Kotaku East

Nintendo released its most recent investor approval rating for the company’s top Japanese brass. Satoru Iwata got an approval rating of 77.26 percent, making him the only exec this year to be under 90 percent! Last year, his approval rating was 90.60 percent. In the past, it’s apparently been as high as 96 percent.

This Is 3D Coffee Art for Regular Folks

Not everyone can whip up amazing 3D cappuccino and latte art. Heck, the vast majority of us can’t. But we still want to enjoy cute characters peeking up at us out of a steaming cup of java. Good thing there’s this. Excite reports Japanese marshmallow specialty shop Yawahada has adorable hand-made cat marshmallows that you…

Game Tournament Company Helps Chinese Owners Into University

To the mindset of some parents and many Asian parents, video games are a terrible hobby. However, that might change now with the story of Lou Kehao and Carlos Xu, two young Chinese men who have used video games to gain admittance into two of the world’s most prestigious universities. Originally reported by the Sing…

Foam Oozing Out of a Tokyo Street

Christmas in July? Not quite. Last Friday evening in Tokyo, a mysterious foam started bubbling up, covering a street in the ritzy Ginza area. People wondered what exactly was going on. Apparently, there was an easy explanation for the surprising sight: forty liters of body soap. Asahi News (via 2ch) reported that the suds covered…

A Look Inside the Xbox One Controller [Update]

We’ve seen the Xbox One controller. We’ve seen it compared to the PS4 controller as well as learned about its features. What about a look inside? Chinese site Xbox Skyer has what’s reported to be a teardown of an Xbox One controller picked up in Dongguan, China. That’s a major port city where many goods…

A Thousand Death Threats Against a Popular Anime Creator

Attack on Titan is one of this year’s biggest anime. Originally a manga, Attack on Titan has also turned its creator Hajime Isayama into a celebrity. And a target of death threats—a frightening number of them. Last Friday, a commenter on Isayama’s official blog wrote, “On June 29, I’m going to beat Hajime Isayama to…

The Devil is a Part-Timer! is Clever, Witty, and Just Plain Fun

When the spring anime season was reaching its mid-way point five weeks ago, I listed The Devil is a Part-Timer! as one of the five anime you should be watching. And while the second half of the series didn’t quite live up to the quality of the first half, it is still an anime that…

This Is “Tank Sushi”

And it kind looks like a tank. Well, one covered with dead fish. It does. See? The world has already seen battleship sushi (here), and now, here is “sensha sushi” (戦車寿司), or “tank sushi”. As pointed out by Naver, a sushi restaurant called Kurisakiya began offering a tank sushi in honor of Japanese anime Girls…

Ghost in the Shell‘s Product Placement Pisses Me Off

This last weekend marked the Japanese premiere of Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain. Needless to say, I enjoyed the film. What I didn’t enjoy was the incredibly blatant and distracting product placement surrounding the film—like this three-minute commercial for the Microsoft Surface. The commercial stars the cast of Ghost in the…

Toshiba Commercial Called “Racist” [Update]

Toshiba is not just a Japanese corporation. It’s an international one, with offices all over the world. But one of its commercials for the Japanese market is being dubbed as “racist”. Below, you can watch the ad. It’s for rice maker called “SuiPanDa” that doubles as a bread maker. The ad was spotted by Debito.org.…

Pokémon is getting its own game show. On August 17 and 18, the Pokémon Game Show will be held at Tokyo Big Sight and will offer fans the first playable Pokémon X/Y demo. Admission will be free, so expect long lines.

Nintendo Boss Didn’t Say He’d Quit, Yo

Earlier this year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said he felt “strongly responsible” for a two-year string of Nintendo losses. Strong enough to resign? Um… Asfirst posted in January, Iwata mentioned his “commitment” to a business profit goal of ¥100 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) by the end of the next business year ending in March, 2014.…

Does the Internet Get More Awkward Than “Eye to Eye”?

Meet Taher Shah. He’s here to melt your mind and rule the internet. According to Propakistani (via TechInAsia), the singer is becoming an online sensation in Pakistan with his new music video, “Eye to Eye.” The title’s hash tag is already trending there, and internet people seem ironically amused and somewhat bewildered by the video,…

Princess Crown is an Interesting Piece of Gaming History

With Dragon Crown’s upcoming Japanese release only a few scant weeks away, I decided to take a look back at one of its spiritual predecessors—the similarly titled Princess Crown. And while it is by no means a perfect game, it was a trail blazer for some of the most beautiful and beloved games of the…

Japanese Gamers Discuss Their Game Completion Habits

How many of the games you buy do you actually complete? Some games you finish the main story and move on to the next, some games you get bored of and drop out of midway through, some games you go for a full achievement score, and some games haven’t even had the package seal broken…

This Japanese Toy Car Chase Is Better Than Fast and the Furious

Packed with Tomica toy cars, the clip shows a high-speed car chase. And does that with so much style, fun, and car crashes, you can’t help but wonder why Hollywood needs to spend all that money. This is the work of YouTube user Luxe37. For the past few years, Luxe37 has been creating cool car…

Hey, There’s No Triangle Button on the 3DS!

Digimon World Re:Digitize Decode was just released on the 3DS in Japan. Originally, it appeared on the PSP as Digimon World Re:Digitize. If this is anything to go by, it might not be the best port. According to Twitter user @eclair0427, the 3DS version has screen prompts for a “triangle button”. The 3DS doesn’t have…

Sony Won’t Be Abandoning the PS3 After Releasing the PS4

That time is quickly approaching. With the release of the PlayStation 4 set for late 2013, people are gearing up for the switchover to the new console from its predecessor. Still, even at its (significantly lower than the PS3 at launch) price tag, $400 is not exactly an investment many of us can make at…

The “Godfather of Anime” Was Always An Artistic Genius

Osamu Tezuka, for those who do not know, is Japan’s most famous manga artist. His long list of creations include Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Black Jack. The man is widely revered as an artistic genius, and crayon pictures from when he was apparently in fifth grade seem to indicate that he was…

“Stupid Foreigner”? That’s a Guy from Jackass!

Earlier this month, a man erected a tent in the middle of one of Tokyo’s busiest intersections. Some people were not happy. “There’s a stupid foreigner who just pitched a tent in Shibuya’s scramble crossing,” wrote one Twitter user. What’s Shibuya’s scramble crossing? This: The intersection is one of the most famous in Japan—and the…