Kotaku East

Everything’s Better With Attack On Titan

You know what makes everything better? Adding Levi from Attack on Titan to everything. Yes. Everything. Below, you can see what Levi Ackerman looks like in the Attack on Titan anime. If you are unfamiliar with Levi, this wikia can hopefully bring you up to speed. In the past few years, Attack on Titan has…

Knights of Sidonia Is a Mecha Anime with a Realistic Twist

An isolated human colony ship is on the run from aliens and the only effective defense they have left are giant robots. No doubt, you’ve heard similar setups before; but Knights of Sidonia plays the situation completely straight—from the real world physics to the societal implications. Good – A Society Built for Space One of…

Fans of beat’em up games, rejoice! Maybe. In tonight’s Nintendo Direct, game developer Hiroyuki Sonobe of ParityBit said they were working on “that game,” without directly mentioning the title. Images that appeared to be from a new Kenka Bancho flashed on the screen and the words “Coming Soon.”

Keeping a Princess Alive is Harder Than it Looks

You know, I thought that getting a young princess through her final year before her coronation wouldn’t be too tough—even with all the court intrigue, invading armies, and economic issues. I was wrong. She died… a lot. Like many PC gamers, I love Steam sales—even though they do little more than leave me with less…

The Best Starbucks Rip-Off Name Is Still “Starf**ks”

You know it, you love it. Starbucks. Or maybe you hate it. The coffee chain is everywhere. And at one shopping mall in China, a knock-off Starbucks sign has a memorable name. Note: This article might contain content some readers find offensive. Others might be amused. Starfucks. That’s right, Starfucks. As People’s Daily Online, Xinhuanet,…

Your Guide to Gundam’s Video Game Side Stories

Ever since the 16-bit era, there have been side-story games that help flesh out the world of the original Gundam. Now these have been abridged and collected in the new PS3 title Gundam: Side Stories. But what are all these titular side stories and what are they about? Mobile Suit Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079 System:…

Smoking Hair Is the Best Worst Haircut

Recently on Korean website Humor School, a series of photos appeared of a young man who was slated to enter military service on June 30. He got a haircut that was so bad, it’s good. No, no, no. I’m not talking about the close-cut hairdo service members get. I’m talking about something much worse. And,…

PR Stunt Involves a “Thousand” Women Installing a PC Game

In China, there’s a contest for online game Tera. According to the game’s official site, “a thousand beautiful women” install the game on gamers’ computers. Not at once, mind you. You sign up via the game’s official Chinese site to enter. As noted on the developer’s Facebook (via tipster Sang), the models show up at…

Anime Fans, Don’t Miss These Studio Ghibli Exhibits

This week, a special exhibit opened in Tokyo. If you like anime, namely Studio Ghibli, it is not to be missed. Neither is the one opening later this month. The exhibit features the structures, the architecture, and the environments that appear in Studio Ghibli’s films. This is a close-up look at the animated world the…

China and Taiwan Are Now into a Really Old Meme

Remember “cone-ing?” Back in 2011, a YouTube user named Alki Stevens racked up ten million views with his video titled “Cone-ing is the New Planking.” Young people in Asia, it seems, have just discovered cone-ing. As reported on a variety of Chinese and Taiwanese sites (such as Cnhuadong.net. Stockstar, Xinhuanet, Gamme, etc.), kids are doing…

One Piece Deemed Offensive in South Korea, Exhibit Cancelled [Update]

Three days before a One Piece exhibit was to open in Seoul, South Korea, the event was suddenly cancelled. The event was to be held at the War Memorial of Korea Peace Plaza and was to feature life-sized statues of One Piece characters, sketches by series creator Eiichiro Oda, and over three hundred rare One…

This Manga is as Hardcore as the Vikings

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from Vinland Saga, it’s that you don’t fuck with Vikings. I first picked up Vinland Saga because it’s by Makoto Yukimura, who wrote one of my all-time favorite manga series, Planetes. While I did expect a story of decent quality going in, what I didn’t expect was a fascinating,…

Experience a First-Person Walk Through Tokyo

Maybe you’ve always wanted to visit Tokyo. You can visit a fairly realistic (though, highly stylized) version in Sega’s Yakuza games. Or you can watch this video. Uploaded by YouTube user egawauemon, this is pretty much exactly what it’s like to stroll through Tokyo, minus the actual walking and oppressive summer heat. × Shibuya, Tokyo,…

How Yokai Watch Was Engineered To Be A Massive Hit

Yokai Watch, Level 5’s popular spirit collecting game, is still going strong, with the game remaining in Japan’s video game sales top 10 list for nearly a year. There’s no catching lightning in a bottle like with Pokémon, but according to developer Level 5, if you really try, you can get pretty close “We’ve created…

The Most Amazing Places to Pee and Poop in Japan

Japan is famous for its high tech toilets. But the country also has some truly unique restrooms to go with those fancy toilets. While other countries also have amazing restrooms, Japan has some truly unique water closets. Let’s have a look at what website Naver has flushed out. A restroom stall in Fukui Prefecture with…

Parents Allegedly Sold Children to Buy Virtual In-Game Items

A young unmarried couple in China are accused selling not one, but two of their children to human traffickers. The money they got was used for gaming. As reported on Guangdong TV (via Sina Games and Games in Asia), the young parents’ first son was unplanned. Instead of supporting the child, they allegedly sold the…

This Japanese Television Conspiracy Has Familiar Faces

Do you trust your local television media? In Japan, some folks are suspicious of the country’s television media. Here’s why. Previously, Kotaku reported how some television news segments appeared to be what’s called “yarase” (ヤラセ) or “staged” (here and here), allegedly filled with phoney people pretending to be regular folks called “sakura.” As previously explained,…

Taiwan’s Sea of Scooters Is a Sight to Behold

So. Many. Scooters. If you like motorized bikes, then Taipei is the place for you. Well, unless you hate traffic, that is. The following videos show rush hour at Taipei Bridge, which is well-known for its flood of scooters. As website Plotting The Course points out, there are 415 scooters for every one thousand people,…

Shirtless Spartan Warrior Cosplay Made Easy!

All you need are incredible art skills, and bam, and you too can look like King Leonidas. This is Mr. Nagata from Japanese comedy site Omocoro, which recently had artist Hikaru Cho paint him a chiseled chest. Kotaku has featured Cho’s body paintings before (here, here, and here). They are terrific. The process took over…

Nintendo just revealed that two games featured on Kirby Triple Deluxe are getting released as standalone downloadable 3DS titles for Japan. Kirby Fighters Z and DeDeDe’s Drum Dash Z will be out July 23, both with new content. No word yet on a Western release.