Amane Misa

Cosplayer: Razel
Photo by Julz
Hitsuzen Inc Halloween Photoshoot
November 30, 2009

Kanon: Tsukimiya Ayu

Energetic, spontaneous, and a bit of an airhead, Ayu tends to say "ugu" when she is frustrated, angry, or afraid. In the beginning of the series, she is trying to find something she had lost, but cannot even remember what that is. She enjoys eating taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste, and is seen eating the confectionary throughout the series.

Wow, I can’t believe the number of awesome cosplayers I’m getting from Winter Comiket! Thanks to everyone for sending them in! And this was sent in by Mika-Mi, who also emailed me Kagamine Rin from Vocaloid 2! Thanks for taking the time to email me!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, kanon, tsukimiya, ayu, energetic, spontaneous, airhead, ugu, frustrated, angry, afraid, beginning, series, find, lost, remember, taiyaki, japanese, fish, cake, red, bean, paste, confectionary, mika-mi, kagamine, rin, vocaloid, 2, email

NOSEBLEED!!!

by Steven Vivero

This is a total OMG.
Kilay-kun shared the good news! which made me as a disgrace to all Sunako-Kyouhei fan.
Gee! Can't stop the nosebleeds. :D


YES! this is already confirmed, way back last month.
There will be a live action version of my ever fave love story, "The Wallflower".
Most commonly known as " Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge"
I am so excited , so elated and in the state of cloud 9.

all praises to Hiroshi, Akira and Josephine!

Nemu

Cosplayer: Ele

Final Fantasy XIII Odin

Release date: 07/31/2010
Manufacturer: Square-Enix
Series: Final Fantasy XIII
Height: 32cm (12.6 inches)
Cost: $185 - $220 USD

Looks like another crazy high detailed figure from the Square-Enix ~ Final Fantasy XIII franchise. Now, I still think the Shiva is still at the top, but the new Odin figure really stands out as well. I know in the game that Odin rides upon the horse, but here Odin is the horse.

I guess they want you to buy 2 of these figures so you can have Odin actually riding the horse. Not an easy feat with a shoe-string budget, but still a great addition to a FF XIII fan's collection.

I am still going to try to save for the Shiva figure myself, but will pass on this one. Are you planning on getting this?

Preview

Final Figure - Horse Form

In Odin Form

On a side note, does anyone plan on getting the game itself? I saw the trailers and thought it looked like an Anime than a game, but Final Fanatasy is now for their extremely high end graphics. I do not own a PlayStation or an Xbox, but after watching the trailer - OMFG - this game rocks!

Screen Shots of Odin

The January Birthday Boys

Hitsuzen Inc - Bacolod Core gathered last night at Von's place to celebrate.

And to have a meeting as well since it was the following group meeting since the January Opening Blast Shoot.

Woohoot! Pizza time! And everyone's Naruto-rutohan.







Happy Birthday Ban, Vench, and Pokun!

Burps.

Goin nuts with 'Haruka Kanata'!

Woohoot! Let's do it again!

Laugh of the Day

"A true ninja helps his friend get his boogers. That is my way of being a ninja." - Venjo of Konoha

Boots - All Saints

As well as covering the modifications I am doing to my original Paul Smith PS shirt, I also thought I’d share some of my experiences gathering the other off-the-shelf items I managed to grab before they too sold out.

An early read-herring was contained in a BBC News online story called The fashion police on Doctor Who's new outfit. In it the boots worn were incorrectly identified as being Prada. The comment that they had “just arrived in the stores” made them feel very accessible, so it wasn’t long before I was doing searches to see if I could find them. I did see something on their website which was similar, but just not quite the same, with a hefty price-tag attached. Just as well I didn’t snap them up, as it took the work of a member of the online forums to spot they were actually from All Saints, a chain of stores in the UK, and not Prada after all.

The first photo published of the boots (see right) clearly showed an accurate match, right down to the subtlety of the contrasting coloured leather at the ankle, something I had not noticed in the official image.

Further postings in the thread quickly showed that far from being “just arrived in stores”, they we actually already last-season and were only available as remaindered items in All Saints autumn sale.
Urghhh!

On the upside, they were reduced from their £110 price tag to £77 (see below). All I had to do was find a pair . . .

Now, All Saints have stores across the UK, but they are spread quite thin, though there are three stores in London alone.

As an aside, I was aware of their stores for a while, as several I had seen sported striking window displays with literally dozens of Singer and other antique sewing machines arranged on shelves in a grid format.
I scoured the Westfield display (see left), one of the largest such in the UK, but sadly could not see the model I own.

I started with these to see if I could track down a pair, but found they were already out of stock. One branch did show a pair on their computer system, but when they checked they could not be found. This is apparently common when supplies run down to their last pairs as it is only when one or two are left that discrepancies in stock-taking become clear.

Some further phone calls to other branches found one or two pairs in Birmingham and Glasgow, but none in sizes that would fit me.

Then I called the Bristol branch (see right) and discovered that they not only had them in stock, they had two pairs in-hand, one in my size and one in the size up from that.

I asked if they could be transfered to a London store for me to collect, but was informed that since they were stock in their autumn sale it would not be possible (they only do that as a service on full price items, besides their stock control tends to go to pot during sales times apparently!).
A telephone appeal to the customer service department of All Saints head office fell on deaf ears.

I called the Bristol store back and spoke to the manager, who was doing his best to be helpful, but his hands were tied to some extent.
I asked if I could pay by credit card over the phone and have them shipped – but that was a non-starter as they are not legally authorized or trained to take payment in that way without the card holder being present.
It was looking like the only way I would secure them would be if I traveled down to the store and collected in person, so I asked if they could be put to one side for me to pick up the next day.
This too was not an option as if he had a walk-in buyer that afternoon he would have to sell them to that customer.

The first olive branch I did get was an offer that if I called back at 5pm, and no-one had bought them til that point, I could have them put to one side, so long as I was at the store on its opening the next morning.
I waited a few tense hours – watching the forum thread in case anyone else had got wind of them (sorry guys, love and war and all that) – but luckily no-one had.
I called back at 5pm as agreed and sure enough both pairs remained unsold. I was very happy :)

So the next morning, bright and early, we set out to do the two-hour 130 mile trip to Bristol. We got there a few minutes before the store opened, and with a suitable anti-climax, found the manager and the boots put to one side for me. I paid for them as was back on the road within minutes of getting there!

I had decided to buy both pairs, just to make sure I got a pair to fit, with the intention of selling of the lesser pair to recoup our petrol costs, which I successfully did a few weeks later.

From what I gather, there were few other pairs around and I was lucky to grab what I did.
For that I am grateful to the Manager of the Bristol branch of All Saints!

Still - Life

by Mac Tumbagahan

For the past months we have been doing some random series of photoshoot and more or less we are like kids waiting to receive and open dozen of gifts on their birthday. I manage to find a few people who are more or less like gods when it comes to cosplay photography.

(Master Z3ll) (Hexlord)

Anime at our Local Library!

I had some fair luck getting Anime from our local library in Florida. In hopes of getting something new, we stopped over at the Hagerstown Library in search of books and Anime. Since I am still without a job, we need to be able to see some Anime without the cost involved.

I am happy to say that for a small rural library, I hit the jackpot. They had way more new stuff than in Florida and several racks of Manga to boot. Of course it is in the "Teen Loft", so hopefully I didn't get too many odd looks.

I am intending to borrow Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Part 1), D. Gray-man. Season One (Part 1) and Outlaw Star for right now. But they do have the other parts of Code Geass as well as Naruto, Xxxholic, Death Note, InuYasha and Bleach to name a few.

There Manga selection was pretty good as well, so I may be hitting that as well. Only issue is finding the first copies!

Does your local library have Anime to view as well?

Naruto 480: Sacrifice

Sasuke kills Danzo and Karin.

See the evil in his eyes?

Bleach 390: Beyond the Death Understanding

Aizen is busy slashing captains.

And he's doing it with poise. Cool!

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Limited Edition)

Game: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces (Limited Edition)
Publisher: BANDAI Namco Games
Language: Japanese (but it is an open region game)
Release Date: July 21, 2010

Not I am a gamer, but I had to let you know about this. It seems that Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces has a Limited Edition for the game. I just thought it would be something stupid, but they actually pack this this in with a ton of stuff including a figure.

Here is what it is packing:

1. Nanoha (Figma)
   
2. Posters
3. Towel
4. Pouch
5. Cleaner
6. Set of stickers
7. Visual book
8. Game

The figure is by Figma and is just like their regular figures with a bunch of accessories.


Price point is a bit high though even with everything at about $160 USD.

K-On!: Hirasawa Yui

Clumsy and easily spaces out from time to time, Yui is very passionate about playing the guitar and plays with amazing amounts of energy. She is very talented in music, able to tune her guitar without the aid of a tuner and can has perfect pitch, making her the vocalist of the group. However, she has been known to forget the lyrics of the song in mid-performance.

Cute Yui from Winter Comiket! I’m not familiar with K-On!, so maybe someone can tell me why she has clappers (I think that’s what they’re called anyway)? Thanks to Aya-chan for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, k-on!, hirasawa, yui, clumsy, space, out, passionate, guitar, amazing, amount, energy, talent, music, tune, perfect, pitch, vocalist, group, forgot, lyrics, song, performance, cute, familiar, clappers, aya-chan

Gundam 00: Nena Trinity

The youngest of the Trinity siblings, Nena tends to present herself as cheerful and flirtatious when she is selfish and callous in the battlefield. A good example of her true nature occurs when she kills the entire Halevy family because she was frustrated that others were having fun while she felt overworked.

Such a scary girl with such a cute face. Better be careful when you see her in Winter Comiket! Thanks to Somiya for sending the photo!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, gundam, 00, nena, trinity, youngest, sibling, present, cheerful, flirtatious, selfish, callous, battlefield, example, true, nature, occur, halevy, family, frustrate, fun, overwork, scary, girl, cute, face, somiya, photo

I'm Dreaming of Laputa

by Stein Vivero

Laputa: Castles in the Sky
A 1986 film made by one of Japan's prominent filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki.
I would like to give credit to Keni, one of my colleagues who actually referred this movie.
I am not "that" Miyazaki fan, though I've watched few of his work such
as Ponyo and Spirited Away. His movies are epic!



So far, Laputa is my favorite among Miyazaki's work that I've watched.
This movie is beyond imagination that will surely remind you back of your childhood.
Gee, gtg.. I'll be watching Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies.


Spread the love ♥
Ja ne!

Laugh of the Day

Aizen: (Malicious Mode) Gin, wanna share this umbrella with me?

Gin: (Plastic Mode) I'd love to, taichou!

Cosplayer in Sinulog sa Kabankalan

by Von Fritz Evangelista

I went to Sinulog in Kabankalan last week. I was desperate to bring cosplay in there. However, I failed to invite some pips.

My resolve: face painting myself ala Kiba Inuzuka.

Venturing the festival grounds however, I encountered Akatsuki people putting charcoal on people's faces. What fun!



This might be one of those robes used by the Akatsuki Cosplayers way back Electric Masskara 2008. Haha.

L

Cosplayer: L'vi
Photo by Razel
Electric Masskara Cosplay 2009
October 17, 2009

Vocaloid 2: Kagamine Rin 02

Voice actress Shimoda Asami provides the voice of both Kagamine Rin and Len, who is the boy version of Rin. Strangely enough, Rin and Len’s synthesizer cost as much as Miku’s even though they are two for the price of one.

On July 2008, Crypton released an expansion disc free of charge for those who already bought the old version. The disc is an entirely different software and does not affect the original Rin and Len in any way, allowing the users to use one or the other, or even both.

Cute Rin from Winter Comiket! I can’t believe she’s out in the cold in that outfit. Thanks to Mika-Mi for sending this!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, vocaloid, 2, kagamine, rin, len, voice, actress, shimoda, asami, boy, girl, version, synthesizer, cost, hatsune, miku, price, crypton, july, 2008, expansion, disc, free, old, different, software, original, cold, mika-mi

Movie Review: Gamer

Movie: Gamer
Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins
Rated: R
Genre: Action / Adventure
Directed by: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Story by: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Now this has been out for a while and on video, so I am not going to write anything big about. I will say that this is a modern version of The Running Man (which I used to own on VHS) and Death Race (2008 version - also own on DVD).

The premise is that you are a criminal that is controlled by an outside person during a Real-Time, Real Fighting game. Pretty much the Gamer uses the criminal (known as an Avatar) to fight their way through the layout to a safe base. If you make it through 30 "sessions" successfully, you are granted your release. This all actually started by Ken Castle who created a game called "Society". Think of Sims, but you use a real person as your avatar - literally.

I am a big fan of both Gerald Butler (plays Kable) and Michael C Hall (plays Ken Castle). They play off each other quite well in this. Michael C Hall (Castle) brings his flare for being a demented and all powerful psycho-path to the next level in this movie. I am not sure why he picks these roles, but it suits him just fine. Gerald (Kable) of course is the otherside of this coin - strong, independent and a huge will to survive

I need Brains!

Ludacris also plays a key role in this movie as the leader of the Humanz. Hackers who want to free those that are in these games. He helps both Simon and Kable connect in ways not availble otherwise. This allows Kable to free himself from the confines of the game to look for his wife and daughter.

Hackers

The surprise for me was Logan Lerman (plays Simon) on this. His character is well portrayed and though we have a limited understanding on who he is, I found myself liking him. From reviewing his other movies, he seems to be a new up and comer that we should be keeping an eye on.

Gamer and Avatar

My wife actually loved this as it had one of her favorite things - bloody violence. I like how the story unfolded and how it all came together. They even wrapped it up in the end quickly and quietly.

This is a must have to own for any gamers list. It really shows what is possible in the near future. For the rest of us Noobies - it is a great action flick that should be in your collection as well.

Overall: A

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Nagato Yuki 04

As according to the original light novels, Yuki has extremely pale skin, in which Kyon describes to be “white”. Once when Kyon, Haruhi, and Yuki went to the public library, Kyon notices that Yuki has the uncanny ability to walk soundlessly and is puzzled by it. Despite these strange qualities, Yuki has a lot of secret admirers and Taniguchi, one of Kyon’s friends, rates her with an “A-“.

I have to apologize for the lack of updates lately. Well, less than usual. There have been some problems in the real world, but hopefully I can have better time management now. Thanks to Jullian for sending this photo from Winter Comiket!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, melancholy, suzumiya, haruhi, nagato, yuki, original, light, novel,extreme,pale,skin,kyon,describe,white, public, library, uncanny, ability, walk, soundlessly, puzzle, strange, quality, secret, admirer, taniguchi, friend, rate, a-, apologize, update, real, world, time, management, jullian, photo

CNN Spotlights Anime & Manga Schools

My wife was checking out CNN and found this article in the Living Section. It list schools that have specific degrees that are set to narrow down what you learn to a specific Field of study. They even use Bakugan as the photo for the article.


The two that got my attention were number 8 (Tokyo University of the Arts) for Anime and number 12 (Savannah College of Art and Design) for Manga / Comics. I think it is interesting that some Art colleges are seeing this as a available elective to have in their teachings. I am sure this is more about getting cash into their coffers, but still it is nice to see that it is getting some attention.

I actually went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh way back in the early 80's. In my last semester we had a computer art class. To say it was archaic then is an understatement. One of our projects was to use MS Paint to create a 4 step animation movie. Those were the days - LOL.

Is there anyone considering or already enrolled in taking classes like these in your neck of the woods?

We Are Family

Cosplayers on the Loose

Photo by: Mac
Created by: Venjoh
Music:
We are Family
Chipmunks & Chipettes
Alvin & The Chipmunks:The Squeakquel OST

Calling all Cosplayers - Otacool 2

Calling all Cosplayers - Otacool 2 is waiting for your submissions. This is your chance to get International recognition and be the envy of your friends.

I don't cosplay myself, but know that several of you do. I wanted to make note of this on my blog incase you wanted to submit something. I might of actually missed this if it wasn't for my daily Danny Choo feeds.

Stop over at the Otacool 2 Submission page for more on what you need to do. There are already several Cosplayers that have entered, so get your stuff in now.

Here are some of my favs so far:

Yaya Han

Alodia Gosiengfiao

Francesca Dani

HezaChan

Monkey D. Luffy

Cosplayer: Von
Photo by Metz
Villa Angela Cosplay