You've reincarnated into the body of your childhood friends' pet hamster. Does this live-action visual novel have more to offer than its unusual premise?― I have played a lot of visual novels before, but this is the first time I've played one structured like Sweet Hamster Days. Unlike others that use stock art or animations to set up interactive scenes with the player, this game is 90% live-action, ...
Jean-Karlo remembers the classic aesthetic of Valis and Battle Skin Panic.― Welcome back, folks! I'm quite stunned at how well last week's column did! We've been racking our brains for a bit regarding topics to cover on This Week in Games and little subsections I can throw up. I appreciate readers' openness to covering more than just the most recent news. Like I said in the comments, be sure to send...
Want to experience Ghost in the Shell: The Exhibition yourself? The exhibition is currently at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art until August 30.― Following the 30th anniversary of Mamoru Oshii's iconic anime film adaptation and closing in on the 40th anniversary of Masamune Shirow's original manga, Ghost in the Shell remains a stalwart sci-fi franchise. Starring Major Motoko Kusanagi, she and her...
Christopher and Sylvia go on a yuri deep dive to uncover that dangerous age that can make yuri romance so appealing. Starting with the toxic queens in Dear Brother to the new era in I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day― Christopher and Sylvia go on a yuri deep dive to uncover that dangerous age that can make yuri romance so appealing. Starting with the toxic queens in Dear Brother to the new era ...
As the first single-player-focused entry in the franchise, Splatoon Raiders hopes to bring in a new player base, but it may have lost some of its identity in the process.― Splatoon was always a series that I had a fleeting interest in. With each new entry, I'd play it for a week or two before never coming back again. Granted, it's mainly because I'm not a multiplayer person, not because the games we...
It's official! As of the sixth episode of BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA, Ritsu will be joining her childhood friend Arale and the other members of MewType in the band. It was a rocky road to get here, and there is no doubt that everything from now on will also not be smooth sailing. Ritsu is, after all, leaving behind an extremely dangerous dynamic with her previous group Fairy Bouquet and chief series antagonist Viola.
It's a good thing that the book opens with a “chapter 0” that shows readers that things will, in fact, get better, because Dinah's life is pretty bleak.― By this point in pop culture, we've all read about or watched time loops. The usual method for handling them (with, of course, some exceptions) is that the looping party eventually uses their knowledge to break the cycle or just becomes inured to t...
"Part of the manga's appeal is that there are moments where you're not entirely sure what's happening between one panel and the next."― MARRIAGETOXIN director Motonobu Hori and BONES Film producer Tatsuya Saito took to the stage at Anime Expo for an exciting panel celebrating the action-romcom MARRIAGETOXIN. The series, adapted from the manga by Joumyaku and Mizuki Yoda, follows an assassin named G...
Director Kenji Kamiyama has worked on some of fiction's most storied franchises, from The Lord of the Rings to Star Wars to Blade Runner to Ghost in the Shell. Soon, he'll add Gundam to his list.― Director Kenji Kamiyama has worked on some of fiction's most storied franchises, from The Lord of the Rings to Star Wars to Blade Runner to Ghost in the Shell. Soon, he'll add Gundam to his list. RetroCru...
Is Rhythm Heaven Groove the best game in the series? No, but it's one heck of a runner-up.― Rhythm Heaven Groove is a return to the Rhythm Heaven games of old—i.e., Rhythm Tengoku, Rhythm Heaven, and Rhythm Heaven Fever. Gone is the attempt at story in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, and instead you simply work your way up columns of mini-games, clearing each to unlock the next. Rhythm Heaven Groove is massi...
Stylish, well-choreographed, and featuring some excellent new character designs by Kei Mochizuki, there's nothing out there that looks quite like this film.― It's hard to overstate the lasting influence of Osamu Tezuka's The Princess Knight. With the manga published between 1953–56 and an anime that aired from 1967–68, it's widely considered a foundational title for all things shojo, magical girl, a...
Oku: "To be honest, I just don't have the energy to keep drawing anymore."― Manga creator Hiroya Oku (Gantz, Inuyashiki, GIGANT) revealed in an interview with Courrier Japon published on Tuesday that he plans to retire after he finishes his latest manga Kanrekihime (The Sweet Sixty Princess). In his interview, he said: "No, this is it. I've made up my mind. To be honest, I just don't have the energy...
It's super-sized column as Josh catches us up on the latest summer updates, from Genshin Impact and Heaven Burns Red to Fate/Grand Order and Suikoden Star Leap!― This week's This Week in Mobile Games is being sponsored again by our friends at Grand Summoners!Hello, and welcome once more to the latest installment of the column! With everything happening and set to happen in mobile games over the next...