Addressing Comments: “hey ramiel is not the 5th angel in the series well thats quite an error and if you see the trailers where they show ramiel in nerv´s screen
they show that ramiel is the 6th angel well can you investigate or something.”
-Nerv Worker #xxxx

Now, I love people actually commenting. Especially when it is burried in 53 Spam messages offering me viagra. However, I have to point something out. Ramiel is the 5th Angel, and here’s the list just to clarify:

1 Adam
2 Lilith
3 Sachiel
4 Shamshel
5 Ramiel
6 Gaghiel
7 Israfel
8 Sandalphon
9 Matariel
10 Sahaquiel
11 Ireul
12 Leliel
13 Bardiel
14 Zeruel
15 Arael
16 Armisael
17 Tabris
18 Lilim

This is why SEELE killed off Nerv. They couldn’t get things right. I don’t want to sound rude, but please check facts before questioning my own.

That is all.

Sincerely,
Kurier

I apologize for the inconvience, but I have neither the motivation or dedication available to put into the OIP at the current time.

Hahaha. Thought I forgot (again), didn’t you?

I didn’t forget. It may be 4 o’clock and it really hadn’t entered my mind that it was Sunday, but I didn’t forget. Coming down the pipe are previews of Genshiken 2, Ghost Hound, Clannad and KimiKiss Pure Rogue. Please enjoy long time.

-

The Leaves, They’re Red!:

Good news, these four series don’t completely suck! In fact, they’re 4 of the top series of this fall (missing Kaiji that I talked about three weeks ago and Sketchbook as well). We’ve got a sequel to one of the best Otaku culture anime titles, Kyoto Animations newest title, lesbian overtones and Production I.G.’s 20th Anniversary work from the mastermind behind Ghost in the Shell. 

Genshiken 2:

There isn’t much to say about Genshiken 2 that hasn’t been said about the original Genshiken. For those that don’t know, Genshiken is a manga series about a college anime/manga/Japanese subculture club and its members. Genshiken is the modern version of Otaku no Video in many ways (less of a parody than OnV). Genshiken 2 picks up where after the Genshiken OVA that was part of the Kujibiki Unbalanced DVDs, which is more or less where the first season left off (all you’re missing if you haven’t seen the OVA is the introduction of a new character).

Genshiken 2 benefits from keeping the same humor as the first season and upgrading the animation (which was pretty crappy in the first season). I’m loving it as I loved the original and the manga. Pick it up.

Ghost Hound: Forum Link

Originally created by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), Production I.G. is putting a lot into their 20th anniversary project. On a superficial level, the animation is great; the music is wonder and the voice acting is well done.

Now for the story itself. Ghost Hound, thus far, has focused on a boy who was kidnapped a long with his sister when he was younger. He survived the mysterious ordeal, but his older sister did not. This has left his mother in a pretty delicate state and the boy now “suffers” from lucid dreaming (mainly reliving the final moments of his kidnapping). There are also three other protagonist-worthy characters who have yet to be flushed out in the first two episodes (according to ANN, two of these three will be major players).

Story is well executes, everything else is in above-par shape. Fans of Horror and the Paranormal will love Ghost Hound, too bad I’m neither and easily scared sleepless.

Clannad: Forum Link

Kyoto Animation’s (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, etc.) newest title, Clannad is another beautiful drama. Clannad focuses on two high school students, Tomoya and Nagisa and is pretty straight forward in that regard thus far. Tomoya has father issues (I really hope they come back to this later, as the few moments that dealt with it were good but really brief). Nagisa has delicate health and weird parents, she has also missed a year of school and is now repeating her final year of high school.

I say that the story is straight foward, but it really isn’t. Certain aspects haven’t been flushed out and new ones keep popping up. The execution of the story is KyoAni caliber all around. Humor is there, and while it can get a little out of place, it is generally spot on. Animation’s crisp, Seiyuu are great.

KimiKiss Pure Rogue: Forum Link

“One of these things is not like the other.” Okay, I told a little fib saying that these four were all top quality shows. That is slightly a fib because I’m not completely convinced on KimiKiss Pure Rogue yet. KimiKiss is a school drama featuring an old friend coming back from abroad. The difference, so I read (TIF gives a much better overview on these shows in each of the threads he’s started), is that KimiKiss’ cast will all eventually interact and affect each other. We’ve seen signs of this recently, but nothing major yet.

I’m watching because I get the feeling this show will be good. Reasons why: the chemistry feels real (generic, but real); the premise is nice; and everyone at NHRV has good things to say.

As a side note, if you watch this show, watch the frog interaction between two certain freshman. Lesbians I say! Lesbians!

Random Notes:

Crappy overviews are crappy. Begs the question why I even try. Follow the forum links.

I shouldn’t try to write anything else while discussing Evangelion with friends.

TSUDZUKU:

Next Sunday (maybe) I’ll talked the rest of this falls’ series, mainly the ones I don’t particularly enjoy and/or haven’t watched a lot of.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Kurier

Dear Reader(s),

To explain why there was no post last Sunday: I was tired. To elaborate, I had spent Thursday thru Saturday at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on a school trip. That following Monday I had the rough draft to a paper due and I choose to spend Sunday writing that.

Sincerely,

Kurier

-

Dear Reader(s),

In order to give a fair opinion on the remaining new Fall season shows, I’ve decided to post pone the article previewing them until I have seen at least 3 episodes of everything I wish to talk about. Therefore, there will be no article today as well.

However, I would be interested in hearing the opinion of my reader(s) on articles that (s/t)he(y) would like to see. Essentially, I’m just writing what I want to hear and I don’t know if anyone else wants to hear it.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Sincerely,

Kurier

PS - The fact I bought Guitar Hero III for my Wii today has nothing to do with the fact there will be no update today, it is the reason why I probably won’t read more of The Awakening though. The Simpson’s Tree House of Horror is on tonight as well.

Greetings Reader,

Someone has gathered all the dragonballs and made a wish. They have resurrected my arch-nemesis, the New Anime Season. This time, the season is still weak from the defeat I dealt it in the Spring (note: Yeah, I skipped the summer season. Go watch Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Shigurui, everything else sucked). However, I can sense its power level rising, due to a select group of Series the Fall beast has captured in its sword’s hilt. What will become of me in my fight against Fall?

-

Is the Plural of Leaf, Leaves or Leafs?:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Forum Link

After colony… wait, that isn’t how this AC Gundam series starts. Welcome to the newest Gundam series in the AC line, Mobile Suit Gundam 00. If you’re like me, you’ll be glad to here that they’ve scrapped the character and mech designs from SEED. An organization called The Peacecraft–I kid–the Celestial Being has decided that they will bring the world to peace through fighting and destroying other military forces. Wait, what? Yep, make war to bring about peace. Where have we seen this before?

The Gundams are all fairly cool looking, except (in my opinion) for the overweight Gundam that destroys everything with a giant cannon. The character designs are full of my bishounen than Gundam Wing (funny, this show is a lot like Gundam Wing, so far). The story has promise, but they haven’t done anything great with it yet. I’m crossing my fingers. If anything, it isn’t another SEED.

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji: Forum Link

Need a new gambling fix after sitting through Akagi, but you don’t want to learn Mahjong or blow your life’s saving at the local casino? I’ve got the answer. Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji is the newest gambling anime from the gods that brought us Akagi. This time around, our main character is not a Mahjong-Demi-God but your average in-debt gambler Kaiji. Long-story-short, Kaiji sucks as gambling and making decisions in life. One of these decisions, co-signing a loan with a friend who would later run out on the load, ends him up on a gambling cruise. He has the chance to re-pay his debt by winning big on the cruise, but he has a greater chance of digging a deeper hole.

Kaiji is great for one reason: Kaiji is human. Akagi was great because of the tension built up during each round of Mahjong and Akagi’s super-human skills. In that sense, Kaiji and Akagi are absolute opposites. Akagi didn’t have to learn from his mistakes, because he didn’t really make any. Kaiji has to learn from his mistakes, because mistakes make up 80% of his life right now. The execution of Kaiji’s character type is done just as perfectly as Akagi’s. The story of Kaiji is pretty well executed as well, and the animation is just like Akagi’s. The ED is to die for.

Bamboo Blade: No Forum Link (Go make a thread)

Kendo, in my anime? Anime, about my kendo? Bamboo Blade is about a high school Kendo club, and to be specific, it is about the girls of the Kendo club. To elaborate, the Kendo club advisor is slowly but surely running out of money. During an outing with a fellow teacher and Kendo club advisor (for a different school), he makes a wager stating that his Kendo club’s female members are better than his friend’s female members. The only problem? The out-of-luck teacher’s Kendo Club only has one active female member.

I’ve only seen episode one, but I’m already enjoying the comedy in Bamboo Blade. Episode two should show off the Kendo action of Bamboo Blade, as all we’ve seen so far is a few broom attacks (a slap-stick routine) and a one-sided beat down. I hope this series pans out, as I’ve never seen an anime focus on the Kendo club (but I’ve seen a lot of anime have characters involved in a Kendo club, generally the quiet badass characters).

Sketchbook ~full color’s~: Forum Link

Akira suggested I check this out. I, in turn, suggest that you check this out. Sketchbook is about a shy, non-talkative girl who always carries around a sketchbook. The pacing is slow, the animation style is simplistic, the story telling style is simplistic. This show is just plain simplistic and simplicity is bliss. Sora’s (the protagonist) narrations are pleasing to the senses, as her seiyuu’s voice is amazing.

Simple, clean, easy to watch. What more do you want?

Random Notes:

Fat Gundam is Fat

Gundam 00 has some pretty cool grunt mech. I hope we get an OVA dealing with them out of this Wing re-hash. The model kits look promising though.

Notice a theme with my OP?

TSUDZUKU:

Part Two of this battle of Good vs. Fall! A sequel to Genshiken!? Kyoto Animation’s new series!? Lesbian overtones in frogs? What else can this monster throw at me?

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Kurier

Morning.

Having awaken early today to go out into my backyard and dig up worms for a Biology experiment, I figured it would be good to get a jump start on today’s article while I wait for my lab partner to get online.Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, the latest series produced by my favorite anime company GAINAX (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Top o Nerae!, Wings of Honneamise, etc.), has re-affirmed my statement that GAINAX is not dead. Gurren-Lagann throws logic, science and wimpy lead characters out the window. In their place, COURAGE and MANLINESS is EPIC quantities. Having recently worked up the courage to watch the final two episodes, I now bring you the review I promised two weeks ago.

-

Sorrow-kun was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!:

“Unless they start making good new anime, they’re dead to me. They’re a relic of the past, and we should stuff them and put them on display in a museum of anime history to remind us of the anime past, while studios like Kyoto Animation, Madhouse and Bones carry us into the anime future.” -Sorrow-kun

Okay, Sorrow-kun wasn’t completely wrong. In fact, I made sure to include the sentence before he called GAINAX a relic because SK did mention that if GAINAX started to make good anime again that they wouldn’t be dead to him (however, I’m not sure on SK’s opinion of TTGL). But, SK did call GAINAX a relic of the past. Gurren-Lagann proves this statement to be a complete lie. (On a side note, he also made comments about engrossing, which was only done by the president of GAINAX, he kept everyone else out of it, at that time because it kept them a float. Go read The Notenki Memoirs).

Now, some might recall that I’ve put my foot in my mouth about Gurren-Lagann as well. I predicted that it was the series most likely to crash and burn when I did an overview of the Spring anime season. Boy, was I wrong. I thought GAINAX would have dropped the ball like it is popular for them to do, but I was more off then I could ever imagine.

In a nutshell, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann is about using hard work, determination and courage in the face of danger to fight for what you seek and defend what you love. Gurren-Lagann is cut into two sections: the battle of Man vs. Beastmen (Pre-time skip) and the battle of Spiral Beings vs. The Anti-Spiral (Post-time skip). For more details, watch the show.

Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann does two things right above all else: characters and the ending. If you read on, you are agreeing that you don’t mind having certain aspects of the show ruined.

For the former, Gurren-Lagann boasts the best character of the 2006 Spring season: Kamina. Kamina is the leader of the Gurren-Dan (eventually the Dai-Gurren-Dan) and the “Big Brother” (protector) of Simon (the protagonist). Kamina is hot-blooded, arrogant, couragous, and a talented motivational speaker (”Don’t believe in yourself, believe in me, who believes in you!”). I love Kamina, and what does GAINAX do to characters I love? Kill them off.

GAINAX made the best move in killing off Kamina, it sent a clear message that they still don’t play by the rules. It also made it clear that no one on Gurren-Lagann’s cast wears plot armor (except Viral, who is given immortality). Kamina’s death also openned a void that had to be filled, and filled it was. The rest of the Dai-Gurren-Dan had to step up to replace their fearless leader, especially Simon and Kittan.

Kittan is arguable the second coolest character in TTGL. By the second to last episode of Gurren-Lagann, I love Kittan. As the formula states, he must die and he does. He is actually the last member of the Dai-Gurren-Dan to die, after a large section of the original Dan members die sacrificing themselves for cause. No one is safe, not even the protagonist’s wife. Which brings me to the ending.

GAINAX, fuck you. There, I said it. The ending of Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann is so good, I actually hate it. After an amazing fight between galaxy-size mecha (TTGL is a mecha anime, by the way), you think that Simon and Nia are finally re-united (Nia being under the control of the Anti-Spiral during the Post-time skip section). You are happy, you are near tears, you’re seeing a wedding. Words are exchanged, final goodbyes are said. Wait, final goodbyes?

Nia, being part of the Anti-Spiral, vanishes along with the last of the Anti-Spiral, which happens to be just after she is wed to Simon. GAINAX, you could have done a happy ending. You could have stopped trying to break the mold and just settled for something normal. But no, you can’t walk on the same side of the street as everyone else. And for that, I love you. GAINAX has finally executed an ending that has satisfied me after only seeing it once. Endings should invoke emotion, because if they don’t, they are not endings.

Go watch Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.

Random Notes:

Are you watching Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann yet?

It should be said, for the sake of seeming semi-objective, that Gurren-Lagann throws reasoning away and a lot of things are logically impossible and/or beyond belief. However, I’d rather watch an entertaining show than watch something bound by logic.

Watching it yet? Seriously, put down the Lucky Star and watch Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.

TSUDZUKU:

It’s a GUNDAM! No, a giant submarine-space-aircraft carrier! Wait, is it an Egg? Or an embryo? Dragons! Silly me, it is only the Fall anime season.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Kurier

There will be no update today, as you (singular, possibly plural) might have noticed. I spent a majority of my time this weekend writing papers for the only two classes I am taking this year that I wish I wasn’t. American Government and American History, for which I had to write papers on Why I Respect President ______ (Clinton in my case) and a report on my family’s history (respectfully).

As an apology, I offer this:

Sincerely,

Kurier

PS - Gundam 00 can also be blamed, as I watched the first episode of it instead of the subbed finale of Tengen Toppa. I’m prolonging the inevitable sadness.

T_T

It is always a sad time when you watch the final episode to a series you’ve really enjoyed. Last night the final episode of Gurren-Lagann aired, which made me realize I hadn’t watched the Lucky Star finale. Now I have, and this article is about it.

Lucky Star is a polarizing anime: either you like it, or you hate it with a burning passion. I, for one, hold it to be one of the best (can’t be “the best” because Gurren-Lagann is the best) series out of its anime season. Therefore, I’m not even going to try and be objective while discussing the end.

-

The End of Lucky Star:

The finale to Lucky Star was much like the finale to Everybody Loves Raymond. It was just another episode in the series, the only difference being it didn’t open with “Motteke! Sailor Fuku” (in fact, this is my only qualm with the finale, no “Kuroi-Sensei!”) Much like The Sopranos stayed true to form in its series ender, Lucky Star focused on the characters’ interaction with each other for its final 25 minutes of fun.

The episode’s story focuses on the final Cultural Festival of the year for the 3rd Year students (Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki). Patty-chan sees a sign for the Opening Ceremonies act and wants to do a Cheerleading routine for it. She in lists the help of Yutaka, who gets Konata, who gets everyone else to join in (basically, everybody doing the dancing in the OP is recruited for the act).

As I mentioned before, this episode is just like the rest. Unlike your standard finale when something dramatic will happen, nothing truly happens during this episode (on the surface). The girls practice for the act and they set up for their own classes’ events, talk to their parents about their Cultural Festival events, make fun of each other and enjoy each other’s company. Simplicity is Bliss!

The OP makes its way into the episode in the form of the final test-run for the Cheerleading act. The final Lucky Channel is a pretty good skit involving Akira making an appearance at the practice day and being escorted around by Shiraishi. Before the big day, this conversation takes place while the cast is observing last minute preparations the night before:

Konata: What’s up, Tsukasa?

Tsukasa: I don’t know how to say it, but it feels a little weird.

Miyuki: That’s true. To be honest, I’m feeling a little sad, too. They say that the preparation stage is the funnest part of a festival, after all!

Misao: Oh yeah, tomorrow’s the real deal, isn’t it?

Ayano: That’s right. We may never stay at school so late at night again.

Kagami: It’s a little lonely when you think about that.

(Group look down the hallway, a soft melody of “Motteke! Sailor Fuku” has been playing in the background during the entire conversation)

This conversation packs all the dramatic power necessary for a finale. As a high school senior myself, I relate to it heavily. You can also look at it a different way, but that’s for you to see yourself.

The episode ends after an awkward moment for Shiraishi breaks the tension the cast feels before they go on stage, making them all laugh. Current up, episode’s over. Manly tears were shed.

Random Notes:

Seriously, that conversation is one of the deepest sets of dialogue I’ve ever encountered in anime before.

TSUDZUKU:

Gainax, rise from thy ashes and spread thy wings! SOAR FOR THE HEAVENS! TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN! FINALE OF EPIC, OF TEARS, OF TRUE FEELING!

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Kurier 

Hola.

My mind is stuck. There really isn’t anything to write about. Lucky Star is over, but I haven’t watched the finale yet. Gurren-Lagann has one more episode to go, I believe, and it is too epic to talk about just yet. I’m way behind on everything else (thank you, school). The new anime season is about to begin, and the previous season of anime is just now rolling over the hill.

Nevertheless, I’m sure I can scratch something out between here and “Kurier.” (Just in case this scares you way, I’ll be writing about school and things relating to it and anime.)

-

W. Otaku Society 2007 - 2008 Year:

For all of you (probably just Akira) who remember, I’m the president of my high school’s anime club. While last year was a pain in the butt when it came to starting the club (I’m the founder, sole reason it still exists, single contributer to content, etc.), this year it was a lot easier. Task 1) Find an advisor, task 2) find a room, task 3) decide when to start meetings.

Task 1 was easy and almost unnecessary. Simply asked the previous year’s advisor to do it again. He agreed, offered his room (task 2 eliminated) and said he was only available after school on Mondays and Thursdays (task 3, target down). That was a lot easier then drafting a constitution and gaining approval from everyone and their mother (last year in a nutshell).

The first meeting was last Monday, with a total of 3 people showing up besides myself and our advisor. Now, I attribute this to no one knowing about it (despite the flyers and letters sent to teachers). I wasn’t all that suprised by the turn out though, I do expect it to grow.

For the first meeting, I had made up a list of every anime title I have on hand (it was 122 titles long, and it is still missing a few titles). Using this list, I tried to get the 3 people there to decide what they wanted to watch first. I wasn’t going to repeat the uselessness of last year, during which I only showed first episodes. This year, I’m showing full series. Unfortunately, they weren’t very helpful in picking from any of the hundred-or-so series on the list. Deciding to do it myself, I just showed an episode of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei during the last 1/2 hour.

Come Wednesday night, I really hadn’t decided what series to watch. Then it clicked, one of the three people that had showed up Monday mentioned that she couldn’t finish Ouran High School Host club because it was pulled from YouTube. One series down, Ouran. However, I needed another series because I wanted to make the most of our time by showing two seperate series (one on each day). I choose Genshiken, mainly because it is about an anime club itself, for the second. 

The second meeting went better than the first. 5 people showed up, an additional two who seem pretty into anime (for freshman girls). Showed an Ouran and a Genshiken episode, they enjoyed. Things are looking good.

Japanese Animation as Literature:

In my wonderful school district, seniors (like myself) are required to produce a Senior Project in order to graduate. These projects must be related to our future profession (because, all high school seniors know what they want to do with the rest of their lives). Personally, I want to be a teacher after college. Ergo, my project needs to be related to teaching or academics.

To clarify, I want to be a Japanese teacher (or an English teacher in Japan, go-go stereotypical anime fan profession). This gives my project a better focus, but I am no where near qualified yet to teach anyone Japanese (I have a hard enough time teaching myself*). What else could I do in relation to teaching? Why, teach a class on anime right (go-go stereotypical anime fan ambitions).

No, seriously, I’m going to be teaching a class on Japanese animation come next semester. Titled “Japanese Animation as Literature” (or “Anime as Lit.” for short), which is a parody on an old class offered at my high school called “Film as Lit.” For this class, I’m going to be showing anime movies (and a few short series) and teaching them from a literary point-of-view (unknown to few but Akira, I like books).

I tell the internet this because I need help. I have a few titles that I know I’m going to cover (Akira; Wings of Honneamise; Jin-Roh; A Wind Named Amnesia; Kino no Tabi), but I need more (I’ll have about 17 classes, I don’t want to teach just one class because if I do become a teacher it won’t be for just a class a year). The suggestion box is now open.

Random Notes:

*The first time I tried learning Japanese, it was from Japanese for Busy People and Beginning Japanese 1 (Yale press). The following year, I took it in high school. This year, I’m in Japanese II with 2 other students. Our teacher is awaiting her official license (she has a Japanese teaching license, but not an American one). Therefor, I’m sitting in a small room with 3 other people studying Japanese on my own again.

That list of anime titles above all have something in common (minus Kino no Tabi): for at least a scene in each I’m going to have to stand infront of the screen to block boobage.

The title of this is sort of misleading, as I never did talk about School Days.

TSUDZUKU:

I can’t say for certain. For those that have been following the OIP know that TSUDZUKU isn’t always dead-on.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?

Kurier

Sunday already?

Sunday already?I’ve been pretty busy this week. School work was piled on like no other and W.O.S. meetings start this Monday (which is the reason I didn’t get any prep work done yesterday for today’s article, too busy getting stuff ready). Regardless. There are still two days of Kumoricon to talk about, and that takes priority today (after the Packer - NY game).

Sunday and Monday were pretty slow, with only two real events I had offered to help with and a pretty bare schedule. Nevertheless, these two days were pretty fun and deserve the same time of day as Saturday. Quality over Quantity, right? Sunday and Monday definitely proved this. 

-

Sunday Morning:

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of my cousin’s cellphone alarm clock tune, the Dethring. O, how I wished to throw his cellphone into the reflecting pool of the park across the street from the Hilton.

As I was putting on my clothes (day two Lupin III, black shirt w/ yellow tie and red jacket, which you saw in last articles opening picture) I realized that I had a paper cut on my right thumb. I had no idea where I got this cut, the only paper I had handled was the program schedule guide and the paper work for Anime Jeopardy. I point this out because it will be important later on, hinting towards Monday morning.

Nothing to Do Part I:

Lucky (in a sick, twisted kind of way) for us, all our panels were on Saturday. This meant that, with the exception of two events I had offered to help with, we had the rest of the weekend free to do what we wanted. However, there wasn’t much to do on Sunday. Looking at the schedule now, the only events that even spark an interest were Apocalypse in Anime (which we went to), Firearms in Anime (a panel we went to last year) and a Brief History of Japanese Film panel (which happened during Ballroom Dancing lessons). The Cosplay Contest was Sunday, but I had a) no interest in it (not a big fan of most cosplay skits, even with Kumoricon’s “No Yaoi, Yuri, Hentai” skits rule I didn’t expect great things so I didn’t go) and b) it was also during Ballroom Dancing.

Well, when you have nothing to do for about 6 hours (Ballroom Dancing started at 5PM), you do what everyone else is doing, visit the Dealer’s Room (again).

5 Dollar Doujin:

After waiting in line to get it (we didn’t even have to wait in line Saturday, that says something about how much there was to do), we made our rounds through the twisting maze of booths and tables. Nothing was that interesting, I’d already bought what I had been planning on buying (a Gundam model, one of the few items that are usually cheaper in Dealer’s Rooms that in Japan).

While we were wondering around, we ran into Matt (the Anime Jeopardy winner) and we hung out for awhile. While hanging out, we wondered over to one of the few tables devoted to Doujin. The man manning the booth was drunk, angry at the con and angry at his boss. Therefore, all the doujin left of the erotic stuff was $5. I picked up two Gundam comedy doujin, two Touhou (Marisa and Sakuya) doujin and a big thick (200 page plus) random doujin for a total of $25 bucks. Not bad for imported doujin.

Apocalypse in Anime with the Director of Programming:

Having acquired some goods, we sat “Adios” to Matt and headed back to the room to drop off our purchases (my cousin had bought some doujin as well). Checking the schedule, we saw that the only thing going on (when I say this, I mean “only thing going on that interested us”) was a panel labeled “Apocalypse in Anime.”

Mike and Pat had been at a panel for Developing an Anime Website, and had planned on going to the Apocalypse in Anime panel as well. We arrived to find them sitting in the audience, having been waiting for about 10 minutes already (we arrived late). The panelist hadn’t shown up yet. She wouldn’t show up for about another 15 minutes. No one knew who was suppose to be running the panel, but when we found out it explained a lot.

After seeing the Panelist Director pop his head into the room, I walked out to ask him who was suppose to be running the panel (I figured it was going to be someone like Guy, who does Firearms in Anime and the AMV events). Turns out that it was Brenda, director of Programming. This made me chuckle, because I hadn’t seen Brenda since the Kumoricon General Meeting I went to a few months ago (if you recall, I think I mentioned she failed to make it to the mandatory Panelist Meeting, which now added a little insult to injury because she was in fact a panelists as well as the Director of Programming).

In an interesting turn of events, after I asked the Panelist Director if he’d even seen her all weekend, she stepped out of the elevator nearby carrying a big box of material for her panel. It all made sense now (and she would point this out during the panel), she had been doing most of her prep work for her panel while locked up in her room.

The panel itself was extremely interesting. She made some very interesting points regarding the displays of the apocalypse in anime and Japanese literature. The audience added to the impressiveness of the panel, as they also provided some very good commentary (this panel, if memory serves me right, was the result of Brenda’s college research and possibly her eventual thesis paper).

Mike and Pat enjoyed parts of it, but had some very realistic complaints about the wait it took for the panel to start. I didn’t mind, as I now know how hard it is to execute a panel flawlessly.

Ballroom Dancing:

Immediately following the Apocalypse in Anime panel I was scheduled to help out the Karaoke manager with a Ballroom Dancing work shop. I parted ways with Pat, Mike and my cousin (they were free to join me, but they decided to go to “Religion in Anime,” a panel I really wanted to attend with them as Carl Horn [editor of Evangelion] was going to be there) and made my way to the large banquet room on the first floor of the Hilton.

It took me a minute to actually find the room, but it became easier when I spotted the long line outside of a door. When I say “long” this time, I don’t mean “Random Panel” long, I mean “Main Event” long. The line had to have had more than 150 people in it.

After being told by two friends, Cat and Jesse (two people I went to Japan with), that a person inside the room had been looking for me (mostlikely Gina, the Karaoke manager, or Jaki, the Tech manager).

The room was huge, perfect for a banquet, not so perfect for a Ballroom Dancing workshop that was looking like it was going to boast 200 people. Jaki was getting the sound ready while Gina was off doing some final minute things in Karaoke (I believe that’s where she was). When Gina showed up, we did some before-hand practice of the Waltz and 3-step Swing (little did we know then that we weren’t going to get to Swing).

It was soon time to start, so Gina gave the word to the Yojimbo (con security) to open the flood gates. A good 200 people poured into the room. Holy crap. Ballroom isn’t meant for such a crowded space. But we couldn’t turn people away, and a solution was quickly decided on.

First came splitting up the Leads from the Follows (traditionally, this would have been as easy as “Men from the Women” but this was after all an Anime Convention, which meant “Leads from Follows.”) Like this, we went over the Waltz basics; count, posture, steps, etc. After doing some in-crowd adjustments, half of each group was asked to sit down while we had the other half partner up to learn the Basic and 6-step turn.

I don’t want to poor you with details about Ballroom Dancing (go watch Shall We Dance); but I will say this, I have a knew found respect for my Ballroom teacher. It isn’t easy to teach a bunch of people how to dance.

The workshop was a success, even though we ran out of time and couldn’t really teach anything too deep.

Anime that Scarred Me for Life:

The Ballroom Dancing lessons were for the Masquerade Ball later (an hour after the lessons) that day. I, personally, had no desire to go to a formal dance with people I didn’t necessarily know. Plus, I had plans to meet back up with my cousin and the rest of the gang.

As much as I like a good conversation, I like a good comedic panel. Ergo, I couldn’t resist going to Anime that Scarred Me for Life. The name of this panel says it all, it is devoted to people discussing that particular anime that left them emotionally/mentally/physically scarred.

I got there first, joining the line of 5 people waiting. Ran into a SEELE Sound Only cosplayer, and as had happened the night before (when I ran into the Con Chair cosplaying a Bible Black school girl), I didn’t have my camera on me. Instead, I snapped a picture with my cellphone.

Pat, Mike and my cousin showed up soon enough. We discuss the Religion in Anime panel and the Ballroom workshop.

Anime that Scarred Me for Life was by far the funniest panel I have ever been to. Take a room full of anime fans discussing Chi’s (Chobits) “On” switch, multiply that by a couple dozens of other titles that would make perfect canidates for any reviewer’s “I watch bad anime so you don’t have to” list and you get this panel. It says something about the people in a room when a show title can be uttered (”Night Shift Nurse,” for example) and everyone in the room groans (”Uhhhhhhhhhh, sweet Jesus.”)

The panel covered a lot of titles (I offered Ringing Bell, Sanrio’s dirty little secret, and Bokurano) and also focused a little on Evangelion (my comment, “I can not longer look at fans or toes without thinking about Misato” and “Asuka, why won’t you help me Asuka, Asuka.”) I even heard a few titles that I just now have to check out (Ping Pong club, for example).

Minus a trip or two to the Gaming Room, we didn’t do anything else Sunday night.

Monday Morning:

Remember that paper cut on my right thumb? Well, I woke up Monday morning staring at (what I thought was) it minus its band-aid. Turns out, I was looking at my left thumb. I now had two paper cuts, one on each thumb, both acquired during my sleep. I can offer no explanation.

I had to go down to the front desk for a band-aid.

Cosplay Chess:

The final event I had offered to help with, Cosplay Chess, required an early morning helping hand. Jaki, who was behind Cosplay Chess, had asked if I could show up to help set up at 9:30AM (a half-hour before the players’ pre-meet). My cousin and I showed up ready to make a chessboard out of tape! And that is what we did. It took use nearly an hour, a lot of arguing and four rolls of painter’s tape, but we got it made.

For those that don’t know, Cosplay Chess is a human chess game where the pieces are cosplayers.

I was the “Chess Master” (the person moving the pieces) for the Black Team. My opponent was a man with greater experience in the Chess realm than I, but luckily for me we agreed to slaughter eachother (something I’m not that bad at). Our teams were well made, thanks to careful planning by Jaki.

Instead of typing out everything, move for move, I will provide links to the only complete video collection of Kumoricon’s Cosplay Chess. I would like to point out that I unknowingly switched around four pawns that resulted in an amazing Pirates vs. Ninja pawn battle; moving Sora and Roxas for Naruto and a Bleach cosplayer.

Videos! http://youtube.com/watch?v=AdAm7F9VWhY and go from there. Unlimited praise to PaladinCecil for filming this.

Nothing to Do Part II:

With cosplay chess over, we entered another period of nothing to do. And, as pattern goes to prove, we hit up the Dealer’s Room one last time. I had some cash to blow (I enjoy being broke and fostering moths in my wallet), so I wanted to check out the 5 Dollar Doujin dealer again. Unfortunately, he was no longer drunk and/or angry at anyone.

Shame.

Viewing Rooms:

Having nothing to do, we decided to go to the Viewing Rooms to watch Vision of Escaflowne. However, Mike wanted a sandwhich from Subway and took off (he would come back with a funny story I might talk about.)

I have never seen Vision of Escaflowne, and I found it quite interesting (artistically mostly, the ending wasn’t too pleasing). Mike found us near the end, with Subway drink in hand.

My Sole Purpose in Life is to Wait in Line:

After dinking around for awhile, we all decided that we’d get in line for Closing Ceremonies. You end up waiting in a lot of lines when going to anime conventions, and you best get use to the idea of waiting in line. Long, twisting, hot lines.

Closing Ceremonies:

Once the line for Closing Ceremoies got moving, it moved impressively fast for a convention line. I really have to hand it to Kumoricon’s staff, they are really good at what they do.

Closing Ceremories for Kumoricon were far better than opening ceremonies. Some prizes were handed out, jokes were made, people were thanked, etc. etc. Pat out nerded us all when the recognised a voice actors character impression before any of us, which proved that the weekend had effected our passive observer greatly. 

They accidently revealed the next year’s mascot three times while dealing with trying to show the AMV contest winners. Good times.

Rant and Rave:

As per tradition, my cousin and I (along with Pat and Mike, althought Mike went somewhere right after Closing Ceremonies ended) stuck around to hear the rant and rave (a Kumoricon tradition, pretty much an open mic suggestion box).

I couldn’t resist venting about the lack of communication between Programming and Non-staff Panelists (my cousin and I). Other valid pro and con points were made about the convention (in fact, I preceeded my rant with a rave about how greatful I was that Programming and Ops, security, allowed the Random Panel to come back “because I wouldn’t have let us back.”)

With that, Kumoricon was over.

Overall:

Kumoricon, although it is the only convention I’ve been to, is my favorite convention for several reasons. One: the size is perfect. If it was a really big con, you wouldn’t get to know any of the attendees like you can at a medium size con. Two: the people who attend Kumoricon are awesome (like half of Oregon; nice and respectful, my kind of people). Three: the staff is dedicated and willing to take risks (Random Panel is a prime example).

If you’re ever in Oregon on Labor Day, I highly recommend Kumoricon.

Random Notes:

Battlefield 2142 is to be blamed for all accounts of me not being active.

I’ll put in pictures later, right now I’m only worried about getting this published.

TSUDZUKU:

Either a general article about my opinions on Conventions in general (like Yaoi/Uke/Seme paddles or Glomping) or an article about OtakuUSA, my new favorite Anime/Manga/Japanese Culture/Fan Culture magazine.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Kurier