J's Chimes: Failed Toys...

One of the many reason why toys shipped to Singapore has to be checked other than its lead content and whether it should be safe for kids to play with... However, some toys really are extreme in a sense that they might look innocent but turns out to be really wrong...


Does that reminds you of the Nazi from world war 2? This toy would definitely cause some stir among people...


Just as the package said... But why the heck is it for Ages 5 and up?


Does that look like something that adults would think of? And best of all, it glows too...


Innocent but deadly... Imagine having kids to fiddle with that thing while playing with this cuddly toy... With a bonus to squirt too!


The best ultimate failed toy... Ok, so the toy is named Zorro but why the heck is Batman in the picture? I can explain the horse by the side but this is ridiculous... What's worse is that the action figure is Spiderman instead... Epic win!

J's Chimes: Gantz In Singapore...

It is strange that the live action movie Gantz is still not yet showing in Singapore due to the fact that it has already been out for quite a long time. Heard that Malayysia is already showing it i the movie screens on the 7th April. However though the movie does have some critics and such because of the massive censorship that that might added in. Not to mention the extreme gore content and violence in the manga. Whether or not it is truly devoted to the manga no one is ever sure unless we watch it. But seriously Gantz has already gone to greater heights and change of storyline in the latest episode of the manga series... This movie is just the beginning of a much more terrible story later on....

J's Chimes: To Japan Or Bust...

With all that's happening right now in Japan, it is truly a tough decision for people like us not to go to Japan. Have always dream of going there since my childhood days but it seems like it's not possible now. The question now is would you still go to Japan even after this incident? Yup, I would probably be going there in a few years time and hopefully the situation gets better soon... Let's pray that Japan will be able to stand up again after this incident.

J's Chimes: Learn To Count In Japanese By Rapping

A nice way of learning Japanese is by doing something really whacky to keep it stuck to your brain. One such is by rapping some seriously lame song with numbers as the lyrics in Japanese. Even so it does help you to remember a couple of it. Anyway you can learn a bit of Japanese from this website here which created this video. Well it does help a bit but at least they're teaching you Japanese for free...

J's Chimes: SOYC Cosplay 2011

Finally managed to skim through the photographs and uploaded it for viewing... Anyway the Start Of Year C ended yesterday and I must say it's a lot better than last year given the fact that it's much bigger and such. Having said that, here are the photographs taken at the event. However do be warned that some of the photographs are of extremely low quality as photobucket resizes the photos even more somehow... Anyway you can view the photos by clicking here or from the tab bar on the right.

J's Chimes: Fukushima Now A Ghost Town...

The bustling city of Fukushima has now become nothing more of a ghost town since the incident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. One would wonder how long will this land be free of radiation again after the cleanup but it would probably be years and maybe decades for it to happen. Past Chernobyl photos have given us an idea of what really happens when the town is contaminated with radiation. Thus it is saddening that such would also be happening to Fukushima too...


The empty road of a town in Fukushima... Cables run above houses that once serve the town's power supply...


Stores and shophouses are shut down and abandon... Eerily quiet at this time of day...


Abandon household items and kitchen... Looks like people evacuated in a rush and leave unnecessary items behind.


What used to be a sink has now been long forgotten and be un-use for many years to come...


Furniture in disarray and stuffs lying on the floor... Shows pretty much panic from the owners who's in a rush to evacuate the place...


A lonely stool in the middle of town... Looks like the vending machine will not be use for a long time now...


Poultry and farms are abandoned... Livestock are gone and would probably be un-salvageable anymore...

J's Chimes: Weird Flavors Of Kit Kat

Only in Japan will you be able to see common products in not so common flavors in stores. Take this watermelon flavored Kit Kat for example... The only Kit Kat we would commonly see in our stores are chocolate and also strawberry flavor.


However the flavors doesn't stop there and even weirder flavors are introduced instead... Heard of baked potato flavored Kit Kat?


The flavors didn't end just yet... There's also a Soy Sauce flavored Kit Kat... Oh man this is seriously weird... Would you eat Kit Kat with a seasoning used in food?


For coffee lovers, there's even an Espresso Kit Kat... The funny thing is why isn't it available in Singapore...


There's even Kit Kat with Read Bean Soup flavor...

J's Chimes: S.O.Y.C. Cosplay Event

The 'Start Of Year' cosplay event continues again this coming Saturday at the Ngee Ann Poly Convention Center. Due to certain reason this event has been pushed back to April this year but it seems like this event has become larger than ever with more bigger sponsors to boot. Am pondering still whether to go or not... Regardless, the entry price would be $3 for pre-orders and $5 for door entries. Find out more in their website here.

J's Chimes: Now You're Playing With Power...

Old advertisements for the classic console game Nintendo sure looks kinda weird and exaggerated thanks to the advancement of technology now. looking back, such commercials are what's cool from before but may look a bit lame for the audiences and customers now that the next generation consoles are dominating the markets. However those are the days where games are of originality and style unlike modern games now that copies one another and targeting what the customers really want and I would believe most of it are action pack games...


Imagine bringing this back to the past... It will surely dominate the classic Nintendo many times over... Trule a big gap in power, graphics and whatever may be for the gameplay....

J's Chimes: New Animes Coming Near You...

It's already that time of the year again... Yup, you guessed it... New animes are coming up this Summer from March to May. Plenty of nice animes that am so eager to watch and look forward to including Kampfer, Dog Days, Hanasaku Iroha, etc, etc. This season is really gonna be a blast just like last Autumn (HOTD). Click for a larger picture of this coming season anime.


In fact I do believe that this season's animes are probably the most... Probably due to the upcoming manga ban? So I guess may be producing all they can now before certain stuff takes effect... For example Seikon No Qwaser no doubt. Plentt of OVAs, specials and such are also airing coming season... Looking forward to a great new season of animes coming near you...

J's Chimes: Fractale's Fail Tale...

Anime Fractale ended abruptly with only 11 episodes and a cliffhanging finale that keeps you wondering whether everything's all for naught. Even at the beginning, there were criticism being that Nessa and Phyrne's hair color are supposedly to be purple instead of brown as depict in the manga...


And why are things all for naught? It's be told that the world as we know it is controlled by the fractale system as constructed by 'The Gods' and is crumpling away without rebooting the system. The temple guardians are supposed to reboot the system every thousand years and thus created the key and that's where Phyrne and Nessa comes in.


However some rebels who wanted freedom from the Fractale's control are fighting and preventing such from happening... However in the end, the system is rebooted and many died for naught with nothing being done except to help in getting back Clain's lover... Strange enough but that's what's happening... Well the fact that an end with both main characters back together again is good but somehow or rather the story is blurry...

J's Chimes: April Fools...

Alodia Gosiengfiao, a famous cosplayer in Philippines had us all fooled when she said that she's gonna quit cosplaying soon because of studies... And I so thought that she's really gonna quit and such but it turns out to be an April Fools Day joke... darn, can't believe am pwned by someone I don't know as a friend instead of my other friends...


What she really means going back to school was actually cosplaying in Haruhi's school uniform to promote the Suzumiya Haruhi anime in Animax instead... Well, that's one way to advertise something... In any case, Alodia is back in cosplay thank goodness...

J's Chimes: Metal Gear Casts...

I didn't know Metal Gear Solid had this much characters in all the episodes until I found this picture drawn by some fans (Click to view a larger picture of it). Are you able to name them all? I didn't really get to play MGS5 and some of its latest series so probably won't be able to.

J's Chimes: Weird Signboards...

Quite often, English is very much misuse in Japan and such has created many hilarious moments for tourists. One such example would be 'Beef Bawl' which supposedly be 'Beef Bowl' instead... The definition for Bawl is to shout or cry. To do that to beef is a little off...


Ok... So 'uncaged' animals are not allowed (Err, is there such a word?)... But what about uncaged bottles, cans and plastic bottles?


Sometimes I wonder what is this trying to advertise or is it a motto or short description for a shop? Wonder what does it have to do with the marshmallow...


Can you really enjoy life with a new socks style? Perhaps tutuanna can help...


I don't know what this shop is trying to say but probably something to do with pink...


A park for foots! Probably a massage parlor but this still gets to me...