What is Pink Lady? In Japan they are remembered for a string of pop hits in the 70s, but Americans might remember them either from their disco single "Kiss In The Dark" or from an attempt to sell them to the US market in 1980 via a short-lived NBC variety show Pink Lady & Jeff (TVParty summary) with comedian Jeff Altman. (Opening). The show featured their Japanese hits, UFO, MONSTER (a bit more rock and roll), and SOS along with US hits like Boogie Wonderland, McArthur Park and the occasional guest star. (with encore) Also, Roy Orbison. Sadly, the show failed to break out and the two returned to Japan for a series of farewell concerts and retrospectives. Much, much more available at this charmingly retro, utterly exhaustive fan site devoted to them. Or just read the recaps. [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on Dec 11, 2011 - 33 comments

Sure, we all know that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is broadcast every year in the US as a Christmas tradition, and that Sweden basically closes every year from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on December 24th to watch Donald Duck, but what about other countries? [more inside]
posted by DoctorFedora on Dec 22, 2009 - 33 comments

Quentin Tarantino is the latest American celebrity to be featured in a TV commercial for SoftBank Mobile Corp, a Japanese telecommunications and media company. Tarantino stars as “Uncle Tara-chan” in the bizarre and very popular “White family” commercial series. The Whites consist of the "Mom", the daughter “Me” (a Softbank shop saleswoman played by popular singer/actress Aya Ueto), the "Older Brother" (played by African American actor Dante Carter), and the father, Otosan, who happens to be a white Hokkaido-ken dog named Kaikun.
posted by mrducts on Dec 10, 2009 - 28 comments

Japan -- Media Environment Open; State Looms Large (August 2009, PDF) [more inside]
posted by armage on Sep 1, 2009 - 8 comments

Playboy. Cowboy. Mandom. The late Charles Bronson and his perfect chest, in one of his finest early pre-Death-Wish roles. And look out for Percy Helton. Here's a shorter version with more horse. Via here. [more inside]
posted by brownpau on Sep 20, 2007 - 63 comments

TV in Japan. A hyper representation of what airs, or has aired on Japanese TV. Ranging from action packed to truly awesome (and from monkeys to ninjas), set your eyes to "dazzled" and brain to "frazzled".
posted by myopicman on Apr 13, 2007 - 7 comments

In February 2003 Jeremy Shafer, BARF leader, performance artist, smartass, and all-around Origami Wunderkind was invited to participate in a competitive Origami championship on the Japanese reality television show TV Champion - here is his story [.pdf file].
posted by anastasiav on Mar 31, 2004 - 3 comments

Domo-kun! Domokun is "a small brown open-mouthed monster hatched from an egg who lives with a wise old rabbit underground." In Japan, he's the mascot of the NHK BS2 channel and is the star of a series of stop-motion shorts (100MB .mov), the fun and warmth of which aren't lost in translation. In the western world, Domokun is better known as the monster chasing that cute little kitty.
posted by adrianhon on Oct 11, 2003 - 13 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

"Giant Robot attack!" as spoken by the kid every kid wanted to be, Johnny Sokko. If you haven't already seen "'Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot" aka "Giant Robot", go now and buy it on VHS or DVD.
posted by riffola on Feb 14, 2003 - 7 comments

Jiro Changey Kikaida! Words instantly recognizable to any Hawaii kid in the 70s. Think Power Rangers, but adusted for a low yen exchange rate. The local Japanese TV station is rebroadcasting the show on Sundays. We used to worship this kind and powerful robotronic guy. Trailers, masks and lyrics, it's all here, just as I remembered it.
posted by Tacodog on Apr 17, 2002 - 2 comments