SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

twitter (Page 46)

Why Twitter is awesome: Yo-kai Watch in different art styles

Preston Phro
Aug 24, 2014
Tweet

In case you hadn’t heard, the newest big hit in Japan is the not-*Pokémon–*sensation Yo-kai Watch. The franchise is about kids who find and train youkai, “spirits” from Japanese folklore, and then pit the trained creatures against evil youkai, making it absolutely nothing like Pokémon. At all.

Well, while some of us may be skeptical that this isn’t just a palette-swapped Pokémon, there is no doubt of the franchise’s insane popularity! In addition to inspiring stock market confidence, it looks like the Yo-kai Watch is also inspiring artists who are sharing their works on Twitter. That’s a win-win for everyone involved!

Internet, Japan
(drawing • illustration • twitter • Yo-Kai Watch • youkai)

Explosions in the kitchen: This is why you don’t heat canned coffee directly on the stove…

Preston Phro
Aug 15, 2014

One of our favorite things about Japan is the convenience of just about everything, especially the vending machines. Wherever you are, there’s at least one machine just waiting to quench your thirst–and all of them have any tired writer’s favorite drink: Coffee!

Even more conveniently, though, most machines offer a choice of hot or cold cans–but, of course, the cans will cool down if you don’t drink them right away. In which case you might be tempted to try heating your can up on the stove, like this Japanese Twitter user. That would be a bad idea.

Internet, Japan
(can coffee • Explosions • funny • photo • twitter)

Smart kitty claims the toilet faucet as its napping ground, gives only an inch due to running water

Preston Phro
Aug 14, 2014

Cats are known throughout the world for their amazing ability to put themselves exactly where they don’t belong. Whether they’re plunged deep where the sun doesn’t shine into a narrow crawl space or looking down on their “hoomans” from the attic, there’s no end to their hiding spots.

However, one Japanese Twiter user found her cat in what could best be described as a “compromising” position…under the toilet faucet!

Internet, Japan
(cats • cute • funny • Toilets • twitter)

The Great Obon Disaster: A fable of cicadas, dancing, and cats

Preston Phro
Aug 12, 2014

Obon is a great time to be in Japan–the summer festivals fill the country with nights of folk music, stall food, and, of course, dancing. While the cops may not approve of you tearing it up in a club, surely no one could complain about the traditional circle dances of Obon.

But it turns out there’s a critic for everything!

Internet, Japan
(cats • cicada • dancing • funny • Obon • twitter)

Someone’s mother carved this Love Live! watermelon art, left the Internet applauding

Preston Phro
Aug 11, 2014

There is, obviously, an unending supply of anime available for your viewing pleasure in Japan. Whether you want giants, cyborgs, or balls from dragons, there’s something for everyone. But one of the most popular shows right now is the high-school-idol series Love Live!. The anime has proven so popular, it even inspired a bizarre recruiting tweet from the Japan Self-Defense Forces last year and this massive back-piece tattoo earlier this summer.

Recently, a main character of the show, Honoka, had her birthday, and a dedicated Japanese Twitter user’s mother carved this surprisingly detailed piece of watermelon art in celebration.

Internet, Japan
(anime • art • love live • twitter • watermelon)

Twitter user shows us how to make your own pet Japanese giant hornet

Master Blaster
Aug 11, 2014

It’s summer again in Japan which means it’s time for nature’s little nightmares to come pay us a visit. I’m talking of course about the Japanese giant hornet (ōsuzumebachi) a four-by-six-centimeter (1.5 x 2.4 inch) poisonous flying insect which kills a handful of people every year and has a generally bad demeanor.

This is great news for those who enjoy making alcohol out of them, and bad news for those who have encountered them before and probably still require counseling. However, this year, one Twitter using bug enthusiast is showing us to stop worrying and love the deadly bugs by making one their own pet on a string.

Japan
(insect • Japanese giant hornet • pet • twitter)

Yo-Kai Watches selling out everywhere, resourceful kids and parents make their own instead

Master Blaster
Aug 10, 2014

Japan doesn’t have the hectic Christmas shopping season of adults head-locking and price-gouging each other for the season’s hot toy. Still, every once in a while an item gets so huge that a sudden rush can break out at any time of the year.

This time it’s Yo-Kai Watches from the manga/game/anime series Yo-Kai Watch that are flying off the shelves. These watches don’t tell time unless it just happens to be 2:53 when you look at them, but that isn’t stopping people from lining up by the hundreds and shops from charging exorbitant prices for one. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get creative and fashion their own Yo-Kai Watches out of whatever is available.

Japan
(toy • twitter • Yo-Kai Watch)

LadyBeard is stirring up a storm with a “dangerous” new tweet! 【Photos】

KK Miller
Aug 9, 2014

LadyBeard is certainly making a name for himself in Japan. RocketNews24 has covered some of his antics before, here and here. His popularity in Japan continues to grow and grow as evidenced by his Twitter account which has almost 45,000 followers! One of his latest tweets has been shared across the twitterverse over 1,000 times! What in the world could this be about? The answers and more, so much more, after the break!

Japan
(cosplay • dangerous • Ladybeard • Sailor Moon • tweet • twitter)

Hello Kitty producers appear to be losing touch with reality

Master Blaster
Aug 9, 2014

For around four decades Sanrio has been pumping out character merchandise at an increasing rate. Headlined by Japanese kawaii icon Hello Kitty, they boast hundreds of characters, some of which thrive and others that just kind of hang around.

Indeed, the company has never faltered in their mission to continuously create cuteness for our amusement and expendable cash. However, to do so must require long hours at the drawing table penciling in adorable black pupils in just the right proportion to fit the squishiest round face you ever gosh darned seen.

In doing so they seemed to have forgotten what an actual human head looks like adrift in their ocean of chubby puppies and fruit-eared kitties. That has to be the only reason to explain this cardboard cutout posted on Twitter recently in which no person’s face could possibly fit properly.

Internet, Japan
(cardboard cutout • Little Twin Stars • Sanrio • twitter)

This is what happens when you give a Ghibli character a typical anime haircut

Mike
Aug 8, 2014

With all the recent rumors about Studio Ghibli possibly shutting down or being bought out by another media company – which, thankfully, turned out to be a hoax – we’ve been taking a lot of time out to take stock of what it is that makes Studio Ghibli and studio founder Hayao Miyazaki so special.

Certainly, Miyazaki’s films are at least a cut or two above other critically acclaimed anime films and are far and away higher in both visual and narrative quality than most of the anime you’ll see on TV.

But one Japanese Twitter user with a copy of Photoshop thought most anime does at least one thing better than Ghibli: anime hair.

Internet, Japan
(anime • anime & manga • Ghibli • spirited away • twitter)

This cat on a cat on a mat is adorable!

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 6, 2014

Aww, look at that cute little kitty!

No, we’re not talking about the white one comfortably sleeping on its pink polka dot blankie. We’ve got our eyes on the all-black one that shares its tail.

Internet, Japan
(cat • cute • twitter)

Internet wishes Attack on Titan’s Reiner a happy birthday, things get just a little weird

Preston Phro
Aug 4, 2014

While some may dread their birthdays, we like to think everyone deserves the chance to have their existence celebrated. Heck, even if you’re not a real person, you still deserve to have a happy birthday, right? Especially if you’re a shape-shifting titan!

That’s right, in case you missed it, August 1 was none other than Reiner Braun’s birthday! And considering how popular Attack on Titan is, it’s no surprise that adoring fans pulled out all the stop to celebrate. Though we have to admit, we think they probably could have left a few stops in place…

Internet, Japan
(Attack on Titan • Birthday • Reiner • Reiner Braun • twitter)

“Terrible, amazing things my teacher said”: Tweets from the Japanese classroom

Fran W
Aug 3, 2014

Did you used to think that your teachers all lived in the school on the weekends? Lots of kids are shocked to discover one day that their teachers have private lives, families, and even friends outside of school. This collection of tweets are all from Japanese students – whose sometimes-cynical, sometimes-exhausted, pretty-much-always-awesome professors probably just wanted to remind them that teachers are people too.

That’s right – it’s time for a snappy little segment which we’ll be entitling, in honour of its Japanese hashtag equivalent, “This devastatingly amazing thing my teacher just told me!”

Japan
(school • students • teacher • twitter • university)

Fending off unwanted Kabe-don: A guide

Mike
Aug 1, 2014

As we’ve talked about before, kabe-don is the trendy new way for Japanese bad boys to soft sexually assault their crush. It consists of a guy approaching a girl he (presumably) has a thing for, who is ideally leaning against a wall, then suddenly smacking the wall with their palm and getting in reaaaaalllly close so the girl can smell his garlic breath.

Oddly enough, a lot of Japanese girls go absolutely wild for the idea of the kabe-don, in the same way guys love the idea of owning a Weird Science-esque sexbot; It’s sexy and cool on paper, frightening and creepy in real life.

Luckily for any girls who find themselves the unwilling recipient of an ill-advised kabe-don, someone has created an illustrated self-defense guide:

Internet, Japan
(anime • kabe-don • manga • trends • twitter)

Jerome Le Banner walks old lady across the street even though it would’ve been easier to toss her

Master Blaster
Aug 1, 2014

Jerome Le Banner is one of K-1’s most prominent fighters. The 190cm (6’3″) and 120kg (265lbs) mountain of muscle is intimidating looking to say the least. With nicknames such as Hyper Battle Cyborg, you might expect him to pump ice water through his veins as he knocks out opponents in pursuit of numerous kickboxing titles.

However, while training in Japan the fighter recently won the hearts of Japanese people everywhere when he showed great compassion by tenderly holding the hand of an elderly woman as he helped her cross the road.

Internet, Japan
(Jerome Le Banner • K-1 • twitter)

Mysterious fire materializes inside Saitama train station on Tuesday

Krista Rogers
Jul 31, 2014

On Tuesday evening, commuters at Urawa Station in Saitama Prefecture were in for a bit of a shock when an abandoned piece of corrugated cardboard suddenly burst into flames. The fire was soon extinguished by station attendants, but the question remains: what caused the mysterious incident?

Japan
(fire • Saitama • train station • twitter • Urawa Station)

Sumida River Fireworks Festival aftermath: Not everyone in Japan has perfect manners after all

Fran W
Jul 29, 2014

Japanese soccer fans attracted plenty of praise at the World Cup last month when, having watched their team lose to Ivory Coast, they diligently cleaned up their trash from the stadium. Whether you think these supporters’ actions show how important it is to Japanese people to be considerate of others, or just good old-fashioned common sense that applies wherever you are in the world, everyone (well, almost everyone) agreed that taking your rubbish home with you is A Good Thing.

This week, however, Japanese Twitter users have breathed a collective disappointed sigh as photos of the trash left in the streets after the world-famous Sumida River Fireworks Festival show some people in Japan aren’t as super-considerate as we’d like to think. Is Tokyo an exception to the rules? Or is Japan’s reputation as a super-clean nation undeserved?

Japan
(festival • manners • Sumida River Fireworks Festival • trash • twitter)

Perfect rainbow appears over Tokyo like an interdimensional portal, no spirits spotted (yet)

Preston Phro
Jul 13, 2014

While we rarely think about it, the way our atmosphere works is pretty amazing–filtering out all that cosmic radiation and keeping us alive. It also has tons of moisture in it, which, in addition to giving some nifty lightning shows, is also what gives us really cool stuff like sun dogs and rainbows. While it’s nothing special to see a piece of a rainbow or even half of one in the sky after a rainshower, it’s quite another thing to see a full rainbow shimmering in the sky.

But that’s exactly what appeared over Tokyo on Friday, setting Twitter ablaze with photos of the beautiful phenomenon. And because we’re ready for some uplifting fun this weekend, here’s all the photos we could find! Guaranteed to make your day 200% more magical or your leprechaun back.

Internet, Japan
(cool • rainbows • Tokyo • twitter • weather)

Video of late kitten playing with dog will brighten your day and then leave you crying

Preston Phro
Jul 4, 2014

Though it might be hard for non-pet-owners to understand, it’s undeniable that our cats and dogs are part of our families. We love them like children–or siblings who can almost get away with peeing on the carpet.

And with good reason, too! They comfort us when we’re sad and play with us when we’re happy. And if you’re lucky enough to have two pets, watching them play together can be better than anything Disney has to offer. Just take this video of a dog entertaining a hyper-active kitten for example!