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jueves, 28 de febrero de 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog creator gets one last blow to his pride on final visit to Sega office in Tokyo

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Casey Baseel

Yuji Naka stopped by his old workplace with his kids, but the other people he ran into weren’t necessarily Sega fans.


As the driving force behind the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Yuji Naka is one of the most important and influential video game designers in history. Still, it’s hard not to feel a little bad for the guy.

Sonic’s fate has largely mirrored that of the games’ publisher, Sega. Both burst onto the scene filled with energy and ambition, but eventually ran out of momentum and fell far, far behind their competitors. Sonic has spent much of the last decade and a half as the butt of jokes because of the dismal quality of most of the franchise’s recent games, and Sega itself was beaten up so badly that it pulled out of the hardware business entirely, and now publishes games on systems owned by its former rivals Nintendo and Sony.

Still, there were some very good times along the way. So when Naka found out that the Sega office building in Tokyo’s Omori neighborhood, where he spent the formative years of his career, is scheduled to be torn down, he decided to stop by and take a few pictures of its iconic sign, and even brought his two kids along.

“Up on the seventh floor of this building is where your dad made Sonic,” explained Naka, but his kids, being too young to have experienced the character’s glory days first-hand, responded with a lukewarm, “Hmm…OK.” But Sega fans are famous for their loyalty, and Naka noticed there were a lot of other people walking up to the building and whipping out their phones, even though it was a Sunday and they obviously weren’t coming to the office for a meeting. The father of three (if you count Sonic) was momentarily touched to see so many gamers had come to pay their respects to the soon-to-be-demolished office, until he realized that they weren’t taking out their phones to snap photos of the Sega sign. So what does Naka say they were there for?

“There was a Pokémon GO raid battle going on.”

Yep, once again a franchise popularized by Nintendo (though Pokémon GO is actually developed by Niantic) managed to show Sega up, and on the company’s home turf no less. Still, Naka wasn’t bitter, and it looks like he even helped out in the fight against Latias.

Afterwards, Naka swung by a Bic Camera electronics store in Kawasaki, where there was a mini Space Invaders retro cabinet on display, which all three of the Nakas tried out. With his years of gaming experience Dad got the high score easily, and this time his kids were legitimately impressed. But once again, his happy mood was tempered by the site of Rodea the Sky Soldier, a game that Naka served as a producer on, in a deep-discount bin, selling for just 980 yen (US$8.80).

Granted, Rodea came out in 2015, but Naka still says he was sad to see a copy of his game sitting unsold and unloved.

On the other hand, though, Naka’s photos from his family day out inspired many Twitter users to leave comments expressing their love for Sonic and numerous other entries in the man’s lengthy resume:

“Thank you so much for all the wonderful games you’ve made!”
“I played so much Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast. All I can say is ‘thank you.’”
“Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast WAS my youth! Thank you!”
“I love the story of how you added Tails to Sonic 2 so that siblings could enjoy the game together.”
“The Sonic series was so much fun.”
“I believe that someday, your kids will be old enough to appreciate how amazing Sonic is.”

And while Naka’s day wasn’t all sunshine, he’s still got a lot to smile about. The most recent Sonic game, 2018’s Sonic Mania, earned positive reviews by being a throwback to the series early, Naka-helmed days (even if he himself wasn’t part of the new game’s development). Sega, meanwhile, has been earning respect and revenue from its suddenly internationally popular Yakuza franchise. And as for Naka himself, since 2018 he’s been working for Square Enix, one of Japan’s largest and most successful video game publishers, so it looks like there’s more fun to come in the future.

Source: Twitter/@nakayuji via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@nakayuji
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miércoles, 27 de febrero de 2019

Crazy Tokyo restaurant offers a 7.3-pound tempura rice bowl, so of course we had to eat it!

https://ift.tt/2StLKyF Casey Baseel

Can’t decide between tempura and pork cutlet? This restaurant lets you have both in ridiculously large quantities.

SoraNews24’s Mr. Sato isn’t one to be easily intimidated by generous portions of delicious food. This is, after all, the man who once ordered a 1,050-strip bacon burger, and whose face lit up like a happy toddler’s when we presented him with a pasty that was larger than his head.

So you might be surprised to hear that he enlisted the help of two friends to eat a single donburi (rice bowl), until you see that this was no ordinary donburi.

In the Chofu district of west Tokyo there’s a restaurant called Wakamatsuya. From the outside, it looks like any of a thousand other casual Japanese restaurants that serve noodles and rice bowls.

But Wakamatsuya is famous for its large portions, and Mr. Sato, accompanied by his pals Yuta Nakagome and Francisco Kobayashi (collectively known as comedy duo Niangia) were here to try the most ridiculously large thing on the menu, a combination tempura and pork cutlet rice bowl that weighs 3.3 kilograms (7.3 pounds)!

▼ Yuta Nakagome (left) and Francisco Kobayashi (right)

The gigantic rice bowl, called the “Try! Maaikeru-don,” must be reserved in advance, which makes sense, since no customer would want to have to sit around while the massive amount of ingredients get cooked. Having called ahead, Mr. Sato’s team’s order was just about ready when they walked in the door, and after a short wait, the waiter brought it over to their table and set it down with a mighty thud.

As we mentioned above, the Maaikeru-don has both batter-coated tempura, vegetables and prawn, and breaded pork cutlets (two of them, to be precise). It’s a combination of two of Japan’s favorite hearty donburi, and it’s glorious to look at.

▼ Crowned with a 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) prawn, this is truly a work of art/architecture that’s also edible.

▼ The giant donburi is a limited-time menu item that’s being offered until March 11.

Of course, with two friends to help Mr. Sato out, each of them would only have to eat 1.1 kilograms (2.42 pounds), which…actually, no, that’s still a ton of food to consume in a single sitting (though with that much food for 3,980 yen [US$36], it’s also a pretty good value). “With 3 people, I think we’ll be OK,” said Nakagome confidently, to which Kobayashi added “Yeah, no prob,” but Mr. Sato, an experienced veteran in eating way too much, was less confident. In gastronomic battles like this, it’s all too easy to fixate on the toppings and forget that there’s a thick strata of rice underneath that needs to be eaten too, and with two types of fried food above it, the rice would be absorbing all sorts of delicious drippings that would make the meal even heavier.

However, Mr. Sato knew that explicitly mentioning any of this would only serve to dampen his cohorts’ spirits, and so he silently picked up his chopsticks and began eating. To keep some semblance of good table manners, all three members of the group transferred the food into smaller personal bowls before eating it, and while they went after round one with gusto, when it came time for the first refills Mr. Sato noticed a change in Kobayashi’s expression.

Kobayashi had been washing his food down with frequent sips of tea and miso soup, which Mr. Sato has learned is counterproductive in this kind of gluttonous endeavor. To succeed, these men needed every square inch of stomach space for food, not liquids, but Mr. Sato’s left-hand-man’s countenance now clearly said “You know, I’m actually pretty full,” and his eyes no longer showed the ravenous sparkle they’d had when they first walked into the restaurant.

Calculating that Kobayashi’s liquid intake might limit his donburi capacity to less than his fair-share 1.1 kilograms, Mr. Sato did the only thing he could, and redoubled his resolve to eat more than 1.1 kilos, if need be.


So in the end, were Mr. Sato and his partners up to the task?

Of course they were! And now that they’d cleaned their plate, they were able to see two things. First, the bowl they’d been eating from was shaped like a heart, and second, it had a hidden message at the bottom!

“Wishing you happiness!!” it read, and if being full of great-tasting chow can be considered a form of happiness, Mr. Sato and his friends were already there.

▼ A video record of the team’s accomplishment

Restaurant information
Wakamatsuya / 若松屋
Address: Tokyo-to, Chofu-shi, Kokuryocho 1-13-4
東京都調布市国領町1-13-4
Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m.
Closed Fridays, third Thursday of every month

Photos ©SoraNews24
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This beautiful video displays two very different sides of Japan【Video】

https://ift.tt/2VqR9Z9 Shannon McNaught

Japan’s diversity of culture and landscape is encapsulated in just three minutes.

Videos showcasing Japan can be anywhere on the quality scale, as shown by the differences between this 360° VR tour of popular tourist spots and this weirdly unimpressive promotion video for Saga prefecture. Today, though, we’ve found a new video that’s definitely on the impressive side.

Digital director and photographer Oliver Astrologo has created a video titled Neons & Sakuras which juxtaposes the high-tech imagery of Tokyo with other, greener areas of Japan such as Wakayama, Kyoto, and Mount Fuji.

▼ How many places do you recognize in the video?

In the video, you can see both close-ups and bird’s-eye views of the bustling metropolis of Tokyo by day and by night, delivering on the promise of “neon” in the video’s title.

▼ Here’s the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

The Tokyo side of the video does a great job of depicting the rushing crowds and packed trains of daily life while also highlighting the city’s many cultural attractions and colorful nightlife.

▼ Did you spot Odaiba’s giant Gundam statue?

Sandwiched between these stimulating scenes are more serene images of Japan outside of Tokyo. Aerial shots show the green and mountainous terrain that covers a large part of the country, and shrines both well-known and perhaps not so well-known are introduced.

▼ In this picturesque shot, you can see the pagoda of the Nachi Taisha shrine, located in the southeast part of Wakayama Prefecture.

▼ And, as many would argue, a trip to Japan is not complete without at least one good view of Mount Fuji.

In the video description, Astrologo explains he created this video to show people that there’s value in exploring “beyond the standard Japanese itinerary” and come to appreciate every area of the island nation. We couldn’t agree more.

Source: Vimeo/Oliver Astrologo via Design Taxi,
Images: Vimeo/Oliver Astrologo
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Women’s high school soccer team wins Mie Prefecture championship with only 70 percent of a team

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Master Blaster

You’d probably have expected their 8-on-11 matches to be bloodbaths, and they were…

In 2017, Kamimura Gakuen Iga School was established in Iga City, Mie Prefecture. The high school is a branch of the Kamimura Gakuen corporation of educational facilities including correspondence courses. However, even for such a large company, setting up a new school is a big challenge in a country with a steadily declining birthrate.

Initial enrollment was lackluster, so in 2018 Vice Principal Teruhiko Yoshinaga thought setting up and coaching a women’s soccer team would be a good way to raise awareness and attract applicants. Since another Kamimura Gakuen school in Kagoshima Prefecture was well-known for its women’s soccer program, perhaps the Iga School could do the same.

The only problem was that a soccer team needs people, something which Kamimura Gakuen Iga School lacked. The best Yoshinaga could muster, even after importing six players from the Kagoshima sister school, was eight – three shy of a proper soccer team.

Still, since the main idea was getting the school’s name out there, it was enough to get the job done. The team made the best of what they had and trained for an hour each day, focusing heavily on stealing the ball and playing multiple positions to compensate for their lack of people.

The players also lived together in a dormitory, creating a family atmosphere which Yoshinaga attributes much of the team’s strength too. This continued until January and February of this year, when the 18th Mie Prefecture High School Women’s Soccer Rookie Championship was held. This would become the eight-woman team’s debut tournament.

If being down three players wasn’t enough, Kamimura Gakuen also had to face the tournament’s reigning champs for ten years in a row in their first-ever match (Japanese high school teams often only play in tournaments, not in local league games). Using their aggressive strategy of constantly applying pressure and stripping the opponents of the ball, Kamimura not only fared well, they won their opening match.

The thrill of that win seemed to power the team’s momentum as they plowed through the other eight competing schools to reach the final round.

In the final game, Kamimura player Ayaka Yokomichi drew first blood with a goal, but the team ultimately gave up a point, ending regulation with the score tied and forcing a penalty kick shootout. Still, the underwomaned Kamimura Gakuen persevered, winning the shootout 4-3 and earning the school its first-ever championship, on its first-ever attempt.

It’s an inspirational story to say the least, and most reacted in awe.

“Damn, they’re strong.”
“They only had eight, but those were eight elite players.”
“Awesome! Great job!”
“Are they ninjas? [Iga city is famous as the former home of a ninja clan]“
“Let that be a lesson to anyone who thinks they don’t stand a chance.”
“I wonder if that has more to do with the low level of women’s soccer in Mie than the strength of that team.”
“That’s like something out of a manga!”
“I’m scared to see what they can do with a full team.”
“Well, I guess we have our next World Cup team all sorted then.”

It is a great example of the value of working hard and not giving up by recognizing and tackling your weaknesses to reach your goals.

It’s exactly like the time when we got an X-Box One but couldn’t play our Wii U on the same TV, before realizing we could just patch the Wii through the X-Box… Exactly like that time.

Source: Ise Shimbun, Hamusoku
Featured image: Twitter/@daisumf10kemari
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Shiba Inu marshmallows from Japan may be too cute to eat, are definitely too soft to not squeeze

https://ift.tt/2T8Numb Casey Baseel

Smiling Shiba are the latest offering from Japan’s number-one cat merch maker.

Last week we took a look at some adorable glassware modeled on Japan’s, and the Internet’s favorite breed of dog: the Shiba Inu. But pouring yourself a drink in one of the glasses is going to make you want to linger over your beverage as you gaze upon the precious pup, and an extended coffee break or luxurious tea time of course requires some snacks too, right?

So here’s the perfect pairing: heart-meltingly cute Shiba Inu-shaped marshmallows.

Surprisingly, these sweet treats come from Felissimo, the same company that regularly tickles feline fans’ fancy with its cat-related merchandise and munchies. The Shiba Inu marshmallows are a follow-up to Felissimo’s kitty ones from a while back, and they keep the focus on the Shiba Inu’s goofily lovable faces.

▼ It’s hard to look at those silly smiles without wanting to pinch their cheeks, and the softness of the marshmallows should make doing so extra-satisfying.

The marshmallows, which are hand-made, are specifically shaped to mimic the dogs’ muzzle.

Since the Shiba is a Japanese breed, it’s only fitting that the marshmallows it’s inspired have a Japanese flavor too. Inside each is a filling of mixed of chocolate and anko (sweet bean paste), which should delight the palates of people raised on either side of the Pacific.

And again, this being Japan, the marshmallows come in an artistically illustrated box, perfect for gift-giving or keeping on display if you’re buying them for yourself.

▼ Felissimo also recommends using the marshmallows as toppings for cakes, parfaits, and other desserts.

The Shiba Inu marshmallows are priced at 1,296 yen (US$11.70) for a box of nine, and can be ordered online here. Even Felissimo itself acknowledges that they may never actually get eaten, officially calling them the “too-cute-to-eat marshmallows,” but at least even if you never take a single bite, you’ll have nine delightful dogs smiling at you to fill up your heart while your stomach remains empty.

Source, images: Felissimo
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Pastel Harajuku Street Style w/ Pink Hair, Faux Fur Hat, Swankiss, Kaoru Zhou, Ayymatsuura Lace Pants, Bow Necklace & Jeffrey Campbell

https://ift.tt/2ECxRuC

Catching our eye on the Harajuku street with her pink hair and pastel ensemble is Kay, a Maid Cafe staffer.

Kay is dressed in a white cropped jacket with laced ruffled shoulders and flared cuffs from Swankiss, which she styled with a white ruffle blouse with belted collar detail from Kaoru Zhou. Pastel blue wide leg pants with eyelet lace panels and ruffle accents from Ayymatsuura, white socks, and white platform buckle sandals from Jeffrey Campbell completed her outfit. Kay embellished her style with a white furry pillbox hat, a pastel purple bow necklace with zipper trims, pink eye makeup and a bold pink lippie.

Follow Kay’s style feed on Instagram.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Tokyo Street Style
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The worst-quality anime of last year’s Blu-ray has this year’s saddest improvement so far

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Casey Baseel

Anime that told fans “We’re in serious trouble” has a troublingly tiny art revision for home video release.

In the current TV anime industry, it’s pretty much the norm for schedules to be tight and budgets stretched to the snapping point, so just about every season there’ll be at least one series with a few laughably bad animation errors. But even in that environment, My Sister, My Writer, called Ore ga Suki na no ha Imoto Dakedo Imoto ja nai in the Japanese market, was an especially messy train wreck of a show.

Things got so bad that the production staff stuck a hidden cry for help into the credits, listing an animator with the name “We’re in serious trouble.” One week, the new episode wasn’t even finished, forcing broadcasters to rerun the same episode from a week ago.

▼ When even the characters’ mouths start trying to leave the show, you’ve got problems.

But My Sister, My Writer somehow managed to limp to the finish line, wrapping up its 10-episode run in mid-December, and now the first Blu-ray disc is on sale. Considering how much clean-up work gets done these days between anime TV broadcasts and their physical media releases, this could be a chance for the series to really spruce itself up, right?

Well, let’s take a look at a side-by-side screenshot comparison, provided by Japanese Twitter user @mikune777. “The Blu-ray has an extensive revision,” he excitedly announces…

…before specifying the improvements is to “to the color of the sheets.”

Further hammering home the insignificance of the “upgraded” Blu-ray visuals is the fact that @mikune777 doesn’t even bother specifying which screen shot is from the TV broadcast version and which is from the home video release, because whether the sheets are white or pink, female lead Suzuka still looks awkward and stiff, and, in keeping with My Sister, My Writer’s overarching aesthetic, her awkward stiffness here is different from the awkward stiffness she has in other scenes, so she’s not even on-model.

Still, if you’re a big enough fan to not only be able to determine which bedsheet color is from the Blu-ray version, and if that enhancement is enough of a tipping point to convince you to buy anime’s most problematic problem child of the last year, Volume 1 can be ordered from Amazon here.

Source: Twitter/@mikune777 via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@mikune777
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