Anime has commonly featured their characters dancing which in return has had fans band together to learn and perform them in the streets. Not only are these dances cute and easy to learn, but they’ve become a popular trend; sort of like the moon walk. While Michael Jackson couldn’t save his life to be cute, other characters have beaten him to the punch.

There are lists beyond lists of popular dances in anime, but the most famous of them all are the Hare Hare Yukai and Lucky Star Cheer Dance. Both are common dances that have been done many times over by fans around the globe in addition to each other (Haruhi Suzumiya characters have done the Cheer Dance and vise versa). Although they aren’t America’s Best Dance Crew material, they’re definitely something of wonder. More »

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Literary Vampires have evolved since Lord Ruthven’s account was dictated to us by the great John Polidori. Numerous mediums have been used to interpret these immortal creatures of the night. HBO’s TrueBlood, Lifetime’s Blood Ties, and CBS’s Moonlight are just some of the very recent TV adaptations. Who is to say what attracts us to the paranormal and the preternatural urges of the Vampires world. These newer Manga/Anime constructions give us more fantasy than fear as we would gladly give our necks over to the clear eyed, ruby lipped fangs.

In “Model” (모델), a Manhwa (Korean for Manga), by Lee So-young (이소영) we follow a young exchange student named Jae; a Korean girl currently studying art in the UK.  Over seven volumes Jae takes a thrilling and romantic journey when she meets a beautiful man name Michael and makes a pact with him in order to paint his portrait. In the chapters of these ethereal graphics, we are trapped inside Jae visions and witness her horrors; which at times coincide with her desires.  Is Jae swept away or is Jae on a downward path into hell? Can you really trust the word of a vampire or is she making a deal with the devil? More »

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Kimchi, the one ubiquitous food, other than rice, that exists in Korea, is everywhere. In my house, there was always at least one Tupperware full of the fermented, red-peppered vegetables, ripe or fresh. Therefore, being surrounded by them, I never really noticed there was a certain smell to the ripe ones. That’s why whenever the newcomers come to Korea, one of the first thing they tell me is that they can smell the overpowering stench of kimchi. For the longest time I didn’t have a single clue as to what they were talking about. That is until three years ago. More »

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Every year, the Korean Produce Association in Flushing, New York, puts together a big, public event to celebrate Chuseok - the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving. This year Wondergirls are the headline act and Miss Info of Hot 97 is the host. I’ve also been told that other members of JYP’s label are expected to perform such as J-Lim and G-Soul friends of Ningin from our Rebuilding the Bridge Charity event back in July. Many others, including JYP, will be making special appearances. (Note, I haven’t been able to get hard confirmation of anything besides Wondergirls and Miss Info.)

Ningin has been granted a private, video interview with the Wondergirls which we will post sometime soon after the event! Four Ningin bloggers (yes 4!) will be covering this event, Mia, Lan, Lara, and Jessica because we’re trying to get as many interviews, photographs, and videos as we can. We’re also planning to provide hi-definition streaming of the event, but that depends on weather conditions and equipment setup of the event host. Should be a fun Sunday =)

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He’s not a celebrity, just a regular Rhode Island guy. But what he has to say about race in America today is funny, hard-hitting, and well worth a read. He’s Frank Y. Pak Agostinelli, founder of asiansofmixedrace.com. With Frank, what you see is what you get. Everything about him, from his name to his “Random Thoughts of an Angry Half-Asian Man,” sets a powerful example of self-acceptance.

I wanted to learn more about the mixed-race experience because of my own half-white, half-Korean children. A mixed-Asian friend introduced me to Frank and the awesome content of his site. In the first part of this interview, you’ll get to know Frank. Stay tuned for Part 2, which features more about his site, including the fascinating issues and celebrities covered there. More »

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It’s in the near future that technology has advanced to a point where human powered machines make people into, larger than life, super powered robots. Sound familiar? Well that’s the basic premise of Mecha stylized Anime. This science fiction backdrop varies, but the influence is the mainstay; without this genre, Anime would not be the same.

My first vivid memory with these massive exoskeleton suits was the American version of the Macross series. Known in the USA as Robotech; the storyline follows pilots of the UN spacey as they take flight to beat an over-sized race of humanoids, called the Zentradi. The type of Mech our brethren used made ordinary humans just as tall as their alien enemies. This also allowed them to transform into air fighting jet planes.  What was even more common is the Zentradi soldiers also wore protective mechanical suits making this technology universal. More »

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Anime is definitely a catalyst for a lot of things from music to dance to fashion. With NYAF coming up, I’m decided that this and next round up will feature all anime music. There’s a lot out there and if it weren’t for these animes, some artists probably wouldn’t be as popular as they are.

I’ve chosen the list below after consulting a few friends on their favorite anime music. They’re very common and highly loved by a lot of people, including myself. It was really difficult just picking out 5 but I was able to narrow it down.

Also, I’m sorry to have missed last week’s. I’ve been so busy with NYAF! I will double the amount I do next week’s and the week after that. As always, enjoy! More »

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People who know me well know that I am a cold hearted bitch. I rarely cry but I do cry at movies occasionally. Usually the scene involves a hot guy dying. Why? The thought of the world losing such a good looking specimen just gets my tears flowing. I also weep when I read stories of young disprivileged Asians making it big in the States. That’s like reading my own life story… not!

Anyway, I was watching the youtube clip of Charice Pempengco’s recent appearance on the Oprah Show today and I was moved to tears. On the show, Charice showed the viewers where she grew up in the Phillippines. She also did a live number. The producers also showed what happened to this little diva’s singing career ever since she made her first appearance on the show earlier this year. All I can say is, Oprah can move mountains. Even since that appearance, Charice has been invited to perform with singing powerhouse like Andrea Boccelli and Josh Groban. At the end of the show, the ever so annoying Celine Dion (who’s one of Charice’s idols) made a surprise appearance via live satelite and invited Charice to do a duet with her at her concert in Madison Square Garden, New York. The concert took place three days ago and I have the clip here. I bet the producers of the Oprah Show reached out to her other idol, Whitney Houston several times but she was probably too busy smoking crack to return their phone calls.

Not many females can make me cry and Charice was one of the few who could do so. Her story is just so inspirational!

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New York Anime Festival is 8 days away! As such, I’m here to teach you how to make your very own Misa Amane (Death Note) cosplay outfit. The most basic and famous outfit by Misa Amane is her black Goth outfit. It looks complex with all the layers but it’s really quite simple. Even without the big ass blades on her arms, you can still pull of the look easily. All it takes is a little money, some patience and creativity.

Note that this is not fit for boys but I do have something special for you too! More »

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Vikram Pandit is CEO of Citigroup, the world’s largest bank, and employs 358,000 people around the world in 100 countries. He was formerly President and COO at Morgan Stanley from 2000 to 2005. He is a former board member of the NASDAQ.

Vikram was born in India to a moderately affluent family. He moved to the US to attend Columbia University where he received a BS (electrical engineering), MS (electrical engineering), MBA, and Ph.D. in finance. Vikram is also a trustee at Columbia University.

After obtaining his multiple degrees in succession, Vikram became a professor at Indiana University Bloomington before joining Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities division. He was responsible for building their prime brokerage services. Afterward, he started his own hedge fund called “Old Lane,” which was later purchased by Citigroup, at which point Vikram was offered a job. When he was appointed to CEO, his father was quoted as saying,

“He was a brilliant boy. In school, he always stood first in his class. He is very astute and focused. I saw him rise. Vikram has stood to my expectations.”

Got to love them Asian parents! More »

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Since the rise of anime during the 1980s and 1990s, we have not only seen the creation of some great series, but also have witness the growth of a very strong and united anime community. While we may not all agree on what is the best series ever created, we do share the love of great anime. The anime community plays a crucial role in success of the anime industries both here in America as well as in Japan.

While the American and Japanese anime industries share a lot of similarities, the advantage that the Japanese anime industry possesses is that they have had longer to mature. Anime has been on American shores long before the 1990s. However, it wasn’t till around that time till we saw the explosive growth that we are still witnessing today. The 1990s brought us many great anime series like Evangelion and the rise of Dragonball Z here in America. Japan on the other hand, had their anime surge almost 20 years earlier in the 1970s and 1980s. What this boils down to is that the Japanese anime community is not only larger, but also older. Fans have more disposable income to keep the anime industry strong, and have been doing so a lot longer. Sadly, America isn’t as lucky.

The 1990s also brought us the Internet. Fledging anime companies in America had a new tool to help advertise their stores and products. They were also presented with a very tough problem that no one could have predicted. While I am sure everyone is aware of the piracy problem that plagues the entire anime industry in the states and abroad, I don’t want to spend time debating that. What’s interesting about the problem is how it affects both America and Japan differently. More »

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This is an archived blog post. Jason Linetsky is no longer a Ningin blogger.

I was reading our forums and the Engrish shirts kicked a thought into my head I just had to post. It’s unusual that I post something I haven’t research or written a journalistic piece for but oh well. Patterns can be broken so here is my thought. More »

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David and Goliath, Inc. is an apparel company in Florida that makes dumbass stuff for people to wear. Here are two of their latest T-shirt designs. I find these to be extremely racist. What the hell!? I would like to know which dumbass is brave enough to wear these T-shirts. I guarantee I will rip his shirt to shreds if I see one (only if he’s cute). But seriously, only ignorant people would sell or wear T-shirts like these. I bet they would sell really well in Spain. They will no doubt have a huge following with with the national basketball team there.

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17 year old Sharon Tseung was recently ranked as Youtube’s 95th most viewed musician. Take a look at her singing What Hurts the Most or Rihanna’s Umbrella there are more examples on her Youtube or Myspace page.

Asian Heroes ambassador Ami recently had the opportunity to interview her. Sharon reflects,

I want to make a difference in the world [...] There are many great artists out there. It’s difficult to get into that business. I will try and seize opportunities and see where that gets me.

More »

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Ningin has always had a lot of visitors from South Korea and other Asian countries. We’re quite proud of that actually because it means we’re transcending national and cultural boundaries. It doesn’t matter who or where you are, if you’re interested in Asian media, we’re happy to have you here! So to better serve our international members (and really everyone in general) allow me to introduce Tara Popp, our newest blogger from South Korea:

차렷, 경래, 안녕하세요! (Cha-lyut, gyung-lae, ahnyoung-ha-sae-yo! = Attention! Bow and say hello!) Well that is one way to say hello in South Korea, especially at an institute, I suppose. More »

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Jerry Yang is co-founder and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. He is worth an estimated US$2.3 billion and ranked 524th among the richest people in the world. Mastering the English language in only three years during his high school years, Jerry was soon placed in an AP English class. He went on to Stanford University where he graduated with a B.S. and M.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Jerry has been a leading force in the Internet media industry for as long as anyone can remember. He has built Yahoo! into a destination network of sites that attracts 3.4 billion views per day. Yahoo! remains the world’s most highly trafficked website–beating Google–and is one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Yahoo was originally started in 1994 when Jerry was a PhD student. He jokes, “Really, we’d do anything to keep from working on our theses.”

More »

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I’m sure by now most of you have probably seen or heard about these little “real” (read, FAKE) Pikachus going on sale for a cool 925 million… (what are we talking here? Rupees? Rupiah?? Dong??) Which leads me to think about the real real-life pikachus. They’re actually quite cutesy! More »

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In case you haven’t heard, we’re partners with the New York Anime Festival! This is our biggest event partnership so far and so we felt something special was needed to promote it. Well, the 7 Days, 7 New Bloggers special worked out so well for us, we decided to do 8 Days of Anime (the number 8 is lucky in many Asian cultures). For 8 days, starting on Thursday September 18th, we will be posting at least two articles a day about something Anime related. We’re hoping that if we hyped up Anime enough online, you’ll be all hyped up for the real world event in NYC. In addition to articles, we’re also doing a roundtable discussion for the first time on Ningin where bloggers and members get a chance to share their opinions on a particular anime topic. Also joining as part of this 8 Days of Anime special are two very good friends of Ningin, Xorsyst.com & Otakuden.com, because we love working with good people and they have very interesting websites.

So here’s a list of planned articles which is more or less solid: More »

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Is this for real? Here comes North Korea with their solution to world hunger, and if this takes off, Hollywood’s newest diet fad fo’ shure! These super speshul magic noodles are made of corn and soybeans, and apparantly contain twice the protein and five times the fat of ordinary wheat noodles, helping you feel fuller for longer. More »

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Did you miss me? I haven’t been online the last couple of days, thanks to an Ohio hurricane. My whole life, Gulf of Mexico hurricanes have snaked up to the Ohio Valley, but left only torrential rains. This time, Hurricane Ike brought little rain, but wind gusts up to 77 miles per hour. Our power went out, and were it not for the lucky Thai joint, we’d have had no hot food.

More »

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