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Kotaku East
Meet The Cleanest Badasses In Japan
These are modern day heroes. Dressed in traditional threads, they walk the streets of Japan. When they see trash, they pick it up, and throw it away. Bless them. They’re called Isse Ichidai Jidaigumi. Originally from Hokkaido, the group also has a Tokyo branch. They sing at events, dance and do sword shows, and walk…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 7, 2018 -
Kotaku EastThe World of Japanese Vending Machines
For decades now, Japanese vending machines have served up an array of interesting, mundane, and useful things. Things like manga. Or bread in a can. Or illicit substances. Or video game piracy cartridges. In Japan, vending machines started to appear in 1950s with drink machines, and then really began to take off in the following…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Umbrella
One of my very first picks for this column was Umbrella by Epik High. Today, I’m featuring a cover of that song by Younha, because I love both her — and this song — so much. Younha, who was featured in the original Epik High track, is an accomplished solo artist in her own right,…
By Seung Park Published May 24, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Latata
(G)I-DLE only debuted less than a month ago, but they recently clutched their first music show win with Latata — becoming one of the fastest groups to reach that point in their careers. Unwieldy name aside, (G)I-DLE (the G is silent) actually comes with a bit of pedigree. All of the girls in the group…
By Seung Park Published May 23, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Fake Love
It was a banner weekend for K-Pop, anchored by Bangtan Boys (BTS) and their second year in a row of appearances at the Billboard Music Awards. BTS is, without a doubt, one of the leaders of the current generation of K-Pop. While some of their worldwide success can be linked to previous generations building up…
By Seung Park Published May 22, 2018 -
Kotaku EastHayao Miyazaki Is The Toughest Critic
Make no mistake. Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame doesn’t seem easy to please—even if you are his son. Rather, especially if you are his son. Stills from the documentary How Ponyo Was Born have circulated online in Japan. The documentary is not new, and the images are from the sequence in which Hayao Miyazaki…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lalala
It’s been drizzling on and off at Kotaku HQ for a few days now, which makes me appreciate this ode to summer pool parties all the more. (Not that there’s enough space in New York City for a pool party, anyway.) Mighty Mouth is a hip-hop duo that debuted in 2008 with Sangchu and Shorry…
By Seung Park Published May 18, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: 24/7
Banjos? In K-Pop?? It’s more likely than you think. 2YOON was a short-lived sub-unit formed under 4minute, who are now disbanded. The Gayoon-Jiyoon duo (which is where they got their name) lasted much shorter than their parent group, only seeing one EP release before disappearing into history. 4minute, on the other hand, is one of…
By Seung Park Published May 17, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Plz Don’t Be Sad
K-Pop gets a lot of flak (deservedly so) for perpetuating many unsavory aspects of the idol group industry: unfair contracts, mismanaged agencies, and overworked idols. Highlight, formerly known as BEAST, is one of those groups that broke that loop. Debuting in 2009, BEAST was just like any other boy group at first (apologies to their…
By Seung Park Published May 16, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: I Don’t Care
Please don’t confuse the lack of 2NE1 on this column as possible evidence of my apathy toward this group. Just the opposite: I’ve been struggling to pick the one song I’d have to choose from their incredible, varied discography. But I think I’ve got it. I Don’t Care is one of 2NE1’s earlier releases, but…
By Seung Park Published May 15, 2018 -
Kotaku EastJapan’s Top Anime Creators Make Excellent Commercials
What happens when some of Japan’s top animators use their talents to sell bread, booze and buildings? Excellent commercials, that’s what. Yoshiharu Sato has an impressive resume: animator on Porco Rosso, key animator on Kiki’s Delivery Service, and supervising animator on My Neighbor Totoro—among others. Recently, he’s been focusing on commercials, and they’re terrific. Here…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 11, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Bbiribbom Bbaeribbom
Heh, try saying that title five times fast! Coed School was a short-lived, ten-member, mixed-gender group that debuted in 2010. They lasted all of one year and one album before scandal rocked the group when one of the members was revealed to have a shady past including drugs, bullying and possible rape. Not unexpectedly, this…
By Seung Park Published May 11, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Abracadabra
Only a select few songs can count themselves among the highest of echelons in the K-Pop pyramid; that envied position where everyone in Korea can at least hum along to the chorus, no matter how young or old you are. We’ve already covered a few of them; let’s talk about one more. Brown Eyed Girls…
By Seung Park Published May 10, 2018 -
Kotaku East
Let’s Talk About Japan And Sickness Masks
First time visitors notice them right away: Sickness masks. People in Japan wear them for numerous reasons, including to prevent illness. Some even don them because they think the masks make them more attractive. According to Otakomu, Japanese TV recently did a segment on how foreigners think it’s odd that masks are so widely worn…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Joker
For every group that attains the level of success fitting to the quality of their music, there’s a dozen more that toil away in that murky grey area between popular and irrelevant. Dal Shabet is one of those groups. Ever since their debut in 2011, Dal Shabet has struggled to form a coherent fanbase, this…
By Seung Park Published May 9, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Cooking? Cooking!
In my never-ending quest to go beyond surface K-Pop and share some of the quirkiest, funniest and just plain weird music with all of you, this has to be the weirdest. Super Junior-H was a short-lived subunit of Super Junior, a mega-popular boy group under SM Entertainment. The H stood for “happy”, and Cooking? Cooking!,…
By Seung Park Published May 8, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Dark Circle
If you thought yesterday’s pick, Orange Caramel, was weird, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I could go on to describe the song and its music video. I could talk, in length, about how Dark Circle takes inspiration from traditional Korean trot and the deep meaning behind the anthropomorphized broccoli character in the video. I could…
By Seung Park Published May 3, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Catallena
Oh, Orange Caramel, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You’re a sub-unit of After School, the best girl group of all time; You are wonderfully quirky and always manage to subvert my expectations with every new release; Everything you do is ridiculously catchy, from the one I decided to feature here…
By Seung Park Published May 2, 2018 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Running In The Sky
It’s hard to imagine another song that fits so well with its title; when you listen to Running In The Sky, it’s easy to picture yourself above the clouds, soaring and leaping your way through the air. Huh Gak is another Korean singer who rose through fame through a survival competition, much like Akdong Musician…
By Seung Park Published May 1, 2018
