What is cute?

The answer to this question isn’t really that difficult. Even without pointing to some specific things that are cute, I can think of a few general guidelines off the top of my head. Small things are cute. Big eyes are cute. Fluffy things are cute. And basically half of the characters that Japan creates are cute. (Most of the other half are plain disturbing.)

But since getting into the manga, anime and “stuff from Japan” scene, I’ve been surprised at some of the things that Japan can turn cute. The black and white pigs of MonoKuro Boo are insanely cute, but fairly traditionally so. Kogepan is another story. Grumpy, slightly burnt bread? Doesn’t really spring to mind when I’m brainstorming for cute things, but he remains totally adorable, somehow.

Everyone has their preferences when it comes to cute, too. For me, it’s the Boo pigs and Chi’s Sweet Home. For Summer, it’s Manager Banana. She loves the thing. She’s even got a giant plush banana version of the Elite Banana Boss. And her enthusiasm is contagious, because now whenever I get a really good, ripe, perfectly yellow banana, I have to do this:

-Angela

Emergency Notice to Our Texas Readers: Watch out for zombies!

To be fair, this doesn’t really have anything to do with anime, it’s just hilarious. Apparently some kids in Austin, Texas hacked one of those electronic highway message signs (which is very illegal and definitely not endorsed by Anime Insider, even though it turned out mad funny, in this case), and made it to warn oncoming drivers of an outbreak of zombies in the area. Signs alerted drivers with messages such as “ZOMBIES IN THE AREA! RUN” Of course, the city government is pretty peeved about the whole thing and reminds any potential copycats out there they could face a class C misdemeanor. So everybody out there in Texas, behave yourselves. (But also, just to be safe, make sure you have your zombie escape plan in order.)

-Matt

Full coverage of the zombie incident can be found at KXAN, Austin’s NBC affiliate.

I just have to share this

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren’t Japanese, but I think this needs to be seen:

I’m pretty sure that dog is praying for the sweet release of death. You can see it in its eyes.

-Angela

Snow day!

You’ll notice that we’ve been absent for a couple of days. Happily, it’s been due to a snowpocalyse in the northeast, which is a pain to clean off your car but sometimes means that happy occasion–snow day!

Yes, now that the roads have been cleared, it’s a winter wonderland around the Anime Insider offices. Aside from drinking lots of hot chocolate and apple cider, we’ve been working like crazy to catch up on that missed day. What are we working on right now? Well, I’ll slip you a hint. Issue #67 is our first themed issue ever–the Videogame Issue. Lots of awesome stuff coming up!

–Summer

Bath time

The multi-story Animate store in Akihabara is an awesome but sometimes scary place. Every time I go, the dazed stupor in which I exit the building has as much to do with the amount of money I just dropped as my inability to understand some of the things I just bought.

Just like here in America, Japanese companies will approve a shocking variety of sometimes incomprehensible product tie-ins for TV series. I picked up these packets thinking at first that they were themed teas for the different divisions of Soul Reapers in Bleach. I mean, each division has an official flower, so tea would make sense, right?

No. After some time with Jim Breen’s excellent online Japanese dictionary, I discovered that they are…bath salts. Which is okay for the 6th Division packet (flower-scented). But 12th Division’s is wasabi-scented. Ew.

–Summer

Anime Insider in its native habitat

We always get nervous when it’s time to release an issue into the wild. Will it get along with the other magazines? Will it remember how to leap out from hiding at an unsuspecting browser’s throat, thus assuring its baby magazines of a fresh meal? Here’s an issue of Anime Insider spotted in Fye.

–Summer

Winter’s chill

It’s actually a little warmer today than it has been, but there’s still plenty of frozen stuff. Check out what we found outside the A.I. offices:

Pretty!

These were so heavy they pulled the branch down.

The last known photo taken of Summer before a stabby tragedy.

Icicles and me to provide scale.

-Angela

Japanese government alienates senior demographic—again

First, PM Taro Aso managed to offend the honored elderly of Japan by referring to them as feeble and accusing them of leading sedentary lives and thus being counterproductive to the Japanese economy and society in general. Now, the Japanese government has once again made a move that many are viewing as unnecessary and ageist, this time in regard to the driving habits of Japan’s oldest citizens.

Just as in America, where young drivers first obtain a learners’ permit, and then are still subject to special rules after getting a license until reaching a certain age, likewise in Japan the law implements their own safeguards, notably a visible decal placed on the outside of young drivers’ vehicles to cleverly advise oncoming traffic of the presence of an unskilled driver. Anyone who has played the PS2 sleeper hit Katamari Damacy has already seen the triangular, green-and-yellow signs, meant to bear a resemblance to a young leaf.

Now, the Japanese National Police Agency has mandated a new type of badge to denote elder drivers, specifically those age 75 and older. that is yellow-and-orange, resembling an old, autumn leaf—i.e., one that is about to fall off the tree, if you catch my drift. While the official line from the government agency is that the new decal indicates their “level of driving experience,” Japanese citizens are reading between the lines to see the real meaning: “watch out, here comes grandpa-san and his poor eyesight.” It remains to be seen if the government will eventually phase out these silly stickers.

Matt

In Japan, everything is awesome

Even the farmers. Via Japan Probe—some creative people at Tokyo U came up with a robot suit to help with agricultural work:

I told you. Awesome.

-Angela

A first time for everything

I’m not the newest member of the AI staff, but I am the only one who hasn’t yet been to Japan—I know, it’s unfair, right? A ticket overseas should come with the job, to make sure one is properly culturally attuned.

In any case, I’m about to remedy this gross error. I’m not going for work, but I am finally making it to Japan in two months. One of my best friends and I are checking out plane tickets and planning our itinerary now, and I’m extra excited because the trip finally feels like a real thing. (Just don’t ask my wallet how it feels. Ouch.) There’s plenty to look forward to—the ryokan where we’re staying, chowing down on actual Japanese food, buying anime toys without the markup of import dealers..

But I’m not sure how to deal with the crazy-long plane ride. I suppose I could try to sleep through it, but even on my laziest day, I don’t manage to sleep for a full 12 hours. My Nintendo DS should be handy, and I can probably brush up on my Japanese. (Which is…not good.) Or maybe I’ll just sit there in jittery anticipation, waiting to take that first step onto a new continent.

We’re not leaving until late March, so I’ve got a while to figure it out, I suppose. Except…all I want is for the time to pass so we can be leaving now!

-Angela