Author: Anne

Square Enix Announces Theatrhythm Dragon Quest

After Square Enix was heavily applauded for the Nintendo 3DS rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and subsequent Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, some fans mused about the possibility of Theatrhythm-like games focused on different series. Well, apparently Square Enix had the same train of thought, as today they announced the next game in the rhythm series, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest!
gif via Tiny Cartridge

What I find interesting about the teaser site is that while it plays a revamped version of Dragon Quest‘s iconic theme, it doen’t have the same funky vibe that the revised Final Fantasy prelude has in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Does this indicate a more traditional direction for the menu/background music in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest?There’s not much information about the game yet aside from the teaser site that reveals that a trailer for the game will debut at Jump Fiesta on the weekend of December 20th – 21st. Not only that, but it will be playable, as well! The game already has a release date of March 26th in Japan, and will retail for 5,800 yen.

Also, it can’t be said enough how adorable the Dragon Quest monsters look in the big-eyed Theatrhythm art style!

Do you think Dragon Quest has enough catchy tunes to make as meaty of a game as Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy? Unfortunately, none of the Dragon Quest games on 3DS have made it into English yet, so localization chances might not be so good for this one… Then again, as a rhythm game it won’t have anywhere near the amount of text as an RPG, so maybe Square Enix will throw us a bone!

Dissecting Studio Khara’s Japan Animation Expo short “ME!ME!ME!”

A self-indulging celebration, or a critical look at otaku consumption practices? “ME!ME!ME!” is a short animation that debuted on November 21st as part of the Japan Animation Expo, a project between famed anime director Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara and Dwango that showcases young animators. While two shorts came before it, with one more releasing every week until all 30 have been posted online, “ME!ME!ME!” has undoubtedly been receiving the most attention for its striking visual style, catchy soundtrack, and dark themes.


The buzz surrounding “ME!ME!ME!” is almost certainly justified, but when poking around the internet, I didn’t find much in the way of long-form discussion outside of forum threads about what I found to be very harsh condemnation of the specific style of media consumption exhibited by the protagonist of the video. Instead of focusing on my personal interpretation, however, I thought it would be more interesting to kickstart discussion by using this article to attempt to illustrate just how complex “ME!ME!ME!” is.

character art of the protagonist

 

“ME!ME!ME!” is very much a music video for “ME!ME!ME! feat. daoko” by TeddyLoid, a DJ and electronica musician notable for his contribution to the Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt anime, a series which shares a number of similarities to the short. Directed by Hibiki Yoshizaki, a member of Studio Khara who has previously worked on the anime Yozakura Quartet and Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, and animated by members of the Little Witch Academia animation team, “ME!ME!ME!” is a real star-studded effort. Megumi Hayashibara and Kouichi Yamadera have provided voices, as well.
Before reading on, I highly suggest watching “ME!ME!ME!,” and if you already have, why not watch it again? At the time of this post I’ve seen it about five times, as I found that it moves so fast that it’s extremely hard to pick up on everything the first or even second time though. Keep in mind that the video features many animated naked women in suggestive poses, along with a couple brief but graphic scenes of gore, making it most definitely not work viewing material. I’m being careful of the number of nude/gory stills I include, but be warned that due to the content of the video and in the interest of opening an informed discussion, it’s not possible for me to omit them entirely. I’ve also included a whopping 45 screenshots, so beware that the rest of the post is quite image heavy!

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Sakura Miku: Bloomed in Japan Nendoroid Pre-Orders Reopen

When I first saw images of an updated Sakura Miku Nendoroid on my Twitter feed, I took a look, thought, “Wow, that’s cute!” and promptly forgot about it. I completely missed the fact that in addition to being the 500th Nendoroid release, she’ll be the first Nendoroid to be made in Good Smile Company’s new Japanese factory. Imagine my surprise when I found out that preorders had opened on the day of the announcement, only to sell out a few minutes later!


Luckily, Good Smile Company has reopened preorders for those who missed out on the initial batch, but it will likely still be very limited, so order yours while you can! Preorders close on December 24th, or when preorder allocation numbers have been reached. Like many limited releases, Sakura Miku: Bloomed in Japan is only available from Good Smile Company’s official online store and limited to one per customer, meaning you won’t want to miss out on this one!

Since the second batch of preorders is listed as shipping out starting in April 2015, rather than March 2015 like the initial batch, it seems likely that GSC did not initially account for such a high demand. That, or they wanted a lucky number of fans to get their Sakura Miku: Bloomed in Japan Nendoroids before everyone else!

While GSC has already done a Sakura Miku Nendoroid before, at number 274, it’s a little outdated in terms of the quality of the sculpt and paint job when compared to more recent Nendoroids. While her outfit and overall design is generally very similar, such as the cherry blossom pattern on her hair and pink uniform, the Bloomed in Japan version has a lot of new extras in addition to some general improvements. I particularly love the tricolored dango, because I’m a food nut. 

This expression is too cute to resist! I love the closed eyes and triangle mouth, which is much smaller than the original version. Keeping in mind that these photos will vary somewhat from what the figure will look like in person, it seems like the Bloomed in Japan version has a more pastel pink color scheme and more impressive transparent hair than the original. Of course, you can’t miss the brand new braided hair piece she gets this time around!

Well, the moral of the story is that once I found out how limited the initial preorder allotments were, I couldn’t stand the thought of missing out on this adorable Nendoroid, so I promptly secured myself one as soon as preorders were open again. Do you like the new design, or prefer the old version? Let me know in the comments!

Rune Factory 4 Finally Comes to PAL Regions on December 11th

When Marvelous AQL announced that the PAL release of Rune Factory 4 was canceled in January this year, the door appeared to have closed on the RPG/farming hybrid. Rune Factory developer Neverland shut down in 2013, which was likely the cause of the cancelation, meaning that European and Australian fans may have never gotten to play what could be the last Rune Factory game ever. In an exciting development, however, XSEED Games, publisher of the North American version, has announced that they will be releasing game in PAL regions next week!

While the game will be digital only, meaning no snazzy box art or potential collector’s editions, this is thrilling news for Rune Factory fans who do not own a North American 3DS. The game will retail for £24.99 / €29.99 and $49.95 AUD on December 11th.

Regarding the game’s delayed PAL launch, project lead Brittany Avery tweeted that after Neverland’s closure, XSEED had to negotiate to get the source code themselves, something that is usually left to the game developer. She explains that 99% of cases when the original developer is no longer available to assist with the code, the project is doomed to never release, making the fact that XSEED was able to pull off a PAL version of Rune Factory 4 a real feat indeed. 

If you own a PAL Nintendo 3DS, please consider purchasing the game to show your support! With developer Neverland being no more, this very may well be the last Rune Factory game we ever see… 

Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 Giveaway!

I’m extremely excited to announce that VIZ Media has kindly donated one copy of the limited edition Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack along with three copies of the DVD for me to give away! It’s perfect timing, really, as my birthday is coming up on the 13th, and what better way to celebrate than sharing some of the joy? 
Be sure to check out my review of Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1, and enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Don’t forget to check back every day to earn up to six additional entries! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 LE BD/DVD Combo Pack Review

Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 LE BD/DVD Combo Pack Review

It’s no secret that the Sailor Moon anime has had a big impact on my life, both as a show that offered female role models to aspire to when I was young and being the impetus for my lifelong love of Japan. Earlier this year, I recorded a podcast dedicated to the franchise, and when VIZ Media announced the series would be coming to Blu-ray this year, I was thrilled. Now that I’ve gotten hold of the Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 Limited Edition Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack, I can say being able to watch the series in its entirety uncut is an absolute joy, but unfortunately the experience is marred by subpar video quality.

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Announcing the Doujin Community Game-Along

I can’t believe the first year of Community Game-Alongs is nearly over! I say “first year” because thanks to the amazingly positive reception my Game-Along survey has had so far, I’ll be continuing these themed gaming months through 2015! The survey is still available to fill out if you’d like to add some theme ideas to the pile, but I’m really happy to hear that everyone has enjoyed these enough to want another full year of them.

Anyway, to close out 2014, I thought it would be fun to celebrate a niche of games that is steadily gaining more traction outside of Japan, but still very much underrepresented. Doujin games are basically the Japanese equivalent of indie or fan games, but unlike the western indie scene, it is still an underground movement in many ways. On occasion, Japanese doujin titles such as Touhou Project or Cave Story gain enough popularity to break into mainstream outlets, but many only ever see release on PC in alternative distribution venues such as fan conventions.

Luckily, thanks to companies such as Playism, Nyu Media, Carpe Fulgur, and the recent Sekai Project, it’s easier than ever to play a wide range of doujin titles in English! While most doujin games are unfortunately PC-only, they’re generally not very demanding and can be run on nearly any computer, and some more popular titles get revamped for other systems, such as La-Mulana or Corpse Party.

I’m sure everyone knows the drill by now, but for those new to Chic Pixel Community Game-Alongs, all you need to do to participate is pick a game that fits the theme and play it during the month of December! Of course, be sure to share your experiences and impressions using #DoujinDecember on social media.

A lot of games that fit in this month’s theme were mentioned in previous months, including the aforementioned La-Mulana (only $2.99 on Steam as of this post!) and a slew of doujin horror games I listed in October’s Community Game-Along post. While those are all great picks for DoujinDecember, here are a few other titles to get you started:

Cave Story (PC/Mac, Wii, DS, 3DS) – Cave Story is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known doujin games in English. The Metroidvania-style adventure game was originally self-published for PC in 2004, making this year its 10th anniversary! If you’ve yet to play a doujin game, this one is highly recommended for its platform accessibility and high degree of polish. You can even still get the original game for free, though later revisions sport upgrades that would be worth checking out.

Unholy Heights (PC) – The great thing about DoujinDecember occurring right in the middle of Steam sales is it’s an awesome time to pick up some lesser-known doujin games on the cheap! Unholy Heights is one such game, and it’s only $0.99 right now. The RTS/apartment management sim is both addictive and adorable, with a drop-dead cute monster theme and fun but not too complex gameplay. If that isn’t enough to sell you on this game, it makes a great pick up and play title to fit in during the busy holiday season!

Yume Nikki (PC) – Speaking of the holiday season, you’re probably telling yourself that you can’t bear to spend any more money on anything, let alone more games. Luckily, another classic doujin game, Yume Nikki, is available free to download in English from Playism’s site. While perhaps not explicitly a horror game, Yume Nikki has players controlling a girl name Madotsuki as she travels through her dreams, and it has become quite notorious for its disturbing imagery. It’s a doujin classic worth experiencing, but you might want to play it with the lights on!

Hatoful Boyfriend (PC/Mac) – How could I not mention the most infamous doujin game of 2014? Hatoful Boyfriend has been available in English since February 2012, but the game only just launched on Steam in September of this year. Now that it’s available to an even wider audience, everyone seems to be talking about “that pigeon dating sim.” If you want something goofy with a surprisingly dark undertone and you’ve never tried a romantic visual novel before, this would be a great place to start! Like most of the games mentioned, it’s currently on sale, too. Keep in mind that it will be coming out for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita next year, so it may be worth holding off on if you’d prefer to experience it on those platforms.

There are dozens more doujin games available in English in a wide variety of genres, meaning there’s something for nearly everyone! I hope this month will be a good opportunity for some folks to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. Happy gaming!