There's a new sensation sweeping the nation, and that's the flu. Not that it's that widespread in Japan as yet, with only a few hundred confirmed cases in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe. But the panic, now that's going around a lot faster than any virus could. If one is to believe the news reports (and they're probably right) Kobe's tourism industry and club scene have crashed overnight, and so many school trips have been canceled that the Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Osaka is practically deserted.

Three nights back, I saw a TV program on contagion scenarios, done in typical Japanese melodramatic "real life" acting style. I thought the random hints of apocalyptic pandemic were nicely done.

Businesses have been coping with the threat of flu as only a Japanese company could ever possibly get away with. Employees at many offices are having their lunch breaks strictly scheduled to avoid crowding in the office cafeterias, and morning exercises are done at their desks, instead of the big employee meeting room. One of the big department stores in Osaka is requiring all floor staff to wear face masks... and also requiring them to buy said masks on their own dime. This might pose a problem, since the only item selling faster than face masks these days is liquid sanitizer. Everybody in central Japan is wearing them these days.

And I do mean everybody. (photo courtesy of Yahoo! Japan)

Premium boxes are all the rage these days, and when a series hits the big Two-Oh, then things get really massive. Take the upcoming Premium Box CD set for the SaGa series, available in stores on August 26th. To celebrate the second decade of the series' existence, Square Enix is releasing a comprehensive soundtrack of the entire series. That's ten games' worth of tracks, on a grand total of twenty CDs. The entire thing will set you back $200, but I'm actually a little tempted...

I have no idea how Inazuma Eleven suddenly got back up on the lists. Famitsu's not listing any rating info on it prior to this week, either. Apparently the upcoming sequel, plus a series of wins for Fukuoka Avispa FC at Level 5 Stadium is generating more interest.

Position	Up / Down	Title	Publisher	Platform
1	New Arrival!	Dragonball Kai	Bandai-Namco
3	New Arrival!	Persona	Atlus
4	Down from 2	Pokémon Dungeon - Sky Explorers	Nintendo
8	Down from 7	Mario & Luigi RPG 3	Nintendo
26	Up from God-knows-where	Inazuma Eleven	Level 5
27	Down from 25	Pokémon Platinum	Nintendo

The first game in the Record of the Agarest War series was based around a generation-based dating system, and the Record of the Agarest War Zero is no different. This of course means lots of cute girls for fanservice and swag to show them off. First, we have the obligatory soundtrack. Every game's got to have one these days.

The next item isn't seen as often, but with temperatures already soaring in the afternoons, it's something that many fans may appreciate: a fan of the more literal variety. I'm not sure how good it would be at cooling the fanboys down, though.

And finally, we have something completely out of left field. Compile Heart has decided to present two characters wearing practically nothing at all. That's not the surprising part. In fact it's about par for the course. With all the varieties of swag items and collectibles out there, however, one has to wonder why they decided to put this portrait of two half-naked girls on a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle.

For the fanboy who truly has too much time on his hands...

Acquire Games has some audio-visual fun in store for their upcoming sequel, Class of Heroes II. Not only have they contracted a J-Pop girl band called Sphere to do their opening theme song for this installment, but the four girls will be the stars of their own 10-minute animated side-story set in the Class of Heroes universe.

As well, the anime-themed "A&G Super Radio Show" will have a special serialized mini-program starring Sphere as their Class of Heroes counterparts every Saturday from 9:45 to 9:55 PM, starting tomorrow and finishing up on July 18th. Outside the greater Tokyo and Osaka areas, the show will also be broadcast over channels in Ibaragi, Akita, and Nagasaki prefectures, as well as over digital and internet radio outlets.

When the DSi's download function was announced, we all knew it was just a matter of time. Some big company was going to take the plunge and make a derivative cash-in on one of their series, exclusively for DSi-ware. So, here it is:

Now presenting Dragon Quest Wars, what looks to be the series' first foray into the realm of tactical gaming, heavily leavened with elements from the Colisseum / Battle Road branches of the franchise and presented as a sort of board game. There are options for local wireless and online multi-player matches of up to four teams. This game will be available sometime next month, for the low price of 500 DSi points.

With Endless Frontier out in stores now, I guess we need a new object of titillation for this column. Something new, something topical, something buxom....

Yeah, that ought to do it. We mentioned Queen's Blade - Spiral Chaos, a tactical game for the PSP, a month or two back and now there's a new flood of promotional screenshots for us to ogle. Or perhaps stare in amazement, as these ladies don't seem to hold with many concepts that most people would find elementary, like clothes that actually cover skin, armor that has more plates than holes, or the basic law of gravity. In fact, several of the game's characters would probably find it necessary to violate the law of gravity in order to get themselves out of bed in the morning, so top-heavy they are.

To make the fan-servicey nature of the game even more emphatic, characters are able to direct attacks at specific parts of another character's armor. More damage to one area results in rips and tears that appear in the character portraits as well.

To go along with these screens, we have the obligatory swag items. Figma, one of the major brands for plastic figurines in Japan, is handling things on that end with these models of Cute, one of the new characters in the game. Others will most certainly be forthcoming. Other swag is also available.

Finally, for those interested in seeing lots of bouncing and jiggling, the game's latest trailer is up on Youtube right now. Enjoy, you lascivious voyeurs.

In parting, I'd like to thank Torri and Balance for the fanmail. It's always a pleasure. Also, to the third person who sent me email this week: concerning that game you asked about, I really wish I had never learned of its existence. Thankfully, since it's not an RPG, I am nowhere obliged to actually discuss it in the column. As far as I know, the Japanese mainstream does not know it exists, and would be appalled to find out about it. Now, I think I need to go give my brain a thorough rinse to get it out of my head...

And that's the news from Hi-no-Kuni,

Your man in Japan,

Gaijin Monogatari