Awesome Japanese

Ignoring their obvious phallic properties, these Chubu Mechatrobots by Kazushi Kobayashi are from an alternate reality 1950s; they’re on display at the Tokyo Cultuart shop.

If this Heartbeat Watch’s EKG stops beating the only thing dead is your battery: it spikes according to the time, not your pulse; simply recharge via USB to get the ol’ ticker going again.

Fresh from IMAGI (who brought us the Astro Boy and Gatchman teasers), T-28 is a resurrection of the Tetsujin manga; it hasn’t been picked up by a studio per se, but it sure looks promising.

Coming to theaters January 23, Hajirai Machine Girl is not for the faint of heart; only in Japan would a machine gun emerging from a bikini girl’s behind seem even remotely normal.

This gameplay video for Yakuza 3 is light on any real innovation; it’s just a dude in a suit wailing on victim after victim in street brawls, but with the moves of a UFC/WWF fighter.

A collaboration between the Sapporo brewery and Royce Confections, this Chocolate Beer will be sold starting today in a limited run of 72,000 cans; it’s made with roaster malt and cacao.

Mu Pan’s Origamu paper sculptures make our paper cranes look positively lame; these intricately crafted pieces have a grace and fluidity that improves on traditional origami.

Coming to North America sometime in 2009, White Knight Chronicles is a third-person, full-length 100 hour RPG by Level-5; the trailer above is flat-out, jaw-dropping awesome.

We could deal without the continuous operatic wail in the background, but this trailer for Japanese action RPG Demon’s Souls is an absolute eyeful for medieval fantasy fans.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is out in Japan; this runnin’ / flyin’ / jumpin’ opening cinematic is both gorgeous and torture for North American fans, who will have to wait until mid-year 2009.

Available 12/18 in Japan (Q1, USA), Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 may be the bastard child of two franchises, but hordes of enemies + mecha + tweaked AI = one sexy bastard.

Despite rampant real estate speculation in the US, this collection of the World’s Slimmest Houses shows how critically short of space and cramped living in Japan is.

The folks at Tokyoflash been busy lately; hot on the heels of the NI is the Kisai Tenmetsu. Resembling a flashing traffic light, each color represents different units of time.

Minimal talking, lots of action, and superbikes is just the way we like it: this video for Tekken 6 is basically one long, gorgeous character intro. Note that it cuts out abruptly at the end.

If you can ignore the atrocious English, this Item Getter trailer is like watching a Hayao Miyazake film; it’s a DS RPG that allows users to create their own items through alchemy.

Flickr user Derek is one lucky dude; not only does his girlfriend pack Japanese-style “bento” lunches, but arranges them into characters from Wall-E, Katamari, and Totoro. Thanks, Tenshi!