Back in December of last year, I was thrilled to finally review the Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack released by Viz Media with enhanced visuals, new dub, and additional bonus features. Now, season one of the iconic shojo anime finally comes to its conclusion in Set 2, containing episodes 24-46. While the release doesn’t fix the visual issues that plagued Set 1, however, the second half of the first season reminds me why I still adore Sailor Moon to this day.
Welcome to Apricotsushi Shops, a new series where I highlight cool Japanese products I’ve found in my travels and the all items I’m currently pining over on my wishlist! Sometimes I’ll focus on a specific theme, and sometimes I’ll share whatever I can’t get off my mind, but one thing’s for sure… You’ll want to hold onto that wallet!
I think I have a Sailor Moon problem. I’m not even watching the new anime, Sailor Moon Crystal, but I can’t stop looking at Sailor Moon merchandise! For someone who grew up with the series, the recent revival is everything amazing you didn’t get when you were a kid (well, if you were a kid like me living in the middle of nowhere, USA). But, not all Sailor Moon merchandise is created equal. Today, I’m going to show you the cream of the crop!
Regardless of what you think about Valentine’s Day, any holiday is a great chance to show my appreciation to all the readers of Chic Pixel! So, whether or not you plan on spending the day celebrating with a special someone, here are Chic Pixel I’d like to celebrate all of you with a little giveaway!
One winner will receive everything pictured above, plus a few extra Japanese snacks I found lying around. [Update] I’m also going to throw in one Steam code for Long Live the Queen, a super awesome simulation game! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends February 15th, 9 pm EST. Just follow the instructions in the widget below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Many of the items I’m giving away come from the Betoyo Bento Japanese collectable subscription box, so if you like the idea of getting cute Japanese trinkets in the mail, do check them out! And thanks for your continued support of Chic Pixel!
A self-indulging celebration, or a critical look at otaku consumption practices? “ME!ME!ME!” is a short animation that debuted on November 21st as part of the Japan Animation Expo, a project between famed anime director Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara and Dwango that showcases young animators. While two shorts came before it, with one more releasing every week until all 30 have been posted online, “ME!ME!ME!” has undoubtedly been receiving the most attention for its striking visual style, catchy soundtrack, and dark themes.
The buzz surrounding “ME!ME!ME!” is almost certainly justified, but when poking around the internet, I didn’t find much in the way of long-form discussion outside of forum threads about what I found to be very harsh condemnation of the specific style of media consumption exhibited by the protagonist of the video. Instead of focusing on my personal interpretation, however, I thought it would be more interesting to kickstart discussion by using this article to attempt to illustrate just how complex “ME!ME!ME!” is.
It’s no secret that the Sailor Moon anime has had a big impact on my life, both as a show that offered female role models to aspire to when I was young and being the impetus for my lifelong love of Japan. Earlier this year, I recorded a podcast dedicated to the franchise, and when VIZ Media announced the series would be coming to Blu-ray this year, I was thrilled. Now that I’ve gotten hold of the Sailor Moon Season 1, Set 1 Limited Edition Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack, I can say being able to watch the series in its entirety uncut is an absolute joy, but unfortunately the experience is marred by subpar video quality.
When I realized I would be in Japan while the latest Studio Ghibli film, When Marnie Was There (Omoide no Maanii), was in theaters, I was thrilled. The last time I saw a Ghibli film in Japan was Ponyo, which was gorgeously animated but ultimately a little disappointing for me, so I wanted to see if Ghibli could outdo some of their more recent mediocre affairs. While When Marnie Was There‘s premise of a young sick girl who goes out to the country and becomes friends with another, rather mysterious, girl didn’t seem all that enticing from a plot synopsis point of view, I went in hopeful that I would be getting another dose of Ghibli’s magic on the big screen, well before the film aired in the rest of the world.