Japan. Seriously. What is it about your culture that makes your people come up with the best advertisements and game shows? I love you, Japan. Keep doin’ what you’re doin’. For the full animated gif, go past the break.

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As Christmas rolls in, the fight for the no.1 Christmas gift gets going. Robosapien made it one year, Pleo another, so it’s not that much of a stretch to see day of the ROPID have it’s day in the near future, the fastest and best jumping robot to hit the mean streets of Japan. Styled like the cutest kid you’ve ever seen and able to run around like a kid in a candy store whilst still responding to vocal commands with both speech and action (possibly together, although I doubt it’ll be programmed with profanity unlike real unruly brats). Watch out for this on Christmas lists in the next couple of years, just keep him away from Coke eh?

[Robot Watch Via Gizmodo]

For those of you who do not know me personally, I am in no way a small guy. Build, weight, height… all over-average. I have been told I am quite imposing, and at times, quite scary. Now, roll back to about 3 years ago…

I was working on a long, mentally taxing project at work. My mood was dark, my attitude was sharpened, and my stress was high. I needed something happy and a bit silly to break that cloud hovering over me.

The solution, J-Pop… more specifically, Perfume.

The real geeky-reveal of this was when a co-worker of mine popped my headphone cord and revealed to the rest of the crew what I had been jamming out to for the last 30 minutes -_-. Thanks.

A recent special on the ongoing Visual Kei movement in Japan and abroad (in this case Paris) had brought about my questioning of the style in general. While the style is noted as being a creation of the 80’s with groups like Malice Mizer, etc… it is interesting to look back at some of the styles that inspired this trend from the decade before; in the US. Early glam rock and David Bowie rang a bell for me. “Everything old becomes new again” seems to apply here.

Any other styles or trends do you want to see make another swing through pop culture?

The first TV ads for Sony’s new PS3 Slim have surfaced online.  This Japanese campaign focuses on the fun your face is having while you play video games.  I hope that I never confuse a “play face” with an “OH face.”  If I did, I’d probably get “socked in the face.”

Yea.  This is how I am when I wake up. Minus the Airsoft Desert Eagle, stereo system, alarm clock, ninja door skills and suit.  Just add 2 barking dogs as my alarm clock.

Surfing the interwebs as one does I came across this video on YouTube of the original title for Japanese Spiderman, including a massive robot that looks suspicously like a Megazord! Super cheesey but what do you expect from an old kids program.

Just caught the last 15 minutes of this game show this afternoon and I was genuinely laughing. Silent Library is a Japanese game show that MTV picked up.  Like the trailer says, “the rules are simple.”  All you have to do is stay quiet and your team collectively wins money.  After some quick research on Wiki and Google, I find a clip from the actual Japanese version.

Some of the Japanese challenges seems more harsh than American challenges.  But, that is what makes Japan, Japan.  I can’t wait for the next episode of this Japanese import.  Thank you MTV, for actually entertaining me and going back on the right track of non “reality” TV shows.  Next, we should talk about going back to your roots of music videos.

“My life wouldn’t be the same without Japan.” True words by my co-worker. Thank you Japan for EVERYTHING you do.

I’m not sure what is going on here:

here:

or here:

but without playing the game and only watching the trailer that’s past the break, I could tell that we have a winner on our hands. Thank you Japan for EVERYTHING you do. Just like your weird GoldenEye glitch dance, we like you the way you are. Don’t ever change. (more…)