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Kotaku EastWhy Ash from Pokémon Isn’t Dead Yet
On last night’s episode of Pokémon XY, Ash Ketchum was electrocuted by Pikachu’s 100,000 volts. He should be dead, right? Not exactly. [Photo via Story_terror] Just look at how Ash withstands Pikachu’s electric shock. This isn’t new. Over the years, Ash Ketchum has been electrocuted numerous times. It’s a running gag. But, as asked by…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 27, 2015 -
Kotaku EastThese Swords Will Mess You Up
The martial art Kalaripayattu is elegant and beautiful. Those flexible swords the two men are wielding? Goodness, they’re scary. In the below video, via Boing Boing, you can see whiplike swords called urumi in action. The weapons, apparently, are difficult to master as they can accidentally cause serious injury. I can’t imagine how difficult—or dangerous—it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 27, 2015 -
Kotaku East
The Japanese Birdman Poster Looks Dumb
This is (part of) the U.S. poster for Birdman. It’s a rather simple poster. Surely, there’s no way you could screw this up, right? Right? Well, actually… Here is the rest of the poster—in case you don’t live in North America or, if you do, haven’t been near a movie theater. Not bad! I mean,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 26, 2015 -
Culture
McDonald’s Introduces Honey Butter French Fries in South Korea
It was bound to happen. This isn’t out of the blue. It makes perfectly good sense. In South Korea, McDonald’s is rolling out honey butter french fries. Last fall, Honey Butter Chips exploded in popularity across the country. As The Korea Times reported, the chips contained “sweet, sweet honey from beehives” and French “gourmet butter.”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 26, 2015 -
Kotaku East
School Attracts Students with Manga-Style Uniforms
Usually it’s the other way around. Manga artists either take inspiration from real uniforms or draw fantasy uniforms they wish they wore. Not this time. Manga artist Zakuri Sato, known for Otona Pink and Taihen Yoku Dekimashita, designed these uniforms, which might look normal for an anime, but real uniforms aren’t always this stylized—or cute.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 26, 2015 -
Culture
KFC Is Serving Edible Coffee Cups
When you get tired of the fried chicken, try the Seattle’s Best coffee and eat the cups. In the U.K. this summer, KFC is testing what it’s calling the “Scoff-ee,” a coffee cup made from cookie. According to Metro UK (via Mashable), the cup can be laced with different aromas, such as “coconut sun cream,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 26, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Pokémon Coloring Books Make for Terrifying Doodles
You’d think that if a talented artist got ahold of Pokémon coloring books, the result would undoubtedly be beautiful pictures. You, then, would be wrong. Twitter user Saru recently showed off some drawings he did in Pokémon coloring books. So, here is the original page: And after Saru got ahold of it. [Photos: Saru] The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Dude Mixes $475 Worth of Soft Drinks and Then Barfs
YouTuber Hajime spent 56,365 yen (US$475), buying every kind of non-alcoholic drink his local convenience store sold. Then, he mixed them together to make “infinity coffee.” Oh dear. As pointed out by Twitter user Tim Hornyak, Hajime’s video shows the huge collection of beverages amassed. There were milk drinks, various types of canned coffee, soda,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2015 -
Real-Life Batsuit Tested with Fists and Knives
That guy getting punched in the stomach? That’s industrial design student Jackson Gordon, and he’s made his own Batsuit. According to USA Today (via Boing Boing and Robot 6), Gordon funded his homemade Batsuit via Kickstarter. Since then, he’s been doing regular updates from his dorm room. Gordon, who hopes to work in R&D, spent…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2015 -
Kotaku EastFans Do Dragon Ball Z Better Than Hollywood Ever Could
Hollywood, you really blew it. Real-life Dragon Ball Z fights can be incredibly cool. Dubbed Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope, this fan-created webseries is based on DBZ’s Trunks’ backstory. The pilot starts slow, and yes, some of the acting is dodgy, but stick with it. Light of Hope gets good. The big set piece…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2015 -
CultureCosplay
The Cosplay and Anime Gap Bridged By an iPad
Take one cosplay. Add one iPad. What do you get? You get clever. These photos were spotted by Japanese Twitter user Kasyuu and retweeted over eleven thousand times. I like how naturally the outfit and the anime face of Love Live‘s Eli Ayase appear to come together. [Photos via Kasyuu] It’s almost like the iPad…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2015 -
Kotaku EastBirdman‘s ‘Fucking Kimchi’ Comment Sparks Controversy in South Korea
Congrats, Birdman! You won four Oscars. But you’ve also pissed off some people in South Korea, so there’s that. In one scene, Emma Stone, who plays the daughter of Michael Keaton’s character, is asking what kind of flowers her dad wanted. Keaton’s character says something that “smells nice” or “something soothing.” Stone’s character responds, “It…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Teen Makes Sad Yu-Gi-Oh! Bike
It is really sad. But sad in the most wonderful way. Twitter user 6men47 worked all night on this real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! bike. Dubbed the Yusei Go, the motorcycle—or “Duel Runner“—appears in anime Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and is driven by protagonist Yusei Fudo. [Photo: YuGiOhWikia] A real-life version appeared at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con. It…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
A Nightmarish Explanation of Big Anime Eyes
Sure, you must wonder: How exactly does this work? How is it even physically possible? There is an explanation, and it’s nightmare fuel. Out of all the characters with big eyes, the ones in anime and manga aimed at little girls are, perhaps, the biggest. Twitter user Nuron1434 provided the world with, first, this example.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Xbox One Burgers Now Available in Hong Kong
Hungry? Why not have a tasty Xbox burger and a delicious beverage to wash it down? In Hong Kong, you can. Fast food chain Triple-O’s is teaming up with Microsoft for the Xbox One Burger. It’s available for a limited time only, and from the looks of it, the meals appear to be either the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Godzilla Hotel Opening in Japan
I think we can all agree: This room has the best view in Tokyo. On April 24, the Hotel Graceryin Shinjuku will kick off its grand opening in monster style. Godzilla style. The 30-story hotel sits atop the Shinjuku’s Toho Cinema (Toho, of course, made the kaiju famous) and features a couple Godzilla-themed chambers. [Photo:…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2015 -
Butthead Anime Character Made Realistic, Looks Terrifying
In the anime Dr. Slump, there is an alien race called Nikochan. They have butts on their heads. Not the kind of thing you want to see in real life. Here you can see their king as designed by creator Akira Toriyama. [Photo: Dragon Ball Wikia] Former video game character designer Yoshinobu Saito did this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Dragon Quest PR Stunt Cruelly Exploits People’s Love for Bubble Wrap
That, or it exploits Japan’s love of Dragon Quest. Maybe, if not definitely, it does both. Square Enix and Koei Tecmo gaves have wallpapered part of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station with bubble wrap covered in 100,000 Slimes. Who can resist bubble wrap? And in Japan, Dragon Quest has almost the same pull. Almost. [Photo: Inside] Because…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2015 -
Dark Souls II Sure Looks Better on the PS4
The folks at Digital Foundry have put Dark Souls II through its paces. Here’s how the PS3 version compares to the PS4 one. In the above video, you can see how textures, frame rates, and lighting stack up. The difference is quite noticeable, to say the least. In case you missed it, here is Kotaku‘s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2015 -
Kotaku East
One Piece Has an Official Mini-Van
In the past few years, Nissan has rolled out a Serena mini-van that’s covered in One Piece. You couldn’t buy it. But now in Japan, you can. Priced at 3.25 million yen (US$27,270), the car is designed after the Thousand Sunny, the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates. Fittingly, this car is called the “Thousand…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2015
Brian Ashcraft
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