Brian Ashcraft

C’mon, Let’s Not Blame One Piece for This Divorce

Tsubasa Masuwaka is one of Japan’s top gyaru models. Besides appearing in fashion mags, the 27 year-old also designs clothes and cosmetics as well as appears on TV. Even after she gave birth to her son, Masuwaka made motherhood fashionable, too, as a “charisma mom”. Part of that appeal was her ideal family life. All…

Optimus Prime Totally Could’ve Commanded Armies in Ancient China

This is the work of Chinese artist Nkzhangwang, who did a masterful job of weaving a Chinese visual sense into the famed Japanese mecha. Just look at it! Stunning. This “Chinese military commander style Optimus Prime” is Nkzhangwang’s first uploaded work this year. The illustration mixes the vibe of the Three Kingdoms era with Transformers.…

In Japan, This McDonald’s Is Serving Breakfast 24 Hours a Day

Face it. The best meal you can get at McDonald’s is breakfast. And for a limited time, you can get just that at a McDonald’s in Tokyo. That’s all you can get. Wahoo! The McDonald’s in Tokyo’s Shinjuku (the Meiji-dori Sutepa-ten, to be exact!) has put its regular menu on hold and is serving round…

Google Removes Offensive Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian Apps

Last year, a pair of apps, Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian, raised eyebrows after they appeared in the Google Play Store. The original description (via Reappropriate) for Make Me Asian read: Have you ever wondered to present himself as a person of another nationality? You can imagine, for example, Chinese or Japanese? No?…

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be out worldwide some time this fall on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Bandai Namco games is working with Tencent Games to release a Naruto online game for China.

Report: Two Foxconn Buses Crash, Killing Seven

This afternoon in China’s Zhengzhou, a pair of Foxconn buses were involved in a fatal crash. According to reports, at least seven were tragically killed, and twenty were injured. One bus was hit hard enough to be knocked on its side. Foxconn assembles a wide array of hardware, from the iPhone to the Wii U…

Sony Settles with Kevin Butler Actor Over Wii Brouhaha

Jerry Lambert, who played phony Sony exec Kevin Butler, has reached an agreement with Sony. The actor appeared in a Bridgestone ad, playing a rival game console, the Nintendo Wii. Media Post (via Eurogamer) reports that Lambert agreed that his contract with Sony excluded him from promoting rival game machines, and that doing so was…

Get a Good Look at Killer Is Dead, the New Game from Killer7’s Creator

Killer Is Dead is an upcoming action game from Grasshopper Manufacture, the folks behind No More Heroes and Killer7. Yesterday, loads of details about the game hit the net (along with blurry magazine pics), and today on Famitsu.com, we finally get a good look at the game. And it looks great. 『KILLER IS DEAD（キラー イズ…

Once Again, Japan and America Apparently Have Different Taste in Men

Last summer, Japanese love simulator Be My Princess was re-released for Westerners. It wasn’t only the language that was changed. The princes were, too. Voltage Entertainment, the folks behind that game, is once again bringing one of their Japanese dating sims to the West. Nemuranu Machi no Cinderella (眠らぬ街のシンデレラ) is getting localized as Glass Stilettos…

The Wii U Stumbles in Japan (But Don’t Count Nintendo Out)

If Japan is anything to go by, the Wii U hasn’t proven to be the smash hit Nintendo hoped it would be. Granted, hardware launches are tough. The 3DS had a difficult time getting off the ground. Now, it’s doing gangbusters. In Japan, the Wii U, however, is having a hard time lately. To put…

These Pikachu and Mario Skin Suits Cover You From Head to Toe

You thought the full body tights stopped at Totoro? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are more nightmares to be had. Many more. This post contains imagery and a subject matter not suitable for all readers. However, it is free of GIFs. In Japanese, these outfits are called “zenshin tights” (全身タイツ), with “zenshin”…

That NRA Shooting Game Isn’t For Four-Year-Olds Anymore, Thanks To Apple

In the wake of the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, the National Rifle Association backed a free shooting simulator called NRA: Practice Range. The iTunes app was rated ages 4 years old and up. Was, because political pressure caused Apple to reclassify the game as 12 years old and up. The app is an “Official NRA…

This Is How Japan Does Macho Plastic

Cobra is a classic Japanese manga about a space pirate named Cobra who has a cybernetic arm-laser connected directly to his brain. How cool is that? Pretty damn cool. Over the years, Cobra got a couple anime as well as a handful of video game adaptations. Personally, I dig the look of the sci-fi manga…

Namco is making a new Kamen Rider game called Kamen Rider: Battle Ride Wars for the PS3.

This Woman Keeps Spinning Around, and It’s Amazing

Last summer, a new art collective called “Rrrrrrrroll” started releasing GIFs. They were relatively simple GIFs: a woman spinning around. And when she’s not spinning like a record, other things are spinning around her. The result is fascinating. When Rrrrrrrroll first hit, the group of art friends started getting publicity on design and art websites.…

First Details about Killer Is Dead, the New Game from No More Heroes‘ Creator

Killer Is Dead is the upcoming action game from the folks behind No More Heroes and Killer7. The game follows 35 year-old Mondo Zappa, a suit-wearing executioner responsible for taking out heinous criminals with a katana. A gun that can turn into a drill is embedded in Zappa’s left hand—an augmentation he has no memory…

Inside the Rooms of Female Otaku

In Japan, the stereotype is that all geeks are dudes. Walking around nerd areas like Tokyo’s Akihabara and Osaka’s Den-Den Town, the large number of guys would lead you to think that. That would be incorrect. Yes, there are female geeks in Japan. Of course there are! Some of them are idols or wanna-be idols,…

In China, Cute Masks Combat Ugly Pollution

It’s flu season. Time to either protect yourself from getting sick, or, if you are already sick, prevent your illness from spreading to others. Hence, sickness masks. But not everyone who wears sickness masks are, well, sick! Sometimes their faces are cold. Sometimes the air is dry. But now, with pollution being recognized as a…

Nintendo Is Making Its Console Division and Its Portable Division into One Division

Nintendo is joining its home console and handheld divisions into one unit to streamline its hardware, reports the Nikkei. That means the two divisions, which have been separate, will not work in concert. So don’t be surprised if future Nintendo handhelds have greater interaction with the home consoles!