And now for something a little different... Chic Pixel Plus, a new bi-weekly podcast dedicated to Japanese pop culture! 

On this week's pilot episode, join me and special guest Elliot Gay of Japanator and Red Sun Gamer for a discussion of Kyoto Animation's newly-announced anime Free!, what spring season anime we're watching, and a few video game-related tidbits including a discussion of old-school Ys and the 3DS eShop game Crimson Shroud. We also get our fangirl on over a rather interesting obsession... Japanese GBA games boxes!

Time codes: 
0:11 - A new challenger approaches
3:00 - (fujoshi heaven) Free! 
11:40 - Shingeki no Kyojin – Attack on Titan
27:43 – Suisei no Gargantia – Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet 
37:18 - Aku no Hana - Flowers of Evil 
53: 37 - Video gaemz? Fairy Fencer F
1:02:19 - Ysssssss
1:10:05 - Crimson Shroud
1:12:22 – omg GBA boxes
1:20:12 - closing remarks

Anne Lee || chicpixel.blogspot.com || @apricotsushi
Elliot Gay || japanator.com || @ryougasaotome 

Opening ♫ Honeybee Manor – Final Fantasy VII
Ending ♫ Guren no Yumiya – Shingeki no Kyojin 




Chic Pixel Plus – Pilot Episode –

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's another episode of Chic Pixel Plus! 

This week I'm joined by Matt Sainsbury of DigitallyDownloaded.net to discuss a particular niche of Japanese games often dubbed "otaku games." Together, we hash out what makes these games appealing, why they tend to have a bad rep outside Japan, and what our favorite otaku games are. Of course, with the recent Xbox One reveal, we couldn't help but add some of our thoughts, and I took the time to gush about the recent Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- announcement. Even if you're not a fan of otaku games, be sure to tune in – you might learn something new! 

Please excuse my hasty opening and closing segments; I'm still getting the hang of this! Be sure to check out all the relevant links and contact information after the time codes.

Time codes:
0:00:25 - introductions 
0:01:48 - what are otaku games?
0:09:00 - Love Plus
0:19:15 - Photo Kano Kiss + Photo Kano anime
0:34:00 - Atelier series (Arland trilogy + Ayesha)
0:46:10 - Hyperdimension Neptunia series
0:59:45 - hurdles of publishing otaku games outside Japan, Mugen Souls, otome games
1:09:40 - upcoming otaku games (Time and Eternity)
1:13:48 - news! Xbone, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, BlazBlue anime, Freedom Wars
1:26:21 - closing remarks

Anne Lee || chicpixel.blogspot.com || @apricotsushi
Matt Sainsbury || digitallydownloaded.net || @DigitallyDownld

Matt's Xbox one reaction piece: http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2013/05/i-am-sorry-microsoft-im-not-sure-you.html

Anne's Xbox one thoughts included here: http://videogamewriters.com/reactions-to-the-xbox-reveal-61333

Opening ♫ Koi suru lens – Photo Kano
Ending ♫ Dimension tripper!!!! - Hyperdimension Neptunia The Animation