In 1974, before Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Gundam, and Macross, there was Space Battleship Yamato (or Starblazers as it was known in the U.S.). Now nearly four decades later the series has returned with the reboot Space Battleship Yamato 2199—a reboot that easily makes for the best space opera in more than half a decade.…
Attack on Titan has finished its TV run, and with no second anime announced, many of you are likely already jonesing for your colossus-killing fix. But don’t worry. Not only is there the manga to read, but also no less than seven official games are either out or on the way. Attack on Titan: The…
When I was a kid, I loved playing games on my NES. In fact, the only thing I loved more was playing co-op on the NES (this is a by-product of being an only child). Luckily for me and my next-door neighbor, there was always River City Ransom—part of the Kunio-kun series, which is still…
I get excited whenever Gainax puts out a new anime. Whether it’s a psychological exploration of humanity like Evangelion or a dirty, hilarious comedy like Panty & Stocking, Gainax’s anime tend to play on your expectations to make something both surprising and magical. Their newest, however, is definitely an exception. Note: This review contains spoilers.…
The past decade or so has seen a major change in anime (and in turn manga and Japanese games as well). At the center of this change is one word: “moé.” If you are into anime at all, you have likely heard the term (and if you’re on the internet, probably as a pejorative). But…
Almost five months ago I called Attack on Titan one of the must see anime of the spring season. Three months ago, I said it was good, but didn’t live up to its own potential. And as for my final verdict? It’s definitely worth watching, though still not quite perfect. [Note: This review contains moderate…
Kunio-kun is a game series that has been around since the NES era. While only a few of the Kunio games have been released in America, like River City Ransom and Super Dodge Ball on the NES, the series has resulted in over 20 titles in Japan in the past two decades. But although the…
On the final day of the Tokyo Game Show this year, Sony held the “Indie Stream” event, celebrating all kinds of different upcoming indie titles. But of all the titles there, the one that caught my eye was Galak-Z: The Dimensional, a PS4/PC game that is one part Asteroids and one part 80s space opera…
Among my personal Japan-only favorites is the PlayStation RPG Walk Over My Corpse (Ore no Shikabane wo Koeteyuke). It took sumi-e style graphics, turn-based combat, and a breeding system to make an infinitely replayable classic. Now, a decade-and-a-half after its release, the sequel was playable at this year’s TGS. The demo for Walk Over My…
Six weeks ago, I listed Silver Spoon as one of the five anime of the summer you should be watching—and with good reason. From start to finish, Silver Spoon is an anime that walks the fine line between realistic drama and comedy to create a series brimming with real heart. Good – You May Learn…
Thirty-two responses later, we had one very clear answer. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected] or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan
Undoubtedly one of the best features of the Final Fantasy series is its amazing soundtrack—hence the creation of last year’s music game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Of course, even with over 70 songs in the game, that was just the tip of the iceberg: hence the creation of its upcoming sequel, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call…
Doctored screenshots? A demo that directly contradicts the actual game? In-game writing specifically designed to mislead the player? Producer Yoshinori Terasawa talks about crafting one of gaming’s biggest cons for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc [Note: The following article contains spoilers for the first murder case of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.] Before the release of Danganronpa…
In recent years, there have been many classic game-inspired re-imaginings—from Bionic Commando to DuckTales. At TGS 2013 today, I was able to get my hands on the newest one: Strider As it’s been nearly 15 years since the release of the last Strider game, many of you may only know about the character from his…
Today at TGS 2013, I was present for an extended fifteen minute gameplay trailer of the new game by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami: The Evil Within. I have good news. It was pretty darn scary. The trailer began more as a tech demo than anything else. There was a wall of stone that shifted…
Today at the Tokyo Game Show 2013, I got some hands-on time with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. As this is the first time the game has been playable in Japan, I was excited to see what all the hype was about. And simply put, I had a lot of fun just playing it. Here…
Today at the Tokyo Game Show 2013, I got some hands-on time with the HD remasters of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 As expected, the games of Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster play identically to their PS2 counterparts and the visuals are the sole area of improvement. In Final Fantasy X,…
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of Japan’s longest-running and popular weekly manga. The new PlayStation 3 fighting game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle is a love letter to the manga that any fan will enjoy. Sadly, while it is quite fun, it has several glaring problems. Good – A Fan’s Wet Dream All-Star Battle is…
Blood Lad was one of the several anime this summer that didn’t make my list of the five anime you should be watching. That doesn’t mean it is bad, however. Rather, Blood Lad is a fun, light-hearted comedy adventure that could teach your average fighting anime a thing or two. Good – A Fun Setup…
Ever wondered what would happen if your acne could talk? Well, there’s an anime about that. Nyuru Nyuru!! Kakusen-kun is the story of Nyuruo, a newborn whitehead living on some girl’s nose. Each two-minute episode chronicles his adventures and those of the other zits around him as they deal with problems like two giant, pinching…
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