The Gestahlian Empire

It is September 12th in Japan once more and thus it is Kotori Minami's Birthday. While Kotori may come off as cutesy, ditsy and very indecisive, she is the one with the most insight as to how the other members are feeling; because of this she has a hard time expressing her own feelings as she is always taking the others into consideration. She is quite adept in the world of fashion and she designs all the outfits for the group. For a short time she worked as Minalinsky, Akiba's Legendary Maid, where she was popular for her kindness, cuteness and soft voice. She also enjoys making candies. In addition to µ's, Kotori is a part of the sub-unit Printemps and her image color is grey. (Although green and white are used a lot as well.) Happy Birthday Kotori-chan!!! Just like with the other μ's/Aqours character's birthdays, if you log into School Idol Festival, you will get 5 Loveca stones (Love Gems in non-Japanese versions).  Top Image Credit: Rio.LW's ...

Of the new anime series airing this season, one that really caught my eye was Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka or Danmachi for short. The title for the English version is: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? I really like how the anime takes standard RPG tropes and applies them to their world, like how an adventurer can 'view' their stats similar to the status menu in an RPG or there is a level system to indicate overall growth. As a child I grew up playing JRPGs (My blog name is a good indicator of that) and today it still remains my favorite gaming genre, although shmups and 2D fighting games are coming close. This anime has been a blast to watch so far, and I'm really liking the characters, especially Hestia; she is adorable and a really supportive goddess. <3 I was so impressed with the 4 episodes I've seen so far, I went and picked up the English versions of the first two light novels! Here's the synopsis lifted st...

I've been following the coverage for E3 for 2013, and I am blown away! I love the stuff that Sony and Nintendo are coming out with, and my brother has already reordered a PS4! Games that I am excited about include: Final Fantasy XV (was Versus XIII) Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Kingdom Hearts 3 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Dragon's Crown Destiny Super Mario 3D World Super Smash Bros X (working title) Bayonetta 2 Mario & Luigi Dream Team Shin Megami Tensei IV Pokemon X & Y The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Link to The Past 2) Mario Kart 8 ...and many more! I'll probably make a second post. I also wanted to say, that while I loved the Xbox 360 and all the cool games it has, i am probably going to pass on the Xbox One. The games that usually get me to buy a console are Jrpgs, and since pretty much all the Japanese developers are on Sony or Nintendo's side, I will be supporting those consoles. Many of the games I want are ...

Ah fanservice, I have an odd relationship with thee. On one hand, I LOVE it, but I believe it alone cannot carry a story. It's the reason why I love Queen's Blade season two, but I don't care for the first season as much. (Rebellion is okay so far though). Now, Senran Kagura is based on the 3DS (and soon PS VITA) title of the same name. You basically get to control a bunch of ass-kicking busty women who fight against ninja and it has a clothes ripping system when you take damage; that alone is enough to pique my interest (yeah, yeah I know I'm shallow), but as I am still learning Japanese, and the fact that I wound need to import a Japanese 3DS to play it, means that I could never try the game anytime soon. When I learned that there was an anime adaption of the game I decided that I would give it a try, and I've got to say that if you expect a light sugary anime you will also be surprised. The anime revolv...

I've been an fan of the Da Capo series for as long as it has existed. On January 5th, 2013, the first episode of the Anime adaption of the newest game Da Capo III aired, and I wanted to say what I thought of  this episode. First of all I really like the homage they pay to the previous series, both in certain scenes and especially in the credits. The Episode largely concerns itself with the viewer getting to know the cast; for example this lad is the hero of the story: Kiyotaka Yoshino. he is like most lead male characters in a harem series, except he isn't a pushover when he deals with women which is nice. This lovely lady is my favorite girl of the series so far; Charles Yoshino. Don't ask me why she had a boy's name. She seems to be the sweet haafu girl being half Japanese and Half British. This girl is Himeno Katsuagi and she is the childhood friend of Kiyo's. These two girls are Aoi Hinomoto (Brown Haired Girl) and S...

Moekana is a Japanese learning tool from Danny Choo and his Culture Japan label. I've been a fan of Danny Choo for a long time and love his efforts to bring the understanding of Japanese culture to everyone. I recently bought a pack of Moekana cards, which are a set of 50 cards created with the intention of helping to learn the basic Japanese syllabary which is called Hiragana. The Box!!! Spreading the cards out. The first character I memorized - の. There is even a card which has all the Hiragana in order. It's useful as a quick reference guide. Overall I am really pleased with these cards. The cardstock is very high quality and the cards are gorgeously and cutely illustrated by Japanese artist Ikkyuu . I've provided a link to the Home Page of the product below if you want to learn more or are interested in buying a pack. Moekana If you have any other questions feel free to leave a comment below! (And yes I know the pictures are very cr...