Brian Ashcraft

Pikachu Keeps Loners Company at Pokémon Cafe

For some folks, eating alone is awful. But not at the Tokyo Pokémon Cafe, where Pikachu will watch you eat. As noted on Naver, people visiting the cafe solo get to sit across from a plush toy Pikachu. [Photo: snivylover] [Photo: future39_miku] [Photo: alpacapaca] [Photo: tetsukire] [Photo: aimia492] The Pokémon Cafe isn’t the first to…

Lupin the Third, A Visual Comparison

Over the forty years since the Lupin The Third’s debut, the characters have evolved. They’re different! And that’sexpected. Via Twitter k_sawada0731, let’s see how the characters in the original anime opening stack up with a modern take. The remade credits sequence appeared in Lupin the Third vs. Detective Conan: The Movie, which was originally released…

Dating Show Contestant Dresses Up as a Cat To Find Mr. Right

People are so superficial. That’s why one dating show contestant in China decided to hide her real appearance and dress up like a cat woman. As one does. The mysterious contestant appeared on dating program If You Are the One. It’s like watching a Khajiit character from Skyrim trying to make a love connection. According…

Xenoblade Chronicles X Sounds Utterly Massive

Xenoblade Chronicles X is an upcoming big Wii U game. Literally. In a recent Famitsu interview (via Hachima), Monolith Software’s Tetsuya Takahashi talked about the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X. From the sound of it, the game is massive. According to Takahashi, during their most recent gameplay check, there was over 300 hours of playtime. “But…

Why Vending Machines Are So Popular in Japan

Right now, I am visiting New York. There are not many vending machines here, like there are in Osaka, where I live. Surely, there must be a good reason for Japan having all those vending machines. Turns out, there are several. Stroll through the cities. Stroll through the countryside. You’ll see ’em. Known as “jidouhanbaiki”…

These Aren’t School Test Doodles. They’re Art. 

Exam papers aren’t only for test taking. In South Korea, they’re for drawing. Previously, Kotaku has covered interesting schoolbook doodles (here, here, here, and, um, here). Some of the tests are finished and scored. Some are blank, save for the added illustrations. In Korean, these are called “test examination scribbles” (시험지낙서). That’s not exactly an…

Man Plays Super Mario World with His Nose

And pretty well, mind you. But he does play Super Mario World by using his nose to blow into a musical instrument. NicoNico user Wakou does this by using a program called Audio Pad, which allows him to control Mario with sound (which is why he doesn’t talk during the video, because any noise impacts…

The First Sushi Restaurant on a Japanese College Campus

You’d think that Japan would have more sushi restaurants on school campuses. But nope, this appears to be the first of its kind in the country. Called Osakana Club Hama, the sushi restaurant is located on the University of Tokyo’s Kashiwanoha Campus in Chiba. Originally, it was located in Tokyo’s Nakano near one of the…

Dragon Ball Sneakers Are Real

Not only that, they’re apparently official, too. Mexico’s Heredia Clothing made these seemingly licensed DBZ sneakers modeled after Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta. According to Fashionably Geek, they’re 400 pesos (US$27) a pair. That’s cheaper than over 9000. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft

Track: Fools Gold | Artist: The Stone Roses | Album: The Stone Roses

No, You Cannot Live in This Unreal Engine 4 Apartment

Sorry! This isn’t an actual Paris apartment. But dang, it sure looks nice This Unreal Engine 4 tech demo comes from level designer and 3D artist Benoît Dereau, who, as Eurogamer points out, worked on Dishonored. Such a fancy tech demo featuring a fancy apartment. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com…

Capcom announced a new Dragon’s Dogma. It’s an online game titled, wait for it, Dragon’s Dogma Online. More details are expected in the latest issue of Famitsu.

If Zelda Had Final Fantasy Logos

The Legend of Zelda has its own logos. They’re great! But what if Zelda logos looked like Final Fantasy ones? Well, I guess they’d look like this. Tumblr site Shattered-Earth did a series of Zelda-meets-Final Fantasy logos in Yoshitaka Amano‘s iconic artistic style. So, The Final Legend of Zelda? The Legend of Final Fantasy? Zeldantasy?…

“No Video Game Day” Starting in Northern Japan

This isn’t nationwide. But next month, Hokkaido Prefecture is rolling out “No Video Game Day.” There won’t be just one of these days, but two—and two every month. NHK reports that among students nationwide, test scores are down in Hokkaido. It sounds like the PTA and the Hokkaido Board of Education are pinning the blame…

The Pokémon Arcade Fighter Has a Dumb Controller

Geez. I know that Namco is trying to make Pokkén accessible to lots of players, but a control pad? For a fighting game you play in arcades? Really? Recently, Kotaku introduced this controller, along with several other new things revealed about the game. According to Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada, who heads up the Tekken team, the…

Former Pro Gamer Gives Unborn Child StarCraft Nickname

One of esports’ most famous StarCraft gaming pros, BoxeR (aka Lim Yo Hwan), came up with a fitting name for his baby: the Terran infantry unit from the game. Lim’s wife, Kim Ga Yeon, is six weeks pregnant, and as she noted on herFacebook (via tipster Sang), her husband came up with what in South…

KFC’s Double Down Made More Horrible with a Hot Dog

Oh, and cheese. Let’s not forget that! In the Philippines, KFC just released a new Double Down Dog, which trades a bun for chicken. The hot dog is then slathered in cheese and calories. [Photo: kfcphilippines] [Photo: kfcphilippines] Today, fifty Double Down Dogs were offered at select locations across the country. Here are pics of…

A Limited Edition PS4 Just Went for $128,000

A super special PlayStation 4. A good cause. An internet auction. You better believe this 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 just went for well over a hundred grand. Sony held a charity auction online in Japan for the first serialized anniversary console (it’s number one out of 12,300). The auction recently came to a close, drawing…

Real-Life Giant Monsters Are So Cool

One of the most appealing elements of Monster Hunter is, well, hunting monsters. You know, staring down those enormous beasts. In real life, turns out, that’s also rather nifty. At Universal Studios Japan, Capcom is once again rolling out a Monster Hunter attraction for a limited time only. Capcom has done this in the past,…

People Destroying Cars Like in Street Fighter. Sort of.

Tough? Wasteful? Dull? A handful of martial arts types try their luck at a real-life version of Street Fighter‘s bonus stage But, I don’t remember Ryu jumping on top of the car like this. This one from Mega64, however, is rather amusing. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him…