language writer, Yuichiro Wasai, offers a rare look inside the country’s largest prison with a series of original drawings!
So what’re Japanese prisons like, you might’ve wondered? We recently had a chance to visit the country’s largest, in Fuchu, a suburban area in Tokyo. When one of our Japanese-language writers, Yuichiro, learned about the “Prison Adventure Tour,” the compound’s cultural festival, he jumped at the opportunity to take a look inside one of Japan’s notoriously strict correctional facilities. Chances are if you commit a serious crime in Japan, this is the sort of place where you’ll get sent, so consider this a cautionary tale!
▼ An aerial photograph of the prison facility
A bit of background information about Fuchu Prison before we pass through its non-descript gates. According to a helpful description on the U.S. Embassy’s website, Fuchu Prison mainly houses non-violent, “repeat offenders rather than truly dangerous criminals.” Life in the prison follows a rigidly prescribed schedule, and “guards exert near complete control” over the facility, according to the Embassy’s information. Prisoners undergo intensive training upon entry, and must adhere to strict rules that dictate how they “walk, talk, eat, sit and sleep.” As a result, the prison is considerably safer, from a physical perspective at least, than what an inmate might expect in a country like the U.S.
▼ A diorama on the tour shows communal life in the prison.
While Yuichiro didn’t have a chance to see any prisoners during the tour, which anyone is free to join, he was able to look at facilities including their working space and bathing area. The verdict? Our writer said that he imagined life here is something like “hell,” indicating that the tour vividly demonstrates the many rules of this communal existence and gives a thought-provoking glimpse into what is likely a very bland life for inmates.
▼ “Photography is forbidden inside. Please place your belongings in this bag.”
Upon entering the facility, photography was strictly prohibited by the guide. Fortunately for us, Yuichiro committed the sights he encountered inside the prison to memory, and created a series of illustrations to reveal some points of interest.
The group assembled before the gates, and then walked across the prison yard. Yuichiro remarked that the grounds of the facility were fairly large, and were surrounded by a high wall beyond which you could make out people’s’ homes.
Next was the bathing area. After passing through a room for disrobing, which includes a space for a guard to observe the prisoners, Yuichiro saw where residents at the Fuchu Prison get to take their baths. The guards strictly regulate the use of water–inmates are permitted to use only two scoops of water on themselves from a small handheld wash bucket. The facilities for washing are communal, and there are two bath tubs arranged side by side with rows of chairs outside the bath lined up with very little room for personal space.
▼ Two baths are surrounded by small areas for communal washing.
Finally, the tour group went to the work area, where prisoners spend the majority of their waking life engaged in forced labor. The prison’s rules strictly prohibit private conversation during designated working hours, which are spent doing things like leather-working and creating ceramics. The quarters were so cramped that two participants of the tour could just pass through the area between the two sets of work tables.
Curiously enough, Yuichiro also noticed a safety poster in the work room featuring Mayu Watanabe, a popular member of idol group AKB48. Surreal! This appears to be one of the highlights of the tour, and perhaps a rare bright spot in the dreary lives of the inmates at Fuchu Prison.
▼The resemblance is uncanny!
And thus concludes our tour of Fuchu Prison. If anything, this article has hopefully convinced you that Japanese prison is not a place you’d like to be, so make sure to follow the law of the land!
Source: Embassy of the United States in Japan
Top image: Photograph by RocketNews24
Insert images: Illustrations and diorama photograph by RocketNews 24, Aerial photograph from Wikimedia Commons/© National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/26/we-take-a-tour-through-japans-largest-prison/feed/ 0 355353 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA fuchu_prison_1989_air OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA keimukan jounai01 youjo01 sagyojo02 mayuyu01 Domino’s Pizza is actually training reindeer for delivery in northern Japan https://soranews24.com/2016/11/22/dominos-pizza-is-actually-training-reindeer-for-delivery-in-northern-japan/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/22/dominos-pizza-is-actually-training-reindeer-for-delivery-in-northern-japan/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2016 01:00:31 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=355071 
Domino’s Japan announces that they’re seriously considering this as an option for sending out pizzas this winter.
Japan’s meteorological agency has been predicting a particularly brutal winter this year, threatening the nation with blizzards, ice storms, and (perhaps) more vengeful yeti-like snow monsters. All of this could potentially disrupt public transportation and may even cause roads and highways, the arteries of commerce and the food supply chain, to grind to a halt.
But fear not! Japan’s greatest minds have turned quickly to confronting the very grave question on all of our minds–how will we eat pizza without leaving our house in the event of a snowmageddon?
Apparently the fine folk at Domino’s Japan already have a (very real) contingency plan in place for this type of scenario, and are working hard to figure out the most cost-effective and reliable method for delivering their cheese-laden, dough-based products to the hungry masses.
After considering a number of other options, they’ve settled on reindeer. Yes, seriously, this isn’t a hoax. Reindeer, like the kind Santa Claus uses.
▼ PETA’s not going to like this….
This certainly sounds like a festive solution to the problem, but Domino’s admits that many logistical hurdles remain. Specifically, they’ve listed several major issues that need to be addressed before the scheme can be considered seriously.
Can the deliveries be completed safely–you know so that no one gets stampeded to death by giant reindeer hooves? What distance can the reindeer travel to complete their deliveries? What the heck is going to happen when the reindeer encounters someone’s pet golden retriever, or cat, or turtle?
▼ These are actual things that are actually being
considered by actual human beings.
To resolve these questions and determine the feasibility of the plan, the company has launched a trial period for performing training exercises in the city of Ishikari in icy Hokkaido. As a former resident of Hokkaido (Kushiro represent!), I can attest that the weather is indeed very cold, to the extent that big chunks of ice float around in the Sea of Okhotsk. So yeah, not quite the North Pole, but you get the idea!
The action plan included with the press release explains that the trials are taking place on the grounds of a driving school under the supervision of a trained animal-handler. A series of images released by Domino’s shows the adorable reindeer, which actually appears a lot smaller than one might imagine, trudging through the snow with what one can only surmise to be pizza-related hardware mounted to its back.
Wow. Well, I guess they just take pizza really seriously. I mean, I hope the reindeer gets a slice or two at least covered with whatever it is a reindeer eats. Lichen? Pinecones?
Other information appears scant at this stage, with many questions unanswered, including the number of reindeer that will be recruited and trained for the program, or whether this is a strictly seasonal arrangement, or where exactly they plan to keep all these reindeer when they’re not delivering pizzas. Hopefully not in a stable on the store premises, I imagine that could cause problems with the health inspectors. These challenges aside, however, it seems like the company is actually committed to this plan.
Domino’s, for its part, has indicated that additional details about the initiative will be announced on November 24 according to their official website. Hopefully they will answer all of the important questions at that time, including whether or not the reindeer will lovingly kabe-don you upon delivery, or if they will be piloting Hatsune Miku pizza-delivery scooters.
Source, images: Domino’s Japan
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/22/dominos-pizza-is-actually-training-reindeer-for-delivery-in-northern-japan/feed/ 0 355071 dominos-reindeer-top dominos-reindeer-top sub21 reindeer-delivery large_map_of_hokkaido_within_japan sub11 dominos-reindeer-2 Obscure characters become snacks in Doraemon-crazy Vietnam https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/obscure-characters-become-snacks-in-doraemon-crazy-vietnam/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/obscure-characters-become-snacks-in-doraemon-crazy-vietnam/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2016 13:00:12 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=354627 Japanese netizens are puzzled by Vietnamese convenience stores using increasingly minor characters from Doraemon for their popular steamed buns.
In Vietnam, like in many other countries in Asia, Doraemon remains an extremely popular character. So much so that more than forty years after its origins in Japan, the series still attracts enough attention to warrant its own series of steamed buns, which are somewhat disturbingly shaped to resemble the faces of characters from the long-running franchise.
Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart’s Vietnamese locations have been doing this for a while apparently, which doesn’t seem so strange in itself given the aforementioned popularity of Doraemon and his ilk.
So who’s the latest character to be honored as part of this humorous campaign? Um, none other than “Nobita’s Teacher,” a marginal figure in the series, at least according to my wife (“he only appears to yell at Nobita because he’s a bad student”). The character is also apparently evocative of bananas, and is thus injected with a cream-like banana filling.
▼”A strict, unnamed teacher at Nobita’s school”–thanks Wikipedia!
Observers in Japan note that this simply marks the latest in a bizarre series of choices for the line of steamed dumplings. Other recent additions to the line-up include family members of more popular characters like Nobita and Gian, who play more or less peripheral roles in the series.
The strangest part is that they haven’t even resorted to this after having run through all the main characters. One of the series’ most popular characters, Nobita’s enduring crush Shizuka, was rendered in bun form after other, much less important characters were bun-ified. For an example perhaps more familiar to American readers, this would be as though they chose to commemorate a character like Maude Flanders before Lisa Simpson.
▼Shizuka was only included in the series after other minor characters.
The choice of “teacher” may seem arbitrary, but it turns out that it’s all timed to coincide with a Vietnamese national holiday that honors educators held on November 20th. You learn something new every day! And what better way could there be to celebrate the contributions of teachers to society than biting into the smirking, cream-filled visage of a mediocre cartoon character?
Sources: Net Lab, FamilyMart Vietnam (Official Facebook Page)
Images: FamilyMart Vietnam (Official Facebook Page)
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/obscure-characters-become-snacks-in-doraemon-crazy-vietnam/feed/ 0 354627 screen-shot-2016-11-18-at-7-11-25-am Up to 40 percent of Japanese men can’t sleep because of work https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/up-to-40-percent-of-japanese-men-cant-sleep-because-of-work/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/up-to-40-percent-of-japanese-men-cant-sleep-because-of-work/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:30:53 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=354745 
A new survey reveals that a startling number of Japanese workers are literally losing sleep over their stressful jobs.
A recent controversy surrounding the suicide of a young worker at Japanese advertising giant Dentsu has cast a spotlight on the often gruelling labor conditions under which many toil in the country. Though the government’s investigation into the company’s practices led Dentsu to institute a number of countermeasures to prevent overwork, including a strict “lights-out” policy after 10:00 p.m. in the evening, office life for many in Japan remains as stressful as ever.
It might come as little surprise then that many people here actually “can’t sleep” because of stress they experience at their jobs. How many, you might wonder? Between 30 – 40 percent of Japanese working-age (20-50 year-old) men, to be precise. That’s according to the results of a recent survey about the health and nutritional habits of Japanese people, published by the Japanese government’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on November 14.
The survey drew from a sample of over 7,000 working-age Japanese people, and showed that in addition to this concerning figure, 40 percent of all men and women responding to the survey indicated that they sleep less than six hours a day. This figure represents a sharp increase from just a decade ago, when just 28 percent of respondents to a similar survey reported that this was the case.
Doctors typically recommend that people receive eight hours a day of sleep in order to stay healthy.
While the number one reason cited for lack of sleep by men in the survey was work, it seems that for women from a similar age bracket, the main things contributing to their poor sleep included getting absorbed with their phones, games, etc. (33 percent of women in their 20s), and raising children (32 percent of women in their 30s).
The survey also revealed that younger people generally, and younger women in particular, tend to have less balanced diets than people in their 60s, tending to opt for meals out and snacking rather than proper home-cooked food.
All in all, the results of this survey show that Japanese people, like many in contemporary societies around the world, have too much to do, too much work, and too little time to relax and enjoy their lives!
Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Asahi Shinbun
Images: Illustrated by author for RocketNews24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/19/up-to-40-percent-of-japanese-men-cant-sleep-because-of-work/feed/ 0 354745 cant-sleep cant-sleep-2 Student trolls classmates, teachers for entire year with fake Japanese accent 【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2016/11/17/student-trolls-classmates-teachers-for-entire-year-with-fake-japanese-accent-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2016/11/17/student-trolls-classmates-teachers-for-entire-year-with-fake-japanese-accent-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2016 02:00:57 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=354421 See this half-Japanese student reveal his prank in this surprising finale to a video series in which he documents an elaborate social experiment.
Let’s be honest. We’ve all done stupid things in our younger days just for the lulz. Personally, it’s hard not to cringe a bit thinking back on all the things I’ve done out of sheer boredom as a teenager – like that time I ate the contents of a can of yams from the 1970s I found in the crawl space of the basement at my school cafeteria. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get Botulism!
The impulse to commit random acts of mischief remains an important part of adolescence. The only difference now is that kids have all kinds of ways to easily document these inspired moments of juvenile delinquency and share them with the masses.
Take this kid for example. Over the course of a year, this high school student conducted an impressive prank in which he tricked virtually everyone he knew into believing he was a Japanese transfer student named “Happy”, who could barely speak English.
In a meandering series of YouTube videos called “Happy’s School Days,” 16-year-old high school junior, Kei Simmons, documents this experience, which started after he transferred to a Colorado High School from Japan. In his videos, Kei explains how using this alter-ego allowed him to cross normal boundaries and do things not normally accepted in American teenage life, like address teachers by their first names, naively ask what tampons are in front of an entire class, and casually interact with “the cool kids.”
Though the first video was created just two weeks after he adopted this persona, he apparently remained committed to the prank for an entire year, and the stunt culminates in this video in which he finally reveals to his friends and teachers that this persona was just a ruse all along.
▼Check out the “reveal” below!
His friends and teachers react with varying degrees of shock when he states in perfect English that he can actually speak “normally” after all. The reactions mostly seem genuine, but it’s unclear whether or not everyone believes or even cares about this somewhat puzzling act of teenage mischief. One teacher in the video seems at best indifferent, and at worst quite miffed at having been deceived by his student.
▼ Kei announces to his classmates that “Happy” was a lie all along.
While one might choose to read deeply into this year-long prank as a kind of manipulative experiment exploring the presumptions that some Americans hold about what foreigners are like, it doesn’t seem like Kei himself thought that deeply into it. Indeed, judging from the video, it seems that most people were simply treating the new student with patience and respect, and seem equally willing to accept the “real” Kei even after his prank.
When explaining his motivations in his initial video, the student explained with typical teenage ennui that he mostly did this out of boredom, and to have some fun after a depressing year in school. It should be interesting to see what this creative kid gets up to for his next project!
Sources: Nextshark, YouTube/Kei
Featured image: YouTube/Kei
Insert images: YouTube/Kei (1, 2)
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/11/17/student-trolls-classmates-teachers-for-entire-year-with-fake-japanese-accent-%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 354421 screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-5-57-22-am screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-6-13-04-am screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-6-21-10-am Japanese publisher Shueisha reveals plans to expand the Dragon Ball brand https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-publisher-shueisha-reveals-plans-to-expand-the-dragon-ball-brand/ https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-publisher-shueisha-reveals-plans-to-expand-the-dragon-ball-brand/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2016 11:30:17 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=350649 Fans have a lot to look forward to, following the announcement that an intriguing new “Dragon Ball Room” was established earlier this year.
Though the Dragon Ball series has never been unpopular since its debut in 1984, it appears to be enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, beginning with the well-received 2013 film, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. The first entirely new animated series for the franchise since Dragon Ball GT ended in the late 90s started broadcasting in Japan in 2015, and with new games, toys, and even a serialized manga, the franchise shows few signs of going away any time soon.
▼The series recently celebrated its 30th birthday. God I feel old!
Well now there’s even more good news for fans of Akira Toriyama’s legendary manga series. Shueisha, the Japanese publishing company that handles the popular martial arts manga in all of its glorious mutations (almost as many as Frieza!) announced that it’s dedicated an entire new department to thinking up new ways to promote and create content for the internationally-successful brand. The department was formed in June of this year, and is being referred to as “The Dragon Ball Room.” The company hopes to cash in with devoted, nostalgic fans of the original series, while developing new stories and content to generate interest amongst a younger generation of fans.
▼Dragon Ball Super plays on Sunday mornings on Fuji TV in Japan
The establishment of the new department shows that the company still regards the Dragon Ball franchise as a valued intellectual property, and commentators have noted the move recalls similar strategies made to maximize other lucrative Japanese properties like Doraemon and Gundam.
For us common consumers, this hopefully means that the good people at the “Dragon Ball Room” will work to ensure that we fans never want for more adventures with beloved characters like Son Goku, Vegeta, and Chaozu (anybody? no?). In fact, the head of the department, Akio Iyoku, promised in the press statement that it will be “a department that thinks of nothing but Dragon Ball.”
When asked to comment on the story, Toriyama, long known for his somewhat tongue-in-cheek statements about the series and frank pronouncements of his distaste for the rigors of work, expressed delight that he wouldn’t have to do any work himself anymore thanks to this development.
No word immediately on any additional developments, but undoubtedly good news for the millions of Dragon Ball fans across the world!
Source: Mantan Web
Top image: Shueisha Dragon Ball Official Website/Screenshot by RocketNews24
Article image: Shueisha Dragon Ball Official Website/Screenshot by RocketNews24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-publisher-shueisha-reveals-plans-to-expand-the-dragon-ball-brand/feed/ 0 350649 screen-shot-2016-10-16-at-10-29-06-pm screen-shot-2016-10-16-at-10-28-51-pm Japanese company iJet 3-D prints Tokyo in 100 little pieces for Kickstarter campaign https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-company-ijet-3d-prints-tokyo-in-100-little-pieces-for-kickstarter-campaign/ https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-company-ijet-3d-prints-tokyo-in-100-little-pieces-for-kickstarter-campaign/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2016 08:30:37 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=350818 Ever wanted to own a piece of Tokyo real estate? Now a tiny piece of the megalopolis can be yours, thanks to this Japanese company.
For a modest fee, you can participate in a campaign by Japanese company, iJet Inc., to recreate one of the world’s largest cities in 100 different, scaled-down models – all created with state-of-the-art 3-D printing technology. The designers refer to the project as a 3-D map, and their Kickstarter campaign offers a slick video showing off some of the impressive, yet diminutive views it offers of Tokyo’s expansive architectural landscape.
As part of the One Hundred Tokyo project, iJet has created a series of meticulously designed, painted models measuring ten square centimeters. Each piece recreates a part of the city in miniature, offering a faithful replica of both the city’s most familiar landmarks, like Sky Tree and Mori Tower, as well as other, less-celebrated features of Japan’s largest urban area.
In the video that introduces this unique project, the CEO of iJet, Masaru Kumehara, explains the context for the project and his company, which he founded in 2009 as a manufacturer of 3-D printed goods. He describes Tokyo as a “world city” that will continue drawing greater numbers of tourists ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, an event highly anticipated in Japan as an opportunity to share new ideas with a global audience. His colleague, Ryusuke Matsuura, says the project represents an opportunity to share the appeal and sophistication of 3-D printing technology with a broader audience.
After some of the project members share the level of work that went into recreating the cityscape using data for car navigation software as a point of departure, the CEO reappears, appealing to the audience for help to realize the project as an actual product that people can enjoy for themselves. The company has produced 13 of the planned 100 pieces so far, but the cost of analyzing the vast amounts of data necessary to print the resin models has made it difficult to complete the project.
▼ Check out the video below.
https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2637360/video-705743-h264_high.mp4
Now the company is seeking support on the crowdfunding platform to complete the remaining parts of the project, and has succeeded in generating over US$20,000 so far. A donation of US$85 to the campaign will snag you a model of your own, and because it’s magnetic, you can even clip it to your fridge!
With over a week left to go before the end of the fundraising period, it appears that iJet will manage to achieve its goal several times over, and hopefully bring the project to market so I can grab me a piece!
Sources: Archdaily, One Hundred Tokyo/Kickstarter.com
Images: One Hundred Tokyo/Screenshots by RocketNews 24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/10/18/japanese-company-ijet-3d-prints-tokyo-in-100-little-pieces-for-kickstarter-campaign/feed/ 0 350818 one-hundred-tokyo-1 tokyomodel tokyokickstarter Game Boy-ify your pictures with this cool web app! https://soranews24.com/2016/10/03/game-boy-ify-your-pictures-with-this-cool-web-app/ https://soranews24.com/2016/10/03/game-boy-ify-your-pictures-with-this-cool-web-app/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2016 02:00:44 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=348282 
We take a look at a Japanese website that lets you transform your photos into 8-bit, Gameboy-style works of art!
We all remember the Nintendo Game Boy. For many of us, this little 8-bit powerhouse was our first encounter with mobile gaming. From its original release in 1989, Nintendo’s little game console provided millions of people the world over the chance to enjoy addictive hits like Super Mario and Tetris even when they weren’t near a television.
Sure, in retrospect some of these games were just slightly-strange, monochromatic versions of their NES counterparts (Super Mario Land anyone?), but for many of us old folks who grew up then, the almost pocket-sized Game Boy was an essential companion on long car journeys and trips to visit boring relatives.
Personally, playing my dad’s Game Boy remains one of my earliest, and most cherished memories as a child, and I continue to enjoy playing Game Boy classics to this day.
▼ Thanks to my wife, who has 5 of them for some reason!
Well good news for all of the hopeless nostalgists out there — an awesome new Japanese website offers you the chance to transform any image into a slightly green-tinged, pixellated, 8-bit works of art.
The website, which is called GB Pic, includes a very simple interface, which allows you to easily upload image files. To do so, just click the button at the top with the message “ファイルを選択” and select the image you want — it will be uploaded and immediately transformed into crudely-rendered 8-bit versions of the original. Imagine the possibilities!
▼ Self-Portrait
The website also features a number of additional functions that allow you to adjust the contrast/brightness, as well as the filter color, so you can go for that “almost out of batteries, oh crap, do we have any double-A batteries, oh wait, I’ll just use the batteries from the TV remote” look. Try adjusting the sliders under the image to change the brightness, color filters, dot matrix and more.
▼And for good measure, I tried one out on a photo of my cat too!
What are you waiting for? Get over there and try it out for yourself! And then you can try running the images through this service that turns rough sketches into crisp line drawings to see how they turn out!
Sources: RocketNews 24, GB Pic
Images: RocketNews 24, Nintendo Gameboy
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/10/03/game-boy-ify-your-pictures-with-this-cool-web-app/feed/ 0 348282 gameboy-view gameboy-view gameboys gameboy-portrait muboy Japan’s most popular game console: PS4 sales to surpass Wii U https://soranews24.com/2016/09/20/japans-most-popular-game-console-ps4-sales-to-surpass-wii-u/ https://soranews24.com/2016/09/20/japans-most-popular-game-console-ps4-sales-to-surpass-wii-u/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:30:42 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=346002 
Big news in the gaming world as sales of Sony’s PlayStation 4 predicted to surpass those of Nintendo’s Wii U in Japan — despite the fact that Nintendo’s system had a full year head start.
Recent reports project that sales of the PS4 will soon overtake those of Nintendo’s Wii U in Japan, claiming the title of the country’s most popular game console.
Nintendo’s Wii U, which debuted in late 2012, has so far proven the more popular of the two, with 3,259,894 units sold in Japan against PS4’s 3,121,155 units. The PS4 easily outstrips the Wii U when global sales are taken into consideration, but this development marks a major event in Japan’s gaming world, as some predict this will serve to accelerate the Wii U’s demise. In case you were wondering, the Xbox One remains as unpopular as ever with Japanese gamers, sitting at a distant third with a measly 60,000 units sold.
▼ Author’s Wii U
Wii U has sold a cumulative of 13 million units to date around the world. As the follow-up to the Nintendo’s smash-hit Wii system, expectations were high for the Wii U. In the 76th Annual General Shareholder’s Meeting, a representative for Nintendo revealed similarly lofty ambitions ahead of the system’s launch, with some in the company projecting close to 100 million units sold worldwide. These expectations have remained largely unfulfilled, to say the least, and many regard the system’s performance as a major disappointment for the company. For comparison, Nintendo’s official figures indicate that the original Wii system had sold a whopping 101 million units globally by 2012, easily making it one of the most successful gaming systems in console history. At this rate, however, the Wii U is set to become the company’s worst-performer to date — except for maybe the migraine-inducing Virtual Boy, but we don’t talk about the Virtual Boy.
By contrast, the PlayStation 4 has been performing reliably well, boasting third-party titles from publishers like Square Enix, Konami, Capcom, and more. Since its release in 2013, the system has sold more than 40 million units around the world. A new, streamlined version of the PS4 retailing at around US$300 in Japan means that the system is now more affordable than ever, and commentators predict this will provide the boost necessary to close the gap with Nintendo’s Wii U soon enough.
▼Sony’s PS4 boasts an impressive lineup of games
The two companies’ rivalry dates back to the mid-90s, when Sony released its first, CD-based Playstation console in 1994, placing it in direct competition with Nintendo’s cartridge-based SNES. Though the two companies were initially working together to develop disk-based support for the SNES system (think Sega CD), there was a falling-out and Nintendo ultimately teamed-up with Phillips, yielding infamously hilarious results. Anyone up for a game of Hotel Mario?
As a life-long devotee of Nintendo, I can’t say this news doesn’t disappoint, but it’s unsurprising when one considers the past twenty some odd years of gaming history. It seems like the same story we’ve been hearing for the past two decades (since the N64). Nintendo continues to pump out top-notch games with its reliable stable of home-grown franchises, but its systems largely struggle to attract support from third-party publishers. And while the company’s unorthodox and independent approach to game design has led to some of its greatest successes, some might not wonder after the relatively poor performance of the Wii U and 3DS, as well as the company’s recent steps into mobile gaming, if this titan of television gaming might not be heading the way of Sega.
Sources: Jin115, Nintendo Official Site
Top Image: Nintendo/Screenshot by RocketNews 24
Images: Playstation.com (Official Site) screenshot by RocketNews 24
Wii U photo © RocketNews 24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/09/20/japans-most-popular-game-console-ps4-sales-to-surpass-wii-u/feed/ 0 346002 screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-10-48-34-am image1-7 image1-7 screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-10-50-32-am See how this Japanese player clears this demonically difficult Super Mario Maker level! https://soranews24.com/2016/09/16/see-how-this-japanese-player-clears-this-demonically-difficult-super-mario-maker-level/ https://soranews24.com/2016/09/16/see-how-this-japanese-player-clears-this-demonically-difficult-super-mario-maker-level/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2016 19:00:54 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=345006 
Just watching this video gives us serious anxiety, but luckily this player clears this stage with ease — and they were only one of a handful players to accomplish this feat!
This player brings their Mario game to a whole new level in a video that showcases their expert gaming skills as they clear an unforgivingly difficult level on Mario Maker.
Just a little background information before the video! Super Mario Maker is a game for Nintendo’s unfairly-maligned, though actually pretty good Nintendo Wii U system. The game allows players the chance to create their very own Super Mario levels from scratch, and has led to some very interesting experiments, in addition to countless mediocrities.
The game was originally released in Japan in September 2015, and since that time players from around the world have used it to create millions of unique levels, like so many 8 and 16 bit snowflakes.
Some players have used these tools to quirky ends, crafting clever stages tastefully punctuated with carefully curated items and other surprising features. Other, more perverse minds have transformed this game into a kind of sadistic exercise in turtle abuse, spike navigation, and endless, insurmountable obstacle courses of loitering bomb-ombs and hot lava. Basically, what you might expect from a demented, yet secretly brilliant 10-year-old.
One of these creations that fall squarely into the camp of the impressively twisted is this little beauty. This punishing sequence of jumps and spikey walls must represent the work of someone with savant-like levels of patience, a creation that demands the player execute jumps with virtually no margin of error whatsoever or face a spikey fate. But as hard as it was to test and make this gem, clearing is another thing entirely.
▼This player managed to do it!
https://twitter.com/_0213hayate/status/774885546363465728
Not too shabby. Flawless execution, demanding oodles of coordination, reflexes, and sheer determination.
▼Not pictured: the countless attempts in which Mario got impaled
Japanese commenters almost universally praised the players talent, and some made very apt comparisons to Megaman X, a classic SNES platform game from Capcom, in which the protagonist would face an instant, grisly death after even slightly grazing against a spike.
For all of us long time Mario players out there, or for any of us that have ever struggled to execute one of those obnoxiously finicky wall-kicking moves in any game, this video offers more than enough to impress even the most grizzled of Mario veterans.
Sources: Hamusoku, Twitter/@_0213hayate
Top image: Nintendo/Photo by RocketNews24
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/09/16/see-how-this-japanese-player-clears-this-demonically-difficult-super-mario-maker-level/feed/ 0 345006 image1-6 image1-6 image1-6 spikes-3