Category Archives: Japan Envy

Japan Envy: Jean Reno x Doraemon (update: now with video)

What do you get when you cross Doraemon with French actor Jean Reno?

Jean Reno, from The Professional, among other films
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Doraemon, Japanese children’s character adored nationwide 
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Renaemon? Yes, that is a 63-year-old world-famous actor with a bell around his neck.

If I lived in Japan, I would be able to turn on my television and watch a Toyota commercial featuring Jean Reno as Doraemon, starting today. As you can tell, I am beyond disappointed that I do not live in Japan to watch this spectacle, but thanks to the internet, we can all be satisfied by the abundant photos and soon-to-be-posted YouTube videos. At the time of this post, I don’t believe the video has been uploaded anywhere yet, but as soon as I find it I will be sure to share it with all of you. 


Update: The commercial has long since been posted! It’s as cute as I imagined it would be.

Nobuta and Shizuka, now both 30 (the commercial acts as sort of a “Doraemon reunion”), go for a picnic together using public transport. Shizuka needs to get to her violin lessons, and Suneo (all-around jerk and rich guy) appears with his car to take her there. Nobuta returns home, dejected and lamenting about the fact that he doesn’t have a car. Doraemon appears saying “Long time no see, Nobuta,” to which he replies “Get me a car!” (as Doraemon is famous for being able to produce anything out of his pouch he wants). Doraemon says no, and when Nobuta asks why not, he answers with: “You don’t have a driver’s license!” Cue Toyota logo and phrase saying basically: “Get a driver’s license.”

I love it! Seeing Jean Reno dressed up as Doraemon and speaking Japanese has made my life.

You can go here to see a few photos of the commercial itself. Some other famous Japanese actors are in the commercial, titled “Nobita’s BBQ,” but we only really care about Jean Reno, right?

What’s he got in there?
Doraemon is famous for pulling anything and everything of his pouch. (Nobita pictured on left)

Japan Envy: A 3DS that’s “A Little Bit Mario”

Anyone watch the Nintendo Direct livestream this evening (or morning, for those of you on the other side of the world)? Well, unfortunately for me, I was in the middle of having a late dinner and managed to miss the greater part of it, but I did tune in for the last 10 or so minutes, which was long enough to see the lovely Monster Hunter 3G trailer as well as a few announcements from Iwata-san.

I’m sure your favorite game news website of choice will be covering all the announcements, so I won’t attempt to summarize what I saw. I did, however, want to point out these adorable 3DS’s that Japanese Club Nintendo members can enter for a chance to win over the holiday season!

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for one of these! Apparently you need to buy 2 Japanese 3DS games and register them on the Club Nintendo site to be entered for a chance to win. Only 1,000 of each design are available.

I have to say I’m going to go against my usual affinity for Princess Peach and pick the Mario-themed design this time–or I should say I would pick the Mario design, if I were given the choice. Oh, to live in Japan and own a Japanese 3DS!

You can see all the trailers and interviews from the Nintendo Direct conference here. They’re in Japanese, of course, but the language barrier won’t stop you from enjoying some of the lovely new trailers, including one for Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance!

Japan Envy: Pokémon x Famitsu for Game Dot Series

No matter how much I try to deny it, I’m a sucker when it comes to Pokémon. I only play the games so much (I’ve only ever beaten the Elite Four once!)… It’s the cuteness of the Pokémon themselves that gets me every time. Honestly, I’ll never pass up a chance to look at Pokémon merchandise.

So when I heard there was a special promotion going on combining the famous Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu and Pokémon, I had to know what it was all about. Well, in celebration of a new series of Pokémon merchandise titled “Game Dot Series” that is launching in December, Famitsu is holding a contest for its readers to determine the sweatshirt design that will be sold at Pokémon Centers across Japan. Cast your vote in, and if yours is deemed the most popular, then you have a chance to win a sweatshirt for yourself!

Lucky for me I have a host family who is extremely, er, tolerant of me, so I voted using their address. I doubt I’ll win since there’ll only be 10 individuals who score the sweatshirt out of all the entries, but I’d be happy enough to see my pick be the one that gets sold in stores. Unfortunately, as always, the contest is open only to residents of Japan.

Pictured below are the four sweatshirt choices. My favorite has to be #3 for both its color and the fact that there is a giant Pikachu made up of smaller Pikachu sprites on the back. Which would you choose?

Top right: “Pikachu looks cute hiding in the pocket!”

Top right: “The directional button has turned into Pikachu? Go anywhere together”
Top right: “Pikachu’s silhouette becomes one big Pikachu!”
Top right: “The hood takes center stage for an exceedingly cool style”

Japan Envy: Pokémon Center Limited Edition Merchandise

EDIT: Well, thanks everyone for all the page views! People seem to be taking my offhand Ruby/Sapphire remake comment and running with it. Honestly, I’m just saying that others have been speculating of a remake being in the works due to the new Pokémon time Hoenn series. You can read the post I referenced here at Pokémon Aus. If you’re interested in learning more about Pokémon time, please check out this fabulous Pokémon time fansite.

For a little background for those of you too lazy to go digging around over there, Pokémon time is a series of merchandise offered only at Pokémon Centers, and has been around since 2008. It originally started with only the first generation of Pokémon and coincided with Pokémon’s 10 year anniversary and has gradually grown to include more Pokémon from generation 1 and 2, so it’s very possible that the generation 3 Pokémon making an appearance in the 2011 collection are just part of the series’ natural progression and not a sign of a remake. Feel free to speculate as you will! If we were going to get any announcements, they would probably come from the Japanese magazine CoroCoro, where most Pokémon game reveals have been made in the past.

The Pokémon Center. A rare treat for any fan of the internationally adored Pocket Monsters, they are a rarity even in Japan, with only 6 locations in the whole nation. They have proved so popular, in fact, that according to a recent survey they are the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in Japan! Indeed, yours truly has even made her own pilgrimage to the Osaka Pokémon Center:

The Pokémon Center in Osaka, Japan
Pokémon Centers are famous for their exclusive merchandise as well as frequent Pokémon downloads, available only at centers for a limited time. It may be a bit early, but the Pokémon Center newsletter has already rolled out its line of holiday goods, which will include some adorable clear file folders and collectable plush toys featuring Pikachu, Oshawott, Audino, and Cubchoo in Santa hats, riding on a Pokémon-themed train. 
Detail of the illustration to be featured on the exclusive file folders. This Pikachu looks quite like the Pokemon Rumble Blast style Pikachu, if I may say.
Each plush will be sold separately for approximately $15, but will combine to form a complete train. 
And at the bottom of the announcement flyer, there is an interesting little reveal for a series called “Pokémon time.” Pokémon time will only contain Pokémon from the Ruby and Sapphire generation of games, but what kind of merchandise will be in the series isn’t detailed in the flyer. Of course, this has sparked whole new rumors that Nintendo will be revealing a remake of Ruby and Sapphire for the 3DS on September 13th, which is when when Nintendo will be holding their next press conference. 
The Pokémon time series
I actually like these Pokémon Time illustrations quite a bit! I love the pop art style and the color combos. How about that Torchic? (second from the right)
It’s really too bad Nintendo doesn’t distribute these goods outside of Japan. Those of us who don’t have access to a Pokémon Center will have to rely on proxies and eBay for now, unfortunately. 
Thanks go to Pokémon Aus for the info! 

Japan Envy: CHiRAL MOBiLE

Anyone that has ever been to Japan, and probably a few who haven’t, will tell you that Japanese cell phones are pretty much as awesome as they come. They’re always at the forerunner of the latest and greatest technology, with high-quality cameras and music downloading sites that made listening to music on your phone easy and fun even before the iPhone was released. Nowadays, “cell phone novels,” or keitai shousetsu are increasingly popular, and boys love/otome (for girls) titles are coming out left and right (ok, I admit my knowledge of how popular cell phone novels are is a bit dated, but I’m pretty sure their popularity hasn’t gone down in the past couple of years, anyway).

Well, famed BL game company Nitro + CHiRAL (why they keep the “i” lower case I’ll never know) is capitalizing on Japan’s mobile phone culture with its new cell phone site, called “CHiRAL MOBiLE.” You can click the link to view the PC site, which details the various downloads the site will offer, but the whole thing won’t be up and running until December 16th. Or you could just stick around here and I’ll detail all the cool stuff us non-Japanese residents are missing out on, since it only works on Japanese phones!

First of all, Nitro + CHiRAL announced, along with this service, an entirely new cell phone novel called World’s end Nightmare that will launch the same day as CHiRAL MOBiLE, with new chapters coming out every week on Tuesday and Thursday for an estimated total of 30 chapters. There isn’t much about the novel’s story available yet save the tagline “––A poor soul that has never known love. Let’s give him one more chance––” and a very short, vague description stating that the protagonist, Itto, was supposed to have died, but reawakens in an unfamiliar world. Below are the characters that have been revealed so far, from left to right: Itto, Faceless, Siegfried, Kai, and Baron. The story will feature at least some boys love elements, to be sure.

Nitro + CHiRAL will also be releasing a mobile version of their popular game Togainu no Chi, as well as a visual novel version of a boys love CD drama titled Itsuwari no Alkanet. 


But even these 3 new releases aren’t what gets me really jealous of Japan today–it’s all the downloadable goodies from Nitro + CHiRAL’s three big boys love games that really make me wish I had a Japanese cell phone and lived in Japan. Check this out:

What you see before you is an array of “accessories” you can download at CHiRAL MOBiLE for Togainu no Chi and Lamento-BEYOND THE VOID-. The top left image is a wallpaper, while the top right is a menu screen, and then you have a text sending icon, signal bar, and battery display. So, if you’re big on BL and live in Japan, you can have your entire phone decked out with your favorite game or series! I’m sure they have things like this for all sorts of other famous games and anime, as well.

The service does cost a monthly fee of about $3, but for the amount of free downloads you get with the subscription, including World’s end Nightmare, I’d say it’s a pretty good deal! Too bad cell phones in America and Australia don’t offer awesome services like these…

For those of you interested in World’s end Nightmare, I’d be more than happy to do translations of the character descriptions posted on the CHiRAL MOBiLE website… Just let me know if you’d like to see them and I’ll dedicate a post to it! I won’t bother doing the work unless there’s someone out there who will actually read them (or if I get a burst of idle creativity, but don’t count on it).

Japan Envy: The America Edition! Celebrating ShopKawaii.com

I know the whole point of these “Japan Envy” pieces is for me to share things from Japan that aren’t readily available to the rest of us, but I’d like today to highlight a wonderful US-based retailer that specializes in cute Japanese goods.

The one time I visited Pittsburgh, PA (to look at colleges, actually), my mom and I stumbled upon a store called Kawaii Gifts. In their relatively small space they managed to stock all manner of cute Japanese stationary, plush, accessories, and homewares, most of which I had never seen before, even online. Though I spent a reasonable amount when I was in their physical location, over the years I’ve become a dedicated patron of their extensive online store Shop Kawaii.

Not only do they carry all manner of character goods from brands such as San-X, Sanrio, Kamio, and more, but they are also priced extremely reasonably for an import store. With every order I’ve placed, I’ve always received a freebie of some sort, such as a pencil, sticker sheet, or a pin made by the store themselves out of old, unused stationary. There’s nothing like free things to make me a happy patron!

Here are a few items I’m drooling over right now:

I absolutely love Kamio’s Fairy Tale World series! This notebook‘s pages have various designs, too!

The only thing I love more than Kamio’s general Fairy Tale series is their Alice in Wonderland series! This bag is perfect, and I just so happen to be in the market for a bag with a zipper closure.

I’m not too sure how I feel about San-X’s newest character, Iiwaken. His name is a play on the Japanese phrase “ii wa” meaning “that’s good” and “shiba-ken,” which refers to the type of dog, Shiba (or Shiba Inu). He’s a good dog, get it? Aha… Ok, that’s your Japanese lesson for today! 

Anyway, as I was saying, I’m not sure how I feel about him, but there’s something oddly appealing about that notepad and the dogs’ little white butts. 
No post detailing my love for cute Japanese things would be complete without mention of San-X’s Rilakkuma, a bear who loves relaxing above all else. I absolutely love this guy, but I’m not sure I need these in my life:

I suppose if I played golf, Rilakkuma golf toppers would be high on my list of things to buy, but as it stands, I’m not a golfer, so the novelty of these is lost on me. If you’re wondering, I’d probably choose the pink and white one, even though the dark brown Rilakkuma is generally my favorite of the three characters.

With that said, I seriously suggest checking out Shop Kawaii if you’re at all interested in these type of products. They’re a great store with an awesome selection and even more amazing customer service. I’m sure I’ll be using them as my source for cute Japanese goods for many years to come. 

Japan Envy: Space Invaders Tote Bag

I won’t lie: with all the awesome things available in Japan, I think it’s going to be pretty easy to make this Japan Envy series a weekly thing! I won’t limit myself to a specific day or anything, but rest assured, you’ll be seeing a lot more of these in the future.

Today while browsing Twitter I stumbled upon Taito’s very own Twitter page and promptly proceeded to follow them (If you’re not following me yet, head on over and do so!). Scrolling through their recent tweets lead me to an announcement about their new Space Invaders tote bag.

I have to say, I love this simple yet chic design. I’m a big fan of tote bags, known as “eco bags” in Japan, and the added inside pocket in this design that is alluded to on the bag’s website sounds like a nice addition to me. And priced at only ¥500 (more or less $5), it’s a steal! Too bad you can only get your hands on one of these puppies by visiting one of many Taito Station arcades in Japan. Curses!

I might just have to convince my host mom to purchase one on my behalf…