Japan

Evangelion Creator Hideaki Anno To Co-Direct Japan’s New Godzilla Movie

Although this news dropped in Japan yesterday, it does not appear to be any sort of April Fool’s Day nonsense. Variety is reporting that Toho Studios’ new Godzilla movie will be co-directed by anime legend Hideaki Anno, along with the art above. But it’s Godzilla’s other director that has us really excited. Shinji Higuchi will…

io9 Rob Bricken

This video is proof that Tokyo is the most unique city in the world

Japan can be both traditional and effortlessly modern, but most of all it’s unique. The chaos and quirks and creativity and energy of Tokyo all combine to create a city filled with things that exist nowhere else. Tokyo is an original and this video by Takuya Hosogane does a fantastic job capturing that. SPLOID is…

Sploid Casey Chan

This R2-D2 Hangs Out In Your Fridge And Reminds You Not To Waste Energy

The Force Awakens may not be out for another 9 months, but I think we might have reached peak ‘weird Star Wars’ tie-in merch: This tiny little R2 sits in your fridge and furiously beeps at you if you leave the door open too long. It’s also meant to single people feel less lonely, too!…

Tech News James Whitbrook

A History Of Gundam, The Anime That Defined The Giant Robot Revolution

Almost four decades ago, Mobile Suit Gundam aired in Japan and changed the way the country looked at giant robots. Here’s a brief history of how Gundam established a new genre of anime, changed the way the West consumed Japanese animation, and became a cultural touchstone for the robotics technology of the future. Gundam: The…

io9 James Whitbrook

New Footage Shows Wreck Of Japanese Super Battleship Sunk In WWII

Last week, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced the discovery of the sunken Japanese super battleship Musashi. His team has now released a second video showing the historic wreck in extraordinary detail. The 73,000-ton Musashi, along with her sister ship, the Yamato, were the largest and most heavily armored battleships the world had ever seen. Commissioned…

io9 George Dvorsky

Black bun fried frog burger looks scary but is probably delicious

Fried frogs can look frighteningly like failed science experiments and imagining eating them might conjure gooey liquid slime down your throat but they’re actually quite enjoyable to eat. So even though this black bun burger looks like it has disgustingly trapped a gross frog, I’m sure it tastes just fine. The burger is being sold…

Sploid Casey Chan

The 15 Weirdest Super Sentai Giant Robots

For almost four decades, the Super Sentai franchise — the original Japanese title of the series better known as the Power Rangers — have featured massive mecha blowing up monsters. It should be no surprise that there have been bizarre ‘bots over the years. Here’s 15 of the weirdest — and the most wonderful. 15)…

io9 James Whitbrook

These guys making Japanese rice paste are freaking nuts

I love mochi—the Japanese cakes made from rice that gets smashed into a gooey, elastic paste. I like all shapes and types, savory or sweet, is one of my favorite things to eat. I know how it is made it but I never saw them doing them by hand. Crazy. A closer angle: SPLOID is…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Not Content With Branded Real Food, Sailor Moon Gets Branded Fake Food

The 20th anniversary of the Sailor Moon Manga’s release, as well as the launch of Sailor Moon Crystal, has seen kind of an explosion in Sailor Moon marketing mania recently. We’ve had tortilla chips, we’ve had animé contacts, and now the Sailor Senshi are getting into… the tiny, replica food market? Huh. (Moon Marketing Mania…

Tech News James Whitbrook

Attack On Titan‘s Merchandise Now Comes In Water Cooler Form

Attack On Titan’s popularity knows no bounds – both in the US and Japan the manga is tearing up sales charts, and that of course means there is merchandise out the wazoo. But you know something’s really made it when it started being slapped all over… Water Coolers. Wait, what? Japanese Water Cooler manufacturer Aqua…

Tech News James Whitbrook

A gun machine that shoots dumplings together would be the greatest thing

The world should put together all their brain power and weapons experts and artillery and dumpling ammo so that we can make this dumpling gun machine happen. Imagine a world where at a push of a button we can shoot out the perfect amount of meat, spice it, wrap it and cook it in less…

Sploid Casey Chan

The Best-Named Gundam Is Getting A Fantastic Toy

Although the upgraded version of Uso Ewin’s Victory Gundam, the splendidly-titled V-Dash Gundam, isn’t the most exciting Mobile Suit Design in the long running Gundam franchise, in toy form it certainly looks rather fabulous. Header Image Credit: Toy-People. All images credited as such unless otherwise stated. This new figure from Bandai is out in Japan…

Tech News James Whitbrook

The Latest Fukushima Leak Was Unreported for Almost a Year

More reports, more mystery leaks, more questions about the complexity of cleaning up a broken nuclear plant. Last weekend, we learned about Fukushima’s latest leak, which led to water with 70 times the normal levels of radiation leaking into the nearby ocean. It seems that Tepco, the company responsible for the maintenance and decommissioning of…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Japan Is Holding Actual Funerals For Sony’s Robotic AIBO Dogs

When a decades old toy breaks down and stops working with no hope of repair, you usually just toss it or find some way to recycle the parts. But what if you’re as attached to that toy as you were a pet? In Japan, people are giving Sony’s robot AIBO dog actual funerals to say…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Nobody would have believed this 70 years ago

Looking at this picture it is hard to believe that the United States and Australia were in a bloody no quarter war against Japan only 70 years ago: Spot the Mitsubishi F-2 escorting a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the direct heir of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers that obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. U.S. Air Force, Japan…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

This Japanese Robot Feeds You Tomatoes While You Run

Okay, it’s not exactly a robot—but I bet it’s still the craziest thing you’ve seen all day. Japanese juice and ketchup company Kagome built a freaking wearable tomato dispenser for a runner at the Japan Marathon this weekend. The video pretty much speaks for itself: What’s really going on here? Believe it or not, it’s…

Tech News Sean Hollister

What You Need To Know About The Great Urban Fantasy Series Persona

A few weeks ago you might have found some of your videogaming friends getting excited over a trailer for Persona 5. Confused as to what all the fuss was about? Here’s a quick rundown of why you should consider getting into the weird world of this long-running game series. https://kotaku.com/first-look-at-persona-5-gameplay-1683927090 So what is Persona exactly?…

io9 James Whitbrook

First Glimpse Of Gundam: The Origin Shows The History Of Mobile Suits

Gundam fans have long been looking forward to Gundam Origin, the new anime movie series that charts the earliest days of the fight between Zeon and the Earth Federation — but now that we’ve got this extended first look at it, we cannot wait to see more of Char Aznable pulling off amazing moves in…

io9 James Whitbrook

Bandai Want To Turn Your iPhone Into A Delorean

Well, not so much in a way that would allow it to travel in time or fly whatever, but it does turn your otherwise relatively sleek phone into a giant slab of Delorean-shaped plastic. So there’s that! The latest in Bandai’s line of ‘Crazy Cases’ for the iPhone 6 – no other phone is so…

Tech News James Whitbrook

Color-Changing Rubber Sheets Show Areas of Extreme Stress When Stretched

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science—or NIMS for short—have taken some inspiration from insects like beetles and butterflies to create a stretchable rubber-like material that changes color under stress. As the material is stretched, it moves through a spectrum of shimmering colors that can be used to visually identify how much stress is…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Evangelion Creator Hideaki Anno To Co-Direct Japan’s New Godzilla Movie

This video is proof that Tokyo is the most unique city in the world

This R2-D2 Hangs Out In Your Fridge And Reminds You Not To Waste Energy

A History Of Gundam, The Anime That Defined The Giant Robot Revolution

New Footage Shows Wreck Of Japanese Super Battleship Sunk In WWII

Black bun fried frog burger looks scary but is probably delicious

The 15 Weirdest Super Sentai Giant Robots

These guys making Japanese rice paste are freaking nuts

Not Content With Branded Real Food, Sailor Moon Gets Branded Fake Food

Attack On Titan‘s Merchandise Now Comes In Water Cooler Form

A gun machine that shoots dumplings together would be the greatest thing

The Best-Named Gundam Is Getting A Fantastic Toy

The Latest Fukushima Leak Was Unreported for Almost a Year

Japan Is Holding Actual Funerals For Sony’s Robotic AIBO Dogs

Nobody would have believed this 70 years ago

This Japanese Robot Feeds You Tomatoes While You Run

What You Need To Know About The Great Urban Fantasy Series Persona

First Glimpse Of Gundam: The Origin Shows The History Of Mobile Suits

Bandai Want To Turn Your iPhone Into A Delorean

Color-Changing Rubber Sheets Show Areas of Extreme Stress When Stretched

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Holds a Record Low Price as Bone Conduction Headphones Stock Quietly Clears Out on Amazon

Avast Premium Isn’t Flashy — But It Might Be the Smartest Cheap Antivirus Right Now

Data Centers Create Heat Islands Stretching 6 Miles, Study Finds

Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition Smartwatch at 41% Off Is Flying Off the Shelves on Amazon

Aragorn Is Officially Being Recast For ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

DJI Slashes $500 Off the Mini 5 Pro Fly More Drone After Avata 360 Launch, Bundled With RC 2, Batteries, and More

Artemis 2 Day 3: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Illumination Is Officially Learning Nothing

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