This past fall the fighting game series BlazBlue got its first anime adaptation. The games are well known for having excellent fighting mechanics as well as a lot of lore and an interesting story that is explored as you play the series. Unfortunately, all this does not translate well to an animated format. [Note: Before…
BlazBlue, the popular fighting game series by Arc System Works, is coming to the stage as Live Act BlazBlue ~Continuum Shift~. BlazBlue is far from the first stage adaptation of a popular video game to come out in Japan; Ace Attorney, Persona 4, Steins;Gate, and several others have had their time in the spotlight over…
This is Erdrick’s Sword. A powerful sword, the blade appeared in the first three Dragon Quest games, earning its spot as an iconic video game weapon. And this spring, you can buy one. Square Enix is releasing a one-to-one scale Erdrick’s Sword for 21,000 yen or US$238. The sword measures over three and a half…
The latest Subaru Forester commercial in Japan features some very unlikely and very large co-stars: “Titans” from hit anime Attack on Titan Originally a manga, the Attack on Titan anime is incredibly popular in Japan, spawning a photo meme and collectible merchandise as well as several adult movies. And pornography, we know, is always a…
Or a Professor Layton game, or pretty much any idealized Japanese view of old Europe. And let me tell you, this place looks charming. This is Nukumori no Mori (ぬくもりの森) or “The Forest of Warmth.” Located in Shizuoka Prefecture, it’s a collection of shops and restaurants all done up in the same woodsy style. Online…
Please stop releasing games on portable consoles that I end up being too embarrassed to take out of the house. This is Exstetra, a JRPG for the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita that was released late last year. The game had managed to get under my radar, but I picked it up at the store…
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, the third and final(?) chapter of the Final Fantasy XIII saga, came out in Japan last November, and what do you know, it’s pretty good. At least Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai thinks so. I think at this point, saying Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the best installment of…
And you thought your computer cables were in knots? Ha! Check out this internet spiderweb in Wuhan, China. Recently, photos of an area with one helluva tangled cable mess appeared on numerous Chinese news sites. According to reports, the cables are for the internet (though, I’d imagine there are some power and telephone lines in…
For many in Japan, learning English is hard. Good thing Nanami is here to help. Who the hell is Nanami? Nanami is the star of upcoming 3DS download title Let’s Study with Nanami! English Daily Conversation. Voice actress Nao Toyama brings Nanami, and this is not the first Nanami English game. This time around, students…
The PlayStation 4 comes out in Japan in one month. The privileged who got to pick up theirs out west have been enjoying it for over two months now, but over in Japan gamers and developers alike are anxiously awaiting its release. This week, Weekly Famitsu gathered the opinions of some notable Japanese game developers…
It’s the internet face-off of the century? Er, perhaps, the month. Or the week. Or the day. But hey, there’s chicken and selfies. Note: This article contains content some readers might find objectionable. And for selfies, Japanese bikini models have recently been using the hashtag #Guradoru Jikadori-bu (#グラドル自画撮り部) or “Bikini Model Selfie Club,” with “guradoru”…
Some people hang clothes on their balcony. This resident, it seems, hangs meat. Lots of it. Online in China, photos of what looks to be a butcher working out of an apartment have popped up online. If this resident is not a butcher, then he or she certainly has an interesting hobby. Large amounts of…
In the Rurouni Kenshin manga and anime, there’s a reverse-blade sword called sakabato. An old, real-life version of this fictional sword was apparently discovered in Japan. Last October, what’s being compared to a real sakabato turned up in an old family storage cellar, located in Chiba Prefecture’s Shiroi City, that dates from the Edo Period…
This weekend I was shopping for snacks. I picked up a bag of corn soup-flavored “Gourmet” Doritos. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Most Doritos in Japan are typical Doritos—”Dorito-flavored,” if you will. But, like Kit Kats, Doritos also get an array of interesting flavors in Japan. The vast majority of them are…
This is Natsuki Okamoto. For years, she was a pin-up model. Now, she’s a commentator on a news program. You know, a talking head. And on the program, she wears outfits like this. I’m not kidding. She must be the most outrageous fashion plate on Japanese television. If you’ve ever watched television in Japan, I’m…
Last week we did a side-by-side comparison between Final Fantasy X on the PS2 and its upcoming HD remaster release on the PS3. Now it’s Final Fantasy X-2’s turn to see how it measures up. [*Note: the PS2 version I used in this video was the US release of Final Fantasy X-2.] Final Fantasy X/X-2…
In addition to its massive graphical upgrade, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is filled with bosses, dungeons, and side quests never before seen outside of Japan. But there is one thing included that is completely new: a thirty-minute audio drama that has me hoping for Final Fantasy X-3 Taking place a year after the end…
Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino just announced that he will direct a new, still untitled feature film anime, created with Hollywood’s Legacy Effects
This past fall, before writing my guide on the five fall 2013 anime you should be watching, I marathoned 6 episodes of 16 different anime. Going in, Arpeggio of Blue Steel wasn’t even on that list; but as I watched a 14th series and then a 15th, I decided to give one last anime a…
The idea sounds icky: Dipping french fries in chocolate sauce. But wait a minute! Sweet and salty? Hey, this might work. Or… maybe not. Last month, Kotaku reported that fast food chain Lotteria was rolling out “Dipping Fries” (つけポテ or tsuke pote) with Lotte’s Ghana-branded milk chocolate. The chocolate is severed in an edible tart…
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