Author: Anne

Japan Envy: Tie-in merchandising

One thing I inexplicably love about Japan its merchandise. I’m sure tons of essays have been written on the subject before, but as I haven’t read any of them, suffice it to say I don’t really know why it is they do merchandise so well. Just that they do. Leave it to Japan to create the cutest products out of the most mundane household goods and combine Hello Kitty with just about anything you can imagine.

Yup, that’s Hello Kitty dressed as an anime character (source)

This latest Japanese tie-in merchandising scheme is close to my heart for a number of reasons: First, it’s combining books and video games, which are undoubtedly two of my favourite things. New Love Plus, the sequel to everyone’s favourite Nintendo DS dating sim that has you interacting with your virtual girlfriend day in and day out, has put a new spin on things. In the game, you will be encouraged to read a book alongside your virtual gal in a series of in-game events, and she’ll even ask you questions about the material as a way to gauge your interest. The three books chosen include Anne of Green Gables and two contemporary Japanese titles. While anyone could go pick up a second hand copy of these titles for next to nothing, Konami and Kodansha have a better idea: they’re marketing limited New Love Plus-themed copies of the books.

Anne of Green Gables featuring one of the New Love Plus ladies (source)

The New Love Plus art will be on a dust jacket, so you will be able to remove it to see the original cover art underneath.

Now, the other reason this is so interesting to me is albeit a personal one: My mom is a big fan of Anne of Green Gables, and often cites it as a reason why she named me Anne (with an “e,” of course!). We even ventured to her house up in Prince Edward Island (or is it the author’s house?) back when I was too little to remember much of anything and spotted a Japanese couple getting married there! If you haven’t noticed, Japan is in love with Anne of Green Gables. I think this must be some sort of sign.

Anyways, I totally dig this sort of cross merchandising, and yet the Japanese seem to consistently be the only ones who get it right. Even though I’m not really interested in New Love Plus, I might have been drawn to purchase said book… I often think it’s a very good thing I don’t live in Japan, as I’d be wallowing in piles of useless stuff.

What do you think – is tie-in merchandise corny, or cool?

Japan Envy: My Melody x Felyne

It’s no secret that I’m enamored with the Monster Hunter series mascot Felyne. Admittedly, I have yet to actually play a Monster Hunter game (though I do own one), but I most certainly keep my eye out for all things Felyne. Cute is my calling, after all!

So when I saw Sanrio announced that they would be producing a special line of My Melody and Felyne merchandise that will hit Japanese stores starting in August, how could I not be excited? I mean, look at these designs:

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I have to say I’ve never been a huge fan of Kuromi (the back and white one), but man, those pink and brown critters are to die for. I particularly like the left design, which is a Felyne dressed up as My Melody, if you’re wondering. I’m not sure what it is about animals wearing other animal’s faces that is so endearing, but believe me, I am sold.

Monster Hunter Diary G already had some My Melody downloadable content last year, so this crossover is by no means a surprise. Now, however, legions of men, women, and children across Japan will be able to purchase Felyne and My Melody in the form of accessories, clothing, stationary, and probably just about anything you can imagine. For an idea of what the goods will look like, check out this Hello Kitty x Felyne series that ran last year:

It’s good that I’m learning about this so far in advance… I’ll have plenty of time to arrange how I’m going to get my hands on a Felyne x My Melody plush! 
Do any of these designs tickle your fancy? 

Arrietty Impressions

First of all, I have to apologize once again for the huge gap between posts! My husband and I flew down to Sydney for Chinese New Year and instead of catching up on things I needed to do, I completely zoned out and didn’t do anything but eat and play through Rayman Origins a second time with Shaun and his sister (I think I’ve had enough now).

This is a long time coming, but a couple of weeks ago Shaun and I made the 5 minute trek to the movie theater (one of the many perks of our new apartment) to see Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty (Japanese title: 借りぐらしのアリエッティ, also known as The Secret World of Arrietty in the US) over opening weekend. As always, the rest of the world is a bit behind Japan – Arrietty originally aired in its home country back in July 2010, and the most recent Studio Ghibli film, From Up on Poppy Hill, aired this past summer in Japan. For once, Australia was ahead of the game, with the film releasing here a whole month before it debuts in the US on February 17th.

Arrietty (I will refer to it by the Australian title since that’s the version I saw) is based on Mary Norton’s classic novel The Borrowers, about a family of extremely tiny people who live beneath a normal-sized family’s house. They survive by scavenging what they can from their surroundings and “borrowing” things from regular humans, only taking what they are sure will not be missed such as an extra tissue or a safety pin that has been lost and forgotten beneath a dresser. Interestingly, this film marks the directorial debut of Hiromasa Yonebashi, a key animator of a number of Studio Ghibli films and the youngest director of a Studio Ghibli production to date. He also was the key animator of Serial Experiments Lain, one of my favorite anime!

Since the subtitled version wasn’t shown anywhere in our area, we had to settle with the British dubbed version. The film has been licensed separately for the US and Europe/Australia, the so English voice actors are completely different for the two regions. Honestly, given the film’s beginnings as a British novel, I found it quite refreshing to hear the characters speak with non-American accents. There were a handful of times where the localization felt odd to me, but that could have been due to the British influence. I look forward to hearing the original Japanese language track when the film comes out on DVD.

Can I have a room that looks like this?

Unfortunately I haven’t read The Borrowers, so I can’t comment on how it compares to the book, but if it’s anything like Howl’s Moving Castle, you can expect a pretty liberal interpretation. Fans of My Neighbor Totoro will be right at home in the lush, green environments and relatively slow pacing, where those who prefer the unique locations and higher level of action in Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke may find this Studio Ghibli offering a little too “mundane.” I found myself highly appreciative of the attention to detail put in to making the world look believable from the eyes of a Borrower. From stamps serving as paintings in the tiny house to the variety of insects Arrietty interacts with over the course of the film, everything felt fresh and different and was a joy to see come to life with Ghibli’s signature flair.

One of my favorite scenes in the film had to be when Arrietty meets Sho, a sick boy sent to rest at the house about Arrietty’s home, up close for the first time. Arrietty is on her first borrowing excursion with her father, and one of her tasks is to grab a tissue out of a tissue box on Sho’s bedside table. The moment of confrontation – Arrietty looking up to see Sho’s wide, bright eyes staring directly at her, was startling for both her and me as a viewer. Watching Arrietty try in vain to hide behind the tissue (a background light illuminates her body quite clearly) was both endearing and heartbreaking – she knows she is never supposed to be seen by a human, and she is disappointed by her failure during her first trip out with her father.

The music in the film was not done by regular Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi, but newcomer Cécile Corbel, a French musician who is reportedly a big fan of Studio Ghibli. Apparently, she sent them a CD of her songs as a fan, and the company was intrigued by her work and subsequently invited her to do the soundtrack for Arrietty. Sounds like a fairy tale story, eh? She did both the theme, titled simply “Arrietty’s Song,” as well as the rest of the background music. The Celtic themes really mesh well with the general feel of the film, and though I was a little miffed by the silly English lyrics of Arrietty’s Song (“I am fourteen years old, I am pretty”? Did a fourteen-year-old write it?), I still found it very enjoyable. The full English version is what accompanied the version of the film I saw, but the majority of the song was in Japanese for the original film.

All in all, I really enjoyed Arrietty. I’ve heard criticisms that it was too slow, or simply not as amazing as previous Studio Ghibli films, but frankly, if you are at all interested in Ghibli, you definitely need to see Arrietty on the big screen and decide for yourself. Some have compared it to My Neighbor Totoro, and while I don’t think it quite surpasses the caliber of some of my favorite Ghibli films, it is definitely now up there at the top of my list. The animation and music were both gorgeous, and I found the story bittersweet and touching. If the company can churn out films this good without Miyazaki at the helm, I’m confident that even when he’s gone they’ll continue to make some of the best animated features the world has ever seen.

Japan Envy: Limited edition game consoles, Kingdom Hearts edition

Sometimes I feel like I could just throw my money in Square Enix’s general direction. I know that’s a funny thing to say, given my recent disdain for certain Final Fantasy titles that will not be mentioned, but for some reason I keep going back to Square Enix for more, particularly when it comes to Kingdom Hearts. The release date and a limited edition 3DS for the latest Kingdom Hearts title have been announced, and I am really liking the 3DS’s design.

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Even if you don’t like Kingdom Hearts, you’ve got to admit that’s a pretty sleek design! I particularly like the pink crown and the contrast it provides. Now, I’ve never bought a limited edition console before, and I’m definitely not going to start here, but that won’t stop me drooling over it a little bit.

Kingdom Hearts 3D will be released on March 29th in Japan, which is soon enough that I think it’s high time we catch wind of a localization (c’mon, it’s bound to happen). Of course, if you want the 3DS, you’re going to have to import. The first print run of the game will also include a limited edition AR card, which unlocks a difficult to obtain Dream Eater in the game.

Square Enix also sent out a few new screenshots for the game. One, in particular, is pretty interesting to me:

Now maybe I’ve been out of the loop, but I honestly didn’t realize Axel would be in the game (those of you who’ve played Kingdom Hearts should know why). Admittedly I was a bit of an Axel fangirl back in the day, so it’s nice to see him make a comeback.
EDIT: Well, it has quickly come to my attention that I am incorrect! That’s not Axel, but Lea, as is evident in his lack of certain distinct facial markings. I haven’t played enough of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep to know much about Lea, and I won’t spoil it for you all, but needless to say he isn’t all that different from Axel. Now finishing Birth By Sleep before Kingdom Hearts 3D comes out is a top priority! 
Though I should probably know better than to get too excited for a Kingdom Hearts title these days, I’m going to continue to be optimistic for this one. Are any of you planning on picking it up when it comes out? 

The Great 2011 Holiday Haul

I get my jollies from finding games marked down like this. I actually scored this one for $14
Before I begin, I must clarify that by “holiday” I am referring from the month period between mid-December and mid-January. Truth be told, there was only one game waiting for me under the tree Christmas morning (Mario Kart 7), but I did acquire quite a number of titles with Christmas/birthday money and the after holiday sales. But enough of that, on to the games!
That’s a lot of Wii games…

Amazingly enough, all of the games I purchased are not included in the above picture. Not pictured are Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows of the Damned, Rayman Origins (all three received from a sweet Twitter friend who works at EA Australia), Cursed Mountain (which I bought today), and Fatal Frame II, which is currently en route (an online order). Oh, and it’s also worth noting that Sakura Wars~So Long, My Love~ was also given to me by another awesome Twitter friend who happened to have an extra copy. I cannot wait to try it out!

Out of all my purchases, I’m most excited for Little King’s Story and The Legend of Starfy. I have been waiting to find a copy of Starfy new for $20 or less for ages now, and I got mine for $14! Oh, do I love a good deal. Little King’s Story is quite hard to find in Australia these days, and I scored it for $13 used at an EB Games, but since I traded in the copy of Mario Kart Wii I got with my Wii console (sad, I know, but I don’t think I’ll play it now that I have MK7. Anyone want an extra Wii wheel, feel free to ask in the comments), I got it for free!
Endless Ocean 2, Cursed Mountain, and Rayman Origins are the only games I’ve played so far, and Rayman Origins is really the only one I’ve spent a significant amount of time with. I won’t go into too much detail, but as I mentioned in a previous post, it’s definitely one of my favorite games that came out in 2011!! As for Endless Ocean 2 and Cursed Mountain, I’ve only played about 1 hour of each, so I can’t really give my impressions of those yet. With Endless Ocean 2 I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the above water sequences, and some of the goofy tasks it has you do, like fend off sharks with a signature Wiimote waggle. The scuba diving (which is the meat of the game, of course) is great fun, though. Cursed Mountain has a really great atmosphere so far, and I’m really digging the icy mountain setting. I’m a chicken when it comes to horror games, though, so I don’t want to play it by myself, or in the dark! Way to ruin the mood, I know…

How come no one told me there was a Princess Apricot in Little King’s Story?
Clearly she is going to be my new favorite character
So, I know it’s a bit late, but did any of you get any games over the holidays, or make any game purchases that you’ve been enjoying lately? January’s a good month to catch up on one’s backlog, I think. So, what have you been spending your time with?

4 games I’m looking forward to in 2012

This post is coming a tad bit late, but who said I had to follow the herd, eh? As the title suggests, I’ve wrangled up a few games that I’m particularly looking forward to in this hopefully epic year of the dragon. It should come to no surprise to any of you that all of these are Japanese games. I am very predictable.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance


Or Kingdom Hearts 3D, as it is also known… Get it?? Ahaha… Anyways, pretty much anyone save die-hard fans will tell you that Kingdom Hearts has been on a downward spiral littered with obsolete and downright unnecessary plot threads with still no true Kinghdom Hearts 3 (that 3D may be as close as we’re ever going to get). But I’ve been playing some Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep over the holidays and I have to say, its rekindled my Kingdom Hearts spark. And besides… The World Ends with You character appearances? A Hunchback of Notre Dame world? I was in before Disney could utter “Frollo.”

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom


Why look, it’s another predictable title on Anne’s list. I think all that needs to be said here is “first major English otome game.” If you want to read more about otome games, I’ve written plenty about it. Here’s a sample of what I’m looking forward to:

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Dream Drop Distance, Theatrhythm… Japan will never get over its absurd use of English in game titles. If you’re wondering, the official Japanese site states that “theatrhythm” is a combination of “theater” and “rhythm.” Well, it helped me remember exactly how to spell the title, at least.

As a fan of both rhythm games and Final Fantasy, this one is yet again another no-brainer for me. I am decidedly not a big fan of the cutesy art style used in the game’s character art, but I’d be willing to overlook that if the game plays as well as I’m hoping. And with three different modes to play all of my favorite Final Fantasy songs in, it should provide many hours of fun.

Pokémon x Nobunaga’s Ambition

Admittedly, I’m a bit of a shameless Pokémon fan. Okay, there’s not much shame in that, as most of my video game loves are based on silly reasoning, but here’s one to take the cake: After I saw these two character designs from Pokémon x Nobunaga’s Ambition, I was sold. Also, Pokémon combined with feudal Japan? A fresh take on the old Pokémon formula? Sign me up!

 

Of course, there are plenty of other great looking titles that I am very much looking forward to this year, including, but not limited to: Atelier Meruru: Apprentice of Arland, Final Fantasy Type-0, Rhythm Heaven Fever, and Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure. 2012 is looking to be a great year indeed!

Join the VGW crew for some Mario Kart 7!

source (available as a poster!)

Just a quick heads up to anyone who’s interested in playing Mario Kart 7 with me and the rest of the crew over at Video Game Writers – we’ll be having a community games night on Tuesday (that should be today for most of you reading this!) the 10th at 5-8 pm PST (8-11 pm EST)! That’s Wednesday the 11th at… 11 am for those of you like me in Queensland, Australia. Man, time zones are confusing!

Be sure to register the VGW Mario Kart 7 community code: 07-8039-5578-5488

I will be hopping on and off for the whole three hours, so you’ll have plenty of chances to beat race me, if that’s something you’ve always wanted to do. Of course there will be prizes going out to those non-VGW members who manage to top the leaderboards, so there’s some extra incentive! (Do you need more of an incentive than the opportunity to race me?)

VGW will also be utilizing some amazing technology for a live podcast that you can sign into via Twitter or Facebook so that you can interact with all of us between the action!

And if you just can’t get enough of me, you can register my 3DS friend code so we can play together in the future! It’s 5198-2487-0725. Just remember to let me know who you are when you add me, or I won’t add you back!

I hope to see you all there!