
A supposedly “Japanese” celebration of the recent horrific events in Boston has outraged many Japanese – most of whom see good evidence it is a Korean crazy posing as a Japanese in a crude attempt to make Americans hate one the defilers of Dokdo.
Read the rest of this entry »


Japanese have been bemusedly confronted with the wonders of “anime eyes” makeup, supposedly “attracting much attention throughout America” and certainly attracting much attention in Japan (though perhaps not for the same reasons).
Read the rest of this entry »

Japanese are outraged that mere foreigners would dare to criticise their culture of eating live animals after seeing a video of a vivisected squid struggling for life on a plate, even if many of them appear to be of the opinion that it is the very acme of bad taste.
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: Mar 28, 2012 06:00 JST
- Tags: Bicycles, Bizarre, Cars, Crime, Himeji, Internet, Police, Schoolboys, Suicide, YouTube

A man who uploaded a video of himself chasing a schoolboy on a bicycle in his car whilst threatening to run him off the road to YouTube has committed suicide, despite police and the boy declining to press charges, prompting furious speculation as to why he would kill himself when he remained anonymous and faced no punishment.
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Feb 2, 2012 16:35 JST
- Tags: Crime, Hatsune Miku, Internet, Korea, Music, Otaku, Politics, Vocaloid, YouTube

Hatsune Miku fans everywhere are being rallied to the virtual diva’s defence – parties unknown have been waging an underhanded campaign against her on YouTube, by filing fraudulent copyright claims against her videos in an effort to get all her songs deleted.
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: International, News
- Date: Nov 3, 2011 13:34 JST
- Tags: Copyright, Courts, Crime, Internet, Mental Illness, Schoolgirls, USA, Video Gallery, YouTube

A judge who was recorded viciously belting his disabled daughter for her illicit downloads has caused outrage online, not least because he specialises in presiding over domestic disputes.
Read the rest of this entry »


Despite being intended for learners of Japanese, videos of busty YouTube inhabitant “Hannah Minx” have lately been proving popular amongst the Japanese themselves, though for reasons unrelated to any conventional form of education…
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Feb 3, 2011 20:19 JST
- Tags: Business, Copyright, DVD Extras, Internet, Marketing, P2P, Politics, Statistics, YouTube

Japan’s prestigious Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), a government-affiliated economics think-tank, has published detailed research suggesting anime piracy can boost disc sales.
Read the rest of this entry »


Houkago no Pleiades, an unusual mahou shoujo ONA (“Original Net Animation”) project made by Gainax and sponsored by metal box maker Subaru, has received much praise for exuding the overwhelming cuteness expected of a mahou shoujo anime.
Those wishing to see just how cute it is, or indeed to watch the full episodes, can do so below.
Read the rest of this entry »

Not satisfied with the kerfuffle he caused with his J-Comi launch remarks, mangaka Ken Akamatsu is now picking a fight with NicoNico Douga, accusing them of profiting by stealing the works of others without giving them proper compensation.
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Aug 14, 2010 01:40 JST
- Tags: Copyright, Google, K-ON!, Moe, Music, PSP, Sega, TBS, TV, YouTube

K-ON! TV broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System has deleted videos of Sega’s upcoming K-ON! game on the grounds of copyright infringement.
Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Manga, News
- Date: Jun 15, 2010 02:23 JST
- Tags: Copyright, Crime, Internet, Nagoya, Naruto, One Piece, Schoolboys, Shonen, YouTube

A schoolboy who uploaded manga to YouTube in advance of its release has been arrested for copyright infringement.
Read the rest of this entry »