JapanSugoi

Earlier this year, the first annual  Moehaku 萌え博 2010 show was held at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Tokyo. Moehaku is an exhibition of itasha decorated cars. Itasha is a Japanese term for an otaku fad of decorating cars with  anime, manga, or video games characters.

At Moehaku the car decorations usually involved paint schemes and stickers and while decorated cars  are called itasha, decorated motorcycles are called itansha while decorated bicycles are  itachari.

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Thunderbirds サンダーバード  were broadcast in Japan in 1967-1968.  Dubbed into Japanese of course.

Thunderbirds Japan videos

op and ed

different op

Power ranger helmet fashion from years gone by.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 東京マグニチュード8.0 is a Japanese anime that was shown last summer on Fuji TV. The 11 episode series is based upon the prediction that there is 70% or higher chance of an earthquake measuring 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale hitting Tokyo in the next 30 years.

Directed by Masaki Tachibana and written by Natsuko Takahashi, the series starts with a massive earthquake in Tokyo 25 km under the sea at a magnitude of 8.0.  The story revolves around siblings Mirai and Yūki, who were visiting a robot exhibition in Odaiba at the beginning of their summer vacation and who struggle to reach their parents in their house in Setagaya. The kids are assisted by a female motorcycle courier named Mari who is striving to reach her own daughter and mother in Sangenjaya.  Read more...

22 year old Kyoto born Takena Nagao 長尾武奈 or ていえぬ is an amateur animator whose niche genre is “brutal clay animation”.  Probably the most popular of his works (which he has been releasing since 2004) is 2007’s “Chainsaw Maid”, the story of a maid put in a position to protect the family she works for. For more fun check out his YouTube channel or visit his website

Takena Nagao Videos

Chainsaw Maid

Pussycat

For Japanese otaku learning English, there is more concentration when there is a cute anime school girl involved.  In the diagram above, you can learn all the names of the body parts in English by just looking at the school girl.

Don’t forget to  check out the hilarious Mari-tan way of learning English through vulgar US Marine slang.

Lotte’s ロッテ latest TV commercial for their ACUO brand of chewing gum which started airing last month features otaku favorite, Haruhi Suzumiya 涼宮ハルヒ (and her friends) interacting with actor Toma Ikuta 生田斗真.

Lotte Acuo TCVM featuring Haruhi Suzumiya

Haruhi Suzumiya OP Super Driver

Team Evangelion Racing エヴァンゲリオンレーシング (Team Runa) made its racing debut at the 3rd round of the Super GT スーパーGT (formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Japan GT), held at the Fuji Speedway Circuit earlier this month.

The anime themed racing team entered under the GT300 category of this prestigious racing series fielding a Toyota Corolla Axio with Evangelion logos.  The cars and drivers garnered alot of attention but there was just as much attention by otaku fans to the two beautiful race queens in sexy cosplay outfits.  Read more...

Sasuke サスケ is a 29 episode 1968-1969 anime series inspired by a novel by Kazuo Den about the life of Sarutobi Saksuki 猿飛佐助, a famous ninja featured in many Japanese children’s stories from 1911 to 1925.  Sasuke (and the 1979 TV Tokyo  anime version Manga Sarutobi Sasuke まんが猿飛佐助) were based on young Sarutobi Sasuki.

Sasuke Op and ed

We all know of Maid cafes in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. One of the newest themed bars is the Samurai cafe which capitalizes on the “Sengoku” Boom.  The  Sengoku Style Cafe & Bar Mononopu is staffed by cute girls who wear a combination of maid costumes and samurai armor and caters to lonely history buffs.

Samurai maid cafe video