Kotaku East

Popular Japanese YouTuber Is Getting His Own Manga

Back in 2010, beatboxer Hikakin went viral with his version of the Super Mario Bros. theme. Since then, he’s gone on to become one of Japan’s biggest YouTubers. And this month, he’s getting a manga in Weekly Shonen Jump In the above clip from 2014, you can see how he went from a beatboxing super…

A Better Designed Kirby Dress Is Impossible

Seriously. No one will ever be able to create a better Kirby dress than this. It’s impossible! Japanese lingerie maker Peach John is teaming up with Nintendo for Kirby branded pajamas, bustiers, eye masks, and underpants. There’s even a Kirby dress, which seems to be more for sleeping than wearing around outside. But hey, that’s…

Gion. Kyoto, Japan. ByJun David.  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!

A Japanese Snack Food Commercial For Metal Gear Solid Fans

If you’ve played Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, you might remember the Calorie Mate energy supplement snacks. Fast forward to 2017 as Snake’s Japanese voice actor Akio Otsuka is now lending his talents to Calorie Mate’s latest ad campaign. Make sense, because in Metal Gear Solid 3, there are extended conversations about Calorie Mate.…

Blade Runner Pistol Is Being Turned Into…A Water Gun

Blade Runner’s blaster already has a number of expensive replicas. This summer, it’s getting a water gun. Japanese gun model maker Ryosuke Takagi previously did his version of Deckard’s PKD Blaster from Blade Runner As these Zospec photos show, it’s an impressive piece, costing around $600—or more. That replica is the basis of an upcoming…

The Most Infamous Swimming Pool in Japanese Pornography

Ask anyone who’s ever seen an adult movie in Japan. Or, at least, anyone who has ever spent some time on the internet. More than likely, they’ll know this swimming pool. This article was originally published on February 11, 2014. It contains content some readers might find objectionable. In Japanese, the pool is called “that…

Starting this month, The Legend of Zelda pocket watches will start appearing at Taito game centers in Japan. These are UFO Catcher prizes—and very cool ones at that!

Maruyama Park. Kyoto, Japan. By Manuel Sánchez. 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!

Fight Square Enix’s CEO In Nier: Automata’s DLC

And not only does Nier: Automata’s upcoming DLC let you battle Square Enix exec Yosuke Matsuda, but also Platinum Games honcho Kenichi Sato. The downloadable content, dubbed “3C3C1D119440927,” comes with three different costumes as well as arena battles with rewards to the winners. According to Square Enix, those rewards include: Costumes from the previous Japanese…

Shady Potato Chip Resellers Appear In Japan

With select brands of popular Japanese potato chips vanishing from store shelves, folks are hoping to cash in. As Kotaku reported last week, panic buying began at some stores after snack makers said they were either suspending or ending potato chip production due to domestic spud shortages. This isn’t happening at every store (some are…

Rougelike RPG Touhou Genso Wanderer has been announced for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. The PS4 and Vita versions were released in the West last month, but no word yet if the Switch version will get an international release.

The Idolmaster Is Now A Live-Action Korean TV Show 

Namco Bandai is turning its idol simulator franchise The Idolmaster into a South Korean TV drama. Makes sense! The country is famous for idols. Here’s a behind the scenes look, with the show’s stars speaking Japanese and Korean. As ANN points out, The Idolmaster.KR Dream will begin airing weekly in South Korea on April 28…

Dragon Ball Meets Gundam In Custom Models

The best part? Both Dragon Ball and Gundam go together very well. At least in these custom works, they do. Justin Gundam Custom brings iconic Dragon Ball characters like Frieza, Vegeta, and Goku to life with Gundam. Fantastic. Here are some making-of shots: You can see more of Justin’s work on his Facebook page.  Kotaku…

Sakura. Nakameguro, Tokyo, Japan. By Aaron Baggett. 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!

Anime Cosplay Made Easy In Tokyo 

Starting April 21, visitors to J-World Tokyo, the indoor amusement park, can dress up as One Piece, Dragon Ball, Gintama, and Naruto characters.  J-World is calling this J-Cos, and is renting out “official” costumes and wigs. For example, Gunosy reports that one costume with a wig is 3,500 yen (US$32) for 90 minutes, while the…

Nintendo Also Discontinues The Mini Famicom For Japan, But Only Temporarily 

Just as Nintendo has decided to end NES Classic production, it’s doing the same in Japan for the miniature Famicom. Yet, the decision does not sound permanent. As Famitsu notes, the official site for the Nintendo Classic Mini Famicom states, “Production of this product is ending temporarily. When manufacturing resumes, we will provide information at…

Dragon Ball VR Set Coming To Japan

Look, if VR is a thing, then you better believe that VR Kamehameha is one, too. Japanese toy maker Mega House is releasing a Capsule Corporation branded VR headset able house a smartphone as this Dragon Ball Z VR experience comes via downloadable mobile app. The set also comes with hand sensors and a VR mat. …

Attack On Titan Overruns Tokyo Skytree

The tallest structure in Japan is under siege by a 1,148-foot Titan. As you can see in these terrific photos from Ryutsuu News, there’s a big Attack on Titan exhibit at Tokyo Skytree with original art, life-sized Survey Corps. statues, Attack on Titan food, and merch. Attack on Skytree, as they’re calling it, runs from…

Nakamise Shopping Street. Tokyo, Japan. By Timothy Shill. 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!

Level-5’s next big game The Snack World: Trejarers will be released in Japan on July 13. A new trailer gives a closer look at the 3DS title, which has an RPG setting, but with smartphones and modern convenience stores. Nintendo calls it a “hyper casual fantasy.” No word about an international release.