#a seiyuu pattern to be specific

[chicoboco]

Suzuki Aina’s 1st Photobook interview

Today is Ainya’s birthday! 2 years ago, I worked with Ray to bring you the interview from her first photobook “Airabu.” ! Enjoy reading as our favourite shiny ojiisan share with us her experiences as she goes around Kominato Railway and look back at the past 2 years, and pray for us to get a 2nd photobook of our smol ojiisan!!

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The scenery from the train window, the station gives me a nostalgic feeling.

The location of this photo album was taken at Kominato Railway in Chiba Prefecture. With three patterns of costumes, with the first costume being a school girl’s uniform.

Ainya: I was worried that I would look like a fake high school girl (laugh). But I was able to remember the nostalgic feeling about the high school days and I was very happy.

Rather than a fake high school girl, isn’t it more like a junior high school?

Ainya: Junior high school is too young you know!  (laugh)

I’m sorry (laugh), it wasn’t meant to sound weird

Ainya: No, it’s okay. I don’t mind, anyway, thank you. (laugh)

The shoot that was taken in the train had a nice atmosphere didn’t it?

Ainya: Well I’m from Hokkaido, and the train was running in a similar atmosphere.

It certainly does not seem strange to be running in Hokkaido

Ainya: It is, well the trains I mean. We can see the rice fields and there are no tall buildings visible from the train window, the scenery and the train station are also nice. It has the same familiar atmosphere as my hometown. In addition to having to wear the uniforms, I started to feel all the nostalgia come back to me.

Have you ever been on a train?

Ainya: I have, that was when I was in high school. While shaking and rattling for about an hour, I fell asleep

At the time of the shoot, did you feel like you were returning back to the high school days?

Ainya: Mm that’s right. The theme of this photobook is “Journey”.  When I was actually travelling on Kominato Railway, it felt like I was going on “A journey to look back on life” and it reminded me of my high school days.

I see. By the way, while inside the train, you were playing (messing) around with the hanging strap like crazy weren’t you?

Ainya: At that time, there weren’t many people on the train so I messed around like crazy (laughs). Of course when a passenger comes, I won’t scare them away.

I understand (laugh). By the way, have you ever actually traveled by yourself?

Ainya: I haven’t, because my sense of direction is pretty bad. Even when I was at my parents house, I felt like “travelling by myself was unthinkable” (laugh)

It’s dangerous to have Aina to travel alone huh (laugh)

Ainya: Yeah that’s right (laugh)! Because there’s a possibility that I will get lost while wandering aimlessly. Of course there is always that feeling of wanting to go somewhere far away by myself. A desire to walk around a place with good scenery while listening to a music.

Is there any place you would like to travel by yourself specifically?

Ainya: During the shoot this time I soaked my feet in the foot bath right? Well I love hot springs in the first place but thanks to that foot bath, my love to hot spring become even stronger!. So I would like to go around Atami. (TL Note: Atami is a hot spot for hot springs)

It is quite close from Tokyo so it may be nice right?

Ainya: Ah, but it will be too lonely to go to the hot spring alone (laugh). That’s why, if I go I’ll drag my friends! It will be a short trip by train.

It will be a fun trip. However, it seems to be still a long way for you to go on a trip by yourself.

Ainya: It is. I wonder if I can become more independent?  (laugh)

Experiencing my first foot bath helped me relaxing my mind and body as I remembering my childhood

The second costume was a one piece, a cardigan, and a straw hat. What do you think of this costume?

Ainya: A white one-piece cloth and a straw hat gives off this street girl feeling isn’t? It’s packed with the feelings of a pure girl. Something that’s been loved by everyone since a long time ago, and that no one dislikes. Because I haven’t really had the experience of wearing those sort of “pure girl” clothes, being able to wear them makes me happy. The thought of “girls wearing these kind of clothes often appear in anime” and “a girl that is smiling and laughing on a sunflower field while basking under the summer sun” came to my mind while i’m wearing it, (laugh)

But instead of sunflower field, it’s a quite nice scene how the costume reflected together with the ripened flowers

Ainya: Really? I also thought how the ripe flowers blossoms were cute.

The clothes, your presence and the the ripen flowers. The feeling of these three things combined were giving this nice feeling

Ainya: Im so happy! Thank you very much!

Do your feelings also change when you are wearing the clothes?

Ainya: It gave me the feeling that I be more graceful than usual. While waiting for a train, I thought that “I should not do things that look indecent or too vulgar”. Ah, it’s not like I’m usually indecent or anything! (laugh)!

I don’t think you’re like that. Well, occasionally you do something weird don’t you? (Laugh)

Ainya: That’s right! There are times where I do stupid things (laugh)! Anyway, when I was wearing those clothes, I wanted to behave a bit more elegantly. That one piece must not be disgraced!

That feeling, was then able to be reflected on the 3rd costume isn’t?

Ainya: That’s correct. That costume is like the clothes that I wear usually and something I thought that I would love to wear. I didn’t feel out of place wearing it and I was just in my usual self.

It just felt really natural huh?

Ainya: That’s how I feel. Also, sometimes I wore sneakers and beach sandals, so I thought there’s this “summer” atmosphere feeling in my heart.

The feeling of playing around on the riverside was also nice isn’t it?

Ainya: Ah! It’s time to fish! I’m in high spirits when I do that~ (laughs)

Also in this costume you soaked in the foot bath which I was talking about just now

Ainya: That foot bath was my first experience, and it feel really pleasant! Although it was only the legs that were soaked, it’s amazing how my whole body was also also warmed up from the foot bath.

Nonetheless it is nice to have a foot bath at the station isn’t it?

Ainya: I really think so! Especially in the winter! If you’re tired from work and you’re on the way home, having a foot bath by the station is the best thing. I want my home station to have one too~  (laugh)

Seeing old trains and soaking your legs in the foot bath at this station gives off a nice feeling huh?

Ainya: Yeah, I thought that I could stay here forever. I wanted to stay more~

Overall, what are your thoughts on this location?

Ainya: To summaries, I really enjoyed myself. I think that it was a good journey in sense that it made me feel like I was in my teenage years again.

Are you feeling that you just had both a train journey and a space-time journey while relaxing and soaking in a foot bath?

Ainya: It felt exactly like that. Somehow it’s kind of embarrassing (laugh). But it was really comfortable. Everyone, if you get the chance to visit, please try to soak in the foot bath! (TL Note: “space-time journey” I’m guessing it’s talking about whether the foot bath felt spiritual or something like that)

Looking back at the first installment series… I thought that I grew a little bit

In this photo album from the March 2016 issue, Suzuki’s series that is still going on “Magical Girl Miracle Aina” are also included. I heard that you used to like “Magical Girl” from a long time ago?

Ainya: I liked it a lot! Since I was young, as I’ve always liked concepts like “Magical Girls” and “Transforming girls”, I used to watch those on TV a lot. For example…when I was in elementary school, the show I liked was “Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. I yearned to be like Mermaid Princess Naomi Ruchia-Chan who would transform and sing songs. Later on of course, I also loved “Beautiful fighting girls Sailor Moon”! Other than that, “Futari wa pretty cure” and “Magical Doremi”…

It’s all coming out huh? (laugh)

Ainya: I’m sorry (laugh). Oh, and also, I really liked “Fushigiboshi no ☆ Futagohime ” – It is a story about the twin princesses that try very hard to use magic! Anyway, when I was a child I really had a longing for  magical girls. I’ve always pretended to be a magical girl and I thought “I also want to fly in the sky one day” (laugh)

In Seiyuu Paradise, your dream of becoming a magical girl has came true didn’t?

Ainya: Yes! I also was longing for “Futago Hime” at that time, so I thought that I wanted to be a princess, and it also came true at the second series (May 2016 issue). I was really happy~

By the way, do you remember the time when the shoot was taken at the hamburger shop for the first series (March 2016 issue)?

Ainya: Yes. At that time, as I wasn’t used to taking pictures at all. I didn’t know how to strike poses, even when I was told to “walk a little there”, I was worrying over “How should I walk?”~

Then, looking back on the first photos how do you feel?

Ainya: It’s embarrassing (laugh). When I look at close ups of my pictures, I think “Wow, I’m really doing my best!”. But even though it’s embarrassing, I think I’m doing pretty well now. When I look at the pictures, it feels like I may be growing up properly now.

I see.

Ainya: Also, I think that through this series, I’ve also learned various things such as posing and expressions.

You said that you wanted to be a magical girl when you was in elementary school, but what kind of girl was Suzuki-san when she was a junior high school student?

Ainya: I like to move my body around a lot so I entered the track and field club. However, even though I had the stamina, I didn’t have power at all. So I was doing medium to long distance runs.

To say that you like to move your body, did you had a fun when you become a professional tennis player in the fourth series (September 2016 issue)?

Ainya: It was a lot of fun! However, although I like to move my body , I’m not good at any sports that involves balls, I can’t play tennis that well, after all, I don’t have the power, So I guess I’m not suitable for sports that involves balls I guess~

Actually in the previous issue of Seiyuu Paradise, A.U was also also wearing a tennis player outfit! And coincidentally you were also wearing a tennis player outfit. A.U thinks that you’re super cute in that outfit.

Ainya: No no no! No way! A.U is 100 times cuter than me! I swear! I truly respect her as a voice actor and even being compared to her is ridiculous!

In the next fifth series (November 2016 issue), you became a maid right?

Ainya: That’s right. I was wearing mint blue costumes, and I remember that costume was so cute. Speaking about maids, I think a white apron with black outfit is a classic one. But I also really liked that costume. By the way, I’ve been always wanted to try becoming a maid.

Why is that?

Ainya: I always liked Moe-type animations, and maid costume are one of the items that’s indispensable to Moe. So, when I was a high school student I thought that I would like to work as part-time at a maid cafe, although it didn’t come true.

In this series, you are becoming to what you really want. In the sixth series (January 2017 issue) you become Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”

Ainya: I really love it! if I get asked “What costume you would like wear again in this series?”, I will choose this costume. Of course, I really love “Alice in Wonderland” I was really happy!

Earlier you said that you “wear costumes”.

Ainya: Oh, no! I was “transforming” using magic! I’m making such a careless mistake ~ (laugh)

In the eighth series (May 2017 issue), you made the “transformation” to Tinkerbell and Wendy from the “Peter Pan”

Ainya: I was happy to be able to become Tinker Bell, a familiar character when I was a at young age. It had a dreamlike feeling as if I could go to “Neverland”.

You said you want to become Wendy.

Ainya: It’s the feeling of my brother saying “If I have a sister like that, I’m going to paper you”. (laughs)

Huh? You mean “sister” right?

Ainya: That’s right. it’s the elder daughter of two sisters, and there’s also a sister who is still under 2 years old. (TL Note: At this point they are probably talking about Tinker Bell which I have no knowledge on, sorry if I get anything wrong!)

Well, of course, you would like your sisters to be like Wendy, wouldn’t you?

Ainya: I wonder? (laugh) No, we get along well! Usually, because I’m really carefree while my little sister is the serious one, there’s a lot of times where she has to pull me back. It’s become a situation where the roles of the older and younger sister are reversed… I’m embarrassed.

What a sight for the eyes (laughs). But it’s a nice relationship isn’t it?. You seem to have learned folk songs since childhood, is it together with your sister?

Ainya: Yes. We were doing folk songs together. So there are dozens of yukatas and kimonos in our house.

As it turned out, the yukata appearance of the ninth series (July 2017 issue) really suits you well.

Ainya: Thank you very much. Certainly at that time, I had to stop “transforming” and “change clothes” like a normal person. (laugh).

I see.

Ainya: Really, because I was doing folk songs, it just makes me feel calm whenever I wear a yukata, and I like to eat soumen to help me feel more relaxed.

After that on the tenth series (September 2017 issue), you became a wife and the child. I don’t think that there’s that many people who can perform both at the same time

Ainya: For me, I also have the desire that “I want to be a good wife someday” and I’m glad it become a reality. Also because there’s the children, I also want to play as the child!

You’re probably the only seiyuu that entered the stroller. (laugh)

Ainya: Even though I’m considerably small, that stroller is quite cramped (laugh). Even so, to become the wife & the child at the same time, if you think about it, it is amazing. (laugh)

It sure is (laugh). Well, looking back on the series again, what do you think?

Ainya: When I look back at the two years of history, I start to feel somewhat emotional. Also it’s all thanks to Seiyuu Paradise R, the staff behind this, and everyone that have been supporting for allowing me to be able to continue to serialize the series. Just thinking about it like that, the word “Thank you” really is the only thing that comes to my mind.

This photo collection is packed with my 2 years of growth and appreciation

Then, what kind of book do you think this photo collection is?

Ainya: Generally, I think it became a book that’s filled with my feelings of “gratitude”. 2 years ago, I was in a state not knowing what to do, but I was helped and raised by so many people. I think that is exactly how this series appears, and in this Kominato Tetsudo location, I took the feeling of gratitude from everyone to my heart.

This photo collection included about two years of growth and appreciation isn’t?

Ainya: It is that kind of feeling.

As you was talking earlier, the way you makes expression may has change considerably

Ainya: It was awkward at the beginning because the smile was kinda forced. Everyone who looked at this photo collection would surely be thinking like “she’s getting the hang of this”. Now I can even make a pretty natural smile and a brave smile.

Even the relaxed smile on that foot bath scene may not have been happened?

Ainya: I don’t think that I could have done it.

Finally, a message to those who bought this photo collection!

Ainya: Truly, thank you so much for buying this photo collection! It was only because all of you that we could realize the dream of releasing a photo collection. From now on, I will continue to work hard so that I can become a voice actress that everyone will think “I want to support her.”, please continue supporting me!

Everyone who bought this photo collection must have been waiting for the second book!

Ainya: No way! It’s still too early! But if it possible to do such a thing, I wish I could give out a different feeling from this one.

Oh, is that mean a 2nd photo collection will come out?

Ainya: Aha, no way. it’s still too early! Anyway, please enjoy this 1st photo collection from corner to corner!

TL – Chicoboco, Ray

TLC, QC – Ray

Thank you all for reading this! We wish Ainya a very happy birthday!

[imagine-that-haikyuu]

Suga headcanon meme pls

thank you for requesting this beautiful boy for these

i’m looking for newadmins to run this blog with me! details are here foranyone interested

if you like what ido and want to show your support, consider supporting me on ko-fi!

Suga

Headcanonmeme time

⌆a nervous tic or habit they do

Uses filler words (um, uh, well, etc.) more often thanusual and he’ll drag them out too.

⏀describe their usual smile

Beautiful. Radiant. Stunning. You’re gonna need to wear sunglasseswhen you look at him. He should be the “after” picture in dental ads.

⇅ do they look up or down while thinking?

He looks up and either to the left or right a bit, mostdefinitely.

❧describe their usual sleeping position (refer to this)

He does the Fetus position. I don’t have a reason for itother than he would look very cute sleeping like that.

✑ describe something they like without naming it (So the “likes” part of their profiles onthe Haikyuu wiki don’t always help so I’m going to pick a random thing that Iknow they like from now on.)

It’s an article of clothing that one might wear in thespring or summer. It has a picture of a specific crustacean found often in fooddishes around the globe. It also has the name of this creature printed on it.

✜ what’s their posture like in a normal situation?

Suga is always drawn and animated to have perfect posture(or maybe I’m only remembering the times he does). You might catch himslouching from time-to-time, but it’s not very noticeable.

❖describe their hands

They’re so soft, mostly because he’s very good about usinglotion. When he was little, he didn’t, until one winter was so cold that he hadno choice but to use it regularly to avoid them getting too dry. The habitstuck with him. He keeps his nails trimmed well for volleyball. A setter’s bestweapons are their hands, after all. But as we’ve seen, they get cold!

❞ write a quote they would findthemselves saying (I’m still not sure if this means I get to pick a famous quote or makeone up on my own, so I’ll settle for whatever I think works best for these.)

“It took me so long to do so many important things. It’sjust hard to accept that I spent so many years being less happy than I couldhave been… Not that I’m a tragic person, I’m really happy now, but it wouldjust make my heart soar if someone out there saw this and [they] said to [themselves],‘Be strong, trust yourself, love yourself, conquer your fears, just go afterwhat you want and act fast because life just isn’t that long.’” – Pam Halpert, The Office

Okay, that’s super long so he wouldn’t say itnecessarily, but I’d know he’d think of it often. It fits him so well, and he’sthe kind of person who would hope the same for others. When I finally finish upthat request for The Office!AU, I’llexplain why Suga would be Pam. For now, know that there are a lot of similarities betweenthem. (I changed some pronouns in the quote because there wasn’t any reason for itto be gendered in the first place.)

§ how would their hair gray? or would they lose their hair first?

I mean his hair is already silver/gray/pale ash blond, sowhen he does start graying it’ll barely be noticeable. And he’s going to be asilver fox no matter what.

❤ describe how they show affection.

Like I said in the Daichi one, I’m going to skip this onefor now, because there’s a request for this for all of Karasuno and I’ll put itthere so I don’t have to link to here for it.

✭ what is one of their favorite items?

He found a plastic red gem buried in the sand at thebeach recently, and he had some strokes of good fortune on that day afterputting it in his pocket. He decided to keep it as a lucky charm.

Supercool headcanon meme

2-4 songs that areprobably on their iPod

“Box Around the Sun” by MisterWives

“Lyla” by Oasis

“Last Chance (feat. Natasha Bedingfield)” by Nicki Minaj

“12 Fingers” by Young the Giant

the one place theysometimes end up falling asleep – where they’re not supposed to

He falls asleep in movie theaters. They may be loud butthey are dark and chilly, which makes for good sleeping conditions. He can’t takedates there ever.

the gamethey'd destroy everyone else at

He is the KING of Daifugo/President, for he’sa great strategist. He’s almost always the Daifugo, and if you play the versionwhere if you’re Daifugo for X amount of rounds, you get to make a rule, hemakes amazing rules to give him gameplay advantages (i.e., the Daifugo and onlythe Daifugo is allowed to end with a 2).

the emoticonthey’d use most often

😗 aka “Kissing Face”because it looks like an actual sassy face he makes.

what they act likewhen they haven’t had enough sleep

Suga is either super giddy or has no idea what’s going onat all because he keeps spacing out.

their preferredhot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever.

He really likes the taste of coffee, but he preferslighter roasts to darker ones. A little milk in his too.

how they like tocomfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump

He re-watches his favorite comedy specials or listensto comedy radio/podcasts. Part of the reason is wit is so sharp is because he starteddoing so at a young age.

what they wantedto be when they grew up

He wanted to be a teacher and still does. Which subjectand grade he wanted to teach changed every week, though

their favorite kind of weather

Warm sunny days in late spring/early summer. If there’s agentle breeze, there’s nothing better. He might be biased because his birthdayis in June.

thoughts on theirsinging voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?)

I know his seiyuu can sing so suffice to say, Suga is agreat singer too. His voice and personality are suited for upbeat, pop songs.

how/what they liketo draw or doodle

Random geometric shapes and patterns which may or may notbe filled in depending on how much he’s paying attention to the fact that he’sdoodling.

[sanjiafsincedayone]

Happy Birthday Sanji~!

Today it’s Sanji’s birthday!

Exactly one year ago I was in Tokyo and visited the Mugiwara Store and enjoying the Day of Sanji in the Year of Sanji.

Now, I’ve been extremely busy for the last six months and I haven’t been able to write even half of the posts I come up with in my head. But today is Sanji’s birthday and he’s my favorite anime character of all time. So, I am going to talk about my love for Sanji, and all (some of) the reasons to why he’s my favorite.

Under the cut you’ll find a lot of love and me being biased! Now on to my list of reasons to love Sanji.

Sanji is versatile.

I was considering putting down other words to describe Sanji, like cool, suave, kind, emotional, funny or even dorky. But the thing is that I love Sanji for being all these things and more. It’s the wonderful mix that makes Sanji so interesting to me. He’s not just the cool guy or the comic relief which could be so easy considering how a lot of shonen writers can sometimes get a little one dimensional with their characters. I love how Sanji can make me laugh in one second and then go to being badass the next. Of course I also love that Oda has put at least some spin on the whole pervert trope, and Sanji is by far the best written anime-perv I’ve come across. He has his moments that are really bad of course, but I still think Oda manages to handle it well most of the time. His kindness and self-sacrifical side is no joke either, and I love that Oda is highlighting it in the Whole-Cake Island arc.

This is where I could list all of Sanj’s qualities that I love so much, but I’m just going to mention a few that stand out. First, I love how he’s literally the kindest person ever, even Luffy says so. He has such a strong sense of empathy and he’s actually one of the crewmembers that worries the most. I also love his I hate you but not really attitude, it’s why his interactions with the other chefs at Baratie, Zeff and Zoro are so wonderful to watch. Sanji cares the most, but he often pretends that he doesn’t. At the same time though I am very thankful that he doesn’t have to act though all the time, he has his moments of weakness or his moments where he becomes very emotional, and it’s great that he’s not embarrassed about it.

Honestly this is a subject that I could go on talking about forever, but I kind of want to mix it with another point, so I’m moving on to reasons number 2!

Sanji is well-written.

In my own (slightly biased) opinion Sanji is one of the most well-written characters in shonen manga. Why? Because he’s so much more real than most other characters. He has good and bad sides and he has so many different qualities and as mentioned above he’s far from one dimensional. His reactions and emotions feels genuine. Sanji is a deep character, and the way Oda has written him with only little hints over the years make people want to try and understand and analyze him. I’ve read a great deal of Sanji meta, and it’s so fascinating, especially now when Oda has revealed so much more about his background.

And that is a second part for how Sanji is well-written, Oda has built his story slowly over time with only small revelations that easily can go unnoticed by the casual reader, but when actually looking we can go back to 15 years ago and find moments that Oda has written with Sanji’s background in mind. So much makes sense suddenly, the mystery surrounding him that always pulled me towards Sanji is slowly starting to unravel. It’s fascinating and captivating and it just makes me realize even more what a wonderful character Sanji truly is.

Sanji is different.

Now, again, this overlaps a bit with the previous points, but I want to put some emphasis on it. Now, Sanji is a male shonen character that stands out in a lot of ways. And honestly some of these points are some of the biggest reasons why other One Piece fans doesn’t like him, but that is their choice. Anyways, I’m talking about Sanji not being a stereotypical shonen trope. I think Oda generally writes his characters quite uniquely, but even so he too writes his characters to fit into certain molds. With Sanji I personally always liked how he wasn’t just the cool character or the designated pervert. Oda found a good balance, that makes Sanji fit in well with both joking around with Luffy, Usopp or Chopper, being a dork over Nami or Robin, having his rivalry with Zoro but also being suave or serious when it’s required of him. Maybe I’m really just biased but since the beginning I loved how Sanji broke a lot of the stereotypes of males in anime and manga. He’s allowed to be showed crying, or loosing and still remain cool and admirable. Of course I know many disagree and feel like Oda is screwing Sanji over since after the timeskip, but I really love being able to see Sanji like this, almost broken. And it’s not because I’m a sadist, but because that’s realistic, Sanji reacts to things more like a real human rather than as a hero of a shonen manga.

He breaks a lot of stereotypes, and that makes him so much more interesting. I’ve also talked about him breaking a lot of sexist stereotypes as well, meaning he has a lot of stereotypically considered “female characteristics”. Such as he cooks, he’s very emotional (cries a lot despite being written in a mostly mature way), he wears a lot of pink or otherwise flamboyant clothes/patterns, he’s strong but not muscular, etc. These are qualities not everyone likes, but I love that Oda writes it and still maintains Sanji as a “cool” male character because it could so easily have turned into something different. Again, Sanji has so many sides and combined they make him very interesting and unique.

Sanji’s fights.

I loved Sanji’s fighting style even before he entered the series even from just watching that small clip of him in the first opening. It’s just a really great fighting style to watch! Kicking, and also having the no hands policy is so great to me. Because even though Sanji is limiting himself I just personally find his style really cool. He’s agile and moves a lot when he fights, and there is a lot of diversity in his moves despite him basically only using his legs. I think Oda makes some really awesome panels for Sanji fighting, and the anime usually makes it even cooler. Sanji’s finishing kick against Kuroobi was probably the first time in One Piece I really loved a specific move, and that fight still holds a special place in my One Piece heart.

Seeing Sanji fight with knifes was another big highlight for me, and a surprise. That is something I love too, because who would suspect that Sanji could do those things? Or that he could lit himself on fire? I love the surprises, and that Sanji fights using both strength, speed and brains. Sanji’s fights are always different and very fun to watch. And added bonus for Sanji usually delivering some nice one-liners. I am looking forwards to what he’ll do now when the final climax of Whole Cake Island draws near.

Sanji’s design.

I know this is very shallow of me, but way before I even knew One Piece and even when I knew it but hadn’t started watching it yet (because it was so long and looked kinda weird) Sanji was already my favorite. I didn’t know him, but I loved his design even when he was just the blond guy from One Piece. Through the years this has not changed, even though I obviously don’t love all Oda’s outfits for him. But either way Sanji is just very pleasing to look at, and he also seems to be one of the straw hats that changes his clothes the most, so that’s also fun.

Sanji’s voice.

It’s no secret, but Hiroaki Hirata is amazing! He’s also one of my favorite seiyuu of all time, if not my absolute favorite. He’s just a great voice actor and even before I watched One Piece I was in love with his voice. Hiroaki Hirata is actually (as I’ve talked about before) one of the main reasons I even started to watch One Piece to begin with. The voice acting is one of the great reasons to not only read the manga but also see the anime, and Sanji’s voice is just another great part of his character. It’s also pretty awesome how active and funny Hiroaki Hirota is, and he’s the only seiyuu I bother to even follow on twitter. Anyway, I’ve already talked and gushed about Hiroaki Hirata plenty of times before, but just know that I am just as in love with Sanji’s voice as I am with his character.

Sanji’s background.

Again we come back to Oda being a good writer. I know this is just opinion, but for me One Piece really took off after Baratie and Arlong Park, that’s when I started to love it and got really invested in the story. A big part of that was Sanji’s introduction and the way the whole Baratie arc was handled, it’s when things started to get bigger and the world of One Piece started to build properly. But back to Sanji, because his background story with Zeff on the island is such a good little story. But it was also a little bit weird, because it just began in the middle, and it had Sanji fans (including me) speculating for years about how he even ended up on the Orbit in the first place. Who is Sanji really? His story about starving and his debt to Zeff was wonderful and also it’s so fundamental to Sanji’s character, but even so there was always something kind of missing. Sanji’s past truly shaped him, and he seems to be the one strawhat that is still the most affected by his past. I loved Sanji and Zeff together and how their story was told, and after getting additional snippets recently, I just love it even more.

Speaking of recently there is of course the fact that Oda has dedicated a whole arc to add onto Sanji’s background story, and revealing more about him than possibly any other member besides Luffy. This was such a welcome surprise, and it shows how much Oda truly loves Sanji. I think that Zou and Whole Cake Island has been great arcs, and the reveals about Sanji’s character has been so good. Of course I don’t love everything, but it all just makes so much sense. When looking back at Sanji now I feel like I can understand him better than ever. It’s also great to see a person like Sanji still being able to be as good of a person as he is despite his past. He’s such a strong character with a great heart, and I love Oda for letting us all know just how his story began.

Sanji’s bonds and interactions.

Now I love all the strawhats and their bonds with each other, but since Sanji is my number one I can’t help but pay extra attention to his bonds with the rest of the crew. Just in the last few months we’ve gotten so many great moments between Sanji and Luffy and Oda has showed just how strong their bond is. I love it, and since Sanji is such a versatile character he can fit into pretty much any group on the ship. He can be one of the dorks with Luffy and Usopp, he can be one of the pervs with Brook (and Franky?), he can be strategic/serious with Nami and Robin, he can be an older brother (or father) figure for Chopper and basically just go from both being part of a serious or an unserious group depending on what’s happening. He’s levelheaded but also very emotional and has a huge range of emotions, thus he can relate to and understand most of his crewmembers really well. I especially love his bonds with Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Usopp, but that’s just because in general these five are more developed together. Either way, Sanji fits into so many groups on their ship and it’s lovely to see. His undeniable bond with Zoro is amazing and truly fascinating to follow. It’s all also very fun to watch. Basically I just love Sanji interacting with people in general… His bond with Gin was also great to see, and of course the same goes for Zeff. And also now his complicated relationships with his blood family, all new territory with Sanji-bonds to explore and I’m loving it.

Sanji’s dream.

I like Sanji’s dream a lot because it’s very romantic and in a way very naïve. It’s a child’s dream almost (actually it is, since he got it when he was a child), just like Luffy wanting to find the One Piece. No one knows if it even exists and they’ll get laughed at for even talking about it, yet they dream on. I also love that it’s not about achievement, it’s more a dream than a goal. I also like that it’s connected to the sea as well as him being a chef. Sanji is the one crewmember I most closely think of as a sailor, and having a dream like his about All Blue is very fitting with the sailors’ romance for the sea.

So this has been me ranting about Sanji, what else is new? But really, I think that Sanji is a wonderful character that Oda has put a lot of effort into. Today is Sanji’s birthday and I must say that the latest chapter was yet another great gift from Oda. Keep up the good work, I’ll keep loving Sanji and probably keep falling even harder for this lovely cook as time goes on. Thanks for reading~! And sorry for this being mostly just me ranting.

Happy Birthday Sanji-kun! And also, congrats about the nice SaNami you got from Oda in the latest chapter. A proposal huh? (god I love delusional Sanji) What a nice birthday gift. ;)

[tl-notes]

Konosuba Episode 3 Notes

You've probably seen these leaf umbrellas before. They are inspired by irl butterbur leaves (or rather, a specific, large subspecies of it that is native to northern Japan), which are fuggin huge and have long, thick (veiny) stems you can hold them with, and as such can be used as a makeshift umbrella. It’s same species of plant that they made tempura out of in noted Good-Anime-Set-In-Northern-Japan, Flying Witch.

They have an association with Koropukkur, which are kind of like fairy/dwarf/elves in Ainu folklore—their name basically translates to “the people under the [butterbur] leaves”—who are often depicted holding them.

If you hadn't noticed, all the episode names (excluding s1e1) follow the same pattern as the series title: “Kono ______ ni _______ wo”. Kono means “this,” -ni is a particle that indicates indirect object status (among several other things, it’s quite versatile), and -wo is a particle that indicates direct object status (grammatically, like subject/object/verb). So you’ve got no subject or verb, just the direct and indirect objects, which is Japanese as fuck.

As a comparatively high context language, you’re free to drop many more parts of the sentence in Japanese than you can in English. This is why you get stuff like one-word lines turning into a whole sentence in the subs sometimes. It’s also the source of a lot of Japanese humor and drama. When you’re able to leave out the subject, object, and/or verb in a sentence, it’s easy to write a dialogue where the characters think they’re talking about the same thing, but aren't (as an example).

This also makes it hell to translate sometimes, as this is often used as a tool to keep information away from characters or the audience. It’s a lot easier to write cryptic conversations when, again, you don’t need subjects or objects.

Warning Feel free to skip this entry, it's long and boring. Warning

The words used to refer to different types of employment are actually fairly well defined in Japan. The two used here are naishoku and (aru)baito, but there’s also part-time, keiyaku-shain, and sei-shain. All these are common words you’ll see when looking through job ads:

Naishoku is work you do at home, and generally pays per task done, not an hourly wage or salary. When Aqua says “I’m being paid more” she specifically says the amount she gets paid per carton has gone up.

Baito (short for arubaito, which comes from the German word for work, arbeit) is work done “on the side” of some other thing that’s your main focus. Most often, that thing is high school or college, though it can also be another job that doesn't pay as much as you’d like or doesn't give you enough hours, like a lot of artsy work (indie band, new/unpopular seiyuu/mangaka/animators/authors, etc.), or even just “looking for a ‘real’ job.” It was originally used as a code word by students, who were often forbidden from having a job. If you’ve heard the word “freeter,” it comes from “freelance arbeiter.”

Part-time (or part-timer, or just part), is basically the same thing as it is in English, except it’s almost always used to refer to women, particularly housewives who want to make a little money on the side. It doesn't have to, but the connotation is strong enough to the point you see a lot of people online asking “I'm a man, can I apply to this job that says it's looking for part-timers?”

Keiyaku-shain (contract employees) are usually full time employees but with a distinct duration to their employment contract and usually lacking in a lot of the legal protections afforded normal employees. This style of employment has become all the rage lately, as it allows employers to skirt a bunch of labor laws, and they can just renew your contract as long as they want to keep you on. It’s said this trend is the cause of a lot of the job insecurity that people say they feel when asked about why they aren't getting married or having kids. Good luck on raising that birth rate, Japan!

Sei-shain (full employees) are just that, regular employees with all the associated legal protections, of which Japan technically has a lot of. This is a pretty highly sought-after status nowadays.

This list was ordered by “generally lowest paying” to “generally highest paying.”

As you may have noticed, he says the same thing both times in the Japanese: うつ���よ (utsunayo). Utsu is the verb for “to shoot/fire,” sticking “-na” at the end turns it into a strong command to not shoot, and the yo is for flavor; also just “utsuna” by itself sounds a little harsh.

Ironically, adding -na to a different conjugation of the verb instead turns it into a command TO do the thing, instead of not do it. E.g. if he’d said uchinayo instead of utsunayo it would completely reverse the meaning.

The Japanese here doesn't actually make it clear the person is male (not that it particularly matters here). For such a gendered language, it’s interesting there are so many ways to avoid bringing up the gender of whoever you’re talking about. Megumin specifically uses the word “soitsu,” which in addition to being pretty gender neutral also doesn't show any respect, which is indicative of how she feels about this guy despite his supposed greatness.

“Foresight” here in the Japanese is 千里眼 (senrigan), which is basically “thousand-ri eyes” (a ri is roughly 4 kilometres*). It seems to have originated in ancient China, as things often do, when a particular general(?) had a particularly good spy network; it was said “his eyes see for a thousand ri.” It sounds hella cool so it gets used in games/anime/manga/etc. and shit a lot as a skill name, generally for “clairvoyance” type skills.

*Amount varies by country and time period. Also it's typically written with an L when referring to the Chinese version.

Minor detail, but he specifies “on your few strengths” here too, though using a different word from the one that was translated as “few” in the previous line. There’s a long-running Japanese meme of “[it’s] important so [I/you] said it twice” (大事なことなので二回言いました) that might apply here. Given the, the uh, the circumstances.

Bit of foreshadowing/punning here. The word for “the living” is 生者, alternatively pronounced seisha, shouja, or seija. She uses seija. Seija, when using these kanji: 聖者, instead means saint/holy person.

And we see what kind of person the undead actually chase after.

Specifically he’s making the ふーん (fu-n) sound here, which when used in real life sounds like hmmm, but with more of an 'n' sound. It’s the sound people make when being told some sort of fact; depending on the tone used it either indicates “huh, that’s an interesting fact!” or “cool story bro.” All this to say I cracked up at how clearly he enunciated the f/h at the start of his ふーん.

What’s translated as “keen eyes” is actually a bit more poetic sounding: “kumori-naki manako” (曇りなき眼). It uses a fancy word for eyes (which is usually just “me” 目), and a mildly fancy way of saying “unclouded”: kumori (clouded) naki (not).

It’s also a phrase famously used in Princess Mononoke, which they are undoubtedly referencing.

He’s saying “sensei” here, which is traditionally what (generally wealthy) people would call their bodyguards back in like the Edo period. Or, more importantly, it’s what the bad rich guy says to call his strong, mercenary bodyguard after the heroes have defeated his cannon fodder lackeys in all those TV shows set in the Edo period. You’ll hear this usage in anime/manga a fair bit when the one kid loses a fight and then calls in their older, stronger (often yakuza- or gang-involved) friend.

Not that it matters, but since I'm here…: the catnip part of this was added in translation.

The last sentence of this is written like it was taken from the back of a box of medicine, and in fact the whole thing does generally sound like

a drug ad.

[entergamingxp]

Sakura Wars Review (PS4) — The Dream is Back

April 29, 2020 10:00 AM EST

While it has been a long wait, Sakura Wars is a satisfying blend of everything that the franchise has done well for a new generation on PS4.

Claiming that Sakura Wars (aka Sakura Taisen) is a huge franchise is an understatement. The steampunk, East meets West stylized series featuring courageous women who act as a theater revue by day and fight demons at night left a huge mark on Japanese pop culture and on anyone who encountered it. When Sega and Red Entertainment released the first Sakura Taisen game on Sega Saturn in 1996, it made history with its peculiar aforementioned mix of genres and atmospheres. Most notably, it mixed various dating simulator, tactical RPG, and adventure elements (what we commonly call visual novels in English) together. By far, it wasn’t the first game that strove to create mixes like these. Red Entertainment themselves weren’t at their first attempt, as Sakura Taisen followed in the footsteps of games such as the Galaxy Fräulein Yuna series.

Sakura Taisen, however, is the first franchise of its kind that managed to reach such mainstream stardom, at least in Japan. This is in part thanks to a very unorthodox idea back then that the franchise pulled off. The seiyuu, Japanese voice actresses and actors, of Sakura Taisen would all regularly hold “Kayou Shows”–musicals similar to the ones that players experienced in-game–that greatly contributed to establish the franchise’ cult status. Putting the seiyuu themselves in the spotlight through stage events, streams and radio shows is usual nowadays, but it was a very novel idea back then, as Sakura Taisen‘s original author Oji Hiroi recently pointed out. Today, many game and anime franchises all do their own stage play musicals in the same vein.

While the Sakura Taisen series reached a conclusion with Sakura Taisen 4 in 2002, followed by a standalone Sakura Taisen V in 2005 (the sole episode that officially left Japan), the series never truly stopped. Indeed, the mainline game part stayed dormant, but anime, manga adaptations and spinoffs, mobile games, apparitions in crossovers such as Project X Zone, and real life events such as art expositions kept it rolling around over the years. And last but not least, the Kayou Shows continued for all these years. Fan demand for a new game never relented, and Sakura Taisen is such a big piece of Sega’s (and gaming) history that culturally and business-wise, a game comeback was only a matter of time. When, and how, were the main questions. And the answer is this brand new PlayStation 4 game, titled Shin Sakura Taisen/New Sakura Wars in Japan, and simply rebranded as Sakura Wars overseas.

Sakura Wars brings back the franchise that everyone loved in a magnificent way, all while making it accessible to neophytes.

Sakura Wars, the PS4 game, is the first main game of the series in 15 years. Officially announced in March 2018 and revealed in March 2019, Sakura Wars is Sega’s attempt to fully relaunch the franchise worldwide, hence why a localization in multiple languages was announced from the get-go. The game is accompanied with its own novel, manga, and a multitude of new crossover collaborations and goods. Seeing the game is already available in Japan since December 2019, an anime sequel also started this April. A stage play was planned as well, but was sadly canceled due to COVID-19.

To be honest, as I relentlessly covered Sakura Wars news via the monthly streams that Sega organized for the game, part of myself was scared. I asked a lot of different questions to myself: “What if the game sucks? What if they only show the good parts on stream? What if I end up hating it?” I’ve rarely been this scared of being disappointed when it comes to my hobbies. It would have been incredibly painful to see the series fail its comeback and fall into oblivion. As I grabbed the game in Japanese, part of my doubts were dispelled after spending some time on it. I even attempted live translating part of the game to show my enthusiasm and spread awareness. Now with this English version, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with the game, and I can finally affirm this now, with conviction: Sakura Wars brings back the franchise that everyone loved in a magnificent way, all while making it accessible to neophytes.

“Sakura Wars is an ADV, a pure and thorough Adventure game akin to what we call visual novels, and should be approached as such.”

Sakura Wars works both as a sequel and as a reboot. The game’s intro explains how the cast from the previous games all disappeared after a decisive battle against the demons, and introduces instead a brand new cast of main characters. Players are put in the role of Seijuro Kamiyama, a young, talented ex-marine ship captain, who’s now assigned as the captain of the Flower Division. The Flower Division is the core battle and theater unit of the Imperial Combat Revue, protecting Tokyo from demons. All big cities in the current world of Sakura Wars similarly have their own Combat Revues, and they are about to participate in a big tournament to hone their skills. However, the Imperial Combat Revue is facing both a financial and identity crisis, and it’ll be up to Kamiyama to give the Flower Division members the trust they need to overcome their issues and win the tournament, all while fighting off a new demon threat.

You might be wondering why I’ve yet to touch upon the gameplay aspect of Sakura Wars in this review, but you’ve actually been experiencing it already if you’ve read this far. Just like its predecessors, Sakura Wars is an ADV, a pure and thorough Adventure game akin to what we call visual novels, and should be approached as such. You’ll be spending the vast majority of your time in the game reading the dialogue and events unfolding as you control Kamiyama and interact with the characters.

The game reintroduces the series’ LISP system, which are short-timed dialogue choices selected with the directional stick. This aims to make the players realistically think about their words and strengthen immersion. Most of the time, players will have a clear choice between either acting in a positive and gentle way (Top Choice), in a harsh and stern way (Left Choice), or being some kind of creep or clown (Right Choice). Beyond these obvious dialogue choices, you’ll have to do your best to figure out the characters’ feelings, as always picking cliche anime lines about friendship and love won’t work. Kamiyama himself isn’t a self-insert; he has his own personality, and will choose his own words in certain crucial moments, where you’ll instead be urged to pick the intensity of said words.

“All of the concepts and mechanics unique to the Sakura Taisen series have been tirelessly thought over by the development team. They have all been improved and adapted to 3D.”

The true difference in Sakura Wars compared to its predecessors isn’t the change from a tactical RPG system to action RPG elements for its battles; I’ll get to that later. It’s the fact that the game has switched to full 3D. This is a revolution for the series, and Sega made the best out of it. The past games let you roam around the Imperial Theater, which is the Imperial Combat Revue’s base of operations, via a 2D map where characters were represented in Super-Deformed, SD style. When you triggered dialogue with other characters, the games switched to a visual novel-like style, with the characters illustrated with 2D artworks and occasional anime cutscenes. It had (and still has) its charm.

On the opposite side, Sakura Wars lets you explore its environments in full 3D. This choice wasn’t simply fueled by a desire to make the series more appealing to a new generation of players. All of the concepts and mechanics unique to the Sakura Taisen series have been tirelessly thought over by the development team. They have all been improved and adapted to 3D. Exploring the Imperial Theater and the city has never felt so rewarding and immersive. While each area barring the Imperial Theater is quite small, they are packed with small details, fun NPCs, and points of interests. Kamiyama’s own thoughts and observations when inspecting elements will evolve together with the story. Sakura Wars is full of intricate world-building, most notably thanks to the contribution of military specialist and world setting advisor genius Takaaki Suzuki. Simply heading to your next main objective pointed out on the Teletron, Kamiyama’s steam-technology powered smartphone, will probably only make you experience half of the game. You’ll end up missing a myriad of optional events, which aren’t necessarily pointed out on the map, Bromides to collect (photographic portraits of the characters), minigames, and lore.

The most striking aspect introduced thanks to 3D is how Sakura Wars handles its dialogue and events. Nearly all the dialogue is presented through in-engine cutscenes, and each one is stunning. Except during their pre-rendered cutscenes, I dare you to find any other typically Japanese game with as much camerawork, screenplay, and especially lively characters during dialogue. Be it Yakuza, Persona, the Tales series, Ni no Kuni, or any offerings from smaller independent studios like Falcom or Nippon Ichi Software, the characters will most certainly simply be standing there when chatting. Most of the time in several of those games, you will be cycling through minimal, prepared in-advance movements and expressions.

Meanwhile, Sakura Wars feels as if specific movement patterns and facial expressions were tailor-made for every single dialogue in the game. They’re always on-point with the discussion and emotions conveyed by the characters. This is so disconcerting compared to what Japanese games usually offer that I’m convinced some players will dislike how the characters in Sakura Wars are constantly in movement. In-universe it makes perfect sense, as the members of the Combat Revues are all used to performing arts and expressing themselves with their bodies.

“Only 60% to 70% of Sakura Wars‘ dialogue is voiced, and it’s the biggest disappointment that I have with the game. It’s especially jarring to see such incredible vivid dialogue scenes being left unvoiced.”

As for the ever-changing expressions of the characters, you might have heard how multiple artists have worked on Sakura Wars. The original character design of the main cast was handled by Bleach‘s Kubo Tite. Other original character designers handled side characters in the game, and we have K-On‘s Yukiko Horiguchi, Sword Art Online‘s Bunbun, Strike Witches‘ Fumikane Shimada, Pokemon‘s Ken Sugimori, Haruhi Suzumiya‘s Noizi Ito, and Persona‘s Shigenori Soejima. However, it’s important to note that similarly with an anime’s production, another single character designer redrew all the designs so that they’re easy to animate and more uniform. That task was handled by Masashi Kudo, who did a terrific job. In fact, Masashi Kudo in the past did the exact same job with Kubo Tite’s designs on the Bleach anime. As such, there’s absolutely no sense of disunity when it comes to the characters’ designs, despite the various artists.

Sadly, overall, I’d say only 60% to 70% of Sakura Wars‘ dialogue is voiced, and it’s the biggest disappointment that I have with the game. It’s especially jarring to see such incredible vivid dialogue scenes being left unvoiced. Sega’s auditioning for the game, which included singing–seeing as each character has their own theme song–brought us an all-star and talented cast of seiyuu. It’s a huge shame they didn’t get to fully demonstrate their skills. Pre-rendered anime cutscenes are back too, and are in 3D as well. These were handled by famous 3D anime studio Sanzigen. Ironically, the sole lackluster visual aspect of Sakura Wars lies in some of its 2D illustrations used to depict certain scenes in the game, with some of them being of varying quality. Going out of your way to interact with the characters and experience as much of the dialogue as possible, the core gameplay will have a direct influence on the minor gameplay elements, the battles.

“Rather than the battles, what makes Sakura Wars so good is definitely its cast. It’s a purely character-driven experience.”

Each story chapter in Sakura Wars follows a typical mecha anime pattern, with the characters heading to sortie near the chapter’s conclusion, setting up a fight scene for the climax. Characters in the Sakura Taisen franchise fight demons using Combat Armors, which are mecha powered by steam and magical spirit energy, mixing steampunk and fantasy elements. This is where a stern warning is due: you definitely shouldn’t expect to be playing a traditional JRPG. Sakura Wars and its predecessors do not feature numbers to grind, equipment to maintain and skills to learn. The only variable which makes your characters stronger, or weaker, are their Trust Levels, the only way to influence Trust Levels are through your dialogue choices. There’s no real changes to the battle system throughout the whole game, except for Team Attacks that you’ll unlock as you increase Trust.

The battle stages aren’t that big and are globally pretty easy. If you do get a game over, you’ll always be able to restart with extra help. While there are many different types of enemies, none of them will stay etched in your memory. The only exception are the bosses, all introduced with huge on-screen Kanji, following Sakura Taisen tradition, and something you might be acquainted with through Skies of Arcadia and Valkyria Chronicles.

As an important note, the battle system of the original Japanese release of the game had no lock-on system and instead used an automatic homing function, which made it hard to hit flying enemies, most notably. This isn’t a problem anymore as a patch has long been released, adding a lock-on system, a better radar, limited button remapping, being able to save anytime, and last but not least, a dialogue log with voice playback. These improvements will be included in the Western version, so make sure to download the day one patch. However, the patch was only made available to reviewers a little bit before embargo, so some reviews might mistakenly point out these faults, even though they are now patched.

In any case, you’ll only be fighting for around 20 minutes for about every 3 hours of gameplay, and despite being so simple, the battles are still fun and do their job well. The battles, like the rest of the game, are also filled by cool dialogue and incredible cutscenes, including dialogue choices. The music by the legendary Kohei Tanaka (One Piece, Gravity Rush, among others) is always on-point as well, and it’s the combination of these factors that makes these climaxes so awesome. But ultimately, the battle system of Sakura Wars in itself is marginal. Rather than changing from a tactical RPG to action RPG, the battle system might as well have switched to Sega’s match-three puzzle game Columns, and it wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Rather than the battles, what makes Sakura Wars so good is definitely its cast. It’s a purely character-driven experience. Japanese games tend to traditionally include a stereotypical cast, which gradually shows its uniqueness as you play. Sakura Taisen is and always was the culmination of this concept. The protagonists fight to protect the world and follow huge cliches based on their country of origin. The villains simply wish to see humans suffer for no reason. Everything is cheesy, but it works terribly well. The original script, written by 428 Shibuya Scramble‘s director Jiro Ishii, doesn’t stray from these traditions of the Sakura Taisen series, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each chapter mostly focuses on a single main character, but all the others will play a role too. This is especially true for the second half of the game, when all the characters have already gone through a good chunk of development. Each character’s individuality slowly unveils itself through the multitude of dialogue events, and you just can’t help but fall in love with the characters.

Ultimately, while we might call it a dating sim, Sakura Wars is quite different from most. Of course, in the same vein as its stereotypical characters and plot, Sakura Wars is also filled with cliche anime situations. Kamiyama often finds himself in “lucky pervert” incidents depending of your choices. I’d add Sakura Taisen is one of the few franchises that manages to make sexual fan service moments and “romantic comedy” misunderstandings like these actually comedic and funny. Still, you shouldn’t expect anything steamy to happen, as even the unlockable optional flirting scenes are very tame. Indeed, your true goal in Sakura Wars isn’t to whoo girls, it’s to make the team members feel at home and have a place where to belong. I believe this is why the nomenclature of the series always used “Trust Levels” instead of “Affection” or “Love” levels.

Moreover, while we control Kamiyama, the true protagonist of this new Sakura Wars is Sakura Amamiya, the most devoted member of the Flower Division, who aims to restore the Imperial Combat Revue to its former glory. While the game includes a dive into each main character’ psychology and worries, everything revolves around Sakura Amamiya. She’s the sole character on the game’s case artwork, the first character you see in the opening anime sequence, and she’s the one getting a typical mecha anime midseason upgrade. It’s not a baseless choice as to why the ongoing manga version and sequel anime both put the spotlight on her.

Sakura Wars might even be too much centered around Sakura Amamiya at times. Most side characters, and those who belong to the other Combat Revues fought during the tournament, barely interact for most of the game with the main cast besides Kamiyama and Sakura Amamiya. Moreover, while the tournament battles are centered around 3 vs 3 team battles, only two members of each Combat Revue we face off against are introduced. Their third combatant is always a nameless, faceless character we’re never introduced to.

Nonetheless, in Sakura Wars the girls are always the true stars of the stage. This approach is one of the many reasons why the franchise as a whole is so inspiring and attractive to anyone, despite being a dating simulator for hetero male anime otaku. Furthermore, Sakura Amamiya idolizes Sakura Shinguji, one of the main characters of the past games in the series, which brings us to the final important point; how meta this Sakura Wars is.

“Overall I’ve rarely seen a game manage to deliver a commentary on itself, all while handling fan service perfectly, brimming with love and respect for its own legacy.”

The first part of Sakura Wars‘ story features an obsolete Imperial Combat Revue shunned by all and on the verge of shutting down. It’s almost as if the game is reflecting the image of the franchise itself in the eyes of younger folks who didn’t live through it. Then, you’d be amazed at the numbers of NPCs who trashtalk the new characters while singing the praise of the old ones. Sega is fully aware of grumpy fans who claimed on social media that instead of a new cast, they’d rather have the ex-main characters back even if they were into their senior years. Players can regularly learn about the previous cast via the Imperial Theater’s archives, with Kamiyama sharing words of admiration. And then you have Itsuki, an embodiment of the good fan, with whom you can fangirl with while chatting about both the old and new characters.

As a newcomer or as an oldtimer, your overall opinion of the game and its characters will grow positively as you play, exactly mirroring how the Imperial Combat Revue slowly regain its fame through the main story, making for a unique experience. Overall I’ve rarely seen a game manage to deliver a commentary on itself, all while handling fan service perfectly, brimming with love and respect for its own legacy. I clearly remember the excitement I’d feel when I was a kid looping the Sakura Taisen games’ anime opening sequences while dreaming of playing the series. Experiencing Sakura Wars on PS4 feels exactly like that. The dream is back.

Before concluding, I’d also throw in a word regarding the English localization of Sakura Wars. As I mentioned earlier on, I’ve partly played the Japanese version, and I must say that the English translation is amazing. Despite the Japanese heavy setting, It doesn’t go with the simple choice of keeping Japanese terms and honorifics, and yet still retains what makes the series’ atmosphere so unique, and conveys everything that needs to be conveyed. Every ten lines I was in awe and reminded of how much I suck as a translator.

In conclusion, while Sakura Wars never feels like it cuts corners, you can clearly tell, with the lack of full-voice acting or the nameless third combatants thing, that Sega didn’t fully believe in themselves. Sega is incredibly eager to make the series reach glory again, and brought to the development team all-star artists, writers and seiyuu, but at the same time was reluctant and wary. They believed in this comeback but lacked conviction to put more resources on the table, which is slightly disappointing. A more ambitious and polished sequel would definitely have the potential to become one of the most iconic Japanese games in years, similarly to Persona 5. With full voice acting this time, even denser content, more interactions between the main and side casts, and an attempt to make the battle parts into something more than narrative climaxes, you’d have the formula for a masterpiece. Sales would follow suit, boosting the franchise’s popularity worldwide, and we could even see the past games finally get official localization.

Unless you religiously scorn the act known as reading, there is absolutely no reason to avoid grabbing Sakura Wars on PS4. If you’ve read the integrity of this review, you need to hurry up and grab the game right the hell now. It’ll make you discover a fresh universe full of surprise. If you’re a complete stranger to this culture, it will surely be the game that makes you realize what’s so good about Japanese games, anime and manga. In an era where the most exported Japanese cultural products are battle stories inspired by Dragon Ball, playing Sakura Wars can be a gateway that will definitely broaden your horizons.

April 29, 2020 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/sakura-wars-review-ps4-the-dream-is-back/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sakura-wars-review-ps4-the-dream-is-back

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Square Enix Answers 7 Questions of Light On Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind

January 21, 2020 7:39 AM EST

The Japanese Kingdom Hearts Twitter account published a summary of everything we know about the Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind DLC.

The Japanese Kingdom Hearts 3 Twitter published a Q&A about the Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind DLC, with Kingdom Hearts 3 Co-director Tai Yasue. He summarized everything we know about the DLC so far, explaining the reasoning behind the additions of features such as the Data Greeting, the Slideshow, and the Premium Menu, and he chatted about the Limit Cut Bosses and the Secret Boss.

Nearly everything Tai Yasue said covers information Square Enix already revealed and that we’ve already covered. But it can work as a refresher of sorts. Square Enix probably did this in case some Japanese players are confused about the DLC’s contents.

Note that certain English terms I’m using in my translation are from the Japanese version of the game, some terms are named differently in the English version.

『KHIII Re MIND』発売記念「7つの光と13の闇 Q&A」”光編”を公開！ #KH3 #_KH #KH3_ReMind pic.twitter.com/p1U9nZipDF

— キングダム ハーツ (@_KINGDOMHEARTS) January 21, 2020

1/ Free update version 1.07 launches alongside the Remind paid DLC. What does it contain? “The free update 1.07 adds the Keyblades Oathkeeper and Oblivion. You can change to Light Form with Oathkeeper and Dark Form with Oblivion, each with their own combo actions. Moreover, the two Keyblades can be dual-wielded with the Double Form. 6 new Combo Action Abilities were also added. Certain cutscenes in the main story have been corrected. Restrictions on Share functions will be greatly reduced.”

2/ Why did you decide to increase the number of photo-related possibilities by adding the Data Greeting feature and the Slideshow feature?

“Since Kingdom Hearts III‘s release, many players created really cool screenshots and videos, which really impressed us. We decided to support these endeavors and give you even more possibilities. With the Slideshow feature, you can now pick themes and BGMs to your liking to make any album and video you want. After we developed these features, all the development team participated in a photo contest to test them out. You can create heartwarming situations that never happen in the story with certain characters, or create unique and unexpected situations, so we’re convinced many players will enjoy this feature.”

3/ Why did you decide to create the Premium Menu and the Black Code? What’s the point of these challenges?

“The Premium Menu allows you to customize many elements in the game. The Premium Menu can be accessed right from the start of a New Game. There’s the Fast Pass Code, which includes functions such as “Auto Guard”, making the game easier for those who wish to go through it quickly. And then there’s the Black Code, which includes high difficulty challenges such as the HP Slip function, which makes your HP decrease at regular intervals. This is for players who want to enjoy a highly difficult challenge. Moreover, the Fast Pass Code and the Black Code each have a set of achievements you can try to unlock after changing certain settings in each. For example in Fast Pass Code, there’s an obtainable achievement if you manage to go from the top of Rapunzel’s tower to the town of Corona while only touching the ground a selected number of times.”

4/ Are the Limit Cut Boss battles against the Real Organization XIII characters different from the Real Organization XIII boss fights in the main story? Or are they simply stronger versions? Which Limit Cut Boss is the hardest one to defeat?

“The Limit Cut Bosses are completely different. Their AI and action patterns have been completely reworked. Certain bosses can only be beaten if you’ve mastered offense or defense, certain bosses have completely unpredictable movements, etc. Each boss has different strengths and weaknesses, so which one turns out to be the hardest to defeat will vary from each player. However, Xion and Master Xehanort are overall much harder to defeat than all the others. After I managed to beat one of them, my hands kept shaking for a good 15 minutes, showing how tense their battles are, and how great the feeling of accomplishment is.”

5/ Tetsuya Nomura previously said that he asked the development team to make the Secret Boss “hard enough to make you cry”. Did the Secret Boss really turn out like this?

“We asked through a poll all the developers and testers who managed to defeat all the Secret Bosses of the Kingdom Hearts series, and they did answer “it’s strong enough to make you cry”. The Secret Boss has a high amount of different attack patterns, so you will need a lot of time to understand it and defeat it. I could say the same for the Limit Cut Bosses, but for each of these bosses, each of their movements have specific counter-strategies, so they aren’t unfairly strong, and if you play perfectly, you can defeat them all without taking damage.”

6/ What else is included in the Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind DLC?

There’s an additional story that completes the game’s ending, and an additional scenario where you can control other characters such as Kairi, Roxas, Riku, and Aqua. Also, you can switch between English and Japanese voices. Lastly, there’s a bonus version of the DLC containing videos of an orchestral concert.

Note that the switch between English and Japanese voices will only be possible in the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts 3. The DLC won’t add Japanese voiceovers to the non-Japanese versions of the game. And as a seiyuu fan, I think that’s a huge shame, if you wished to hear my unneeded opinion.

The seventh and final question is unimportant. It asked Tai Yasue to share some final words for the fans awaiting Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind. Long story short he said to look forward to it like any Japanese developer does when they’re asked this.

As a reminder, Limit Cut Bosses were named this way by Square Enix to represent the meta fact that the powerlevels of boss characters in the main story aren’t truly reflected, so that way they aren’t too hard to defeat. Limit Cut literally means their power limit was removed. They just named it this way to be cool.

You can read more about the DLC’s content with our previous coverage here, here. and here. We also translated the previous details on playable characters Square Enix published when the KH3 Remind official site got previously updated. You can also check out the story hints Tetsuya Nomura shared in the past through interviews we translated. 

Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind launches in two days on January 23 on PlayStation 4. The DLC will be available a month later on February 25 on Xbox One.

January 21, 2020 7:39 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/01/square-enix-answers-7-questions-of-light-on-kingdom-hearts-3-remind/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=square-enix-answers-7-questions-of-light-on-kingdom-hearts-3-remind