Japan

Pokémon Queen Shoko Nakagawa Helped Do Animation For Last Sun & Moon Episode

Shoko Nakagawa’s connection to Pokémon runs deep. She’s hosted several of the variety shows, including Pokénchi, which currently airs in Japan. She has done Pokémon commercials and press conferences, she’s sung Pokémon anime theme songs, and she’s even voiced characters. Now, she’s doing animation. If you are keeping score, Nakagawa started hosting variety show Pokémon…

Street Fighter Pro And Model Found True Love At An Arcade

Pro-gamer Fuudo is a world-class Street Fighter player. Yuka Kuramochi is a very popular pin-up model. The couple just announced their marriage. The two became friends in an arcade and thanks to a Street Fighter IV tournament. Though there is this humorous image floating around with Kuramochi and her future husband sitting despondently in a…

Seven-Minute Final Fantasy VII Remake Ad Is The Longest Commercial Ever On Japanese TV

Clocking in at seven minutes long, this Final Fantasy VII Remake ad is the longest commercial to ever air on Japanese television. It’s like a seven-minute short film about people into Final Fantasy VII. As pointed out on GameSpark, the commercial aired over the weekend during an annual 27-hour block of programming hosted by Beat…

Star Wars Getting An Official Kabuki Adaptation

Ichikawa Ebizo XI will star in and supervise the official kabuki adaptation of Star Wars. The famed actor will play Kylo Ren. According to Mantan Web, the kabuki adaptation will feature scenes from each of the films in the latest trilogy. The performance, however, will be for one night only on November 28 in Tokyo.…

Gold And Platinum Monster Hunter Sculptures For Only $81,000 Each

If you are in the market for Monster Hunter sculpture and have lots of money to spend, have I got two items for you! Created to celebrate Monster Hunter’s 15th anniversary, here is a Gold Rathian, made from 24K gold, and a Silver Rathalos, made from Platinum. Each is 8,800,000 yen ($81,462) or you can…

Nintendo Switch Sales Up 50 Percent

The Nintendo Switch is doing quite well. According to the company’s most recent financials, sales jumped 50 percent from July to September when compared to the same period last year. As Bloomberg reports, Nintendo sold 4.8 million Switch consoles during this period. Out of those were 1.95 million Switch Lites. Game sales also increased 48…

Japan Getting Life-Sized Godzilla Theme Park Attraction

A life-sized Godzilla head and upper body will be unveiled at the Nijigen no More amusement park on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture. This is the first life-sized permanent attraction of its kind at a theme park. The entire statue will be around 120 meters long. Park visitors will take on the role of researchers and…

Japanese Government Honors Shigeru Miyamoto As Person of Cultural Merit

Each year, the Japanese government honors people for their important cultural contributions. Included in this year’s Person of Cultural Merit honorees is Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. Congrats! Those awarded the merit come from a variety of fields including the arts, music, science, and academia. Twenty individuals were named as Person of Cultural Merit recipients, including Miyamoto.…

Bad Tourist Behavior Leads To Photography Crackdown In Kyoto’s Gion

The Gion is one of the most picturesque parts of Kyoto. Earlier this year, Kotaku reported that tourists had been making the lives of geisha and maiko, who work in the area, difficult. Now locals have had enough. As you can see in the footage below, a tourist mob stalks its photo prey. There have…

In Japan, Nintendo Giving Refunds For Tokyo Mirage Sessions After Family Friendly Changes

When Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is released in Japan, the game will be based on the modified Western release. Starting today, Nintendo is offering refunds for its local customers. Last week, Nintendo apologized for not initially announcing that Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore was based on the family friendly Western version, recognizing that it…

For A Rug, There is No Better Dragon Quest Monster

Out of all the characters and monsters in Dragon Quest, there is no better one for a rug than Liquid Metal Slime See what I mean? The character’s liquid-metal part is a bit larger than in Dragon Quest, but it all works so well. As Famitsu reports, the rug went on sale in Japan last…

Mom Draws Massive, Highly Detailed Zelda: Breath of the Wild Map

Twitter user Hajimerumeru’s mom has been really enjoying Breath of the Wild. She’s totally into the game—to the point where she’s even drawn her own massive, highly detailed Hyrule map. Just look at this! As Hajimerumeru (via Otakomu and SoraNews) points out, the map denotes all sorts of things, including where his mom found Korok…

Anime’s Dance Sequence Looks Similar To A YouTuber’s Choreography

Melochin has been uploading his dances to YouTube for years. Recently, he noticed that the ending sequence for this season’s anime Stars Align looks like a routine he uploaded back in 2016. Judge for yourself in this comparison Melochin made to see how the anime’s sequence compares to his work. Here is his original upload.…

First Look At Nausicaä‘s Live-Action Kabuki Version

Hayao Miyazaki turned down Hollywood but OKed an official kabuki adaptation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Via Sports Hochi, here is a first look at actors Onoe Kikunosuke as Nausicaä and Nakamura Shichinosuke as Princess Kushana. It’s interesting to see how the character’s costumes were changed for the kabuki version, especially Nausicaä’s…

The Zelda Theme Played On Musical Calculators Sounds Great

The AR-7778 is a calculator that makes musical notes when the buttons are pressed. Twitter user Atarime uses this neat calculator to play famous tunes. The Zelda tune, for example, sounds terrific: So do other tunes.

Mother Creator Shigesato Itoi’s Memories of Satoru Iwata

When Shigesato Itoi started work on Mother 2 (Earthbound), development hit a wall. Things were at a standstill, and the programming was apparently to blame. That’s when Nintendo suggested Itoi meet with another programmer who could help out. His name was Satoru Iwata. In an interview with GameCenter CX’s Shinya Arino, Itoi recalled how Iwata…

If You Visit Kyoto In October, Check Out This Spooky Parade

While Halloween in Shibuya might get lots of attention because of the massive crowds (and chaos), Kyoto has an annual yokai parade that sure looks like spooky fun. The parade, which was held this year on October 19, is called Ichijo Hyakki Yakou (Ichijo’s Night Parade of the Hundred Yokai). The street Ichijodori, one of…

Man Arrested For Allegedly Violating Yu-Gi-Oh’s Trademark With Fake Cards

A 27-year-old university student has been arrested in Fukui, Japan, after selling phony Yu-Gi-Oh cards at a flea market. The fake cards featured Dark Magician Girl and Blue-Eyes White Dragon and went for 86,000 yen ($792) and 46,000 yen ($423) respectively. According to Fukui Shimbun Online, the suspect was quoted as saying, “I didn’t know…

At this year’s Monaco Manga Anime Game International Conference Kyoto 2018, talks are slated to be given by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Yu Suzuki, and artist William Simpson. There will also be a cosplay performance. For more, check out the official site.  

Man Arrested After Sending Death Threats To Hideaki Anno’s Studio

A 35-year-old resident of Okayama, Japan is in police custody after making death threats to Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara. Best known for the Rebuild of Evangelion anime series, Khara received threats over SNS that evoked the Kyoto Animation tragedy. According to Livedoor News, Noriaki Inukai was arrested for making the threats, to which he has…