Enjoy Your Pop Culture

A general note regarding my reviews, lists, articles, etc.:

Everything that I write about on this blog will almost always be entirely opinion-based. I do not believe that my opinion is better than or anymore correct than anyone else's because it is our life's experiences that shape how we relate to things, and everyone's experiences are entirely unique to them so opinions will vary wildly on things. It is thanks to this diversity that we have so many different genres and character-types. Everyone is free to enjoy pop culture in whatever manner that they see fit. That said, please don't take away my freedom to do the same. If you disagree with me, all I ask is that you do so in a non-aggressive manner. Pop Culture is meant to be fun and entertaining, let's all enjoy it and don't make it a battle ground!

Otome Review - Amnesia: Memories - Part II

Type of Review: In-depth character review

Review Subject: Video Games, Otome

Available Platforms: PS Vita, Steam (PC)

Spoiler Content: High [BEWARE!]

Personal Enjoyment: Very High

As a player of otome games and lover of anime, I had a lot of expectations going into this game. Looking at the suitor characters available, and reading their short bios, I began to form an initial opinion of what types of stories I was likely to encounter with each character. As most otome players likely do, I weighed those reactions and used it to decide which order I would play through each suitor’s scenario. My order was Shin, Toma, Ikki, and Kent, finishing off with Ukyo because I had no other choice. Fortunately, these characters all defied my initial impression and managed to surprise me in both good and bad ways, but more good because I eventually found that I adored them all and it was actually pretty difficult to choose a favorite when I was finished with the game. That said, here is my review of the main characters from Amnesia: Memories. [Do not continue if you’re leery of SPOILERS, you’ve been warned.]

Orion

When the game begins you are greeted by a fairy-like spirit named Orion. He works for a god named Nihl, and has accidentally crashed into your soul and gotten trapped there. This is the reason for your displaced memories. Orion is very childlike, and a lighthearted character that is great at cutting through an otherwise gloomy scenario and providing both insight and humor. Orion is with you every step of the way, only disappearing when you regain your most important memories and he is convinced that you will go on to live a happy life. Orion isn’t a suitor, merely a catalyst and a guide for the story, but I felt he was worth a look at because he’s just such a fun and interesting character. Ultimately he leaves you feeling like you had a sweet-heart little brother in your life.

Heart World: Shin

When you wake up in Heart World, you discover yourself in a hospital, having suffered a near-fatal accident that your boyfriend Shin blames himself for causing. He is an immediate presence in your life and assists you in checking out of the hospital and finding your way home, but he is suspicious of your condition right from the beginning. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out that you have amnesia in spite of your efforts to hide it from him.

Shin is very perceptive and a sharp character. His personality is very cold, blunt, open, and honest; sometimes to the point of cruelty. He doesn’t believe in coddling the heroine, so he is always pushing her and encouraging her to improve herself and become stronger, and this works for the heroine’s personality in heart world. He inspires her to push forward and work extra hard to accomplish her goals. Fortunately, Shin is aware of how harsh he can come off as and wants to be nicer to the heroine so he does his best to take care of her and show her how much he loves her. It is clear that he is willing to do practically anything to protect her.

My Initial Expectations: Since Shin was the display character I figured his story would likely be the most generic and possibly the “main story” with the most meat to the plot. I did think that he was one of the most attractive out of the characters and so I chose to play his story first. I knew from reading through his introduction that he was going to be a tsundere (cold at first) character, and was definitely correct in that assumption.

Thoughts After Playing: Most of my initial impressions about Shin were correct, aside from his story being the most meaty of the bunch, as they were all about the same in that regard. Shin was definitely a very cold, very harsh character, and his meanness was hard to deal with at times, but he managed to warm me over with his sheer dedication to the heroine. There wasn’t anything he wasn’t willing to do for her, no lengths he wouldn’t go to, and in the end it made me very happy. His coldness didn’t melt completely away, but I preferred it that way.

Favorite Shin Moment: While Shin is attempting to re-teach the heroine to do her job as a waitress in a maid café, he can’t stop himself from blushing and getting a little too excited whenever she calls him master. It was just too cute to watch. Second favorite moment was when he slugged Toma in the face at the end: go Shin!

Spade World: Ikki

In Spade World you’re thrown into a strange romance with a… time limit? Ikki has a strange power in his eyes that makes women infatuated whenever they look into them, but through sheer willpower, you’ve become immune to his power and this had peeked his interest in you. You had joined his fan club in order to discover why the girls were so obsessed with him, and they prove to be a dangerous force in your life now that you’re dating Ikki. You spend his whole play-through trying to figure out which is the real Ikki – the playboy who allows himself to be surrounded by women, and indulges their obsessions, or the sweet, caring, and doting boyfriend that he seems to be when he is alone with you. As the heroine is steeped in confusion, so are you.

There was never really a time that I was completely sure of the real Ikki, and I really did find myself getting jealous alongside the heroine. As it turns out, Ikki really is a sweet and caring man who desperately wishes to end his curse and find his one true love.

My Initial Expectations: This guy set my warning bells off, as do all playboy types. I thought he was very cute, but I didn’t believe that I would enjoy his play-through because I was leery of his character-type. He definitely shocked me.

Thoughts After Playing: Major spoiler alert; Ikki is the exact opposite of the kind of character he outwardly portrays. I was so shocked by how loving and gentle he was whenever he was alone with the heroine, and dear gods the way he talks so sweetly sent chills down my spine. He is so sweet it hurts. I think that Ikki’s story probably brought out the most emotion in me because I couldn’t tell if he was really a player or if he was truly serious about his feelings for the heroine. I was stung by jealousy, and rocked by his kind heart, it was an emotional roller coaster.

Favorite Ikki Moment: Anytime he wasn’t being a jerk, Ikki was being absolutely adorable. I don’t have any particular favorite moment but anytime he lowered his voice and whispered sweet-nothings, I absolutely melted. Ikki is nothing if not exceptionally charming.

Clover World: Kent

You wake up in your own bedroom in Clover World, and are left to figure out who you are and what you should be doing alone with only Orion to help you out. You find you’ve been in contact with someone named Kent, who as it turns out is your boyfriend. It’s a confusing relationship from the start because you can’t figure out why you’re dating someone who is so aloof and against the ideal of love, but he is so curious to discover what love means, and why he feels the way he does, that you can’t help but to start growing attached to him. You WANT to show him what love is.

Kent is so confused by the heroine’s sudden change of character; where once she was very argumentative and sensitive, she is now understanding and tries to listen to him. It becomes clear that they had gotten off on the wrong foot and emotions were high on both ends so they were arguing over a lot of misunderstandings created by the miscommunication. In the end they laugh about it, but it’s a rocky trip getting there. Kent proves to be an amazing boyfriend who is wholeheartedly devoted to the heroine. It’s beautiful.

My Initial Expectations: I couldn’t help but to wonder how you could achieve romance with a character who is so cool and logical as Kent. He has to ground everything in logic, and has a hard time understand something as wholly illogical as love. I honestly didn’t think I’d have much fun playing through Kent’s story but boy was I wrong…

Thoughts After Playing: Through all expectations out the window because Kent’s story will truly blow your mind. Who would have thought? Underneath all of the cool logic lurks a very emotional and passionate man. In fact, by the end of his play-through I’d even dare to suggest that he probably showed more passion towards the heroine than any other suitor character (except maybe Ukyo). He has a cute jealous side and he is very innocent when it comes to love, so he’ll often come off as slightly boyish, but not in a creepy way. I really loved his story, especially all of the surprising humor in it!

Favorite Kent Moment: Kent is walking along, deep in thought, when BAM! He walks straight into a telephone pole! I was stunned at first, but when he just looks up and mildly observes that there’s a pole there and keeps going, I couldn’t help but to burst out laughing. There were several moments where his personality causes cute incidences like this, and it’s very amusing! Second favorite moment was his freak out in the pool, his fear of any other man seeing his girlfriend in a swimsuit was priceless!

Diamond World: Toma

The Diamond World is the only world of the initial four that you wake up not in a relationship already. Toma feels trapped in the friend-zone, and you know that you liked someone but you’re not sure who because you have no memory of it. You spend time trying to figure out who it is, and at first suspect that it might have been Ikki because you were meeting him a lot, but when you receive a text from him asking about the guy you liked you realize he wasn’t the one. But everyone else thought he was the one and so you were being stalked and violently harassed by his fan club as a result. Toma, aware of your memory loss, lets you believe that he was your boyfriend and takes you to his place to stay where he can keep you safe from the harassment that he’s been hiding from you. Gradually you begin to unravel the mystery and discover the harassment and Toma’s lies, and that’s when Toma snaps.

Toma has been trying to keep the heroine safe, but goes to extreme measures to accomplish it. A conversation with insane-Ukyo reveals that Toma is also insane, and that becomes more and more clear as Toma gets more obsessed with protecting the heroine. Toma is extremely over-protective, and his jealousy drives him to even deeper extremes until he locks the heroine up in a cage so that she won’t escape his apartment again. At this point he believes that he’s protecting her from herself and steps over the line from over-protective to just plain creepy. Luckily, he gets his hands on your diary and discovers that you’ve been in love with him this entire time, even obsessively so! A match made in hell?

My Initial Expectations: Here I was thinking that Toma would be the sweetheart character. He’s cute, brotherly, protective. All the signs were there. Why… why couldn’t I see what was about to hit me?

Thoughts After Playing: The good – Toma was sweet, Toma was brotherly, Toma was protective. And cute. The bad – He was also extremely over-protective. And kind of stalkery. The ugly – Three words… O. M. G. Imagine my surprise when sweet, lovable Toma turned out to be psychotic. While I couldn’t help but to enjoy his play-through, I was also more than a little creeped out at the end.

Favorite Toma Moment: When he reads the diary – you want to smack him upside the head for being such an idiot the entire time. The best moment, however, was when he got dragged into the lingerie shop with you and the shopkeeper (thinking he's your boyfriend) won't let him leave as she prances you around in your underwear for him. The poor guy nearly pops a blood vessel!

Joker World: Ukyo (Major spoilers ahead!)

Joker is a very mysterious, enigmatic character that vaguely appears in every play-through in varying degrees of sanity, or the lack thereof. Playing through the other characters’ endings can give you a pretty good idea of just how insane this character can get if the situation is right. Being left alone with him can easily lead to her death, and often does. It is later discovered that Ukyo was the heroine’s original boyfriend and after she passed away on August 25^th, he made a desperate wish for her to live and find happiness. A god named Nihl heard his wish and fused into Ukyo’s body much in the way that Orion fuses with the heroine, and helps him to jump into different worlds in an attempt at fulfilling his wish. It’s a very complex story-line, as the world-jumping has a lot of crazy consequences, and is also the cause of Ukyo’s split personality. His is the story that ties everything together, explains the appearance of Orion as well as the oddly cold weather, and acts as a grand finale to the game.

If you set aside Ukyo’s second personality, he is an extremely emotional character who is deeply in love with the heroine. It’s a love that transcends death. He is surprisingly passionate, kind, loving, affectionate, and just plain beautiful. It’s so hard not to fall in love with this guy once you get past his violent second personality. This was one of my favorite play-throughs out of the five.

My Initial Expectations: After playing through Toma’s story, I really didn’t expect much different going into Ukyo’s story. He’d already proven himself to be a creepy, stalkery, insane character capable of doing very violent and cruel things to the heroine. I had my guard up going into this one.

Thoughts After Playing: I was pleasantly surprised. I knew that Ukyo’s story would show off his good personality’s side more than you got to see it in the other play-throughs, but I was shocked at how warm and genuinely lovable this character could get. His dual personalities were absolute opposites. I also absolutely adored how Ukyo’s story tied the whole game together into one giant story made up of smaller stories. One could say that Ukyo was ultimately the perfect suitor for the heroine because it was their love story that initially started it all, and it was their love story that ultimately ends it. Much to my chagrin.

Favorite Ukyo Moment: It’s not a moment in the main scenario, but something you unlock once you reach his good ending. A memory with Ukyo while he is staying with the heroine in her apartment. You have the option to ask him to come under the blanket with you and after hesitating he does so and you cuddle up to him while laying your head on his shoulder. He keeps on talking to you even after you fall asleep. It’s just such a sweet moment.

Otome Review - Amnesia: Memories - Part I

Type of Review: Overall, First Impressions
Review Subject: Video Game, Otome
Available Platforms: PS Vita, Steam
Spoiler Content: Low
Personal Enjoyment: Very High

Amnesia: Memories is the third game I have played on a dedicated gaming console and I was very happy with it. So happy that I am still mourning having finished it. With that said, I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible in my review of it, but I can't promise you anything!

The game starts you out in between worlds where the heroine meets a spirit named Orion. It just so happens that Orion has crash landed into you and has accidentally gotten himself trapped within your soul. The result of this incident is that his presence there has pushed out all of your memories! You, the heroine, now have amnesia. At the end of the prologue, you get to choose one of the worlds to enter. Orion tells you that they are all parallel worlds and asks you to choose whichever one feels the most right to you. You pick and you wake up back in your own body with no memory of who you are. The first clue you receive is that you are in a relationship with one of the characters and your objective is to regain your memories without letting anyone know that you have amnesia because Orion fears that someone might take advantage of you if they discovered the truth.

Graphics: The game's graphics are fairly simple, but that is to be expected from a virtual novel and so I don't hold it against it. That said, the artwork is simply beautiful and very anime-esque. I really enjoyed all of the visuals, especially some of the more abstract backgrounds that looked more like colorful sketches than finished settings.

Gameplay: Again, very simple, but also to be expected from a visual novel. There is no action to the game, just reading and enjoying a story. Regardless, this has become one of my favorite forms of gameplay because it's just so relaxing and engaging. The replay value is high, even after finishing every ending.

Plot: The amnesia plot device is greatly overdone but it was necessary in order to make the story make sense as well as to move it forward and give it a sense of purpose. Amnesia aside, the plot was pretty unique and engaging, and I always felt like I was a part of the story. Empathy for the characters runs strong, especially for the heroine because that's who you're supposed to be, and it really works. The story sucked me right in and kept me hooked from start to finish. One of the problems that otome games sometimes face is that the playthroughs for each character can get kind of repetitive with the story, but that didn't happen here. Each playthrough took you into an alternate reality so even minor things would change from story to story. One such example would be the heroine's boss who can be sweet and caring in one story, then strict and domineering in another. Each story was a fairly fresh and exciting experience.

Characters: It is safe to say that this game's story was heavily driven by the characters. I had my doubts about some of the suitor characters in the beginning, but found that I was able to fall in love with every one of them. My only real complaint would be that the men all acted like they wouldn't be able to control themselves if they were left alone with you, as if they might accidentally rape you or something. That attitude was discomforting but it's not uncommon in Japanese pop culture.

Thank you for reading my first review, and look forward to the second part which will be a spoilerrific, more in-depth look at the game's main characters.

Introduction to Otome Games

Otome Games are basically semi-interactive visual novel dating sims that are currently available on various gaming platforms such as PC, android, iphone, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita, and Playstation 3. So far they are only a niche market in the US, but I have hopes that it will continue to gain ground so that more games will be translated into English and released in the US. Since I do not have access to any of the games that have only been released in Japan, I will focus mainly on the games that I have been able to play or look forward to playing in the near future.

One of my goals is to raise awareness of this entertaining method of reading, so that the market does continue to grow. The target audience is usually women of varying ages, but most seem geared towards a more young adult demographic. Still, this has never stopped us older women from enjoying the YA fiction out there because we were all teenagers once and most of us haven't forgotten the way that feels. I hope to pass on my reviews of the games that I have played, and have full intentions of *squeeing* the whole way through! These games are definite fangirl fuel, so anyone who loves to read, loves anime and manga, and Japanese popular culture - check them out!

Otome Games that I have played and/or am currently playing (and device I've played it on):
          * Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSP, PS3, 3DS, Android/iphone)
          * Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP)

          * Amnesia: Memories (PS Vita --> Also available on Steam)

          * Ninja Assassin+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: kcrKN9dQA]

          * Ninja Love+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: ]

          * Destiny Ninja by Shall We Date? (Android)

          * Destiny Ninja 2+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: GMmQfpPZiN]

          * Scarlet Fate+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: FbVpUc0AXg]

          * Blood and Roses+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: MY0uH0S2R2]

          * Niflheim+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: FayK7r1Yw8]

          * Wizardess Heart+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: NxwseLaMjc]

          * Magic Sword+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: C8b4XHeqdc]

          * Lost Island+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: J4fRAiAqRC]

          * Angel or Devil+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: EicCaEQuUW]

          * Mononoke Kiss+ by Shall We Date? (Android) [Invitation ID: krt7CCD5C]

          * My Sweet Prince+ by Shall We Date? (Android)
          * Illegal Romance (Android)
          * Pyrite Heart (Steam)

Otome Games that I am looking forward to playing:
          * Norn9: Var Commons (PS Vita)
          * Code: Realize, Guardian of Rebirth (PS Vita)

About This Blog

I am an unapologetic fangirl and proud of it. I have been playing video games since I was a kid in the 80's; the first console I ever played was an Atari, and the first that I ever owned was a Nintendo. I got a great deal of inspiration from playing video games, especially the fantastic world of The Legend of Zelda series which sparked my imagination so much that I grew up with a passion for writing. I also absolutely love reading books, and practically lived in the local library from the age of ten and throughout my teenage years. My love of film causes me to absorb every movie I can get my hands on, unless it looks genuinely stupid or uninteresting, and it crosses over into a love for animation so I am definitely infatuated with Japanese animation (or anime), as well as their manga. I love comics, graphic novels, super heroes, fantasy, science fiction, and the list goes on because why limit myself to just one specific type of fandom?

The purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts, feelings, rantings, and reviews of things that I love in the world of popular culture. The name 'Pop Culture Queen' came from a professor in college who was so entertained by my ability to represent my fandoms that she called me by that nickname and so I have decided to use it since that memory amuses me so much. I will endeavor to entertain my dear readers regardless of how many or few of you there might be. Please enjoy.