Now this is exciting news! For a limited time, Tokyo Otaku Mode is offering the chance to become a member of the previously Japan-exclusive official Sailor Moon club, Pretty Guardians! But you’ll need to act fast, as the opportunity to register will only be available for a limited time starting on September 23rd. Head on over to the official Tokyo Otaku Mode Sailor Moon Fan Club site to register your email address to be updated when international signups are live.
Gosh, where did the winter go?! Unlike the majority of you that live in the Northern hemisphere, here in Australia the months of June to August is for warm soups and cozy slippers… My favorite time of the year! As we say goodbye to August and hello to September and the upcoming blistering heat, here are a few of my favorite things from the past month!
Toraware no Paruma (囚われのパルマ, or “imprisoned palm”) is the first mobile otome game from Capcom, and an ambitious one at that. The game centers around your interactions with and observation of the male character Haruto, who is imprisoned after a “certain incident” that he has no memories of. In fact, he has no memories of anything, and you’ve been transported to the island where he’s being held captive to act as his counsellor and try to find some answers.
Salutations, September! Now that August and the PlatinumGames Game-Along have come and gone, it’s time to switch gears, grab a pumpkin spice latte, and play some strategy RPGs!
If you’re a long-time Chic Pixel reader, you know I’m a big fan of subscription boxes. When the folks at the nerdy subscriptions service Loot Crate mentioned that they were looking to see what dream subscription box themes people could come up with, I knew I had to answer the call. Besides, there’s even a chance they’ll be selecting one lucky blogger’s crate theme to make into a future month’s crate! I have no shortage of fun ideas I’d like to see in a subscription box, but I managed to narrow it down to one core theme: otome (乙女).
The term otome is most often used among English speakers in relation to “otome games,” but it literally means “maiden,” so it can refer to anything that might appeal to someone with maiden-like sensibilities! But since this is me, all of my otome items have a decidedly nerdy twist. Basically, this dream loot crate consists of everything I love, be it cute lifestyle items, otome game merchandise, or shojo anime figurines!
I’d never thought the day would come when I owned a Nendoroid wearing a bikini, but here we are! I just couldn’t resist grabbing a Nendoroid based on one of Kinako’s amazing Gatchaman Crowds character designs. While Ichinose Hajime is actually my favorite character from the series, I was unfortunately a little disappointed by her Nendoroid‘s accessories. When I saw Utsutsu’s adorable Nendoroid form, however, I just couldn’t resist!
I recently discovered the wonders of eBook Japan as an alternative to Amazon Japan’s Kindle products for an easy way to get digital books and manga overseas. Unlike Amazon Japan, which requires you to jump through some hoops to access Kindle products outside Japan, eBook Japan is perfectly tailored for international customers. Plus, every week they offer a great selection of free manga (and occasionally books) that members can download for free!
Reading manga in Japanese is a great way to improve your language ability, but it can be daunting to spend money on a title when you don’t know what to expect. With eBook Japan’s free weekly manga, you can try as many titles as you like and save your wallet a lot of grief! A lot of the free weekly titles correspond to currently-airing anime, too, so you can read along as you watch your new favorite series. But if you’re not sure how to navigate a site completely in Japanese, never fear: this guide will take you though all the steps to creating an account and downloading free manga on eBook Japan!