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Kotaku EastFive Songs That Must Be Added to Theatrhythm
The Final Fantasy series has been renowned for excellent soundtracks since back in the 8-bit era. So it’s really no surprise that Square Enix would release a game like Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy. Despite hitting the streets in Japan back in February, it has only recently been announced for Western release. There are five songs from…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Namco Bandai Updates Its “X” with “Action Adventure”
Thrilling! Day two of Namco Bandai’s drip-fed PR continues. In this installment of irritating corporate promotion, Namco Bandai added the words “action adventure” in Japanese, along with three question marks. I don’t know what the game is, but unless it’s something utterly fantastic, I already hate it. New Title [Namco Bandai]
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku EastTheatrhythm‘s Three Types of Gameplay in Action
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a music game much like Oendan/Elite Beat Agents where you tap the 3DS’ pen on the touch screen in time with the beat. There are three different types of stages (four if you count the unfailable opening and ending bonus songs): 1) Event, where the song path can move anywhere on…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku EastUsing Giant Anime Breasts To Promote Cycling
This promo clip looks like it could be promoting a myriad of things, the least of which is pro cycling. But that’s why the Nagoya Keirin Association had Japanese character designer Ikuo Nakamura and anime studio Madbox whip this up. The result is a jubblie anime lady named Pist-Star. Keirin is track cycling, which originated…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Capcom Is Opening a Store. A Real, Retail Store.
Earlier this year, Capcom opened an official Capcom bar, where people can get hammered. And this spring, it’s opening an official Capcom shop, where people can buy stuff. Other Japanese game companies have official shops in Japan—Konami, for example, has a Konami store in Roppongi Hills. The Capcom store, which is called Capcom Official Shop…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLupin Makes Anime Cool and Sexy Again
For a long, long time, Japanese anime has been moé. The word actually means “budding”, but it’s actually geek slang for cute things that give otaku warm fuzzy feelings. Screw warm fuzzy feelings. I’m sick of them! Aside from the momentarily blips of hope on the anime radar, the moé aesthetic has dominated Japanese TV…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Before There Was The Hunger Games, Japan Had This Brutal, Bloody Opus
Were you one of the oodles of theatergoers who packed into American cinemas to see The Hunger Games? The movie is raking in the box office cash—and it’s being hailed as a smash hit. But in Japan, people are referring to the flick as something else: “Hollywood’s version of Battle Royale.” Based on a 1999…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Taiwanese Weather Girls Ripped Off By Chinese Weather Girls
Last December, Guangdong Satellite TV Station introduced a change to their regular weather broadcasts. Instead of stuffy meteorologists or on-air reporters reporting the changes in the weather, they hired a group of undergraduate Chinese girls. The group, called Pin-Ko Pie, is made up of nine college girls who have “modeling” experience. These nine girls take…
By Eric Jou Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWhen Your Daughter Thinks She’s an Anime Doll and Talks to Creepy Guys Online
Online, 15 year-old Venus Palermo is “Venus Angelic”. With her huge anime eyes and pale skin, she plays up her doll-like appearance with special contacts and make-up. And this London-based teen is starting to gain followers in both Japan and the West. “Mommy cooks Japanese, thinks Japanese, goes to Japan with me,” Palermo wrote on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Let’s Check Out China’s Team Fortress 2 Clone, Final Combat
Whenever I visit an internet cafe in China, be it Shanghai, Beijing or wherever, it always surprises me how many of the games available are MMO’s or bad rip-offs of western games. Normally I would scroll past the Chinese fare and move onto something a little more domestic like Call of Duty or Ages of…
By Eric Jou Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
In China, Hire Your Online Fans and Internet Defenders—Cheap!
I listen to This American Life a lot, and for the longest time at the end of each show Ira Glass would say, “This episode of This American Life is bought to you by Reputation.com.” For long have I pondered what exactly what it is that Reputation.com does. Do they Google-bomb Google or do they…
By Eric Jou Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Area Ravaged by Japanese Earthquake Gets…a Cute Character
To help lift the spirits of Tohoku, Japan, the area hit by March 2011’s earthquake and tsunami, illustrator Ninico Edomura created Zunko Tohoku. Named after zunda mochi rice cakes, she’s a 17 year-old, who excels at archery. And she’s copyright free. The idea is that the character will go viral via fan art and whatnot—thus,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Korean Subway to Nowhere
You step off the train. You head through the immaculate blue and white terminal and make your way to the surface. It’s like you’ve arrived in the future alright—only, a post apocalyptic one. These photos are making their way around Japanese forums and blogs, with some saying they resemble Fallout 3. According to Andy Tebay…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Phantasy Star Online 2 Will Also Be on on Smartphones
On March 26th, SEGA has officially announced that the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released not only on the PC, but on the PS Vita and smartphones as well. The game is planned to be released early summer of 2012, and will be free to play with certain purchasable in-game items.…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
A Woman with Gundam Models in Her Hair Is Not Japan’s Craziest Hairstyle
Oh no. Japan can do better—or rather, the girls at fashion magazine Koakuma Ageha can. How about a headphones hairdo? Or a glasses hairdo? Or cat ears? Or Tokyo Tower? You got it! While Koakuma Ageha is popular with hostesses (who, infamously, have big hair), I’ve never actually seen anyone, hostess or not, in Japan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Are You An Average Dude? You Might Make Good Husband Fodder in Japan.
During the 1980s, the stereotype for Japanese women was that they wanted three things in a marriage partner: high education, high salary, and a tall man. These days, Japanese women are content with things that aren’t nearly so sky-high. For marriage partners, they’re fine with “average”. In Japanese, “sankou” (三高), or what would be localized…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012