Our con-man, Zach, brings us more anime convention coverage with Ohayocon! This time, it was not all fun and games, unfortunately… On January 18th-20th, I attended Ohayocon 2013 with my group of friends. As usual with everything, there’s both good and bad. Please read the disclaimer before reading my actual coverage. Disclaimer: To the owner…
Category: Culture
Nuppeppo–The Blobby…Monster…Thing…
Japanese folklore is populated by many a weird critter. I am constantly amazed by the bizarre menagerie of monsters that Japanese believed populated their home country. Possibly the strangest I’ve come across so far is the Nuppeppo. The Nuppeppo is actually kind of cute, in a morbid, Tim Burton-esque way. It is a blob of…
Emaki Fart Battle – Yeah, You Read that Right
Back in the Edo period of Japan (between 1603 and 1868), an artist had a genius and hilarious idea: a Fart Battle. The scroll depicts a flatulent fight between, uh, “warriors”. We are not talking your average after dinner gas. No, this is the gas of the gods! Mighty men who can fart down walls…
Harvest Festival
Japanese harvest and fertility festivals look very odd to our Western eyes. Grounded in Shinto and stretching as far back as 1,500 years ago, these festivals help ensure a good harvest and promote human fertility. What makes the festival odd for us Westerners are the centerpieces: giant wooden penises and vulvas. So I guess you…
Gyaru
Gyaru is a combination of the English word “gal” and the Japanese word for girl. What started as a jeans brand slogan morphed into yet another Japanese subculture. Gyaru is a street fashion that we basically would call “glam” here in the States. They wear man made wigs, fake eyelashes, fake nails, and often dye…
Nekomimi
Lately there are a lot of teen and 20-something girls sprouting cat tails and ears around here. Nekomimi must be in the water. Nekomimi ( literally cat ears) is a style of cosplay or anime/manga character that is human in all ways except having cat ears, a tail, and cat like behavior. They are often…