Brian Ashcraft

Japan’s Busiest Intersection Recreated with 1,000 Paper People

This stop-motion animation brings Shibuya’s scramble crossing alive at 1/100 scale and made from little paper sculptures. Those are little architectural models, and a total of 1,000 little paper people make their way through the intersection. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your…

Japan, the Xbox One Isn’t Giving Up on You Just Yet

Even if it seems that Japan already has. The Japanese Xbox One launch was an utter disasterand recent console sales have been shockingly bad. No wonder that today in Tokyo, newly minted Microsoft Japan boss Takuya Hirano was asked during in a Q&A whether or not the Xbox One was going to be pulled from…

Artist: Def Tech | Track: My Way | Album: Def Album Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Star Wars Woodblock Prints Made by Japanese Craftsmen

And yes, the prints are officially licensed by Lucasfilm. Part of a crowdfunding project on Makuake.com, these limited-edition woodblock prints were designed by artist Masami Ishikawa, engraved by master engravers, and handprinted by a master printer. Years of study and craftsmanship go into producing works like these. Fascinating and beautiful. To contact the author of…

Pokémon Helped One Student Get into Japan’s Most Elite University

The University of Tokyo is Japan’s most prestigious school and the highest rated university in Asia. To get in, you will needs smarts. Playing Pokémon, says one student, probably won’t hurt, either. Recently, Japanese TV show Viking! talked to University of Tokyo students, with one graduate student recommending playing Pokémon as a way to get…

Snow Monkey. Nagano, Japan. By Vittorio Giorgi. 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!

No Chinese TV, Gundam Is Not a Real Military Weapon

China Central Television is state television, so seeing propaganda isn’t unusual. Seeing a militarized Mobile Suit Gundam flash on the screen is. Yesterday, CCTV show Focus Today reported how Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “clamors” for war against China, mentioning all the weapons Japan has with the U.S. as well as the secret weapons Abe…

Japanese e-sports team Detonation just fired one of its League of Legends players for allegedly leaking info to someone connected with another team. Remember, loose lips sink picks!

Japan Is Good at Vine

Lots of countries are good at Vine. It should be no surprise that Japan is one of them. Below, you can see some of the well-known and interesting Japanese Vines from the past year or so, collected via Naver Matome and, well, Vine Top GIF: アハト To contact the author of this post, write to…

Artist: BoA | Track: Jewel Song | Album: Valenti Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Attack on Titan Hot Dogs Remind You of Something Important

Behold, Attack on Hot Dog. As internet buddy @clpearce point out, it’s funny when you realize that none of the Titans have wieners. That’s true! They don’t. Heh. Entabe reports that these hot dogs will go on sale at Aeon Cinemas across Japan to get people ready for the upcoming Attack on Titan live-action movie.…

The GodEater anime, based on the games of the same name, was expected to begin broadcasting in Japan from July 5. The anime’s official site, however, announced today that the first episode is being delayed to the following week to improve the show’s quality.

Tokyo Disney Is Officially the Best for Handwashing

Disney fans might disagree which Disney Resort reigns supreme. Everyone has their favorite. But there is one thing we can all agree on: None can surpass Tokyo Disney for handwashing. According to website Conpetti, both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are rolling out special handwashing areas. You might wonder why. Besides the fact that Japanese…

Artist: Sambomaster | Track: Rock ‘n Roll Is Not Dead | Album: Rock ‘n Roll Is Not Dead Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Wow, That’s a Large Anime Figure

Size does matter. And this anime figurine is pretty damn big. This is Momo from the manga and anime To Love-Ru. The figurine is life-sized, so here’s how it compares with a real human: [Photo: torafes2015] The figure was recently displayed at an event in Japan. [Photo: fumitukiwarabi] [Photo: nichirou] [Photo: 2ch] [Photo: fumitukiwarabi] Pretty…

There Was a Robot Wedding in Japan

You may kiss the bride. The robot bride. The ceremony, which you can see in the RT video below, was for robots Frois and Yukirin. But apparently, only one of them was a real robot. Can you guess which one? While, yes, this was billed as a robot marriage, this isn’t a legally binding marriage…

“Manga Artist” Arrested for Allegedly Organizing a Sex Party

A 27-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly setting up an orgy with prostitutes. Japan’s leading newspaper refers to the suspect as a “manga artist,” a label with which some online disagree. According to one of Japan’s leading newspapers, Asahi.com (via Tokyo Reporter), the suspect, Takeshi Higuchi, allegedly violated Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law. Asahi reports that…

Oh, Just a Bird Singing the Totoro Theme, That’s All

This video is not new. But damn, it’s cute. Here, we have a cockatiel singing the theme song for the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro. This video is from YouTube user asayasufuraion, and other YouTube users have also uploaded videos with birds singing anime songs. For example, here’s the Ponyo theme from puchipiyo: And…

“I Kept Thinking About Skyrim.” Snowdonia, Wales, U.K. By Steve Stanley. 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!

Neopets Community Melts Down: “Eat My Ho Butt.” [Update]

This weekend, the Neopets forums got very active. Perhaps, the most active in a long time. 7:22pm – Update: Neopets PR team have issued statements to Kotaku (see below). Neopets is a virtual pet web game. Kids play it. It’s probably the least vulgar thing you can imagine. But, if you’ve ventured into ventured into…