Hello Kitty becomes Japan's ambassador to China. The little half-Japanese, half-English cat has become so globally recognisable that it is, perhaps, inevitable that the Japanese board of tourism has appointed her their official tourism ambassador to China and Hong Kong. This is not the first time the world has looked to Hello Kitty to perform an ambassadorial role; she has been United States children's ambassador for Unicef since 1983. [more inside]
posted by infini on May 25, 2008 - 18 comments

Anime Music Videos. Yet another remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the competitive perfectionists, though, come well lipsynched, action packed, meta-mashuped, and occasionally just filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some Daft Punk, club, and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill on May 28, 2007 - 22 comments

Happy birthday Astroboy - Born on April 7, 2003. Oh how the future has dissapointed; why don't we have flying juvenile robots to protect us from evil? All we have is kitch T-shirts. The history and episode guide to Astroboy, and lots more information on this Japanese cartoon favourite.
posted by Jimbob on Apr 6, 2003 - 14 comments

Astroboy! Get out your red rocket boots and laser shooting behind. Sony is planning to bring the cult superhero/wonderboy to the screen in 2004 in computer-generated glory. Will the film feature Astro's evil brother Atlas, or Astro's slightly unnerving robotic parents?
posted by phatboy on Dec 10, 2001 - 6 comments