Kotaku East

Reporting on Miniskirts with Crappy Drawings

Yesterday, Japanese budget airline Skymark implemented its skimpy, controversial flight attendant uniforms for the first time. The Japanese media tried to get the scoop on the skirts in the skies. But what do you do when cameras aren’t allowed? Numerous news programs sent camera crews to record flight attendants as they walked through the airport…

There’s Now a Sailor Moon Clothing Boutique in Tokyo

Looking for some Sailor Moon-themed threads? There’s a new Sailor Moon-themed clothing store in Tokyo. But, you better act fast before it’s gone. As announced by the Isetan department store in Shinjuku, the name of the shop is, ahem, Girls Love Mode: Let’s Prism Power Make Up. The boutique features original Sailor Moon-style outfits from…

South Korean Kids Pull Hardcore April Fools’ Pranks

In South Korea, you shouldn’t trust everything you read online today. Nor should you trust everything you see in the classroom. With Korean kids in school in April, some of them—but certainly not all—take advantage of April Fools’ Day to pull some pranks. Some of them get pretty dark! This has been going on a…

Sakura Trick is My Favorite Anime of the Winter Season

The 2014 winter anime season was full of over-the-top action, tongue-in-cheek comedy, and interesting thought experiments. But even with all those possibilities, the anime I most looked forward to wasn’t one of those, but rather the lesbian romantic comedy Sakura Trick. Here’s why. A Real Love Story All too often, TV, books, movies, and especially…

Watch As One Piece and Fist of the North Star Battle It Out

New mega-crossover game J-Stars Victory Versus lets you battle as 52 different characters from across 32 different Shonen Jump series. But how exactly does it play? Check out our exclusive video to find out. J-Stars Victory VS was released on March 19. 2014, for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan. There is currently…

Atlus Has a New Logo. Some People Hate It.

Atlus is back! And it’s got a slightly tweaked logo as well. Do you like it or hate it? Some commenters on game forum NeoGAF do not like it. “Please be April fools,” wrote GAF commenter Kulapik. “It’s hideous.” This isn’t April Fools’ as Kotaku previously reported that Atlus, as a corporate entity, was being…

A History of Shonen Jump Crossover Games

Late last month saw the release of J-Stars Victory VS, a 3D fighter where characters like Goku, Luffy, Naruto, and Kenshin all battle it out. But this is not the first Shonen Jump Magazine mega-crossover game. Rather, it’s the fifth sixth. Famicom Jump: History of Heroes The first Jump crossover game was Famicom Jump: History…

Polluted Chinese City Gets Bags of Clean Mountain Air

While today is April 1st, this is apparently no joke. The air quality in Chinese city Zhengzhou is awful and listed as “unhealthy.” That’s why late last month, bags of air were brought in for its citizens to get a taste of clean mountain air. At the March 29 event, people lined up to breath…

Amazon Boxes Reborn as a Remote Controlled Tank

Remember the cardboard wizard who turned Amazon boxes into a Japanese temple? Well, he’s back, and this time, he’s created a remote control cardboard model tank. In the video below, you can see NicoNico Douga user Upuaza Touryou create a Type 97 Chi-Ha, which was used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the late 1930s…

Remember Gero Blaster, the new frog-platformer from Cave Story’s creator? It’s now called Kero Blaster, and it’s coming out on PC and iOS on May 11. There’s a nice pixelly trailer for you above, in case you wanna have a closer look.

Some of Japan’s Best April Fools’ Jokes

Today is April 1st. Be wary! There are some pranks and tricks online that you might fall for. Some of them are not very good. But some of them are. Let’s have a look. Japanese manga Weekly Shonen Jump, a magazine for young boys, is turned into Jumpteen, a magazine for teenage girls. [Weekly Jump]…

Woman Uses Her Unbelievable Fingernails To Promote Candy Crush

Tokyo trendsetter Harutamu looks ready to set another fad: Turning your fingernails into ad space. Harutamu had her nails done up to promote Candy Crush in Japan. The official press release is calling this a “nail advertisement” (ネイル広告 or nairu koukoku). Japanese site GetNews wonders if this is a world’s first. Kia had a nail…

Computer Simulation of 1,500 People Looking at Smartphones and Walking

Do you text and walk? Don’t! Here’s computer simulation that shows what will happen. Well, kinda. Recently in Japan, mobile phone carriers like NTT Docomo have been educating the public that using smartphones while walking isn’t safe. Docomo collaborated with Aichi University of Technology to create a computer simulation of 1,500 people walking through the…

Dead Body Discovered During Avengers Filming in South Korea

This weekend, filming began in Seoul for The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Mapo Bridge was closed to traffic for the production. Below the bridge, a body was discovered floating in the water. Naver (via tipster Sang) has photos of the bridge during the filming on March 30. As previously mentioned, the bridge was closed to…

How Tea-Boiled Eggs Caused Online Controversy in China

Last week, one of the hottest topics online in China was an egg. Not just any egg, but rather an egg hardboiled in tea leaves and soy sauce. A tea-boiled egg. Tea eggs became a major topic of online discussion after a professor in Taiwan claimed that many people in the Chinese mainland can’t afford…

One Chinese Gamer Has Kept His Game Point Cards For Over 10 Years

Pre-paid charge cards for video games have been around for ages. They had them for NeoPets, they had them for Nexon games such as Gunbound, and they’re super useful—but only until the points run out. But for one Chinese gamer, his collection of old point cards may just win him a brand new smartphone. Chinese…

Lonely Gamer Spawns Springtime Anime Art Meme in Japan

It’s springtime in Japan. That means, friends and family gather to sit under cherry blossoms and eat, drink, and be merry. This guy, however, is all alone. On Japanese television, people were being asked what time they arrived to get a spot to enjoy hanami (花見) or “cherry blossom viewing.” “I got here a little…

​Retired Porn Star’s Mobile Game Commercial Gets Banned in China

Until he retired last year, Taka Kato was one of Japan’s most famous male porn stars. He recently appeared in a Chinese mobile game commercial, which has raised the ire of the Chinese government. In the commercial, Kato talked about he’s known as “Goldfinger.” With his raised two fingers, Kato says, “I’ve brought happiness to…

Japan Is Good at Pigeon Masks

Last year, some members of a Japanese comedy site decided to troll Google Street View with pigeon masks. That was just the beginning. This weekend, the same site, Daily Portal Z, held a “Hato Event” at Osaka’s Grand Front shopping center. (In Japanese, “hato” means pigeon.) For the event, people could wear a pigeon mask…

These Are Japanese “Contact Lens Tweezers”

Wear contacts? Don’t want to stick your fingers in your eyes? A Japanese company has created a contraption called “Meruru.” In short, you are looking at contact lens tweezers. You don’t have to use your fingers to remove your lens, but you can use this silicone set, which seems slightly scary. According to the company,…