Gundam, Dragon Balls, Lightening, and...Minions?!

The Japanese word "otaku" is used to describe people who love anything to do with Japanese anime and manga (Japanese comics).  Here are a few things that set our inner otakus buzzing with delight.  Oh, and we also found a swarm of minions milling about...

We took a river cruise to the man-made island of Odaiba to see the life-size RX-78-2 Gundam in front of Diver City mall.

Amuro! Gundam!! Ikimasu!!! 

Jim piloting a Gundam (actually an arcade game).

And finally, a quick snack at the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara. 

Eternal Shenron making an appearance to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dragon Ball anime series and to grant a few wishes.

Lord Frieza plotting in his pod...let it go, man! 

Louis Vuitton's newest spokesperson is a video game character.  Meet Lightening from Final Fantasy XIII. 

We found minions. Lots and lots of minions.  We found out later that it was a charity event.