#i love character design i love pokemon i love miku. and then you put ALL THREE TOGETHER....

[starrysharks]

zeno's ultimate pokemiku tierlist ⁉️(it's all his opinion and he loves them all regardless⁉️)

[wilted3sunflowers]

This is my Miku pokemon trainer tier list

For this tier list its both my favorites and what i consider a very good miku design

Of course all of them are good miku designs but some shine above the rest

S tier- my absolute favorites Bug miku is so classy, so well thought out, and i think the brown looks amazing with her teal. Shes everything A close tie with bug miku is Ice miku her hair is everything to me im in complete love with this sharp miku. Water Miku is basic but that's all she needs in lovely simplicity, truly feeling like Miku in this world as a water trainer especially with her tan lines from her original outfit it feels like this is her off time from being an idol! Steel Miku had my heart as soon as I saw her with Jirachi. Which was my favorite pokemon when I was a child [it was prior before i even had any pokemon games of my own and only watched the movies] The colors, the motif of star, the hat and the hair its all wonderful to me!

A tier- Amazingly done concepts and totally miku! Rock Miku's dress and veil is lovely, i love they incorporated the veil as mock pigtails. If this was the verison of her without the dress then she would have been in S tier. I love the jester look but thats my own personal preference. She also reminds me of diance with the dress.

Flying Miku is gorgeous, the wispy hair, the translucent areas to mimic clouds and mist. It's an amazing concept and wonderfully executed design! Fairy miku i know is everyones favorite and it's obvious to see why, shes adorable and cute and I too would love to draw her. She has that appeal to her down to a T. Fighting Miku is something i've been waiting for this whole time. Of course no way they could do a pokemon collab with miku and not include farfetch'd! It's a sleek and simple design that takes traits of the original miku's outfit and tweaks them. Though she does kind of remind me of maka from soul eater just a small bit.

B tier- Great concepts! Electric Miku's lightening pigtails are so cute she looks like a little adventure/farmer of currents. She stands on her own as a design and as a tie to miku. Poison type Miku i would have done the same doing mucky/slime twintails though i probably wouldn't have thought to use the new alolan muk which is a very good look and helps add in the colors. It's a great design and while i wouldve put her in A tier some of her design elements hold me off. This is a top tier character design though trust me Dark Miku, i love she came with obstagoon. Though at first i couldnt even tell if miku had pigtails in the artwork. This reminds me just of a nice miku for a cover of an existing song which is not bad it's just how it feels. Normal type miku has good colors, shes paired with an active singing pokemon and while it's simple I think it conveys miku well enough. Though she keeps reminding me of the oversaturated stereotype of early 90s fashion. now on Ghost miku, shes higher than i'd actually put her but for her concept and simplicity of staying to miku but as a glitched out ghost version of her i do have to give props to that even if i find it more on the plain side. I think they succeeded in what was necessary even though this portrays miku AS the ghost instead of just a ghost trainer. ....honestly now that i type my words i feel like i was right and shouldve stuck with her in C tier.

C tier- too basic for my tastes yet still well done Grass miku is cute and all but if you told me she was unrelated to miku, i could believe you. Just that it'd be a fandom joke to call her 'green miku'

Fire miku, reminds me all too much of the anniversary miku song and im sure thats where they got part of the insipration from it but it doesnt really do much for me combined with the fire aspect and how her hair is shaped. I know its to mimic the pokemon shes with its just personal taste on that one. The silhoutte is good.

Ground type miku i had to keep looking up because i forget what shes supposed to be numerous times. Same case with grass miku, i could see someone telling me shes from x thing and unrelated to miku. I'm just not a fan of the design and colors but it's well done. I know when something is just my subjective taste rather than poorly done.

Dragon miku while i'm not the biggest fan of all the cowlicks going down the twintails i know it's purpose is there to mimic the spiked tail of a traditional dragon and i wouldn't want them removed. I think i especially just don't like the tacked on half shawl cape it feels disjointed. Yet i find its a nice concept they did both an almost knight look for her as dragon as always with the concept of knights and dragons battling. Now the knight trainer is battling with the dragon as comrades.

Psychic type miku- i think they started with the least interesting and noteworthy one honestly. It just looks, kind of uninspired but thats rude to say. I know shes here to fufill the concept of miku as a trainer in pokemon and well it just looks like she's her own trainer class that'd have multiple running around looking the same instead of a stand out like a rival or a gym leader in game.

[gen4grl]

top 5 character designs from pkmn!! thematically or aesthetically up to you 💢💢💢

OOOO lemme put my thinking cap on… can’t order these but here are my favourite 5! longer post bc i included pictures!!! sorry 😭

probably my favourite in the franchise … alola red!!!

a pretty simple design and nothing too crazy but simplicity done right is something i actually really struggle with in my own art so i love seeing how other artists approach it. its so cool being able to see the most famous character in the franchise grow from a little 11 year old to now being a grown adult 🥺 this is literally my point of reference when drawing or imagining red … he’s so handsome god damn!!!

lance - i think every design from rby/gsc to lgpe are super solid but ofc his iconic hgss fit is my fave … i think sometimes the superhero look can come off corny but all of his designs are so solid. i also adore how raihan and the hammerlocke uniform incorporated the design!!! you can easily tell his design was the blueprint for all upcoming dragon trainers too… an icon. this piece from the spe artbook is easily my fave ahhhh

adaman!!! no big essay reason just think it’s such a cool design, i love the colours and the incorporation of diamond shapes within the outfit with the bandages! i also love him with his longer hair out as a kid (i would die to see adult him rocking this … wahhh) idk i just wanna marry this man if i’m being honest with you LOL. take is one of my favourite character designers working at gf he literally nails every single design he’s done!!!

ghetsis! particularly his bw design and how colourful it is. his bw2 outfit gives off more evil scientist imo (which i geuss works for what he’s doing in that game lol) but his original bw design definitely gives more cult leader - which perfectly fits him and team plasma imo! i particularly like how the right side of his body is concealed, most obviously his arm and eye - bulbapedia summarises a lot more examples! i don’t think the reasoning for this has ever been explained but i’d love to know if there’s any actual lore behind it or if it’s purely a design choice!

elesa in bw2 specifically! i will forgive this women for being consistently one of the hardest gym leaders in the series because she ate this outfit UP. another one with no particular reason i just really love the headphones and especially the jacket … it looks so comfy!!! … i never vibed with her design in bw so this is such an upgrade to me… its very miku-esq imo!

wahhh this one was hard!!! pokemon and their illustrators are so talented it’s harder to pick a design i don’t like??? ahhh thx u for the ask, lots of love ✨🩷

[recentanimenews]

OPINION: My Favorite Anime of 2020 Are All Music Videos

Image via ZUTOMAYO

  Despite the enormous pressures of COVID-19, 2020 has had its share of anime classics. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is a stone-cold classic to the degree it now feels as if it’s always existed. Decadence channeled the creative spirit of 2000s-era Madhouse into an off-kilter riff on dystopian science fiction and Pixar movies. Akudama Drive, now in its second half, continues to translate the bonkers, heartfelt pulp style of Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka to TV anime. There have been big successes in film, as well — Demon Slayer Mugen Train scored the highest opening weekend box office in Japanese history, while folks I follow on Twitter are excited for the new Bones film Josee, the Tiger and the Fish.

  One of my favorite anime projects this year was something completely different. It’s "Gotcha!," a short Pokemon-themed music video directed by Rie Matsumoto and her friends at Bones. A sequence that takes all of Matsumoto’s strengths — her attention to detail, the way she depicts exciting and supernatural things bursting out of the walls of our ordinary world, and her obsession with cramming every layer of the screen with stuff — and turns them with the precision of a laser toward celebrating the series’s near 25-year history. As encyclopedic as a Pokedex despite being only three minutes long, it’s a glorious celebration of a series loved and made by passionate fans. 

  Image via Pokemon Official YouTube Channel

  But "Gotcha!" wasn’t even the only fantastic music video made by former employees from the historic studio Toei. Earlier this year, animator Koudai Watanabe collaborated with the talented Naoki Yoshibe — director of the opening sequences for Gatchaman Crowds — to create a music video for ZUTOMAYO titled “STUDY ME.” It’s a rich purple-and-green media landscape of TV screens, glitches, Undertale references, and desperately reaching hands, packed with enough wild ideas and visual iconography to fuel an entire season of anime. But it wraps up in just under five minutes.  You’re left watching the video over and over again in a daze, trying in vain to catch every little detail.

  The animated music videos being made right now represent the most slept-on creative success in modern anime production among English language fans. (That’s music videos that are animated, not AMVs! You could write an entirely separate article on those.) I need to qualify “slept on,” since hardcore animation nerds like Yuyucow and Catsuka have been stumping for these works over the past several years. There are viral successes like "Gotcha!" and the inevitable crossover that happens when an artist doing the theme song for an anime leads others to check out their back catalog of past videos. But on websites and in magazines, I see stories about Netflix’s aggressive production of new TV series, the renaissance of Japanese anime films after Your Name, and bemused reactions to the shocking popularity of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Talk about the newest music videos online is a lot rarer. Not to mention older videos. "Gotcha!" may have broken out as a celebration of a popular game series, but its predecessor — a Lotte chocolate commercial produced by much of the same staff — is just as good!

  Image via ZUTOMAYO

  "Gotcha!" isn’t 2020’s only spiritual successor to excellent early work, either. In 2013, Yoko Kuno produced the video "Airy Me" as part of a graduate assignment. Set to a song by Cuushe, it’s a hallucinatory epic that’s both starkly horrifying and bittersweet. In the years since, Yoko Kuno’s made a name for herself across several mediums — winning the New Face Award for her manga work at Japan Media Arts Festival, serving as a pinch hitter on Orange’s production of Land of the Lustrous and contributing a memorable sequence to Beastars. She returned this year with filmmaker Tao Tajima to produce another sequence scored to Cuushe’s music, Magic. Riffing on Airy Me's themes of bodily transformation and human ennui, it sets the action against real photographic landscapes. It's another haunting masterwork by one of anime’s most multitalented young artists and has been on repeat for me since it came up on my Twitter feed.  

  Image via FLAU

  Meanwhile, the Japanese vocalist Eve continues to commission new and excellent animated work based on his songs. This May saw the release of "How to Eat Life," a video by indie animator Mariyasu which repurposes Eve’s unique symbology of surly adolescents and freaky puppet monsters into a stylish and spooky carnival of carnivorism. It’s an excellent piece that stands tall among the work collected under Eve’s banner, many of which are stone-cold classics themselves. But "Promise," released at the end of this October, threatens to outdo them all. Directed by Ken Yamamoto and produced at Cloverworks, it plays as another greatest hits compilation of Eve’s works — broken promises, collapsing cityscapes, creatures powered by feeling that shake the earth with their footsteps. There’s a real visceral punch to it that beats out even its excellent predecessors. When the protagonist folds over himself in anguish, you feel it in your gut. When he steps deep into the water and the entire world around him is shredded into pieces, anyone who’s ever been a teenager knows exactly how that feels. When his friend reaches in and pulls him out of that water, that’s real joy rising like bubbles through your veins.

  Image via Eve

  Ken Yamamoto’s a bit more mainstream than Mariyasu — just last year he contributed some face-melting action sequences to Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia. But it says something to me that "Promise" — maybe his best work yet — was released as a music video rather than a new TV series. He’s not alone, either.  This August, the animator China (storyboarder for Encouragement of Climb’s third season) together with character designer Mooang (storyboarder for Sarazanmai) produced the music video "Sore wo Ai to Yobu dake." Like the reverse of Yamamoto’s "Promise," it’s the story not of a pair of teenage boys and their separation that devastates a cityscape — but of a pair of teenage girls who reach across time to recover the bond they shared in their high school days. A potent combination of FLCL-style faded nostalgia, careful attention to body language, and pure patented kids-falling-through-the-sky-while-frantically-reaching-for-each-other anime magic, it’s one of the best-animated sequences of this year. I’ve linked it to friends just to plead “Watch this thing!” And it ends in less than four minutes long.

  Image via Mafumafu

  I can’t help but think: Where is China and Moaang’s movie project? Where is Ken Yamamoto’s TV series? Why is it that Rie Matsumoto has produced two excellent music videos over the past two years that commemorate big franchises, but her rumored film project has yet to lift off? Perhaps the truth is that there isn’t room anymore in the TV anime industry for work like this. Many original projects seem to be tied to cellphone games or stage productions. Projects like Decadence are few and far between, and even those that exist play within a space already laid out by past successes. It’s not all bad, of course — Eizouken this year was a great example of an adaptation working in harmony with its source material. And we’ve seen studios like Orange employ weirder anime creators like Yoko Kuno or the stop-motion team dwarf to great effect in their projects. But perhaps animated music videos represent the future for artists like Matsumoto — a medium that pays well, rewards experimentation, and lets strong artists play around without having to dilute their style. A bite-sized format just outside of the soul-draining churn that defines the industry.

  Maybe this is fine, though. Short-form work is just as worthy of admiration as long-form work. I’d love feature-length projects from Ken Yamamoto or China, and I’d love for the world to see another Rie Matsumoto story told on a grand scale. But I can’t deny that Matsumoto rocks at putting together fantastic music videos and that I might even prefer the concise flow of "Gotcha!" to her TV series output. Either way, in this historically difficult year, I’m grateful to these folks for turning in career-best work and giving me hope for the future.

  Do you have a favorite animated music video? At the risk of getting off track, do you have a favorite anime music video? Do you still watch different fan edits of Hatsune Miku and wowaka's "Rolling Girl" on rotation, like I do? Let me know in the comments!

      Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. When he isn't rewatching his favorite anime OPs over and over, he sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? You can find him on Twitter at: @wendeego

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Adam Wescott

[atomicpowered]

I’ve been going artbook crazy over the last couple of months, this is a 2 part post based on all the artbooks I’ve picked up. I’m going to split the posts up by timing in that I received these books first! 

Yusuke Nakamura’s BLUE is populated by clean lines wonderful composition and restrained chaos. A large body of work is displayed, with most notable being the tatami galaxy character designs and ASIAN KUNGFU GENERATION’s CD jackets. 

The Nichijou settei book is a treasure, I can’t read most of it of course but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the great background behind the show as well as various composition. Nichijou is one of my most favorite kyo ani productions and the deft hand in which it was held is evident with this book! 

Next is pokemons card art collection, this book is populated with tons of different pieces of art that showed up in booster packs over the generations. It’s great to see all the cute designs! It’s great for any pokemon fan as well as anyone who likes omnibuses of art. 

Continuing on is mebae’s miku book, this one is a mixed bag that comes with interviews, how tos, a poster and a cute keychain of the coverart simplified. Great if you love miku but as an art book its a little frenetic. 

Another settei book in tsuritama, I snagged this for 5 bucks on amazon and tsuritama is such a gem I wouldn’t have minded paying more. Big is the work put into the location studies and having the world feel lived in. 

Finally pozuka’s artbook, for a relative newbie on the scene having a published artbook and a hit manga in jump is good for him, the madman. I love his lighting moods and the fact that even his finished work has this messy energy. His favorite colors are this jewel like blue and these earth tones that create beautiful depth. 

Part two of this post will come in a few days when I get the last book in the mail! 

[aprilsoul]

21 question ask meme

tagged by @legolaslesbian​ thanks love u uwu

Rules: answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to know better

1. Nicknames: mary by most ppl who assume i wanna be called mary. marty by one professor. choobert/goobert by my sister. gassy by friends on discord. on here, april or vevo

2. Zodiac: libra sun/moon, gemini rising

3. Height: 5′3 😩 anyone wanna lend a guy a few inches

4. Last movie I saw: hereditary. it was good. 

5. Last thing I googled: “weary emoji” for the height ask lol

6. Favorite musician: hmm i wanna put multiple. so i will. hatsune miku, hozier, lorde, janelle monae, fall out boy still, also fleetwood mac

7. Song stuck in my head: canzoni preferite (torture dance song) from the jojo soundtrack

8. Do I get asks: occasionally? they’re either hate mail or weirdly nice and i suspect the same person is sending them both

9. Dream job: animation/storyboarding ! or character design for a television series.

10. Dream trip: i wanna take a year off college and visit all 50 states with my friends. wanna see some national parks

11. Amount of sleep: 9-11 hours. i oversleep 

12. Lucky number: 2

13. What I’m wearing: PJ’s which is an old marching band tee and boxers

14. Favorite food: steak is good

15. Play instruments: bassoon/clarinet. used to play piano. trying to learn guitar drums and harmonica cause my dad did some impulse purchasing

16. Foreign languages: 3 years of spanish and a semester’s worth of italian, so, nothing. a little bit of asl tho, which also amounts to nothing.

17. Favorite song: cant say i have one but You Make Loving Fun by fleetwood mac holds a spot in my heart

18. Random fact: about me or in general? in general, the materials of a penny are worth 2 cents but the penny itself is only worth one. About me, i like to collect chap sticks and rubber ducks. got 9 ducks and 52 chap sticks

19. Other blogs: oh too many. @acnlvevo​ for animal crossing. @mayminn​ is my art blog. @shayminstudies​ studyblr. @porygon-propaganda​ for pokemon. @epicreigen420​ for mp100. and then 1 vent blog 1 name holder and 1 dead discourse blog

20. Following: 457

21. Describe yourself as aesthetic things: neon lights. city streets at night. dusty rose and pale blue. converse shoes. baseball caps. 

not about to tag 21 people. BUT i will tag @tropiyas​ @gere435​ @ninetyfivepercentstress​ @mochmint​ @brewsters-art-cafe​ @snailsleuth​ and any other followers/mutuals whomst wanna do this

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat 18 June 2017

Welcome Cuties. Sorry if I kept anyone waiting for this- I have to admit I was kinda putting it off for a variety of reasons. But I won’t waste time with that.

Before I begin, I would like to explain a letter that came with this months box. Last August a typhoon hit Hokkaido, which as some of you may know, is where many potatoes are harvest from. Since then there has been an on and off shortage of certain snacks. Since then, a lot of companies have been rushing to mass-purchase various snacks, and some have even stopped production for the time being.

Basically, due to this there was a snack originally intended in the box, the Shimi Choco Corn Soft Cream Flavor, which was replaced with the Shimi Choco Corn Milk Chocolate Flavor.

I really didn’t mind this change at all XD I never tried soft cream, but I have had the milk chocolate flavor before and it is GOOD ♥

Okay, so this months theme is: Rainy Day Snacks ⁝⁞⁝⁞ʕु•̫͡•ʔु⁝⁞⁝⁝

I love this cover~ It reminds me so much of the new Making Drama in Idol Time Pripara ♥ Plus I love rainy weather, so there’s that too...

This month Tokyo Treat was really feeling the rain theme. Not only with the design, but the booklet talked about great sight-seeing spots for hydrangea flowers (which are gorgeous, I love pink ones!), included adorable rain-themed Pikachu for the contest (along with a pikabackpack). For this months Lucky Treat I once again forgot to get pictures, lately this seems to be a problem for me. No idea why, but I apologize. The included items are

Sakura Miku nendoroid

Takara Tomy Jump This!! Miku Game

Gudetama Folding Umbrella

Pokemon Center Original Rainoat Pikachu Plush

Totoro Collectable Catbus Figure

Moegino Assorted Cookies

Ajishino Assorted Cookies

Totoro Pullback collection - Totoro’s handmade catbus

Attack on Titan Master Stars Levi Action Figure

Attack on Titan Colossal Titan Die-Cut Floor Mat

Super Mario Bros wii Warp Mini Sound Figure

Big Brave Gudetama Plush

Original Daruma Pikachu Plush

Totoro Water Bottle

Super Mario Bros Backpack

(Okay, those cookies look AMAZING, and Levi is my favorite character from Attack on Titan~ I also always wanted to get the Sakura Miku nendoroid but never shelled out the money for it. I would have loved this one! Except for the Colossal Titan Die-Cut floor mat. He creeps me the cutie-heck out; but I could have given it to someone who I know would like it ♥)

Here we have the Misc Items, including our special toy/trinket for the month, a One Piece Multi-Color Pen. Right away look how cute everyone is in chibi form ♥ I’m obsessed with one piece. The pen is small and practical with a string you can attach or wear to carry it around. Not only is it handy as a pen- but it makes a cute accessory!

I did test out the pen of course, and sadly as much as I like the design this is where I need to rank it...

You get 4 colors for the pen: Black, Blue, Red, and Green. It’s nice but a little bit boring, since they’re generic dark pen colors (although I do like the red, it’s like a dark pink). Sometimes it seems like the ink/pen doesn’t want to work with certain colors- but it might just have to do with where you use it or what it’s used on, because I tested it again before writing this and it worked much better than when I tested it back when I got the crate.

Honestly, the quality of the pen sorta feels like one of those cheap dollar store quality pens with a sticker of characters slapped on it. But you know what, I actually like it. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for anything OP, or maybe I like multi-color pens a bit too much. It’s not the worst pen I’ve ever used either, but I’m not sure how long it’ll exactly last, so... 3.5 out of 5.

Okay, so you probably noticed I had the DIY kit partially... I’ll be blunt, this is the ONE DIY Kit I NEVER wanted to get. I don’t like Shinchan and I find crude humor like this to be disgusting. I’m sorry if that offends anyone; but that is just how this Cutie rolls. I will still make the Shinchan Puri Puri Pudding, but I don’t think I have it in me to make it the normal way.

(btw, the two next DIY I have are both puddings! I actually don’t like pudding much- but I kinda tolerate it sometimes? At least Asian puddings and sweets I seem fine with.)

The final item in the Misc trio is the Tropicana Sakura Peach Taste. Are you guys sensing a theme yet? Tokyo Treat seems to really like giving us cutesy floral pink drink designs/tastes as of late. Not that I mind ☆～（ゝ。∂）

This 120 calorie drink contains a 100% fruit juice blend of apple, cranberry, peach, and raspberry. I pretty much only tasted a light apple juice (in fact it reminds me of Juicy Juice, a brand I like), but it’s very tasty, But I’m giving it a 4 out of 5, only because it’s a fairly average drink and I honestly didn’t taste Peach at all.

Here we have two random sweets that I didn’t think really fit with anything else.

First up is the Super HimoQ- Grape & Muscat. This is a gummy boasting a length of 126cm and only 98 calories. Will you share it or eat it all yourself?? Which flavor will you save for last??! I did share mine (a small amount to let someone taste it), and I had so much trouble deciding what to save for last. I love muscat AND grape together, and I find them to be equally delicious and refreshing.

If you never tried Japanese grape-flavor things, you are certainly missing out. American grape-anything tastes like medicine, but you get a more realistic taste with Japanese grape. Muscat is essentially green grape.

Now I didn’t eat the entire thing at once, but I found that even a few days later it was still super-soft and tasty. 5 out of 5! 

Besides the Shinchan DIY, we also got these Chocobi Space Parfait, Shinchan’s favorite snack in a much more favorable type (I say that because in the first box I got, we were given these little hard chocolate candies I detested) released to correspond with the new Shinchan movie and some sort of anniversary or something.

These have a total of 136 calories and Space Parfait is essentially a fun way of saying 6-fruit flavor. You do get a surprisingly cute sticker with the box though, and this one I’m okay with.

The snack is very fruity in taste- it reminded me of cereal but it went stale triple times as fast. It was a bit on the sweet side, but not terrible unless you ate a lot of them. Not my most favorite thing, and I kinda hate how you only taste one thing. If you’re going to be made with multiple fruit, please taste like it; or at least include multiple flavors.

I only ate a few, but when I realized the taste was going at a rapid pace I only had one option...

(if you read this blog I’m sure you’ll recognize this bowl. I’ve become obsessed with it ♥)

Here we have 3 out of the 5 Dagashi Snacks in this box (the third item, the tube was not in the Dagashi). First is the Pudding Cola Gummy. Yes, you read that right. PUDDING COLA, it’s like a nightmare, combining my favorite thing with something I’m not devoted to...

but not really ♥ These sweet little squishy gummies look like a pudding and feel like one too (seriously, I probably played with them more than I ate them), but they taste like cola. The yellow portion has a fluffy marshmallow texture, so they are very soft~ For such a small bag, they’re only 98 calories. Definitely a 10 out of 5 sweet I’d eat every day if I could.

Next is an item that filled me with dread after already experiencing the grape flavor in my second box. This is essentially a Roulette Gum. For 38 calories (what I wonder is how the calories count if you don’t eat it...), you can play a “fun“ game with friends and family, or yourself by trying the gum. You get 3 in a tray: Normal, Sweet, and Sour. But the catch is that you can’t tell which is which!

I’ve heard people say usually the middle one is sour, but if I remember correctly, it was the 3rd one for me. I usually like sour candy- but I swear this would make me quit it. Fast. The sour candy isn’t sour at all! It just tastes like someone made it from PURE SALT ● ﹏☉ Last time I kept it in for a few minutes- this time I spat it out as soon as I could tell. It hurts your mouth and sucks all moisture from it; so be warned, if you’re betting in this game you should know the risks and make the bet a small/easy one to avoid public humiliation!

The Sweet one was the first one I got, which was pretty good, it tasted like average sour lemon candy. I got the Normal one third, which was a great relief after the first two. The gum quality itself is really good too, and the flavor lasts a while; but again if you don’t like sour things you might want to avoid it or have water and a tissue nearby... 4 out of 5.

Next is the Mix Fruit Soda Ramune Candies, something I’ve had the normal Ramune Soda variety of before and fell in love with. These are little powder pressed candies, each with it’s own fruity flavor of banana, peach, pineapple, and/or strawberry. They come in pink, blue, and yellow; some of them even have cute little faces on them~! I like candy like this and I love how cute they are, and they taste pretty good too; but I’m not big on banana and I still think I prefer the normal flavored ones to these. 4 out of 5.

The last item are these fun little pressed-powder whistle candies. They look like chubby lifesavers~

Whistle Candy is a fun and simple little two-in-one :D you get a toy, and a candy when it softens and breaks apart. The flavoring is average ramune (which isn’t bad if you enjoy it like I do ♥), and you usually get them in sets. Here we got 3 of them. It’s simple and fairly plain I’ll admit- but I like the "gimmick” behind them. 3.5 out of 5.

Now whose ready for some chocolate (o^^o)♪ If you’re addicted to chocolate, then you’re always ready~

First up is the popular Marble Chocolate, some yummy M&M-like candies that come in several fun colors and include these cute, dog-like characters on the packaging. Each tube comes with a sticker (which isn’t in the picture because I actually didn’t know where it was at the time. I found it after emptying the tube, it’s a cute Transylvania-esque scene with the doggies). Now, I don’t hate M&Ms, but I rarely eat them and now I now why. Compared to these, M&Ms taste artificial! 5 out of 5, if you get a chance to try these out I highly recommend it. You get a get sticker~

Next is the Sakura Kinako KitKat, which taste a lot like the Sakura Mochi Chocolate from Tirol I got a few crates back that I REALLY liked. The taste is hard to describe, it’s like a cross of light cherry and white chocolate. Kinako is a soy powder-like substance with a slight sweet but neutral taste. They pretty much go hand-in-hand ♥ like Peanut Butter & Jelly, Mayonnaise and takoyaki, Vanilla ice cream and french fries...

...don’t knock it until you tried it...

The last item in this picture is the Black Thunder Kaki no Tane. It’s the chocolate rice bar from Black Thunder, filled with Kaki no Tane, a salty pretzel treat with a small kick of spice. With this treat you get all of the major S’s (except for Sour) and to that I say: Sensational~

The texture and taste is fairly average if you tried other things like this. You get the soft crispy chocolate rice with a light bitter taste, mixing with the crunchy (fairly hard) pretzels. I liked it, but it hurt my mouth a little so I’ll probably avoid it. 3.5 out of 5.

These next treats were so big I couldn’t fit them in the chocolate portion! As I mentioned way at the start of the post, we got the Shimi Choco Corn Milk Chocolate Flavor, which is something we got back in December (in a very cute decorative bag ♥). I admit it can be disappointing to get an item you already got; but these things are really good. It’s a soft corn snack completely soaked in milk chocolate and baked. The texture is light and airy, almost comparable to bubble chocolate but perhaps dense? 5 out of 5, no questions.

We also got another type of Pie no Mi - PABLO Cheesecake. This time the Pie no Mi collaborated with the trendy cheesecake shop PABLO to create this delicious flavor. Not only that, but I’m utterly in love with the Pie no Mi box designs. They’re so elegant and cute~

Now I don’t know if I mentioned this before... but cheesecake is my favorite food! I was so excited to see this in the box, cause it’s kinda rare for me to get some really good cheesecake (I usually make it or buy small, singular slice packs in the store). 

The top has a browned crisp while the inside has cheesecake flavored chocolate cream that pretty much tastes like a slightly sweetened cream cheese. I love it. It’s like no matter what Pie no Mi can NEVER do anything wrong. I even like their green tea flavor- and I don’t like green tea. This would be an 8 out of 5. Really. It’s better than a 5 but not a perfect 10. 

The next item was another Dagashi treat, the Butter Cream Roll Cake. It reminded me of a twinkie essentially; but with a better, less-artificial taste. It was light and fluffy, but I can’t say it had too much taste, so... 2.5 out of 5.

I love saving my savories for last~ Speaking of last, the Umaibo - Teriyaki was the final item from the dagashi bag. As usual Umaibo fails to displease me ♥ Teriyaki is one of my favorite flavors of pretty much anything- and I definitely liked it better than the last 2 I got from these crates. It taste like slightly sweetened teriyaki broth to me, it’s probably tied with my most favorite Umaibo, corn potage (and the second one I will actively hunt down for more). 100 out of 5!

We also have Porippy Spicy Peanuts with probably the highest calorie count of 332! It’s surprising I even liked these considering how much I hate peanuts (Cutie-chan is very picky : P). The peanuts have a shell of honey, soy sauce, and spices with a small kick of heat.

If you’re like me and you really hate peanuts, you might like this one like I did. I rarely ever make exceptions (I also like spicy cayenne flavored peanuts), big time 10 out of 5! The scale is being broken several times today!

The final item of the month is another spicy, delicious snack (I wish we got more, I love spicy things!) O’Zack Sesame Chili Oil. You could get this or the Chip Star Mild Salt, something I’m glad I didn’t get because they’re pretty much plain/regular pringles and we recently got a Chip Star product in the crates.

Anyway, I really like these chips (btw, I also used my Sumikko Gurashi clip that I said I’d probably never use to shut them...), they’re a tiny bit thicker than most chips, but the crunch isn’t too bad on the mouth and they have a bigger kick than the Spicy Peanuts (but not a huge one, so it’s safe for those who might have a small heat tolerene). I like these so much I’m considering investing in getting some chili oil to experiment with ♥ another 100 out of 5!

And there goes the scale! Looks like I might need to get another one~

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality - 5 out of 5. This time my gumballs were not broken to cutie-hell and back. Everything was fine, nothing damaged. I pretty much did not hate a single thing in this box. 

Content - 5 out of 5. I’m not entirely sure how these snacks relate to rainy weather (as I say this, I’m eating the chips while its pouring outside...), but I could see someone cuddling up with a cozy blanket and enjoying them.

Total Rank: 10 out of 10 Cuties! It was perfect! Nothing wrong in the slightest. I admit I’m not happy about the DIY we got (I don’t mean to sound picky or snobbish, it’s just personal opinion), but I loved everything in the box! This probably means I’ll have high standards for the next one; so let’s see how it does!

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. O’zack Chili Oil/Teriyaki Umaibo - They were both amazing! I honestly can’t choose which one is superior!

2. Porippy Spicy Peanuts - Again I actually hate peanuts. But the spicy-sweet shell coating was flavorful and yummy~

3. Cola Pudding Gummies -  I was worried at first since I assumed these were pudding flavored. Boy was I in for a surprise when I started eating one and realized COLA was written on the front!

4. Super HimoQ Grape & Muscat - I love fruity gummies, especially the ones that taste realistic.

5. Tropicana - Nothing special, but it was still delicious!

6. Pablo Cheesecake Pie no Mi - They were tasty alright. I only wish there was more of the chocolate cream inside~

7. Kinako Sakura KitKat - I really like this flavor, I’m not sure why.

8. Whistle Candy - it’s a game and a sweet, nothing beats that.

9. Mix Fruit Ramune Soda Candy - I don’t like banana, but I will admit the taste is semi-realistic, which is better than most banana candy. I still prefer the normal one to this flavor, but I did like them.

10. Shimo Choco Corn Milk Chocolate - these are really good, but I’ve had them before. I like to get new stuff :3

11. Marble Chocolate -  Essentially they’re just M&Ms, but they taste better.

12. Butter Cream Roll Cake - It was soft and heavenly, I just wish it had more flavor.

13. Lemon Roulette Gum  - As long as you don’t get the “sour“ gum, it’s really good.

14. Black Thunder - Again it was good, but it was too hard on my mouth.

15. Chocobi Space Parfait - They’re not bad at all, I just wish maybe it was a mix of fruit flavors. And didn’t taste less-than good after two days.

Cuties we’ve come to the conclusion of the post! I can’t wait to get to my DIY kit later on, it’s not the Shinchan one, but the Gudetama I got from Kawaii Box :3 I’m so excited! In terms of crates I got my last one for now, the Kira Kira Crate (since Doki Doki no longer comes for me IN the month its supposed to...)

Anyway, until next time, stay cute!