AltJapan

Sweet Soul Revue

Tamashii Web English version is GO! Fan sites abound, but Tamashii Web is the first-ever official source of English-language info about Bandai's "high target" toy lines. It includes interviews, news, and release dates for the Soul of Chogokin, Super Imaginative Chogokin, Saint Seiya, Evangelion, Kamen Rider, Gundam, and other series. In Bandai's own words, it's "cool, fun, and just plain awe-inspiring."

It's a historic moment. Not only does this mark the first time the Bandai Collectors Division has ever reached out to English speaking fans, but they were also kind enough to invite me aboard as a consultant and semi-regular contributor. First up is a brief history of Popy and the Chogokin. If you're as crazy about giant robots and tokusatsu heroes as I am -- or even if you aren't -- strap on your henshin belt and check it out!

Superdeformed

Long-lost brothers?

Doublas M2 from "Mazinger Z":

Two-headed turtle found in Moriyama:

(Photo courtesy Mainichi Daily News / Reuters)

Sewer Shark

The long-anticipated "sewer invasion" episode of Tokyo Eye has finally made it online! Watch as we plunge deep beneath Tokyo's surface into the gaping tunnels of the sewer system, battle tardigrades, and come perilously close to plunging off the poopdeck.

This also marks a watershed moment as NHK decided to dub rather than subtitle all Japanese speech (including my own), giving parts of this episode the rich feel of a Shaw Brothers chop-socky. It also marks the first time I get to walk out of the john on camera.

Overtechnology

Finally, someone acknowledges the long-rumored capability of the city's largest train station to convert into a giant robot warrior in times of emergency.

The Joy of Plex

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like the kind of place one would come to pimp their robot ride...

Plex. You've probably never heard of them, but odds are more than a few of the products they designed have been through your grubby little hands. They are the crack team of toy-designers that companies like Bandai-Namco and Toei rely on to create the latest super robots, vehicles, and accessories for the Power Rangers, Kamen Rider, and dozens of other shows. I had a rare opportunity to infiltrate their offices in Tokyo late last year for Otaku USA magazine, and the article is finally available online. Check it out!

Kids With Guns

Private gun ownership all but illegal in Japan? NO PROBLEMO! Tokyo Marui has your back! It's fascinating to see how Japan's incredibly strict gun laws have given rise to an industry specializing in ultra-realistic simulacra of weaponry. These are "airsoft guns," which incorporate a battery-powered mechanism that lets them shoot little plastic BBs instead of bullets. People use these to play "Saba-ge," or "survival games," here in Japan, similar to paintball games in the USA. But unlike paintball guns, these suckers look exactly like real firearms. These pictures were all taken at the 47th Shizuoka Hobby Show, which is being held in (duh) Shizuoka through the 18th.

Awwww! You KNOW it's a good day when you don't even have to use your totally kawaii AK. What could be better for the kids than cuddly l'il assault rifle?

Answer: "Automatic Electric Gun BOYS," a hot new series of replica submachineguns scaled down just for kids! The rumors are true:
all-Caucasian pre-pubescent S.W.A.T. teams are popping up all over Japan.

This M4 is supposed to be a perfect replica of the standard firearms issued to employees of Blackwater and other private military subcontractors. Note the on-the-scene photos of cool corporate commandos in jeans and T-shirts. Over here, it seems, America's guns for hire are just another set of characters from yet another gritty war drama playing out on TV screens. Let's Mercenary!

Coral is Kawaii

Betcha didn't know that 2008 is the International Year of the Reef. As anyone who dives or snorkels tropical waters knows, coral reefs are windows into another world -- and increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution, and overfishing. International Year of the Reef is sponsored by a variety of countries, including Australia, France, Mexico, the Philippines, and America, but only the Japanese have gone the extra mile and created not one but SEVEN super kawaii mascot characters to promote it!

Clockwise from left, you've got Oniide (a super-cute crown-of-thorns starfish, nicknamed the "demon-star" in Japanese for its toxic spines), Shota (the boy with coral for hair), Kacchi, Chu, and Zou (a trio of coral polyps), Taiyo-Kun (the sun), Unibo (a sea urchin), Kanirin (a crab-girl) and Jangurasu (sea grass). The mascots were named in a nationwide competition; a 76-year-old from Fukushima submitted "Shota," while a 7-year-old from Tokyo came up with "Taiyo-Kun," showing the huge popularity of "working characters" (as we call them in Hello, Please) across a wide demographic in Japan.

"He's a mean bastard from Okinawa..."

OKINAWA, May 8 -- A professional gaijin raconteur and sea-explorer was awarded the Sacred Order of the Rising Sun this week for preventing the certain destruction of the Tokyo Tower by Mothra. Spotting a recently hatched juvenile specimen in the waters off of Iriomote Island in the Okinawan archipelago, he acted quickly and decisively to halt its rampage towards the Motherland. "It was the least I could do after all this country has done for me over the years," he said in a speech at the acceptance ceremony. "It also went quite well with soy sauce and a little wasabi."

Akihabara Shakedown

Yesterday's TV news programs overflowed with breathless reports of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police swarming Tokyo's famed "Electric Town," Akihabara, to shut down otaku street performances. Although obviously staged as a publicity stunt -- suspiciously well-informed camera crews outnumbered the officers in many shots -- you can catch the broadcast highlights here and here. "An Army of Cosplayers has Taken Over City Streets!" warns one headline. "Cosplayers Versus the Authorities!" screams another.

Based on a True Story

They're here. They're weird. Get used to it. They're the YOKAI! That's right: Hiroko and I have had a little secret brewing for the last year or so:

Meet our newest book: Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide! Published by the fine folks at Kodansha International, it's what we believe is the world's first English-language guidebook to surviving potential encounters with monsters of Japanese myth and legend. For generations they were believed to have stalked Japan's mountains, forests, fields, coastlines, and towns. And who's to say they still aren't around? Written and created by Hiroko and I, illustrated by the talented manga-ka Tatsuya Morino, it's the last guide to Japan you'll ever need.

The book is organized by yokai, letting you take in important characteristics like pronunciation, size, locomotion, prevalence, danger level, and habitat at a glance. But don't let the "datafile" format fool you: this sucker is dense. Every entry also contains abundant info about each creature's historical/cultural background and modus operandi -- handy for surviving potential close encounters. It isn't "fiction," isn't anime or manga -- it's a collection of anecdotes and conventional wisdom about the creatures, giving you a leg up on the many references to yokai that appear in Japanese literature, film, anime, slang, and even cuisine (another serving of Kappa Maki, my friends?)

It's 196 pages covering almost fifty hand-picked favorites. It's coming out in America and Europe this fall, but it's going on sale this JUNE in Japanese bookstores!