Brian Ashcraft

Track: White Heat | Artist: The Flickers | Album: Wonderground

The Wrong Camera Angle Can Ruin CG Anime

Camera placement is everything in CG animation. Everything. Japanese CG animator Kohta Morie shows off this cool behind-the-scenes look at how a commercial for Kyoto Gakuen University was made. First, here’s the ad: This isn’t the frightening bit. This is. GAH. You can watch more of the making of right here. Kotaku East is your…

North Korean Special Effects Are Really Bad

Figures. So are North Korean Photoshops. According to Newsweek, North Korea released a new propaganda clip, showing the destruction of important South Korean cultural and political monuments. Last month, the country released another clip, showing the destruction of Washington D.C. Grim, scary stuff. Though, we can take heart in one thing: At least Industrial Light…

Japanese Students Wear VR Headsets at School Ceremony

This isn’t your typical Japanese high school entrance ceremony. Japanese entertainment and internet giant Kadokawa Dwango has created a high school for the internet age, where students can study programming, game design, voice acting, and more. So, yeah, this school is unique and other schools in Japan do not use VR headsets at their commencements.…

Japanese Castles Look Even Better with Cherry Blossoms

Know how to make Japanese castles and cherry blossoms even better? Combine them. Via Matome Naver, here are some truly lovely photos taken this spring of Japanese castles across the country as cherry blossoms bloom. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and…

Persona 5, you’ve been awfully quiet! Just a friendly reminder, via 2ch, that Atlus hasn’t updated us with any P5 news since October 2015. It’s slated for a release this year, so hopefully we’ll get an update sooner rather than later.

Watch Babymetal’s U.S. Television Debut Right Here

For the first time, Japanese metal idol group Babymetal performed “Gimme Chocolate!!” on American TV, specifically, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert This comes as the group just conquered Wembley in the U.K. and released their latest album, Metal Resistance.

Morning in Akihabara. Tokyo, Japan. By Derek Bulner. 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!

Japanese game company Alchemist, best known for Gal*Gun, has apparently filed for bankruptcy, 4Gamer reports.

Resident Evil Clothing for Muscular, Sweaty People

Are you a strapping man or woman? Do you like Resident Evil? Then does Capcom have some clothing for you. According to Famitsu, the Osaka-based game company is teaming up with athletic gear company Bodymaker for a line of inner wear clothing designed to reduce muscle stress during physical activity. The clothing is made from…

1980s Anime Lives On in This R-Type Tribute

Irem’s 1987 side-scrolling arcade shooter R-Type comes to life in one man’s loving fan-made tribute. This is the work of Paul Johnson, whom you might remember from the incredible TIE Fighter animation to which he devoted four years of his life. Johnson has also uploaded a clip of him drawing, giving an insight to how…

Nintendo Ends Support for Original DS in Japan

In Japan, Nintendo said that starting next month, it will no longer support the original “phat” Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DS launched in Japan in December 2004, eventually causing a sensation after its dog-rearing and brain-training games exploded in popularity. The original Nintendo DS became so popular in 2006 that Nintendo DS units were imported…

15 Singing Robots Sounds Like a Choir From Hell

Here it is. The soundtrack for the inevitable robot insurrection. You know, when they rise up and kill us all. Via Culture Lab, we have fifteen Pepper robots singing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. And plotting our demise. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea,…

Keep Your VR Headset Clean, The Japanese Way

Your face can get grimy. So can other people’s. Disposable sanitary guards for VR headsets sound like a very good idea. Our colleagues at Gizmodo Japan previously spotted “VR Masks” at SXSW, and they can now be purchased for sets of 100 masks for 2,980 yen or US$27. These masks are specifically for VR demos,…

Lush Green. Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido, Japan. By Zachary Sorenson. 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!

Turning Photos into Anime Images

Twitter user ujr50138 has uploaded some images showing how photos can be turned into anime stills, thanks to the power of Photoshop. These effects can be achieved by lowering the brightness, but increasing the contrast and adding in blue shadows to show reflected light. Adding in yellow-green and blue highlights to vegetation also helps give…

The Inevitable Sailor Moon Hamburger

It’s very, very pink. The pink buns, we’ve seen before on Kotaku. And in Japan in recent years, other characters (here and here, for example) have been turned into burgers. This is the latest. Starting on April 16, a Sailor Moon-themed cafe is opening in Tokyo’s Roppongi for a limited time. Included on the menu…

Dragon Ball‘s Newest Super Saiyan Name Was a Mistake

The newest Super Saiyan form is Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. Which sounds silly, yes. That’s why, as Kotaku previously reported, it was changed in the manga. Now the most recent Dragon Ball Super is following suit. As mentioned before, a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is when a Saiyan gets the power of a…

Japanese Company Apologizes for 9 Cent Price Increase

Akagi Nyugyo Co. is apologizing for increasing the price of its long-selling ice treat Gari-Gari Kun. Starting April this month, each popsicle’s price will be raised from 60 yen to 70 yen. This is the first price hike in 25 years. Sorry about that! As the Mainichi News points out, Akagi isn’t the only company…

Dark Souls 3‘s Butt Glitch 

The assumption might be that another glitch will eventually surpass this. But that will not happen. Note: This story contains content some readers might find objectionable. While it’s not yet known how widespread the glitch is, it seems like it happens when there’s bowing and squatting while decked out in a robe. I’m sure From…