For the eighth year running, Pokémon fans can treat their taste buds to sweet delights themed after the beloved franchise. Mister Donut has revealed the latest designs and merchandise for its upcoming annual collaboration, with the fifth-generation Foongus coming in as the featured creature alongside mascot Pikachu.

The collaboration will launch on 5 November in Japan, accompanied by the catchphrase “tamage ta, which translates roughly to “it’s amazing!”, and is a play on the critter’s Japanese name, Tamagatake. The Grass/Poison-type debuted in Pokémon Black & White, and follows in the footsteps of 2020’s Chansey, Eevee (2021), Jigglypuff and Snow Pikachu (2022), Psyduck (2023), and Diglett (2024) as the headliner.

Here’s the full lineup of the menu offerings:

• Fluffy Pikachu Donut (¥341 / S$2.90): a fluffy yeast doughnut filled with whipped cream and topped with custard-flavored flakes and chocolate crunch.
• Amazing Tamagetake Donut (¥341 / S$2.90): a cake doughnut coated with white chocolate and strawberry chocolate, sitting on top of a whipped cream-filled choux pastry glazed in white chocolate.
• Crunchy Pikachu Tail Donut (¥264 / S$2.25): choux pastry coated in white chocolate and yellow crunchy toppings and a pick (not edible) Pikachu tail decoration.
• Amazing Mimikkyu Chocolate Donut (¥231 / S$1.97): a chocolate cake doughnut, filled with custard and whipped cream, and served in a special Mimikyu-themed sleeve.
• Voltorb Donut White (¥226 / S$1.92): cake doughnut sandwiched with custard and whipped cream and covered in white chocolate.

Additionally, the Mister Donut and Pokémon tie-up will offer exclusive merchandise available through two special bundles — the regular goods set (¥2,114 / S$18) and the children’s set (¥1,100 / S$9.37). The former includes two doughnuts of your choice from the collection, one of the outlet’s flagship Pon de Ring doughnuts and your choice of blanket pattern, all wrapped in an original Pokémon paper bag.

As for the latter, the combo comes with one Pokémon doughnut, one Pon de Ring, and a 9cm-tall Pokémon glass packaged in an original paper bag.

The new Pokémon collaboration doughnuts will be available at Mister Donut outlets across Japan starting 5 November until late December, and the goods sets are up for grabs while supplies last.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post Bite Into Mister Donut X Pokémon Tie-Up With First Foongus Pastry appeared first on Geek Culture.

The final battle ignites for the Demon Slayer Corps, and it’s not going easy on the competition. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, the first film in a trilogy adapting the final arc of Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga, has smashed a domestic box office record in its first day, living up to high fan expectations.

The anime movie opened a whopping 1.7 billion yen (US$11.75 million), smashing the previous record held by…wait for it, 2020’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie – Infinity Train, which collected 1.2 billion yen in Japan during the same window. Per Deadline, estimates put its earnings over three days to be as high as 5.9 billion yen (US$39.7 million), and the biggest single-day IMAX haul of US$3 million — breaking yet another milestone in Japanese box office history.

The success hardly comes as a surprise, considering that its first main trailer registered more than 40 million views within 24 hours on official social media platforms. The numbers are only expected to climb over the next few weeks leading up to the film’s first wave of global rollouts in Thailand on 12 August. Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Pakistan will begin screenings on 14 August, followed by Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam (15 August), and the Philippines (20 August).

As for the remaining markets, here’s the full list of premiere dates:

• 11 September: Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean (Jamaica, Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao), Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland (Italian-speaking), Syria, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates
• 12 September: India, Mongolia, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Kenya, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Southern Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom
• 17 September: Belgium, France, French-speaking Africa, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French-speaking)
• 18 September: Moldova
• 25 September: Austria, Germany, Switzerland (German-speaking)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is set directly after the finale of the fourth anime season, when Muzan Kibutsuji (Toshihiko Seki / Greg Chun) traps Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae / Zach Aguliar) and his companions of the Demon Slayer Corps inside his fortress, the Infinity Castle, where a decisive battle between the Demon Slayers and Muzan’s subordinates, the Upper Moons, kicks off.

Animation studio ufotable returns to helm the project, which will be available in IMAX and in both Japanese with English subtitles, as well as in English dub. It marks the fourth movie in the lineup, but unlike the Swordsmith Village and Hashira Training compilation films, it serves as a feature-length multi-film adaptation like Mugen Train.

Released in 2020, Mugen Train proved to be a critical and commercial success even during the height of the pandemic. It grossed over US$507 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing pic of that year.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle’ Smashes Japan Box Office Opening Record appeared first on Geek Culture.

Kamehameha! It’s a wonder how Dragon Ball, one of the most beloved names in pop culture, hasn’t gotten an official store after all this time, but things will soon change. In celebration of the franchise’s 40th anniversary, Shueisha and Toei Animation have announced the opening of the first Dragon Ball store in the world later this year.

In celebration of the DRAGON BALL 40th Anniversary
Announcing the world's first "DRAGON BALL STORE"!
To open in Tokyo, fall of 2025https://t.co/OLlhraOE1s#DRAGONBALLSTORE #DragonBall40th #dragonball #ドラゴンボール pic.twitter.com/4UxsFxK8IJ

— DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL (@DB_official_en) July 13, 2025

The aptly-titled Dragon Ball Store is scheduled to launch in Tokyo, Japan, in the fall of 2025, featuring “must-buy” items for fans that include limited-edition goods available nowhere else. Other information, such as the merchandise lineup and its exact location, will be unveiled “shortly”.

The well-loved franchise joins JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure in welcoming a world’s first store, with the latter coming to the sixth floor of Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo later this month. Created by the late Akira Toriyama, the Dragon Ball manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1992 across 42 volumes.

The first half was adapted into a 153-episode anime in 1986, while Dragon Ball Z continued the story from 1989 to 1996. The series is considered to be the most iconic part of the franchise, bringing memorable arcs focusing on Saiyan, Frieza, Majin Buu, and more to life. To date, it has sold over 160 million copies in Japan and 260 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series to date.

Prior to Toriyama’s unfortunate passing, the industry legend was reported to be working on the Dragon Ball Super manga, which went on a semi-hiatus, and the Dragon Ball: Daima anime that aired last October.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post World’s First Official ‘Dragon Ball’ Store Goes Over 9,000 In Tokyo This Fall appeared first on Geek Culture.

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to online delivery, and American retailer Amazon has it down to a pat. The e-commerce juggernaut pioneered the two-day shipping model for its Prime subscribers, after all, and while it has seen some changes over the years, the swift turnaround continues to be its greatest asset, especially in larger countries with stretches of land to traverse.

Having built an identity around it, Amazon makes the process look easy. But there’s more to same-day deliveries than simply keeping an online inventory readily stocked – the smaller cogs of the machine have to fall into place and function like clockwork, from sorting out countless small items to packing them into shipping containers. To streamline and optimise workflows, the industry giant has embraced the use of robotics in its facilities around the world.

“Our aim is to eliminate the menial, the mundane, and the repetitive,” asserts Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, on the role of robots during Amazon’s Delivering the Future event held in Tokyo, Japan, and it’s been quite the journey. Starting with a single type of robot in 2012, the company’s fleet now includes various other models, and the recent rollout of its new DeepFleet artificial intelligence (AI) technology holds the promise of more to come. 

Seeing the science in action proves different from hearing about it, though. As part of the event, which also coincides with Amazon’s 25th anniversary in Japan, a tour of its Chiba Minato fulfilment centre (QCB4) – a large warehouse to store items and where customer orders are processed, packed, and shipped – was conducted for invited media, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the logistical process before a package arrives at the doorstep. 

Spanning 200,000 square metres, roughly the size of 140 football fields, the facility is currently the biggest robotised hub in the country, and most recently, welcomed Amazon’s one millionth robot. The start-to-finish encompasses three main phases: Inbound, which involves receiving, stowing, and picking; outbound, focusing on sorting and packing; and the Middle and Last Mile, covering delivery. 

It’s a busy hive of activity that begins from the Inbound deck. Here, products arrive directly from manufacturers and sellers to be stored in the fulfilment centre, after which an initial quality check ensures that they are correct, in the right quantity, and free of damage. Scanning is carried out to register them for storage, now unloaded and resting in containers that will be transported to the stow stations. 

This is where the automation kicks into high gear. Joining human staffers on the premises are roaming robots, attached to large yellow storage towers referred to as “pods”, that are guided by 2D barcodes on the ground. Nicknamed Proteus, these round Roomba vacuum-lookalikes can move autonomously, allowing them to detach or attach themselves to a pod as needed. There’s a lot of gliding, stopping, and pivoting, but never a collision, overseen by a sophisticated tracking system that keeps a log of where each item is at any given moment. What this translates to is a jumbled placement of orders on each shelf, arranged not by product type, but when they are next needed by a picker.

Pickers, like stowers, stand at individual stations with a barcode scanner in hand, ready to scan goods sent their way. To eliminate the hassle and time needed to locate the right order, the fulfilment centre uses a projected light beam to highlight its position in the pod, and the same works in reverse: a purple/pink illumination prohibits stowers from taking an item out of the container and placing it at a specific slot due to various reasons, such as safety issues or insufficient space. A specially designed mini-game at each cubicle serves to lighten the load of repetition, incentivising the hard work and productivity of on-site staff. 

The well-oiled logistical machine works like a charm, cutting an impressive sight in person. It’s not until a fuller view of the pods in action that the implication of robots or AI potentially taking over the labour force hits, however – looking down from a mezzanine evokes the experience of a mesmerising 3D game of Tetris, albeit with unsettling dystopian-flavoured undertones, especially with the army-like numbers and methodical behaviour. 

Brady, a proponent for collaborative robotics, allays concerns of manpower replacement at Amazon fulfilment centres around the world, reiterating the company’s goal of working alongside robots, not against them. “Our goal as a team is to make those machines as useful and practical as possible, to give our employees the tools that they need in order to make good on our customer promise.”

“The idea that it’s people versus machines is the wrong mindset… Any job that requires common sense, reasoning, problem solving, thinking at a higher level, and understanding material flow, people, and the value of our customers – those jobs will always be needed,” he reaffirms during a separate Q&A session with the media, citing its next-generation facility at Shreveport, Louisiana as an example that created over 2,500 jobs in the area. 

Moving over to the packing station reveals more human faces. Here, single items are removed one by one from the containers and thrown into the automated packaging machine, which automatically scans and wraps them in recyclable paper bags. A high-speed machine serves as the multipack solution, transporting up to two crates of items at once to their designated levels, much like an elevator. Both technologies were developed in Japan, and upon reaching the manned magic pack station, the orders will be boxed up with a shipping label and sent to the staging area for delivery.

The one-hour-or-so preview is what visitors can expect when the Chiba Minato fulfilment centre opens its doors to the public sometime this year as part of the expanded Amazon Tours programme. Like existing ones in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and more, participation is free and available to all individuals aged six and above. 

Elsewhere in Nagoya, a new 125,000-square-metre fulfilment centre is due to open later in August. It features several sustainable technologies, from vertical solar panels to geothermal heat exchangers, and like other fulfilment centres, will deploy robotics to optimise workflows. 

Alongside its Chiba counterpart and 25 other facilities across the country, this soon-to-open space offers the logistical edge needed to satisfy customer needs.

As Hiroaki Watanabe, director of Japan Customer Fulfilment Solutions, explains in a separate interview with Geek Culture, the selection for each fulfilment centre changes depending on market demand or the level of automation. All of them start small, and when more products are introduced, a new node is built to accommodate them, especially for large items like bicycles and refrigerators. Naturally, the primary goal is to fulfil domestic demand first, before exporting the remaining inventory overseas. 

The region, too, will benefit from such expansion efforts. For Singapore, the addition of a Japanese selection via Amazon.sg offers more buying options, with Amazon Prime members entitled to free international shipping. While there aren’t exact sales figures for the Japan store, the most popular categories for the international section include apparel and toys, both of which were spotted in abundance at the Chiba Minato fulfilment centre. 

On a global scale, the facilities are free to cross-pollinate technologies as they like, resulting in a win-win situation for all. According to Watanabe, the cart cages with wheels and foldable containers, which lowered transportation costs, were some of the Japanese inventions adopted by other outlets, and there are plans to export the automated packaging machine to Australia and Italy in the future. Suffice it to say, robots will continue to be part of Amazon’s strategy. 

As Brady puts it, “I do believe that it’s just the starting point for us to really become comfortable with robotics and how automation and technology can allow you to do your jobs better.”

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post Check, Pack, And Impact: Unwrapping Amazon’s Doorstep Delivery Process Via Its Biggest Robotised Japan Hub appeared first on Geek Culture.

The impact of Neon Genesis Evangelion on popular media has hardly waned over the years, so it’s easy to forget that the iconic mecha series will hit the big ‘3’ this year (the first episode premiered on 4 October back in the day, so it’s not quite there yet).

30周年記念展ALL OF EVANGELION#オールエヴァ展

2025年10月に30周年を迎える「エヴァンゲリオン」シリーズ。作品を構成する緻密な制作資料が一堂に介し、誕生前夜から最新情報に至るまでたどる「祝祭」が #東京シティービュー にて開幕します

公式サイトはこちらからhttps://t.co/paWQZAWlSC… pic.twitter.com/GJdCDtNpNM

— 30周年記念展「ALL OF EVANGELION」 (@ao_eva30exhibit) June 18, 2025

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, a special exhibition titled ALL OF EVANGELION is set to open at Tokyo City View this fall, kicking off on 14 November and running through the new year until 12 January 2026. The event is being organised with the help of Studio Khara — which owns the rights to the IP from Gainax — and other partners, treating fans to a showcase of diverse production materials, including rare animation cels, original drawings, and design documents from the original 1995 show.

Digital assets from the Rebuild of Evangelion film series will also be featured, charting its legacy from 2007 to 2021. A reboot of the original series with new elements, it comprises 2007’s Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, 2009’s Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, and 2012’s Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, coming to a definite close with 2021’s Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. More details about the exhibit will be shared in the lead-up to its launch.

Directed by Hideaki Anno at Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion follows 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, who is recruited by the mysterious organisation NERV to pilot a giant mecha called “Evangelion” to fight against monsters known as “Angels” in a post-apocalyptic world. It originally aired from October 1995 to March 1996, and has spawned multiple movies, reboots, and spin-offs, alongside countless brand collaborations — from a crossover with mobile title Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and PC builds from PC and peripheral company ROG, to themed hotel rooms and even rations.

The ALL OF EVANGELION special exhibition takes place from 14 November 2025 to 12 January 2026.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Special Exhibition This Nov appeared first on Geek Culture.

No sport moves faster than Formula 1 (F1), the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars and keeping pace with its intensity requires more than just horsepower. What happens behind the scenes for the global event, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), from split-second camera feeds to global broadcasts and remote team collaboration, now runs on a different kind of engine: artificial intelligence (AI). 

At the F1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix 2025 that Geek Culture attended, Lenovo presented a by invitation-only front-row look into how its technology is quietly powering the experience fans see, hear, and feel. And it’s not just about feeling the need for speed but about how technology is shaping a smarter, more sustainable future for fans and the sport alike. 

Over the past three years, Lenovo has become a crucial Official Technology Partner in F1’s digital transformation. Now elevated to Global Technology Partner, the company’s AI infrastructure doesn’t just support F1 operations, but also actively improves the way fans experience the race. At the heart of the operation is Lenovo’s AI-enhanced hardware, powering real-time image correction across thousands of hours of video content. Its systems automatically detect and fix low-quality frames, ensuring each shot, whether it’s from a roll-hoop camera, a helmet cam during a critical overtake, a 360-degree view from a rear impact camera, or a drone flying over the Suzuka Circuit, is ready for broadcast without delay.

“When [Lenovo] got in contact for the first time three years ago, F1 was looking for a tech partner that was able and in the position of keeping the pace of this fast environment and for getting together into the digital transformation,” Lara Rodini, Lenovo’s Global Sponsorships And Activation Director, shared in a roundtable session that Geek Culture attended in Nagoya, Japan. “And this is the reason why [Lenovo and F1] decided to start working together.”

This AI-driven infrastructure enables F1 to scale up its livestreaming capabilities without sacrificing quality. With more cameras, more content angles, and more data being captured than ever before, Lenovo’s hybrid AI approach ensures broadcast quality keeps up with fan expectations. Whether watching from home or on a mobile screen, viewers get sharp visuals and seamless coverage thanks to Lenovo’s edge servers at the track and high-powered systems back in the UK. These systems work together to handle the enormous volume of live footage (more than 500 hours per race weekend) with minimal latency. 

Lenovo’s hybrid AI plays a critical role in how this data is managed and processed. By combining public AI models with secure, private AI running on-premises, Lenovo gives F1 the flexibility to work with sensitive video and telemetry data securely while still harnessing the benefits of scalable automation. A proof of concept developed in just 90 days thanks to Lenovo’s Fast Start service, designed to help organisations prototype and deploy functional AI models, helped F1 meet growing demands for broadcast content – a real-world application that proves how hybrid AI can elevate the fan experience without compromising on speed or security.

The scale of the operation becomes clear when I step inside the Event Technical Centre (ETC), F1’s mobile broadcast nerve centre located in the Suzuka Circuit. It takes three days to assemble, spans 25 metres x 15 metres, and houses 750 pieces of equipment running over 40 custom-built software systems. During a typical race weekend, the ETC processes up to 500 terabytes of data.

Once footage is captured on-site, it’s transmitted via fibre optics to F1’s Media and Technology Centre (M&TC) in Biggin Hill, UK with a delay of just 180-250 milliseconds. That’s where colour-grading and exposure are adjusted, often in real time, before the footage is sent to broadcasters across more than 180 territories. The M&TC provides 1.16 THz of CPU across 448 CPU Cores, 3.5TB of RAM and 480TB of storage. The entire operation runs with bandwidth peaking at 7.5 Gbps, ensuring what fans see is both live globally in a split second, and polished.

Cameras alone tell part of the story. A typical Grand Prix weekend involves deploying over 93 onboard car cameras with up to 9 cameras per car, including forwards and rear from the roll hoop, a face view camera, helmet camera, pedal camera, and an additional camera either on the side or nose of the chassis. Additionally, they have a 360-degree camera that records at least 72GB of film during qualifying and 480GB of footage from the race. Lastly, there are the cable camera, five RF cameras in the pitlane, three pit wall cameras, two wander cameras, two podium cameras, and the Giro Stabilised Heli-cam. More than 150 microphones also capture stereo audio from F1, F2, F3, F1 Academy, Porsche Supercup and FIA vehicles. 

The result? Over 500 hours of live broadcast content for all 24 races across five continents, and more than 8,000 videos created annually for social platforms with over 750 million fans which racked up 12 billion views in 2024 alone.

Fans tuning in may not think twice about how seamless the action looks on screen. But behind every high-speed replay and real-time graphic sits a network of smart devices working quietly in the background, many of them powered by Lenovo’s AI-optimised PCs and workstations. These machines such as Lenovo’s laptops (ThinkPad and IdeaPad), desktops (ThinkStation & ThinkCentre), and monitors (ThinkVision) support the broadcast team with faster graphics rendering, smoother production workflows, and more efficient livestream delivery.

During the Chinese Grand Prix held on 23 March 2025 at the Shanghai International Circuit, F1 piloted Lenovo’s AI PC X1 Carbon Aura Edition to test its role in live operations with immediate feedback. Trackside teams reported improvements in battery life and system responsiveness, while the AI integration made everyday tasks, like content creation and real-time collaboration, quicker and more intuitive. Built-in features like Smart Care offered system insights, while compatibility with Copilot and Copilot+ helped support AI-assisted decision-making on the go. For remote and mobile teams, it’s a workhorse that keeps up no matter where they’re based.

Smart Share, one of the standout features of Lenovo’s Aura Edition, also made an appearance during the testing. Designed to streamline file transfers between phone and PC, Smart Share uses AI-powered tap detection to move content, like race-day photos, video clips, or broadcast files, instantly with a single tap, simplifying workflows between mobile devices and Lenovo PCs in the media team. 

While the focus on speed and efficiency is paramount, Lenovo and F1 are also committed to a sustainable future, minimising the sport’s environmental footprint. As F1 continues pushing toward a net-zero carbon goal by the end of the decade, Lenovo plays a central role in helping the sport reduce its environmental footprint, without compromising on speed or spectacle. A key enabler of this shift is Lenovo’s Asset Recovery Services (ARS), which allows F1 to securely dispose of retired tech, recycle materials, and repurpose hardware wherever possible. Doing so not only supports a more environmentally responsible workflow, but also offsets the cost of hardware refresh cycles. For fans, this means fewer e-waste concerns and more confidence that the tech supporting the show is part of a longer, greener plan.

Speaking on the partnership’s sustainable direction, Rodini shared, “One of the other important pillars of this collaboration is sustainability, which is a must as well. Since the beginning, F1 is, for example, using our asset recovery service. And with this in mind, we have been developing and taking together a unique technology centre, which is based back in the UK, where we reduced the number of the hardware that was in use, and we specifically disposed of the majority. So it’s something that we keep carrying on together. Really important goals are set up as well for redemption.”

Hardware downsizing has also helped reduce the physical and environmental load of the sport. Compact devices like the Lenovo P3 Tiny workstations have replaced bulkier, high-power renderers, shrinking freight requirements and helping to cut transport emissions. It’s a small shift in hardware, but a substantial gain in sustainability, especially when multiplied across 24 races and five continents.

At the data centre level, Lenovo’s Neptune warm-water cooling system supports high-performance computing while saving in energy usage. 

“When you actually cool the infrastructure using warm water, you can save up to 40% in a data centre power. It can bring up 200% efficiency in your data center cooling. So these are aspects which are very, very important,” says Sumir Bhatia, Lenovo’s President of the Asia Pacific Infrastructure Solutions Group. It’s a practical solution to the growing demand for AI computers, offering efficiency without increasing the sport’s carbon footprint. As more of these systems are deployed, fans benefit from richer, faster content delivery powered by quieter, cooler, and more energy-efficient technology.

But the experience doesn’t stop at broadcast. With Motorola’s appointment as Global Smartphone Partner of F1, mobile fans are starting to see how handheld devices can become second screens, or even primary ones. Models like the Motorola Edge 20 Pro, Motorola Edge 30 Ultra, ThinkPhone, and the Motorola RAZR 40 Ultra sync effortlessly with Lenovo PCs, enabling faster content sharing, and personalising race content depending on where and how fans choose to watch.

“The Global Partnership position brought the upgrade of Motorola to Global Smartphone Partner,” said Rodini. “And so we give the possibility to Motorola, which is a Lenovo company, of building and increasing, not only the brand awareness, also in this case, but even more working on the tech side, providing an experience and even more focused experience for the F1 organisation.”

With over 600 F1 employees already using Lenovo and Motorola devices, from executives to on-ground engineers, the foundation is in place for a new kind of race weekend. One where fans don’t just watch the race, but live it through smarter interfaces, personalised content, and frictionless tech that keeps up with the pace of the world’s fastest sport. Lenovo’s full-stack approach, from hardware to cloud, provides a runway for innovation without sacrificing sustainability or stability.

For fans, that means a viewing experience that gets better with each season. Smarter graphics. Customised feeds. Mobile-first interaction. The tech may be invisible, but its impact is not. And if the goal is to make the world’s most advanced motorsport even more human, more personal, and more connected, Lenovo is proving that the best seat at the race might be in your hand, on your screen, or just one AI-powered update away.

Natalie

Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace.

The post Driving The Future: Lenovo’s AI Powers A More Immersive & Sustainable Formula 1 2025 Race appeared first on Geek Culture.

The storied legacy of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has spawned several massive life-size statues on display across Japan, including a Unicorn model, the RX-93 (or Nu Gundam) iteration, and an RX-78 installation. While the former two are permanently housed in Tokyo and Fukuoka, respectively, the classic mech from the original 1979 anime is no longer at Yokohama Factory in Tokyo, soon to be relocated to Osaka for Expo 2025.

With that event running from 13 April to 13 October this year, the future of this massive Gundam machine remains uncertain as there’s no word on whether it will return to its old haunt but as it turns out, the RX-78 Gundam is taking flight across Southeast Asia afterwards, charting a route that ends with its eventual homecoming at the end of 2027.

The first-of-its-kind Gundam Global World Tour is bringing the 46-year-old franchise out of Japan, as it’s making its way around the world, setting foot in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, where each stop will see the massive icon stand tall in a country for six months.

The first Gundam invasion kicks off on 5 December, just in time for Singapore Comic-Con, or SGCC, happening on the same weekend, before moving onwards to Bangkok, Thailand from August 2026 to February 2027. It’s still too early for any event tie-up but Geek Culture understands that the 18-metre tall statue will likely take centre stage at the Thailand Game Show, which usually takes place during that time of the year. 

Jakarta, Indonesia marks the last leg of the tour, spanning April to October 2027, with the two-month break between each country reserved for teardown, transport and setup (no, this thing does not and cannot fly itself). 

Here are the full list of countries, locations and date details: 

• Singapore: 5 December 2025 to 5 June 2026, Gardens by the Bay.
• Thailand: 12 August 2026 to 12 February 2027, Siam Centre Mall (Bangkok).
• Indonesia: 20 April to 20 October 2027, Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (Jakarta).

Notably, the venue for Bangkok is also home to Southeast Asia’s first flagship Gundam Base, which already has a smaller-scale RX-78 statue on display. During the six-month stint, it’ll be replaced by the life-size version, spelling more excitement for fans and visitors in the country. 

Closer to home ground, Gardens by the Bay is a sound choice, serving as an appropriate follow-up to the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts exclusive world premiere event in May 2023, and before that, the rollout of life-size Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal statues. Having the OG Gundam take over from its equally iconic robot counterparts is nothing short of symbolic, whether intentional or not. 

While the decision to include Thailand as a stop is a no-brainer, the addition of Singapore and Indonesia can be attributed to the increased sales of Gunpla kits and greater interest in the hobby. According to sources close to the project, the tour may possibly expand into other territories if sufficient buzz is generated, although no concrete plans were shared. 

As for why Gundam won’t be traveling to more countries in Asia, it’s understood that there was fierce bidding by the tourism ministries for each country, and Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia recognised the draw of Gundam and opted to go big for this project.

One more reason to look forward to December – apart from the usual festivities!

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If you’ve made it this far, well, Happy April Fool’s! Unfortunately, there won’t be any Southeast Asia tour featuring Japan’s life-size RX-78 Gundam, but hey, it could become a reality one day. One can only wish!

The Baroness

Passion and love mean little to the Baroness. No man can ever be her master. Where there’s terror to be sown and coin earned, that’s where she will be with guns akimbo.

The post Japan’s Life-size RX-78 Gundam First SEA Tour Hits Singapore, Thailand & Indonesia From End 2025 appeared first on Geek Culture.

The Straw Hat Pirates are getting a new mode of transportation… well, sort of. In celebration of its 50th anniversary next year, the Sanyo Shinkansen Line — running between Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures — is set to welcome a trio of One Piece-themed bullet trains, starting with the Setouchi Blue in Spring 2025.

Servicing the Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations, it will feature character artwork on the exterior and decorations inside the passenger cars. Two more designs are coming at a later date, so it’s unclear whether the three different trains are scheduled to operate simultaneously or one after another. According to operator JR West, fans can expect special merchandise and other theming at select stations once they are up and running.

The high-speed rail network spans 17 stations between Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka and Hakata Station in Fukuoka, offering access to cities like Kobe and Hiroshima. In a neat nod to the wildly popular series, the One Piece Shinkansen adopts the tagline of ‘To the Grand Rail!’, echoing the original ‘To the Grand Line’ slogan.

Coincidentally or otherwise, next Spring also marks the return of the long-running anime after a six-month hiatus in October. Egghead Arc Part II is due out in April 2025, with a remastered version of the Fish-Man Island Saga and a special 25th-anniversary episode serving to tide over the wait.

Other related projects in the pipeline include an anime remake in development at WIT Studio and the second season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation series. There’s currently no word on a release date for the latter, but it will cover the Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island story arcs.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post ‘One Piece’ Shinkansen Bullet Train To Speed Through Japan In Spring 2025 appeared first on Geek Culture.

Imagine being 28 years old and playing video games for the better part of 16 years. Then you find yourself at a new job covering video games, among other things, in early September, and on the first day of work, you’re told that the company is sending you to TGS that very same month.

That’s Tokyo Game Show, the annual video game convention held annually in Tokyo, Japan. Yes, Japan – home of Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Sony, PlayStation, and Sega – and if you are a gamer, you’ll understand it when they say there is no video games culture without Japan, and TGS is the mecca that all gamers yearn to experience. 

So, long-time gamer, a new job, and an all-expense ticket to the ultimate video game convention, complete with full media credentials – that’s like winning the lottery and meeting the girl of your dreams that same week. Sure, there have been visits to local game events in Singapore, from GameStart Asia to the upcoming Gamescom Asia… but that’s like replacing an A5 Miyazaki Wagyu steak with one from the neighbourhood Char Grill Bar – it’s similar but definitely not the same. And there’s no way those events can be compared to TGS, and going in with little idea of what to expect (I was a first-timer, after all), what eventually awaited me was both incredible and intimidating at the same time. 

So strap in, and let me take you on a virgin TGS 2024 experience for those who are preparing for that eventual trip, and for those who realise they’ll never make it there. Never say never because you never know if the things learned along the way on this inaugural trip can help any of you potential convention attendees out there looking to make full use of your first foray into the world of gaming cons.

Day one of the convention was as hectic as it was exciting, and the first thing you learn is that TGS isn’t technically in Tokyo. The global gaming event is held at Makuhari Messe, a massive convention centre in Chiba City, just outside of Tokyo (Yeah, CGS doesn’t have that nice of a ring to it), which meant it took more than an hour by train to get there from our hotel in Shinjuku. Along the way, the sight of fellow attendees on the packed train, some in cosplay outfits, should have provided indicators of how crowded the convention space would be, but it never prepared me for just how crowded it got.

Upon exiting the station, that’s when realization, along with a massive daisy chain of people shuffling their way towards a building in the distance, set in. It was only when the crowd moved closer that the scale of the event truly hit me. TGS is spread across 11 halls and 2 separate buildings, requiring a rather substantial walk in between. Was there even enough time to make it through everything? 

The exterior of the convention centre was plastered with huge posters of upcoming games, including Doom: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Here’s a fun fact—Bethesda, one of the world’s biggest game developers and publisher of both games, isn’t even at TGS and had only bought up all the ad space outside, which is something they apparently do every year.

Once inside, and after receiving the coveted media pass, it was onwards to the halls, via the VIP media entrance, no less. Almost immediately, the chatter in the halls and all sorts of noises coming from the various booths started to overwhelm, but in a bizarre way. You start hearing familiar music overlapping one another, and while you might not be able to put your finger on it, your brain registers a level of familiarity.

In most instances, you’ll never know where the music or sound comes from but sometimes, you’ll hear the distinctive “!” sound from the Metal Gear series and upon looking up, you see the massive Konami booth at the opposite end of the hall, and catch sight of the giant LED screen playing promotional videos for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.

Alas, the iconic sound attracted almost everyone else as well, as we all made a beeline towards the booth only to realise that a substantial queue had already formed for the much-anticipated demo. And therein lies my first TGS mistake of constantly returning in the hopes of seeing a shorter queue, instead of prioritising exploring everything else TGS had to offer. 

And offer it did. Every booth at the show had some form of centrepiece to draw attention. Giant statues were the most common sights, from Bandai Namco’s giant Goku statue to Square Enix’s massive ceiling-mounted Slime. Some booths even had live shows playing, like the one at SEGA / ATLUS, which featured a live-action performance reenacting cutscenes from role-playing game, Metaphor: ReFantazio.

So what do all these booths and events have in common? My first learning point.

Prepare For Leg Day

Be prepared to walk, or at least spend prolonged hours on your feet. Once inside the various halls, you’ll realise that there are no seating areas whatsoever, and between exploring the various booths or waiting in line for game demos, you are going to be spending most of your time on your feet. To prepare accordingly, wear comfortable shoes and thick socks to prevent abrasions and blisters.

There are seating areas in the corridors outside the convention halls, but due to its layout, constantly walking in and out of the hall can be time-consuming. There are specific exit and entrance points for attendees, and these are situated on opposite ends of the building. Very much like how most shopping centres work, this means that you have to walk almost the entire stretch of the halls just to exit, and vice versa, so it makes much more sense to stay within the confines of the hall, to save both time and energy.

After exploring the halls and figuring out which game demos I wanted to try out, I made the (bad) decision to return to where it all started, Konami. Instead of the shortened queue I had previously hoped for, the crowd had ballooned to an almost impressive amount (it would turn out to be the largest crowd I encountered throughout the experience). 

As I really wanted to try out the demo for Metal Gear Solid, I reluctantly joined the seemingly never-ending queue, only to be met with learning point number two.

The Importance of Translation Apps

Language barrier is a big issue in Japan, with a majority of the folks at the event unable to speak conversational English. The evolution of TGS to cater to a global audience means that by this time, every game booth should have at least one English-speaking staff member, but to avoid the awkward situation of staff frantically scrambling to find that one person who can understand you, it’s probably best to use translation apps to help you in a pinch. 

Here’s the thing, don’t even bother with any fancy voice-to-text translation software you might have because the crowd at the convention halls are loud, and these apps will simply fail to pick up your voice amidst the chatter that constantly fills the hall. Stick with the manual way, and type out your queries.

Conversely, camera translation apps such as Google Lens are a godsend. Game booths prominently feature signs (which are entirely in Japanese) detailing important information such as queue times or availability, and having an app to translate them can help avoid disappointment. Taking my experience waiting in line for Metal Gear Solid’s demo as an example, it turned out demand was much higher than expected, resorting to them handing out tickets on a first-come-first-serve basis, subsequently only allowing ticket holders to try out the game’s demo. This was what caused the massive lines I was unfortunately right in the middle of.

Unbeknownst to me, the ticketing period was already closed, and staff members were holding up signs conveying this information. I wasn’t aware of this fact and continued waiting until my stupidity was conveyed to me via a Google-translated conversation with staff. Translating the sign beforehand would have prevented my ensuing disappointment, and saved precious time to try out other games.

After the whole Metal Gear mishap, I moved on to check out other titles, but at this point, there were long queues at practically every booth, and with the convention’s closing hour looming ever closer, I decided to spend the rest of my time doing a little bit of recon. 

Formulate A Game Plan On Day 1

With so many booths to explore, demos to try out, and so little time, I realised it was essential to have a plan of action beforehand, to make full use of the time available. TGS 2024’s operating hours were from 10 am to 5 pm, which didn’t leave enough time to fully experience everything it had to offer. Making the decision to spend day 1 exploring in preparation for day 2 ended up being the right move, as it gave me the leeway to immerse myself in the atmosphere of TGS. Booths came in all shapes and sizes, some tucked away in corners or less travelled locations, so it became sort of an adventure navigating the various nooks and crannies trying to find a hidden gem.

And it paid off, oh it really did. Near closing time, I was wandering around aimlessly getting ready to leave, when I chanced upon a familiar sight in the corner of my eye. It was the silhouette of a character I recognised from a trailer viewed a few months prior – Phantom Blade Zero. 

Needless to say, Phantom Blade Zero skyrocketed to the top of my “to-try” list for day 2. This really goes to show that no matter how hard you try to plan, a gaming convention as large as TGS will always find ways to surprise you. Having a game plan is important but always keep an open mind and explore. Who knows, you just might chance upon something that surprises you. Like a phantom.

Prioritise Demos On Day 2

Now armed with a clear game plan, I headed into day 2 as a man on a mission, making it a point to reach just as the convention hall doors opened at 10 am. Once in, I immediately made my way to Phantom Blade Zero and was one of the first in line. Needless to say, the demo did not disappoint, and honestly, I’m still thinking about the roughly 10 minutes I spent with it, and you can share in that experience with my preview here.

Second on my agenda was Dynasty Warriors: Origins, one of the few games that shaped my gamer life. And here I was, and words can’t describe the feeling of playing the demo, and getting to experience the next evolution of my favourite game franchise ahead of everyone else. 

Next, I headed to the booth for The First Berserker: Khazan, a title I had no prior knowledge of, but I was lured to due to a massive LED screen that surrounded the entire booth. Like most other booths, this one had a rather long queue, but I had an ace up my sleeve – my media pass. One flash of my pass and I was brought to a separate counter, and one exchange of information later, I had secured a demo slot exclusively for me. Media privileges sure felt good.

One thing to note though, tailor your expectations regarding the game demos. Most of them last only 15 minutes each (with a select few being up to 30 minutes), so prepare to spend more time queuing for the demo than actually playing it. Here’s a pro tip – prioritise queues with 10 or so people versus empty ones. Game demos operate in batches, and an empty queue signifies that the previous batch has just gone in, requiring a wait time equivalent to the demo’s entire duration. Joining a line of people might seem counterproductive, but the chances of the ongoing demo reaching its end is much higher, leading to shorter wait times.

The First Berserker: Khazan marked the last of my planned titles to try, and I used the remaining time left trying demos that had shorter queues (like Dragon Age: The Veilguard), and also exploring the merchandise shop, where I acquired Silent Hill and Fallout themed pins to deck out my backpack. As just like that, two days flew by, and I was left with an experience I would never forget.

Overall, the entire game convention experience, especially for a newcomer, can be wrapped up with a single word – overwhelming. From the crowds to the sights and sounds, prepare for a literal assault to all your senses, and that’s okay, I’ve learnt that it’s all part of the experience. It can all be quite stressful for first-timers, but with proper planning and focus, your first gaming convention can be both an exciting and fulfilling adventure.

My closing advice for all you potential convention goers? Start small. Gamescom Asia 2024, held in Singapore from 18 to 20 October, might be your best bet. Baby steps people, you’ve got this.

Kevin Low

Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.

The post TGS 2024 Was A Hectic, Eye-Opening Learning Experience For This Noob Lifelong Gamer appeared first on Geek Culture.

While Nintendo Direct livestreams typically showcase the company’s upcoming games, the latest presentation shifted its focus to the world’s first Nintendo Museum. Hosted by company legend Shigeru Miyamoto himself, it gives a tour of the completed attraction in Kyoto, Japan, now due to open its doors on 2 October.

The Super Mario creator begins by sharing the history of the museum site, which previously housed the company’s original playing card factory and was later used for quality checks during the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES) era. A Mario-themed plaza with pipes, a question block, and more occupies the entrance, leading into a space reminiscent of a Japanese apartment in the 1970s.

Visitors can expect various interactive elements on the inside, including a giant Wii Remote, a digital card display, and upsized controllers. A total of eight areas can be found on the ground level, with the official website listing the following:

• Shigureden SP
  • Explore Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and the giant screen on the floor.
• Zapper & Scope SP
  • Experience shooting using the Zapper and Super Scope in the world of Mario that spreads out on the giant screen in front of you.
• Ultra Machine SP
  • A batting-cage experience inside a room. Hit the balls pitched by the Ultra Machine.
• Ultra Hand SP
  • Use the Ultra Hand to grab the balls rolling down the lanes, and drop them into the pipes.
• Love Tester SP
  • Two people join hands and work together on tests that measure their Love Level.
• Game & Watch SP
  • Play Game & Watch games using your own shadow.
• Nintendo Classics
  • Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64. Choose from over 80 games to play.
• Big Controller
  • Controllers from past hardware generations made giant. Two people must work together to take on challenges in games released back in the day.

There’s a catch, though. A single ticket won’t grant access to all eight exhibitions, as the interactive exhibitions require digital coins to play — only 10 are granted upon entry, with no way to purchase additional ones when they run out. Meanwhile, the second floor serves as a gallery of products created and published by Nintendo, set up in eras and consoles from the NES days to now.

The Nintendo Museum also has a café that offers visitors the chance to make their own burger out of a possible 270,000 combinations, and a shop selling exclusive merchandise. Both spaces are only open to ticket holders, with a Hanafuda card-making experience available at an extra cost: 2,000 yen (US$14 / S$18) for the “Let’s Make Hanafuda!” workshop, and 500 yen (US$3.50 / S$4) for “Try Playing Hanafuda!”.

Tickets for October and November 2024 are currently available to apply for through a lottery system on the Nintendo Museum website, costing 3,300 yen (US$23 / S$30) each for adults. Balloting for later months will open when the time comes around.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post Nintendo Museum Finally Opens This Oct In Kyoto, Japan appeared first on Geek Culture.

Are you ready for some button-mashing nostalgia? Nintendo has just announced new controller capsule toys on X/Twitter. Video games are often classified as strictly audio/visual mediums, but there’s a tactile element to gaming too. A console’s controllers can bring back memories of dramatic boss fights and emotional endings.

So it was a nice dose of nostalgia a few years back when Nintendo released its Controller Button Collection capsule toy series. These toys were replicas of its Famicom and NES controllers.

Of course, the company’s hardware legacy consists of much more than its 8-bit console, and so now they’re back with round two of the Controller Button Collection, featuring the next three Nintendo home-system generations: the Super Famicom/Super NES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube!

Like with the Famicom and NES controllers, which component you’ll get in the new Controller Button Collection Vol. 2 is up to chance, as all six of the new items share space inside the same capsule toy machine. However, whereas the 8-bit controllers had their entire form factors chopped into three pieces, this time the designs are more complex, so the focus is on recreating each controller’s most iconic features.

For the Super Famicom/Super NES, that means the diamond-layout four-face buttons. It was the first system to use what’s now become nearly a universal standard across the video game industry.

For the Nintendo 64, we get a replica of the company’s first analogue stick, accompanied by the big red start button. Since the Nintendo 64’s digital D-pad wasn’t particularly unique, the second capsule toy is for its face button array.

Lastly, for the GameCube, the focus is on the right half of the controller, with its secondary analogue stick and distinct golf course aerial view-like face button cluster.

The new Vol. 2 Controller Button Collection lineup, alongside the original Famicom/NES capsule toys, are on sale at the Nintendo Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto speciality stores, as well as the smaller Nintendo shop at Narita airport. Each capsule toy will cost 600 yen (S$5.40), bumped up from the original price of 500 yen.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for retro-style Nintendo controllers that you can play actual games with, Nintendo of Japan has finally relaxed its policies for who’s allowed to buy the Famicom Switch controllers.

Marcus

When Marcus is not trying to full combo a song on his favourite rhythm games, he’s either reading or watching some obscure Japanese mystery show/novel. Don’t ask him how much his Arkham Horror collection costs either, it’s his most closely guarded secret.

The post Relive Gaming History With Nintendo’s New Controller Capsule Toys appeared first on Geek Culture.

Can’t stand the wait for Deadpool & Wolverine to release? Well, a pop-up café is opening in Shibuya Tsutaya from 17 July to 5 August, offering fans a taste of their favourite anti-heroes.

The menu features a whole range of hilarious dishes, such as:

• I 2 Tier BFF Box, which features Deadpool-red chicken rice and Wolverine-yellow curry for 2,000 yen (S$17).
• I French Toast with Yellow Fruits & Ice Cream for 1,800 yen (S$15), which combines rich flavours with a touch of mutant charm.
• I Coca-Cola, which features two things Deadpool loves: Pocky swords and needless product placement.
• Claw Chips Yellow Juice, which is a quirky blend of potato chips, mango, whipped cream, and juice.
• Various alcoholic cocktails, for those who would like a little more kick with their meal.

Dining at the Deadpool & Wolverine café also enters you into a raffle for exclusive merch, including a necklace, T-shirt, button, or the mysterious Deadpool dollar. Additionally, all meals come with a free movie sticker, so don’t feel too bad if your IRL gacha luck is terrible.

Don’t miss the chance to dine with the dynamic duo at Shibuya Tsutaya Collaboration Café if you have the opportunity! Hopefully it can stave off the hunger we all have for the movie before it releases on in theatres on 25 July in Singapore and 26 July in the US. Do note that there’s an admission fee of 550 yen (S$4.67) for the Deadpool & Wolverine pop-up café, with meals served in blocks through the day at 11am, 1.10pm, 3.20pm, 5.30pm, and 7.40pm.

Marcus

When Marcus is not trying to full combo a song on his favourite rhythm games, he’s either reading or watching some obscure Japanese mystery show/novel. Don’t ask him how much his Arkham Horror collection costs either, it’s his most closely guarded secret.

The post Deadpool & Wolverine Serve Up Heroic Bites In Tokyo Pop-up Café appeared first on Geek Culture.

Get ready to face your fears! Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is adding a brand-new Resident Evil attraction. But sorry, kiddos—this one’s too spooky for you.

Leon Kennedy, zombies and chainsaw men will be your terrifying guides in this haunted house. It’s been a while since USJ introduced a big-name movie attraction and this frightful addition is more than welcome.

Teaming up with Osaka-based game developer Capcom, USJ is launching Biohazard Night of Heroes (Biohazard is the name of the Resident Evil franchise in Japan). This fright fest kicks off every evening at 6 p.m. as part of USJ’s Halloween celebrations. Daytime is for kid-friendly fun, but nighttime is for hardcore horror!

USJ describes Biohazard Night of Heroes as “an immersive experience surrounded by the Resident Evil world, just like in the games.” Guests will “face their fears alongside the heroes” of the series. Sounds like a walk-through haunted house, right? The collaboration was teased on USJ’s official X/Twitter account.

Don’t worry, you probably won’t die in there. The “Can you survive?” question likely hints at some sort of interactive challenge. Amusement parks in Japan love these game-like elements, and it makes perfect sense for a video game-based attraction.

Expect to encounter zombies (duh) and iconic enemies like the Licker and Nemesis. There’s also a “chainsaw man,” but don’t mix him up with the Chainsaw Man from the anime attraction next door.

Halloween Resident Evil attractions are a USJ tradition, and Biohazard Night of Heroes continues the trend of keeping little kids out. The park’s website states that guests 12 and under are prohibited from entering. They also advise, “Regardless of age, we cannot recommend this attraction to guests who are uncomfortable with grotesque sights.”

For the brave souls ready to face their nightmares, Biohazard Night of Heroes runs from 6 September to 4 November. Happy haunting!

Marcus

When Marcus is not trying to full combo a song on his favourite rhythm games, he’s either reading or watching some obscure Japanese mystery show/novel. Don’t ask him how much his Arkham Horror collection costs either, it’s his most closely guarded secret.

The post ‘Resident Evil’ Halloween Zombie Maze At Universal Studios Japan Bars Kids appeared first on Geek Culture.

The iconic RX-78 robot, of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime fame, is set to strike a new pose at a new site. A life-size statue of the Gundam will grace Osaka in 2025, marking its first outing in the Japanese city.

More specifically, it’s due to appear for the entire duration of Expo 2025, which takes place from 13 April to 13 October next year. The 16-metre installation will be constructed next to the pavilion at the event, and unlike previous 1:1-scale models, won’t be standing upright. Instead, it adopts a kneeling position, with a hand extended towards the sky — a pose chosen to evoke the feeling of reaching for the future.

The concept art also suggests an illumination effect after sundown, where a beacon of light shines behind RX-78. Coupled with the multi-jointed design, it comes across as a giant version of say, a Gunpla build, and is designed to be static, so don’t expect it to move like the 18-metre Gundam Factory Yokohama build.

In fact, this iteration is a reconfiguring of the latter, which stood proud and tall until last spring after two extensions. The mech received a grand farewell ceremony before being dismantled, but it was probably a waste to fully scrape the design. This is good news for mecha fans either way, especially for those who already have plans to visit Osaka between April and October next year.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post Japan’s Life-Size Gundam Has New Home In Osaka At Expo 2025 appeared first on Geek Culture.

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka is set to introduce a thrilling new experience this autumn with its first-ever collaboration with the popular manga and anime series Chainsaw Man.

Created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man launched as a manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2018 and was adapted into an anime in 2022. The series, known for its blend of graphic violence and comedic elements, revolves around a teenager named Denji who transforms parts of his body into chainsaws to fight devils. The collaboration was teased on USJ’s official X/Twitter account.

Given the mature themes of the series, which have led to its restriction for viewers under 18 in several countries, there is curiosity about how USJ will adapt the series into a theme park experience. While specific details about the attraction are still under wraps, USJ promises it will offer an immersive event that allows visitors to experience the Chainsaw Man universe “with your whole body.”

The attraction is part of a series of seasonal programmes planned for the autumn, likely aligning with Halloween celebrations. This announcement comes amidst delays in the opening of the Donkey Kong Country expansion at USJ’s Super Nintendo World, now rescheduled for later this year.

USJ has successfully hosted attractions based on other anime series like Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Jujutsu Kaisen, and One Piece. However, Chainsaw Man presents a unique challenge due to its adult content. USJ has previously managed a similarly intense experience with a Resident Evil walk-through attraction, which was restricted to visitors aged 13 and up, indicating that the park may not significantly tone down the edgier aspects of Chainsaw Man.

Fans of the series and thrill-seekers can look forward to a realistic and engaging experience that aims to authentically recreate the chaotic and unpredictable world of Chainsaw Man. The exact nature of the attraction remains secretive, but USJ assures that it will be a high-quality, large-scale production that captures the essence of the beloved series.

The Chainsaw Man attraction is scheduled to debut this fall.

Natalie

Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace.

The post ‘Chainsaw Man’ Attraction Heads To Universal Studios Japan appeared first on Geek Culture.