Review: Harajuku Girls

Harajuku Girls is Nicholas Goh and Papergang Theatre's debut production. It's written by Northern Irish/Japanese playwright Francis Turnly (currently resident writer at the Tricycle Theatre) and directed by Jude Christian (2013 winner of the National Theatre Studio Bursary).

The cast is made up on an entirely East Asian cast, starring Elizabeth Tan (Coronation Street, Waterloo Road ), Haruka Abe (Cyber Bully, Cucumber) and Kunjue Li (Ripper Street, Peaky Blinders).  From first glance or the manga style art on the flyers you may think this play is about fun loving fashionistas, this isn't the case at all.

We follow three girls finishing school and waiting to find out there exam results to see which University they would get into. Yumi is the young loving un-popular girl who is often insulted and shunned by Keiko the pretty and popular girl. Marie is the mediator between the both and wants them all to get on. Keiko comes from a divorced family which is rumored to have made her behavior spiral out of control and made her into the wild child she is. 'Rumours' is an important factor cover int eh play how society watches the youths and passes judgement.

Marie is desperately trying to get into acting school but her father does not approve and refuses to pay the fees. Keiko gives her a way to make money herself through prostitution or fantasy hotels. After watching the 'Love Hotel' recently on tv I was very aware of these concepts and it was in fact a part of Japanese lifestyle just hidden very well.

Somehow these adolescents leave there carefree lives from cosplaying and Japanese fashion at Harajuku street to club nights picking up rich old men - which Keiko does with skill, Marie does out of desperation. There is always a cut out point for Marie so she can pay for acting school and get out, Keiko has no goal this is just a means to end and being good at her job is then only thing that seems to matter.

This play is a great demonstration of fringe theater actors play double roles from Marie's father playing as a sleazy man wanting some fun with her. Yumi is also the innocent friend who later plays one of the fantasy girls in the hotel.

I certainly loved all the cosplay's used and shown from nurse uniforms to Sailor Moon inspired outfits they have kept to the roots of even using Yen as currency on stage. Also the soundtrack used for scene changes was great contemporary mix of Kyari Pamyu Pamyu and Baby Metal amongst Japanese cover songs as well.

In the words of an Otaku the play develops from innocence to fan service and then feels. You couldn't help but laugh at points and also feel deep empathy. Fantastic acting from the cast especially from Haruka Abe playing the tormented lead Marie. I thoroughly enjoyed the play and look forward to more productions from Papergang theatre.

Running till 21st March - buy tickets here.

Guided Fate Paradox Review

Being such a big Disgaea fan I had to try out their jrpg title Guided Fate Paradox playing on historical events retold and having to fix them.

Using thr lottery to pick someone to inherit the power of God to rectify the event blips, the unlikely hero is given a group of angels to guide and aid him on his quest.

If My Heart Had Wings Review

If My Heart Had Wings is a tale of youth, and a tale of boys and girls who loved the sky. We follow Aoi Minase the hero, returning with shattered dreams to his wind-swept hometown of Kazegaura. There, atop a hill lined with windmills, he encounters a wheelchair-bound girl Kotori Habane, and a beautiful white glider soaring through the sky. She is a slender girl with long, black hair  but is strong willed and speaks with confidence. Also, a cry baby. Because she transferred to Keifuu Academy for the simple reason that she is unable to move her legs and Keifuu Academy is completely barrier free, she has no interests in classes which teach sspecialityfields. Because of this, she is completely cut off  from those around her. She is also followed by her pet duck, Hat.

Together, they decide to revive their school's defunct Soaring Club in order to ride the 'Morning Glory', a phantom cloud carried on the wind that blows across Kazegaura.

Playing this visual novel is almost like watching a beautiful anime, you get to enjoy relaxing music, semi animations and it is very colourful, you even get glimpses of the hero you played. Another great feature is the Japanese vocals for the other characters which isn't always included in visual novel games.

Its menus are easy to use and easy on the eye, you have the option to straight away to save, load and log off and that is always the first thing to look forward to, as visual novels have a lot of story and you wouldn't want to read through it all again, so saving at apt moments is handy. Another great feature is the 'auto' facility to automatically scroll text like your watching an anime with out continuously pressing the next button.

Unlike other visual novels which have been localised in the past, this is a brand, moe novel, which provides a way for people throughout the world to enjoy themselves. As this brand uses high quality visuals and cinematic, this is what should truly be called 'Visual Novel HD'. All works provided will be released as official localised titles.

Strangely upon looking for information about getting certain girls, I came across restorative patches to get the original Japanese version of the novel with nudity. Perverts, please back away from the game and go indulge in some hardcore hentai. This game can be therefore enjoyed by male and females without the embarrassments of looming CG's to come.

You get to know all the girls attending the Keifuu Academy and they encompass all the different stereotypes ie. large breasted, lolicon (freshman), eccentric genius, tom boy turn popular girl and so forth.

You also get to pick up a few tips on basic aerodynamics, to glider flight and building a glider. Which is crucial to the plot and emotional bond of the characters. That is something you should value, there is no random slice of life, it revolved around a hobby. The only con about the gliders were the 3D models used in the VN, they looked out of place and grotesque in comparison to the beautiful 2D animation.

If My Heart Had Wings is about romance and the sky, appreciating beautiful up to date animation, an engaging story and great voice acting and soundtrack. It is a more luxurious visual novel giving a vibrant feel.