Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha: Yin and Hei

darker than black: kuro no keiyakusha cosplay - yin and heiAn elite Contractor with Meister Code BK-201, Hei acts as the spy and assassin in his team, swiftly dealing death without fail. Yin acts as a support personnel, using her observation ability to locate individuals for Hei’s team. Their names are colors with Yin meaning Silver and Hei meaning Black.

Stunning cosplay by Julie and Sashasunji! And is that real snow? I hope they’re not too cold while doing this photo shoot! Thanks to Mariana for sending this in!

SFX Magazine Special - bow ties are COOL!

Today saw the publication of the SFX Magazine, Doctor Who: A Celebration.

I particularly wanted to grab a copy as I knew it was to contain a number of costume related items and articles, and it hasn’t disappointed.

While I was on my way to Forbidden Planet to pick up my copy, it occurred to me that the free bow tie could turn out to be some cardboard thing with elastic at the back!
Luckily it is a pukka clip-on bow tie, though a cheap one (hey! what do you expect for a giveaway?)

Only downside is that it’s a child-sized one! (see right, top).

The magazine comes in a large card envelope (see left) which also holds the bow tie and two badges (see above).

From the costume point of view, there are a couple of highlights.

First up as a feature interview with Series Five costume designer Ray Holman.
The best part of this is a discussion on the matt Smith costume, and a reproduction of the design itself! (see below - click to enlarge and read)


Later in the magazine is a four-page feature on the Doctor Who crafting, a lot of which appears on the Crafty TARDIS forum.

There’s a lot of knitting involved! I love the knitted Daleks, as well as the more obvious scarf-work (see left).

There is also coverage of the controversial knitted Adipose dolls, which resulted in a Cease and Desist from the BBC.

Just under that feature is one on Kevin Coppa, who has done a lot of conventions in his various Tennant costumes. He is shown in his Tennant Suit, with a wasp on his back! (see left - click to enlarge and read)

Elsewhere, there are lots of great reference photographs and articles worth a read.


SFX Special Edition:
Doctor Who – A Celebration
is available at £7.99 for a limited time at good good newsagents in the UK.
It is also available for download to read on the iPad from the iTunes App Store for £4.99
All in all well worth the £7.99 investment!

Asuka Langley - Dark Brigade Figure

I know I have been out of the blog-o-sphere for over a week. Been stupidly busy with nothing and should of posted a while ago. I guess needed some down time to re-energize my batteries, but they are still damn drained. Well, I can't say I have been that damn lazy as I got this post for ya.

I had gotten this a while ago - It is Evangelion EX Daibouken Figure: Dark Brigade Asuka Langley. I was trying to get both Rei and Asuka, but they only had Asuka at the time.




She comes with 3 weapons (Sword, Battle Axe and Spear). She actually has he hand holding the sword, while the others are embedded in the base behind her. I was surprised by the overall use of black instead of red on the figure. They did keep with her color scheme with the weapons as well as he under garments - heehee.



I was able to get outside before it got to cold for this little shoot. I had to walk around my apartment complex and finally found a cool site to do this. It was in a area they have setup for overflow of water and it had some natural rocks popping up.

Without further a-do, lets get on with the show:

Rotating 4 Poses



Other Cool Shots









Infamous Pantsu Shot

BTW:
Can anyone let me know where to get the companion Rei Ayanami Dark Brigade figure? I really would like to complete this collection :)

Monday, November 29, 2010

Kuroshitsuji II: Alois Trancy 02

kuroshitsuji 2 cosplay - alois trancy 02Alois trancy acts as a foil to Ciel Phantomhive; a literary term for a character who contrasts with another character (in this case, Ciel) in order to highlight the various features of the other character’s personality. Ciel actually cares for people and causes while Alois is psychologically scarred, pathologically abusive, and calculative. By appearance, Ciel is seemingly indifferent, while Alois is quite energetic.

Cute cosplay by ~MichiMichi-Miku! I love the way she’s posing for the camera and her boots are absolutely stunning! Thanks to ~JusticecanTrustMeX3 for the awesome photography and Cherokee for sending this in!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Sawada Tsunayoshi 02

katekyo hitman reborn! cosplay - sawada tsunayoshi 02A junior high school student, Tsuna is recruited as the Vongola Family’s mafia boss-in-training for being the great-great-great grandson of the first Vongola boss. He was known as “No Good Tsuna” for his poor grades, bad luck, and lack of athleticism. After Reborn shot him with the Vongola Family’s Dying Will Bullet, however, he became a powerful berserker who acts upon whatever he had regretted to make it right.

Beautiful cosplay by =oni-no-yo-na-ningen! Really love the effects of the materials she used for Tsuna’s fire. Thanks again to Katrina for sending this in!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Gyakuten Saiban 3: Hondobou Kaoru

gyakuten saiban 3 / phoenix wright: ace attorney - trials and tribulations cosplay - hondobou kaoru / jean armstrongThe eccentric chef and owner of the French restaurant Trés Bien, Hondobou Kaoru also known as Jean Armstrong is very passionate about cooking, but fails in making palatable dishes. Worse, the food he serves is ridiculously overpriced, driving his customers away. Jean is very flowery with his mannerisms and aims to please, but is also easily bullied.

Now isn’t this one of the most adorable, if not epic, cosplays you’ve ever seen? Thanks to Letty for sending this!

Ore no Imoto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai: Kosaka Kirino

ore no imoto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai cosplay - kosaka kirino

A 14-year-old girl with an older brother complex, Kirino is quite mature for her age and has a modeling job to pay for her otaku hobbies. She loves her older brother, Kyosuke and often feels frustrated when he is with, or shows interests, in other girls. She thus forces Kyosuke to spend time with her, but generally denies the fact that she enjoys his company.

Such a cute cosplay by Kanda Midori! She looks so dreamy in this photo. Thanks to Nel for sending this!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Sailor Moon: Sailor Moon

sailor moon cosplay - sailor moonA schoolgirl in 20th Century Tokyo, Usagi is a well-intentioned, underachieving crybaby who prefers the life of a normal teenage girl. While fighting the evils of her past life as Sailor Moon, Usagi quickly matures and learns to make decisions for herself, becoming a true princess of the fallen Moon Kingdom.

At least, that’s how she is in the original manga!

I know she's Sailor Moon, but I'm a little confused as to which season from the metaseries she's from. Her hairclips make it look like she's from SuperS, but I don’t think the sleeves are right. And gold armbands? I’m really confused. Thanks again to Pikori for sending this, though!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Soul Eater Soul Evans Appearance


Soul has white hair swept to one side, and red eyes. He is known for his heavily exaggerated facial expressions and pointed teeth. He naturally has a lazy, droopy, and somewhat uninterested expression on his face. In his first appearance, he wears a yellow and black jacket with buttons going down the front. Around his head is a prominent sweatband that has a sticker with his name on and a round logo featuring a red-lipped mouth bearing pointed fangs surrounded with the letters 'E-A-T.' He wears a pair of maroon pants, and yellow and black sneakers with a pattern on the soles resembling his teeth. In Episode 14, it is revealed that he wears blue boxers with pictures of bones all over them (a reference to Ohkubo's previous manga, B. Ichi). When seen bare-chested or naked, it is shown that he has a large scar going diagonally down his torso from the left shoulder to the right waist. These are from the operation Professor Stein preformed after Crona attacked him during their first encounter.
His soul is light blue with the top resembling his hair and is also the Soul Eater series logo. It can be seen on the back his first jacket.

Beyond Episode 25 and Chapter 24, Soul wears a hairband with new clothing consisting of a black (apparently leather) jacket, an orange T-shirt with the logo on his sweatband emblazoned on the left breast (this may only be visible in episode 49 when he collapses) and a pair of light brown pants, instead of his original headband and old clothing.
In his Spartoi uniform, Soul has kept to his fondness of wearing a jacket. This time, it is a custom, white (possibly military) jacket, with the Spartoi logo on the left shoulder with a small clip strapped to the collar, for closing. Underneath the jacket, he wears a tucked-in, closed, white dress shirt with a tie. He is normally seen without the jacket on. He wears blue pants, white belt, and white shoes.

When he meets with Little Ogre inside his soul in the Black Room, Soul wears a pin-striped black suit with a red dress shirt, black tie, and matching black shoes. He does not wear a hair band in this outfit.

Upon entering the first Chapter of Lust in the Book of Eibon, alongside Maka and other members of Spartoi, his appearance greatly changed in that his gender was switched to female for the remainder of the chapter. In this form, he resembles Maka in appearance, having long hair with a fluffy hairband visible beneath. The clothes are similar to the female Spartoi outfit, with the sailor suit collar, but with the difference that it is more like a dress. He wears a blouse with puffed up sleeves with some subtle flower petal patterns on the hem. The signature tie of the Spartoi uniform has been tied up to be in a bow-shape. He wears a silky skirt that goes down to his knees and white shoes. After reaching the Envy Chapter, he turns straight back to his normal gender.

In Weapon form, he takes on the form of a scythe with a long grey, staff-like haft. Despite probably being of a metal-like material, the haft is capable of bending, sometimes at incredibly drastic angles. The scythe blade is black and red, with the two colours separated by a zig-zagged line going along the blade. Next to the blade is a prominent decor in the shape of an elliptical red eye with a black pupil, framed by a dark grey outline with a line extending out of the outline at the two points of the eye. The eye is capable of moving according to Soul's emotions. It widens when he is surprised, narrows when he is angry, and when he ends up unconscious after being devoured by the Black Blood in the anime, the red eye disappears to signify this. Below the eye is a triangular zig-zagged pattern, split with the colours dark grey and light grey. A slight extension, a bar with three holes punched through it, is seen next to the eye, opposite to the blade.

When Soul becomes a Death Scythe, his Weapon form takes on a slightly different appearance. The prominent eye is now framed by gold metal, which goes around the eye and then splits into two strands of metal, which latch themselves onto the edge of the blade. The slight extension with the three holes is replaced by small wing-shaped objects, one red and one black. These wings can become bigger to enable flight. The blade's curve is also sharper, and the zig-zagged line separating the black and red is gone, with only three zig-zags and the rest a straight line.

Soul also occasionally rides a motorcycle, which acts as a form of alternate transportation for him and Maka. The bike is orange and yellow and is a two-seater for the Weapon and Meister. A small metal ornament in the shape of a monster's head is seen on the front, with the monster's single 'eye' functioning as a headlight. The number plate at the back has his name on it instead. There are red streamers on the handlebars. At the start of the manga, Soul's bike has the same appearance, but later on, its elaborate design changes to the appearance of a regular motorcycle with no distinguishing features in particular.

Shaman King: Asakura Yo

shaman king cosplay - asakura yo

When Asakura Keiko gave birth to twins, the reincarnated Asakura Hao was separated into two halves; Yo bore his human side while his twin brother who carried the same name as their ancestor bore his shaman side. Although he is only interested in becoming the Shaman King in order to fulfill his promise to his fiancée, Kyoyama Anna, Lady Sati gave him the honor of going to Hell to train himself. He was granted the power of purification and became one of the Five Elemental Warriors, gaining the Spirit of Earth.

A very convincing cosplay! Yo always seemed happy and bored at the same time, and this cosplayer really achieved his look flawlessly! Thanks to Pikori for sending this in!

Radio Times - first good look ofMatt’s refreshed costume

Today a new copy of the Radio Times dropped through my letterbox (see left).

With Christmas coming soon, this was not actually next weeks issue (that arrived on Tuesday), but the one after, covering the 4th to 10th December.

Right at the very back is a preview of the following issue, being the week before Christmas itself (see right).

Part of the features in that will be inevitable coverage of the Doctor Who Christmas Special, and it’s accompanied by a nice festive portrait of Matt in costume.

As far as I am aware, this is one of the clearest photos I have seen to date, showing the refreshed costume (the paparazzi photo taken during filming were distant and blurred, and official stills to date have been equally unclear).





Anyway, no sooner had this great pic been published, a rival magazine, TV & Satellite Week, put Matt Smith on their front cover, showing the fabric detail of the jacket and shirt even better! (see left)
You can download a high res version of the cover here:



And while we are about it, being a steadfast Radio Times reader I have never given TV & Satellite Week a second glance, but they have run some cracking Doctor Who covers for the new series (see below).


26th June - 2nd July 2010
All the covers for these issues are using top resolution images, which have been somewhat enhanced with sharpness and contrast.

Some, like this one, look to have been un-nesecarily messed around with.

Notice matt is wearing the blue Paul Smith shirt, with the burgundy bow tie!

But if you look closer, it has the texture of the blue one – it has been retouched to burgundy – for no good reason whatsoever!

24th - 30th April 2010

Though this is quite a nice shot of Matt in costume, it is not the correct image for this episode! (Time Of Angels, Flesh & Stone)


He is wearing the Donegal version, not the Mackenzie two-by-two dogstooth as actually seen.

Oops!

3rd - 9th April 2010

Another nice, if again somewhat over enhanced image.


This time he is wearing the Mackenzie two-by-two dogstooth jacket – but alas it is again not for this week’s episode (The Eleventh Hour).

19th Dec 2009 - 1st Jan 2010

A nice shot of David Tennant – annoying that the text covers the tie otherwise we would have a really good detail shot of the pattern!


Never mind :(

28th Nov - 4th Dec 2009
This is a good example of excessive post shoot manipulation.

The pinstripes on the suit have been played around with too much and are now a bit removed from their correct colour. The 19th December issue (see above) is a more accurate representation of their true hue.

14th - 20th Nov 2009

Again, pity (for us) about the placement of the text, otherwise we’d have another good reference picture for the tie!


4th - 10th July 2009




Thought I would put these two Torchwood covers in as well, partly to share the nice detail of the buttons on Jack’s coat – but also to show the work John Barrowman has had done on his face!

No-one looks like that in real life!

23rd - 29th May 2009

Jack’s face is way less retouched on this cover compared to the one above – but there has still been a lot of magic wand work done here!


11th - 17th April 2009

I get the feel not everything in this cover was together in the same place at the same time . . .


6th - 12th Dec 2008

Quite a crowded cover this one. Only person missing is Rosetta.


21st - 27th June 2008

Billy Piper’s had work done . . .


26th April - 2nd May 2008
 . . . . and so has Freema!
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