Kotaku East

Getting To Know Persona 5

The new trailer forPersona 5 was just the right balance of entertaining and intriguing. But if the trailer alone wasn’t enough, here’s more info from the game’s director. In a recent interview with Weekly Famitsu, Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino revealed details on the game’s protagonist and what all the masked man stuff was about.…

Cats Versus Robot in a Lethal Battle of Cute

A handful of feline friends go head-to-head with a remote-controlled robot. Who will come out on top? Because there can only be one winner: Us. The clip was created by Japanese YouTube user StudioSinga a few years back (but recently popped up on Korean website Today Humor). I’ve never seen it before. Maybe you have!…

Just What Skyrim Needs: My Neighbor Totoro

Let’s be honest. There really is no better way to spruce up Skyrim than the Totoro bus stop. As pointed out by website DragonPorn, this particular mod is called “That Bus Stop” (あのバス停) and was created by modder Higeyoshi. Just like in Totoro, you can wait at the bus stop with Mei’s red umbrella. Or…

Deep Down is Still M.I.A.

Recently, Capcom made an announcement about an ambitious online game with the initials DD. But the new Dragon’s Dogma wasn’t exactly the game that people were expecting Capcom to highlight. So what’s going on with that other game? Deep Down was announced back in 2013 and caught everyone’s attention with its enigmatic visuals and Dark…

The Pyramids Make for a Great Cosplay Location

Looking for somewhere to cosplay? May I recommend the Pyramids? Also, camels are good if you’ve got ’em. That’s Japanese cosplayer Akira Konomi, who also appeared in Cosplay World, dressed as Jotaro Kujo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. She’s visiting for the Egycon And while in Egypt, she took the opportunity to bring JoJo‘s Stardust Crusaders…

A Live Action Terraformars Movie is a Terrible Idea

Following the Attack on Titanmodel, Terraformars, the popular manga/anime series, will be getting a live action movie in 2016. That sure is an awful idea. Here’s why. For those who don’t know, Terraformars is a manga about a future where Mars has been turned into a habitable environment for humans, but the cockroaches that were…

Square Enix Is Sorry for Parodying a Disgraced Scientist

Well, I guess that didn’t go as planned, now did it? Then again, maybe it did. Japanese researcher Haruko Obokata caused one of the biggest science scandals in recent memory after her botched stem-cell research was proven highly questionable. Obokata resigned due to research misconduct, and currently, there’s talk of criminal charges against her. Square…

Fake 7-Elevens That Fool No One

Not that they would! But the next time you step into a, say, 7-Twelve in China or a 7-Minutes in Russia, remember that you’re not actually in a 7-Eleven. Got it? Of course you do. Recently, Twitter user Livein_Chinauploaded the above pic of a faux convenience store. But China is hardly alone in being home…

Internet Browsers, Personified

Internet Explorer looks shy, which makes sense if you think about all the rejection he has to face everyday. Poor guy. These gijinka-style browser-tan personifications were all done by Deviantart’s ROSEL-D, who, as you can see here, likes to draw these from time to time. They are all fairly low-key—especially when you compare them with…

Square Enix has trademarked “Square Soft” and “Enix” in Japan. It’s unclear if this is to prevent other companies from using them (highly likely!) or if Square Enix will use them for branding (perhaps!).

Can You Identify These Anime Eyes? Go On and Try. 

Hrm. I see a Naruto eye. A Dragon Ball eye. An eye from Evangelion. Another from One Piece. This is tricky! Actually, it’s not that tricky, because the anime each eye belongs to is written next to it in Japanese. But, ignore that! Do it! Try to see how many anime eyes you can spot…

The Japanese Military Is Great at Snow Sculptures

Remember that enormous Star Wars snow sculpture? Wonder who helped make it? The Japanese military, that’s who. The Japanese Self Defense Force Northern Army 11th Brigade was instrumental in completing the large works, including the Vader piece and the snow version of Shinto shrine Kasuga-taisha Here, you can see how the Japanese military drew up…

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis has Demons, Angels, and Adventure Galore

A looming war between demons and angels. A draconic beast poised to destroy the world. A plucky hero and his companions on the path to saving it. What more could you ask for in an epic fantasy tale? Not much. In the magical world of Mistarcia, angels and demons had warred for eons. Then a…

Kirby’s Claymation Looks Real Enough to Touch

Kirby: Rainbow Curse has an art style not exactly common in games: one of clay. Everything in the game is made of it and it is animated as if it were claymation. And let me tell you, when you get a good look at the game up close, you’ll wonder if it really is CG…

Bravely Second, the sequel to Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, finally has an official subtitle. The game will be called Bravely Second: End Layer.

How Final Fantasy XV Does Pre-Render and Real-Time

In Final Fantasy XV, pre-rendered and real-time graphics do look different. Not that different, apparently. Recent Japanese magazine scans show a pre-render and real-time comparison for FFXV character Cidney, the first female Cid While she’s not a playable character, Cidney appears as an in-game mechanic. Below, you can see the images via GermanFFBlog and website…

Studio Ghibli Doesn’t Know What To Make Next

The studio behind Totoro, Porco Rosso and more is not dead yet. But as Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki explains, the studio isn’t sure about its next feature film project. “Right now, Studio Ghibli is open, but not in production,” Suzuki is quoted as saying by Oricon. “We’re worrying over what would be good to make.”…

The New 3DS vs. Wii Graphics Comparison You’ve Been Waiting For

Which has better graphics? The New Nintendo 3DS or the (old) Nintendo Wii? Let’s compare and find out. We’ve seen graphic comparisons between the Wii U and the regular 3DS (thanks, Smash Bros.!). But since Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a port of the Wii original and a New Nintendo 3DS exclusive, we get a very…

The “Most Wonderful” Anime of 2014

Reader poll time! Japanese website Anime Anime (via Otanew) polled seven hundred of its readers, asking them to name the most splendid anime of last year. Here are the results. Keep in mind that this is a reader poll and not representative of all anime viewers in Japan. It is, however, representative of the seven…

Unlimited Blade Works is More Than Just Eye Candy

Unlimited Blade Works is not the Fate/Stay Night anime you remember. The plot is full of new twists and turns and it comes with a visual upgrade that puts other big budget TV anime to shame. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is the story of a secret tournament between seven chosen mages that happens in…