Random Chan Day

Like usually, I haven't been updating the blog at all due to the fact I'm so down and busy lately that I don't really have energy to do that. Next month we will have the MDL screening and feature some films I worked hell hard to find haha. Well, as long as I will see the people satisfied at the end, I'll be satisfied myself.

Like most of you know, the Random chan day took place on the 7th March, like last year, on the Radio Day this time. As someone very wise called this day: "Randiom day". I came to like it for some reason, but I guess next year I'll have to deal with some other pretty creepy name again :P

So, you probably wonder what I did this time on the Random chan day? I didn't make people worship me like last time, but I did make a MDL photo competition. There were three winning categories, and to tell the truth, if I had more money right now I would have given them all a dvd, however, only the first place got the price this time.

Fortunately, I'm planning to feature all three winners on the screening's program / as part of the opening video... I'm not quite sure yet. But I have to say, they were truly great. I'm happy people spend so much effort and creativity on my ideas :P

Now, without waiting any longer, i want to present you the three awesome works I really liked this time:

First place (Best Random Chan Day):

Second place (Best Design):

 

Third place (Best MDL):

 

:P Each of them represents the category it's featuring in the best way. Random Chan day category is the 'random' category that has something to do with myself, mdl and esthetics at the same time, design category deals mainly with the 'best visuals', or more beautiful photo design and MDL category centers around the photo that represents MDL in the best way.

I personally find those photos totally awesome :P I found all photos totally awesome, and that's why I had to get help from 12 (o.o") people who helped and voted for those three categories. Thank you people, your choices were great.

I thank everyone who took part in the competition and hope to see you taking part in future events as well! See you on the screening :P I will probably make only once post beforehand with the program.

Let there be many people~~!

デスク

10 Must Watch Animation Films

Hey people, haven't been here for a while as you see. It's pretty hard to manage doing everything all the time, especially when you're mostly feel so hell depressed.

Anyway! I happen to search for so called 'must watch' animation films half an hour ago, but I was pretty shocked to find out people have such a bad taste when it comes to animation... so I pretty much decided to create my own 10 must watch animation films list. Hope you like it (no particular order really).

I want to note I was intending to list only one film by each director, so you'll be able to watch at least one film by each of those epic people -- it's your job to watch other ones as well. Also, I did not include films based on animation series. The main reason for that is that I don't believe a person should watch a series to watch a single film. I tried to put here 'stand alone' works that represent their makers.

I tried very hard not to list only sci-fi based films but I had to mention a few classics for general education. Of course there are at least 30 more films I would have made everyone watch, but I simply can't effort myself making such a long list. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my very tiny yet beautiful list.

akira, 1988, Ootomo Katsuhiro

Well, as we all know, Akira was one of the films that actually exposed the Japanese animation to the western world. It was a wonderful adaptation of the manga that left us all thrilled and thinking. Definitely one of the masterpieces out there. It was this film that made many of the people start watching Japanese animation and be very interested in it, let us thank Akira and its director Ootomo for sharing this world with us.

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hotaru no haka, 1988, Takahata Isao

I believe this is one of the best films I ever watched. It is touching and dramatic but very realistic and makes you hurt inside. It features a very dark topic in a very direct way through the eyes of a boy and his little sister living during the WWII. With a touch of a light humor at the right moments, the film does not eternally make you feel bitter, but definitely overwhelms you with emotions.

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koukaku kidoutai, 1995, Oshii Mamoru

Oh noes! we all knew I'm going to include Ghost in the Shell here, so don't be so surprised. This film had a great impact on the sci-fi genre of Japanese animation definitely and will be considered as one of the classics of this genre. Presenting a dark, beautiful and dramatic pace, this work turned out to be a milestone for many other following works.

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chitose joyuu, 2002, Kon Satoshi

I love all of Kon Satoshi's works, so I had hard time deciding which film will represent his style the best. Of course I came up with perfect blue and paprika, two wonderful works, but I guess that the most cruel and dreamy film of them all will be Millennium Actress. Featuring a girl chasing her heart and forming herself through time while searching for her beloved. This film was a great hit and definitely a masterpiece.

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toki wo kakeru shoujo, 2006, Hosoda Mamoru

A girl discovers that she possesses the ability to time leap -- return back in time to remake certain decisions and change wrongs that have been done. Simple as that begins the wonderful film and steps into the spotlight of other masterpieces out there. It is gentle, wonderfully made and touching in a way. Wonderful work that in my opinion every person out there should watch.

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byousoku 5 centimeters, 2007, Shinkai Makoto

It was pretty hard for me to decide what work by Shinkai Makoto I am going to place here. As many of you know, he has his unique style he follows, and this style makes him who he is. I believe that this film is definitely the best presentation of Makoto's style, art and world image. I am not fully sure whether it's his most popular film, but it's a masterpiece as some of his other works. It isn't too sentimental, but it is able to touch your heart in many ways other films are not able to.

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metropolis, 2001, Rintarou

It is a classic that I believe should definitely be listed. Not only it is a beautiful film, but also a very deep philosophical piece, discussing the value of humanity and the human society. It has great visuals and a wonderful soundtrack that made all the setting so wonderfully presented. What it is that make us humans, this film is something that tries to touch this important aspect.

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mononokehime, 1997, Miyazaki Hayao

This was probably my hardest choice, as we all know how great Miyazaki is. Upon discussing it with myself, I discovered that no matter what film I will pick, I will have to abandon another good film. However, I believe Princess Mononoke is one of my 'forever favorite' Miyazaki films and the one which will make you experience his wonderful style the most (among other masterpieces he created). In my opinion it is a must watch.

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tekkon kinkreet, 2006, Michael Arias

It is not simply a film featuring two orphan boys living in the street and struggling to protect themselves and their city from well meaning police officers, no good Yakuza and evil property developers. In fact, there is so much more about this colorful and joyful film. For every playful, imaginary and quirky moment, there is a deep, jarring background. Great work done by Michael Arias.

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vampire hunter d, 2000, Kawajiri Yoshiaki

I was thinking whether I should include it or not, but I kind of believe it's a certain type of masterpiece for itself. It feels like a deep breath into a world filled with monsters and vampires. Featuring a simple story about a woman and a vampire noble who fell in love, this film turns to be more than just a love story. It is intriguing and beautiful, featuring a very special soundtrack and character design.

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I discovered that I will have to do another must watch list later. How could I leave out Neko No Ongaeshi, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Tokyo God Fathers, My Neighbor Totoro, Steam Boy, Paprika, Interstella 5555, Nagagutsu Wo Haita Neko (though it's an ova, basically). Oh god, there are so many great things that you simply can't put all together without missing out a few (or way too many).

They Are Not Real Ninjas!

On the 15th October a pretty big Japanese festival (aka: Japantag) took place in Düsseldorf.

To tell the truth, I expected a lot more from this festival. The whole idea and events sounded really really nice, but in fact I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Well, first of all, there were hell too many people. I swear, most of them were simply breathing and doing nothing major aside from standing there and taking too much place. Of course, I'm not saying you should shot all those extras who have no real function in life, but I really don't get why this festival became an otaku event.

Well, fine, it leads me to the next thing I didn't like -- it's a hell JAPANESE festival... not anima con. HELL -- there were almost no people who were not dressed up like they are in some third rated anima con... and annoyed the hell out of me.

Yes, anima is indeed a big tradition and cultural element but it's far from being the only thing in the japanese culture, and it made me really sad that people didn't get it after such a long time.

Now, basically, the event itself was pretty neat... but I wont say well organized. The workshops were randomly put around the area and the map (*cough*) was as exact as my mom trying to tell a story. Trying to search for workshops was one of the most annoying thing I could think of (so I didn't do it. Which is a huge hole in my Japantag experience).

As there was no train I noticed (as far as I remember we found one doing half the way to the coast) that took us to the river... so we had to walk all the way. The good thing was though, that some random Japanese people put their stands there... and I could happily buy things when I got 1/4 the way.

The stands on the coast however were really crowded. I remember I couldn't enter some because they were filled with people who (again) simply stood there and did nothing with themselves. I hardly found things to buy through the crowd and didn't want to waste other people's time myself (so I looked around a bit and went away, like many many people should have done x.x. Trolls).

Putting the tables 10 cm backwards could be a good solution (considering the fact you couldn't WALK x.x because of all the people).

At least I bought new things and enjoyed some good food... heard drums and pretended to be pretty (singing songs in the train, street, station, hotel, wherever :P).

If you saw a weird person singing 'the internet is for porn' along the way -- it was me. XD

There were 2 good parts I really liked. The first one (surprisingly involving cosplay) was ninjas. Ya, you heard correct -- ninjas. There were some lame guys in ninja cosplay (not naruto... just ninjas) and I COULD SEE THEM. My first thought was "They are not real ninjas" you can't hell see them.

The second, involving the festival itself were the wonderful fireworks. I generally really like them, especially when they are pretty. I expected some sailor moon firework at the end, but the super huge one that colored all the sky yellow was really pretty as well.

Enjoyed, but not sure I'll go there next year. Was a nice experience anyway! ^_^ (we had an awesome hotel btw!).

MDL Special Winners

Since I couldn't decide, as there were too many people taking part, I've decided that I'll make a small vote within the team to pick the best and later, when I'll have only 3 participants left, I'll make hideki decide in which order I should put them.

Thanks everyone for participating... all the photos were great that I couldn't pick anything I liked @~@... I liked all of them.

So, those who will be featured on my blog and next year's birthday post as the winners are (drums):

First place goes to dutchviola

Second place goes to lothiriel

3rd place goes to hidde:

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Special thanks to those who made the following MDL birthday things for our event:

;___; can I just put all cards here? they were so amazing... thanks everyone <3 I love you so much.

Cosplay Trolls

I was just searching for an anima character to make a cosplay of, and I was shocked to see how much hate there is towards 'bad' or 'not good enough' cosplayers. Obviously, when you create a costume, you should think of your own body, face and personality, but all those hate comments just made me sick.

First of all, everyone can cosplay in my opinion, and I don't care seeing any character being modified. From the first place, since characters are art, there are different ways people can interpret a charcter. Speaking from my own experience, there was this time where I changed the whole outfit of Vita from Nanoha to be modern and less expensive (and hard to make), obviously keeping the personality of the character and the general feeling it's giving away. Hateful comments about this matter are useless and only show how stupid people are. I'm sorry, but I think everyone have the right to represent a character whatever they like. If you think they don't look like the character, pretend they created some other character.

Now, the second thing that bothered me was this talk about people making cosplays of bad material. Sure, so a person with a part time job that should pay for an apartment and food should go and spend 6 month salary on buying good material -- not. I mean, I do think that cosplays look better with good material... but hell no, I wont ever bother buying something I can't effort. And don't go telling me not to make a cosplay, because a cosplay is not about looking like a character but acting like one.

NOW LET ME COMPLAIN ABOUT NOWADAYS COSPLAYERS -- you know, before getting on my nerves and telling people they don't look good... go look at yourself. I don't see Shinku from Rozen Maiden standing with some random guy and drinking beer at the bar because it is a hell OOC! Cosplay, dumb people, is not about looking like the character and looking good... but mainly about acting like him. Like a play, you know -- even if you look like the character from the script and put him in a complete OOC from what it is... than you WONT be this character. You can die, you can pay thousand of dollars on materials and people to make it... you simply wont be the character.
I admire cosplayers that come with a simple outfit that looks like the character and act like it rather than idiots who ruin the character not by their looks... but more with their attitude.

Aha, so I'm not saying I support 5$ cosplay, because a person will look way better in normal clothes... but I'm also saying that you should look at the effort the person put into the cosplay.

Now, another really bothersome aspect is this dilemma between asian and non asian cosplayers. Obviously, photoshop and good photographer (and camera!) can make both really really beautiful, but take things with proportion. I mean, I want to kick any idiot who says asians make better cosplayers. Why is that? because you are freaking japanfans -- that's why. That's not that asians put more effort into their cosplays, it's just that you don't really look on anything else, and I really mean it. I was on so many cons and saw so many wonderful and terrible cosplayers, both asian and non asian.  There is no difference, believe me.

Fat cosplayers -- they can be really pretty. Stop trolling fat cosplayers. They should not go and lose weight, because it is hell natural to have weight. I mean, I don't mind either of them... but there are people who can not lose weight no matter how much sport they will do or whatever they'll drink. Fat is part of your body... even if you're thin you have fat. You live from some sort of fats. Stop being afraid of fat... that's like being afraid of people who don't look, talk or act like you do. Let's call all people who mock fat people 'racists' and it'll solve it. Stupid.
I must say that it's extremely hard to make a good looking cosplay for fat people because most of the anima characters are way thinner than any human being. In fact, some of them never even heard of 'bones' (good example: code geass). This puts fat people in a very very strange position: how the hell should they cosplay into... that.
That's when 'ugly cosplayers' come to the picture. They are not even ugly most of the times, it's just your idiotic phobia of fat. Stop killing yourself over it and keep an open mind.
I recommend, for fat people, to modify their cosplays a bit not only to fit the figure but to fit the whole image, because even though it is important to put the character as it is, but it's also important to make it 1. comfortable to wear 2. look good on you 3. reflect the way you see the character.
Fat people have the full right to cosplay and not pay attention to any idiots who will think their cosplay is not good enough. The fact they think so means they are immature and have no idea that 'big size' cosplay is really hard to make (as well as clothes).

Last thing before I sum stuff are the parody cosplayers. They are there to make fun of the characters, don't be harsh on them. They are not 'fail' they are consciously trying to make you mad. I'm actually pretty positive about them. They are sometimes pretty funny (but at other times not :P). They tend to go too over border even for me sometimes.

There is no age, no gender and nothing that should stop anyone from making a cosplay. Though, the person should think reasonably of their own figure, face, skin color, eye color, personality etc etc. You can modify the character into your needs, as long as it stays the same character with the same mood and behavior.

Harry Poa' and the Deathly Shallows - Part 2

I thank a very nice comedian I saw lately who gave me a great idea how to call this post. You know, there are some accents around the world dropping a lot of 't' sounds (wha(t)ever), and that made me think about this great idea of raping the name Harry Potter a bit more. You know, 'Shallow' is not terrible enough to describe it.

So, let's start with the usuals. Harry Potter is still trying to kill Voldemort and for that, he is searching some bloody horcruxes. Voldemort finally realizes that his creepy life are about to end... and that's basically all that happens before the end. With a very obvious use of terribly common phrases, editions and just everything... the Harry Potter's 8th film is just a terrible, useless piece of junk.

I don't want to hurt anybody who watched this abnormally overrated thing so many years, but I truly think so many people waste their time and money. In fact, I spent no penny on watching this, and I had nothing better to do (it was this or sleeping). So I feel really really happy and proud of myself that now I'm able to write a review not only about this specific film, but about all the series.

Well, it's hard to find a place to start, but I'll talk about the books one after another, basically discussing their theme to try and express how sad I am for Harry Potter fans out there.

Yes, so the first book was basically a very nice, sweet book about a boy who is different and than he goes to a world where he is at home. That's the dream of every person... and you know what, I hate when people get blind by their feelings. The book is written terribly but it was sweet to serve little kids indeed. However, after the second book, it was pretty clear that Rowling doesn't really have any idea what she WANTS to write about, only generally that the goods win and stuff... The fourth book was the first one that showed a little development. Yay, J.K.Rowling finally got an idea about the plot. Though, the lame thing was that sadly, she used non of her ideas in the 5th book and let us go a bit earlier. No, she started to write about connections and other 'important' stuff in the 6th and 5th without really telling anything specific, just some random 'fact' or something like that (oh, and important people die, that's important you know... to kill characters and that). The 7th book was basically everything all together into a nice packing, some really bad lines and stuff happening. And than everyone dies a bit more... and happy ending with perfect picture of family standing and looking at the horizon. Obviously, with children who were called by long terrible names (I would have killed my family if they had given me such a name). Well, There was a certain theme in each book after the 5th (+1st book), so why not make it... 6 books... or even less.

Remember it this way: There is a boy named Harry, he's the boy who lived. He'll live anyway, because he's the boy who lived, not died. He tries to live normally but there is a guy wanting to kill him... and than Harry meets a few random people and makes some random friends. Random stuff happens... some action stuff... and than Harry has to fights this Voldemot guy with magic he learned in his cool school. When the time comes, Harry knows the most important stuff: There are horcruxes and than when you kill them, the main boss die. On the other hand, there are the cool item that make you a master of death... and this guy he needs to kill tries to get them. But nah, Harry potter is the boy who lived, so he has no problem. Some random action again... (Snape hook up with Harry's mum)... poof... boom... end.

If you never read Harry Potter, I just spoiled you everything you are going to read. Sorry. I am no mean to.

Now, I don't have to tells you that the movies are really trying to stay true to the book... you wont see anything else.

The good point is, like many of you would tell me probably are "the awesome special effects in Harry Potter"... ah, indeed, they are cool... special effects and stuff. My answer will be Casshern.

Can those wonderful action scenes really delete terrible acting preformed by every young actor in those series? it can't. There was one action scene in this Part 2 movie that was ruined from beginning to end because of terrible acting. I don't care a bit about action when the actors act as if they do a 5th grade play.

I wonder if they were the best ones, how were the others. They look like the characters (at least DID before growing up), but the acting point was missed.

I remember for my first play I did this mistake myself, choosing actors that look the same... but I hell hated the fact they were SO not talented and I threw them out and found better ones. I don't hell care -- not talented people shouldn't act. They are like not talented doctors. Do you want to be operated by a doctor who has no idea what he's doing? I don't, maybe you do... than I'll accept you liking them.

I can't express how happy I am that this madness is finally over... no harry potter anymore... I just hope there wont come anything worse that that... I'm too old and tired for that junk all around.

Winnie the Pooh

 ("Strange words I can not read")

Based on three of my favorite stories, this film actually was not disappointing at all. Of course, the pretty weird voice acting played a role of me less liking it, but I ensure you that the story was almost the same as the stories themselves.
They were put together in a good way, and mixed little elements from other stories... what made it very full with stuff going on.
The elements of the 'voice' (aka: narrator) explaining the things going on was kept, but this time a bit less... beautiful (remember the Tiger story?).
The animation itself was no less good than the other films, in fact it was as flowing as before.
The humor was the same as we know it, and I'm really happy no one raped it to be some nowadays terribly musical. It is innocent and nice, and that's the reason I like it so much... you watch it and get a pure adventure those sweet guys in their sweet world.
Exalent for those who like this Winnie the Pooh theme... but i don't know how much a person who's not open minded and can accept simple funny things like that would like it.
You silly old bear haha.