Lazuline-colored Ramblings

A Japanese Dictionary App: JED Review

2013-12-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

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!

On the commute to school, in bed, or just computer-less, I had to write down words I didn't know with the intention of looking them up later. If I was playing a game, or reading a book, I had to either skip the part, or stop playing until I could look up the word.

I considered ordering a portable Japanese to English Electronic dictionary, but I was either disappointed by what I saw, or it was completely out of my budget. Finally, I bought a smart phone, and turned to the free app market. I found JED and fell in love with it.

JED is an offline Japanese to English dictionary. In order to use it, you download the pack of files you will need. There is the full Japanese-English dictionary, a smaller “lite” version, Japanese-French, Japanese-Spanish, and the Kanji Stroke Order diagrams. I downloaded the full Japanese to English, and the Kanji Stroke Order Diagrams. The other ones can be added at any time as long as you have an Internet connection to download it.

It requires an SD card, and took a few minutes, but after that, no Internet connection is needed. I only downloaded one pack, and on my phone the App’s size is 2.34MB. It is one of the smallest Apps on my phone. For comparison, YouTube is 11.84MB and Facebook is 22.23MB.

Within the dictionary are a total of 334,277 entries. The dictionary allows you to search for either Japanese romaji or English words, and updates the search each time a letter is typed. You can search within categories such as verbs, counters, onomatopoeia, kanji and more. Kanji can also be searched by radicals. It even has a handy little hiragana and katakana table.

By far, my favorite feature is the tagging system. When you look up a word, you have the option to tag it. The tags themselves are basically user created lists. When you make a tag you can use it as its own searching category. I made a “Frequently Heard” list for those words I see all the time, but often forget. I also make lists for specific songs I’m translating and Drama CDs. It makes things quick and easy.

The app itself is very straightforward. A lot of the other ones I tested had ads or really gaudy designs. JED is designed simply, but looks polished and completely ad free.

My only complaint is that is doesn’t have its own kanji recognition software. Searching by radical can be a little time consuming. If I know the stroke order, I’d like to be able to write it and search that way.

If you’re looking for a powerful dictionary, and don’t mind the lack of kanji recognition software, I highly recommend JED. I honestly think it’s one of the best free apps you can get.

Links:
JED App Page

A Lack Of Confidence, Or A Lack Of Will?

2013-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

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...

At the end of May, after photographing a wedding, I hit my head, and got a concussion. I was unable to use electronics, read (no games for me!), use a camera, or even remember the previous day's events without getting a serious headache. Because the concussion disrupted my vision, I couldn't go outside.

For about 2 full weeks, I missed class, and spent my days huddled under a blanket unable to even think because it hurt. Before, my inner mind was my sanctum, and now it felt like a prison. I was extremely emotionally unstable. I worried about whether I would ever be back to normal, and began having severe anxiety and a loss of confidence.

By mid-June, the serious effects of the concussion were gone. I slowly tried to return to my normal life. My boyfriend at the time bought me some Japanese snacks, and I had two new entries in mind for my return. However, by this point, the anxiety had become crippling. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do things as I did before. I abandoned blogging, drawing, and video games. I no longer felt confident in my own abilities, and was paralyzed in a never-ending mode of "preparation".

I had lost my self-identity completely.

My interest in Psychology, especially personality type was rekindled, and I began researching my Enneagram type. I only truly feel myself when I'm researching or learning about a difficult subject. It's a little harder to process and focus on the information since my concussion, but it helps a lot. Life has been very stressful for me lately, and I feel upside down and out of sorts. I'm a long way from being whole again, but I'm working little by little. I've learned more about myself, and have also begun the process of trying to "love myself", as cliche as that sounds.

I want to continue with this blog, and writing for you awesome people. I have to find my niche in blogging again, so bear with me.

Thanks for reading my blog everyone.

An Otome Game Heroine Dream

2013-05-09T00:23:00.001-04:00

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

2013-03-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

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

2013-03-25T17:36:00.000-04:00

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!

I stumbled upon this game by chance looking up Black Wolves Saga (don't ask me how) and decided to give it a try. I broke free of my usual art/storyline snobbery to play a cliché, boring, and unoriginal school dating sim.

Or so I thought! Love is Not Bound By Rules! or Koishiba!, has easily become my current favorite. The heroine, Manabe Aya (name can be changed), is the niece of the school chairman, and he apparently controls your school life. At the start of the new school year, he kindly informs you that you're going to be the new manager/advisor. Everyone gathers to talk about it, with everyone but the principal saying yes. He's quickly overruled and you assume your position. Now, together with 5 handsome bishounen, you decide on the various school events and trips. The game begins in May, and ends in December.

Game Mechanics: In addition to making dialogue choices to advance the story and get close to other characters, there is Deliberation mode (making up names~), where you can accept or deny various school and special events, and Free-talk, and Intervals in between months. You can obtain CG images from various school and special events. Each character has a normal and good ending.

Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5
The characters in Koishiba, for the most part are good, but aside from Habasaki and Asagiri, I'm fairly neutral about the other characters. They were all unique, quirky and interesting, but some more than others. Habasaki had two separate personalities. If he ate something spicy, Habasaki Satoshi turns into Habasaki Kyou. If Kyou ate something sweet, he would turn back into Satoshi (the candies represent their personalities pretty well). Asagiri Atsushi was extremely odd and had a new "obsession" (My Boom?) every other day. Midou Touya acts like a playboy, but he believes that everyone has a soulmate of sorts, and is looking for his. Narukami Hiro is the sucessor to a large company (and already operates a few). Sakaki Eijiro has a scary face, and is surrounded by a lot of bad rumors due to a misunderstanding.

I found myself skipping through Narukami, Sakaki, and Midou's routes quite often because I got bored.

However, in KoiShiba! You can clearly tell which otoge character type they're supposed to be, but they do a good job of moving away from the usual mold. I like the direction they went in with their characters, and how they played around with the stereotypes.

There are also extra characters in the story that only appear in individual routes, however, I wish their could have been more interaction with them.

Storyline: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5
It's hard giving an accurate review on the storyline because it's not completely linear. Before October, you can change the storyline/path through accepting or denying certain school events. In deliberation mode, there are 2 possible events, and you can either accept the first one, or deny it for the alternate path. In addition to this you can choose special events. Depending on which Free-Talks and special events you choose, you can see the storyline for different routes.

The game has a good amount of humor in many of the events and I found myself laughing out loud while playing. The individual paths had more emotion than I expected. I found that Habasaki's individual route was quite sad for a school life game. I was actually pretty shocked. I was expecting happy, cheesy, doki-doki, rose-colored school days, and they didn't do that. Despite being an otome game, the focus wasn't actually on the romance in the individual paths, with the exception of Asagiri (there's an extra surprise to make up for it).

My only complaint is that after the first 2 play-throughs (rejection route, and acceptance route), the first 5 months are extremely boring.

Music: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5
I like a couple of songs in the game, specifically the piano ones. The music does a pretty good job of enhancing the scenes as it's supposed to, and the only songs I find annoying are the songs that take place during the deliberation, since you hear it so often when completing the game.

Other: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5
Deliberation Mode needs it's own section...

Deliberation mode gets repetitive since you do it every month for school events, and every single time for special events.
If you do not accept the school event (very annoying during a rejection route), it will ask you if you want to overrule the decision every single time. There is no way to remove this.
If you have enough Charisma Points, you can easily accept it events without deliberating at all.
It does not tell you what special events you have already done in other routes.

There is a Skip-All mode and Skip Read Text option available from the start of the game. By default, it's set to Skip-All, but you can do both in Skip-All mode. Pressing the R button once skips read text, and holding it down skips everything. I prefer to leave it in Skip-All mode.

Charisma Points carry through play-throughs if you continue from the finished save file. They can go up to 99,999 pts.

If you've seen a particular event or scene already, a dialogue screen appears asking if you want to skip it. You usually don't obtain love points when you skip scenes. It really speeds things up.

Certain special events change the characters' clothing or the appearance of the school itself. The downside to this is 100% completion of the gallery and character viewer is made much harder.

You can view which scenes you have seen, or get an idea of what you missed in a character's route by going to Scene Replay. The first part goes in order by month, so you can pinpoint the month you need to redo.

Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5

I quite like this game, mostly for the different character approach and each individual path. However, the time it takes for the game to branch out is quite tedious after a few play-throughs. Luckily, you can skip text and previously viewed scenes easily. 100% completion is slightly harder than in other games.

English Release: Bakudan Handan

2013-02-15T14:11:00.003-05:00

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'm glad more otome games are coming out in English! Since I skipped on buying the new Hakuouki game, I will gladly buy this one. I'll also be able to complete my walkthrough in English for everyone!

Official Website

I Don't Understand Idols

2013-02-05T12:59:00.002-05:00

This is really about the AKB48 Minami Minegishi scandal.

Let me start off by saying, I don't follow AKB48 religiously, like a fan, or at all. I only like one song. I think their videos are too sexualized as well. I don't know idol culture.

I also don't understand why this whole thing is such a big deal. So, she was caught leaving a man's house. Big deal. We don't even know what went on in the house first of all. Second of all, she's an adult. Everyone is treating her like she's still a 13 year old girl.

I felt very disturbed when I read that AKB48's company is "investigating" the situation, like she's a criminal. The only thing she did wrong, was violate her contract (which is technically illegal).

Visiting a man's house was not wrong.
Acting like an adult was not wrong.
Being human was not wrong.

She was demoted to a trainee, not because she violated her contract, but because she became a nuisance to the fans. I can understand not bringing trouble to the company for causing such an uproar, but being a nuisance to her fans is harsh. Why is there even an uproar?

Why do fans think that because they buy an artist's albums or listen to their music, that they get to control aspects of their life that should be private.

Why blame her for even violating a nonsensical rule in a contract she signed 7 years prior? Why punish her? It gives me the message "You are not your own person, you belong to the fans." Oh, and about shaving her head? It's bullying. She might have done it with her own hands, but amidst this are people saying she's wrong, that she has to be punished for being an adult, that she has to repent.

I applaud Alan Shirahama's company for not getting involved in his personal life.

I wonder if this will cause any lasting trauma for poor Minegishi. I feel sorry for everyone in that group. They aren't humans anymore, they're just products that belong to entitled fans.

~~~
AKB48's Minami Minegishi Spends The Night At GENERATIONS' Alan Shirahama's Home
AKB48's Minami Minegishi Demoted To Trainee, Shaves Head As Punishment For Scandal
AKB48 Theater Manager Answers Questions Regarding Minami Minegishi's Scandal
Alan Shirahama's Agency Releases Statement Regarding Scandal With Minami Minegishi

English Release? Hakuouki Warriors of the Shinsengumi

2013-01-02T12:34:00.000-05:00

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

In October, Aksys announced the newest addition to the English otome game market, Hakuouki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi. Only one thing could make this better: it could actually be an otome game.

Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi Key Features:

Two Major Storylines – Play through events of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom with each of the six playable characters, or change history in “Shinsengumi Chronicle”!

Shinsengumi Chronicle – Change history as any one of the six main characters in “Shinsengumi Chronicle” mode. Play in an alternate universe where you control the fate of the Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi Memorial – Step into the shoes of your favorite samurai and play through battles from Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Join in on the action as you battle your way through Kyoto in “Shinsengumi Memorial” mode.

Fury Mode – When a character’s life is spent, he will enter Fury Mode, unleashing an inner ferocious killing machine, able to tear down anyone that gets in his way. However, becoming a Fury too many times can unlock a particularly bad ending.

Slash & Slaughter with Furious Attacks – Each character is equipped with several different attacks, allowing players to plow through numerous enemies at once. Keep tabs on how many foes you’ve taken down, pick up dropped items, and level up to achieve even greater strength.

-From the Aksys Announcement

According to what I've read, the new game is going to be a hack-and-slash style fighting game, rather than a true otome game. At first I thought: I'll buy the game because a hack-and-slash Hakuouki sounds pretty interesting! Then, I looked up gameplay and realized I probably won't like this as much as I thought.

I've always thought the anime by Studio DEEN looked strange. Sadly, this is the game's main art style. I know they don't have much choice, but it's not Kazuki Yone's art. The graphics aren't stellar, either. All art related problems aside, I'm not sure if I'm buying it. It looks kind of boring, and just plain repetitive. I have mixed feelings. I just don't want to spend money on it.

While it is a new release in an otome game area, it feels like we've taken one step forward and two steps backwards. This is very bad in terms of otome game releases. Aksys is trying to broaden their market and make profit in an unknown field. If the game doesn't sell well, then it's a sign they can't make as large a profit as they wanted. Whether or not they would continue localizing games is questionable.

I want to support English releases as much as I can, in hopes other companies will catch on. If I do buy the game, I'll let you guys know and do a review.

Inspirational Artbooks

2012-12-08T12:49:00.002-05:00

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.

While browsing on the website Deviantart, website where people post their art, someone gave me the the idea to make an "Inspiration folder" on my computer with the styles or art I liked. In my search, I began looking in store art sections, and I found the above book. The art inside was absolutely gorgeous! It had the artists for games like Catherine, Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, the animes Anohana, Oreimo and even more anime and games that haven't been licensed in the US yet.

The book is full color, and full of character designs, sketches and full page spreads. My only complaint, is that many of the artists only received 2 pages, while others received 3 pages or more. Other than that, the books was beautifully done.

As of December 2012, the book is about $20 USD on Amazon.com, which is $10 USD less than the cover price. I think it's a very nice deal.

Before now, I only saw art books for a single artist or series, so I was never really interested. These compilation books are better suited to me, since as an aspiring artist myself, I can learn about other artists, and gaze upon beautiful drawings. Although it's easily done in the digital world, there's nothing quite like holding an actual book of art in your hands.

Otome Game Re-releases

2012-12-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

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.

There's nothing I hate more, than playing the same story repeatedly. I appreciate it in the span of one game, but after completing that game, I lose interest unless there's a big development. This isn't a new occurrence, but there are too many remakes and re-releases!

The games are too similar to each other for me to enjoy, and there seem to be 5 versions of any popular game. Starry Sky, Uta*Pri, Heart no Kuni no Alice, Vitamin, etc. I keep seeing "new" games, and it feels like they're all the same. The original games themselves don't even have a solid plot that can be built on. They aren't sequels, they're remakes. They add new characters, remove a few old ones, change setting and now they have a new game? The story isn't different, the characterization is almost the same, and it feels like they're making excuses to draw out the games and profit. Each game is usually $40-$70, and they're making remake after remake.

I was crazy about Heart no Kuni no Alice when it came out, and after that I was losing interest. The new games assume you didn't fall in love with anyone in the previous game.

"The kingdom randomly switches lands sometimes. Don't worry about it. Your old friends are ...probably fine. Now you can fall in love with someone new! Or me, since you're my best friend now."

In the next game, I think I heard that Alice goes back in time? At least that's a development. Sorry Quinrose, I'm not interested anymore since it's the FIFTH game in the series. Hakuouki falls under the same umbrella, but they at least released Hakuouki: Yuugiroku (a cute chibi version), to change pace.

Just for once, I would like a new premise. An ACTUAL sequel with a new plot (What if the people of Wonderland came to Alice's World? What if it wasn't Alice anymore? What if the one Alice fell in love with disappeared? What if?). Or maybe just a new original game. An otome game showing their lives afterwards as a playable route might even be cool.

Please, just stop the remakes...

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

2012-12-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

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

日本語：
星のない夜を越えて
三日月を見上げた
変わらない　この気持ちは
La la la la la, la la la la la la la la...

ああ…忘れられない
永久に待つよ　僕は

あの日空と約束した
君の笑顔を忘れないから
夢のように一つになる
羽はいらない

星のない夜を越えて
三日月を見上げた
変わらない　この気持ちは
La la la la la, la la la la la la la la...

ああ…忘れられない
永久に待つよ　僕は

あの日空と約束した
君の笑顔を忘れないから
夢のように一つになる
羽はいらない

誰のために歌うのか?
君のために歌うのか?

あの日空と約束した
君の笑顔を忘れないから
夢のように一つになる
羽はいらない

誰のために歌うのか?
君のために歌うのか?

空に帰りたいけど
もう飛べない…

ENGLISH:
I watched the crescent moon
pass through the night sky.
These constant feelings,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la la...

Aa, I don’t want to forget them.
I’ll wait for an eternity.

That day, I made a promise with the sky
I won’t forget your smiling face
Because I’ll become one with the dream
I don’t need wings.

I watched the crescent moon
pass through the night sky.
These constant feelings,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la la...

Aa, I don’t want to forget them.
I’ll wait for an eternity.

That day, I made a promise with the sky
I won’t forget your smiling face
Because I’ll become one with the dream
I don’t need wings.

Who do I sing for?
Do I sing for your sake?

I want to return to the sky
But I can’t fly anymore...

ROMAJI:
Hoshi no nai yoru o koete
mikazuki o miageta
kawaranai kono kimochi wa
La la la la la , la la la la la la la la ...

Aa, wasurerarenai
towa ni matsu yo boku wa

ano hi sora to yakusokushita
kimi no egao o wasurenai kara
yume no yōni hitotsu ni naru
hane wa iranai

Hoshi no nai yoru o koete
mikazuki o miageta
kawaranai kono kimochi wa
La la la la la , la la la la la la la la ...

Aa, wasurerarenai
towa ni matsu yo boku wa

ano hi sora to yakusokushita
kimi no egao o wasurenai kara
yume no yōni hitotsu ni naru
hane wa iranai

dare no tame ni utau no ka?
kimi no tame ni utau no ka?

ano hi sora to yakusokushita
kimi no egao o wasurenai kara
yume no yōni hitotsu ni naru
hane wa iranai

dare no tame ni utau no ka?
kimi no tame ni utau no ka?

sora ni kaeritai kedo
mō tobenai?

~~Please note: I am not fluent in Japanese. I'm still learning, so expect some mistakes. If you find some, please feel free to correct me. ^^

Form Spring Responses:

2012-11-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

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.

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. ^^;;
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

2012-11-20T15:20:00.002-05:00

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.

In total, I spent about $40 dollars, which I think is pretty nice. It's all stuff that would have been expensive if I had bought it online myself.

I got a very nice, and very useful $10 grab bag. You got to choose everything you wanted. There was a choice of 1 bento (my sister wanted a little Rilakkuma bento), 1 pair of chopsticks, 9 candies, and a little bag (or a buddha figure or wall-scroll). The bento is something I already needed because my maneki-neko, the red Lucky Cat bento is only 750ml. It isn't really isn't big enough for me, because I'm very tall, and very active. My new bento is 1200ml and has it's own containers! That's more than enough room for food.

The best thing I got has to be the limited edition Poliwhirl 23KT Gold-Plated Burger King Pokemon card. They sold them over 10 years ago during a Pokemon promotion, but they stopped because it was a choking hazard for toddlers. The majority were in red boxes, with a few in blue. I currently have the Pikachu card, but I no longer have the Pokeball, box, or certificate because they were damaged in a storm. Since the Poliwhirl one is sealed (the box is damaged, though), I think it still has the certificate of authenticity. This was $10

I got a 1996 Dark Magician Yugioh (SDY-006) card for $5 as well. I was only around 3 years old when it came out, so of course, I didn't get one then. I was happy to find one here, since I like collecting Spellcasters, and I didn't have a Dark Magician.

To practice my reading, I got a Japanese copy of Fruits Basket vol. 9 for $5. It has furigana, the reading of the word, on the kanji unlike the other JP manga I found. The others were gory or violent seinen titles. Manga for older men don't need furigana.

The last thing I bought was a 6-pack of the Japanese soda, ramune~! It was $10, and the guy even gave me a free one for buying it. I've already drank two of them so far. I love them.

The only things I didn't find were the Original Soundtracks for Persona 4, Un-Go, and Mirai Nikki. I also couldn't buy a really affordable copy of Persona 3 (It was brand new)! (゜´Д｀゜)

I'll try again next con...

Tips Faking Cleavage and Bigger Breasts for Cosplay

2012-10-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

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.

Before I show the tips, just note, that this will NOT give you the ever so popular G-cup sized breasts you see on characters like Rangiku, Orihime, Tia, or... 90% of the female characters from Bleach. In order to do that, you would need to be close to that size already (why would you need these tips?), or get plastic surgery (which is a little silly for cosplay unless you love it that much). The changes are noticeable, but it's not in a "magically grow 3 cup sizes" way. The tips will help your breast appear fuller, and create the illusion of cleavage, but that's it. They're also a little uncomfortable, so don't use these everyday.

Stand up straighter: The simplest tip of all. If you aren't completely tsurupettan, you can make your breasts appear larger by standing up straight. This would only work under clothes, but this should be used in conjunction with the following tips. You shouldn't slouch in photos if you want to look your best, by the way.

Wear a smaller bra: I do NOT recommend this. However, it's here for reference. This is usually one of the things people try, but it's a bit like wearing the wrong shoe size. It hurts and is probably bad for your health. It leaves unsightly red marks or bruises, can compress your ribs and make it hard to breathe, cause back problems (not sure about that) and damage the tissues in the surrounding area. Trust me, constant rib pain is not fun at all, so don't do it to your body on purpose.

Wear two bras: It actually works, but is a bit uncomfortable. It gives a slight appearance of cleavage (you would probably have better results if you weren't flat like me), and makes them look larger overall.

Push up Bras: Push up bras are special bras with padding in the bottom to "push up" your breasts and make them look bigger. They're great for creating the illusion of cleavage or larger breasts. Some have different "grades" of effect. However, some of them can be a little expensive.

Padded Bras: Padded bras have padding inside to simply make the breasts look larger. They don't "push" anything.

Bra inserts: Honestly, I don't know what they're called. They're usually made of cotton or silicone. You put them inside the bra, and to the lower side of, or underneath the breasts. Many people just use socks... but I think that sock sound painful.

Makeup: For added effect, you can apply makeup to your newly created cleavage. Apply a bronzer or darker shade of foundation to add "shadow" along the sides of your cleavage, and a very subtle shimmery powder to the visible parts to add a highlight. Don't go overboard. It should look relatively natural.

Fake it: Yes, this entire post is about faking larger breasts and cleavage, but in this case I mean, just make some. I linked to a tutorial on how to make fake breasts in my post about crossplay. Usually, you can find good tutorials for crossplay or crossdressing. It sounds weird, but women can learn a lot from them.

Melon Bread!

2012-09-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

A good friend of mine sent me some melonpan yesterday! Sadly, it took a while to get here, so by the time it got here, it was squished and humid. I think it might have to do with the weather, because the packaging says something along the lines of "Keep around 30* C (May to October)", I think. Currently, where I live, it is indeed 30*C, but it had to be at least 34*C inside the box because it was in a hot unconditioned truck for at least a week.

However, it was still good. It had a delicious aroma, and the top layer had a slight melon flavor (It seems they added melon extract), while the inside was soft and fluffy. But...but... the top layer wasn't crispy... I was a teensy bit disappointed. I guess you have to get bakery-style melonpan or make it yourself for the crispiness.

Norn9, Kamigami no Asobi

2012-09-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

Norn9 from Otomate is a promising (but a little disappointing) new game for touting three, yes three, heroines to choose from. Each heroine has a slightly different personality. I was pretty happy about this part; however it seems that the routes are actually split between characters. Each heroine has 3 guys in her route. It’s a little disappointing, since I can’t just play through all the routes on a heroine I like. I guess it adds replay value.

The game seems to be set in the future aboard what I like to think of as a giant, flying pleasure cruise (it has parks onboard)…? Honestly, I wasn’t drawn in by the storyline. I was captured the most by Teita’s (Jyuzaegi’s artist) bright are, and the fact that Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) is doing the music. The game isn’t high on my “Need to Get List”. The game is slotted for a 2013 release.

The next game, a definite “WILL GET” is Kamigami no Asobi from Broccoli. It seems to be about a school for gods, so there are gods from Greek, Japanese, Norse, and Egyptian myth. It’s a smidge cliché, but interesting none-the-less. In order to fix the current relationship between humans and gods, a school was created (for only 7 students), and a human girl picked to show the gods what love is.

I’m having a geek moment. I love mythology. I honestly fell in love with the characters the moment I saw them…well at least Anubis. I was surprised they had an Egyptian (technically two) character. Kazuki Yone’s mesmerizing art is another plus. I’ve been a huge fan of hers since I saw the art for Hakuouki.

Anime Impressions: Hyouka

2012-08-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

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.

"The story follows a boy named Houtarou who is not assertive about getting involved, but was ordered by his older sister to join the classic literature club. In the club, he gets close to the truth about an incident, involving a female member's uncle, which happened 33 years ago. The energy-saving boy is joined by an inquisitive girl in this adolescent mystery." ~ Courtesy of nearly every anime watching website.

While that is more or less true, the arc they are referring to seems to have ended in the very early episodes. As of episode 15, it doesn't seem like it's coming back. Anime News Network describes it best:

Hōtarō Oreki doesn't like to do things that he considers a waste of energy. However, things start to change when he enters high school because even though he does not want to join any non-compulsory school activities, his older sister requested him to join the deserted Classics Club so that it won't get demolished. Unknown to him, another student Eru Chitanda already planned to join; but instead of being free from club obligations, Hōtarō eventually joined as he is strangely unable to refuse nor to escape from Eru's passionate gaze of curiosity. Together with his friends Satoshi and Mayaka, they began to discuss a variety of mysteries in school that only Hōtarō seems to be able to solve; including the mystery that lingered on from Eru's childhood memory.

All quotes aside, this anime was what I've been waiting for a long time in the mystery anime genre. While the mysteries might be mundane to a lot of people (Why did the teacher teach a class the wrong work?), the mysteries are designed to be easily followed, just like in books. While watching Hyouka, it reminds me of my childhood, gobbling up any mystery cartoon or book I could find and solving the case with them. I don't like just being an observer; I like to be able to make my own assumptions and guesses with the clues on hand.

Too many mystery anime let you follow the mystery, but then it's solved with some unknown clue, unknown person, or magical powers, which I hate. There's no point in giving you half the clues, then withholding the rest so only the character can do anything. Hyouka gives you every single clue, even if you don't notice it's a clue at first.

Hyouka also has well defined characters… with the exception of Eru Chitanda. By episode 15, you know a lot about each character, what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want to accomplish. Oreki Houtaru claims he wants an average life and hates exerting effort, but keeps at deductions until they are solved. Satoshi Fukube is the always smiling information database, but he seems to have a darker side regarding Oreki. Mayaka Ibara seems at first to be an outspoken character, but it seems she’s not very honest with herself. Eru Chitanda… is very curious. There’s really no character development, so she seems like a really flat character. She can barely do things for herself at all. Needless to day, I don’t like her for that very reason. I'm hoping that Chitanda will show a little more... believable emotion.

If you're looking for an light mystery show without all the blood, gore, and scary things, Hyouka is perfect. It has great potential to be an awesome anime. I'm looking forward to the ending.

My PSP and Updates

2012-07-16T21:41:00.003-04:00

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

2012-07-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

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.

The heroine, Saki Inafune, goes to the opening of her uncle Keiji Inafune's amusement park. While he's making the opening announcements, a person in an odd pig costume hijacks the event. He calls himself Waldeboo (Count Hogstein in the ENG ver), and he and his henchmen have taken over the park! If, within the next 7 days, the 7 people he nominates do not participate in and win his game, he's going to blow up the entire park! As proof, he blows up the Ferris wheel. Of course, this is totally outrageous, so our heroine Saki volunteers herself to play.

Game mechanics: Like any other otome game, you make choices at specific times to raise love points. In Bakudan Handan you also have Hirameki Mode where you call upon your superior skills of... recollection and problem solving? I had hoped that you would get to solve puzzles, but you just remember things. Hirameki mode isn't even that hard, because you can pick up to three "Phrases" and as long as the correct one is in there, it's automatically chosen. You can also choose to get very angry and yell at people. Fun, fun.

CHARACTERS: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4/5
The characters of Bakudan Handan get an amazing 6/5 points! Well, they would if it wasn't for Wakasa Towa. This might change after I finish the other routes.

The characters in this game are a quirky unique bunch. I kind of liked how each one wasn't the usual cookie cutter bishounen. Our cast of potential routes are: a serious security guard, a whiny idol, a net gamer who hardly leaves his house, a crystal ball gazer, a angry looking writer, and short tempered host.

Being the person I am, I chose the net gamer, Meoshi Kouta. I loved how awkward he was, and all the faces he made throughout the game (I'll edit some in as soon as my PSP gets charged). He definitely doesn't have the grace of a beautiful bishounen, but I had fun playing his route.

Just because their initial options were the same, the 2nd route was the whiny, pain-in-the-neck, super girly looking idol Wakasa Towa. His voice annoyed me so much during Kouta's route, that I put him on mute and skipped most, if not all, of the dialogue in his route. I ...I just hate him so much. His whining voice was like nails on a chalkboard and I couldn't stand it. Yuki Kaji seems to be be my most disliked seiyuu ever. It seems that I hate almost every character he voices, and Towa was one of them. I had flashbacks back to the anime No. 6 and Kanato from the Diabolik Lovers drama CD (I'm still traumatized). I had seven Game Overs on Towa's route, and it wasn't because the game was hard. I have to admit that Yuki Kaji does a good job in his line of work as whiny brats, and I hate him for it.

I still dislike Yuki Kaji, but he is bearable. At the end of his route, he does become less whiny, and more mature.

I wish that Saki had a larger part in the game, however, I like her as a protagonist. Her main charm is her quick thinking. Although the angry option adds a little spunk, it ultimately doesn't seem to affect gameplay much.

STORYLINE: ♥♥♥♥♥ 3/5
Despite the fact that you are all going to be blown up in a week, it's not all that serious. The game is fairly light-hearted. In the game, the whole love thing feels a bit rushed. It feels like this game wasn't even a dating sim and they added it in the romance last minute. I can understand becoming good friends. The romance isn't very overt, until you get to the latter half of the routes, where you suddenly get a kiss and confession. It could be explained by the fact that you might die the next day, but the mood in the game isn't "life or death" serious. It's even more weird when you throw in the fact that the only people around your age (17) are Towa (15) and Kouta (19). Everyone else is over 20.

This game could have easily just been an action adventure game with toned down romance.

MUSIC: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5/5
I loved the music! Usually, music doesn't score very high with me, since it's something that's just there, but I enjoyed Bakudan Handan's music. It's stuff I would actually listen to off the game, instead of muting during gameplay.

OTHER: ♥♥♥♥♥ 3/5
Hirameki mode is dull, repetitive, and annoying after the first couple routes. There is no indicator for the answers if you've already picked the correct one on a previous route. Your best options are to write down the answers for the ones that appear in every route.

The game has a juke box so you can listen to all the BGM without actually playing the game.

OVERALL: ♥♥♥♥♥ 3.75/5
Bakudan Handan gets a ~~tentative~~ 3.75 out of 5. I would like it better as a simple action adventure game rather that a "dating sim".

View my Walkthrough for Bakudan Handan here!

Restyling Wigs For Cosplay: Tips and Links

2012-07-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

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.

Often, people buy pre-styled wigs, which is completely fine if you have that kind of money --I don’t. Pre-styled wigs can get pretty pricy. Toss in the fact that your head is probably not the size of a foam head or wig stand and congratulations! You’re spending extra money for a wig you probably have to style and cut anyway.

It’s a lot easier to find a wig close to what you need, then make the modifications yourself (or a friend who is handy with wigs). I can’t actually do a tutorial, since I’ve only been styling ball joint doll wigs as of late, but I can offer tips:

First things first, you need a good wig! Do not use this for your own hair. You will probably mess up and sue me because I told you to do it. Don’t use a Halloween store wig, either. There’s no reason, aside from the fact that they are utter trash. I hate the fur balls. No matter what you do; they tangle the day after Halloween. That’s a waste of my time and yours. If you’re at least remotely serious about cosplaying, invest in a nice good quality cosplay wig. You don’t need to spend $200 on a super fancy wig, but find something that costs more than $4 at Halloween, please.

You’re also going to need some kind of styling/hold spray thingy, (which I will add links to at the end), and plenty of clips to keep hair out of the way. It’s very useful, since you don’t have to worry about accidently chopping off an extra piece of hair.

I don’t recommend buying any expensive brand new shears if you want to start cutting wigs because they dull blades rather quickly. Unlike normal hair, you don’t have to worry about getting split ends from dull blades. I honestly only use a random pair of scissors I found in my house most of the time, and a pair of cheap barber shears for tiny areas.

Buy or make a wig head stand. I can barely understand how people cut the hair on their heads, much less while wearing the wig. It makes your life easier.

The most important thing to remember: good music and an open mind. Music that isn’t too fast can help take some of the edge off when cutting wigs if you’re a beginner. If you’re too tense, you could mess up, and you’ll be very upset. Get a cheap practice wig before you start cutting the better one so you will be more relaxed. Remember that everyone makes mistakes, and practice.

USEFUL LINKS: Will be updated periodically.
The Cosplayer’s Wig Stying Essentials by Indulging Inaccuracy @ tumblr.com
[Tutorial] How to cut Miku Cosplay Wig by valxonia on Youtube (Check out her other videos, too!)

░Cosplay Tutorial░Styling a Pre-styled Len Kagamine Wig by BalconyAngel on Youtube

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side Premium Review

2012-06-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

A Photostich of one of the CG. The original is actually pretty big!

So, I finally got Tokimeki Girl's Side Premium for the PSP (Tokimeki Girl's Side 3rd Story with a makeover). The game is about as enjoyable as the first game (I've honestly only been playing for two days) with several added perks.

If you've never heard of the Tokimeki Girl's Side games, they're a line of extremely popular stat based otome games. During the game, you play as a girl entering highs chool. You can choose any one of the six available guys (and more) to end up with at the end of the three years. By doing specific commands, you can raise various parameters in order to get the ending you want. I talked about it, and played it a little here and here.

TMGS Premium game boasts renewed graphics and CG, two viewing modes, Live 2D, a new secret character and a new form of skinship and route.

VISUALS: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5

My first reaction when I turned on the game was, "It's...it's so beautiful! T u T"

The title screen is so bright and pretty and the menu was revamped. It looks a lot cuter now, and the font doesn't look like squiggly chicken-scratch. The game developers also took advantage of the PSP's capabilities. If you look closely, the light changes and the flowers sway in the wind.

The in-game command setup is basically the same as the one. The changes here are subtle and just make this version look cleaner and neater than the DS version.

There are two viewing modes that you can switch between by pressing SELECT. Since the CG, and character sprites are pretty high-res, you get a nice close up or full view. However, the reason why the visuals get a 4/5 is because of the backgrounds. In the second viewing mode, the backgrounds are blurry. They put so much effort into the characters, but not the backgrounds. It annoys me because they actually look quite good normally.

CHARACTERS: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5
This is basically a free point. The characters seem to be the same as in TMGS3, but they react a little better. I've actually only done one and a half routes (Fujiyama's) and he seems to blush a lot more, whereas in the DS version he usually has a straight face. It was a little unnerving sometimes... I like Premium Fujiyama better. I think I can even say the same for big, scary Sakurai Kou. I didn't even try his route and got a couple blush-y images.

Thanks to Kimagure Play, the characters also react differently depending on whether you play as Sweet Angel or Sweet Devil. The Kimagure Play changes certain dialogue on each character that can't be seen otherwise. It makes replaying seem pretty cool.

We've also got a brand new secret character in the game!

MUSIC: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4
It's there. It's not bad, I can actually stand hearing it on a loop, but I turned it off and didn't feel much different about it. It's also the exact same music from the original game.

APPROACH MODE: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5a.k.a. "New non-pervy Skinship".

Approach mode and Skinship are almost exactly the same, but I find Approach mode more enjoyable. Sure, there's nothing like prodding your potential love interest with a stick, but it gets repetitive and awkward in public. Start date. Tap chest. Press and hold on eyes. Slide down bod-- See? That just sounds plain dirty. Try explaining it to your mom or that random person in public watching you play.

In Approach mode, you press (or press and hold) certain buttons to do certain things. When the sakura icon shows up, push the joystick up to activate it. If you do well on the date (good location, answer, and don't make him angry) you get an extra little episode after the date... it's cute but doesn't mean much.

I kind of dislike the new version of Love mode, but it's a lot easier now. It's basically random button pressing really fast until the heart meter goes up. They took away the fun game aspect.

LIVE 2D: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5

Live 2d is amazing. They move, and you can see their expressions instead of staring at static images all day! It's a little weird at first, especially when they turn, but you get used to it after a while. I welcome this new change.

OTHER: ♥♥♥♥♥ 3

That looks SO inedible. He loved it!

I hate the Valentine's Minigame for GS3. I always have, and now I can hate it in great quality on my PSP. Yaaaay. You can basically give your guy a horribly decorated hunk of sugar, and as long as it's Cute, Cool, or Wild, they'll love it. I miss mixing chocolate in GS1 and 2. But, this is a general pet peeve in GS3, not just Premium.

We got new games for the sports festival. I can actually win at that ball throwing game and pillow fight now, but I fail at the ball pushing game.

MY GOSH HE'S BACK. HE'S BAAACK! The creeper Principal from GS1~! I wanted older Tsukushi, not this guy! -hides in corner-

Approach Mode. My only real complaint is it that without a manual, I wasted time pushing buttons, pressing L, R, START and SELECT numerous times, and then searching Google. IT was all to learn I had to press the joystick up. Not down, not right, not left, just up. Which makes no sense, because the joystick isn't used for anything else but mini-games. Not only that, but deep, deep, deeeep down in the Options is a tutorial menu. Yeah. Totally helpful /snarky tone.

All creepiness aside, the game gets a ...4.3/5. The game is pretty popular for a reason, It's worth a try.

How to Get A Japanese Playstation Network Account

2012-06-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, I signed up for the Japanese Playstation Network, so I could download Japanese games. The process wasn't as complicated as I had previously thought. Aside from the instructions being in Japanese, it's a fairly simple process if you know what you're looking for. I'm sorry about the horrid lack of pictures. They refuse to post properly.

Things you'll need:

*A steady, fairly fast internet connection (if you're looking at this, you probably have one. Although the process is simple, it's time consuming. If the window closes, you start over.)
*A Japanese Address
*A charged PSP
*A little knowledge of Japanese (optional, but helpful)
*An email address
*A Credit Card

All of this is on the PSP, be sure it has enough of a charge to handle being on the internet for a while. In order to input English on the Text Entry Screens, press Select until you see English letters.:

If you already have a US (or other country) PSN Account, write down your information if you don't know it; you cannot be signed into two regions at once. In order to switch regions, go to the Playstation Network tab, Account Settings, and press the TRIANGLE, it should bring up a menu. Choose Delete Account. All your information is saved, so you don't lose anything. Once you've done that, you should see this Sign Up for Playstation Network button. Click it.
Choose Create a New Account, and click Next. Fill in your birth date, then set your country to Japan. The words will switch to Japanese. Click (次へ).
The screen that comes up next is the Terms of Conditions agreement. Press DOWN and RIGHT, to skip to the options. Choose the 3rd option on the far right.
The next screen is your Account Log-in. Fill in your Sign-in ID (email address), then a password with at least 8 letters and 1 number, then re-type your password. If you wish, click the check-box for Remember Me. After that are the Security Questions. I'm not going to explain each one, so just use the first one and add a response. Write it down. Click (次へ)
On the next screen, choose your Online-ID. It must be at least 3-16 letters long and it can use hyphens. It can't be the same as your password. Click (次へ)
Fill in your Last Name, then your First Name, and choose whether you are male (男性) or female (女性). Press (次へ).
Now comes the hard part: your address. Addresses are structured like this:
So, in the first box, fill in the first 7 numbers. In the 2nd box, find the bolded part in the drop down menu. In the next line, add the next 3 characters of your address. Finally, in the 4th line, add everything else. Honestly, they don't seem to care if you enter the numbers wrong, since I entered it incorrectly the first time, but I wouldn't make it a habit. Press (次へ).
On this screen, I'm not actually sure what it says, but I believe it's whether you want them to remember your information. Don't quote me on this one. Check it if you wish, then press (次へ).
The last screen is a double check of your info. Just click (次へ), and you'll be good to go!

Diabolik Lovers~ Sakamaki Ayato Drama CD Review

2012-06-03T20:04:00.002-04:00

Last night I downloaded and listened to Diabolik Lovers vol. 1 Sakamaki Ayato's drama CD last night. I totally cheated and looked at the translation beforehand, so that I at least knew what was going on. I wasn't actually sure what to expect, since I only found out they were planning to make this into a game last week. The designs had pretty art, so I decided to give it a try. I also didn't know what ドS meant, and found out the hard way.

The CD starts out with our heroine/you/blood snack waking up in an iron maiden next to some dude. Now, I'm no iron maiden expert, but I didn't think they were big enough to fit two people, even with the spikes removed.

You wonder what you're doing here, while thrashing around, and he makes up a lie about how you were lonely and wanted to embrace him, blah, blah. He really drugged your food and dragged you there to do who knows what to you while you were out cold. I wonder how he got his hands on your food in the first place, or why you ate food given to you by some strange guy who doesn't even fully button his shirt. Luckily for you, he fell asleep without doing anything.

You freak out, again, loudly banging on the iron maiden, until you succeed in making him really angry and he kicks open the iron maiden. He wonders if he should get a king sized iron maiden (from where? Ebay?) to fit more girls in. He starts calling you "breastless", since you're flat, and tells you to open the iron maiden. Obviously he has no ill-intentio-- oops~ You get shoved inside. Never saw that coming!

Ayato "teases" you by asking how it feels to be trapped inside, and how other might have felt being inside before telling you you could open it from the inside. You ask if that's really a torture device, and why he always tortures you like this, and he basically tells you to stop asking stupid questions because it should be obvious.

Since it's only sunset, he doesn't feel like hunting, and blames you. You two through things to pass the time (what? you want to play a game with your kidnapper? this isn't SAW!). He apparently has sports equipment in his room. You make the mistake of suggesting jump rope, and he suggests tying you up with it and closes the door. He asks where he should tie you up, maybe your feet because you always do this like kick him, and you start crying; to him, it's from sheer happiness.

Turns out, he just wanted to see you cry and look scared, because that turns him on and he was never going to tie you up. You call him mean or scary, and make him angry again.

Yada, yada, he see the moon and gets even more turned on; your blood smells good; etc. Then you try to run which turns him on even more... (I'm pretty sure everything turns on this guy at this point). He starts talking about whether to bite you, and where to bite you. Then how you're probably a masochist because you're always around him.

After a lot more talking and a little quiz game, he makes you drink an odd potion made by the butler guy. It's supposed to make your body hot, and daze you. You voluntarily drink it, and he forces you to swallow it by grabbing your neck. I thought that would make you spit it out, but apparently not.

STORYLINE: ♥♥♥♥♥

The rest just sounds borderline rape. The only reason it's not rape is because there was no sex involved. It struck me as more creepy than hot, or whatever, as everyone says it is. It's probably because I'm not a big fan of the super "sadist"/torture genre. Girl gets tortured and mentally abused by pervy, sadistic, bishounen vampires? No thanks. I find that pretty tasteless.

SOUND EFFECTS: ♥♥♥♥♥

Some of the sound effects were just odd. I couldn't even take the next parts seriously, especially with the
"licking" and "slurping" sounds that sound like he's eating a bowl of
noodles. The "choking" noises are especially unbearable to me, because it reminds me of a certain sound I absolutely hate. It sounds like rubber material being squeezed. It's hard to explain. Also, I giggled when I realized that one of the door noises was the same as the one used on Aol Instant Messenger.

In some places, there's actually soft music playing, which I found a nice plus.

VOICE: ♥♥♥♥♥

I have to say that the voice was extremely fitting. Midorikawa Hikari did an excellent job. I honestly didn't recognize him at all. I never pictured Seto Kaiba from Yugioh, as being the sadistic vampire character. This Drama CD used the dummy head for recording, and ...it had an appropriate effect. I was listening to this in bed, in the dark, and I spazzed for a second because it felt like it was close to my ear.

It also feels weird, because there are no other voices besides his, which I suppose is the norm for otome game drama CDs. I kind of would like the heroine to have a voice, too...

Overall, the CD was done well if you enjoy stories where the heroine/you is basically assaulted and tortured by sadistic vampires, with great voice acting and iffy sound effects. I give it a 3/5 ♥♥♥♥♥.

I Felt Like Making a Bento...

2012-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

I finally made tamagoyaki!

Yesterday, I got bored sitting around the house, and decided to make an omelet. At the last moment, I decided to attempt tamagoyaki again, and make a bento.

My bento wasn't very flashy, and I only made one tier, but I was pretty proud of it. There was actually a lot more food, but most of it was eaten while I was cooking. The "moon" hamburger is actually half eaten...

In the Bento:

Rice
Leftover Hamburger Sliders grilled in soy sauce.
Tamagoyaki
~~Octopus weiners~~
Cheddar Cheese

"It's not 'Comic', It's 'Manga'!"

2012-05-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Naoki Urasawa's Monster

I have a habit of using "comic book" and "manga" interchangeably, and I get a lot of grief for it. My friends understand because I’m learning Japanese, and I don't see the problem because manga literally means "comic book", but everyone I know says otherwise. There are typically two arguments that pop up when I do this...

"Comic Books are American, and manga are Japanese."

The first argument annoys me a little. I always found that a little odd, since French and British ones are also called "comics". It seems that we only differentiate between Western and Asian comics, because we only have the word "comic" western art, and manga, manhua, and manhwa for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean comics, respectfully. This "line" between western and eastern gets especially murky sometimes. Is Spiderman made in Japan a "comic" or a manga, in America? Is Dramacon a "manga" or "comic"? The Answers: Spiderman would be called a "comic" and Dramacon (Although it's American), would be considered a manga. The country of origin is always overlooked in these cases.

"Comic books have Western Art, and manga have ...manga art."

It's expected that comics have "comic art" and manga has "manga art". Honestly, I can't tell the difference between the two at all. I only pay attention to what the artist distorts, and how they render certain details. Each artist has an individual style, so I can't say what is "comic art" and what is "manga" art.

There are plenty of Japanese artists who draw "comic book" style and plenty of American artists who draw "manga style". However, the country of origin argument gets brought up again. “Manga” with realistic art like Naoki Urasawa's Monster is still overlooked because they are not American; non-manga looking comics are automatically comic books. It’s a losing battle.
~~
They have minor differences between them, as do all things from different countries, but I don't understand calling them "comic book" in their native language. We (most Americans) speak ENGLISH. Generally, when speaking in English, I use mostly English words. We don't usually call German chocolate schokolade, and French chocolate chocolats, we just say "German chocolate" or "French Chocolate". It's fairly easy to say "Japanese comic book", so why do we give it a whole new word in English?