God, it's been three Decembers since I came back from the US! I wore my favorite lolita dress for this event, which means this is the third time I wear it. Anyway, to my surprise, the day went a lot better than I thought it would, and it all started with.....
Kivaaa!! <333 Man I totally squealed when I saw him! XD Of course, I immediately I grabbed him for some photos. Sweeet~ Mwahahaha! And then I saw Brook, whose afro is a lot smaller than usual but still it's him. =) If only Kiva could borrow the violin for a bit. >_>; Inside the actual cosplay grounds (gotta pay to get in), the first cosplayer (other than my Kamen Rider friend) I took a pic of was Date Masamune. How worthy of his almightiness ^_^
And then one of my other friends brought and introduced me to his other Kamen Rider friends and turns out, the previous Kiva I met is one of them. And so I had them do individual poses and group shots for me XD Wheee~ that was fun! It would have been so awesome if they could do the Double-Action Climax form little dance together, but alas they can't due to movement restrictions. However, at the very least they were able to do this (XD):
There isn't much in the vid, but my favorite part is where Kiva's clapping. XD!! He looked so lonely and left out yet he's still clapping for them... Auuwww~~~ *hugs*
The guy in the first pic above is the friend who knows the two Kiva cosplayers. He's cosplaying as Siegfried from Soul Calibur (I don't play the game, I just know it cos' he told me >_>;) The next three are from Gintama, of course. It's a shame there's no good looking Hijikata around to complete the top 3 popular Gintama boys.
No event is complete without some camwhoring. =)
More cosplay shots. I apologize for the lack of variety but I usually can't be bothered to take pics of anything I don't recognize or don't find impressive/particularly interesting. ^^; Actually, I saw a very nice Maeda Keiji, Mitsuhide, Toshiie, Matsu and Chousokabe but I didn't get the chance to take their photos before they took off their costume and called it a day. Mitsuhide also "turned me down" near the entrance when I asked for a photo cos' she was "chatting with her friends". That's the first time my request for a photo has been rejected. =/ Fine. Hmph!
Right before leaving, we hung out near the entrance for a short while. We saw the gundam waiting at the lift at one point and I couldn't help but tease it a little. XD Nyahahahaa~
Of course, lastly there's purikura. No big event is complete without one ^_~! Overall it was a really fun day. It got me excited just seeing the Kamen Riders XD I didnt take as many pictures as I did the previous two EOY events and the place is a lot more cramped now that they changed the location to the national library of all places, but still I'm glad I went ^_^.
23rd
December 2009, Wednesday
One more thing...
I just realized that there's one thing I've been doing even before my obsession with Gintama and up until now that I forgot to include in my previous post – Resident Evil 5 Mercenaries (PC). I play it on random nights (alone or with my mercs bud) whenever I feel like it so it's always an on and off thing.
It's a tad ironic for me to say this considering I never considered buying the PC version (mine was given) but now that I've tried it I much prefer it on the PC as compared to the PS3, simply due to sharper and faster controls with the keyboard and mouse (although instant-fast inventory management could prove to be tricky). Here is my current one and only footage/recording of a solo mercs run on the PC:
Of course, the next best thing would be modded Mercenaries stages. I dunno how to mod stuff, but my mercs bud does, so I leave everything to him XD If you're curious what kind of modded stages we play, feel free to take a look at this vid (my bud's footage of one of our runs with voice chat):
I forgot about the voice chat once he started recording so I just went all out on the cussing and venting whenever appropriate. Hopefully you're used to that by now. >_>; Anyway, that's the kind of Mercenaries I've been playing recently. It can be frustrating (we ask for it), but it's a lot of fun and it keeps the game fresh. =) Long live Mercenaries!! <33
19th
December 2009, Saturday
Been busy with...???
I am aware that this is the first time since the start of this blog that I have not posted a single entry in more than two months. Why is that? Cos' I'm been waaaaay too busy religiously watching series after series of shows every night (as well as a few games), and it all started with:
Gintama ／ 銀魂
One night I randomly decided that I should give this anime series a try. It had been almost 2 years since I saw a 'new' anime series and Gintama happened to catch my attention cos' the art fits my style and the main character is actually a man and not some big-eyed androgynous boy! And so I started it, and then I got really hooked. In a matter of three weeks I got about $300+ worth of Gintama merchandise, and I prolly just finished half the series' episodes then. In total it took me about 7 weeks to catch up with the latest episode that was ep 183, and by then I have spent about $600 on merchandise. Obsession is expensive yea?
Summary:
Gintama is a parody anime that specializes in making fun of/referencing to other Japanese anime, TV drama, variety shows, celebrities, culture, pop culture, etc. It also often touches the subject of anime and manga production, casting, marketing, etc., and involves quite a load of dirty jokes. There is no definite storyline or plot as many of the stories are episodical, but it does have its own mini-arcs that focus on different characters and their own 'adventures'. In general, the 'story' revolves around the everyday life of a wacky man (Gintoki aka main chara) and his two sidekicks/friends/buddies/partners (Kagura & Shinpachi) in the old Edo era (that coexists with all sorts of other funky eras including modern, future and alien).
Reason of obsession:
The randomness, humor, parodies, Gintoki and Hijikata. However, to be honest everything started with Hijikata. It was a picture of him that got me curious to watch this series to begin with. =)
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
I finally finished this. I don't think it took more than 15 hours or so to complete but it sure took me several months since I started it considering how long and often I stop playing every single time. I replayed half the game before I stopped playing, again.
Short review:
Fun game, but I don't like that the ending's not complete (cos it continues on to the sequel). I prefer a conclusive ending even if the game is known to have a sequel. Overall, I don't feel that it's better than “Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando” on the PS2, unless I really am missinig something and I don't know it.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Took me a few days to beat, but turns out it's all under 12 hours. I was thinking about writing a review for it cos' I never wrote one for the first game, but I got too lazy. The game's great, but sadly I don't think it's better than the first even with all the improved graphics and game mechanics. I guess the “magic” just doesn't work twice. I haven't touched the game again since I beat it.... >_<
Short review:
Brilliant graphics, animation and presentation. Slight improved gameplay and thank god they took out the annoying jetski thing and didn't replace it with something even worse. However, the story's just alright in comparison to the first and the new characters are less than likable. I haven't tried the multiplayer modes so I can't say much bout it but the main quest is prolly not something I'll play over and over, which is the same issue as the first game. (Sorry I'm too lazy to find better pics) Still, I'm giving it a 9/10 for everything else about it that is epic.
Kamen Rider Den-O ／ 仮面ライダー電王
The next biggest obsession right after Gintama. I finished this series of 49 episodes in about 2 weeks and spent $400+ on its merchandise in a month. Den-O came as a surprise to me cos' I seriously never thought that I would ever watch a Kamen Rider show, not since I was four anyway. It was a friend who first introduced it to me, and another friend who recommended it to me. The first trigger/reason that convinced me to watch it was a simple matter of my top favorite seiyuu, Seki Toshihiko, being in it. It took only 2 episodes before I was fully addicted and then it just went on and on. Needless to say I bought some figures, and from those figures I came up with a new idea I've never had for any other figure I own – to make them their own apartment.
It all started with the table/chair that Momotaros' (the red one) figure set came with. Thinking they need more than just coffee on the table, I specifically bought him miniature food figures. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I felt they need a bed and a sofa set as well. Oh yeah pardon me. By 'they' I mean the character figures I got for the series (refer to pics above). There are a total of five characters I plan on getting and so far I've gotten four. (The last one's waiting to be released) With so many people in the family, I figured it's only appriopriate (and cute) that they share an 'apartment', and so I started on my miniature furniture hunt. I've ordered most everything I want online now and I'm just waiting for them to arrive. It's impressive (to myself) and incredible how I've lately turned into a little girl once again, playing with my dolls and stuff, except now they're all males XD Wahahahaa!
It's pointless to show actual pics of Den-O cos' you can never tell how awesome they are just by looking at a few photos. You gotta see them in ACTION baby. Here're two short vids you'll ever need to watch to start getting interested (that's how it happened for me):
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Summary: Imagins are beings from a future that no longer exist in the timeline due to certain events in time that caused it to be destroyed. In their attempt to reconnect their own time to the timeline, they travel back in time to the present, 2007, and possess people in order to fufill a contract with them so that they can dive back further into the past to accomplish their goal. Ryoutarou, a boy with very bad luck, got possessed by an imagin one day and his life changed ever since. A girl he met named Hana told him that he is a “singularity point” and that he is obliged to transform into 'Den-O' through the use of a belt and card to obliterate evil imagins who are trying to hurt people and change their world. The catch is, Ryoutarou can't exactly fight even as a Den-O without the aid of an imagin possessing him, hence the reason the imagins who possess him are what this show is about... =)
Reason of obsession:
Made of win. It's so entertaining and humorous, even a NON Kamen Rider fan could/would turn into one! (Just look at me!!) I know that at first glance you can never tell/expect that this is going to be a comical series, but trust me, it's funnier than ALL the other Kamen Rider series combined (those that are funny at all). From what I was told, Den-O took a much different route from all the previous Kamen Rider series. It has a different concept (storyline wise) and it's the first to actually incorporate 'monsters' as part of the heroes, as well as the use of seiyuu voice over, which is prolly the reason why it's sooo popular among girls but not as much among the veteran fanboys.
It's hard to believe even for myself at first but the best thing in Den-O is not the hero or the Kamen Riders, but the imagins. It's these odd-looking 'monsters' that actually make the series what it really is. They may look menacing and evil but... they're really just overgrown kids. XD I don't wanna spoil anything here so I won't say much more but seriously, the imagins are everything in this show. The good ones, of course =P
Nakamura Yuuichi ／ 中村優一
I'm rarely ever, ever into pretty boys but this exceptional little one won my heart (sort of), all because of the character he plays as in Den-O. I uber love the character, and he's soooo cute and has suuuuch an adorable smile (FYI, you won't agree with this without watching the show), it'd be a miracle not to fall for him. Even my house maid loves him. XD And so I looked up on his other works and downloaded/watched some of them, including:
Princess Princess D took a few days cos' it's a series and man it's bad, but still it's worth it. It's the only show I can get to see Nakamura Yuuichi in lolita and he looks so damn pretty it's a crime!! >_<!!! Mind you, I don't like my boys crossdressing but he and him alone looks so good in it I'm more jealous than irked. x_X!!! He's also officially the only person in the 24 years of my life I've ever bought a photobook of. Man, he should be honored. XD
Kamen Rider Kabuto ／ 仮面ライダーカブト
The next Kamen Rider series I decided to watch after Den-O. Took me about 3 weeks to finish, I think. I was originally going to start on Kamen Rider Kiva, which is the next series released right after Den-O, but my friend said that Kabuto (which is the series right before Den-O) is prolly more towards my liking. It's not half as addictive as Den-O and it takes a while to get to the point where you feel it's getting a lil' more interesting, but at least the main character's got this special good lookingness to him. XD However, strange enough, he's not my favorite. Also, it's sad to find out that the "yummy part" in this series that my friend thinks I'd like turns out to be something I'm not convinced to like. =( Overall, Kabuto is quite the disappointment. Of course, I knew nothing could compare with Den-O (for me) but I still had expected something better... Oh well.
Summary:
Seven years ago a giant meteorite hit the city of Shibuya, wiping it out clean. However, a one-time huge-scale destruction wasn't all that it brought; out from the meteorite came human-unfriendly alien beings known as 'worms'. An anti-worm organization known as ZECT was thus formed. Using their 'Rider technology', ZECT dispatches troopers as well as riders to fight against the worms, but not all the riders happen to be members and that isn't something ZECT is in favor of. On the other hand, Kagami, a ZECT newbie is trying hard to become a rider but his efforts don't seem to be bearing much fruit. Things also turn rather complicated for him when he encounters a non-ZECT rider one day...
List of things to do/watch next...
Kamen Rider Kiva (49 eps) (Already started watching)
