This vintage live action/animated vampire video is the opening sequence for the pilot version of Vampire (Banpaiya), an old TV series created by Osamu Tezuka. Originally broadcast in Japan in the late '60s, the 26-part series centers around a vampire (looks like a werewolf) who comes from a vampire village to Tokyo and lands a job as an animator with Osamu Tezuka (who plays himself). Doubtless the freaky live action/animated style blew a few minds.
Shibuya Center Town
Ameyoko
Kabukicho
Ginza Chuo Dori
Ginza 4-chome Intersection
Hisaharu Motoda's "Neo-Ruins" series of lithographs depict the cityscape of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where familiar streets lie deserted, the buildings are crumbling and weeds grow from the broken pavement. The antique look of the lithographic medium effectively amps up the eeriness of the futuristic setting. "In Neo-Ruins I wanted to capture both a sense of the world's past and of the world's future," says Motoda on his website.
[Link: Hisaharu Motoda]
In the hope of inspiring more voters to head to the polls, lingerie maker Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new concept bra called the "Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra."
The silver, bustier-type bra is modeled after an aluminum ballot box, complete with lots of rivets and a pocket for holding ballots that have been cast. The kanji characters for "ballot box" are printed beneath the cups, which are heavily padded so that the wearer can also increase her bust size while doing her part to increase voter turnout.
The bottom consists of a wrap-around mini-skirt fashioned from paper ballots, which are made of a special type of plastic-coated paper resistant to the elements. A small pencil case also attaches to the waist.
According to Triumph's press release, voter turnout in Japan, which averaged 70% to 90% about 30 years ago, has fallen to between 10% and 30% in recent years. With voter apathy and a general aversion to politics worsening each year, the government has taken a variety of measures to encourage participation in the election process. Taking matters into their own hands, Triumph decided to focus attention on the problem by unveiling the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra along with their fall/winter collection on May 9.
The bra comes too late for the elections held in Japan last month, but there is still plenty of time for the lingerie to work its magic on the Upper House elections coming in July. While Triumph does not plan to make the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra commercially available, maybe they can work out some sort of deal with the election commission to provide the bras to their armies of nubile young poll workers. That'll surely boost turnout -- it works every time.
[Source: Nikkei Net]
At the Tokyo Fiber exhibition in Omotesando last weekend, Panasonic unveiled the "No-Constraints Carpet" (tentative product name?), an innovative hot carpet with the warm, fuzzy appeal of a beloved pet. The carpet's luxurious coat of faux fur (available in white, brown, or skunk-like black and white) houses a set of smart heating elements that deliver warmth only to the areas you touch when you cuddle it. Squishy, flesh-like control switches modeled after the paw pads of your favorite furry friend enhance the carpet's overall zoomorphic feel. Available in two sizes -- 1.5 meters (5 feet) or 7 meters (23 feet) -- the carpet also makes an interesting sofa decoration when not being used as a heating device. The patent is pending, so Panasonic has not yet released all the product details.
[Photo: IN-duce's Flickr photo stream]
