M Dash 27 - Blog by Hecko X » Reviews

Random Candy and Snacks

Hecko X — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:36:55 +0000

Random Candy and Snacks

Busy with work an exams, I don’t really have time for much. As such, here’s a short review of some random candy and snacks:

Gourmet Soda – Blueberry flavour [Jelly Belly]
Prawn Crackers [Hanami]
Strawberry Gummy [Cocon]
Thâp Câ’m – Assorted Cracker [Yê'n Nhung]

More Candy from Nashayla

Hecko X — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:57:07 +0000

Awesome candy from Nash

I’m not quite done with the stuff I got from KAIKI, but since Nash has returned from Japan, I’m doing a quick one here, since the candy she brought looks really yummy!

With one exception, the candies Nash brought me were anime themed. For the most part with pictures of Chopper from the manga and anime One Piece, since she absolutely adores the character.

That being said, here’s what she brought me:

Akuma no Gumi – pre-time skip [UHA]
Akuma no Gumi – post-time skip [UHA]
Poccho – Cherry flavour [UHA] (not pictured)
Kawarinbo [LOTTE]
Taiyaki Candy

Candy from KAIKI Part 2: Soft Candies

Hecko X — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:34:43 +0000

Soft candies

With not time to spare, since Nash returns in a week from today, we continue straight on with the soft candies amongst the stuff KAIKI bought me.

I’m a sucker for jelly-like candies (wine gums, om nom nom), as well as crisps/snacks, so I’m really looking forward to trying these.

On the other hand, they are Chinese, and after the hard candy incident… =.=

Candy from KAIKI Part 1: Hard Candies

Hecko X — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:19:58 +0000

Hard candies(?)

Since Nash is currently in Japan and has promised me awesome snacks and treats that I’m dying to try, I figured I should make good on the post I made early December last year.

So after a bit of sorting, I finally get around to tasting the 50+ different Chinese candies that KAIKI gave me as a birthday present, so that I can make room for the awesome stuff Nash is bringing me~

But since that craaaaazy broad (KAIKI) brought me so many different things, I’ve been forced to split up the review into several smaller pieces, that I’ve tried to keep themed as best I can.

Also, since all the candy is Chinese, I have no fucking clue concerning what any of the candies are called, so please bare with me.

Mama Noodles

Hecko X — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:50:33 +0000

Another noodle brand review, but more in the style of my usual candy ones. This time is Mama Noodles, a noodle product from Thailand with a huge variety of flavours, top sellers (online) being their Shrimp Tom Yum, Shrimp Cream Tom Yum, and Wai Wai Oriental Style flavours.

Mama noodles come in both cups and packets, but here in DK, only packets are available. They are only sold in specialty stores in China/Asia Town and not in regular supermarkets.

Mama Noodles

Here is a list of flavours I got, along with the product ‘group’ photo:

QQ Noodles

Hecko X — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:40:14 +0000

QQ Noodles

Here comes another noodle brand review, like the Koka one I did a few months back. This time, I’m reviewing some flavours from the brand QQ, but since I could only get three flavours here in Denmark, I’ll probably amend this post at some point.

I’ll be keeping a similar format to the other review, but in addition to boiled and fried, I’ll be adding on the taste of the soup itself, something I completely neglected with the Koka noodles.

A thing I should mention, which surprised me at least, is that QQ noodles are glass noodles and not the usual wheat noodles, which I suppose is good news for people with gluten allergies.

A ‘feature’ I really like about the cups is that it has a hole the size of a large needle in the lid, allowing hot air to escape at a slow pace. Lids without holes tend to ‘swell up’ and become difficult to remove, especially if you poured in too much water.

Flavours:

Candy from J-Popcon 2011

Hecko X — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:02:48 +0000

Like stated in my previous post, I attended J-Popcon this year as a dealer. For a ‘review’ on the convention, please read that post, as I would like to stick to candiez here. A quick pic of what I got:

Candy I got at J-Popcon

From the left, the things are:

Chocoladeletter MELK [JUMBO]
Pocky – Strawberry Flakes in Cream [Glico]
Pocky – Choco Banana Flavour [Glico]
Collon – Strawberry Flavour [Glico]

Everything on here was given to me. The chocolate was a gift from a friend from the Netherlands, who is also the chairman of the organization behind the largest anime convention in Holland, AnimeCon. He’s a super swell guy with a taste for whisky, so if you like to go taste testing, he’s your man!

The rest were gifts from two of my employers; the owners of BananaCosplay and one of the dealers at the convention.

Chocoladeletter MELK

As my friends can attest to, I’m not much of a chocolate man, especially when it’s chocolate without crisps, nuts, or something crunchy in it. This, however, was exceptionally good milk chocolate, and the fact that my friend had taken the time to not only look for candy for me, but to find one shaped like a V for my name made me really happy :D

For snacking purposes, it’s very tasty, but a bit impractical. It’s thick and clunky, so it’s not something you can put in your pocket and nibble on when you feel low on sugar. It’s also not something you can break into pieces – like a chocolate bar – to serve as a sweet for when you have guests. This is best for when you feel like chilling with a relaxing movie and just want to completely devour some damn nice chocolate.

Pocky – Strawberry Flakes in Cream

Similar in concept as the Lychee Flakes in Cream Pocky I reviewed a while back. The jury is undecided on this one, since while the strawberry flavour of regular strawberry milk Pocky is much better, in my opinion, the aftertaste of these ones is far more pronounced. That being said, I think I still prefer the regular ones.

Like with all Pocky, they are easily portable and can be eaten anywhere.

Pocky – Choco Banana flavour

Looking at the image, I was afraid this was gonna have a very strong flavour of dark chocolate, but on the contrary, the chocolate flavour is subtle, which really makes the banana spring forth. If I were to compare the taste to something, it would have to be a mix between my favourite ice cream as a kid, Stopi (no longer being sold…), and my favourite banana flavoured dessert yoghurt with chocolate sprinkles. Oh sweet nostalgia~ ♥

Like with all Pocky, they are easily portable and can be eaten anywhere.

Collon – Strawberry Flavour

No “Son, I am disappoint” meme could justify trying to express what I feel. Honestly, I had really been looking forward to these, but they turned out to be the worst of the lot.

In concept, they are a lot like the green tea cream cookies I got from Nashayla, but just with strawberry cream instead. In all honesty, I liked the green tea ones better, and I usually hate green tea. The biscuit roll these things are encased in is so gross when you get to chewing. A big miss in my opinion, compared to pretty much any other strawberry flavoured sweets/snacks I’ve tried from them.

The packaging is, however, ingenious. It’s shaped like a small music box and can be re-closed by sliding part of the ‘lid’ into an opening, holding it in place. Peeeeerfect snack keeping on the desk or even in a drawer, as the lid prevents dust from entering and also the cookies from stale too quickly.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn

Hecko X — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:04:41 +0000

In a time of endless movie remakes, shitty sequels, and Marvel/DC superhero flicks, it’s really nice with an action/adventure film featuring a couple of regular Joes with a thirst for adventure and a fucking awesome dog!

The Adventures of Tintin recently premiered in Denmark and getting 50% off on tickets, I decided to take my girlfriend and her family to go watch it, since she and her father – and myself of course – are huge fans of the comic.

The film is based heavily on the comics “Secret of the Unicorn” and its sequel “Red Rackham’s Treasure” while also incorporating (and altering) several key elements from the story “The Crab with the Golden Claws.”

Covers for the three Tintin stories that make up the plot

The film was made using performance capture, i.e. they had real actors act out the scene, which was then animated over, giving a more life-like appearance. Having watched the 3D version, I can testify to that it makes very good use of 3D technology, unlike many other so-called ’3D’ movies that only add a hint of depth.

The character interactions were simply marvelous and the film was both funny and exciting. No prior knowledge of Tintin is required, making this film excellent for fans of Tintin as well as for people who just feel like watching a film (be they young or old). The story is great and well-performed, and at no point did I feel bored with the movie.

Even considering my somewhat high standards for films, I’d say The Adventures of Tintin met those standards and then some, so try as I might, I can’t find any reasons for giving the film any less than 10 out of 10, albeit hardcore fans might feel offence by how The Crab with the Golden Claws was hacked up and altered.

I highly recommend you watch the movie, if you haven’t already, as it was most likely one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve watched this year. Rumours of a sequel – and even possibly a third film – are spreading, so I’m looking forward to news regarding that :D

Gumi 100

Hecko X — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:31:24 +0000

Here comes a very short candy review of the five Gumi 100 flavours available here in Denmark!

Gumi 100 is the product of Kasugai and receives it’s name from being a gummy (gumi) candy containing 100% fruit juice (or at least so it claims). All candies come in handy miniature bags so you can easily put a bag in your pocket it to enjoy later.

Gumi 100

From top left, the things are:

Gumi 100 – Orange flavour
Gumi 100 – Pineapple flavour
Gumi 100 – Grape flavour
Gumi 100 – Muscat flavour
Gumi 100 – Apple flavour

Gumi 100 – Orange flavour

When I tore open the bag, an immediately smell of oranges and rubbing alcohol attacked my sinuses, inducing two sneezes and a lot of hurt, so I left the bag open for a while to ‘air out.

After that, I took a second whiff, which was a very mellow orange and quite likeable. The taste was, however, lacking; it was tart, but the orange flavour itself was extremely subtle. It’s not until the aftertaste sets in like 15-20 seconds later that you really notice it, so I was disappointed.

Gumi 100 – Pineapple flavour

The pineapple flavour is the exact opposite; there’s no smell of pineapples, but the taste is great!

It has a lovely tartness that gives just the right ‘zing’ of real pineapple, though it obviously doesn’t have the same taste of freshness.

Gumi 100 – Grape flavour

This… pretty much just tasted like purple, much like other grape flavoured candies.

I admit that I’ve never had real grape juice, but… I can imagine this is more along the lines of grape drink.

Gumi 100 – Muscat flavour

I was actually not looking forward to this one, since I’ve heard that muscat tastes odd and bitter and all kinds of other weird crap (plus, it smelled weird…). But it was new to me, so I pretty much had to give it a go.

It tasted pretty gross; kinda like if you stick your face in a make-up bag and take a deep breath through your mouth or something. Makes me wonder if they use muscat in lipstick.

Gumi 100 – Apple flavour

Pretty good actually; sweet apples with a hint of tartness.

They didn’t taste of something with 100% fruit juice though (being an avid drinker of apple juice, I should know). 30% maybe, if we’re being generous, but 100% no way.

Conclusion

All in all, a decent buy if meant as a candy to accompany an elementary school lunch, but other than that, hardly worth the money. If you’re contemplating buying it for yourself, don’t bother. There are better stuff for cheaper prices in DK!

Candy from Nashayla

Hecko X — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:25:47 +0000

This is a waaaaaaaaaaay overdue post. About five or so months ago, during Easter, I spent some time at Nashayla’s, who had arrived from Japan some time prior.

Easter almost coincided with our four month anniversary, so as a special treat, she had decided to show me what a Danish Easter was all about, since I’ve only ever celebrated Easter with Serbian traditions.

One of the Danish traditions is an ‘easter egg swap’, which is basically that you get a paper mache container shaped like an egg (they come in various sizes), fill it with candy, chocolate, or other goodies, and then you exchange them. She had gotten me a GIANT one that she had filled with super interesting candy and snacks from Japan :D

Seriously though, the thing was huge. It can be seen on the right next to my slipper (for comparative purposes). FYI, I wear size 44 slippers, which is a good 10-10½ in the UK and US. Cracked open, here’s what it contained.

Candy Nashayla bought for me in Japan

From top left, the things are:

Karl – Green Wasabi flavour [Meiji]
Funwari Meijin – Kinako Mochi [Echigoseika]
Choco Snack [Meiji]
Cream Cookie – Green Tea flavour [Meiji]
Caramel Corn – Green Tea flavour [Meiji]
Karujaga [Glico]

Karl – Green Wasabi flavour

Yeah… naming sense… Anywho, I was a bit dumb when trying this snack, since I pretty much just opened the bag went “uuuh, shape and texture like Flipsy,” stuffed a handful in my mouth, and THEN decided to read the flavour on the front. Fucking wasabi…

Now, the flavour is by no means overpowering, and for people who eat wasabi raw (like a couple of my friends), the flavour would probably even be considered pretty damn mild, but as you all know, I R a byatch with teh spicy; it was too much for me.

Aside from that, it’s a decent snack when you’re just lazing by the TV. But like with Cheetos, the powder gets all over your fingers, so you probably shouldn’t scratch you eye or anything else after munching down on these.

Funwari Meijin – Kinako Mochi

I was pretty confused eating these, since when I read “mochi”, I expected the texture to be sticky. On the contrary, the texture was light and ‘fluffed’, like a Cheeto you leave out in the open for too long. It’s not at all a bad texture, just not what I expected.

The fluffy rice snacks are covered with kinako (soybean flower) and are wrapped in small packets; six packets each containing six fluffy rice ‘balls’. The taste is so an so; kind of bland in the beginning with a slightly salty aftertaste, which is sorta good.

I’d consider this a sort of healthy snack alternative to crisps and something you’d bring to eat during the small break between the early morning classes, since it’s easy to carry the small pack with your lunch, in order to stave off the worst hunger before lunch break.

Choco Snack

A snack with a prize! In addition to the chocolate snacks, you get a Meitantei Conan (“Case Closed” in the US) collectable picture card with a puzzle on the back, so they’re probably aimed at kids ages 8-12.

As for the snack itself, I dunno… It’s shaped like a gourd and is essentially a Malteser with darker chocolate. Because it’s darker, it’s also a bit more bitter than Maltesers and I honestly thought the aftertaste was a bit like old raisins or weak chocolate liquor. Not my thing.

Cream Cookie – Green Tea flavour

The first one you eat will taste funky. I mean really funky. REALLY funky. Kinda like fish gone partially bad. However, if you eat the second one right after, it tastes GREAT. So as long as you keep eating them, they’re pretty awesome, save for that first funky one. Magic :O

Anywho, the sweets seem a bit high brow, if you catch my drift? I prefer lowbrow stuff myself, like crisps or candy you just dig into while watching TV or working. These give off more of a “4 O’clock tea with the lady friends” sort of dignified feeling. So they’re pretty good, but there’s an image mismatch.

Caramel Corn – Green Tea flavour

Now THIS is more my thing. Despite their name, caramel corn aren’t actually caramels, as in toffee; they’re more fluffy, with a texture like Cheetos (lots of Cheetos comparisons today, huh?).

The taste is DIVINE though. They essentially taste like Sugar Puffs with just a hint of green tea. Soooo yummy!

Karujaga

Since these were made by the same company who makes Pretz, which I absolutely LOVE, I had some high expectations for this buttered potato flavoured snack.

They tasted absolutely great, but compared to most of their Pretz products, it falls a bit short. Karujaga tastes somewhat like Estrella’s Potato Sticks, which I adored as a child of 8-9 years old, but less salty (and thus better, in my opinion).

But while awesome in their own right, I’d still pick just about any Pretz product over this, even the Edamame ones.

Candy from Kodachi

Hecko X — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 22:42:10 +0000

So, when I went to Kodachi last April, I decided to blow my money on a bunch of Japanese candy I had never tried before, so I could review them. Here’s first a pic of all the stuff I bought, as per usual.

Candy bought at Kodachicon 2011

From top left, the things are:

Koara no Maachi (Koala’s March) – Strawberry & Milk flavour [Lotte]
Koara no Maachi (Koala’s March) – Chocolate flavour [Lotte]
Milky [Fujiya]
Pocky – Milk flavour [Glico]
Choko Booru (Choco Balls) – Cookie & Cream flavour [Morinaga]
Pocky – Strawberry flavour [Glico]

Not pictured on the ‘group shot’, because I put them in a different pocket and forgot about them, are the Pocky with cream and lychee flakes (also from Glyco).

Koara no Maachi – Strawberry & Milk flavour

Very enjoyable. The strawberry and milk filling was light and creamy, with a sweet aftertaste. The biscuit outer layer was also pretty yummie, despite a heavy burnt taste from the koala imprints on the front. It wasn’t overpowering, but still pretty annoying, since the flavour of the filling was somewhat subtle.

This is actually a pretty good snack when you’re sitting in front of your computer, but not something I’d bring with me, since it’s not exactly something that’ll fit in your pocket.

Koara no Maachi – Chocolate flavour

The chocolate version of Koala’s March was actually okay, considering I don’t really like chocolate. It was a bit too dark for my taste, but I’m pretty picky when it comes to chocolates, so I don’t imagine other people having any kinds of issues with this. The chocolate, however, nicely covered the slightly burnt taste of the koala imprint, so I don’t really know which one I’d prefer.

Milky

short, Milky is everything that Namakuriimu aspired to be, but failed miserably at. It’s sweet, chewy, and milky, which is pretty much everything it promises.

It tastes pretty good and all the little balls inside the pack are individually wrapped, so it’s technically ‘resealable’ and thus good for a quick munch when you feel low on sugar, without having to finish off the entire box at once.

Pocky – Milk flavour

Not that great actually. After having tasted this alongside the strawberry flavoured one, I can totally see why school children in Japan choose to drink strawberry milk, as opposed to regular milk. Though to be fair, it could also be because the people at Kodachi sold me a pack that expired two years ago! D8<

Choko Booru – Cookie & Cream flavour

These choco balls were supposed to taste like cookies and cream, more specifically cream ice. They don’t. They taste like a day-old cheese you forgot to put back in the fridge. But they’re oddly addictive… I suspect they’re laced with crack cocaine or something.

That aside, I love the packaging. Small enough to put in your pocket and re-closable. The part you open and dispense that choco balls is the beak of the bird mascot, which is a bit less charming though, since it seems like it’s regurgitating the choco balls for you. And having said choco balls so many times, I have to link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBO1JVqB9YI

Pocky – Strawberry flavour

Absolutely yummy! It tastes a lot like the Koala’s March candy, but with out the burnt taste, since there obviously isn’t any sort of mark on the biscuit part. The strawberry flavour is once again only very subtle, but more noticeable, as there’s no burnt taste to overwhelm it.

The only bad thing is that these Pocky taste so good, you’ll keep eating them until you start a bit feeling nauseous, which actually doesn’t take a whole lot (after half a pack, slight nausea sets in).

Pocky – Lychee Flakes in Cream

As per usual with candies with a slightly unusual flavour, the first one tastes crazy weird. After that, you adjust and can actually taste the lychee fruits in there. It wasn’t bad, but I’m just no fan of lychee, especially the actual fruit (Nashayla totally loves them though).

That being said, I find them a lot better than real lychee fruits, and not just because of the cracker; the dried lychee flakes > the wet, squishy bastard child of an olive and a pickled peach (i.e. fresh lychee).

Assorted Asian Candy and Snacks

Hecko X — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:41:15 +0000

This post has been a long time in the making since I didn’t have time to write it, and because I only just recently made my BlueTooth work again, so I could transfer photos. Anywho, about a month ago now, two of my buddies, Heavy and Andrew (the owners of BananaCosplay), came back from China. With them, they brought a bunch of snacks and sweets, just for meeeee~ ♥

Candy from Heavy and Andrew

From the top left (and where they’re from); click to skip to the section:

Beer Pretz – Edamame flavour (Japan) [Glico]
Fried Rice Crackers – Chicken flavour (Hong Kong) [Want Want]
Coconut Candy (Mainland China) [Chun Guang]
Assorted “mix-your-own” candy (see section for details)
Pachipachi Panic – Cola Flavour (Japan) [Meiji]

Not pictured, because I only got a taste of it from Andrew, were some dried squid snacks from either Hong Kong or Korea. They were really good, but also kinda spicy. A bit too much for me, but they weren’t bad at all.

Beer Pretz – Edamame Flavour

First to avoid possible confusion among readers; Beer Pretz does not taste like beer nor is it made with beer, rather, it is a snack that goes well with beer. Salty edamame has a long tradition of being served alongside beer as a snack; think of it like the Japanese version of salty peanuts served at bars.

Anywho, it’s no secret that I absolutely love Pretz from Glico; it is the perfect mix of a pretzel and a buttered bread stick and I’ve loved them ever since my first taste last year ♥

Not too fond of edamame though, I wasn’t really to pleased with the aftertaste, but I found that if you just keep eating one after the other, you don’t taste the edamame until finishing the very last one. Until then, all you taste is a salty pretzel/buttered bread stick mix, which is absolutely delicious!

Fried Rice Crackers – Chicken flavour

The chicken flavoured fried rice crackers from Want Want are actually really good, but unfortunately also pretty of spicy. It’s not a lot, but as we all know, I’m a whiny little bitch when it comes to spicy stuff. If not for that, I can totally see myself eating a bag or so every two or three days, cause apart from the spiciness, they’re totally om nom nom worthy.

The chicken flavour is pretty subtle, so you’d eat it mostly for the taste of the spice, which isn’t an immediate burn, but more the kind that slowly creeps up on you and then BOOM!! The spice dissappears after a pretty short time, 15-20 seconds, but that might only be because I’m too chickenshit to eat more than one.

Being a rice cracker, I though it would be a nice low-calorie snack that also girls dieting to enjoy, but after reading the nutritional info, I noticed that 100 grams of Want Want’s chicken flavoured Fried Rice Crackers actually contain more calories than 100 grams of a Snickers bar, so…

Coconut Candy

I’ve had the hardest time putting my finger on the oddly familiar flavour, and just now, it hit me, thanks to my girlfriend baking my favourite sponge cake last week; it tastes EXACTLY like the cake’s topping! ♥

It’s a hard candy, rather than a chewy one, and, in a nutshell, is to coconuts what Werther’s Original is to caramel. They’re really good though, but taste more of a kind of creamy, processed (like, caramelized or something) coconut than it does fresh coconut; this is however to be expected. I highly recommend these for people, who like Werther’s, as something with a bit of an alternative flavour.

Assorted “mix-your-own” candy

While I couldn’t read who made it, the Japanese fresh cream sweet, Namakuriimu (生クリーム; top left pink one), from the line(?), Country of Milk, was a very… odd… sweet. With a texture of chewy toffee and a distinct taste of lukewarm milk, it’s somewhat like eating an oversized bugger. It totally grossed me out.

Next came the Japanese Goma Sofuto (ごまソフト; under the pink one), literally meaning Sesame Soft, by an unknown brand. The seeds themselves are not soft; the soft part is what they’re sprinkled on, which I haven’t been able to identify. Because of it’s consistency and slight honey flavour, I thought it was processed bee wax or maybe even paraffin wax, though my mom seems to disagree. But having grown up with sesame and honey in cooking, I’m quite fond of this treat, though I believe it’s very much an acquired taste, so I don’t expect others to like it much.

The next two were peanut log treats from Nature is Best (upper right blue and red) of the People’s Republic of China. Avid readers will know that I’ve actually reviewed these kind of treats before, when I received some Chinese candy from Yuan-chan. I must say though, that the consistency of these ones were FAR better. The ones I got from Yuan-chan were dry and brittle, and disintegrated into dust when you bit into them, while these were more chewy. On the other hand, these ones tasted nothing like they were supposed to; the cocoa one (red) tasted like peanut butter while the sesame one (blue) tasted like sunflower seeds. I like peanut butter and sunflower seeds, but since they weren’t supposed to taste that way, I don’t think I should say it’s a good thing.

First in the bottom row (white on the far left) is a cashew nougat candy from Hong Kong. Couldn’t read the name of maker, so you’ll have to do without. While I like nougat in chocolate, I don’t really like it as a stand alone sweet, though this wasn’t too bad. The mix of sugar and honey gave it a slight banana-like flavour and the texture was a bit firm at first, but otherwise chewy. The cashews kinda ruined it for me though. If you like eating banana with grated nuts, I can recommend this as a snack that you can carry around with you and then eat after lunch at work or something.

Second (yellow in the middle) is Super Lemon. There was no country or company name written it, so I don’t know who made it. What I can tell you though, is that this hard candy lives up to its name; it’s craaaaaaazy sour. I can’t explain how sour it was, except that my face looked very much like Homer Simpson’s in the episode where they go to the candy convention and he eats the Super Sour Ball. Seriously, it was insane. Even now, just thinking about it, my face is tensing up. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, unless you want to prank your friends.

Last, but by far the best, is the 100 Fruit Juice Mango Gummy (bottom right, orange) from the People’s Republic of China. It uses real mango fruit juice and is really yummy gummy ;P It’s not as ‘hard’ as the gummy candy I’m used to eating, e.g. Haribo’s Gummi Bears, which really emphasises the juiciness. However, because it contains sorbitol, it’s not a candy I’d eating too much of, since it might trouble your stomach.

Pachipachi Panic – Cola Flavour

Pachipachi Panic was like a blast from the past; not so much that I have eaten Pachipachi Panic before, but because it’s a fizz candy, which I haven’t had in years. I think most people know fizz candy by the names of Moon Dust candy or Space Rock candy or something similar. In addition to the cola flavoured fizz candy, it also had candy that were essentially powdered sugar compressed into a small pill-like shape; essentially like the ramune candy I reviewed some time ago.

My problem with this was mostly that while the two candies may work well separately, they don’t go well together. The fizz candy is something you ‘suckle’ on (or just let dissolve) rather than chew, while the sugar candy is something you chew rather than suckle on. So the taste wasn’t bad, but it’s not really something I’d buy again

Koka Noodles

Hecko X — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 03:29:19 +0000

Image source: boynevalley.com

While cleaning up one night not long after Genki 2010, Kurikku and I stumbled upon a pot of gold! Well, for students anyway; it was a box of 30-some instant noodles from the brand, Koka.

Taking a quick look at the expiration dates, we noticed that most of them had only 3 weeks left, so we did the only thing responsible adults would do in a situation like this; we decided to eat all of them and made a run for it with the box!

We did it for people’s own good, we didn’t want them to find them and get food poisoning and stuff, so it was because we care! ;3;

Anywho, there were seven different flavours in the box, and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to taste one of each and then review them, so here we go~ 8D

Prawn!
Boiled: It was, for me at least, way too spicy, though the flavour itself was not too bad. I think I may be allergic to prawn though, and the itching and coughing while eating it didn’t help, so never got around to finishing it ;>.>
Fried: I tossed what I didn’t eat because I didn’t want to risk food allergies, so never got to try it fried.

Mushroom!
Boiled: Almost the same as regular tasteless buckwheat noodles, but with a cardboard aftertaste.
Fried: Delicious!! I was delightfully surprised of how incredibly much better they tasted once fried. I assume it’s because the water absorbed by the noodles evaporate, making the taste come out a lot stronger. They were great straight out of the pan, but I fried them with just a bit of soy sauce to make them a bit saltier.

Tom Yam!
Boiled: Spicyyyyyyy D8 I was already freaked out when I saw there were two flavour packs and that one them was a dip-like substance, so I kinda knew it was coming… But just because you know it’s coming doesn’t mean that the napalm bombs of doom don’t hurt like fuck. The smell was nice though, kinda like a spicy meat skewer poured over with lemon juice.
Fried: Too spicy, didn’t dare TT^TT

Chicken!
Boiled: Pretty bland and tasteless, which is the problem of all wheat based noodles with chicken flavour; the lack of KAPOW!! It essentially tasted of what it was; wet flour in a string. The only good chicken noodle I’ve tried so far is from the brand, Xing Fu, which is just beyond om nom nom ♥
Fried: Still really bland :/

Tomato!
Boiled: Wasn’t too bad actually, but it was obvious that there was more than just tomato flavour in it. The tomato flavour was more of an aftertaste though, so pretty subtle.
Fried: Bad. The taste was completely gone, so it was even more bland than the chicken one.

Curry!
Boiled: SO SPICY!! T^T I bit down and it was nuclear reactor of Inferno’s lowest realms in my mouth. It was way spicier than the Tom Yam one! Though, granted, I’m REALLY bad with spicy foods, so I could just be a total wuss, but thank God for that loaf of bread on the table. I think it’s a Serbian thing, we mostly eat salty food rather than spicy food, with the exception of those spicy paprika eating daredevils.
Fried: I couldn’t take the spice, so dumped it.

Beef!
Boiled: Compared to other beef noodles I’ve had, it was actually pretty good. I was afraid it was gonna taste of molten shoe soles and black liquorice like the beef noodles by the brand, Xing Fu (luckily their chicken noodles are awesome). It had a spicy aftertaste I wasn’t too happy about though.
Fried: I like this slightly better than the boiled one, but only because of the added soy sauce which made it saltier. Apart from that, no big difference. The aftertaste became a bit more pronounced and quicker to set in though.

Candy from Japan~

Hecko X — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:51:05 +0000

Yes, the candy from Japan has finally arrived~! 8D Here’s a pic of what I bought

From the top left, I bought (company names in square brackets when applicable; click to instantly jump to section):

Cratz Crackers – Smokey Cheese and Almond flavor [Glico]
Baby Star Ramen – chicken flavour [Oyatsu Company]
Guimauve – strawberry flavour [Kabaya]
Calorie Mate Apple Jelly Drink [Otsuka Pharmaceutical]
KitKat Strawberry Chocolate Balls (Rilakkuma) [Nestlé]
Umeboshi Hard Candies [Lotte]
Hi-Chew – Cola flavour [Morinaga]
Ramune Candy – strawberry flavour [Morinaga]
Karipori Candy Sticks – Cola and Soda flavour [Kabaya]
Pretz – Roasted Corn flavour [Glico]

Cratz Crackers – Smokey Cheese and Almond flavor

Not at all what I had hoped for. First off, they aren’t even crackers with flavours, but actual almonds and dried (or deep-fried or something) cheese. The almonds are pretty bad; they’ve been roasted for far too long, so they have no real taste anymore. The cheese-things are unfortunately seasoned too much for me (I don’t like spicy stuff), but apart from that, they’re pretty good.

Baby Star Ramen – chicken flavour

They are actually pretty good, but they taste nothing like chicken though. Rather, they taste like slightly seasoned, thinly-sliced, deep-fried potato sticks. I used to eat that a LOT when I was a pre-teen and the aftertaste of the Baby Star Ramen is exactly the same. It’s not a snack I’d recommend for eating in public though, since they’re pretty small/thin and easily dropped, so you look… less than charming when putting them in your mouth trying to avoid dropping any. For home-eating, they are awesome though <33

Guimauve – strawberry flavour

Guimauve is, to the best of my knowledge, the French word for marshmallow, so that should ‘set the scene’ for it. Lovely taste of strawberry~! I didn’t like the consistency much though; the inside crumbled very oddly, considering how squishy the outside was. Why is a marshmallow even crumbly in the first place..?

Calorie Mate Apple Jelly Drink

I’ve been curious about these jelly drinks ever since I saw them in J-Drama and manga, so I’ve been want to try them for quite a while. Apparently, they are ‘replacement meals’, in the sense that in case you are too busy to make lunch for school, you can have one of these instead. Trying to live off them instead of having a balanced diet is probably a BAD idea though!

The taste itself is pretty good actually, kinda like freshly squeezed apple juice, and the aftertaste lingers for quite a while, which is yummy. The consistency, however, is absolutely disgusting! I’d imagine sucking the snot out of a sick person’s nose would have a very similar feel to it x_x

KitKat Strawberry Chocolate Balls (Rilakkuma)

They were actually really good; kinda like raisinettes, but bigger and strawberry flavoured. I liked them a lot, but because of the kiddy packaging, I might be too embarrassed to buy them in a store ;>.>

Umeboshi Hard Candies

SO GROSS!! D8 It seriously tasted like tuna or some other kind of metallic tasting fish OTL

Though, a cool detail was that all the hard candies were individually wrapped inside the bag, and each wrapper had a short poem on them. I thought that was pretty awesome; poetic candy.

Hi-Chew – Cola flavour

When they say hi-chew, they damn well MEAN it!! owo;; Super duper chewy, so much that I started thinking it was gum. It wasn’t bad though, just a bit odd. Great taste of cola. I’ve read people likening this to the American candy, Starburst, in terms of consistency and fruit flavours.

Ramune Candy – strawberry flavour

Waste of money. Doesn’t taste of strawberry Ramune, you can’t really suckle on them either, and it’s essentially just flavoured powder pressed into a shape; it almost immediately turns back into powder and then dissolves when you bite down on them. They might be good for keeping your blood sugar up during a four hour written exam, but as a regular candy treat, it sucks.

Karipori Candy Sticks – Cola and Soda flavour

Pretty good, but rather acidic, so probably really bad for your teeth D8 I like that with each packet, you get 6 cola flavour sticks, 6 soda flavour stick, and 2 mystery flavoured sticks~. In my case, the mystery sticks tasted kinda like Fanta (the original orange one).

Pretz – Roasted Corn flavour

SO DELICIOUS!!! The first one I had admittedly tasted a bit weird, kinda like a buttered bread roll dipped in sweet&sour sauce, but then the smoked corn aftertaste set in and I was hooked!! I’m so getting more of these and I can recommend them to everyone who loves corn on the cob, as the aftertaste really lingers!

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Hecko X — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:34:13 +0000

Still being busy with exams and project, I temporarily turn over the helm to my buddy Blue Highwind (bluehighwind.blogspot.com), who wrote this review of the anime “The Girl who Leapt through Time”. Please enjoy.

Last week I received a movie in the mail through Netflix. It was flavorless, entirely unremarkable, lacking any real characters, and completely unable to deal with the major issues it brought up. Recreating the human body through nanomachines might actually be the next stage in human history, but this movie was hardly mature enough to consider that, instead relegating the entire concept to the work of a Japanese Dr. Insano. It had just one good idea: metal sandworms (in fact I only rented this movie because I saw metal sandworms in the trailer). The rest of it was completely junk that nobody should have to suffer through.

Luckily, that was “Vexille“, and has absolutely nothing to do with the movie I have for you guys today.

“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a movie about a teenage girl… who leaps through time. No, that title isn’t some kind of complicated metaphor that in no describes the story at all, its exactly what this movie is about. If you don’t want girls leaping through time, say you’re morally opposed to the idea, this isn’t your film. I, however, being one who is rather fond of the idea of girls leaping through time, immediately rented this movie when I heard the title. And since this is indeed a movie about a girl who indeed leaps through time quite a bit, I was not disappointed. That it also turned out to be a generally good movie with a touching love story and beautiful animation – that’s all a nice bonus. I don’t know about anybody else, but all I need for my movies is just a girl and for her to leap through time, at least once. Can’t go wrong with that formula I say. But since I doubt you guys share my love for girls leaping through time, I guess I should go ahead and explain why this movie is worth a watch.

(Disclaimer: Obviously this being a work of fiction that deals with time travel, things can get very confusing and paradoxical if you think about it too much. Thinking too much about time travel is usually a bad idea in of itself, unless you want to go cross-eyed.)

Makota Kanno, the girl, is the main character. She’s an average high school student that enjoys playing baseball with her two (guy) friends… but its totally not romantic, seriously! having a really bad day: she overslept, her sister ate her pudding, she didn’t study for a pop math quiz, some idiot knocked her over, etc. Also, her bike brakes failed and now she’s about to get run over by a train and die horribly*. Then Makota suddenly discovers that she has a superpower: she can leap through time. After saving herself from what will certainly be a very painful death, Makota now has a new problem: what to do with this power? Obviously you go back and eat that pudding, study for the pop quiz, gracefully dodges the idiot, and – of course – avoid that train that almost ran you over. But things start getting a lot more complicated for Makota once romantic entanglements start entering the picture. Can you just leap back in time and avoid the haggles of growing up, and simply keep on playing baseball?

At first “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” seems to be following a very familiar theme: you can’t go back and change things through time travel, or else you’re just going to make things a whole lot worse. Lots of movies have handled this issue before, including the unbelievably horrible Aston Kutcher movie “The Butterfly Effect” – less said about that one the better. However, around the half-way mark a few major twists break the movie off this path towards something a bit more interesting. Honestly, what king of advise is “don’t go back in time”? Its completely useless, as time travel is not even an option in the real world! Fiction of this type can only be fantasy, nothing else.

Instead, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is trying to make something of a metaphor through Makota and her super powers. At one point her best friend asks her out on a date, shocking her straight to the core. Despite Makota’s repeated jumps to the path, the relationship between these two characters is markedly changed throughout the rest of the movie – even though the moment itself has been erased from existence thanks to Makota’s time leaping. Even if you had the power to go back to the past, you can’t keep your relationships simple, and you can’t help but move forward in your life. The only other possibility is to stay behind and watch everybody else find some level of happiness. Its a stirring metaphor, perhaps even a brilliant one. Though beyond even all this, this movie is still a love story in the end, and it ends on a very ambiguous note, even if that note was meant to be hopeful.

Another thing I cannot help but praise this movie for is its impressive animation work. Most 2D animation is very static, with characters often standing still while only their mouths move. You can spot dozens of tricks animators use at times in order to avoid fully animating the motion of people, often giving a very limited view of what their actual actions are. “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” actually goes ahead and produces extremely natural and fluid motion in its characters, something you’d usually only see in 3D animation or live action. Its so well-done that I’d really like to know if motion-capture or computers were used in the process of this movie’s development, even though as far as I can tell this is indeed traditional hand-drawn animation. There is comedy, but none of it is overtly cartoony, i.e. character’s faces never morph, there are no giant beads of sweat, or any of those other anime cliches. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of visual comedy, but it definitely does not fit the emotions of this movie and I’m glad to see that the producers did not include any of it.

However, all this realism leads me to a rather odd question: why is this movie animated in the first place? Everything that happens here happens in the what is essentially the real world, there aren’t many fantastic elements (beyond the time travel bit). Since the animation is so fluid as to almost be live-action, why not have it be live-action? “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a beautiful movie with lovely landscapes despite taking place in the “real world” (see the picture above), and I have no problems with its visuals. Shots like the one above give a fantastic poetic vision, even when taking place in the temporal world, not a fantasy Miyazaki landscape. However, those same shots could easily be found through traditional live action. Actors and actresses could easily have played the roles of Makota and her friends. What’s the point of animating this world in the first place?

I’m not saying that live-action is in any way superior, but I think this is a question that needs to be asked. As both 2D and 3D animation grows more and more life-like, eventually it will be able to perfectly replicate that of live action. At that point, what would the point of animation even be? Once its lost that element that separates it from live action, what makes it a special and unique medium for visual representation? I just think that these sorts of questions need to be asked at some point. Despite my love of animation, I really don’t know what makes its special beyond live action. That’s a question I’d really like somebody to answer at some point.

But all that is a purely secondary concern which in no way hurts this particular movie or makes it any less enjoyable or thought-provoking. If you are the kind of person who cannot take animation seriously, considering it just to be a medium for children, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is an irrefutable counterpoint to your simple-minded position. This movie has the most original themes and original answers that I’ve seen in a movie since 2004′s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”**. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough, or “Eternal Sunshine” either for that matter.

Plus, it has a girl who leaps through time. I can’t argue with that.

————————————————
* Something like this actually – no joke – happened to me when I was ten years old. I was on my scooter riding around and crossed a street. However, some idiot was driving incredibly fast and was just about to hit me then…. I don’t know. I blacked out for what felt like hours. When I came to, the car was driving past, only inches away. He drove past calling me “idiot”, and I slowly walked back to the curb and cried. I don’t know if it was adrenaline or what, and I have no idea what happened. Did I get run over? Did something save me? Or perhaps… just maybe… I leapt through time.

** I seem to have forgotten about “Eternal Sunshine” in my countdown of the Best Movie of the Decade. Sorry about that. I was certain while writing that post that I would forget something along the way, and look I did. Oops! It is patently impossible to list the best of anything, sadly. Also, this movie too probably should have been on that list. It just goes to show that there’s always something you forget or do not know about. Never be 100% certain about anything.

Candy from Japan! 8D

Hecko X — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:38:20 +0000

Oh yeaaaah, haven’t done one of these since Yuanchosaan sent me Chinese candy! 8D Anyway, about a week ago, the Twins (the ones I had the ice cream adventure with) returned from Japan and brough me back some candiez~!

The first ones I tried were the Mini-Rumando (ミニルマンド; left one on the pic). They reminded me a bit of the peanut waffer snacks Yuanchosaan bought me, but instead of a peanut waffer with dried filling, it was a regular waffer with a soft toffee filling. It was a bit weird at first since I don’t usually like waffer snacks, but the soft toffee really hit home with me so I thought this one was super awesome!!

Next, I tried the Sayaendou (さやえんどう; middle one) which means “peas”. It’s a healthy-ish snack by Calbee in a line of snacks called “Yasai snacks” (vegetable snacks), which are dried or baked (or whatever owo;; ) snacks made from veggies. This one was obviously made from peas, but they also have snacks made from maize, bell pepper, carrot, etc. The consistency is kinda ‘fluffy’, but crunchy, if that makes at all. The first few you try are gonna taste a bit odd, but as you get used to it, it’s actually quite good! I really wanna try the maize one now <33

The last one I tried was Nerunerunerune (ねるねるねるね) which I think is meant to be a pun. “Neruneru” (ねるねる) is the sound in Japan for stuff that is slimy (which it looks like), while “neru” (練る) means “to knead” which is essentially what you do to make the candy. Yes, I said “make the candy”, since it’s from a brand of a “do-it-yourself” candy. I’ve added a video to the left of a girl making it, since that’s easier than explaining it. But anyway, the one I got was with a taste of grape, but it was soooo friggin’ sour! I usually like sour candies, but in moderation, and this one was so sour that it was hurting my stomach for like two hours. And the consistency was bad too D8

Anyway, I plan on purchasing more Japanese candies and snacks soon! PREPARE FOR MORE CANDYLICIOUS REVIEWS!! >:3

Monster

Hecko X — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:58:23 +0000

Monster (モンスター monsutā) is a 162 chapter long manga written and illustrated by Urasawa Naoki. It has spawned an anime and a spin-off manga which, as far as I can understand, tells the same story as the original but with a different narrative. The manga is a psychological thriller that has a large amount of focus on what defines human identity and how far it can be pushed for one to become a “monster”.

Plot

Dr. Kenzō Tenma (Western name order), a prodigious Japanese brain surgeon operating in Germany, defies the orders of the hospital’s director in order to save the life of a young boy who had been shot in the head during a home invasion during which his parents were killed and his twin sister was left in catatonic shock and as a result, loses everything.

A few nights later, the director, the new Chief of Surgery, and one more high-ranking doctor are found dead from poisonous candy and the twins have vanished from their rooms. Panic spreads but neither the killer nor the children are to be found anywhere and the case remains unsolved.

Seven years later, Dr. Tenma, the new Chief of Surgery, receives a patient warning him of a “monster” responsible for the recent strings of serial killings happening all over Germany. That very evening, in a state of panic, the patient tries to escape the hospital and Dr. Tenma manages to trail him to a building under construction and comes face to face with the monster responsible for the recent murders as well as the deaths of the three doctors seven years earlier. It was Johan, the very boy whose life he had saved. Dr. Tenma’s patient is then shot before Tenma’s very eyes.

Now on the run from the police and the KGB who believe Tenma to be the murderer, he must track down the elusive Johan in order to make up for his ‘mistake’ of saving his life so many years earlier and try to prevent there being any more victims. In the process of finding Johan, Tenma uncover the twins’s horrible pasts which shaped Johan into the monster he had become.

Opinion

Because this isn’t the type of manga you can just pick up and continue at your leasure, I decided to read it all in two consecutive sittings. By the time I had finished it, all I could really feel was saddened and empty, and as such, I’m at a loss for proper words.

Monster is by no means a bad manga, actually quite the opposite. It has a take on the importance of identity and the value and meaning of having a name I had never before seen which will definitely strike a nerve if you don’t just read it superficially. It portrays one’s name as being almost the very essense of ‘you’; the diametric opposite of Shakespear’s “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” I suppose (Romeo and Juliette?). It’s more in the lines of Hamlet; “To be, or not to be? That is the question“, but adds on “but with no name to be called by, was I ever to begin with?”

The story is complex, but woven together beautifully and it never ‘sidetracks’ without some degree relevance to the main storyline, so I guess in reality, it never really sidetracks at all? Looking past semantics, many chapters -will- focus on events and characters apart from Dr. Tenma and Johan, but it all plays out for a ‘greater purpose’ later in the story so no ties a left untied (except for whatever happened to Karl’s foster parents…). Considering the length and complexity of the story, this is actually a pretty remarkable feat.

If you truely immerse yourself in the storyline, which isn’t difficult as the story really draws you in, you will often find yourself in moments of disgust and disbelief. Not just because of the horrors depicted in the manga, but because it’s written in such a way that it doesn’t seem unlikely that at least some of it was at based on reality, such as the horrors of the East-German Kinderheims (orphanages), the Nazis’ attempts to brainwash children to be perfect patriots, etc.

One thing that did not carry over so well, however, were the religious themes. It is very obvious that Johan is likened to the Anti-Christ, but the manga makes such infrequent and subtle hints at it (except for the first and third-to-last chapter) that you will likely miss them completely. Maybe the mangaka simply didn’t want for the story to become ‘supernatural’ rather just border the extremes of human evil.

All in all, it’s an amazing story with some very likable characters (and moustaches!) and I will highly recommend people to read it, especially if you have an interest in human nature and psychology. However, like meantioned earlier, it’s not the type of story you can just pick up and continue, since it’s far too complex, so it would probably be best to wait until you have enough time to read it all in 2-5 sittings.

Doubt

Hecko X — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:06:10 +0000

Doubt (ダウト dauto) is a 20 chapter long manga written and illustrated by Tonagai Yoshiko who is probably most famous illustrating Himatsubushi-hen, one of the manga adaptations of When the Cicadas Cry.

The manga manages to combine three of my absolutely favourite genres: mystery, horror, and psychological thriller, so I was excited about beginning to read.

Plot

Rabbit Doubt, a virtual mobile phone game of murder and deception, has become popular among youths. The concept of the game is rather simple:

A group of players, who frequently play Rabbit Doubt with each other, decide to meet up in real life and hang out together. While having fun at a karaoke place, all the players are one by one knocked unconscious by a mysterious person wearing a rabbit head ‘mask’ and brought and confined to a mental hospital.

Early on, they find one of their companions dead with a message on the wall written in blood: “The liar must die!“, the phrase associated with Rabbit Doubt. It is here they realise that they are playing Rabbit Doubt for real and that their only way to survive and escape is to figure out the identity of the wolf before the wolf kills them all…

Opinion

The mystery was extremely well written, to the point that even though I had actually figured out the criminal’s identity before cracking open the first volume, the flow and progress of the story made me seriously doubt (no pun intended) my initial suspicion and I ended up changing my mind about the killer’s identity 2-3 times.

To me, that is the mark of a good mystery; that even though you can be so sure of the killer’s identity, the progress story makes you stop, reflect, cast doubt on what you once believed was true, and in that way keep you guessing, but without breaking the flow of the story.

The setting to me was like Liar Game (deception) meets Saw II (people mysteriously connected trapped in a freaky building), but it really worked for the story and had my pulse rising whenever someone turned another dark corner of the hallway or went to investigate something on their own.

People who know the film Cry Wolf would probably find that one to be the most similar, especially since the main characters play the same type of game (Mafia) and the overall plot is similar.

By the last 5-6 chapters, I caught myself speed reading several times because I just HAD to know the killer’s identity and motivation. By the time I finally got to the ending, I began having mixed feelings though. It was at the same time very exciting, but also rather stereotypical and a bit over the top. Overall, however, I felt that it was fitting considering the plot, so I guess I’m pretty happy with it.

So in conclusion, I highly recommend this manga if you love psychological thrillers and aren’t too squeamish about dead bodies in manga.

Taiko no Tatsujin DS – TACCHI de Dokodon

Hecko X — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:30:28 +0000

Taiko no Tatsujin DS – TACCHI de Dokodon (“Drum Master DS – Play By Touch”) is a Japan-only game realeased for the Nintendo DualScreen. It is part of a long line of Taiko no Tatsujin games for various consoles (and arcade machines), none of which have been released outside of Japan.

Now, I have known about TnT for several years, but I had always thought that it could only be found in arcades in Japan because of the hardware needed to play it (since half the fun is being able to hit the giant drum). As soon as I found out that it had been released to DS, I just -had- to get my hands on a copy and try it out~!

Gameplay

The gameplay is very much like other music/rhythm games; a note slides by the screen and when it reaches the hit area, you press the correct button. Daiko no Tatsujin is however limited to two commands; top of the drum (orange faces) and edge of the drum (blue faces). The bigger faces require you to hit a specific part of the drum (center of the top and exactly on the edge, respectively), but while all this sounds pretty simple and straight forward, the harder difficulties will seriously mess up your timing.

Song list

The songs are many and varied, both in genre and difficulty. I’ve made a short list below with all the songs (in romaji) divided in the same way they are in the game. I’ve omitted the artist names due to lack of space, but will be adding videos as soon as a mail goes through and I get access to a beta of a plugin~

J-Pop •Sakuranbo •Kibun Joujou↑↑ •Natsu Matsuri •Ketsui no Asa ni •WON’T BE LONG! •Mata Aimashou •DANCE2 feat. Soysauce	Namco Originals •Kimi ni Touch •Mojipittan Medley •KAGEKIYO •Fuuun! Pachi-Osensei •Kurofune Raikou •Taiko Ranbu •Tenjiki 2000	Anime •Touch •Together •Juken Sentai Gekiranger •PreCure 5 Smile GoGo! •Doraemon no Uta •Meitantei Konan Theme •Anpanman no March
Classical •Symphony No. 7 •William Tell Overture •Orpheus in the Underworld •Flight of the Bumblebee •Classic Medley (Wedding version) •Fantaisie-Impromptu	Game Music •Super Mario Bros. •GO MY WAY!! •Namco Medley Variety •Tarako-Tarako-Tarako	Traditional •Mori no Kuma-san •Inu no Omawari-san

Unlockables

It is possible to unlock items in order to customize your character (WadaDon), who is seen dancing on the top screen during songs. In the beginning, you can only change the colour of the drum (as can be seen on the drawing I made), but as you play the game, you will also unlock specific costumes that you can dress WadaDon up in, such as a pirate outfit, various animal outfits, food items, etc.

But costume items aren’t the customize items you get; you will also unlock items to customize the sounds made by your drum when you play it. So instead of the normal taiko drum sounds, you can hear farts, sumo sounds, pacman game sounds, baseball sounds, etc. Some of them are super cool and make the song sound even more awesome 8D

Modes can also be unlocked in order to amp up the games difficulty. In the beginning, four modes are unlocked: Auto, baisoku, sanbai, and nashi (none, i.e. the off setting). Auto is used to get a feel for the song by having the CPU play it perfectly, while baisoku and sanbai increase the speed the notes on the screen fly by with (2x and 3x, respective). You can unlock 4 other modes by clearing the songs (getting an accuracy rating of 80%): Yonbai (4x speed), Doron (removes the coloured face clues, leaving only the below hiragana), Kanpeki (Perfect; song will end if you miss a note), and Abekobe (Inverse; changes the orange Don to blue Ka and vice versa).

Conclusion

I absolutely LOVE the game!! There are a lot of varied and fun songs, and once you start thinking it gets too easy, you can just one-up the difficulty. It even has a secret unlockable difficulty called “Oni” (Ogre/Demon) which is just friggin’ insaaaaaane!

Also, due to the nature of the game, it’s a perfect pick-up-and-play game; there’s no story, nothing you have to know to understand the rest, so you can just pick it up at anytime, play a song or two, and that’s it.

While it -is- a fun time killer for when commuting, there’s not really anything there to motivate you to get better at the game. There are occasional random missions you get with the mail which will let you unlock more customize items or songs + the daily “Test your drum skills dojo”, but that’s pretty much it. I think it would be more fun if you could have missions or objectives to beat on all the songs on various difficulties, since that would want to make you play all the songs several times over and you’d be driven to get a better score or more accurate presses, etc.

All in all, a wonderfully funny game that I heartily recommend. You can play wireless 4-player mode (via download play, I think) so it’s a great games to play with your friends too.

Score
									awesome!

Grand Fantasia

Hecko X — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:40:47 +0000

Grand Fantasia is a anime/cartoon styled MMORPG by Aeria Games, a US subsidiary of Japan based Aeria Inc. that focuses on creating/developing free MMORPGs.

While all their games a free to play, they do employ a micropayment system in, i.e. a system where you pay real money for special in-game currency that can be used to purchase especially powerful items and equipment not available for free-players, in order to pay for servers and maintenance.

The game itself can be downloaded for free here: grandfantasia.aeriagames.com/download.

Mechanics

The game is relatively light-weight taking up only around 700MB, and that’s fully updated, though this might be because it is currently ‘only’ in its open beta stages. I don’t know when the beta ends, but for now, I’m just enjoying it since it means that less people know of it and that in turn means always tons of space on the server.

Speaking of servers, there are currently only two of them (though this is enough), each having four channels. When you create a character (you can create up to three) on a server, you are confined to that server (as far as I know), but you can move freely between the four channels.

Audio/video

While it’s cartoony-esque style might be off-putting for some, I find it an advantage since it translates to less processor butt-rape. And let’s face it, we all want to avoid teh butt-rape… That aside, the scenery and details are quite impressive, especially on higher settings.

Palette swaps for monster are however abundant, which is a bit of a shame, but is to be expected. It would’ve been nice with some extra details on more dangerous fiends of the same genus rather than a darker shade of yellow. On the audio side, it is surprisingly good! I sometimes linger around some of the areas just to enjoy the area-specific music.

Character classes

The job classes are more or less the same as they are for most other RPGs, starting with the generic novice. At level 5 you then choose the “path” you want to take by becoming a Fighter (tank), Hunter (ranged), Spellcaster (magic user), or Acolyte (healer).

You get a class ugrade again at level 15, which is essentially just a stat boost and more abilities unlocked for purchase, and then the same at level 30, but where you have a choice between two jobs within the same path.

E.g for the tank path, it would be: Novice -> lvl. 5 -> Fighter -> lvl. 15 -> Warrior -> lvl. 30 -> Paladin OR Beserker.

Personally, I think the Beserker (tank) or Necromancer (magic user) are the best classes to go after, simply because the defense stat is next to worthless as far as I am able to tell, so pouring everything into offense is the way to go. I think they went with this to maybe balance out the other jobs more, so not everyone would just tank everything, but I honestly don’t know.

Social aspect

I have probably never played an MMORPG that tries harder to force you into being social and marking parties. I mean sure, the game has guild-only missions, but so do many other MMORPGs. Grand Fantasia, however, will have regular missions seperate into 3-5 parts, where the last part is always a boss fight that you have no chance of winning alone, unless you are the boss’ level x 1½, and even then it’s difficult.

So you are essentially forced into forming parties, but since only one person can pick up the mission item, only one person per time can complete the mission, after which, they usually quit the party. So it’s a pretty poor marketing decision to have done this >____>

On the upside, I think they at least somewhat acknowledge the issue, as the regularly have timed Double Experience events where you in the one hour the event is ‘active’, you earn double exp for any kill and therefore level faster.

Sprites

A feature I had never seen before was the Sprite system. The easiest way for me to explain sprites are that they are in-game Tamagochis crossed with Pokémons or something.

Why I like this system is that while many MMORPGs will have you waste time doing mundane things such as harvesting, foresting, mining, etc., these things are all performed by the Sprites in exchange for a very small fee (which you usually earn back by killing a low-medium level monster).

In addition to doing these mundane things, they can also perform alchemy and even forge armors and weapons. One sprite is however confined to forging one type of weapon or armor, e.g. only tank armor or only magic armor, etc.

But the smart thing is that in addition to the Sprite you get in the beginning, which is also able to evolve at higher levels, you can also summon two additional sprites with special summoning items and have them forage for you as well.

There’s a bit more to the Sprite system, such as caring for the sprites, training them, and summoning them to give your character stat boosts, but I’d rather not go into that much detail. You’ll find out when you play it.

Conclusion

Grand Fantasia is a fun game that tries to allocate the mundane chores to a pet system which actually works rather well. It also contains several interesting features not mention in the review, such as a player auction (in addition to just selling stuff at stores), mounts, PvP battles and PvP Wars, etc. because I simply didn’t have the time to cover all that.

It is, however, advised that you start playing with some of your friends as many missions require parties to successfully pass, and the only guarantee of an effective and consistent party is to play with at least 2-3 people you know in advance.

Apart from that, it is an entertaining game with a few twists that sets it apart from many other cartoony MMORPGs, and with it’s relatively small file size, you should definitely give it a chance. While the missions might become a bit mundane in the long run if you’re playing solo, the nice surroundings and fantabulous music almost makes level grinding bearable.

If you reach level 10 and still don’t think the game is something for you, then I’m sorry for having wasted your time, but personally, I think you can get at least a few weeks of playtime out of this game, probably months if you join a good guild.

Score
								Totally	awesome!