Get 3 LGBTQ Manga for just $15 in the Latest Humble Bundle

6 / 9 / 166 / 13 / 16

Humble Bundle is celebrating Pride Month with a stellar LGBTQ Book Bundle. Name your price and get some great DRM free digital books – plus, a percentage of proceeds go to the It Gets Better Project!

Of particular interest to Chic Pixel readers are the three manga included in this bundle: Wandering Son volume 1, The Heart of Thomas, and Massive. Wandering Son is a fantastic series that deals with issues of gender identity and sexuality, while The Heart of Thomas an extremely influential shōnen ai manga from 1974, and Massive provides a great overview of gay manga and their creators (note: contains explicit content!). I wrote about Wandering Son back in 2012 when I first read it, so do check that out if you’re interested in learning more!

To get all three titles, you’ll need to pay $15 or more for the Humble LGBTQ Book Bundle. That’s a steal even for just the three manga, but you’ll also get 17 other books as part of the deal! But it’s only available for the next two weeks, so don’t miss out if you’d like to add these great titles to your collection!

Otome Game Taisho Alice is Coming to PC in English! [UPDATE]

5 / 27 / 166 / 1 / 16

It seems like May is turning out to be an interesting month for surprise game localization announcments! First, we got Kuma Tomo coming out as Teddy Together in Europe, and now we have a very stealth announcement for an upcoming otome game release, Taisho Alice!

The news was unceremoniously unveiled back on May 7th by way of a Facebook post from publisher E2 Gaming, who announced they had secured the rights to a new theme song by Mardelas for the game. The post included an image with a brief description of Taisho Alice, and E2 confirmed in the comments that they were indeed localizing the game. They later elaborated in another Facebook comment that they are currently looking at a PC release, though the game is also slated to release on Vita next month in Japan.

3DS Teddy Bear Simulator Kuma Tomo to Release in English This July

5 / 24 / 165 / 24 / 16

Remember that vaguely creepy teddy bear simulator for the Nintendo 3DS? No? Well, three years after its Japanese release, Kuma Tomo is finally coming out in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand as Teddy Together. Wait, what?!

I don’t know about you, but getting a random PR email announcing the localization of a game I nearly forgot about is not something I expect at 6 pm on an average Tuesday. But hey, why not?! Kuma Tomo scared more than a few folks with its talking bear who remembers the your responses to questions it asks you (just check out this Japanese commercial), but Nintendo of Australia is marketing Teddy Together as a game for parents and children to play together to help develop their reading and interpersonal skills. Let me tell you, I can’t wait to hear what the teddy bear sounds like in English.

So, will this game come out in North America, or is it doomed to be another Europe-only Nintendo release? If so, I hope that at least means Teddy has a British accent. You can pick up Teddy Together for 3DS on July 1st in Europe and July 2nd in Australia/NZ. It will also be compatible with amiibo figures, which I believe is new to the English version!

Help BL Game Seiyuu Danshi on Kickstarter!

2 / 18 / 16

Kickstarter has seen a lot of visual novels, and even a few otome games, but BL games have not seen a lot of activity in the crowdfunding department. Luckily for fans of the genre, there’s a new indie BL game in town, Seiyuu Danshi, and they have already met their first Kickstarter goal! But that doesn’t mean they can’t use more help, which is why the developer, Meyaoi Games, asked me to share it with you today.

What I love about Seiyuu Danshi is that it’s a a BL visual novel/dating sim that actually puts the “sim” in dating simulation! You control an up-and-coming voice actor and have the ability to choose what training he goes to, what he should do in his spare time, and even what he wears on dates. These mechanics are very reminiscent of one of my favorite otome game series, Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side, but as far as I know have never been coupled with an 18+ BL game (it even has a system called “foreplay mode”). You can check out a demo of the first two weeks of the game, but take it from me, the production quality of Seiyuu Danshi is top notch!

Even if you’re prepared to back Seiyuu Danshi on the premise alone, I highly recommend playing the demo for amusing tidbits like the screenshot above. Meyaoi Games is just a team of two sisters, but the care they put into the current build of the game and the special Kickstarter demo really shows! By bringing the game to Kickstarter, however, they will be able to hire additional team members to assist with updating the art, music, and more.

As mentioned previously, the Kickstarter has already reached a number of its goals, including a stretch goal for voice acting, but there are a lot of interesting stretch goals that it still has room to reach in the remaining month. You can get a digital copy of the game for just $20, so if you need more BL in your life, go check out the demo and show them your support!

New Otome Game Kickstarter Coming from Otomate and Gloczus, Inc.

2 / 10 / 162 / 15 / 16

Exciting news for otome game fans! Otomate World announced today on their Facebook page that they are teaming up with Gloczus, Inc. for an upcoming Kickstarter to localize one of their otome games into English. Though the title is still a secret, it will be “a hugely popular otome title which was previously released exclusively in Japan.” So, what could it be? It’s time to get speculating!

Previously, Gloczus, Inc. has been in charge of English iOS/Android versions of Hakuoki and Amnesia: Memories, while Aksys Games and Idea Factory International were in charge of the original English Vita releases. Following this logic, it would make sense that the Kickstarter would be for the English localization of an Otomate game currently available or slated to release on mobile platforms.

Looking at Otomate’s Japanese mobile game portal, there have been numerous ports of Amnesia and Hakuoki titles, but given their official statement, I would be very surprised if the Kickstarter were for a fan disc for a series already available in English. Similarly, though Norn9: Var Commons has an iOS/Android port, we’ve already seen the game come out in English for the Vita. Hiiro no Kakera has already been released in English on iOS/Android as part of NTT Solmare’s Shall We Date? series, under the title Scarlet Fate. [Update: The English Scarlet Fate is Hiiro no Kakera 4. Thanks Aunna for the clarification!] That leaves us with…

Moujuutsukai to Oujisama ~Flower and Snow~! This is the only title in Otomate’s current mobile game lineup that fits the “never released before in English” bill. On top of that, the Japanese iOS/Android release was only just announced for this winter, so it would make a lot of sense for Glozcus, Inc. to do a corresponding English Kickstarter. If I were a betting woman, I’d put my money on Moujuutsukai! Of course, if Glozcus, Inc. is actually planning a Vita release or an all new mobile port for the Kickstarter, than all bets are off (though it’ll probably be the immensely popular Diabolic Lovers, if that’s the case!).

Keep an eye on the Otomate World Facebook page for the Kickstarter launch in the next few days, and we’ll see if my guess is correct! [Update: I was right! The Beastmaster and Prince – Flower and Snow – Kickstarter is now live, though it will be a PC release instead of mobile. Go check it out for all the details!]

Superbeat: Xonic North American DLC Release Schedule Announced

2 / 5 / 162 / 5 / 16

I seriously love rhythm games, so it should come as no surprise that I really enjoyed my time with Superbeat: Xonic for the PS Vita. If you were in the same boat, or are looking for more reasons to pick up this rad DJ Max-esque rhythm game, you’ll be as excited as I am to learn that the DLC release dates have finally been announced!

The first three Superbeat: Xonic DLC packs will launch for $3.99 each on North American PSN on February 23rd, with another three coming sometime in May. Each pack comes with four songs, including some Guilty Gear Xrd and BlazBlue tracks! If you’re like me and can’t get enough of these fighting game soundtracks, you’ll want to pick up the Guilty Gear x XONiC pack, which contains “Starry Story,” “Jack-A-Dandy,” and “Big Blast Sonic,” and the Magical Blaze Collection, which contains “BLUE desire~Blazblue” and two Magical Beat tracks, “THE BEAUTIFUL MAGIC~Magical Beat” and “MAGICAL GREETING~Magical Beat.”

The final DLC pack releasing on the 23rd contains “Antikithera – 7 Sequence,” “Rackin’ Gravity – 7 Sequence,” and “DINO – Cranky.” Meanwhile, the May DLC packs are as follows: Cranky’s Pick, containing “Danger & Danger,”Into the Unknown,” and “Conflict,” the Long Live Collection (not Love Live, sorry), which features “Timeline~Extended,” “All Night Long~Extended,” and “No Way Out~Extended.” The final DLC pack announced so far, Extra Collection, contains “TUNTUN-MOONLIGHT~Magical Beat,” “Libera Me,” and “Party 4U.”

The nature of rhythm games makes them perfect for DLC, and $3.99 for a pack of three awesome tie-in songs sounds like a great deal! If you’re curious about Superbeat: Xonic, head over to my First Impressions piece for more information.

Chic Pixel Holiday Fundraiser: Receive a Holiday Card from Me!

11 / 28 / 1511 / 28 / 15

It’s the time of year when everyone reflects on what they’re grateful for, and maybe gives a little something forward to a special friend or loved one. I am always so thankful for each and every one of you that reads Chic Pixel, whether you comment regularly, chat with me on Twitter, shoot me an email, or quietly enjoy my posts.

As you may know, a lot of time, effort, and money goes into keeping Chic Pixel running. Many of you help support the site by purchasing your video games or figures using my affiliate links, or sending me a few dollars via my Paypal donation link. Not only that, but every tweet, Facebook share, or word-of-mouth recommendation reminds me that the work I do is appreciated, and it means the world to me. So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

Now, I know it may be a lot to ask, but if you can spare a few extra dollars this holiday season it would go a long way to supporting the costs to maintain the site and purchase items from Japan to cover in reviews and news posts (such as the Kyoukai no Shirayuki magazine translations). But, I’d like to give you something back in return, so every person who donates $5 or more before December 8th will receive a personalized holiday card full of Japanese stationery from my collection!

Of course, you’re more than welcome to donate more or less if you wish, but that’s the minimum I need to be able to afford to send a letter overseas. You can donate using the button below:

The cards will be Christmas-themed, so if you would prefer a regular letter, please leave a note when you make your donation. Also, be sure to leave your address in the notes section if you pay by credit card or would like the card sent to a different address than the one linked to your account.

If you miss the deadline, don’t worry! I’ll always send a letter to anyone who donates $5 or more, but December 8th is the cutoff for those who would like a holiday card.

Once again, thank you so much for reading Chic Pixel. It means more to me than you’ll ever know!