Brian Ashcraft

Street Fighter and Tekken Brought to Life Before Your Eyes

At a recent Street Fighter X Tekken tourney in Taiwan, a slew of cosplayers showed up, bringing the iconic fighters to life. This isn’t a first for Capcom—and Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono once again got in on the act and dressed up as Chun-Li! He’s such a great Chun-Li. Lots of game companies embrace…

This fall, Resident Evil is taking over Universal Studios Japan as part of Halloween Horror Night.

Underrated, Yet Badass Mecha Reborn in Awesome Plastic

You ever see Gunhed? James Cameron is a fan. And as far as late 1980s sci-fi films go, it’s aged surprisingly well. The movie might be familiar to gamers as Gunhed went on to serve as the basis of a TurboGrafx-16 game, which was known as Blazing Lazers in the West. And there couldn’t be…

Rumor: Japan Wonders if the Mass Effect Anime Was Canned [Update]

Earlier this summer, a trailer for Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, an animated Mass Effect 3 prequel, was released. As previously posted, Paragon Lost is a collaboration between BioWare and Production I.G., the famed Japanese anime house behind Ghost in the Shell and the animated scenes in Kill Bill. *Is* a collaboration? Speculation out of Japan…

The World’s Largest Gundam Box Is Pretty Damn Big

Look. At. That. Japan is getting a giant Gundam box. Previously, there was only concept art, but the actual thing was recently showed at the Chara Hobby figure event outside Tokyo. That wasn’t the only thing on display. Besides a Gundam Toyota, there was a slew of character figures and statues—Gundam and totally not Gundam.…

PS3 game Atelier Totori: Alchemist of Arland 2 is getting ported to the PS Vita this fall in Japan.

Pure Nerd Insanity: Two Men Skydiving with a Girly Hug Pillow

The last time we saw Nervli (aka Melonpan), he was unboxing otaku stuff. In the bathtub. Now, he’s back—this time, with a man strapped to his back and a hug pillow strapped to his front. Oh dear. That’s right, Nervli jumped out of an airplane with an instructor (as required for novice jumpers!) and a…

The next Nintendo Direct will be tomorrow. It will cover the Wii and the 3DS, but not the Wii U.

Watch the Leaked Shin Megami Tensei IV Trailer

Here you go, the trailer for the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei IV. The trailer is short on specifics, but does reveal that the 3DS game will be out next year. For those keeping track, that’s 2013! Shin Megami Tensei IV trailer is heavy on the atmosphere [Japanator] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet…

Born from a Dead Island Mod, This Game Looks Hellish

It all started with a weapon mod. Techland programmer Marcin Zygadlo created a Dead Island mod that started turning heads in the studio. “It was a proof that chopping monsters frozen by magic spells using two-handed swords is brutally fun and addictive,” Techland dev Marcin Kruczkiewicz blogs. The mod made such an impression that Techland…

This Is Perhaps the Nerdiest Car in Japan

Perhaps! There are lots of nerdy cars, but damn, this is pretty nerdy. This Toyota Auris has been customized in the image of Gundam character Char Aznable. The concept car was shown at a recent hobby event outside Tokyo. When asked if this concept car would ever see production, Toyoto told The Mainichi, “If there…

Strange Beams of Light Zapping Japan or iPhone Glitch? YOU PICK!

During these last few weeks of August, the weather has been strange in Japan. Seemingly every evening, it’s been raining with lightning storms. Several folks have snapped photos of lightning striking. The result is truly odd. The photos show beams of light. Online in Japan, people are saying the images look like something out of…

Square Enix is serious about a new Lightning FFXIII game and has the Japanese Twitter account to prove it.

Squid Love and Soccer Crab, Meet Japan’s Silliest Movie Maker

Back in 2007, Japanese filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki told SlashFilm, “I want to be silly for the rest of my life!” Well, so far, that’s exactly what he’s done. Influenced by Ultraman and Japanese monster movies, Kawasaki is a master of the brilliantly absurd. His films have followed a wrestler who turned into a squid, a…

Here, Catch All These Brand New Pokémon Toys!

At the recent Chara Hobby event outside Tokyo, a whole slew of new Pocket Monster toys were on display. Many of the toys, viewable in the above gallery, will be in crane games in Japanese arcade games. Snag ’em if you can! 【キャラホビ2012】「ポケットモンスター ベストウイッシュ」、サトシ＆デントがフィギュア化 [インサイド] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing…

Anime Director Arrested for Threatening to Stab People in Osaka

In June 2008, Tomohiro Kato announced online that he was going to unleash an attack in Tokyo’s geek mecca, Akihabara. He ended up driving a rented truck into a crowd and going on stabbing rampage. Seven people ended up dead and ten were injured. Kato was sentenced to death. This July on the night of…

This Sushi Looks Disgusting, Colorful

Maguro? Check. Salmon? Check. Ikura? Check. Normal colors? Um…. Here’s a sushi combo platter that looks anything but typical. Spotted in China by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who also looks anything but typical, the image went viral in Japan. Some said the colorful sushi looked unappetizing, while others wondered if it was safe to eat. It’s…

How Dragon Quest Just Pissed Off Its Most Famous (and Oldest) Fan

Dragon Quest X is an online MMORPG. That might’ve made some fans pleased, but one in particular—legendary actress Keiko Awaji—is not happy. “What I’m interested in is Dragon Quest,” Awaji recently said on Japanese TV. Instead of, like she has in the past, gushing about why she loved Dragon Quest, this time, she talked about…

Japanese Company Turns Human Ladies into Plastic Models

For years (decades, even!), photo correction has erased human physical flaws. Thanks to software like Photoshop, retouching has improved and is available to more people. But not everyone is good at Photoshop. Enter Bijyo Photo, a Japanese service that will make your face smaller, your skin lighter, and your boobs bigger. But will it actually…

SimCity Social Says Hello Japan in an Odd Way

There are some Western creations—take Total War, for example—which do an amazing job of recreating Japan. Then there are other Western creations—say, Kill Bill—which do a wonderful job of riffing on Japanese pop culture. Then there’s stuff like SimCity Social. SimCity Social is an online social game for Facebook. Brad, our SimCity Social firefighter, just…