Too cool for school

The mayor of Aso City stuns 20 year olds at Coming of Age Day (Seiji no Hi) by singing and pantomiming a hit from AKB48, the 4 dozen popular faux school girls who are Japan’s most popular band and advertising monster. The mayor’s singing and emoting strike a stern warning to the young things to never become adults. Poor 20 year olds of Aso City! (Source: Neojapanisme)

I had a much better time greeting and mingling with the 20 year olds celebrating today outside Nakano Sun Plaza. The girls were a riot of faux rabbit and pink/orange/red kimonos and complicated updoes. Many of the boys fried their hair and en-bigg-ed it, paired with shiny suits evocative of men’s host clubs and mid-tier salary men and occasionally traditional men’s kimonos, one in shocking pink. More pix soon. Here’s last years’ photos!

I also met a very handsome Korean photographer, and realized I wasn’t the only one who came to gawk!

SMAP should “aid” themselves & disappear

This SMAP poster has been up for a while now. The faux “aid” message and the band-aid graphic are as insipid and uninspired as Japan’s oldest boy band. I wonder why these aging botoxed no-talents keep performing even when they show no interest in being on stage or with each other. In all those years of shilling cup of noodles, magazines, CDs, variety shows, etc, didn’t they make enough yen to enjoy retirement or a new career? Or have they made a life-time pact with Johnny-san, the evil boy band producer? Seeing them triggers an involuntary cringe each time.

Foo Fighters promote tour w/ faux gay porn shower video

NSFW because lot of ass.

One Life to Live, Bringing BL to Amerika?!

開けましておめでとうございます！

One Life to Live brought the first gay male sex scene to daytime TV in Amerika. I love how it begins and ends with candles and fireworks. This female-focused gay love makes me wonder if the US has finally realized that ladies might enjoy watching gay male sex as much as straight guys enjoy faux lesbianism. This would represent a belated import from Asia, bringing BL or boys love across the Pacific. Now they just need better music for love-making!

Here’s the video:

And here’s what my favorite blogger Bryan Boy wrote in his Twitter stream: “I bet housewives all across america were fingering themselves to this.”

Underwear obsession

Just when I feel jaded about the blogosphere, I discovered a new blog InvisibleGaijin that mixes wicked satire and faux news with a focus on men’s fashion. Swoon.

The above is from InvisibleGaijin’s story about Japanese underwear, which connects undergarment obsession with recession and soshoku danshi (herbivores), and in part reads:

Self-professed gaijin with love/hate relationship with Japan, Fuzakeruna Konogaijinme, commented, “Japanese salarymen always turn inwards in recessions, peering into their navels in hopes no one notices they don’t do shit at work. Underwear that makes your balls feel good always sells.”

(Image from www.pants-ya.com. Almost NSFW).

Faux protest in Ginza

A friend and I were walking in Ginza, and were startled to see what looked like a protest approaching us. Had we ever seen a group parading in the auto traffic lanes of a major street? What could they be advocating? Despite the police accompaniment, this turned out to be a faux march promoting sake. Kind of lame.

Uncanny Nakano

This stairway in Nakano is magical and enticing. So many faux finishes, so many mysteries. The more you look around Nakano, the more detail you see.