Archive for August, 2009

Giant stone Gundam statue

A giant stone Gundam in the city of Yasu in Shiga Prefecture:

At a height of 4 meters and a weight of 10 tons, it is not quite as big as Tokyo’s 18 meter 35 ton 1:1 scale mobile suit.

It was created about 2 years ago by the owner of a stone sculpting business and has become a local landmark. Check out these Japanese blogs for more photos.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

The worst political commercial ever?

Yesterday, I posted examples of commercials Japan’s two major political parties are airing on TV to convince voters to head to the ballot boxes for this weekend’s general election. As an example of an ad from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), I included their longer CM that includes a mini speech from Prime Minister Taro Aso.

At the time I could not find a copy of the 15-second version of the Taro Aso commercial. Now that I’ve found it, I’d like to share it with you all, since it is one of the worst political commercials I have seen in my life:

Most of the commercial consists of Taro Aso silently standing and staring at viewers. It seems like he can’t keep still – it’s almost like he’s wobbling his head around a bit. He isn’t smiling. Those unfamiliar with his natural facial expression might think that he’s scowling.

A narrator asks who they think can protect their lifestyle and this country. Aso keeps standing there, saying nothing. The commercial ends with the LDP logo and slogan (“Protect Japan /a strong sense of responsibility”) appearing in front of Aso.

Even though I don’t particularly like Aso, it’s a painful to watch this commercial. The LDP’s web attack ads are truly skillful examples of political commercials, but this is a train wreck. Aso is not a popular prime minister. A lot of LDP politicans who are trying to hold on to their diet seats have deliberately avoided placing Aso on their campaign posters. Why would they want their national TV ad campaign to put the focus on an uncharismatic and unpopular leader? It’s almost as if they are trying to increase the scale of the defeat they will likely suffer on the 30th.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Billy Blanks’ stepdaughter is a teen model

Last night’s episode of “Sekai Gyouten News” featured high school students who were the sons and daughters of Japanese celebrities. One girl turned out to be Billy Blanks’ stepdaughter:

She was introduced as 18-year-old Marika Blanks, a half-Japanese model. Even with her last name revealed, nobody seemed to be able to correct guess the name of her father. When it came time to reveal the answer, fitness guru Billy Blanks burst on to the stage and made everyone do a little boot camp routine. Then they brought out his Japanese wife and their biological daughter.

[See this previous post for some details on Billy's marriage.]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

The Nova usagi is back

English language school chain Nova has a new commercial for its kids’ classes:

The infamous Nova usagi is back, joined by a blonde foreigner speaking with a heavy gaijin-san accent.

The end of the commercial adds a “G Com before the familiar Nova jingle, perhaps as a reminder to viewers that this is Nova is different from the Nova that ripped off so many former students.

Related Story: Former Nova president Nozomu Sahashi was sentenced to three years, six months in prison yesterday for embezzling some 320 million yen in company funds.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Bobby Ologun, violent American soldier

Nigerian-born Japanese talento Bobby Ologun will be hitting the big screen this weekend in the movie “Minami no Shima no Furimun.” He’ll play the role of Max, a hot-tempered member of the U.S. military. Here’s the trailer (it contains a few seconds of Bobby speaking English):

The film is set in Koza, an Okinawan town located near a military base where villagers and US soldiers coexist. Gori plays Eisho, a pig farmer who spends most of his time hanging out with Hitoshi (Daisuke Moromizato) and the much older Masaru (Masao Teruya). One day he falls for an American pole dancer named “Orange”, but a rather large soldier named Max (Bobby Ologun) also likes her and the two begin to compete for her attention. This leads to a rather ill-advised 1-on-1 fight, but with the support of his childhood friend Rimi (Akima), Eisho finally makes an important realization that changes his outlook.

The film was produced by comedy talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, so you probably shouldn’t take it very seriously or expect much quality from it.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

My Darling is a Foreigner: The Movie

The popular “My Darling is a Foreigner” (ダーリン は 外国人) manga series is going to be made into a live action movie. CinemaToday.jp has posted a teaser pic:

Saori Oguri will be played by actress Mao Inoue. The role of her husband, Tony László, will be played by Jonathan Sherr.

[hat tip to Matt Alt]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)