Kotaku East

Track: Milk Tea | Artist: Ua | Album: Ametora Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

One Piece Meets Waterworld 

This summer, as in the past, Universal Studios Japan will be rolling out a One Piece live-action spectacular. The One Piece Premium Summer 2015 kicks off on July 3 and runs until September 6. As with past shows, this will be more performance (acting, singing, and dancing) based than the stunt-heavy Waterworld show. The One…

Analyzing Japan’s Latest Fetish: Brooklyn

The question started out innocently enough: “Do you know ‘Brooklyn’ is written on your socks?” My wife, an Osaka native, replied, “Yeah, these seemed more casual than the other socks I was thinking of getting.” A quick look around at what people are currently wearing in Japan, where I’ve called home for nearly the past…

People, Don’t Turn Your Dog into Real-Life Minecraft 

If you have a dog, don’d do this! Just. Don’t. Recently, photos have been floating around of dogs that have been groomed into geometric-headed creatures. The original photos date from, at least, last December. The look is supposed to be cute. Some pics show dogs with the fur on their heads trimmed into circles. Others…

Things You Might’ve Missed in Studio Ghibli Anime

Many Studio Ghibli movies have easter eggs, which probably slip by most viewers. Don’t be “most viewers” and see what you might’ve have missed. YouTube user Movie Munchies created this collection of easter eggs. Have a look, so you cannot unsee them the next time you watch a Ghibli anime. To contact the author of…

Himeji Castle, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. August 2014. By Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku Screengrabber 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!

Tokyo Ghoul’s :re Cafe is a Real Place and You Can Visit It

*Man-eating Ghouls not included. The characters of Tokyo Ghoul spend a lot of their time in cafes. The first of these is Anteku. The second is called “:re.” While only briefly seen at the end of the Tokyo Ghoul √A anime, the :re cafe is a key location in the manga Tokyo Ghoul The “real” :re…

That’s One Fugly Attack on Titan Figure

Isn’t quality control wonderful? In the above comparison, you can see an anime image of Eren Yeager contrasted with an official figurine that is supposed to depict the character. Twitter user Kaorukosandesu recently posted photos of the messed up figure. As you can see on the figure’s site, it’s not supposed to look like this.…

This Wii U Game Comes With the Oddest Bonus—The Same Game on Wii

Rodea the Sky Soldier is a game with a bit of a troubled development history. Rodea the Sky Soldier is a third person platformer where you fly through each level, collecting stars and fighting robotic enemies. Brainchild of Yuji Naka, this game shares more than a little in common with the creator’s other works, Sonic…

Smash Bros. Creator on “Intolerable” DLC

Sometimes, downloadable content is okay. Other times, DLC is anything but. Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai explains the difference. In his latest Weekly Famitsu column, Sakurai discusses DLC and how he views it—not only in the recent Super Smash Bros., but in general. “Indeed, the phrase, ‘DLC business” is everywhere,” Sakurai wrote. “Having to pay…

Pokémon Artist Creates “2.5D Manga,” and It’s Incredible

Manga is flat. It’s on printed paper. It’s two-dimensional. This manga is somewhat different and totally wonderful. As pointed out by Get News, this “2.5D manga” was created by an artist named Muneo Saito. Besides working as a manga artist on several comics published in Weekly Shonen Sunday and CoroCoro Comic, Saito did the manga…

Yakuza Movies Don’t Get More Bonkers Than This

Vampire yakuza, minigun-toting trucks, a guy in a flying fuzzy frog suit… Sounds like Miike Takashi all right. Miike, of course, is the filmmaker behind such movies as Ichi the Killer and Audition. Gokudo Daisenso (極道大戦争 ) or roughly translated, “The Great Yakuza War” is an upcoming movie from director Miike Takashi that’s about… it’s…

How to Become Pokémon World Champion

Se Jun Park won the Pokémon Video Game World Champion Master’s Division last year. You’d think preparing for a tournament that has the words “world” and “champion” in it would require months of dedicated prep beforehand. You’d think. “Actually, I spent less time playing Pokémon in 2014 than I ever have ever since I really…

The Gold Darth Vader Helmet You’ve Always Wanted

The Dark Side of the Force? Oh no. This is the bling side. Tokyo’s Ginza Tanaka has covered a Darth Vader helmet in gold. According to The Wall Street Journal, the jeweler won’t divulge how much it cost to create this glittery Vader and isn’t offering the mask for sale. Instead, as Reuters adds, the…

The Latest Idolmaster Anime is Somewhat Lacking

Cute anime girls on stage singing and dancing… S’okay, but I feel I should be more entertained than I actually am. The iDOLM@ASTER: Cinderella Girls is the spiritual successor to The iDOLM@STER anime. Where The iDOLM@STER was based on the Xbox 360/PS3 game, Cinderella Girls is based on the smartphone spin-off. While both shows supposedly…

Kpop Group As Told By Twitter Doodles

The group Exo has racked up a staggering 18 million views for their latest video. It’s not even a month old! No wonder the group has a rabid fan base. It also has some terrific fan doodles. Twitter user ExoDoodles has been doing regular updates of, well, Exo doodles for the past few months, pleasing…

That Awkward Moment When Hideo Kojima Doesn’t Appear

Yesterday, the biggest game magazine in Japan, Weekly Famitsu, held an awards ceremony. In the past, Hideo Kojima has attended the Famitsu Awards. This year, he did not. Many other famous creators were on hand to go on stage and receive their awards. [Photo: Famitsu] Like Level-5’s Akihiro Hino, creator of the incredibly popular Yokai…

Some Japanese Fans Are Skeptical about the Attack on Titan Movie 

The Attack on Titan movie is not out yet. The trailers look pretty good! Don’t tell that to the haters in Japan. Of course, not everyone in country dislikes what they’ve seen so far. And I do think the movie should do well, just based on the built-in fan base and the ability of the…

Hands-on with the Dissidia: Final Fantasy Arcade Game

This past weekend in Tokyo, Square Enix did their first location test of the upcoming Dissidia: Final Fantasy arcade—and Kotaku was on hand to try it out. To begin with, let’s look at the arcade cabinet itself. The game has what appears to be two joysticks. However, they aren’t joysticks as they are stationary and…

Hey, JRPG fans! Compile Heart just announced Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force. This PS4 exclusive is another collaboration between artist Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy fame, composer Nobuo Uematsu also of Final Fantasy fame, and writer Toshiki Inoue, who has written a bunch of TV anime and tokusatsu shows. No word on a Western…