Weird Signboards...

Quite often, English is very much misuse in Japan and such has created many hilarious moments for tourists. One such example would be 'Beef Bawl' which supposedly be 'Beef Bowl' instead... The definition for Bawl is to shout or cry. To do that to beef is a little off...


Ok... So 'uncaged' animals are not allowed (Err, is there such a word?)... But what about uncaged bottles, cans and plastic bottles?


Sometimes I wonder what is this trying to advertise or is it a motto or short description for a shop? Wonder what does it have to do with the marshmallow...


Can you really enjoy life with a new socks style? Perhaps tutuanna can help...


I don't know what this shop is trying to say but probably something to do with pink...


A park for foots! Probably a massage parlor but this still gets to me...

Metal Gear Casts...

I didn't know Metal Gear Solid had this much characters in all the episodes until I found this picture drawn by some fans (Click to view a larger picture of it). Are you able to name them all? I didn't really get to play MGS5 and some of its latest series so probably won't be able to.

April Fools...

Alodia Gosiengfiao, a famous cosplayer in Philippines had us all fooled when she said that she's gonna quit cosplaying soon because of studies... And I so thought that she's really gonna quit and such but it turns out to be an April Fools Day joke... darn, can't believe am pwned by someone I don't know as a friend instead of my other friends...


What she really means going back to school was actually cosplaying in Haruhi's school uniform to promote the Suzumiya Haruhi anime in Animax instead... Well, that's one way to advertise something... In any case, Alodia is back in cosplay thank goodness...

Fractale's Fail Tale...

Anime Fractale ended abruptly with only 11 episodes and a cliffhanging finale that keeps you wondering whether everything's all for naught. Even at the beginning, there were criticism being that Nessa and Phyrne's hair color are supposedly to be purple instead of brown as depict in the manga...


And why are things all for naught? It's be told that the world as we know it is controlled by the fractale system as constructed by 'The Gods' and is crumpling away without rebooting the system. The temple guardians are supposed to reboot the system every thousand years and thus created the key and that's where Phyrne and Nessa comes in.


However some rebels who wanted freedom from the Fractale's control are fighting and preventing such from happening... However in the end, the system is rebooted and many died for naught with nothing being done except to help in getting back Clain's lover... Strange enough but that's what's happening... Well the fact that an end with both main characters back together again is good but somehow or rather the story is blurry...

Now You're Playing With Power...

Old advertisements for the classic console game Nintendo sure looks kinda weird and exaggerated thanks to the advancement of technology now. looking back, such commercials are what's cool from before but may look a bit lame for the audiences and customers now that the next generation consoles are dominating the markets. However those are the days where games are of originality and style unlike modern games now that copies one another and targeting what the customers really want and I would believe most of it are action pack games...


Imagine bringing this back to the past... It will surely dominate the classic Nintendo many times over... Trule a big gap in power, graphics and whatever may be for the gameplay....

Weird Flavors Of Kit Kat

Only in Japan will you be able to see common products in not so common flavors in stores. Take this watermelon flavored Kit Kat for example... The only Kit Kat we would commonly see in our stores are chocolate and also strawberry flavor.


However the flavors doesn't stop there and even weirder flavors are introduced instead... Heard of baked potato flavored Kit Kat?


The flavors didn't end just yet... There's also a Soy Sauce flavored Kit Kat... Oh man this is seriously weird... Would you eat Kit Kat with a seasoning used in food?


For coffee lovers, there's even an Espresso Kit Kat... The funny thing is why isn't it available in Singapore...


There's even Kit Kat with Read Bean Soup flavor...

Fukushima Now A Ghost Town...

The bustling city of Fukushima has now become nothing more of a ghost town since the incident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. One would wonder how long will this land be free of radiation again after the cleanup but it would probably be years and maybe decades for it to happen. Past Chernobyl photos have given us an idea of what really happens when the town is contaminated with radiation. Thus it is saddening that such would also be happening to Fukushima too...


The empty road of a town in Fukushima... Cables run above houses that once serve the town's power supply...


Stores and shophouses are shut down and abandon... Eerily quiet at this time of day...


Abandon household items and kitchen... Looks like people evacuated in a rush and leave unnecessary items behind.


What used to be a sink has now been long forgotten and be un-use for many years to come...


Furniture in disarray and stuffs lying on the floor... Shows pretty much panic from the owners who's in a rush to evacuate the place...


A lonely stool in the middle of town... Looks like the vending machine will not be use for a long time now...


Poultry and farms are abandoned... Livestock are gone and would probably be un-salvageable anymore...

SOYC Cosplay 2011

Finally managed to skim through the photographs and uploaded it for viewing... Anyway the Start Of Year C ended yesterday and I must say it's a lot better than last year given the fact that it's much bigger and such. Having said that, here are the photographs taken at the event. However do be warned that some of the photographs are of extremely low quality as photobucket resizes the photos even more somehow... Anyway you can view the photos by clicking here or from the tab bar on the right.

Learn To Count In Japanese By Rapping

A nice way of learning Japanese is by doing something really whacky to keep it stuck to your brain. One such is by rapping some seriously lame song with numbers as the lyrics in Japanese. Even so it does help you to remember a couple of it. Anyway you can learn a bit of Japanese from this website here which created this video. Well it does help a bit but at least they're teaching you Japanese for free...

Chimes: Failed Toys...

One of the many reason why toys shipped to Singapore has to be checked other than its lead content and whether it should be safe for kids to play with... However, some toys really are extreme in a sense that they might look innocent but turns out to be really wrong...


Does that reminds you of the Nazi from world war 2? This toy would definitely cause some stir among people...


Just as the package said... But why the heck is it for Ages 5 and up?


Does that look like something that adults would think of? And best of all, it glows too...


Innocent but deadly... Imagine having kids to fiddle with that thing while playing with this cuddly toy... With a bonus to squirt too!


The best ultimate failed toy... Ok, so the toy is named Zorro but why the heck is Batman in the picture? I can explain the horse by the side but this is ridiculous... What's worse is that the action figure is Spiderman instead... Epic win!

It's Been A While...

It's been 5 months since J's Chimes had stopped posting and entered a long hiatus all thanks to the new change of lifestyle am in now. Yep, university is finally over and getting ready to step out to the real world... I believe many would had thought that J's Chimes is long gone, but somehow it's the beginning of a new platform that I would be creating. After much consideration, I had decided to start a new group named 'Japanimation Themes' in Facebook. This new group will focus on all the Japanese anime opening and ending themes from the past till now. It may take a while to fully make this operational but it is under way. Nevertheless, J's Chimes will not be shutdown and would probably be link to the new group depending on circumstances. We do hope that you could join us when the time comes... Watch out for new updates...

We'll Be Up And Running Again Soon...

After much consideration, I had decided to carry on with blogging here instead because of the website's flexibility. Facebook does have its limitations so it really is not a viable option to startup a discussion there. Anyhow J's Chimes will soon be able to receive new postings soon... Catch more updates later this week.

Let's Talk Anime...

So J's Chimes is finally back... And had so much to talk about now about animations and stuff because 5 months + had gone by... And of course, the coming new season is fast approaching with all of this season's anime ending soon. Coming season would probably be a blast with many good animes like Shana, Fate and Persona airing. Of course there are none other than all time faves Working, Bakuman, etc. Can't wait to watch the other animes coming up soon too.


Lots of OVAs and specials also coming up next season which includes Kimi Ni Todoke, Seitokai Yakuindomo and such... I am so already filled with much of animes to watch this season and hopefully would still be able to catch up soon for the ones coming next season. Anyway, J's Chimes will start off soon by looking back into animes we enjoy from the present to the past so stay tune for more updates...

Review Under Way

  Review Under Way.

Much have changed in Blogger's Interface and design after a 9 month hiatus from updating this website. Been contemplating whether to update this website or not ever since I've started working. Still it drives me still having to see the counter increasing even after a long halt. Anyway, am back! However I do need to do some reviews and such first because of the many changes Blogger has in placed which does make updating a bit more different now. Thus am also thinking of revamping this site once again once we have all the things sorted out. Until then, here's a nice little video to keep start this new beginning once again.

Refurbishment

My room's getting a bit messy recently after the Vietnam trip and thus have decided to clean up bit by bit starting with my display cabinet... Had cleaned and make way for more of my models now but still insufficient for my current ones... Well at least it's better now. Do you clean your models too? Models get a little dusty after some time so it's wise to clean them once in a while to prevent colour fading or losing it's moisture which results in dryness.

10 Mangakas Who Change Manga History

Mangas have come a long way till what we would see today. However the genres of these mangas evolved throughout the years from the originality of these Mangakas. Some of which you would have read before and are some of the bestsellers around.

1. Osamu Tezuka - Astroboy
2. Akira Toriyama - Dragonball
3. Fujiko F. Fujio - Doraemon
4. Eiichiro Oda - One Piece
5. Takehiko Inoue - Slam Dunk
6. Shigeru Mizuki - Gegege No Kitaro
7.Fujio Akatsuka - Gag Manga King
8. Machiko Hasegawa - Sazae-san
9. Hayao Miyazaki - Nausicaa
10. Naoki Urasawa - 20th Century Boys

Even as we know, some of the mangas have become an anime due to its popularity. However in recent years, such originality is slowly diminishing due to the fact that Mangakas or such talents are getting lesser each time.

Meanwhile Back In Singapore...

Been posting a lot of things about Japan lately... But seriously what's happening in Singapore now? Fellow friends from other countries, if you think you'd find anime and stuff in Singapore, am really sorry to say that you'd probably be disappointed with the passion and exposure which is more or less pretty minimal unless there's a anime convention and sorts. But fear not, this hobby is certainly increasing between younger teenagers and audiences in Singapore. So probably let's say that anime would be popular in the future ahead, provided that nothing bad should happen to the industry given the fact that anime will be following the rules and regulations of the law in coming July...

Weird Japanese Ads And Signs

Japan has the most weirdest advertisements ever to be displayed in public which catches the eye of tourists like you and me from other countries... Well whatever the case, it is quite common in Japan and are often useful in a sense that it catches people's attention, laughing out loud and remembering them in the process... A truly awesome marketing strategy to get you thinking...


However some signage are extremely kids unfriendly due to the fact that certain adult-themed signs are being placed out in the streets for viewing... And perhaps maybe some happy-go-lucky tourist will stick their heads into the holes given to take a photo of it... Anyway the text reads 'Zettai Dorei' which basically means Absolute Slave in direct translation...


An ad for a water theme park which features visitors crying out loud at the extreme enjoyment that they are going through... Basically, an exaggerated way of saying that they are having so much fun till they shed tears of excitement...


Some crazy advert cover for an adult-theme pudding which features 2 jelly like substance that's of skin color with an anime girl for the back cover. Feeling hungry? How about sucking up on these 2 err... puddings of joy.


You wouldn't believe that this is actually a pharmacy if you didn't read he sign properly... Perhaps the displays are a bit off topic... extremely off topic I mean... Who would put some gravure idol posters and models in front of a medical shop? Or perhaps maybe they provide other services as well?

Anything's Possible With Practice

Practice makes perfect, and even so if you continue to work on your passion to achieve your goal. No matter how bad it might be, and as you continue to draw and improve, you'll get better eventually. A typical example could be as seen above where some amateur took about 10 years to get fantastic results. (Click On Pictures for a bigger view)


Even babies who drew from the start of age begins to improve over a course of 6 years with what supposedly looks like a bear takes form in the year 2009. And would likely drew better in the near future ahead if his passion is genuine.


An artist I have high respect on because his artwork dramatically improves into a professional level from the year 2007 onwards. And it keeps getting better there after which is shockingly of quality...


This artist already has the talents to draw a good artwork but decides to change his style of drawing throughout the years. You can clearly see it through the details, art form and even from the character's eyes...


This particular artist decides to move on from drawing a still character into something of a more artistic pose and style throughout the years. His first 5 years are mostly portrait pictures which are normal and not till 2006 that he decides to move on experimenting with creative poses to spice up his drawings.


Judging from the artwork, this would probably be the work of a real artist who works in an animation firm. To have such a level of drawing standard certainly shines above the rest of the artists above. Now if only I could draw as well as them...

Suzumiya Haruhi & Friends

Bought this set of 3 Suzumiya Haruhi Nendoroid figures at Marina Square. Though it looks kinda worn off, got it at a discount of 43% off because of the National Day Sale at Marina Square. That's roughly about SGD$20 for all 3!!! They look so damn cute and nice anyhow... Still thinking where I should put it...

QB Rules...

Many are deceived by its innocent and cute looks but after 9 episodes of the much talked about anime this season Puella Magi Madoka, this little white mascot has become one of the most hated furry animal of all animes you would see... Yes you can indeed fulfill your wishes but the price to pay is indeed great...


The much talked about QB is somehow being used in Japan sales of electronics and stuff for some reason or another... Guess it could be because of its unpopularity, QB is fast becoming an icon of choice for an advertising tool. Perhaps its evil looks could attract customers into buying their products.


Now the anime is also in danger of becoming a much hated anime and may even be cancelled due to extreme contents of cute girls being brutally murdered by witches. With many complaints being made and medias making spotlight of it, the future of this anime seems dim...