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Englishman Arrested for Disturbing the Peace of a Loud Japanese Election Campaign

It’s no secret that Japan has some of the loudest advertising, propaganda, preaching, and political campaigns around. Most foreigners, not to mention more than a few Japanese, would like to see the loud speakers crushed into dust. But we all put up with it, because this is Japan, and people put up over here, by gum. But not one brave man. Yes, call it reckless, but I am championing the drunken actions of one Englishman who just wasn’t going to take it any more.

According to Itai News, one Edward Jones was recently arrested for grabbing a mike from a politician at a train station and yelled about how Japanese elections are loud and annoying. He allegedly had just finished a few drinks with friends. After his display, he was hauled off to jail.

Itai News’s comments are also filled with Japanese netizens voicing approval for Jones’s actions.
Here is a select few that I felt able to translate:

よくやった
Well done!

許した
I forgive him.

許そうまじでうるさい
Let’s forgive him, they really are loud.

ほんとウルセェ
They are bleeding annoying.

gjgjgj
Good Job! Good Job! Good Job!

無罪
He’s sinless (innocent).

選挙は本当に日本の恥部だよ
Elections really are the secret shame of Japan.

ジョーンズさんに1票
One vote for Jones!

日本の選挙って合理的じゃないよな。
騒音カーで名前叫ぶより、アメリカみたいにテレビとかで政策討論させた方がいい。
Japanese elections don’t make any sense.
Instead of shouting their names from sound trucks, they should have American-style televised policy debates.

[via Hiko]

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs, vlogs, and clogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He muses about hitting campaign cars with rotten tomatoes sometimes. A boy can dream.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

F*** You Video Translated into Japanese

Ever wonder how to convey the intent of a simple F-you into Japanese terms? This video takes several stabs at translating Cee Lo Green’s infamous song and imitates the original kinetic typography in addition to our favorite expletive. If you can catch and read all the Japanese that flashes across the screen without pausing, you are effin good at this language. BTW NSFW DUH THX.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs, vlogs, and clogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He likes foul Japanese words too, but will save those for another time.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

“I’m Part Anime”

So says the guy in this video, which falls a bit short of College Humor’s usual quality.

Here are some other things said or written in pseudo-Japanese, which was obviously made via machine translation, in the video:
彼はKeyマスターです= He is the key master
やった！= Yesssss!
不幸= unhappiness [actually closer to bad luck]
かんつ= [gibberish that sounds like an English swear word. Perhaps one of these.]
super 騎兵= super cavalry
私を見て= look at me
1000幸せの涙= 1000 happiness tears
米= rice
笑うんち= the kanji for laugh+ poop
愚かな= foolish
nya!= meow
キャッハチャブ= Chibchub [I guess]
寿司= sushi
これは段はアニメキャラクターやジャック方法について映画を見るには、クレジットです= This paragraph is the credits for watching a movie concerning anime character or jack way

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He lost precious minutes of life watching this. And now you have as well.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

A Ninja, Sailor Moon, and a Geisha Walk into a Tutorial

Michele Phan, despite being the owner of an already perfect face, makes makeup tutorials on Youtube. Recently I ran across her tutorial for making a t-shirt ninja:

BTW, if you want a t-shirt like hers, here’s a cheap one:
Then I found she had gone anime in another video, wherein she mentions a sailor moon wig cottage industry *shiver*:

And finally, her tips on looking like a modern geisha.

Here’s a bonus tutorial from another youtuber on ganguro makeup.
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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. His totem animal is the ninja kitten.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Lucky Star Town Plagued by Otaku Gets Its Own Movie

The anime Lucky Star, with it’s catchy opening credits set in the town of Washinomiya, has had quite an effect on the area. Otaku fans of the show have been making pilgrimages to Washinomiya Shrine and other local spots to see and recreate the scenes from the anime for themselves.

Now there is a movie about the effects on the town. According to the official web page, the whole thing got kicked off at the urging of Keiichi Kitagawa, a producer behind the popular dorama Nobuta wo Produce. An parodical film was made with local residents (viewable here) which became pretty popular and the challenge was laid down to produce an actual film.

Here’s the plot to the film: When the pretty boy main character returns to his hometown of Washinomiya, looking for ideas to make a film, he finds home has become an anime nerd mecca and is a bit confused. Still, he gathers his college friends to plan out his movie whilst being nagged by his old lady friend who is now a shrine maiden. All this goes down at the last minute and they have to put together a presentation that the town elders will will approve of.
Here’s the preview:

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He is currently working on his own meta-movie within a movie based upon a parody about a town that was affected by something not real.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Otaku Politician Throws Cosplay Party

Via ANN, I bring the news of a financial dork who likes anime dorks:

40-year-old economic commentator Takaaki Mitsuhashi campaigned for this summer’s House of Councillors election by hosting a “cosplay party” at the Liberal Democratic Party’s Tokyo headquarters on Saturday. Mitsuhashi previously wrote an economic analysis of the popular online bulletin board system 2channel, and he appeared at the party dressed as the calculating father figure Gendō from Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series. About 200 people participated in the party with Mitsuhashi in cosplay, karaoke, and other activities

You can see him bearded and belting our karaoke in this picture.

And here is some footage of him campaigning in Akihabara, where he speaks of strangely dressed people who’s culture is spreading throughout the world. He’s got a pretty good turn out for a politician on the streets.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He is totally not nerdy and would never be into something like anime.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)