Tag: ensemble stars

idols, japanese

Story and Music- Animated Music Project Recommendations

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Story and Music- Animated Music Project Recommendations
Story and Music- Animated Music Project Recommendations

I don’t usually blog about music, but if you’ve seen me on Twitter, you’ll know I’ve started to get into more Japanese music over the last couple of years. Specifically music from animated music projects or franchises.

So what does that mean?

By an animated music project or franchise, I mean a piece of media where a fictional singer or group releases music but only with animated music videos. Unless you go to a specific concert with voice actors, even live content will feature these animated characters. So, like the Gorillaz. But there’s more of them and usually a lot of story to these series. I’ll admit I’m not sure if all of these are considered animated music projects. Some have games or anime. 

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idols, video games

Let’s Talk About Idols – Mobile Game Edition

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Let’s Talk About Idols – Mobile Game Edition
Let’s Talk About Idols – Mobile Game Edition

If it’s not been undeniable that I’ve been very interested in idol games. I’m obsessed with one in particular, but I’ve obviously been trying out a few different games. Most of the ones I’ve tried aren’t officially available outside of Japan, but I’ve wanted to do this post for a while.

I thought it would be a good idea for me to try out a few of the idol games available in the west and to talk about them.

So, I downloaded three games on top of Ensemble Stars Music and thought I’d let you all know what I thought about them. Especially as games for users new to rhythm games.

These sorts of games are so much fun. None of them is the traditional kind of idol-raising game, as they all have musical components. But if you’re at all curious about anime idols and want to have some fun playing with them? This post could be for you.

I’m going to list these games from worst to best. I’ll add that this is just my personal opinion, so if you disagree, that’s fine. But I had a lot of fun preparing for this post, so you can definitely take some recommendations.

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Review, video games

Ensemble Stars Music English Beta Review

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Ensemble Stars Music English Beta Review
Ensemble Stars Music English Beta Review

You might have noticed my recent obsession with Ensemble Stars, and if you follow me over on Twitter, I’d been sharing posts about the rhythm game getting an English release! I’ve been very excited, and as an Android user, I’ve been able to beta test the game. Obviously, I’ve been leaving reviews and comments in the appropriate ways to the game devs, but I also wanted to post something about it. I don’t talk about games enough on this blog, so here we go.

First of all, the majority of my experience with the game has been with the original Japanese version. I made an account with the original game and have continued playing it since the split into two apps. In Japan, they have Basic, a tap and level game version and Music, which is the rhythm game. Basic gives you access to stories and gacha from the original. I think it was essentially so people didn’t lose everything they’d worked on before playing before. While Music solely focuses on the game’s story since its rerelease. In the west, we’re only getting Music. This is fine, and it’ll work as an introduction to new players.

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video games

The Protagonist, the Emperor and the Villain – Storytelling in Ensemble Stars

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on The Protagonist, the Emperor and the Villain – Storytelling in Ensemble Stars
The Protagonist, the Emperor and the Villain – Storytelling in Ensemble Stars

Ensemble Stars is the name of a series of mobile games with anime and manga adaptations. It’s a gacha game where you collect cards of a variety of idol boys who you can interact with and learn about. But it’s a game that also has a lot of stories. From the main game storyline that was picked up in the anime, to the regularly updated event stories, there’s so much you can explore with these characters.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll have seen me talking about this series recently. It’s a game I’ve played on and off for a few years, but recently I decided to look more into the story. And honestly? I don’t regret it. For a game where the point is tapping along to songs or levelling up anime boys, the character development is incredibly well done.

The title for this post is referencing one of the characters. A guy called Eichi. I hate him with a passion, but the fact is, he is an incredibly interesting character. He’s someone with ideas of a revolution who wants to rule, he’s sickly and winds up in hospital when he works too much, and yeah, there are times where he seems to think he’s infallible. He made mistakes that he regrets, but he also didn’t expect others to rebel against the way he had run things.

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