Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) is one of the world’s largest fashion festival, held twice annually in Japan since 2005, and is opened to public with affordable price.
The event showcases real cloths, street fashion and casual brands. The show is streamed live on mobile and internet; people can buy their favourite products on the spot or almost real time online.
Below are some videos from the 2009 Autumn-Winter show on September 5; fashion, girls, or music, it seems fun whichever you preferred…
Korean pop star BoA is taking a break from her American activities to release a Japanese single, Bump Bump, featuring Verbal from M-flo. Music video, and some black & white promotional pics further below…
Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has found himself a new job… as a voice actor for an upcoming live-action Ultraman movie.
The full title of the film is Giant Monster Battle: Ultra Galactic Legend The Movie, to be precise lol.
Koizumi will lend his voice as the Ultraman King, an ancient Legendary Hero in the Ultra family. The film will open in Japan on December 12.
Koizumi is one of the most of popular postwar Prime Ministers in Japan. He retired in 2006, and the political arena has been in chaos ever since. The current PM Yukio Hatoyama, amazingly, is Koizumi’s 4th successor in just over three years.
[via Animenewsnetwork and Japanprobe]
Introducing the prettiest digital clock ever.
Bijin Tokei (literally beauty clock) is a web application with cute Japanese girls showing you the time on your PC, iPhone, gadget, website etc., which refreshed automatically with a new image every minute.
After the highly popular life-size 18-metre Gundam model in Tokyo, another giant Japanese robot statue, the Tetsujin 28-go (lit. Iron Man #28), is set to welcome its visitors in Kobe following its completion earlier this week.
Tetsujin 28 was created in 1956 by Kobe-born Mitsuteru Yokoyama; it was one of the earliest giant robot characters in Japanese manga. The comic was later adapted into anime series and was aired in US as well, retitled as the Gigantor.
The Tetsujin 28 statue is located at Kobe’s Wakamatsu Park. It’s similar in height with the Gundam statue, but doesn’t have moving parts like the Tokyo counterpart. The Kobe robot is built as a permanent structure though, whereas the Gundam was disassembled after two months of exhibition.
If the trend keeps going, we might be seeing dozens of giant robot models across Japan in future… pretty fitting tourist attraction for the #1 robotic nation lol.
[image from the project's official website [Jp]]
Video game developer Square Enix has released a seven-minutes long Japanese trailer for Final Fantasy XIII at the Tokyo Game Show 2009…
The Final Fantasy console game series was revolutionary in the 80s and 90s, popularising the role-playing-game (RPG) genre with its well written plots and high quality visuals & soundtracks.
Not sure if the game will appeal to younger generation these days; but for RPG gamers who grew up in that era, it’s a highly anticipated game for sure.
FFXIII will be released in Japan in December 2009 on PS3. Xbox and international versions estimated to be available in spring 2010.
[video via qarisu@Youtube]
Popular otaku celebrity Shoko Nakagawa, popularly known as Shokotan, will be performing at Anime Festival Asia (AFA) in Singapore on November 21-22, 2009.
AFA is one of the the biggest anime-comic-game conventions in South East Asia; first held in 2008, the event is back again in 2009 following last year’s success.
Besides Shokotan, other celebs that will be performing at the I Love Anisong concert are May’N, Aniki and Yoshiki Fukuyama. Other sections of AFA09 include cosplay, toys & games exhibits, and maid cafe etc.
The organisers held a press conference on September 1 to officiate the 2009 event; check out the coverage by blogger Darkmirage, Alafista and Double.
More details and updates on AFA09’s official website or Facebook.
Anime Festival Asia
Previous: Anime Festival Asia 2008
American actress Kirsten Dunst shot a video in Tokyo’s Akihabara otaku district in a seriously-too-colourful-and-wicked sailor costume on August 27.
The video will be used for an exhibition later this year at Tate Modern in London.
[more images][via Japanprobe and 3yen]
