As seen in the video below the break, this year’s Comiket crowd is absolutely huge; it makes Tokyo rush-hour commuting on the subway look like child’s play.
Huge Comiket Crowds
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Category Archives: Japanese Culture
Ponyo: Japanese Soundtrack vs. English Pop
Disney, being the marketing geniuses executive meddlers that they are, have decided to record their own pop version of the theme song from Hayao Miyazaki’s new film Ponyo. The final product, which makes use of the vocal “talents” of Frankie Jonas and Noah Cyrus, as well as heavy manipulation by Auto-Tune, can be heard in the comparison video below.
JRock Live!
The last few weeks have seen the release of some very enjoyable JRock live concert videos. My particular favorite is a collaboration between Beat Crusaders and Melon Kinenbi entitled “Don’t Say Good-Bye”.
Nihon no Neko
Japanese cats and their antics have been a recent theme at Japan Probe; it would seem that Asian felines are just as amusing and finicky as their western counterparts. First up, we have a cat who likes automatic massages.
Don’t Say Bollywood!
This MAD, which combines K-On!’s Don’t Say Lazy with the musical stylings of Bollywood superstar Daler Mehndi, has gained quite a bit of notoriety lately.
Japanese Anime Industry Shrinks
ANN is reporting that the Japanese anime industry has shrunk for a second year in a row, with revenues down over $2 billion in 2008. Drops in both box office revenues and DVD sales contributed to this downward trend. Yasuo Yamaguchi, the director of the Association of Japanese Animators, thinks he knows the problem.
“The spread of free Internet downloading is having a deadly effect.”
Of course, that MUST be what’s wrong. I’m sure this industry decline has NOTHING to do with endless moe filler, ill-advised publicity stunts or ridiculously overpriced DVDs. Good call there, Yasuo!
Meanwhile, while the Japanese anime industry is floundering, the American industry is thriving. Must be a fluke.
Kuroshio Sea
John Rawlinson recently posted this amazing video of his visit to the Kuroshio Sea.
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The Kuroshio Sea is located at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, and famously contains the second-largest panel of acrylic glass in the world. It is also one of the few aquariums that keeps whale sharks in captivity.
Wacky Bowling
From Kyoto comes the strangest bowling team I’ve ever seen.
Despite their odd techniques, the video states that their average score is around 200.
–Originally from Japan Probe
Harry Potter Cast vs. Genki Girl
Celebrities visiting Japan have always had to deal with some pretty wacky stuff, and the Harry Potter stars are certainly no strangers to unusual promotional stunts. However, nothing I’ve seen tops this video of a Japanese fan meeting Rupert Grint (Ron Weasly).
AKB48 On Music Fighter
Japanese theater/pop group AKB48 recently appeared on Music Fighter, and did a live version of their new single Namida Suprise. Although the singing isn’t quite as good as the PV version, it does feature some nice dancing… and lots of cute girls.
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Additionally, there is now a version of Namida Suprise with poorly done subtitles, which can be found here.