TOKYOMANGO

Amazing anime-themed lunch boxes

I came across this web site full of amazing lunch boxes featuring anime characters while looking for inspiration for a Halloween costume.

Link (Japanese)

Aum Shinrikyo recruitment anime features levitating Asahara character

I remember seeing screen captures of this anime around the time when Aum Shinrikyo gassed the Tokyo subways, but never actually watched the full episode. Here it is, in its full glory.

By the way, the best book about the Aum attacks--and one of the best ways to understand the dark underbelly of the Japanese psyche--is Underground by Haruki Murakami.

via (Thanks, Jason!)

Post-earthquake desktop wallpaper designs from Akira Toriyama

Manga artist Akira Toriyama--who created Dragon Ball and Arale-chan--designed this wallpaper that encourages all the victims of the Sendai earthquake to never lose hope and to keep going.

Get it here.

(Thanks, Ichiru!)

Spanish Arale-chan clip features pink jumping poop

I just discovered this lovely little clip of a Spanish rendition of Arale-chan. It's not the original and I have no idea what they're saying, but I enjoy the fact that it features a pink jumping poop.

A couple of years ago in my MangoBot column on io9.com, I wrote this little explanation of Arale-chan and the wonderful things I learned about being human from this funny little robot girl:

Arale Norimaki Birth year: 1980 Who she is: A purple-haired, near-sighted girl robot built by a kooky professor named Norimaki Senbei (seaweed-wrapped rice cracker) to resemble a real 13 year old human girl. She was created by Akira Toriyama, the same genius manga artist who wrote the Dragon Ball series. Lessons learned: 1. To be fun and spontaneous. 2. To be honest about your compulsions. 3. That you can be female + completely non-sexual + still be the most powerful humanoid in the entire world. 4. How to launch pumpkin cannons and split the earth in half with one punch. 5. The art of the Japanese poop joke. (Even today, my favorite way to pick up my dog's poop is by poking it with a stick and then chucking it into the bushes or a trash can.)

Read Four anime robots that made me more human on io9

Viral gift-giving trend brings school bags, toys to orphans from fictional Tiger Mask character

A mysterious and awesome charity trend is taking place all over Japan right now: anonymous donors are gifting expensive school bags and toys at orphanages under the name Date Naoto. Date Naoto is actually a fictional character from the anime Tiger Mask; in the story, the character himself is an orphan-turned-professional wrestler who donates money to the orphanage he grew up in.

There have been more than 15 of these gifts from Date Naoto gifts so far; most of the donors are reported to be men in their 60s.

This is either a great act of anonymous viral charity or an elaborate marketing scheme by the creators of Tiger Mask. Either way, it's a creative mode of giving and has brought a warm fuzzy feeling to the daily news. Also, how awesome is it that the latest catching trend is one of giving, not of buying?

(Thanks, Mom and Kazu Y!)