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Kotaku East
As Far as Anime Censorship Goes, This Is Pretty Ridiculous
Terra Formars follows the struggle between humans and roaches for supremacy on Mars. Originally a manga, the anime’s first three episodes have been censored to the point that it’s distracting. In the anime, there are black bars and dots cover parts deemed unsuitable—like bad Photoshops. Here, have a look: [Photo: 2ch] [Photo: miangraham] [Photo: 2ch]…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 13, 2014 -
Kotaku East
The Pikachu Bed of Your Dreams
Pikachu is so cute that you might just want to snuggle up with the Pocket Monster and go to sleep. Well, now you can. Available via Mercari, this is the Pikachu Bed. It weighs 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and has a washable cover. Oh, and it looks like everyone’s favorite electric rodent. While this might…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 13, 2014 -
The New Nintendo 3DS Seems Quicker
When Nintendo announced the New Nintendo 3DS, it said the portable was more powerful than the original. After loading a few games and booting up the machine, the NN3DS certainly does seem faster. In the above video, you can see me and my older son doing a quick speed test. This is hardly scientific! But,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 11, 2014 -
The New Nintendo 3DS Doesn’t Really Filter Porn
The New Nintendo 3DS’s internet browser is supposed to filterout things online that are unsuitable for kids. Then again, no, it appears it doesn’t. One of the newly added features includes a paywall that apparently filters websites in Japan. The filter, which blocks adult oriented sites, can be turned off for small 30 yen charge…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 11, 2014 -
Kotaku East
How the New Nintendo 3DS Stacks Up to the Original 3DS
Today in Japan, Nintendo released a new Nintendo 3DS—er, make that, the New Nintendo 3DS. I bought one for Kotaku, so let’s see how it sizes up to its predecessor. At last month’s Tokyo Game Show, I checked out the New Nintendo 3DS XL and was quite impressed with what I saw. While I’ve only…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 11, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Mobile Game Puts Players’ Private Videos Online
Oh dear. Chinese mobile app FengKuang LaiWang “leaked” over 35,000 user videos online, including clips of players in their underwear or naked. As reported on Beijing Newsand South China Morning Post, FengKuang LaiWang, which means “Frantic Relationship,” is a charade type game which allows players to video themselves acting out a charade and then share…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 9, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Nothing Says Anime Birthday Like Chocolate and Hardcore Fans
When anime characters have birthdays, sometimes the most dedicated of dedicated fans celebrate online. There are typicallycakes and merchandise. This, though, is not typical. October 4 was the birthday of Prince of Tennis character Keigo Atobe. Prince of Tennis is a popular manga and anime centered around, well, tennis. To mark the occasion, Japanese snack…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 9, 2014 -
Kotaku EastVirtual Idol Hatsune Miku Dazzled on David Letterman
Tonight, virtual idol Hatsune Miku appeared on the Late Show with The David Letterman and blew the roof off the dump. Miku performed “Sharing the World,” and the crowd really seemed into it. Dave seemed slightly perplexed. Hatsune Miku: “Sharing the World” – David Letterman [Late Show@YouTube] Late Show with David Letterman [Official Site] To…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 9, 2014 -
Kotaku East
When Anime Faces and Reality Meet, Things Get Freaky
There is nothing wrong with googly-eyed anime characters. There is nothing wrong with paper masks. But giant-eyed paper masks on humans in real world settings? Yikes! Recently a Tumblr site called 2.5D Mask has been uploading photos of a woman wearing different kinds of anime inspired paper masks. Why 2.5? Because, it seems, like other…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 9, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Tetsuya Nomura’s Take on Hatsune Miku Looks So Final Fantasy
You might know Square Enix game creator Tetsuya Nomura best for his Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts character designs. Recently, his version of virtual idol Hatsune Miku was revealed in New York. Via Sega, here is what Hatsune Miku usually looks like. Or this. And as Famitsu shows, this is Tetsuya Nomura’s take, which was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 9, 2014 -
Kotaku EastOh Hey, It’s Samus from Metroid in Monster Hunter 4G
Neat? Not neat? Whichever! Samus is going to appear in special Monster Hunter 4G side quest downloadable content, complete with giant weapons. Yes, this is the Samus from Metroid: Other M, and she will be playable in both her Varia Suit and her Zero Suit. The quest DLC will be available for download from December…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 8, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Today’s Lunar Eclipse Looked Spectacular
There was a total lunar eclipse just now. The blood moon! And boy, did it look amazing. As reported on USA Today, the entire eclipse was only viewable in parts of eastern Asia, Hawaii, parts of Australia and New Zealand as well the Western portion of North America. Most of Japan was able to see…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 8, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Anime Posters Will Taunt You at This Japanese Arcade
An arcade at a shopping center in Kobe, Japan is covered with anime posters ready to make fun of you. So mean. And yet, so wonderful. Japanese writer and columnist Tomoki Yoshimura snapped photos of the posters and uploaded them to his Twitter account The arcade is called Metro Playland Zoo, and the posters feature…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 8, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThe Most Unusual Sailor Moon Product Ever Released
Over the years, we’ve seen Sailor Moon stationery, fancy clothes, bags, pens, headphones, chopsticks, video games, underwear, toys, figurines, perfume, anime, dinner plates, live-action musicals, and now as Yahoo! News reports, there’s this: Sailor Moon sanitation pads. As IT Media also reports, Japanese brand Elleair is rolling out the Sailor Moon feminine hygiene napkins on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 8, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Now, Square Enix Is Suing SNK Playmore
Back in August, Kotaku reported that SNK Playmore was taking Square Enix to court because High Score Girl, a manga Square Enix published, allegedly featured SNK characters without permission. Today, Square Enix announced it was now suing SNK. As Square Enix states in an official release, it was bringing the lawsuit against SNK Playmore because…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 8, 2014 -
Hacker Turns His Living Room into Mario Kart
Good thing those banana peels are virtual, huh? In Japan, a gent named Ken Kawamoto used projection mapping and Romo, a robot that’s controlled via iPhone app, to “recreate Mario Kart” in the living room. Kawamoto calls this “Romo Kart.” As noted on Hack A Day, there’s a Xtion motion sensing camera and a video…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Scrap Metal Hulk is, Well, Incredible
Scrap metal art is not new. Loads of artists made wonderful works out of whatever metal they can get their hands on. Very few, however, can pull off an Incredible Hulk like this. You are looking at the work of Thailand’s BanHunLek. The shop is known for its custom sculptures made out of used car…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2014 -
Kotaku East
“China’s Youngest Hacker” Says He’s a Good Kid
Meet Wang Zhengyang. He’s being hailed as his country’s “youngest hacker” and has started giving presentations on internet security. And he’s apparently using his powers for good. According to Want China Times, Wang is 13 years old, but CCTV, China’s largest television network, says he is 12 years old. I’m sure somewhere in China there…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2014 -
Kingdom Hearts III Is Being Made with Unreal Engine 4
In a recent interview, game creator Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Kingdom Hearts III is now being developed on Unreal Engine 4. Oh. Alright, then. It was largely assumed that Square Enix was using an in-house game engine for Kingdom Hearts III like it is for Final Fantasy XV. That would make sense, no? The Unreal…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2014 -
Kotaku East
From StarCraft Pros to TV Stars
Pro-gaming is hard. You gotta be good. You gotta train hard. But, like for any sport, it doesn’t last forever. A handful of StarCraft pros have taken a rather unusual post pro-gaming career path in South Korea: The entertainment industry. For years now, StarCraft has been incredibly popular in the region—not just playing it, but…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2014
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