Toraware no Paruma (囚われのパルマ, or “imprisoned palm”) is the first mobile otome game from Capcom, and an ambitious one at that. The game centers around your interactions with and observation of the male character Haruto, who is imprisoned after a “certain incident” that he has no memories of. In fact, he has no memories of anything, and you’ve been transported to the island where he’s being held captive to act as his counsellor and try to find some answers.
Salutations, September! Now that August and the PlatinumGames Game-Along have come and gone, it’s time to switch gears, grab a pumpkin spice latte, and play some strategy RPGs!
If you’re a long-time Chic Pixel reader, you know I’m a big fan of subscription boxes. When the folks at the nerdy subscriptions service Loot Crate mentioned that they were looking to see what dream subscription box themes people could come up with, I knew I had to answer the call. Besides, there’s even a chance they’ll be selecting one lucky blogger’s crate theme to make into a future month’s crate! I have no shortage of fun ideas I’d like to see in a subscription box, but I managed to narrow it down to one core theme: otome (乙女).
The term otome is most often used among English speakers in relation to “otome games,” but it literally means “maiden,” so it can refer to anything that might appeal to someone with maiden-like sensibilities! But since this is me, all of my otome items have a decidedly nerdy twist. Basically, this dream loot crate consists of everything I love, be it cute lifestyle items, otome game merchandise, or shojo anime figurines!
I’d never thought the day would come when I owned a Nendoroid wearing a bikini, but here we are! I just couldn’t resist grabbing a Nendoroid based on one of Kinako’s amazing Gatchaman Crowds character designs. While Ichinose Hajime is actually my favorite character from the series, I was unfortunately a little disappointed by her Nendoroid‘s accessories. When I saw Utsutsu’s adorable Nendoroid form, however, I just couldn’t resist!
I recently discovered the wonders of eBook Japan as an alternative to Amazon Japan’s Kindle products for an easy way to get digital books and manga overseas. Unlike Amazon Japan, which requires you to jump through some hoops to access Kindle products outside Japan, eBook Japan is perfectly tailored for international customers. Plus, every week they offer a great selection of free manga (and occasionally books) that members can download for free!
Reading manga in Japanese is a great way to improve your language ability, but it can be daunting to spend money on a title when you don’t know what to expect. With eBook Japan’s free weekly manga, you can try as many titles as you like and save your wallet a lot of grief! A lot of the free weekly titles correspond to currently-airing anime, too, so you can read along as you watch your new favorite series. But if you’re not sure how to navigate a site completely in Japanese, never fear: this guide will take you though all the steps to creating an account and downloading free manga on eBook Japan!
It’s always exciting to see a new BL game in the works, and Sentimental Trickster is no different. This ages 18+ visual novel has already hit its initial funding goal on Kickstarter and is successfully Greenlit, but with additional support could reach some exciting stretch goals such as more CGs, sprites, and facial animations, or even a new dateable character!
Sentimental Trickster follows protagonist Haru as he sets off to start a new life at arts college and comes in contact with a plethora of hunky men (some more friendly than others!). There’s a demo of the first hour or so of the game available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on the Kickstarter page, which I highly recommend checking out. The game so far has been made entirely by a single person, and it’s extremely impressive, to say the least!
At the time of this post, the Kickstarter has 7 days left until it ends, which means there’s still plenty of time to get in on some of the exclusive extras such as a playable Kickstarter-exclusive “thank you” from the characters themselves. Since the game has already been fully funded, there’s no fear of the disappointment that comes with backing a campaign with an uncertain outcome. I look forward to seeing the completed version of Sentimental Trickster in March 2017!
After my first experience using Tenso to forward packages from Japan to Australia a year ago, my buying habits have drastically changed. No more pining away for products that can’t be shipped overseas – now I can order them and have them shipped to me for a reasonable fee with Tenso! I say “reasonable” because if you’re not careful, the cost can shoot up very quickly… But after forwarding a few packages, I think I have a pretty good handle on how to make the most of it. Today I’ll be sharing my most recent haul as well as some tips on using Tenso I’ve learned along the way!