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Kotaku East
Harlock: Space Pirate is a Big, Pretty, Action-filled Disappointment
Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Pirate Captain Harlock is one of anime’s greatest classics—a story told and re-told many times over the last three-and-a-half decades. The past weekend saw the release of the latest version of the story: a CG feature film that is as beautiful and action-packed as it is disappointing. Good – Great CG Animation…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 10, 2013 -
Kotaku EastWatch Us Play Mirror’s Edge on the Oculus Rift
The first thought I had when I heard about the Oculus Rift was: “Oh man, I can’t wait to play Mirror’s Edge on that.” My second thought was: “It is going to make me so sick.” Over the past two months, I have played a lot of games on my Oculus Rift development kit, from…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 10, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The New JoJo Fighter Is a Social Game in Disguise
When you first boot up JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle, you’ll likely head right into the story mode to start unlocking characters. Three hours later, you’ll probably try versus mode, only to wonder where everyone else got all those cool costumes. The answer is the campaign mode. In it, you unlock the vast majority of…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 10, 2013 -
Kotaku EastOculus Rift Taught Me I’d Suck as a Space Ship Pilot
The Oculus Rift VR helmet can be used for all sorts of games—everything from first-person shooters to side-scrolling platformers. But perhaps the best use of the Rift is in flight simulators like Lunar Flight Released early last year, Lunar Flight is, as the name suggests, a lunar flight simulator—with all the physics realistically tuned. In…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 6, 2013 -
Kotaku EastWatch Us Play The New Jojo Fighting Game… Badly
We’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle—from face-humping dogs to terrifying loading icons. Now it’s time to play it. Join me and fellow Kotaku East contributor Toshi Nakamura as we play around with the game’s online versus mode. Be warned though, we are pretty darned terrible at fighting games.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 6, 2013 -
Reviews
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Looks Great Even 20 Years Later
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a franchise that has spanned 25 years. Earlier this year, the first two story arcs were made into an anime; and two weeks back, the series’ newest game was released in Japan. So now is the perfect time to look back at the two Jojo OVAs. Surprisingly, they’ve aged quite well.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 6, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The Anohana Movie is a Decent Epilogue But a Poor Film
Last week we took a look at Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day—one of the saddest yet most uplifting anime series I have ever seen. This weekend, the Anohana movie was released in Japanese theaters. And while some parts of it work well, others neuter the emotional power of the series. Good – A…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 3, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The Witch and the Hundred Knight Is Fun, yet Flawed
Summoned by the swamp witch Metallica to take down her witchy foes, you take control of the Hundred Knight and hack n’ slash your way across the land. If that sounds like fun, great. It is. But that’s not to say there aren’t more than a few flaws in The Witch and the Hundred Knight…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 3, 2013 -
Kotaku East
This Loading Icon Is Terrifying as All Hell
This past weekend I picked up a copy of the new fighting game, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle. But it only took a few seconds before I was greeted with the creepiest loading icon of all time. I mean look at it! It’s a guy’s face getting ripped off layer by layer! For those who…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 3, 2013 -
Devour Your Way to Victory in this Hack n’ Slash RPG
The Witch and The Hundred Knight is a throw-back to the times when top-down action-adventure games ruled the world with fast and frantic hack n’ slash battles. In it, you play as the titular Hundred Knight—who, despite the implied plural, takes the form of a single, small, cute magical creature—and venture into the world of…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 30, 2013 -
Kotaku East
An Anime That Will Make Even the Most Jaded Heart Weep
The thing I love about many new anime films is that they often serve to introduce me to excellent series I missed out on during the years when I didn’t watch any anime. One of these is Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day—a beautiful, heartbreaking story about loss. And as the theatrical film of…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 30, 2013 -
Kotaku EastI Am in Love With This Bewitching Game Soundtrack
The Witch and The Hundred Knight presents a world filled with monsters, knights, ghosts, animal people, and, of course, witches. What’s amazing is that you’d probably be able to guess that just by listening to a few bars of the soundtrack. This is because several of the songs in this soundtrack are reminiscent of Danny…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 30, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The Future Diary: Redial Is the Ending the Series Was Missing
Last week, I took a look at one of my favorite anime of the last few years, 2011’s Future Diary. Late last month, a single-episode OVA sequel called The Future Diary: Redial (Mirai Nikki: Redial) was released in Japan. It fixed the one major problem I had with The Future Diary: the ending. [This review…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 27, 2013 -
Kotaku East
What It’s Like to Watch Movies on the Oculus Rift
There is no doubt that the Oculus Rift VR headset, with its 3D display and tilt sensors, is designed for gaming. But that’s not all it can do. There are several apps that allow you to watch movies on it as well. [Note: The following observations were made on an Oculus Rift development kit, not…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 27, 2013 -
Reviews
Gatchaman Is So Full of Action Movie Clichés It Hurts
Gatchaman (i.e., Battle of the Planets) was one of the most popular anime of the 1970s. Now, 40 years later, this franchise is getting a new anime and a live-action film—which debuted in Japan this past weekend. Sadly, this attempt to reinvent Gatchaman has created nothing but a painfully clichéd action movie. Good – A…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 27, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Mysteries, Murders, and Diaries That Tell the Future
2011’s The Future Diary is one of my favorite anime from the past few years. And with the release in Japan of the epilogue OVA The Future Diary: Redial, now is the perfect time to take a look back at what makes The Future Diary such an amazing ride. Good – A Gripping Premise The…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 23, 2013 -
Kotaku East
This Game Is Half Zero Escape, Half Ace Attorney
As I was watching Danganronpa: The Animation for my look at the five anime you should be watching this summer, I realized two things: 1) that I really wanted to play the game and 2) the anime was going to take all the fun out of it by spoiling every single mystery. So I immediately…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 23, 2013 -
Kotaku EastSide-Scrolling Platformers Are Also Awesome on the Oculus Rift
When you think about the Oculus Rift—with its lenses that extend into your peripheral vision and motion sensors that mimic your head movements—you probably think it’s an accessory made for first-person games and nothing else. The makers of Super Mega Mega have done their best to prove this idea wrong. Super Mega Mega is a…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 23, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The Most Mean-Spirited Anime I Have Ever Watched
This past week, I told you about the five anime you should be watching this summer. To prepare, I asked Kotaku readers to vote on their picks. The winner by a landslide was Watamote. I am dumbfounded by this. Watamote is, quite simply, the most mean-spirited anime I have ever watched. Watamote – No Matter…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 21, 2013 -
Kotaku EastThese Courtroom Battles Put Ace Attorney to Shame
I spent a lot of last week watching anime in an attempt to find the five anime you should be watching this summer. One of these is based on the popular Japanese PSP title, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. And as it felt like the anime was just spoiling the game, I decided I had to…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published August 20, 2013
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