Touhou Project: Izayoi Sakuya

There's always a fair amount of French Maid cosplays in Anime Conventions that I find it hard trying to keep up with all of them.

She looks like she's cosplaying a specific character with the details she put into her hair and the straps on her leg. I'm wondering if that clip on her apron was also done on purpose. Compared to the other French maid cosplayer I feature a while back, I think she'll be easier to guess.

Any takers?

EDIT: Thanks to anonymous for leaving a comment saying this is Izayoi Sakuya of Touhou Project! I hope people leave their names next time, though.

Technorati tags: cosplay, cosplayer, holic, role, play, roleplay, costume, unknown, entry, french, maid, anime, manga, game, convention, comiket, japan, 2009, braid, hair, strap, leg, clip, apron, guess, コスプレ, コスプレイ

My First Rant

Here is my first Rant ~ as far as my old feeble mind can thing of anyway

As most of you know, I am selling most of my figure collection due to financial issues. I have the figures priced at around 50% off what is being offered retail (some even below that). At these prices, I figured it would be an easy sale and everyone would get what they are looking for at prices that needed No Negotiation. >LOL - was I wrong on so many levels< If I was offering these at near Retail pricing, then I would in all cases negotiate the price with you. I am estimating shipping as close a possible to what it will cost me. If shipping was cheaper than I figured, I have actually refunded back money to those that purchased the figures.

As an example, I have Queen's Gate Iroha at $30 USD - my actual photo below. The best price I ever saw was at $59.99 (which was on back order anyway) and that did not including shipping. If I quoted you a price of lets say $36 (which includes shipping), would you still ask if you could have it for $35? I can understand as a buyer to asking the seller if they would take the price down. If you can save another buck, then why not ask. However, would you be upset if I said it was $36 firm knowing that you were getting a great deal either way?


I am looking at this from the perspective that I paid well above the price I am asking. I am not a dealer, but a private collector so I do not get any great discounts on the items or shipping. I am offering these at prices that are crazy and will not be found anywhere that I am aware of. Maybe on eBay, but they jack up the shipping costs to compensate for that. I am also eating the cost of PayPal transaction and not adding that into the pricing at all.

Please chime in as I want to know if I seem a bit of an ARSE because I kept the pricing firm with the quoted total pricing with shipping?

That's it for now, I went off the track there, but needed to get this off my chest. What should of been an easy and enjoyable selling experience has left me drained. Thank you for "listening" to my ranting.

If you are interested in my stuff for sale (LOL> who would be after this little tyrant), here are the links anyway:

Hobby Fanatics Part 1
Hobby Fanatics Part 2
Tsuki-board

BTW: If anyone is interested in the Princess AI figures (7" and 12") dolls by Bleeding Goth, let me know. I am selling the sets at ridiculously low pricing as well.

Blog Highlight: Animatic Figmation

To continue to what is next on my Blog Roll, lets stop over at Animatic Figmation.

The site mostly has reviews and photo ops of figures. I liked the way they do their reviews of figures because it was not just some random words and photos. They actually took the time to write some interesting stuff along with unique angle shots of the figures. This alone makes it worth the stop over to see.

They have an interesting banner on the right that shows a live feed of where people came from and where they exited on the site. Shows the country they came in from as well - looks cool to see who and where people visit from. I was also amazed as to the enormously long list on their Blogroll.

What really caught my eye was when they did a photo shoot titled Nendos After A Hail Storm . It was quite whimsical and I like the way the whole this was done. I could stop laughing at the looks on the Nendos faces - classic.


You can also check out their photos on Flickr or check out the figure collection over at Tsuki-board.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Soryu Asuka Langley 02

Born and raised in Germany, Soryu Asuka Langley is said to be a half-Japanese, half-German girl, but her nationality is technically American. She is considered to be a child prodigy, earning a University degree when she is still a teenager and easily becoming fluent in Japanese. She is European in appearance thanks to her father's lineage.

Comiket sure has a lot of great cosplayers. Cosplay Holic reader Mikan gave me a link to Moeyo showing a vast collection of different cosplayers she thought I might like to feature. This Asuka is definitely quite amazing. Thanks Mikan! And thanks to Moeyo for the awesome photography!

Technorati tags: cosplay, cosplayer, holic, role, play, roleplay, costume, neon, genesis, evangelion, soryu, asuka, langley, germany, japanese, german, american, child, prodigy, university, degree, teenager, fluent, european, father, lineage, comiket, japan, 2009. reader, mikan, moeyo, feature, photography, コスプレ, コスプレイ, 新, 世紀, エヴァンゲリオン, 惣流, アスカ, ラングレー

Sexy Saturday: Erika Toda

Who: Erika Toda
Birthday: 1988-August-17
Blood Type: AB
Measurements: B75 / W56 / H78
Info: Gravure Idol, Model and Actress
Talent Agency: FlaMme (in Japanese)

She has had supporting roles in many popular Japanese TV dramas. The only starring main character TV role she has had was in her April 2007 drama, Liar Game. In Death Note: The Last Name, she played the role of Misa Amane.

Death Note: The Last Name

J-Idol Shots

Yoga Video

Review: Darker Than Black

10 years ago the stars disappeared and then they re-appeared, but not what they seemed. Each star represents a Contractor (a person with unique powers). The people of the city are now building a huge wall around the phenomenon to protect themselves which has been dubbed "Hell's Gate".

Anyone who sees the Contractors in action will have their memories erased of the incident by the Government. Nothing Like a Government cover up to keep people in the dark. There is a police organization called Foreign Affairs Section 4 who is investigating matters that concern Contractors. It is lead by Misaki Kirihara and they are trying to find the identity of a mysterious star that no one knows who the contractor is along with all the others running around

Contractors are each have different powers, but each time they use their powers, they have to do something in exchange for the use of those powers. Let me tell you the things they do are really bizarre at times (smoke, drink, break things, count . . . ) that remind me of compulsive behaviors. If one of them dies, then their Star falls from the sky.

Dolls have the powers to "see" where others are by utilizing the elements (spirit medium). They are used by the Contractors to help them track people.

My Comments >

I have the 1st DVD and have enjoyed the series so far. It has the feeling of a Sci-Fi Thriller as we get a little bit of the background of what happened 10 years ago and how it fits into what is happening now. As the anime moves forward, you get more pieces of the story and how it all links together. You are first introduced to the Dark Reaper who is after some information and ends up killing a Contractor. There seems to be several different organizations that are trying to get their hands on data and other Contractors to become more powerful.

The inter workings of the lead characters and others flows very well. I like how the story keeps you guessing on who is what and who is working for who. When 2 Contractors collide, just sit back and watch the fireworks. It is amazing to see how each fights and what powers they have in that fight. I am highly intrigued and am looking forward to the other DVD's.

I like the artwork in this series as it is well done and is highly detailed at times. It reminds me of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. It has that edginess to it as well with a great play on the light and dark aspects throughout in the Anime.

Opening music is a hard J-Rock song called Howling by abingdon boys school. Then they end it with a J-Pop song called Tsukiakari by Rie Fu. Kind of shows the tone of the show as it hits hard, but does have a hidden passionate side.

Overall Rating > B

Hei

The Dark Reaper - Contractor (look familiar ?)

Yin - a Doll

Misaki Kirihara and her Team

They also have a black cat that talks named Mao

Picture Source: Pure Anime Gallery

Next Week's Review: Dogs: Bullets & Carnage

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Dark Magician Girl

One of Yugi’s signature cards in his Magician Deck, the Dark Magician girl is considerably weaker than the Dark Magician. She compensates this by gaining attack points for every Dark magician in the graveyard.

During the “Dawn of the Duel” arc, it is revealed that she is actually the spirit of Mana, a childhood friend of Atem and Mahado. She becomes Mahado’s apprentice and followed in his footsteps, even after death. Just as Mahado’s spirit rose to become the Dark Magician, Mana’s spirit became the Dark Magician Girl.

Beautiful cosplay! I found this from Jamaipanese, and it was taken during the Tokyo Game Show in 2008. Thank you very much for sharing this photo!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, yu-gi-oh, dark, magician, girl, muto, mutou, yugi, signature, weakness, compensate, attack, graveyard, dawn, duel, monster, spirit, mana, mahado, pharoah, atem, apprentice, jamaipanese, tokyo, japan, game, show, 2008, photo

Tsubasa - Reservoir Chronicle: Sakura 02

Sakura, the Princess of Clow Kingdom, lost her powers and her memories because of a powerful force, causing her to be weak and confused. Her memories take the form of feathers scattered in different dimensions which she and Syaoran must collect in order to return Sakura back to normal.

Ichihara Yuuko aids them by giving her Mokona, in exchange for her memories of Syaoran. Yuuko calls her "a favored daughter of the gods" due to her unbelievable good luck.

Another beautiful cosplayer from Comiket! Unfortunately, we can't see her face clearly, but the photography is still superb. Wonderful job to both the cosplayer and the photographer!

EDIT: Thanks to the cosplayer, Kashino Rei, for contacting me! Apparently, this is not from Comiket, but rather in Hanami, an event in Germany! You may view the original image in her Deviant Art account!

Technorati tags: cosplay, cosplayer, holic, role, play, roleplay, costume, xxxholic, tsubasa, reservoir, chronicle, sakura, princess, clow, kingdom, power, memory, feather, scatter, dimension, syaoran, ichihara, yuuko, yuko, mokona, favored, daughter, god, good, luck, unbelievable, comiket, japan, photography, photo, photographer, コスプレ, コスプレイ, ツバサ, サクラ, 小狼, ×××ホリック, 壱原, 侑子, モコナ, モコナ＝モドキ

Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny Base

I originally purchased this from Hobby Fan when I actually has cash in my hand. I liked the anime, loved all the sexy girls and throw in a dragon - you got me on that one.

I got the edition that came in a Black Box with each girl and dragon part in one of the 8 boxes. I could not read the boxes which I thought may lead to issues. They had included photos of the girls, so it was fairly easy to assemble. I did have a bit of difficulty figuring out how they all connected together, but it was fun.

My son kept trying to get in the way however as he loves dragons and wanted to see everything I was doing.

Once it is all constructed, it is a fairly large piece. I like the flow of everything and the poses are quite well designed. Overall, I am happy that I got this and did have it proudly showcased.

My Pics

There is a Pastel version of this as well, but it is missing the Dragon. I rather like my much better than this version. Not feeling all the pink coloring - ewwwwwwwwwwww.

Wacky Stuff From Japan, Vol 7

Here is another installment of my Wacky and Fun Stuff from Japan. I know these may not all be "wacky", but what the heck, not something you will see here in the US.

When was the last time you used a product in the shape of POOP? Especially when you want to take a nice hot relaxing bath - hummm? Well how about a nice rose scented poop shaped bath block? I am sure that my wife will NOT want this in her bath, but somewhere in Japan, someone is enjoying this.

Available from J-List

Just when you think men's underwear have seen every form. You have to figure someone will go that extra step. Now the G-String for Men with as much exposure as possible. I am a Boxer Brief person and no how on this Earth will I ever be caught in these. I have no idea how someone could where these as the "sack" is so small on these.

Source: Danny Choo

Sailor Moon Musicals: Sailor Uranus, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Neptune

Also known as the “Outer Senshi”, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Neptune form a secondary group, along with Sailor Saturn. Previously, all of them preferred to work alone, but Sailor Uranus was able to trust Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto after fighting along side with them.

Sailor Pluto is known as the Guardian of Time, while Sailor Neptune is the Soldier of Ocean, and Sailor Uranus is the Soldier of the Sky.

I’m not even sure if they are cosplayers or the official cast of the musical, but they are very pretty. Thanks to Soyoungim for the photo!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, cosplayer, costume, sailor, moon, musical, pluto, uranus, neptune, secondary, group, outer, senshi, alone, trust, fight, guardian, time, soldier, ocean, sky, pretty, official, cast, soyoungim, photo

Anime - Movie Releases for 08/25

Here are the releases for today (08/25) at your local Video, Book Stores or the infamous Amazon website in the US. I only review Movies and Box Sets that are coming out as this will get the most bang for your buck. I did "borrow" the summaries from various sites so you can get a brief review of the story.

My personal favorites this week are Mushi-Shi the Movie, Naruto Uncut Box Set Vol. 15 (for my son) and One Piece: Season 2 - Second Voyage.

Live Action

Mushi –Shi the Movie



Onechanbara – Bikini Samurai Squad




Anime

One Piece: Season 2 - Second Voyage
The Grand Line is no place for a crew of yellow-bellied land-lubbers! Lucky for the Straw Hats, they’ve got Monkey D. Luffy - the bravest captain sailing the high seas. So when a night of drinking turns into a daring attempt to protect a princess from treacherous assassins, Luffy’s crew is ready for action! Their death-defying rescue mission sees them cross paths with monstrous sea creatures, prehistoric predators, and battle-tested giants with an explosive thirst for ale. Adventures like this might take the wind out of some swashbucklers, but it’s all in a days work for a rubberman determined to become the king of all pirates!




Welcome to the NHK: Complete Box Set
Sato's life - or what's left of it - is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He's terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it's not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they're determined to turn society's fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses.





Naruto Uncut Box Set Vol. 15
Ino faces an unusual exercise in royal etiquette when she is asked by an overweight princess to take her place and attend the first meeting with the young prince she adores. Then the Hidden Leaf Village comes under serious threat when important blueprints of the village are stolen! Naruto, Shikamaru and the others have their hands full finding and removing the massive numbers of paper bombs placed throughout the village. Can they save the Hidden Leaf Village from utter demolition?




Devil May Cry: The Complete Collection
Cursed to live as both monster and man, Dante must spend his life fighting the demonic forces of darkness. Brandishing his sword, Rebellion, and his always-loaded guns, Ebony and Ivory, Dante is more than happy to send the demons back to hell - especially when there's money to be made.






Destiny of the Shrine Maiden: Complete Collection
The Advent of the Priestess of the Godless Month! Shy, timid Himeko happily attends school with both the popular and beautiful Chikane and her childhood friend, Souma, blissfully unaware of what's in store for her. However, the destiny of these three changes on Himeko's 16th birthday when the mark of the sun appears on her chest. What does this solar mark represent? At the same time, why has a black aura of agony burst forth from Souma? Who is the enemy? The legend of the eight-headed beast returns to Japan!




Pumpkin Scissors: The Complete Series Box
In the wake of the Great War, Lieutenant Alice Malvin assumes command of the Imperial Army’s Intelligence Section III – a ragtag bunch of pencil-pushers used to spread military propaganda. But Malvin, an idealistic soldier who refuses to rest while her people suffer, yearns to cut through the thick skin of deception perpetrated by power-crazed nobles. When her investigation reveals a clandestine super-soldier program known as The Invisible Nine, she finds herself trapped in a whirlwind of deadly secrets.




When They Cry: Complete Box Set
It's tough being the new guy in town, having just moved into the small rural village of Hinamizawa, but when Keiichi joins an after-school club and befriends four cute girls, life doesn't seem too bad. That is, until he learns about demonic cults and a failed dam construction project, plus the grisly murders and disappearances that have occurred every year on the day of the town festival. As shocking past events are unveiled through different viewpoints, Keiichi learns that things and even people aren't what they appear to be.

Morning Coffee

Here is the latest news from Japan over this past weekend

Politics
It was the last weekend in Japan for the Political Parties to get more voters on their side before the voting on August 30th. It looks like everyone is not happy with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the majority are betting that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will win.

JapanToday > Party leaders appeal to voters on last weekend before election

Sports (Baseball Highlights)

Hawks 3, Fighters 1
Lions 1, Marines 0
Dragons 2, BayStars 0
Tigers 8, Carp 2
Giants 2, Swallows 1

The Japan Times > Sugiuchi's gem gives Hawks win over Fighters

Entertainment
Looks like this story will never end for Noriko and Takaso. It seems that there was another arrest warrant issued for Takaso on suspicion of possessing illegal stimulants while he was visiting in Chiba Prefecture.

The Japan Times > Sakai's husband gets another arrest warrant

The Funnies
Just when you thought it was safe to go outside with your dog. Here comes the fearless turtle to wreak havoc on your day

Japan Probe > A dog that is afraid of turtles

Blog Highlight: alafista.com

So as not to offend anyone with what blog I would highlighted first, I decided to start at the top of my Blog Roll list. That turns out to be alafista.com.

This was one of the earliest sites I used to check out and one that has changed over time. At first I was a bit confused by how busy the front page was. I got lost quickly on what was there. It was like when you walk into a new store with all your favorite stuff and you get overwhelmed by everything. But after I was able to take it all in, it was a treasure trove of information.

He updates this site several time a day with interesting items and some crazy news of the day. He has a great little colorful sub menu that sends you directly to some of the topics you may be most interested in. They are gravure x idol, groovin jtunes, japan, oishii and otaku. I am not sure how he keeps up with everything, but I appreciate it all. It was actually his site that introduced me to the gravure idols to begin with.

I am currently enjoying Nendo's Travelogue which offers incite to Singapore and everything it has to offer through the eyes of his Nendoroids - quite comical!


Not only can you catch him here, but also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Flickr

Demo released

Everybody snap at me for the dramatic difference between Levi's normal and Levi's cosplay sprites. Boohoo, I didn't finish cosplay sprite until after I packaged the demo.

Get a grip >=[


http://www.mediafire.com/?abwtmwjzlmn

This is the demo link. It's 46 mb, but would be 40 if I hadn't forgotten something...namely to delete the Opening-Bombing Mission MP3. Sorry =p

It should be pretty much bug-free though some dialogue doesn't fit with everything else. I'll fix it soon -.- At the moment I'm trying to focus on spriting because I'm motivated and I don't want to waste it orz.

Levi's normal and cosplay outfits are finished and I've started Kumo's normal. Ribbed shirts are a bitch, but at least I only have to do it once. Cloud's shirt is also ribbed (which is why Kumo's is -.-) which means when I turned the Kumo sprite to his Cloud cosplay I don't have to worry about it FD. Kumo's hair looks soooo much better now =D.

The fight between Aio and Levi is going to be a bitch to sprite orz.

Noriko Kijima

Who: Noriko Kijima
Birthday: 1988-March-22
Blood Type: O
Measurements: B81 / W56 / H84
Info: Gravure Idol, Model and Actress
Her Blog (in Japanese)

At the age of 19, she was the 2005 Seikore competion winner. This was one of the stepping stones to help her become a Gravure / J-Idol. Noriko also played Yoshie in Machine Gun Girl (2008) and Shyness Machine Girl (2009). In the Shyness Machine Girl movie, she played the Lead Role this time around. She has also done numerous DVD J-Idol releases.

Shyness Machine Girl

J-Idol Shots


Video