Brian Ashcraft

Japan Sinks Is Grim But Relevant

This was supposed to be Japan’s year. The Olympics were to be held in Tokyo, and the whole world was going to turn its eyes to Japan. Things didn’t work out that way. The anime Japan Sinks feels like a reminder of that fact. Note: This review contains spoilers. Within the first few minutes of…

Track: Prisoners | Artist: Doves | Album: The Universal Want

Giant Gundam Will Be Built In China

Next year, a one-to-one scale Freedom Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed will be erected in Shanghai. This is the first official life-sized Gundam to be built outside Japan. However, it’s not the first life-sized one to go up in China. Way back in 2009, a totally unofficial (and orange!) giant Gundam knock-off statue went…

The upcoming Monster Hunter movie with Milla Jovovich has been delayed from September 4 to April 23, 2021. According to Deadline, if Los Angeles shuts down again next month, the August release schedule will move to the fall and reopening theaters would take time. 

Bathe In Red Water At The Evangelion Hot Springs

This month, the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun resort in Kanagawa, Japan rolled out a special Evangelion themed hot springs. In Evangelion, the Second Impact is a huge explosion in Antarctica after which the oceans run red with “blood.” At this onsen (hot springs) resort, the water in the slides and cave baths are colored red. This…

Japan’s Roller Coaster Screaming Ban: “Please Scream Inside Your Heart”

As Japanese theme parks start to reopen, guidelines have been issued to (hopefully!) help ensure a safe experience for visitors, including visitors being asked not to scream on roller coasters. According to The Wall Street Journal, a video message tells park visitors, “Please scream inside your hearts.” Previously, Kotaku reported that haunted houses in Japan…

Uluwatu Temple. Bali. By Aristidis Chalkidis. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Anime Weathering With You Gets Its Own Official Motorbike

Last year’s hit anime Weathering with You is getting its own Honda motorbike. The company’s iconic Super Cub appeared in the animated feature film, and later this month, a real-world version is going on sale in Japan. The Weathering with You motorobike is available for the Super Cub 50 and the Super Cub 110 variants,…

Ryosuke Yoshida, who most recently did game design for Devil May Cry 5 and lead combat design for Monster Hunter XX, has announced he is leaving Capcom for China’s NetEase Games Sakura Studio, where he’ll work as a Senior Game Designer on next-gen games. Yoshida joined Capcom in 2009.

Gaming PC Hardware Executive Dies At 56

MSI president and CEO Sheng-Chang Chiang, also known as Charles Chiang, has suddenly died. He was 56 years old. According to Yahoo! News Taiwan, MSI has issued a statement confirming Chiang’s untimely passing and adding that the company was assisting grieving family members. The Guru of 3D reports that on July 7, Chiang was discovered…

Sega Announces Mini Arcade Cabinet Filled With 36 Games

Today, Sega Toys has announced a miniature version of its iconic Astro City arcade cabinet. The latest in a string of mini hardware, it will be released in Japan this December and come packed with 36 games. The Astro City Mini is priced at 12,800 yen ($119). According to Sega’s official release, the Astro City…

Baki the Grappler, But In The Flesh

Long-running manga Baki the Grappler recently got a new anime adaptation on Netflix. It follows the exploits of macho Baki Hanma in the underground fighting world. Imagine Baki for real, minus the brutal battles but with the muscles. Meet bodybuilder Naotaka Yokokawa. The resemblance between Baki and Yokokawa has been pointed out on Twitter, and…

Buggy Switch Game Pulled After Using Zelda Music Without Permission

On July 2, open-world game Final Sword was released on the Japanese Nintendo eShop. Players soon noticed something familiar. The background music sounded like “Zelda’s Lullaby.” Have a listen for yourself. Compare to “Zelda’s Lullaby.” According to Automaton, Final Sword has been removed from the eShop after using Zelda music without permission.  HUP Games, Final…

Track: You Don’t Know How It Feels (Home Recording) | Artist: Tom Petty | Album: Demo

Rice Fields. Osaka, Japan. By Brian Ashcraft | Twitter JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Track: L’estasi dell’oro | Artist: Ennio Morricone | Album: Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo OST 

Dragonball Figures Look Even Cooler With New Paint Jobs

Know how to make already badass Dragonball figurines and statues look even better? Have some incredibly talented artists add a new coat of paint. Previously, we’ve seen anime-style paint on Gundam models, and today, let’s look at them on Dragonball—namely, let’s see how repainting the statues and figurines can make them even cooler.  Below are some…

Movie Infringed On SNK’s Mai Shiranui Design, Says Chinese Court

In 2018, the movie Warrior Angels was released in China. It’s a fantasy comedy with characters, like above, that certainly resemble iconic those from The King of Fighters. Now, a court in Beijing ruled that the movie violated SNK’s copyright. Via IMDB, here is the movie’s summary: Qiao Fan can’t control her power. After she…

Let’s Check In On Japan’s Latest Giant Gundam Statue

Japan’s newest giant Gundam is being erected near Yokohama’s Chinatown in the Yamashita Futo harbor in a special area that will be called The Gundam Factory. The 59-foot moving Gundam will have walkways, allowing visitors to get up close to the statue. Above is a CG video imagining what the finished giant Gundam will look like.…

There’s A VR Mega Man Experience In Japan

Starting July 18, a VR Mega Man (aka Rockman in Japan) will be playable at the Plaza Capcom shot in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro. At the Plaza Capcom location, there’s a permanent VR corner, where people can experience Rockman VR: Aimed At The Virtual World In the VR game, players don a headset created by Dr. Light…