Author: Anne Lee

Apricotsushi Reviews: Japanese Treats

Are you sick of Japanese snack subscription services yet? I know I’m not! It’s really exciting to see so many different subscription services pop up that are all about providing Japanese candies and snacks to people around the world. If Japanese treats are your game, you’ll be spoiled for choice: there’s OyatsuBox, Candy Japan, and now the aptly-named rookie Japanese Treats is joining the ranks!

If you’d like to see me ooh and aah over everything in their very first subscription box, check out my unboxing video above. Japanese Treats is $22/month, and since that price includes shipping anywhere in the world, it’s very competitive (Candy Japan and OyatsuBox are both $25/month). All up, this month there were 11 different items, which I think is very generous!

Like OyatsuBox, Japanese Treats provides a sheet which each order that says the name and a short description of each item. These “cheat sheets” are very helpful for those who can’t read Japanese and aren’t familiar with the different snacks, so I’m really glad they include them!

Now let’s take a closer look at each of the different items included in the box!

I just love character goods (if you haven’t noticed by now), so I was especially excited to see these Disney Pakuncho chocolate cookies. Not only is the box covered in Mickies (and a lone Donald!), but the cookies themselves have Disney characters printed on them!

These character rock-paper-scissor cutouts on the back of the box are super cute, too. As for the cookies themselves, I don’t expect them to taste much different from Koala’s March or Hello Panda, but I’m fine with that.

Now, I’m familiar with the delicious chocolate-covered biscuits shaped like bamboo shoots known as Take no Ko no Sato, but I’ve never seen them in this kind of packaging before! I love the design, and I know they taste good, too! One thing to note is that the sheet Japanese Treats provided calls them Kino no Ko no Yama, as it’s possible to either get these or the same type of cookie in a mushroom shape, which are called Kino no Ko no Yama.

I can tell these Japanese snack subscription providers really want to please the folks who are into the internet-famous Japanese candy kits, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to see this Nigi Nigi Osushiya-san sushi gummy kit in my box. The peach and lemon-flavored gummies are meant to look like pieces of fish, and you combine them with the banana-flavored “rice” gummies to make little sushi! I actually bought myself one of these already, so I think I’ll include this one in an upcoming giveaway.

These may look like regular plain animal crackers, but I just love the package! Honestly, if the people behind these services just picked snacks with fun packages, I’d probably be happy regardless of what was inside! Maybe I should start a subscription service like that…

I just love a good pun, don’t you? Well, these calcium-fortified grape-flavored candies are called Ju-C! Hah! As you can see from the package, Ju-C has been around since 1955. They don’t show up very well in the photo, but I like the little animals circling the left end of the container. I can’t wait to try them!

Kyabetsu (cabbage) Taro here are flavored corn puffs covered in nori, which, funnily enough, do not actually have anything to do with cabbage. The frog mascot Taro looks pretty sharp in his policeman outfit, don’t you think? I’m told these are quite popular in Japan, but I’ve never actually noticed them!

I think this has to be the highlight of the box for me! At first I thought these were just soda-flavored hard candies, which is nothing particularly new or exciting, but they’re actually candies that you mix with water to make soda! As you can see from the package, there are five different flavors, and it encourages you to mix them to come up with even more. I think these are going to be a lot of fun to try, so I’ll definitely be doing an Apricotsushi Samples video for them!

These Chocobi chocolate puffs are actually Crayon Shin-chan themed, so that actually makes two character goods in this month’s box! They also come with one of 20 different stickers, which is always fun. I must admit I see these quite often locally and I’m not a massive Crayon Shin-chan fan, but I’m still intrigued to see how they taste.

Finally, we have Dondon Yaki, which I received in a previous OyatsuBox (they’re really good!), some pudding-flavored bakeable Kit Kats, and ramune fortune telling candies. The fortune candies actually look a lot like pills, but each one is labeled with something different (“sports,” “love” etc.). When you pop them out it tells you a your fortune. Japanese Treats has a blog post with translations of all the different possibilities so you can see how you fare!

I’m sure a lot of people would be really excited to receive the bakeable pudding Kit Kats, and believe me, I was too! My enthusiasm was only slightly dampened by the fact that 1. I bought 2 large bags a couple of weeks ago from Jlist and 2. my oven is currently not working. I like that they give you two so you can try baking one and have the other fresh if you desire. I’m so bummed that my oven is broken… I really want to try them!

There you have it! I’m really impressed with Japanese Treats, as they are not only very reasonably priced, but they ship their boxes quickly and offer a great selection. If they continue to offer 10 or more items for $22/month, this may make them the best deal out of all the Japanese snack subscriptions I’ve reviewed so far. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they develop over the next few months!

Catch-Up Corner: Schick x Attack on Titan, #PuzzleMonth Update

I don’t think I need to reiterate my love for weird Japanese collaboration campaigns, but in case you’re new around here: I love Japanese collaboration campaigns! Even if it’s a collaboration featuring two products/franchises I’m not really interested in, a limited-time promotional campaign always catches my interest. Luckily for me, however, this new crazy Japanese campaign features Attack on Titan, an anime that, while it had its issues, I quite enjoyed when it aired!

I can’t say I’m as big a fan of shaving hygiene, but this Schick x Attack on Titan campaign is amazing. They even have a series of three promotional videos on their website with dorky redubbed anime footage with tons of funny voiceovers! The real purpose of the campaign, of course, is to get people to buy Schick razors, so they’re offering six little Attack on Titan figures which will be packaged in different razor products:

I’ll admit, I wouldn’t be adverse to owning a little Levi holding shaving razors instead of his usual weaponry! Schick is even offering razor stands with more realistically-proportioned Mikasa and Levi figures. Poor protagonist Eren has been kicked out of the limelight, I guess!

I still have time to decide if I’m going to seek out one of the cute mini figures or not…. But even if you can’t get your hands on them, I highly recommend poking around the official website for this collaboration if you’re looking for a laugh!

Pretty pleased with that score. #PuzzleMonth pic.twitter.com/8m5G4UsXLv
— Adam Lee (@Shiroth) June 2, 2014

Since June’s Community Game-Along theme is everything puzzle-related, I’ve been trying to get in a few puzzle games whenever I have a few free minutes. As always, it’s great to see everyone joining in the fun! So far, I’ve played a little of Tetris with Card Captor Sakura: Eternal Heart (it’s just like the title says, Card Captor Sakura Tetris!) and some of the new PS Vita rhythm puzzle game developed by Arc System Works, Magical Beat. I also reviewed the iOS puzzle game rainblocks, which is free to play and both looks and sounds great. I highly suggest checking it out if you have an iOS device and would like to try something for #PuzzleMonth!

Finally, I still have one code left for subaku for iOS to give away! Head over the the June Game-Along information post to see how you can claim it!

Catch-Up Corner: E3 Announcements and Japanese Treats Subscription Service

Phew! It’s already the start of a new week here in Australia, but I’m going to squeeze a Catch-Up Corner in before the clock strikes twelve in the last area of the world where it’s still Sunday.

Since this past week was all about the big E3 conference in the gaming world, I couldn’t help but tune in to some of the news and streams. For the most part, E3 doesn’t really feel like an event that caters to someone like me, but I was really impressed at how Nintendo came out guns blazing to announce a bunch of interesting titles and produce the most fun “conference” of the big three. I’m sure everyone has had their fill of E3 news and recaps (I know I have), so here’s a few quick favorites of mine from the show:

Splatoon (Wii U) – First of all, what a charming idea! Splatoon is a third-person “shooter” that pits cute little squid children against each other in paint splattering fights, and I couldn’t be more charmed by a game. I just love the premise of hurling paint to “claim” territory, and the fact that the characters can transform into actual squids to quickly traverse the area is such a neat mechanic. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this would sell me on a Wii U, but I’d definitely pick it up if I had one.

Fantasy Life (3DS) – Long have I awaited the day that Level 5 would announce a localization of Fantasy Life, their Animal Crossing-esque life sim/RPG for the 3DS. I could very well have purchased the Japanese version, but it’s always great to see interesting titles like this get an English release. The game will be out on October 24th, and I definitely plan on grabbing a copy.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PS4 & Xbox One) – I have rather mixed feelings about this news, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of the more exciting announcements to come out of E3. Fans have been clamoring for an English version of Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) for ages, but I had pretty much given up hope and even have a copy of the Japanese version sitting on my shelf from my last trip to Japan. An HD release sounds like the perfect way to bring it to an English-speaking audience while still keeping the game on relevant platforms, but I just don’t understand why there isn’t a Vita version like Square Enix did for Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD! I’m most definitely not buying a PS4 or Xbox One anytime soon, so I think I’ll just have to stick with the Japanese PSP version. It’s great news for those with the hardware, though!

On the video front, I’ve posted an unboxing of a new Japanese snack subscription service, aptly named Japanese Treats! This is their first month, and I have to say, I’m really impressed with the initial selection of goodies. Please do check out the unboxing video to see what I got, and you can expect a full review of their service this week!

… And now I enter crunch time, as I’ve got a seminar to do on Friday! After that it will be relatively smooth sailing until I head to Japan on July 12th!

Shop Spotlight: BeagleCakes Art & Illustration

I’m always excited to find a new artist or crafter, so I was thrilled to learn about Maggie Tsou and her adorable brand BeagleCakes!

What I love about Maggie’s style is it’s unique while at the same time having a definite kawaii Japanese-inspired aesthetic. She specializes in illustration, but her Etsy shop stocks everything from super cute stickers to miniature acrylic sweets accessories.

Maggie was kind enough to send me a sample selection of some of her hand-cut stickers, which you can see above. All of them are really adorable, but I especially like the band-aid, chubby brown cat, and ghost cat on the right! I can’t wait to stick them all over my stuff.

 

The stickers arrived surprisingly quickly – though I was given an estimate of 3 weeks for them to arrive, they came within a week and a half! Maggie was really pleasant to communicate with, which is always a bonus when shopping at a small business, in my opinion. Her prices are very reasonable, too, with a stack of 12-15 stickers of various designs running only a few dollars. Needless to say, I highly recommend her Etsy store! Here are a few of my favorite items:

Puppy and bunny cupcake stickers!
Alpaca stickers!
Painted wooden kitty keychain!

She has many more items available, such as sketch and illustration commissions, tons of adorable stickers (including Sailor Moon ones!), and lots more. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr to stay updated on her new products! She has stores on both Etsy and Storenvy.

Apricotsushi Reviews: The Man of Tango

When I first saw the cover of Man of Tango, I was sure it had to be bara, or gei comi, a genre of manga distinct from boys’ love (hereafter BL) due to it usually targeting a gay male audience rather than women. The author, Tetuzoh Okadaya, however, is most definitely a woman, and more importantly, she was explicitly approached by an editor to write a BL story, which resulted in The Man of Tango. I’m always excited to see BL that shakes up the genre (that’s what I’m writing my thesis on, after all!), so her unique style combined with her comments about being inspired by bara visionary Gengoroh Tagame had me very excited to see what The Man of Tango had to offer.


The Man of Tango is a one-shot manga about the life of tango aficionado Angie, a man that despite his deep passion for dance has never been able to awaken his true spirit, nor find a life partner. But since this is BL, all that changes when he meets Hiro, a nondescript half-Latin, half-Japanese businessman who soon finds himself drawn in by Angie’s charms. Angie reminds Hiro of his home and youth, but not all of his memories are positive. Hiro soon finds himself opening up to Angie in more ways than one, simultaneously being drawn into the mystical world of tango and gay romance.

First, I have to point out that The Man of Tango does a lot of great things that you don’t see in BL very often. Aside from the love-it-or-hate-it art style, it’s one of the few BL stories I’ve read that prominently features a female character who isn’t being used as a catalyst for disaster between the male couple (usually in the form of a third love interest, jealous ex, etc.). Instead, Angie’s tango partner and roommate Bene is a warm, appealing female supporting character, which is most welcome as a breath of fresh air in the otherwise male-dominated BL genre.

Of course, the other major draw of The Man of Tango is in the subject matter. It’s clear that Tetuzoh Okadaya appreciates the art of tango, and I felt like even I learned something about the art, or at least had a greater appreciation for it, by the end of the story. I also loved the fact that both of the male protagonists are older, with Angie being in his late thirties and even sporting some facial hair (though I suppose you could say that’s a Latin stereotype). The story is also appropriately mature, though it borders on dark, especially when delving into Hiro’s childhood, so those looking for a happy-go-lucky romance may find it too heavy. Personally, however, I really enjoyed the more mature themes.

It’s the fact that The Man of Tango does so much well that makes the areas where it stumbles all the more frustrating. I am never a fan of the “but I’m not gay!” line appearing in BL, but The Man of Tango takes it to an extreme by also having Angie take advantage of Hiro when he is drunk (see above image), making Hiro’s subsequent revelation that he has feelings for Angie and has already engaged in X-rated activities with him not romantic in the least. Not only did Angie’s sexual advances on Hiro when he is inebriated make me dislike him, but Hiro’s constant “I’m not gay, but I like you!” admissions felt especially juvenile when compared to the other issues the story tackles, which made me dislike him, too. So, in the end, while I enjoyed a number of the overarching themes of the story, both male protagonists were obnoxious and the story did not convey the feeling of a great, timeless romance by having a relationship building out of a non-consentual first sexual encounter. I’m not saying that non-consentual sex has no place in a mature storyline, but in this case, it just wasn’t handled in a satisfactory manner (in fact, it wasn’t even regarded as non-consentual by any of the characters).

The Man of Tango may not be for everyone, but I still think it does a lot of interesting things and I hope to see more from Tetuzoh Okadaya in the future. Most importantly, let’s see more older protagonists, mature themes, female side-characters, and interesting art in BL! I just hope we can move past non-consentual sex and “only gay for you” shenanigans sooner rather than later.

Disclaimer: A copy of the manga was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review

Japan Envy: Ikemen Beauty Salon

Time and time again, Japan proves that they know how to market products to an extremely wide range of consumers. Call me gullible, but I am almost always on board with whatever weird collaborative campaign or new marketing tactic Japanese companies come up with (yes, even Mister Donut x MOS Burger). Today in “awesome things you’ll only find in Japan,” drug store chain Matsumoto Kiyoshi has teamed up with voice actor Tomokazu Sugita to offer… an otome drama web series?

In Ikemen Beauty Salon, every single guy (pictured above) is voiced by none other than Tomokazu Sugita, who you may know as “that guy in every anime and otome game ever.” But these aren’t just any guys – they’re “cleansing sommelier” specialists, and their number one job is to help you with your daily cleansing routine!* While at first glance, Ikemen Beauty Salon appears to be a otome drama CD series, it’s actually a web-based audio experience that can only be listened to if you buy the product that corresponds to your Sugita guy of choice. 

For example, Nao Yoshino here recommends this Mandom Bifesta cleansing lotion. In order to listen to Nao’s lotion-applying tips, you need to go to a Matsumoto Kiyoshi store and pick up the product. When you purchase one or more of the designated products, you’ll be granted with a QR code and special passcode to input on the site on your receipt. I can’t imagine any of the character scenarios are that long, but it certainly seems like a fun way to get otome fans to try out some of these beauty products! I know I’m definitely going to pick up at least one of them so I can see what kind of audio I’ll be treated to when I’m in Japan. 
What do you think? Have I completely lost it, or is this a neat idea? 
*”Cleansing sommelier” is the exact phrase used on the Ikemen Beauty Salon website, but a little research tells me “sommelier” generally refers to a waiter who is an expert on wine? Though apparently in Japan it’s common to use “sommelier” to refer to an expert of a variety of things. There are even vegetable sommeliers! The more you know. 

Apricotsushi Reviews: rainblocks

Every once in a while, I write about the occasional mobile game. The time I actually spend playing games on my iPhone or Android tablet, however, is actually even less. The main reason for this is that I have a wealth of quality titles for my dedicated handheld gaming devices, and I hardly ever find a game worthy enough of putting similar hours into on a mobile device.

While I tend toward playing otome games on mobile devices since that’s where they seem to be most easily available these days, I’ve never really felt that they fit the hardware. I find the kinds of experiences that excel best on mobile devices are bite-sized yet polished titles that can be picked up while waiting for a friend at the bus stop or microwaving your lunch and be put away after a couple of minutes just as easily. Eric Koziol, developer of subaku and the upcoming rainblocks, really gets this, and that’s why his games remain some of my favorites to play on my phone.

rainblocks is a cute little sliding puzzle game that takes place on a three-by-three grid filled with eight colored tiles. Essentially, all you need to do is match the two tiles corresponding with whichever one is currently shown at the top of the screen by tapping tiles one at a time to slide them around the board. There’s a timer constantly ticking down, and it’s your goal to get as high a score as possible before it runs out, with various helpful and detrimental icons appearing on the board as you play.

Admittedly, rainblocks takes a little getting used to. After cruising through the tutorial and learning about the weather-inspired status effects, mud and ice, that make it more difficult to move tiles on the board and the handy rainbow icon that will completely clear the board of pesky intrusions, I jumped straight into my first game. My immediate intuition was to match tiles willy nilly (which doesn’t do anything), and swipe the blocks instead of tapping them, which, while slightly more satisfying from a hands-on perspective, was actually slowing me down. After a few rounds, I finally began to find my rhythm, and soon I was even thinking ahead to making combos, as the game cycles through the ROY G BIV rainbow color spectrum for tile matchups, making it possible to plan ahead and rack up points by clearing multiple colors in one go.

For me, the games I choose to play in my free time are nearly as much about appealing aesthetics as they are compelling gameplay, which is another reason why I’m so smitten on rainblocks. I just love the simple, yet colorful pixelated art style, and the music, composed by Manami Matsumae of Mega Man fame is both catchy and soothing at the same time. As the timer runs out, the sun slowly sets in the background landscape, which is another great touch that really sums up the quaint, straightforward nature of this puzzle game.

rainblocks is equal parts solid gameplay and quirky, loveable aesthetics, and is a great way to brighten your day on your iOS device of choice. It can be a relaxing or hectic experience depending on how serious you get about topping the leaderboards, and it’s the perfect style of game to pick up and fiddle with for a few minutes before returning your phone to your pocket/bag (though you may need to make ample use of the pause button in that scenario). Even better is the fact that the game will be available to try for free when it launches on June 12th, with a single in-app purchase of $0.99 offering the option to remove ads and change the difficulty level for those that want it. If you need a new game to play for June’s puzzle-themed Community Game-Along, perhaps you should give it a shot!

An advance code for rainblocks was provided by the developer for the purpose of this review