Kotaku East

Here, Enjoy the World’s Hottest Spin Kick

If you haven’t seen the 2003 Thai action flick Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, you really, really need to. Here’s one of the film’s most memorable scenes, which just might be the closest we’ll ever get to Fei Long’s shienkyaku Ong-Bak went on to spawn two sequels, Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3. The films’ mastermind, Tony…

Layton’s Final Game is Exactly What You’ve Come to Expect From the Series

I love brain teasers and have ever since I was a kid. Whether they came from books or classic adventure games, I fondly remember spending hours thinking about them. And no series of games cashes in on my brain teaser nostalgia quite like the Professor Layton series. Thus I was first in line this last…

In the two weeks since the PS Vita’s Japanese price cut, Sony says sales have quadrupled (via Game Revelation)

In China, Faking Pregnancy Is One Way To Get a Seat on the Subway

Snagging a seat on the subway or crosstown bus ain’t always easy, especially in China’s crowded cities. That’s why, according to The Beijing News, “pregnancy pads” are supposedly hot sellers. People with good manners give up their seats for elderly people and pregnant women. Hence why some Chinese women (apparently!) are shelling out between the…

If it Weren’t for This Book, Professor Layton Wouldn’t Exist

The Professor Layton series is one of the staples of the Nintendo DS and its successor, the 3DS. The series has sold over 13 million copies across the world and has spawned spinoff games, novels, a manga, and a feature film. And what is the inspiration for all this? A book series that series creator…

This Miss Universe Contestant Is a Giant Comic Book Nerd

Meet Yukimi Matsuo. She is representing Japan in the Miss Universe competition. And she not only loves manga, she also draws it. Yesterday, Matsuo was named Miss Universe Japan and will represent the country in the upcoming Miss Universe Pageant. The 25 year-old’s desire to compete is perhaps different from other contestants: “The reason why…

The Latest Gundam Unicorn is an Emotional Rollercoaster

I believe my exact words when discussing the possibility of reviewing Gundam Unicorn Episode 6: Two Words, Two Tomorrows were, “I will crawl over Richard‘s corpse to review this.” As I’ve stated before, I am a huge Gundam fan. While I was initially against the idea of expanding on the Universal Century timeline any further,…

One of Japan’s Greatest (and Oldest) Manga Artists, Eating a McDonald’s Hamburger.

Shigeru Mizuki is best known as the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro. Before becoming a famous manga artist, he survived serving in World War II, catching malaria and having his arm blown off. Now at a spritely 90 years old, he’s eating burgers. Good for him! Usually, greasy fast food might be rough on elderly…

Behold, Some of Japan’s Dirtiest Rooms

There’s a stereotype that all Japanese people are very clean and neat. This stereotype is just not true. Some folks in Japan keep a clean house, but some roost in pigsties. And, yes, many of those folks are female. See, in Japan, that’s the other stereotype: that guys’ rooms are usually messy, with discarded instant…

The developers behind Dynasty Warriors 8 apologized for all the game’s bugs and are investigating.

Thief Steals Fake iPhone, Is Caught While Returning It

Pickpocketing is a major issue in a lot of places, and China is no different. Crack open any Chinese travel guide and there will be whole sections dedicated to techniques to prevent pickpocketing—however, there doesn’t seem to be any guides on what to do when reverse pickpocketing occurs. In Yiwu, Zhejiang province, police were called…

Report: Shenmue Creator Still Wants To Do Shenmue III

Back in 2010, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki said he wanted to do Shenmue III. Now, in 2013, he reportedly told a French journalist that he still wants to do Shenmue III. But this time, he’s apparently thinking about doing a Kickstarter for the game. Progress! According to Sebastien-Abdelhamid at Canal Street, Suzuki is also keen…

If You’re Going to Deface Your School Books, Do It Well. Like This.

Doodling in your text books is bad! I do not recommend it. At all. However, let’s say you have to doodle in your text—like, if you don’t, you get in trouble. Then, by all means, please deface the book in the most entertaining way possible. Above, you can see Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen getting the…

The New Accel World Episodes Are Little More Than Lighthearted Filler

Late last year, we took a look at Accel World, the sister series to Sword Art Online. But not all the episodes of the series aired on TV. Rather, two extra episodes were released as part of the collector’s editions of the two Accel World games: Accel World: Awakening of the Silver Wings and Accel…

Solving The Ultimate Professor Layton Mystery: When, Exactly, Do the Games Take Place?

With the release of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies this past Thursday in Japan, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about this series—perhaps too much. The Professor Layton games follow the titular Professor Hershel Layton, a professor of archaeology based in London who—like famed Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.—spends far more time solving ancient mysteries…

This Japanese Schoolgirl Trend Is Messy, Wasteful, and Maybe Delicious

Over the years, Japanese schoolgirls have spearheaded an array of trends. They’ve set the agenda. From tech to fashion, they’ve been innovators, dictating to the nation what’s cool and what’s not. This latest trend is anything but cool. Disgusting? Perhaps. Wasteful? Definitely. Yummy? Well, it does involve cream puffs. In Japanese, cream puffs are called…

If You Like Ikaruga, Try RefleX

When it comes to shooters (and their bullet-hell cousins) I am hardly an expert, but I do enjoy a good SHMUP from time to time. Though I tend toward the side-scrolling variety like Gradius or Macross: Do You Remember Love, I did play more than a little 1942 back in the day. But hands-down my…

Man Accidentally Bumps Dude Playing a Video Game, Leads to Argument and Slashing

Tokyo seems super safe. For the most part, it is. But be careful, there are some dangerous folks out there: NHK is reporting that this week in Tokyo, a 39 year-old man accidentally bumped the arm of a fellow portable game-playing passenger while riding the Sobu train line. That escalated into an argument, and when…

Cloud from Final Fantasy VII Sure Looks Pretty with Makeup

Cloud Strife is one good looking video game character. He really is. Dude’s got spiky hair, piercing eyes, and nice threads. But what if he wore cosmetics? What would he look like? On Twitter, a FFVII diehard answered that question by applying makeup to the swordsman’s face, noting that the character looked very feminine. Male…

Why Kids Keep Crapping in Public in China

Every week, it seems like photos of someone, often little kids, crapping in public appear online in China. This usually creates all kinds of havoc, often with people criticizing the parents (or grandparents) for letting the kids do their business in a public place. But why does it keep happening? Note: this story contains a…