Kabuki Shojo

Takeshi's Castle
I came across this weird Japanese game show the other day. It was quite popular in its time and, judging from the number of reruns being broadcast in foreign countries, I would say it is in-demand even now. The show in question is called Takeshi's Castle and its heyday was in the mid 1980s.

The basic concept is simple. You get a bunch of contestants and get them to participate in all sorts of competitions. What's so strange about that, you ask. Oh, just you wait. The main presenter is dressed as a General who urges everyone on. He has minions, folks dressed up in outlandish outfits and costumes, who will hinder the progress of the contestants. As for the aim of the game, every participant must finish all the races and events laid out in the area and be granted a final confrontation with the General guy. Read more

I will survive
Whoa. Bet a lot of women want to work here. It's a story from last year which talks about a Japanese company giving time off for employees who just went through a break up. Wait, it gets better. It is an all female company where they even let you go off to shop, a shopping to heal the pain sort of thing.

The company in question is Hime & Company. Its staff apparently consist of female employee which might explain their sympathy towards breakups. Incidentally, the number of employees at the company come up to 6 which might explain why it is easy to give them time off. You know, small company, not much bureaucracy involved, etc.? Or is that me being cynical again?

Hime's company policy is interesting to say the least. Read more

Everything about Japan is a condensed version of what happens in other cultures. Tokyo is a city of cities, equal parts Manhattan, Las Vegas, Paris and Hong Kong. The country villages are like a bullion of provincial charm. And as for Japanese pop culture, it too operates on a much more intense, insular level than its counterparts in the West. Take the music scene in Japan in the 1990's, for instance. It was a sort of artistic renaissance in every sense of the word. Not only was there a boom in the number of unique artists in the recording studios of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Sapporo, there was also a refreshingly international flavor to the clear influences of the artists. For the first time in the history of pop music, Japanese artists made a splash beyond their own borders.

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Saya
Remember Saya from July last year? One of the receptionist robots at the Tokyo robot exhibition? The one created by the well-meaning folks at Kobayashi Laboratory? The one with the glassy eyes and fake smiles? I'm sorry if that brought up frightening memories but it gets worse. Apparently Saya made another appearance, this time in a less conference-type of venue.

The said appearance was at a Tokyo department store late last year. Seems like the shop might have been testing out how well Saya worked in a PR sort of setting. Thus you had the creepy bot approaching customers and offering help and suggestions. Read more

To really understand Japanese culture, Americans are going to have to remember what it was like to be five years old again. I don't mean to imply that Japanese pop is immature, or at least any more so than American pop. No, I'm referring to that child-like ability to embrace things in an entirely unguarded way. American pop culture is so dependent on irony that it's impossible to make stateside pop that isn't even a little bit self-aware, or even self-conscious. Underneath our bubblegum and whimsy is a drive to be taken seriously, to be hard and stoic. Such is not the case with Japanese pop culture. It's a culture without doubt and unnecessary humility. As such, it can produce a nearly endless supply of candy-colored sap without so much as one batted eyelash.

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Kawaiiiiiii
I stumbled upon references to Japan's karakuri tradition whilst writing about Loving the Machine (a book about Japanese robots, in case you were wondering). Karakuri, or karakuri ningyo as it is called, refers to a particular type of Japanese craftsmanship, namely that of the creation of automated or mechanized dolls (also known as clockwork dolls). Folks usually regard them as the earliest robots in Japan.

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Poke

This right here is my WTF moment of the day. Ueno Zoo, a cozy little animal sanctuary in Tokyo, recently performed an animal escape drill. These drills, which are held regularly, has some guy dress up in an animal suit and run amok. Folks will then try capturing it whilst making sure injured parties are taken care of.

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Capsule Hotel

Photo Source: Link

Heard about the capsule hotels of Japan? It's one of those weird Japanese concepts where you feel like you are witnessing a manifestation of a futuristic idea. You know, the type mentioned in books and movies, possibly one where a beefed-up guy wearing an eye-patch is saving the world from robots. Just thought I would throw that in there.
Capsule hotels are what it sounds like. These are hotels that rent out rooms which are basically man-sized containers to willing customers. So you end up with bedding on the floor and a TV and/or radio. And of course, most spots have a panel that lets you set up an alarm and control the lighting in that tiny space. Read more

Oooh human so soft!
I spent a considerable amount of time this weekend finishing up Resident Evil 5 which might explain my reaction to this story – what is that woman hugging something from the Demon Seed movie?

After my initial 'arrrgh', I realized that the robot actually makes sense. Sort of. The robot in question is a 4 feet 3 inch model which is basically a giant android baby. A gargantuan scary one at that. Named Diego-san, this invention will help its creators understand how babies learn various skills. The focus is on how little ones pick up behavioral aspects like gestures and expressions. Read more

Grr, who ate the boss' lunch?
You know what's interesting about anime and manga that detail diabolical plans for world domination and what not? Lovable henchmen, that's what. Show me a story that has an evil genius hellbent on taking over the world and, more often than not, he will have a charismatic minion who distracts most of us from the rest of the story. Or worse, have us rooting for him throughout the tale. Of course, creating likable henchman is not an easy task; many have epic fails when overtaking such a venture. Well, let's check out those that make it to this list.

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