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Kotaku EastJean Reno Makes a Great Anime Cat
Doraemon is a robot cat from the future. His ears were eaten off by a mouse (hence him being afraid of them!), and his pocket carries all sorts of amazing gadgets. Doraemon is a beloved cartoon character, and he’s being brought to life by…Jean Reno. The famed actor has appeared in Toyota ads on and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Young Chinese Women in Trouble for Writing Dirty Website
Founded in early 2011, homoerotic fantasy website “Boys Love Novels Online” (“耽美小说网”) recently went offline. The government charged its founder with spreading pornographic materials. The websites writers however, weren’t men. They were women. The website supposedly spread over 1,200 articles of gay erotic fiction during the time that it was active. While the site was…
By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Udon or Soba? Fight!
In Japan, you are either an udon person or a soba person. You cannot be both! This is serious Beatles-Stones kinda stuff. Well, not that serious. And people do like both, but most of my friends and family seem to prefer one to the other. Both udon and soba, of course, are noodles. However, udon…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Bootleg Chinese Arcades Sure Can Make Popular Video Games Boring
The original Plants versus Zombies is a classic in China. Even before the Chinese version came out, the game was a success. My girlfriend, who is Chinese, had a PvZ phase. During that time, she would playPvZ everywhere she went— be it on my smartphone, tablet or on the PC at home. One time a…
By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Meet China’s Real-Life Blow-Up Doll. She’s Totally Fake.
For the past few months, 17 year-old student Wang Jia Yun has been tearing the internet up in both China and South Korea. In China, she was quickly given a nickname: “chong qi wa wa” (充气娃娃 )or “inflatable doll”. Like so many of the young internet idols emerging out of China (ditto for the West),…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Report: Another Foxconn Employee Gives iPhone 5 Release Info
This year, a new iPhone looks set to hit. The big question now is when it will be released: this summer or this fall. Late last month, a Japanese TV crew filmed an interview with a Foxconn recruiter, who said the phone would be out this June. South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper begs to differ.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
No, Mom, I’m Not Talking to Strange Men Online
Life as a net idol is tough! If your old lady isn’t bursting down the door when you are chatting with your online fans, she wanders in when you’ve got your shirt off—which is apparently what this awkward photo depicts. Many young women are holding court on “live” video chats sites on Japan’s Nico Nico…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Report: Sony Is Firing a Whole Bunch of People [Update]
Today, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Sony is axing 6 percent of its global workforce—approximately 10,000 individuals—by the end of the year. Half the cuts will supposedly come from Sony’s chemical and LCD businesses. The paper also added that Sony is asking the seven executive directors who served through the last fiscal year to return…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Hands On with the Official Akira Bike
There are other customized Akira bikes, sure. But there is only one that has been officially recognized by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. This is it. As previously posted, this US$121,000, custom-built bike raced across Japan for charity. Its final destination was a Katsuhiro Otomo exhibit, which was also for charity. Sister site checked out the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012 -
Kotaku EastKorean Politician Dresses as an Angry Bird, Flings Himself at Social Issues
If there’s one good thing that has come from Angry Birds, it’s this: Korean politician Jeong Hong created an Angry Birds themed re-election video called “Hong-ry Birds”. Geddit? Hong-ry? Hilarious! Hong is a member of the rightwing incumbent party, the Saenuri Party, which is seeking re-election in the upcoming April 11 election. As website Korea…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Kingdom Hearts 3D Is Both a Dream and a Nightmare
Kingdom Hearts is one of those series whose quality varies wildly from game to game. Sometimes they are nothing but near pointless filler while others are as solid as the numbered iterations in the series. Much like the “even-number Star Trek films curse,” fans of the series believe those Kingdom Hearts titles released on Nintendo…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Sumo Wrestlers Make the Best Cheerleaders
They really do. This 1960s era photo is from a school athletic meet, and it shows a group of sumo dressed up as cheerleaders to entertain the kids. Decades later, I know I’m entertained. Sumo wrestlers dressed up as Cheerleaders 1960s [Japan Sugoi]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastCan You Defeat 95 Computer Controlled Bombermen? Only If Your iPhone Doesn’t Crash.
Ever wonder what it’d be like to play a massive 100-person game of Bomberman? Well Konami read your mind and released 100-Person Battle Bomberman late last month for smart phones in Japan. While it seems like an amazing idea to have 100-man Bomberman battles, this game has one major downside: 99 of those people are…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe Akira Bike of Your Dreams Is Racing Across Japan
This might not be Neo-Tokyo, but that sure looks like Shotaro Kaneda’s bike in cyberpunk anime Akira. Masashi Teshima from Fukuoka, Japan thought he’d like an Akira bike for himself and spent seven years and ¥10 million (US$121,000) to make it. While there are other Kaneda bike projects, this one is officially recognized by Akira…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Star Wars Needed More Smoothtroopper Crotch Grabbing
So did Kinect Star Wars, for that matter. This totally unlicensed shirt was spotted by writer Brian Michael Bendis in Tokyo. It’s glorious. Check out Kotaku‘s Kinect Star Wars review here. Check out this shirt somewhere in Tokyo. Infringe-a-licious Tokyo tee: best Star Wars shirt ever? [BoingBoing]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
In Aging Japan, 97 Year-Old Man Arrested for Attempted Murder with a Sword
People live in Japan longer than they do in any other country. The number of centenarians is at record numbers. Know what all those old people mean? Higher chances of old people crime! The Yomiuri Shimbun is reporting that a 97 year-old man was arrested earlier this week for trying to kill an 84 year-old…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastJapan Busts Out the Eye Shadow and Plastic Guns for Starhawk
When you think of third-person shooter Starhawk, you probably think of space, giant mecha, and multiplayer game play. You most likely do not think of a dude with eye paint or a dude dressed up like Golgo 13. In this clip, Japanese comedians (and a lady from Sony) help us through a walkthrough of the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLearn Japanese One Dead Zombie at a Time
Way back in the year 1999, Sega took its successful horror light-gun game, House of the Dead 2, swapped guns for keyboards and released it in arcades under the name The Typing of the Dead. Two years later this typing tutor was released in America on the Dreamcast and PC. It was—and still is frankly—the…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
A Hairy Butt, a Drunk Businessman, and a Power Ranger Make Train Rides More Interesting
Commuting can be so dull. Just sitting there on the train, which, throughout much of Asia, is always so damn quiet. Boring! But sometimes, exciting things happen. Sometimes, you get this. This being—I’m not quite sure what this is. There’s a businessman passed out on a seat. Next to him there is a blue Power…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012