Offense above, apology below.

I'm heading to Japan in just a few days, and I'm trying to warn my travel mates that it's going to be really hot and humid while we're there. I've suggested packing light, comfortable clothing. It is always really hot and annoyingly muggy this time of year. It's in the mid to high 90s in Tokyo right now, and it only cools down to about 80 at night.

If I didn't make my point clear enough, this staggering statistic might: Nearly 47,000 Japanese citizens were thrown in ambulances and taken to hospitals for heat stroke this year, starting at the end of this past May. And here's how much the heat sucks right about now: 5,358 of them were transported to the hospital in the seven-day period through last Sunday.

They don't call it the Land of the Rising Sun for nothing.

This is no joking matter, though: The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that among this total number 158 people died shortly after arrival at hospitals in 42 prefectures across Japan. 

Almost 60 percent reported mild symptoms, but the other 40 were mild to severe, says JapanToday.

If you're going to be in Japan's heat for the remainder of this summer, be sure to drink plenty of fluids. I like Pocari Sweat for this kind of heat -- it does a great job of keeping you hydrated. Also, wear light clothing and take it easy.

Wish us luck out there!

OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL AM I LOOKING AT?

This above photo was taken at Miyako port. It's a creature that was found 200 meters down, and it obviously looks like something...well, it doesn't quite look like that. And when you flip it over it looks like...oh wow.

The folks at 3yen say that people are calling this a DickSwim. Great name. I feel uncomfortable saying that. Hell, I feel uncomfortable just looking at this thing.

Here's the original blog post by the finder of this strange thing. He also thinks it looks like a...well, you know.

The Death Note Collection is just hitting stores, thanks to the folks at VIZ Pictures. It combines the first two Death Note movies on one disc, plus includes a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes footage and trailers. I don't know about you, but I'd love to give these movies another spin in high-definition. Ken'ichi Matsuyama as "L" was awesome in both movies, and I'll take any excuse to get a better look at Erika Toda.

Lucky for you, we've partnered with VIZ Pictures to give away a copy of the Death Note Collection to one of you, our dear readers. All you need to do to nab it is to win our simple contest. 

To win, tell us (in the comments below) which popular anime or manga character you'd first put down in your Death Note to be killed, and be sure to include the full description on how you'd have them die. We'll pick the best victim/death combo and send the prize to you. You have until Friday, September 3rd, to get your entries in. 

Happy killing!

My stomach is flipping repeatedly. I can't even handle the thought of tasting (or even smelling!) Tropicana's Orange with Rare Cheese Flavor juice.

Available starting this month in Japan for 150 yen a bottle, the Fruit Sweets beverage sounds less offensive when you hear that it is supposed to taste like orange cheesecake. I...I almost go for it, but then I really think about it, and it's still pretty gross.

The item description page says that the bottle has a wide mouth so that you can taste and smell this juice better. Ugh.

[Warning: The below video the jump has very slight nudity (only brief bare breasts), but I'd still consider it Not Safe For Work.]

With as big as 3D films are becoming, you'd have to know that full-blown 3D porn was coming up next. Hong Kong is on the job with upcoming film 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, directed by Christopher Sun.

But get this: the film's main parts are performed by Japanese porn stars as their Hong Kong counterparts were thought to be too conservative. In other words, the director wants the best for the world's first 3D porn. It stars Saori Hara, who says that she hopes the appeal will spread way beyond Hong Kong and Japan. Hiro Hayana plays the male lead, who hopes that people will get that the film focuses on love and romance.

Sun notes that there will be fun parts and "funny faces," so it's not all serious.

Watch the full news clip after the jump. Also, get a load of the fountain behind the director above!

How could I forget to show you this!?

While at Otakon last month, Colette, Jake and I ran into YouTube user acksonl. You couldn't miss the guy as he was rocking an awesome (and expensive!) steadycam rig. Being the huge camera nerds that we are, we introduced ourselves and found out that he has this nice rig solely for filming killer cosplay videos at anime cons. He doesn't work for anyone -- he just does it for the love of cosplay! He has the good stuff, too: The steadycam itself could be worth more than your low end car, and he rocks cameras like the Canon 7D and 5D Mk. II with some nice lenses to get these great results.

The first video below is my favorite, though you should watch them all. In the first, it starts out seriously cool and instantly changes into seriously hilarious at the 2:50 mark. 

Watch these videos below and be sure to check out the rest of acksonl's work on his channel.

It feels like gamers are resistant overall to the 3D technology. I'm mildly interested, personally, but I also get a mild headache every time I play a 3D game at a trade show. So I don't know. I feel like if the glasses were factored out, I'd be more into the possibility of buying a 3D television.

SEE-GAAAH!!

So cute!

Sega is releasing K-On! Portable Live!! for the PSP very soon, and the promotional videos are coming out as expected. This newly released one for the upcoming game is adorable and definitely worth watching, but I'm here to tell you about the first 5 seconds of the video, the face-reddening auditory moe that comes in the form of Yui singing the classic Sega jingle.

I can't stand it!!! I've listened to it like 15 times now. I already needed this game in my world, but I need it even more if that jingle actually plays upon boot.

Our pal Cheapy D created this video on his YouTube channel to show off the sound trucks and how much noise these as*holes can make. In the video he explains that protesters are making noise (literally and figuratively) against the Russian ownership of Japan's northern islands. What are they trying to do? Yell them off the island?

At about 1:42 you'll get to the actual trucks and protesters. This went down on August 9th in Minato-ku, outside the Russian embassy. Cheapy says that there are laws against this amount of excessive noise, but there's never any consequence. The end result? A sh*tload of trucks and people making the most noise possible. At the end you'll see cops standing guard, ready to...blow their whistles? Amazing.