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The Meaning Of Kawaii
9.9.2021
Kawaii. You hear it in anime, you hear it on TV shows, and you hear it on the streets of Japan, where the word is uttered by young and old alike. With people around the world growing up on Japanese popular culture, the word has also entered the international zeitgeist. But what does kawaii actually...
Final Fantasy XIV Themed Fried Chicken Goes On Sale In Japan
31.8.2021
Today, in Japan, convenience store chain Lawson launched Final Fantasy XIV chicken. What flavor is it? The Crystal of Light and Darkness, as the box states.Or, as noted in the parentheses, “Pepper and Tartar Sauce Flavor.” The light part must be the tartar sauce, while the dark park must be...
Manga Editors Explain Why Official Cosplay Looks Different
5.8.2021
Monthly Action magazine publishes Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, a manga about a maid-outfit-wearing dragon who lives with a computer programmer named Kobayashi. The editorial department thought a good way to promote the manga would be with an official cosplay by Enako.Read more
Another Landmark Tokyo Arcade Is Closing
2.8.2021
After opening in July 1993, the nine-story Sega Ikebukuro Gigo became a neighborhood landmark. On September 20, the arcade will cease operations and close.Read more
Giant Cat Becomes The Latest, Inevitable Tokyo Landmark
8.7.2021
This was eventually going to happen, no? It was bound to, really. Near the east entrance of Shinjuku station, a digital display is now broadcasting an enormous calico cat.Read more
After Playing Pachinko, Man Gets Irritated And Goes On Rampage In His Car
22.6.2021
Startling footage from Hokkaido, Japan shows a man going on a rampage in his kei car, repeatedly smashing into another vehicle and trying to run over a man on a bicycle.Read more
The Stranger Of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin Demo Is Corrupt And Unplayable
14.6.2021
As promised during Square Enix’s E3 2021 presentation, the playable demo for action game spin-off Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin has been available for download on the PlayStation 5 since yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the demo has been corrupt and completely unplayable the whole...
Masks Made From Melon Bread Released In Japan
12.6.2021
Melon pan is not only delicious, but one Japanese company also thinks it can make a good mask.Read more
Incredible Dead Space Cosplay Even Animates Isaac’s Iconic Health Bar
4.6.2021
A cosplayer on Reddit is being praised for their meticulously faithful Dead Space costume—right down to the glowing spine.Read more
Bukkake Noodles Get A Safe For Work Name In The U.S.
3.6.2021
In Japan, bukkake udon is a traditional noodle dish that’s especially popular in the summertime. The word “bukkake” refers to the “splashing” of the savory broth. Yes, also means something else.Read more
It's Very Important To Nintendo That Publishers Don't Work For The Yakuza
3.5.2021
After being delayed by technical issues that resulted in a conference call full of screaming Fortnite children, the long-awaited Epic vs Apple court trial is finally underway this week. As part of the proceedings, Nintendo provided documents that include a publisher contract—though honestly...
For April 1, Cosplayers Around The World Had A Convention...In Their Pajamas
7.4.2021
There haven’t been any cosplay conventions in over a year, which sucks! But when life gives you lemons, you can make lemonade by having a convention from the comfort of your own home. In your PJs, no less.Read more
6'9" Cosplaying Olympian Is Now Resident Evil's Tall Vampire Lady
31.3.2021
This is Yekaterina Lisina, a bronze medal-winning Olympian and now model, with what is surely the most 1:1 cosplay possible of Resident Evil’s Lady Dimitrescu.Read more
Sega Lawyers Threaten Wrong Website Over Yakuza Piracy
30.3.2021
There are lawyers somewhere out there working for Sega HQ in Japan who have been tasked with hunting down the people responsible for pirating Yakuza: Like a Dragon. And they are not doing a good job.Read more
Konami Closes 16 Of Its Sports Clubs In Japan Due To Covid-19
24.3.2021
In Japan, Konami doesn’t only make video games. It also has a major chain of sports clubs. Gyms have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Konami has to shutter a number of its locations.Read more
Japan Finally Gets Rules About Japanese Whisky
16.2.2021
Japanese whisky isn’t yet one hundred years old. The country set up its first proper whisky distillery in 1923. And from then until this year, there were zero codified rules about what exactly Japanese whisky was.Read more
Some Of Our Favorite (Pre-Pandemic) Cosplay From 2020
15.2.2021
While the majority of the year was a complete write-off, for obvious reasons, we did actually squeeze a few big cosplay shows into the early, pre-pandemic months of 2020. So rather than look back on nine months of almost nothing happening on this website, let’s look at the three months something...
This Violin-Playing Cosplayer Is The Hero We Need
4.2.2021
Meet the Violin Samurai. The YouTuber dresses up as iconic characters in ramshackle costumes and then plays video game music. If only he could see half the time!Read more
The Japanese Government Could Change Cosplay Forever
25.1.2021
Currently, anyone in Japan is free to dress as their favorite characters. That will continue, most likely, but there might be big changes for those who make money from cosplaying—and possibly, even for those who don’t.Read more
Exhibitionist Cosplayer Fined And Sentenced For Exposing Herself In Public
25.1.2021
Last year at the Fancy Frontier manga and anime expo in Taipei, a Taiwanese cosplayer got in trouble with the law for exposing herself in the cosplay area near the event hall while photographers snapped photos. She was arrested for violating the country’s Act on Offenses Against Sexual...