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Kotaku East
There are Giant Teddy Bears Riding the Subway. They Seem Friendly.
With traffic congestion a nightmare, the subway might be the way to get around Chengdu, China. According to and Mop and New China (via MIC), the city recently had a handful of bears ride the rails to promote taking the subway and the soon-to-open teddy bear museum in Chengdu. 中国片刻：成都”泰迪熊”坐地铁引围观 [News China] 成都地铁完爆北京地铁！泰迪熊集体卖萌搞怪无下限！！！ [Mop via…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Check Out Assassin’s Creed III‘s Stunning Recreations of Historic Buildings
As anyone who’s been paying attention is well aware, Assassin’s Creed III will be taking place during the Revolutionary War in America: A historic time in the birth of the United States. Game maker Ubisoft is going to painstaking lengths to get an authentic feel for the 1700s New England which you can see with…
By Toshi Nakamura Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Long Distance Sex? There’s an App for That.
Next January, Taiwan’s LovePalz will be launching its long distance lovin’ pleasuring gadgets. The devices, which seem to be designed for straight couples, have gotten Western news coverage—and more recently, Japanese. The devices support iPhone, Android, and more, and the two set LovePalz has units for both males and females, with each being dubbed “Zeus”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan’s Virtual Mafia Bad-Ass Reduced To Pulling A Ramen Cart
Kazuma Kiryu. The “Dragon of Dojima” and one of the main protagonists of the Yakuza series. This walking powerhouse of violence has come a long way from his youthful days of beating up biker gangs through the seedy underbelly of Japan’s criminal world and to prison and back. According to his character bio, Kiryu was…
By Toshi Nakamura Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Google’s Android Robot Looks Like an Ancient Chinese Relic
Via Chinese networking site Sina Weibo, someone noticed this archaeological find at a museum in northern China, pointing out its resemblance to Android’s iconic Robot mascot. According to MIC, one Chinese net user even wondered about an ancient relic that looks like a bitten apple. Android [Sina Weibo via MIC] Kotaku East is your slice…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
3DS title Inazuma Eleven 1・2・3!! was pushed back in Japan to Nov. 29 from Nov. 15.
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Nintendo’s Most “Bizarre” Collaboration of 2012
Out of all the things Nintendo have worked on this year, this one is certainly the most bizarre. This is a set of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure hanafuda playing cards. The name of this set? Jojo’s Bizarre Hanafuda ~ Gold Fuda. Nintendo is, of course, originally a card company. Hanafuda is a traditional card game in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Who Cares about Japan’s Large Toilet, Says Guinness World Records
This year, the city of Ishihara opened a 200-square meter, landscaped women’s restroom. It is supposedly the “world’s largest toilet”. Supposedly, because you need the Guinness World Records’ seal of approval for something like this. But, from the sound of it, that will never happen. According to Mainichi News, when the city submitted its outdoor…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Let the Latest Studio Ghibli Conspiracy Theories Commence!
Studio Ghibli, the folks behind classics like Howl’s Moving Castle, is no stranger to urban legends. There’s that one about Totoro being a harbinger of death, for example. Well, have a listen to the latest one that’s making its way around the internet in Japan. In the image below (via 秒刊SUNDAY), you can see Sosuke…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku EastJapan’s Greatest Air Guitarist Proves You Really Don’t Need Actual Guitars
Comedian Yosuke Ochi, who’s won the Air Guitar Championships a few times, was recently roped in to promote Rocksmith in Japan, reports 4Gamer. And while I wish I could play the real guitar, re-watching Ochi’s schtick makes me wish slightly more that I could rock out like him on the air guitar. 大地さんのエアギターに大勢のファンが大熱狂 [4Gamer]
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Upcoming RPG The Paradox of God and the Fate Revolution has been delayed to Jan. 24 in Japan.
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Man Shocked to Discover “Rather Violent” Gay Manga Sex in His Niece’s Library Book
Rule of thumb about Japanese comics: Just because they’re drawn, that certainly doesn’t mean they are for children (although that doesn’t mean they should be banned from public libraries, either.) According to B-Town Blog, Burien, Washington resident Travis De Nevers’ 10 year-old niece recently checked out the second volume of Makoto Tateno’s Hero Heel manga,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Report: Chinese Kids Were Used to Manufacture the Wii U [Update]
Excited for the upcoming November release of the Wii U? New reports out of China might curb that enthusiasm. These reports claim that some underage teens were used to assemble the Nintendo Wii U consoles. According to Chinese site Sina, Foxconn, the company hired by Nintendo to assemble the Wii U, confirms that it’s had…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2012 -
Kotaku EastTokitowa is Like Playing an Anime
Tokitowa is a new JRPG filled with time travel, multiple personality disorder, talking dragons, ghost towns, assassins, comedy, and cake—lots and lots of cake. Its creators have called it an “Anime RPG” as it uses 2D sprites for all the characters and enemies which are then superimposed on a 3D world. In battle, Tokitowa plays…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published October 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Atlus Won’t Talk Much about the Next Persona…Yet
For a while now, it’s been common knowledge that Atlus is making Persona 5. In a recent interview on Famitsu.com, Atlus game designer Katsura Hashino briefly (and I mean briefly) mentioned the next, numbered Persona. When asked about the latest in the Persona series, Hashino replied, “We’re making progress on developing the next numbered Persona.”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
If Ronald McDonald Was an Anime Girl, Eating Fries and Ordering Nuggets
I guess he’d look something like this? Here’s Hong Kong cosplayer LenLENko swinging by a local McDonald’s in her Hatsune Miku inspired Ronald McDonald get-up. Outfits like this that rework or reimagine established characters are among my favorite. LenLENko pulls this one off brilliantly. Extra points for actually going to McDonalds and getting a meal…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 16, 2012 -
Kotaku EastJapan Makes Awesome Time Travel Games
Over the past few months I’ve been anxiously awaiting the new PS3 title Tokitowa. While some are looking forward to the love story aspect or to its attempt to make a playable anime, the core of my anticipation is something altogether different: I’ve been dying to play another Japanese time travel story. For me, time…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published October 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Hello Kitty Meat Buns Don’t Look So Cute When Sliced in Half
After seeing cute Dragon Quest Slime and Hatsune Miku meat buns, it was only a matter of time before Hello Kitty hit Japanese convenience stores. For a limited time only, convenience store chain Sunkus is selling Kitty-chan meat buns for ¥150 ($1.90) a pop. Japanese site Gigazine ordered a few and took photos for the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 16, 2012