soy’b ‘10  

togu the tofu named after one of the event organiser, was the mascot of the soy’b (start of year ‘back) event held about a week ago at ngee ann polytechnic. it was the 3rd event this year and very successful indeed gauging from the attendance. held in an air-conditioned venue this time; though narrow, the spacious outdoor sure compensate for the cosplayers to gather around and to pose for photo-taking. of course, they could walk into the convention hall for some cooling air-con and at the same time check out the many art-related booths; or catch a drink at the tofu-cafe served by cosplayer waiters and waitresses when the weather gets too warm. 

soy'b 2010

cosplayed as lelouch lamperouge from code geass, newtype calendar illustration version to the event. i fell in love with his cloak the moment i laid my eyes on it. since then i kept flipping through my artbook every other days till i finally decided to work on this; though it wasnt really easy especially the spikey ends which took me quite a while to get them right.  

ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア | photo©risuchia

it was quite a casual cosplay with no heavy props, no difficult to maintain hair style and no troublesome costumes. having cosplayed for awhile now, sometimes i do prefer to be in a more casual form then lugging heavy props around. because the lazy me wants to enjoy the event to the fullest, being able to move around freely, take random photos with friends and without worries about your complicated props and costumes while ‘patrolling’. however that being said, it’s still great to be able to show off your artisan skills to the public with your wonderfully made props and fancy dresses and of course for the love of the character you are cosplaying as. do you think the same too? 

the black king | photo©risuchia

ギアスの命令 | photo©bnn

took a couple of crack shots with my friends at the event and this below is my favourite. it was an idea by athensis: ‘the king and his 2 bodyguards’ – lelouch with okita and hijikata from gintama. there are more of these random shots we took, which you can find them at my deviantart journal if you are interested.  

王 | photo©risuchia

otacool 2  

there’s a new hype among otakus all around the world. otacool is a publication related to anime, games, figures, anything オタク. its first book showcased worldwide otaku’s rooms which felt as if you were browsing a figurine catalog just looking at it. otaku’s rooms showcased in the book are indeed amazing. something i would love to possess too if i have that spare cash to spend, or at least a small otaku corner in my room instead? 

otacool 2: worldwide cosplayers

What is Otacool 2?
Kotobukiya is pleased to announce the arrival of OTACOOL 2: WORLDWIDE COSPLAYERS in April 2010! In collaboration with Danny Choo and the Internet’s largest cosplay destination Cure, OTACOOL 2 promises even more stimulating and groundbreaking content. In keeping with the same concept of “OTAKU is COOL”, the next volume of OTACOOL will focus on cosplayers from around the world 

following the success of its first publication, now it’s time for otacool 2: worldwide cosplayers! everyone around me is rushing to submit their best cosplays photos up now and photographers are also getting busy generating high resolution images for them. i have also recently submitted mine here. although the chances of getting selected seems kinda slim among all the epic veteran submissions from all over the world, it’s already a very good chance to be able showcase them on the heavy traffic page alone. 

otacool 2's front cover released! congrats to all!

and nope, they did not forget about the artists. there’s an artwork submission for illustrators too; where you get to test your character design skills for otacool mascot character! such a good chance for illustrators out there must not be missed. should you have your works recognized, you could expect more commission work especially from japanese companies, or who knows land yourself a job in japan perhaps? tempting isn’t it, should i try my luck on this too? 

submissions for otacool 2 ends mid february click here to submit yours now, before time runs out!

A couple of years ago while looking through a certain industry report, I began to realize just how prominent the doujin market has become, seeing as the analysis in question suggested that its share of the so called otaku market revolved around 15%. Now, if we assume that the industry treats the global otaku market as a closed entity, then logically each industry under it (anime, games, figurines etc.) gets appropriated a complementary amount of revenues from the total of cash in circulation. The way I saw Comiket attendance numbers rise and more doujin-related shops open, I led myself to the belief that on a macroeconomic scale doujin products started to slowly undercut profits of the corporate industry. I went as far as changing my purchasing habits, so instead of buying stuff from my favorite doujin circles–like Nagomi and Fujitsubo Machine–I literally invested that money in more traditional anime merchandise such as DVDs. I even toyed around with the idea of buying BDs even though I don’t own a BD player. In my view, the Japanese animation industry simply benefited more from that kind of practice. While I rarely even opened the DVDs–because I find it easier to just download fansubs–I placed the Greater Good at stake rather than personal satisfaction.

With the advent of the OEG and their stance against Danny Choo, however, I began to wonder whether I took upon myself a responsibility I shouldn’t have. As an anime fan, as a former otaku, I should have simply poured my energy and resources into things I liked the most. As you may all know, the OEG has a score to settle with Danny Choo and the interests that support him because of their use of the word otaku, treating it as a fashion statement and a marketing ploy, and that in the grand scheme of things supposedly tramples our hobby as we know it. They address some valid concerns and people familiar with the situation seem to largely agree with them. Personally, I wouldn’t want to visit Akihabara one day just to see its eroge shops closed down or relocated because Animate needs more display space for their Figmas. Needless to say, they paint Danny Choo’s agenda as a sort of conspiracy theory. While I wholeheartedly sympathize with the OEG crew and wish them luck, I cannot help but draw parallels to what Carl Macek had to say on the latest ANNcast. Bear with me on this one.

“Somebody got their wish, to dub Macross into English, and thinking that it would put the nail in the coffin of Robotech. It didn’t. Because people don’t see the big picture.”
~Carl Macek

Mr Macek has such a fucking huge ego, but he accomplished a lot in his life, so I said to myself why not give the guy a fair chance to explain himself. When asked for his opinion on the bad shape of the anime market, he stated that the market “lacks focus as to what their product should be dealing with.” All of this may sound as if he had only seen money in properties he has worked on, but the big picture has to be bigger than that, right? For one thing, the guy didn’t just market cartoons for a living, he actually got to produce anime content. I think he genuinely wanted to push his products to as many people as he could so that they would get acquainted with this weird Japanese stuff, but at the same time he wanted to participate in creating a sustainable animation industry. In this regard, he vaguely reminds me of a certain Imperial Stormtrooper cosplayer. The otacool movement promoted by individuals like Danny Choo may have underlying profit-driven agendas, but we have to look the merit of his results from another angle. For one, a lot of people would love to see a cleaner version of Akihabara, certainly not otaku, but people who hate taking the apologetic stance every time someone shouts “ANIME IS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY” on mainstream television.

“In addition to this, the otaku market is extremely hard to sell products to, many otaku are very picky about what they do and don’t like.”
~The OEG

I’m sure these guys know all about what I have to say, but for the sake of the argument let’s make it an issue: the industries rallying around Japanese animation have a track record of sacrificing themselves for the fandom. We all know that pretty much everybody in the industry except the top brass gets paid shit for their work. Most of the industry folks live under or close to the poverty line, taking their profession as their hobby, so to speak. If anything, Danny Choo’s answer to the otaku market crisis has the potential to improve certain conditions of the industry’s mainstream. Sadly, it looks like the part of the industry otaku care about might get killed in the process, but again, the big players may be doing all of this in the name of the Greater Good. Don’t take it all out on me; someone has to play the devil’s advocate!

I believe I have quite a paradox on my hands. Out of all things, the doujin market could stand as the perfect counterbalance to mainstream’s attempts at driving specialty shops and industries out of business. I do not believe anyone from the corporate industry has the guts to take on this ever-growing colossus; such an attempt would surely backfire. Fans used the doujin marketplace to bypass the corporate framework and to release products tweaked for fan sensitivities in the first place! Manga, games, novels, figurines, model kits… Don’t mind the huge stack of C77 music I already listened through; another one awaits me! The doujin market already satisfies fan demand with a huge variety of products. Unfortunately, the one entertainment medium I care for the most lacks proper representation, but with the advent of doujin brands like ElectromagneticWave, I wonder just how long it’ll take the doujin scene to set up its own animation branch. Way ahead of myself right now, but at least we won’t have to feel bad about animators sacrificing their lives for us anymore, right?

So just found out that BRS is getting another figurine =w=”” thats right, this time of it’s yet to be released anime ver.

So yea. It might be some time before it gets released for preorder, but really guys my wallet’s already six feet under TT_TT spare me the agony of coverting another figurine TT_TT.

Credits to Danny Choo for pics and info.

End of the Year Recap

Thought I might do a recap of what’s been going on here on the electronic couch before the end of 2009.

Here’s a little something that has been invaluable for me: I read posts by Danny Choo on www.dannychoo.com, when I first linked up to his site last February, gaining insight about what makes a blog or website successful – this is what was hidden in Danny’s post content:

“. . . stop and take a look at where you are in terms or reaching your goal, if you are still where you were 30 days ago, it will take you longer to reach that goal.”

I paraphrased the actual text but you get the idea . . .

Make use of your resources. As stated in a comment regarding “creativity” – “I’m not creative, I work on the cheap.” Essentially it means be “creative”. Innovate, adapt and overcome, Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood (Gunny).

Your blog stats are important if you plan to increase your visibility, check them daily. WordPress has an excellent stat page; I use my WordPress stats as a model for posting on other blog communities.

Keep up with the changes in communication technology.

bookindian studios data

The QR code may not be a big item in the United States, but it is used in the Global Community, and some businesses in Japan post their QR code instead of the usual text, on billboards and other commercial media.

I post some photos on Twitpics; and my Otaku flavored content and photos on figure.fm at www.dannychoo.com. Some of my ota posts also show up on my blog “A Mountain Valley Journal” at www.bookindian.wordpress.com with modified content.

If you have a lot of photos to post, post a visual summary with your text and link the post to the main body of your photographs on Flickr or Photobucket; or, do like my daughter does and use “pic spam” to let the viewer know that you are posting more than just 5 – 10 images.

The following helps when you are fed up, tired and in need of a rest.

• Rent or buy “Three Days of the Condor”, an old Robert Redford spy thriller about an agent who is a “reader”, someone who reads books to find possible “scenarios” that could be used is real life situations in the espionage community. An added treat is Max Von Sydow who plays an assassin who befriends Redford.

• Film #2 on my list is “Bad Santa”, because you need to realize that there are some films worth watching. Billy Bob Thornton (BBT) is Santa on a bad day, fed up with the elves and paper-mache donkeys, and Christmas. I like BBT because he got to ride in the backseat of a limo with Angelina Jolie. . . !! (yeh, I know, they were married!); Murman Thurman (the kid) helps you to realize that wearing underwear makes you a target for jerks who like giving “wedgies” and creates embarrassing moments at the Laundromat when your pantsu falls on the floor and lands with the “skid marks” showing; and, let’s not forget Santa’s Wife’s Sister who let’s you be comfortable with having a fetiche for something or someone.

• Film No. 3 is “Man on Fire” with Denzel Washington. Why? Because being “tough” is not the answer. Creasy (Denzel), Pita’s bodyguard, replies to Pita’s comment. “I’m tough Creasy,” by saying, “No, you’re either trained or untrained. Which are you, trained or untrained?” Pita replies, “Trained.”

Set attainable goals. Goals should be short-term (30 days), and long-term (4-6 months). An example would be to increase your page visits by 100% each month that is, 500 the first month, 1000 the second, 2000 the third, etc.; a long-term goal would be to have 10 – 12,000 views in 6 months.

To reach your goals, comment on quality blogs, join blog communities and post quality content. I have seen the number of views on my posts increase from 2500 over a 2 week period to 4400 in 24 hours based on content that targets a specific niche.

Read other blogs that address your fields of interest. And don’t be afraid to modify you perspective on a given topic. Take notes, blogging is just like being back at school.

I watch a lot of movies, mostly old school, so keep that in mind while reading, might make more sense.

Ciao.

p.s. I may add some photos tomorrow . . .

Man Solo, I shot Greedo first. Because there is absolutely nothing worth working for. Any pussy I want I can get if I want it. Any dude’s girl or wife I can bone quite easily. I can do anything I want. Reality is boring. Here is a list of things the world can do to make me want to do something other than chill and blog all day while occasionally sipping some tea. Oh I found this list at Danny’s so check it out if you want to know more about it.

-Make reality more interesting than games please.
-Yeah I can live on games alone.
-If everybody became obsessed with games then we would live in a peaceful society.
-Whats the point of increasing the population of this resourced starved world.
-I tried to fight with reality but failed so many times.
-Reality does not want to deal with me you idiot.
-The world in the monitor is reality. The world we live in is just imaginary.
-To be honest, I don’t want a (real) woman. I want a harem.
-Love Plus is reality.
-But in reality women don’t want to marry us unless we earn more than 10 million yen (100,000 USD) per year.
-There are too many people anyway so decreasing the population would be just right.
-But the 2D world is ideal.
-Oh and its OK to be obsessed with movies and books then?
-My (2D) girlfriend is Aika-san. She lets me meet her whenever I want and greets me with a smile if I forget a date – and she does not cost money. Thats all I need.
-His words are racist.
-OK then - hows this for reality?
-I’m 28 and earn 0 USD a year – how am I supposed to get married?
-Why is somebody from a declining country (England, Japan) telling me this?
-The decline of the population has nothing to do with games or manga.
-My partner is Hatsune Miku. I would do anything for her and we are thinking of having kids.
-I tried to face reality and it became Love Plus.
-We must fight reality!
-The problem is that dolphin waxing feels good.
-I cant see the merits of getting married – all I see are demerits.
-When sexaroids become reality, humans will become extinct.
-Blaming men is not going to solve anything.
-Those who face reality risk suicide.
-They should make a game for the DS called “lets face society”
-A country of Neets (England) being worried about Japan?
-Not sure about England but the hurdle to getting married over the past 20 years in the whole world has gone up too high – socially and financially.
-Unless there are more job positions then I cant face reality.
-Cant trust women – will just be worried about her having an affair – cant be bothered with that.
-Women are not attractive to me anymore. I can wash my clothes with a push of a button and can eat from a convenience store. As long as I can clean up, I don’t see the reason for feeding a money sucking worm (wife).
-People don’t get married because they know that life is over when they do.
-The world is on the decline because painfully average women prefer good looking men or any man with money.
-Girls in games wont cheat on us.
-The solution is to make reality in games.
-I’m too busy with work to think about getting married.
-Getting married and having kids is happiness?
-Working like a slave and then dying after getting married – no thanks.
-But Sanya is too cute.
-I’m living off 0 USD. If I don’t read manga or anime then I just cant go on.
-Solution is simple – make it so that anime and manga characters can get pregnant.

There is only one game worth playing, FF13, and I can wait to play that because I already rocked the demo before anyone saw it in the states. There is nothing to be greedy for really. Anything I would want I already had and now it’s just played out or it sucks. I already banged the best chicks unless someone can prove me wrong and send me a fly chick that can challenge me. So I do what I do to entertain myself. Otherwise shit would suck! I don’t know how these other niggaz go on man they must be two seconds from committing suicide…..With bloodsucking girlfriends and wives taking all their money while pining on the bench wishing I would pay attention to them or like them for more than a few weeks or a month. Oh well holla at the Falcon if you want to live!

This was the second day of comic fiesta 09 and I quickly spotted a storm trooper wearing an arm band that resemble that of Danny Choo had. At first sight, I thought it was Danny Choo himself then suddenly realize that there was a guy who also dress like Danny did in Comic Fiesta 08.

Danny Choo fan based have certainly grew worldwide and league of fans are trying hard to copy him. Can’t wait for Comic Fiesta 2010!

There was actually 2 troopers there but I did not manage get a clear shot of the other due to my useless digital camera which tend be to hard to use when in dim lighted area. I would not recommend Sony DSC – T10 to anyone unless you take a lots of photos in clear lighted room or environment as it give me bad images although it did try hard to set the almost perfect settings for it.

Hit It Baby ! ~ Kick-Ass E06

Online otakus criticized Michael Moore’s Vitriolic comments against our Sacred Shangri-La, Akihabara, The Otakudom Holy City :

“A lot of unnecessary things are being sold here.”
“Shopping may brighten the spirits, but they’re just fooling themselves.”
“I’m not your master! Everybody’s equal.”
Michael Moore

4chan :

I’m liberal as fuck but jesus christ Moore shut up.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)09:07 No.4271598

First Michael Moore gives us moderate liberals a bad name by being an overopinionated fat fuck without a sense of professionalism, and now he goes and insults gunpla and otakudom in general.
Great job dude. Way to step on toes.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)13:52 No.4272331

I’m convinced that Moore is actually a conservative agent operating to make real Americans look bad.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)13:56 No.4272348

He’s like the epitome of that shitty “Forcing your opinions on other people.” attitude.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)09:54 No.4271672

I bet Mr.Moore is fooling himself into thinking his “special” opinions make his life worth anything besides being an ugly fatfuck that was never loved.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)10:31 No.4271717

What has Moore done aside from having an obnoxious attitude and expressing his views in a hamfisted way?
diebuster !p24mrXpa8I 12/17/09(Thu)09:15 No.4271619

He just want some gendum for himself
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:41 No.4271438

Michael Moore isn’t a /m/an, he’s all about the moe.
After bashing the gundams, he went off and bought 8000 usd worth of K-On! merchandise.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)13:43 No.4272307

Tour of Michael Moore’s house:
‘Lots of unnecessary things are being eaten here.’ Someone also noted, ‘Binge eating may brighten the spirits, but he’s just fooling himself. ‘Yes, fooling himself by eating giant donuts and week old twinkies.”
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:43 No.4271441

Moore was just angry that they didn’t take him on a tour of the grocery district.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:45 No.4271444

Because Michael Moore’s tactics for proving his point is to cut out anything that contradicts his views and focus only on the negative. Sorta like Fox News but worse and fatter.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:52 No.4271460

The fuck is wrong with buying shit you like?
He buys to much food and thats unnecessarily and physically deteriorating.
Fuck Moore is a jack ass.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:52 No.4271461

Micheal Moore needs to die of a heart attack.
I’ve hated this fat fuck for a long time and now I hate him even more.
Duo Maxwell, professional troll !LogBsf56gQ 12/17/09(Thu)07:54 No.4271463

Michael Moore, cultural sensitivity TO THE MAX
Who the fuck let him out of our country? It’s our duty as Americans to protect the rest of the world from people like him.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:59 No.4271472

>When Moore visited a maid cafe and got the standard “Welcome master” greeting from the maids, Moore replied, “I’m not your master! Everybody’s equal.” Not in a maid cafe, Michael Moore!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WOW
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:57 No.4271467

>”I’M NOT YOUR MASTER, WE’RE EQUALS”
>WE’RE EQUALS
Equals as in five maid cafe workers = Michael Moore’s total body weight?
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)07:59 No.4271475

I didn’t know there were people who still had respect for this douche.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)08:01 No.4271479

Ughhh Michael Moore seems like a lifeless soul for thinking that people are fooling themselves for “Enjoying their damn hobby”
I bet if Michael moore were to post here, he’d be “Posting and watching heroics may brighten the spirits, but they’re just fooling themselves for watching childish robots.
Ughhh
the13thArcana !I94GMMnlgM 12/17/09(Thu)08:03 No.4271486

I feel bad for those chicks….
I’m guessing they were embarrased by this fat Ahole
the13thArcana !I94GMMnlgM 12/17/09(Thu)08:12 No.4271498

I wish someone would give me money to go to Akihabara and try to annoy people there for a film or interview
after the show/commentary, I burn my money on gunpla, doujins, maidcafes and such like that
;_;
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)08:16 No.4271510

I would do the same man, I would be like a kid in a candy store.
The “ASS” of /m/ !!d78CTnsNSUe 12/17/09(Thu)08:17 No.4271511

Way to go giving japs a bad impression of westerners.
What a fag
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)08:31 No.4271530

Its everyone’s right to buy plastic models of giant robots or whatever they want with their own money.
Next he will start to cuss old people for building models of WWII planes.
Then again, none of us have seen this show and don’t know if its just light-hearted banter or serious business.
Ouro 12/17/09(Thu)08:56 No.4271578

Isn’t it kind of redundant to go to a center built on the fact that geeks go their to buy shit and say “redundant things are bought here! What losers!”
You don’t walk into a lion’s den and say “boy it smells like lions in here! What lazy cats!”
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)09:05 No.4271595

“Upon seeing a man wearing a mask, Moore decides to give a lecture on why it is good for us as humans to breath in germs and get a stronger immune system. The lecture doesn’t seem to have much effect.”
lol
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)09:22 No.4271639

Sage for giant socialist weasel.
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)10:30 No.4271714

The Nips are trolling him so hard when you think about it. They act like they actually give a flying fuck about this guy’s opinion, They lead him around arguably the worst place in Japan, with guaranteed reactions abound, and let him spout his nonsensical opinions and essentially make an even bigger jackass out of himself.
He’s not controlling the cameras or the editing this time.
And why the hell else would anyone want to follow that guy around?
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)13:41 No.4272303

MICHAEL MOORE VS DANNY CHOO
CAGE MATCH
GO GO GO!
Anonymous 12/17/09(Thu)15:03 No.4272553

I agree with actor James Woods on the subject of Michael Moore. He is “a fat fucking bastard who can go choke on his own ego in hell, the cock sucking fat ass”
Jabman025 12/17/09(Thu)15:09 No.4272577

Kotaku :

Michael Moore? In a maid cafe, wow he just ruined an Otaku’s day out,
“cool, maid cafes are awsome and the girls are sooo sexy……………..wait. Dear god no! WTF IS THAT!”
Aklost 12/17/09

Maybe they sell lots of unnecessary things in Akihabara but we aren’t a bunch of buddhist monks. Money can’t buy happiness but sometimes it’s nice to get unnecessary things. Just because I have a prinny plush toy by my computer doesn’t mean I’m desperately depressed and trying to fulfill some huge void in my soul by filling it with material possessions – I just like prinnies.
天 12/17/09

“Mother of mercy! I don’t speak Japanese! Mary, call the U.S. Embassy!”
moosemastr 12/17/09

Michael Moore is a hypocrite. The man has more money than hell itself, and he financially invests into things he opposes. He makes money fighting against what he actually promotes.
Before someone runs in here like calling me a leftist prick, I hate Glenn Beck just as much. Both are incendiary hypocrites who probably don’t believe half the shit they spew, but only say it to in order to gain influence/money.
maraxusofk 12/17/09

@supergrafx: I get laid every day, I don’t own any plastic figures, and I think Moore is a douche.
But hey, I guess we can’t all be as enlightened and cool and racist and misogynistic as you are, saying stuff like “Japanese women are easy.”
I may not know how to speak Japanese, but I know the difference between “loser” and “looser.”
R_Shackelford 12/17/09

I’m sick of Michael Moore’s holier than thou attitude towards society, like he knows what’s best for humanity. He’s above typical human society. Wow Moore. Thanks for showing us the way. What would we do without you?
Orionsaint 12/17/09

Shortly after the cameras stopped rolling, Moore dropped his “Everyman” shtick and paid the maid $14,000 to rub him head to toe with burrito grease, all the while complaining that if it weren’t for George Bush we could have maid bars in America too.
TheTonyShow 12/17/09

Japan: We, the United States, will allow you to run your own military again on the condition that you promise to keep Michael Moore for eternity. Yeah, didn’t really expect you to take us up on that offer, but we had to ask…
Purple Dave 12/17/09

This is the first time that Godzilla has been seen in nearly 10 years.
Koolaider 12/17/09

I can’t believe anything he says is taken seriously.
You’re in Japan, a consumer hotbed. A place where for the most part, everybody’s happy. Streets are clean, economy is in check. what are they doing wrong? Selling things? Americans buy useless crap every day. why hasn’t he complained about THEM?
I think it’s pretty sad that a guy who spend his life whining about the government goes to a place like japan and still manages to complain about anything and everything.
Has he ever heard of differing cultures? Or happiness? Or anything positive?
Why complain about the purchase of useless trinkets in Japan? That’s like an oxymoron.
DeusDevoid 12/17/09

Michael Moore: The man who became incredibly rich selling socialism. Nothing like having a wealthy, obese Gaijen telling you that YOUR culture is decadent. I guess it’s the fat man’s burden.
mmntech 12/17/09

I only wish more Americans had the work ethic that most Japanese do.
And Michael Moore is a scumbag. Like most of Hollywood here we have a multi-millionaire pretending that he understands and cares about the plight of the common man.
MaWeiTao 12/17/09

Moore, haha, what a hack. He makes movies and calls them ‘documentaries’ so that he’ll get noticed. He couldn’t put his trash in any other genre and still get the attention he does.
Friedhamster 12/17/09

@Luziphir: All business works this way, though. Think about the implications of “the customer is always right.” As someone who spent way too many years doing phone-based customer service, I would much rather dress as a maid and call random people “master,” it would be much less soul-crushing.
Surreal_Sunshine 12/17/09

@fuchikoma: I really think Michael Moore just kind of picks whatever phrase will get him the most gasps and goes with it. I’m not a grand fan of his politics, but I right out hate his style.
ninjaDance 12/17/09

“Lots of unnecessary things are being sold here.”
He also noted, “Shopping may brighten the spirits, but they’re just fooling themselves.”
Sounds a lot like my parents’ tactics on me when I was a kid. :p
Except they were more direct on me, and not in some kind of spiritual nonexistential gobbledygook like Mike Moore is here.
We’re all born to die, sire.
Starman 12/17/09

When Moore visited a maid cafe and got the standard “Welcome master” greeting from the maids, Moore replied, “I’m not your master! Everybody’s equal.”
This single act of completely missing the point is like a microcosm of his entire life story.
Next, he should go to Las Vegas and ask people on the street why they visit a place like Las Vegas. SUCH GRIPPING JOURNALISM!
mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta 12/17/09

Fat guy moore is getting too irrational as of late, supporting all kinds of “revolutionary” idiots and their sometimes genocidal ideas.
I guess he’s ultra-left now, that or that people is so tired of him that he’s becoming more and more offensive as a way to gain attention.
Shadowlayer 12/17/09

“Everybody’s equal.”
And that is where he is wrong. Equality is a faith based ideology without any scientific or logical feedback, much like religion. In fact, everyone is different, everyone has his/her own unique genes with unique talents and unique abilities. Some people are better, some are worse, depending on their genes and their parents and their genetic background, that’s how the world and nature always worked.
But I would agree that he is really not her master and that it’s pathetic that someone calls a person who can’t even manage to live a normal healthy life a “master”.
udpriest_150 12/17/09

“Fuck you, whale!”
crumply 12/17/09

Whats with all the Akihabara hating going on?
I actually liked it there, its a pretty cool place.
I bought some games, played some arcade games, and purchased a bunch of anime and game figurines and dolls.
And…wait for it…
I am able to live a very normal and happy life. *gasp*
Just because its not your choice place, doesn’t mean that those who do enjoy it are inferior in any way.
I never went to one of the maid cafes, not really interested in that, but i’m not going to judge someone who does.
Why should I be the Supreme Justice of other peoples spending habits. And why should anyone else.
GunFlame 12/17/09

@karaiya: I couldn’t care less about Japanophile pride (although I can understand it and appreciate it) I condemn Moore for being a complete and utter toolbag. He’s a sanctimonious and judgmental prick who thinks he knows whats best for everyone everywhere.
subnet6 12/17/09

@subnet6: Also, it’s odd that a man who claims the world should eschew wealth and decadence sends his kids to a costly private school and has made $300 million dollars from his films. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that he’s not living in a tar paper shack either.
ManekiNeko 12/17/09

I’m sure his trip didn’t upset him enough to stop him from eating three times his weight in mallow mars on the return flight.
This guy pretends to hate capitalism while making gobs of money selling his excrement and never producing anything of value for the earth.
battra92 12/17/09

This guy is such a tool. He pretends to be one of the ‘proletariat’ but he’s an elitist prick down to the core.
Nexus6 12/17/09

I already have a strong dislike of Michael Moore, so this solidifies my feelings.
Jnas 12/17/09

So for some people they collect things as a hobby. And he (Moore) wants them to stop there hobby?
I guess making videos for public eyes is a Hobby for him? Maybe if they did some agreement and tell him (moore) they stop there hobbys if he stops doing his (making videos). And he can save the world by hiding in his crawl space so we no longer have see or hear him.
Cunder 12/17/09

Sankakucomplex :

If Code Geass has taught us anything its that Humans aren’t equal >.> That.. and obvious life experience which Michael Moore doesn’t have.
YuTheOtaku 01:37 18/12/2009

Michael Moore is a liar who destroys the names of people for publicity.
BlackEpsilon 17:54 17/12/2009

I would love to believe that everyone is equal. But, while it is a nice romantic idea to sell to children (thus inspiring them to aim for the stars), it’s simply not true. People are not, and never have been, of equal value. Your value against that of the heir to a billion dollar fortune, is obviously not equal. A handicapped child’s value next to a atheletic prodigy is not equal (unless the handicapped child is a genius, at which roles reverse).
BlaqCat 11:05 18/12/2009

How does he have a point? going to a maid cafe and whipping out trite contextless statements doesn’t automatically equal having a point. i wish more people realize that before jumping on Moore’s bandwagon.
maybe then we’d have more people realizing he’s absolute crap as a documentarian.
note = i don’t care if you agree with his politics or not. as a pure assessment of his films and his critical abilities, HE IS ABSOLUTE CRAP AS A DOCUMENTARIAN.
Anonymous 19:55 17/12/2009

Wow, places that sell things that aren’t necessary? Is his hat necessary? Is his jacket? Is his extreme obesity? Are documentaries that do nothing but complain about the problems necessary? Are his friggin’ comments? Japan and America have two totally different cultures, something Mr. Oblivious Prejudiced bastard doesn’t understand that. I might go as far as to say he is sexist, in this context, because he actually uses those places but makes it painfully clear that he isn’t their ‘master,’ and thereby taking that comment clear out of context. Then again, maybe the rage has taken me over…
acce245 01:36 18/12/2009

I think Anon 5:56 has a point. Moore is just a professional troll [cue Zero Punctuation reference], and probably doesn’t believe or at least doesn’t care about half of what he says.
These latest quotes, in particular, are pretty cliché and lame, which suggests (to me at least) a total lack of effort and conviction.
null 08:32 18/12/2009

i may not agree with him politcally ( i do not) or personally (i really do not) but he is just a hipocrittacle fat bastard… last film about capitalism… … … and what made him rich and famous? … … capitalism… hypocrite!
he’s probably working with equality now to “bring to light” the “perversion” of otaku culture and the debasment of women… bunch of BS…
Anonymous 08:51 18/12/2009

This isn’t premature lynching. Look at his track record. This guy pick on infamously easy targets and spews of bunch of crap custom-designed to appeal to the easily outraged “can’t be bothered to look things up” crowd by taking shit out of context so it fits into an oversimplified strawman. Calling the fucker a hedonistic demagogue would be an insult to every politician in the world.
I’m not surprised he’d chose to go after otakus for his latest example of what’s wrong in his world. But attacking any crowd gives the latter the right to shoot back. Fuck him. I hope he offends a yakuza.
Anonymous 18:31 17/12/2009

I disagree. He is a populist and makes scapegoats out of easy targets. Some times he says good things, but usually even those are done to further a populist movement more than anything.
How about him making a video on fat people across the world? OR how about the war south of the US on illegitimate organizations like drug cartels? No no, he must focus on other things that are ‘hot topics’. Note that every one of his videos fall inline with current ‘popular’ topics and ‘popular views’. Rabble-rouser?
nonymous 19:29 17/12/2009

(whale)
But don’t say that around the Japanese, we’d have an international incident if they tried to harpoon him.
Anonymous 18:14 17/12/2009

Australians will beat another Filipino guy to death once you harpoon him. Just throw a banana peel in front of him. That should do the job.
Anonymous 21:48 17/12/2009

No he’s not a whale as whales are very intelligent creatures.
Maybe a walrus or hippo.
Char 00:34 18/12/2009

“It’s those damn liberals that wanna censor everything.”
No, it’s the authoritarians.
Both the left and right have them. That said, the entirety of the Republican party is Authoritarian Right (except Ron Paul). Pro-personal freedom on the Right in this country tend to call themselves “Libertarians”, even though freedom has nothing to do with left-right (I consider myself a left libertarian).
The Democratic party contains both pro-censorship/authoritarian forces (they call themselves “centrists”), and pro-freedom forces (interesting fact, if it weren’t for the ACLU, the whole internet would be censored right now??)
Anonymous 07:50 18/12/2009

His entire schtick is “America is bad”, yet he became filthy rich in the American system. Note that Mr “Equality” has never turned down royalties, demanded that his films be shown for free or used his money to actually do something about the things he whines about. He’s a vampire….someone who leeches off the misery of others to make money, while never actually helping out (because if he solves the problems, he can’t whine anymore). BTW, did you go to school? Capitalism thrives on competition. Look at America, the most capitalist country and tons of competition. Communism on the other hand thrives on monopoly. As in Russia under communism, there is usually only one source for products and zero choice.
Anonymous 06:10 18/12/2009

Michael Moore’s attempt to film a documentary will end up having the Akihabara rangers swarming the camera crew and kidnapping them
Anonymous 17:38 17/12/2009

Micheal Moore is such a self-important cocksucker, He probably thought the maid girl woud say”OMG! Your absolutely right, I will quit right now giant Fat man!” Instead she screamed. “Gojira!!!!”
It’s an honest mistake, considering little tanks were shooting at him at the time.
Seriously i think he will collapse under the weight of his ego before he collapses from the weight of His fat, bloated ass.
Hey Micheal you big fat Motherfucker you know what else is unnecessary? You at a buffet!
Anonymous 13:42 18/12/2009

Or if he gives negative comments on Otaku…
“Otaku are weirdies! They marry fuctional characters!”
He’s just jealous because he cant even marry a dog
Anonymous 17:56 17/12/2009

He’s only pissed cause the maids said they don’t serve fat fucks, and greeted him with “Get the fuck out”
HARDKOAR 17:46 17/12/2009

He could probably see the maid’s disgust in her forced smile, reluctant tone and aversion to eye-contact. What’s your demagoguery gonna do for you now?
Anonymous 17:52 17/12/2009

(Tsundere cafe)
“Get the fuck out, fat fuck.”
“I’m not your master! Everyone’s equal.”
“So you want me to kick you out, or you kick yourself out?”
“You guys are doing unnecessary things.”
Anonymous 17:52 17/12/2009

The funny thing is that all leftist fags are always rich. Shopping might brigthen your spirits and what not, always critcizing that, but the Moores, Al Gores and all that scum are always, always rich. What do you want the fucking money then, if not to buy? Fucking hypocrites
If i went to Akihabara I would need a truck to transport all the stuff I’d be in a day. Vive le consumerism!
Anonymous 17:57 17/12/2009

One major draw of this year’s AFA was bring the Tokyo Figure Show to Singapore.  It was also an opportunity for us to catch a glimpse of  Danny Choo, who brought with him a fantastic lineup from Good Smile Company (affectionately known as GSC). For those who are still left lingering in the dark, GSC is responsible for depleting my financial resources as they keep creating and selling lovely pose-able figurines like Nendoroids (and figmas). And in some attempt at keeping track of my purchases, I have created a corner on my sidebar that lists the Nendos that will be joining my chibi army in the following months.

Now onto the figures…

The lovely lady above is the Figma incarnation of  Mirai Suenaga, site mascot for dannychoo.com.

And here we have comrade Kodomut’s itachari. Makes me wish I there was one on a more Nendo scale for my Nendos to play with.

There was the whole Nendoroid lineup, from the oldest to the newest release. Since I have quite a few Nendos in my collection already, I didn’t spent much time taking pictures of them. But I like this picture as it features Nendoroid Melissa Seraphy, who I think is super duper cute! She is one Nendoroid I don’t have and will kill to get. Looks like she is on my wishlist to get while I’m in Japan sometime next week. =)

Mikuru looking good in her Meido outfit. I kind of like Mikuru, but she was a little too wimpy for my taste.

And I have no idea who this is… But I totally adore this backview. I actually like looking at scaled figures but I will never invest monnies to get one because of the lack of display space I have. And my logic is that if I have it, I should flaunt it, and not keep it hidden in a box under my bed.

I have no idea who this is either. But I love the angle and attention to detail.

And lastly, we have the famous Black Rock Shooter figurine. She is simply gorgeous. And I hope I will get a chance to steal her from *someone*, so I can get upclose and personal with this alternate version of Hatsune Miku.

More dollies tomorrow. Stay tuned. =D

Today I went to my second Tokyo CGM night located at shibuya’s Cospa head office.

Spotted two girls from Da Capo Series once we entered the room.

Actually I didn’t know about this event until yesterday night. When I SMS Lester about University’s document and then he suddenly told me about it.

Miku’s World is Mine is still up for display today ^^

We firstly mistaken the location for this time’s CGM night and we went to Akihabara and found out that it’s not there. How lame we are=.= Then we finally arrived at the head office at around 8.30 p.m. (the event started at 7.30 p.m.) We missed the chance to eat dinner together with everybody and introduction about Cospa by Danny Choo. (Gosh! I missed his talk again!!)

Cute Mio.

Figma Mirai with the Ita-Bicycle.

But well, the event turned out to be really successful. They planned to limit to only 50 people but the event ended up having about 70+ people. It’s getting really hot there due to the overpacking with people.

Danny Choo.

Lots of Daughters to be capture today ^^

Once again we got to see Danny Choo’s Nanoha’s on Danny-Choo’s Uniform.

Today we got to see lots’s of cosplayer around the world.(err… Some of them is from outside of Japan) we got to see girls from Da Capo, Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee from Macross frontier series, Mirai Haruka from Danny Choo.com and much much more.

Oh No! I think I spotted Sheryl Nome!

I got to meet Chris Gaunt, Jonny Li, Danny Choo, Kurot-san and lots more too. ^^ It’s really good that I got to come to such a gathering of great people around. Also see some Famous Japanese Cosplayer like Kaname and Leon.

Trying to take this back with me but failed….

Can I have a bite please? ^^”

Actually This is only the second time I going to CGM Night and I don’t really know what to do with so many people around doing talking…. But luckily, a girl suddenly talk with me and then I started to get blent into the atmosphere and continue to talk on with lots of other people afterward.

Nagisa Tachibana, who is the first one to talk to me while I’m idling around the room… ^^

The Japanese reffered [Self Customized Character] as [Original Characterオリジナル　キャラクター]. Didn’t understand it when first heard it from them.

De-culture = Moe? Sheryl and Ranka is gorgeous !!

We also have male cosplayer from Kingdom Heart and some are cosplayer for Final Fantasy series.^^ Cool!!

From the Left, Ruka Lee(Taiwan), 木野瀬　友人(who working at Nico Nico Douga), Original Character(She didn’t have a Namecard to hand out so didn’t really know who she is ^^), and Mics (みっくす)

Nyan-Nyan Nyan-Nyan Ni Hao Nyan~ ^^

Loved those Two.

Can’t stop myself from keep pressing the shutter~~~

And yeah, you got to see Me again, with 木野瀬　友人.

Lester(My Senpai) and Chris Gaunt.

Didn’t forgot to take a photos of the “Kira~☆” Pose.

With the laughter and chit chat, we managed to pass the time until 10.00 p.m. The event suppose to ended at 9.30 p.m. ^^ And so the organizer have no idea but to let Danny out and trying to persuade us to leave ^^

Danny: ” All those Daughters had been tired standing all day ^^”

Danny:” I will eat this Mic if all of you didn’t go back NOW!!!” (Jokes)

This time I really got to know lots of people especially those Cosplayer from Japan. It also quite special that only me and Lester are still student. The other participant are mostly businessman. It’s really good to be able to talking with people who are older/experienced than you.

The only things I not satisfy about is that the Indian Food Buffet with only Yellow rice, Curry and a piece of Chicken Meat for 2000 Yen is EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE… LOL ^^ Could we get better food next time, Danny?

Well, its been several days since the Anime Festival Asia 2009 has ended. Many people have posted their various experiences and encounters at the event. Now it’s my turn. What took me so long you say? Well I’ve had a few commitments impede my progress such as completely reworking the image hosting for the site. Instead of my blog using the standard image hosting that wordpress provides (which is slow, sluggish and inconvenient), I now use photobucket which makes uploading images and posting them on the site a lot easier as well as the images happen to load significantly faster. I also have been working on the site’s gallery and videos section which have been significantly updated with images from the AFA 2009 event, feel free to check them out. Now without any further delay I shall report my findings at this years Anime Festival Asia!

Early Arrival

For those that thought arriving early to avoid the hassle of the crowds was that simple, well you were wrong. The 4th level of the Suntec City building was full by 10am (which was the opening time). Thank god I had pre-ordered my tickets and didn’t have to stand in line for one as the queue for tickets was endless. Cosplayers could be seen standing around amongst the crowds.

The crowds on the second day were much lesser compared to the first day. Good thing for me, less people to accidentally bump into.

Danny Choo / Tokyo Figure Show

When the gates finally opened. I went straight to the Danny Choo/ Tokyo Figure Show booth, where I was surprised to find Danny Choo himself to be standing by himself (for the rest of the day people would be crowding around him). I managed to take a quick picture of him, swap name cards and shake his hand. That itself had already made my day. Later on in the day I managed to get him to sign my copy of The Otaku Encyclopedia by Patrick W. Galbraith. Another joyful moment.

The booth itself was amazing as it contained many discontinued figurines of all sorts which I never have been able to lay my hands on. This was a chance for me to see them up close. It also gave me a sneak preview of things to come such as the Black Rock Shooter figure that everyone has their eye on, plus the limited edition Mirai Figma which hopefully will be released soon. The ita-bike made by Kodomut was fantastic. I’ll only show a few pictures here as the rest can be viewed in the gallery.

Cosplay

For those of you who wondered the festival grounds might have noticed the various cosplayers showing off their costumes. I was able to take a few shots throughout the event. A few of my personal favourites are listed below. Once again there are many more pictures in the gallery.

Bandai / Gundam

For those take came, I doubt you would have missed the Bandai and Gundam exhibition that was close to the entrance. Some of them were seen earlier in the month at the BAKUC Exhibition in Orchard Road. Many of the ones seen earlier were placed on display here at the AFA. Looking them up close again allowed me to see the hard work and effort put into these masterpieces. Looking at them makes me feel like purchasing a gunpla kit and start building one. Perhaps I’ll leave that for another day.

Artwork

One of the exhibitions that I feel was underrated and less touched on was the artists corner where it displayed all the talented works of aspiring artists. Some artworks simply blew me away as the detail and colours were astounding. We truly have some talent people in Singapore. If only I could draw as half as good as them, I’d be happy already.

I personally found myself favouring the Saber picture as my she is one of my favourite characters. The picture shows her elegance and beauty in her normal combat attire as well as capturing an emotionless face that could be hiding sorrow and sadness of her past. Another favourite from me would be the Naruto Hearts picture which is a cross series parody of the Naruto and Kingdom Hearts series. Interesting combination that could work in the future. I found it interesting to see artworks from the Warhammer 40,000 series on display, but to me I was glad to see other genres of works there. I personally used to collect, assemble and battle with the model figures a long time ago. Anyway the two pictures below used a different style of painting which successfully captured the chaotic nature of the Marines locked into battle with the xenos.

I found the last two pictures to be very creative and amusing. It seems we have some members of Anonymous lurking around heh. I wonder who drew that Harley Danny Choo picture? Nonetheless it was very amusing. Excellent work.

Assorted Booths:

Moe Moe Kyun Cafe

The day 1 queue was so long I couldn’t even find where the queue ended. It would have been nice if me and my mates had gone inside but once again the queues were too long and I figured it would have been expensive to purchase food inside. I had run out of money by the time the queues had shortened. The queues on the second day were significantly shorter as there was less people at the festival. From the outside it seemed like a good place and sit down though,

Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise (KKnM)

The KKnM stalls was one of the earlier booths I visited at day 1. I figured all the good stuff would be gone at the end of the day, I decided to have a peek to see what exclusives I could bag. With a touch of luck, I was about to bring home a Figma Saber Lily as well as a Good Smile Company 1/8 Saber. The stall was packed all the way from morning to late afternoon. All the good stuff was gone by afternoon. I had managed to catch a glimpse of a Figma Product 01 Konata in a Haruhi Cosplay (for $150) early morning, however I was beaten to it by someone else. Lucky guy, oh well easy come easy go.

There were other figurine stalls also like RoboRobo and La Tendo but were just as full. Each shop had their own different set prices plus exclusives. I saw a discontinued Fate from the Nanoha series going for $500 and above. Jeez I wonder who would buy that.

Tactical Weapons

A small front was setup for these guys. They had their weapons on display. Cool looking weapons, movable and life-like. Pistol chambers would move if fired, foldable handgrips and so on. Of course all their weapons were replicas. Lots of their advertisements were people in an army uniform carrying their weapons, many of them could be seen around the place.

Cospa

Yup, even Cospa is setting up shop in Singapore now. About 1 week before the AFA, they already had started up their website which can be found here. They had all sorts of anime t-shirts, towels, mugs and other accessories. They even had a Jan-Ken-Pon (scissors paper rock) competition give away. The finalist would play against Danny Choo. I was somewhere behind the crowd at that point of time. The lucky guy eventually won a Black Mirai T-shirt. Congrats!

Credit goes to Mike Abundo for the video.

Besides clothing, they had HUGE Litter Buster’s towels at a whopping $150. Tempting but insanely expensive even for me. Adorable designs though.

Did I mention they had a wall scroll for the upcoming Nanoha movie? Well if not here’s the poster for it.

Too bad I ran out of funds to purchase one. Oh well I can still pick one up at the store or hopefully Sunshine Plaza.

Summer Wars

An upcoming anime movie, Summer Wars, had their own booth. I decided to snoop around to see what I could found up this anime. Apparently it was created by Madhouse who also created Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) which is one of my favourite anime movies of all time. Much hype of this movie is to be expected as the studio itself has earned a name for themselves. through their previous masterpieces. As I saw the preview, the artwork and animation seems extremely details and beautiful (like its previous movie), I’ll definitely be watching this movie when it is released. Hopefully I will have time to do a review on the movie when it comes out later on in the year.

Collateral Damage Studios

Mainly the K-ON and Ayanami Rei artwork caught my eye as I walked past it. I few things I managed to spot was a familiar piece of artwork I saw on figure.fm about 1 week before the AFA. I asked if the artist was there, however he was busy looking around the place. Damn I wanted to ask him for his name card. I saw a massive Mio Akiyama wall scroll which I wouldn’t have mind getting, but once again I was out of funds. Their website can be found here.

Takashimaya Store

As expected, they had their own store which was fairly huge compared to the rest. They were selling all kinds of thing, dakimakuras/body pillows, pillow cases, mugs, bags, wall scrolls, pretty much anything with an anime design on it. The place was a bit price but I still managed to pick up a Shakugan no Shana wall scroll for a good $40. Not bad considering the size. The place was packed like a can of tuna from morning to god knows when. Regardless there were people inside throughout the whole day. Something that caught my eyes was the Domo kun plushies they had out front. I couldn’t resist to take a picture as well as giving it a great big hug. Oh just so you know the biggest size of Domo kun costed $300. Big Domo costs big bucks.

Storm Lion Booth

They were advertising for a new movie coming out soon. Didn’t have time to look around there though. I saw a fantastic artist who used photoshop and a drawing tablet to draw a masterpiece throughout the whole day. He just ignored everyone and kept drawing. Absolutely amazing.

Animax Live Dubbing

Near the back of the exhibition was the Animax area which were promoting special deals for Starhub Cable television. Not bad deals but the contract for cable television is too long since I’ll only be here for a few more months. What was unique about the place was the live recording studio they had at the back. You could input your own voice as one of the main characters in the anime of your choice. Quite embarrassing however humourous for those watching like me. I was too shy to give it a try for myself.

Cosplay Weapons Stall

A small stall was setup by a bunch of mainland Chinese guys which sold weapons (mainly swords) from various anime. What I spotted was Uchiha Sasuke’s sword, Saber Alter and normal Saber, some sort of Final Fantasy sword which I think sold out fast, wooden bokkens, various swords from Bleach and many other Katanas. Each were about $40 and were mainly made of wood. Not bad but I’d prefer to make my own. If I had to buy one it would probably be the normal Saber or Saber Alter sword. Quite tempting to buy one though.

Dolfies Stalls

I’m not a Dolfie person but when I came across the stall, I was shock to see how elegant and beautiful these things were when I saw them up close. They truly are a masterpiece. I didn’t bother asking for the price as I already knew it was out of my range. Extremely beautiful dolls.

Weiss Schwarz Booth

Had a quick peek into their booths. They had all kinds of starter decks to choose from. I would have picked up a Fate/Stay Night starter deck but they didn’t have it in stock. The Nanoha deck was also quite tempting. Hopefully when it is released in the retail shops, I’ll be able to pick one up. Seems easy enough to learn. Anyway there were people playing the card game throughout the whole day. There was even a competition from what I was told.

Region Cosplay Championships

Since it was my first time being apart of an audience for a cosplay competition I had assumed the crowds wouldn’t have been so big. I was completely wrong when I had to make my way through the amount of people gathering for the on stage event. Due to the large crowds, awkward position and constant obstruction of view by the media and AFA crew, I was unable to get decent shots the whole time.

Anyway the finalists and anime skit chosen were:

ST Revolutions (Singapore) – Unknown Anime

00 Emotions (Singapore) – Gundam 00

Sekai no Gumi (Malaysia) – Code Geass

Endless Illusion (Indonesia) – Lineage II

Houshin Enqi (Thailand) – Unknown Anime

Witchblade (Philippines) – Witchblade

The skits for each team can be seen below (credit goes to Hexlord for taking these wonderful videos and Zh3us for finding them for his blog!):

Each contestant won a participating prize as well as a big hug from Kaname who was cosplaying as Kamina from Gurren Lagenn. The hug between the Gundam and Kaname was priceless.

Personally, I thought 00 Emotions and Endless Illusions had the best costumes and assume they took the longest to create. The Gundam costume doesn’t need any words to describe their costume. One look will explain everything. The costumes made for the Lineage II skit was simply beautiful especially under the stage lights where the armour and weapons truly shine (literally) with brilliance.

With the skit and their performance Sekai no Gumi have points from me for almost complete originality St Revolutions did provide a very emotional scene with outstanding acting.

Nonetheless congrats to 00 Emotions and their Gundam 00 skit for an excellent performance as well as taking home the Grand Prize for Go Singapore!

Moe Moe Kyun Girls Karoke Performance

On the second day of the festival the Moe Moe Kyun girls did a karoke session. Enjoyable to watch. Video captured below is done by other than yours truly.

Joysound Karoke Booth

Located near the Animax area, near the back of the hall was a karoke machine where people could chose and sing their favourite Japanese songs (not just anime openings and closings). Lots of people gathered waiting for others to try the machine. As for me, I’m generally a crap singer, plus I don’t know fluent Japanese. The more of a reason for me to completely avoid touching the microphone. Anyway a few people were courageous enough and delivered a wonderful performance whether their singing was good or bad. Either way I think they had fun, because I know I enjoyed watching them sing (or attempt to). A few of the singers can be viewed below, sorry for the crap sound quality.

K-ON Experience

Now here comes the highlight for the second day of the AFA. The K-ON stage live dubbing took place a few minutes after the karoke performance by the Moe Moe Kyun maids. I promised myself I’d get a seat just for this so I took the effort to come extra early. I managed to grab a seat near the front which I was content with. They decided to prohibit video and photography taking for the remaining of the onstage events so I was unable to take any photos or videos. I saw a few people get their gear confiscated eek.

For those who are unfamiliar with K-ON, you can find out all you need to know here.

Before the girls came onto the stage, Reiko (one of the MC’s) asked Danny Choo (being the other MC) was asked “What do you like about K-ON?”. He responded with pretty much what 99% of the audience was thinking which was “That they are beautiful little girls” or something along the lines of that. Majority of the people there had a chuckle including myself as we understood what he meant.

As the girls were introduced on stage, a familiar opening song and video played as they came out one by one. Right on cue as their individual characters were displayed on-screen they walked onto the stage. I think I partially lost my hearing due to the crowd cheering.The crowd roars as each of the seiyu’s come on to the stage. They introduce themselves to the audience in English (which wasn’t too shabby).It seems that Mio’s seiyu didn’t show which was a downer however it was still good that the rest had made it to the festival. From what I could recollect, the group of girls were a happy, energetic and lively bunch.

After introducing themselves they proceeded with the live dubbing. They did 3 scenes in total each one being as humorous and well performed as the previous.

Thanks to SP LifeArts for saving me the trouble of going through each episode to find the specific scenes as well as the accurate pictures for each scene.

1st Scene – Episode 9:

Azusa still being new to the club as well as the K-ON scene, comes back to the club house to find the rest of the girls slacking. Yui successfully tempts her weakness, which happens to be cake.

 

Caaakeee!

2nd Scene – Episode 11:

Yui’s guitar (Gitah as Yui has named it) is being sent for a maintenance at their local instrument store. What Yui doesn’t realize is that this is not free, however the shopkeeper see Mugi and weavers off the fee since her family owns the store.

 

Gitah is being sent for repairs

3rd Scene – Episode 13:

The 4 girls as seen walking home in the snow as they discuss where to hold their next club training session.

Overall, it was a wonderful performance I was amazed at how they recited their own lines with utmost precision and timing to the corresponding episode. They did it while enjoy themselves as well as pulling funny faces and poses. It was truly brilliant.

Their Question & Answer session followed shortly after where Danny Choo would pick questions (submitted by fans on the AFA website).

Once again I thank SP LifeArt & j1m0ne, as I couldn’t remember the exact questions and answers from the day itself.

Question 1: How similar are you to your character you voice in K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): She is air-headed and prone to daydreaming

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Before she became a seiyu she mention that she was a shy and quiet girl. When she took the role of Ritsu she became more lively and energetic due to her character’s personality. Similiar to Ritsu she encourages her fellow friends and teammate.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): She enjoys bringing gifts of sweet things like cake for her friends and teammate to eat.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She is not as serious as her character but she does enjoy eating sweet things. Thanks to her role, she now likes taiyaki.

Question 2: What are the challenges you face when voicing your character?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Since Yui has a high-pitched voice, she tries to prevent straining her voice.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Ritsu is known for a tomboyish nature, she triess to balance her voice in sounding like a boy as well as being harsh for certain scenes.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): Mugi has a natural slow and peaceful speaking voice so when voicing her, she has to slow down when talking.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She often scolds her seniors, however she herself is still a junior in school, so she has to balance between how harsh she sounds.

Question 3: What is your favourite line from K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): “Un-tan Un-tan Un-tan”. Basically she made this sound.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): “Ano toki no yakusoku wa… uso datta no ka!?” – That promise we made…. was it all a lie!?

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): “Mo-ichido Moe” seen here in the first few seconds. Amusing video.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): “Nya” (Meow) When she puts on the Nekomimi cat ears seen here.

Question 4: What are the similarities of your own schooling life to your characters school life in K-ON?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Her clubs during her school days involved gathering and having fun rather than training or normal activities itself.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): She had a childhood friend, also if her friend befriended someone else or gave her less attention she would become jealous.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): If one of her friend in her group are sick, she is the one saying this can or cannot be done with that person.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): She was a member of the ‘going home’ club during her school life, similar to K-ON as the group of girls walk home together.

Question 5: If you were not a seiyu (voice actress), what would you be?

Aki Toyosaki (Yui): Someone who uses their voice like a singer.

Satomi Satō (Ritsu): Yet again, someone who uses their voice, a storyteller at the library or pet shop owner or childcare worker. She would probably keep changing jobs.

Minako Kotobuki (Mugi): Her dream was to use her voice and become a seiyu, but if she didn’t it would have been something creative like a stylist or make-up artist.

Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa): Someone that catches the bad guys, like a detective. Something like Detective Conan as she read the manga.

It was shortly after they announced that 4 lucky people would be walking away with signed boards of each of the seiyu’s autographs. 4 seats were called out. I-28, H-16, M-35, A-18 however no one was sitting there so C-31 was called again. When ‘H’ in H-16 was called I think I felt my heart stop beating for a few seconds. Sadly it was seat 16 in my row as I was sitting in seat 20. Close but no cigar.

After the Q & A, which proved to be very amusing as well as insightful, it ended off well with the seiyu’s saying their final words as they were all happy to be in Singapore and will be looking forward to coming back. They said their goodbyes and waved to the audience as they left the stage. Overall I found it to be very entertaining as I was very lucky to be there. I shall cherish this moment for the rest of my life.

I wish I knew Japanese so I could have done a better job of translation. I hopefully learn Japanese in the future.

Kaname Cosplay Panel Session – The Basics of Cosplay

The panel session was split into several parts consisting of introduction, character selection, costume selection, sewing and posing. He mainly gave his own tips and know-how on the topics at hand. His own personal life was included in some of the discussion, stuff like what he does when he is not cosplaying, what he does in his spare time, when did he start cosplaying and so on.

Conclusion

Overall, I had a fantastic time I had really enjoyed myself and di majority of the things I had wanted to do. There’s really much else to say other than I’ll be looking forward to next years Anime Festival Asia. There are still similar events remaining this year such as the Comic Fiesta in Sunway Pyramid, Malaysia (on the 19 to 20 December) as well as the End of Year 2009 (on the 26th December).

Now without further a due, I shall depart with none other than Danny Choo and his Tokyo Stormtrooper dance in Singapore to conclude this report. Enjoy.

Source:http://unlimitedotakuworks.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/late-anime-festival-asia-2009-report/

Anime Festival Mascot

It’s the closest thing we could get to an international festival and it was satisfying. Even before the doors opened, anime fans from all over Singapore descended on the Suntec Convention Center for Anime Festival 09. While I still had to pick up my tickets from Sistic, there were lots of cosplayers spilling out of the MRT and to the festival. Upon reaching the convention center it was really crowded. One it was a Saturday but then there were also events taking place adding to the crowd.

One thing I realized is that I would have to get used to lining up over the weekend. And I do mean lines.

This is just the line to buy tickets

It would take almost half an hour to buy the day tickets but the entrance itself was just a breeze. You just had to make sure that this wasn’t the line to the Singtel event.

Inside, the Bandai booth will greet you along with the Takashimaya booth as well as a line of various gashapons.

Gundam standing guard

Hello Kitty Gashapons

There was of course, Danny Choo’s booth as well as the Tokyo Figure Show courtesy of the Good Smile Company. Thank you for bringing it to Singapore!

Tokyo Figure Show in Japan

There was of course the Eneloop Dog from Sanyo who is major sponsor of the festival.

Eneloop Dog

Cosplayers and their friends!

Register your cosplay character and get in for free!

Look at all those cosplayers on this side!

Don’t forget the other side

Lots of Domo kun!

And the line really starts here

But the main event was of course the Regional Cosplay Championships where countries from all over South East Asia competed to be the Grand Champion. I was of course rooting for Witchblade. But still, congratulations to everyone and to the winner!

Witchblade on stage

Witchblade with Kaname

Everyone on stage

I’ll bring a longer lens and a tripod next time.

Finalists on stage with Shoko Nakagawa and Ichirou Mizuki

Cosplay make-up session

I sat through the cosplay make-up session to get a good seat for…

Danny Choo, the Tokyo Dance Trooper… in SINGAPORE!!! (Part 1)

Danny Choo, the Tokyo Dance Trooper… in SINGAPORE! (Part 2)

Thank you klik.tv for the great videos you produced.

Here Danny Choo talked about his site and his passion and it’s simple beginnings to now one of the most influential blogs on Japanese culture in English.

Danny Choo @ AFA 09

Rather serious look from Danny Choo

Then I had to get souvenirs of course!

Schwag

Too bad I missed out on the signing of the Otacool book ; ; but I’ll try next time.

As night came upon Singapore, the stage was set for the “I Love Anisong” concert!

AFA 09 Stage

AFA 09 Balloons

I didn’t watch the first night which featured Shoko Nakagawa, Ichirou Mizuki and the virtual idol, Hatsune Miku. I instead went to the Yoshiki Fukuyama and May’n concert which was the following night.

It’s forbidden to take pictures but Danny Choo can and has a complete coverage here.

It was really fun and exciting. Especially when they got to the end where May’n and Yoshiki Fukuyama had a duet of Diamond Crevasse from Macross Frontier (Sugoi!) and Dynamite Explosion from Macross 7.

After two hours, the concert ended and along with it the end of AFA 09. A lot of lessons learned and also a lot of memories to bring home. But it was well worth it.

Tired AFA staff

Yoshiki Fukuyama signing autographs

There was a raffle to determine who will be able to get an autograph with the performers but sadly I didn’t win the one for May’n. I was however able to take photos of Yoshiki Fukuyama signing stuff and posing for pictures.

I know I missed a lot such as the Witchblade sisters coming to day 2 dressed as the Sunegai sisters. I was too busy shopping in Orchard Road. I promise, no shopping next year. I will try to do better.

But now enough of AFA 09. We all have AFA 10 to look forward to and hopefully everyone from this year will return, get a bigger venue (please please! the other event is just crowding the AFA too much ) And maybe Alodia and Ashley will return next year and finally win the championship.

Aftermath of AFA 09

I need to rest my tired legs. As for the video, I’m uploading them to youtube as we speak and will be writing another post about it.