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Maybe now I can finally beat Air Man! These are Capcom-approved and marketed energy drinks being made available in Japanese konbinis all over the nation to celebrate the release of Mega Man 9, selling for a measly 137 yen each.

Between this and the Final Fantasy potions and Nuke Cola, what’s next? Maybe Masaya could release a Cho Aniki-themed protein shake (now that whole sentence just sounded wrong).

[Destructoid / via Japanator]

Japan has invested billions of dollars into robotic research so that one day when its aging population reaches old age Mr. Roboto will care for them and all their needs. However up to this point few things  of value to the rest of the world had come from Japan’s robotics. Robotic nurses? Pfft, move on! The robotic barman is here!

This is Mr. Asahi and he can open more bottles of cold ones while keeping a sunny disposition than any human barman I’ve met. He can also pour pint after pint of beer without ever asking for a tip. On top of that he has a charming British accent that’s sure to go down well with the ladies.

Rock on Japan! Now you’re getting it!

[Tokyomango]

Do  you feel your gaming skills are lacking a little zest? Do you spend so many hours gaming and grinding on the latest franchise rehash that you simply cannot muster the time for a balanced meal? Then perhaps you should revaluate your life and priorities. Well, that or take these amazing, miracle health supplements for gamers!

That’s right, Japanese company Cyber Gadget has announced their newest products, Gemusapuri (Game Supplements). Two kinds of tablets set to help apathetic slobs passionate gamers achieve maximum potential without that pesky nutrition taking time from their precious gaming!

This marvel of Japanese science comes in two formulas: Gemusapuri Blueberry contains the mystic nutrients of the blueberry for prolonged gaming and Gemusapuri DHA contains the essential oils of fish to give you that extra mental prowess when playing intellectually taxing games or learning kanjis.

Each pack comes with 30 pills, enough for 15 days of gaming boost. All of this for the low low price of 800 Yen (around $7.50 USD). Now you can finally live on cheetos and mountain dew while your enemies waste precious time with salads and silly stuff like that.

[Cyber Gadget / Via Japan Sugoi]

Oh boy this went completely under my radar. Remember the Mario Theme Night at the Scrollbar, where they made a bunch of cocktails and shots based on the Mario universe? Well at the beginning of may they went back to work on their next game theme event, a Final Fantasy Night! They produced a total of 16 drinks, 5 shots and 11 cocktails. Names range from the Cactuar to the Summoner Yuna and even the Liberi Fatali.

But of all them my favorite has to be the Corrupted Live Stream, seen above. Its recipe? You pour a ‘One-Winged Angel’ shot into a ‘Live Stream’ cocktail, it looks awesome!

[Scrollbar]

Nachimir, an instructables user, made these awesome 1up cupcakes with green frosting and white chocolate. You can check out the easy instructions on how to make your own 1up cupcakes here. Be advised though that excessive consumption will probably lead to death by diabetes before immortality.

[Instructables]

Students of Denmark’s IT University of Copenhagen recently threw a Mario-themed night at Scrollbar, their local bar. Many of them being Video Game majors they went as far as to create 10 drinks based off the Mario universe. Some of them cocktails, others shots but all of them look pretty cool, like the Bowser cocktail pictured above of which they say:

Bowser

Fiery red-yellow gradient drink… with some bite!
2 cl Tequila
1 cl Coin-treau
5 cl Orange juice
1 cl Grenadine

Directions:
Stir first three ingredients, then drop in Grenadine for the gradient effect. Serve with ice in tall glass.

Garnish:
Blood orange wedge

Notes:
Modified ‘Tequila Sunrise’ - the Cointreau adds a nice twist.

Do geeks know how to party or what? Check out the link of their whole menu, see more pictures of the event and even download some stencils to make your own Mario decorations.

[Scrollbar]

The government in the Neatherlands have recently banned Magic Mushrooms, including the famous Amanita Muscaria, which bears a striking resemblance to the super mushrooms of the Mario universe, after a 17 year old french girl jumped off a building after consuming one of these. And this isn’t the first time someone jumped off a building after eating one of these. Perhaps they thought they had an extra life?

[Boing Boing]

I’d love to go to Japan one day. There’s a lot to worry about when going to Japan. The language barrier, customs, travel expenses where to go and what do to once you get there. But what would worry me more than anything would have to be the food. Japan is a country that is big on seafood. Me? I hate the stuff. I’ve disliked seafood for as long as I can remember. I can handle a tin of tuna, but that’s as far as my seafood endeavors are willing to go. That fish in the picture above was served to a couple of guests on SMAP’s cook / chat hybrid show Bistro SMAP. If somebody placed that fish in front of me I don’t know what I do. I know what I wouldn’t do though and that’s eat it. It reminds me of a moment in The Simpsons when Mister Burns was made to eat Blinky, an orange 3 eyed fish. *shudders*

So how about you. What foods do you dislike and avoid like the plague?

The Final Fantasy Potion energy drink was a lot of things, it was awesome, inventive, collectible and pretty. But it was not tasty. In fact that became famous for its foul taste, furthering the old adage that says good medicine cant taste good. So for a drink that could, allegedly bring you back from the brink of death, the taste was pretty damn appropriate! Besides, it was the bottle that mattered. It came, it went and fans were satisfied. Well now its making a comeback, a much inappropriate comeback.

You see, Japan is getting ready for a re-release of the final fantasy potion drink, only this time, the neat bottle is gone and in its place comes aluminum cans with faces of the characters. Not very interesting, i must say. So all we have left now are a bunch of cans of a foul tasting drink. I don’t know about you but I’ll keep on waiting for the next cool bottle release, which may be a Phoenix Down, and that stuff ought to taste down right disgusting!

[Japan Probe]

National Console Support just started taking preorders for these adorable Chocobo mugs, they are $18 USD each but damn! Just Imagine taking your morning cup of bitter or chocolate out of these. Suddenly the Chocobo theme starts playing and your morning instantly lights up! Then you get to the garage and find that your car is now a Chocobo and the sky is multicolored and then the police finds your corpse in your kitchen 3 days later next to your chocobo mug, but at least it was worth it!

[NCSX / Via Kotaku ]

Today the guys over at The Tanooki posted a couple of Nintendo cake pans, the ones you see above. Which are awesome in their own right, because seriously, who hasn’t thought of eating Pikachu?

But I digress, I was ecstatic when I saw the Mario one because my 5th birthday had that very Mario cake. Yes, even with the popularity of making game related cakes nowadays I had one back then. I’m that hardcore, bitches! And I ask you, just how hardcore are you?

[The Tanooki]

The good folks at J-List just tipped us about this new Japanese snack which claims to make you smarter. Unlike energy beverages, which are ridden with caffeine and taurine and whatnot, Shigekix Aha! Brain is a delicious sour hard candy laced with BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) which supposedly go directly into your brain and make you have an Aha! moment. And here I thought the secret to academic excellence in Japan was hard studying and discipline, silly me.

I really doubt this actually works but if it does I need to get me some of this. What good is it to be awake all through the night with caffeine if every minute that passes my thoughts make less sense? Some of this candy, lots of caffeine and I’ll be invincible!

[J-list]

You might remember reading about the Wii Sports Experiment a couple of months ago, where a fellow exercised by playing Wii Sports for 6 weeks. The experiment had mildly impressive results as it was a short term experiment and only 9 pounds were lost. While interesting it didn’t really prove that the Wii was a viable long term fitness tool, specially since the subject wasn’t exactly overweight to begin with.

Enter the Wii Weight Loss Plan, J.R.’s plan to exercise by playing the Wii for one whole year. His goal is to lose 80 pounds in this time, which frankly, is a lot more realistic need for overweight fellows. But playing the Wii isn’t the only thing he’s doing, oh no, that would be much to simple for a geek. J.R. says:

I know that I need to change my lifestyle and stay motivated. I know that I need to eat healthier and I know that I need to be more active in my lifestyle, but playing the Wii and keeping up on this website are going to be my biggest motivating factors on reaching my goal.

He’s already 4 weeks into it and 12 pounds lighter, beating the Wii Sports Experiment by a large margin. Its always refreshing when you see someone being affected positively by video games, in a world where gaming is an stigma news like this get me all fuzzy and warm. Good luck J.R.!

[Wii Weight Loss Plan]

What do McDonald’s, giant Parapa the Rapper, a bunch of Pipo Monkeys, Mona the cat and a giant Chocobo have in common? In an ideal world, nothing. But this isn’t an ideal world, and this is Dark Diamond, so surely this must, somehow, make sense.

Well it does, its a Japanese TV ad for McDonald’s, trippy stuff.

This must have been what Kutaragi meant when he said 4D gaming, damn, I’m glad I dont have a PS3. 

Japan to the Max via Japan Probe brings us this quite funny music video of Japanese snacks, Japanese snacks in METAL. Its a very cool concept, at the beginning he nails the Rammstein sound spot on but later in the video its just not very metal anymore. Still, it made me laugh, and at this hour of the morning, that’s good enough for me.

[Japan to the Max / Via Joystiq]