Kotaku East

When Balloon Art Goes Very Wrong and Very Phallic

The Tetsuwan Dash is a long running Japanese series that features boy band (and former Xbox 360 spokesmen) Tokio. On the show, the group tries to pull off a variety of feats, like building a foam house or seeing who can last longest on the least amount of money—stuff like that. This weekend’s show had…

How Does Mercedes Benz Promote Cars in Japan? Why with Anime, That’s How.

To help launch the all new A-Class in Japan, Mercedes Benz is releasing an animated short in which the car chases after a noodle truck. One of the country’s biggest studios, Production I. G, carries out the animation duties, while Yoshiyuki Sadamoto of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame does the character designs. Miyuki Sawashiro lends her…

Japan’s Pervert Superhero Might Be Getting His Own Movie

This weekend, when folks settled into dark theaters across Japan to watch the new Evangelion anime, they were, as with most movies, bombarded with previews. Sandwiched betweem the ten or so trailers, was a short, 15-second clip that probably made the audience’s collective mouth drop. Most people probably didn’t know what the hell they were…

What Do Crummy Gamers Have in Common? The Japanese Internet Discusses.

Some gamers are very good at video games. Some are just awful. And that’s okay! Still, there must be common traits of crummy gamers, and that’s what a recent thread of Japan’s largest bulletin board, 2ch, tried to pin down. The name of the thread was “Common Traits of Zero Gaming Aptitude”, and the forum…

The Most Delicious JRPG Enemy There Ever Was

In Japan, Morinaga Milk Caramel has delighted sweet tooths for over a hundred years. Dragon Quest has delighted gamers for decades. And now, both come together in this yummy fan creation. Twitter user Cencho recreated DQ enemy Golem using the soft candy. Below is an image after the Golem has been defeated—and devoured. Since Golem…

Watch the Opening Minutes of Evangelion 3.0 Right Here

Anime fans rejoice! Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo will be released in theaters across Japan at midnight tonight. To kick off the big-screen return of one of Japan’s most famous anime, the Nippon Television Network showed both of the previous Rebuild of Evangelion movies—with Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone airing last Friday and…

Evangelion 64: An Ancient Tale of Importing During the Dawn of the Internet

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of my favorite anime and the first that ever really forced me to work for understanding. Back in high school, it was the anime I always recommended to others, and I have watched it countless times in the years since. Needless to say, I was (and perhaps am still) a…

Some Chinese Dude Made an iPhone Replica OUT OF STEEL

Okay, it’s not a working iPhone 5. But still, it’s the same size as an iPhone 5, and, it’s handcrafted out of a piece of steel Recently, a do-it-yourself type took a 140mm long, 60mm wide, and 6mm thick steel plate, and he turned it into an iPhone 5 replica. The gentleman documented the entire…

Kiki Trick is a Listening Game That’s More Work Than Fun

From Mario to Rhythm Heaven when it comes to first-party games, Nintendo is no slouch. But what’s surprising is how many of these titles never leave Japan even today. We took a look at the B-List Nintendo crossover Captain Rainbow earlier this year, but it is far from the only forgotten Wii title. In fact,…

Report: Japanese Employees Vent Online About Square Enix

Last year, there were unconfirmed reports that Square Enix’s Tokyo headquarters was a dark place to work. This latest report doesn’t sound nearly as bad as those. Doesn’t sound like rainbows and sunshine, either. NicoNico News points to comments made on Japanese employment site Career Connection. The site aims to help jobseekers find out more…

According to Sony, the PS3 has sold 70 million units worldwide, and the PS Move has sold 15 million. That’s…a lot!

How Victoria’s Secret Bewildered a Japanese Animation Giant

Last week, Victoria’s Secret held a big fashion show in New York City with a bevy of models and Justin Bieber. There was the typical parade of silk and lace. And then, there was something unexpected: model Jourdan Dunn strutted down the catwalk in bodysuit, straight out of Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. You weren’t…

Take a Good Look at This “Real Life Kirby”

In Nintendo games, Kirby is round, pink, and cute. In real life, Kirby is apparently round, white, and, well… Japanese doll sculptor Honoka created the work, putting this photo up on Twitter. The reaction has varied from people calling the sculpture “frightening” or “creepy”, to others praising the artistry that went into creating the piece.…

Japan’s Most Wanted Criminal Is One Slippery Troll

Above is a small Madoka Kaname figurine. The character is well known to Japanese anime fans, and now, the entire country. The reason, however, is not the anime she stars in, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It’s for a computer virus and a suicide threat. A photo of this character was sent to various Japanese news…

Wii Karaoke U By Itself Doesn’t Sell Me on the Wii U, But It’s Close

The Wii U will be hitting stores in Japan on December 8th, almost a month after its launch in the US and over a week after its release in Europe and Australia. Not exactly to make up for the delay, Nintendo announced last week a preinstalled game that will be included in Japanese Wii U’s,…

The Day I Said Goodbye To My PS3

I purchased my glossy black partner on January 30th, 2007. Since then it has run over 50 PS3 games, a bunch of PS2 and PS1 games, and probably hundreds of Blu-ray and DVD movies. But I had to bid farewell to my dear friend; my PS3 displayed the dreaded Yellow Light of Death, better known…

Japanese Guy Creates Amazing “Pop-Up” LEGO, Blows Minds

Japanese LEGO builder Talapz specializes in two things: recreating famous Japanese structures in LEGO, and turning those brick recreations into pop-up books. It’s as if Talapz didn’t think building was hard enough. He had to make things trickier Above, Talapz does a Todai-ji in LEGO—he even provides a how-to at the end, so get out…

Here’s Some Shin Megami Tensei IV News To Whet Your Appetite While We Wait For A Release Date

Shin Megami Tensei IV, the latest new game in the Shin Megami Tensei series is headed for the 3DS next year, and developer Atlus has released some new information on the game. As can be seen in the trailer that was released last month, the game characters are from a middle-ages sort of world and…

Screw Homework! There’s One Piece To Draw.

These Japanese kids covered their school’s chalkboard with this truly epic One Piece art. It took these three students about a week, drawing each day after class to complete the work. And hot damn, was it ever worth it. The drawing is from the last chapter of the One Piece manga arc* “Vivi’s Adventure”, in…

Nintendo Shows Off its Latest Club Nintendo Goodies for Japan

Today, Nintendo unveiled its latest collection of Club Nintendo goodies for Platinum Members in The Land of the Rising Sun. There’s a Pikmin bag, “Premium Mario Playing Cards”, a calendar, and a DSi game called Nintendoji. A Club Nintendo Exclusive, this downloadable game is a dungeon-based role-playing game with card elements. My favorite thing about…