Kotaku East

For Japan’s Nerd Heroine, Pokémon is a Bridge Between Strangers

Shoko Nakagawa, Japan’s own nerd heroine and queen of Pokémonhasn’t exactly had an easy upbringing. Her school life after elementary school was mostly filled with rejection and alienation from classmates due to her being different. But staying true to her love of Pokémon has paid off in spades as she recalls in her new book,…

Crap Air Makes for Fake Tourist Photos in Hong Kong

The pollution in Hong Kong is bad. Real bad. Besides the health risks, it makes the air all hazy. And that sucks for something far less serious: Photo ops. Just as Bloomberg reports that Hong Kong’s air pollution has hit a “very high level” and the city is covered in a blanket of haze, NetEase,…

Be Two Historical Figures For the Price of One in the New Yakuza Game

The latest chapter of the Yakuza series, Yakuza: Ishin!, is a trip back in time. Much like in Yakuza: Kenzan!, the game will feature series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu as a famous historical character. However, this time, Kiryu will be two historical figures instead of one. Featured in this week’s Weekly Famitsu, Yakuza: Ishin! will have…

Colonel Sanders Dressed Up Like Never Before

In Japan, Kentucky Fried Chicken is an institution. So is putting Colonel Sanders in a variety of different outfits, including anime characters, samurai, and school children. Oh, and maids! This is a Colonel Sanders statue. There are typically located inside or in front of KFCs in Japan. For years now, the Colonel statue has been…

The Last Guardian is Not As High A Priority As Other Games

The Last Guardian IS in production. Though the game was absent from this year’s E3, that’s what we’ve been repeatedly assured of by Sony reps. Well, front man Fumito Ueda, creator of PS2 classics ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, stepped out from behind the curtain to reiterate that fact, but with a little caveat.…

I Would So Play This Fake Pacific Rim Video Game

Pacific Rim never got an 8-bit Nintendo game. Why? Because Guillermo Del Toro wasn’t making big Hollywood movies during the 1980s, that’s why. But what if he were… Okay, title screen up there. Ignore the 2013 copyright and pencil in 1987. Do it. So, now kaiju are on Earth, threatening human existence, blah, blah, blah.…

Japan’s Pastry Beds Are a Dream Come True

Ever wanted to go to sleep on fluffy bread? Or curl up in creamy sweets? Now you can—sort of! Japanese online retailer Felissimo is selling tasty-looking sleeping bags, pillows, and bedding that wouldn’t look out of place in a bakery. There is “Cream Pocket Bread.” And “Thick Slices of Japanese Cushion Bread,” which is served…

Drag-On Dragoon 3 has been delayed to improve quality. The PS3 game was originally slated for release on October 31 in Japan. According to Square Enix, its new release date is December 19.

Nausicaä 2 Sure Seems Like It Could Happen

The anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was released in 1984. For the past few years, there have been rumblings about a sequel. But now, more than ever, it feels like that the long overdue sequel could happen. Here’s why. Note: This article contains spoilers about the Nausicaä manga and anime. Nausicaä of…

A Look Into The Homes Of China’s “Ant Tribe”

China churns out more and more college graduates every year. This year alone, close to 7 million Chinese students graduated from university. Many of these students will find decent, well-paying jobs, and many of them will not. Those who do not find “good” jobs and have no money end up in what is called the…

The Most Mean-Spirited Anime I Have Ever Watched

This past week, I told you about the five anime you should be watching this summer. To prepare, I asked Kotaku readers to vote on their picks. The winner by a landslide was Watamote. I am dumbfounded by this. Watamote is, quite simply, the most mean-spirited anime I have ever watched. Watamote – No Matter…

The Best Pokémon Reenactment of the Summer

Some Pokémon characters are fairly easy to bring to life. Other characters are quite difficult and certainly no day at the beach. That is, unless you are already at the beach. The above image is a recreation of Dugtrio, a Mole Pokémon, facing off with Machamp, the multi-armed macho Superpower Pokémon. The reenacted version isn’t…

Japan’s Stupidest Photo Trend: Climbing into Things

Many Japanese photo trends have been cool. Really cool! They’ve gone viral and spread beyond the country’s borders for good reason. This one, though, is anything but cool. It’s stupid. In the past month or so, select members of the country’s youth have been photographing themselves after they’ve climbed into things, usually electrical appliances. It…

So Many Pokémon Cheaters Entered Online Tournament

Last month, an official Pokémon wi-fi tournament allowed Pocket Monster players from all over the world a chance to compete. For a large number, it was a chance to cheat. According to The Pokémon Company, the 2013 Global Showdown saw a whopping 1,558 cheaters. These players didn’t use regular in-game Pokémon or special rare Pokémon…

Korean McDonald’s Employee Taunted a Customer with Spit

Ask those who work or who have worked in fast food, and many will tell you that, yes, spit burgers sadly exist. But rarely have they existed in such a bizarre way. Earlier this month, Chosun.com (via Hachima) recounted the story of a McDonald’s customer who ordered home delivery. The customer, a graduate student surnamed…

These Courtroom Battles Put Ace Attorney to Shame

I spent a lot of last week watching anime in an attempt to find the five anime you should be watching this summer. One of these is based on the popular Japanese PSP title, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. And as it felt like the anime was just spoiling the game, I decided I had to…

This Simple Animated Film Might Make You Cry

Tekken, the Japanese comedian who named himself after the Namco fighting game, is back again with another animated short. It might make you all weepy. Maybe not! Previously, Tekken released an anime short called “Furiko” (or “Pendulum”), which featured a Muse track and even led to the comedian working with British rockers on a music…

How to Identify Popular Japanese Character Types

In Japanese games and anime, there are often character archetypes you will see again and again the more you watch. And when it comes to characters, there are no more commonly used archetypes than those known as the “deres”: tsundere, kuudere, dandere, and yandere. To start with, the term “dere” itself comes from the Japanese…

Japanese Banana Art Is So Damn Appealing

Darth Vader. A Xenomorph from Aliens. Attack on Titan. That’s not mentioning the various other characters as well as animals, too. They’ve all been brought to life in amazing banana sculptures. This is the work of Keisuke Yamada, a banana artist Kotaku first profiled in 2011. To make these sculptures, Yamada, an electrician by trade,…

Bunny Island Is Cute, Furry, and Depressing

Earlier this summer, photos of “Bunny Island” popped up on English language sites. The island, officially named Okunoshima, has been internet fodder in Japan for years. But usually, people only focus on the cute rabbits—and not, you know, the disheartening history bit. Recently on 2ch, Japan’s largest web forum, commenters uploaded photos of Bunny Island…