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Kotaku East
Finally! Convenience Store with Karaoke Opens in Japan This Month
Japan is famous for its convenience stores. They’re so, um, convenient. The country is also famous for karaoke parlors. And this month, they’re finally coming together. Literally. On April 17, “Family Mart Plus Karaoke Dam” is opening in front of the south exit at Kamata Station in Tokyo. According to an official Family Mart press…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2014 -
Kotaku East
A Miniature Version Of Yourself That’s Good Enough To Eat
Simple dough, made from flour and water is used for everything from feeding the masses to making toys in China. Highly personalised toys. Personalised toys made out of what can be cooked and eaten. Across China, a special type of sculpting has been passed down from generations to generations. It’s basically taking a lump of…
By Eric Jou Published April 7, 2014 -
Kotaku EastTaiwanese Cardboard Artist Makes Iron Man Suit
Cardboard is great. It can be shelter, it can be storage, it can be entertainment, it can be invisibility on the battlefield, and if taken to the extreme, it can be art. Taiwanese artist Xhong Kai-Xiang definitely takes cardboard to another level. According to a blog post on the Stan Winston School of Character Arts,…
By Eric Jou Published April 7, 2014 -
Kotaku EastWhy Japan Couldn’t Have Made the New Godzilla Film
Next month, Hollywood’s latest take on Godzilla will roll into theaters. Online in Japan, people are saying that this film couldn’t have been made in Japan. And for good reason. Due to the awful job Hollywood did with the last Godzilla film, there wasn’t initially much confidence in this effort when it was originally announced.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2014 -
Kotaku EastSwimsuit Models Show the Importance of Airplane Safety
This video is from Air New Zealand, and it shows airline safety… on the beach at the Cook Islands. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to fasten your beach chair set, or how to use an oxygen mask on a hammock, then, this is the video for you. While the clip is supposed to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThe Video Game Anime That’s Taking Japan by Storm
This week, I spent four mornings out and about. I went to store after store. My mission was to locate toys from a popular anime. And boy, did I ever fail. The anime is Yokai Watch, which is based on the 3DS game. Developed by Level-5 of Professor Layton fame and released last year, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
The Avengers (and other Marvel Heroes) in Their Official Anime Forms
Earlier this week, the new anime Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers started airing in Japan. And while it is the first Avengers anime series, it is not the first time that many of these iconic Marvel superheroes have appeared in an anime. Iron Man (Disk Wars) (Marvel Anime Iron Man) (Iron Man: Rise of Technovore)…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
You Might Be Surprised How Grand Theft Auto V Did in Japan
Japanese game publication Famitsu released a list of the biggest-selling video games in Japan between April 1, 2013 and April 3, 2014. It’s mostly 3DS games, but the inclusion of one PS3 title might surprise you: Grand Theft Auto V. 10. New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U): 622,502 units sold 9. Yokai Watch (3DS):…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Kill la Kill Is a Rare Breed of Anime
Kill la Kill is a rare breed of anime. It perfectly mixes comedy and action while reveling in taking everything to the extreme. And the fact that it has now ended leaves each week looking a little less bright. [Note: This is a review of the second half of Kill la Kill and thus contains…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku EastSorry, Sprint’s New Commercials Are Bad. I Dislike Them.
Sprint is running a new series of commercials with a fictional family called the Frobinsons. Maybe you like them. That’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinion. So am I, and I think the ads are, so far, pretty terrible. Here’s why. Here is the debut Sprint spot with the family: Of course, this series of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
J-Stars Victory VS Gets Real Old Real Fast
Goku and Naruto. Luffy and Ichigo. Jojo and Kenshiro. It’s hard not to be excited about a game where all your favorite Shonen Jump heroes battle it out. Unfortunately, while it does deliver on the fanservice, the novelty wears off painfully fast. Good – All Your Favorite Characters The Shonen Jump magazine has been churning…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Chinese Man Builds a Space Shuttle Replica on His Roof
According to Chinese site Xinhuanet, a 60-something year-old farmer in Guangdong province built this space shuttle replica and put it on top of his house. I can’t think of a better place for it. As you can see in these photos, courtesy of Xinhuanet and PCOnline, the statue, which is covered in tiles, certainly makes…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThe Man Behind Fire Pro Wrestling Has Died
Masato Masuda, the creator of the Fire Pro Wrestling games, passed away on March 29, reports Inside Games. He was 48 years old. No More Heroes designer Goichi Suda, who got his start making Fire Pro games, wrote on Twitter: “I genuinely pray for his happiness in the next world. He was one of the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Final Fantasy XIV’s Director Had a Terrible Experience With MMOs
This week in his semi-weekly column in Weekly Famitsu, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn producer and director Naoki Yoshida recounted his earliest experiences with massively multiplayer online gaming. Shortly after entering the game business, Yoshida began to hear rumblings about a new online experience called Ultima Online. Together with a colleague, Yoshida managed to…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Tecmo Koei Wants Me to Buy Their Game Again (Again)
Toukiden [討鬼伝] is the samurai vs demon hunting game that was released last year on the PS Vita and PSP. Now, Tecmo Koei has announced Toukiden Kiwami [討鬼伝 極], an upgraded version of the original with additional story, equipment, and enemies. Toukiden Kiwami will also include all the content from the original Toukiden, making it…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Cockroaches From Mars are Out to Kill You
Imagine if the king of scavengers was 6 and a half feet tall, bipedal, and had a bone to pick with humanity. It’s said you can’t judge a book by its cover, but I freely admit I picked up テラフォーマーズ (Terra Formars (“Terra for Mars” get it?)) based solely on the cover art – and…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku EastKorean TV Network Bans Pop Song for Using Japanese
Crayon Pop, the popular South Korean idol group, was banned from broadcasting its latest track on one of South Korea’s biggest networks. The reason? It contains the Japanese word “pika.” Crayon Pop is perhaps best known for their song “Bar Bar Bar,” which racked up over 15 million views on YouTube. According to Yonhap News,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThese Schoolgirls Will Kick Your Head In
As noted on Eiga.com, the movie’s tagline is: “Ever get your ass kicked by a high school girl?” It seems like these days all fight scenes use CGI and wires. Not High Kick Angels. It’s the latest flick from Fuyuhiko Nishi, the director behind High Kick Girl and KG: Karate Girl. Nishi specializes in martial…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku East
The Attack on Titan Movie Will Be Filmed on a Deserted Island
Earlier today, Japanese site Sanspo announced that actor/singer Haruma Miura will be starring in the live-action version of popular anime Attack on Titan. It also revealed where the movie will be shot: Battleship Island. The island, located off the coast of Nagasaki, is officially called Hashima (端島), but nicknamed Gunkanjima (軍艦島), or “Battleship Island,” because…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2014 -
Kotaku East
A Facebook Page Dedicated Entirely to Hamster Butts
I guess this truly means there is a Facebook page for everything? To mark the publication of photo book Hamuketsu (ハムケツ) or “Hamster Butts,” a Facebook page was launched for folks to upload photos of their own furry friends’ backsides for a cheeky photo contest. [Photo: mi30kimi] The amazing thing is that this isn’t even…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 3, 2014