Author: Anne

Nobuo Uematsu wrote a picture ebook, and it’s coming out in English

It may sound cliché, what with the many Final Fantasy games being highly regarded for their soundtracks by nearly everyone in the gaming community, but I definitely count Nobuo Uematsu as one of my very favorite composers, regardless of genre. Though he hasn’t been composing nearly as many game soundtracks in the past few years as he did in his Final Fantasy heyday, I still like to keep an eye out for his latest projects. As such, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the news that he would be publishing a picture ebook, and in English, no less!

This is definitely a guy I’d like to meet someday!

As it turns out, the recently-founded jack-of-all-trades localization company acttil (stands for “acceptance,” “creativity,” “teamwork,” “trust,” “innovation,” and “love”) will be publishing Uematsu’s ebook, titled Blik-0 1946 on iOS devices next month for $9.99. The entire picture ebook was written by the man himself, and the iOS version will include three musical tracks to give the while experience that real Uematsu feel (the upcoming Kindle release will not include the songs). The illustrations are by Uematsu’s colleague Hiroki Ogawa.

Even robots love to read! 
The story is about a robot built to feel human emotions that tries to make sense of the world around him. While the premise doesn’t sound particularly revolutionary, I really like what Uematsu has to say about the book: “I wanted readers to recognize the happiness you can find in everyday life, which you often ignore because they are too close to you, and the importance of kindness and respect to others.” Sounds like a heartwarming story that should be a pleasure to read! I can’t wait to hear the tracks he composed to accompany it.

If you want to stay updated on Blik-0 1946, you can do so by heading over to its Facebook page.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza Part 4

Now that Animal Crossing: New Leaf is finally out worldwide and most folks have probably unlocked the QR reader function by now, I’d say it’s high time for another QR Code Extravaganza post! As always, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather me highlighting some of the designs that have caught my eye recently. And let me tell you, there are plenty…

Let me tell you, that is one fine tush! I’m glad Tumblr user bhakri filled this gaping hole in Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR codes. Now, to decide where to put the booty…

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Here’s a great set of QR codes for all the Revolutionary Girl Utena fans out there. I love how it comes with a dress version of Utena’s jacket and two different shirt variations. And Anthy’s dress is gorgeous! Click the source in the caption for the full QR codes!

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I have a few Japanese QR code blogs that I check regularly, and the Hiyoko’s My Design Blog is definitely one of my favorites. The above yukatas are part of her summer collection, and I just think they’re adorable! I can’t wait to have my character wear one during to a festival this summer.

Hiyoko has also written a few My Design tutorials, which I highly recommend checking out if you’re having a hard time making your own designs. I particularly like this menu sign one… I might even try my hand at it, myself! Don’t be intimidated by the fact that it’s in Japanese – the diagrams make it easy to follow along.

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I recently stumbled upon Pixiv illustrator Meyu‘s work, and not only am I completely enamored with her illustration work, but her QR codes, as well! She mostly does patterns, and though I don’t normally use wall/furniture patterns, I think I’ll have to go out of my way to find a use for these. They’re just too cute!

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And here’s her second batch of equally-adorable patterns. I think they would look great in a café-themed room!

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Madam Luna’s leather harness is a fun “shirt” design for the slightly more adventurous! I’d love too see a screenshot of someone wearing this outfit in a room plastered with the “butts” design I shared above. Maybe I should take it upon myself…

 

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After seeing this, I realized that I haven’t found very many matching outfit sets, but I think it’s great idea! I’d love to see more outfit sets with different themes in the future.

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And finally, it wouldn’t be a Chic Pixel QR code roundup without a video game QR code, now would it? I’m so glad someone made the shirt the wanderer wears in the The Shadow of the Colossus!

For more Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR codes, be sure to check out parts one, two, and three of thia series!

 

Anne in Japan 2013: Arcades and Gatchapon

One thing I adore about Japan is the fact that, unlike the United States and Australia (and many other countries, I assume), it still has a very active arcade scene. Every large city, and even many of the smaller ones, have at least one or two arcades equipped with all the latest machines, ranging from titles westerners might know of such as Time Crisis to more obscure Japan-only interactive card strategy games, rhythm games, and crazy immersive Gundam games that look like something taken straight out of a sci-fi film.* While the rest of the world seems content to game at home, I was happy to see that even in 2013, the arcade business still appears to be booming in Osaka. The Taito Game Station in Nipponbashi above, for example, has multiple floors, each dedicated to a different genre of game, making it easy to find your favorites.

My absolute favorite arcade game!

As such, I made sure to hit up as many arcades as possible during my two weeks in Japan! Of course, the first thing I did was make a beeline for my favorite arcade machine: Pop’n Music. The series has gone through quite a few iterations, but all of the machines I saw during my stay were of the Sunny Park variety, which is the most recent machine in the series, having been launched in 2012. I don’t have time to discuss how the game plays at length here, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out the beginning of this post.

Card on left is from Pop’n Music Sunny Park, cards on right are from a strategy
card game called Sengoku Taisen (grabbed for free from the discard pile)

Some of the Sunny Park machines actually had a card slot at the bottom, which meant you could select the option to play one song and get a random character card for 100 yen (approximately $1) instead of the usual 4 songs for 100 yen. I decided to try my luck at getting a cute card, and I wasn’t disappointed! Well, all of the character designs in Pop’n Music are drop-dead adorable, so it wasn’t much of a gamble…

My husband and I also spotted this Rhythm Heaven machine, which, from what I gather, features the same rhythm games as the GBA title by the same name. The only difference here is that the whole package is bigger and louder, and there’s an option for a two-player mode.

one of Amane Nishiki’s victory poses from BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma

I don’t mention BlazBlue all that often on this blog, but I’m what I’d call an “advanced casual fan.” Okay, that doesn’t mean much of anything, but though I like the look of the games and enjoy watching skilled fighters play, I’ve never been compelled to learn how to play it outside of some lighthearted button-mashing. But, when I heard a cross-dressing male character by the name of Amane was going to be in Chrono Phantasma, the latest game in the series, I just had to see him in action in the arcade. Luckily, the arcade version has a cheater’s mode that enables you to mash buttons and pull off all kinds of neat combos that shouldn’t normally be possible, so my husband and I were able to make it all the way to the end of arcade mode with only one credit. I’m definitely going to pick up a copy of Chrono Phantasma when it comes to PS3 – Amane is just too fabulous!

Though not directly related to arcades (though often found at or around them), toy capsule machines, or gatchapon, are another favorite way for me to spend a few of my extra coins in Japan. Many shopping centers have walls of different machines filled with everything from Pretty Cure toys to Alien figurines!

I grabbed a few of these Animal Crossing: New Leaf snow globes as souvenirs – they were quite the hit.

On hindsight, I probably should’ve grabbed one of these adorable Pikachu toys. I love the one wrapping a leaf around his head on the left!

Yes, Funghi really is as popular in Japan as the various campaigns and merchandise lead one to believe. I was amazed to hear that even my host mother knew who Funghi (aka Nameko) was! The machine above is related to the toy gatchapon, but instead of spitting out a capsule, it distributes a sticker sheet out of a slot for the fine price of 100 yen. I couldn’t pass it up!

Of course, we couldn’t pass up a Rilakkuma sticker sheet, as well. Please excuse the blurry photo, but it’s the only one I got of the machine in action!

Here are the fruits of our labor! The Rilakkuma and Funghi sticker sheets were quite extensive, but unfortunately the Hunter X Hunter one pales in comparison. I could barely stop myself from trying to get all the different sheets!

Now, these aren’t exactly gatchapon either, but when you buy one of these special boxed figurines (generally sold at hobby stores and in the candy isle at grocery stores), you have no idea which figure will be inside. There’s something fun about the excitement of opening a toy and not knowing what you’re going to get, but it’s always disappointing when you get one you don’t really like! Luckily, these Monster Hunter Felynes are all kinds of adorable.

The shop that was selling the boxed Felyne figurines was having a promotion where you’d get one free sticker for every Felyne product purchased!

Finally, let me relate a fun arcade experience from my last day in Japan: in an attempt to kill some time and get rid of our extra 100 yen coins, my husband and I headed to a local arcade to try our hand at the crane games. Now, let it be known that I’ve never won anything from a crane game. This time, I was trying for the particular Funghi plush pictured above… the hand of the crane plummeted downwards towards the toy, barely scraping the one I was aiming for. Suddenly, a voice on a loudspeaker exclaimed (in Japanese, of course), “So close!!”

It turns out the arcade had a woman going around helping customers while chattering loudly about their successes into her microphone as a sort of promotional thing. She asked which one I was aiming for and promptly opened up the machine to put it in such an easy to reach spot that I’d have to be totally inept not to get it on my next try. Well, knowing me, that’d be possible… but as you can see from the picture above, I got it!

While I was never expecting to get anything from the crane machines, especially on my last day, it was a sweet gesture and a pleasant surprise. Have you had any memorable arcade experiences in Japan or your home country?

*technically Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna is available outside Japan, as it has been made available in a couple of Asian countries, but it was never brought over to the US

Anne in Japan 2013: Vacation Recap

Two weeks sure flies by when you’re having fun! As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been off enjoying the wonderful land of Japan, where my days were filled with (mostly) eating and shopping. But I did manage to sneak in a couple of other activities, too! Thanks to all who followed my adventures on Twitter and Instagram, and I’m very sorry I wasn’t able to upload at least a post or two while I was away. Alas, the internet did not cooperate! But now that I’m back, I have all the resources I need to give many photo-filled accounts of my adventures… starting with this post!

My plan of attack is to publish a series of themed posts that will likely consist mostly of a few places I visited and items I purchased (you can expect a full Pokémon Center Osaka report, for example), but I wanted to start by doing a brief overview featuring a few of my favorite events and photos from the trip!

Waiting for the JR train to take us to Yasu after a long flight. Sure, it’s not the 24+ hour trip that was required to get to Japan back when I lived in the US, but it’s still tiring! The flight from Brisbane is nine hours, but luckily there’s only a one hour time difference. 

We had a relaxing first day seeing the sights in Yasu. This is a lovely cafe that looks right out onto Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake.

My host family’s new house is surrounded by beautiful rice and barley fields!

Japanese signs are always so fun. I don’t think you need to understand Japanese to get the meaning of this one!

First of many candy hauls. Check out the Funghi and Animal Crossing: New Leaf gummies! I was disappointed by the Kit Kat selection, but still managed to find a few interesting flavors. The yellow bag pictured is passionfruit “otona no amasa” Kit Kats. I’ll be sure to write full reports on all of these candies (and those not pictured) over the next few weeks.

I never thought I’d say this, but I actually went to a live-action Doki Doki! Pretty Cure show! Pretty Cure is a long-running series of magical girl shows for young viewers (think Sailor Moon, but for a slightly younger audience), and Doki Doki! Pretty Cure is the season currently airing in Japan. I wouldn’t say I’m really much of a fan, since I’ve never even watched the show, but as a massive Sailor Moon buff, I thought it would be a waste not to go see this local show where the performers act along to pre-recorded audio while wearing some ridiculously creepy masks that make them look like living anime characters. I even recorded some video!

Yep… creepy, but still fun!

I had to take a picture of myself in front of the famous Glico man when we got to Osaka. 
Shaun putting his Einhander skills to the test at a retro game shop in Den Den Town. 
Of course, seeing a Takarazuka Revue show was at the top of my list for this trip. I wasn’t initially excited to see yet another rendition of Romeo and Juliet, but I actually quite enjoyed it! 

It goes without saying that we ate lots of delicious food! I’m a big fan of grilled mackerel. 

Went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum to meet up with some ladies I met at a conference in Melbourne. Also got to see this amazing Katsuya Terada exhibit, including this piece that was drawn specially for the museum!

The big event of the trip was my host sister’s wedding. I’m so very happy for her! The ceremony was lovely. For a moment Shaun and I wished we did an all-out wedding like theirs, but it was a fleeting thought! I’m happy just to attend someone else’s.

I also met my Twitter pal @Zolbrod, who you may remember penned a great write-up of his Hello Kitty donut experience for me back in April. It was great to chat over lunch and play this whacky rhythm game together at the local arcade! It even had some Sonic songs.

What’s your guess for what this sign is trying to convey? 

And of course, Japanese signs still can’t manage to use anything resembling proper English. Are you even trying, Japan?! (let’s not forget the “duck meal tea“…)

Well, there’s definitely more to cover, but I’ll stop here before I overwhelm you all with too many asinine photos. I’m sad to be back in Australia, but I have high hopes that I will get back to Japan in the next year or two! In the meantime, I have plenty of games and manga to keep me busy…

The 2013 Adventures of Anne in Japan Starts Now!

If all goes according to plan, by the time this post goes live, I’ll be soaring over the Pacific Ocean! My destination? Japan, of course!

Since this is my first time back to my home-away-from-home in four years and I’ll be attending my host sister’s wedding while I’m there, this trip is a rather big event for me. You know, I always refer to the family I stayed with when I lived in Japan for a year as my “host family,” but more accurately, they’re my Japanese family – we may not be blood related, but they hold a very dear place in my heart, and not only did they make the trek down to Australia for my wedding, but we have kept in touch over these past four years, which I think says a lot! I consider myself very lucky to be able to call them my second family.

Host mom helping me put on a yukata

But enough of that! What else is on tap for my trip? Well, lots of shopping and eating and visiting all of my favorite places, of course! Here are just a few things I’m particularly looking forward to (all photos from my last trip, 08-09)…

A necessary pilgrimage for any fan! 
Awesome signage
My favorite local bar
Crazy tie-in merchandise and campaigns

Weird advertisements…
And, of course, good eats

Unfortunately, I haven’t planned any additional posts for while I’m away, but I’ll be posting pictures of our travels in real-time. If you want to stay updated, be sure follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram! I’ll be posting all pictures to Instagram for archive purposes, but everything will be cross-posted to both.

Finally, I hope to do a few round-up post throughout my trip of particularly noteworthy events, which will consist of photos taken from my Instagram feed and some additional commentary. Of course, I’ll also write up much more in-depth posts when I get back at the end of the month, so please look forward to them!

Time to add Culty’s Animal Crossing bag to my growing tote collection

If the search terms leading to my blog and my Twitter feed are any indication, people are excited for Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I’m certainly not complaining – it’s wonderful to finally be able to have my American, Australian, and European pals visit my town and gush about the game together!

The release of a game in new territories is always exciting for the new fan art and products it inspires, too. And it just so happens that the fine folks at Culty are celebrating Animal Crossing: New Leaf‘s NA release… with a new addition to their store: an Animal Crossing-themed “Hit the Tracks” tote bag!

Looks like they’re also celebrating with some wine! 

I absolutely adore the “earthy” feel of this design and how so many different aspects of Animal Crossing have been incorperated in subtle ways! The fact that the illustration is reminiscent of an Aztec calendar both evokes the fact that the game works in real time and the way the map itself is rounded, too! I also particularly like the little train cars along the edge and Mr. Resetti’s angry mug at the bottom.

Look at all that detail! Though K.K Slider’s DJ garb is specific to his appearance in New Leaf, the rest of the design encorporates familiar Animal Crossing icons such as the various tools and collectables in the game such as fish and everyone’s favorite gyroids.

Now that’s a tote bag! Any tote fan knows that having multiple bags in multiple sizes (including favorites such as “lunch bag” tote to “single book and maybe small laptop” tote) is a must. Wait, I’m the only person who does that? Moving on…

Seriously, though, the large size makes this tote perfect for shopping or the busy student! And the design is subtle enough that it would compliment a wide variety of outfits, if you’re the kind of person who likes to cordinate your tote bag with your outfit like me! (I’m the only one who does that, too? Oh…)

But Culty aren’t the only ones celebrating Animal Crossing: New Leaf with sweet new merchandise. Fangamer also has an amazing tshirt up for sale, and I’m sure there are many other great new products popping up for us rabit Animal Crossing fans to throw our wallets at. Is there any new merch that’s currently tickling your fancy?

Memos from Mamemura: Weeks 23-27

Look how the time flies! The North American release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf is but a week a way, meaning I’ll soon have a whole new bunch of pals to share this heartwarming game with! I know I mentioned that I wanted to have my town all decked out by the time others started playing so I could show off my digs, but unfortunately I’ve been lazy and haven’t really gotten my act together in that regard. The fact that Jenni of Siliconera has already built the café after having the game less then a month (through the mayor ambassador program) when it took me six is, honestly, a little depressing… But Animal Crossing is a series that’s meant to be played at your own pace, so I’ll just keep on enjoying it at my own speed! Even with that in mind, there’s still a lot that’s happened over the last month in Mamemura! 
Afternoon bulletin board viewing with Lobo
Donning the Children’s Day paper samurai hat (Boy’s Day in the western version)

Believe it or not, this was my first time making a custom item! This is a music box, which is made using one of K.K Slider’s songs and a white scallop shell.

This is, without a doubt, my biggest achievement for the month of May in Mamemura – Brewster’s café! Don’t mind the random fruit on the ground… I had to cut down a few trees to make room for it!

Sitting down for a cuppa with Lobo 

You may have noticed her in the café inauguration screenshot, but Britney (Pancetti in English, she’s new to New Leaf) here is one of two new villages to move to Mamemura this month. For some reason I’m not a big fan of animals that look like they have human-like hair on their heads, but I’ve never had a pig villager before, so the more the merrier, I say!

Rebecca the squirrel (Pecan in English) was the second villager to move in this month. She’s actually my 10th villager, making this the first time I’ve had the maximum 10 villagers at one time, I believe! Nine is the max that can move in “normally,” but if you have the campsite or visit other towns you can entice a 10th resident to move in.

As an aside, don’t you think it’s funny that both of the villagers I got this month have western names in the Japanese version, but names based off food in the English version? Too funny!

Here I am visiting @LachyStar, who was kind enough to hold on to a silver slingshot for me after I lost the only one I’ve ever found in my town due to forgetting to save (and I never forget to save!). Look at this awesome room! Cakes, coffee… I’m in heaven!

He also has this lovely snow-themed room. Check out that custom Kirby stained glass design!

But I didn’t just visit other towns… I also got a few special vistors who have early copies of the game. Here I am relaxing with none other than my Nichiest Podcast Ever co-host shidoshi!

Jenni also stopped by to give me some of her custom-made clothing designs in exchange for some of my fruit! Aren’t they great? I love the Yuna dress I’m wearing in the above screenshot, and the Boo t-shirt just to the left of my speech bubble is equally amazing. Of course, the rest are great, too! Hopefully she starts sharing her QR codes soon.

You can read all about her adventures in the English version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf over at Siliconera. I highly recommend you go check it out, especially since yours truly makes an appearance in the latest update!

“Are you in there? It’s me, Rocky!” (bonus: my messy house)

I also had another visitor… One of my own villagers! That may not sound all that exciting, but I’ve never had a villager come to my door when I was in my house before.

Well look at that, Rocky just invited himself in! It’s amazing how, after months of play, I’m still surprised by the occasional new event in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Finally, can you guess what dream village I visited? Why, it’s the Game Center CX town!

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot in the town itself that evokes the Game Center CX television show, but there are a few quirky references here and there. The real highlight, however, is inside…

Arino’s jacket! I want one! Unfortunately they weren’t sharing the design
Check out the scrolling banner!

And there you have it, my five minutes of Game Center CX hosting fame. It may not look like much, but the trained eye will recognize that this setup is a reproduction of Arino’s gaming room in the actual show! It’s definitely worth a visit for any fan of the series.

Well, by the next time I post a Mamemura update, the rest of the world will have their hands on the game! I’m so excited to finally be able to share Mamemura with all of you! If anyone who is planning on getting the game wants to swap friend codes, feel free to let me know in the comments. I look forward to seeing you in Animal Crossing: New Leaf!