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impracticaldemon · 4 years

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Hey! So I haven't kept up with a lot of otome games and stuff, including some of the non-hakuouki stuff you are into, but I was curious about it? I wanted to know about whatever the Ikesen (ikemen??) series is, or what it is I suppose lmao? I assume mobile games, which is cool, I kind of want to look into some of those, but I curious about what were your favorites or your thoughts on them, etc.

Hi Miss P!

Just for context, I want to mention that I was a “non-mobile otome only” player until about 2.5 years ago. I was wary of mobile otome games for a few reasons, including *my* perceptions about (lack of) depth of story and characters, cost, and dependence on a server (i.e., you don’t get to buy and “own” a game). I took a harder look for two reasons: (1) seeing the artwork from more recent games; (2) discovering some favourite voice actors in the mobile otome world. Also, I just wanted to find more localized Japanese otome.

What have I played?

I have actively played all the (localized) games by Cybird:

Destined to Love (historical AU, Shinsengumi / bakumatsu era; thrown back in time; fated lover concept)

Midnight Cinderella (classic “you’re suddenly chosen to be the Princess” concept; setting is sort of mid-1800s, European-type country)

Ikemen Sengoku (historical AU, mid/late Sengoku era; taken in by Sengoku faction, become close to key leaders; thrown back in time)

Ikemen Revolution (fantasy, overarching framework based loosely on Alice in Wonderland; setting is Victorian-with-magic, not weird-drug-trip)

Ikemen Vampire (late 19th Paris, but focus is personal, not much political/historical; famous men now vampires; thrown back in time)

I have also played MLQC (from “Mr Love Queen’s Choice” - the worst localized title I have ever come across - I mean, it sounds ridiculous. The Japanese title is “Love and Producer” [ 恋とプロデューサー ] which is more accurate and less dorky sounding. This game is Chinese (not Japanese) but so popular that it has been translated into Japanese, Korean, and English. **Note that there is some debate as to whether this is an “otome” game.**

I haven’t played: Voltage otome games; Mystic Messenger; or any other mobile otome games.

How do they work?

Almost every game has these features:

you choose the love interest right after the prologue [completely different story for each guy, no common route]

total story length is approx. 26 chapters of 5 sub-chapters [or 13 chapters with 10 sub-chapters]

you are given 5 free tickets a day; one ticket = one sub-chapter

you can buy more tickets with real money by buying “gems” (or whatever the premium in-game currency is called)

you have a stamina bar that refills over time that lets you compete in simple, totally automated challenges versus other players for experience points (usually a straight comparison of your “beauty” score, where beauty is all about how nice your clothes are and what you own (cue eye roll))

you can buy more stamina with real money, but don’t have to if you’re patient (you recover 1 point per 3 minutes, or 20 points per hour)

you need a certain level of experience points in order to pass “intimacy” challenges throughout the story

you also need certain items or outfits to pass “attire” challenges - you can buy these things with in-game regular currency (you get a bit each day) or in-game premium currency

once you’ve read a chapter you cannot go back without re-reading from the start and using new chapter tickets [there is no save function]

there are dialogue choices that raise your affection points with the love interest (getting the maximum affection score by the end of the game usually gives you a nice bonus gift; a minimum score is required to complete the story)

EVENTS are completely separate from the main routes - you compete against other players for the highest event points in order to get coveted items (outfits, chibis, teddy bears, etc.) - you DO NOT HAVE TO play in events in order to enjoy or progress in the main routes

Favourite:

Ikemen Sengoku is hands down my favourite. I would recommend this to most Hakuouki players in search of some interesting historical otome.

not historically accurate (apart the obvious, the warlords presented did not all work or live together in 1582 as presented; the main AU premise is that certain key warlords didn’t die, and relative ages and relevant details have been adjusted to fit the overarching plot(s)), but captures a lot of historically accurate details

best protagonist (modern sensibilities, has a chosen profession she relies on, sense of humour, generally competent, spunky but not perfect

the modern-era physics grad student and history-buff-turned-ninja Sarutobi Sasuke is a wonderful person, character, and “narrator”

excellent sense of humour (game) - big selling point for me tbh, and the localization team has generally done a great job (translating humour is *hard*, and while the adaptation sometimes strays too far from the Japanese original, it’s generally very good)

all main routes are different (overall, the main story quality is very good and has plot to go along with the character/romance development)

character background and development is very good

variety of love interests, with non-love-interest characters still playing important and interesting roles [sadly, few-to-no developed female secondary characters; lots of bro/mances of different kinds]

main routes all have two different endings (moving toward three); the different endings span several chapters (not just an epilogue) and are reasonably distinct in most routes (but both are clearly happy endings)

dressing up your character turns out to be a lot of fun (apparently I have NOT gotten over playing with dolls, bears, or chibis, go figure)

special “events” feature all kinds of new stories, some more creative than others (imagine Hakuouki with frequent, official new content!)

Note: romance/sexiness level varies per route and character (Cybird provides some guidance on this in their route notes for most of their games); you generally have to pay to read more explicit stuff, but even then the level of implied/explicit varies - IkeSen is generally mid-range for Cybird for romantic/mature content in my opinion

Voice Acting: only a few voiced lines, but more are in the works - there is a PS Vita version of the full game with full voice acting; my attention was drawn by Toriumi Kosuke (Saito from Hakuouki) voicing Toyotomi Hideyoshi (but the voice is deliberately lighter than Saito’s sadly for me); there are a LOT of pro seiyuu in the more recent Cybird games (Hakuouki’s Kazama as Leonardo da Vinci in Ikemen Vampire is a treat for the ears, honestly)

Reviews for other Cybird:

I enjoy Midnight Cinderella for the sheer Princessy-ness of it all, and playing with dolls *ahem*. The main stories have both “personal development” and “political intrigue” style plots; however, this game is biased toward romance. There are a range of love interests, which is great - everyone can have their favourite(s). The top characters are “poster boy” (Knight Captain) Alyn Crawford (the guy you’d find on the box cover if there were one), (King) Byron Wagner, and (Duke) Louis Howard. Call them Classic Tsundere, Classic Kuudere, and Classic Appears-to-be-tsun-but-is-really-a-total-cinammon-roll Deredere.

I enjoy the characters and world design of Ikemen Revolution; would definitely recommend it, but feel more could have been more done with the setting and characters. Alice is my second-favourite Cybird protagonist. The character interactions are very good and well-developed.

Ikemen Vampire is very popular, and has a lot going for it, but isn’t my personal cup of tea. That said, I’m still playing, and I do enjoy various aspects of it - the characters and character interactions, for instance. If you’re looking for a more modern, sexy, gothic kind of feel to your otome, this could be a good choice.

I wouldn’t spend money on the Shinsengumi game, Destined to Love, for two reasons: (1) Cybird appears to have dropped the localized version completely (you can play all the main stories for free, one chapter per day, and you can buy old event stories, but there are no events or updates; (2) most of the stories have an unfinished feel to them, at least for me.

That said, DTL isn’t bad if you’re in the mood to read some different stories about Hijikata and the guys (plus there are more love interests from the anti-bakufu side). Hijikata and Saito have a similar feel to them, Okita and Yamazaki have definite similarities as well; I enjoyed Sakamoto more in DTL than in Hakuouki,and Katsura is nice. Takasugi has a route if you’re okay with a rougher version of Hakuouki’s Okita - just be prepared for sarcasm and a very aggressive edginess.

Non-Cybird:

MLQC is a lot of fun as a deck-building game and has the most innovative story - character development aside, it’s a mix of modern China (the main plot is set in a fictional Chinese city) and increasingly sci-fi elements as you slowly learn more about what makes the protagonist and the four love interests different. There is a fair bit of grinding if you want to read more chapters and upgrade your cards, which are needed to pass challenge points in the story.

This game does not follow the usual “common route then pick a route” progression of most otome games. Also, you don’t have choices that affect the main route progression (there are choices that affect each love interest’s affection level, though). You fully control which cards you develop (since some resources are scarce unless you throw money at the game), and you’ll probably develop one or two guys’ cards over the others. Since each card provides you with a four-part story “date” (mostly implied romance, some more, some less), it’s up to you how you progress.

The art is gorgeous, the story is great, the translation is… not so good but better than many Chinese games… the English voice acting is quite good. You can also download the Japanese voice acting in a number of places.

This is not the kind of otome/game you play to get an Otomate (Hakuouki, Code Realize, Collar x Malice) kind of experience. But there are a lot of good qualities. One of which is that it’s the easiest of the games to play for free. Also, they have a “post whatever you want” policy. Which tells you just how popular the game is, since people throw money at it anyway!

~ Imp

PS This is already longer than intended, but there’s a lot more I could write. I’d be super happy if you (or anyone!) had follow-up questions about the mobile otome experience or specific games.

#otome games #mobile otome #asked and answered #otome reviews #and a lot of general comments on how it all works #long as usual XD #miss-perkey #thank you for asking!#cybird otome #ikesen #ikerev #mlqc #midcin #ikevam

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yurimother · 5 years

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LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Last and First Idol

Warning: This work contains graphic descriptions of violence that are discussed in the review.

Before I began reading Last and First Idol, I had absolutely no idea what it was about or what sort of a story I would find within. I knew it had to be in some way yuri because J-Novel club sent it to me to review saying as much, but beyond that, I had no idea. I can definitively say that going into Last and First Idol blind was absolutely the wrong idea. While searching for cute and fun yuri stories, I naively wandered into graphic accounts of cannibalism, grotesque creatures, and a reckless abandon for human life. It seems almost impossible that the astonishing creations within the light novel all began with a Love Live fanfiction story. However, as jarring as my experience was, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the work. Last and First Idol is a collection of three hard science fiction yuri short stories by Gengen Kusano.

There are a few common elements present throughout each story. As previously stated, they are hard science fiction work, with particular attention and details placed in scientific logic and accuracy. Each story intersects the lofty science concepts presented with an aspect of anime/otaku culture, idols, gacha mobiles games, and seiyuu (in that order). Finally, each of the short stories features a protagonist that physically evolves and becomes stronger by killing and consuming, though not necessarily eating their own kind.

The title story, Last and First Idol, begins innocently enough, with Mika Furutsuki dreaming of becoming an idol. She practices regularly, joins an idol group in high school, and hires her dearest friend Maori Niizono as a producer. However, things take a dark turn when, during a downturn in her idol career, Mika kills herself. The Earth is struck with massive solar flares, rendering it almost uninhabitable and riddling the survivors with cancers. Niizono brutally murders scores of survivors to harvests their body parts and transforms her body into a powerful being. She then resurrects Mika, turning the idol into a horrific monster. The rest of the story follows Mika as she continually evolves and changes by assimilating her victims’ organs and bodies into her own to become the ultimate idol.

More than any other, this story is graphic and depraved. Several passages made me feel nauseated as Kusano holds little back in his descriptions of the atrocities Mika and Niizono commit. However, while undoubtedly disturbing, science and transformations Mika undergoes are fascinating and wonderfully described in detail. Kusano’s attention to detail benefits the work here, as readers will be engrossed in discovering how Mika adapts to overcome her next challenge.

The second story, Evolution Girls follows Youko Sasajima. She is a young woman addicted to the gacha mobile game, “Evo Gals.” Youko’s addiction quickly leads to her death. However, she awakens, reincarnated as a single-celled organism. In the world she finds herself in, “girls” pull gacha to acquire organelles and level up. Soon she evolves beyond microscopic life into prehistoric aquatic creatures and onwards, all by drawing gachas. To pull these gachas, Mika needs “points,” which she obtains by eating other girls. It is a fascinating and spectacular reimagining of life’s evolution, all from the perspective of a young woman.

Youko teams up some a few other girls to help create a feared hunter pack, however, they are never the apex. There is a constant sense of fear and apprehension as the reader is aware that the girls risk encountering a creature stronger than them and getting slaughtered at any moment. Youko grows incredibly attached to one of the women, Vayu, and vows to protect her. Her love for the girl acts as her driving motivation throughout the latter half of the story.

One of the most exciting aspects of Evolution Girls is its ending, which catapults the stories scope and scientific fantasy. There are discussions of parallel dimensions, the nature of souls, and a dastardly plot older than the universe. Many aspects of this ending echo Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a connection I was happy to discover Kusano himself acknowledged. There is a rewriting of the universe and its fundamental laws, a character living through multiple timelines, and it is all because of the way energy function in this universe. It is wonderfully vast and imaginative, but frustratingly convoluted; I had to read the final few pages of the story a half dozen times to comprehend it.

The final story in the light novel is Dark Seiyuu. In a futuristic society, seiyuu is no longer a term used to describe voice actors but a different race of humans. These seiyuu have laryngeal sacs, an organ which allows them to control aether, a medium of light and sound. By manipulating aether, the seiyuu can fire lasters, create sounds, manipulate gravity, and fly spaceships.

The story follows Akane, a seiyuu who, to grow her power, murders other seiyuu and transplants their laryngeal sacs onto herself. Since birth, she has heard strange whispers, a mysterious voice. One day while out on a date with her partner Sachii, Akane is attacked by the Dark Seiyuu, who encourages Akane to listen to the voices. Soon Akane and Sachii engage in desperate pursuit, chasing the Dark Seiyuu across the galaxy, hijacking ships, battling bounty hunters, and escaping the law on the way.

Dark Seiyuu is easily my favorite story in the light novel. Some scenes and descriptions in the story are breathtaking, like a beautiful and terrifying sequence when the Earth loses all gravity. It also features a clear goal which the characters are driving towards at all time. Unfortunately, the ending is more than a little disappointing. Just as the plot ends, the story opens up to what seems like a greater adventure. This conclusion feels like an epic introduction to a much longer work. However, it ends just as the call to action is answered. Dark Seiyuu is begging for a sequel that will likely never be.

While Dark Seiyuu carefully balance its plot and science Evolution Girls and Last and First Idol are far less successful. There are multiple sections in these stories where long descriptions of the mechanics and functions of various scientific processes feel out of place and ruin the stories’ otherwise fantastic pacing. Thankfully, these descriptions are incredibly well written and researched, but you will enjoy the story far more for science than the plot. However, the greatest failure of the stories is in addressing the complex philosophical questions they touch upon, such as survival and cannibalism. It is such a missed opportunity, especially because it is clear from that Kusano is capable of incorporating philosophy wonderfully.

The sacrifices to story in the name of science are nothing when compared to the characters. Most of them are cruel, taking glee in their murderous escapades. Furthermore, they have very little development. If you asked me to describe the personality of any characters in Last and First Idol, I would not be able to. The one exception is Youko from Evolution Girls. Her motivation is far more believable and understandable than Mika’s wish to become the ultimate idol in Last and First Idol and helps sell her occasionally questionable actions effectively. Youko is easily the most likable character in any of the stories. While she does kill, it is necessary for survival, and she does not take the same glee in it that characters in other stories do.

Each of the stories in Last and First Idol contains yuri elements (obviously, otherwise I would have no business reviewing it). In the titular story, these elements are present in Niizono’s dedication to Mika, but outside of the implication, no bond between the two is ever clearly stated. In Evolution Girls, the yuri elements are more explicit, with Youko being in love with Vayu. Additionally, two of the side characters being implied to be interested in each other. Finally, there is Dark Seiyuu, which features two women in a relationship. Regrettably, their relationship, at least on Akane’s side, is more for publicity than any actual romantic or physical attraction. However, there are moments when Akane displays genuine affection and care for Sachii, but these moments are inconsistent. On one page, Akane can be comforting her and on the next annoyed by the girl.

Last and First Idol is a haunting and brilliant work of science fiction. It masterfully integrates otaku culture with high and hard sci-fi concepts, and its fast-paced stories will keep readers on the edge of their seats. However, its storylines and characters suffer at the expense of the stories’ scientific aspects. Still, if you are looking for an extensive and profound science fiction work that pulls no punches, be sure to give Last and First Idol a read.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 2 Art – N/A LGBTQ – 4 Lewd – 0 Final – 7

You can purchase ‘Last and First Idol’ digitally now: https://amzn.to/2MPc4oB

Review copy provided by J-Novel Club

#yuri #reviews #science fiction #sci-fi #last and first idol #evolution girls #dark seiyuu #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #future

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amyure · 5 years

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Snippets from the Tokyo 7th Sisters Complete Music File

I’ll write some interesting things I find as I skim over the t7s complete music file. - Esh

Esh originally wrote this up as a twitter thread, I’ve compiled the tweets and lightly edited/sorted them. If you’re interested in picking up the book for yourself, it can be found on Amazon Japan as well as CDjapan. – Nab

Multifaceted Motegi

Both Satsuki Update and Kanaboshi Tsukumo are Motegi. (Hahahaha) [Motegi is the General Director of Tokyo 7th Sisters, aka the guy to thank for everything (along with his team of course)! For reference, those two lyricists’ identities were kind of a mystery in the earlier days of t7s… though now they’re both just listed as ‘Alias of Shintaro Motegi’ over at VGMdb haha]

Kanaboshi Tsukumo tends to be more straightforward, saying things that Satsuki Update is not able to say explicitly, as shown from the contrast between BokuAo [僕らは青空になる] and Funbare Runner's lyrics. Prizm Rizm’s lyrics were Motegi's first foray into songwriting.

Satsuki Update and Kanaboshi Tsukumo, even if both are Motegi, were created with different personalities. The song "Bokura wa Aozora ni Naru" and "Funbare Runner" were made as "brother songs", where the former shows Satsuki update, and the latter, Kanaboshi Tsukumo's differences from them.

"Nanasis doesn’t really stick to genres, right?" Motegi: Yes. It is more like, if the song doesn’t move me then I won’t release it. If I can’t say this part of the song is good, I won’t produce it. [This is def a big part of why I like t7s music so much…]

Song Notes

The concept of Crazy Girl's Beat is "Anyway, it's cool. Even the lyrics, they’re whatever that sounds cool. ‘Sexy lingerie, yo’, despite being a little ???, is also part of it. Anyway, cool."

WORLD'S END was made to explain to fans how QoP's song came into being. Kz was tasked with making a rock song that "isn't so Kz" (to which kz replied with "eh?") They [Motegi and Kz] made the lyrics together, making it seem like telling a story.

Lucky☆Lucky’s lyrics were written by imagining what kind of songs 4U would sing after getting over the events of Episode 4U. That's why they are firm and reassuring, not only to themselves but also to others and the outside world.

BokuAo was created to convey the feelings of gratitude to Shihainin [the in-game term for the player’s ‘manager’ character] for the great enthusiasm in 1st live and for Shihainins’ great enthusiasm to the music itself. "There is no one word for gratitude,” said Motegi. Within Funbare [FUNBARE☆RUNNER] were things not "explicitly said” in BokuAo. The jackets for BokuAo and Funbare Runner are the girls looking at audience, saying "Thank You.”

Taikutsu Ribbon [たいくつりぼん] was made on a rainy winter day; it was made because Motegi wanted a mellow song.

Watashi Ai for You’s title was thought up by Motegi.

Motegi said "It's okay if the lyrics are incomprehensible" to emon for B.A.A.B. The title is from the acronym of "Break Away", mirrored. The lyrics were by emon, but the title was thought up by Motegi.

It was decided for everyone to sing every part in H-A-J-I-M-A-R-I-U-T-A-!! and Motegi wrote it without the image of MC [main character]. Even the cast asked him, “whose feelings are these?” It was his own feeling to every young person who loves Nanasis, and the moment he thought “777 Sisters is great this way.”

Hello... My Friend is the song which Motegi, for the first time, crafted together with the composer. He felt "something" was lacking, so Ryudai Abe said, "come to my house" and they made the song together. It was also made after Motegi gave his all for Ep4U and got a positive reaction.

Haneru!!’s [ハネ☆る！！] lyrics were done in one night. It was when schedule was tight with LeSCa’s lyrics as well, and Motegi felt like he wanted to break away from that style. Motegi also seems to like having girls saying somewhat boyish things, so he put boyish words like "sakutekichuu" (searching for enemy) in.

Motegi commented there were only painful memories in the making of Behind Moon. Having had not enough time, he wrote it alone in a car while the others were out drinking, and thus put in words like "unfair". Yoshii Ayami (Kyoko’s former voice actress) praised Motegi a lot for the phrase "The mint tea smells like winter" in Behind Moon and for the very first time Motegi had the confidence to say, "I wrote it."

From B.A.A.B., Karakuri’s songs were made to have an ‘overseas’ sound. For -Zero, while thinking the concept may be ‘China, or Europe, or US’, Motegi remembered Karakuri as a name is very Japanese and decided to make lyrics with a lot of old Japanese words. For -Zero’s lyrics, Motegi referenced Heian period stuff like “The Pillow Book" or "Kokin Wakashuu", a collection of waka Japanese poetry from Heian period. (Personal note: no wonder it really took a lot of research for me when I translated -Zero...)

Seventh Haven was made before the 2nd Live and at that time, they [Motegi and Kz] were in a ‘dark mode’ where they were pondering, "Is it okay for idol songs to be like this?" "Just bust through it."

The lyrics from "Robber x Lover" began flowing after "I am sure, by Abracadabra...". "I don’t want to be a robber, I want to be a lover" is to convey a ‘that is just how much I love you’ vibe. Within WNo4’s songs, the girls' voices are the least "autotuned" in Robber x Lover.

Sayonara Rainy Lady’s lyrics were written when it was raining, which revealed a bright sky after stopping. This made the feelings during the time of their writing to be bright. Motegi specifically wanted the "Kudaranai hanashi" part be sung by Imai Asaka (Shizuka’s VA).

KUMAROBO comment for BokuAo: the last chorus’ guitar solo was conceived with the "thought of borrowing those feelings from Kz-san's song" but, he could not remember which song it was. He personally repeated that part numerous times as well, loving it very much. Upon being asked for a song he could never make himself, Kumarobo answered Seventh Haven. He couldn't get an idea how it was made at all, saying he might have been able to create Sparkle Time!! but he could never be able to make a Seventh Haven.

YELLOW’s lyrics were written before 2nd Live, in 2 hours. Motegi was at a park overlooking the ocean near an airport waiting for his plane, which is why it has the sky and breeze imagery within the lyrics.

KARAKURI's song Winning Day is linked to Episode KARAKURI’s scenario, especially how it questions the meaning of "winning". Where the girls "win but did not triumph."

Kz is a fan of Kumarobo. His favorite T7S songs are PUNCH'D RANKER, Cocoro Magical, Funbare Runner, HAJIMARIUTA, and YELLOW. The image he had of Killer Tuner changed upon seeing it live, which he described as “it's super awesome.” Kz said, while working on seventh haven, he felt for the first time he understood what Nanasis was. When he sent the track to his manager, his manager said, "this is an overkill.” Kz replied "just send it," and as it turned out, Motegi approved it right away. Kz said within the story there are dark moments here and there in Nanasis, and Seventh Haven represents what "blows up" after them.

During the making of Girls Talk, Ryudai Abe [composer of the track] said a discussion went, "don’t two girls talking sound nice?" to which the reply was "then phone calls seem good!" and somehow it was made with the atmosphere of ‘strange late-night high feelings’. The talking part of Girls talk [after the second chorus] was Motegi recording the "girls talk" of two young staff members and just putting it into the song. The fast-forwarding effect was also there because he wanted "to try it somehow," he said that at that time, he really played with things.

Seiyuus / units

Ferb is Hirose Yuuki's first voice acting role. She was told to portray Ferb with her "usual voice" but always had to calm down before recording, or else it would be “too Hirose."

Ayano Yamamoto, Yumeno VA, knew about QoP’s debut from twitter when fans started dropping congratulation messages on her twitter. She thought at first that they might have mistaken her with someone else or something, as she didn’t know what those congrats were for.

Just like in the QoP Drama CD, the voice actresses of QoP spent a long time practicing how to do their MC [talking to the audience] session for the Live. Hirose (Ferb VA) thought of it as fitting and very QoP.

LeSCa’s debut was determined when Kadokawa asked for novelization in Comptiq. Motegi had wanted to debut them but never had time/opportunity till Kadokawa's novelization offer. The same thing happened with QoP.

WITCH NUMBER 4's unit name is from the image of a super hacker swimming in digital world of 2034, ‘digital wizards’. Since they are girls, it became digital witches. With imagery of JK [high school] hackers, thus it is a technopop unit.

The theme for SiSH is ‘that refined lady you find commuting by bus.’

The theme for NI+CORA is ‘Is it superb compatibility, or incompatibility? Like two high heels touching at their tips’.

The theme for Sanbon Ribbon [サンボンリボン] is ‘Somewhere in their heart, there always remains a small girl.’

The theme for LeSCa is ‘the sweet and sour days of youth’; "What's LeSCa? It's lemon squash, refreshing, carbonated drinks!" [as explained by Kyoko in the novel]

Artwork / jacket illustrations

The CD jacket for ‘t7s Longing for summer’ was originally meant to feature Mito, but MKS-san (main illustrator) said Haru would be good. Upon seeing the rough draft, Motegi felt that he had been mistaken. Haru was indeed the right choice, and with praise to MKS, the illustration was done up before the album released.

The jacket for ‘The Things She Loved’ [the t7s soundtrack album] is Nicole, not Coney, and the title is meant to be past tense. The moment she became Coney, thanks to the things she (had) loved, she can shine brightly. She continues to love it as time progresses towards her future.

Thanks to time constraints, -Zero/Treat or Treat? didn’t manage to get a full body illustration. Since it's Halloween, it is orange for pumpkin, and sticking out of the tongue as Halloween's "trick or treat"-ish playful feel.

The jacket illustration for YELLOW was to show “Triangle”. The white heels and beautiful legs are "very LeSCa", which Motegi had wanted to show off no matter what (Motegi commented how all 3 girls have beautiful legs). [Motegi…]

For Seventh Haven’s jacket, Motegi gave the raw track from Kz to MKS. Motegi had the image of both songs and illustrations' expressions and costumes, but in the end, he let MKS's design sense take the lead, and could only describe the final product as nothing less than amazing.

QoP album jacket was made black and white to show off a "rock band”-esque feel, with only their name in purple, symbolizing the band’s name.

The rough draft for Harukaze’s jacket was drawn by Motegi himself half a year before its release, then given to MKS. He then let it be just as per Motegi’s draft but the hand, the chin slightly tilted upwards, and Haru’s eyes were all MKS's design. Motegi requested for Haru's ear to be visible though.

Motegi on World’s End and Stay Gold/Start Line: MKS-san always knows what Motegi desires every time. Motegi praised MKS-san a lot in the music file, e.g. how his "world" would not be able to be separated from MKS-san's illustrations. He also commented how Musubi's leg is mesmerizing [in, I assume, illustrations where she is featured…? Such as You Can’t Win’s cover.]

For Present 4U, Motegi talked about how rock bands make jackets with meaning, but then often they don't have meaning. The illustration is "to show how the meaning is to have no meaning", fully made for the 'atmosphere', which is set in California, and tied to the Drama Track in the album.

Thanks to time constraints, for the “Are You Ready 7th-TYPES??” album jacket, only Nicole and Haru’s illustrations were finished. Since the ‘two colors’ concept was decided on, the art that was originally multi-colored was made monochrome red/blue. This was also to strengthen the image of a cool album.

Back to summaries

#Tokyo 7th シスターズ #tokyo 7th sisters #eshtarwind #translation #interview translation #translation blog #t7s #Shintaro Motegi #ナナシス

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persephone-damnedqueen · 7 years

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Beginning Thoughts of the Fall Anime Season 2017 . . .

Welp, fall is here, and as usual, it is time for me to do my annual first impressions of the season’s anime titles. My gods if you thought the amount of shows I checked out last season was a lot, this season’s amount is insane. This season, so far, I have checked out 22 shows thus far and plan for at least 7 more to pick up. Insane, right? So how do they stack up so far? Let’s see. Also, please keep in mind, that these are solely based off of the first one or two episodes, and are purely my opinion, so if my opinion is different than yours, then I’d love to here it. Also, I will try to remain as spoiler free as possible.

Netojuu no Susume: Studio Signal.MD

Dropped. Alright, so I feel like I have to mention this. I’m a serious gamer. More specifically, I love me some MMOs. How much you ask? Well, so much so that I actually met my husband on World of Warcraft. Insane right? I mean my god you do not want to see our /played time on that game. So, needless to say, I am a bit critical on gaming anime because of this, because I know what it’s like. This anime was just. . . . cringey. I found myself sighing every chance I got and by the 20 minute mark, completely turning it off. Everything about the first episode was just . . . bad. There’s really just no redeeming qualities. . . well, one line said by the Guild Master which was something along the lines of “you have no idea what her irl gender is.” I laughed. It’s accurate. 85% of female toons you see on wow are actually guys. Anyways, moving on.

Evil or Live: Haoliners Animation

Dropped. Mmmm I had such high hopes. After reading the summary, I will admit, I was hyped for this show. On Paper, this show sounds wonderful. I thought it was going to be some horror psychological thriller that at the end of it left you questioning the very meaning of the world around you or something. Instead, what happened? I . . .don’t even know. The series starts off with massive amounts of Live Action, which, while being completely unexpected, I didn’t mind so much; the series became an instant drop for me when the MC and Co were clearly showing a break from reality and needed actual mental help, was beaten instead. It wasn’t “horror” or “edgy” it was just poor writing. Needless to say, I have dropped it.

Just Because!: Studio Pine Jam

Dropped. For no other reason that fuck it’s boring. I fell asleep watching it not once, but twice. It was that boring. This series proves that even the prettiest of shows can bore you to death.

Omiai Aite wa Oshiego Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji: Studio Seven

Porn. With Plot. Alright, so this is an actual hentai series. Not like Soft-Core either like Hajimete no Gal was last season. This is an actual hentai series, and if you could believe it, it’s actually more plot focused and semi-interesting than 95% of hentai out there.. . . Well, as interesting as a hentai series about a female teacher and a student banging and “engaged” can be. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s totally trash, but hey, each episode is only four minutes, so I’m going to keep watching this trash just a bit longer to see where it goes.

Sengoku Night Blood: Typhoon Graphics

Mmmm Still waiting for the day with they make a good anime based off of an Otome Game. Alright, so here’s the story. Girl gets sent back into another world and gains a harem. A vampire harem. That’s it. I’ve saved you the trouble of checking this series out. You’re welcome.

Urahara: Studios Emt^2 and Shirogumi

Dropped. Instant Drop. Jesus Christ that animation is fucking trash. You have two studios working on this series, and the animation still looks that garbagey?!?! How?!?!?! I can’t even with this. . . Ugh, nope, moving on.

Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte kara: Creators in Pack

Yet another series that will probably be dropped halfway through. Honestly, there’s just nothing that really happens in this series, and I know it’s really hard for anything to happen in a four minute long series, but literally nothing happens. Wife comes home. Husband makes her drink. Wife gets tipsy. Thank you husband. I mean the main reason why I’m going to be sticking it out just a bit longer is to keep getting cocktail recipes haha.

Imouto Sae Ireba Ii: Sliver Link Studios

Will probably be dropped. Is it just me or is this series like Silver Link’s answer to A-1′s EroManga Sensei? Honestly, this show is meh at best so far. The art is nothing too great, and the story screams EroManga, and since I wasn’t a fan, I really don’t see myself watching more than three episodes.

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-Bitch na Ken: Studio Diomedea

I started watching it with hopes of it doing two things. One, fill the hole in my heart that was left when Hajimete no Gal ended; and two, explain what the hell a Sho-Bitch is. In all honestly though, this show is probably going to be dropped. While the art is generic, the characters are bland and too common; I also the comedy too forced at time and repeatable. Yes, we understand main waifu really just wants to figure out what Haruka likes, and obviously misinterprets everything, but does that really have to be the joke every single time?

Inuyashiki: Studio MAPPA

Ah, the latest from Studio MAPPA. I have one question: MAPPA, what the fuck? Let me clarify. The opening few minutes of the first episode made me feel. Fuck, I almost started crying. It was depressing and yet the story was just relatable and beautiful all at the same time. I was feeling feels I didn’t want to feel. It really kept true to the Drama tag, which I love. I’m a sucker for some hardcore drama filled series. Then. . . .it got weird. Some weird like mecha space alien thing weird. So, again, MAPPA, what the fuck? Don’t get me wrong here. I will be continuing to watch this solely because despite the series taking that weird turn, in no way did that make the actual tone any less enjoyable. Plus, the art style is so unique to the show, I’m curious as to where it can go from here.

Mahoutsukai no Yome: Wit Studio

Alright, I’m a fan. This has to be a contender for Anime of the Season, and we aren’t even three episodes into it yet. It’s wonderful, and not only one of my favorites from this season so far, but my favorite thing Wit Studio has ever done, (and yes, that just brought me a ton of hate from SnK fans haha). I can see and agree with the hype this series has had. Honestly, check it out. It’s good and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Blend S: A-1 Pictures

I found my Moe-Blob for the season, and I’m so happy. I actually really like this series so far. It was adorable, and literally just what I want in my seasonal moe-blob. It’s nothing too driven plot wise, and definitely won’t be anime of the season or anything like that; it’s literally just Cute Girls waitressing in this cute cafe. Regardless, I’m definitely going to continue to watch it for a bit longer at least.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou: Studio White Fox

Keep your eye on this one this season. It’s probably going to be the Dark Horse of this season. In all honestly, I became instantly hooked watching the first episode. The tone at the start was so eerie and grim that I found myself getting literal goosebumps. Maybe it’s the high I’m on after the Made in Abyss ending, or just wanting to find something to fill the void that series has left me with, but I’m getting serious MiA vibes. I’m hoping this series is even half as good as MiA was. Also, I’m a major fan already of how unique the art is for this show.

Ousama Game The Animation: Studio Seven

I’m biased. Period. I will be watching this show no matter how terrible it could ever get solely because my favorite Seiyuu is the lead. Mamoru is a God, and I will watch it religiously every week. That being said, I can tell you that this show is edgy as fuck, and with it being one of two survival game anime out right now this season, this one is definitely the weaker, edgier of the two. It is a pretty cool concept though, and I’m already a fan of the survival game concept, that I don’t mind watching this one until the end. I would also like to warn that this one is definitely gory so if you don’t like that than this isn’t for you.

Konohana Kitan: Studio Lerche

CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS. I REPEAT, CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS. Having read the summary for the series prior,and seeing both the Seinen and Shoujo Ai tag on it and that it would be done by Lerche, it became an instant check out at least, and I’m glad I did. This series is the calming pallet cleanser. It’s the show where you can turn off your mind and just watch the cuteness. Plus, did I mention cute little fox girls? What more do you need?

Black Clover: Studio Pierrot

Alright, I’m split in two for this. Part of me wants me to look at this show for what it is: a stereotypical shounen series, with decent animation, predictable plot and bad voice acting, if you saw the first episode you’d know what I’m talking about. This show screams Naruto, Fairy Tail and Bleach rip off; and hell, since I hate Naruto, never got into Bleach, and am still VERY pissed at Fairy Tail, combining the three into one really just makes me both cringe and glare at the screen. Evil Glare. A glare that if I could, would totally shoot lasers out and everything. I mean hell, it’s even done by the same studio as Naruto. Regardless, the tons and tons of shounen I’ve seen makes me just feel like this is repeating it all. That’s one part of me. The other part of me enjoys this show, solely for the fact that my husband LOVES the Black Clover manga, so watching it with him makes me at least want to give it a chance. I do however doubt it will be as big as people hype it up to be, and if it does get big it will be nowhere near as good quality wise as a lot of other shounens, and will take a lot for me to become a fan.

Juuni Taisen: Graphinica

Without a doubt, my favorite from this season. I’m hooked. This series has it all: unique character designs, well executed art, and a killer story line, (pun intended). Mmmmm this story is wonderful. It hooks you from the start, which is to be expected since the original source is written by the same original writer for the Monogatari Series. There’s plot twists and betrayals and just epicness. It also has one of the best openings and closings of the season. Side Note: THE PSYCHOTIC LITTLE USAGI BOY IS BEST BOY AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE, AND IF HE DOESN’T WIN I WILL RIOT.

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou: Studio Gokumi

When I first saw that Yuki Yuno was getting another season, I was fucking thrilled. Yuki Yuno was a magical girl series that I fell in love with not only because of the Madoka Magica vibes it had, but because of the beautiful art and animation and vibrant colors it used. It’s visually stunning. So, how is the prequel turning out? Still just as stunning. In all honestly, I’m going to love this series provided it stays true to the themes and tones of the first season, and if the opening episodes are anything to say about the rest of the series, then I know it will. Plus, who isn’t up for Magical Girls this season?

Osomatsu-san 2nd Season: Studio Pierrot

I actually genuinely missed this show. My gods this show is a gift. This has to be one of the underapprieciated comedy gems to come out in the recent years, and it fills me with joy knowing that it still shines just like the first season did. I enjoy watching the episodic skits of everyone’s favorite sextuplets. Seriously, why have you not started this show?

Shokugeki no Soma: J.C.Staff

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO SEE MY SON KUGA ANIMATED?!!??! TOO LONG. This is hands down the best season of Food Wars yet, and we are barely a couple episodes into it. I love the pacing of this season, and having being a manga reader, I can confirm for you that it’s completely accurate with the manga thus far. J.C Staff is clearly showing that they still care about Food Wars and aren’t rushing with the season. Also, thank the gods for the 24 episode season. THAT’S MORE EPISODES OF MY PRECIOUS KUGA.

3-Gatsu no Lion 2nd Season: Studio Shaft

I cried. I fucking cried. Hard. My god I missed this series. Everything about the first episode was fantastic. The music and animation were spot on, but of course nothing out of the ordinary for the phenomenal Studio Shaft, but what did I love most you ask? Character Development. MY FUCKING GOD. Compare Rei to the start of Season one, and you’d never think it’s the same person. I can’t stress that enough. If this first episode is a sign on how amazing the rest of this season is going to be then I’m beyond fucking happy. This is the series I’ve been waiting for since the start of the year.

Gintama. Porori-hen: Bandai Namco Pictures

Has there ever been like a bad season of Gintama? Like Ever? All this season has proved to me is: one, life is boring and dull without Gintama. Two, Gintama is the king of comedy series. Three, Gintama is without a doubt one of the greatest series of all time. This season is hilarious and easily makes me burst out laughing from start to finish. Thank you Gintama, I’ve truly missed you.

Ballroom e Youkoso: Production I.G.

How is the second half of the season you ask? *Insert Pouting Face Here* Fuck you, Chi-chan. Worst Girl 2017. THERE I SAID IT. YEAH, I SAID IT. WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT? #BRINGBACKBESTGIRL2017 Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Tartara has a partner now, but like seriously why her? -.- Why couldn’t Mako just be his partner forever and they could live happily ever after?

So, yeah, those are my thoughts so far on the Fall Anime 2017 season. Let me know yours, and if there is anything I’m not watching, and should be, then please tell me! I love recommendations, and I already know of a few that I need to pick up. . . .

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