Reaction to the deconstruction and departure of the 18 meter tall landmark Gundam statue in Tokyo’s Odaiba area was bittersweet, but with the announcement that the previous RX-78-2 Gundam would be replaced by a bigger and better full scale Unicorn Gundam with special transformation abilities, complaints weren’t heard for long. This past weekend, the new and improved Unicorn Gundam was unveiled in Odaiba’s Diver City, and it is easily the biggest and most impressive Mobile Suit statue yet! 内山さんとユニコーン変形 pic.twitter.com/krEH8KRLWy — エイジ (@EIZ_510) 2017年9月23日 Standing at 19.7 meters tall, this RX-0 Unicorn Gundam clocks in at a one-to-one scale, and doesn’t just sport improvements in size. The new Gundam features…

If you’re an anime fan, or even just a film fan, you probably recognize what considerable praise it is for Makoto Shinkai‘s hit Your Name garnered to become the the highest-earning anime ever around the world, leapfrogging even Studio Ghibli’s most celebrated films. Your Name was largely a hit due to its breathtakingly gorgeous animation and nostalgic feel. Now the animation studio behind the hit film, CoMix Wave, are teaming up with anime director Hisayuki Tabata to lend that charming touch to a beautiful anime short promoting Winter tourism in Canada. Vancouver, Toronto, Abraham Lake, Banff, Canadian Rockies, Niagara Falls and other scenic sights are on display in an anime…

Godzilla: Resurgence (Shin-Gojira) ended up being a pretty appropriate title for the latest theatrical romp for the King of Monsters. Ever since the movie was announced, a load of interesting Godzilla merchandise has been teased–including a Godzilla vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion figure designed by the Metal Gear Solid character artist, Godzilla beauty masks, as well as a Godzilla anime. Now in a similar quirky but practical style as the No-Face burping piggy bank, and atomic breath-spewing Godzilla Humidifier is being released. Source: At Press The humidifier uses LED lighting to give the beam emitting from Godzilla’s mouth the signature blue atomic breath aesthetic, and while it’s busy as work increasing…

The Universal Cool Japan initiative is Universal Studios Japan’s collaborative effort to promote Japanese entertainment and pop culture around the world with attractions that allow you to experience them in overwhelming scale. Just recently, fans of Final Fantasy and Sailor Moon started marking their calendars when it was revealed that the 2018 event would introduce attractions to the theme park based off of the worlds of those two mega-popular series. While the theme park, located in Osaka, has featured cafes and virtual reality experiences before, details about how the Final Fantasy series would be incorporated remained murky. Now USJ has announced that they will be offering a virtual reality roller…

When you think of Japanese instruments, you may be familiar mostly with the koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen, as well as how they can be used to give popular music a beautiful and traditional Japanese twist. Thanks to Twitter user @wyrm06, many even in Japan are now discovering an otherworldly rippling instrument that they had never heard of before called the Hamon Slit Drum. With 70,000 tweets, many are surprised to find out that the pings and echoes of the Hamon Slit Drum actually come from a Japanese instrument. 日本にもヤバい金属楽器はある！という事で「波紋音」です。あまりにも豊かな倍音成分がヤバくて無限。Rav drumと同じ金属製のスリットドラムですが作品ごとにランダムな切れ込みになっており、完全に自分だけの楽器になります。この個体はオーナーが中に鎖を仕込んでいてビビり音が出ます。 pic.twitter.com/0gW0R3gvsz — サカン@世界の打楽器 (@wyrm06) 2017年9月17日 Of course, the Hamon is very similar to the Russian RAV Drum (seen below), along…

Japanese festivals seem to put a priority on spectacle, whether they be magical lantern festivals that seem like they came right out of Spirited Away, or penis festivals with giant marching phalluses, guests always walk away with a sight to remember. Japan’s most northern prefecture of Hokkaido is home to a many regional festivals, but it’s dramatic fire-walking festival held in the town of Furubira may be one of its most spectacular. Source: @katuka2 While not the only fire-walking (hi no watari) event in Japan, Furubira’s festival adds a theatrical flair by having a Tengu cross a barrier of towering wall of flames. Tengu (“Heavenly Dog”) are somewhat disruptive spirits…

Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo director Shinichiro Watanabe will have his hands full in collaborating on the U.S. live-action TV series of Cowboy Bebop, but in the mean time he will be keeping himself busy as he directs and writes the script for an upcoming short Blade Runner anime. Titled Blade Runner Black Out 2022, the anime short is set in the year 2022, between the original Blade Runner film and the upcoming Blade Runner 2049. According to Cinema Pia, the story will revolve around massive blackouts on the West Coast of the United States, which leads to a food shortage crisis. A scientist develops a new artificial farming method…

Gift-giving customs in Japan runs deep. Whether it be within the workplace, a wedding, or the importance of wrapping the gift itself, there are many facets to the culture of gift giving in Japan than make it a special act. While this isn’t necessarily true of sending packages, an awarding winning design by Japanese stationery company Kokuyo is giving you the option of adding an extra level of personalization to the packages you send in the form of your very own manga strip! Manga Tape previously was honored at the 2016 Kokuyo Design Awards, and is now set to be realized with its very own release. The strip of tape…

Although by no means common, it’s become sort of a recent trend with certain Japanese fashion brands to release “kimono-hybrids”, or clothing combining the aesthetic appeal of a kimono with indoor comfort. Japanese eccentric bookstore and oddity shop Village Vanguard is no stranger to these, having recently released easy-to-wear kimono pajamas and even a schoolgirl uniform-kimono hybrid. Their latest offering, however, offers a combination of formal attire that results in a cool and casual mish-mash of East and West with a furisode dress shirt. A furisode (“swinging sleeves”) is a style of kimono characterized by long, draping sleeves. Usually made of brightly colored silk, the furisode is worn by many…

Whether it be performing funeral rites, staffing a hotel, or simply being a terrifying poop demon, Japan seems to have a robot for everything. When its not flexing its technological muscle in more adventurous ways, however, Japan focuses on practical uses for these clever robos, and Japanese robotic engineering company Yaskawa’s Yaskawa-kun may be living out the most practical use of all–giving people ice cream. 会社にいるアイスクリームロボット。100円でソフトクリーム🍦作ってくれる😋 An ice cream-serving robot pic.twitter.com/N4ldjYiS17 — とら(Steve) (@torachitech2) 2017年8月24日 you might remember Yaskawa from when they developed a sword-wielding robot to duel Japan’s modern samurai, but the adorable (and somewhat creepy) Yaskawa-kun is a little less aggressive, handing over soft-serve ice cream to customers…

It’s very common for regions of Japan to have their pride for local specialties showcased, in both limited edition food and decoration. When those regions take matters into their own hands, however, the result tends to be a bit more creative and charming. For a recent and cutting edge example of this, look no further than Seki City in Gifu prefecture. Seki holds a famous history of crafting fine Japanese swords and cutlery, and now the city is boasting that history in the form of katana ice cream. 先日、先行販売された岐阜県関市の新名物「日本刀アイス」。味は上之保ゆずとこしあんの二種があるぞ。次の販売はいつ頃になるか？楽しみだな！ pic.twitter.com/kyNsPbSxIO — 関武将隊KUMOAGEHA (@sekibushoutai) June 20, 2017 ( ｣ﾟДﾟ)｣＜こちらが「日本刀アイス」になりまーーーーーす！！ ( ｣ﾟДﾟ)｣＜「刃物のまち 関市」の新たな名産でーーーーーす！！ pic.twitter.com/yNQU82QbLH — 音久@岐阜県関市の眼鏡屋ami店員 (@neku07) August 22, 2017 According to…

Comic Market, or Comiket as it is often called, is Japan’s largest comic convention. Convention-goers are known to turn train stations in war zones with their mad dash to get to the convention, but one of the main attractions at the event is the high level of cosplay to be seen. While many elaborate and painstakingly made costumes are on display, Japanese bodybuilder Taichi Shimizu shows that sometimes a bare bones approach can have just as attention-grabbing an impact with his beefy Master Roshi cosplay. 今日コミケで見た亀仙人が完全一致だった笑 pic.twitter.com/SdEcIJtBJT — morio (@rock_and_sxzn) 2017年8月13日 清水泰地さん(@taichi_shimizu_ )ドラゴンボール 亀仙人 亀仙人最強説。魔人ブウとかはワンパンだろこれは。#C92 pic.twitter.com/2w1yYRSVLh — かわうそ (@adventure_tm) 2017年8月13日 Shimizu clearly takes his training seriously, but he also made…

By now you may be familiar with the work of Tokyo-based French anime artist Thomas Romain (Symphogear, Space Dandy, Aria, Macross Delta, and Basquash!), who literally illustrates the artistic bond he shares with his two sons in a series of artwork titled “Father and Sons Design Workshop Illustrations”. In it, Romain takes the creative sketches of his sons and applies his skill as a talented professional animator to bring them to life with an awesome anime aesthetic. Romain told us the project has given his eldest son inspiration to become an animator himself, and he also mentions that one day he wants to collect them all and make a book…

Ukiyo-e, which translates to “image(s) of the floating world,” is a genre of Japanese art that thrived from the 17th to 19th centuries. Artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of everything from scenes of folk tales to erotica, and though the number of artists specializing in ukiyo-e has diminished since the genre was at its zenith, efforts are being made to bring it back into the modern art world. Some of these efforts include applying an Ukiyo-e aesthetic to popular franchises such as Star Wars, and legendary Iron Maiden mascot Eddie. One of the more charming and eccentric examples of this we have seen lately comes from Atsushi Segawa, a…

In that past, we’ve seen some incredibly intricate and beautiful work produced by the art form of kirie, or traditional Japanese paper cutting, which is also very similar to kirigami. While origami may be the more famous Japanese paper art, Japanese Twitter user and artist @mi_kocoa (Risa), is giving some much needed love to kirie in an absolutely gorgeous way with her intricately carved designs. Source: @mi_kocoa Risa’s animal and floral designs have gained her quite a following on Twitter, but its her latest text-based piece of kirie that is gaining her the most accolades. Intricately carved, she has taken an excerpt from Kenji Miyazaka’s classic Japanese fantasy novel Night…