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Gundam-themed Toyota doesn’t come with beam saber, is awesome anyway

Casey Baseel
Aug 28, 2013
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Sometimes, despite the director’s best efforts otherwise, the villain of a movie or TV series ends up stealing the show. Luke Skywalker became the archetypical example of a pure-hearted but bland hero, while dark side practitioner Darth Vader went on to become a true cultural icon.

Similarly, you’ll be hard pressed to find any viewers of long-running anime mecha franchise Gundam who name its original hero, Amuro, as their favorite character. His nemesis Char, on the other hand, has legions of fans, even though his last on-screen appearance was way back in the 1988 motion picture Char’s Counterattack. Despite his occasional attempts to drop space colonies onto Planet Earth, fans are drawn to the stylish Char, who has always had cool robots and a cool mask. Now, he’s got a cool car, too.

Japan
(anime • cars • cool • Gundam • technology)

Colorful latte art! Japanese barista creates coffee with character

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 28, 2013

There has been a lot of latte art featured on the Internet lately, but the coffee created by Japanese barista, Yuuichi Ito, are some of the best we’ve seen. Mr. Ito is serving works of art by the cupful at Belcorno, an Italian restaurant located in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture. Taking on the role as owner, chef, and barista at Belcorno, Mr. Ito is able to recreate popular characters from Disney, anime and manga out of foam, adding colorful accents and shading. Much like chalk drawings, it’s understood that latte art is not permanent, but it still seems a shame to destroy such beautiful masterpieces. At least we have the following pictures to enjoy!

Japan
(cafe • coffee • colorful • cool • latte art)

“It’s OK to stand out.” Nissan’s new stormtrooper ad campaign is awesome

Philip Kendall
Aug 27, 2013

The humble stormtrooper. Shot, blown up, punched and jeered at on a near daily basis while the rebels–whom some would call “terrorists”–get all the fame and glory. It’s in their very nature to remain inconspicuous in their plain white armour, marching along in neat lines and even dying with a regimented clatter of boots on the cold metal Deathstar floors, and for that reason are rarely given a second thought by either their merciless dispatchers or the movie-going public.

But there comes a time when even the loyalest of the Empire’s helmeted servants has to get their groove on, and Japanese car maker Nissan’s newest ad campaign is allowing them to do just that.

Internet, Japan
(cars • cool • movies • nissan • Star Wars • stormtrooper)

Cook rice inside your car with the new Takeru-kun

Casey Baseel
Aug 27, 2013

In the never-ending debate about which country makes the best cars, it’s common to derogatorily refer to a Japanese automobile as a “rice rocket,” “rice burner,” or “rice runner.” Really anything with rice.

But with a new product from Saitama-based company JPN, you can own that insult, and turn it into a positive.

Japan
(cars • cooking • cool • food • technology)

Use milk to turn cola into clear liquid 【Video】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 24, 2013

Aren’t science experiments that you can do at home the best? Bored people everywhere came together to enjoy the magic that was adding Mentos to Diet Coke (and mothers who had to clean up the mess cursed its very discovery). Allow us to present you with another experiment using cola. While not as exciting as a delicious exploding fountain of awesome, you’ll feel like some kind of sorcerer as you make cola turn into clear liquid. Taken from a video that’s been making the rounds on NicoNicoDouga, a popular video sharing site in Japan, this experiment is so easy, even you can do it. Here’s how!

Internet
(cola and milk • cool • science)

Kumano City’s floating firework finale may be the coolest we’ve seen all year

Philip Kendall
Aug 23, 2013

Summer in Japan is all about kimonos, fans and fireworks. There really are few better ways to beat the heat than getting outdoors in a light cotton robe, eating and ton of festival grub and settling in to watch pictures being painted on the black night sky. And although fireworks festivals themselves are nothing out of the ordinary here in Japan, the blast that brought Kumano City’s Hanabi Taikai fireworks festival to a close this year was truly spectacular, with the excited crowd’s countdown to the final moment immediately followed by gasps and cheers almost as loud as the explosion itself. Check out the epic firework in all its glory after the jump.

Japan
(beautiful • cool • fireworks • video)

How to have the best dam date ever

Casey Baseel
Aug 23, 2013

Dating in Japan is similar to dating elsewhere, in that men are usually clueless about what women really want to do. Strapped for ideas, you might invite your girlfriend to come by your place, you know, just to hang out. Maybe you’ll cook dinner together, which if you’re anything like me, means that after burning your third chicken breast, she’ll forcibly take the frying pan away and suggest you put out the napkins, only to be puzzled later at how you managed to burn those, too.

Over the course of the meal, your girlfriend may mention that next time, she’d really like to go on a dam date instead. Take heart, though. She’s not upset, she’s being helpful.

Japan
(cool • dating • romance • science • weird)

Attack on Tea-time: The perfect mug for fans of this year’s biggest anime

Philip Kendall
Aug 23, 2013

Green tea simply not manly enough for you? Worried that everyone in the office will think you’ve gone soft if you break out a pack of barley tea instead of filling your cup with the communal coffee? Then add a touch of terror to tea-time with this awesome, limited edition Attack on Titan mug and chakoshi tea strainer set.

Japan
(Attack on Titan • cool • cup • merchandise)

From cameos to creepy-crawlies: 15 little-known facts about Studio Ghibli movies

Philip Kendall
Aug 21, 2013

Known the world over for their heartwarming stories and breathtaking animation, Studio Ghibli’s animated feature films have been capturing the hearts and minds of movie lovers young and old for years. With Kaze Tachinu currently soaring high above our heads and Kaguya Hime no Monogatari scheduled to arrive in just a few short months, the studio is showing no signs of slowing down, with both productions sure to attract whole new legions of fans.

But did you know that Studio Ghibli’s movies are literally crawling with easter eggs, secrets and sly winks, and that many of Ghibli productions have links to popular culture the world over? Test your Ghibli knowledge and maybe even learn a thing or two with this list of 15 little-known facts about our favourite animated movies.

Japan
(anime • cool • facts • Ghibli • Totoro • Trivia)

Bubble Soccer is part soccer, part sumo, mostly Looney Tunes

Mike
Aug 21, 2013

Sports are getting way too serious these days. There are juicing scandals, fan fistfights and bench-clearing team-on-team brawls in just about every sport. It’s all just getting a little too heady, don’t you think?

Well, these Italians sure did. So, they took matters into their own hands, and created the hilarious new sport of Bubble Soccer, which finally combines the body contact of sumo wrestling, with the majesty of soccer and the zany antics of old Warner Bros cartoons, much to the amusement of Japan’s netizens.

Europe, Internet
(cool • funny • sports • YouTube)

Japan’s defensive military sees surge of popularity thanks to… anime tanks?

Rachel Tackett
Aug 21, 2013

On August 25, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) will be running its big annual firing practice called the Fuji Sougou Kaiyoku Enshuu. Literally, the name means “Fuji Comprehensive Steam-Powered Exercise,” and it is the country’s largest military test using live ammunition. Anyone who wishes to come and observe the strategic simulation must apply for the opportunity, but after receiving a record number of applicants, it’s estimated that only about five percent of the people who applied will be allowed to enter!

So what caused this explosion of interest in military maneuvers? Many people are crediting the anime Girls und Panzer as one of the main contributors. This lighthearted anime focuses on a group of high school girls studying “the way of the tank” as though it is a traditional martial art. The anime’s popularity has encouraged thousands of civilians to pursue knowledge of Japan’s current military capabilities and to see the tanks in action!

Japan
(anime • cool • Girls und Panzer • JGSDF • military • tanks)

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler gets friendly with fans around Osaka

Rachel Tackett
Aug 21, 2013

Last week Steven Tyler, vocalist for the big-name American rock group Aerosmith, was spotted wandering around Osaka without escort. The band is currently in the midst of a world concert tour with stops in a few of Japan’s major cities. Apparently, the big-mouthed “bad boy of rock” decided to spend some time out on the town between shows in Osaka. Not only did the rock star allow fans to approach him as he explored the city, he even joined a band of jazz musicians performing on the streets for an impromptu jam session! Frankly, I’m not sure whether to be inspired by or intolerably jealous over the experiences of those who encountered the rock legend in person.

Japan
(Aerosmith • cool • music • Steven Tyler)

No instruments? No problem! Tokyo musicians use ordinary kitchenware to make sweet music

Philip Kendall
Aug 19, 2013

Proving that life on a budget doesn’t necessarily mean one without song, Tokyo-based musicians Sou and Kumama are on a mission to make everyone, and everything, sing. In this video, the quirky duo use nothing more than a pair of wooden spoons and an array of cheap, store-bought dishes to produce a startlingly high-quality rendition of none other than Mozart’s “Turkish March”.

Check out the full, insanely catchy video after the jump.

Internet, Japan
(cool • dishphone • music • Sou and Kumama)

Are these the five weirdest video games of all time?

Philip Kendall
Aug 14, 2013

Observed by those who don’t play them, video games may all seem a little bit peculiar. Mushroom-eating plumbers stomping hammer-throwing turtles, ultra-violent military shooters whose protagonists bound across battlefields shouldering rocket launchers while hurling grenades and taking bullet after bullet to the chest, and of course the hordes of zombie titles that, like their lumbering stars, simply won’t die. For those accustomed to the rules of these digital worlds, though, this all makes perfect sense.

There are occasionally, however, a few titles that even the gaming elite would recoil from wearing an expression somewhere between “ermahgerd” and “turd sandwich”, and YouTube-based ZoominGames believes they’ve identified the cream of said crop. So let’s take a look at the channel’s “Top 5 Weird Games” one by one and see if they’re really they freaky affairs they’re made out to be. Oh, and did we mention that all five happen to have been made in Japan…?

Internet, Japan
(cool • Dreamcast • playstation • ranking • video games • weird • wtf)

Mad scientist teacher transfers chicken embryos from eggs to clear containers, keeps them alive

Mike
Aug 9, 2013

A Chiba area high school teacher, presumably cackling wildly the whole time, has perfected a system to transfer chicken embryos from their eggs to clear plastic containers and raise them to birth. Surprisingly, Tesla coils are in no way involved in the process and the chickens are born perfectly healthy and are not, in fact, zombie chickens.

Japan
(cool • science • YouTube)

Japan’s giant robot proliferation continues as filming starts on live-action Patlabor movie

Casey Baseel
Aug 9, 2013

Japan loves its fictional robots. The adorable Doraemon and unsettling Evangelion are instantly recognizable to both young and old. The giant statue of Gundam in Tokyo has become a major tourist attraction, despite being in the middle of Odaiba, which was already a major entertainment district with no shortage of other, hipper attractions.

And now, another robot, the Patlabor, has joined Gundam in making the leap into the three-dimensional world, towering size intact.

Japan
(anime • cool • manga • movies • robots)

Show solidarity with fellow runny egg lovers with “over easy” smartphone case

Mike
Aug 7, 2013

How one prefers their fried eggs cooked is about as divisive an issue as whether Batman or Wolverine would win in a fight. Many a surprise anniversary breakfast in bed has no doubt ended in bitter tears due to fried eggs being prepared in the incorrect way.

But you can avoid this unnecessary situation and show solidarity with fellow runny egg lovers with this new “egg in a basket” iPhone 5 case. Just snap your iPhone inside and share the other half with your runny egg soul mate; then, by clicking the two halves together as a secret greeting, you can baffle and enrage all those cretinous fully cooked yolk lovers at the diner.

Internet, Japan
(cool • food • funny • iPhone • toys)

Great Scott! Back to the Future DeLorean Lego set finally here

Mike
Aug 7, 2013

Believe it or not, a Lego Jar Jar Binks has existed for years, but the iconic DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future has only just now been immortalized in block form.

Starting out in 1949 as a seemingly simple toy set consisting of multicolored blocks that fastened together, Lego has grown into a vast toy and ever more complicated empire spanning hundreds, even thousands, of play sets depicting iconic characters and scenes from geek culture.

Global, Japan
(cool • entertainment • shopping)

Sailor Pluto muscles in on Sailor Moon’s slice of the high-end anime accessory market

Casey Baseel
Aug 6, 2013

Producers of the upcoming reboot of classic anime franchise Sailor Moon have been frustratingly tight-lipped with fans. Originally set to premier this summer, its premiere has now been pushed back to winter, and to date, not a single piece of art from the new series has been released.

Merchandising giant Bandai, on the other hand, has been putting out a steady string of new goodies for Sailor Moon fans as part of the series’ 20th anniversary. New Sailor Moon-themed accessories were released in June and July, and the company has now made it three months in a row with two new necklaces plus a new pair of earrings that went on sale this month.

Japan
(accessories • anime • cool • fashion • Sailor Moon)

Minor earthquake brings laughter, bikini girl to Japan

Philip Kendall
Aug 5, 2013

At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 4, Northeastern Japan started to shake. On the Japanese shindo scale, the quake measured between 3 and 4 (overhead lights sway and objects rattle, but some people who are on the move may not notice it) in most areas, a ‘low-5’ at its strongest. Thankfully, there are thought to have been no casualties as the tremor was relatively short-lived, and with the quake of March 2011 and weeks of resulting aftershocks having been far stronger, the people of Tohoku are now fairly hardened when it comes to smaller rumbles.

Curiously though, no sooner had the earthquake passed than a few jokesters began sharing the above image from the Japan Meteorological Agency, along with messages of “LOL” and ‘Why do I suddenly feel like I want to go to Northeastern Japan?”