Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Otakon 2009-Oh! So much fun!! XD
Pics from Otakon are posted above this post.:)
Btw..video is of a guy trying to do the dance from the Kannagi opening. Look all the way toward the right..
Alright, this weekend I experienced one of the biggest and greatest cons on the east coast called Otakon 2009. This year was it's sixteenth year, my first, and it was epic in size and in scope. The con lasted for three days (Fri-Sun) and they had more than enough scheduled for each day encompassing 12-14 hours on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is a shorter day because it's last day of the con, so they try to wrap things up by mid-afternoon.
When it comes to the convention's highlights, for me, was the premier of the dub version of Evangelion 1.0. The hall where it was being played was packed with people. Many who have seen the movie and many more who have not seen the movie but loved the series. The experience was awesome, aside from the projector cutting off every so often; but the moans and groans coming from the audience as the picture goes off was great.
Another highlight that was great for me was the quality of the cosplayers. The ratio of good to bad cosplayers was higher than other smaller cons i have attended in the past and i was pleasantly surprised! The wigs were great, no foamy/bad color/nappy wigs at all. The most popular series being cosplayed were Final Fantasy, Naruto, Gurren Laggan, and Hatsune Miku.The one weird thing about it was that there were alot of crossplayer or guys who dressed like female characters and girls who dressed like males characters. I came across one guy that was dressed as Ashley from a resident evil game and there were a couple girls dressed in bikinis supposed to be Naruto or Sasuke or Kakashi. Craziness!!
Now it's time to talk about the bad... Firstly, if you have an issue with being around alot of people...then you will have a difficult time here. Especially on the first 2 days. There are about an estimated 33,000 people that attended this year. So if you do not like wading through people to get to the anime showing then you might want to go to a smaller con. Secondly, standing in line for registration for three and a half hours!! It was a totally different experience for me and if it were not for people selling water and a person giving me water, I would've died 3x over...no lie. Standing outside in the sun with a t-shirt over a tank top is not fun in 90 degree humid weather. And that was about it.
When it comes down to it Otakon was awesome this year. Headlining acts for concerts were Kanon Wakeshima, Becca, and Mell. I attended Kanon's concert and it was sssooo great. I just wished that it was longer cuz as soon as she came on the concert was over :(...So sad....
The con also served as a way to help people who wanted to work in the anime industry to find a way to that. They had panels on topics ranging from translation to career planning for artist/geeks. It was great and I felt like I learned something while having fun!
Anime Conventions are a great way to meet new people, learn about new mangas/animes that are coming out, and learn about the anime/manga industry as a whole. So even if your a fan or if you want a career in this industry oorrr if you want to spend the entire weekend playing video games and watching anime than you definitely have to plan a trip to your local anime convention. It'll be the best experience you'll ever have.
Btw..video is of a guy trying to do the dance from the Kannagi opening. Look all the way toward the right..
Alright, this weekend I experienced one of the biggest and greatest cons on the east coast called Otakon 2009. This year was it's sixteenth year, my first, and it was epic in size and in scope. The con lasted for three days (Fri-Sun) and they had more than enough scheduled for each day encompassing 12-14 hours on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is a shorter day because it's last day of the con, so they try to wrap things up by mid-afternoon.
When it comes to the convention's highlights, for me, was the premier of the dub version of Evangelion 1.0. The hall where it was being played was packed with people. Many who have seen the movie and many more who have not seen the movie but loved the series. The experience was awesome, aside from the projector cutting off every so often; but the moans and groans coming from the audience as the picture goes off was great.
Another highlight that was great for me was the quality of the cosplayers. The ratio of good to bad cosplayers was higher than other smaller cons i have attended in the past and i was pleasantly surprised! The wigs were great, no foamy/bad color/nappy wigs at all. The most popular series being cosplayed were Final Fantasy, Naruto, Gurren Laggan, and Hatsune Miku.The one weird thing about it was that there were alot of crossplayer or guys who dressed like female characters and girls who dressed like males characters. I came across one guy that was dressed as Ashley from a resident evil game and there were a couple girls dressed in bikinis supposed to be Naruto or Sasuke or Kakashi. Craziness!!
Now it's time to talk about the bad... Firstly, if you have an issue with being around alot of people...then you will have a difficult time here. Especially on the first 2 days. There are about an estimated 33,000 people that attended this year. So if you do not like wading through people to get to the anime showing then you might want to go to a smaller con. Secondly, standing in line for registration for three and a half hours!! It was a totally different experience for me and if it were not for people selling water and a person giving me water, I would've died 3x over...no lie. Standing outside in the sun with a t-shirt over a tank top is not fun in 90 degree humid weather. And that was about it.
When it comes down to it Otakon was awesome this year. Headlining acts for concerts were Kanon Wakeshima, Becca, and Mell. I attended Kanon's concert and it was sssooo great. I just wished that it was longer cuz as soon as she came on the concert was over :(...So sad....
The con also served as a way to help people who wanted to work in the anime industry to find a way to that. They had panels on topics ranging from translation to career planning for artist/geeks. It was great and I felt like I learned something while having fun!
Anime Conventions are a great way to meet new people, learn about new mangas/animes that are coming out, and learn about the anime/manga industry as a whole. So even if your a fan or if you want a career in this industry oorrr if you want to spend the entire weekend playing video games and watching anime than you definitely have to plan a trip to your local anime convention. It'll be the best experience you'll ever have.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sengoku Basara
Title: Sengoku BasaraAnimation Production: Production I.G.
Year: Spring 2009(Japan)
Licensed: Yes, by Funimation.
Rating: Pg-13 (violence, sexual suggestion, language)...for now.
This week I am reviewing an anime that was highly recommended from two people from the J1studios team.
The title is Sengoku Basara and this was based off a game by Capcom called "Devil Kings"; which was released in the states a few years. If you don't remember it, don't worry about it, it didn't do so well...
Anywayz, the basic plot summary is that it takes place during the Feudal States Era in Japan, so various feudal lords are fighting in order to gain control of the country. There are two warriors named Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura who meet and they are instantly bitter rivals. But as the story goes on they become allies in order to prevent Oda Nobunaga, the devil king, from becoming all powerful and taking over the country. So this is just another anime where two rivals meet, determine that they are each other's ultimate rivals, then for the greater cause become allies to fend off this great evil. Yaaayyy!! Awesome-ness!
When it comes to the anime, it is impressive as far as the animation is concerned. It was animated by Production I.G who worked on works such as Ghost in the Shell-Stand Alone Complex and Moribito. This is another studio that is known for high quality animation, and they do not disappoint with Sengoku Basara. When people fight, they fight. Dust is kicked up they become vibrant lights that soar up into the air and clash and change weather conditions. Great stuff! And it's just nice to look at also. There aren't any overdone character designs with alot of cross hatching used for shadows. Oops! Sorry bleach fans...it just annoys me. But seriously, Sengoku moves and looks great. To get a taste to see how it looks the opening animation is below.
So far I have only watched the first episode anndd I was reasonably impressed. I am curious to see where the story goes and also to see if it will revive interest in the video game itself. So right now...I will be going back to watch this episode online; my rating is a 4 out 5. It's interesting...but I'm not crazy excited about it...yet. ;)
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