Kotaku East

Durarara!! is Anime’s Own Soap Opera

…A soap opera filled with headless horsemen, impossibly strong bartenders, street gangs, magical swords, and even Russian sushi. [This review contains major spoilers for the original Durarara!!] Back when Durarara!!x2 started its run in January of 2015, I decided to watch the original Durarara!! series from 2010 in preparation for a possible review. But as…

Your Complete Spring 2016 Anime Guide

You can feel it. Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and spring is in the air. Oh, and there’s a new season of anime. Here’s a look at what to watch and where to watch it. As we do year after year and season after season, here is Kotaku’s latest anime guide, the Spring 2016…

Elderly Woman Mistakenly Prays to League of Legends Character

Or, who knows, maybe she knew exactly what she was doing? As pointed out on Sina (via ShanghaiIst) and IT Home, an elderly woman was making incense offerings and kneeling before League of Legends character Garen. These images appeared on Chinese social networking site Weibo and were taken outside of a internet cafe, explaining the…

Insanely Small Donuts Made Before Your Very Eyes

It’s time for more miniature cooking. This time, donuts! Because everyone loves donuts, even if they’re teeny tiny. You might be familiar with Japanese YouTube channel Miniature Channel, which is devoted to micro-sized meal making. Today, via IT Media, let’s take a look at YouTuber Mimine from South Korea. If you are wondering what’s up…

Sailor Moon Museum Exhibit Opening in Tokyo

Starting April 16, a special Sailor Moon exhibition opens in Tokyo to celebrate one of Japan’s most successful manga and anime. The exhibition will be held at the top of Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. On display, there will be original color art as well as Sailor Moon anime cells. There will also be new…

Nipponbashi Street Festa. Osaka, 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!

Browser game Kingdom Hearts χ is ending service in Japanin early September of this year. A mobile version of the game, however, is headingto North America today as Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ. How’s that for timing?

Bringing Final Fantasy Back from the Edge of Crisis 

Last week, Square Enix showed it wasthrowing all it had behind Final Fantasy XV. This is a big game and has the anime and live-action CGI spin-off to prove it. While Square Enix might seem like it’s back on sure Final Fantasy footing, it was only a few years ago things seemed anything but. In…

You Can Now Rent Goats in Japan

Goat Simulator, this ain’t. It’s the real deal. A few years ago, Amazon Japan began employing goats to take care of its grounds. Now, there’s a new “Yagi Rental” (“yagi” means “goat” in Japanese) service, with each goat costing 15,000 yen per month and more than ready to eat grass and vegetation. The service points…

Umbrella Corps, that Resident Evil survival horror multiplayer shooter, has been delayed in Japan. According to Famitsu, it was supposed to be out on May 12, but has been moved to June 23. No word how this impacts the international launch this June.

Procession. Karakura, Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. By Jonathan Goh. 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 Wrong Camera Angle Can Ruin CG Anime

Camera placement is everything in CG animation. Everything. Japanese CG animator Kohta Morie shows off this cool behind-the-scenes look at how a commercial for Kyoto Gakuen University was made. First, here’s the ad: This isn’t the frightening bit. This is. GAH. You can watch more of the making of right here. Kotaku East is your…

North Korean Special Effects Are Really Bad

Figures. So are North Korean Photoshops. According to Newsweek, North Korea released a new propaganda clip, showing the destruction of important South Korean cultural and political monuments. Last month, the country released another clip, showing the destruction of Washington D.C. Grim, scary stuff. Though, we can take heart in one thing: At least Industrial Light…

Japanese Students Wear VR Headsets at School Ceremony

This isn’t your typical Japanese high school entrance ceremony. Japanese entertainment and internet giant Kadokawa Dwango has created a high school for the internet age, where students can study programming, game design, voice acting, and more. So, yeah, this school is unique and other schools in Japan do not use VR headsets at their commencements.…

Japanese Castles Look Even Better with Cherry Blossoms

Know how to make Japanese castles and cherry blossoms even better? Combine them. Via Matome Naver, here are some truly lovely photos taken this spring of Japanese castles across the country as cherry blossoms bloom. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and…

Persona 5, you’ve been awfully quiet! Just a friendly reminder, via 2ch, that Atlus hasn’t updated us with any P5 news since October 2015. It’s slated for a release this year, so hopefully we’ll get an update sooner rather than later.

Heavy Object is Not Your Usual Mecha Anime

Imagine, if you will, a world where nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons were all rendered obsolete by nearly invincible mobile fortresses called “Objects.” Then imagine that one day, two grunt soldiers destroyed one. That’s the world of Heavy Object Heavy Object is set in a future version of our world where, like with the invention…

Morning in Akihabara. Tokyo, Japan. By Derek Bulner. 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!

Japanese game company Alchemist, best known for Gal*Gun, has apparently filed for bankruptcy, 4Gamer reports.

Resident Evil Clothing for Muscular, Sweaty People

Are you a strapping man or woman? Do you like Resident Evil? Then does Capcom have some clothing for you. According to Famitsu, the Osaka-based game company is teaming up with athletic gear company Bodymaker for a line of inner wear clothing designed to reduce muscle stress during physical activity. The clothing is made from…