Spring 2021 Update

It's been a crazy few months. Updating this blog had been pushed further and further towards the back of my list of priorities as I juggled work and group orders. Now that I've had a much-needed break, I can sit down and write out some thoughts and updates.

The amount of items I'm storing for other people is finally under control for now. I'm very relieved that shipping has been going smoothly despite being delayed, especially for the US. I also appreciate the cooperation of those who were reluctant to change shipping methods but did so anyway. I really wish things could go back to normal, but it looks like this will be the new norm for a while. I'd still like to ship out as much as I can, since the amount I have in my possession can be a bit of a mental burden as I forget to include certain items in packages or have trouble remembering which trading items I assigned to whom.

On the translation front, I'm happy to say that after several months, I've completed translations for the Secret Garden Party Secret Episodes! This is my first time completing an entire series so I'm glad to say that I have a collection of translations to share!

You can view the translations in my Ko-fi gallery for now. In the future I'll have the remaining works posted here on my blog.

I've been in a bit of an emotional slump as of late. For the first time in about a decade, I wasn't able to visit my family and friends in the US. I finally left Tokyo for a few hours after a year of being here, taking a short, uneventful trip next door to Yokohama. I miss seeing crowds of UtaPri fans at events. I feel fortunate to be living in Tokyo which makes attending pop-up shops and events much easier, but the pandemic still makes it feel like an experience that's difficult to enjoy to its fullest.

But at least I've found some pleasure in (finally!) getting back to playing All Star After Secret, the most recent visual novel. I think there'll be a sense of satisfaction once I'm finally done and think about what I'd like to tackle next.

Speaking of tackling projects and such, the 10th Anniversary Book will be out this year! I'm very excited about it! I can't believe it's been about five years since I started on the 5th Anniversary Book, and although I really wish I had the book in Japan with me, I think I've translated some of what I think is the most interesting content. I'm anxious to see what HEAVENS content will be in the new book and I hope we're supplied with new information about each member.

I plan to translate parts of the book, probably not the entire thing as with the 5th Anniversary Book. Once I see what it contains I'll start selecting parts here and there, and hopefully I'll have at least the same amount of content I translated before. We'll see!☆