Kotaku East

Old and New. Seoul, South Korea. By Edward Alan Bartholomew. 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!

Pokémon Played Baseball And It Was Insane

For the first time in 18 years, the Pokémon anime featured baseball—er, “Pokébase.” That, and some truly bonkers animation. The last time a Pokémon anime featured baseball, it wasn’t nearly as bananas. This time, though… Pokémon Sun Moon airs every Thursday in Japan at 6:55pm. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing…

Japanese Comedian Cut From Gintama Movie After Drunk Driving Arrest

Earlier this month, comedian Galigali Galixon was arrested in Osaka for drunk driving. This summer, the live action version of Gintama, a film the comedian has a small role in, is slated to hit Japanese theaters. Make that had a small role. In the wake of his arrest, which made the national news (above), Warner…

Eat This Curry Rice, Earn $900

You hungry? Like really, really hungry? Well, have I got a meal for you. As pointed out on Ishikawa TV, curry restaurant Gold Curry has a special “challenge menu.” (Note: Japanese curry is different from Southeast Asian curry. Website Ishikawa Jethas a good explainer, and Kotaku’s own Chris Kohler has good curry-making tips.) This story…

The Hori fighting stick for the Nintendo Switch has a release date for Japan: It will be out this July and is priced at 14,980 yen (US$135). No word yet on an international release. 

This DIY Voltron Model Is Some Next Level Stuff

Behold one of the most incredible do-it-yourself Voltron models I’ve ever seen. I’m willing to bet the same is true for you. Designed by a Korean model-maker known as “Juny,” this Voltron is made up of three hundred and forty 3D printed parts. The metallic paint job is, in particular, spectacular. Check out more of…

Bandai Namco announced BXD, a company that specializes in online games and smartphone compatible browser games. Three titles are slated for 2018 in Japan: a new Dragon Ball Z, a new Family Stadium, and a new Idolmaster. No word about international releases. 

Poll: Japan’s Favorite First Person Shooters (And Third Person Shooters)

Wonder which shooters folks in Japan like best? Here’s a poll that might shed light on that question. As with the previous polls (here and here), each person was allowed to vote for up to three titles (though people could only vote for one or two if they wanted). Famitsu then calculated these votes as…

Ainokura Village. Toyama Prefecture, Japan. By Santiago Torres 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!  

Behold Dragon Quest Rivals The newly announced “digital card game” is headed to iOS and Android. A closed beta test will be held between June 9 and June 19. No word yet on an international release.

Once Again, Overwatch Isn’t Very Good At Picking Kanji Characters

Last year, a short Overwatch animation featured some iffy kanji choices. It seems the latest Hanzo skin does, too. Japanese has a rather complex writing system that features kanji characters from China. There are also native writing systems called hiragana and katakana that are used along with kanji in written Japanese. The latest Hanzo skin…

Shimo-Kitazawa at Night. Tokyo, Japan. By Michael Hernandez. 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! 

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arise, the expanded version of Dragon’s Dogma, is getting new ports. A higher res version is coming to PS4 and Xbox One as well as releasing once again on PC. 

TV Anime Veteran Shares His Depressing Salary 

If it wasn’t enough that working in the anime industry is hard, the pay can also be shockingly low. Taiki Nishimura has been making anime for the past twenty years. But as he recently revealed on Twitter (via ANN), he gets around a thousand bucks per month for each show he works on. According to…

El Shaddai Creator Announces New RPG For PS4 And PS Vita

Sawaki Takeyasu, the director and artist behind El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, is working on a new title called The Lost Child Released in 2011, El Shaddai featured Lucifel who carries a cell phone with God on the speed dial. According to Famitsu, The Lost Child follows in the footsteps of this previous title,…

Father Surprises Son With A Nintendo Switch In An Excellent Way 

Twitter user Mohikan noticed that his son made a cardboard Nintendo Switch. “Probably because he wants us to buy it,” Mohikan added. After doing that, Mohikan didn’t just give his son the new Nintendo hardware in its retail packaging. What he did was better. His son isn’t alone in making cardboard Switch hardware, but he’s…

A new VR area is opening at Club Sega in Akihabara on May 31. Called Sega VR Area (clever!), it will be located on the sixth floor of that legendary arcade. 

Zhongshan Disctrict At Night. Taipei, Taiwan. By Patrick Lehrmann. 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! 

Manga Artist Creates A Relaxing Work Chair

Who needs a desk when you can work from an easy chair? That seems to be the logic behind this manga-artist created workstation. Yoshimi Sato created this set-up after some trial and error, which the artist says, “It pretty much turned into a dentist [office].” Looks comfy! Not sure how conducive it is to work,…

Nintendo’s Thoughtful Reply To A Blind Fan

Fifth grader Hibiki Sakai sent Nintendo a letter, thanking the company for its Rhythm Heaven games. Hibiki is blind, and these music titles are the only games he’s really able to play. Nintendo replied to his letter in a most thoughtful way. Hibiki’s father uploaded the letter to Twitter. “I can’t see, but I felt…