Kotaku East

Taiwanese Dentist Dresses Staff in Skimpy Maid Outfits

Afraid of the dentist? A Taiwanese dental clinic thinks it has a solution: hygienists decked out in maid uniforms. Um, okay! For the past several years, maid cafes have been popular in Japan and have spread outside the country. Taiwan now has maid cafes of its own—there’s even a McDonald’s that has held special events,…

Japanese Manga Stirs Up Fukushima Nuclear Controversy

A famous Japanese food manga takes on the “truth about Fukushima.” The Japanese manga, Oishinbo (美味しんぼ) is a long-running food manga that has been ongoing since 1983. In his latest chapter that was recently published in the magazine Big Comic Spirits, author Tetsu Kariya depicted the manga protagonist, Shiro Yamaoka, as he returned from a…

What Japanese Game Developers Learn from Each Others’ Games

Four developers competing in the same genre sit down to have a friendly conversation. The multi-player large-boss-hunting genre is huge in Japan. It’s hardly a stretch to say that the Monster Hunter series saved both the PSP and the 3DS in Japan. After the juggernaut that is Monster Hunter made its mark, every other Japanese…

What Excites Japanese Gamers About the Xbox One

From a rocky start to now, with over 5 million units sold, the Xbox One seems to have found its footing. Next stop, Japan. But how will Microsoft’s black monolithic hope fare in a market where its predecessors haven’t exactly enjoyed the lion’s share? Following the September 4th Japanese release date announcement, Japanese gaming mag…

A Solution for One of the Most Annoying Things at the Movies

I love going to the movies. I enjoy watching flicks on the big screen with a crowd. But you know what I find annoying? Sharing an armrest. It’s not that I don’t want to share, but I don’t like how there’s the awkwardness of trying to figure out with a stranger in the dark which…

McDonald’s Now Serving Churros in Japan

And they’re called, ahem, McChurros. So clever! Yesterday, the fast food chain launched the churros in two flavors: Cinnamon Sugar and Maple. The Cinnamon Sugar McChurros come with packets of, well, cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on the churros, while the Maple ones have syrup for dipping. Online in Japan, many Twitter users are saying that…

Hoping for a revamped Wii U? Satoru Iwata told Asahi that rumors of Nintendo announcing a new version of its console at E3 are “groundless.” Instead, we can look forward to a new title that shows a new way to use the Wii U’s GamePad.

Japanese Man Arrested for Having Guns Made with a 3D Printer

A twenty-seven year old Japanese man was arrested on suspicion of printing and possessing guns. This is the first instance of such an arrest being made in Japan. According to ANN News, Yoshitomo Imura allegedly downloaded gun blueprints from a foreign site and then printed the resin guns with his 3D printer. Imura had apparently…

China Wants To Make It Easier For People To Publish Games

Publishing games in China has always been an interesting dark art, but now the Chinese government wants to regulate it in the hopes that it might make things simpler. Published in the People’s Daily, the communist party of China’s mouth piece, the General Administration of Press Publication, Film, Radio and Television has come out with…

I Don’t Think The Human Face Is Supposed To Do That

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is famous for its unique art style with characters making fabulous poses that cosplayers love to mimic. One underappreciated aspect of the manga is the interesting facial expressions. Underappreciated, except by one man. Twitter user Sekaichizu Kinoshita has an entire twitter feed under the user name @jojogaobot dedicated to mimicking the various…

Two Gamers Are Going To Jail For Stealing $6,405 In Virtual Items

Stealing is bad. Stealing items in online games is also bad, and usually there’s not much that can be done to combat it—so it’s super good news that two Chinese internet thieves have been sentenced to prison terms. According to a report released today, in early April, two men, surnamed Wang and Cai, were each…

Taipei To Fine People Glued To Smartphones While Crossing The Street

Looking to make crossing the street a little safer, Taiwanese legislators have proposed fining pedestrians who cross the street while “distracted” by mobile phones. The proposed law will fine any pedestrian deemed “distracted” about $10 for each infraction! According to Taiwanese media, there are over 14,000,000 mobile internet users in Taiwan, many of whom are…

No, China’s Depressed Youth Do Not Keep Cabbages As Pets

Imaginary pets are cool. I’m not knocking them down. Kids with pet rocks, you keep on trucking. What I’m here to say today is that the latest weird photos coming out China are not a trend. Lonely Chinese youths aren’t walking cabbage pets. It’s unknown how Western media outlets such as the UK’s Metro and…

Golden Time Has Great Romance, Comedy, and Drama—and a Terrible Ending

Golden Time is an anime filled with realistic romance, gripping personal drama, and some thoroughly enjoyable low-key comedy. It also has an ending so poorly put together that it almost seems like a deliberate attempt to undermine everything that has come before [*Note: This is a review of the second half of Golden Time and…

Going From Fan to Professional Game Translator and Back Again

A few weeks back, I talked about how fans of Steins;Gate animated one of the audio dramas to make an hour-long extra movie. What I didn’t mention is that the main translator of that project is also one of the main translators of the game’s official release. And how he came to that job is…

Love Plus Makes You Care about a Virtual Girl

The Love Plus series is infamous for being the most extravagant and popular dating sim out there. Two weeks ago, I took the plunge and set out to gain a virtual girlfriend of my very own in the newest game in the series, New Love Plus+. The outcome? It is a solid, emotion-grabbing dating sim…

Can’t Understand the New Tales of Zestiria Trailer? We’re Here to Help

Here’s the latest trailer for the next Tales game – with subtitles, so you can kind of understand what the hell they’re saying The next Tales game features a story involving legends, fates, and strange world-specific terminology. Kind of like every other RPG. But it still looks pretty cool. The following is latest trailer for…

The Great Hamburger War is Dumb, Short, and Unintentionally Brilliant

This. Is. The Great Hamburger War! An RPG about a priest of the Hamburger Cult who is turned into a hamburger when he speaks against his church and swears to get revenge. The first thought that ran through my head upon hearing that description was, “WTF!?” The Great Hamburger War (ハンバーガー大戦争) is a free game…

God’s All Thumbs in the Kitchen According to Japan’s Latest Meme

A humorous look at the creation process and just what went wrong. I’m reminded of the Gary Larson comic in God’s kitchen, where God is sprinkling jerks onto Earth “just to make it interesting.” In Japan, the reason why some things are the way they are have been explained by a simple doodle depicting a…

In Japan, Hatsune Miku Will Have Much to Teach You in School

First she was a singer, then she went on to be a dancer, a holographic performer, and even the star of her own game series. Now Hatsune Miku is branching out to her new career as… a teacher’s assistant? The character of Hatsune Miku has become world famous ever since her modest beginnings as a…