Sunday Spotlight: The Anime Nostalgia Podcast

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Would you believe this is the first time I’ve featured a podcast in a Sunday Spotlight? Considering the number I listen to, I’m shocked! It’s high time I change that, and there’s no better show to start with than The Anime Nostalgia Podcast hosted by Dawn, aka Usamimi.

Each episode of The Anime Nostalgia Podcast features Dawn and one or more special guests as they discuss a classic anime in depth, or dig into an anime-related topic from the prospective of nostalgic series. I just so happened to guest on an episode where we shared our favorite anime couples, and while I’m obviously biased, that’s a great place to start! But regardless of your anime inclinations, there’s sure to be an episode of The Anime Nostalgia Podcast that caters to your interests.

While I decided to put the focus on her podcast for this week’s Sunday Spotlight, Dawn is actually an extremely talented crafter, as well! Her Etsy shop, Bunny Cartoon Creations, showcases some of her awesome nerdy embroidery pieces, as well as tons of fun vintage items, so definitely check it out!

Dawn can also be found on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow her for nerdy crafts and all kinds of nostalgic anime musings!

Visiting the Kit Kat Chocolatory in Tokyo

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On my last trip to Japan, I pledged that I wouldn’t leave the country before visiting the Kit Kat Chocolatory, a one-of-a-kind store in Tokyo that sells Kit Kat flavors you can’t find anywhere else. Well, a whole year and a half later, I’m happy to say I did visit it, and I even tried some of their special edition flavors!

Kyoukai no Shirayuki Scenario and Supporting Character Bio Translations

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I’m finally back with some new translations! Featuring Gatchaman Crowds artist Kinako’s distinctive art and character designs, Kyoukai no Shirayuki is a dark twist on the tale of Snow White, where protagonist Mashiro Akagami finds herself entangled in the fates of eight young men and their twisted mirror world selves.

Today I’m going to be sharing translations of scenarios for three of the romance-able men, Kaine, Nazuki, and Yura, as well as winter outfits for all eight male characters, info on the four supporting characters, and the first installment in the Shuffle Talk dialogue series featuring Kaine and Yori.

For detailed plot information and main character bios, please head over my translations of the announcement trailer and the previous two B’s Log features, as this post will only cover information new to the January 2016 issue of B’s Log.

Sunday Spotlight: Flowermiko Scans

3 / 6 / 16

I am always blown alway by people who take the time to meticulously scan, edit, and upload images from their collection to share with the world. I’ve already featured a Pokémon goods scanner and a retro Japanese magazine scanner… But Flowermiko stands out for sharing scans of all of my favorite kinds of Japanese media, from anime such as CardCaptor Sakura of otome game images!

Beastmaster and Prince Flower and Snow illustration scanned by flowermiko — Illustration of the characters from *Beastmaster and Prince -Flower and Snow-*, an otome game currently on Kickstarter! (source)

Flowermiko’s scanning blog, The Cherry Blossom’s Image Emporium, is chock full of gorgeous images such a new CardCaptor Sakura lottery prize illustration, a rare Snow Miku clear file, a gorgeous Code: Realize wall scroll, and more! If you’re a fan of any of these things, you absolutely must check out her scans!

Not only that, but Flowermiko has recently published a very helpful guide on how to edit and clean up images in Photoshop. I hope this encourages more collectors to scan and share their own merchandise! I’m definitely eager to try it out with some of my things…

You can follow Flowermiko on both Tumblr and Twitter.

OyatsuBox February 2016 Subscription Review

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Ever since I first review the OyatsuBox Japanese snack subscription service back in March 2014, it has remained one of my favorite services on the market. That’s why I’m extra excited to announce that I’m partnering with the folks at OyatsuBox to offer you monthly reviews, starting with the February 2016 premium box!

I was surprised to see that a lot has changed since I first reviewed their service back in 2014. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so first, let’s take a peek at what’s inside…

The 2016 Monster Hunter Community Game-Along

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It’s finally time for the 3rd annual Monster Hunter Community Game-Along! I originally dedicated a month to Monster Hunter and the various hunting games the series has inspired back in 2014 for its 10th anniversary, but now it’s become a mainstay of my Community Game-Alongs together with JRPG July. If you’re not a fan of Monster Hunter, never fear, as any hunting-like game is eligible for this month’s theme. So grab your title of choice, and let’s get hunting!

If you’re on social media, you can share your experiences with your chosen title or recommend games to other participants using #MonMonth. I’m always following along, so you just might get featured!

Aside from the obvious Monster Hunter games, there are a handful of other titles from Freedom Wars to Bloodborne that would count for this month’s theme. You can head over to my original MonMonth post for some suggestions, but here are a couple more recent picks that you might like to try!

Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS) – This is the Monster Hunter game for Final Fantasy fans! While it takes a lot of inspiration from Monster Hunter, it doesn’t have nearly as steep a learning curve, making it a great first foray into this style of game. Plus, you can dress your character up like iconic Final Fantasy characters! Since this was recently released, it should still be getting a lot of action online.

Toukiden Kiwami (PS4, Vita) – The sequel to Toukiden: The Age of Demons, Kiwami is a great pick if Japanese folklore-inspired monsters are more up your alley. It’s about as close as we’ll get to playing a current-gen Monster Hunter game on a home console for the time being, too. Luckily, it’s a very solid hunting game from the Dynasty Warriors crew.

As for me, I’m going to finally attempt to play MonHan Nikki: Poka Poka Airou Mura DX, a cute Monster Hunter spinoff game for the 3DS featuring the adorable cat critters known as felynes. Let’s see if I actually find time to dedicate to it!

Swooning Over: Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Famitsu DX Edition

2 / 27 / 16

Odin Sphere is one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played, so of course I was thrilled when I learned about Odin Sphere Leifthrasir‘s super special (and super exclusive) Famitsu DX Edition. So thrilled, in fact, that I paid about $110 for the game, art book, wall scroll, calendar, coasters, and mug, making it the most expensive video game limited edition I’ve ever purchased! Well, I finally received my copy this month, and I just had to share some photos…