From Wirebot:

Ask a Western gamer what they think of Visual Novels and chances are you’re just going to get a confused glance. “Visual novels? What the hell are they?” some will say. “You mean Japanese porn games, right?” others will reply. The sad fact of the matter is that Visual Novels, as a gaming genre, simply doesn’t exist as something viable outside Japan.

Well, that’s not entirely true. More »

From Ningin: The Japanese have done it again.

Soon the world the way we view it, at least entertainment-wise, will soar much higher into the stratosphere. Undiscovered territory within a new universe will be able to be reached through virtual 3D simulation via their Blu-Ray player PS3. More »

The popularity of technology-based toys has been booming, growing ever-more popular each year. In contrast, Japanese manufacturers Muji have collaborated with classic toy moguls Lego to put a new twist on two favorite past-times. More »

2 Comments

This past week marked the Viz Pictures release of 20th Century Boys 1 on DVD, the first in a sure-to-be-a-hit trilogy, as well as first news of Studio Ghibli’s next project. In addition, there were a wide range of subjects explored during the week ranging from japanese travel to literature and even free music (and who doesn’t like free music?). Check it out. More »

1 Comment

Recently, more and more video games have been getting the manga treatment and it seems the Legend of Zelda is no different. More »

2 Comments

New York - Tokyo and the LimeWire Store have teamed up to bring you the latest sounds of the Tokyo musicscape - for FREE! The Ear To The Ground series offers free digital downloads of local spotlight artists from cities around the world. More »

1 Comment

From Girlybubble: As of yesterday, this Christmas wish isn’t the most legitimate for me. While Christmas shopping, I thought I’d actually buy myself a really cute phone charm from a local Japanese pop culture novelty store. Turns out, my new phone is not cute phone charm friendly. I shake my fist at you Samsung Eternity! More »

If you’ve ever dreamed of being a writer for your favorite manga series, this is for you!

More »

2 Comments

From Ningin: Awhile back I wrote about some USB gloves and how silly they sounded. After reading about some other fun filled Japanese USB gadgets, those gloves actually look quite tame. Useful even. I present to you a few very odd things you should never buy. More »

From Girlybubble: A New Year’s resolution of mine for 2010 is to write more letters. As in, the physical kind, not the hit “send” kind. This resolution was not only made out of novelty or to revive a dying art but for a more personal reason. More »