A Japanese Dictionary App: JED Review

A portable electronic Japanese dictionary can be expensive, and hard to get. However, if you have an Android phone, you can get an amazing Japanese dictionary app for free!

A Lack Of Confidence, Or A Lack Of Will?

Tada Banri (Golden Time)

My last post was in the first week of May. Since that time, it's been long seven months. My hiatus was a sudden, and unintended one...

An Otome Game Heroine Dream

As the release date for Norn9 approaches (I'm very excited), one thing in particular has been on my mind: A heroine with multiple personalities.

However, I don't mean a heroine with split personalities. This has been something I've always wanted to put in motion since I seriously began playing otome games. My current dream is to make a heroine with a personality that you can choose.

In almost every otome game, the heroines align to the Japanese standard of the ideal girl. They're cute, sweet, soft-spoken, polite, normal, and in the case of R18 games, completely innocent virgins. That's totally fine for some, but to my "outspoken" American personality, I'd like a heroine with a little more backbone. I'm not one of the people who projects themselves on a heroine, so I would rather feel like I'm reading along with that character instead.

Norn9 will do something similar, but each character can only pursue certain guys, which is definitely not what I want. I'd like you to be able to choose personality at the opening of the game, and be able to pursue all the characters. Coding-wise, I could see it as possible, if not tricky, however, I can't tell if it's ever been done before.

I'm sure I'm probably not the only one who would like this, or if anyone has examples of games like this, or similar, it would be greatly appreciated.

My Game and Anime Tumblr

Sometimes, Id like to post more images in a review, or just fan-art, CGs I like, and little updates that wouldn't fit here. In order to solve this problem, I've make a Tumblr page where I can upload these special little extras.

Visit it here~ Ruri-Iro Otome

Love is Not Bound By Rules! Review

After a long otome game hiatus, I jumped back into the swing of things as a member of Yurin Highschool's student council in Koi wa Rule Shibararenai!

KoiShiba Wallpaper!

English Release: Bakudan Handan

Aksys has once again brought an otome game to America! This time, it's Bakudan Handan under the name of Sweet Fuse: At Your Service.

English Title: Sweet Fuse: At Your Service
JP Title: Bakudan Handan
Platform: Sony PSP
Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Price: $29.99

I Don't Understand Idols

This is really about the AKB48 Minami Minegishi scandal.

English Release? Hakuouki Warriors of the Shinsengumi

It seems I've been under a rock for a little bit, because the game company Aksys has done it again! Just...not in the way I hoped...

English Title: Hakuouki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi
JP Title: Hakuouki: Bakumatsu Musouroku
Platform: Sony PSP
Release Date: February 26th, 2013
Price: $29.99

Inspirational Artbooks

Lately, I've been obsessed with finding artists I subconsciously try to imitate. Anime artbooks have been an extremely tempting conclusion for me.

A photo of an artbook I found in a store.

Otome Game Re-releases

Despite my love of otome games, I'm becoming increasingly bored. I just can't find anything interesting to play, and the game companies aren't making it easy. This rant isn't only for Quinrose, but other game companies as well.

YOHIO - Without Wings ~空と約束した~ Lyrics and Translation

Artist:　ヨヒオ (YOHIO)
Song: Without Wings～空と約束した～ (Without Wings~ Sora to Yakusokushita)

Form Spring Responses:

I have a Formspring Box to the side, I will answer all questions, but expect a delay if I'm busy or if I don't know the answer off the top of my head. Here are answers to questions (or statements) I've recieved. Feel free to ask anything, and I'll do my best to reply. You can ask anonymously or enter a name, but I won't show names.

1. In what hakuoki game does chizuru live with kazuma?

   I'm not completely certain, but it seems Hakuouki Yuugiroku has something similar. I don't actually own the game. ^^;;
2. 
   
   It's not a question but I really enjoy reading your blog :3

   Even if it's not a question, it makes me happy! Thanks!

Convention Spending

Hisashiburi da, ne~? It's been quite a while since my last post, sorry guys. I've actually started college, and October - November was convention planning time. It was so hectic, you wouldn't believe it! The con was Chibi Pa, which was held from the 16th to the 18th this month. Sadly, I didn't get to go on Friday, but I took around 230 photos on Saturday alone! I forgot my memory card on Sunday, so no photos from then. While the actual con is a completely different story for another time, I was extremely pleased with everything I bought.

Tips Faking Cleavage and Bigger Breasts for Cosplay

I debated whether this post was actually necessary for a couple weeks, but I think this is actually pretty helpful in the long run. Many characters have cleavage, or full breasts...and a lot of cosplayers don't. If you want to fake it, here's a couple tips. This is targeted at women... unless... you're a man with breasts... with bras at their disposal...

Warning: This post uses the words "breasts" and "bra", two very cringe-worthy words, quite a bit. You'll get used to it.

Melon Bread!

Melonbread (melonpan) is something you see, or hear about a lot in anime. Now, I've finally gotten to try some!

Norn9, Kamigami no Asobi

I'm pretty late but there have been a few pretty interesting otome games announced. So far, the most games that caught my eye were Norn9 and Kamigami no Asobi.

Kamigami

Anime Impressions: Hyouka

Lately I've been watching the new-ish mystery anime Hyouka. Ignore the current synopsis you've seen on any anime website, since it isn't completely true.

My PSP and Updates

It's been a while since an update thread, so here goes:

My PSP is currently out of commission for games. Buying Japanese UMDs is expensive, so I download the games. It's quicker than waiting for shipping, but downloading from the PSN Network is an absolute pain. I had to remove my games from my PSP for a while, so I won't be able to play any otome games. I won't be much help for finding specific images in walkthroughs or making walkthroughs. I mentioned this before in my Bakudan Handan review briefly. Currently, my PSP is a giant MP3 player, but I don't review music, so it's worthless.

However, when my PSP is back up and running, I have a better layout for game walkthrough in mind. It should help a little with the confusion when finding CGs. I'm also working on the Bakudan Handan review, which will be, more or less, in full Japanese.

I've recently started watching anime again, but I'm in summer school and preparing for college. Anime kind of takes the back-burner a lot and gets horribly neglected. I will most likely only do final impressions of anime series from now on,  since it's far easier to keep track of what I finish than what I start. 

I made a poll, and it seems that the overwhelming majority (95%) of people want more otome game reviews and walkthroughs.
Totally done. <3

Cosplay and convention tips got 27% of votes; Bento making and anime reviews got 18% of votes. I actually have something in mind for convention tips once my skin stops acting up, and I've been thinking up some new bento ideas. Manga reviews and Japanese culture and news things are gone until further notice, since the number of votes they got were abysmal and it's hard thinking up ideas for those.

I've also noticed that people are trying to add me on Yahoo messenger. Please don't. I don't approve requests from people I have never really talked to.

Aside from that, everything is going pretty well. Expect more entries in the future as I finish summer school~! ^^

Bakudan Handan / Sweet Fuse Review

Bakudan Handan is an action adventure game for the PSP-- with added romance! I got the game about a week or so ago, and I've finished two routes. This review is extremely late, because my PSP cord has been missing for around 4 days now, so I decided to wing it and review it using what I remember. Toss in the fact that this game is in full Japanese, and I could only read around 25% of it, expect a lot of improvising.

Edit: I've now played the English version of the game as well, so I edited this review to reflect it.

Restyling Wigs For Cosplay: Tips and Links

Chances are, when you buy a wig, it looks nothing like what you need it to. Wigs are seldom perfect straight out of the package and they need to be either styled or cut. It seems like a daunting task, but it’s actually pretty simple if you pay attention to what you’re doing and work slowly. It’s time consuming, but the effect is worth it in the end.