Brian Ashcraft

After Cocaine Allegations, Yakuza 4 Gets A New Voice Actor 

In Yakuza 4‘s original PlayStation 3 release, the character Masayoshi Tanimura was played by actor Hiroki Narimiya. The upcoming PS4 remaster, however, will feature another actor. Narimiya made a name for himself as a popular TV and movie actor, starring in the live-action adaptation of Phoenix Wright as well as 2016’s Assassination Classroom: Graduation flick.…

South Bridge Road. Singapore. By Nicolas Lannuzel | Flickr JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Heart Station | Artist: Utada Hikaru | Album: Heart Station Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Spot What’s Wrong With This Japanese TV Screenshot

Akira Ikegami often appears on Japanese TV to explain difficult news topics or discuss history. He’s incredibly famous and has been on TV for decades. Earlier this week, he discussed French history. People noticed something off. On the recently aired Akira Ikegami Walks Through Modern History, he introduced Liberty Leading the People In Japanese, the…

Animator Keiichiro Kimura has passed away Kimura worked as a character designer and director on iconic shows like Cyborg 009 and Tiger Mask. He was 80 years old. In 2015, there was a Kickstarter for Go! Samurai, a hand-drawn sketch animation by Kimura. May he rest in peace.

The First Official Harry Potter Cafes Coming To Japan

For a limited time, two Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts themed cafes are heading to Japan. Called the Wizarding World Cafe, they will open on November 9. There are other unofficial Harry Potter cafes, but this is apparently the first official one. The cafe will have two locations—one in Tokyo and the other in Fukuoka—and…

Nanay Peak at Masungi Georeserve. Rizal, Philippines. By Martin Tan. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Maggie May (Live) | Artist: Rod Stewart | Album: Every Picture Tells a Story Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Devil May Cry 5‘s Ridiculous $8,600 Bundle

Capcom doesn’t have just one pricey “Ultra Limited Edition” bundle for Devil May Cry 5. It has several, including this Dante themed once, which is 972,000 yen ($8,600) tax included. Is that all? According to E-Capcom (via tipster Roy), the bundle comes with a copy of the game, interchangeable box art and a leather Dante…

Guess All These Anime References In This Week’s Pokémon Episode

Megumi Hayashibara is one of Japan’s most iconic voice actresses. Besides her singing work, she’s voiced characters including Team Rocket’s Jessie, Rei Ayanami from Evangelion and Kitty White from Hello Kitty, among many, many others. The most recent episode of the Pokémon TV anime pays homage to some of those characters How many can you…

The Limited Edition Sega Saturn Themed Music Player

The palm-sized Activo CT10 music player is getting limited edition Sega Saturn themed hardware in Japan. They go on sale late next month with the gray and white editions limited to 500 units each. Priced at 44,800 yen ($397), they come pre-installed, each comes with a few Sega tunes. The gray version, for example, has…

Take The Ride. Hanoi, Vietnam. By Jorge Cancela | Flickr JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: A Fistful of Dynamite | Artist: Ennio Morricone | Album: A Fistful of Dynamite OST Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The “AirDrop Perverts” On Japanese Trains 

In Japanese, the word “chikan” refers to those who grope others in public or the unwanted touching itself. “AirDrop chikan” has entered the public discourse. As this Japanese news broadcast points out, it’s also called “cyber chikan.” In the West, the BBC reported on the “first cyber-flashing” in 2015 after a British woman was sent…

The Internet Reacts To Crunchyroll And Funimation’s Break Up 

For the past two years, Crunchyroll and Funimation have been sharing anime broadcasts via a cross-licensing deal. Variety reports that agreement is over. Bummer. Sony-owned Funimation has decided not to renew. The reason? According to Funimation president and CEO Gen Fukunaga in an internal memo, Sony is increasing inventions in the streaming company in order…

Halloween Is Coming. Tokyo, Japan. By Shawn Danker | Official Site  JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Yah Yah Yah | Artist: Chage and Aska | Album: Red Hill Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The New Anime That Has Fans Complaining About Animation Quality

Another season of anime! Another season of fans pointing out animation problems. This time it’s My Sister, My Writer So far, the show is two episodes in and regardless if you are enjoying the story or the characters, it seems rife with animation issues. Which will, no doubt, be smoothed out with the animators are…

Early Morning. Hong Kong. By Francisco Anzola | Flickr  JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

This Anime Image Makes No Sense

Release the Spyce is one of the new anime broadcasting this season. This still image from the show doesn’t make sense. Surely, you can see why, no? There are cars stopped at a red light across from on-facing cars also stopped at the same red light. If the light changed, they would crash into each…