Ev12: Fiesta Asia 2012

I know it's been long since I've done ANY posting, and I'm sorry about that. But things have become complicated, what with having limited internet service as well as my preparations for July and August (another issue I'll address soon.) In the meantime, I came back from yesterdays excursion at Fiesta Asia 2012, down near the National Archives in D.C. Once again, I went with my friends of the anime club and had a wonderful, yet humid, time, busting out my Rock (Black Lagoon) cosplay for the first time. As with any Fiesta Asia, we took part in the Cosplay Parade, though unlike a year ago, I didn't have to march with the banner myself this time. We also had a few photoshoots here and there, photos I'm still waiting to see, and with my Blackberry I took a few more, some of which I will put on here a little later.

As for what's ahead, I'm not only going to Otakon in July, but the month after, I'll be in Europe for a while, namely Austria, so it's doubtful if I'll have internet, let alone be able to review anime for a while. However, in the mean time, I'm also involved with this documentary that the students of George Washington University students are doing about anime (I know, it's exciting for me.) It's unnown if copies of this will be made, but if possible, that would be great. VERY doubtful if I can sync this to the Wolf Vlogger, though. In any case, that's it for now, but stay true and golden, and I'll post again sometime later. Seiko Takeda-Wolf, signing out!

CCXII: "Samurai Champloo"

I am a nut for anything dealing with swords, so naturally, I couldn't pass up on Samurai Champloo. Another one o those titles I caught on Adult Swim, it's a popular piece, partly because of the theme, composed by SHING02 and the late Nujabes. In direction, this was Shinichiro Watanabe's first directorial effort, succeeding that of the preceding and famous work Cowboy Bebop. As it was critically acclaimed, it reached the plateau its predecessor took before.

Kind of a weird way the three individuals meet one another. Fuu is a waitress who ends up being harassed by a band of samurai, not helping that one of those happens to be the son of Magistrate Tomonoshima. However, things go south for him as she is rescued by a rouge named Mugen, while shortly later, another samurai, Jin, enters. After their own respective battles, the two match glares with one another, sparking a fight amongst themselves. However, during the conflict, the restaurant burns, and the prefect's son ends up one arm less after Mugen sliced it off. Caught by the authorities, they are set to be executed, but Fuu intervenes. As compensation for saving their lives, Fuu enlists their help seeking a samurai that smells of sunflowers. It came with a stipulation, however: until this man is found, they are not to attack one another. And with both acquainted in battle once, this is a tough stipulation to hold... especially when it's the ronin and the vagabond hungrily at each other's throats!

Where Cowboy Bebop had a jazzy to early rock theme to their music, Samurai Champloo features a hip-hop to mid tempo style. A few songs also had R&B elements to them too, and during the battle, the tempo picks up. Even in their game, they feature a turntable (I've yet to play it, but should I do so, I'll put it in the Gamer Base blog.) Like Bebop, Champloo saw 26 episodes aired on TV, shown as part of the Adult Swim block. Made in Manglobe Studio, it was licensed by the defunct Geneon Entertainment, and one of the several titles turned over to Funimation Entertainment, who currently holds the license. Between the anime and the video game Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked, the voice actors have been for the most part consistent. In the case of Mugen, however, he had two different ones: in the anime he was voiced by Steven Blum (who was known as the voice of TOM of Toonami, and amazingly as Spike from the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop anime), while Liam O'Brien (who voiced Taishi of Comic Party and Captain Ukitake of Bleach) voiced him in the game. The latter two are consistent, with Jin voiced by Kirk Thornton (who voiced Saito of Ruroni Kenshin, and as of the game Sonic Free Riders, is the current voice of Sonic series character Shadow the Hedgehog), while Fuu is voiced by Kari Wahlgren (who also voiced Kagami Hiiragi of Lucky Star, and debuted as Haruhara Haruko of FLCL.) I can only say this now, but even with the editing out of some bloody scenes, the nudity, and the language, it's still errs into the not-so-kid-friendly zone as far as content, so keeping the little o0nes away is a must.

Samurai Champloo ended up as acclaimed as Cowboy Bebop with good reason. Fitting enough, not perfect, but another 9 of 10 is satisfying. Personally, as far as directing goes, Watanabe did great.

Ev13: Otakon 2012

Oh boy... this summer was hot, and once again I found myself near the Ice Cold Water guy in Baltimore, MD. Yep, Otakon 2012 happened there, and for me, it was my second and most interesting con year yet.

Unlike before, I had no room nor model kits, but I saw many things. From the Aniplex and Funimation booths, to the tables of the likes of Nekocon and adult visual novel company Mangagamer. I also attended the Masquerade show... scratch that. I was actually IN it, debuting in a new costume. The Saturday evening and Sunday of the con, I dressed up as Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Even now, I'm thinking of others, among which Shirou Emiya of Fate/Stay Night and Roger Smith of The Big O. I also met the likes of Aya Hirano, who is the seiyuu of Haruhi Suzumiya from the Haruhi Suzumiya works (which I blogged about before.) But the GREATEST honor, and what I'll never forget is that Jason David Frank, who played the role of Tommy for Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, and Power Rangers Zeo, Turbo: The Movie, and DinoThunder, was actually present in Otakon this year.

To our dismay, Jaleel White (who voiced Steve Urkel from Family Matters as well as the first voice actor for Sonic the Hedgehog) , nor Eddie Lebron, who made fan films for both Sonic and Mega Man, couldn't be there, nor was the Sonic fan film in which White reprises the role. I also managed to see my cherished friends as well as a certain cosplayer I keep seeing since Tigercon last year. Still, she pulls off Street Fighter's Juri Han well. And kinda late for me, and somewhat irrelevant, but I tried for the first time Street Fighter X Tekken. I'll post my thoughts about this in Seiko's Gamer Base later.

Otakon 2012 was fun indeed, I just hope next year I have much more to write home about... as well as something to spend. Seiko Takeda, signing out.

Ev14: International Cosplay Day 2K12

International Cosplay Day, which I'll shorten to ICD, was a blast, and I attended the 3rd Annual ICD for this year with buddies from the DC Anime Club, which was split into a weekend. Lots of photo-bombing, girl power, and photoshoots happened that day, and we were the highlights at the US Botanical Gardens in DC.

The first day had a large group consisent of myself, friend and Club Prez Chris Wanamaker, and his wife, my friend and fellow blogger Momo, along with many others I met either for the first time ever, or at club meetings and conventions. Dealing with a lot of people, it was kind of a hassle keeping everyone in check, and Mother Nature's indecisiveness didn't help matters. A day filled with laughter, dancing, and shenanigans, I couldn't wish for anything better for a Saturday, despite almost not making it. I dressed as Rokuro "Rock" Okajima of Black Lagoon.

For Sunday, it wasn't AS eventful, but in a way fulfilling, since I regrouped with Melissa Williams and company after parting ways with Chris and Momo. Assisting them with a music video they're doing (still in progress), the day didn't feel like a waste for me personally, as I once again donned the garb of Sailor Moon's Malachite that day. The weather was still a hassle to bear, but I came prepared for it. Following this, I went around Capitol Hill in the outfit (and no complaints were heard), and then switched up and headed home, but not without doing a little shopping.

Oh, speaking of which, I also had a pic taken Saturday with Capitol Hill in the background: one by myself, and one with a Vocaloid Cosplayer, and we both had green ties that day. And now I must wash the other one for the Lolita Picnic this coming Sunday at the Freer Gallery. I will post what I can about that another day.

All in all, a grand time, and here's hoping ICD 2K13 will be bigger. Seiko Takeda, signing out!

Ev15: Lolita Picnic 2012

With rain happening here and there, we relocated to the center eatery area of the Smithsonian Art Museum and Potrait Gallery in Chinatown to have the Lolita Picnic this year. A few people in lolita cosplay came, I once again came as Malachite, and I met some others there from ICD 2K12 (see post Ev14), as well as people I rarely hang around outside the clubroom, among which my supervisor Betty.

I was expecting a larger turnout, but in comparison to the number of events where only a certain  fraction appears, this was without question the best trnout, as the majority who said they would come actually did. Alas, we had food, we loligagged, and even had a bit of a humorous Gangman Style dance session (which I DIDN'T take part in.) Still it was a fun afternoon, too bad I couldn't take any photos of it.

In any case, there isn't that much to say in reference to this, but not a bad event at all. Sorry for the short post, but perhaps in the future, I'll get back to making longer posts, as well as some reviews for a change. Seiko Takeda, signing out.

Supernatural Episode Recap: "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie"

Unicorns, laser-eyed robots, killer sharks and cranky clowns all have an affect on this latest installment of Supernatural. Regrettably, Mike is around the business finish of the brutal beating through the things he fears most. Meanwhile, Dean finds something he loves: a huge Slinky. During the last seven seasons of Supernatural, we have many userful stuff here about Mike and Dean. We have learned their likes as well as their dislikes. We have learned their most favorite lingo and the things they prefer to eat and put on. But as this is a horror show, we have also learned what they are scared of. For example, we all know Dean hates to fly. Season 1's "Phantom Traveler" had him face that fear to amusing results. In Season 2's "Everyone Loves a Clown, we discovered something about Sammy: He's an excellent large anxiety about individuals circus freaks known as clowns. This latest episode had the youngest Winchester fighting that fear once again. By fighting, I am talking about getting his cute self beaten, battered and bruised. Poor Sammy. I do not mind saying I had been fearing "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie" (also known as "PPMM") for a few reasons. 1. Typing that lengthy ass title takes forever. Therefore it is only going to take place once. 2. Similar to Sammy, I personally don't like clowns. However, Used to do pull through "Everyone Loves a Clown" in older days, and so i had high hopes. Obviously the episode did not waste whenever dealing with individuals circus monstrosities. Sam's running from these questions scene that's similar to Dean's own running escapade that went lower in Season 4's "Yellow Fever." But Sammy has something real to become scared of while Dean only thought he did. His tormentor would be a cute little doggy. Not the 2nd introduction of Pennywise, the frightening clown from Stephen King's book and subsequent small-series known as "It." Things I loved about "PPMM": -I love the very fact the recap demonstrated Sam's coulrophobia (anxiety about clowns) from Season 2. It appears such a long time ago, right? -The Supernatural title page was customized to suit the theme during the day. Unpredicted and incredibly awesome. -That Plucky/Chuck E. Cheese-type place looked properly annoying for just about any adult to go in. -The Jack Bauer/24-ant countdown clock with associated seem effect would be a nice touch. -Dean getting a cryptic conversation with Frank with an actual pay phone: "I'm the Egg Guy." Loved Sam's response to hearing it too. -Dean pointed out being from the hot chicks game for some time. A great move thinking about what went down to him within the last episode together with his one-evening stand and also the "daughter" who attempted to kill him. That's enough to obtain anybody to place a halt on all hookups immediately. Even Dean Winchester. Question how lengthy his moratorium can last? -We discover the genesis for Sam's fear. It appears when Large Dad Winchester was most likely away, Dean accustomed to ditch Mike at Plucky's so he may go get women. I do not blame Mike for developing this fear. What else was designed to happen? -I really like Mike saying the mantra Dean told him: "Whether it will bleed, you are able to kill it." -Loved all of the different names for that bad dreams that found existence: "Vamptopus" "Octopus" "Dractopus" "Land Shark" "Seabiscuit the Impaler" -Could it be me or did the vibe between your siblings appear a little more enjoyable? Mike was smiling more at Dean's jokes. More than ever before before. Even the poor quality ones. I loved that. -The dying by unicorn scene was great. Guy thought he was obvious from the danger. Then your horn comes piercing with the man's chest. Awesome. Loved once the unicorn was running and rainbows were being released of their ass. too -I love that Mike could acquire some punches in. Individuals clowns deserved it. -Obviously Dean really wants to purchase a giant Slinky. Obviously he is doing. -Love Mike looking to get tough using the Plucky employees. Love Dean attempting to help that kid after which the inability to consume the Plucky pizza since it tastes like "butt." -I never expected a Breaking Bad reference about this show. How awesome is the fact that? -Once the kid pointed out the robot had "laser eyes," all I possibly could think about was Ronald from Season 2's "Nightshifter" cheap he initially thought the frightening shape-shifter would be a Mandroid. -Kooky Plucky worker Howard was the reason. He'd each one of these bad dreams arrived at existence and off parents while he was clearly messed up -- he blamed his parents for his brother's dying. However the trigger seemed to be the truth that he did not obtain the manager's job. Would you imagine him as manager? I believe not. This episode was a disagreement against art therapy for children. -High cliff was the Plucky worker within the lion suit. I question when they named the smoothness following the show's bodyguard Clif Kosterman. -Following the 24 clock expires, here's the way they tell us we are in our: having a lower third in large type that states: RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW. Obviously the neighborhood CW funnel covered a variety of it track of bugs and things like that. Boo. -Mike got glitter'd in addition to bruised up. But he faced his fear. Great for Mike. -Loved loved loved that last scene between Mike and Dean. Dean was full-on laughing. I recall him doing by using Castiel within an episode. However I do not ever remember this type of full laugh as he was with Mike. Maybe "Hell House" from Season 1? It had been nice. It had been also nice that Mike got Dean the large Slinky he wanted a lot. Obviously, Dean takes things a tad too far and will get Mike a stuffed clown. Not awesome, Dean. -I really like anytime the boys can discuss a few of their encounters once they were becoming an adult -- bad or good. And that we got a bit of of this within this episode. Dean even pointed out how father accustomed to haul him around as he would be a kid. "PPMM" would be a fun episode. We wanted something similar to this. The Winchester siblings haven't had much when it comes to fun inside a very long time. It has been lots of depression and loss and grief this year. And That I have that Sammy most likely does not think being pummelled by clowns is his type of fun but when it resulted for the reason that final scene, I am okay by using it. And in the looks from the sneak look for the following Supernatural, all of the fun is finished. And drama and Sam's hellucinations have returned. Plus, Dean appears like he's in quite the frightening predicament. Take it on. However, I might have to watch "PPMM" a few more occasions. Random Ideas -Did Dean really say "no booze?" Could he stop like this? I am talking about, I recieve it. He'd been imbibing as he had the main one-evening stand. But nonetheless. Let's wait and watch how lengthy his "no consuming" act lasts. -Are generally Mike and Dean turning out to be Danny Glover also known as Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon franchise? In "The Slice Women" Dean states he's "too old with this.Inch Now it's Sam's submit this episode. -Oh and apparently Fred Savage in the Question Years is really a Leviathan now. Love that. Some Favorite Lines (thanks to authors Andrew Dabb/Daniel Loflin) -"I'm the Egg Guy. Seriously, Frank. Pay phones? I am talking about, seriously. I am obtaining the clap off this factor just touching it." -"What exactly shall we be searching for? An octovamp? A vamptopus?" "That's crazy for us, right?" "It will push the envelope." -"Cops possess a theory?" "Yeah, they believe the ball washer made it happen.Inch "The what?" "The...ball washer." "The what?" "The ball..." -"Close, but no Seabiscuit." -"This is a shark bite." "Yeah." "And knowing through the radius, I'd say a 20-footer a minimum of. (Mike provides a look) Shark Week, guy. How can you not watch that? Entire week of sharks." "You frightened of robots?" "They've laser eyes!" -"Yeah, we do not care that you simply uh, you realize, broke bad or whatever." -"What exactly do you consider?Inch "I believe the bitchy mother plus uh, sad kid, plus uh place pad with something nuts written onto it equals crazy corpse." show less

'Smash': And also the Marilyn Role Would Go To...

[Warning: This story consists of spoilers from Monday's "Callbacks" episode of Smash.] Pitting the lady nearby facing the Broadway veteran, NBC's "Smash" crowned its Lana Turner throughout Monday's "Callbacks" episode, with Megan Hilty's Ivy obtaining the pivotal role within the play at the middle of the musical drama.Within the hour, Ivy was presented with similar conditions the morally upstanding Karen (Katharine McPhee) faced within the premiere when, throughout a training session, Derek (Jack Davenport) designed a move ahead the longtime ensemble player. After battling in excess of ten years, Ivy elected to not shun his advances and rather put her career first and rested with him.Just how close was Karen to landing the part? Very close, it works out. Within an early draft from the 70-page "Smash" pilot -- which creator Theresa Rebeck cut 20 pages from because it developed once the project moved from Showtime to NBC -- the newcomer ends up landing the coveted role."Around the pilot, we really had Team Ivy and Team Karen people around the set saying, 'I think Ivy should have it,A and 'I think Karen should have it,AInch Rebeck informs "The Hollywood Reporter." "And So I visited [executive producers] Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and that i stated, 'Let's be sensible.A I had been writing Episode 2 and requested, 'Would you actually take this seriously? For that first workshop of the completely new musical, can you create it for her?'"Shaiman and Wittman both stated exactly the same factor: that Karen was pretty eco-friendly if this found Broadway experience. Ironically, the duo were studying the identical factor if this found casting the Broadway manufacture of "Catch Me If You're Able ToInch lead with Aaron Tveit, who, Rebeck recalls, they stated was too eco-friendly at that time to star within the production."That's really -- literally -- what you will use somebody who has no training but is really a obvious tremendous talent," Rebeck states. "You insert them in the ensemble and season them. So this is where we are going."And that is what went down with Tveit, who ultimately arrived charge in "Catch Me."Although it seems that McPhee's Karen is ensemble-bound, that does not imply that "Smash's" Marilyn will stay the same throughout the show's 15-episode run, thinking about Ivy's early bad behavior with Derek and also the high-profile role."I have done many of these training courses and reading through and there is no such factor as job stability," Broadway veteran Hilty ("Wicked") states. "You may be changed inside a heartbeat also it sets the stakes through the roof and makes people behave with techniques they would not normally behave."As the workshop role is Ivy's, it's anyone's guess whether it is a part she will hold onto, particularly with Karen likely landing within the ensemble. The 2-way race could likely expand to incorporate another when Uma Thurman involves play a famous and hard superstar teasing with the thought of starring within the production."The casting of Marilyn [revealed in Episode 2] might not be who it's in the finish of year,Inch NBC Entertainment leader Robert Greenblatt told reporters at January's Television Experts Association's winter press tour.Exactly what do you think about Ivy as Marilyn? Who'd you at long last want to see star in "Marilyn"? Smash airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC. The Hollywood Reporter