Dropkick on My Devil! anime's guidelines for derivative works allow content creators to monetize clips, commentary, and explanation videos on YouTube and Niconico when meeting certain conditions. It appears their aim is to use illegal uploads as advertising while receiving a share of the profit to fund continuing the series.

Light Anime is a new anime production method that can significantly cut down on the time and cost that is associated with traditional animation production methods. It makes it easier to bring more anime into the market in a timely manner.

Japan's Kyushu University has released over 1,400 digital 3D biological specimens. The majority of the models fall under the CC BY 4.0 license, meaning it is possible for anyone to download and use them. A large percentage of the newly released models are of aquatic life, but there is still a diverse range of insects and plants.

vpixiv is a malicious clone site that has caused quite a stir within Japan. The site was created via unauthorized copying of the data from artist community site pixiv. In response to vpixiv, pixiv users were adding “magic words” to their profiles as a method to have their account pages deleted from the clone site.

The Association of Japanese Animations recently released Anime Taizen, a consolidated database of information regarding Japanese anime, to the public. The database was made available with information for 14,710 different anime and 175,755 episodes of anime.

FIMMIGRM is a music creation service that generates songs using AI. The service uses an AI that uses machine learning to analyze the characteristics of hit songs, to create a variety of different melodies and chord progressions. The service allows for songs to be purchased for a low price without any of the hassles that normally come with rights management.

Japanese online bookstore honto has begun offering a “book gacha” in which users only pick the genre that they want to read. There are around 100 paperback novels (all in Japanese) that are included in the gacha.

Students who game longer have lower test scores on Japan’s national achievement test. It wasn’t just limited to gaming as time spent on social media and video sites also showed a comparable trend in relation to test results.

The Kemigawa Shinto Shrine in Japan to offer Omamori NFTs (good luck charm NFTs) as it searches for new revenue streams. Like the real thing, the benefits of the NFT charms wear off after a year, after which they are automatically burned.

Initial D, a popular manga and anime series that takes place in Gunma, Japan, is collaborating with taxis in Gunma’s Shibukawa city. The collaboration sees taxis in the city wrapped with three different designs based on the series, including one based on protagonist Takumi Fujiwara’s Toyota Sprinter Trueno (AE86).

The University of Tokyo has announced that they will soon offer Metaverse courses to teach engineering in a virtual space. The intention is to provide a new style of learning to a wide range of people including middle and high school students, working adults, and more.

The school featured in the popular light novel, manga, and anime series Haruhi Suzumiya was modeled on real-life Japanese high school Nishinomiya Kita High, located in Japan's Hyogo prefecture. But this real school may soon be consolidated into another school.

Meiji University in Japan has announced that they have developed a device that can alter the appearance and taste of food. It is named TTTV2 which stands for “Transform The Taste and Visual appearance.”

Japanese company Onken made a tweet showing their “coworker HP badges” which began to spread on social media. As the name implies, the badges display an HP bar that workers can pin to themselves to show how much HP they have left in the tank.

Sekai Saionji, one of the heroines from the game and anime series School Days, has made her debut as a VTuber on the YouTube channel of Shiho Kawaragi, who voiced the character in the anime series.

Roopt神楽坂DAO (Roopt Kagurazaka DAO), a share house located in Tokyo that uses NFTs, will open in September. One NFT is worth 30,000 yen (around $220) and can be exchanged for a one month stay at the share house.

Restaurant chain Pronto are set to open their first エビノスパゲッティ(E Vino Spaghetti) restaurant in Tokyo’s Marunouchi Building on June 30. The restaurant will mainly serve pasta and alcohol, but what really sets it apart is that the pasta will be prepared by an automated robot

The Langaku manga reader app’s key feature is that users can customize the amount of English that appears. Someone may start with only 20% of the text in English and increase the amount as they get more comfortable. The manga on offer includes Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Spy x Family, and more.