There’s a crime wave in Japan. The victims are famous and beloved, but helpless and unable to fend for themselves. They’re being violated and damaged. It begs the questions: If they are so beloved, why is this happening? This week, another Japanese statue of a famed anime character was defaced: Namihei Isono, the father of…
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Well, the 3DS keeps thumping right along. As of May 20, it’s passed the six million sold milestone (6,017,206 to be exact) since going on sale in Japan. Congrats! [Famitsu]
Well, not just your displeasure—the entire world’s. In Tokyo’s geek district Akihabara, adult novelty toy maker Tamatoys is selling “schoolgirl urine scent” and “schoolgirl armpit scent”. Previously, Tamatoys sold bottled schoolgirl smell. It also sold striped underpants for cross-dressing men. These latest products claim to be the “real scent of girl”, created by a “scent…
Over the years, sticker picture (“purikura” or “print club” in Japanese) machines in arcades have offered an array of features. They’ve removed blemishes for perfect skin and have even sported virtual hair extensions. But one trend hasn’t gone away: big eyes. And it hasn’t gotten better. It’s gotten worse During the mid-1990s, Atlus (with some…
Especially when it’s the Queen’s Gate version of Tekken 5 character Lili Rochefort Queen’s Gate was originally a Lost Worlds style “combat picture book game” and has been published in Japan for the last couple of years. In three words, it’s pure fan service. Queen’s Gate features only female characters and has showcased the likes…
Yesterday, much of Asia and parts of North America witnessed a solar eclipse. The result was beautiful. However, add in some welding masks and some little kids, and the result was adorable Check out the above gallery, with pics of miniature eclipse gazers from across Japan. 溶接面で金環日食を楽しむ人々 [Naver via RocketNews]
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Twilight Land, the latest entry in the Atelier role-playing games, shows off its gameplay in this new clip. So. Whaddaya think? Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Twilight Land is out this June in Japan on the PlayStation 3. In case you missed it, here’s the game’s opening.
Last week, entertainer and filmmaker Beat Takeshi came under fire due to comments he made on Japanese television about gay marriage. When shown footage of people celebrating President Obama’s support of gay marriage, Takeshi said, “Obama supports gay marriage. You would support a marriage to an animal eventually, then.” Everyone is entitled to his or…
Over the weekend, a new photo surfaced of what’s supposedly the Wii U controller. It looked, well, different. But how different? This is not perfect, but here is a GIF that shows just how the controller has apparently changed between summer 2011 and this spring. The photo showed a new square button on the left…
After over a decade in Japan, this week I got a letter from the Japanese government. It said that the alien registration card (外国人登録証明書), or informally “gaijin card”, was vanishing. Starting this summer, the credit card sized i.d. will be replaced. This is a card I’ve had since I’ve been in Japan, and one that…
When I think of iOS time killers, I think of games exactly like PipeRoll. It’s fun and easy, and it reminds me of games I’ve played before. In PipeRoll, the goal is to turn series of pipes so that they connect, and water can flow into the house’s plumbing. The pipe turning element is a…
Shogi. It’s typically called “Japanese chess”. And like chess, it’s a board game of strategy—and smarts. To get good, you must spend years playing and studying. Polish college student Karolina Styczynska did that on the internet after reading a manga. The 20 year-old Styczynska first discovered shogi about four years ago while reading a ninja…
Lollipop Chainsaw has two image characters: Jessica Nigri for the West and Mayu Kawamoto for Japan. Kawamoto is a black belt in karate, but Nigri has, I guess, a black belt in revealing cosplay This weekend in Tokyo geek district Akihabara, both Juliets appeared alongside game designer Goichi Suda to promote the title and pose…
According to Japanese news reports, a 40 year-old bureaucrat from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, was recently arrested for groping on Tokyo’s Chuo Line. Between Mitaka Station and Yotsuya Station, the bureaucrat put his right hand on the crotch of another 40-something year-old male and apparently groped the passenger repeatedly for 30 minutes.…
Twenty-nine year-old Jin Yasuda allegedly swiped a friend’s game console. When it came time to sell the console (the make wasn’t specified), Yasuda didn’t stray far from his victim’s resident. That, it seems, was his undoing. Yasuda supposedly sold the console back to a local game shop. So when the victim’s eldest son wanted to…
Here’s a video of the first batch of DLC characters for Tekken Tag 2. The first batch of free characters. Actually, to keep the game balanced, there are no plans for paid Tekken Tag Tournament 2 DLC characters (keep in mind that doesn’t mean no paid DLC, just no paid characters). Still, those are very…
There’s a new Tales role-playing coming out. Last week, Kotaku posted the first concept art images of the game, as well as excerpt from an interview with Tales producer Hideo Baba. According to Baba, “We want players to be surprised at first and think things like, ‘What is this!?’ and ‘I’ve never seen this kind…
Okay, so the Pokémon games are not noted for their realism. Young people catch and train monsters. If this anime teaser is anything to go by, Pokémon: Black and White 2 is no exception. Pokémon: Black and White 2 won’t only feature new Pocket Monsters. It will also feature unnatural limbs. As the recent anime…
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