Kotaku East Archives - Page 40 of 501

Hayao Miyazaki Turned Down Hollywood But Allowed Kabuki Version of Nausicaä

Don’t expect a Hollywood version of Nausicaä. As NHK reports, Hayao Miyazaki has turned down that offer. But you can look forward to a kabuki adaptation this December. Announced last year, the kabuki version will star Onoe Kikunosuke as Nausicaä and Nakamura Shichinosuke as Princess Kushana. Keiko Niwa, who has written several Ghibli films, is…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Artificial Intelligence Is Creating New Art From The Work Of A Deceased Manga Great [Update]

One of Japan’s greatest, if not the greatest, manga creators is having his work tapped into with the power of AI. Osamu Tezuka died in 1989, but next year, artificial intelligence will create new art based on Tezuka’s work. Update Oct. 1 – 3:10 am: The name of the company has been updated. Tezuka is…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Japan Marks The End Of Pagers With A Funeral

Remember pagers? Maybe not! If you were around in the 1990s, you might’ve carried a pager in case someone wanted to get in touch. Mainichi reports that today in Japan, service for pagers finally ended after first being introduced 50 years ago. Tokyo Telemessage Inc., the country’s last pager service, began shutting down radio signals…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

New Brain Age Announced For Nintendo Switch In Japan

In 2005, Brain Age first went on sale in Japan for the Nintendo DS. The game, which had players solve math problems and more to judge the age of their brain, became a national sensation in Japan. Brain Age was one reason why the DS became a must-have handheld. Now, in 2019, it’s back. The…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 30, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Pokémon Anime Stars A New Protagonist And Ash

The brand new Pokémon TV anime will star not one, but two trainers as the main protagonists. According to My Navi News and Famitsu, the new main character is named Go (ゴウ or Gou), a 10-year-old who dreams of catching all them all with Scorbunny as his partner. Go will be voiced by Daiki Yamashita, who…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 30, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Terry From Fatal Fury Is Being Compared To A Macho Pokémon Trainer in Japan

If you are steeped in SNK fighting game lore, then you are more than familiar with Terry Bogard. If you’ve never played Fatal Fury, you might not know who he is. If you like Pokémon, he might look familiar. The announcement that Terry was coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with met with puzzlement among…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 27, 2019

Kotaku East

K-Pop Pick Of The Day: Beginning

If you asked me to pick two Korean artists who could produce a duet together, I’d be listing off names for nigh on a year before I landed on Soyou and Rain. But it’s the year 2019, the world is crazy, and here we are. Soyou, of course, is well-known for her impressive lineup of…

By Seung Park Published September 27, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

How Anime Has And Hasn’t Changed, According to Shoji Kawamori

Shoji Kawamori’s career in anime has spanned four decades. While still in his teens, Kawamori joined the industry in the late 1970s. Since then, some things have changed. Other things have not. Besides co-creating Macross and designing some of the anime’s most famous machines, Kawamori has also worked on the early Transformers iterations and has…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 26, 2019

Kotaku East

K-Pop Pick Of The Day: How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love

Akdong Musician is back, and not a moment too soon. K-Pop just hasn’t been the same without this dynamic duo. One of the unintended minor side effects of South Korea’s mandatory military service system is that idol group fans often have to swallow years-long absences while the members head off to the army. Akdong Musician…

By Seung Park Published September 26, 2019

Kotaku East

K-Pop Pick Of The Day: Clown

Five years after their disbandment, I’ve yet to find a Korean hip-hop artist that pulls me in so deeply as Leessang had managed to do, so many years ago. Clown is a 2005 release under their Library Of Soul album, widely considered by their fans to be one of their best. This album is stacked:…

By Seung Park Published September 25, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

89-Year-Old Grandma Says Video Games Keep Her Mind Sharp

This is Hamako Mori. At 89, she’s not new to video games. She has been playing them for nearly four decades. In an interview with GameSpark, the Tokyo native says the first console she played was the Cassette Vision, which was released in 1981. After that, she was into the Famicom and played The Legend…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 24, 2019

Kotaku East

K-Pop Pick Of The Day: 1.2.3.4

A lot of K-Pop stars’ vocals are described as “soulful,” often a product of a public relations team short on English and long on imagination. Lee Hi is one of the few artists whose voice actually lives up to that descriptor. She debuted at a relatively young age, having made her first broadcast appearance on…

By Seung Park Published September 20, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

The Art of Writing JRPGs

If there’s one thing Yoshitaka Murayama knows better than most people in the world, it’s how to bring Japanese role-playing games to life. While at Konami, he created the Suikoden series, and more recently did the scenario for The Alliance Alive. During the Tokyo Game Show, I sat down with Murayama and asked him how…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 19, 2019

Kotaku East

K-Pop Pick Of The Day: Deja Vu

Dreamcatcher is back again, and once more, they’ve taken a page from the Japanese Anime Opening School Of Music. Not that I’m complaining. I say once more, because Deja Vu is just the latest in their long line of songs that come from the same pedigree. See also: Chase Me, Good Night (especially this one)…

By Seung Park Published September 19, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Why The Most Recent Tales Game Is Taking So Long

Between 2002 and 2012, Bandai Namco released a mainline Tales game almost every year, save for 2006 and 2010. After 2012, there was a two-year gap before Tales of Zestiria. The following year, Namco Bandai released Tales of Berseria. But since then, there hasn’t been another Tales game. The next one, Tales of Arise, won’t be…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

The Sega Genesis Turned Tiny For Capsule Toys

The Sega Genesis Mini is small, but these capsule versions are even smaller. Sure, they don’t play games, but they’re tiny and cute. Over the years, numerous game consoles have been miniaturized for capsule toys. As IT Media points out, what makes this latest line so interesting is how extensive the peripherals and add-on versions…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Junior High School Student Wins $46,000 Game Tournament, Doesn’t Get Any Money

During the Tokyo Game Show, legendary Street Fighter player Momochi forfeited tens of thousands of dollars in prize money because he doesn’t have a pro-gaming license in Japan. He wasn’t the only one who lost out on money. The winner of the Puzzle & Dragons tournament did, too. Junior high school student Yuwa came in…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2019

Kotaku East

When Japanese TV News Trolls Criminals

Crime is serious stuff. But everyone once and while, some Japanese TV news stations make it as goofy as possible. For example, the above photo is a likeness of a suspect. Around 25 years old. Plump, with a thin moustache. Have you seen him? Eh… Other times, unflattering photos are used for criminals. Not sure…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

Osaka Getting Massive Esports-Themed Hotel

Next April, an esports-themed hotel will open in Osaka’s geek district Nipponbashi. Called Esports Hotel E-Zone Cyberspace in English, it is the first of its kind in Japan. Including the basement’s shower area, the hotel is nine stories. Fashion Snap reports that floors one to three are the gaming floors, with over 70 high-spec, streaming-ready…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 16, 2019

Kotaku EastJapan

The Cosplay Of The 2019 Tokyo Game Show

This year’s Tokyo Game Show has come to a close. But these cosplay images will live on! Cosplayers came out in droves during the show’s two public days. Those wanting photos must line up to take snaps, which means a good chunk of time needs to be dedicated to cosplay. The highlight clip below was…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 16, 2019