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Kotaku EastThis Game is Like a Mix Between Tag and Mario Kart
Run for Money Toshochu: Escape the Greatest Hunters in History on the 3DS, while virtually unheard of in the West, it is one of the most popular 3DS game of last year in Japan. Much like the TV show it is based on, Run for Money Toshochu: Escape the Greatest Hunters in History is set…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 22, 2013 -
Kotaku EastThe Physics of… Face Slapping
Nico Nico Douga user MuniMuni modeled Buddhist goddess Thousand-armed Kannon in a physics engine to see what would happen if the deity slapped someone in the face. Initially, MuniMuni created the goddess with all one thousand arms, but that turned each cluster of limbs into giant blobs. Instead, MuniMuni decided that 42 arms seemed a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 22, 2013 -
Kotaku East
A Father Took Seven Years to Draw This Maze. It Might Be Impossible to Clear.
When not racking up scores on Konami music game Jubeat, Kya7y is on Twitter. And something she recently shared there, for lack of a better word, is amazing. Thirty years ago, she tweeted, her dad spent seven years and several months drawing this maze on a sheet of A1 paper that measures approximately 35 by…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 22, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Hello Gaijin-san Face, Open Wide!
This week, Japanese restaurant chain Gusto started running a new series of commercials. It features the above woman, a “handsome foreign man” as the chain’s website says, and two comedians. So, what’s the problem? The two Japanese comedians in the commercial, Ungirls, can be funny—at times. For this spot, they are “disguised”. This is a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 22, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Litterbug Frightens Net Cafe Attendant With Fake Gun
Guns are a rarity in China. The only places you’d find guns are in military bases, State-run buildings with People’s Liberation Army guards, the military police, or the occasional “country club” with a shooting range. The gun situation in China is almost exactly like it was explained in last year’s Sleeping Dogs; hard to come…
By Eric Jou Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
The Goal of This 3DS Game: Catch Your Cheating Boyfriend
Men, don’t trust ’em! The Uwaki Kareshi (THE 浮気彼氏) or “The Cheating Boyfriend” is built around the idea of confronting your wayward love. During the investigation mode, you search your boyfriend’s room for suspicious items like, oh I dunno, women’s perfume or a hostess’s business card. Then, you confront the guy and try to catch…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
This Is a Marathon. A Cosplay Marathon.
The next Tokyo Marathon takes place in late February. Last fall it was named one of the six World Marathon Majors, joining the likes of New York, Boston, London, and more. But, the Tokyo Marathon is just filled with your typical marathon runners. There are also a noticeable group of cosplay runners dressed up as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
This Might Be North Korea’s Newest Prison Camp
Late last week, Google Earth updated satellite imagery that blogger and internet sleuth Curtis Melvin (via WSFJ) thinks could show the country’s latest gulag. As the Wall Street Journal points out, there are six gulags in North Korea, not including this possible one. They are located in mountainous regions. Some are larger than major cities…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
How to Make Ash and Pikachu Totally Freaky
This is Pikachu, and his trainer, Ash (or “Satoshi” as he’s called in Japan). This is how they’ve looked in the Pokémon anime. Nothing really strange here at all. Ash and Pikachu, hanging out. Got it. But if you, like Twitter user @KoTa_OTL want to mix things up and get crazy, here ya go: This…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Grown Man Refuses To Eat Until Parents Allow Him to Play Video Games
Tantrums involving video games are nothing new, particularly when they involve children losing their gaming privileges. However, when the tantrum is thrown by a young adult, it becomes something that’s, well… sad. That’s exactly what happened to the Yang family in Chongqing last week as reported by the Chongqing Times. Yang Yang (pseudonym) was at…
By Eric Jou Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
For Over $450, You Too Can Live in Japanese Nerd Heaven. (Well, In a Box.)
Tokyo’s Akihabara is Japanese nerd heaven. If you are a geek in Tokyo, then you’ll want to spend some time in Akihabara. Maybe you’ll want to live there. Then maybe you can live here? You get one room, a bunk bed, a space under your bunk bed, a TV, an air conditioner and a shower…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku EastForget Final Fantasy for a Minute, These Vegetable Fairies Are Magical
Yoshitaka Amano has an impressive resume that’s a lot more than just Final Fantasy. Before joining Square Enix, he designed characters for a slew of classic anime, such as Gatchaman. And since stepping down as lead character creator after Final Fantasy VI, Amano has teamed up with a variety of folks, including Neil Gaiman. But…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Why PC Gaming Is Still Niche in Japan
Cold rain drizzles outside. Inside, everything is pink, round, and frilly. The first floor of this otaku (geek) retailer is plastered with release info for new PC games—adult PC games. A young clerk in glasses near the 18-and-up section taps away on a computer, probably checking inventory. I approach, excusing myself for asking a sudden,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
C’mon, Let’s Not Blame One Piece for This Divorce
Tsubasa Masuwaka is one of Japan’s top gyaru models. Besides appearing in fashion mags, the 27 year-old also designs clothes and cosmetics as well as appears on TV. Even after she gave birth to her son, Masuwaka made motherhood fashionable, too, as a “charisma mom”. Part of that appeal was her ideal family life. All…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
I Think I Need to Join Trophy Whores Anonymous
My name is Richard and I have a problem. When it comes to games, I am a completionist. If there is a nook left unexplored or some random item that needs to be collected, I feel compelled to spend hours getting the job done. What’s odd is I don’t find it fun to do these…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Optimus Prime Totally Could’ve Commanded Armies in Ancient China
This is the work of Chinese artist Nkzhangwang, who did a masterful job of weaving a Chinese visual sense into the famed Japanese mecha. Just look at it! Stunning. This “Chinese military commander style Optimus Prime” is Nkzhangwang’s first uploaded work this year. The illustration mixes the vibe of the Three Kingdoms era with Transformers.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Five Reasons Yakuza 5 is Not For Me
Until I sat down and played Yakuza 5, my knowledge of the Yakuza series was limited, to say the least. I knew the characters and some of the story (from wikis, friends, and the movie), but when it came down to playing the series, the most time I had spent with it was in playing…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
In Japan, This McDonald’s Is Serving Breakfast 24 Hours a Day
Face it. The best meal you can get at McDonald’s is breakfast. And for a limited time, you can get just that at a McDonald’s in Tokyo. That’s all you can get. Wahoo! The McDonald’s in Tokyo’s Shinjuku (the Meiji-dori Sutepa-ten, to be exact!) has put its regular menu on hold and is serving round…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Google Removes Offensive Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian Apps
Last year, a pair of apps, Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian, raised eyebrows after they appeared in the Google Play Store. The original description (via Reappropriate) for Make Me Asian read: Have you ever wondered to present himself as a person of another nationality? You can imagine, for example, Chinese or Japanese? No?…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Anime Director Satoshi Kon’s Posthumous Work Machine That Dreams May End As Dream
Anime director Satoshi Kon passed away on August 24th, 2010 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier the same year. Kon was famous for his anime movies: PERFECT BLUE, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprica. His death was felt by the entire anime community. Many, including myself, wept upon reading his last words, written on…
By Toshi Nakamura Published January 17, 2013