Kotaku East

Magic Modoka: Eternal Has a Trailer For the Third Movie, But Nothing Else New

Last weekend, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 1: Beginnings, an abridged and enhanced version of the first eight episodes of the Modoka Magica anime was released in theaters across Japan. Now, exactly a week after the release of the first movie comes the second, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 2: Eternal.…

Manga Loving Student Stabs Teacher with a Ball-Point Pen

On October 1, a teacher in Aichi Prefecture, Japan warned a 14 year-old student several times about reading manga in class. When he wouldn’t stop, she took the manga away. That then angered the junior high school student. According to ANN News, the 14 year-old allegedly grabbed a pen off the teacher’s desk and then…

Covering a PlayStation Controller in Stickers Isn’t Very Gangster

To mark the release of crime saga Yakuza 5, Sony is putting out a special (tacky—sorry!) PS3 bundle, complete with a gold colored PS3 controller. The controller is just gold—kinda ho hum. Know what can jazz it up? Stickers. Today, Sega showed off the Yakuza 5 controller, which now comes with customized stickers. Stickers that…

Who’s White and Who’s Japanese in Anime? Once Again, the Internet Compares.

Earlier this year, there were discussions online in Japan on the “whiteness” of anime characters. That discussion, it seems, is not over. A recent Japanese thread titled “Even After Seeing This, You Can Declare Anime Characters Japanese?” (これを見てもアニメキャラは日本人って言い切れるかい？) picked up this issue once again, trying to suss out the physical characteristics of anime characters and…

Chinese Students Recreate Resident Evil, Freak Out Everyone

A group of art students at the Nanjing University of the Arts thought it was a good idea to create a Resident Evil fan film for a student get together. They proceeded to recreate scenes straight out of video games after hours on school property, bringing in dummy body parts, fake blood and weapons. They…

Cosplaying Lady or Not, Blue Noodles Look Disgusting

This weekend in Tokyo’s geek mecca, Akihabara, eatery LittleBSD wheeled out a noodle selling kiosk. LittleBSD isn’t your typical restaurant—it’s cosplay themed. These weren’t your typical noodles—they were blue. The noodles were “negi sio ita yakisoba” (ネギ塩痛焼きそば) in the image of virtual idol Hatsune Miku. “Negi” (green onions) is what the virtual idol is often…

Bravely Default‘s Inevitable Sequel Will *Probably* Be on the 3DS

On Twitter, a Japanese gamer said she or he purchased a 3DS just to play Square Enix’s latest role-playing game Bravely Default—then asked the game’s official Twitter, if there were a sequel, would it also be a 3DS title? Here’s the reply: “Depending on the circumstances, I don’t think it would change. Because I think…

My Uncomfortable Lunch At The Hello Kitty Dreams Restaurant

I like the color pink, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I wear pink shirts, I have a pair of pink boxers and a few pairs of socks that accidentally became pink but nothing could’ve prepared me for my lunch at the Hello Kitty Dreams Restaurant. It was an overload of pink. A few…

How Burger Dreams Turn into Burger Nightmares

You know how promotional photos for fast food restaurants always look delicious? And then you get the burger, and it looks like a dog’s breakfast? That’s often the case, and the special burger tower that’s hitting Lotteria doesn’t look to be an exception. Japanese site Rocket News has photos of both tower burgers (which you…

Youkai Watch, announced last year by Level-5, is headed to the Nintendo 3DS.

First Look at the New Iron Chef Host (Does This Man Love Bell Peppers?)

I love bell peppers. You know who else loves bell peppers? Iron Chef’s original chairman Takeshi Kaga. When news broke last month that Iron Chef was returning to Japanese TV after a 13-year hiatus, it wasn’t known whether or not Kaga would be returning with the show. Turns out, unfortunately, he’s apparently not. Instead, actor-singer…

After stating that Mario Wii U was “full 1080p HD”, Nintendo now says it’s just “high definition”.

Behind the Scenes of the Live-Action Ace Attorney Movie

When the Ace Attorney live-action movie was released back in February in Japan, I called it the best video game movie ever made. When it came out on Blu-ray in August, I watched it a few times, reaffirmed that it was an excellent movie, and gave it a prominent place on my video shelf. Last…

DJMax Technika Tune is a Music Game Tailor-Made For the Vita

Last generation’s PSP was a bastion of great music games with titles like Lumines and Project Diva—in addition to re-releases of classics like PaRappa the Rapper and Gitaroo Man. However, one music series has been often overlooked, despite having some of the best music games around: DJMax. Why has it been snubbed? Probably because of…

Famed for Masturbation Toys, Tenga Has a Different Product for Japanese Arcades

While Tenga made its name with its self-pleasuring aids, it’s bringing something slightly different to game centers: a pillow that, um, looks like one of its self-pleasuring aids. This 25cm “Tenga Throat Cup” cushion is dubbed as “big size” and large enough for you to stick your hand in and rest your head on. Just…

Watch As Japan’s Biggest Virtual Idol Takes Taiwan By Storm

Proving that she is an international sensation, virtual idol Hatsune Miku performed her first live show in Taiwan to sold-out crowds less than a week ago. This was part of a tour celebrating her fifth birthday that also visited Hong Kong for the first time the week before. But the most interesting thing about this…

Finally! A Cooking School for Japanese Nerds

Tokyo’s Akihabara is soon getting a geeked out cooking school. Dubbed Kitchen A La Mode, it’s a moé style cooking class, aimed at otaku. “While I’m an otaku, I like cooking,” Kitchen A La Mode’s manager told Japanese site Akiba Blog. “Even if there are otaku who cook, there are those who do not cook…

No Sensible Person Would Ever Do This

Boy, this is depressing: a 3DO and a Dreamcast box with Mr. Sega on it chucked out along with pots, pans, an old rice cooker, plastic bottles, umbrellas, and various other crap. With cords coming out of the Dreamcast box, it’s safe to assume there is a console in it. “I discovered this scene the…

Japan is making a live-action Gatchaman movie.

Nothing Says Windows 8 Quite Like Anime Schoolgirls

Microsoft and anime girls are not strangers in Japan. In fact, you could say that Microsoft and Japanese anime girls are a thing. And not a new thing at that! For Windows 7, Microsoft had an OS character—or OS-tan, as they’re called. OS-tans are anime personifications of operating systems that are created online by fans.…