On the train today, I noticed a new ad for DoCoMo, one of the main cell-phone service providers in Japan (and probably the biggest).
This poster had a picture of Darth Vader of “Star Wars” pointing and asking “Who is my boss?“.
The ad doesn’t say much more than that, so I was wondering what it was about. Will DoCoMo be releasing a new “Darth Vader” themed phone? And what does it mean by “who is my boss?”?
So I checked the website and it doesn’t tell much either.
But the site has an interesting application…you can enter your name on the site (but it must be entered in Japanese カタカナ (katakana)) and then it will show a movie of Darth Vader walking around Tokyo saying how he’s searching for his “boss” and then he encounters billboards and flyers with a picture of himself and the name you entered on it (but the name is shown written in alphabet letters even though it requires you enter your name is Japanese characters).
And then Darth Vader will say your name and then tell you that you’re not his boss.
When I did it, it said that I wasn’t his boss and that his boss is more 「美しい」 (“beautiful”) than me!
At the end it has a countdown til 2010 May 11 (Japan time) which is the day that Darth Vader’s “boss” will be revealed.
Darth Vader searching for his "boss" in Tokyo
Darth Vader saw a billboard that said that I ("Tokyo Five") am his boss!
On 2010 May 11, DoCoMo will reveal who Darth Vader's boss is.
I saw an online ad for 「ライトセーバーチョップスティック」 (“Lightsaber Chopsticks“)!
Star Wars "Light-saber Chopsticks"
They come in red “Darth Vader” lightsaber, blue “Luke Skywalker” lightsaber, and green “Yoda” lightsaber.
The red and blue ones are 230mm “adult size” and the green pair are 200mm “child size” chopsticks.
The ad says 「日本の食卓へ！」 (“(Coming) to dinner tables in Japan!”).
I’m not a big enough of a “Star Wars” fan to buy something like this. I prefer to use normal 箸 (chopsticks).
Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「HACHI: 約束の犬」 (Hachi: A Faithful Dog)
Original Japanese movie: 「ハチ公物語」 (Hachiko’s Story)
ハチ公物語
(Click here to read another post I wrote about this movie).
U.S. remake: “Shall We Dance?”
Another US remake of a Japanese movie starring Richard Gere.
Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「Shall We ダンス？」 (Shall We Dance?)
Original Japanese movie: 「Shall We ダンス？」 (Shall We Dance?)
U.S. Remake: “The Ring“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ザ・リング」 (The Ring)
Original Japanese movie: 「リング」 (Ring)
U.S. remake: “The Grudge“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「The Juon」
Original Japanese movie: 「呪怨」 (Juon (Grudge))
U.S. remake: “Dark Water“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ダーク・ウォーター」 (Dark Water)
Original Japanese movie: 「仄暗い水の底から」 (Dark Water From Below)
U.S. remake: “Last Man Standing“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ラスト・マン・スタンディング」 (Last Man Standing)
Original Japanese movie: 「用心棒」 (The Bodyguard)
U.S. remake: “A Fistful Of Dollars“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「荒野の用心棒」 (The Bodyguard Of The Wilderness)
Original Japanese movie: 「用心棒」 (The Bodyguard)
U.S. remake: “The Bodyguard“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ボディガード」 (Bodyguard)
Original Japanese movie: 「用心棒」 (The Bodyguard)
“Eight Below“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「南極物語」 (South Pole Story)
Original Japanese movie: 「南極物語」 (South Pole Story)
“Magnificent Seven“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「荒野の七人」 (Seven Men Of The Wilderness)
Original Japanese movie: 「七人の侍」 (Seven Samurai)
“Dragonball“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ドラゴンボール」 (Dragonball)
Original Japanese movie: 「ドラゴンボール」 (Dragonball)
(Click here to see an earlier post I wrote about this movie).
“Speed Racer“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「マッハＧＯＧＯＧＯ！」(Mach GoGoGo!)
Original Japanese movie: 「マッハＧＯＧＯＧＯ！」(Mach GoGoGo!)
“Godzilla“Japanese Translation Of US Title: 「ゴジラ」 (Godzilla)
Original Japanese movie: 「ゴジラ」 (Godzilla)
(Click here to see an earlier post I wrote about this movie).
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And, HOLLYWOOD MOVIES THAT WERE INSPIRED BY JAPAN:
Also, I just found this “Pixar ‘Cars’ X ‘Tokyo Drift’“:
Black Rain
Black Rain
Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Austin Powers: Goldmember
Austin Powers 3: Goldmember
The Simpsons: 30 Minutes Over Tokyo
(It’s not a movie…just one episode of a weekly U.S. TV show. But I wanted to include it since the characters go to Japan. And it’s funny.)
The Japanese fast-food chain MOS Burger is now offering a “Kids Set Meal” for the first time in their history.
Also if you buy any burger / small fries / medium drink set at MOS Burger from now until 2009 July 6, you’ll get a scratch card that gives you a chance to win your choice of a “MOS Burger Bearbrick Figure” or a “Pepsi NEX Bearbrick Figure“.
Bearbrick is a Japanese company that makes bear figures in the likeness of famous people or things. Mostly pop-culture related.
I wrote a couple posts about them before. Click here to see my KISSBearbrick post…
and click here to see my post with the Star Wars figures.
I’ve written an earlier post (click here to read it), Japan has many types of 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machines.
If you want to know about what 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) is, you can read my earlier posts that I wrote about it.
(click here and here).
「パチンコ」 (pachinko) is often called “Japanese pinball”…and like pinball machines, 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machines are decorated with pictures of famous people or characters.
In Japan, there are Spiderman, JAWS, Marilyn Monroe, 「ウルトラマン」 (Ultraman), and 「七人の侍」 ( The Seven Samurai) 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machines.
That’s just an example. There are many others.
There’s even a 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machine for the Japanese pop singer 「倖田來未」 (Koda Kumi):
(Click here to see the Koda Kumi Pachinko website).
As I mentioned in the earlier post I mentioned above (click here to read it), there are also KISS and Star Wars 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machines:
(Click here to see the Star Wars Pachinko website.)
Now there’s a new 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machine. And it’s also decorated with images from American pop-culture.
It’s the Bon-Jovi 「パチンコ」 (pachinko) machine. It plays some songs by the band and has cartoon images in their likeness.
(Click here to visit the Bon Jovi Pachinko website).
I’m not a 切手収集家 (stamp collector) but sometimes the post office offers 切手 (postage stamps) that I can’t refuse…so I have a few collectors’ sheets of stamps from the Japan Post Office.
One of them is the 「スター・ウォーズ切手」 (“Star Wars” stamps). These stamps came in a nice, hard-cover protective binder illustrated with Star Wars artwork.
Japanese "Star Wars" stamps
And here is the protective binder:
Another series of stamps that the post office in Japan offered a few years ago was what they called 「科学技術とアニメ・ヒーロー・ヒロインシリーズ」 (“Science & Technology and Anime Heros & Heroines Series“)…which included such anime as 「鉄腕アトム」 (“Astro Boy“) and 「名探偵コナン」 (“Detective Conan“)…but the one I got was Series Four: 「科学忍者隊ガッチャマン」 (“Science Ninjas: Gacchaman” (known overseas as: “Battle Of The Planets“)).
I used to watch this cartoon in America when I was a kid.
I didn’t use my computer yesterday or Friday because on Friday after work I drank too much…and I had a bad 二日酔い (hangover) all day yesterday.
I had been a member of the PTA at my daughters’ 小学校 (Elementary School), but my youngest daughter started 中学校 (Jr. High School) last month so I’m no longer on the PTA.
So, on Friday, the PTA had a party at an 居酒屋 (Japanese izakaya restaurant) to welcome new members and say goodbye to former members.
It was an 飲み放題 (all-you-can-drink), so we all drank too much!
It was fun…but I paid for it the following day!
I like to drink beer everyday, but I don’t normally drink enough to get “drunk“. I don’t really like being drunk…and I especially don’t like suffering through a 二日酔い (hangover).
Anyhow, I feel much better today. But it’s raining today so the five of us are just gonna relax at home. Right now, my daughters are at the video rental store* (* actually, it’s “DVDs” now, of course…but I still call them 「ビデオ」 (“videos”)).
They asked me to recommend a movie that we’d all enjoy…since I’ve rented movies from my teen years such as “The Goonies“, “Karate Kid“, “Back To The Future“, “E.T.“, etc that they enjoyed, so they trust my judgement :).
I told them to get “Crocodile Dundee“.
Also, my wife bought a couple cans of 「ウルトラ・サイダー」 (“Ultra Cider“) for me so I could something easy-on-the-stomach to drink yesterday because of my hangover.
「ウルトラ・サイダー」 (“Ultra Cider“) comes in cans that look like 「ウルトラマン」 (Ultraman’s) costume.
I wrote a post last March about 「ウルトラマン」 (Ultraman) that mentions these cider drinks…click here to read it.
As I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog (for example: here and here), I’m a big fan of the American rock band KISS.
(By the way, I wrote a post about the Japanese KISS-related movie called Detroit Metal City (click here) last August and it’s still the most popular post on my blog!)
Well, I just found out that a new KISSパチンコ (pachinko) machine has debuted here in Japan.
パチンコ (pachinko) is a Japanese game that can be compared to a vertical pinball machine…with many small balls played simultaneously rather than just one larger ball. And unlike pinball, the object is to get the balls into certain holes at the right time. And, unlike pinball, パチンコ (pachinko) can also be compared to a slot machine in that there’s a payout…albeit the jackpot is more BB balls rather than money (due to anti-gambling laws), but the balls are exchanged for prizes (and then “sold” for money). It’s a loophole in the law, and the only reason for the popularity of パチンコ(pachinko).
I’ve already written a post about パチンコ (pachinko)…(click here to see it).
I’ve played パチンコ (pachinko) a few times…I’m not a big fan of the game—especially since I usually lose and the parlors are noisy and smokey from all the smokers (but recently, many パチンコ (pachinko) parlors have begun enforcing “No Smoking” rules to lure more customers)—but if I happen to see a parlor advertising that they have the new KISSパチンコ (pachinko) machine, I may go inside and try it out! Just because it’s KISS.
Wanna see the website for the KISSパチンコ (pachinko) machine? It’s in 日本語 (Japanese)…but it has a cool Flash® intro.
Click here to visit the KISSパチンコ (pachinko) website.
パチンコ (pachinko) machines, like pinball machines, usually have a theme…and it’s often something from pop-culture. Usually it’s Japanese pop-culture…but sometimes, like the KISSパチンコ (pachinko) machine, it’s from Western culture.
Another example (that may interest a friend of mine whose a big Star Wars fan), is the fairly new Darth Vaderパチンコ (pachinko) machine.
I guess the machine’s full name is 「Fever STAR WARS ダース・ベイダー降臨」 (“Fever STAR WARS: Darth Vader’s Arrival“).
It has a 日本語 (Japanese) website with a Flash® intro, too. Click here to see it.
I didn’t have tickets for the “Star Wars Celebration Japan“…but I wanted to take some photos outside the venue for my friend who is a big Star Wars fan, but was unable to attend this event.
But, there wasn’t much outside the venue to photograph (inside the venue was a different story, I’m sure).
Anyways, here are the photos I took of the 2008 Star Wars Celebration Japan:
Darth Vader
Stormtrooper and a fan.
Stormtrooper with more fans
Another shot of him
And I took four videos and uploaded them to my YouTube Page.
Like I mentioned though, there wasn’t alot for me to film since I wasn’t able to go inside the venue.
That said, here are my videos of the Star Wars Celebration Japan:
*****
After I left there, I met up with my wife and daughters and we went to watch the movie 「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 (千年呪い歌)」 (Ge-Ge-Ge-No-Kitarou (1000 Year Cursed Song)).
「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」 movie poster
It was a pretty good movie. I liked the first 「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」 (Ge-Ge-Ge-No-Kitarou ) movie better though…but this sequel was still good.
One main difference between 映画館 (movie theaters) in Japan and those in America is that it’s perfectly acceptable to bring your own food and drinks into the theaters in Japan (rather than being forced to buy something at their snack counter).
(Another difference is the things that are sold at the counters in the theaters….in movie theaters in Japan, the snack counters sell programs and souvenirs for the movie, as well as sandwiches and beer (in addition to popcorn and cola)).
Anyways, we bought our food at a supermarket near the theater and carried it in.
We had 寿司 (sushi) and beer (the kids didn’t drink beer, of course! They had お茶 (Japanese green tea)).
Next weekend (Friday, July 19 – Monday, July 21 (July 21 is a holiday in Japan (Click here for my FAQ about it)), is the Star Wars Celebration in 千葉県 (Chiba prefecture), Japan.
It’s being held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of the Star Wars movie in Japan.
For this event, Pepsi Cola is giving away small bear toys designed to look like Star Wars characters with purchases of their “NEX Zero Calorie” cola. These bears are made by Be@rbrick.
I’m not much of a cola drinker…especially “zero calorie” cola, but I bought a few bottles just so I could have the Star Wars souvenirs. They might become valuable one day!
I got the Yoda one (even though it’s the ugliest one), as well as Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and a Stormtrooper (because I’ve always liked the villains!).
It turns out, though, that the only ones that are exclusive to Japan are “Wicket” and “Paploo“.
I’ve never heard of these characters (I like the Star Wars movies…but I’m not a huge fan), but I’m gonna try to get them both (since they’re “Japan only”)!
My friend from high school is a huge Star Wars fan and wants to come to Japan to attend this event. If he does come to Japan, then I’ll go to the Star Wars Celebration with him…otherwise it’s unlikely that I’ll go.
Tokyo Five 
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