Manga review: Mame Sengoku Basara volume 5

The fifth volume of Sumeragi's Mame Sengoku Basara ('Bean Sengoku Basara') manga was also its last; after these chapters were serialised the series ended its run in Dengeki Maoh magazine and was replaced by the new Mame Sengoku Basara 4 series.

The final chapters were collected in this book and released on 27th March 2014 by ASCII Media Works. There are nine chapters of the manga spread over 128 pages and priced at ¥780 before tax. Mame Sengoku Basara volume 5 can be purchased from import stores such as Yesasia, Amazon Japan (also on Kindle), CD Japan or Apple's iBooks Store.

I'll summarise the stories one by one, as is traditional.

The first chapter of this book is all about Keiji paying a visit to Tsuruhime. He's surprised to find the oracle isn't feeling too good and soon realises that she's lovesick over Kotarou. Keiji convinces Tsuruhime that the best way to deal with her feelings is to try writing a love letter for the mysterious ninja.

There are a few cute 4-panel comic strips with extra punchlines after this chapter as an added bonus.

Today's acquisitions (18th June 2014)

I was hoping that today's update was going to finally involve some kind of promotional video for the Sengoku Basara: Judge End anime after the debut of the new Capcom TV series on Nico Nico Douga, however they stuck firmly to gaming coverage so it was a bit of a waste of time for people other than Ultra Street Fighter IV or Monster Hunter 4 fans.

Fortunately something cool arrived so I can post about that instead: the Sengoku Basara Complete Box. It only went on sale today in Japan so I have to praise Amazon and DHL for their mind-blowing delivery speed!

Also pictured is the final volume of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn on Blu-ray, which means I managed to get a complete set of matching English editions even though Beez stopped distributing them here. A tip for other UK fans who are having trouble sourcing their Gundam Unicorn: JP Books in London can supply the discs at half the ridiculous price that stores such as Amazon UK are asking. They will post to UK addresses so it's the cheapest way to get hold of the series unless you want to import the significantly nicer Japanese edition.

Two new CDs complete the picture. REASON FOR... is the ending theme to the Kamigami No Asobi anime and The Best Of Magi is exactly what it sounds like. I wonder whether I'll ever get to see the end of Magi? I don't want to pay Aniplex USA's price for their DVD-only sets, and Animax's streaming service has too many delays to be worth paying for.

Anyway, back to the gorgeous Sengoku Basara set for a few extra pictures to convince me that buying the anime again wasn't silly. Back when I placed the order I made up a flimsy excuse about it being a late birthday gift to myself.

The matte chipboard box contains two thick fold-out digipaks covered in beautiful anime-style artwork.

Each 'page' of the digipak holds one disc; there are seventeen in total. It feels luxurious.

There was also a replica autograph board 'signed' by seiyuu Nakai Kazuya and a full-colour replica of the original theatrical pamphlet for Sengoku Basara -The Last Party-.

Perhaps it's time for a rewatch of the previous anime to help pass the time until Sengoku Basara: Judge End?

News roundup: June's Sengoku Basara Judge End magazine coverage

There hasn't been much news to report since the anime update earlier this week. The Date Matsuri event has ended over at e-Capcom, and in its place they're now running a Takeda Matsuri instead to highlight products featuring Yukimura, Sasuke and Shingen. There's also going to be a new weekly broadcast called Capcom TV starting next Wednesday at 20:00 (Japan time). It's described as being a live show which features information about all Capcom games, so it wouldn't be unthinkable for them to use it to promote the anime.

Since it's the last opportunity for traditional Sengoku Basara: Judge End coverage before the anime begins airing next month, I splashed out and bought four different anime magazines. All of them were released together on 10th June 2014 so they arrived in a satisfyingly hefty box.

First of all, Animage and Newtype were big disappointments with no exclusive coverage at all - you would have had to look hard to even notice their tiny news bulletins announcing the latest details. It's a good thing they both contained content about other series I like.

Since the more mainstream magazines weren't devoting any serious time to Judge End, I switched my focus to the female-orientated books. Things picked up with PASH! where there was a proper article announcing the six newest additions to the anime's cast (Kojuurou, Sasuke, Shingen, Yoshitsugu, Hideyoshi and Hanbee). The promised fold-out poster was also included. Since they tweeted a picture of it themselves I'm going to assume it's fine to post a small photograph here.

I really like the illustration they used. Since Ieyasu doesn't appear anywhere else in the magazines I took a little picture of him on his own.

The last of the four magazines was Otomedia+ which swapped the blue skies for a rainy scene. A pull-out poster was included at the back of the magazine with a textless version of the same image.

Otomedia+ had the best Sengoku Basara: Judge End article of the lot. There was a long interview with Sengoku Basara series producer Kobayashi Hiroyuki (KobaP). Most of it repeated content we've already heard but there were a few new comments and clarifications which I may as well summarise:

• The story of Ieyasu and Mitsunari is the main plot this time, but they're also creating a drama with the series' iconic leads Masamune and Yukimura to keep it accessible for casual viewers and fans of the previous anime.
• The series will primarily focus on the four leads from beginning to end. It will tell the full story from the fall of the Toyotomi to the Battle of Sekigahara.
• The depiction of the Battle of Sekigahara isn't going to be the same as it was in the movie.
• They have included content that wasn't in the original Sengoku Basara 3 game. KobaP hopes that the fans will notice the differences!
• Ieyasu's role is particularly important this time.
• While there will naturally be drama stemming from the 'azure-crimson' relationship between Masamune and Yukimura and the ex-Toyotomi link between Ieyasu and Mitsunari, the axes formed by Masamune/Mitsunari and Yukimura/Ieyasu will cross somewhere too.
• In response to a question about which characters people should look out for besides the four main characters, KobaP simply answered that people such as Kojuurou, Hanbee, Sasuke and Shingen from the Date, Takeda and Toyotomi armies would all be appearing. I guess he won't be drawn into revealing anything new until the time is right.
• Since the story draws closely from Sengoku Basara 3, fans who become interested in what they see in the anime can still go back and enjoy playing the game.

Speculating further on what he says, it sounds as though they might avoid using the Oda storyline (as in Sengoku Basara -The Last Party-) as the climax this time around.

The interview ended with a lighthearted column where KobaP shared his knowledge about how the four leads might spend a rainy day.

Date Masamune: My image is of Masamune looking at the mountains of Oushuu from the passageway (engawa) of his residence as Kojuurou worriedly checks the state of his vegetable garden.

Sanada Yukimura: Since Yukimura-kun isn't the kind of person who can keep still, I get the feeling that he'd be happy to go outside and train his body.

Tokugawa Ieyasu: He would probably be thinking about the Tokugawa army and the whole of Japan, right? Perhaps the image of a figure writing with a brush while sitting in a tatami mat room suits him...

Ishida Mitsunari: If it was back when Hideyoshi was alive, he could train indoors. Or he might stay beside Hideyoshi and Hanbee and listen to their discussions.

Perhaps there will be better coverage in July because it feels as though the series need a lot more promotion! Hopefully there'll be something in Dengeki Maoh and the weekly magazines as the anime's debut approaches.

A few Sengoku Basara: Judge End rumours begin to circulate

Tomorrow is the day that the mainstream anime magazines hit the shelves in Japan, which means that eager fans are currently discussing the promised content and poring over rumours from those who managed to get their copies a few hours early.

Here's what I've seen so far (I expect the website to update soon too). None of this has been properly confirmed yet by an official source.

• Animedia magazine is reporting that the first episode will air on 5th July 2014 on NTV/BS Nittere and additional stations.
• The timeslot isn't confirmed yet but some people have suggested it will take over the late night slot which is currently used for The World Is Still Beautiful (Soredemo Sekai Ha Utsukushii).
• More characters are being announced in the magazines. Judging by the seiyuu list at the above link, we can probably expect Katakura Kojuurou (Morikawa Toshiyuki), Sarutobi Sasuke (Koyasu Takehito), Takeda Shingen (Genda Tesshou), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Okiayu Ryoutarou), Takenaka Hanbee (Ishida Akira) and Ootani Yoshitsugu (Tachiki Fumihiko). None of these names should come as a big surprise for the first episode of an anime based on Sengoku Basara 3.
• I'm guessing Honda Tadakatsu will be revealed in the same batch (of course, he doesn't have a seiyuu credit).
• There's a completely unsubstantiated rumour that T.M.Revolution might not be performing the opening theme this time. This could be fake so please don’t panic yet.

The English-language website for the series also updated a few days ago, changing the official overseas title from Sengoku Basara -Judgement- to Sengoku Basara -End of Judgement-. I give up; it's easier to keep using the Japanese title until a western licensor formally confirms the finalised English name for the series.

Update 16:10: 

Dengeki Online has posted a news report and the website has now updated too.

• The first broadcast has been confirmed for NTV on 5th July 2014 at 25:50 (that's 01:50 on the 6th July 2014 for those of us who don't follow broadcast calendar notation). Less than a month to go!
• The first episode will receive a world premiere at France's Japan Expo at 15:00 on 2nd July 2014.
• The theme song will be Hokkyokusei ~Polaris~ ("North Star ~Polaris~") by Ishikawa Chiaki. She also provided music for the previous anime, the stage play and (of course) for Sengoku Basara 3.
• Colour artwork of Kojuurou, Sasuke and Shingen is available on the official character page. All of the characters voiced by the listed seiyuu are now confirmed (Hideyoshi, Hanbee and Yoshitsugu).
• Kenshin is mentioned as Shingen's rival in his introduction, so perhaps we can expect the God of War to make an appearance during the series later on.

Anime Anime and Famitsu have since posted their news reports as well.

Update 14/06/2014: 

I had to post another quick update as it's now been clarified that Ishikawa Chiaki's theme song will be used as the ending for Sengoku Basara: Judge End.

An advertisement for her next album, Watashi No Kokoro Ha Sou Ittenai, has been found and posted on Twitter. The album will be released on 8th October 2014 priced at ¥2,160 with catalogue number DDCZ-1967 and is to contain five tracks "including Hokkyokusei ~Polaris~, the ending theme to the new NTV anime series Sengoku Basara Judge End".

The speculation on whether there will be a song for the opening too can now begin...

Thoughts about Gyakuten Yoshiwara (Forbidden Romance: The Men of Yoshiwara)

I was very surprised to learn that veteran Japanese game company D3 Publisher had recently released an official English (and Chinese) edition for their smartphone visual novel Gyakuten Yoshiwara. The unusual setting caught my eye and it wasn't long before I was downloading the free trial to see what it was like.

The plot of Gyakuten Yoshiwara (since retitled Forbidden Romance: The Men of Yoshiwara) is straightforward; you're a young woman living on an island where there's a huge gender imbalance. The men are so rare that the majority of them live and work in the Yoshiwara pleasure district, selling their nights to lonely girls who are looking for male company or yearning for a child. It's a simple reversal of the many stories of forbidden love between a man and his favourite courtesan which have been staples of the historical fiction genre for years.

The Yoshiwara district of the game has its own distinct culture which blends the Edo period red light district with the more masculine atmosphere of a modern host club. Everyone there wears gorgeous costumes loosely inspired by historical attire. Although the theme of the game is rather adult in nature, the game's content doesn't contain anything naughtier than you'd find in an everyday drama or soap opera. The dialogue very generously refers to the men as 'gentlemen of the night' rather than anything vulgar.

These two shameless flirts are my favourites

Since the game had only just been released when I checked it out, there were only two characters available for selection. I chose the gaudily-dressed Takao as my young lady's first partner because his flashiness was appealing. If the manager of a brothel was offering my character a night with a courtesan of her choice, why not go all the way and choose their top oiran? I dutifully paid the fee to play the main storyline once the free introduction was over and ended up paying for two bonus chapters afterwards, so I guess that shows I enjoyed it.

The character artwork is lovely and bursting with the flamboyant colours of the pleasure district. There are only five characters in total though there are six routes - one guy has a second storyline which hasn't yet been released. Despite the small selection I think most gamers will be able to find a partner they're reasonably happy with, whether it's the audacious Takao, highly-strung Tokiwa, elegant Kaguya, inexperienced Kagerou or the ruthlessly efficient manager, Iroha. It doesn't hurt that they're all exceptionally handsome.

This is what someone 'past his prime' looks like...

One of the unusual features of Gyakuten Yoshiwara is that it employs the 'E-mote' system, which means that the character artwork will gently move as you play to make it seem more 'alive'. It's a little like the motion in games such as Dragon's Crown except when I first played the characters' facial features would sometimes twitch weirdly along with their swaying hair. The first thing I did after encountering this phenomenon was look for a way to disable the system; sadly, this wasn't possible. Some character artwork tolerated the distortion better than others; watching Takao's eyes and nose wildly contorting made me feel more disturbed than impressed. The effect looks pretty good on the rest of the characters and you can see it in action in this promotional video.


Thankfully, the glitchy animation was fixed shortly after the game's release with a free update. It's a shame this wasn't until after I had played through Takao's entire story as I'd got into the habit of dreading his attempts to kiss the main character! The new animations are a big improvement and much closer to the original designs.

While it's not unusual for a smartphone title, perhaps the biggest potential disappointment of the game is the lack of voice acting. There's none at all, which means you're entirely dependent on the translated English script for immersion. I'm so used to seeing and hearing the original speech patterns in this kind of game that it feels as though something's missing. Instead of voices the player is treated to a selection of delightful instrumental music to set the scene. Over in Japan there are three situation CDs voiced by what seems to be a fantastic seiyuu cast (along with a spin-off manga) so perhaps a fully-voiced sequel might be possible one day if the series becomes more popular?

Where the lack of voicing hurts most is that the mostly-serviceable English translation is riddled with typos; in some cases these are quite severe, such as the two occasions during Takao's route where the wrong character's name was attributed to an important line of dialogue. The characters' names were mixed up again in Iroha's route, so I felt that the translator might have been working from a script without being able to see who was speaking on-screen. Another reason for my suspicion was that the tone of the dialogue didn't always match what was happening (no doubt exacerbated by the vagueness of written Japanese). If D3 Publisher could try to have a second native English speaker proofread their scripts in future to check for mistakes it could greatly improve the quality of their adaptations.

The script is decent - just in need of polish

Despite a few teething problems, Gyakuten Yoshiwara is a fascinating experiment and for its low price it's a no-brainer if you like sultry guys and historical settings. There are two endings for each story and attractive CG illustrations to collect. It's absolutely wonderful to see more quirky visual novels getting official English-language releases. Fans with access to an iOS device should definitely check it out to help support this niche genre in the west.

The English edition of Gyakuten Yoshiwara can be downloaded for free from iTunes in the UK, USA, Japan and in many other local stores. The introduction and first chapter of each character's story is free; after that you have to pay to find out what happens - in the UK it costs £2.49 per story, with a extra stories available for 69p each if you can't get enough of these 'gentlemen of the night'. The price seems very reasonable, especially as you can pick and choose your favourite guys in any order.

Since the game's initial release the updates have been thick and fast and most of the main characters now have their stories available for purchase. Since I like his exotic looks, flawless dress-sense and surly personality, I'm going to buy Tokiwa's story next as soon as it's released - and then I'm going to think about ordering the situation CDs for more immersion!

Update 13th July 2014: The game has recently been retitled Forbidden Romance: The Men of Yoshiwara so I've updated the review to reflect this!

Just in case anyone reading this decides to give the game a try, I'll be cheeky and leave my invitation code here (it will give us both points towards unlocking bonus illustrations): PhJyJuPZ

Edit: Wow! Thank you! I never expected to be able to unlock the pictures but I've already received the maximum number of points from people using the code! Please enjoy the game, everyone.

Today's acquisitions (7th June 2014)

I've taken delivery of quite a few goodies this week.

At the top of the picture is the huge box containing the Sengoku Basara One Coin Grande Figure Collection ~Eiyuu Shuuketsu-hen~ set. It's much wider than the six earlier boxed sets since it contains twelve figures rather than the usual ten, necessitating a redesign of the box shape.

To its right is Drakengard 3 Collector's Edition from the Square-Enix shop, the western release of the unfortunately-titled Drag-on Dragoon 3. It's the first European release I've bought in ages and of course, there's something wrong with it - the Japanese audio doesn't work at all. From the game's introduction sequence I've determined that the English dub is atrocious so I've abandoned my hopes of trying to play until Square-Enix fixes the problem. It's exasperating since it wasn't cheap; I'll stick with imports in future.

Four Diabolik Lovers audio CDs finish off the haul as well as a generous amount of bonus items. I'd been meaning to pick up the older Diabolik Lovers do-S Kyuuketsu CD: More, Blood Vol. 01 and vol. 02 discs so I added them to another order to save on shipping. They're joined by the new Diabolik Lovers Bloody Songs -Super Best- compilation (with a free A5 clear file, comment card and metal strap) and the Diabolik Lovers do-S Kyuuketsu CD: VERSUS II Vol. 2 Shu VS Reiji (with its free bromide). Here's a close-up of the latter.

Next comes a better picture of the smaller bonus items which came with the Diabolik Lovers Bloody Songs -Super Best- CD. I chose the version which included Laito's metal charm since he's my favourite of the vampires, and the randomly-packed character comment card was the Subaru version. I'd rather have ended up with Laito's card too, but Subaru is still very pretty.

Going back to the Sengoku Basara One Coin Grande Figure Collection ~Eiyuu Shuuketsu-hen~ pack, the main reason for purchasing the set was to get the brand new Ieyasu and Mitsunari figures so I took a picture of them once I'd unpacked everything. They're very nice additions to the range and I hope the rest of the missing Sengoku Basara 3 characters will follow.

The other ten figures in the box were slightly reworked versions of the most popular characters from earlier sets. The differences are very subtle - here's Motochika showing off his improved paintwork which is most noticeable when looking at the pattern on the light pink fabric. The text on each character's name flag is thicker than it used to be as well. The old Motochika is on the left, with the new Eiyuu Shuuketsu-hen version on the right.

News roundup: the Sengoku Basara 4 Special Package is confirmed

Sengoku Basara 4 will be rereleased in Japan as Sengoku Basara 4 Special Package

The mysterious rerelease of Sengoku Basara 4 has now been formally announced. As per the rumours it will come out on 24th July 2014 for ¥4,490 (excluding sales tax) and include the game, all nine of the DLC costumes, the special custom theme given to people who collected all of the costumes and a Sengoku Basara 4 video DVD. In addition, the game will have the option to unlock all characters right from the start (this feature is currently available separately as paid DLC).

There will also be a PSN edition of the pack which includes everything except the bonus DVD for ¥4,157 (excluding sales tax). The box art for the 'special package' version is below.

The Sengoku Basara series will feature in another piano score book

Hot on the heels of the recent Yasashii Piano Solo: Capcom Game Collection ~30th Anniversary~ book comes Yasashii Piano Solo: Sengoku Basara Best Selection, another collection of sheet music to help pianists play classic themes from the history of the series. This 88-page book will be released on 25th June 2014 priced at ¥2,000 before tax, and it will include a character sticker as a bonus.

Details announced for the next Basara Matsuri event DVD

January's Sengoku Basara 4: Basara Matsuri 2014 ~Shinshun No Utage~ event is finally coming to DVD on 9th July 2014 priced at ¥5,000 before tax. The first batch will only be available to customers who order through the Basara Club shop, e-Capcom or Otomart; other stores won't be shipping their copies until 20th August 2014. The pack will include a colour booklet together with a single DVD in a clear case. Disappointingly, the DVD only includes 110 minutes from the evening show and 90 minutes of extras (clips from the afternoon show and backstage footage). Both shows were very similar but it's a shame that the whole afternoon performance will never be available on disc.

e-Capcom updates with new goods for August 2014

Capcom's official online store e-Capcom has added a bunch of new merchandise and declared that this week will be a 'Date Festival' with special pricing on some Sengoku Basara items. There are also four new sets of fantastic new products on the way to tempt fans who already have everything they need.

The first of these takes the form of four new designs for the Sengoku Basara 4 Badge Collection. They'll be priced at ¥450 each when they're released on 28th August 2014, and it's worth noting that they're extra large badges (hence the higher price). Like before, there's a playful theme. Masamune's is a name badge, Kojuurou and Kingo are labelled 'the vegetable enthusiasts', and Shikanosuke's badge has a cautionary sign advising that deer might appear. My favourite is probably the last one where Sasuke, Keiji and Sakon team up to appear as charming as possible - the text is an embarrassingly cheesy chat-up line.

For the stationery collectors out there, four new Sengoku Basara 4 Clear Files are due for release on 28th August 2014 priced at ¥350 each. This time each file will depict two characters: Kojuurou/Sasuke, Nagamasa/Oichi, Hanbee/Hideyoshi and Keiji/Shikanosuke.

Next up is a pair of gorgeous fully-printed t-shirts in a choice of Ieyasu and Mitsunari designs, each priced at ¥7,500 before tax, to celebrate the finale of the Sengoku Basara 3 Bloody Angel manga. The t-shirts will be released in S, M, L and XL sizes in late August 2014. A postcard replica of Itou Ryuu's illustration titled 'Bloodstained Fallen Angel' will be included as a bonus for fans preordering through e-Capcom.

Saving the best until last, a pair of jerseys themed around Motonari and Motochika has been unveiled. Each will cost ¥9,800 before tax when they are released in late November 2014. They're available in S, M, L and XL sizes and expected to sell out quickly. As a bonus, fans who preorder either jersey from e-Capcom will receive a postcard of both characters illustrated by manga artist Itou Ryuu.

I cannot get over how ridiculous that hood looks on the Motonari design. Amazing!

e-Capcom doesn't ship internationally so it may be necessary to use a proxy buying service for some of these products - in particular, the t-shirts and jerseys have been confirmed to be exclusive to the Akita Shoten and Capcom online stores.

Cover artwork is confirmed for some upcoming books

The cover artwork has been revealed for the first volume of Yoshihara Motoki's official Sengoku Basara 4 manga adaptation:

July's Sengoku Basara 4: Ryuuou-Kamewari-hen ('Dragon King/Urn-Splitter Arc') novel has its final cover artwork up as well.

In addition, fans who purchase the final volume of Sengoku Basara 3 Bloody Angel at Animate will receive a comical illustrated pamphlet to go with their purchase.

The Basara Club online shop adds new members-only merchandise

The Basara Club online shop has updated with some other goodies as well as the event DVD - and most of the new items are exclusive to its members. They've added the old merchandise from the defunct Eiyuu No Kai fan club, some leftover items from the Basara Club fan meeting events earlier this year and the 'second season' of exclusive goods such as a two-piece sticker set (¥1,080), a two-piece mini notepad set (¥864), a smooth hand towel (¥1,296) and four IC card decoration stickers available in Yukimura, Ieyasu, Hanbee and Keiji designs (¥540 each).

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Whew! That was a lot of new merchandise. I'm expecting even more updates about the anime any moment now too, since Tuesday is when all of the June mainstream anime magazines appear in stores.

Magazine review: Sengoku Basara Magazine issue 5

This season's issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine is a dazzling hot pink to celebrate Chousokabe 'Aniki' Motochika. Just like Mitsunari and Masamune in previous issues, he's received a brand new CG illustration for his role as the cover star. The collectible rubber strap shows a different side of Motochika in his cute Mame Sengoku Basara form.

Sengoku Basara Magazine vol. 5 was released on 27th May 2014 priced at ¥2,500. It can be purchased from most Japanese bookstores which offer international shipping, such as Amazon Japan, Yesasia, CD Japan and Manga Oh.

The talk CD this issue is Showgeki Basara Talk! Ieyasu & Mitsunari No Maki Vol. 1 starring seiyuu Ookawa Tooru and Seki Tomokazu. I'm not usually interested in the 'Sekigahara duo' but thanks to their funny seiyuu they're hilarious in this kind of informal discussion. The conversations between the two seiyuu have a natural flow, then when they get into character for their 'Basara Challenge' drama Ieyasu always sounds as though he's provoking Mitsunari on purpose simply by being nice to him. The entire 'Basara Challenge' segment is amazing with members of the Toyotomi army cast as the purple, yellow, white and red warriors in a theoretical 'Sentai Hero' team: Sengoku Sentai Basaranger.

Somehow, hearing Ookawa saying the words 'Sengoku Basara: Judge End' in the CD's introduction made the upcoming anime adaptation feel closer than ever.

My rambling summary of the rest of the magazine follows!

Today's acquisitions (30th May 2014)

After a series of disasterous mistakes by the courier kept diverting the shipment to the wrong town, I finally received my copy of Sengoku Basara Magazine issue 5 today!

It came at the same time as the Sengoku Basara 4 Dengeki Comic Anthology manga. Time to start reading...

Since I didn't get to read the magazine yesterday as hoped, I spent the time doodling on my old iPad instead and this was the outcome. It was supposed to be lighthearted but somehow anything involving Naotora seems to end up looking more serious than planned.

Thoughts about Dot Kareshi -We're 8bit Lovers!- I ~Densetsu No Otome~

After some annoying problems getting the game to actually run in the first place, I passed a few idle hours playing through the silly Dot Kareshi -We're 8bit Lovers!- I ~Densetsu No Otome~. It's a Japanese otome game from Rejet which came out last year for Windows PCs.

The premise of the 'Dot Kare' series is that you are a typical female gamer who has spent many hours playing a traditional console-style roleplaying game. Unfortunately, your careless treatment has turned your party members into twisted parodies of the usual RPG staples with major personality flaws.

One day, you find yourself trapped inside the game, where you have to complete a quest with your disgruntled (and rather flirtatious) party in order to find your way back to the real world.

Dot Kareshi's release format is unusual; it's a series of three drama CDs packed with individual visual novels. Each CD/game set includes four different characters - the party in this first volume is composed of Hero (Yuusha), Mage (Mahoutsukai), Priest (Souryo) and Thief. I'm going to use simple English renderings of their names for this mini-review instead of the literal Japanese titles to make it easier to understand. Outside of a single joke the guys don't have names of their own and are referred to exclusively by their job titles.