Kotaku East

Studio Ghibli. Nagoya, Japan. By Nelson Diaz. 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!

Latest Pokémon Sun and Moon Leaks Confirmed In New Trailer

Is Pokémon Sun and Moon the leakiest game of 2016? Not sure, but for the past few days, Sun and Moon leaks have reportedly shown new characters. Today we can confirm that those leaks were true. Team Skull is Sun and Moon’s antagonist organization: This is Plumeria. Guzma is Team Skull’s leader. New Pokémon include…

That’s One Big Plushie

Damn, that stuffed bear is effing huge. San-X is once again rolling out a life-sized version of its popular lazy bear character Rilakkuma. The plushie is 5.4 feet tall and weighs 19 pounds. Which means in real life Rilakkuma is not some small, cute bear, but more like this: The plushie is priced at 66,434…

Matt Damon Isn’t Whitewashing The Great Wall, Says Director

Next February, Matt Damon stars in a movie centered around the Great Wall of China. According to the film’s director Zhang Yimou, there’s a reason for that and it’s not whitewashing. This comes in the wake of the surrounding decision to cast Scarlett Johansson as augmented-cybernetic human Motoko Kusanagi in The Ghost in the Shell…

DeNA, the Japanese company making upcoming mobile apps with Nintendo, today said it “can’t update you today about progress on our work with Nintendo.” According to WSJ, work is continuing, but DeNA doesn’t currently have any info to share.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics Were Predicted 30 Years Ago by Akira

Cyberpunk manga Akira debuted in 1982—over thirty years ago. The manga, and subsequent anime, are set against the backdrop of the forthcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Er, I mean the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics. The impending games and Neo-Tokyo Olympic Stadium do factor into the plot (for example, Akira is housed in a cryogenic chamber below the…

A Haunted Sandcastle Pokémon Exists, It Seems

Oh. My. Goodness. It seems as though a sandcastle Pocket Monster is coming to the upcoming 3DS title Pokémon Sun and Moon. In the upper corner of the below image, you can see the small Ghost/Ground type Pokémon called Sunabaa (スナバァ), which is a riff on the Japanese word for sandbox, sunaba (砂場). Sunabaa evolves…

Dragon Ball Could Be Getting A New Hair Color

Last year, Dragon Ball got a new Super Saiyan hair color. There might be another new color revealed this month if rumored leaks are correct. Warning: This article has spoilers. Well, possible spoilers. Black Goku might get a transformation in an upcoming episode of Dragon Ball Super. In English, people are calling this “Super Saiyan…

Japan Still Makes The Best Train Games

There is no competition, and no country is better. Japan is the unrivaled king of train games. Case in point: Famitsu and 4Gamer report that Taito is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Densha de Go! (Go By Train!) arcade series with its most impressive arcade cabinet yet. Square Enix’s VisualWorks is overseeing the graphics,…

Pikachu lights up a Ferris Wheel in Japan. To help celebrate the now seemingly annual “Pikachu Outbreak” event, everybody’s favorite electric rodent is appearing on Cosmo Clock 21 wheel in Yokohama.

The 2020 Olympics Could Change Tattooing In Japan Forever

The 2016 Rio Olympics are underway, and athletes from around the globe are competing for gold. Many of those Olympians are inked, as are those spectators who have flocked to the games. All are giving hope to those who want Japan, host of the next Summer Games, to become more open-minded about tattooing. Numerous Olympic…

In November, Konami is moving its arcade business out of its main gaming arm and into the amusement division, which is also home to pachinko and pachislot. This is part of a corporate reorganization. [Thanks, Aaron!]

Virtua Fighter in robot form! That’s right, YouTuber Holypong turned his robot Automo 08 into Virtua Fighter character Akira Yuki.

Senso-ji. Tokyo, Japan. By Facundo F. Lleventon. 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!

Report: Blizzard Releasing StarCraft HD [Update]

According to respected Korean site iNews24, multiple sources say Blizzard will announce an HD version of the original StarCraft this September. It will reportedly play the same, but have a better resolution and UI. iNews24, the country’s first online newspaper, is reporting (via tipster Sang) the following: Today, multiple sources with knowledge of Blizzard internal…

A Whole Bunch of PC Case Mods From China

A slew of Chinese case mods were on display at the recent ChinaJoy gaming exhibition in Shanghai. Let’s have a look. Japanese site 4Gamer took most of these images. One case modder to note is Fuxk, which has been winning case mod competitions for years now. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture,…

The Pokémon Anime’s New Ending Theme Is Nuts  

Here’s the new closer for anime Pokémon: XY & Z. Get ready to overdose on Pikachu, ketchup, and cuteness. Above is a 33-second sample from the official site. Here’s the full song via Twitter user Maru_run33: The track is Pikachu’s Song, which Kotaku previously introduced. Its bonkers lyrics are only surpassed by this ending animation.…

Toro Nagashi Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. By Stuart Campbell 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!

The Tallest Godzilla Of Them All [Update]

The ‘Zilla that appears in Godzilla Resurgence is the tallest one to date. But how does it stack up to the other Godzilla from over the years? This is how. This terrific image comes via Twitter user GMANonScified, and it does a wonderful job of showing how much bigger the latest Godzilla is compared to…

Studio Ghibli Sounds Like A Stressful Place To Work

Former Studio Ghibli employee Hirokatsu Kihara was recently in London talking about his time at the famed animation studio behind such classics as My Neighbor Totoro. That time sounds stressful! In an interview with Dazed (via Yurukuyaru and Rocketnews), Kihara dished about his experiences at Studio Ghibli. According to Kihara, “There’s a sense that everyone…