Chic Pixel

Phew! It's already the start of a new week here in Australia, but I'm going to squeeze a Catch-Up Corner in before the clock strikes twelve in the last area of the world where it's still Sunday.

Since this past week was all about the big E3 conference in the gaming world, I couldn't help but tune in to some of the news and streams. For the most part, E3 doesn't really feel like an event that caters to someone like me, but I was really impressed at how Nintendo came out guns blazing to announce a bunch of interesting titles and produce the most fun "conference" of the big three. I'm sure everyone has had their fill of E3 news and recaps (I know I have), so here's a few quick favorites of mine from the show:

Splatoon (Wii U) – First of all, what a charming idea! Splatoon is a third-person "shooter" that pits cute little squid children against each other in paint splattering fights, and I couldn't be more charmed by a game. I just love the premise of hurling paint to "claim" territory, and the fact that the characters can transform into actual squids to quickly traverse the area is such a neat mechanic. I wouldn't go so far as to say this would sell me on a Wii U, but I'd definitely pick it up if I had one.

Fantasy Life (3DS) – Long have I awaited the day that Level 5 would announce a localization of Fantasy Life, their Animal Crossing-esque life sim/RPG for the 3DS. I could very well have purchased the Japanese version, but it's always great to see interesting titles like this get an English release. The game will be out on October 24th, and I definitely plan on grabbing a copy.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PS4 & Xbox One) – I have rather mixed feelings about this news, but that doesn't mean it wasn't one of the more exciting announcements to come out of E3. Fans have been clamoring for an English version of Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) for ages, but I had pretty much given up hope and even have a copy of the Japanese version sitting on my shelf from my last trip to Japan. An HD release sounds like the perfect way to bring it to an English-speaking audience while still keeping the game on relevant platforms, but I just don't understand why there isn't a Vita version like Square Enix did for Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD! I'm most definitely not buying a PS4 or Xbox One anytime soon, so I think I'll just have to stick with the Japanese PSP version. It's great news for those with the hardware, though!

On the video front, I've posted an unboxing of a new Japanese snack subscription service, aptly named Japanese Treats! This is their first month, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with the initial selection of goodies. Please do check out the unboxing video to see what I got, and you can expect a full review of their service this week!

... And now I enter crunch time, as I've got a seminar to do on Friday! After that it will be relatively smooth sailing until I head to Japan on July 12th!

For Chic Pixel Plus's extra special 20th episode, I'm joined by not one, but four guests: the amazingly awesome Allison Rapp (@mnemosynekurai), Amanada Cosmos (@acosmos), and Arden (@sproutella)!

Before getting into the topic of the day, Arden and Amanda give us the lowdown on the Toronto Comics Art Festival and we gush over the superstars at the event, reminisce on Gackt, and somehow share how we each were first introduced to the world of erotic comics. Then we discuss upcoming anime we're looking forward to, as well as series that explore themes related to gender and sexuality or stand out for their treatment of related issues. We try not to touch on obvious choices, so hopefully you'll get a few new anime suggestions in the process! Series mentioned include Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic, Samurai Flamenco, Rinne no Lagrange, Gatchaman Crowds, Ouran High School Host Club, and Jellyfish Princess. Finally, we wrap up with our most-anticipated summer anime.

If you'd like to skip straight to the anime talk, it starts around the 40 minute mark, but you'll miss out on a lot of the other fun topics!

Opening ♫ - Koko dake no hanashi – Chatmonchy
Closing ♫ - Sakura Kiss – Chieko Kawabe

[DOWNLOAD] [ITUNES] [RSS]

I don't think I need to reiterate my love for weird Japanese collaboration campaigns, but in case you're new around here: I love Japanese collaboration campaigns! Even if it's a collaboration featuring two products/franchises I'm not really interested in, a limited-time promotional campaign always catches my interest. Luckily for me, however, this new crazy Japanese campaign features Attack on Titan, an anime that, while it had its issues, I quite enjoyed when it aired!

I can't say I'm as big a fan of shaving hygiene, but this Schick x Attack on Titan campaign is amazing. They even have a series of three promotional videos on their website with dorky redubbed anime footage with tons of funny voiceovers! The real purpose of the campaign, of course, is to get people to buy Schick razors, so they're offering six little Attack on Titan figures which will be packaged in different razor products:

I'll admit, I wouldn't be adverse to owning a little Levi holding shaving razors instead of his usual weaponry! Schick is even offering razor stands with more realistically-proportioned Mikasa and Levi figures. Poor protagonist Eren has been kicked out of the limelight, I guess!

I still have time to decide if I'm going to seek out one of the cute mini figures or not.... But even if you can't get your hands on them, I highly recommend poking around the official website for this collaboration if you're looking for a laugh!

Pretty pleased with that score. #PuzzleMonth pic.twitter.com/8m5G4UsXLv
— Adam Lee (@Shiroth) June 2, 2014

Since June's Community Game-Along theme is everything puzzle-related, I've been trying to get in a few puzzle games whenever I have a few free minutes. As always, it's great to see everyone joining in the fun! So far, I've played a little of Tetris with Card Captor Sakura: Eternal Heart (it's just like the title says, Card Captor Sakura Tetris!) and some of the new PS Vita rhythm puzzle game developed by Arc System Works, Magical Beat. I also reviewed the iOS puzzle game rainblocks, which is free to play and both looks and sounds great. I highly suggest checking it out if you have an iOS device and would like to try something for #PuzzleMonth!

Finally, I still have one code left for subaku for iOS to give away! Head over the the June Game-Along information post to see how you can claim it!

Are you sick of Japanese snack subscription services yet? I know I'm not! It's really exciting to see so many different subscription services pop up that are all about providing Japanese candies and snacks to people around the world. If Japanese treats are your game, you'll be spoiled for choice: there's OyatsuBox, Candy Japan, and now the aptly-named rookie Japanese Treats is joining the ranks!

If you'd like to see me ooh and aah over everything in their very first subscription box, check out my unboxing video above. Japanese Treats is $22/month, and since that price includes shipping anywhere in the world, it's very competitive (Candy Japan and OyatsuBox are both $25/month). All up, this month there were 11 different items, which I think is very generous!

Like OyatsuBox, Japanese Treats provides a sheet which each order that says the name and a short description of each item. These "cheat sheets" are very helpful for those who can't read Japanese and aren't familiar with the different snacks, so I'm really glad they include them!

Now let's take a closer look at each of the different items included in the box!

I just love character goods (if you haven't noticed by now), so I was especially excited to see these Disney Pakuncho chocolate cookies. Not only is the box covered in Mickies (and a lone Donald!), but the cookies themselves have Disney characters printed on them!

These character rock-paper-scissor cutouts on the back of the box are super cute, too. As for the cookies themselves, I don't expect them to taste much different from Koala's March or Hello Panda, but I'm fine with that.

Now, I'm familiar with the delicious chocolate-covered biscuits shaped like bamboo shoots known as Take no Ko no Sato, but I've never seen them in this kind of packaging before! I love the design, and I know they taste good, too! One thing to note is that the sheet Japanese Treats provided calls them Kino no Ko no Yama, as it's possible to either get these or the same type of cookie in a mushroom shape, which are called Kino no Ko no Yama.

I can tell these Japanese snack subscription providers really want to please the folks who are into the internet-famous Japanese candy kits, so it didn't come as much of a surprise to see this Nigi Nigi Osushiya-san sushi gummy kit in my box. The peach and lemon-flavored gummies are meant to look like pieces of fish, and you combine them with the banana-flavored "rice" gummies to make little sushi! I actually bought myself one of these already, so I think I'll include this one in an upcoming giveaway.

These may look like regular plain animal crackers, but I just love the package! Honestly, if the people behind these services just picked snacks with fun packages, I'd probably be happy regardless of what was inside! Maybe I should start a subscription service like that...

I just love a good pun, don't you? Well, these calcium-fortified grape-flavored candies are called Ju-C! Hah! As you can see from the package, Ju-C has been around since 1955. They don't show up very well in the photo, but I like the little animals circling the left end of the container. I can't wait to try them!

Kyabetsu (cabbage) Taro here are flavored corn puffs covered in nori, which, funnily enough, do not actually have anything to do with cabbage. The frog mascot Taro looks pretty sharp in his policeman outfit, don't you think? I'm told these are quite popular in Japan, but I've never actually noticed them!

I think this has to be the highlight of the box for me! At first I thought these were just soda-flavored hard candies, which is nothing particularly new or exciting, but they're actually candies that you mix with water to make soda! As you can see from the package, there are five different flavors, and it encourages you to mix them to come up with even more. I think these are going to be a lot of fun to try, so I'll definitely be doing an Apricotsushi Samples video for them!

These Chocobi chocolate puffs are actually Crayon Shin-chan themed, so that actually makes two character goods in this month's box! They also come with one of 20 different stickers, which is always fun. I must admit I see these quite often locally and I'm not a massive Crayon Shin-chan fan, but I'm still intrigued to see how they taste.

Finally, we have Dondon Yaki, which I received in a previous OyatsuBox (they're really good!), some pudding-flavored bakeable Kit Kats, and ramune fortune telling candies. The fortune candies actually look a lot like pills, but each one is labeled with something different ("sports,""love" etc.). When you pop them out it tells you a your fortune. Japanese Treats has a blog post with translations of all the different possibilities so you can see how you fare!

I'm sure a lot of people would be really excited to receive the bakeable pudding Kit Kats, and believe me, I was too! My enthusiasm was only slightly dampened by the fact that 1. I bought 2 large bags a couple of weeks ago from Jlist and 2. my oven is currently not working. I like that they give you two so you can try baking one and have the other fresh if you desire. I'm so bummed that my oven is broken... I really want to try them!

There you have it! I'm really impressed with Japanese Treats, as they are not only very reasonably priced, but they ship their boxes quickly and offer a great selection. If they continue to offer 10 or more items for $22/month, this may make them the best deal out of all the Japanese snack subscriptions I've reviewed so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they develop over the next few months!

Phew, filming and editing videos is hard work! It's nothing like writing, which lets me take time to collect my thoughts, put them down on virtual paper, and come back later to edit as necessary. It isn't even comparable to podcasting – though I can do little to edit the way I've said something if it comes out sounding dumb, at least in podcast form I can be sitting in my pjs sipping a hot cup of coffee as I record, for all you listeners know!

Video, on the other hand, is brutal. I'm conscious of how I both look and sound, and even after I've recorded everything to my satisfaction, the editing process takes twice as long as it does for a podcast. Basically, this is a long-winded explanation for why I'm so late in uploading a new episode of Apricotsushi Samples! Hopefully with each video I'll get slightly better at the whole process to the point where I don't feel so preemptively exhausted every time I think about doing a video.

On this week's episode, I finally get around to trying the Kracie Popin Cookin' Kuru Kuru Takoyaki kit! I was very apprehensive about this one (is it actually supposed to emulate real takoyaki?), but since I got it in a shipment from Candy Japan, I had to give it a shot. Give the video a watch to see how I fared...

The video clocks in at nearly 10 minutes, so I'd really like some feedback on it, if you get through the whole thing! Is 10 minutes too long for a candy kit like this? Should I cut out some of the steps in the making process? These are all questions I ask myself in editing, as I tend to think that 10 minutes may be a little too long to sit and watch a YouTube video, but if you prefer the level of detail I'm providing for the whole kit process, please let me know.

Finally, stay tuned for my 100 subscriber giveaway! I'll be announcing it in an upcoming video, and it'll be chock full of fun Japanese snacks, so you won't want to miss it!

I've been pretty heavily saturated in Monster Hunter-related things lately, so instead of the regular Catch-Up Corner mishmash, I've decided to keep this one Monster Hunter-themed! First, to finish up my week, I spent the majority of the weekend working on my very own Felyne hat:

I have to say, I'm surprisingly proud of how it turned out! I got a sudden bolt of inspiration while I was out grocery shopping on Saturday, and proceeded to pick up the required felt materials from my local Daiso so that I could draft up the pattern and get it sewn over the weekend. Since I don't have a sewing machine, it was all completely sewn by hand, which meant it took pretty much the whole weekend to finish. For the curious, all of the face details are glued on with fabric glue, but the ears, hat seam, and hemming is all sewn.

I originally got this idea because I wanted to make some kind of prize for the Monster Hunter event I'm holding this Sunday (stop by if you happen to live in Brisbane!). Since this first one turned out so well, I think I should be able to finish a second one by then!

Monster Hunter Compilation "Re:" Mix Chiptune album cover

Next up is a really cool event that is scheduled for while I am in Japan! Capcom is releasing a Monster Hunter chiptune remix album titled Monster Hunter Compilation "Re:" Mix Chiptune and will be hosting a launch party on July 20th at 2.5D in Shibuya! (very close to where I'm staying) While I was originally very keen to go, they will be streaming the whole thing live on the night and tickets cost $20 to attend, so I just tune in from the comfort of my dorm... I'm also embarrassed to say that don't really recognize any of the Monster Hunter music in the song clips provided on the site! Even so, it still seems like it could be a cool event, and those of you who don't live in Japan should mark your calendar so you can watch the livestream (starting 6:30 am on the 20th, Eastern time).

Monster Hunter Frontier G receptionist Nendoroid

Finally, there was one last announcement this past week that combines my love of Monster Hunter and Nendoroids: a limited edition Nendoroid will be released with the premium edition of Monster Hunter Frontier G! I know next to nothing about Frontier G, but it's basically a Monster Hunter MMO and has never been released in English. The Nendoroid is modelled after the G-class quest receptionist, and though she certainly has a unique design, I don't actually find it all that appealing... I guess I should consider myself lucky, as I wouldn't want to import a premium-priced copy of Frontier G, anyway!

Ah, the summer lull... Last year the summer season proved to be just as busy a time for game releases as the rest of the year, but this July has shaped up to be a relatively empty month release-wise. Of course, that means more time for this month's Community Game-Along!

source

In order to fill up all those summer (or winter, if you live in the Southern hemisphere like me) hours, July's theme is going to be JRPGs! I've gotten a lot of requests for this one, so I hope we get a lot of contributions and keep #JRPGJuly busy all month long.

When I initially set out to do monthly game-alongs, I wanted to use the event to shine the spotlight on some lesser-known or under-appreciated developers and genres. I know many would argue that JRPGs is a massive category that doesn't really fit that description, but I hope we can use this month to challenge the generally-accepted misconception that JRPGs are on their way out or are somehow worse now than they were 10 years ago. So, while I don't like to put restrictions on what games you should play, I highly encourage you to seek out some lesser-known titles or recent releases that maybe didn't get a lot of attention in the West!

Since "JRPG" is such a broad theme and I'm sure all of you can think of some great titles to play without my help, I'm not going to give any examples of games that fit the theme this month. I will, however, point out that SRPGs, ARPGs, and MMOs are also included (provided they are heavily influenced by JRPGs or made by a Japanese developer), as are western-developed RPGs that have a significant JRPG "feel" to them (I'm no expert on Western RPGs, so I'll leave it up to you to decide if a certain title fits or not).

As always, the only "rules" of the Community Game-Along are that you pick a game that fits the theme, preferably one you haven't played before, and write about it using #JRPGJuly on your favorite social media platform of choice. I also highly encourage long-form articles and other forms of media – anything where you talk about your experiences counts, and I look forward to all kinds of submissions!

There's already a surprising amount of chatter in the hashtag on Twitter thanks a big shoutout from the RPG Site (thanks!), so let's make this one of the best Game-Alongs yet! If you happen to be on NeoGAF, be sure to hit up the official JRPGJuly thread, too.

There is an amazing abundance of shops online that sell Japanese merchandise, and they're a great option for those of us who don't live in Japan but are desperate to get our hands on the latest cute Rilakkuma goods or weird Japanese candy. Unfortunately, there are so many that it's often difficult to decide where to spend one's hard-earned cash, and there's always the question of whether the site in question is reputable or charges outrages prices for shipping, which are often sprung on shoppers after they've been lured in by seemingly cheap prices.

Recently, I stumbled upon the self-proclaimed "Japan & Kawaii Shop"Blippo, and they were kind enough to offer me a few products from their shop to review. They have a great selection of Japanese items from character goods such as Hello Kitty and Rilakkuma to Japanese snacks and candy, as well as stationery and all kinds of smartphone straps and accessories, so they really have the potential to be a one-stop shop for all your Japanese merchandise needs!

Blippo doodled a little giraffe on my box!

The other major draw of Blippo is the offer free worldwide shipping, so you won't be hit with a massive shipping fee when checking out! This means that everything will take about 1-3 weeks to arrive according to their site, but they shipped my package from their base in Hong Kong to my home in Australia surprisingly fast, and it arrive in almost exactly two weeks. You can also spend a few extra bucks on shipping upgrades, but I was very happy with how fast mine arrived.

Here's a quick overview of what I received! I picked out all of the items myself, but the order came with the free plastic Blippo keychain in the middle. I don't think I'd put it on anything, but it's cute that they included it, none the less.

Is this not the cutest packaging? I'll readily admit that the adorable little ghost wearing a witch's hat is the whole reason why I opted for this Moko Awa DIY shake drink. I haven't tried it yet, as I think it will make for a great Apricotsushi Samples video, but I can't wait to give this foaming grape drink a go. Apparently all you need to do is mix the powder with water and stir!

I don't even care if the shake doesn't taste good, I'm happy to just be in the presence of these little ghost illustrations. For only about $3 AUD (with free shipping), it's a steal!

Next are these great Rilakkuma honey stickers, which I had to get since I absolutely love anything Rilakkuma-themed! I really like the honey/bee/pancake motif, though I think I'd much prefer maple syrup to honey on my pancakes...

The stickers are raised hard plastic, which gives them a bit of a 3D effect, and some also feature little jewel embellishments. I'm pretty happy with them, but unfortunately some of them have minor discolorations/color smearing, which is particularly noticeable in the stickers with text and the ones with gold stripes in the bottom row of the above photo. I'm not sure if this is due to the type of sticker or heat exposure, but considering the usually high standard of Japanese merchandise, it's a shame they weren't all perfect.

Finally, I picked out these rad little donut earrings, because I'm really into miniature food these days and I love the idea of tasty little (fake) donuts hanging from my ears. They're nothing super fancy, but they're sturdy and look just as cute in person as they do on the website.

It's not a particularly nice photo, but here's what the look like on! They're not so large that they draw attention from my beautiful face (ha), but they're really fun and I can smile to myself knowing I'm wearing donuts on my ears, even if no one else notices.

For a package of three unique items from Japan that totals under $10 including shipping, I'm really happy with it. A lot of the products on Blippo are competitively priced, even factoring the free shipping, and as long as you don't mind waiting a little longer for your purchase to get to you, most of their products are a great deal. I can definitely see myself buying from Blippo in the future and definitely recommend them to anyone looking for some cute Japanese goods or snacks!

I love Gackt. I imagine a lot of people who got into Japanese culture in the late 90s and thought themselves to be somewhat alternative love Gackt. But, you know, my love with the somewhat-infamous singer isn't the kind of all-encompassing love a lot of young girls express for their male idols, it's an ironic kind of love. Yes, I love(d?) his music, but after seeing him on Japanese television and watching the film he wrote and starred in with fellow singer Hyde (Moon Child), as well as his international debut in Bunraku (with Josh Hartnett), I can conclude he is completely nuts. And I kind of love him for it.

In fact, the guy who once proclaimed he was an immortal vampire is turning 41 tomorrow, so happy birthday, Gackt! But that's not what I'm here to celebrate today... Instead, I want to talk about the new Let's Play series Gackt has launched in collaboration with Nestlé Japan. Every day for a whole year, videos of Gackt playing various retro video games will be posted to Nestlé Japan's YouTube channel in what might be the strangest collaboration I've heard of in quite a while!

Does Gackt even like video games? What does this have to do with Nestlé? Well, they're giving away some Nescafé coffee machines signed by Gackt, so there's that... What we do know about this new series is that the episodes will be posted every day at 7 pm Japan time and will last between 5 to 10 minutes. He'll also be playing between 5 and 10 different titles a month. So far he's played Mega Man 2and Super Dodge Ball and... he's not very good at it. Nor does he look all that amused. Ah, Gackt, you've finally started to age... There's something oddly charming about his nonchalant manner and the fact that he doesn't ever take his sunglasses off despite all the weird mood lighting going on in the room they have him playing these games in.

Unfortunately the series is currently only available in Japanese, but some zealous fan might subtitle them à la Game Center CX. Still, I think it's amusing enough to watch even if you don't know what's being said. I'm cheering you on, Gackt!

I don't always feel the need to do news posts here on Chic Pixel, but with announcements as big and exciting as these, I just couldn't pass them up! Manga Gamer, the bishojo game publisher, revealed their new game lineup at Anime Expo today, which included not one, but two titles aimed squarely at the otome and fujoshi demographic (aka me), OZMAFIA!! and No, Thank You!!!. I like to imagine those excessive exclamation marks were included in the titles because the developers knew how happy fans would be to have them localized...

The fact that OZMAFIA!! will be coming out in English isn't exactly new, as the developer, Poni-Patchet, announced as much at the game's one year anniversary event a week ago, but this is the first world we've gotten of who's actually helping them bring over the PC-only title. According to Manga Gamer's Anime Expo panel, they will be looking to bring the title to Steam, as well.

OZMAFIA!! is pretty much exactly what you'd imagine it to be from the title: it's an otome game (romance visual novel for girls) that features a mafia... based on Wizard of Oz characters. While some of the romantic interests are loosely styled around memorable characters such as the Scarecrow and Tin Man, other rival mafias get their inspiration from Grimm fairy tales, among other classics. For those familiar with otome games, the artist behind all of the illustrations is none other than the woman who worked on Diabolik Lovers, one of the most popular otome game series in Japan at the moment.

No, Thank You!!!, on the other, hand, came completely out of left field. Otome games have been typically hard sell for western publishers, but BL games have been even harder (Is that a pun? Don't ask). Well, Manga Gamer is ready to take on the challenge with what will be the first English release of a BL game since Enzai: Falsely Accused came out way back in 2006! No, Thank You!!! is, in my opinion, extra special as it really starts to blur the lines of bara (a general term referring to pornographic material aimed at gay men) and BL (generally for a female audience). Not only do the men have much more varied character designs than the usual BL fare, but they're a wide range of ages, and players even have the option to toggle their body hair on and off at any time during the game! Now that's something!

I've previously expressed my disappointment with western publishers passing over games aimed at a female audience in favor of more of the same, so it's time to make some noise and really celebrate this news! While OZMAFIA!! probably wouldn't have been a game I'd have specifically sought out myself, No, Thank you!!! has been on my radar since before it was released in Japan (in fact, I've written about it twice). If you're at all interested in more varied games getting localized, please let Manga Gamer know how thrilled you are that they're releasing these titles, and consider picking them up on release!

One of the unfortunate realities of being a fan of Japanese media and culture is that, while there are a lot of options now available for those that speak English, the vast majority of content and information out there is only available in Japanese. I may be wearing my nerdy heart on my sleeve, but I'll readily admit that the #1 reason I was driven to start studying Japanese in middle school was so I could watch anime that wasn't getting released in English fast enough to satisfy my rabid fangirl ways. Of course, there are many, many reasons to take up learning a new language, including Japanese, but it's always great to have the added motivation of a hobby you're passionate about to spur on your studies!

A lot of people ask me to recommend resources to help them get started learning the language, but honestly, there are so many options available that it's hard to even know where to begin! Since I personally learned Japanese through school, I'm most comfortable with suggesting textbooks to help you learn the basics, as I think it's a great way to get a foundation that you can build on from as you get more comfortable with vocabulary, Japanese sentence structure, and reading/writing.

But I more than anyone know that textbooks can be boring and dry, so imagine my excitement when I heard about A Fujoshi's Guide to Japanese! Published by Otome's Way with the help of a Kickstarter for the second volume, the two-volume Japanese language textbook series presents Japanese language learning in a way that is fun and interesting for fans of anime and manga, with gorgeous color illustrations and informative manga and tons of audio supplements by professional voice actors!

If you're unfamiliar with the term "fujoshi," it's generally used to describe women who like boys' love, or yaoi, manga and related media (of course men can be into BL as well, but they're usually called "fudanshi"). While the series is clearly made with fujoshi in mind, as it features an all-male cast and drawings by BL artist Ai Yusura, from my experience with the second volume there is nothing overtly "BL" about the content, making it great for anyone, not just fujoshi.

Since I was provided volume 2 for the purpose of this review, I unfortunately can't comment at length on the content of volume 1 if you're just starting out and want to begin your Japanese studies from square one with this series. From the preview provided on Otome Way's website and the brief overview of volume 1 that appears in volume 2, it looks to provide a great foundation for further learning by teaching readers pronunciation, how to read and write hiragana and katakana, and some very basic beginner vocabulary and sentences.

Volume 2 builds on the introduction provided by volume 1 by going deeper into sentence structure and grammar while also starting readers down the long road of learning how to read and write kanji. I imagine the double-whammy of diving into more complex grammar such as adjectives, forming questions, and working with verbs along with the addition of kanji is daunting to start, but unfortunately that's how Japanese study usually is – it's best to dive in as early as possible, especially with kanji! Luckily, you're free to take the contents of the book on as quickly or slowly as you feel comfortable, but without the structure of an actual class it may be easy for individual learners to feel too intimidated to press on, so I might suggest making goals such as focusing on mastering one chapter every two weeks and treating it like your own personal course.

Perhaps my favorite part of the Fujoshi's Guide series are the manga portions that follow protagonist Alexis and his butler Shou that are used to introduce new concepts at the beginning of each chapter. These can be read while listening to accompanying audio of the voice actor's performing the scenes, and then an English translation is provided so you don't have to worry if you didn't understand everything in the first go. The voice actors are really nice to listen to and actually bring life to their respective characters, unlike some of the horrific audio recordings I remember having to put up with back when I was a student! There are over 90 audio files included with volume 2, meaning nearly everything in the textbook is voiced, which is both extremely helpful for learning and fun to listen to at the same time (a rare combination for Japanese textbooks, I've found!).

There is also clearly a lot of care put into the structure of the book and making sure that readers learn more than the usual stuffy standard Japanese taught in most textbooks. Japanese teacher Yumiko Akeba is clearly familiar with the areas where English speakers usually experience trouble when learning Japanese, and I appreciated her direct yet informative explanations. One section that particularly stood out for me was an explanation of the particles "ne" and "yo" and their gender differences in Japanese with a variety of illustrated example dialogues. I also really liked the short explanation about natural speech, with examples of how spoken Japanese can often very from what's taught in textbooks.

For those worried about implementing what they've learned in the book, never fear – each chapter has a review section and ample opportunities to practice. Unfortunately, though new vocabulary is introduced in each chapter, there aren't quizzes, per say, so you have to keep yourself accountable by making sure you spend time learning the vocabulary. I also noticed that the book continues to teach readers new hiragana up through chapter three and then immediately jumps to introducing kanji in chapter 4, but doesn't stop using romanji in examples until partway through chapter 10. Of course, I don't profess to have any great understanding of how to teach people Japanese, but I worry by leaving in the romanji for so long, readers won't push themselves to master hiragana even after they begin to learn kanji, which could make it difficult to retain much of anything. If I could give any advice to someone using the book, it would be to make sure you are diligent about memorising hiragana and katakana, and that you feel confident in reading it without romanji before starting chapter 4 so you can focus on kanji going forward.

Overall, I am extremely happy with A Fujoshi's Guide to Japanese volume 2 and would highly recommend the series to anyone interested in learning Japanese! The colored illustrations and audio make this already professional and informative book really shine, and it would be the perfect way to make Japanese learning interesting to those who want to be able to watch anime or read manga in its original Japanese. If you already know some basic Japanese, I don't see any reason why you couldn't jump into volume 2, but if you want to see all of Alexis and Shou's adventures, be sure to purchase volume 1, as well!

A copy of the book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. All opinions, however, my honest impressions!

It's already the beginning of the new week, but I so enjoy these Catch-Up Corners that I'd hate to miss one! I had to push it back so I could get my review for A Fujoshi's Guide to Japanese vol. 2 posted, so please check that out if you're interested in Japanese language learning materials!

I'm currently having a giveaway on my YouTube channel to celebrate reaching 100 subscribers, so definitely enter that if you haven't already! Japanese Treats was kind enough to offer one month of their Japanese snack subscription service to the lucky winner of my contest. If you're curious to see what kind of goodies might be included in said box, check out my review of Japanese Treats! The giveaway is open until July 10th at 9 pm EST, after which I'll post a video announcing the winner on my channel. As always, if you haven't subscribed yet, please consider doing so! I have a new episode of Apricosushi Samples coming in the next couple of days.

I mentioned last week that I was hoping to sew a Felyne hat as a prize for the Monster Hunter event I had coming up. Well, I'm happy to say I managed to finish it, and the event was a success! It was so funny to see the difference in atmosphere from my usual StreetPass meetups. Everyone was so focused on hunting that the chatter wasn't nearly as loud as when everyone's hanging out and doing their own thing! I brought in some Monster Hunter-themed treats (pictured above), including "meat sticks" I tried to make using straight pretzels and marshmallows and some colored sodas that I labeled with names of potions from the series.

For the competition, I had everyone try the Lagombi Arena Challenge in Monster Hunter 3U and submit their best time. The winners were tied at 2:21! I'm not sure I could manage to kill a Lagombi that quickly... My new Twitter pal @Doodlyboops was one of the top scorers with her longsword time, so it was really nice to be able to give the hat I made to someone who will appreciate it! I just wish I wasn't rushed to finish sewing it, as the ears came out a little crooked...

By the way this time next week, I'll be in Japan! I don't want to make any big promises, but I'm hoping to get a few bite-sized videos filmed while I'm there (hopefully some even "on location"!), along with the usual photos I post to my Instagram and Twitter accounts. As always, I'll be sure to update here with any videos I post, but if you want to see everything as it goes up, make sure to follow my various social media accounts! If you're the kind of person who just wants everything all in one place, it'll all be cataloged on the official Chic Pixel Facebook page. I look forward to updating you all from Japan!

I don't always wear gaming-themed clothing, but when I do, I like to do it in style! I kid, but when it comes to gaming threads, there's a fine line between "wink nod" game references on trendy clothing and obnoxiously obvious tees that proclaim your love for all things nerdy for the world to see.

I bring this up because the other day I received a curious package. Isabelle was very interested to see what was inside!

The kind folks at Insert Coin Clothing sent me some items to review! I don't normally do clothing reviews here at Chic Pixel, but I'm always excited to find new ways to express my love of gaming though fashion. So let's see if Insert Coin Clothing makes the cut!

Do you know where this shirt's from? It's Gum's tee from Jet Set Radio! If you compare this shirt to her's, there are some differences (the most obvious being the fact that she has long sleeves in the game), but I think they did a really great job translating it to a shirt design. It's the best kind of gaming shirt, as fans of the game will definitely recognize the reference, but folks who don't will (hopefully) just think it's a neat design. I suppose people who can speak Japanese might wonder why it says "gum," but there certainly is no shortage of shirts with odd Japanese on them in the world, so I don't think it would really turn many heads.

The size I'm wearing is a girly M, and it's just about the right fit, if just a tiny bit tighter than I usually like in the armpit area.

Yet another generic peace pose! I guess I'm not cut out to be a model... Anyway, I was thrilled to see the other shirt Insert Coin Clothing sent my way was none other than a Space Channel 5 Ulala tank! I love the design and soft fabric of this one, but unfortunately I don't think it's quite as flattering on me as the Gum tee... Like the Gum tee, it's a girly M, but it's much looser due to the fabric type. The image on the website does make the tank look like it's supposed to be pretty loose, so it may just be that it doesn't fit my particular body type.

The other thing I have to note about the Space Channel 5 tank is that it came with a small mark near the trademark symbol. It's not super noticeable and I was able to get most of it out with a little soap and water, but I'm still not sure what it was in the first place.

Both shirts are very high quality, and the transfers seem like they will hold up well in the wash (I've washed both once). Some t-shirts have transfers that are stiff and quickly start to show cracks after a wash or two, but I'm really happy with the quality of these!

The final item I received was this awesome Dreamcast side bag! This is probably the most obviously game-related item of the lot, but most non-gamer adults will probably not have heard of a Dreamcast anyway, right? Either way, I think designing a bag after a console is a really neat idea, and the bag itself is really durable and has plenty of space to hold books, a wallet, and whatever other personal items you need to carry with you. I am really impressed by the quality of this one, and can see it holding up really well even with regular use.

There is currently a 3 for 2 sale on all t-shirts going on at the Insert Coin Clothing website and the Space Channel 5 tank is 40% off, making it a great time to stock up on gaming-related goodies! There are all kinds of great series represented such as Parappa the Rapper and Zone of the Enders, as well as clothing and accessories for both men and women, so if you'd like to wear your love for gaming on your sleeve (literally), I highly recommend checking Insert Coin Clothing out.

The other day, I was approached by the cloud storage provider SingleHop to participate in some Embrace Your Geekness Day festivities by sharing a little bit about how I celebrate my geekness with the world. Imagine that! I had no idea July 13th was an international geek holiday, and having them reach out to me specifically was quite the pleasant surprise! I’ m more than happy to use Geekness Day as an excuse to talk a little bit more about myself than I usually do on this blog.

Me being... geeky, I guess?

First, I have to get this out of the way – not that it really matters much in the grand scheme of things, but I’ve never once considered myself a “geek”! In my mind, a “geek” and “nerd” are two very different things, with “geek” usually having the connotation of someone who is more into computers and tech, for whatever reason. On the other hand, I’ve always considered “nerd” to be someone who is just really into one or more, probably obscure, things, kind of like the Japanese term “otaku.” But that’s all silly semantics (and probably my own made up definitions at that), so and I’m happy to be thrown in the geek camp if I get in on this cool holiday!

So, when did I start to become aware of my own “geekness”? I don’t think I’ve ever really been “mainstream” with my interests, but I didn’t really have a name for my weirdness until I got into anime through watching shows like Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z as a young kid. Games were in my life from a young age, to an extent, too, but I didn’t really fall in love with gaming until I played Final Fantasy VII and realized the potential games had as a storytelling medium (what a cliché!). It soon became pretty apparent that everything I was into was coming from Japan, and I quickly fell into the colorful world of otaku. Soon I was searching the internet for fanfiction of my favorite series and trying to teach myself Japanese words and phrases with a rudimentary English – Japanese dictionary. I was (and probably still am), the textbook definition of a weeaboo, your friendly neighborhood Japanophile.

Book from a shōjo manga event I had the opportunity to present at

This can be interpreted as a good thing or a bad thing, I think, but from that point onward I was always driven to find ways to allow my hobbies to cross over with my school endeavors, whether it be analysising a Japanese song for my high school English class (true story) or grabbing a group of friends and convincing the librarian to offer a special one-semester course on graphic novels so I could do a presentation on manga for credit (also a true story). I was also highly driven to study Japanese as much as I could, so once I’d burned through the Japanese my high school had to offer, I started taking college courses in Japanese so I could be as far along as possible when I entered university myself. My parents were always very supportive of my interest in Japanese, probably since it crossed over with my academic pursuits, so I also had the wonderful opportunity to go to Japan to study not once, but twice in high school.

Some people say it’s bad to mix your hobbies with your career, but that’s one thing I’ve always been really passionate about, personally. As a result, I’ve pushed forward in my pursuit of Japanese “fluency” and managed to be a perpetual student up until this point, where I’m currently writing this on a plane to Japan for a intensive workshop related to my PhD topic on boys’ love manga! It’s hard to believe how far I’ve come, and though I’m not exactly sure what path my career will head down once I finish my thesis, I know that my love for Japanese popular culture and media will be essential to whatever it is I end up doing.

Me with my host mom in Sydney. I've meet so many wonderful
people through my hobbies that I would've never met otherwise!

One of the questions SingleHop asked me to consider is what my proudest moment as a geek has been, but I honestly don’t think I can pick just one. I’m extremely self-critical and a perfectionist at heart, so it’s hard to say I’m genuinely “proud” of anything without heavily critiquing myself, but I think I can say with utmost sincerity that I’m proud that I stay true to myself in pursuit of my interests, as well as my attempt to share those interests with all of you through this blog. If I could give any words of advice for Geekness Day, it would be to never let anyone make you feel bad for liking what you like, and to pursue what makes you happy with all your heart, whatever that may be (as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else, of course!). If I keep doing that for as long as I live, I don’t think I’ll have any regrets!

What about all of you? Do you have any geeky stories you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them, so please sound off in the comments! Again, thanks very much to SingleHop for inviting me to celebrate Geekness Day, and I hope you all find a way to celebrate your hobbies in your own unique way.

On episode 21 of Chic Pixel Plus, I bring on regular extra Elliot Gay (@ryougasaotome) to talk about the most important game topic of our generation: kusoge. What are kusoge? Are they so bad they're good, or just plain bad? We talk about all that and more, plus, related news!

Games included in the discussion range from the Drakengard series to Friday the 13th, plus we get in some Seaman, Vangaurd Bandits, Disaster: Day of Crisis, and Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII talk as well.

This podcast was recorded early/mid-June and is going up quite late, much to my dismay, so while I talk about Puzzle Month, we're actually already in the midst of JRPGJuly! Sorry about that!

Opening ♫ - Life is Beautiful, Deadly Premonition
Closing ♫ - Seaman commercial

[DOWNLOAD] [ITUNES] [RSS]

I've been really, really bad about updating the site while I've been on my trip, and I feel horrible about it! I had all these grand plans to be covering things as I experienced them, but unfortunately I've been so busy that I've only had the energy to do quick Twitter and Instagram updates as I go along, for the most part. But to keep you all from thinking the site is dead, here's a very overdue Catch-Up Corner to get you up to speed with some of the things I've been doing!

Me with this awesome Free! mural in Akihabara!

First of all, if you're still not following me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and want to keep to date with everything I'm experiencing in Japan as it happens, please consider doing so! While I'll do more long-form coverage of some of the more standout things I've done over the course of the past couple of weeks once I get home in a few days, there will still be some photos/information on my social media that you probably won't see here on the main site.

While I was initially considering doing some out-and-about video coverage, I've found that I'm just too shy to film most things... Luckily, I've been able to take a few short videos, and have posted a couple of things I filmed from my University of Tokyo dorm. The video above is an unboxing of a Gatchaman Crowds rubber strap blind box. I was so excited to find some Gatchaman Crowds merchandise!

If you only have the time/tolerance to watch one video of me today, though, make it this one – it's an Apricotsushi Samples straight from Japan! Better yet, it's of some random "hangover remedy" drink I was handed in the streets of Tokyo, so you'll get to hear me talk about that whole experience, too.

Finally, I did a very short impromptu Apricotsushi Samples video of me trying lemon ginger foat ice cream on my Instagram, since it was too hot to carry it home to film properly. The video is available in two separate parts, so be sure to watch both! I suppose you also get to experience some of the summer Tokyo atmosphere – namely, cicadas and my sweaty face.

Well, there's a whole slew of video content that will hopefully keep you busy for a little while, if you haven't seen them already! I've got many more Apricotsushi Samples on the way, including posts about my various experiences, such as the Square Enix and Rilakkuma cafés. Sorry for the wait, but I hope you'll look forward to them!

Now that we're past the half-year mark, it's time to start thinking about the remaining Community Game-Along themes for the year! While some of you may want to continue your July JRPGs into August, for those ready to jump into a new theme, I've got just the thing for you: platformers! On a very basic level, platformers usually feature timed jumping over obstacles as a fundamental aspect of their gameplay. But, since they often cross over with other genres, that means there are near limitless options for games to play this August, so think outside the box and try to find something outside of the usual Mario titles.

If aren't familiar with my Community Game-Along events, the "rules" are simple – just play any game that fits the theme and talk about it with others! Feel free to post write-ups of your experiences on your own site, record a podcast, or use #PlatforMonth on your preferred social media. Of course, how you choose to share your experiences (or not), is up to you! If you're having a hard time picking a game to play, here are a few suggestions:

Klonoa: Door to Phantomville (PSone) – If you're looking for a cute, iconic platformer that doesn't feature a chubby Italian plumber, why not check out the Klonoa games? The original, Door to Phantomville, was remade for the Wii and is also available on PSN, making it really easy to pick up if you don't have it already.

Drill Dozer (GBA) – Drill Dozer is another adorable platformer, but unfortunately it's a little harder to get hold of, as it was only ever released for the GameBoy Advance. As one of the few non-Pokemon games developed by Game Freak, though, making it a unique, quality title that will be sure to please if you decide to go out your way to find a copy.

source

Dynamite Headdy (Sega Genesis) – Yet another colorful, yet obscure, platformer, Dynamite Headdy has been released for a variety of systems, including Xbox 360 and PS3 in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and even Steam. The game's central mechanic involves using the protagonist's own head as a weapon, and the puppetry theme is very reminiscent of the recent Puppeteer on PS3 (also a reasonable choice for this month's theme!).

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? (PSP) – Many of you are probably familiar with Nippon Ichi's strategy RPG series, Disgaea, but did you know that the adorable Prinny penguin mascot characters have their own action platformer title? While the original is only available on UMD, its sequel, Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! is also on PSN and can be played on the Vita. The games are notoriously hard, giving players 1,000 units to complete each mission, but fans of Disgaea's art style and humor might want to check one (or both) out.

Of course, there are tons of other games that fit the platformer theme, including indie PC titles such as They Bleed Pixels and Eryi's Action. I highly encourage you to seek out lesser-known games and share your experiences with everyone so we can give some love to platformer titles that haven't seen much critical discussion! As for me, I'll likely be trying out my copy of NIS's htoL#NiQ, so look forward to my impressions later this month.

Happy gaming!

And so it begins! In addition to my usual posts, August is going to be dedicated to recapping my two and a half weeks in Tokyo! I went to a bunch of themed cafés, so it only makes sense to get the ball rolling with a post about one of them. I give you... the Rilakkuma Café and collaborative exhibit in Tower Records, Shibuya!

Before I get to the real event, that is, the Rilakkuma Factory Tower Records Café itself, I'd like to briefly recap the cute Rilakkuma x Tower Records collaboration exhibit they had on another floor of the building. It was mostly just a chance for Tower Records to sell limited edition Rilakkuma merchandise, but I got a lot of cute photos!

This whole 8th floor of Tower Records was dedicated to this exhibit! I love the little streamers they hung from the ceiling. Let's take a closer look at some of the things they had on display...

Lots and lots of merchandise! Luckily, I wasn't really tempted by any of the collaboration designs, so I was able to save my money. Since this was only my first full day in Japan, I'd say that's a good thing!

The best part of the exhibit by far were these great cut-outs of Rilakkuma and his buddies, korilakkuma and kiirotori. This one of them looking glam is definitely my favorite!

Does the little yellow bird have Beatles hair, or so that a beret? It's a shame I was by myself and too shy to ask someone to take my photo, or else I would've gotten my picture taken with at least one of these Rilakkumas.

Hard rock bears! Forgive me if I've described any of these musical decades by the wrong name, I'm not to up on my popular music genres... I think the reason why I didn't really like the designs in this exhibit that much is because Rilakkuma isn't doing what he does best – relaxing!

I actually wasn't able to visit the café on the same day as the exhibit, as the line was too long. I ended up coming back during a weekday when it (hopefully) wouldn't be as crowded. I was also able to meet up with a Twitter pal, @abyssviola! It was great to finally meet her in person, and we were able to get into the café after only waiting about 15 minutes or so!

Here's the inside of the café itself. I love the industrial look of the ceiling, but it was slightly disappointing not to see more Rilakkuma stuff around! Oh wait, I think I see one now...

At least we were lucky enough to get this big Rilakkuma plush at our table! Each table was adorned with some kind or Rilakkuma plush or another (you can see a small one on the table directly behind my head). That was about it for Rilakkuma-related decor, though.

I was too distracted with petting the Rilakkuma plush to take a picture of the menu, but you can see the different items on offer on this sign outside. Since I hadn't eaten dinner, I decided to go with the only savory item on the menu, the Rilakkuma vegetable curry. I would've liked to try one of the desserts, too, but the prices were pretty steep and I was worried I might get too full from the curry, so I ordered the "Rilakkuma Irish milk" instead.

Here's the adorable Rilakkuma Irish milk drink! I don't remember it tasting like anything but milk, actually. But it certainly was cute!

Looking back now, this isn't really that appetizing of a photo, but there you have it! Rilakkuma curry. I love how they fashioned the rice to look like Rilakkuma is lounging in the curry. His "pillow" was made out of an omelet, and the white and tan parts on his body were cheese.

The drink and curry cost me around $20, which in all honesty, was rather disappointing. It felt quite expensive for the amount of food given, even if it was Rilakkuma-themed, and I left the café feeling pretty hungry! I should've ordered a dessert! Just for comparison, I got a curry and drink at another nice local café for about $13, which, while not themed, was much more reasonable. I can understand a slight markup, but an additional $7 for the Rilakkuma "experience" seemed rather steep.

I definitely don't regret going, but as my first themed café excursion, I was left a little underwhelmed. Luckily, I can say that this was probably just an example of an overpriced themed café, as the others I went to later on in my trip were much better value for money. Still, I'm glad to have been able to go, especially since it was only around for the month of July! Thanks to @abyssviola for joining me!

While most of the influential artists of my youth were undoubtedly Japanese, there is one non-Japanese illustrator I followed from a young age that stands apart from the others for her eerily beautiful style. I'm referring to none other than the Singaporean artist, Foo Swee Chin, who is an all-around amazing creator. I actually had the privilege of meeting her last year at a conference in Sydney, and she also happens to be one of the sweetest professional artists I've ever met!

An example of FSc's quirky, dark style (source)

☆ When did your first start drawing? Have you always wanted to be a comic artist?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. Drawing is a substitute for friends. I wasn't allowed to go outdoors besides school and the library. So drawing is like a friend. We travelled together. XD
The comic thing kind of happened gradually. I enjoyed making up stories and creating worlds so the best medium was comics. I submitted some drawings and short comic stripes to a student newspapers in my teens. They published them, so I continued to send them more. After that I uploaded some online and sent samples to Slave Labor only because I enjoyed reading the comics they published. I kind of never stopped making comics since.

☆ Many of your fans probably came to know you through your work on Nightmares and Fairy Tales by Serena Valentino. What was it like doing the art for someone else's story?

You are right, majority of them came to know my drawings because of Nightmares and Fairytales.
Serena was very nice and straightforward. She gave me a lot of freedom so it was quite fun to work on NNF. I didn't feel very stressed out.
She explained everything very clearly so it wasn't very difficult.
The only difficult part was that... being used to Japanese comics I found it hard to fit a lot of panels and dialogues into one page. But I got used to it after awhile, and now it is difficult to not over fill a page.

One of FSc's character designs for Wayforward's game, LIT

☆ Is Wayforward's LIT your only experience working on a video game? Is that something you'd like to do again in the future?

Kind of I guess. I did character designs for interactive games too but I guess that is different from video games.^^)>

☆ Interactive games still count! It's really interesting that you've been able to work on projects in different mediums. You've also had the rare opportunity as a non-Japanese to work with a Japanese publisher and have your comics published in Japanese. What was that like?

It was... I was very honoured. I felt very lucky.
It wasn't easy. Making Japanese manga is so different from making alternative comics. The editor and the manga artists have to work together as a team. I learned a lot from the experience. It made me humble.

A couple volumes of FSc's comic, MuZz, at Mandarake in Shibuya
(photo taken by me)

☆ Back in January 2013, you spoke at the Women’s Manga in Asia: Glocalizing Different Cultures and Identities conference about being a female comics artist with Japanese influences. However, your style is probably not considered very manga-like by some. Do you consider your art manga?

No. I don't anymore. I used to, simply because everyone said my comics are very manga. When I went to Japan I was told that my art is very European.
I don't know anymore. My brain is a mashed potato.

☆ I personally don't think it matters how you define it... Just keep drawing in your own amazing style! As for the future, what do you hope to be doing in five years?

I hope to get more art related work, at least enough to pay the bills and feed my cats XD
I'm open to any art related work, be it illustrations, concept visualisations, comics or manga, clothes designs, merchandises... galleries (that is if anyone sane enough wants to see pages and pages of scribbly wiggly black and white line drawings LOL)
But my dream would be to have my own comic/manga series which can support my lifestyle and pay the bills someday. That dream is getting more and more difficult by the second.

She also posts lots of comics about her life on her blog.
Keep at it, FSc!

A rather melancholy note to end on, but thanks so much to FSc for chatting with me about so many interesting topics! If you'd like to see what she's up to, you can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. She always needs the support, so to read or, more importantly, purchase her work, please head over to her website!

Now that I'm back in Australia and attempting (and mostly failing) to resume "normal" life, it's time to get back to my favorite/only weekly column: Catch-Up Corner! If you're new to Chic Pixel or just forgot since I haven't done one in a while, the Catch-Up Corner is my attempt to make a space to talk about things I wouldn't normally write a whole post about – a weekly roundup, if you will. This week, I'd like to talk about two games I started and the latest video on my YouTube channel.

First, after buying my fair share of exceedingly cheap retro Japanese games while I was in Tokyo (don't worry, I'll recount my haul very soon!), I decided it was high time to start chipping away at the old Japanese game backlog. I've always wanted to play one of the games in the otome series Harukanaru Toki no Naka de, and after buying yet another copy of the 4th installment by mistake because it was 100 yen (you know you have a problem when you can't remember what games you have in your collection), I decided that was as good a place as any to start.

I've only played a couple hours of HaruToki 4 (PS2 version), but so far I'm really enjoying it! The games are developed by Koei, creators of the first otome game series ever, Angelique, but are particularly unique for the genre in that they have RPG elements in the form of battles and character progression. HaruToki 4 takes place in a fantastical setting loosely based on historical Japan, and features one of my favorite story clichés: girl getting transported to fantasy world and turning out to be the people's last hope/princess/priestess. I'm surprised it took HaruToki 4 to remind me of this, considering I loved The Vision of Escaflowne and Fushigi Yuugi as a youth, but there you have it. I'm having a lot of fun playing a mystical princess surrounded by a bevy of hunky male protectors, so I imagine I'll be sticking with this one.

Speaking of fantasy princesses (how's that for a segueway), the other game I dabbled in this week was the new PSN release, Battle Princess of Arcadias! Ever since the game was announced for Japan, I've been enamoured by the gorgeous art style, and intrigued by its apparent similarities to Odin Sphere. From my limited experience with the game, I have to say I'm surprised with how difficult it is! I died right in the very first tutorial level, and multiple times in every level since. It's a 2D action game, which I've never been particularly proficient at, but Battle Princess of Arcadias really makes you work for the victories, and so far I've determined that you need to be willing to replay past levels to beef up your characters in order to push through each new area. If you want to hear more about what the game's all about, check out shidoshi's recount on The Nichiest Podcast Ever episode 10. I'll also have a full review in the near future, but I'm pretty positive about it despite the difficulty so far, and that's partly due to just how darn beautiful it is.

Finally, be sure to check out my latest YouTube video, which is an unboxing of my very first Re-Ments! Re-Ments are a brand of Japanese miniatures that happen to come in many cute character-themed sets, the most important of which being Rilakkuma. I grabbed three different Rilakkuma singles and was really excited to see what I got, so if a video of cute bear-themed toys sounds pleasing to you, do check it out!

Catch-Up Corner: E3 Announcements and Japanese Treats Subscription Service

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 20 – The A Team Talks Anime

Catch-Up Corner: Schick x Attack on Titan, #PuzzleMonth Update

Apricotsushi Reviews: Japanese Treats

Making the Kracie Popin Cookin' Kuru Kuru Takoyaki Kit

Catch-Up Corner: Monster Hunter Madness!

Announcing the JRPG Community Game-Along!

Apricotsushi Reviews: Blippo

Gackt's Latest Project: A Let's Play Series with Nestlé?!

Manga Gamer acquires OZMAFIA!! and No, Thank You!!!, making it my new favorite company

Apricotsushi Reviews: A Fujoshi's Guide to Japanese vol. 2

Catch-Up Corner: A YouTube Giveaway and the 1st Brisbane Monster Mash

Apricotsushi Reviews: Insert Coin Clothing

Celebrating Geekness Day at Chic Pixel

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 21 – The KusoCast

Catch-Up Corner: Tokyo Coverage 2014

Announcing the Platformer Community Game-Along

Anne in Japan 2014: Rilakkuma Café at Tower Records

Apricotsushi Interviews: Foo Swee Chin (FSc)

Catch-Up Corner: HaruToki 4, Battle Princess of Arcadias, and Rilakkuma Re-Ments