Category Archives: Waifu Wednesday

Wednesday is the day when we celebrate the many and varied waifus of video gaming! Whether they’re adorable cuties, badass butt-kickers or a little of both, this is the place where we explore the amazing female characters of Japanese gaming and beyond.

Waifu Wednesday: Neptune

Assuming it arrives on time, I’m hoping to cover Idea Factory’s new game Death End Re;Quest as the next Cover Game feature here on MoeGamer.

In the meantime, it occurs to me that in previous Waifu Wednesday installments we have covered many of the characters from throughout Iffy’s Neptunia series (including Vert, Blanc, Uni, Noire, Nepgear, IF and Compa) but never the head honcho, the big cheese, the one and only Neptune herself… although in my defense I did talk quite a lot about her during our discussion of Megadimension Neptunia V-II’s narrative, themes and characterisation. But I digress.

Anyway, with all that in mind… well, you know what’s coming.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Neptune

Waifu Wednesday: Aya Kamiki

We’ve had celebrities putting in appearances in video games for a good while now, mostly as voice actors, but it’s quite rare to see a performer appear in a game as themselves.

Japanese singer, actress and model Aya Kamiki evidently saw a good opportunity back in 2008, though, and played a part in Spike Chunsoft’s sound novel 428: Shibuya ScrambleQuite a substantial one, too, despite not being one of the main actors; her face is plastered all over billboards and electronic displays in the in-game rendition of Shibuya (which is represented entirely through photographs and full-motion video), her song Sekai wa Sore Demo Kawari wa Shinai is heard numerous times throughout the narrative and she even puts in an in-person appearance for one brief moment during the main story.

It’s an inventive way to promote yourself, for sure, and adds to the overall believable atmosphere of Spike Chunsoft’s game. But who, exactly, is Aya Kamiki?

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Aya Kamiki

Waifu Wednesday: Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang

Continuing Atelier’s proud tradition of having a number of characters with delightfully flamboyant, somewhat Germanic names, I give to you Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang.

First introduced in Atelier Totori and subsequently explored further in Atelier Meruru, Mimi is a delightful character to be around. She’s also a great example of how the Arland trilogy as a whole makes good use of established character tropes as a basis, and develops those characters over time in various ways.

Let’s take a closer look at this little firecracker, then.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang

Waifu Wednesday: Pamela Ibis

One of the earliest “non-human” character types I feel like I developed a bit of a “thing” for was the humble ghost.

Aside from occasional arguments with my wife over whether or not they are technically “undead” (they absolutely are), I’ve always found the concept of life beyond death fascinating for a variety of reasons. The feeling of freedom that being an incorporeal spirit doubtless affords you — but simultaneously a feeling of being trapped and lonely; these are things I found fascinating, and often wanted to explore in my own creative writing as well as the media I consumed.

So of course a super-cute ghost girl with a fine line in traditional European dress (including a rather daring and formidable neckline) is going to be My Type. Yes indeed. Here’s Pamela from the Atelier series.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Pamela Ibis

Waifu Wednesday: Esty

There’s a lot of hoo-hah about “representation” in games right now from various sources, tending to lead to arguments between people who don’t think it matters and people who think it is more important than absolutely anything in the whole wide world.

For the most part, I tend to stay out of these discussions because I have no particularly strong feelings one way or the other and I’m not going to just sit here and hollowly say “the right thing” for Internet brownie points. For me, it’s always cool to see characters who are a bit “different from the norm” in various ways, yes, but it’s not something I specifically find myself seeking out. Unless you count generally favouring Japanese games with female protagonists or at least leading cast members, in which case… uh… well, look at the stuff I’ve covered on this site over the course of the last few years. Hmm, maybe I care about it more than I think.

Anyway, all that said, it’s nice when you feel some sort of connection to a character depicted in a piece of media. Even if it’s just in one small way…

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Esty

Waifu Wednesday: Cordelia von Feuerbach

We’ll be discussing the titular protagonists of the Atelier Arland trilogy in detail throughout the main Cover Game feature, so I wanted to give a bit of love to some of the secondary characters.

And what better place to begin than with the rather grandiosely named Cordelia von Feuerbach: lover of frilly yet practical dresses, loyal friend and renowned shortarse?

Cordelia appears in both Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori, and is a popular character for her distinct personality, her fits of tsundere rage and her rather touching relationship with her childhood friend Rorona. Across the two games, it’s a pleasure to see her grow… well, if not “up” then certainly more mature.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Cordelia von Feuerbach

Waifu Wednesday: The Hundred Honeys Project Clearly Needs a New Venue

Good grief, it’s getting crowded in there… wherever I decide to take them.

It’s actually got to such a stage now that it’s seemingly impossible to get everyone in shot, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that there are now 47 Honeys in place. And they’re getting a bit rambunctious.

Hit the jump to see the latest additions to the harem…

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: The Hundred Honeys Project Clearly Needs a New Venue

Waifu* Wednesday: Ranmaru Mori

Prior to firing up Warriors Orochi for the ongoing Warriors Wednesday video series, my sole contact with Omega Force’s formidable franchise was various incarnations of Dynasty Warriors.

Having never encountered Samurai Warriors and its cast, I had consequently never stumbled across Ranmaru Mori before. And, as such, I had also never encountered the numerous… discussions over this particular character that appear to crop up pretty much each and every time a new Warriors game featuring the Samurai crew shows its face.

So… well, what better time than the present to get stuck in and see what we can find out?

Continue reading Waifu* Wednesday: Ranmaru Mori

Waifu Wednesday: Ivy Valentine

I have two confessions to make: one, I haven’t played a Soulcalibur game since… II, I think? And two, Ivy… doesn’t really “do” it for me.

I’m talking a fairly comprehensive package of “not doing it for me”, too; I’m not big into how she is depicted personality-wise, I have no idea how to play as her and I’m not especially into her now-iconic outfit, either… though I will admit that she does indeed have a very nice bottom.

Despite all this, I will happily and freely acknowledge that Ivy is one of the most recognisable faces in the Soulcalibur universe… and an interesting character to explore the various facets of. So let’s do that, shall we?

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Ivy Valentine

Waifu Wednesday: Project Zero Protagonists

It’s a group Waifu Wednesday this week, because the things I’m going to mention apply to the assembled ensemble cast of all the Project Zero games… well, those that I’ve played so far, anyway!

At the time of writing this, I’m closing in on the end of the Japan-only (and fan-translated) fourth game for Wii, but in the meantime be sure to catch up on my explorations of the first, second and third installments.

Or stick around and we can talk about horror game protagonists for a bit!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Project Zero Protagonists