Archive for May, 2010

This Ad Campaign is Already Dead

You are already dead.
–Kenshiro, star of Fist of the North Star

Atatatatatata!
–Also Kenshiro

This ad seems to be from a couple of years ago, but I couldn’t resist sharing. Here we see Kenshiro powering up; clothes bursting from the raw energy to reveal… a salary-man’s suit. Then he starts to hand out business cards like deadly punches. The subtitles up to this point say, “Getting the job! Townwork [a placement company's periodical], company-worker edition.” The next itteration of clothes-rippingness shows his new job as a delivery guy. The subs here say, “Change of career! Townwork, company-worker edition.”

This commercial requires a familiarity with the anime’s opening song, You は Shock, which I have embedded below.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He is already dead.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

A Russian Gyaru

A clip from “Unchiku-kun Shirisugi” introduces a Tokyo University student who came to Japan from Russia with dark hair, but then transformed herself into a gaudy blonde gyaru after she was exposed to Shibuya street fashion:

Because gyaru clothing is designed for thin women, she also lost 15 kilograms (33 pounds). A huge chunk of the income she earns from a part time job is spend on new clothing.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

9-Legged Octopus

A clip of a 9-legged octopus that was recently caught in the Sea of Japan:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Australia to Take Legal Action Against Japanese Whaling

The Australian government has decided to take legal action against Japan over its whaling in an area around Antarctica:

The Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has come under pressure to honour a 2007 election pledge to ban whaling in an area the country considers a whale sanctuary. Japan does not recognise the sanctuary and insists its whaling fleet operates in international waters.

Rudd’s critics had accused him of reneging on his promise for fear of angering Japan, which is Australia’s second biggest export market.

The Australian foreign minister, Stephen Smith, said the International Whaling Commission’s failure to find a diplomatic solution had left the government with no choice.

“The Australian government has not taken this decision lightly,” he said. But recent statements by whaling countries in the commission have provided Australia with little cause for hope that our serious commitment to conservation of the world’s whales will be reflected in any potential IWC compromise agreement.”

Although both countries were quick to characterise the forthcoming legal battle as a dispute between friends, Japan’s agriculture minister, Hirotaka Akamatsu, described the announcement as “extremely regrettable”, and insisted that the scientific hunts were permitted by international law.

An Australian opposition leader has called the move “a smokescreen for the Government’s failures.”

Australia’s claim to a huge chunk of Antarctica is only recognized by a few other countries, all of whom have made similarly dubious territorial claims to other parts of the continent. The Japanese government appears to be confident that it will win any legal case Australia tries to bring against it.

For more thoughts on Australia’s decision to take legal action against Japan’s whaling program, check out this post on Coming Anarchy.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)