Brian Ashcraft

Square Enix Announces Ninja Theme Park, Reveals New Innovative Digital Attractions

Square Enix has announced its first large-scale theme park. It’s called Ninja Tower Tokyo and will open next year in Tokyo Tower. The landmark might seem like an unlikely spot for such an attraction, but in 2015 a One Piece theme park opened in Tokyo Tower. This past April, Square Enix established a “Live Interactive…

Manga creator Leiji Matsumoto was discharged from a hospital in Turin, Italy this Wednesday. Visiting the country for a Space Pirate Captain Harlock event, he was admitted on November 15 after collapsing. He was reported to be in serious condition but has since improved and returned home to Japan. 

Glorious Morning. Kyoto, 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!

Gainax President Arrested After Taking Nude Photos Of Teenage Girl

The president of Gainax, best known for the Evangelion series, has been arrested. Tomohiro Maki, age 50, was taken into police custody after taking illicit photos of a teen. Update: 12/5/2019, 7:50 a.m. EST: Studio Khara, which currently makes the Evangelion movies, issued a statement completely distancing itself from Maki, saying he is not involved…

Tracks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) | Artist: Arcade Fire | Album: Funeral 

In June 2012, a random stabbing rampage in Osaka left two dead, including game music producer Shingo Minamino. Kyozo Isohi was sentenced to death for the killings, but the Japanese Supreme Court has overturned that ruling, giving him life in prison on the grounds he was suffering from hallucinations. 

Nintendo has announced that the Switch will launch in China on December 10. It will be priced at 2,099 yuan ($297) and Tencent will be the console’s local sales agent.

After Hours. Tokyo, Japan. By Kiki Nasution. 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: New Me | Artist: Double Experience | Album: Alignments 

First Look At Final Fantasy Brave Exvius…The Musical

As previously reported, free-to-play game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is being turned into a musical. Here’s a glimpse of what it might look like, which seems to be fancy threads. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius The Musical will debut this March with runs in Tokyo and Kobe. It’s written by Fumiya Matsuzaki, who previously penned the…

Lupin III Anime Voice Actor Makio Inoue Has Died

Makio Inoue is most famous for voicing Lupin III’s Goemon Ishikawa XIII. Today, it was announced that the long-time voice actor had passed away at the age of 81. Inoue got his start with minor characters in Astro Boy and other roles at Tezuka Productions in the early 1960s. In the 1970s, he had breakout…

Let the sequel talk begin! During an interview with Vulture, Hideo Kojima briefly mentions working with Norman Reedus again, maybe on a Death Stranding sequel. If he were to make another Death Stranding, Kojima says he “would start from zero.”

Running Down A Path. Croatia, Tribalj. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram 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: Naeem | Artist: Bon Iver | Album: i,i

Beloved Anime Character Finally Gets His Own Store In Tokyo

Doraemon, a blue robotic cat from the future, now has his own store in Tokyo’s Odaiba—the first of its kind for the character, apparently. The shop, called Doraemon Future Department Store, features an array of Doraemon related goods. What makes Doraemon so cool is that he always pulls out an array of gizmos from his…

From December 13 to 25, a 19.6-foot tall Lapras will go up in Kotodai Park in Sendai, Japan. This is actually taller than the in-game version, which clocks in at 8.1-feet tall. It also appears to be inflatable.  

Hiking Mount Gassan. Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. By Ian MacDonald. 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: Shonen Jidai | Artist: Utada Hikaru | Album: 20-dai wa Ikeike! (DVD)

Watch Star Wars Kabuki Right Here

When the one-off performance of Star Wars kabuki was announced, it made sense. Star Wars is deeply influenced by Japan, so it seemed as though this would work. That it did, but better than I could’ve imagined. The kabuki version is a fascinating take on Star Wars. Even the program was excellent. The performance was…

After an 8-month maintenance period, free-to-play smartphone game Disgaea RPG is resuming service. The announcement notice apologized for the wait and offered gratitude to players. At launch in Japan, there were server issues, so hopefully, the lengthy maintenance has that fixed.