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Kotaku EastJapanThe Sights And Sounds of BitSummit
This past weekend, BitSummit roared through Kyoto. The show keeps growing, and this year was the biggest BitSummit yet! Have a look below at some of the games and festivities. If you do get a chance to come to visit BitSummit, I cannot recommend the show enough. It’s a good time.
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 3, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanHands-On With The Playdate, The Game Portable With A Crank
At this weekend’s BitSummit, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi asked me if I’d like to see the Playdate. He then proceeded to pull it out of a black case and hand me the version that’s running his new Playdate exclusive Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure “You don’t use any buttons,” Takahashi said. “Everything is done through…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 3, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanWeekly Retail Game Sales In Japan Are The Worst They’ve Been In Twenty Years
Japan’s weekly game sales for the week of May 20 to May 26 were the lowest they’ve been since 1999. Via Dengeki, here are the top ten selling games at Japanese retail for the week: 10. Team Sonic Racing (Switch) – 3,533 copies 9. Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (PS4) – 3,714 8. Yoshi’s Crafted World…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 31, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanA Theory Why Marvel Movies Don’t Dominate Japan
Marvel movies are successful in Japan. They are popular. But while Avengers: Endgame dominated theaters around the world for weeks, it was soon toppled in Japan by the latest Detective Conan anime. Why are American superhero movies less popular in Japan? Is there a reason? According to film journalist Koremasa Uno, yes there is Uno…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 30, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Get It
Last week, Pledis Entertainment announced Pristin’s official disbandment after a year of radio silence. Fans expected this to happen, but the finality by which the company hit the last nail in the coffin surprised many—especially given its waffling on another, similarly-fated girl group. Released in May 2018, Get It was Pristin’s last release, and even…
By Seung Park Published May 29, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanDetective Pikachu Turned Into A $200 Life-Sized Plushie
Bandai is releasing a life-sized Detective Pikachu plush toy. His ears, hands and tail are all poseable. Just look at it! The doll is priced at 21,780 yen (nearly $200) and will go on sale this December in Japan. No word on an international release. Check out more images below.
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 28, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanTourists Are Causing Headaches In Japan
Until recently, Japan didn’t have much of an influx of foreign tourists. Now, it does, and with that comes problems. Of course, Japan should have a thriving tourism industry! This is a beautiful country with a rich culture, a long history and delicious food. But for much of the 20th and 21st century, foreign tourism…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanMcDonald’s Japan Fined For Its Fake Roast Beef Burgers
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has fined McDonald’s after breaking the law and misrepresenting the Tokyo Roast Beef Burger sold in summer 2017. According to NicoNico, the fine is 21.7 million yen (nearly $200,000) and must be paid by December 25 of this year. The original “Tokyo Roast Beef Burger” ads featured what looked like real…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanMan Arrested For Allegedly Stealing 80 Copies Of Detective Conan Manga In Japan
In Mie Prefecture, a 26-year-old man has been arrested for suspected theft after security camera footage showed the man stealing volumes of the Detective Conan manga. In total, eighty copies were stolen, and the suspect has confessed. According to Tokai TV, the alleged thefts occurred on three separate occasions with the suspect, 26-year-old Aoi Hattori,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Mushroom Wave
Offing is one of those Korean artists that I randomly stumbled upon during my late-night YouTube listening sessions. You know the ones: where you pick a song for the mood and you let the website’s auto-next-song function dictate your night. No one else does that? Just me? I don’t know how YouTube found this obscure…
By Seung Park Published May 24, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanBehold, Official Castle in the Sky Sunglasses
Castle in the Sky themed sunglasses are going on sale in Japan. Muska’s tinted lenses are getting real-world recreations and Pazu’s goggles are also being reworked as glasses. The Muska sunglasses are 27,500 yen ($250), while the Pazu ones, described as “goggle-shaped glasses frames,” are 32,000 yen ($290) Both are made in Japan and will…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 23, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Real-World Final Fantasy XIV Wedding Plan Sure Is Incredible
Square Enix previously announced that there would be a real-world Final Fantasy XIV-themed wedding plan offered in Japan. Now, we have a better look at the ceremony and wow, is it something. According to Famitsu, reservations are now being taken for couples to get hitched Final Fantasy style. As Kotaku reported earlier this year, the ceremony…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 23, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Really Really
I’ve become quite fond of the newbie group Cherry Bullet, despite their somewhat underbaked debut. Maybe it has something to do with their insistence on video-game-themed music videos. (That’s probably it.) Really Really is a much better title track than their first one, which struck me as having more in common with a demo song…
By Seung Park Published May 23, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Problem With Names In Japanese And In English
Yesterday, Japan’s foreign minister asked the English-language media to write Japanese family names first, as done in Japanese. This would change how Japanese names are typically written in English. For example, famed animator Hayao Miyazaki is Miyazaki Hayao in Japanese, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is Miyamoto Shigeru and Prime Minister Shizo Abe is Abe Shinzo.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 22, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanSega’s Judgment Going Back On Sale In Japan
This past March, actor and musician Pierre Taki, who voiced yakuza Kyohei Hamura in Judgment, was arrested for alleged illegal drug use. Sega decided to cease sales of the game in Japan. It will go back on sale this July with another actor playing Hamura. Kotaku previously posted a screenshot of the new Hamura. Voice…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanAkihabara Recreated As Realistic Miniature Diorama
Tokyo’s geek mecca of Akihabara has been reproduced perfectly on a small scale. This is the work of Chiba Keizai University’s model building club, which recently displayed its impressive diorama. The detail is incredible. Excellent work!
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanMisleading Scantily-Clad Cosplayer Allegations Lead To Arrest In China
Earlier this month, the third annual World Line Comic-Con got underway in Chengdu, Sichuan province. On Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, a net user called Yi er Zai, zai er San, De zai san (loosely “Again and Again Repeatedly”), claimed that cosplayers were barely dressed, posting photos as proof. The images were real, but they…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanIconic Japanese Anime Character Gets Creative Latte Art
In the Japanese children’s anime Anpanman, the titular hero’s head is made from a bun stuffed with bean paste. When Anpanman’s noggin gets damaged in the show, a new one is baked and switched out, reviving his powers. Anpanman is one of the most famous characters in Japan. Generation after generation has grown up with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanMan Arrested After Sending Idol A Death Threat By Fax
Today, a 24-year-old man named Kazuki Domoto was arrested for sending a fax threatening to kill pop idol Yuka Ogino. Domoto has confessed, there was “no mistake” that he sent the fax. Ogino is a member of the Niigata-based NGT48. BSN reports that a fax was sent to the group’s Niigata office from a convenience…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Slayers Saga Will Continue
Slayers was one of the most iconic light novels of the 1990s, spawning manga, anime and video games. Good news! Creator Hajime Kanzaka is doing a third arc. Slayers is back! The news was made official in the latest issue of Dragon Magazine As ANN and SG Cafe point out, the first new Slayers volume…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2019