Random Prize Winner - Yea!

I can't remember how I came across the site, but I found my way to Otaku Hime. She was having this really cool contest for her 200th Post. The only thing you needed to do was post some offbeat things to do in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara or Yokohama. They were planning there honeymoon there and wanted our input on cool places to go.

Here was my suggestion:

"Not sure if you are into fashion or cosplay, but a nice offbeat place might be Harajuku. I would be interested myself to check out the area if for nothing else than to shop at h.NAOTO stores (Hangry & Angry). From what I remember, on Sunday, you get to see a lot of people in Goth Lolita and cosplay there as well.


There is also some Shrines, NHK Studio and Oriental Bazaar."

I didn't get the main prizes, but as a runner up, I got theUsagi mirror. Now I know not my style, but for my wife, it was a very cute item for her purse.

 
I just got in today via FedEx (which shocked me as it was International Overnight).

Now I have to admire her for packing it. I stopped counting after opening over 5 layers to get to the item. Felt like I was opening a package, then another package, then another package . . .  She also had a nice "thank you" note in it for me as well.

As my wife is a Rabbit in the Chinese Horoscope this was an even cooler item for her and she loves it. If you have the time, check out her Blog and catch up with her after she gets back from a Japan (very envious right now). 

btw:  THANK YOU :)

Happy Memorial Day & Contest Winner

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. In the United States we celebrate today in memory of all the soldiers that have fought in wars and died for us. Though this originated around the US Civil War (1865) to commemorate those soldiers, it expanded to include all soldiers that died while in military service.

Some people spend the day placing flags on the graves of the fallen soldiers and visiting family and friends. Some town even hold parades while the politicians try to win supporters. It is a mixed bag sometimes, but mostly it is an extra day off for us to be with friends and family.


Now for the big news that I promised today. I had placed everyone on a separate sheet of paper, placed it into a bowl and held it high in the air. I had my son reach into the bowl and pick one piece of paper out (I did not look).

The winner of the WaqWaq Contest is . . . . Rapunzel

Congrats to the winner and I want to thank everyone for entering.

300th BLOG + Manga Review + Giveaway

Holy Blog-O-Sphere, I never thought I would make it this far. But here I am doing my 300th blog and still cranking more out. I should do something cool for this post, so here is a Manga review & Giveaway!

Manga Review:

Manga: WaqWaq
Story: Ryu Fujisaki
Art: Ryu Fujisaki
Distributor: VIZ Media
Number Volumes: 4
Price Point: $9.99/volume USD

Ryu Fujisaki is better known for his work under the Manga title Hoshin Engi. I remember reading WaqWaq in a recent issue of my son's Shonen Jump and thought it was interesting enough to pickup.

General Plot (from the back of the 1st volume):

In the ultimate battle of man vs. machine, all hope lies with a teenage girl. Living in constant fear of attack from machines, mankind depends on the cyborg corps known as the Guardians to keep them from harm as they await the arrival of the Kami, a godlike savior with mystical red blood who can grant only one wish to one person. Now, Shio, son of a Guardian, thinks he's found the Kami - and all the Guardians are at war to get that wish!

SPOILER ALERT

Let me start off by saying I like and dislike these short series volumes. The good part is that I am not waiting years to complete the series. On the other hand they usually leave parts out that would be interesting (like back fill on the characters).

The easy part of this review is that the artwork. It is stunning, highly detailed and a joy to view. I like his style a lot and will probably be checking out Hoshin Engi soon. I love his color work as he is not afraid to drop every color in the rainbow into the art. A great example is the cover to Volume 1. This differences in the Guardian is well orchestrated and shows deep thought to what was needed. I love how he drew the machines as he gave them some nice depth and detail to each one. The smaller machines are "cute" and ad a softer touch to the devastating killer machines.

The meat of the story itself is intriguing as we have black blooded "humans" who see anyone with red blood as gods. There are no red bloods here on this world, so when Kami shows up, all hell breaks loose. The only bad part for me is how a she shows up in the story. It is often over done in stories now a days - teenager girl is kidnapped and taken to another world/dimension/time to help people. The interesting part of this however, is how she actually needs to spill all her blood to make things right again - ouch.

We have the young (thrown into everything) hero named Shio as he takes over his father Guardian because he gets killed in action. It seems that Machines on this world are out to kill all humans. Each Guardian has the ability to take all the dreams and memories of the other suitors it had and impress them into there new suitor. Talk about a mind dump - damn! SO what has to happen is that each Guardian must battle and assume the loosing Guardian - until there is only One (is this HIghlander?). Then the remaining Suitor of the Guardian can make one wish that will be granted by the almighty machine (no matter what it is). No pressure on our hero here.

Of course we have some sinister people behind all this that cause distress on our characters through out the series. How can you not have a evil villain (or three) in a series to cause heart ache to our hero and damsel in distress. I have to say there is some drama shown in the dialog between the characters. Kind of corny to me at times, but I managed through it. There is come comic relief by a ninja wanna-be named Fran when you get to Volume 2.

Needless to say after some very epic battles between everyone, we finally have a wish fulfilled and the world is a better place or is it??? You need to read it to find out.

Page Inserts

Giveaway:

I am going to be giving away the entire 4 volume series of the Manga I just reviewed of WaqWaq. I have also decided to open this up internationally, so everyone has a chance no matter where in the world they live.

Giveaway Rules:

1. Leave a comment > Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into the drawing
2. Only 1 comment post per person will be allowed (so no leaving 10 comments to stuff the ballot)
   
3. See above as it is really that simple
4. On May 31st, I will announce the winner
   

btw: I want to thank the girls for holding those lovely numbers up for me :)

Results of the 100th Blog Contest

I have to admit I was hoping for a little bigger reply to this. I guess the Japanese text and multi-questions scared everyone away. I really was an easy contest if you used Wikipedia. All the answers were found on that site fairly easy once you got past the first question by translating it from Japanese.

For everyone, here are the questions and the answers:

1. The anime, 科学忍者隊ガッチャマン, was called what when it was aired in the United States?

Battle of the Planets

2. Which month and year did it first air in the United States?

September 1978

3. Give me 2 other names other than the ones already mentioned or asked for that this was also called?

Here are all the other names that could of been used: Gatchaman, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Eagle Riders, Science Commando Gatchaman , G-Force and G-Force: Guardians of the Planet or Space.

4. Last, but not least – name the Creator and Production company that made this in Japan.

Created by Tatsuo Yoshida and the production company was Tatsunoko Productions

The names of those that answered correctly were each written on a piece of paper, crumbled up and thrown into a "hat". Did a little jig on the "hat" to mix everyone up, place hand inside and picked out a crumbled piece of paper.

The name on the paper was - drum roll >


Congrats and an email was sent to you this morning for your mailing address. I do want to thank everyone who played as this was my first contest.

100th Blog and a Contest

I have made it to my 100th Blog – Balloons and Party Hats for Everyone!

o<|:^P~~~~~~~~~~

As a celebration, I am having a CONTEST (open to US only due to region 1 DVD’s).

These are from my person collection so they have been viewed, but are in excellent condition. I did not want to make this too easy for you, but all the questions can be answered if you do a little research.

Those that answer all the questions correctly will get a chance to win. I will be drawing a name out of a “hat” for all the users that answer correctly. You must send me an email with the answers to bluedrakon (at) g mail (dot) com. Contest will end on this coming Sunday Morning (8/16) at 4:00AM - Eastern Daylight Time - with the winner named on my Sunday Blog. I will also send an email out Sunday to that person for their mailing information.


1. The anime, 科学忍者隊ガッチャマン, was called what when it was aired in the United States?
2. Which month and year did it first air in the United States?
3. Give me 2 other names other than the ones already mentioned or asked for that this was also called?
4. Last, but not least – name the Creator and Production company that made this in Japan.


What is up for the Winner (all DVD’s are 13+ age rating):

Elemental Gelade DVD Set with OST CD

Last Exile DVD Set with Pencil board & Figure

*** Updated > Contest will close at 4:00am Sunday to give this a full 48 hours.