THE BEST Japanese

Final Fantasy XIII’s ridiculously detailed Shiva Bike looks even hotter in real life with this 21″ transforming modelM by Kotobukiya; it includes two figures that combine into a single bike.

Bugei’s Lion Dog is an epic Koshirae set with epic origins; inspired by Japan’s golden age of swords, it’s made by modern sword art teachers, polishers, and the renowned Hanwei forge.

John Huang’s Stop Motion Gundam videos are mobile suit mayhem at its finest; he not only uses anime fighting styles and special effects, but mixes in Dragon Ball and Star Wars.

Mamoru Oshii’s anime classic goes Blu-ray with Ghost in the Shell 2.0, which features new CG scenes and a remixed soundtrack; purists, breathe easy: the original version is also included.

You’ll need to speak Japanese to understand this Overview trailer for Resonance of Fate, but a video is worth a thousand words (and bullets): gameplay starts about 3 minutes in.

Proof that the Japanese have embraced capitalism more thoroughly (and happily) than anyone else: these vanity barcodes are made by d-barcode and are fully scannable.

Akira fans are in for a treat with faithfully rendered 1:6 scale models of Kaneda and his bike; we’re most impressed by the latter, which sports LED lights, sound effects, and a working suspension.

The latest on our list of over-the-top costumes literally towers over us: this animatronic Gomora suit stands 10 ft. tall and 20 ft. long, moves its head and arms, shrieks, and spits vapor.

Launching 11/5 in Japan for the Playstation 3, 3D Dot Game Heroes has us giddy for its 3D voxel approach to retro-style, 2D graphics; no word yet on an international release date.

While Akira Kurosawa’s later works are an acquired taste, there’s no denying how badass Rashomon and Seven Samurai were; AK 100 collects all 25 films of his career on 25 DVDs.

The Japanese own the giant lizard scene now, but their love affair with monsters goes way back: these Folk Monster Anatomy posters explore their grisly (and somewhat tasty) innards.

After dissecting LEGOs, Dunnys and even Gummy Bears, Jason Freeny takes his scalpel to Domo: we’re still not sure if the fur and teeth are scarier or the blood and guts are.

Kobe’s 59 foot tall Gigantor is finished; costing $1.5 million and weighing 50 tons, it’s Japan’s way of saying “In your face!” to the 1995 quake as it also serves as the city’s guardian angel.

It not only looks like Aliens’ exoskeleton, but the Power Loader suit works like one too: known as a dual-arm power amplification robot, it’s able to lift 220 lbs with ease. Thanks, Sonic!

The initial teaser was too short to feature, but this storyline trailer for Front Mission Evolved fleshes out the plot with new cinematics and gives us a sneak peek at gameplay.

Even if you don’t understand Japanese, you’d really have to be soulless to not get excited by this 7 minute Final Fantasy XIII trailer; it’s stuffed to the gills cinematics and gameplay.

This TGS 09 trailer for Final Fantasy XIV starts off pretty somber, right up until 1:40 when Armageddon hits for 20 glorious seconds; we hope some of this is actual gameplay.

Available 9/30 on the PS3, Katamari Forever gives the Prince new moves such as the Prince Hop and King Shock while players can use cel-shading, wood grain and other graphic filters.

Like a scary-fast robotic Allen Iverson, the University of Tokyo’s High-Speed Robot Hand makes dribbling, throwing, catching, and other human activities look like child’s play.

Boxer briefs go bushido with Samurai Underwear: each design is named after famous shogun or samurai, and is breathable, moisture wicking, and itch free; fiefdom not included.

Issued to Japanese police, the Doryu 2-16 Pistol Camera features a grip with trigger that gives new meaning to shooting pictures; it’s a 16 mm movie camera with Nikkor 25mm lens.

Translation Party shows the meaning behind lost in the translation: it repeatedly takes a phrase between Japanese and English, with often unintentionally humorous results. Thanks, Scott!

Munching on brains is hard work: employees at Japan’s Ultimate Horror Maze are seen above in a Zombie Boot Camp, after reports that they were no longer scary enough.

Fresh from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, these Play Arts figures give Ed, Al and Mustang a distinctly more grown-up look than we’re used to, but it works: they come out 10/09.

Evangelion 1.0 finally makes it to the US July 17th at 77 theaters; it’s part of a four-movie arc that rebuilds the original anime with notably improved animation and faster-pacing.

Insanely complex but utterly inspirational as well, Japanese band Sour creates an amazing webcam-based music video for “Hibi no Neiro” using their fans from around the world.