Category Archives: Podcast

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 21 – The KusoCast

On episode 21 of Chic Pixel Plus, I bring on regular extra Elliot Gay (@ryougasaotome) to talk about the most important game topic of our generation: kusoge. What are kusoge? Are they so bad they’re good, or just plain bad? We talk about all that and more, plus, related news!

Games included in the discussion range from the Drakengard series to Friday the 13th, plus we get in some Seaman, Vangaurd Bandits, Disaster: Day of Crisis, and Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII talk as well.

This podcast was recorded early/mid-June and is going up quite late, much to my dismay, so while I talk about Puzzle Month, we’re actually already in the midst of JRPGJuly! Sorry about that!

Opening ♫ – Life is Beautiful, Deadly Premonition 
Closing ♫ – Seaman commercial

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 20 – The A Team Talks Anime

For Chic Pixel Plus’s extra special 20th episode, I’m joined by not one, but four guests: the amazingly awesome Allison Rapp (@mnemosynekurai), Amanada Cosmos (@acosmos), and Arden (@sproutella)!

Before getting into the topic of the day, Arden and Amanda give us the lowdown on the Toronto Comics Art Festival and we gush over the superstars at the event, reminisce on Gackt, and somehow share how we each were first introduced to the world of erotic comics. Then we discuss upcoming anime we’re looking forward to, as well as series that explore themes related to gender and sexuality or stand out for their treatment of related issues. We try not to touch on obvious choices, so hopefully you’ll get a few new anime suggestions in the process! Series mentioned include Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic, Samurai Flamenco, Rinne no Lagrange, Gatchaman Crowds, Ouran High School Host Club, and Jellyfish Princess. Finally, we wrap up with our most-anticipated summer anime.

If you’d like to skip straight to the anime talk, it starts around the 40 minute mark, but you’ll miss out on a lot of the other fun topics!

Opening ♫ – Koko dake no hanashi – Chatmonchy
Closing ♫ – Sakura Kiss – Chieko Kawabe

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 19 – Sailor Moon Extravaganza

In honor of the massive Sailor Moon resurgence that is occurring this year, I sat down (virtually) with repeat guest Janine Hawkins to chat about the shojo giant of our youth. In this episode, we cover everything from the manga and anime to merchandise and musicals. Nothing Sailor Moon-related is safe!

Please keep in mind that this was recorded about two weeks ago before the announcement that Viz will be re-releasing the original uncut anime in English on Hulu, DVD, and Blu-ray. I like to think we called it, somehow!

Opening ♫ – Sailor Moon Theme
Closing ♫ – Sailor Moon transformation

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 18 – Mentally Stable Game Localization

Have you ever wondered, “How can I be as kawaii as Ben Bateman?” Well, today’s your lucky day, as the man himself (@benspants) agreed to join me on this little podcast shindig to answer that very question! We even talk about game localization and what it means to be a localization editor, along with Ben’s experiences working at Aksys Games, too. In addition to revealing his origins in film (gasp!), Ben agrees to go under the magnifying glass for an onslaught of Twitter questions. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like being in the game localization business, you don’t want to miss this one!

After a podcast-length discussion on all things Ben, we then turn to what anime we’ve been watching (it’s a 2.5 hour recording, folks!). Shows discussed include Hunter x Hunter, Chihayafuru, Kill La Kill, and Space Dandy, and Ben also weighs in on Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises for good measure.

Note: My audio goes a bit weird around the 50 min mark. Luckily, I was able to fix it, so if it really bothers you just skip a couple of minutes ahead! Sorry about that!

Opening ♫ – Sōkyū no Hikari – Faylan
Closing ♫ – Karuta reading

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 17 – The Vocaloidisode

In honour of Hatsune Miku Project Diva f 2nd coming out in English later this year, my Nichiest Podcast Ever co-host, prolific games writer, and pro podcaster shidoshi joins me to discuss all things Vocaloid! Okay, we recorded this episode way before Sega dropped the Project Diva f 2nd bombshell this week, but it’s perfect timing, wouldn’t you say?

First, however, we have to go over some news, and we manage to delve into a rather lengthy discussion of otome games because it wouldn’t be an episode of Chic Pixel Plus without at least a little otoge talk! But if you’ve always wanted to know what the big deal is about Vocaloids, you’ve come to the right place! We cover everything from their origins to live concerts in LA, so be sure to stick around after the news if you want to learn more about the Vocaloid phenomenon.

shidoshi’s best of Megurine Luka playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6MIC0cgNRztTwBAY9KV6Nu6Lu-mM-dV
my favorite Vocaloid songs playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuUfAMsT1dl3bCjd26WCWDHV5bJcO2Y_A

Opening ♫ – levan Polkka Hatsune Miku cover ver. – Otomania
Closing ♫ – ???

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 16 – Three Denpa Men and One Bad Segueway Away

Chic Pixel Plus is back after a month absence with everyone’s favorite man in Japan, Elliot Gay! We’ve been keeping ourselves busy, so there’s plenty to talk about. Two and a half hours of things to talk about, in fact!

Elliot lives to tell the tale of his encounter with the 5 meter Attack on Titan burger, watches the Persona 3 movie, and plays Puyo Puyo Tetris and Toushin Toshi. I slowly turn into Hatsune Miku, play Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and watch The Wind Rises. We also talk about a whole slew of interesting news including our favorite announcements from Bit Summit, have a weird tangent on meat and potatoes, and answer a bunch of listener questions!

Note: Once again, I got the episode number wrong during recording! This is definitely episode 16, not 17. Sorry about that!

Elliot’s Persona 3 movie article: http://www.japanator.com/impressions-persona-3-the-movie-1-spring-of-birth-31587.phtml
Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Community Game-Along info: http://www.chic-pixel.com/2014/02/introducing-monster-hunter-10th.html

Opening ♫ – Monokuma-Sensei’s Lesson – Masafumi Takada
Closing ♫ – Burn My Dread -Spring of Birth ver.- – Shōji Meguro

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Chic Pixel Plus Episode 15 – Anime Boyfriends

Looking back, I’m surprised I made it 15 episodes without naming one of them “Anime Boyfriends.” Well, the time has finally come, and who better to talk about anime boyfriend simulators (aka otome and BL games) with than Amanda Cosmos? Her background in QA brings some really interesting insight to the discussion, as well, since I know absolutely nothing about how games work beneath what I see on the screen. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with otome or BL games – we discuss exactly what those words mean, as well as some standout titles in the genres and our own personal favorites!

Remember, February is Dating Sim Month, so there’s no better time to jump into the genre!

Dating Sim Community Game-Along information: http://www.chic-pixel.com/2014/01/introducing-dating-sim-community-game.html
Amanda’s Otome 101 part 1: http://acosmos.net/post/75479460804/otome-games-101-origins

Opening ♫ – Ai Catch – Goatbed
Closing ♫ – Orion de SHOUT OUT – Kishō Taniyama

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