Awesome Japanese

This short video proves just how universal the language of design is. Despite being entirely in Japanese, motion designer Ritsuko Nomura’s clip demonstrates the importance of using layouts, scale, and color to bring structure and legibility to information, regardless of language. From the NHK educational TV show Design Ah!

Flagrant Agenda teamed up with artist MILTZ to create this stunning deck of cards inspired by the Japanese Edo period. The court cards include famed shogun and other key figures of the period, Aces have seasonal haiku, and symbology abounds. They come in four versions, and you can add on custom minted coins.

Nintendo celebrates the launch of its relaxing new puzzle game for the Switch, in which you must carefully follow a series of recipes to create a perfectly presented bento box meal for a family of cats. It’s just the sort of game we need to take our minds off the craziness around us in the world these days.

Suminagashi is an ancient Japanese craft that produces amazing marbled patterns on paper. Linh My Truong of the Textile Arts Center in New York City demonstrates several techniques for manipulating inks in a water bath to produce various cool patterns. Her tools include a cat’s whisker and a drinking straw.

Card Experiment’s dramatic decks feature colorful images inspired by traditional Japanese Musha-e woodblock prints. The series of three decks include intricate illustrations of Suikoden warrior figures on their face cards. The Musha cards feature light imagery, while the Goketsu has a darker and more ominous look.

There are tons of wallets to choose from these days, but we’ve never seen one that looks like this. It has an all-aluminum body with an aesthetic inspired by Japanese cyberpunk anime. Each one is made from numerous CNC-machined parts, with exposed Torx screwheads to complete the look. Available in 3 customizable designs.

The Japanese craft of Kumiko requires the cutting and assembly of thousands of tiny, carefully cut sticks of wood, each individually placed to form intricate lattice panels. This video from Japan’s Shiroishi Woodworks gives us an idea of the level of effort that goes into each piece, as woodworker Tatsuo Kurozu plies his craft.

The Rage Quit t-shirt features a woodblock-style print designed by Jed Henry, maker of the Ukiyo-e Heroes prints. It sees an angry gamer tattooed with characters from Super Mario Bros. and a pile of controllers spilling out of his body after committing seppuku.

The dance from the Rick and Morty episode Ricksy Business is entertaining all on its own. But it’s just that much better in the Japanese dubbed version shown here. Though “wubba-lubba-dub-dub” is the same in all languages.

Alpha footage from Japanese indie developer Nussoft’s upcoming game Kani no Kenka aka FightCrab aka The Fight Game You Didn’t Know You Needed. Watch in awe as two sword-wielding crustaceans battle it out to the death. Loser goes to Red Lobster.

The latest game from Deadly Premonition creator SWERY, and developer Yukio Futatsugi of Phantom Dust fame looks like a trip. It’s a daily life sim RPG in which you play a journalist who must pay off a massive debt, and along the way uncover the secrets of a small UK town.

Tote your fish, veggies, and rice around in your favorite Star Wars characters. These stackable bento sets come in R2-D2, BB-8, Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, and C-3PO versions, and are made from BPA-free plastics. The bowls are dishwasher and microwave safe.

NHK Blends presents a wonderfully mellowed-out version of AC/DC’s 1980 rock classic Back in Black, performed on traditional Japanese instruments, including the shime-daiko, shakuhachi, and koto with a few owl calls thrown in for good measure.

Card Experiment teamed up with illustrator ToK to create a beautiful deck of playing cards inspired by traditional Japanese tattoo art. The precise and dramatic artwork incorporates stylistic elements of ukiyo-e, blending images of mythical creatures and nature.

Techmoan looks at another strange and wonderful bit of retro technology. This time, he unboxes a 40-year-old gadget from Japan that does something we’ve never seen before. We won’t spoil the surprise, and will let you discover it for yourself.

In this skit from the Japanese variety show Gaki Tsuka, the cast dress up as Power Ranger-style heroes. But they each have to wear different colored costumes purely by chance. It gets hilarious, then boring, then annoying, and back again. It’s the human equivalent of MasterMind.

Designer Michael “DinoMike” Buxton combines two iconic Japanese images, as Gojira himself stomps through the Great Wave off Kanagawa. Available on t-shirts, notebooks, wall art, phone cases, tote bags, throw pillows, and even an awesome duvet cover for your bed.

A series of Japanese commercials from 2009 we stumbled across on YouTube, featuring a woman singing about hot peppers as the Peanuts gang jams out in the background. It’s almost as catchy as the Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen song. Dance remix here.

We’re currently in Tokyo for a few days, so there’s no better time to feature this hilarious bit of old Japanese TV in which they launched a series of car and truck tires down a ski ramp to see how far they would fly. We’re pretty sure this is how Katamari Damacy started.

Who knew mixing mud and water could result in such beautiful and shiny spheres? We sure didn’t. Artist Bruce Gardner shows a brief glimpse into the Japanese tradition of Hikaru Dorodango, in this short film by P2 Photography. Learn to DIY on Instructables.

George Kareman is looking for an acting gig. Unfortunately, all of his work has been in Japanese commercials, so he might have a bit of trouble selling his skills here in the states. Yes, we know this is probably fake, but it’s still funny.

It starts out like any other slightly awkward educational video, but this clip descends into utter madness the longer and longer you stick around through its 3-minute lesson. We’re using that “Galaxy” move the next time we eat out.

If Furbies didn’t freak you out enough already, they will after you watch this hilariously warped take on Japanese commercials from YouTuber MikeDiva. You have been warned.