Kotaku East

Messiah Valkyrie in the Tokyo Sky Tree Mall. Tokyo, Japan. By Noel E. Esporo JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Final Fantasy Comes To Life On A Japanese Hotel 

To mark Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary, the side of a Yokohama hotel was turned into a FF spectacular thanks to projection mapping. This was how the InterContinental Yokohama Grand Hotel looked over the weekend during the special two-day event. Cool, huh?  Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking…

Report: The Hideo Kojima And Konami Saga Seems Endless

During last year’s Tokyo Game Show, Hideo Kojima commented on Metal Gear Survive. Respected Japanese news outlet Nikkei now has some of the alleged drama that surrounds that. When asked about Metal Gear Survive at a 2016 TGS stage event, Kojima replied, “I know absolutely nothing about it,” Kojima said. “That’s because it’s totally unrelated…

Comparing A Manga To Its Live-Action Movie

We’ve seen how the live-action Gintama actors in costume stack up againstthe original characters, but now let’s compare how individual manga panels compare to the upcoming movie version. These comparisons are via Twitter user Hamachan: Looks like many of the camera set-ups came straight from the source material! Kotaku East is your slice of Asian…

Holy Crap, This Japanese Mascot 

Not all Japanese mascots are cute. Some are truly odd. Then, there’s this character, known as “Nazo no Sakana” or “The Mysterious Fish.” It’s a new mascot for the Chiba Lotte Marines, which already has three mascots (Zu-chan, Rine, and Cool.) What sets Nazo no Sakana apart is, well, everything. Kotaku East is your slice…

Rainy Afternoon. Tokyo, Japan. By Chris Skinner. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!  

Square Enix Releases Much-Needed Instruction Manuals For Mana Collection

When the Seiken Densetsu Collection, the first three games in the Mana series, was released earlier this month in Japan, it did not come with instruction manuals. So Square Enix has decided to change that by releasing them online. The manuals can be viewed here. As Kotaku previously pointed out, Seiken 3‘s Super Famicom release…

Live-Action Gintama Says It’s A Comedy

The debut Gintama trailer wasn’t exactly hilarious. The latest one isn’t either, but it does want you to know this: It’s a comedy. Makes sense! Because the Gintama manga and anime are rather silly. Which seems to be the goal of this trailer. We won’t know for sure if the Gintama movie is funny until…

Next month in Japan, Pokémon is getting totally official “real escape games” in eight cities across the country to promote the upcoming Pokémon film. 

Japan’s Top 15 Attractions Picked By International Tourists 

Wondering what to see in Japan? You might want to listen to the advice of your fellow travelers. Website Trip Advisor has this year’s most popular tourists spots as selected by visitors from around the world. This is the 9th year that Trip Advisor has published such a list. It draws from a massive number…

Night. Kyoto, Japan. By Elliot Mitchell. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Game Hacks Are Illegal In South Korea

Starting June 21, creating and distributing video game hacks will be illegal in South Korea. According to GameToc (via tipster Sang), the law was passed last December and goes into effect later this month. It not only specifically mentions “game hacks,” but it also makes creating and distributing private servers illegal. It’s not exactly clear…

The Beds In Yu-Gi-Oh! Are Strange 

I didn’t notice until it was pointed out to me, but the beds in Yu-Gi-Oh! are often odd. Forget the hair! Look at this. It’s either that the bed’s size is weird, it’s put in a strange place, or the way it’s positioned looks off. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing…

Japan Creates Samurai Armor For Cats And Dogs

It was only a matter of time, but a company in Fukuoka, Japan is now making samurai armor for pets. The company, known as “Samurai Age,” also crafts made-in-Japan miniature armor for dolls and bottles of sake. The pet armor appears to be a more recent—and fitting—addition. Each set is made one-by-one from a light…

Universal Studios Japan Gets A Super Mario Bros. Stage

Previously, Universal Studiosreleased concept artfor its upcoming Super Nintendo World. This week at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, a large Mario-themed stage appeared in the parking lot, giving a more concrete look at what to expect. These photos were snapped by Twitter user and USJ super fan LCASTUDIOS_USJ. It’s believed that the stage was created…

Pikachu, That’s A Bad Place For A USB Cable 

Pikachu. Electricity. Plugs. Make sense, sure. But why did the people who made this Pokémon product stick the cable there? Via China’s Octinn, this PVC Pikachu knock-off has ears that double as plugs to put in electrical sockets. It’s not clear whether or not this is licensed, but the lack of Pokémon Company copyright notices is suspect.…

Kamo River. Kyoto, Japan. By Shane Brown. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Phantasy Star Online 2…pizza. At upcoming Phantasy Star events in Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Osaka, fans can eat Phantasy Star branded pizza. Limited to these events only! 

Sino Alice Art Gets Covered Up Because Of Cleavage

The art for Sino Alice has been changed on both the Google Play Store and the App Store in Japan. The original key art, which can still be seen on Square Enix’s website, featured low cut outfits. The new art, however, does not. Sino Alice was created by Yoko Taro of Nier fame and developer…

Going To Japan? Short On Cash? Stay Here, Maybe.  

Visiting Japan can be expensive, so here’s how to cut costs. This article was originally published on December 6, 2016. It has since been updated and expanded. For ages, internet cafes have been a viable option for budget travellers visiting Japan. (Heck, I wrote about one chain of Japanese net cafes back in 2004 as…