Brian Ashcraft

Four Years Later, Star Wars Fan Isn’t Done With His Death Star II Diorama

On July 5, 2015, Star Wars fan and Twitter user C3poC3 started working on his Death Star II diorama. Now in 2019, he’s not done. As you can see, he is currently painting the Death Star II’s northern hemisphere. The level of detail is staggering. The model measures 50 centimeters in diameter. Here are some…

Weathering With You is this year’s biggest money-making film in Japan. During the picture’s first 34 days, Makoto Shinkai’s anime raked in over 10 billion yen ($94.59 million). The last Japanese movie to make 10 billion yen was Shinkai’s previous work Your Name. Read Kotaku’s Weathering With You review right here. [Update: An earlier version…

Deep Ellum. Dallas, Texas, USA. By Brian Ashcraft. 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: Fly Like An Eagle | Artist: Stereophonics | Album: Kind

China’s version of Steam will be isolated from the international version of Steam, Tech Node reports. The reason why is because of strict Chinese regulation about game content. It will be called Zhengqi Pingtai, which means “Steam Platform” in Chinese.

Horror film director Johannes Roberts of 47 Meters Down fame is helming the Resident Evil film reboot. He says it will be “super scary” and will be “getting back to the roots of the game.” 

Track: One Of Us | Artist: Liam Gallagher | Album: Why Me? Why Not

The Internet Slang Meaning Of A Nintendo And GameFreak Proposed Trademark

Nintendo and GameFreak have filed a trademark application for the kanji character 草 (kusa or sou), meaning “grass.” It’s also Japanese internet slang for LOL. The application was filed on June 7 of this year and, as Yahoo! News Japan explains, there probably won’t be a decision until year’s end. While the trademark is related…

Remember “PPAP”? Singer Pikotaro is back with a couple new tunes, including one called, “Everyone Must Die.” That one probably could’ve used a Death Note cameo!

Dragons And Water. Senso-ji, Asakusa, Tokyo. By Zachary Heines 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!

A Complicated-Looking Way To Hold PlayStation Controllers

Years back, Kotaku reported on an inventive way to hold a DualShock and play From Software’s mecha game Armored Core. Now in 2019, it’s back. In Japanese, this grip style is called densetsu no AC mochi (伝説のAC持ち) or “legendary Armored Core grip.” This grip style is so legendary in Japan that it’s even made a…

Manga creator Konami Sonoda of ChocoMimi fame has passed away due to breast cancer. ChocoMimi debuted in 2003 and a live-action version followed in 2007.

Manga Artist Goes Back And Redoes Old Illustrations

When a manga first starts, the artist is still usually finding how the characters look. With time, that changes, and over the course of the later issues, their appearance evolves. But what if an artist went back and redid those old illustrations? That’s exactly what Soichiro Yamamoto did. Creator of Teasing Master Takagi-san, Yamamoto went back…

Track: James Bond | Artist: Iggy Pop | Album: James Bond 

Diorama Theme Park Coming To Tokyo With Sailor Moon And Evangelion Miniatures

Like dioramas? In 2020, Small Worlds Tokyo will open. It is purported to be the world’s largest indoor diorama theme park. Small Worlds Tokyo will have several areas, including Towns of the World, Kansai International Airport, Space Center, Sailor Moon, Tokyo, and Evangelion Neo-Tokyo 3. Below is a preview of some of those dioramas. Small…

Square Enix Hit With More Death Threats, Cancels Game Tournaments

Starting this weekend, there were supposed to be events for mecha arcade game Starwing Paradox at four cities across Japan. Those events have been canceled due to death threats. According to an official Square Enix statement, there have been several death threats made against Starwing Paradox’s management team. Square Enix has reported the threats and…

Anime Fans Visit Real-World Locations Of This Summer’s Hit Movie

Weathering With You is the hit anime of the summer. As with Your Name, the movie brings real-world Tokyo locations to life. Now fans are visiting those spots. This is what anime fans in Japan call seichi junrei (聖地巡礼) or a “pilgrimage to a sacred spot.” You can see the real-world versions of the Weathering…

In the name of the moon, Uniqlo has revealed some new Sailor Moon shirts, featuring Naoko Takeuchi’s classic art. They will be out next week. 

Tokyo Opens An Amusement Area Dedicated To…Bubble Tea

Right now, Japan is going through a bubble tea boom. The beverage is so popular that a bubble tea amusement park called Tokyo Tapioca Land recently opened. Shame it looks kind of depressing. In Japanese, bubble tea is called tapioca drink or simply tapioca. Before Tokyo Tapioca Land opened, concept art showed an amusement area…

Track: Buddy Holly | Artist: Weezer | Album: The Blue Album