Kotaku East

Hanamonogatari Is Little More Than Two Hours of Philosophical Dialogue

While delayed for several months, Hanamonogatari, the latest tales from the sprawling Monogatari franchise, has finally aired in Japan. Sadly, this six-episode series lacks much of what makes the rest of the franchise so enjoyable—and may be the densest anime I have ever seen. Good – Pretty and Surreal One of the best things about…

Chairman Mao-Shaped Fruit Are Being Grown in China

How would you like a nice Chinese gourd? One that’s shaped like Chairman Mao? Or, how about Jesus? According to a spot on Youku, a man named Xie Lyu Zhi visited the Thousand Year Temple in Sichuan, China and a Buddhist monk told him a dream he had about a gourd shaped like a famous…

What Show Got You into Anime? 10,000 Japanese Fans Respond.

Everybody has to start somewhere. And recently, Japanese viewers were polled about what show got them interested in anime. Between August 14 and August 20, website Charapedia quizzed over ten thousand anime fans in Japan, asking them what anime series started it all for them. Among those polled, 49.4 percent were men, while 50.6 percent…

Pokemon’s Official Reggae Is Slowpoke Centipede

Well, everyone’s favorite pink and slow Pokemon now has a reggae song. It’s totally official, too. The music video for it is…just watch it. The song is title “Donai Yanen Yadon” (どないやねん ヤドン), which loosely translates as, “How You’re a Slowpoke After All.” The lyrics are very humorous and say things like, “Your big mouth…

There’s a Real-Life Resident Evil Survival Game in Japan

And for a limited time, you can play it. Capcom and Base Camp Kawaba in Gunma Prefecture have teamed up for a Resident Evil survival game. A real-life one. Players gear up and carry airsoft guns as they engage in combat in the ski resort’s parking garage, which has been turned into Raccoon City. According…

Japan’s Indie Comic Event is Full of Myths and Legends

This past weekend in Japan was the 86th official Comic Market, better known as Comiket. You don’t hold an event 86 times without some strange urban legends cropping up. Comiket is Japan’s bi-annual indie comic event held at Tokyo Big Site Sight where manga creators, amateur to professional, gather to sell privately made manga, called…

Life Is Hard When You’re a Musclebound Teenager

What… I don’t even… How… So… Yeah. Mr. Macho/My Classmate is a manga that got a bit of traction on the interwebs in Japan recently because of, well, just look at it. Hearing the hubbub online, I had to see it for myself, and it turned out to be a hilariously entertaining read. What It’s…

Smash Bros. Creator Explains Why Wii U Owners Have to Wait

As the release date of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS fast approaches, you might take a moment to ponder why Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U isn’t coming out simultaneously. Series creator, Masahiro Sakurai explains why. In his semi-weekly column in Weekly Famitsu, Sakurai noted that at the time of writing, he is…

More Delightful Chinese Photoshop Trolls

Back in 2013, Kotaku first featured Chinese Photoshop trolls. They were quite amusing. Now, let’s have a look at some more internet hijinks from those able to use their Photoshop skills for good—or, depending on how you look at it, evil. Here’s how it works: people submit photos, making specific requests that the Photoshop masters…

Justin Timberlake’s “Ninja” Slur Controversy Baffles Japan

Justin Timberlake recently calledMadonna a “mother chucking ninja.” Some people in the U.S. were upset, saying the word had racist connotations. In Japan, some folks were baffled by this controversy. As US Weekly points out, the “ninja” remark caused Twitter outrage, with people alleging that Timberlake was using “ninja” as a substitute for a racist…

Pink Grasshoppers Are Real, Rare, and Vaguely Cute

A sixth grader in Gunma Prefecture, Japan recently discovered a pink grasshopper—which is “extremely rare.” It and the boy ended up on NHK, the country’s equivalent of the BBC. As The Huffington Post points out, not much is known about pink grasshoppers other than it’s thought the mutation is caused due to the grasshopper having…

Man Proposes with 1,001 Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are great! I don’t care what anyone else has to say about them, but I enjoy eating hot dogs. Well, it seems I’m not alone in this world as one young man in China has gotten all frank to propose to his girlfriend. This past Saturday, Chengdu Evening News reported that a 28-year-old…

Japanese Viewers List This Summer’s Most Popular Anime

It’s so hot! There’s a good way to pass the time: Watch anime. And recently, male and female anime viewers were polled over their favorite shows of this summer. As Zaikei reports, download music site Recochoku polled 578 people between July 25 and August 5, asking them to name which anime of the summer they…

Inside a Bitcoin Mine in Rural China

Last year, Kotaku showed images of a Bitcoin mining operation in Hong Kong. It was fancy! However, these recent photos of a Bitcoin mine in northeast China are anything but. Website The Coinsman recently published photos of a Bitcoin operation that’s located in the Chinese countryside. [Photo: The Coinsman] The Coinsman reports that the three…

My, My Zelda, How You Have Grown

The Legend of Zelda series has been around for 28 years now and over that time, the game’s heroes and villains have been redesigned again and again. But let me be frank here, when it comes to Zelda character designs, there are none I like more than those from the newest spin-off game in the…

If SNK Made StarCraft…

SNK does not make StarCraft. Blizzard makes StarCraft, and SNK made its name with 2D games like Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters. But if SNK made a game with Blizzard’s characters, it might look like this. As tipster Sang points out, these 2D pixel renderings were created by Korean net users Black Security…

Inside the Intense World of Japan’s Underground Drifting

You are not watching an episode of anime Initial D. This isn’t a video game! Here’s a look at underground drifting in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Albo Agunday, who filmed this video, tells Kotaku: The way it worked this night is that some cars would line up and go one or two or three at a…

Young Girls Playing Cards Can Be So Dark

Supernatural collectible card game? Check. Cute, innocent female characters? Check. Depressing descent into a pit of despair where each revelation only makes everything worse? Double-check. Seriously, who knew an anime about young girls playing a children’s card game could be so dark? Good – Wishes Selector Infected WIXOSS is the story of Ruko, a friendless…

Sony is holding a press conference on the afternoon of September 1 in Tokyo. Promising “the latest announcements,” it will be broadcasted online.

Arrested For Marijuana, Jackie Chan’s Son Could Face Execution

Chinese actor and singer Jaycee Chan was arrested for marijuana consumption and possession in Beijing Monday. The son of Jackie Chan, he could face up to three years in prison or, at worst, even execution if convicted. Last night, China Central Television(CCTV) reported that Beijing police had arrested 32-year-old Jaycee Chan, real name Fang Zuming,…