Japan Envy: Danganronpa in Namja Town 2014

Happy Zettai Zetsubou Shoujo: Danganronpa Another Episode Day! As always, Japan is one step ahead of the rest of the world – while Dananronpa 2: Goodbye Despair just debuted in English earlier this month, Japanese-speaking fans are likely already gobbling up the third entry in the series that goes on shelves today.

After just finishing Danganronpa 2 earlier this week (review coming soon!), I am on a total Danganronpa high at the moment. Though my copy of Another Episode likely won’t be in my hands until late next week, Namja Town has a new Danganronpa event with special themed food items that I can tantalize myself with in the meantime….

Note: If you’ve only just started playing the Danganronpa games, there may be some slight spoilers regarding the characters in this post, so read on at your own risk! 

Namja Town is a theme park located inside the Sunshine City shopping center in Ikebukuro. While it was definitely on my radar when I was in Tokyo, I ultimately wasn’t able to give it a visit. In addition to its usual attractions, it is constantly rotating different nerdy tie-in events such as this Danganronpa one that will be held from September to November. Special foods, merchandise, and even games are part of the festivities!

The food items pictured above are all to commemorate the launch of Danganronpa Another Episode, and thus feature the main characters of the game. It’s hard to make out, but the one in the bottom right is the protagonist Komaru’s megaphone hacking gun firing a couple different types of truth bullets – but they’re gyoza!

At the top right is everyone’s favorite psycho Genocide Jill in the form of a sandwich. I love how they depict her infamous scissors! And don’t miss that crazy long red tongue sticking out of the sandwich!

In addition to celebrating Another Story, there are plenty of food items made with other characters in the series in mind. Each order comes with a special collectable card of the character the food item is based on, for 19 in total… Good thing the campaign is on for two months for those who want to collect them all!

These Hajime and Nagito gyoza are simply amazing. I’m not exactly sure how these are gyoza (apparently Namja Town is big on gyoza) but the hair? The faces? Perfect. I think this one would be on the top of my list to try if I had the chance.

My second favorite, though, would have to be this Gundham cake. I love how the yam(?) looks like his scarf! And they even managed to feature the Four Devas of Destruction!

Even the Namja Town mascots are dressed up as Danganronpa characters! Can you tell who’s who?

Be sure to head over to the official Danganronpa in Namja Town 2014 site to check out all the different limited edition goods available at the event! Now I’m back to waiting for my copy of Another Episode to arrive…

Swooning Over Regional Hello Kitty Blendy Sticks

Back when I wrote about the Hello Kitty regional Blendy stick a few months ago, I resigned myself to never being able to try them due to their limited distribution even though I was traveling to Japan. Imagine my surprise, then, when I ran into some at a souvenir shop that specialized in food at Tokyo Solamachi! Of course, I was utterly thrilled and proceeded to buy them immediately.

Interestingly, the only flavor this particular shop stocked was the Tochiotome Au Lait from Tochigi prefecture, which is north of Tokyo. As you can probably tell from the packaging, Tochiotome is a type of strawberry that is particularly famous in Tochigi prefecture. Though I’ve eaten my fair share of Japanese strawberries, I don’t know if I’ve ever tried the Tochiotome variety, but I can say that Japanese strawberries are some of the juiciest, most flavorful berries I’ve ever had!

Each regional Hello Kitty Blendy stick box comes with 10 individually-wrapped packets for 10 cups of strawberry au lait. I believe I paid ¥600 (more or less $6), which might be a tad pricey for this sort of instant drink, but I was happy to spend a little extra for a region-exclusive item.

According to the back of the box, there is a special monkey trainer Hello Kitty design that, if you’re lucky, you’ll find on one of the packets in the box. A quick Google search tells me that Tochigi is famous for a theme park that used to have monkey troupe performances that closed in 2013, but will have a memorial hall opening this October. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to get the special design!

I didn’t expect the box to reveal a cutout of Hello Kitty’s face when opened! It’s products like this that really showcase the amazing attention to detail and presentation you’ll find in even the most mundane items in Japan. Limited edition packaging is certainly a surefire way to get me to buy an instant drink I would normally pass over in a shop!

Unfortunately, while the strawberry Hello Kitty adorning the box and packets is all-around adorable, the drink itself wasn’t particularly impressive. The Tochiotome strawberry flavor was definitely strong and sweet, but I don’t think strawberry au lait is really my drink of choice.

Sure, it would be great if the drink itself was as thrilling as the packaging, but I’m still very happy that I was able to try one of the regional Hello Kitty Blendy stick flavors! Though I couldn’t find a seller that ships the Tochiotome au lait internationally, there is one that stocks the Hokkaido café au lait! I may have to give that a try…

Ali Baba 1/7 Scale Figure by empty Review

Ali Baba 1/7 Scale Figure by empty

This is it, folks. I’ve finally fallen into the deep, money-swallowing hole that is scale figures. I don’t know whether I should be relieved that I lasted a whole year since I bought my first Nendoroid, or if I should be disappointed that I only managed to keep myself away from them for so long. Either way, I’m in it now, and there’s no better way to celebrate the occasion than with a review!

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4 visual novels I have to play before 2015

I have been monumentally busy lately. Terribly, soul-crushingly busy to the point that I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to fit in everything I want/need to do. On top of that, my monthly Community Game-Alongs keep me acutely aware of exactly how much time I have left in the year… And it’s not a lot.

So, how can one ever hope to manage one’s time?! With a handy list, of course!

There are tons of games I want to play over the next few months, but I had to narrow things down for the sake of this post, and my sanity. Since I’m on a major otome game/visual novel kick lately, I figured that was as good a place to start as any, and I also wanted to use it as an excuse to cover some games that may not be talked about very often. And thus, I present to you: four visual novels I have to play before 2015!

Clover Toshokan no Juunin-tachi (release date: September 26)

This is one otome game that I absolutely did not have on my radar until I happened to see it pop up for preorder on Ami Ami (that site is going to be the death of me). My interest was piqued for purely superficial reasons – the game has the word “library” in the title, and the art was appealing, albeit a little generic. But this game isn’t just an otome game that features a library! The male suitors are literally books. That’s right, the books in the library have come to life, from the cutesy picture book to the wild-looking travel book. Even though this game is for PC and I generally prefer to play games on consoles, I will readily admit that the prospect of dating books completely sold me on the title.

Nekketsu Inou Bukatsu: Trigger Kiss (release date: October 2)

I have a feeling this list is going to quickly make me sound very shallow, but there was only one thing I knew about Trigger Kiss before I started writing this post, and that was that there is a mechanic in the game that actually has players kiss their Vitas. I literally needed no other information before placing my preorder. I figure if games like Monster Monpiece with its erotic Vita-rubbing gameplay mechanism can be popular enough to have an English release, then I’m going to do my very best to make sure everyone knows about what else is out there! Apparently the mechanic is rationalized by the fact that all of the characters have special powers… and the heroine’s is that she can increase the powers of others by – you guessed it – kissing them. All right, sign me up!
DRAMAtical Murder re:code (release date: October 30)
DRAMAtical Murder is one of those games that I really should play, but have never gotten very far in, largely due to the fact that it’s PC-only (that doesn’t bode well for Clover Toshokan no Juunin-tachi…). Now that the ages18+ BL visual novel is getting an all-ages Vita release, I have a feeling I’ll finally be compelled to go through and finish the whole thing. I just love the game’s cyberpunk-like aesthetic and focus on things like games and technology (so meta!), and I can only imagine how great it’s going to look on the Vita’s OLED screen! Just a warning, though: if you find yourself interested in learning more about DRAMAtical Murder, I would suggest staying away from the currently-airing anime. It’s a good laugh if you don’t take it seriously, but the low production values really aren’t doing the series any favors.
Code: Realize – Sousei no Himegimi (release date: November 27)
It’s high time an otome game tackled a steampunk setting, so I am 100% on board with whatever Code: Realize plans to throw at me. Taking place in London and featuring bishonen versions of famous literary characters such as Van Helsing and Frankenstein, everything about this game says that I’ll love it… aside from the premise. Apparently it features an amnesiac heroine who has some kind of disease that causes everything she comes in contact with to rot. After my experience with Amnesia, I think it’s safe to say I’m extremely wary of an otome game that uses amnesia as a plot point, but I can’t help but be drawn in by the gorgeous art, characters, and setting. I hope it doesn’t disappoint!
There are so many other games I could have included, but alas, any more than four and I doubt I’ll be able to make good on my word to play them before 2015. As it is, I still have piles of visual novels I’ve purchased and still haven’t touched!
Visual novel or not, what are you looking forward to playing for the rest of the year?

Japan Envy: Baskin Robbins Halloween Ice Cream + Mister Donut Orange Chocolate Series

Is it too early to start talking about Halloween? Never, I say, and apparently Japanese Baskin Robbins feels the same! Though their limited-run Halloween ice cream specials won’t be going on sale until September 26th, they’ve already unveiled the upcoming festive line of treats:

The cat and ghost pictured above are my favorites, but you can see images of the whole lineup over at Zigg. I just love all of the care put into the details, from the purple witches’ hats and special Halloween cups that unify the designs. After some quick Googling, it’s become apparent that Baskin Robbins brings out similar Halloween designs every year in Japan, including some pretty amazing looking sundaes!

Over at Mister Donut, things are all about the classic orange and chocolate flavor combination. Who doesn’t love orange and chocolate? I’ve always found it somewhat exotic for whatever reason, and the words “orange” and “chocolate” immediately conjure up memories of the chocolate oranges I used to get for Christmas.

All of the donuts look so decadent! I think it’s the advertising… Still, I would definitely give that orange chocolate Pon de Ring a taste if I happened to be in Japan during this campaign. While it’s not explicitly Halloween-related, the orange does give it a sort of “mature” Halloween feel, don’t you think? I can’t wait to see what Mister Donut whips out for an actual Halloween-themed donut series!

Announcing the Shmup Community Game-Along

Ah, September… When the seasons start to change and suddenly it feels like we’re rapidly hurdling towards the end of the year. Last month we celebrated a very classic, and still widely praised, game genre: the platformer. This month, however, it’s time to turn our attention toward a genre that hasn’t seen a whole lot of love on recent consoles, but is still very near and dear to many: the humble shmup.

Einhander

Shoot ’em ups, affectionally known as shmups, are considered shooters but have a couple of distinct characteristics that set them apart from other games in the shooting genre: namely, an emphasis on fast reflexes and chaotic screens filled with enemies. Shmups are some of the oldest games around, and can be traced all the way back to 1962’s Spacewar!, though the most commonly known retro shmup would undoubtedly be Space Invaders. Nowadays, shumps are somewhat of a dying breed, partially due to the industry’s focus on first person shooters and graphical prowess, which is why we’re going to dedicate the whole month of September to remembering some of the classics and uncovering new shmup gems!

As always, the “rules” of the Community Game-Alongs are simple – just play any game that fits the theme and share your experiences with others! Feel free to post write-ups of your game(s) of choice on your own site, record a podcast, or use #Shmuptember on your preferred social media. Of course, how you choose to share your experiences (or not), is up to you! If you’re having a hard time picking something to play, here are a few suggestions that hopefully won’t be too difficult to obtain if you don’t already own them:

Gradius

Gradius (3DS Virtual Console) – It’s hard to talk about shmups without mentioning one of the most famous shmup series to date, Gradius. If you want to go back and experience the game that started it all, you can do so on the 3DS Virtual Console, but be warned, the original is quite dated, and will likely seem even more so for those who have never played it before. If you want to play what are considered fan-favorites in the series, try to get your hands on Gradius Gaiden (in the PSP title Gradius Collection) or Gradius V (PS2).

ETHER VAPOR Remaster

ETHER VAPOR Remaster (PC) – If it hasn’t already become apparent, I actually know next to nothing about shmups and thus have very little in the way of personal recommendations in this genre! One recent game I have played, however, is ETHER VAPOR Remaster, a 3D doujin shmup that was localized by Nyu Media. While I have no idea how it’s viewed within the shmup fan community, I quite enjoyed my time with it, and there’s even a free demo on Nyu Media’s website, so you can try it before you commit.

Mushihimesama

CAVE shmups (various) – CAVE has carved itself out a nice niche within the already niche genre of shmups by focusing on what has been coined “bullet hell” shooters. While only a fraction of their games have been released outside of Japan, popular releases such as Deathsmiles can be found on Xbox 360 or iOS/Android, along with Akai Katana (Xbox 360) and Mushihimesama (iOS/Android). Their DonPatchi series is also a shmup classic, and the great thing about shmups is you don’t really need to know any Japanese to be able to play them! If you don’t want to shell out lots of cash to pick up physical console versions of these games, quite a few CAVE titles are available on smartphones. Check out the full list on their website.

Do you have any other shmup suggestions for newcomers to the genre, or those looking for something a little less mainstream? Share your picks in the comments, and let us know what you plan on playing!

Catch-Up Corner: Pondering the New 3DS and Funassyi

Just my luck – the one day I decide to go to bed at the ripe hour of 9 pm, Nintendo decides to hold a major Nintendo Direct! When I woke up the next morning, all the internet was abuzz with news of the New 3DS. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what it’s all about… and what’s up with that awful name!

new Nintendo 3DS models
Coming to Japan on October 11th!
I know a lot of people were clamoring for an additional thumb stick, so it’s great to see Nintendo finally add one in. Apparently it’s closer to the GameCube’s C-stick than the circle pad that’s been on the left hand side of the 3DS since the original model… Honestly, I can’t say much about that since I never owned a GameCube and don’t have a whole lot of experience with the controller. I’m sure it will function fine for things like the camera in Monster Hunter 4G, but the size and positioning puzzle me a little, as it seems quite close to the command buttons. 
Speaking of those buttons, though, I absolutely love the fact that they’re colored like the original SNES buttons. What a neat touch! It looks great on the smaller new 3DS model, but it’s a shame they didn’t go with the same color scheme on the new 3DS LL/XL models. 
Since there are plenty of sites going into all the juicy details, I won’t bore you with all of the specifics of the new models, but other improvements I’m particularly intrigued by are the improved 3D capabilities and enhanced CPU. I hardly ever use the 3D when playing now, but the idea that it can be viewed without holding the 3DS the perfect distance and angle from your face is pretty exciting, and makes using the 3D much more appealing. 
Xenoblade Chronicles art
Yet another game I’ve been meaning to play… 
All I really understand about the enhanced CPU is that it will allow for more technically robust games to come out on the system, such as the port of Xenoblade Chronicles that was announced in the same Nintendo Direct. Unfortunately, this also means that games developed for the new 3DS will not work on old 3DS models… Which makes one wonder, will Nintendo and 3rd party developers gradually move over to the new system, or will it be somewhat of a flop, like DSi-exclusive games were in the past? 
Though I can’t say I was personally hoping for a new 3DS model anytime soon, all of the new features do sound pretty appealing. Unfortunately, I just don’t have it in my budget to buy a new one in the near future, and a single exclusive game isn’t the push I need to break the bank for it just yet. Most likely, I’ll wait until there’s a limited edition system and game I’m really excited for. 
Now, I may seem like a person that likes pretty much any and all cute things from Japan. But, believe it or not, there are some things I just don’t “get.” Case in point: Funassyi (pictured above). The yellow pear character is an unofficial mascot for Funabashi, Chiba, but has still managed to become immensely popular in Japan over the past year or so. I had no idea just how popular it was until I went to Tokyo last month and saw for myself how it’s permeated any and all media in the country. In fact, Funassyi even features quite heavily in the promotional material for the arcade game Gunslinger Stratos 2: 
I understand that the idea of a mascot character speaking and moving around in a crazy manner is rather novel, but I actually find Funassyi really irritating! Is this a sign that I’m getting old? Am I no longer hip? I guess I’ll go back to my rocker on the porch and yell at a few kids.