If you’ve attended an anime, videogame or comic convention in the last two months, chances are you’ve seen someone wearing a Spirit Hood. The irresistibly soft and stylish nature of the Spirit Hood locks and pulls attention in like a tractor beam on a Star Destroyer. Not to mention Spirit Hoods are sexy to boot. With that said, I am going to go on record and say that Spirit Hoods have officially crossed the moat, broken down the gate and are taking the geek, otaku and nerd nation by storm.

A few days prior to this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) I received a press release announcing MMORPG publisher/developer Nexon’s first foray into the the industry-only event. The release also gave mention to Spirit Hoods, and stated that Nexon would be handing them out regularly to booth visitors in effort to promote their forthcoming title, Vindictus. Now, truth be told, the first thing I though to myself after reading this release was “what the hell is a Spirit Hood?” However, I found my interest peaked and decided to do a little research. One Google search later and I found myself shooting off an email to set up an interview.

My efforts proved fruitful and I managed to catch up with Spirit Hoods co-founder, Alexander Mendeluk at E3 to talk Spirit Hoods, fashion and being wild at heart.

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As further proof that Japan is ready to turn over control of their country to either robots, cats or anything in cosplay, here’s this video of the Tamadensha, a train completely decorated in honor of Tama, a stationmaster cat at the Wakayama Prefecture. The train is completely draped in the image of the cat and its so cute you’ll want to squee. The cat has been attracting tourists for years and receiving bigger and bigger honors, from parties to full regalia ceremonies. At this rate Tama will be prime minister of Japan in a couple of years.

[Japan Probe]