#I love Japan inclusive merch it’s so-

[simpingforcys]

THEY FOUND MY PACKAGE FROM JAPAN

THEYRE SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO MUCH BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT

AAAAA I LOVE THEM

m,,, my husband ❤️👑

[thebroccolination]

"Ossan's Love" Becomes Japan's Number One Friday Night Drama of All Time

名シーンの連続に、第1～3話とTVerで配信中のスピンオフの見逃し配信総再生数が700万回を突破（※ビデオリサーチにて算出 期間1月6日～24日）���るなど、金曜ナイトドラマ枠歴代1位の快進撃となった。 oricon.co.jp

"This series of famous scenes has become the number one Friday night drama of all time, with the total view count of the first three episodes as well as the spin-off episode (available on TVer) surpassing 7 million (calculated by Video Research Ltd. from January 6 to 24)."

The Ossan's Love franchise began in 2016 with a TV movie that earned a small but loyal following that enabled the 2018 series that saw the casting of Hayashi Kento and the introduction of Maki's character. It's his inclusion, the chemistry between him and Tanaka Kei, and the extra work they did on developing nuance in their characters that I think led to the massive popularity of the 2018 drama.

It was only seven episodes, and no one expected it to be popular, but the final episode trended globally at number one on Twitter, which is bananas.

Summer of 2019 saw a movie that continued on from the end of the 2018 version. This was massive. Red carpet event for the premiere, nationwide theaters, merch, and the biggest screen in Roppongi Hills (the one with the fancy armchairs).

Ossan's Love was a massive success.

There was also the plane show in winter of 2019 (without Hayashi). It sure did happen.

The fanbase of the 2018 version (called S1 by the Japanese fandom) is huge and enthusiastic, so it's no surprise to see the success of S2, but to claim the number one Friday night drama of all time!!! For a queer drama!!!

A queer drama just became the number one Friday night drama of all time in Japan, a country that has yet to legalize marriage equality.

Incredible.

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

I got the new Sonic and Shadow coloring book, and my goodness, there's a LOT of new art in there that looks fantastic!

Take a look at 9 of them I decided to share below!

Cute Tails and his goggles!

Fantastic new art of the main girls! Absolutely love Amy and Cream's interaction there, there's a smile on Blaze, which is rare, and Rouge looks as great as ever!

Big! There's a lot of cute Big pictures in this book, actually. Good to see one of my boys get some rep.

Cream and Cheese looking so cute, it's nice to see some art of them that isn't those same two pictures from the Advanced era key art that keeps being used.

Super Hedgehogs! I do believe this is the first time I've seen Super Silver get any inclusion in the coloring books, and I'm actually quite sure this is Shadow's first time getting his Super form in a coloring book as well.

Super Sonic AND Burning Blaze! Have we ever actually seen merch with her Super form outside of maybe an action figure or a comic appearance??

The Character Chao! I never expected to see Tails Chao, Amy Chao or Knuckles Chao get some merch rep these days! How many people ever even encountered these little guys? I still have my Tails Chao that I had hacked into my GameCube SA2 garden via my friend's Action Replay thing, those things were like, I think, Japan exclusive legitimately.

This is so cute and pure, I love it.

Beach day!

[blazescompendium]

Shin Megami Tensei is 31 years old today.

image provided by Vesk Scans. Please follow her archiving work!

Yeah, Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom is now 31 years old. It is surprising for me how a game that came out full 6 years before i even give my first breath on this Earth, would be so important for me and my life. But here we are.

Even after playing the entirety of the mainline franchise, and a lot of spin offs, this game still holds its position very well in my heart because it is such a unique game. First, i always loved mythology and religion, so much so that i pursued it as a career. It started when i was little, with the influence of my father who was a scholar (albeit amateur) of those fields. Religion always played a major role in my life, both for the good and the bad, and although i don't actually align with any religion at the moment, i was studying the bible in a religious school since a very early age.

So, when i found out about Shin Megami Tensei, it clicked really, really well with me. I know that it is just a game, and even if it tries a lot to be faithful, as a researcher and scholar of Mythology and Religion we got to say it not always gets it right. But it tries! And when it tries, it can achieve very good results, and that's why i love it so much.

And that was when i was a teen/young adult. Now i grew up a lot, and even started my career in those fields, and still regard this game very high.

The characters are great for me, because i love how this game can be incredibly inclusive. Your main character is not a destined hero, or magical being. It is just an average guy, going to the groceries when the world start to end. He lives with his mom, have its problematic friends, and lives an average life. He always acts like any other person would act, and even his looks are just average.

Now, the thing is that this game did not aged well, but its absolutely playable and very fun to play. The old SMT titles have this ''survival horror'' energy, where you have to take care of resources while advancing in the game. ''Should you use your complete party in this dungeon, since its dangerous, but risk to deplete your MAG stock?'' Stuff like that got me.

And this brings me to how much i hate Atlus as a capitalist company. They made this effort to show us they care about the anniversary of the franchise that kick-started their business, but did not do anything about it. Just shoved merch to the US audience, that is not available anywhere else. Us, from outside, just did not got anything from this ''anniversary''. And i thought the Persona 25th was bad enough lol. But i guess merch hoarders are happy?

And that was a big fucking lie

I honestly don't want anything out of the ordinary. If they could at least port the SNES titles to the Switch Online at the west, because its already available in Japan, i beleive we would be very grateful already. Playing and presenting this games for a new generation is a pain. And i believe Shin Megami Tensei deserves it as a series, not only for its uniqueness but also for everything this IP did to Atlus.

But hey, i guess we are getting something, right? We have a whole new Persona 5 spin off coming next week! I am so hyped to see the same characters, exactly as they were 7 years ago, in another story about teen rebellion or whatever.

Im sorry, SMT. We failed with you. But your legacy will never be gone. I beleive SMT message keeps relevant to this day, and even more so as the time passes by. The world is a very different place then it was in 199X, but still a very divided and extremist place. SMT was the only game of its time to tackle this issues.

Happy anniversary to Shin Megami Tense, as a great game as one of my favorite games of all time. I wish more people could play it at least once!

And yeah, to celebrate i think i will be beating SMT 2 tonight, after lectures!

[othernaut]

Old radio thoughts.

My travels today brought me to a small-town American radio broadcast from the mid-70s whose subject was the unexpected intersection between a save-the-forest sit-in and a local festival. The radio had noted the sit-in as a curiosity and gave airtime to the organizers, who asked for help, of course - but not big help, vast commitment, so much as whatever could be spared. A guy had shackled himself to a tree in order to save a forest; he could use food and money and national media attention, of course, but he could also use company, someone to hang out and play a guitar, something as simple as someone to sit with.

Due to the fact that the festival was bringing in out-of-towners, people heard this broadcast on their car radio and decided to stop by. It was something to do after wandering the stalls and listening to the buskers. They showed up with half a thermos of coffee, banjos, stale car donuts, and kids. Suddenly the action of one dude chaining himself to a tree became an irreducible nest of hippies and hangers-on. People hung out and drank warm car beers and swapped the kind of bullshit, jokes, and stories that you do at any social gathering.

And it worked. This one action became A Thing. People spent quarters on payphones to call home and tell their jobs and loved ones that they wouldn't be home for another day because they were hanging out with a guy who was trying to save a forest. It was a night camping out in the woods with partners and friends. It was looking at a haul of country jams and pickles, merch and spare blankets and glove compartment batteries and going, "Eh, we can stay another night. It's something to do."

I'm amazed this made it to 2024. I'm amazed at the context is has in 2024.

I remember making jokey-jokes in 2019 about Japan's environment minister saying that fighting climate change needed to be sexy and fun, me and the rest of the internet, but there's a notion there that's gone unremarked in the massive screaming totality of rage against the world's problems. Because I know that I, at least, look at the hideousness made manifest in the world and, if there's too much of it, I avert my eyes. I do so more when money's tight or my brain is sad, when I feel like I have nothing to give or nothing to say, that nothing I do will change anything. Sometimes I feel powerless even to comment, certain that nothing I say will be helpful or original, certain that someone else will speak from a truer place, say it better. And I know well what cause that serves, and despair further in turn.

But I always got a party in me. I'm always up to go sit on the grass somewhere with a sketchbook, or a kite, or a set of face paints. I've got enough to make a thermos full of coffee and some pep rolls, maybe enough to pass around. I could make a day of it.

I can't speak for everyone, but I feel like, for me, the grand, exhausting action of fighting for change would be easier and more effective if it wasn't something I had to do, but something I get to do. If it was an opportunity rather than an obligation - because fucks alive, I'm already full up on obligation. I've always contended that the greatest and most overlooked motivator is joy, but its inclusion in something as simple and necessary as exercise is often a hard enough sell, let alone the tragic necessity of activism. It often feels like a ludicrous juxtaposition, the consequences of inaction versus the circus of imagined celebration. So few of us have seen what it looks like when it works.

And when I think about what the fundamental difference between the 70s and the 20s are, I think about what I'm doing right now. A lot of those people who hung out around the tree guy had mild inclinations towards conservation - forests are nice, and sure, old forests are something worth preserving - but no catalyst before they heard about a dude fettered to a tree on the radio. Now, all there is is catalyst. If I get angry or sad about something, I post it online, usually to little reach and no effect, and I don't even get to have any fun. My anger is expressed; I learn that this results in unwanted online arguments and, bit by bit, the mass submission of the world is increased.

But I'd roll the Earth over on its axis if it came with a BBQ and a nice day in the sun.

[lydskisses]

Volfes 2020 Online Shop Preorder

❌ CLOSED

I’ll be getting things off the online shop so if anyone is keen, feel free to add onto my order.

You can check the list of Merch below:

https://www.the-chara.com/blog/?p=10612

'

Please dm me for the prices.

🌟 All items will be given in SGD, inclusive of shipping from japan to me. Mailing to you will be additional.

🌟 If you see the term ブラインド beside the item name, it means it is random. I will be sending those to you sealed, unopened.

🌟 Estimated Time of Arrival: Late Dec 2020 - Mid Jan 2021

🌟 Payment Deadline: 28 Sep 2020 (Or Earlier)

'

Tags: slbp samurai love ballad party koiran love365 love 365 voltage inc otome Merch be my princess bmp ayakashi romance reborn

[adaru32]

October 2020 Devil May Cry News Updates

Someone mentioned in September’s news updates about how they don’t like visiting Deviantart due to what’s happened to it. So here’s the full list and links I’ll be sharing here that I’ve shared in the Deviantart journal so you don’t have to visit there.

Hey, how's it going? Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Here are this month's Devil May Cry related updates: 1. Asmus Toys has announced a devil Dante Qbitz figure up for preorder. 2. More promo images of Lady for the Pinnacle of Combat mobile game. 3. Rumours of a Devil May Cry 6 in the works are already surfacing. 4. Devil May Cry V getting a SSS pack, which contains a soundtrack, tshirt, and poster. b) Speaking of which, they haven't forgotten about releasing an official Vergil coat. c) Famitsu Interview regarding what may or may not happen in Special Edition. d) Other inclusions and exclusions of Special Edition regarding features, the official Vergil DLC release date, etc. 5. CapCom at one point released stamps to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the 1st Devil May Cry game. Someone got their hands on them. 6. 90 Day Fiance, featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series. 7. Interview of Kyo (aka RedgraveKyo) talking to the voice of Trish from DMC4, Danielle Burgio. 8. Some drama regarding how "casuals" and "elitists" react to different opinions of Devil May Cry 4 and V.

My Thoughts On These Updates:

1. That Qbitz figure's adorable. A friend of mine in my one Facebook group mentioned about how Asmus Toys announces all of these Qbitz figures, but no mention about a release date, which is frustrating. 2. As I mentioned in the previous roundup of updates, Yunchang Games really loves showing off more promo work than their actual work. They are nice images, but they could at least give small tidbits of updates about what's happening with this game. Last I heard, it is supposed to be fully released some time this year. Well, we still have another couple months before the year ends. The other thing I heard for why it's getting delayed again is because of the pandemic, and they're actually listening to feedback from their beta testers so they're fixing whatever they can to please the fans. 3. I'm not surprised that rumours about a Devil May Cry 6 is already in the works. Especially when this rumour is coming from DuskGolemn (aka AestheticGamer1). Sure that person has some history with CapCom, but it doesn't mean whatever comes out of this person's statuses are always 100% true. It's plausible since Devil May Cry V did so well with their sales and such, but I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic about this info given. 4. I feel like for CapCom's SSS pack, they should include a Vergil figure from Prime1Studio or Kotobukiya. Sure a soundtrack, tshirt, and poster are nice, but I feel like there should be more. b) Nice that they haven't forgotten about Vergil's official coat being available for purchase. Sucks that these official coats/jackets are so damn expensive. They're way more than a used or new car for crying out-loud. c & d) Sucks that we PS4, PC, and XboxONE players have to wait longer for the Vergil DLC, but better to be late than never. It's also too bad about Xbox Series S players, but I guess some technology does have their limits. I'm very curious as to what Special Edition has in store. I like how CapCom's not giving away too much info to make up for the mistakes they've made of releasing major spoilers in their trailers for the original game and DMC4. 5. I think I've heard about those stamps before. It's cool that CapCom does things like that. Japan gets really awesome gaming merch stuff...Even their advertisements are more entertaining than us westerners'. 6. Funny how a little tidbit of someone cosplaying as Dante pops up in a TV show. Wonder what was happening down there in San Diego with that guy? 7. I haven't checked out the interview, but it's cool how specific fans can interact with these voice actors to get some more details and such. If any of you watched it, and anything sticks out that seems interesting, don't be afraid to share your thoughts. 8. (Warning: Very long rant, brutal honesty, and swearing ahead)...It really sucks what's happening with the Devil May Cry fandom as of late...More people have been leaving the fandom because someone was trying to be "funny". I'm aware that these kinds of things also happen with other fandoms like Undertale, Bayonetta, etc. for these kinds of drama to occur. I'm just sick of people shitting on one another... Yes, there is good that happens in this fandom as well like fundraisers for good causes, fans supporting other fans, even chill folk that don't like to start drama (Like that wholesome status post I shared in the list of updates for example). My problem is how people are either living under a rock, or are being in denial with the problems that surface with this fandom. Let alone being hypocritical where they share an opinion regarding another opinion that they disagree with in a rude manner, then turn around and  share something more positively eye-opening that's not so rude so they cover their tracks with their mistakes they've made before (Not sure if I worded this properly. Hope you get what I mean. One example is how one of the "elitists" mentioned about how "casual fans" are the most toxic people he's come across. Meanwhile he's complaining and whining in a toxic manner about PC players not getting Special Edition, then he turns around and shares that wholesome post about DMC4 players vs fans to make himself look good). I just want everybody to keep the peace with one another instead of being entitled, egotistical, self-centered, spoiled-rotten, hypocritical, idiots. The other issue this fandom is facing is content thieves. They've been on the rise for quite some time now, and people aren't doing a damn thing. I've been fighting with a few Facebook groups regarding this kind of act, but all they want is clout...Which is ridiculous if you ask me...I ask that if any of you see fan artists', screen captors', meme and mod creators', and cosplayers' content being posted where they state on their images or profiles that they don't want their content shared, or need permission to ask about their content being shared, message these artists or report the images. Even say something to these content thieves. As an artist who's had my stuff stolen before, I don't condone content theft... For those of you who know me in my Original Devil May Cry Sanctuary group on Facebook, and The Red Devil's Chronicles page on there as well, I always credit the content creators for their work, but I am also cautious on who wants their stuff posted or not. And as of late, I've pretty much stopped sharing others' fan art to respect these artists' wishes of not wanting their content shared without permission. If any of you want your stuff shared on the Facebook page, don't be afraid to let me know on here or there, I will give credit. I've been debating about whether to completely delete the fan art album on there and start anew. What do you guys think? As I've said, not all things are bad in the Devil May Cry fandom. We do have the good side of it, too. I'm hoping it gets better regarding that good side of it. It really sucks having to see stuff like this happen. But we good fans can change things for the better if we do something. This may come off as nerdy or cheesy, but as Alucard from Castlevania states in Symphony of The Night, "The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".

[manchestereyes]

hello, do you think it’s fair for us to share phils extra content for free? like if people just share it then surely no one, even ppl who can afford it won’t bother because it’s available for free anyway? And Phil will lose money?I’m not agreeing either way, this is deffo NOT hate at all- I would just like to hear your opinion 😊

hey there friend! idk how early you sent this since i just got back from work but regardless, i’m actually one of the admins over at @amazingphilperks where my friend alexis and i are planning on sharing that content! so yeah i think it’s absolutely fair since the nature of fandoms is to be inclusive and as our wise old man dan once said “if it’s on the internet, there’s a way to get it.” not to mention, dan hates exclusive things so tbh? he’d probably love to see people spreading the wealth! 

and i don’t think it affects phil in any way, personally. sure, youtube may be fucking over its creators and it’s expensive as hell to live in london but they’re vv rich boys who have a lot more on their plates to worry about. to me, it’s the same as a musical artist doing japan or target or uk or australia exclusive tracks--artists know those are gonna go online anyway but do they say anything about that? nah, they’re too busy planning their tour/doing album promo/what have you. streaming services may pay jack shit but every single artist ever is still telling you to stream their album anyway because maybe someone will enjoy it and recommend them to their friends and buy a ticket to a show! hell, taylor swift made entire magazines of “exclusive” content for her latest album and that shit was online instantly. and i imagine she was happy that her fans were more than willing to share the wealth too since in the end, it’s all publicity. 

(also re: merch codes spreading around--phil can only stand to gain from that since more people getting the code = likely more people buying merch since everyone wants to save some money. simple supply and demand really! :D)

[farinzdickinson-grad701]

Pin-Up/Discussion Board Presentation Feedback

*The following is an image of our boards pinned up and ready to be presented to the class:

Following our presentation, we were first provided with feedback from a guest speaker; Graphic Designer, Bryce Groves:

He appreciated the theme being explored, stating that, with his experience living in the UK, often he forgets how lucky they are to have such successful public transport systems in place. New Zealand definitely needs improvement.

He stated that we might want to look more into Auckland’s car culture and the “my car is my castle” stigma. What is the mindset behind individuals attraction and pride towards using their own personal vehicles? independence? control?

Ultimately, he presented we continue considering how we can make people feel the same pride in using public transport.

Following on from all of the presentations, we were provided with anonymous feedback from our peers, written onto sticky notes and placed into small envelopes below our pin ups. This is as follows:

Our view for this task was to loosely talk to our pin ups, providing a brief overview for our project, inclusive of our research question, context, influences, and design approaches. From here, we believed individuals could more closely view our boards for themselves if desired. We hadn’t prepared to present our supporting research and potential with immense depth, being under the impression that this was what the formative assessment would allow us to do.

Consequently, when reflecting upon the above feedback, we realised that for the majority of the comments being made, we had the answers. However, due to our brief overview and the additional time restraints placed on us, we didn’t get to discuss all of these terrains for our project. We will delve into these areas more clearly within the formative presentation in the coming weeks.

We did, however, discuss and reflect upon all of the feedback thoroughly. We also communicated and reflected on the experience clearly with one of our group members; Katie, who was unfortunately absent on the day due to illness. This allowed her to still partake in reflection and ultimately consideration for the comments, which were made by our peers etc.

I have presented and responded to the specific pieces of feedback below:

“Very insightful & interesting. I wonder if there is something that can be more interactive/playful”

-> I appreciated this feedback. Perhaps there could be the potential for greater interaction, however, there is still a lot of engagement, which will be developed through the development of Georgia’s animation.

“Be very aware of the topographical layout of the Auckland region, it’s very hilly so you could play with topography in your design. Don’t forget about the functionality that has to come with the research!”

-> I also really appreciated the feedback/possibilities raised here. Topography could certainly be considered and play a role in our design approach for this project. We also realise the need for some functionality research to exist within the development of this project, however, something which we perhaps didn’t make clear enough, as a result of the above, is that we are focusing purposefully more so on engagement and not reliability for transport. We are focusing more on the design for a new system and not the system itself, which was discussed to be an appropriate approach by our lecturer.

“Why the modernist design aesthetic? Is it to appeal more to senior citizens? What is the distribution of tasks in the group? Some of these collateral are way more difficult than others?”

-> The modernist design aesthetic is based upon the success this movement has had in creating time-less designs and, more specifically, brands throughout history. It develops success through minimalism, clarity, and reduction. This is all content that we would love to have delved deeper into within our research when presenting. Additionally, when presenting, we simply listed the collateral outcomes without identifying which member they each sat under. Some members have taken on more than one design intervention where we felt there may have been an uneven ratio of difficulty. We believe that they have been sufficiently considered and, resultantly, evenly distributed.

“Think of maybe electro-train. More options doesn’t necessarily mean people will use it.”

-> We are definitely still considering the concept of an electric train with a greater focus on sustainability for sure! With regard to the second component of this feedback, we have identified a gap in the transport sector, supported by research. This considers both the success seen overseas as well as the current transport systems in Auckland. Consequently, we believe that our solution is sufficiently supported and that people will engage with it. Once again, there was possibly a lack of emphasis placed on the identified potential for the rail when presenting our boards.

“It seems a bit outside the scope mostly because the railway doesn’t exist yet? Hard to collect data + make it feasible + real?”

-> Once again, we will still be conducting/referring to investigation into the functionality of this system. It may not exist yet but due to the presence of similar systems overseas like the bullet train in Japan, as well as Teslas planning and development for a hyperloop already in motion, there is still certainly data and research available to us. However, we are focusing, again, more so on design for engagement and less so on the system itself.

“If you are branding for a new rail transport system for Auckland - rather than merch for customers - shouldn’t you make uniforms for staff?”

-> We did consider this when brainstorming the possible design interventions, however with the roles/outcomes now having been slit across our group, this really sits under Katie with regard to merchandising.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

On ICE is one of the best YOI fics I've read so far and it isn't even long. But it feels so realistic in how it mimics the fandom responses to everything from the episodes to the merch and characters and I love it! The SNS in the fic feels so real for IG and Twitter. And you have a cast of fictional characters that are also realistic(meaning the American skater is Black, and the Canadian one is Indian and there's a Filipina skater). The references to the rl skaters is great too! (1/2)

We got Claudine Bonaly(Surya's character who shares her very first ever name). MAPPI(the replacement for MAPPA). Asahi(but they're game developers). You used names from an rl Russian Synch Skating Team. You actually know something about video games which makes it even more believable. Your understanding of forums is real good. Finally I love the fact that you've given the background characters a part even if it doesn't seem big. So thank for it! (2/2)

^-^

I wanted it to feel relatable. I basically use whatever knowledge I have/have looked up, plus my own experiences in fandoms.

I am the person who posts cheat code/extra questions in forums. I’m one of those people who join in on conversations about my favorite fandoms and spoil shit when asked.

I do like figure skating and I like to put little references to skaters I admire. Surya is one of the coolest effin skaters ever and Kim Yuna is my favorite all around.

I play video games of different genres and I usually go in blind and learn as I go unless I’m stuck and then I cave and search for cheats. I prefer to play adventure/fantasy, or anything where there is fighting and I can kill people. 

As for the characters of the game itself, I felt that an inclusive cast was best. Just because Japan, Canada, the United States, and Russia tend to win a lot, doesn’t mean that other countries don’t participate in ISU competitions. I went through list after list of the participants in the past 4 World/JW Championships, to get a feel for the countries involved. I then looked up names that worked. I also wanted it so that any of the 24 characters could win if the right choices are made.

I got a laugh out of using MAPPA, Asahi, and Kubo Mitsuru. They also saved me from having to make up names.

Glad you like it! ^-^