#hope you guys have a kira kira and doki doki day

[francishabilis]

They are talking about astronomy and bonsai

[addictedtomanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - one shot

1.      Adele to Darius

Adele was just another maltreated slave girl being sold at the country market. She was sold one day to become an addition to the harem of the country’s King of Cruelty. Rumor has it that the once the King takes a slave girl for the night, he then executes her in the morning. Once in the harem, she sees that all girls who are called into the King’s chamber really do not return. To fight against this fate, Adele resolves to volunteer to be called to the King’s chamber and find out the truth. But things are not what they seem…

2.      Ao no Rhapsodia

There's a legend about a lost continent of gold and only one man has successfully made his way through the treacherous waters to that continent. The man entrusted the map to the lost continent to his daughter, Allegra Reese, making her the prime target for every pirate on Edythe Island.

3.      Banken Toki Doki Ookami

A lamb surrounded by wolves gets a guard dog. But is the guard dog the most dangerous wolf of them all?!

4.      Bitter Trap (Takagi Shigeyoshi)

Nanao came from a rich family before their business failed. Now the only hope for her family to pay off their debts is if she can cement a marriage with the prestigious Takatsuki family within a week. How will Nanao overcome this problem when one of the three eligible Takatsuki men is her former arrogant schoolmate, Yoshito, who completely distrusts people? And did we forget to mention that Nanao is already the ninety-ninth candidate for the position of future wife?!

5.      Black Coffee (Nakano Emiko)

How does a girl declared by her childhood friend to be gloomy and anti-social transform into a cutie “as sweet as sugar” and every boy’s dream? And does every boy really dream of girls “as sweet as sugar”? Or is the rich and deep taste of coffee better than sugary glitter? The story of a girl who may not be sweet, but sure is as addictive as black coffee!

6.      Defense Bakari No Koi Ja Dame

Nao is seen by her classmates as the "Cool Queen", however, she is just extremely shy. How will she deal with suddenly becoming the basketball's temporary manager?!

7.      Egaku Nara Happy Ending 

It's a story about Makoto Nosu and Yusuke Moriyama who have been together for 6 years since junior high school. They are about to finish high school and enter college so they decided to break up since they will be going to different colleges that's far from one another.What happens to their relationship then? 

8.      Fly High! (Mitsuki Kako)

Asuka, the ace of the volleyball club is training to become the best. But there's the devil coach, Nagano...

9.      Gyu... tte shite ii?

I just clean up the club room and threw away trashes! but then he hugged me and "Become my pillow" is what he suddenly ordered me to do...?!

10.  Itazura na Ningyo

The love story between two childhood friends and the magical legend of a mermaid can grant a wish of unrequited love

11.  In the Chocolate

A collection of oneshots.

12.  Kaibutsu-san ni Rei

At the Christmas training camp, Yuzuki was paired up with no other than... that guy?!

13.  Kimi wa Tomodachi

He was always by my side. ... So, I thought that I certainly won't fall in love with him.

14.  Kira Kira Namida

Yuuma is taciturn and no one knows what she’s thinking. But then, she’ll meet someone that will change that…

15.  Kiss to Koukai

A collection of oneshots.

16.  Koakuma no Jikku

She was an accomplished fashion model, but her blunt, straight forward attitude drove wedges between her and the rest of the world. She just didn't know how to lie in the least, and when she caught the eye of a famous stylist seeking the face for a new major brand of cosmetic, it promised to be the beginning... or the end... of everthing. Can she manage to not alienate the presumptuous company 'nobility', because if she does, this time it's her whole agency that's going to pay.

17.  Koi wa Beniiro

Beniko, an old fashioned high-school girl is suddenly forced to eat lunch with the new teacher in charge, Nomoto-sensei…

18.  Meikyuu Yaburi no Hananusubito

Arisawa Kei’s life seems rather bleak until she notices a strange man staring at her on the way to school. Hakamada Ryuuhei, an En specialist who can see and tie or cut threads of fate, tells her that she has “death-bringer” threads on her hands. But what does that mean to Kei, who doesn’t believe in En or luck?

19.  Melodramatic Library

A teacher at Kanae's school has been fired for having an affair with a student. Then, a hot new librarian comes in… Kanae falls in love with the new librarian. However, she sees a ring on his finger...?

20.  Mijuku na Bokura

Even if they are only friends, she wants to be something else... Can it change the relationship that they have? Or will she be conformed to be just friends?

21.  Mitsubachi Hakushaku to Hana no Dress

Dahlia is the only female dressmaker in Galleria. She kidnapped and commissioned by the infamous "Honeybee Earl", who is known to jump from woman to woman like a capricious bee jumps from flower to flower, to make the ultimate wedding dress for his fiancee. Can Dahlia complete the dress without getting stung by the Honeybee Earl?

22.  Murasame-kun na Tawagoto

Chika has always seen Murasame-kun as a rival who manages to constantly piss her off. While wondering out loud to herself, her sister whom overhears Chika, gives her a perfume necklace which supposedly able to capture a guy's heart. The next day, Chika bumps into Murasame-kun and spills all the perfume. As she begins to apologize, he suddenly asks her out!?

23.  Once Again, I'd Like to Love You/Mou Ikkai

A high school girl runs into her ex-boyfriend at a train station and the two reconnect.

24.  Narabuna Kiken

Miku and Natsume have always been fighting with each other until Natsume suddenly asks Miku to pretend to be his girlfriend!!! At first, Miku is quite opposed to the idea, but slowly… This mismatched couple, of a super tall guy and a girl often mistaken for an elementary student, fall in love.

25.  Seinaru Yoruni Oshiete Ageru 

Sakura is childish and doesn't get why everyone wants a boyfriend. A few days before the Christmas Eve, her handsome childhood friend suddenly kisses her and makes her heart race. What will she do?

26.  Sekai wa Kirai de Afureteiru

Ten and Rio are friends from the old days. they will become high school students starting from this spring, Ten stills carries a certain memory in her heart....?

27.  Shounen Aromatic

Kabuki Takitsugu is a boy who has the family trait of smell. He can smell anyone's fragrance and find their perfect match. One day, a mysterious girl named Hatsune appears before him, asking him to find a match for her. But, for some strange reason.. Hatsune doesn't have a scent.

28.  Takarazora

Yuuchi is a girl that has a passion for art.... or rather, HAD a passion for art. Because of her mother, Yuuchi had to give up her talents and love for painting. Still, she had made a promise to her baseball-loving friend, Natsu, that she'd paint a picture of him. With all hopes lost for her dreams, Yuuchi now must find the "hope" within herself to continue.

29.  Tokubetsu ni Naritai

It’s only during rainy days that Kae can get closer to Ichi, the most popular guy in the school, because he always gets under her umbrella. But Kae wants to be close to him everyday, not only during rainy days. What can she do to be special to him?

30.  Tsuki to Himawari

Asahi-kun is a carefree junior-high student, never attaching to girls even though he enjoys going with them. But when the school's number 1 honor student Mitsuki "cyborg" Konno asked him to a 1-month date, in exchange for the front row ticket to his favorite singer's concert, he was forced to accept. He only has to show her what it feels like to date, right? He is ready for that...however, what he's not prepared for was his heart's reaction...

31.  Watashi no Suki na Souma-kun

Sena is working as a maid to look after her younger brother and sister. But her employer turns out to be a guy at her school! Will she get a new job or will she get a new love?

32.  Wish Upon a Glass

Find a piece of red sea glass and your wish is sure to come true. Sachiko is searching for her own piece of red sea glass. Can it make her romantic wish come true?

33.  Wonderful Cafe ni Youkoso

A dog shop love comedy! The place where hot men and cute dogs come together!

34.  Yuuwaku Honey

To get someone as cool as you to look my way, I'll do my best with my first attempt at seduction!!

35.  Zannen Nagara Chigaimasu

He wasn't even that handsome, but when I saw him, I was captivated. He said "meet me upstairs". it seems he also feels the same because we're now signing a marriage registration form?!

[cutiecrates]

Subscription Brand Updates & Gacha Collection

This is basically the “news” I mentioned wanting to tell you guys like a couple months back and failed to do. I was sick when I was planning to do it and then I just forgot about it. Basically, this topic will be able some updates regarding the brands I’m subscribed to, as well as my Gacha Collection, with pics : D

(This was my collection, with the except of my 3 newest boxes and 2 boxes dedicated to Gacha I don’t plan to keep)

TokyoCatch

If you guys have been reading my blog for a while you may remember my mentioning an Online Crane Game/UFO Catcher website by the people of TokyoTreat, nmnl, YumeTwins. As of now its officially OPENED and everyone is free to play-to-pay and win fabulous Japanese items :3 there is a wide variety of series and items, and it updates frequently, and there are occasional test cranes for those who may not want to spend real money just yet or hone their skills.

If you would like to check it out, here’s the link: https://ptr.tokyocatch.com/play

You know I won something the second I found out right? x3 I went back and won the Sakura Miku figurine I’ve been fawning over since the testing days:

I’m not sure when I’ll get it because right now the website is having a little bit of a problem processing this when I try to checkout, I sent them an email about it to figure out why its doing what it is.

Stationery Box?!

No pics, sorry guys. Around Christmas or the beginning of January, I got a survey email about an upcoming Stationery themed box that will be made by Japan Crate (the box itself and creators of Umai Crate, Doki Doki, and Kira Kira.). The survey basically asked what we would like to see in it, the number of items, quality of items, price, possible name ideas, etc.

While this sounds like a lot of fun and I would love to get it, I don’t think I will be because I'm subscribed to enough boxes right now >3< if I dropped a box, I’d rather pick up the Japan Crate subscription for its cute and fun foods.

Anyway, I'll be sure to let you guys know how this goes if there is further development.

Minor Kira Kira Crate Update

This is a minor update regarding Kira Kira crate, which actually began with the January box. Basically, everything is staying the same but the item count has been increased from 5-6 to 8-10.

Now, when I got January’s box it was actually a sort of... “celebratory repeat“ box, by that I mean its completely full of past items. Not gonna lie, it made me worry about future boxes and if we’ll get new content...

Closing Sale at Squishy Kiosk

This will be my last bit of information, regarding the shop Squishy Kiosk, one of the shop’s run by the creators of Blippo.com/Kawaii Box. It has been open for over 2 years as of now, but the shop is sadly closing (I don’t know why, they didn’t tell us). So for 1 more week (it was originally 2 weeks but I got the email a week ago from today), there are several squishy still available, and on sale!

https://www.squishykiosk.com/cheap-squishies?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sqk-nl-200107

Here’s the link for the squishy on sale. I’m kind of sad about the shop closing because I had intended on ordering from it... but I never did. I forgot or just didn’t think about it.

Gacha Collection

Here we go guys, thank you for taking the time to get to this point; or if you skipped down to here then I hope it was worth it :P

Okay, so I already showed you my collection thus far. Well here are the 3 boxes I’ve yet to add:

and here are the 2 boxes of Gacha I don’t want:

Out of everything I own its actually not very many. I feel bad for being picky, but if someone else could like it more than I would I’d rather get rid of it you know?

Here is my collection (minus those 5 boxes) entirely spilled out on the floor in a semi-contained pile.

And this is their new home!

I fell in love with these adorable containers, I ended up buying a few of them to put various items into.

That is a picture of my favorite capsules I mentioned in my most recent Gacha Gacha Crate review. I really like these ones because they look like cute colored bubbles and have a fun, easy to open clasp~

And this is my favorite collective item to get from Gachapon:

SQUISHY!

I only have a handful, but I really really love them! I hope we continue to get more x3 My most favorite would probably be the cucumber sushi one, I love the ones where the item squeezes out.

For our last pic, this is my entire Gachapon Collection moved into its new home:

Not counting the 2 boxes worth of Gacha I won’t be keeping, these filled about half of the container. I got plenty of room for more but I constantly go through it to see which ones I can get rid of or put elsewhere.

That will be it for now guys :3 thanks for stopping by~

[techouspeaks]

A First Look At: Huggto Precure! Episode 1

Well I’m gonna go ahead and list it in order starting with...

The Opening: 

Level: Not so memorable.

The opening is mediocre at best. It’s not the worst but it’s not very memorable to me. The moment it ended, I forgot about it right away. 

Characters:

Level: Decent but Hana really could have been better...

My main problem with Hana is that she’s not very different from all the other happy go lucky cures we’ve had in the past. She’s basically your clumsy good-hearted heroine we’ve seen a dozen times. She’s late for school and flunks but is not willing to give up. Put it short she’s not very interesting.

I will say this, I’m glad that Hana does like sports and is very athletic despite not being a tomboy. That’s one thing I can credit. I mean sure, Haruka from Go Princess is athletic but only after she joins the school. From what Hana explains, she’s actually talented in sports already. I hope that’s true cuz that would be a slight difference to her.

I also like her design as Cure Yell. It’s very sporty, cute and kinda reminds me of a sailor scout but as an homage kinda thing.

Saaya (the blue girl) is a nice character. Again not very interesting so far but I like how open she is to Hana. Most of the time the blue cure is distant at first from the pink cure and doesn’t socialize with her until later. I like how upfront she is with Hana and wants to be her friend right away.

Homare is the one I like the most. I was surprised that she had a low voice and appeared to be like a boy. An aloof boy at that too. At the same time, I like how they didn’t make her stuck up or too mistakenly for a boy. She just does her own thing and doesn’t bother anyone and yet she’s suppose to be a figure skater. You wouldn’t guess that with her boyish nature. 

Harry is a much better companion than that ugly poodle thing we had last time! I like how he doesn’t get along with Hana. I kinda miss the fairy not getting along with the main cure kinda thing. That was a refreshing take. I’ll take the spiky hamster over poodle clown thing or ghost beaver thing any day! Though I can’t help but get Hamtaro vibes when I see him.

The baby is just obnoxious but then again...What baby isn’t? She cries, she likes Hana. Does the normal stuff babies do. If you like babies, you’ll like Hugtan just fine. (I prefer kittens than human babies.) However, I will take the baby over that ugly poodle fairy.(I refuse to call it by it’s name.) At least with Hugtan, there’s a reason why she cries and wines. Poodle clown thing we had last time was just annoying with no excuse!

Over all, the characters are good. Not that original but don’t feel like complete copies except for Hana.

Animation and content

Level: Good.

Not the greatest but still nice and decent. This series definitely feels like a classic Precure series. Animation and art style takes me back to the times of Yes! Precure. It’s mediocre and not as good as say Go! Princess but still passable. It’s way better than the animation and art style of Kira Kira for sure!

The content of everyone’s future being at stake is a much better premise! Lives are in danger! The future is at stake! This is awesome!  The problem is the name of the power...Tomorrow Powerer? Powerer is not even a word! Why do that! Why not call it “Mirai Magic” (since Mirai means “Future”) or “Future’s Wishes” or “Power of Tomorrow”? I know this is a kid’s show but that’s like calling the force from Star Wars “strong power” or “energy juice” or some other stupid thing! It’s just dumb! It’s a cool concept, just dumbass name! 

I know it’s a “kid’s show” but guess what? Disney movies and cartoons are aimed at kids and they've proven that kids should be treated with some respect of intelligence! Also, the point of Hana and the whole concept is to grow and be “adult-like”. How about some at least mature names for your power sources? Even as a kid, I would have found “Tomorrow powerer” a really stupid name!

Villains

Level: Better!

Way better than last time. Least they’re actually threatening and have a clear motivation this time. There’s no ruining people’s sweets or whatever. They’re out for cold heart destruction! I also like how the big boss has to approve them and give them their power to go out and do some damage. Very interesting take. The whole big evil organization is something we’ve seen before but not in a long time. It feels fresh and interesting here and again this brings me back to the Yes! Precure 5 days or even Heartcatch Precure.

The fact they want to destroy people’s future’s through life alternating depression is a very interesting take. I just hope this won’t be the case where I root for the villains instead of the heroes.

Though yeah, the guy that they sent out is another generic sporty villain, least he’s threatening than the pokemon rejects of last year’s first episode of Kira Kira!

Transformation and Cure Attack:

Level: Boring Transformation.  Decent attack.

Yeah for someone like Cure Yell, I expected her transformation to be as jumping and energetic as herself, but it’s just she closes her eyes and her clothes pop on, while making a really annoying sound as she hugs her heart thing. Honestly her heart thing and the transformation is like Doki Doki’s. In fact, the moment I saw her transformation I instantly thought Doki Doki...

Her attack is decent. It does remind me of Cure Heart’s attack a little bit but with a twist. It’s an alright first attack.

Ending Theme:

Level: Same as the opening. Not very memorable. Decent 3D models though.

The models are a lot better like last years. In certain moments you hardly can tell the difference between the 2D animation and the 3D. They got that nailed down and do seem to be getting better at it every year.

Although as I say this, I will like to point out, REALLY don’t like the lipstick thing on the cures. It just makes them look weird because you know they’re kids and I dunno...with me, it’s just weird putting lipstick on a kid character. Yes, they’re teens and the point is to make them seem mature but they’re barely a teen. They’re 13. We’ve seen make up on cures but they’re settle with it, well....Except for Happiness Charge’s horrible power up. Here it just looks weird especially on Cure Yell. She looks kiddy in her appearance which kinda ruins the whole “adult” thing she’s going for her. It’s a cute design, just lay off the lipstick!

Overall/Final Verdict of the first episode:

Overall this was a much better first episode than Kira Kira’s. The characters, more so the main character, do suffer some lack of originality, but hopefully they flesh out at the series continues. The designs are good, just wish they lay off the lipstick.T he villains are at least a bigger threat and have clear motivations. The content and animation is an improvement and gives me the feel of the Classic Precure.  I just wish the names for things were a little bit, well mature, but over all good.

Hopefully, this will be the series that will live up to the classics and over all, I enjoyed the first episode just fine. It’s a way better start than last year’s Kira Kira. 

I’m gonna give the first episode of Hugtto 6 Stars out of 10

6 Stars

Level: Good!

[muthaz-rapapa]

Precure Movie “Reincarnations”

With KiraPre’s coming out in a little under two months (second cue to start anticipating next season), I thought I’d go through all the ones I’ve watched so far to see how many seiyuus who starred in the movies ended up coming back to voice characters (main or supporting) in later seasons.

So there’s one rule to this: it has to go from movie –> tv anime. Hence the whole calling it a “reincarnations”…thing.

Left out the All Stars movies cuz I don’t want to deal with those.

Oh, and these are in order by the movies’ corresponding season.

Warning: Image heavy. Also, crappy editing because I’m too lazy to make it look nice. :P

1) Shadow (Yes! Precure 5 Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken) –> Syrup (Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!) {CV: Park Romi}

I’m pretty sure this is the strangest one on the list. But it’s the legendary Romi Park we’re talking about. She can voice anything.

So not so strange, I guess……no, it is. It’s quite bizarre just thinking these two even have one thing in common. xD;

2) Dark Dream (Yes! Precure 5 Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken) –> Aoki Reika/Cure Beauty (Smile Precure!) {CV: Nishimura Chinami}

By far, my most favorite “reincarnation”. I love Dark Dream so much as a villain and a baddy-turned-good. That she “returned” as the lovely and badass Cure Beauty… it just made me appreciate Cure Beauty even more.

And I always get so gleeful when their connection shows up in fanart, too. ^^

3) Dark Lemonade (Yes! Precure 5 Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken) –> Madoka Aguri/Cure Ace (Doki Doki! Precure) {CV: Kugimiya Rie}

Can’t say I’m surprised that Rie Kugimiya came back. Even less surprised that she’d be voicing a Cure because she is a famous veteran.

What I didn’t expect was getting two variations of her voice in one character. Which isn’t a bad thing. I like Cure Ace’s voice. More than Aguri’s/Dark Lemonade’s anyway.

4) Dark Mint (Yes! Precure 5 Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken) –> Flora (Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!) {CV: Minaguchi Yuko}

Not surprised here either.

I don’t have much to say about this one. Yuko Minaguchi was the voice behind Hotaru/Sailor Saturn from the first SM series, after all. So whether she’s playing an antagonist or a holy-goddess-like figure, she always makes it sound so natural. And her voice is so pretty. She’s so gifted. ^^

5) Princess Chocola (Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!: Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday!) –> Chypre (Heartcatch Precure!) {CV: Kawata Taeko}

I’m very fond of this one because I love both of them. <3

It actually took me a while to realize Chocola had the same voice as Chypre (cuz I watched Heartcatch before I watched Yes!5) and when I did I was like “Ohhhh……”

Anyways, it’s nice that a cute character came back as another cute character. Only a very few on this list kept that consistency.

6) Dry (Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!: Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday!) –> Cologne (Heartcatch Precure!) {CV: Ishida Akira}

Let’s just go with the fact that none of these surprise me, lol.

I’m always going to be expecting the veteran seiyuus to show up sooner or later, movie-exclusive or not.

7) Toymajin (true form) (Fresh PreCure!: Omocha no Kuni wa Himitsu ga Ippai?!) –> Hanasaki Kaoruko/Cure Flower (Heartcatch Precure!) {CV: Sakamoto Chika}

I don’t even remember if teddy!Toymajin ever talked at all but according to MAL, he did.

*shrug*

To be honest, what really surprised me (lol, yea, I spoke too soon \D;) was running into Chika Sakamoto again. I remember her fondly as the memorable voice for Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi. To the mahou shoujo community, you’ll probably recognize her as the voice for Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer from Sailor Moon Stars.

8) Olivier (Heartcatch Precure!:  Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show…Desu ka?!) –> Candy (Smile Precure!) {CV: Otani Ikue}

P-I-K-A-C-H-UUUU~!!!

8D

Ok, but seriously, I really loved Olivier so when I think of this, I can’t help but feel there’s been a bit of a downgrade. There’s nothing wrong with Candy. It’s just that I think of her more strongly as a mascot than as a character, that’s all.

9) Howling (Suite Precure♪: Torimodose! Kokoro ga Tsunagu Kiseki no Melody!) –> Emperor Pierrot (Smile Precure!) {CV: Genda Tesshou}

Apparently.

Almost all of Precure’s Big Bad Bosses sound the same to me. I really can’t tell the difference.

10) Flat (Suite Precure♪: Torimodose! Kokoro ga Tsunagu Kiseki no Melody!) –> Close (Go! Princess Precure) {CV: Madono Mitsuaki}

Second case where the villain comes back as another villain.

Close is hard to forget (because he’s so annoying) but Flat barely had any character to him that if I didn’t look him up, I wouldn’t be able to tell who’s who in the Trio de Major.

11) Dog (Smile Precure!: Ehon no Naka wa Minna no Chiguhagu!) –> Puff (Go! Princess Precure) {CV: Toyama Nao}

This shouldn’t even be on the list but it’s so amusing that I just had to. Does it literally, right next to Nao Toyama’s name, say “Dog” in the movie credits? xD;

Well, unlike the others who do sport noticeable differences between them, there’s hardly any for these two. That one just got upgraded to a cute maid three years later.

12) Momotaro (Smile Precure!: Ehon no Naka wa Minna no Chiguhagu!) –> Aihara Yuuki (Go! Princess Precure) {CV: Abe Atsushi}

Alright, this can actually be a real reincarnation. I mean, they look alike! They even seem to have similar temperaments!

…Or is that just me?

13) Purple Buggy (Doki Doki! Precure: Mana Kekkon?!! Mirai ni Tsunagu Kibou no Dress) –> Glaive (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode) {CV: Egawa Hisao}

Hey hey~! Somebody from the current season!

But the more important question…when is Glaive going to be relevant in KiraPre again? ^^;

14) Orihara Tsumugi (Happiness Charge Precure!: Ningyou no Kuni no Ballerina) –> Izayoi Riko/Cure Magical (Mahou Tsukai Precure!) {CV: Horie Yui}

Easily my second most favorite of this bunch and frankly, there’s no need to go into extensive explanation about it. HaCha’s movie wouldn’t have been half as interesting without Tsumugi.

Then, bless our luck, we get to hear Hocchan again! Not only as an MC but also as an adorable tsundere! Riko~!!! X3

Man, I really love it when they come back as a Cure. The tones are obviously going to be different between a role they voiced in the movie and a role they voice in the tv series but it’s fun observing just how different they are, y’know? The key is really the acting, yup. ^^

15) Princess Pumplulu (Go! Princess Precure: Go! Go!! Gouka Sanbon Date!!!) –> ??? {CV: Hanazawa Kana}

I can say with confidence that a good percentage of us is waiting on bated breath for the day when Kana-chan will finally be assigned a Precure title. And it’s going to happen, I tell you. IT MUST.

I don’t care if they make her one of the first regular Cures or a latecomer Cure as long as she is a one of the main Cures. Because wtf, Go!Pri’s movie was one the most unfavorite things I’ve ever came across in this franchise that I need to be compensated for sitting through it! If they didn’t split it into three parts, I think we could’ve gotten a hell of a better story.

Especially on Pumplulu’s part. She had such a nice personality and her character had so much potential for expansion. Like, oh I dunno, turning her into a movie-exclusive Cure maybe?! Because technically, a lot of that movie should’ve been about her. AND she had all the qualifications to become Precure. She’s kind and beautiful and strong enough to resist the bad guy from brainwashing her (which is why he had to lock her up because he couldn’t use her like he did with her parents)!

Why wasn’t she made a Cure?! Why’d we have to focus on Haruka dancing around making pudding and CGI stuff I don’t care about?!

*rants for the next few hours*

Not to mention, @rona67th‘s gorgeous fanart of her in Cure form and Mode Elegant just makes me want it to be official even more! *sobs* I’d die to see that animated. I’d give up all the others’ Mode Elegant Halloween forms just for Pumplulu to be made a real Cure. T_T

(Btw, check out @rona67th’s Cure Zephyr, too! Her design is really awesome! ^^)

*SIGH*

Well, there’s still that hope that HanaKana will be cast in one of the seasons after KiraPre is finished. I’m actually glad she wasn’t put in KiraPre. I need a season with a deeper concept and theme and overall, stronger story for any role she plays. Because it’s HanaKana and I love her so obviously I would want her to get the roles with the better everything. <3

And that’s it, I suppose. Anyone I missed, feel free to add. Though I’m pretty sure I covered all the major ones.

Guess I’ll do this again when the 2nd Precure Generation is over.

[nordicsymphony]

Alternatives to Magia Record

So you’ve been hyping up and waiting for Puella Magi Madoka Magica Gaiden: Magia Record to drop, and finally you managed to get your hands on it via QooApp. Unfortunately, a week into playing the game the developers decided that everyone who got their hands on it via APK are no longer able to access the game - if you want it, your only option is either the Apple Store or Google Play. And you know full well that the game isn’t available internationally. And while VPN might help if your phone was compatible in the first place (mine wasn’t), the other option available, Android Debug Bridge might pose some risks to your phone. Dejectedly, you uninstalled the game possibly for the rest of your phone’s life and wait for an international release (if there ever will be). 

BUT there are mobile games based on other Magical Girl series out there! They may not have similar gameplay to Magia Record (The closest would be Fate: Grand Order), but if you loved these series as well you might just be able to enjoy them just as much. And they don’t have that irritating restriction. 

More under the cut!

Alt. 1) Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de aru: Hanayui no Kirameki (Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Brilliant Bouquet)

This game was released in May and features every Hero in the franchise’s run.  (with the exception of the newly released Kusunoki Mebuki wa Yuusha de aru) It features a new plot where the Hero Club post-anime is summoned by Hinata Uesato from NoWaYu to within the Shinju-sama for a special mission - there’s internal conflict between the gods who make up the Shinju-sama and the Heroes are needed to get both factions to reconcile before the tree falls apart. They are later joined by the Heroes from WaSuYu, NoWaYu, ShiUYu and two game exclusive Heroes from the NoWaYu timeline - Sekka Akihara from Hokkaido and Natsume Kohagura from Okinawa. Aside from the game’s plotline, you get to relive the 4 existing stories in the franchise:

Yuki Yuna’s Chapter: the whole anime + Sonoko After

Washio Sumi’s Chapter: the first 3 chapters of its Light Novel

Nogi Wakaba’s Chapter: up to chapter 8/9 of its Light Novel

Shiratori Utano’s Chapter: almost everything

The gameplay is similar to a tower-defense game: players move around a Hero (or a pair of Heroes - each team has 3 Heroes, each of them having 1 assistant Hero and up to 2 fairies) across the board to fend off incoming Vertexes. Vertexes come in from your left while Heroes are on the right - if either 3 Vertexes or the boss Vertex gets to the right side of the board where the Shinju-sama is, it’s game over. You get a reward for clearing the level, with additional rewards if everyone lives and if you complete the level within a certain time. There are also bonus rewards for clearing a scene within the Chapter, and another if every level in the scene has 3 stars. 

Drop rate is decent enough - there are 2 Gachas for friend points (fairies and the occasional Hero - if the Shinju-sama really likes you you can get a SR Hero in this one) and Shinju’s Blessings (premium currency - gives you Heroes up to SSR. I suggest saving up to do a 10-roll. If Yuna Yuki shows up it means that you have at least a new (S)SR - if Togo shows up with her it means that every card in the roll is new, but take this bit with a grain of salt). But don’t get your high hopes up too much. Additionally, there are Hero Medals which is used to either buy stuff from the store or upgrade your Hero System (do this first before spending the rest in the store) and doing certain missions gets you Botamochi to regain energy to play longer. 

Gameplay itself is challenging as you need to figure out which Heroes and Fairies go best with each other, taking into mind the level’s element and Hinata’s Oracle. And then there are a few occasions where the speed criteria is unfulfillable or if a particularly pesky Vertex manages to KO one of your Heroes at the start. But if 2 Heroes have a high enough relationship via you putting them together more, the cost needed for them to work together again will be lower, allowing you to equip fairies with a higher cost.

Overall, a fun and challenging game, but there are spoilers all over the place (particularly with the WaSuYu team and a certain newbie to the YuYuYu team) so catch up with the franchise first.

Alt. 2) Precure Tsunagarun Puzzlun (Precure Connecting Puzzle)

Released sometime in late February to early March, this puzzle game features every Precure in the franchise (well, most of it. At launch you get to choose between Max Heart, Go Princess and Mahou Tsukai, with Kira Kira a la Mode, Heartcatch, Smile and recently Doki Doki joining in. It’ll have everyone. Eventually.) tasked to defeat bad guys and restore various magical lands back together with guidance from Mofurun. 

Gameplay is a lot simpler than Hanayui no Kirameki - playing as a single Cure, you have to link at least 3 puzzle pieces to deal damage to monsters, obtaining power-ups and getting rid of/bypassing obstacles along the way. You win if the boss’s health bar reaches 0 and lose if yours reaches 0 instead. The circle with your Cure’s portrait lets you use their special move when you fill it up enough. The more difficult part of the game are Cure Challenges - using certain Cures to complete certain missions gets you an exclusive card. Each character also comes in 7 different colours - the more colours per level the more difficult it is to make larger chains.

As for drop rate... ... apparently, the more characters there are, the less likely you’ll get a certain card of your fancy. Character selection is also severely imbalanced, with every team having at least 1 Pink while your only Cure available for the White team (for now) is Cure White, which makes daily training during weekends a bit of a pain. Once in a while, for certain events, there will be 2 Gachas - a regular Gacha and a limited time Gacha focusing on a certain team. Again, save your premium currency Gems for a 10-roll/limited Gacha. 

There will be a chance that you’ll get bored easily, but the developers do try their best to get you playing at least once per day. At least there’s no spoiler warning unless you joined the team halfway through its run or sequel. I’d still watch a few episodes first beforehand.

Alt. 3) Senki Zesshou Symphogear X-Drive Unlimited

Like the first 2, this game has every Symphogear user throughout the franchise run, including older versions of the characters, retired ones and dead ones. Unfortunately, I can’t provide more info for this since I don’t play the game, but I do know people on Facebook who are die-hard players. 

Aside from reliving every season in the franchise, there are other events exclusive to the game such as Senki Zesshou Symphogear 3.5 (connects the 3rd season and 4th season) as well as alternate universes where certain things happened in one way or another, usually travelling via the Gjallarhorn Relic. 

I’m not sure how the drop rate is like, but think of it as between Tsunagarun Puzzlun and Hanayui no Kirameki. As for gameplay, you take a team of 3 Symphogears and fight in real-time to the music from the series you choose from your music box.

Spoilers for the whole series abound, so watch everything first.

There are others out there, but ultimately it depends on what you’ve watched and whether you truly enjoyed it. Hopefully Magia Record gets localised for international users, since this has happened to other games under Aniplex from what I hear.

[utsukushiishoujomangas]

Hi! I love shoujo mangas and I love ookami shoujo to kuro ouji the most and i've been trying to read another shoujo manga that makes me fall in love with the character as much as kyouya did, but I aint got one :( do you have any recommendations that can make your heart flutter so hard when the male lead become sweet? Thanks before!

Err I’m a guy myself so my heart doesn’t exactly go doki doki for the guys per se (just those adorably cute moments) but I’ll try helping! xD

Strobe Edge

Ao Haru Ride

Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare (ongoing)

Sakisaka Io’s works. Enough Said.

Hirunaka no Ryuusei

Namaikizakari (ongoing)

Horimiya (ongoing)

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (the guy’s a little weird though haha)

L-DK (ongoing)

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!

Well regarded works (by me). I really like how Horimiya portrays a healthy relationship that goes beyond the “happily ever after” shoujo manga cliche.

For (slightly) less obvious mangas:

Hana-kun to Koisuru no Watashi (ongoing)

Kyou no Kira-Kun (ongoing)

Silent Kiss

Haru Matsu Bokura (ongoing)

Machiko yo Oborekake (one shot)

Atashi Kisushita (one shot)

Hope this helps and have a nice Valentine’s Day!