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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Love Love Love
It’s still the holiday season, right? Right??? I’ve yet to encounter a song and music video that is as good-cheer-spreadable like After School’s 2010 end-of-year holiday track, Love Love Love. This Christmas-themed song is also a window back to a time before Pledis Entertainment’s current crop of artists like Seventeen, NU’EST and Pristin dominated the…
By Seung Park Published December 28, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
In Japan, Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Edits Out Obscene Hand Gesture
In the original Japanese release of Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, Trunks flips Bio-Broly the bird. However, in the recently released Blu-ray version, he does not. As pointed out by Twitter user Nappasan, here’s how the edited version differs: The edited version is on the left and the original one is on the right. Below is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 17, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Sometimes I Want To Hug You Like Crazy
Autumn Vacation is a two-member Korean indie group active since 2009, and Sometimes I Want To Hug You Like Crazy (that might be the longest-ever title in the history of this column) is from their first eponymous album. The vocalist absolutely makes this track; her name is Im Soo Jin (stage name Cinnamon), and prior…
By Seung Park Published December 14, 2018 -
Kotaku EastSouth Korea
Epic Games Korea Apologies To Fortnite Fans For Sea Of Japan Kerfuffle
In much of the world, the body of water between Japan and the Koreas, China, and Russia is known as the Sea of Japan. In South Korea, it is not. Russia calls it “Japanese Sea” (Yapónskoye móre) and China calls it “Sea of Japan” (日本海, literally “Japan Sea,” using the same characters as Japan). However,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
The Next Pokémon Animated Movie Is Officially Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution
Earlier this year, this year’s Pokémon summer movie reportedly had a sneak preview for Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution. The movie has now been officially announced and will be out July 12, 2019 in Japan. There is no word yet on an international release and an official trailer has yet to be released. As previously reported,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: You Are My Destiny
While modern K-Pop fans will most likely recognize HaHa (full name Ha Dong Hoon) for his work on Korean comedy television, he actually started out his career in Korean entertainment as an artist. And not just any artist—a reggae artist. With 2007’s You Are My Destiny, sampled from Ben E. King’s Stand By Me, listeners…
By Seung Park Published December 13, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
Tokyo’s Anime Specialty Theater
Earlier this year, the Kadokawa Cinema Shinjuku revamped itself as an anime specialty movie theater. Now this month, the theater is getting more than a complete rebranding. IT Media reports that of December 22, the theater will be called EJ Anime Theater Shinjuku with “EJ” being short for “Entertainment Japan.” Besides the anime-only movie theater,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 12, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: RBB
Wait, wasn’t Halloween two months ago? If your first reaction after listening to RBB was “gee, this is so different from their last title track,” that’s because Red Velvet has regularly switched between polarized concepts since their inception. In fact, their group name itself is based on this idea: “Red”, which stands for their colorful…
By Seung Park Published December 12, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Fairy Tale
If a Korean pop song could ever be featured in a Disney animated film, this would be it. Kim Dong Ryul is a veteran of the Korean ballad pop scene, having debuted back in 1994 and dabbled in many sub-genres of soft, soulful easy-listening music since then. Fairy Tale is his latest, and a collaboration…
By Seung Park Published December 11, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
Instagram Manners And Tokyo Disneyland
At Toon Town in Tokyo Disneyland, there is a photo spot area with a bunch of boxes. The spot has become even more popular thanks to social media. And now, it has apparently been fenced off to the public. As My Game News Flash notes, this is what the area used to look like: Photos…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 10, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
Japanese Smash Bros. Players Show Palutena Doesn’t Get Underwear Privacy
Back when Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was launched, players quickly pointed out that the inside of Princess Peach’s skirt was cloaked in darkness. The same is true in the recently released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but not for all characters. For example, in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the same privacy void Peach gets…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 10, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Monsieur
I’ve been on an indie kick recently if you haven’t noticed. I personally blame Haruna Stella Jang, who officially debuted in 2014, is an interesting study. Her musical style is greatly influenced by 90s artists like Yoon Jong Shin and Jung Jae Hyung, by her own admission, and yet, her latest track is an eighties-city-pop…
By Seung Park Published December 7, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
Don’t Be A Jackass In Japan During Halloween
In late October, Tokyo descended into Halloween chaos. Today, it’s being reported that four men have been arrested for overturning a small truck during festivities in Shibuya. According to ANN and Tokyo Reporter, 20-year-old Shota Kojihara, 20-year-old Rikuo Kokubun, Yuta Kuroki, 27, and 22-year-old Takaaki Kawamura have been arrested. They are accused of taking part…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
Square Enix Arcade Game Is Buggy, All The Characters Look Naked
Today, Love Live! School Idol Festival: After School Activity Next Stage hit Japanese arcades. The game is plagued with a bug that makes the characters appear naked. If that weren’t enough (it’s not, apparently), some characters are also headless (here, probably NSFW). There are also complaints of server issues, with arcade players getting dropped from…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: On You
Growing up, I played the piano. Maybe that’s why I can’t resist a solid piano opening. Sweetch is another one of those artists that I only found after a deep, deep dive into obscure Korean indies on YouTube, much like how I stumbled upon Haruna a few days ago. His discography is mainly easy-listening and…
By Seung Park Published December 5, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
It’s Like Naruto‘s Rasengan Brought To Life
In Naruto, the Rasengan is a swirling chakra ball that can be held and thrown by ninja. This looks like the Rasengan but for real. Spotted at this year’s Hack Day in Japan, this project is called micRokuro and was created by Yoshimasa Kato. It works very well with Naruto music! Here is a better…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan
J-World Tokyo, The Manga And Anime Theme Park, Is Closing
J-World Tokyo is a Jump manga theme park, featuring characters from Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto and more. As of February 17, 2019, it will be no more. According to Comic Natalie, J-World Tokyo opened back in 2013 in Ikebukuro. The indoor amusement park has been home to a variety of Jump themed attractions and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Tokyo Airbnb With The Cutest Street Cred
When you think of Tokyo’s Harajuku, you probably think of kawaii fashion. That’s exactly the point of this home sharing, which was designed by one of Tokyo’s most influential cute makers. Get News reports that Tokyo’s Asobisystems designed this Airbnb pad, which is its first “Moshi Moshi Room.” Located in Harajuku, the apartment’s theme here…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2018 -
Kotaku EastChina
China Keeps Censoring Fate/Grand Order Character Art
Japan’s Fate/Grand Order character art was first censored in China in August of last year. Now, the game’s illustrations have once again been edited. In 2017, the local Chinese operator Bilibili was reportedly forced to get rid of two characters’ illustrations Here is what the art is supposed to look like: Instead of removing the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: You’re The Best
MAMAMOO occupies an interesting position in the K-Pop market. They’re not quite billed as an idol group, like, say, Red Velvet or TWICE. At the same time, though, they’re not quite indie, either. They occupy the space in between, and they’re damn good at filling it. We’ve met some of MAMAMOO’s members before, in solo…
By Seung Park Published December 4, 2018