- Kotaku East
This Girl’s Face Does Not Lie
Japanese idol group AKB48 hold meet-and-greet events in which its young idols shake hands with their rabid fans. It’s a chance for their adoring public to rub elbows with their favorite singers. Some of AKB48’s fans are older. Some are young. Some are cool. And some are not. I know the difference, you know the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
Famous Anime Characters Will Now Tell You Where to Drive and What to Wear
Ever since its first apperance on TV in 1995, Neon Genesis Evangelion has been a popular series for anime fans of many nationalities. In anticipation for the upcoming new movie, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (not) Redo, the official Evangelion Store has some new Eva
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
Sony Introduces New Hardware for PS3 Digital Recording and Streaming
Sony’s Japan-only digital recording system, Torne, is getting an upgrade. Say hello to Nasne. Outfitted with a 500GB HDD, Nasne comes with an onboard digital and terrestrial tuner. Using Torne’s software, Nasne can record and stream to a variety of Sony devices—such as the PS3, the PS Vita, the Vaio, the Sony Tablet, and Experia…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Samurai’s Guide to Harakiri
Suicide is not to be taken lightly—especially in Japan, where it has a long (and bloody) tradition. In Japan, samurai committed seppuku (切腹 or “ritual suicide”) if enemies captured them or if they defiled the samurai code. The ritual suicide, also called “harakiri” (腹切り), was performed in front of an audience, and samurai sliced open…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 -
Kotaku EastIn This Role-Playing Game, You Eat, Shop, And Seduce Men
Girl’s RPG: Cinderellife on the Nintendo 3DS purports to be—as the name suggests—an RPG for girls. But what exactly does that entail? Mostly running around a city, buying clothes, talking with men, and finding true love—all in a hostess club setting. And while the setting is more than a little questionable, the game is presented…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
Grandpa Really Wanted To Hold This Statue with Ridiculous Breasts
At the age of 88, this grandfather got his hands on a Cattleya statue from Queen’s Blade. But grandma wouldn’t let grandpa see Cattleya topless—not at his age! Figure collector HSkeleton had been gushing to her grandpa for months about this enormous Cattleya from Queen’s Blade statue, and her grandfather was keen to check out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
What Do You Say to a Man in a Gundam Mecha Suit?
Clive Lee is a Singapore-based game designer, a Flash programmer, and a cosplayer. He is also a hero. Lee specializes in amazing Gundam cosplay, bring the huge mecha to life with huge costumes. His work is truly impressive. Just look at the detail and craftsmanship that goes into each of his outfits. Bravo. In the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 - Kotaku East
The City Where Japanese Nerds and Japanese Temples Meet
The smoke from cooking fires mingles with potent incense and perfume, a heavy smell that hangs cloying in the air. This is Ōsu, an old “temple town (monzenmachi) spread between Ōsu Kannon and Banshōji in present-day Nagoya. While it might seem an unlikely pairing, the spiritual and the commercial have long been aligned in Japan,…
Patrick W. Galbraith Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
Iwata Asks…For Some Brilliant Sword & Sworcery Wallpaper
To celebrate the PC release of iOS smash Sword & Sworcery, there’s an “Iwata Asks” (oknotreally) about the game over on its official site. Once you’re done reading that, you may well notice the astonishing new wallpaper featured on the site. Above is a 1920×1080 version. If you want the 2048×1536 original, head to the…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Legend of Zelda: The Movie (Posters)
Mercifully, The Legend of Zelda series has never the opportunity to be ruined by Hollywood. Perhaps in celebration of this (or maybe just because he thought it would look cool), artist Marinko Milosevski has drawn these posters. There’s one for Ocarina, one for Majora’s Mask and one for Wind Waker. And at the site below,…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
Hey Mean Cop, Don’t Choke the Dude in the Anime Shirt!
Don’t choke anybody actually. Snapped by photographer Paul Weiskel, this photo was taken at a, deep breath, pseudo-Occupy protest against an anti-LGBT Tea Party rally. An individual wearing a Neon Genesis Evangelion shirt. Are police allowed to chokehold unarmed protestors? That purple wig is no weapon. Photo [Flickr via Albotas] (Top photo: Paul Weiskel |…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
Now This is How a Mass Effect Action Figure Should Look
DC’s line of Mass Effect figures were fine, I guess, but this upcoming batch of three toys from Square Enix, all of them based on Mass Effect 3, look much better. Available in August, the three available will be Commander Shepard (Male), Garrus (duh) and Ashley. Interestingly, Ashley’s face sculpt from the front makes her…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 -
UncategorizedTwo Dudes Try and Sing a Final Fantasy Song (That Doesn’t Have Words)
Your Final Fantasy VII experience begins with its haunting score, and your Tuesday is about to begin with this A cappella cover of Nobuo Uematsu’s The Shinra Corporation It should be less intimidating since it’s being performed by two dudes and not an evil corporation, but somehow, it ends up being just as oppressive. Maybe…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
Bet You Never Imagined the Guy From Journey Taking a Dump
Part of the beauty of PSN game Journey is the fact there’s nothing to the world. There’s you, another person, some flying carpets and…something else. And that’s it! No back-story, no expanded universe, no codex Let’s imagine, though, just for a moment, that Journey was indeed weighed down with things like that. With the mundane.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Joy and Sadness of Nintendo’s Life-Destroyer, Captured in Comic Form
True story: in 2003, I very nearly failed a whole bunch of university courses, which in Australia is a very difficult thing to do. It wasn’t because I was drinking too much, or partying too hard. It was because of Animal Crossing The GameCube original destroyed me. Housemates would come back from a day’s hard…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Amazing Portal-Themed Mini-Golf Hole (With Bonus Minecraft)
Internet superstar Tom Scott (who we were only talking about a few weeks back) wanted to play some mini-golf for his birthday. So he had a course built. One incorporating elements of Minecraft, Portal and…Wheel of Fortune? There’s even one where you control a labyrinth with a Wii Remote’s nunchuk. The Portal hole is a…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 - Uncategorized
Bethesda’s Lawyers Threaten Guy Giving Away Free Fallout Posters
Late last year, artist Erling Løken Andersen thought it would be a nice idea to set up a website for his Fallout fan art. It was lovely art, coming in the form of posters based on those found on the walls in Fallout games, and in a nice touch, Andersen even uploaded incredibly high-resolution (and…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallRoad Blaster, You Have Stolen My Heart
It’s not often I come across a game I’ve never even heard of putting this feature together, but that happened yesterday with Road Prosecutor. Which means, yes, I’d never heard of its arcade original Road Blaster either. Man, I wish I had. All these years I’ve wasted without having seen this clip. So, first things…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 16, 2012