Japan

Lupin the Third‘s Gloriously Gorgeous CG Movie Now Has an English Dub Trailer

Beloved gentleman thief Lupin III has been dazzling us for decades at this point, but his latest animated escapades have been teasing us from afar in the form of the utterly sumptuous-looking 3DCG animated movie that came out in Japan last year. But now, we’ve got a tiny new look at it, as gorgeous as…

Trailers James Whitbrook

Soon We Might Get to See Mars in 8K

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and broadcaster NHK are teaming up to develop a space camera capable of filming in 4K and 8K resolutions to capture Mars like it’s never been seen before. Meanwhile, 8K video remains prohibitively expensive back down here on Earth, so if you’re going to get some ridiculously high-resolution footage, it…

Space & Spaceflight Alyse Stanley

Get Limber Enough to Punch Giant Monsters With This Super Sentai Aerobics Video

The importance of warming up before pummeling the Dimensional War Party Vyram cannot be understated. Maybe your lockdown exercise routine could use a suitably superheroic shakeup. Just in case it does, please enjoy this very silly video of the cast of Chojin Sentai Jetman—the series that is often credited with saving the esteemed Tokusatsu franchise…

io9 James Whitbrook

Jiro Kuwata’s Batman Is an Incredible Thing

Earlier this month, news broke that manga artist Jiro Kuwata passed away. While the artist and writer was known in Japan for series like Maboroshi Tantei and 8 Man, in the west we know him for one particular curiosity: the Batman manga. Its take on Batman 55 years on still feels unlike anything we’ve seen with…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

That Stranded Ship Leaking Tons of Oil Near Mauritius Just Split in Two

The Mauritius oil spill, predicted to be one of the worst ecological disasters in the island nation’s history, worsened this weekend after the stranded ship responsible for the mess broke in two. The Japanese oil tanker ran aground off the coast of Mauritius in late July and has since leaked some 1,000 metric tons of…

Earther Alyse Stanley

Mauritius Faces Environmental Crisis as Stranded Ship Leaks Oil

Mauritius has declared a “state of environmental emergency” after a Japanese bulk carrier that wrecked on its shores in late July began leaking tons of oil into the Indian Ocean. The environmentalist group Greenpeace says the spill is likely to be one of the worst ecological crises the island nation has ever seen and could…

Earther Alyse Stanley

Fukushima’s Contaminated Wastewater Could Be Too Risky to Dump in the Ocean

Almost a decade ago, the Tohoku-oki earthquake and tsunami triggered an explosion at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl and releasing an unprecedented amount of radioactive contamination in the ocean. In the years since, there’s been a drawn out cleanup process, and water radiation levels around the…

Earther Dharna Noor

The Mind Behind Japan’s Legendary Batmanga, Jiro Kuwata, Has Passed Away

Jiro Kuwata, the mangaka behind Phantom Detective, 8 Man, and one of the most fascinating takes on Batman around, has passed away. The news was confirmed by the artist’s publisher, Akita Shoten, in a short statement. Kuwata’s career in manga took off in the late ‘50s, developing Maboroshi Tantei (adapted several years later as the…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Japan’s Newest Bullet Trains Can Keep Running on Battery Power in the Event of a Disaster

Japan’s bullet trains are quite possibly the world’s most punctual form of transportation, and the safest way to hit speeds of over 200MPH without leaving the ground. The newest version, the N700s that’s now running on the country’s Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Osaka, is also the first to feature a battery backup to keep…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Dozens of U.S. Marines Test Positive For Covid-19 in Japan, Angering Local Authorities

At least 62 U.S. Marines have tested positive for coronavirus at American military bases in Japan, according to a new report from the Japan Times. It’s not yet clear whether the U.S. service members brought covid-19 with them from overseas or if they were infected while in Japan. But either way, authorities in Japan are…

Tech News Matt Novak

Kamen Rider‘s Big End-of-Era Team-Up Is Coming to the West, Which Is a Great Sign

Kamen Rider might be one of the biggest tokusatsu shows around in Japan, but it’s taken a very long time for the series to get any traction in the U.S. Not that there weren’t attempts (we see you, very loveably bad Masked Rider), but it’s only been recently that classic Kamen Rider has been officially…

Movies James Whitbrook

You Can Watch the Newest Ultraman Show, Officially Subtitled, for Free

In recent years, Tsuburaya has made leaps and bounds in its attempts to bring the beloved Ultraman franchise to a global audience. Now, the 32nd entry in the series takes an even bigger step, giving fans outside of Japan official access as it debuts on home soil. This past weekend Ultraman Z made its debut…

io9 James Whitbrook

Porco Rosso Is Hayao Miyazaki’s Most Underrated Masterpiece

It’s pretty safe to say that if you’re an io9 reader, you’ve probably seen at least one Hayao Miyazaki movie (and likely more). Along with the legendary Studio Ghibli, the anime production company he co-founded, Miyazaki has made some of the greatest and most celebrated animated movies ever. But there’s one film of his that…

Movies Rob Bricken

Japanese Printing Company Turns Waste Into Edible Notepads Paired With Coffee-Flavored Pens

Those of us who’ve become overly-dependent on snacking to alleviate boredom while working from home are going to have a rough transition back to office life. Munching on Doritos and popcorn during meetings isn’t exactly ideal office etiquette, so a Japanese company is developing edible notepads that help make your impulsive nibbling more discrete. Ainz…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

I Miss My Japanese Flip Phone

In the fall of 2006, I was a wide-eyed nerd who had just landed in Tokyo for my freshman year of college. There’s a lot of bureaucratic nonsense you have to do when you decide to study abroad long-term, but at the top of my list was getting myself a keitai, or a Japanese cellphone.…

Gadgets Victoria Song

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Suits From Japanese Superhero Shows

Superheroes: they’re a fancy lot. But if a decade of the apex of cinematic superheroic shenanigans has taught us anything, our live-action heroes are barely just beginning to embrace the showy, colourful aesthetics of the comics, in favor of “realistic” design. So let this Twitter account remind you that at least some live-action superheroes are…

Television James Whitbrook

Hayao Miyazaki Is Taking His Time With His Next Movie

Entirely fair, frankly. Hand-drawn 2D animation? And like, with the state of the world right now? Hayao Miyazaki can do whatever he wants, including spend three years turning in 30-odd minutes of (presumably very gorgeous) animation with his team. We’ve known for a while that Miyazaki had wrenched himself from his all-too-brief retirement from animation…

Movies James Whitbrook

148 Crew Members Test Positive for Coronavirus on Cruise Ship Docked in Japan

One hundred forty-eight crew members—out of 632 total—on board the Italian cruise ship Costa Atlantica have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, USA Today reported on Monday. Cruise ships have proven to be particularly fertile grounds for the coronavirus; cramped, indoor quarantine conditions can contribute to rapid spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

Health Tom McKay

10 Manga Series to Start Reading on the Shonen Jump App, One of the Best Deals in Digital Comics [Updated]

Digital comics have been big for years at this point, yet somehow it still feels like, when it comes to the big publishers, subscription access to their biggest hits is kind of weirdly compromised. On DC’s side, it’s tied into DC Universe, which is great, unless you just want some comics. On the Marvel side,…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Forget Kids, I Need This Hand Stamp That Disappears When You’ve Properly Washed Your Hands

Even after singing all six minutes of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, I’m still anxious that I haven’t washed my hands long enough to ensure they’re properly clean. So I like the idea behind this clever hand stamp for kids that forces them to thoroughly scrub for at least 30 seconds before it completely disappears. Made from…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

Lupin the Third‘s Gloriously Gorgeous CG Movie Now Has an English Dub Trailer

Soon We Might Get to See Mars in 8K

Get Limber Enough to Punch Giant Monsters With This Super Sentai Aerobics Video

Jiro Kuwata’s Batman Is an Incredible Thing

That Stranded Ship Leaking Tons of Oil Near Mauritius Just Split in Two

Mauritius Faces Environmental Crisis as Stranded Ship Leaks Oil

Fukushima’s Contaminated Wastewater Could Be Too Risky to Dump in the Ocean

The Mind Behind Japan’s Legendary Batmanga, Jiro Kuwata, Has Passed Away

Japan’s Newest Bullet Trains Can Keep Running on Battery Power in the Event of a Disaster

Dozens of U.S. Marines Test Positive For Covid-19 in Japan, Angering Local Authorities

Kamen Rider‘s Big End-of-Era Team-Up Is Coming to the West, Which Is a Great Sign

You Can Watch the Newest Ultraman Show, Officially Subtitled, for Free

Porco Rosso Is Hayao Miyazaki’s Most Underrated Masterpiece

Japanese Printing Company Turns Waste Into Edible Notepads Paired With Coffee-Flavored Pens

I Miss My Japanese Flip Phone

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Suits From Japanese Superhero Shows

Hayao Miyazaki Is Taking His Time With His Next Movie

148 Crew Members Test Positive for Coronavirus on Cruise Ship Docked in Japan

10 Manga Series to Start Reading on the Shonen Jump App, One of the Best Deals in Digital Comics [Updated]

Forget Kids, I Need This Hand Stamp That Disappears When You’ve Properly Washed Your Hands

Roku’s 2025 Streaming Stick HD Is 40% Off to Compete With Amazon Fire TV Stick During Spring Sale

Epstein Victims Sue Google, Claim AI Mode Exposed Personal Information

‘Wicked Spot’ Is a Fun, Sapphic Rom-Com That Yeets a Witch Into the Magical World of Influencer Culture

Anthropic and OpenAI Just Gave Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Model Pricing

Amazon Slashes 63% Off Acer Aspire Desktop for a Limited-Time Spring Sale, With Keyboard and Mouse Included

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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