Kotaku East

Check Out This Great Donkey Kong Miiverse Art

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze came out in Japan yesterday and with it came an influx of awesome art over at the Donkey Kong Miiverse page. Look below for some of the best. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was released in Japan on February 13, 2014. It will be released in the United States and…

History’s Most Famous People Re-Imagined as Weapons

Nobunagun is a currently running anime that is basically Pacific Rim—only instead of fighting otherworldly monsters with giant robots, they use weapons and other tools created from the souls of some of the most famous people from history and legend. Oda Nobunaga The main character of the show, Shio, has the soul of Oda Nobunaga,…

A Monster Game Deserves Yet Another Monster 3DS XL

To mark the release of Monster Hunter 4, Nintendo is releasing a special Monster Hunter 3DS XL. Yes, again. The handheld comes in “Rajang Gold.” In case you are not familiar with Monster Hunter, Rajang is the monster on the packaging below. Priced at 18,952 yen (US$186), the bundle will be out March 27, but,…

Here’s a Free Vita App That Lets You Try the New Yakuza Game

One thing that Japan will be getting for its PS4 launch that other countries didn’t/won’t is the latest Yakuza game, Yakuza Ishin!. And for those who can’t wait for the game, there’s a new free PS Vita app to let them experience some of the Yakuza Ishin! world, if not the story. Yakuza Ishin! Free…

Peculiar Things Seized by Japanese Police

Drugs? Guns? Jewelry and fake brands? Meh! So typical. In Japan, police officers have confiscated way more unusual things than that. Whenever the Japanese police confiscate large amounts of goods or seize items in a big arrest, they tend to lay all the goods out so the press can take photos and video. In the…

A Manga Where Immortality is the Worst Thing That Could Happen to You

Who doesn’t want to live forever? I mean, yeah, there is that problem that everyone around you dies. But you don’t have to. Think of all the video games you could play with all that time. Well, here’s a manga that offers a different perspective on the issue. The manga is titled “亜人” or Ajin…

Watch The Brutal Destruction of Giant Snow Sculptures

The Sapporo Snow Festival is over! And yesterday, workers began destroying the huge snow sculptures with diggers. For decades now, the Sapporo Snow Festival featured some truly impressive large-scale snow sculptures. And when the event is over, the organizers don’t sit around and wait for them to melt. In the video below, you can see…

No Final Fantasy X-3 on the way: In an interview with sgcafe.com, Square Enix game producer Shinji Hashimoto confirmed that the 30-minute audio drama included with the HD re-release of FFX and X-2 was merely a story to further expand the game’s universe, and that Square Enix has no plans to develop a FFX-3

Smash Bros. Creator on Why Japanese Games Take so Long to Make

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U are scheduled for release this year and can’t come out soon enough. Why does Japanese game development take so long? In his semi-weekly column for Weekly Famitsu, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai addressed a fan’s concerns directly. A fan wrote to Sakurai: “It appears that the time…

You Need Big Knives to Make a Life-Sized Hatsune Miku

But as this video shows, it can be done! The process just requires lots of sanding and carving. And goop. Plenty of goop. If the Miku statue looks familiar, that’s because it is the centerpiece at the Hatsune Miku shop in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Making of LIFE SIZE MIKU STATUE [HatsuneMiku] To contact the author…

Did Capcom Know Its Deaf Composer Apparently Isn’t Deaf?

Mamoru Samuragoch was previously known as “Japan’s Beethoven.” Now, he’s being called the country’s biggest music fraud. And according to one insider, a certain game company knew. Last week, Samuragoch* revealed that he used a ghost composer to create music Samuragoch is known for works like “Symphony No.1 Hiroshima” as well as the scores for…

The Penguin Who Fell in Love with a Grown Man

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. And there’s nothing more romantic than a penguin crush. Romantic? Sorry, I meant adorable According to Mainichi Daily News, a ten-year-old female penguin named Sakura has become very attached to Tsuyoshi Notsu since last December. Notsu works at aviary center Matsue Vogel Park, where Sakura lives. Besides following Notsu around, Sakura…

Fake Eyelashes on Pets Might Be a Thing

Right now, it’s not a huge thing by any stretch… yet. But, for better or worse, this does exist! Earlier this month, Japanese Twitter user Miomio3030 uploaded images of a Pomeranian with unused faux lashes. The image, which you can see below, was retweeted over ten thousand times. The lashes were placed above the critter’s…

China’s “Cabinet Tribe” Lives in Shipping Containers

For around $30 a month, you too can live in a Chinese shipping container. The monthly 180 yuan ($29.68) rent gets Pan Wei (below) a box… and not much else. There’s no toilet and no bathtub; however, he was able to get electricity. Winters are cold, and summers get hot. The containers are small (18…

A Hotel Room Where Train Nerds Can Get Action. Train Action.

In most Japanese hotel rooms, you just sleep. In some, you might do other things. But in this Tokyo hotel you can play with toy trains. At the Washington Hotel in Tokyo’s geek district of Akihabara, room 1304 is quite different from the rest. It’s outfitted with a diorama that has Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree,…

Well, Here’s Disgusting Looking Valentine’s Day Sweets

That might look like a grub. That might look like dirt. But all of it is handmade Valentine’s Day sweets for a very important person. Twitter user Shun_Lock created the dirt by smashing Oreos (sans cream) and chocolate bars with a hammer. Which resulted in realistic, yet delicious dirt. The stag beetle larva was made…

Lovers in the Snow Spawn Anime Art Meme

This weekend, when Tokyo was covered in a blanket of snow, news reporters interviewed folks on the street. One awkward interview ended up not only spawning an internet meme, but raising questions of infidelity. A couple was interviewed in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, with the guy in glasses saying, “I like the special feeling…

Tiger & Bunny: The Rising Is an Average Epilogue to a Great Series

Tiger & Bunny: The Rising is the newest film in the Tiger & Bunny series, which features a world where superheroes and reality TV have come together to make fighting crime a popular game show. And while the series was unique and enjoyable from start to finish, this theatrical adventure is only marginally above average.…

Hilarious Korean High School Yearbooks Will Make You Smile

As with anywhere, high school students in South Korea like to have some fun with their yearbooks. Some students, however, have taken fun to a whole new level. Usually, high school or university yearbook photos look, well, like school yearbook photos: benign photos of people smiling for the cameras. Here are samples from over the…

Pilot Your Favorite Gundam to Victory in Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost is one of the most popular arcade games in Japan—and that’s not just because of the name brand recognition. It’s also because of its fast-paced fighting engine that’s been tuned and refined with each iteration of the Gundam VS series that makes it insanely fun to play. Good – Co-op…