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Kotaku EastJapanAnime Studio Mysteriously Vanished, With Artists Unpaid And Unhappy [Update]
Tear Studio churned out shows like this year’s Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher!? and last year’s Lord of Vermilion: The Crimson King. And Fragtime, a movie the studio animated, is currently in theaters. Tear Studio, however, seems to have suddenly vanished. Update – December 17 – 5:00 AM EST: AWOL anime maker Tear…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 10, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanSlot Machine Logo Sure Looks Familiar
This is the logo for an upcoming slot machine called Wheel of Fortune. I’m sure I’ve seen it before. OH RIGHT. It’s not an exact copy, but there certainly are many close similarities. As pointed out on Hachima, this is from Tokyo-based pachinko and slot machine maker Kita Denshi. The logo was included in a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanGainax President Arrested After Taking Nude Photos Of Teenage Girl
The president of Gainax, best known for the Evangelion series, has been arrested. Tomohiro Maki, age 50, was taken into police custody after taking illicit photos of a teen. Update: 12/5/2019, 7:50 a.m. EST: Studio Khara, which currently makes the Evangelion movies, issued a statement completely distancing itself from Maki, saying he is not involved…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanFirst Look At Final Fantasy Brave Exvius…The Musical
As previously reported, free-to-play game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is being turned into a musical. Here’s a glimpse of what it might look like, which seems to be fancy threads. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius The Musical will debut this March with runs in Tokyo and Kobe. It’s written by Fumiya Matsuzaki, who previously penned the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 2, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanLupin III Anime Voice Actor Makio Inoue Has Died
Makio Inoue is most famous for voicing Lupin III’s Goemon Ishikawa XIII. Today, it was announced that the long-time voice actor had passed away at the age of 81. Inoue got his start with minor characters in Astro Boy and other roles at Tezuka Productions in the early 1960s. In the 1970s, he had breakout…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 2, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanBeloved Anime Character Finally Gets His Own Store In Tokyo
Doraemon, a blue robotic cat from the future, now has his own store in Tokyo’s Odaiba—the first of its kind for the character, apparently. The shop, called Doraemon Future Department Store, features an array of Doraemon related goods. What makes Doraemon so cool is that he always pulls out an array of gizmos from his…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 29, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanWatch Star Wars Kabuki Right Here
When the one-off performance of Star Wars kabuki was announced, it made sense. Star Wars is deeply influenced by Japan, so it seemed as though this would work. That it did, but better than I could’ve imagined. The kabuki version is a fascinating take on Star Wars. Even the program was excellent. The performance was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 28, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanPro And Amateur FPS Players See Differently, According To Comparison
Have you ever wondered why some people are better at first-person shooters than others? One important difference might be how people see while playing. Nikkei recently posted a clip tracking a professional FPS player’s vision while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and compared the data to the vision of an amateur player. Both players…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 27, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Best Cosplay Of Tokyo Comic-Con 2019
This year’s Tokyo Comic-Con wrapped up over the weekend. There were big stars, merch, comics, and yes, cosplay. Let’s have a look at the best get-ups of the show. Since this is Tokyo Comic-Con, the cosplays are typically Western comic book, movie, or TV characters—though, this isn’t always the case.
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2019 -
Kotaku EastChinaMan Spends $1.4 Million On Game Character, Which His Friend Then Accidentally Sold For Only $552
Whoops! According to South China Morning Post, a man in China spent an eye-watering $1.4 million on his character in MMORPG Justice Online. His buddy accidentally sold said character for a mere $552. The man filed a lawsuit against game company NetEase and his friend. Well, former friend, I guess. The friend—er, defendant—had been loaned…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 25, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapan’s First Nintendo Store Opened Last Friday, But Lines Are Still Hours Long
Nintendo Tokyo opened on Friday. Lots of people came to the first day, and you’d think that by today, the crowds would have subsided. Nope! Twenty minutes after opening today, the wait reached 4 hours. Within 45 minutes, it was over 6 hours. Even this afternoon, at 3:15 PM, the wait was around 2 hours.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 25, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanPoll: People In Japan Reveal Which Famous Game Franchises They Haven’t Played
Have you played every big-time game franchise? Are there any well-known game series you haven’t checked out? In Japan, a recent poll asked people about which famous series they haven’t played. There were 2,362 votes in this Goo Ranking poll. Here are the top responses. 16. Persona series – 44 votes 15. Taiko no Tatsujin…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 22, 2019 -
Kotaku EastKorean Slang For PlayStation, Xbox, And Nintendo Fans
A few years ago, Kotaku introduced online nicknames for Japanese fans of the three gaming platforms. Now, let’s take a look at monikers given to Korean fans of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Via tipster Sang, here are the internet nicknames for gaming’s three corporate platform holders. Keep in mind, these are online nicknames and are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 21, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanInside Tokyo’s Newest Pokémon Center
This week, a new Pokémon Center is opening in Tokyo. Yesterday, Kotaku showed a short preview of the shop. Today, let’s have a closer look. The Pokémon Center opens this week in Shibuya. With is dark, sleek interior and life-sized Mewtwo display, it does look different from other Pokémon Centers. So does the merch. Just…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 20, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanYears Later, Some Can’t Tell Who’s On Street Fighter II Turbo‘s Japanese Cartridge
You are looking at the cartridge art for Street Fighter II Turbo’s Japanese release. It’s not only different from the US version but more mysterious. Can you tell who is on the cover? Ryu? Chun-Li? Which character is it? Twitter user Tekitouaki wrote that for years, he thought that Ryu was on the cartridge art. …
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 20, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanInside Japan’s First Nintendo Store
This week, Nintendo Tokyo will open its doors to the general public. Today was a press preview, allowing for a peek inside for what to expect. Naturally, there is a ton of merch, including some excellent Japan-only items. The statues and the store layout look nice! There is also a Pokémon Center right next door!
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 19, 2019 -
Kotaku EastSo, About Professor Oak And Ash’s Mom In Pokémon…
For years, there has been speculation that Professor Oak and Ash’s mom Delia are totally together. As in like, doing it. If that wasn’t enough (and really, it’s not), there is even the notion that Professor Oak is Ash’s absent father. That, though, would mean that Ash is Gary’s uncle. Which is nuts. So, if…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 18, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanFinal Fantasy VII Remake‘s Tifa Voice Actor Has Gotten Threats
In 2005’s Kingdom Hearts II, Ayumi Ito first voiced Tifa Lockhart and since then has continued to be the character’s Japanese voice. Naturally, she will be returning for next year’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, but sadly, she has recently received threats of violence. The Sankei News reports that earlier this summer, a woman in her…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 18, 2019 -
Kotaku EastSouth KoreaBlack Desert Developer Pearl Abyss Announces 3 Games, All With Impressive Visuals
Pearl Abyss is best known for Black Desert—and its eye-popping character creation tool. Today in South Korea, the studio just announced three games. They all look visually impressive. At the G-Star gaming expo (via tipster Sang), Pearl Abyss announced the following games: Plan 8 Pearl Abyss is aiming to release this open world “exosuit MMO…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 14, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanHong Kong Fans Read A Lot Into A Hideo Kojima Tweet
To promote Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima has been going on a world tour. It was announced early last month with Kojima visiting cities across the globe. Below are the locations included in the original announcement. It was recently announced on the PlayStation Hong Kong Facebook account that Ludens Ducks signed by Kojima would be part…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 14, 2019