Brian Ashcraft

Korean Counter-Strike Players Can Win a Pig. Like, A Real Pig.

In my time, I’ve seen some pretty interesting swag. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen any swine, er, swag, like this. According to the Counter-Strike Online 2 website (via tipster Sang), the game recently got a new game mode called “Pig Mode.” It consists of adding pink and blue piggies. Counter-Strike Online 2 is…

Japan’s Travel Agency for Stuffed Animals Is So Heartwarming

Stuffed animals are cooped up! They want to ditch your bed and bookshelves. They want to see the world. They want to travel. And in Japan, they can. Enter Unagi Travel. It dubs itself as a “travel agency for stuffed animals.” For the past three years, 38 year-old Sonoe Azuma has been taking stuffed animals…

It’s officially over. The Wii is no longer in production. Nintendo’s Japanese website for the Wii reads “生産終了” (“seisan shuuryou”) or “production ended.” Thanks for the memories and the waggles, Nintendo Wii!

Attack on Titan‘s Opening Recreated with Cats (Yes, Cats!)

The opening credits of popular anime Attack on Titan has been reworked with feline friends. Courtesy of IT Media, this is madness. Purrfectly wonderful madness. Compare with the anime’s original opening credits. 進撃のねこ OPパロディ [jamuomii@YouTube via IT Media] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku…

Terrifying Soldiers Look Like Comic Book Villains

Ballistic facemasks aren’t new. We’ve seen them in movies, comic books, video games like Army of Two. And we’ve seen them in real life, where they are utterly intimidating. Recently, website site DDN Japan and Tumblr site You’re Not Bulletproof pointed to these photos of Taiwanese Special Forces troops. The pics are from a military…

Cute Martial Arts Kids Made Cuter with “Guile’s Theme”

There’s this idea that everything goes with Guile‘s theme. But sometimes, the Street Fighter character’s music doesn’t just make things better, but also makes them more adorable. Perhaps you’ve seen this classic? It’s even cuter with Guile’s theme. But, you know, there’s some instances when you don’t need to add Guile’s theme. Take the above,…

Here’s Korean Jesus, Busy with Korean Stuff

If you’ve seen 21 Jump Street, you probably know about the Korean Jesus meme. But that’s not just some internet thing. There is a Korean Jesus. And starting this month, you can see him on display in Seoul. As noted by Up News, this is the work of Korean artist Woonbo Kim Ki-chang. According to…

Don’t Try Pikachu’s Thunderbolt at Home, Please

In Pocket Monsters, one of Pikachu’s attacks is the 100,000-volt Thunderbolt. You’ve probably seen that in the Pokémon games, anime, and maybe even the manga. Now, you can supposedly see it in real life. This clip was uploaded a million years ago by YouTube user aiaiaiai00. It’s as impressive as it was then. It’s as…

A Japanese Cat Cafe That Specializes in Black Cats

If Japanese cat cafes weren’t niche enough, a “black cat specialty cafe” has appeared in Himeji, Japan. Dubbed “Cafe Cafe Nekobiyaka Kuro Neko cm,” the feline paradise, as MyNavi explains, opened as a “black cat cafe” late last month and is now filled with ten black furry friends. Nekobiyaka claims that it is (maybe! perhaps?)…

Utada Hikaru’s music has appeared on previous Kingdom Hearts games, which is why a Twitter user asked her and her father, music producer Teruzane Utada, if they were involved with the KHIII theme song. The elder Utada replied, “Yes.”

NSFW: Japan’s $7 Million Sex Museum Sure Is Silly

Whether it’s North America, Europe, or Asia, sex museums dot the globe. But how many of them can claim Superman sex or phallic nunchaku? Warning: This article contains content that some readers might find offensive. Others might find it amusing. Enter the Ureshino Sightseeing House of Hidden Treasures. Located in the city of Ureshino in…

Someone Tried To Beat Up Michael Bay in Hong Kong [Update]

Earlier today, director Michael Bay was attacked on the streets of Hong Kong, where he is filming Transformers 4 According to Reuters and Chinese reports, two brothers, both in their late 20s and both surnamed Mak, appeared on set and demanded HK$100,000 ($12,900). The elder brother then attacked Bay as well as three police officers…

Japan Gets Anti-Radiation Swimwear and Underwear

Radiation is serious—especially in Japan. With the country still dealing with a nuclear disaster, people need to protect themselves. Osaka-based swimwear company Yamamoto Corporation unveiled anti-radiation work wear in the form of a wetsuit made from rubberized kneaded carbon. It can stop nearly 100 percent of harmful beta rays. Beta particles can change the structure…

The Kickstarter for Mutant Football League didn’t meet its goal, hitting US$141,821 out of the $750,000 it hoped to raise. The team is regrouping.

Imagine Playing Video Games on This 270-Degree Movie Screen

In South Korea, a new type of movie screen is being rolled out. Make that, screens The tech is called “ScreenX,” and it gives a panoramic 270-degree view by also projecting on the cinema’s walls. This is different from panoramic projection developed in the U.S., which uses curved screens. AFP reports that in the next…

GTA V‘s Trevor Sure Likes Forklifting Some Weird Things

My new favorite Tumblr find of this week? Why, it’s “Trevor Lifting Stuff.” On it, Trevor lifts all kinds of stuff. Like a stepladder, for instance. The Tumblr is actually titled “Trevor soulève des trucs” in French, but it depicts the international language of lifting. Trevor lifts up a garden table. A cow. A mailbox.…

League of Legends Is So Big in Korea, Even Politicians Cosplay It

It all started with a promise. If Korean team SK Telecom T1 won this year’s League of Legends World Championship, Congressman Jun Byung-hun said he would cosplay as a LoL character and post the photo proof online. Turns out, they won. And today, Rep. Jun was good to his word. This past January, South Korean…

Kingdom Hearts III remote play on PS Vita or tablets? In an interview with Famitsu, Kingdom Hearts designer Tetsuya Nomura said that this sort of thing was being looked at.

The Fake Mega Evolutions of Real Animals

Think Pokémon is the only place where you can find “mega evolutions?” Ha! On 2ch, Japan’s largest forum, one member uploaded the altered picture below, saying the pooch “had become divine.” Another 2ch user immediately jumped in, calling the image a “mega evolution.” Using website PicHacks, a stream of animal pics followed. They are victims…

Manga Editor Allegedly Attacked a Taxi Driver Over $7 Fare

Tomoyuki Shima, the 46 year-old editor-in-chief of Weekly Young Jump, was arrested for an alleged threat he made to a Tokyo cab driver. According to Mainichi, at around 3:20am this morning Japan time, Shima was taking a taxi home, and when he got near his residence, he allegedly grabbed the taxi driver by the arm…