Akihabara Tours with Akibanana

Written by: Michael Keferl on August 12, 2008 at 3:31 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

Our friends over at Akibanana have really been expanding since their debut this year. Much like with our own tours focused on business and innovations, Akibanana has built their reputation on knowing the geek paradise of Akihabara inside and out, and are working closely with many Akiba insiders.

While the Electric Town can be fun to visit, the large buildings and maid cafes are intimidating when you don’t know what’s inside and you’ll end up walking around aimlessly (believe me). Akibanana’s Akihabara Tours are an easy way for visitors to Tokyo to find out what’s really going on in Akihabara and otaku culture, and make the best use of limited time as well. Their multilingual, cosplaying guides take you around for 2.5 hours for 3,000 yen ($30) per person.

Also on the Japanese language tour is the Akibanana “Guidol” (guide + idol) Cherry who is said to have been (and we have no doubt) born in a candy shop and worked in a candy factory. Below is a video of Cherry on her blog.

For more information on the latest news in geeky Japan, or to check out the tours, check out Akibanana.com.

Tags: akibanana, akihabara, anime, Maid Cafes, otaku
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Tsundere lottery game is mean to you for fun

Written by: Rebecca Milner on July 5, 2008 at 3:20 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

We noticed Tsundere among other otaku female icons like the maid and the faithful little sister in the Puchi Moe unlimited bubble wrap—in fact, hers was the first to sell out. We hear she even has her own café.

Now a new lottery game features her tough but sweet visage and the voice of famous anime voice artist Rie Kugimiya.

The slots-like game, from game rental company Techno Top, is a standing machine of the kind that shows up at events and festivals. The gist of the game is to line up the animated spinning dials by pressing the buttons below each one, which we’re pretty sure has much more to do with randomness than good timing. But that’s beside the point, the appeal is in the character tie-in.

When the player misses the Tsundere character becomes tsuntsun and when the player hits the mark she becomes deredere.

In case this is new to you, to be tsuntsun means to be cold and aloof and to be deredere means to be affectionate. Someone who is tsundere is often hot and cold, and these are just the qualities that the character embodies, which is thought to be moe (cute in an otaku kind of way).

Just in case you were wondering what the next big thing is after maids!

Tags: anime, moe, otaku, tsundere
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
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Akibanana launched for growing global otaku

Written by: Michael Keferl on March 9, 2008 at 11:26 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

The new bilingual otaku (geek) culture media site Akibanana was launched by G.I. Jane Inc. in February, and has thus-far provided extremely good content about the ever-changing Akihabara scene.

In addition to having lots of great information about the Akihabara area (detailed shop maps, guides, etc) and its main highlights (anime, manga, games, gadgets, and more), Akibanana is also writing features about events and important happenings, and putting a focus on educating the world about the real Akihabara that exists in the alleys and nondescript shops. The Hibaritei cross-dressing maid cafe event is a unique example in itself.

In our experience, most first-time foreign visitors to Akihabara are a bit disappointed because it can’t possibly live up to the hype it receives in the media. When they don’t see robot maids, moving sidewalks, and people flying around on jetpacks they wonder what the big deal is (They also think the point of Akihabara is just to get cheap electronics). The real Akihabara, like the rest of Tokyo, is behind the facades and hidden away.

Tags: akibanana, akihabara, anime, otaku
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Puchi Moe brings anime love to virtual bubblewrap

Written by: Michael Keferl on February 8, 2008 at 10:01 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, MARKETING IDEAS | 3 Comments

Riding on the success of their hit 2007 “Infinite Bubblewrap” toy, Bandai is pushing the Puchi Puchi even more this year with the upcoming release of the new Puchi Moe versions.

Puchi Moe has four new color schemes, but also four distinct female anime characters to go along with them, obviously to tap into the lucrative market of otaku that like to spend money on such things.

The characters represent four major archetypes in Japanese anime:

• Osonanajimi: The childhood friend, loyal and at your side.
• Meido: Your stereotypical anime maid, at your service.
• Tsundere: A character type that is tough on the outside, but vulnerable.
• Imouto: The adoring younger sister.

While the original Puchi version (and subsequent color varieties) were complete media creations from the get-go, Bandai is taking the publicity for Puchi Moe into its own hands. Each character has her “own” blog (ex. Osonanajimi) and even downloadable promo graphics to decorate your geeky desktop.

There are also the obligatory “blog parts” (see below) of embeddable html character clocks to put in any of the millions of Japanese blogs out there…

…and this is just the marketing campaign! The actual Puchi Moe are just like the original PuchiPuchi, but instead of fart noises and dogs barking (between pops of course) you get character-specific expressions like “I really like you big brother!” which might be a little weird for those of us without younger sisters, but is a nice compliment nonetheless.

Puchi Moe will be available on March 8th and, if it gets the same attention as last time, will be out of stores and dangling from laptop and PSP cases before nightfall.

Visit our…ONLINE SHOP…Buy cool and trendy gadgets & lifestyle products straight from Japan…fast, reliable and safe…delivered right to your doorstep…

Tags: anime, Asovision, Bandai, moe, Mugen PuchiPuchi, otaku
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, MARKETING IDEAS
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School boy cafes, maid casinos the latest cosplay offerings

Written by: Rebecca Milner on February 8, 2008 at 8:19 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 4 Comments

School girls have a well-documented following, but what about the boys? It turns out that school boys are building up a following of their own: since opening last fall, the school boy themed café, Edelstein, has been filled to capacity every weekend and has seen repeat customers visit upwards of 40 times in just a few short months.

Regular customers become “students” and can have their picture taken with the cute young male waiters in school uniforms (which definitely makes up for the $5 coffee). Rest-assured the hiring policy ensures that all of the waiters are over 18.

Due to the popularity, would-be customers book a 90-minute “lunch time” or “bar time” (remember it’s a fantasy!) in advance. Naturally, Valentines’ Day is already fully booked.

The café is located in Harajuku, making it a convenient shopping stop-over for the women in their 20s and 30s that the café is targeting. The interior is designed to resemble a German boarding school, but is more reminiscent of settings from manga series of the same theme aimed at girls and young women.

In other cosplay entertainment news, the original maid café, in an effort to keep its stake in the market, is diversifying to include “maid karaoke” and a “maid casino.”

With the cosplay market seemingly here to stay and intent on growing, its anyone’s guess what the next innovation will be. Any wagers?

Visit our…ONLINE SHOP…Buy cool and trendy gadgets & lifestyle products straight from Japan…fast, reliable and safe…delivered right to your doorstep…

Tags: Dining, moe, otaku
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS