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A new tool for cosplayers – a business card with tons of photos “on it”

KK Miller
Dec 7, 2015
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Can’t choose just one picture for your cosplayer card? Now you can have as many as you want with a new app aimed at reinventing the business card!

Internet, Japan
(app • clip • cosplay • innovation • Nekomu Otogi • phone application)

Romance an ancient Egyptian god in the newest bizarre dating sim for mobile

Cara Clegg
Nov 19, 2015

The dating simulator scene is getting weirder and weirder, so it’s hard to be surprised by anything they come up with these days. Humans are already old news and we’re now used to romancing all manner of strange creatures. Even so**, this mobile game for girls** caught my eye with its unique character designs and by promising love with powerful ancient Egyptian deities.

Japan
(app • dating sim • Egypt • gaming • mobile game • otome game • video games)

Change your Twitter “Like” hearts into fun “Like” sushi with a fun new web app!

Krista Rogers
Nov 10, 2015

Here’s something for you, sushi and Twitter lovers the world over!

Earlier this week, a Japanese net user uploaded a free Chrome web extension which converts the Twitter “Like” heart icon into a delicious sushi icon instead. It may not be the most earth-shattering new function to ever pop up on the internet, but hey, it’s the little things in life, right?

Internet, Japan
(app • free • social media • sushi • twitter)

Banish your love rivals, fantasize over your crush’s recorder in weird new game app

Krista Rogers
Oct 22, 2015

More than once, I’ve been baffled by characters in Japanese dramas getting excited at the thought of having a kansetsu kisu, or “indirect kiss.” Apparently, the thought of drinking out of the same cup or using the same straw as the object of your affection is akin to kissing them indirectly.

With the release of a new romance simulation mobile game, you too can experience the thrill of a young Japanese schoolboy about to have a kansetsu kisu with the girl of your dreams–but only after you get your hands on the recorder she uses in music class!

Japan
(app • creepy • recorder • That Girl's Recorder • video games • weird)

Asahi Shimbun’s app featuring moe school-girl broadcasters is a deceptively good study tool

Master Blaster
Oct 19, 2015

As in any country, a Japanese newspaper’s credibility often rests on a very fine political line. If their reporting leans even a little left or right, they run the risk of being called a stack of toilet paper scribbled on by talentless hacks by half the population. It’s a precarious position, and one in which releasing an app wherein you dress up school girls as a reward for current event awareness only seems to provide fuel for your detractors.

And yet on October 14 one of Japan’s leading newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, released just such an app called Kikasete Tensei Jingo. It features several moe girls reading from selected editions of the paper’s long-running Tensei Jingo editorial column. However, as pointless as it may appear on the surface there is some heavy language practice potential buried in there.

Japan
(anime • app • Asahi Shimbun • Japanese language • moe • newpapers • newspaper)

Train and transform your hero into a prime beefcake in otome romance game Muscle Paradise

Cara Clegg
Oct 17, 2015

Do you even lift? ‘Cos these macho guys certainly do! While the heroes of otome games, story-based romance games aimed at women, tend to err on the feminine side, the hunks in this mobile game cater specifically to women (or men!) who like their guys beefy. And when I see beefy, I mean ox-on-steroids beefy.

Japan
(Android • app • dating simulator • iOS • otome game • video games)

“100 Neko” recreates all the fun of filling an alley with scores of cat butts on your iPhone

Master Blaster
Oct 3, 2015

Do you like cats? Do you like video games? Do you believe we all exist in a infinite number of dimensions simultaneously and our consciousness can shift between these coexisting realities depending on the choices we make?

If so, I think I know a game you might like. It’s a fun little time waster called 100 Neko by PDC Okinawa, in which the goal is to lure adorable little cats onto your screen with treats and one of those furry wand things. It’s also quite charming.

Let’s see how it works, shall we?

Internet, Japan
(100 Neko • app • cats • game • iPhone • PDC Okinawa)

Galaga x Tekken crossover app previewed in video

Anime News Network
May 1, 2015

The official YouTube channel for the Tekken franchise began streaming a promotional video for Galaga Tekken, a free smartphone game app that was first teased as an April Fools’ Day joke.

Global, Japan
(app • crossover • Galaga • Namco • Tekken • video games)

Nurture your inner cat collector with “Neko Atsume” the kitty-catching game for Android and iOS!

Evie Nyan
Apr 15, 2015

You know what everyone in Japan loves these days? Smartphone games. They keep you busy on the daily commute without requiring too much in-depth concentration, and Japanese smartphone game makers are seriously smart – they know how to keep players hooked. By combining the human need for constant “reward” feedback with our penchant for adorable cartoon kitties, they’ve come up with a winner of an app that everyone who likes fun can’t stop playing – Neko Atsume!

Now available for both Android and iOS and with a whole slew of new features, there’s never been a better time to get into this incredibly addictive yet simple cat-collecting time-waster…

Japan
(app • cat • cats • Kawaii • kitties • neko atsume • smartphone • smartphone game • video game)

McDonald’s Japan to release “complaint app” to help restore faith in the company

Master Blaster
Mar 11, 2015

The once mighty fast food chain McDonald’s has fallen on hard times in Japan lately, suffering a heavy blow when it become entangled in an expired meat scandal about a year ago.

Although other establishments were also implicated in the problem, the public in Japan seems to be holding an especially big grudge against the golden arches. On 9 March, the company announced that Japanese sales were down 28.7 percent from the same month in the previous year.

In response, McDonald’s Japan is looking to improve its customer service and restore public faith in the company. How? By releasing a new app for smartphones that will allow customers to lodge complaints with more convenience and speed than ever before!

Japan
(app • business • customer complaints • McDonald's)

Struggling with Japanese? Let Tako lend you a hand…or five

Master Blaster
Jan 22, 2015

Yes, I know octopi have eight tentacles not six, but Tako of Takos Japanese has five. It’s the same cartoon logic that makes the Simpson family all have eight fingers. And yes, I know the name should probably read “Tako’s Japanese.” Really though, let’s not get bogged down in talk of appendages and apostrophes right now.

Today we’re here to look at a new Japanese study app released by Spain-based Giant Soul Interactive. A lot of Japanese study apps found online are either fun but limited in content or deep but boring and stodgy. Learn Japanese with Tako (recently changed from “Takos Japanese”) aims to strike a happy balance of a fun way to learn the language that’s also rich in content. Let’s find out if they succeed.

Global
(app • Japanese • language • study • Takos Japanese)

Frozen’s Anna is pregnant and needs a C-section…but don’t worry, there’s an app for that

Audrey Akcasu
Jan 21, 2015

Have you ever wondered what happened to Anna after the Disney movie Frozen ended? Well, according to one iPhone app maker, Anna married her new beau Kristoff and immediately got pregnant. She’s nine months in and in need of a C-section. But who will perform the surgery?! You will, with this silly new app available on the Apple app store.

Internet
(app • C-section • frozen • iPhone • Let It Go • pregnancy)

Japanese iPad drummer recreates rock beats with lightning-fast fingers【Video】

Cara Clegg
Dec 8, 2014

Spending your time bashing out wild beats on the drums might sound like heaven for rock music fans, but installing a drum kit in your house is a sure way to make the neighbours hate you, especially in Japan where most landlords prohibit the use of musical instruments.

Thankfully, these days there is of course a digital alternative, and some people have become so good at iPad drumming that in its own way it can be as impressive as the real thing.

Japan
(app • drumming • drums • ipad • Japanese rock • music • X Japan)

Want to make music, but can’t play an instrument? Casio app turns your hums into full tracks!

Preston Phro
Nov 24, 2014

Music is pretty much one of the best things in life–some people might even say it is the best thing in life. Playing an instrument is supposed to do all sort of great things for us, but most would agree that getting started with music can be pretty difficult. While DAWs like FL Studio exist to help us produce whatever we hear in our heads without strumming a single chord, digital production is quite a bit more difficult than most people realize. From programming drums to synthesizing new sounds, it can be just as time-consuming as learning to play guitar. “Why can’t I just whip out my smartphone, hum a little ditty, and let it do all the hard work of producing a track?” you might be thinking.

Well, soon you will be able to, thanks to a new app from Casio. You won’t even need to hum all the way through–it’ll generate a whole song from one section!

Japan
(app • Casio • music • smartphone)

Japanese Naruto fans to get every episode, issue for free via new iPhone/Android app

Philip Kendall
Nov 10, 2014

Even if you’re not an anime fan, you’ve no doubt heard that the hugely popular ninja series Naruto has finally reached its climax after more than 15 years. It’s never fun when a beloved show or serial comes to an end, and fans are often left searching for something new to fill the void in their lives that opens up when they do, but when you have a back-catalogue as rich and extensive as Naruto‘s, revisiting older instalments is sure to provide hours, if not weeks of pleasure.

Which, it seems, it precisely what Naruto‘s publisher is hoping both diehard fans and latecomers alike will do next, and is providing them with free issues of the manga and anime episodes direct to their smartphones via a brand new app for iOS and Android.

Japan
(anime • app • free • manga • Naruto • Shueisha)

New app helps you translate Japanese and Chinese offline using smartphone camera

Evie Nyan
Oct 26, 2014

With their complex writing systems, getting around in Japan or China can be stressful for even the most seasoned of tourists. Sure, you could carry a travel dictionary in your pocket while you go sightseeing, but how are you supposed to look up all those funny looking sticks and squiggles when you don’t even know how to pronounce them? Often the locals try to be helpful by providing an English translation, but there are reasons why that doesn’t always work out. If only there was a way to just wave your magic smartphone over some unintelligible text and have it provide a reliable translation on the spot. Well, as we discovered over at Shanghai List, there’s an app for that.

China, Japan
(app • Chinese • Japanese • language • translation)

Help one-million-year-old hag get back her glamorous good looks in new app

Cara Clegg
Oct 24, 2014

Looking for a new app to pass the time? Why not give Hag of the one million-year-old a try! Tap the screen and work your magic to get the hideous old hag back to her apparently stunning good looks (unconfirmed) of yesteryear.

Japan
(app • funny • games)

Get a room, you two, with this love hotel-finding smartphone app and its 2,000-yen discount

Casey Baseel
Aug 13, 2014

In many ways, Japan’s love hotels are a brilliant concept, offering a room with discreet staff, simple amenities, and large beds for couples looking for a place to physically and nakedly express their feelings for one another. There is one sticky point to utilizing them, however.

People generally find themselves in need of a love hotel when overcome by a spontaneous wave of passion, so they don’t usually book ahead. And while a hand-in-hand dash to the love hotel district can be a bit of heady fun, finding a place to do the deed is sort of a time-sensitive objective. Spending too much time walking around searching for a hotel with a vacancy can put a damper on the mood and/or contribute to your sobering up and realizing that maybe it isn’t a good idea to sleep with your boss’ nubile 23-year-old daughter, no matter how willing she says she is.

Such problems may soon come to be a thing of the past, though, with a new smartphone app that can help you find and book a love hotel in as little as 10 seconds, plus, right now, even help you out with the bill.

Japan
(app • deals • hotels • romance • Smartphones • travel)

“Poke” your favorite anime characters on LINE mobile chat app!【Instructions】

Joan Coello
Aug 8, 2014

Remember when “poking” your friends on Facebook was a trendy thing to do? I feel old now just by recalling how my schoolmates and I could spend the entire evening “poking” each other online, refreshing the browser page every few seconds in attempt to return a “poke” at the fastest timing possible. Well, the younger generation who only got on Facebook in the recent year or two probably wouldn’t have an idea what I’m talking about since the trend has died down.

But you know how trends are revived every once in a while? “Poking” is now back with a new force, this time on the globally popular free messaging mobile app, LINE. Sorry to dash your hopes if you were looking forward to giving your LINE friends a cyber poke because LINE users are “poking” their favorite (or least favorite) anime characters and celebrities instead!

Japan
(anime & manga • app • chat • funny • line)

Yamaha releases engine-to-Japanese translation app, we peer into the minds of celebrity cars

Master Blaster
Aug 8, 2014

Translation apps are very popular for people visiting foreign lands. With only internet access and a tap of the finger you can convey “I swallowed a june bug” in any number of languages like Spanish (Me tragué un error junio) and Hatian Creole (Mwen vale yon ensèk mwa Jen). I’m pretty sure those are both wrong, but still better than I could do by myself with no knowledge of either language.

Now Yamaha has brought the translation app beyond the boundaries of humanity and into the realm of the machine with their engine revving translation app, RevTranslator. As the name suggests, this app will listen to an engine and deliver its message in Japanese.