Anime!

I know it may sound dull, but this is probably one of–if not the best–anime series I’ve seen. Animation is great, plot is pretty easy to follow. A couple characters aren’t described as much as I would have liked. Another one of those that causes you to think about how you view the world. It’s really odd to get so involved with the characters in anime, or is it? It’s like after watching 12 hours of it you can get really attached to some of the characters. I know trying to explain this to most people makes me sound weird, more weird than what some people think of me already.

Slackware is really cute! I love the overalls. I so love them…

And a friend has told me just now that maybe I could cosplay Arch… Hmmmm…

Haven’t done much really, just work and watching anime mostly. Yes, I’m still on an anime kick and I’ve finished several great series such as Genshiken and Evangelion. I suppose I’m the last person on the planet to actually watch Eva, but I’m sure there’s some Tibetan monk somewhere that hasn’t. I know I’m not the first to say this but: don’t watch episodes 25 and 26, substitute End of Evangelion instead, please! The original ending makes the baby Jesus cry, honestly.

I messaged Ah Kong telling her that I arrived in Miri and asked if she was really going to look for me. She replied saying that she definitely wants to but she’s currently at a friend’s house so she and Goku (her boyfriend, actual name Wong Hui Siang but has punk-y golden hair, hence the name “Goku” from Dragonball Z) will look for me later at my hotel.

My take… this sends a strong and clear message to all the Star Wars fans that are buyng the merchandise, going to the theatre 3+ times to see the movie, spending the time and effort to download the movie for a post theatre fix, and will eventually buy all the variations of Lucas’s DVD collections, that they are not valued. 10 years for a kid downloading Star Wars… what if this was was a ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ movie? Let’s put those 8 yr. olds in prison!

I also had my second year undergrad writing class doing online discussions about using popular culture texts in the classroom context and I have to say, I read the best, most critical and well researched discussion I have ever seen ever today. One group were writing about manga comics (and then comics in general) and the discussion went way beyond the “its a way to bridge the gaps between home and school literacy” or “it will get the boys more involved” (which are both valid arguments but ones I was expecting). This discussion started with those points but then went on to discuss, in detail, the INTER-MODAL reading demands of comics!!! Not only that, but the actual DISCUSSION was a genuine discussion - to-ing and fro-ing of ideas, adding onto each other’s points, etc etc. I was so impressed I gave it *drum roll* 100%!!!! And…… guess what mode their discussion used? No, not that awful WebCT (I truly hate that!), not blackboard, not any artificially-designed-for-educational-purposes software… no it was… A BLOG!! Yes, a blog!!! I am going to ask them for permission to link to it if they decide to keep it online and not delete it.

TWell.. now, because I have no concept of money and value and savings, I will gush my newest obssesion: Gothic Lolita. Will I wear it in public? No, unless it’s at Kunicon. But this site, cosmates, has gorgeous costumes that I just adore. And here’s some exciting news [vanity] everyone knows that on average, Japanese woman are very small in frame when compared to American woman. But those Lolita dresses, they only come in a certain size range, and I can fit it! I’m so proud of myself.[/vanity]

Sis recently tipped me off about another cool Japanese fan art site! It’s run by a gal named Wild Apple. She has a BL comic about Bunji/Brandon called “My Life as a Dog.” She also draws nice Hellsing fan art. Here is the link if anyone wants to visit:

Anyway, you are all probably wondering why we chose to visit the Disney-MGM instead of something REALLY fun like Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.

There was only one reason: It was the last Star Wars weekend at Disney-MGM, and, as a huge fan of the movies and cosplay fanatic, Cheri wanted to take her custom-made Tusken Raider baby doll around the park and have its picture taken with all of the dressed up Star Wars characters. Since it was also her 32nd birthday, we clearly had to make this happen.

After my huge shopping spree (Rebirth 12, Ororon 1, Sword of Shiboto 1, Threads of Time 1, .Remote 1, Doll 1, Model 1, Chronicles of the Cursed Sword 4&5, Killua [Hunter X Hunter] poster, Rock Lee [Naruto] zipper pull, Rock Lee and Neiji [Naruto].. things.. Ban Mido & Ginji [Get Backers] pins (SARAH STOLE ONE!), Jackal [Get Backers] pin, Kamunagara 1, some anime I can't pronouce plus it's soundtrack (it came with it), a plushie for Lara, a M. Python shirt for Sarah, a shirt for my dad... The Ninja shirt, an Edward [Cowboy Bebop] pin, a Hiei [Yu Yu Hakusho] pin, 2 belt knives, 1 ninja star (AHHHHHHH so awesome), Cross 1, Ray 1, Pilgrim Jager 1, and an Itachi cellphone thingie), we had lunch, and left. I slept solidly and now....?

These were amusing. Higashiken 1 and Higashiken 2, basically telling specific Genshiken stories with Touhou characters. This was also good, although unrelated.

The goth cosplay extravaganza! Yes, every Sunday scores of young ladies get decked out in wild outfits and prance around the park. The main theme is gothic, with lots of black and frills:

LANTERNS LINE VILLAGE WALLS. An abandoned theme park. Temples, lakes and food fit for gods. It’s a cartoon, but a beautiful, stunningly realistic one that leaves the audience hushed at this dinky art house theater in South Florida. Most wait until the last credit leaves the screen. The movie is Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi in Japanese) and it’s the latest anime hit in the US. Anime in America is winning more sales and fans than ever before.

Animation is done in very respectable way, but the costume design is done in a very nice way. From what I know that each costume is designed by different people on each type of costume and most of them is mangaka that draw manga such as Love Hina, Kiddy Grade, Genshiken and so on.

Interestingly, the most realistic effects in this movie are the scenes of warfare when viewed from a distance. The scenes of aerial combat, exploding bombs, and burning cities that provide such an effective backdrop to Sophie's adventures are grim and horrific and not pitched towards the anime gadget-lover. They're scary. That's the idea.

Actually there were some girls in the area, but guys definitely seem to predominate. So were does a strapping young Akihabarite go to meet members of the fairer sex? A Cosplay café, natch! Cosplay (“costume play”), for those of you who may not be familiar with the term, refers to dressing up in a costume and role-playing the character represented. Nerdy guys really dig it because:

The grandfather of cosplay took a lot of photos. Miyagi still cannot let go of the fact he was once a prefect. And a new blogger babe is ‘discovered’ - blinkymummy.

I’ve always been fascinated at full-grown adults carrying their role-playing, fantasy lives with them into adulthood in the form of Cosplay or sci-fi fandom. I’ve also been a little jealous that these people have been able to place their imaginative life in such a central position in their lives, between jobs, relationships, and other muggle concerns. But it’s amazing and a little disturbing to read about Lovecraft fans reenacting rituals meant to raise an ancient, all-powerful, squid-headed god from his ocean slumber. My fantasy life contains a lot of darkness, but I guess I’m just too much of a believer to not worry that these folks are tempting fate just a little bit.

To make a long story short, I’ve created yet another anime-addict. He rented a couple of anime movies on Tuesday, and invited me over to watch one. So, last night we watch a film, which means I must now make two confessions. Firstly, if you’re an anime fan, you’re about to say “What?!” because every time I confess the following, that’s what I get. So, here goes. Until last night, I had never seen Hayao Miyazaki’s award-winning film, Spirited Away.

The message board is up and running for Flesh is Weak. Oi! was that an effort. I’m not that used to PHP, so it took some time to configure the thing. The board caters to the discussion of yaoi, yuri, hentai, and the more extreme forms of anime and manga that’s out there. I just wanted to test out something more interactive than just putting up stuff to look at.

The 12 attraction spots in the park include Pikachu Forest, Twister: Fury in the Sky and Pokemon Giant Ferris Wheel. However, I would choose to go to Excitement Safari first if there is a chance for me to travel to Japan anytime soon. Excitement Safari, which is not included in this map, is located between Bumper Car Battle and Twister. Anyway, you as a kid will get an RFID'd magic ball there and you can use it to catch Pokemons by placing it close to areas that are illuminated by flashing light. RFID readers are hidden behind the scene.

Something I found on the net, that was quite funny at the time, an overblown lifesize Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, well atleast I think it’s from Dragon Ball Z, that’s pretty good coming from someone who doesn’t like Dragon Ball Z. And if I am wrong, then atleast I know it’s from some sort of Japanese Anime without the sex-god-like tenticles and such.

Summary, HELLSING: A secret war is waged in the world and the human race is only a pawn.The Hellsing organization’s job, run by the heir to the Hellsing throne, Integra Wingates Hellsing, is to exterminate those that walk the streets as the undead, and feed on the blood of the human pawns. The Hellsing organizations secret weapon, Alucard. Alucard is a vampire that takes no prisoners, and his thirst and well armed pistol can be a deadly experience to those who get in his way. Why does Alucard use a pistol if he’s a vampire?...

i caught up on some anime this weekend (and last week too, i guess). whoo! i finished up samurai champloo finally. i must say ~ i’m already missing it a lot. it was a nice weekly treat, and now, i’ll have to make do with something else, if there is anything else (-_-). i seriously thought they were all gonna die off in the end to that freaky assassin guy, but looks like they survived. after having an episode like that baseball one so close to the end of the series, it’d be no joke to see them “really” go off and die.

So, as a college-aged hard-core anime fan, I found myself loving this series. I could identify with the characters, and I can laugh at some of the ridicules things that we do because of this. Genshiken is the “slice of life” manga that the US fans can finally identify with.

Here r some of the photo I have taken for the cosplay event at the Art festival

Another cosplay and photos day. Today event was the comic’s train at Montparnasse station, in Paris. Thanks to some top secret contacts in the staff, I had privileged access to the changing room. It’s always better to take good photos without having a lot of people around.

Some of the cosplay ladies. I still don't know for sure who they're cosplaying as, but I'm guessing it has something to do with Final Fantasy. Some of the costumes get pretty revealing, especially the girl who was cosplaying as Rikku. She had that booty floss thang goin'. I'm not feelin' that.

A few years ago I was great friends with a girl named Crystal. And by a few years, I mean I was around 11-13 at the time. She was in her twenties, but her and I still exchanged e-mail all the time. Our little common interest was our obsession with Tekken 3, and the mututal love and adoration for Jin Kazama. She sent me so much great stuff from the conventions she went to… tekken comics, pikachu stickers… so many cool video game related things that I had litered throughout my room.

I got Pokemon Emerald today! Hazzah! And the cartrige matches my eyes! But I musn't play it!!! I'm saving it for the 38 hour drive to California. I must be kept occupied so I don't get bored and annoy my older sister and my mom and my dad who will be doing most of the driving and make him crash and kill us all. I don't wanna die! Not until I see every episode of Fullmetal Alchemist and the Fullmetal Alchemist movies atleast. And I have Fruits Basket vol. 9! But there's not much crossdressing in this one...

As noted by Japanese entrepreneur Joi Ito, fans of the Japanese anime series Naruto regularly post translated episodes of the show to BitTorrent, which attracts more fans to the series.

However, what Mr. Ito said in the article was correct that the show is bound to be a huge success in the US. It has the kind of appeal that makes it so popular to a mass market. This is evident in Japan and the fansub community. So when the series is released to mainstream America, odds are that it will be a hit even with the non-anime fans. It will thrive on the television, action figure, and video game market, much like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon did in the past. You will also a small portion of those fans picking up a volume of the manga and discovering...

First: He has a lot of those endemic BOY TOYS that come in packs of ten million. Legos; Magnetix; tiny plastic dinosaurs and bugs; matchbox cars; and the seeds of Satan himself: Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

Also of note, Cartoon Network aired their preview for the summer/fall Toonami schedule today. A brief Naruto preview with no show dialogue was aired, looks good so far. Hopefully the dubbing studio Viz selected will do us proud.