A Windows phone game, developed by Austrian Christian Zangl, has been blocked from release in China not because it contained contentious political commentary. It’s been blocked because it featured the sound of a flushing toilet. According to Microsoft, that makes it offensive to the Chinese market, and “Content that is offensive in any country/region to…
Japan’s biggest girl group, AKB48, starred in a new series of candy ads that aren’t only raising eyebrows, but also ire. In the ads, the girls passed pieces of Puccho soft candy to each other via their mouths, making it look like they are kissing. The commercial has been getting complaints from parents concerned about…
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Earlier this week, I wrote about my first hour playing Girls RPG: Cinderellife. For a laugh, I poked and prodded the game, pointing out its less-than-inspiring portrayal of women—though this is nothing new when it comes to games or any other popular media really. Most of the things I poked fun at were a direct…
Beleaguered electronics giant Sony is having a tough time. It’s not only battling a strong yen and strong rivals, but also a giant lack of buzz. Just look at these folks on Japanese TV. No buzz! In the above photo from Japan’s TBS News, two women are asked if there are any Sony products they…
Good-bye FedEx! Hello, Tao Girls! For the equivalent of a mere $US1.60, one day soon you can apparently get packages delivered by young, fashionable ladies. In addition to product listings, Taobao.com, China’s fastest growing online retail business, also features an array of young Chinese women posing in pictures as well as looking for modeling gigs.…
Boy, Daisenryaku Perfect: Ruler of the Battlefield looks like dung. Maybe its horrible addiction is to blame—it’s addiction to game delays. The game was delayed last spring and pushed to fall 2011. Then, it was pushed to this April. It was supposed to be out yesterday, but was once again delayed to “further improve quality…
“You have to pet their egos,” said Elizabeth. “That’s what a hostess does.” Now, in her early 30’s and married, Elizabeth is living a very different life but was still eager to share her experiences. But only a few years ago, she spent six months working at a hostess club here in Japan. Elizabeth came…
Yesterday evening, 25 year-old Kengo Katou kicked an arcade cabinet at “Play Hard” game center in Kasugai City. He’s now in a coma. After kicking the cabinet, arcade staff told him to knock it off. According to eyewitness accounts, Katou then became enraged and started acting violently. He pulled one employee’s hair and began throwing…
The iPad and the iPhone must be made in China. Ditto for, well, most everything. And it’s not only because of cheap Chinese labor. Or sprawling factories. Or lax regulations. Those are reasons, but there’s another one. And it’s one you might not expect: mud. The iPad—like other electronics—requires a large amount of rare earth…
Originally, Girl’s RPG Cinderellife was going to be a 3DS version of the popular cell phone title Kyabajoppi. In Kyabajoppi you manage a host club that is frequented by many famous anime characters. And while, Cinderellife now has you living the life of a single hostess instead of managing the club, the anime characters still…
This week, a 32 year-old woman climbed out on a 12th floor window in China’s Dongguan City. Threatening to kill herself, the woman, tossed aside the rescue rope. Below an air mattress was inflated in case she jumped and hundreds of spectators assembled to watch. After three hours of trying, a firefighter climbed down the…
The gaming world is often full of myths and urban legends. This week, Japanese mag Famitsu covered a few and shed some light on the validity of some, but not all. One such urban legend is the fact that the idea for the game Kingdom Hearts was hatched in an elevator. The legend was born…
On your right is Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. On your left is a mirror image of the painting with a manga image stuck in her eye. Move back from your monitor? Does it disappear? If you move further back (like several feet from your screen), the manga will completely disappear into her face. Check out the…
Senran Kagura brought boobs, boobs, and… well… boobs to the 3DS. Considering how much fan art (a large portion of it being pornographic) the previous game inspired, was there ever any doubt that there’d be a sequel? Developer Marvelous AQL has announced the sequel to the busty ninja girl action adventure game. Coming to the…
Because that’s exactly what the world needs, another alarm clock! I wake up to my iPhone, so I guess Sony figured PS Vita owners would want the same. But do they really need to get Trophies for that? Besides a variety of skins, there’s “Mezamashi Doumei” or “Alarm Clock League”. It’s built on the concept…
Daigo Umehara is the Guinness World Record holder as “the most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter,” and became world famous in 2004 with his amazing comeback victory at the EVO 2004 Street Fighter Tournament. In his new book, “勝ち続ける意志力” (The Will to Keep Winning), Daigo describes his upbringing and experiences as a…
For decades, KFC has been a Japanese fast food staple. Whether it’s Christmas dinner or baseball superstitions, Japan is enamored with The Colonel. And the country is about to get a really fancy one. A new KFC is opening in Tokyo’s Shimo-Kitazawa. It’s aimed at late night customers in their 20s and 30s, and it…
Or as anime characters. Or manga characters. Or movie characters. It’s simply “costume play”, and Japanese photographer Yuji Susaki explores that in this series of photos, “Cosplay: Made in Japan”. Susaki is perhaps more known for his fashion pics, celeb portraits, or artistic nudes. For this cosplay series, Susaki roped in well-known Japanese cosplayers like…
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