Special Review - KumoriCon 09

WO0o0OT! The weekend after I get down here to Portland for Multnomah Bible College (which ROCKS, I might add), is KumoriCon, Portland's official Anime convention! So I decided to go (aka I asked my Dad and he decided, he being the dominator of my dough). But I looked at the schedule, which only had some good series in the middle of Saturday, and Kirk Thorton on Saturday, so I realized I could do those, get pictures of cosplayers, and shop, in one day. 30$ for Saturday instead of 45$ for the whole weekend, which I probably wouldn't have much time to attend anyways.

So I left this morning, walked down the eiree 82nd Street, got on the MAX (rail system), got nervous about where I needed to get off, got off, walked a few blocks, and entered the Portland Hilton Towers. And boy was it messy.



No idea what was going on, wandering all around. I finally noticed a registration sign, followed it and got in line... for special services. So I got out, wandered all around, finally went upstairs after a while found the registration back in the corner. Got my uberswait badge (which now hangs on my wall), and set off.



After much wandering, I made it to the Exhibitors' Hall. The place was in the bottom floor of the parkade! The line went up a ramp 2 stories, around a corner, up another story, and OUTSIDE. Wow. But later it disappeared, thankfully.

Sadly... I wasn't very impressed with the merchandise. Sure, they had a good amount. Sure, they had fair selection. But for the most part, they had nothing I wanted. Wall scrolls of Naruto, Death Note, and Gun X Sword (none of which I've seen). Plushies of human characters (always a no). Key Chains, Gundam Models, etc. I was a little disappointed.

...sigh... anyways, I just wandered and browsed through piles of posters and stuff, when suddenly... I happened upon IT! I found a poster of Infinite Ryvius! It's slightly obscure, and completely non-existent in merchandise, so it took my by surprise! 12$



I also found a good Galaxy Angel chibi folder (my other one doesn't have Vanilla, my favorite) for 2$, which is also hanging on my wall.



I happened upon Uwajimaya's booth, which, to my shock, had very little in selection, to the point that I was unsure if it was truly a Uwajimaya booth. What it did have, however, was tons of boxes of Ramune soda (the kind with the marble that seals it, then shoots inside so you can drink) for the very reasonable price of 1$ a piece. I bought 6 Melon and 6 Strawberry. I also grabbed my first two packs of HiChew for 50 cents each. They are awesome, and taste like a mix between Starbursts and Gummies.



I went to the theater to see a little of Azumanga Dioh, a school comedy that is near the top of my list to watch, only to find, to my horror, that it was dubbed. And it sucked. I left. I came back when it was over to watch some Haruhi Suzumiya season 2, but still felt like doing other things. Didn't even watch Ouran High School Host Club, right after.

After that, I went... well... I'll save it for now. Let's look at some Cosplay.

I havn't actually watched Futurama, but my new friend Alex is a big fan, so I had to get this pic for him. It's a pretty good design, too. Bender's chest opens to reveal some kind of power supply, probably an inside joke.



There were 10+ people as characters from Ouran High School Host Club, but these two stood out particularly well as Kauro and Hikaru.



There were also at least 10 people as Haruhi Suzumiya characters, but these 3 girls had actually memorized the ending dance... woah...

From Gurren Lagann, I saw 3+ Simons, a Nia, and this AWESOME cosplay of Adiane. Sorry about the blur, she was getting lots of pics and wanted to leave, heh heh.



I saw this one and pretty much stalked this girl down to get a picture, lol. Mint from Galaxy Angel.



I saved the best (in my opinion)for last. This AWESOME cosplay of the AWESOME Super NES games called Zombies Ate My Neighbors! (If you haven't played it, go download an emulator and get going!)



I got a pic of a very well done Master Chief cosplay, but I can't find it. I wonder if I'm missing anything else? I didn't get a chance to take a picture of a really awesome Zelda and Gannon pair. There seemed to be a lot of well-done Zelda cosplays. There were about 8 Team Fortress characters, 10 Narutos, 50+ Naruto and Bleach characters, 20+ Pikachus, 50+ Pokemon, a Dokuro-chan, 6 FMA outfits, etc.

I got this pic while waiting in a line, over the balcony looking down at a major clutter area. You can see a swait group of Pokemon outfits on the left.



So, the last big thing at KumoriCon... was Kirk Thorton. Now Mr. Thorton is, for the most part, a regular voice actor. He's done some famous anime and games, like characters from Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, etc. He doesn't actually attend any Cons except KumoriCon, which is local for him. I personally wanted to see him because he's the voice of Don Patch, a character I hate (and LOVE doing so) from Bobobo Bobobobo.



It turned out to be VERY interesting. It may not be interesting to you, simply because I can't remember it all. I honestly wish I would have taken notes. He talked about how a local Shakespeare event got him into Anime Voice acting (lol). He also talked about how voice acting can NOT support his family, so he (like many voice actors), have to do things like script work and directing.

He starts with a script that's a simple direct translation, then he makes it a little more realistically spoken for the English language. He also makes the sentences work with the amount of mouth movement the original character uses. They get complaints about not staying true to the original, but sometimes they just can't help it.

He did a lot of examples of the voices he did, and laughed a lot about how he can't even remember what characters he's working on at the moment. One summer, he was working on 26 different characters he was working on. He asked us not to film him, because people upload things he says to youtube, and he can't remember saying them, and then they all talk about it and get mad that he can't remember. He said that many MANY times, the best way to know what roles he is working on is to Google himself.

Someone asked a question about why voice actors like Thorton use aliases sometimes. Thorton explained that if he does voice acting for a non-union project, they'll fine him. So he has to use aliases, or sometimes is even unlisted. And this is a problem for lots of people.

Something that could possibly be news is THE POSITIVE DENIAL OF KIRK THORTON BEING IN THE NEXT SILENT HILL GAME. Sure, this means nothing to me, but technically it's semi-news-worthy. He said he's on some games that he's agreed not to disclose with the company. Not long after, somebody asked if he was going to be in the next Silent Hill game, and he smiled and said "I can't disclose information on that," which made us all feel special, even if we didn't care.

He also told us a really funny story about voice acting in the next Kingdom Hearts game. He got a call from Disney Character Voices, which is an awesome thing, and was told he was in the next game. He came, and started working, and then asked the director how he got the part when he didn't even apply or try-out. The directer thought, and then said "I have no idea". Later, the director told him what he'd found out. "Disney was trying to find a person to fill the roll. They looked at the guy who played the Japanese roll, then looked at his character in Samurai Champloo, Jin. Then they looked at who played him in the English version, which was you. They listened to your voice acting as Jin, and decided you fit." And so he had minimal influence on him being hired for this big role.

He also talked about the fun time working on Bobobo Bobobobo. He and the director became friends, and when there was something in the script they didn't like, they'd say "No, it'd be better like THIS!" and then change it. He said it was one of his favorite times.

And while looking right this moment for videos of Thorton on Youtube, I was reminded of this. One person said as their question, "So I heard you like Mudkips" written as "so i herd u liek mukipz". This is a common "meme" (internet inside joke). He had no idea what she was talking about. I found this a minute ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFXgLbbJV94 LOL. That's exactly what he meant by uploading things to YouTube :P

It was funny observing him deal with the people who liked him a little "too" much. "They'll be an autograph signing time later, you don't need it now." He obviously has a lot of experience here ;)

That's about it. Kirk Thorton was the highlight, really. He said even more that I can't remember. But I found it all very interesting, and it even *shudder* game me a temptation to watch *shud-d-d-d-der* Naruto. But I probably wont ;)



So I rode the MAX home, almost fell asleep. It all went by so fast. Now my posters are up, I've drank a Ramune, eaten too many (or not enough) HiChews, and think I'm going to play Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. Look forward to new releases when I find the time to watch some anime! (You know, cause I'm busy with school ;P )

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment!

Review - Mega Man X: The Day of Sigma

So I was bored, and had just watched this one episode OVA I had downloaded, and thought I'd review it. I doubt there's many (if any) reviews of it online, so maybe I'll get some website hits ;)

Mega Man X - The Day of Sigma is based on the Super Nintendo game Mega Man X (surprise). The story explains the events that happen right before the game begins. It is featured as a bonus on the remake of the game for PlayStation Portable (titled Mega Man Maverick Hunter X). I just downloaded it.



The story starts with some familiar characters such as Sigma, Zero, and Chill Penguin, fighting off a machine gone Maverick (going crazy or evil instead of functioning peacefully). X (Mega Man) appears out of the sky and starts pwning the thing, but it grabs an ally and X is hesitant to take the shot. Sigma ends up finishing him off.



As the story progresses, you find why X is so special, and why Sigma (and others) turned Maverick. You also learn why the city is in ruins. As someone who has put a small portion of time into Mega Man X, it was quite interesting. It shouldn't be confusing to someone unfamiliar, but the ending will seem terrible (as I said, it's explains the beginning of the game).



Sub vs Dub = I downloaded it, and it was the dub. The voice actors did a fine job, though they wern't memorable. Most of them were pretty obscure. I assume the sub version would probably be good, too.

Content = Content? Rated G. A very clean show with high action but low violence, and no language or blood. NOTHING sexual. It's based off an old SNES game, for goodness sakes.

Sound = Didn't pay much attention. No OP or ED (they don't waste their time for one episode).

Adaptions = Well, there's no manga, and I'm not gonna cover the HUMONGOUS world of Mega Man games. There's a Mega Man anime series, but from what I've heard, it sucks. And Mega Man and Mega Man X are two different stories.

Category: None (It wasn't really meant to appeal to you in a main category, just explain)
Length: 1 Episode
Japanese Title: Irregular Hunter X - The Day of Sigma or Meganan X - The Day of Sigma

Year: 2005
Studio: Unknown (Capcom?)
AnimeNewsNetwork

Download (Jap/EngSub AND Dub)
Stream (Dub) - Part 1 2 3

In Summary: If you've played or are interested in Mega Man, this is a nice and short little adventure to watch. It doesn't have a great ending, but it's the very beginning of a bigger story.

Review - Ouran High School Host Club

Yo. I decided to watch a series I'd heard a lot about, as 4 out of 5 times, popular anime is popular for a reason (the other 1 time, it sucks big time). Ouran High School Host Club was not a "1 Time", I'm glad to say.

I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for comedies that suffer from gender issues. Take Ranma 1/2, which involves a guy who turns into a girl with cold water, and back with hot. Once you throw in many characters who fall in love with him(/her) in both genders, and people with similar changing problems, you get an awesome relational *insert name of crazy mixed up geometrical shape here*s. So when I read about this one, I couldn't resist.



Ouran High School Host Club is about Haruhi, a girl who, due to lack of concern, wears the attire of a guy. She also gets good enough grades to attend Ouran High School, a school for children of the "Super Rich", though she's just a common Japanese girl. One day, she accidentally happens upon the Host Club while looking for a quiet place to study... yeah right... where she breaks a vase and must become a server of the Host Club (because they think she's a guy). When they see her eyes (girl eyes), they realize she would be a perfect "guy" to work as a Host Club member. What does the host club do? Let Tamaki, the club President, explain:

"Ouran Private Academy is defined by... one, prestigious families, and two, wealth.... and prosperous people have much time on their hands. Therefore, the Ouran Host Club is about... these handsome guys that have time... giving hospitality to these lovely ladies who also have time... and profit off them. It's an elegant game unique to this super-rich school.



Haruhi is the main character, but what is really entertaining about her is that she brings out the personality of all the other characters, who really make the show. Tamaki, the "King", is very suave, yet is also very ignorant and... an idiot. Kauro and Hikaru are twins who have spent most of their life hiding from the world, until Tamaki befriended them (and now they liven up the show by constantly poking fun at him). Honey is a Senior who looks like he's five, and uses this in his host skills. Mori is Honey's friend who uses quite the opposite personality as a Host. And Kyoya is the organizer and really runs the Host Club from behind.

This show has got to do the best jobs of utilizing anime expressions and chibi forms to create humor and personality, even above shows like Lucky Star. Yet it feels less "OOOOOH, Kawaii!" (which means cute in Japanese) than most that use them. Bananas peels are occasionally utilized to cause trouble, making situations worse (AKA funnier). The elegant text boxes that appear everywhere to label and explain provide additional humor with an original feel to it.



I don't think that, since I watched Elfen Lied last year, I've had a strong "I don't want to turn this off yet!" feeling after each episode. And not since Fullmetal Alchemist (pretty much my original major anime series) have I had the "NOOOO! I don't want this to end!" feel, since I tend to look forward to completing a series. I might put this series as far as saying it's my favorite Comedy Romance. A sure 9 of 10 on MyAnimeList.net.

There's some side stories with one-time characters, but you spend a lot of time with the backgrounds of the main characters, learning how their life was before the host club. By the end, you see a complete story for each one, leaving you with nothing but the desire to see how it will all end. It's got an occasional twist and turn, and the end leaves you with a big ol' grin.



Sub vs Dub = I watched it in Japanese, the seyuu (voice actors) were great. I then watch part of a later episode in English. Haruhi has waaaay to masculine of a voice, while the Japanese Haruhi was just right. The only one I actually had any "Cool!" at all for was Tamaki, voiced by my favorite, Vic Mignona (Ed Elric in FMA, Kurtz in FMP!, etc.). But whoever the Japanese voice actor is, he makes Tamaki who he is in the original. Just stick with the subs!

Content = Ah, once again, a big section for content. While sexual references are near non-existent, and nudity is none, gender confusion abounded and produced some uncanny results. Of course, Haruhi accidentally kisses a girl (while a Host Club member). But then there's Kauro and Hikaru... who's relationship appears to be romantic (homo-twincest, yuck). But as the series goes on, you see everything is for play in the host club, and that all their lives the have shunned the rest of the world to the point the have nearly become one person. And you soon find they do have a natural interest in girls. Also, there's Haruhi's dad, who is a "okama", which means he dresses and acts like a woman... but it's not too bad. Lastly, there's the repulsive Lobelia High School Zuka Club, which is all made of feminists who want Haruhi to switch to their school. But of course, if she did, that would ruin the series. All in all, the show isn't crude or explicit, it's mostly just inappropriate. Probably a good 13+ that's already labeled would fit.

Sound = Great OP song, as I climbed Multnomah Falls in Oregon right after I began the series, I couldn't help but hum it to myself the whole way up and down. The ED always worked perfectly after whatever happened at the end of each episode. The main music was entertaining, full of piano, orchestral, and a general Victorian sound both enjoyable to listen to and fitting to the mood. There was a happy light version of the OP that played occasionally, which made the scenes feel automatically pivotal to the show itself.

Adaptions = The manga came first, and I think extends farther than the show. There's rumors of a second season, but they are nothing but rumors, as there isn't enough manga for it to happen. I think there's a PS2 and Nintendo DS game.



Category: Comedy
Length: 26 Episodes
Japanese Title: Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu
Year: 2006
Studio: Bones
Opening Video
Ending Video
Wikipedia
AnimeNewsNetwork

Download (Jap/EngSub) RECOMENDED!!!
Stream (Jap/EngSub AND EngDub)
Opening Song Single Download
Ending Song Single Download
Soundtrack 1 Download
Soundtrack 2 Download
Soundtrack Special Download

In Summary: This is a great series, full of laughs and little spots of serious moments here and there. Some inappropriate content, but if you are 13 or older and don't mind some gender confusion, you'll enjoy this heartfelt series. I flew through it in 4 sittings.

Review - Monster

Hey everyone, I'm back with another review. I'd like to point out the goal of my reviews: To convince people that certain anime is (or isn't) worth their time, without in any way spoiling parts of the plot. I also strive to provide accurate reviews of questionable content in the anime I review.

I got sick last week, and so I did what any normal person would do; sit around and watch TV. And I decided to spend my time watching anime. I finished Futakoi (which was good), watched Sorcerer on the Rocks (which was bland, since its an old OVA, started Futakoi Alternative (which has been interesting so far), watched ALL of The Big O (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and watched the 74 episode anime called Monster.

It was one of those one's that I thought sounded interesting and downloaded, and I figured I might as well go on a quest to finish a long anime, since I wont get a chance like this until I'm sick again. I watched it in 6 days, and finished it about 15 minutes ago.

Monster amazed me, truly amazed me. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next, and constantly, constantly surprised me with twist after twist. It built expectations and hinted at things in a way that you found yourself clever for figuring it out. Then you'd be wrong. And all the sudden, while you were trying to figure out where you went wrong, they'd totally surprise you somewhere else! It left my nerves rattled and my pants wet... or maybe that was the orange juice I spilled (no really, I accidentally spilled a bunch of orange juice while I was watching it).

Monster starts off following Dr. Tenma, a genius neurologist. His work is well known... yet he is not. His boss seems to take a lot of credit for his work. But he's humble, and also dating his bosses daughter, so he doesn't care a lot. But he soon finds his boss, the director at his hospital, has putting unfair priorities on certain patients, which Tenma feels he is responsible for. It finally comes down to him making a decision to follow the director, or put a child first in line for surgery. He helps the boy with the head wound, only to find out t was actually a grave mistake... and the series goes from there. That's really only the first 10th of the anime, and there's much more detail and mystery than that.

The series felt after the first 8 episode like it was going to be full of many "filler" episodes with dull short stories... but they never came. A few short episodes occurred, but they all held significance to the plot in enough ways that I wouldn't call them fillers. Most of the story was "story arcs", multiple episodes that made one large piece of the story. They would follow characters who would seem completely unrelated for large portions of time, and then main characters like Dr. Tenma would start to fit in, and the significance would begin to appear.

There are many characters to follow. At first, many people in Monster look the same, but main characters will stand out enough that you can follow them as their influence goes in and out of the story. Characters who seemed to be of little or no significance would come back again... and again... and many were even at the end of the story in one way.

The whole series follows the adventure, yet also continually looks at the long past of many of the characters. It becomes a little tiresome to try and keep the back history you learn chronologically ordered in your mind, though it makes enough sense that you can bear with it. It wasn't a waste; all the information was important, and was required to understand the story. Information was often repeated, but it wasn't with a redundant feeling for the most part.

This anime bore minimal resemblance to most. The people's design's were all completely proportionate; no giant eyes or anything like that. There are no "Super Magic Awesome Attack" moves or ridiculous clothing attempts. There's very minimal humor, and what there is, is still in a way "serious". What's weird is the anime is supposedly German (though they are of course speaking Japanese), so there's references to "I don't understand you, please speak German", which is funny.

This show really gave many morality issues to deal with, such as the identity of the serial killer (which I can't reveal as would be spoilerific). Along with all the things that are taught and done in Germany, etc. What's interesting is the serial killer will say things that make people feel worthless, and then the good characters will say things that make them turn around and feel purposeful. But its sad because half of their justifications are actually worthless. Without God, the serial killer would be right; we are worthless. And there were many issues you really had to just think for yourself.

I twisted and turned on Plot or Emotional. There was so much plot, yet so much emotion. Twists and turns, emotional connections to the characters and moral dilemmas. But I settled with plot, because though very emotional, a lot of the emotions came from the twists and turns of the plot.

Sub vs Dub = Watched in Japanese, voices fit the characters perfectly. Dunno if I'd risk watching the dub :|

Content = Ah... I had high hopes at first, but they just had to stick some unnecessary things after a while. Monster is violent. Of course, since it deals a lot with death. It's got blood. I've seen worse. The language wasn't to bad. I think I caught about 5 f-bombs; it was the usual bas**** and hell and sh** that dominated. Plus a few necessary bi***es. There's a lot of references to prostitution. The show deals with the value of life, and orphans, so children of prostitutes becomes a topic. For the first 24 episodes, I was surprised at how clean they kept it. They had chances to expose people, yet the things in the way defied gravity by staying there. But then in episode 25, some characters went to a "red light district" and for some reason... pictures of topless prostitutes went by. This happened again in episodes 34. In episode 49, there's a painting of a naked lady, and one other bit of inappropriate content. Episode 51 you get a quick glance of a woman... And finally, at the very beginning of episode 64, there was a brief image of a pole dancer. And that's it for actual nudity. At the very least, I can say I'm thankful that nothing was actually "happening" in the show. As opposed to, say, the movie "300"... I can say that my sister will probably watch this show (she knows which episodes have this stuff in them). You wont regret it.

Sound = The OST was okay. There was an occasional track that stood out to me and made me want it. The opening was good, and very original. A synth and drums with hard bashing for a beat that created a suspenseful atmosphere that something dark and epic was happening. The show had two endings. The first was English and slow/creepy and I liked it better. The second was Japanese and also slow/creepy, but it was sung in a strange high-pitch way. Also, the previews for the next episode had an awesome melody playing that reminded my of Trace Memory as soon as I heard it.

Adaptions = The anime is based off of a 18 volume manga that appears to follow the show pretty exactly. Supposedly, there is live action American movie slated for 2009, but I don't see it happening by then.

Category: Plot
Length: 74 Episodes
Japanese Title: Monsutā
Year: 2004
Studio: Madhouse
Opening Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwlCu5TBneE
BONUS Opening Video (In LEGO): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28vGi7jPNrY
Ending Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO4vE_xyqHc&feature=related
Ending Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT7fqyOsC_0&feature=related
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_(manga)
AnimeNewsNetwork: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3750

Download (Jap/EngSub): http://animestash.info/anime/show/7 (RECOMENDED)
Stream (Jap/EngSub): http://www.animekiwi.com/monster/
Download OST 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7QKW3BZH
Download OST 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JFWMWN9Q

In Summary: This is a great anime. Even if you hate every anime, you may like this, simply because it bares almost no resemblance to anime. But this is the equivalent to rated R, so you had better be ready for some usual content of an R movie. The twists and turns will keep you thrilled through very minute; you'll simply be on the edge of your seat. If you're willing to sit through 74 episodes (just spread it out over a long period of time if your worried), go for it. 'll tell you this: You wont regret watching this anime.

If your not sure if you wanna watch it, I recommend just checking out the first 8 episodes. They alone have tons of twists, and are the prologue to the show. You can watch them, and quit happy. Check it out!

Special Review - Sakura-con 2009!!!!!!!!!!

WOAH! AMAZING! It pwned so much. Better than I thought. And I only spent about 200$ on merchandise! ;) I know a lot of people who wanted to go, and a lot who just thought it sounded interesting, and some people who laughed. And I wanna "in your face" them, so I'm writing this for all of you. (That last one may not completely be fulfilled, but your still a ignorant bias fools :P :P :P )
So I'm gonna list pretty much what I did in chronological order. Then other information. Then I'll link to photo's of stuff I bought and of cosplayers (people in costumes).

So back in August (2008) Caleb told me 'bout Sakura-con. "Magical place with anime lovers who dress magically and stuff sold is amazing." Pretty much defines "Yes, I'll Go!" But of course, in Seattle, things hard come by for Spokomptonites... Why I speak weird, know I do not.

Anyways, as the time approached, I decided to actually attempt to find a way there. AKA Ask my parents. Of course, my loving mother said I would have to pay her (seriously) about $450 since she'd drive me there, since she didn't want to go. (Even though she "always" wants to go to Seattle since we have relatives there, and she'd hang with them the whole time.) But then Sakura-con happened to be (sounds like it sucks) on Easter. However, we were already planning on going Seattle for Easter. My parents were gonna make me pay a bit, though, since I was gonna go on Friday (Sakura-con is from Friday Morn until Sun afternoon).

But my dad was busy, so we left and arrived Friday afternoon. Then I called Caleb, who decided with me that since the lines on Friday had been several hours long it, would be best to arrive around 6:30AM on Saturday to get a good spot, even though the registration didn't open until 9AM. My sister also deemed it necessary to watch a movie we'd already seen until 12AM in the room I was sleeping in...

So we woke up at 5AM, got Caleb and his friend SteveO, and went to the Convention Center. Went up all the escalators and into the registration place, which had few people and was... running! So I actually got registered by 7:00.

Walk into the main area... WOW, lots of games. Mainly rhythm games (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, Pop'n Music, Donkey Konga, etc.), plus about 3 arcade games, heh heh. Next door was a room full of Plasma TVs, Wiis, XBOX 360s, and PS2s, along with a booth to borrow games to play. The last room in that area was the best, the Classic Console room. It was full of regulars like the NES, SNES, N64, and Sega Genesis, plus some amazing ones like Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, and even an Atari 2600 (I have a 1600 and 2600 already :P ). Too bad the games there weren't as good of a selection as I would have hoped.

So really, one of our most hoped-for events was the Exhibitor's Hall, where the legendary treasures were to be beheld (and then sold). But it didn't open until 10AM. So after some gaming, and crowd drawing Dance Dance Revolution on my part (okay, Caleb said the crowd was like 5 people), we decided to check the theater schedule.

Now I'll point out here, I had printed a 12 page schedule off the internet that was 3 pages time length and 4 pages event length. I had sat down and made a big 'ol list that took hours to have all the events prioritized. When we got to SCon (new abbreviation), they gave me a schedule that had about 2 times the stuff, and a lot of changed stuff. This bumbed me.

But anyways, the only show we knew was Chi's Sweet Home. In fact, I was the one who suggested it. Chi's Sweet home is about... a cat... that is very "cute"... and it's interesting life... and... um... here, it would be better if you just watched the first episode, which is 3 minutes:
Chi's Sweet Home - Episode 1 (Eng Subs)
As you can see, it's pretty epic. We watched about 10 episodes of that (until it ended).

DA DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAA!!! The Exhibitor's Hall was about to open! We waited outside in the giant skyway over the street below (can be seen in the video). Got lots of good pics from people there with nothing more to do. Caleb and SteveO watched as I asked many people for pictures. Soon, giant pannels opened and we were allowed inside...

Woah...

TONS of awesome stuff. T-shirts, Action Figures, Keychains, Models, Plushies, Stickers, DVDs, Wall Scrolls, Manga, Posters, Hats, Phones Charms, Buttons, and oh so much more! I ended up spending all 200$ of the money I brought. Here's the album full of pictures of all the stuff I bought:
Facebook - Sakuracon Shopping Spree (Publicly Viewable)
I picked up a Wolfwood (from Trigun) Poster, Gurren Lagann Drill Phone Charm, and a FLCL Poster for Mattie.

After many hours wandering (and many things wanted but not bought), I headed over to the local convention center Subway, and Caleb and SteveO went to the dorm for some lunch. While they were gone, I went to what was pretty much number one on my Sakuracon To-Do list.

Halolz Panel.

Now, Halolz is a great website where people submit video game related screenshots that have funny captions. (WARNING: Some content on the site is inappropriate for the younger audience. YOU HAS BEEN WARNED). The owner is friends with the artist of the famous VGCats, and when Halolz went up, VGCats gave us the break down (C WUT I DID THER). So I've Been following the ol' Halolz ever since.

Anyways, I went in and waited for the current Adobe Illustrator lesson *yawn* to finish, and then it was on. Our main man came in, and gave us a run down on how the site was going (on important topics like the Church of Falcon, etc.). We got an awesome slide show full of Halolz's best (with some TUO and The Megas for listening pleasure). Awesome.

After that (and watching the final song in Lucky Star... stupid English Dub...), Caleb and SteveO were back. Wandered around with gaming, shopping, etc.

SteveO left for his Darude concert. Caleb and I went theater browsing. We decided to check out "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", a movie of which I had heard of a few times. As I've said with most anime movies, they are usually aesthetic, and so I assumed it would be like that. It... well... it was AWESOME! It was hilarious, then got serious and had some great plot. I had a hard time enjoying many other things we watched after since it was so good. I recommend it as a starter anime even.

Immediately after we checked out the Studio Ghibli movie "Tales from Earthsea". Like other Ghibli movies (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle), it was good, but nothing amazing.

After that Caleb said "Crayon Shin-chan" was a good one. So we went up stairs to endure one of the most amazing and inappropriate shows I've ever seen. I've never laughed so hard in my life (some people say that, but this was for sure one of the top 5). Not so many explicit things, but if they weren't innuendo after innuendo they would go right over your head. It ended an hour later, but they couldn't find the DVDs for the next show, so they announced another hour of Shin-chan and the theater cheered.

Midnight. Of course, we were planning on staying all night. We weren't too tired at this point. We checked out a few shows, some partway done, some we walked out of right after walking in for "interesting" reasons, heh heh. At 2:00AM we checked out AD Police files in the Classics theater. Like any older 80s anime, they overdid it in violence, profanity, nudity, etc. I went and played some DDR, and almost passed out (being this late at night).

Next was Rosario + Vampire. Hilarious series about a human who accidentally ends up in "yukai" school, a school full of monsters, vampires, werewolfs, witches. And they all hate humans. Of course, the klutzy vampire girl falls for him, and LOL ensues. (Much Fan Service)

After that was Black Cat, which was enjoyable but only 1 episode. I was falling asleep a bit here. Hell Girl came on, and Caleb and I dozed off with some other sleepers in the back of the theater.

About a half hour later, we were woken by monitors who told we "were not allowed to sleep at the convention". Ha ha, but we were luckily refreshed enough to go on just fine after that. SteveO came back, and I got a chance to check out Katamari Damacy in the big ol' game room, which I played for about 2 hours. We checked out Gunslinger Girl, which was enticing (and I plan on purchasing).

EXHIBITOR'S HALL OPEN! We went in and finished off the remains of our cash supply. We headed down the long trail of escalators, and hopped in the car with my dad. Dropped Caleb and SteveO off at the dorms. Went back to my family in Seattle's house. Fell asleep (about noon). Woken up to hunt Easter Eggs, heh heh. Drove home. Finished Disgaea (AWESOME) in the car. SLEEP.

THE END


Everything Else - That's it for the time log. Everything I forgot or doesn't quite fit follows.

Cosplay - Lot's of people had outfits. Some amazing. Some... terrifying. Sure, most people don't actually look like the characters. But you start to get used to this, as work on costumes in itself deserves much admiration. Here's the album I made with descriptions. All these photos were taken by me. (Apologies for blurry photos, dunno why.)
Facebook - Sakuracon 2009 - Cosplay Collection (Publicly Viewable)
(The text with each picture is considered part of this review. Please check out the album.)

There were a bunch I wanted to but didn't get photos of. Off the top of my head: Pikmin (from Pikmin), Sumomo (from Chobits), Haruko (from FLCL), Etna & Flonne (from Disgaea), etc.

May times I would look around and see a person (or group of people) in a costume, and they'd be stopping to pose for someone who was taking a picture. Once they posed, about 10 other people (sometimes myself included) would gather around to join in the picture taking. After a full minute of pictures, the person would "de-pose" and begin walking. After about 10 feet, another person would ask for a picture, and they would pose as a crowd of people gather. And this would happen over and over. (Poor Mewtwo, I watched him walk all around the Exhibitor's Hall like this.)

Now even if you talk to cosplayers, you don't here much about what happens. But Caleb had a friend cosplaying as a character from Inuyasha, and he told us a little about what happens. First off, he was very bummed, because no only did people think he was dressed as somebody else, it was a different character in the same show. Second off, he said that lots of people ask for hugs. Lots. I read somewhere else that people often want hugs. I lol'd.

Merchendise (In case you didn't check it above)
Facbook - Sakuracon Shopping Spree (Publicly Viewable)
(The text with each picture is considered part of this review. Please check out the album.)

I was really wanting to buy a Gurren Lagann Core Drill necklace, Gurren Lagann and Lazengann Figures, more Gurren Lagann Minifigures, a FLCL Shirt, some Halolz shirts, some Snafu shirts, some other shirts, and some other stuff. But I ran outta cash ;)

Missed Events - There were a lot of thigns I wanted to do, but couldn't. Some were shows (Wings of the Honneamise, Golden Boy). Some were panels (Fullmetal Alchemist, FUNimation, Peter Fernandez). And some sounded... interesting. Caleb and I were tempted to look, just to see how creepy they were... here's a handful: The Anime Dating Game, Anime That Scarred Me For Life, Competitive Eating, Meet the Miniskirt Army Uncensored, Con Flirting Guide, Ouran High School Host Club Pajama Party, and Gay & Lesbian Speed Dating (AGH!). Luckily, I pretty much avoided these.

Selection - I was really surprised at what series were abundant and what wasn't. The only cowboy Bebop thing I saw at the whole event was one cosplayer. And Cowboy Bebop is POPULAR. Fullmetal Alchemist wasn't huge either. Gurren Lagann, being amazing and recent, received a lot of attention.


...and that's about it. I hope you enjoyed my in-depth review of Sakuracon. Sorry for those of you who couldn't come. I can't wait for Kumori con in Oregon this September, and Sakuracon NEXT YEAR!!!
SAKURACON WEBSITE - Seattle, Washington
KUMORICON WEBSITE - Portland, Oregon

(I love comments. Thanks for reading!)

Review - Lucky Star

*streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch* Oh man, been a while, my last anime review being Febuary, and March almost over, I put my papercrafts and books and anime aside and decided to bring you another in-dept, honest, and un-spoiling review.

I'd like to point out (quite possibly again) my intended audience. Anyone, of course, will get a good enough review just by reading this. But I really aim at those of you who either havn't watched anime, or aren't that big of a fan of it in general. I also make sure to cover content, so you know quite what your getting yourself into. I'd also like to add, if I say something, it's for sure. If I say you will like an anime, you will like it. You may not like some things about it, but if I say Gurren Lagann is a steaming pile of awesome, you will more than likely feel somewhat the same about it.

Okay, onto the review. I already planned on reviewing the series Lucky Star. But I also realized I hadn't reviewed anything past plot and emotional anime. The other end of the spectrum is comedy (sub-covering comedy and random). This series however, actually pushed a little to get out of my 4 stereotypes. But I've settled well with Comedy. It is also very well described as "Slice of Life".(I went a little pic crazy, but hey, they help a review a LOT. Enjoy!)

Being one of those rather famous series, I'd heard about it a lot. I decided for the heck of it to watch the intro on YouTube... which I found strangely appealing. And the fact that I liked it, made me question my manhood just a tiny bit. It was on (my ever loved) www.AnimeStash.info, so I said "What the hey" and downloaded it.


This series starts of rather dull., really. You watch 4 highscool anime girls (thus they look 12, not 17-ish) go about... highschool... and talk about some rather bland stuff, like how they eat certain kinds of food... for almost 10 minutes...


But I have never dropped a series, so my diligent self (lol) decided to press onward. "It has to be popular for a reason. There's lots of less famous series with anime girls like these." As it went on, each of the characters started revealing themselves.

Konata - The short anime/manga/video game/etc obsessed girl. I know what you're thinking... (NO, not that this character resembles anyone...) "Arn't all Japanese people like this?" Heh heh, no. Japanese are normal people too. They like video games and tv shows like you do. And a handful (just like us) are obsessed (or like it more than usual, at the least). She is also rather blunt, making jokes about her friends.

Kagami - She is the toughest of the group, easily frustrated by Konata's occasional joke about her. She gets back at Konata through references to her height.

Tsukasa - Kagami's twin sister. She is quite the opposite of Kagami, quiet and kind. She is also rather laid back and forgetful.

Miyuki - She's not actually around as much as the other three, though still considered a main character. She seems to be full of facts for when the others need information on any topic, but is nervous and sometimes absent minded.

And it goes on from there. Everyone from the teacher (who plays an online game with Konata) to Konata's crazy family (her short cousin, her irresponsible police cousin, her 'interesting father') and everybody else, it is quite enjoyable. Lot's of school friends are added into the story also.


Most of the humor is character based. You learn (with time) each character's personality, and eventually see the hilarious irony in what happens to them. And... to my surprise, one part in this funny show made me quite sad... (not in an "I like this show less" way.)

And that's just the main story. Then they stick a few things in there that don't seem to fit... yet they do. There's the employees of a store commonly visited by Konata, who go into a fighting-anime sort of tribute with flames and power when trying to sell her things. There's also the segment at the end of each episode where Akira Kogami and Minoru Shiraishi attempt to provide commentary on the show (which I might add, doesn't work for long).


The endings in Lucky Star are something else. Most shows have some consistency, maybe 1-2 endings and openings per season, and maybe a special ending or opening on first, middle, or last episodes. Lucky Star takes a different turn by providing a different ending every episode. For the first part of the series, its a picture of a hotel room, with members of the group singing weird karaoke songs (some of them famous anime themes). Then... during the other half... it's live video featuring Minoru Shiraishi, which is coincidentally his name in real life. He sings very interesting songs that (I assume) he made all by himself. They are funny, though. (I've included a sample of a good Minoru song below.)

This series has a lot of little inserts related to other anime series. Though I havn't seen most of the ones referenced. You'll learn some interesting this about Japanese culture watching this. It's a calm, well rounded series.


Sub vs Dub = I watched the series in Japanese with subtitles. It was good, and Konata's voice is quite original (and famous because of this series). I then watched part of the first episode in English. Do not waste your life. English does not posess the ability to sound like the characters attitudes portray. (I'm not always die hard with subtitles, but sometimes it matters a lot.)

Content = Pretty clean. Well, there was some stuff. Most of it would go over a yougner person's head, since its mostly 'interesting' subjects. There's one bath scene that's completely decent. But Konata's dad likes to joke about all the girls around his home. There's also a friend of Konata's cousin (a very side character) that has a slightly perverted mind (though it is mostly hinted at). One character has problems with her... 'size'... though it is also very subtle what in the world she is hinting at. And at one part, Kagami and Tsukasa discuss a "girl related" topic, which almost went over my head, and isn't "bad" anyways, lol. That's all I can think off. (No profanity, of course.)

Sound = Below average amount of memorable songs. Of course the theme rocks, and so do all of Minoru's songs. Only about 3-5 soundtrack songs were really good. But they still were nice. I'll probably download the huge OST and find out I actually like more songs than that.

Specials = There's a single episode OVA about 45 minutes long. It's a bunch of little strange mini-stories. Good to watch after finishing the series.

Adaptions = The series is based off of a manga. There was also a bonus issue, a light novel, multiple games, and even some audio CDs.


Category: Comedy
Length: 24 Episodes - 1 OVA
Japanese Title: Raki☆Suta
Year: 2007
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Opening Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViEH57xQu1c
Sample Minoru Ending Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuY73qo9LfI&feature=related
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Star_(manga)
AnimeNewsNetwork: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7222

Download (Jap/EngSub): http://animestash.info/anime/show/361 (RECOMENDED)
Stream (Jap/EngSub): (Can't find... check youtube)
Download OVA (Jap/EngSub): http://animestash.info/anime/show/1475
Download OST: (Still looking for this...)


In Summary - Great anime! Really liked it. I laughed a lot during it, the jokes are great. Content isn't too bad; it's subtle enough that it goes right over your head when it happens anyways. It may sound dull, but if you watch through the whole thing, I think you'll like it. Not really a starter anime; best for those of you who have seen a few starters. BYE BEE!!!

(PLEASE COMMENT! If you can't get it to work, email or wallpost me. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog on the homepage! Easy! http://jacfalcon0.googlepages.com )

Review - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

So I just finished my second watch of this one about 30 minutes ago. This is my SECOND favorite anime of all time!!! (See my profile and top 5 list here: MyAnimeList.Net - JacFalcon) When I first finished it, I said it was my second favorite, but I wasn't honestly sure, since most anime (even if you think it's "okay") gives you a huge hype from it (which a lot of movies, songs, stories do). But after the second watch I realized how truly amazing it was...

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (AKA Pierce the Heavens Gurren Lagann) is an epic anime from the people who brought you FLCL and Neon Genesis Evangelion. And I don't use epic like some l33t freak (like I usually use it). This anime DEFINES epic. Epic makes something sound so huge and awesome that it blows your mind. 'Blows your mind' being another overused term. But this story does it. The story, and sound, the characters, the ANIMATION. They pull off a feel so epic YOUR MIND IS LEFT A STEAMING PILE OF AWESOME! If this show was nuclear, it would give off EPIC like RADIOACTIVITY!!!


Some of you may have just gone CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT! I'll get to that, lol.

Anyways, although it could come off as a "Plot" anime, I'd give this a pretty firm "Emotional" label. This show doesn't exactly "mess with you" and work hard to get you feeling the characters. It just makes a great journey, and adds such epicness you can't comprehend it. What I realized was this: a lot of shows for kids like Power Rangers were on the right track; everything getting stronger and more powerful and better all the time is a good idea. It's just tough to pull off without being totally cheesy. No, this anime isn't much like Power Rangers, heh heh. But the main characters CONSTANTLY get stronger, find more power, and more courage to go on, every time seeming like there's nothing left. Which seems tiering and dull, but IT'S NOT! You've never seen that done right, unless you've seen this show.


This show starts with Simon's bland life drilling deeper and deeper below the surface, and his meeting with an interesting (but pwntastic) fellow named Kamina. Soon Yoko and the Ganmen (Mecha) known as Lagann show up, and the adventure builds from there. And it seems too not stop, getting BIGGER and MORE AMAZING! The QUOTES give the show SO MUCH POWER! From "Yours is the drill that will PIERCE THE HEAVENS" to the awesome move known as "GIGA DRILL BREAKER", you scream "YES!!!" with every statement!!! I don't really know how to describe how much more it is than what I've said.


I'll say the animation kills. The action scenes have a gritty powerful feel (reflected in the picture above). It feels like Grafitti and RAW POWER and the constant feel of EXPLODING ABUNDANT SUPER ENERGY just attacks your very soul with its EXTREME INSANITY!

...there I go again using dramatic phrases, lol. I would recommend NOT looking up backgrounds and pictures for this show unless you have finished most or all of it, since they can spoil it. Also, Yoko fan pics (the mildly clothed lady) can be abundant. I purposefully left out some pics I wanted badly, because they were slightly spoiling.

If you don't enjoy Mecha's very much, don't worry, they don't actually put much emphasis on it, more on the peopel inside, and its done very originally (very little resemblance to anything like Gundam and whatnot).


I guess it wont hurt to tell some of the actual plot, heh. Simon and Kamina meet up with Yoko, find a Ganmen, and meet up with more humans who were living underground, and form the Gurren Brigade. They fight to defeat the beastmen, and Lord Genome the Helix King. But that's really only the beginning...

Oh, and like most good anime, if you have a soul, it will make you cry... I cried 3+ times that I know of.

Sub vs Dub = Well, I watched it all in Japanese with subtitles. I then went and watched a small part in English, and almost died. It was a disgrace. I was sad even for the characters I did not like, who sounded ridiculously idiotic. A few voices were fine, and the mainest bad guy even had Amaro's voice (from FLC) which I like. Just suck it up and watch it in Japanese, since I dunno if its even all released in English yet. Also, if you have the option, go for Black Order fansubs. I got a complete set of episodes that had varying subtitle groups, and most of the other ones had more profanity and sucked major.

Content = Okay, we'll get straight to it. Yoko. Her outfit is pretty much a bikini top and tight shorts. There's nothing sexual in the show, nor any blatant nudity. But the outfits can push it. Most of the people don't have too much of a problem besides her, including the other main girl character (who is portrayed innocent and ignorant). Sometimes in action scenes and when moving in Ganmen (Mechs), there's some unnecessary movement... if you know what I mean. The language is pretty low, especially if you get a good subtitle group. One of the main phrases is "Who the hell do you think we are?" which you'll want to say after seeing the series ;) Violence is very mild, lotsa fighting but no blood. I would still call these a pretty decent series, though I'd put a 13+ label on it. Not so much bad, but more "improper".

Sound = ANOTHER GREAT SOUNDTRACK!!! Most anime does have a good soundtrack. Almost all have good theme songs. This is no exception. The theme is another just plain wonderful female j-pop song, and the two ending themes are nice medium rock j-pop tunes. The show itself has some good rap (weird, huh?), some mild techno, and epic sounding orchestrations. It even has some opera-style vocal work. Not only these, but tracks of combinations of these styles. There's one song for the most intense battles, which has rap-techno-orchestra-opera all in it, and it PULLS IT OFF. I'd recommend getting the two soundtracks. Sadly, the opening and endings aren't included. Oh, and there's a second opening, but its only on one episode in the middle.

Specials = I figured we needed this category for this review, since there are significant specials to know about. I'm including links to the specials on YouTube for your convenience. First is the OVA. Actually, there's two. (OVA means Original Video Animation.) One is an extended episode, which I think you'll get automatically anywhere you get the series. The other is a short side-story properly labeled episode 5.5, try to watch it between eps 5 and 6. Another special is the Gurren Lagann Parallel Works. It contains what are more like music videos to some of the show's songs. But most have some kind of story to them based off the series. I'll warn you now that video 5 (which was actually removed in the YouTube link below) has nudity. Then there's Viral's Sweet Dream, a really short one that's pretty funny. Lastly, there's a music video thing with Yoko that has LOTS of fanservice called S.t.a.r.S (that happens to be very catchy).


Category: Emotional
Length: 24 Episodes - 2 OVAs (Extended Episode, Episode 5.5) - 8 Specials (Gurren Lagann Parallel Works) - 1 Special (Viral's Sweet Dream) - etc.
Japanese Title: Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan
Year: 2007
Studio: Gainax
Opening Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YorRbV_Op9A (NOTE: There is one opening song, but 4 opening videos. Don't watch 2-4, they WILL spoil)
Ending Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4emHb-1MTQ
Ending Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kw7B6eLvDU
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengen_Toppa_Gurren_Lagann
AnimeNewsNetwork: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6698

Stream (Jap/EngSub): http://www.animecrunch.com/episodes/tengen-toppa-gurren-lagann/
Download/Stream (English...): http://www.veoh.com/collection/glengdub1/watch/v16697417BER5dn7z
Download (Jap/EngSub): http://animestash.info/anime/show/1032 (RECOMENDED!!!)
Stream OVA 5.5 (Jap/EngSub): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKrciHnuOIc
Stream Parallel Works (No Dialog): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5D860D8107AAB0A4&v=kdZH3mT82vU
Viral's Sweet Dream (Jap/Eng Sub): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Myq0y9Fl2A
S.t.a.r.S featuring Yoko (No Dialog): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5RyKfgOYPI
OST 1 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3QYJAHMR
OST 2 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ger9yg54
Character Songs Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DLFL896Q

In Summary - Great anime! My second favorite ever! Overpowering greatness and emotion. If you are 13 or older, I'd recommend this to you. A little bit of inappropriate stuff, but not enough for me to say not to watch it. Check out this amazing power in a story!!! But please avoid the English dub, you lazy bum ;)