Last month, Kotaku reported that yet another producer departed from the Japan Studio. And this month, we’re reporting that the exodus continues. Yesterday, Shunsuke Saito tweeted, “I’m leaving SIE Japan Studio today.” Saito was the character designer and animator for Gravity Rush 1 and 2. He was also the art director for the sequel. His…
The Tokyo Olympics, it seems, will hold the opening ceremonies this July. While the finalized plans have yet to be revealed, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun has apparently acquired a 280-page scrapped proposal for the event. Included within it is an Akira-themed plan, and another that features Nintendo’s Mario. Shukan Bunshun is one of Japan’s most famous magazines…
Last week, the Tokyo District Court (pictured above) ruled that publishing manga dialogue online without permission is copyright infringement. According to NHK (via ANN), a “spoiler site” published almost all the dialogue verbatim from manga between January 2019 and May 2020. In total, 63 volumes were uploaded. The manga in question is Kengan Omega, and…
After eleven and a half years, the Attack on Titan manga is drawing to a close. There are already steps being taken to prevent illegal uploads. “Regarding illegal upload and pre-release leakage of Attack on Titan,” wrote the manga’s editor on Twitter, “we’ve begun to take legal actions against several accounts and individuals. We’ll take…
If you’ve ever been to Japan (and even if you haven’t), you are probably aware that shoes are a big deal—and specifically, taking them off. The bottoms of shoes are considered dirty for obvious reasons. Because of this, walking inside while wearing shoes is certainly frowned upon. The cultural norms do not stop there. Walking…
This week, Nexon announced that last year the company greenlit up to $1.5 billion worth of investments in Konami Holdings, Bandai Namco Holdings, Sega Sammy Holdings, and Hasbro. Founded in Seoul but now based in Tokyo, Nexon is one of the most successful game companies in Asia. “We believe companies with strong, well-managed global IP…
Last year, the in-person Tokyo Game Show was canceled due to covid-19 concerns. In its place was an online event. This year, once again, the show will be only online. As organizers announced in an official release, this year’s theme will be Sore de mo, bokura ni wa geemu ga aru (それでも、僕らにはゲームがある) or, “We’ll always…
A 28-year-old Tokyo resident has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a trading card shop atop a six-story building to steal Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, after climbing over the side of the building with a rope. Mainichi reports that in the early morning hours last week, Kensuke Nakanishi anchored a rope to a railing on the…
Famitsu editor Eiichi Sato was arrested for alleged fraud. According to Asahi News, Sato is accused of pulling off an impersonation ruse to collect freelance fees for articles. Sato was previously employed as an editor at Famitsu, a subsidiary of Kadokawa, and he was in charge of editing freelance articles. Famitsu, of course, is Japan’s…
Originally scheduled for “early summer” in Japan, the upcoming Shin Ultraman movie will be delayed. According to the official site, the scheduled release has been impacted by covid-19. Shin Ultraman will now get a new theatrical debut date, announced at a later time. Shin Ultraman is the latest collaboration between Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno and…
Originally scheduled for this April, Tokyo Babylon 2021 was delayed last December after the anime had apparently based character designs on a promotional photo of K-pop star Yeri from Red Velvet as well as another source without permission. Now, it’s been announced the anime will be canceled, with plans to start again anew. Tokyo Babylon…
Wit Studio, perhaps best known for the Attack on Titan anime, is expanding its repertoire. This week, the studio released a stop-motion anime, and it’s very cute. Founded in 2012, Wit is a subsidiary of Projection I.G. Last December, Wit created its own stop-motion studio in order to, as IT Media reports, meet the needs…
Last month, it was announced that the Nintendo Switch was getting a Ninja Gaiden trilogy release. But to the chagrin of some, this bundle includes Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and Sigma 2. That’s right, Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden II are not included. Announced in 2005, Ninja Gaiden Black was a reworked, harder version…
Whenever a massive game is released, no doubt, diehard fans wish nothing more than to take the day off. Some may suddenly find themselves coming down with a cold and the only recipe for recovery is a day of gaming. But employees at Tokyo-based VR-studio Mark-On don’t need to feign illness. Exec Jack Masaki formally…
In Japan, Konami doesn’t only make video games. It also has a major chain of sports clubs. Gyms have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Konami has had to shutter a number of its locations. Konami’s presence in sports is why the company has developed exercise games and been a major sponsor…
Slowpoke might not exactly be the image postal carriers are going for, but in Japan, the sluggishly cute Pokémon is known as Yadon, and… well, let me explain Since the character’s Japanese name sounds like “udon,” the character has been promoting the famous noodle dish in Kagawa Prefecture since 2015. If you ever visit the…
For the past few years, Square Enix has been co-developing mobile game Final Fantasy XI R with Nexon. The game was dubbed an “MMMRPG” or “Massively Multiplayer Mobile RPG.” But now, apparently, it’s no more. Originally announced in 2015 as Final Fantasy XI Mobile, the game was promised to be a mobile version of, you…
Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelion, is an anime icon. He says he’s done with the series. With its fame and popularity came haters, who took him to a very dark place. At one point, twisted online comments made Anno contemplate dying by suicide. In a recently aired NHK program, Anno opened up to film…
Track: Train Radio | Artist: Pterodactyl Squad
When Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was announced earlier this year, Square Enix detailed how it changed the textures and lighting, as well as added fog effects. Some changes were more subtle. During today’s Sony online event, Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase ran through the changes in the PS5 version. Most of the information was…
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