Never mind that Studio Ghibli’s newest anime Kaze Tachinu was dubbed “too liberal” by some in Japan and its creator Hayao Miyazaki was called a “traitor.” In South Korea, the movie is also being criticized, but for the opposite reasons. Hayao Miyazaki really can’t win, can he? Online in Japan, the movie was blasted and…
In Japan, fast food chain Lotteria had a special store manager last Friday for one terrifying day only: Sadako from The Ring At the Lotteria in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, Sadako worked the register by popping out, frightening customers, and serving up a special shake created in her likeness. What better way to send a chill…
“Censorship level: Thailand” is no joke! Check out just how tough the country’s censorship is. For years now, anime viewers in Thailand have been dealing with ironclad regulations for broadcast dubs—something that fans outside the country have also noticed. But it’s not just anime. On Thai television broadcasts, stations censor alcohol consumption, weapons pointed at…
This weekend, Comic Market (aka “Comiket”) rolled through Tokyo. How scorching was it? Time to bust out the thermal cameras! Japan’s largest networks featured Comiket on their news variety shows, focusing on the boiling temperatures. The country is being hit with a heat wave that has topped 40°C (104ºF). The high temps are serious; sadly,…
A few weeks back, I received an email from a reader who was blind in one eye and wanted to know how the Oculus Rift would work for him. I thought it was an interesting question but honestly didn’t know the answer, so I put it to the back of my mind. Then this last…
It’s summer! It’s hot, especially in China, which is seeing record heat waves. To cool off, some people eat chilled watermelon. A few kids are even wearing it. According to Xinhua, China’s largest news agency, the trend started this past July in Wenzhou when photos of a small kid dressed in a watermelon suit (above)…
Look, over the years, One Piece has gotten some odd branded items. But even the One Piece jeans and luxury goods make sense, on some level at least. But what about this? You are looking at One Piece branded water servers that dispense Mt. Fuji mineral water. There are three different versions: “Cool Black” with…
Midway through the spring anime season, I called Henneko: The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat one of the anime you could skip…something which I will now take back. Because while there is much I would normally hate in a show like Henneko, all that is overshadowed by just how damn funny it is. Bad…
Today is Friday! Wahoo! But next Monday is…Monday. Boo. And it’s going to be awful. In the above video (courtesy of Laughing Squid), little Yerin Park has an terrible, no good, very bad morning. Seems she stayed up too late playing on Sunday night, and her parents had a hard time getting her to bed.…
Animal donuts! Japan has animal donuts, and holy mackerel, they look adorable. Delicious, too. In Japanese, they’re called “doubutsu doonatsu” (どうぶつドーナツ) or, literally, “animal donuts.” And recently, these cute snacks have been delighting those with a sweet tooth and a love of things kawaii. The two donut shops in Japan known for their animal rings…
It’s got it where it counts. Game director Hideki Kamiya previously tweeted about video game length which led some to believe that he must have meant Platinum Games’ upcoming Wii U title The Wonderful 101 would be short. While both Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba clarified that a game’s length shouldn’t determine how good a…
In the past two weeks, Twitter has been news in Japan. I don’t mean Twitter itself. Oh no. Rather, it’s the idiots Twitter finds. This has been a trend of late, especially in the service industry. Previously, Kotaku covered the Japanese convenience store employee who crawled into his store’s ice cream freezer. That employee was…
Nintendo games appear on Nintendo hardware. That’s the rule! But is Nintendo’s honcho Satoru Iwata interested in bringing the company’s games to competitors’ consoles? Nope. Here’s why. When asked by CVG about the chances of Nintendo’s games appearing on rival systems, Iwata replied, “If I was to take responsibility for the company for just the…
Fakes. Copies. Knock-offs. Cheap imitations might get a bad name, but that doesn’t mean they are uninteresting. Take these phony Transformers, for example. They’re pandas! And they’re wonderful. Japanese site Fake Toy Gallery does a bang up job of cataloguing knock-offs found throughout Asia over the years. Of particular interest are the fake Transformers. Some…
Japanese nerd heroine, Shoko Nakagawa, loves Pokémon. And for good reason. Pocket Monsters gave her a reason to live. A regular host every Sunday on Japan’s Pokémon Smash! (Formerly Pokémon Sunday), Nakagawa has described her selection as Pokémon Captain (ポケモン部長) for the show as a dream come true. She has also noted that while her…
Earlier this summer, Japanese site Omocoro tried to see if Photoshop could turn an “ugly” staff writer into a beautiful woman. At the time, it wasn’t doable. Now, Taiwanese Photoshop masters have taken up this seemingly impossible challenge. But did they succeed? Omocoro, a comedy site, described staffer RiqRique as “The Most Atrociously Ugly Person…
At first, I was just delighted to see that Nintendo’s iconic second fiddle was getting a live-action commercial in his native Japan. But, after finding out exactly who’s wearing Luigi’s overalls, this clip featuring Mario’s brother feels even more awesome. The gentleman in the green cap is Junji Inagawa, best known as an actor, producer,…
Have you ever wondered about what it’s like in the Korean game industry? Like, the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly? Recently, a poll of over one thousand (1,203 people to be exact) folks working in the Korean game industry was collected in “A Report on Game Industry Professional Working Condition.” The poll…
Toothpaste tanks. Slipper birds. Flowers made from bras. Welcome to the world of Chinese retail, where in-store displays can get wonderfully creative. In the West, there have been a number of impressive soda can displays—and China has seen those, too. But it’s also seen suits of armor made from pots and pans as well as…
Japanese game company 5pb has ateaser site up that reads “Shield Energy.” Make of it what you will.
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