Brian Ashcraft

The live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service movie rumor is true. Shimizu Takashi of The Grudge fame is directing, and 16 year-old Fuka Koshiba was picked out of 500 hopefuls to star as Kiki, Yomiuri reports. It is her feature film debut.

This Is Just a Middle-Aged Man Dressed as a Japanese Schoolgirl

He’s called the “Sailor Suit Old Man.” And he’s called that for good reason, too. Whenever you see Hideaki Kobayashi on the weekend, he’s dressed as a Japanese schoolgirl. Recently, Japanese sites and Twitter users in Tokyo have spotted an old guy dressed in a sailor style school uniform—a truly unusual sight to behold. People…

Muse Uses Japan’s Rising Sun Imagery, Forgets It Pisses People Off

British rockers Muse have a new music video out. It was shot in Tokyo, and it’s lighthearted and fun. Oh, except for the part that pissed people off. On YouTube and 2ch, commenters are pointing out that the video briefly featured Japan’s Rising Sun flag—something that angered people online. For many, it symbolizes the country’s…

Chinese Airline Dressing Up Flight Attendants as…Maids and Butlers

In China, one airline isn’t just flying the friendly skies. It’s cosplaying in them. Spring Airlines, a Shanghai-based budget airline, is dressing up its male cabin attendants as butlers and its female ones as maids. Some in China are pleased with the cosplay promotion, comparing it to Japan’s maid (and butler) cafes. Others are not.…

Here Are the Coolest Starbucks in Asia

Chain establishments can start to blur together. They start to seem the same, because they all look the same. That’s not always true for Starbucks, especially in Asia. Some of its ubiquitous coffee houses are not only unique, but so cool. Yes, most Starbucks in Asia do look like the Starbucks you’d see anywhere in…

How a Bill Gates Handshake Caused Controversy in South Korea

Bill Gates is dedicating his life to helping others. But let’s not judge him on that. Let’s judge him on how he shakes hands. Because that’s important. The above photo is all over the South Korean press. Gates is shaking hands with President Geun Hye Park. He has one hand in his pocket. That’s a…

There’s More Than Meets the Eye in This PlayStation Email

It looked like any other boring old email. But, as noted by Reddit user Sarranoob, it was anything but. It was an email in disguise. When the email’s image isn’t uploaded, it reveals an Autobot logo. Sure, this is just marketing, but it’s clever marketing. In case you missed it, here is Kotaku‘s review of…

Chinese People Pulling Insane Loads

Alain Delorme’s photo series “Totems” shows an another side of China’s migrant workers. Make that, a truly amazing side. According to Delorme, each worker in the photo looks “like a superhero able to carry around this kind of load.” The photos, however, have a meaning that’s deeper than the sheer spectacle. “It is above all…

From “Penis” to “Horse Salmon”, Foreign Names Can Be Funny in Japanese

You might think your name is normal in your family’s native tongue. Maybe it is. But put it in a different language, and sometimes, all hell can break loose. In Japanese, foreign words and names are written in a writing system called katakana. Unlike most Japanese names, which use kanji characters that have intrinsic meanings,…

Hey Children, Here’s a $20,000 Mecha Just for You!

The mecha wizards at Japan’s Sakakibara Machinery Works are back. Previously, the factory rolled out the Landwalker, a large mecha you could buy. And now? It has a newly revamped mecha for little kids. How sweet. As pointed out by sister site Gizmodo Japan, the Kid’s Walker Cyclops has a claw to grab things and…

This JRPG Team Is Niche, Even for Japan

Screw the West! This new role-playing brand certainly does not explicitly say that, but you have to admire a tagline that says it’s aiming at a specific type of player in Japan. A niche within niche! The tagline, which you can see in the above image, reads, “An RPG made for ‘Japan’s particular customers.'” Compile…

Famed Japanese Anime Leads to Ridiculous Hamburger

To mark Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo‘s Blu-ray and DVD launch, burger chain Lotteria is unleashing a jumbo hamburger in Japan. It’s called the “Q-Story Cheese Burger”, because, in part, the movie’s Japanese title is Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Q. It’s also wordplay: The burger has nine patties, and the Japanese word for nine is…

Rent Go-Karts in Tokyo’s Geekiest Neighborhood

Ah yes, Akihabara. When you think of Tokyo’s “Electric Town”, you probably think of retro game shops, arcades, and a sea of anime, manga, and collectible figurines. Add go-karts to that list. Dubbed “Akiba Cart”, this service allows you to rent go-karts and drive them in the nerd paradise that is Tokyo’s Akihabara. Each kart…

This Is One Monster Phallus

Surely, the people who designed this Monster Hunter USB fan must know. They must! Look at it. This official Monster Hunter product goes on sale this June in Japan, is priced at around US$40, and resembles a cock. A cock that lights up and spins. モンスターハンター ハンターUSB卓上ファン [Hobby Search] Kotaku East is your slice of…

What “Nerd Fashion” Will Make You Look Unpopular in Japan

Earlier this week, Yahoo Japan (via Otaku.com) posted a poll that revealed how Japanese females thought they could pick out unpopular guys. The take away? Apparently, if you are wearing pretty much anything, you’re so not cool. Over three hundred females participated in the poll, which was on fashion that screams lame-o. Fifty-five percent admitted…

People in China Are Being Buried…to “Gangnam Style”

“Gangnam Style” seems so 2012. It is! But what does that matter when you’re dead and want to oppan funeral style? The song continues to get airplay in China, among the living and the dead, it seems. First noted by a Weibo user (via ShanghaiIst), “Gangnam Style” is being used as dirges at funerals in…

When English Textbooks Are Trolls

English is a hard language, especially for some Japanese people. The grammar is different. The pronunciation is different. And sometimes, the textbooks are strange. Please be aware that I’m not talking about so-called “Engrish”. Often, that’s the result of syntax errors (i.e. using Japanese sentence structure or literal translations in English). Making fun of that…

Meet Gonzo, “the Final Boss of the Internet”

This is Gonzo. He’s a Japanese comedian, and his thing is the tambourine. He’s a tambourine master And as YouTube user Crossbow321123 pointed out, Gonzo is “the Final Boss of the Internet”. Excellent description, but let’s add this: the Final Boss of the Internet in his final form. If you aren’t familiar with Gonzo, he…

PSY’s Newest Video Banned for an Odd Reason

PSY’s video for “Gentleman” is getting plenty of play online. However, on Korea’s biggest television network, it’s banned. The reason might seem rather unusual. In the first six seconds of the “Gentleman” video, PSY strolls down a street and kicks a traffic cone. That’s why the video is being banned on the Korean Broadcasting System,…

There Might Be a New Metal Gear Solid Collection

Yesterday, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima tweeted out this picture. He wrote that he was in the process of checking whatever was in it. He didn’t say what. However, the Korean Game Rating Board might have. As of yesterday, the Korean Game Rating Board posted an entry on something called “Metal Gear Solid The Legacy…