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AnimeJapanese Animator Gets Four Months In Prison For Driving Without A License
This week at a Tokyo District Court, animator Shiro Kudaka has been sentenced to four months in prison for driving without a license and violating Japan’s Road Traffic Act. Kudaka has provided animation—including earning key animator credits—for a number of popular TV series, including Lupin III, Naruto, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He has also worked…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureMcDonald’s Pokémon Card Packs Are Selling Out
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pocket Monsters, McDonald’s is including Pokémon card packs in Happy Meals. It seemed like a good idea! Others thought so, too. Included are four random cards out of a 50-card set, Inven reports. The rarest or most valuable cards are, as ever, the shiny versions. Some collectors and YouTubers…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
CulturePokémon World Championships Skip 2021 Over Covid-19 Concerns
After canceling in-person competition in 2020 due to the rise of the covid-19 pandemic, The Pokémon Company announced it will skip official tournaments through 2021 as well. “The safety and well-being of our competitors, organizers, employees, local communities, and partners [continue] to be our top priority and is the primary consideration with every decision we…
By Ian Walker Published February 9, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Pokémon Company Screwed Up A Plushie And Is Sorry
Official Pokémon retail shops released a Magnemite plushie featuring a pretty significant mistake. Many people might not even spot the error at first glance, but those who are drawn to the electric steel Pokémon certainly will. Compare the official art (above) with the plush toy mistake (below). Can you spot the snafu? Surely the big…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2021 -
CulturePokemonTynamo Is Just A Boring Little Fish
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Tynamo! Tynamo Details Type: Electric Average Height: 0’08” Average Weight: 00.7 lbs First Added In Generation V “Every Pokemon…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 6, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanMan Arrested After Selling A Hacked Sobble From Pokémon Sword and Shield
People in Aichi Prefecture, Japan have arrested a 23-year-old man for violating the country’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act. According to Asahi News, the suspect is accused of selling a modded Sobble. Last April, the suspect, an unemployed Nagoya resident, allegedly hacked the character via computer and sold it to a Kyoto man for 4,400 yen…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanIn Japan, Pokémon Company Is Cracking Down On Sword And Shield Cheaters
The Pokémon Company issued a statement in Japan regarding cheats being used in Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as in Pokémon Home In it, the game maker explains that a portion of players have been using “improperly altered data” while playing, and using both the aforementioned titles, which is causing issues for others and making…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 25, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsNow A Blastoise Pokémon Card Has Sold For $360,000
Are you OK out there, Pokémon fans? First we had Charizard cards selling for $350,000. Then sealed boxes of first edition cards for over $400,000. Now someone is out here paying that kinda money for a Blastoise. Last week a Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram card, graded to CGC 8.5 (which isn’t mint, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 21, 2021 -
CultureSealed Box Of Pokémon Cards Sells For $408,000
As the great Nute Gunray once said, this is getting out of hand. As more and more people realise the value in old Pokémon cards, more and more people are flocking to opportunities to catch, if not them all, then at least once card worth a ton of money. Which probably explains why (via Polygon),…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2021 -
CultureMan Fined $270 For Breaking Lockdown To Play Pokémon Go
Look, weren’t we only just warning people last week to be more careful playing this game in these strange and uncertain times? The BBC reportsa man in England—a nation currently in lockdown in an attempt to curb a rampant infection rate arising from a new, more contagious strain of Covid-19—has broken the country’s strict restrictions…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 17, 2021 -
CulturePokemonPoipole Is The Terrible Mascot Of Anti-Vaxxers
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Poipole! Poipole Details Type: Poison Average Height: 2′ 00” Average Weight: 4.0 lbs First Added In Generation VII Right…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 16, 2021 -
CultureMorning CheckpointDon’t Worry, Big Frog Is Here
This week we rank a bunch of Sonic games, control a fox with a controller, play Pokemon in a weird place, check out some of the new content coming to Puyo Puyo 2 and meet the wonderful and amazing Big Frog. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week How much longer before we are playing…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 16, 2021 -
CultureNew Pokémon Snap Is Out On Switch In April
Photography game New Pokémon Snap will be out on Switch on April 30, Nintendo announced today. Announced last year, New Pokémon Snap is a spiritual successor to the Nintendo 64 game about exploring Pokémon in their natural habitats and snapping beautiful pictures of them. The new game will take place in a region called Lental,…
By Ethan Gach Published January 14, 2021 -
CultureKaty Perry Teams With Pokémon For Some Sort Of 25th Anniversary Music Thing
Announced this morning by The Pokémon Company, popstar, American Idol judge, and new mom Katy Perry is headlining P25, a yearlong collaboration with Universal Music Group artists to produce … music of some sort? It’s vague. It’s not clear exactly what the P25 Music program entails. In the official announcement, The Pokémon Company calls it…
By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2021 -
From Pokémon To Studio Ghibli, Here Are Excellent Snow Sculptures
In the Northern hemisphere it’s cold! Some places are seeing snow, which might mean snowball fights and snowmen. For one Twitter user in Japan, the freezing precipitation means excellent sculptures. Each winter, Twitter user Mokomoko_2015 turns into a yuki daruma shokunin (雪だるま職人) or “snowman artisan.” The creations are typically anime, game, and movie-themed. Check out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 13, 2021 -
CultureIt’s 2021, There’s Still A Pandemic Going On, Be Careful Playing Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go made over $1 billion last year, which means loads of you are still playing it. Which is great! But hey, just remember, we’re still somehow in the middle of a global pandemic, and so going outside isn’t always the smartest idea. Pokémon Go to its credit knows this, which is why the game…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 12, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsNow We’re Playing Pokémon In A Twitter Profile Pic
Gameloft Montreal programmer Constantin Liétard has created a script that allows Twitter users to control a game of Pokémon Red playing out in his profile picture. It’s like ‘Twitch Plays Pokémon’ without having to deal with Twitch chat. Launched on January 8 and then relaunched on January 9 to make sure frames get saved, Liétard’s ‘Twitter…
By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Gengar Plush
Surprising absolutely nobody, this week’s Photoshop Contest is devoted to that wild new Gengar plushie-bed-pillow thing. Your challenge this week: Have fun with that Gengar thing. I’ve said this before, but sometimes a thing falls in my lap and it’s like the universe giving me a gift. Last weekend I struggled to come up with…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 10, 2021 -
CulturePokemonMagnezone Might Be An Alien UFO
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Magnezone! Magnezone Details Type: Electric/ Steel Average Height: 3′ 11” Average Weight: 396 lbs First Added In Generation IV…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 9, 2021 -
CultureOdds and Ends$250 Pokémon Plush Is Also A Nightmare Bed
Oh hey, here’s a giant new Gengar plush, I wonder what happens when you roll its tongue out and oh no. Selling for $250, it’s pretty cool as an enormous plush, if collecting those is your thing. This is more than just a cuddly toy, though, as Gengar’s trademark tongue rolls out and is kind…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 7, 2021