Brian Ashcraft

All the Final Fantasy XIII Digital Cuddling You Can Handle

Final Fantasy XIII has sexual tension. Ditto for its sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2. Some apparently thought the tension wasn’t palpable enough. So they took things into their own hands. Digitally. Over on DeviantArt, several talented digital artists have their visions of Final Fantasy XIII pairings—some of which you might agree with and some of which…

Introducing PixelJunk Inc., the Newest PixelJunk Game

Since 2007, Kyoto based Q-Games has been churning out innovative downloadable titles. These include games like PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, and PixelJunk 4am The latest PixelJunk entry was titled PixelJunk 1-6—until now, that is. Say hello to PixelJunk Inc. Hello! Launching with four player co-op and slated for a Steam PC release later this year,…

Behold, a Human Spambot

Spam sucks! So does junk mail. But this human spambot is totally amazing. Just look how she fills those mailboxes with advertisements. Human Spambot [Arul Prasad M L@YouTube via ITMedia] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning…

Akira-Meets-The-Simpsons Gets a Full Cast. It Might Surprise You.

When I look at iconic manga and anime Akira, I don’t immediately think of Bart Simpson and Milhouse. Cartoonist James Harvey does. Harvey is spearheading the “Bartkira” project. It’s a group project that consists of over three hundred artists, all working in their own styles. Below you can see the cast of characters: As noted…

Tecmo Koei Just Sliced Up Team Ninja

In Japan, everything changes in the spring. And this April 1, Tecmo Koei, from the sound of it, is making some big changes. At least, on paper. According to a new press release, Tecmo Koei is reorganizing its corporate structure. Meh, right? That sounds rather boring and insidery, but the relevant info is how it…

A Collection of Wonderful, Odd, and Unforgettable Cosplay

Over the weekend in Osaka’s Den-Den Town, the city’s geek district, a street fair called Nipponbashi Festa was held with oodles of cosplayers. As with last year’s Nipponbashi Festa, many of the cosplayers preferred to go with rather peculiar outfits—along with more traditional choices. The results were interesting, creative, and totally wonderful. Below, have a…

Life After Final Fantasy Sure Seems Normal for This Character

You know the story: Rough, wild individual settles down. Gets a job. And turns into a boring member of society. It doesn’t just happen to regular people. It also apparently happens to Japanese role-playing characters. You have to grow up and move on! You can’t be in Japanese role-playing games forever! (Technically you can.) With…

This Ninja Music Video Is Bizarre, Wonderful, and Has a Cool Mega Man Reference

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, the uber popular Japanese popstar, has a new music video out. It’s called “Ninjya Re Bang Bang”. You can watch it right up there! If you are familiar with Pamyu Pamyu’s previous music videos (like “PonPonPon”), this latest visual extravaganza is as mental as ever. It has ninja dancing and Mega Man…

For These Amazing Cosplayers, The Stage Is Their Laboratory

Team C.S.L. doesn’t only feature some of the best cosplayers in South Korea, but the entire world. The cosplay collective has represented its country at the World Cosplay Summit (think: “Cosplay Olympics”) several times. And for good reason. Team C.S.L. is great. “C.S.L.” stands for “Cosplay Stage Laboratory”. What makes this collective so interesting is…

Chinese internet company Tencent now owns 48.8 percent of Epic Games. [GI]

Why Mini-Skirts Could Become Illegal in South Korea

In the 1970s, the dictatorship controlling South Korea stipulated the length of women’s skirts. Now, due to a new law, some in South Korea worry that those days are returning. Last year, a law was passed in South Korea regarding, among other things, indecent exposure. Today, it goes into effect. According to website Korea Bang,…

The Creepiest Fruit China Has To Offer

Apparently spotted at a Sam’s Club supermarket in Beijing, these pears have been shaped so that they resemble babies. Because that’s so not creepy. The image of the pears first popped up on a Chinese social networking site. According to MIC, a journalist followed up, but couldn’t find the pears. The supermarket staff supposedly said…

Japan’s Cute and Nerdy Stone Statues Will Delight You

Stone statues play a prevalent role in Japanese life. You see them at Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines, and you also see them in front of houses and businesses or in gardens as decoration. Ditto at cemeteries. Japanese stonemasons are called “sekizaiya-san” (石材屋さん) or “sekizaiten” (石材店). They primarily focus on carving grave stones. The vast…

Japanese Photobombs Get Creepy and Spooky. Even with Cats.

In Japanese, “shinrei shashin” (心霊写真) means “spirit or ghost photography”. It’s usually accidental, and some people think it’s real. Others don’t. This notion isn’t only Japanese and exists pretty much wherever there are cameras. Oh, and dead people. Often these pics end up being creepy photobombs, with unsettling images discovered in the background. You know,…

A Hundred Years Later, Here’s What We’ll Leave Behind

It’s 2013. But in the year 2113, I’ll be dead. So will you. But some of the things we own will live on. Japanese artist Maico Akiba has a series called “100 Years Later”. As website Spoon & Tamago points out, Akiba adds what she calls “aging paint” to a variety of modern possessions that…

Square Enix has registered a trademark in Japan for “Fantasy Village”. A life simulator? Dunno! [Siliconera]

They’re Making a Live-Action Patlabor

Debuting in 1988, Patlabor spawned a bunch of manga, anime and video games. Next year, it is getting a live action version. “Patlabor” is short for “patrol labor” and follows police in the near future who use mecha. The franchise was co-created by Mamoru Oshii, the highly influential anime filmmaker. It’s unclear if Oshii will…

The Game Looked Like a Rip-Off, But Sony Isn’t Suing Over It

In South Korea, Everybody Cha Cha Cha is an incredibly popular social networking game for Android. The objective is to race cars and try to score points. And it looks very similar to a racing game in the 2010 mini-game collection Everybody’s Stress Buster. Make that looked Earlier this year, Sony cried foul and moved…

Sega has a teaser site up for a PS3 and PS Vita game. What could it be?

Masters of Doom author David Kushner profiles foreign service employee Sean Smith on Playboy [NSFW site!].