Gamertell

Hey everyone! This is a momentous day for Important Importables. Today marks the 100th column. Who’d have thought, right? Anyways, to celebrate today, I’m listing my 100 all time favorite games that you can only get by importing. These are titles that aren’t available in North America, and you have… Continue Reading »

One of the most popular icons and characters in Japan is a brown haired girl with yellow ribbons in her hair named Haruhi Suzumiya. People mimic the opening dance from her anime, dress up like her, collect toys that look like her character, read about her and even play video… Continue Reading »

On November 1, 2009, Hello Kitty celebrates her 35th birthday. Funny, she doesn’t look that old. It’s also her twin sister Mimmy’s birthday too, but she’s not the famous one so nobody really cares about her. She’s just part of the entourage. Anyways, in honor of Hello Kitty’s 35th, Important… Continue Reading »

In North America, E3 is the king of video game trade shows. In Japan, it’s all about the Tokyo Game Show. Held every fall, the Tokyo Game Show is the place to see the latest and most anticipated video games in Japan. The 2009 Tokyo Game Show spans four days… Continue Reading »

One of Namco Bandai’s most popular series in Japan is a game that will most likely never see a release outside of the country. I’m talking about Idolm@ster, a game which casts players as producers and tasks them with discovering and creating the next singing sensation. The reason it will… Continue Reading »

Anyone who’s a serious fan of video games and a frequent reader of video game related blogs or magazines undoubtedly knows the name Famitsu. While it is a Japan-exclusive publication, the magazine is known as one of the premiere in its field. A sort of Holy Grail for those searching… Continue Reading »

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Wondering where to stop the next time you’re vacationing in Japan? Perhaps a trip to a Pokemon Center is in order. Even if you aren’t a fan of the series, which has become one of Nintendo’s most popular handheld franchises, it’s still a place worth checking out, if only for… Continue Reading »

Handdrawn, 2D animation is an endangered art form. Most films are now made with computers and companies have a habit of releasing everything in 3D. Thankfully, Studio Ghibli is still doing things the old fashioned way. The company’s latest film, Ponyo, is among its most beautiful, and is a new… Continue Reading »

While North American and European gamers have been seeing the typical Square Enix fare recently, that is Final Fantasy ports/spin-offs/entries, the perpetuation of existing series like Kingdom Hearts and the occasional new title like The World Ends with You, Japan’s been seeing more unusual items. Nanashi no Game the first… Continue Reading »