AltJapan

Tidings of Comfort and Joy (and Super Robots)

 

Copyright Dynamic Pro, yadda yadda yadda.

The Electric Oni Acid Test

ToyboxDX hosts a beautiful photo-exposé of a beautiful antique toy, photographed and written by collector Chogoman. This diecast oni (demon) was produced by the long-gone manufacturer Sakura in the Seventies as merchandise for the Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi (Japanese animated fairy tales) series. (You can catch the oni doing what they do best -- drinking saké -- in this episode.)

As far as I know -- and believe me, I've looked long and hard -- this is the only known example of a monster from Japanese folklore being rendered in diecast metal. It even features battery-powered light-up eyes. Sold in red and green versions, it still pops up in vintage toy stores and online auctions from time to time today.

Cup Nude

Secrets of pro instant noodle eaters, from the fine folks at 2chan....

-Using the kettle like an iron to re-seal the paper top after filling.

-Pouring the leftover broth over fried rice.

-Removing the noodles and cooking them separately, then returning to the broth.

-Deliberately waiting for the noodles to get super soggy.

-Deliberately eating the noodles a minute earlier than you're supposed to so they're al dente.

-Deliberately leaving the top open.

-Dropping sliced cheese in before closing the lid.

-Teaching myself a three-minute song I can sing so they're always cooked perfectly.

-Consuming it in the time it takes to walk home from the convenience store.

-Never paying more than 100 yen for one, ever.

-Tapping the paper top to knock the precious condensation hanging there back into the soup before opening it.

-Eating it with a fork.

-Eating it dry without putting any hot water in.

-Convincing myself that instant noodles and rice balls have enough nutrition to survive on.

Mecha Joint

I really have nothing to add other than the fact that this illustration of "Robotman" happens to be awesome. And why can't there be more smoking in toy commercials?