The rising popularity of anime and manga has given birth to a fervent devotion to these media formats: the otaku (オタク), Japanese slang for an obsessive person, more commonly known as a geek. Covered within are different aspects of the otaku culture, from figures and toys to odd promotional items and cosplay.
Counterfeit and bootleg products is probably the largest problems plaguing the anime and manga industry. Is it possible to tell what is legitimate and what isn’t? DVD copying technology, along with high quality laser printers have become increasingly more affordable …
It’s been a while, but with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the series has seen a resurgence in popularity and that means more merchandise! Hot Topic has three new t-shirts to show your love of the series. You can buy them in …
Square Enix has released a new line of their Play Arts figures from Final Fantasy IX. Even though the Japanese gaming company is expanding their collection of Final Fantasy VII or Kingdom Hearts figures, it’s quite nice to see the …
For the Naruto fan, Hot Topic is now selling the Shippuden version of the blond ninja’s jacket. Ripple Junction, manufacturer of tees based on anime, cartoons and movies, has faithfully recreated the jacket using a blend of black and orange …
Most anime series have loads of merchandise featuring images of the main characters or logos and replicas of items used in those series. There’s a lot of apparel from some of the more popular series; Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Bleach, …
Domo (better known as Domo-kun) is coming to a 7-Eleven near you! The familiar meatloaf-shaped mascot of Japan’s NHK network will be part of a six week campaign featuring an apple flavoured Slurpee in Domo-esque style cup. Dark Horse Comics …
I think this is a cool shirt, just because Hitsugaya is awesome. Nice colour and Hitsugaya has an awesome pose on the lower right side. There’s also a Bleach logo on the left sleeve too. I don’t think it’s on …
I finally got the Bleach skate shoes I ordered a few weeks ago. Made by TUK, the shoes are black and white, with a skull print on the sides and a stitched blue, white and red stripes. There’s also another …
It’s no surprise that popular anime series have inspired various styles of merchandise, but skateboards? Yes, there are boards out on the street with a ninja design or a monster. Viz Media had 400 custom-made, limited edition Naruto skateboard decks …
