30 November 2013

Tsundere Russian Cookies

 photo BaUWna3CMAAJPIr_zps7e158a85.jpg
A friend of mine recently came back from his trip to Japan. For souvenir he gave me and other friends some "Tsundere Russian Cookies".

 photo 1426251_10151852994678212_925157648_n_zps49fd9002.jpg
The box looks like typical anime theme confectionary, but that is not the main point for me; what makes the cookies interesting is that they are spicy. Well, at least 10 out of 12 of them are spicy. I was unfortunate to fall for the majority, and the cookie was surprisingly spicy. Or rather it was difficult for me to imagine a cookie to be spicy in the first place!

 photo 0112_tsundere-russian-cookie_03_zpsc8c2d001.jpg
The cookies are sold for 420 Yen per box in districts associated with anime, manga, game merchandise such as Akihabara in Tokyo. My friend got it in Nipponbashi in Osaka, which is comparable to Akihabara.

 photo 2008-12-24-408mBx7oW_zps9e4f1651.jpg
Cookie package with little skulls and numbers on them.

 photo 2008-12-24-409LN5TLT_zps4e3d5910.jpg
The side of the box also comes with a yonkoma comic strip

I probably won't look forward to eating another spicy cookie, but it sure is an interesting experience with friends ^^;

Image from Akibamap and Akiba blog
Read More!

29 November 2013

いい肉の日

 photo 21f8364f_zps4135101d.jpg
After yesterday's いいニーハイの日, we have another special day in Japan. What is it? It's the いい肉の日 (nice meat day).

The name, just like the nice knee-high day the day before, is a play on pronunciation. The phrase "nice meat", which is pronounced as "ii niku", is similar to pronunciation for "1129", hence 29th November is the "Nice Meat Day". Japanese twitter users post a lot of pictures to go with this day.

 photo BaOOE7OCcAEvDuW_zps1a4781f6.jpg
Beef specialist restaurant Niku no Mansei teases with numerous pictures of beef (source)

 photo BaM-E_WCUAIg-hD_zpsef1f1716.jpg
Hamburger beef and steak from Niku no Mansei (source)

 photo BaMy2aYCcAArbNN_zps8f1f291e.jpg
KFC Japan's twitter account is also showing off with their chicken meat (source)

 photo BaMcr5QCQAA6Ymz_zpse250be13.jpg
Heart shape raw meat (source)

 photo BaMoxNqCAAEq90__zps0635efb1.jpg
Even office accessories supplier King Jim joins the fray (source)

 photo 75c34ad3-s_zpseaeaffc6.jpg
 photo 43af65f4-s_zpsb6103604.jpg
Source unknown, but these are posted on one of game news site.

 photo 31808711_m_zpsfbca931e.jpg
And finally another kind of "meat" - Sena from Boku ha Tomotachi ga Sukunai
Image from pixiv

Looking and posting these images makes me really want to crave for meat. Ack, meat day or not, I want some now! -q-
Read More!

28 November 2013

いいニーハイの日

 photo BaKd9XeCYAADmOn_zpsf1caff6b.jpeg
According to the Japanese twitter community, the day 28th November is a special day. By pronouncing the date "1128" in numbers, the result will sound similar to いいニーハイ (iini-hai), which means nice knee-high (socks). Hence 28th November is known as いいニーハイの日 (nice knee-high socks day), and it is this day many people post pictures of "knee-highs" to go with the day.

 photo BaHkqQPCcAAAsvW_zps570aee96.jpg
Two pairs of thighs together (source)

 photo BaGLf52CMAAVL2K_zpse12ede61.jpg
(source)

 photo BaKd9XeCYAADmOn_zpsf1caff6b.jpeg
Tohsaka Rin cosplay from Fate/stay Night (source)

 photo BaHkNUiCQAAfmG-_zps64c2d6a0.jpeg
Cat socks! (source)

 photo BaJOFkWCEAALgkG_zpsfd8bbef6.jpeg
There are also pictures of dolls with knee-high socks. Here is a custom Hastune Miku doll (source)

 photo BaJP3BWCAAAz0-J_zpsc1e87b01.jpeg
(source)

 photo 824452588_zps1dc579ca.jpg
Knee-high socks suit well for ball-jointed dolls as the socks can cover the knee joints as well (source)

 photo BaJBKsvCcAALnv__zpsc6beaa5c.jpeg
(source)


Oh and one more:
 photo BaHfrWSCIAABWGm_zps448dc033.jpg
Knee-high kick! Well, a different kind of knee-high, I suppose... (source)
Read More!

24 November 2013

Doraemon 3D CG Movie Announced

 photo image_zpsbbf7d7ba.jpg
A new Doraemon movie will be produced in 3D CG for the first time in Summer 2014. Called "STAND BY ME", the movie will most likely base on the early stories of the original manga collection.

 photo 29c3a04f_zps35aaf75a.jpg
Doraemon is a story of the eponymous blue robotic cat who travelled back in time to the 20th century in order to look after his owner's great-grandfather, Nobita, so that his descendants may prosper a better life in the future under Doraemon's guidance.

The many short stories in the manga see Nobita and his daily life, be it his poor grades at school, or being bullied by friends Gian or Suneo, as well as his encounter with his love interest Shizuka. In many situations Doraemon will lend out his gadgets to help Nobita, which are often abused by Nobita or stolen by his friends. By the end of the story, the characters who do wrong are usually punished.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVuXGgOGR7Q

Together with the annual 2D feature length movies, it's interesting to hear that a new Doraemon movie is in the making. Though I must say I am not very used to the new looks of Doraemon and his friends in this upcoming movie, having getting used to the 2D form for many years; even the "3D" versions have remained fairly faithful to the original appearances in the past. Nevertheless, this may be something worth looking forward to for those who reads them in the childhood? If not then there is always the 2D ones to look forward to. ^^


Website:
http://doraemon-3d.com/
Read More!

22 November 2013

New Gunpla Kits Revealed in Gunpla Expo 2013

 photo g_expo_35s_zpsa9d604bc.jpg
Gunpla Expo happened on Saturday, and there are new kits announced especially in anticipation for the ongoing Gundam Build Fighters anime series, as well as the final episode of Gundam UC that is to be aired next year.

 photo g_expo_26s_zps2af88233.jpg
MG 1/100 Unicorn Gundam Unit 3 Phenex

 photo g_expo_27s_zpsf3e1286c.jpg
MG 1/100 Gundam X

 photo g_expo_25s_zps5d005769.jpg
MG 1/100 Sazabi ver Ka.

 photo g_expo_48s_zps4e75d981.jpg
MG 1/100 Turn X

 photo g_expo_bf_01s_zps3c82386c.jpg
HG 1/144 Star Build Strike Gundam

 photo g_expo_15s_zpseed550ff.jpg
HG 1/144 GM Sniper K9

 photo g_expo_12s_zps6a2c5d80.jpg
HG 1/144 Kampfer Amazing

 photo g_expo_44s_zps15d9a532.jpg
HG 1/144 Qubeley Papillon

 photo g_expo_46s_zps1526df4c.jpg
HG 1/144 Universe Booster Plavsky Power Gate

 photo g_expo_02s_zps4276eb31.jpg
HGUC 1/144 V2 Gundam

 photo g_expo_04s_zpsf2e8fed2.jpg
HG 1/144 Turn A Gundam

 photo g_expo_07s_zps4276eb31.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Gundam F91

 photo g_expo_09s_zps00204959.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Gundam F91 Harrison Madin colour

 photo g_expo_10s_zps47453f75.jpg
HGAC 1/144 Wing Zero Gundam

 photo g_expo_18s_zps4c69c720.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Full Armour Unicorn Gundam Destroy Mode

 photo g_expo_20s_zps87f4acf9.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Unicorn Gundam Unit 2 Banshee Norn Destroy Mode

 photo g_expo_22s_zpsdf1b90f0.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Silver Bullet

 photo g_expo_43s_zps6d9ecf46.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Silver Bullet Fin Funnel Test Type

 photo g_expo_55s_zpse4d00232.jpg
HGUC 1/144 Kshatriya Repaired

A lot of new kits out there, and I have quite a few in my wish list~ Wing Zero, Banshee Norn Destroy Mode, and perhaps Silver Bullet as well!

Sources:
MasterFileBlog
http://masterfileblog.jp/news/2013/11/22/4575.html
http://masterfileblog.jp/news/2013/11/22/4573.html
http://masterfileblog.jp/news/2013/11/24/4589.html
http://masterfileblog.jp/news/2013/11/23/4586.html
http://masterfileblog.jp/news/2013/11/23/4584.html
Read More!

14 November 2013

Madoka Film Strip Sold Over 4 Million Yen?

 photo MadokaYahooAuc4Mil_zpsdb0070d4.jpg
Remember a Puella Magi Madoka Magica film strip that was sold for over 1 million Yen last year? Well, there appears to be a new record that broke it by a factor of 4.

This film strip features the film's title name "Hangyaku no Monogatari" (literally "story of rebellion". Unlike the first two movies, which are a retelling of the TV series, the third movie of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica movie trilogy features a new story that stems from the TV series' ending.

The auction lasted for 3 days from 11th to 14th November, with a total of 664 bids and ended with the price of 4,103,000 Yen. The film strip was a present for those who watched the movie in cinema. Each strip feature a few frames of the movie. Those with memorable or significant scenes will be in higher demand and/or have high collection values, hence potentially higher prices in online auctions.
 photo natulow69-img208x600-1384107039bbpwo599438_zps7d89ea93.jpg
 photo natulow69-img529x287-1384107038gxxjey99438_zps9a53d053.jpg

There is an uncertainty in the auction's authenticity though, as I did put a question mark at my blog post's title. Most of the bidders are newly registered members, and there was another auction with similar film strip that ended at 18,500 Yen.

Maybe it was just a stunt? That would be a bit disappointing if it were to be the case.

Original auction page:
http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e144682801
Read More!

12 November 2013

Hong Kong Taxi Rice

 photo 445734974_669d884233_zpsba167445.jpg
Hong Kong cuisine restaurants in Japan have a dish called Taxi Rice (タクシー飯). Sounds and looks genuine in a way, but it's never known in Hong Kong. What is this exactly?

 photo 1384179168_0_zpsebe995a5.jpg
According to online descriptions, the so-called Taxi Rice is named after Hong Kong's taxi drivers, who want a quick fried rice dish to be prepared and be eaten quickly so they can get back on with their work.

 photo img_1530435_64055679_6_zpsea1b6576.jpg
It seems to be fried rice with nian gao, shrimp, vegetables all mixed together with heavy use of thick sauce.

Just like Yang Chow fried rice does not originate in Yangzhou, or that Singapore-style noodles (星洲炒米) does not come from Singapore, together with a few other dishes whose name do not match their actual place of origin.

 photo fbb85b885b8c23f57caf07fe21ece63c_zpse03f29dd.jpg
The dish does seem to be faitly popular in Japan, and it makes appearance in several chain restaurants. Prices are tagged between 700 to 900 Yen. It may be interesting to try it and see how foreigners think of Hong Kong dishes as a Hongkonger myself. :P

Sources and links:
http://www.cuhkacs.org/~benng/Bo-Blog/read.php?1424
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/korotahk/64055679.html
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/syoryuweb/e/c67e1ef73c2908294ae078f8e79131b0
Read More!