Author: Anne Lee

Scary Pokémon Halloween website features Gengar, Banette, and… Junji Ito?

The world of Pokémon has always been a slightly sinister place, from the designs of some of the Pokémon themselves (Mr. Mime for all you clown lovers out there), to Pokédex entries that reveal a darker side to the otherwise adorable little creatures. In fact, the Lavender Town tower cemetary in Pokémon Red/Blue is so infamous that it was the first example on the subject of death in Japanese popular media that Harvard professor Alexander Zahlten mentioned it at the beginning of a talk of his I went to earlier this year!

The creepier aspects of Pokémon have never really been directly discussed, and certainly not promoted, by the creators of the games themselves, but this year the Pokémon Company is fully embracing Pokémon scare potential with the Hontou wa kowai? (Actually scary?) Pokémon website. Just in time for Halloween, the Hontou wa kowai? website celebrates all ghost and dark Pokémon that have the potential to send a chill down your spine. A variety of scary Pokémon, or KowaPoké (an amalgamation of kowai, or scary, and Pokémon) grace the site, and there are a number of informational pages, activities, and more. 
The website plays the eery Lavender Town theme, of course… 
The frustrating thing about many Japanese holiday tie-in events is that they only occur in Japan, but in the case of this website, anyone in the world can join in the fun! Even if you don’t understand Japanese, there are plenty of things to see, such as the scary Pokémon minigame, festive wallpapers for smartphones and computers, coloring pages, and even some short manga.
“You’re so wonderful…” 
The site is being regularly updated throughout the month with tons of information on scary Pokémon in the various Pokémon games themselves, as well. One such update, however, revealed a very surprising collaboration… 
full image
Master of Japanese horror Junji Ito himself is doing a series of collaborative illustrations for the website! The above image depicting the evil plush Pokémon Banette is the first of two illustrations that will be released on the Hontou wa kowai? website. There will even be a special t-shirt giveaway featuring Junji Ito’s Banette illustration for 100 lucky fans, but it’s unfortunately limited to residents of Japan only.

Junji Ito is famous for his twisted horror manga, including Gyo, Uzumaki, and Tomie. Regarding the Banette illustration, he says he drew a Banette that was searching for the child that threw it out. Since Banettes are born from the grudge they hold against their previous owners for abandoning them, you can only imagine how it must feel to see a child doting on a brand new toy…

I’m not sure how I was ever able to sleep at night after playing Pokémon! Junji Ito’s second illustration has yet to be revealed, but I can’t wait to see what scary Pokémon he draws next… 

Swooning Over: Gina Gallaway’s Videogame Customs

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of game critic and author Brad Gallaway, who is by far one of the most passionate and opinionated game writers I know. While Mr. Gallaway is loud and proud about his likes and dislikes on numerous corners of the internet, his wife, Gina, is slightly more subdued but none the less an avid video game aficionado. She’s taken her passion for all things gaming one step further, however, and combined it with her crafty talents to whip up an array of classic game inspired trinkets, primarily shirts and coffee sleeves!

Lagombi and Kushala Daora coffee sleeves

Here are two Monster Hunter-inspired coffee sleeves Gina made for me and Mr. Sushi in a recent gift exchange. All of her items are cross-stitched, which is the perfect way to translate the Monster Hunter monster icons into wearable art. It totally brightens my day to see an adorable little Lagombi peering up at me as I sip away at my morning drink of choice (usually coffee, if you’re curious).

But more along the lines of actual wearable art, Gina can also translate said cross stitch into t-shirts! Here are just a few of her recent designs:

Edgar from Final Fantasy VI
Iconic Mario jump tee 
Tigrex from Monster Hunter

While Gina has previously showered her amazing video game designs on family and lucky friends, she’s finally opened a site to take custom orders from anyone who would like a special piece of game-inspired handiwork. Her shirts start at $25 and coffee sleeves at $15, but since she does everything by order on request, she’ll make any custom pixel designs your heart desires!

Head over to her site to see more of her past designs and get information on how to place a custom order of your own. I know it may be a little early to start thinking about holiday shopping, but wouldn’t these would make great personalized gifts?

Betoyo Bento Subscription Box Review

When it comes to Japan-related subscription services, there is no shortage of options in the candy/snack department, but if you want to venture into the realm of collectables and other knickknacks, there are considerably fewer services available. Luckily, the folks at Betoyo Bento seek to fill that void by offering monthly boxes of toys, candies, and any other “Japanese pop culture items” they come across!

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Announcing the Horror Community Game-Along

When deciding October’s Community Game-Along, I’ll admit I was a little selfish. Halloween is up there with my very favorite holidays, and I love nothing more than an excuse to cover my apartment in creepy cute bats, pumpkins, and ghosts. How, then, could I turn up the chance to tie the October Game-Along in with the holiday festivities?

Corpse Party

As such, October is going to be all about horror games! Japanese games, western games, console games, freeware PC games – everything’s included, as long as it falls under the horror umbrella. Now, I understand that not everyone can handle a good scare (including yours truly on most occasions), so in the interest of getting anyone and everyone to participate, games with Halloween-related themes and aesthetics are also acceptable!

The “rules” of the Horror Community Game-Along are the same as always: pick a game (or games) that fit the theme to play, and share your experiences however you see fit. On social media, please use #horrorgemonth to tag your posts so everyone can see! For the curious, “horrogemonth” is what you get when you take “horror geemu” (Japanese pronunciation of “game”) and smash “month” on the end. Do you know how difficult it is to create a unique horror-themed hashtag to use during the month of October?

Here are a few titles to get you started if you’re stumped with what to play:

Corpse Party

Corpse Party series (PSP, iOS) – I had to include Corpse Party on the list, as it’s the series that really got me into horror games after I told myself I couldn’t handle playing them for many years. The visual novel style of much of the game, combined with some pretty brutal puzzles that almost necessitate using a guide, may mean that the original Corpse Party might not be for everyone. I’ll be the first to tell you, though, that the game’s story and sound design is more than worth the game’s lack of polish in other areas. I suggest playing the original on the Vita, but if you don’t own a Vita or a PSP, there is also an iOS port of the game (that unfortunately had its fair share of technical issues which may or may not be resolved at the time of posting). XSEED Games announced earlier this year that they would be bringing over the original PC version, so hopefully that comes out in time for the October Game-Along for those who want it!

Ib

Japanese freeware indie games (PC) – Okay, this isn’t one suggestion, but I really wanted to highlight a category of horror games many people overlook. Not only are they free (legally) and available in English thanks to fan translators, but I have it on good authority that many of them are actually quite good! Definitely check out Memories of Fear and the horror section of Games vgperson Translated for a whopping 24 games to play for the wonderful price of nothing. My sources tell me Ib and The Witch’s House are two standout picks, but if you want to check out some Corpse Party spinoffs or the infamous Ao Oni, Memories of Fear has you covered. Be warned – while many of these games have a “cute” graphical style, that doesn’t mean they don’t tackle some pretty brutal themes!

Penumbra

Penumbra (PC, Mac, Linux) – Almost everyone who calls themselves a horror fan has played Amnesia, but what about Frictional Games’ episodic horror title Penumbra? All three episodes are available together for only $10 on Steam, and while it suffers from the kinds of control issues that tend to bring down a lot of horror games with combat, Penumbra stands out among fans for its tension, Lovecraftian premise, and focus on stealth to survive.

Cursed Mountain

Cursed Mountain (Wii, PC) – Cursed Mountain shares some similarities with Penumbra: both take place in snowy settings (cold locations are always good for a spook), and both feature a protagonist who is searching for a relative. Cursed Mountain sets itself apart from other horror games, however, by its focus on Buddhist Culture and desolate Himalayan setting. The game was panned by many for its waggle controls on the Wii, but considering it can almost always be found in bargain bins at game stores, it’s definitely worth checking out. The PC version is available for $10 on GamersGate and should satisfy those allergic to Wii motion controls.

Of course, there are many classics that I haven’t mentioned here, such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Siren… or even more recent offerings such as Dead Space and the Silent Hills teaser PT (I know, I have a bit of a Japanese horror bias). The possibilities are nearly endless, though the horror genre often gets a bad rap for having poor quality games, so be sure to choose wisely!

This new Nintendo 3DS x Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kisekae collaboration is off the hook

“Off the hook” is what all the cool kids say these days, right? Regardless of whether or not I have ability to lure in the masses, it looks like Nintendo has found the key to widespread appeal: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu collaborations. The latest new (remember, this is the NEW new 3DS) 3DS commercial features the internationally-known pop sensation taking over iconic Nintendo characters’ wardrobes, and to very humorous effect:

The new 3DS comes out on October 11th in Japan, and the above commercial is intent on selling one feature and one feature only: the changeable faceplates, or “kisekae plates.” Kyary’s catchphrase throughout the commercial is “Kisekae chaou!” or “Let’s change!” which makes a fun kind of sense – the phrase is generally reserved for changing clothes, so of course that’s Kyary’s chance to go in and make over Mario and co. after some of the new 3DS changeable faceplate designs.

There’s a lot going on in the 31 second commercial, so let’s take a closer look at some of the adorable details:

King/superhero Pikachu and a dapper Toon Link?! Notice the detail on Link’s patch and trifoce on his top hat!
Kyary Kirby has even given Kyary Pamyu Pamyu herself a makeover! Her dress is also inspired by the interchangeable faceplates.
It’s also worth noting that the song for the commercial is titled KISEKAE by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a new track that is clearly going to be closely linked to Nintendo’s new 3DS kisekae plate campaign. They’ve even launched a website along with the commercial (more on that later).
Finally, towards the end of the commercial we get a look at the new 3DS itself, along with a mosiac of all the different faceplates available in Japan on launch. Remember, only the small new 3DS model will offer kisekae plates. What a shame!
If you can’t get enough of the cuteness, I highly recommend heading over to the official kisekae site. There’s even a “try” option so you can play around with mixing and matching top and bottom faceplates from different sets together. And one more thing…
Official Kyary Pamyu Pamyu faceplates! There is no other information besides “on sale soon,” but I’d guess they’ll be available around the Japanese launch date. Remember, you can import the faceplates to use with any new 3DS system, so if you’re a big Kyary Pamyu Pamyu fan, it may be worth keeping an eye out for when these go on sale!
Though I’ll be the first to admit that some of the outfits featured in the Kisekae commercial are rather… gaudy… I just love unique and colorful collaborations like these. A lot of work clearly went into the commercial, and I hope it pays off for Nintendo so we see more fun stuff like this in the future!

Japan Envy: Danganronpa in Namja Town 2014

Happy Zettai Zetsubou Shoujo: Danganronpa Another Episode Day! As always, Japan is one step ahead of the rest of the world – while Dananronpa 2: Goodbye Despair just debuted in English earlier this month, Japanese-speaking fans are likely already gobbling up the third entry in the series that goes on shelves today.

After just finishing Danganronpa 2 earlier this week (review coming soon!), I am on a total Danganronpa high at the moment. Though my copy of Another Episode likely won’t be in my hands until late next week, Namja Town has a new Danganronpa event with special themed food items that I can tantalize myself with in the meantime….

Note: If you’ve only just started playing the Danganronpa games, there may be some slight spoilers regarding the characters in this post, so read on at your own risk! 

Namja Town is a theme park located inside the Sunshine City shopping center in Ikebukuro. While it was definitely on my radar when I was in Tokyo, I ultimately wasn’t able to give it a visit. In addition to its usual attractions, it is constantly rotating different nerdy tie-in events such as this Danganronpa one that will be held from September to November. Special foods, merchandise, and even games are part of the festivities!

The food items pictured above are all to commemorate the launch of Danganronpa Another Episode, and thus feature the main characters of the game. It’s hard to make out, but the one in the bottom right is the protagonist Komaru’s megaphone hacking gun firing a couple different types of truth bullets – but they’re gyoza!

At the top right is everyone’s favorite psycho Genocide Jill in the form of a sandwich. I love how they depict her infamous scissors! And don’t miss that crazy long red tongue sticking out of the sandwich!

In addition to celebrating Another Story, there are plenty of food items made with other characters in the series in mind. Each order comes with a special collectable card of the character the food item is based on, for 19 in total… Good thing the campaign is on for two months for those who want to collect them all!

These Hajime and Nagito gyoza are simply amazing. I’m not exactly sure how these are gyoza (apparently Namja Town is big on gyoza) but the hair? The faces? Perfect. I think this one would be on the top of my list to try if I had the chance.

My second favorite, though, would have to be this Gundham cake. I love how the yam(?) looks like his scarf! And they even managed to feature the Four Devas of Destruction!

Even the Namja Town mascots are dressed up as Danganronpa characters! Can you tell who’s who?

Be sure to head over to the official Danganronpa in Namja Town 2014 site to check out all the different limited edition goods available at the event! Now I’m back to waiting for my copy of Another Episode to arrive…

Swooning Over Regional Hello Kitty Blendy Sticks

Back when I wrote about the Hello Kitty regional Blendy stick a few months ago, I resigned myself to never being able to try them due to their limited distribution even though I was traveling to Japan. Imagine my surprise, then, when I ran into some at a souvenir shop that specialized in food at Tokyo Solamachi! Of course, I was utterly thrilled and proceeded to buy them immediately.

Interestingly, the only flavor this particular shop stocked was the Tochiotome Au Lait from Tochigi prefecture, which is north of Tokyo. As you can probably tell from the packaging, Tochiotome is a type of strawberry that is particularly famous in Tochigi prefecture. Though I’ve eaten my fair share of Japanese strawberries, I don’t know if I’ve ever tried the Tochiotome variety, but I can say that Japanese strawberries are some of the juiciest, most flavorful berries I’ve ever had!

Each regional Hello Kitty Blendy stick box comes with 10 individually-wrapped packets for 10 cups of strawberry au lait. I believe I paid ¥600 (more or less $6), which might be a tad pricey for this sort of instant drink, but I was happy to spend a little extra for a region-exclusive item.

According to the back of the box, there is a special monkey trainer Hello Kitty design that, if you’re lucky, you’ll find on one of the packets in the box. A quick Google search tells me that Tochigi is famous for a theme park that used to have monkey troupe performances that closed in 2013, but will have a memorial hall opening this October. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to get the special design!

I didn’t expect the box to reveal a cutout of Hello Kitty’s face when opened! It’s products like this that really showcase the amazing attention to detail and presentation you’ll find in even the most mundane items in Japan. Limited edition packaging is certainly a surefire way to get me to buy an instant drink I would normally pass over in a shop!

Unfortunately, while the strawberry Hello Kitty adorning the box and packets is all-around adorable, the drink itself wasn’t particularly impressive. The Tochiotome strawberry flavor was definitely strong and sweet, but I don’t think strawberry au lait is really my drink of choice.

Sure, it would be great if the drink itself was as thrilling as the packaging, but I’m still very happy that I was able to try one of the regional Hello Kitty Blendy stick flavors! Though I couldn’t find a seller that ships the Tochiotome au lait internationally, there is one that stocks the Hokkaido café au lait! I may have to give that a try…