I’m still trying to figure out the point of GakiAttack, a Twitter application that allows followers to attack one another in a variety of exotic Japanese-branded methods… but I fear that would be looking too far into its inane simplicity.

According to its website, Gaki is: “not only Japanese for ‘spoiled child’ and the person who is ‘it’ in a game of tag, but it’s also a Japanese Variety Show that’s been making people laugh since 1989.

Four guys spend 24 hours locked in a gymnasium being terrorized by a group of ninjas. What’s your favourite attack? The big swing? The scorpion death lock? If you love ninja moves, samurai weapons and just plain old ninja stuff, then you’ll love watching these episodes of 24-Hour Tag available on Hulu.com.”

Unfortunately, being lowly UK residents, we are barred from using Hulu, but judging from other insane Japanese gameshows I’ve seen, this one could be filed under “pretty tame”.

The application itself informs your follower that they have attacked, without further explanation. For example, I attacked my Twitter-alter ego with an Ippon… I’m not sure what that means.

Not to be put off, there are plenty of useful Twitter applications out there, that actually do have a point, I shall list my top 5 7 Twitter apps (excluding TweetDeck because of its ubiquitous awesomeness).

TweetBurner: Tracks all the links you post on Twitter and provides statistics, also the ones posted by your friends.

TwitBin: Handy extension for Firefox users, puts Twitter right in your browser window.

Mr. Tweet: Follow Mr. Tweet, and it will recommend some more people for you to follow. Infinitely better than Twitter’s own “suggested” friend service.

TwitPic: Let’s you share photos on Twitter, also allows access from mobile phone pictures.

TweetStats: Let’s you know exactly how much time you’ve been wasting on the addicting website, giving you a handy graph of  Tweets per hour, month, reply statistics, etc.

TwitScoop: A personal favourite, creates a nice cloud image of what’s being talked about on Twitter, it’s mesmerising and is constantly updating itself right before your very eyes.

TwitterFeed: Allows you to feed your blog right into Twitter, brilliant.