Of things in the world that classify as pimp, there are many different levels. There's kind of pimp, like a purple satin handkerchief just poking ever so slightly out of your jacket pocket. There's flamboyant pimp, such as the classic pimp suit with matching hat. And then there's a phrase that I would use to describe the velvet kaiju painting you see above: astronomical pimp. It doesn't get much more indulgent and awesome than that, baby.

Spotted over at Pink Tentacle, these feats of awesome were created by artist Bruce White, who has also painted a ton of other deliciously pimp portraits such as Darth Vader and Captain Kirk. If you go see them, make sure to look out for Mothra, Hedorah and Godzilla!

Yoshitaka Amano's Toy Story-esque story about the secret life of vegetables in a New York kitchen will be making its way to the big screen. This is actually the first I'm hearing about the project, and having checked out the site, I'm not surprised about that.

It turns out that series actually aired on an educational network--which I assume is the Japanese equivalent of Nickelodeon--with each episode having an incredibly short running time. The art looks really cute, though, and the premise sounds like something straight out of a Studio Ghibli film.

The theatrical version of Yasai no Yosei: N.Y. Salad will apparently use a mix of 3d technology with the pencil sketched art found in the television series. I admit I'm intrigued, but the fact that the series originally aired on an educational network has me a little worried. God forbid I actually learn something, right?

I will say one thing, though. Any art student who complained about having to draw still-life portraits of fruit and vegetables could learn a little something from Amano's example. At least he was able to apply it somewhere, and I'm sure he'll be taking that to the bank.

Joe Hisaishi has been a busy guy recently, but given his range of work and frequency, it's nice to see someone admired by so many being given official recognition. The Japanese government announced November 2nd that famed composer Joe Hisaishi would be given the Medal of Honour. Along with Hisaishi, Wild 7 writer Shunsaku Ikehata and Square Enix chairman Yasuhiro Fukushima were also given the same award. Congratulations all around!

In case you've been sticking your head in the sand, Joe Hisaishi is one of the most accomplished composers within Japan. His most popular work has been done for Studio Ghibli films, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, and the Academy Award-winning, highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, Spirited Away. It's hard to deny the influence of Hisaishi's music, and now even the Japanese government has acknowledged his work.

 [via ANN]

It's morning. You're running late, and then BAM! You smack into her. Or she falls out of a time portal. Or the sky. Or through your bathroom mirror. Or your plumbing. However you meet them, most anime characters will likely end up living in your house, blowing through your savings, and stealing your food within 24 hours of first contact. It is Nature's Way.

In pursuit of SCIENCE, the ever-useful goo ranking conducted a survey asking Japan which hobo-esque characters they'd like to have freeload in their homes, and Glorious Nippon responded, with some surprising results.

Though properties like Rozen Maiden and Kannagi made a showing, the top ranks were populated almost exclusively by longer-running, more "classic" titles. Perhaps forced dependents were less annoying back then? One of my favorites was Ah My Goddess' Belldandy, because she'd probably make you look like the freeloader. The rest just look like tax write-offs in comparison. 

See the full list below, and then tell us who's missing, or who'd you'd like to have force his or her way into your life.

You know how I am about anything that features Matsuda Shota -- I'm there before you can even finish saying his name. Because of this little obsession, I've brought you any and all news on the new season and upcoming films from the Liar Game series, and now thanks to ANN I have even more: a juicy new trailer for the upcoming Liar Game feature film!

Called Liar Game: The Final Stage,  the film is set after the second season of the drama (which premieres November 10th) and will come out in February of next year. If you'd like to watch the streaming 30 second trailer, go to the official site here, skip the flash intro, and hit the button that says Liar Game Movie I can't wait ... to watch hours of Matsuda Shota dramatically running around on screen.

[EuricaeriS kicks off the latest Monthly Musing with his envious lifestyle: living with a bunch of otaku. All of whom are awesome. It's what many envision college life to be like, and sadly it doesn't always come true. But for this man? Why, he's living the dream, even if the UK does allow for that many anime cons. Got your own story to share? Post it in our community blogs section, and you might wind up on the front page too! -- Brad]

Back in 2007/08 I had a pretty tough choice to make concerning my future. This was picking out a good looking university and also deciding whether I wanted to carry on studying in the first place. Given some debate and a few visits, I picked Staffordshire University up here in the West Midlands, UK. This may seem like a trivial matter to some people, but I also had two friends pick the same uni.

Through one of those student orientated social websites I was lucky enough to meet the guy who would eventually become housemate number four in our new place. So, what are the common interests? How does anime, manga, figurines and the glorious Nippon sound?

Name: Aki Hoshino
Birthdate: March 14, 1977
Home: Tokyo
Sizes: 88/56/87 cm

Probably the top idol in Japan right now is Miss Hoshino, the lovely, top-heavy, cute-faced face of any product or company that can afford her. They call her the "Angel of Japan." Really. She's impossibly curvy and has the most attractive midriff I've ever seen in my entire life. And she knows it, too. If you haven't seen her before, you're not paying enough attention. She's 31 and still ruling Japan. Rock on, Akky.

You're Welcome.

Also be sure to check out our past Idol of the Week posts.

You don't hear a whole lot of requests for Casablanca 2.

It's just not something people ask for. People aren't on pins and needles to find out what else Rick can hide from the authorities in Sam's piano. No one cares about Ilsa's post-war life with that Laslow fellow.  It's not really important to us whether everybody still goes to Rick's, or if maybe some people go elsewhere for their drinking and gambling needs. There's a general understanding that we know everything we need to know about these characters, that any continuation of the story would be nothing but unimportant details.

If anyone is getting hung up on the Casablanca comparison (or thinks that all of this is irrelevant because they don't think Casablanca is all that great anyway, when you get right down to it, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is), forget all that and just pretend that this post started with the following question: Why in God's name, and/or Haruhi's name, did we need a second season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?

Hit the jump to see me fail to answer my own question.

The headline of this feature could be considered pretty sad, but I'm a confident guy, and I feel like I can proceed with this wishlist of 2D-to-3D transformation without worry of ridicule.

I take that back. And it's not that I'm concerned about ridicule from the non-otaku set. Who cares about them, right? I'm more concerned with what you think of my choices. Will you be grading me on the realism of my choices? Will you scold me for the inclusion of moe blobs in my list? Should I work age laws into my fantasies?

You know what? You're not in my fantasies anyway. I don't care. I'm going balls out! 

Here we go.

Oh, and clarify, I would want to make these girls real so that I may court them. Isn't that part obvious? Don't worry, I'm not going to go all high brow on you. We'll leave that to the anime snobs.

And no dated crap like Rei and Fay in here.