Brian Ashcraft

Manga Pirate Sentenced To Three Years In Prison And Fined Over $600,000

Romi Hoshino, the alleged administrator of now-shuttered manga piracy site Manga-Mura, was arrested on copyright charges in 2019 after a global manhunt. Today, the Fukuoka District Court found the 29-year-old guilty. As reported by FNN and Nikkei (via ANN), Hoshino has been sentenced to three years in prison and slapped with two fines: one for…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2021

King Of Fighters XV Delayed To 2022 Because of Covid-19

Originally aiming for a 2020 release, and earlier delay saw SNK scheduling The King of Fighters XV for this year. The game has, however, been delayed again According to SNK, the game is being pushed back due to the covid-19 situation in Japan, where a number of regions—including Tokyo and Osaka—are still under a state…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2021

Pokémon Products Don’t Get Much Better Than This

Over the years, there have been oodles of Pokémon branded products. For example, I bought Pikachu toothpaste earlier today in Japan for my youngest son. But if you really think about it, that doesn’t have much to do with Pocket Monsters. This product, though, definitely does. These are insect baskets, known as mushi kago (虫かご)…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 1, 2021

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Launches Launches June 9

Here we go. Sega announced that Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will launch on June 9. That’s next Wednesday! PSO2: NGS marks the twentieth anniversary of Phantasy Star Online—and ten years of PSO2. This is a massive expansion, featuring a revamped graphics engine and updated game system. Here’s the official release info: Scheduled Launch…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 1, 2021

CulturePokemon

Boy Sells Pokémon Cards To Pay For Puppy’s Vet Bills, Gets Rare Cards As A Present

Eight-year-old Bryson Kliemann decided to sell his Pokémon cards to help pay for his dog’s medical bills. According to Local 12, the dog contracted a highly contagious virus, and treatment cost almost $700. As noted on Yurukuyaru, since Kliemann’s family couldn’t afford the vet bills for Bruce the dog, he set up a table on…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 31, 2021

Kotaku EastSouth Korea

K-pop Group Enhypen Is Sorry About World Map That Omitted Japan

Just as K-pop group Enhypen is making a big push around the world, the group has ruffled feathers in Japan for merch that didn’t include, well, Japan. The image in question appeared as part of the group’s “En-Connect” fan meeting bundle. Along with three DVDs and a photo book, the box set is packed with…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 31, 2021

Thanks To Demon Slayer, Fans In Japan Rush To Donate Blood

In Tokushima, the Red Cross featured Demon Slayer characters on blood drive posters. Sign up and give, and the prefecture would give out one of those posters as a present. Fans were more than happy to oblige. According to Livedoor News, in April, 464 people donated, reaching 77 percent of the prefecture’s target. In the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 31, 2021

Covid-19 Barrier Given JRPG Twist

Perhaps you’ve seen plastic guards at stores and offices to prevent the spread of covid-19. Bet you haven’t seen one quite like this. Propmaker Takumi Armory has created this “RPG Version” of a splash-prevention partition. Amusingly, it’s designed to look like a fantasy role-playing game selection menu, asking what you’d like to do. There are…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 28, 2021

Woman Arrested For Alleged Arson Threat To Attack On Titan Anime Studio

A 25-year-old woman from Miyagi prefecture has been arrested for allegedly emailing an arson threat to Wit Studio, which is best known for animating the first three seasons of the Attack on Titan anime. According to Yomiuri News, the suspect was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of forcibly obstructing a business. Kyodo News reports…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 28, 2021

Offline Version Of Dragon Quest X Announced

When Dragon Quest X was first released in 2012, it was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It still is! But now in 2021, an offline version has been announced. It’s called, wait for it, Dragon Quest X: Offline Square Enix has tweaked the visuals and created a stand-alone, offline title. The teaser trailer promised…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2021

Dragon Quest III Is Getting Another Remake, And It Looks Glorious

Over the years, there have been a number of versions of Dragon Quest III. Add another one to the list. During a live stream today, Square Enix announced an HD remake with 2D graphics. Square Enix is mixing pixel art with 3D computer graphics to achieve the visual look. There was no release date or specific…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2021

Dragon Quest XII Announced, Hardware Is TBA

Today, Dragon Quest XII was announced during a Square Enix live stream. In the teaser, the “XII” logo was in fire with a voice saying in Japanese, “Why do people live?” The game’s full title is Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii explains that the game will give the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2021

Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai Is Thinking About Retiring [Update]

Masahiro Sakurai has a regular column in Japanese game magazine Weekly Famitsu. In the latest issue, just released and read by Kotaku, Sakurai’s article is titled, “Everything comes to an end.” According to Sakurai, he wrote the article earlier this month at the end of Golden Week, which is a string of national holidays in…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2021

Anime Super Cub Breaks The Law, Yes, But Is Fiction

In a recent episode of Super Cub, the anime about schoolgirls and the Honda motorcycle, two characters are shown riding on the same motorcycle. That is illegal in Japan. In Japanese, two people riding on the same motorcycle or bicycle is called futari-nori (“two riders”). Those who violate this traffic law can be fined up…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2021

How Demon Slayer Energized A Japanese Canned Coffee Brand

Japan is famous for its canned coffee. But with consumption on the slide, canned coffee makers needed to wake up sales. They found it: Anime. As Mainichi News reports, Osaka’s DyDo Drinco launched its Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba line of “collab-cans” in October 2020. Featuring 28 different designs, some “Kimetsu-can” as they’re called were…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2021

Final Fantasy XIV Patch Fixes The Ages Of Non-Playable Characters

Typically, patches correct bugs and glitches or add new features and content. The latest Final Fantasy XIV patch does that, but it also changes the ages of two non-playable characters, Mikoto Jinba and Menenius sas Lanatus Prior to the patch, the character Mikoto (pictured) was 29 years old, but afterwards, her age has been lowered…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2021

Macross Designer Hospitalized After Tragic House Fire

Earlier today, there were Japanese news reports of a single-story wooden house catching fire in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. According to anime maker Studio Nue, the house’s inhabitants were Kazutaka Miyatake and his wife Tomoko. Kazutaka Miyatake created mechanical designs for some of the most iconic anime ever, including Space Battleship Yamato, Macross, Mobile Suit Gundam…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2021

A Totally New Metal Saga Game Announced For Nintendo Switch

This week, a completely new Metal Saga has been announced to mark the franchise’s 30th anniversary. It’s called Metal Saga: Hangyaku no Rouka (The Beacon of Rebellion) and is bound for the Nintendo Switch. Metal Max was first released in 1991, and due to trademark issues, the games in the franchise have been released under…

By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2021