Upon announcement of the Singapore Toys and Comics Convention, there was a shockwave sent throughout the Singaporean Otaku Community.This awakened many of the denizens of the Otaku World from their long slumber, and the call to arms was sounded.On the first day of the summoning, forces from many circles gathered. Shin of Atarashii Prelude arrived in full Kyon~ko fanboy mode, and Soshi from Tachikomatic Days so gracefully attended.Soon after, on the second day of the summoning, many were called, and many answered. Double, Head of NERV Singapore and Panther, Clan leader of Team Blue and Cynic Extraordinaire!Also summoned were Hirito, Doujin Connoisuer and KyoAni fanboy. Dead Snake, THE REAL SOLID SNAKE. Fariz Asuka, Miku's Official protector and *cough* FANBOY *cough*PP of Otakurean answered the summons, destroying all barriers and piercing through dimensions to arrive at the convention! Sam of Squee's Junkyard came too, in V-Kei fashion and all.And unexpectadly, divine intervention in the form of DARKMIRAGE descended upon the STCC. And truly a formidable force had been assembled.I spin you a yarn now, of a tale many have forgotten (possibly due to the absolutely outrageous queue wtf) and only some remember.So come closer, sit around the fire, and hear a tale of how the denizens of the Otaku Underworld rose to claim the mantle of the world.[END EPIC TALE HERE]AND HERE'S HOW IT REALLY WENT.At 1.30 pm, I met the Lord Cynic extraordinaire, Panther, along with Sam and a friend of mine, all ready for the convention, at City Hall MRT.Arriving at the event, it was prettty much like Day 1, except maybe a little better managed. (The queue wan't a bloody anaconda, at the very least.)Upon sighting of cosplayers, epic outdoorshots were taken, but not by me, as my Camera and my Shaky Hands are MADE of fail.I took indoor shots instead, since many of the cosplayers were concentrated inside, at any rate.However, I did manage to get this shot of the fighting legion of the 501st. Seeing as I always used to love Star Wars (and still do) to take a picture of the series' most iconic cannon fodder was not to be missed ^^But, that aside, let's begin proper, shall we?Gundam done THREE KINGDOMS STYLECurteosy of Bandai Ent!AS YOU SAY GOOD SIR.(Also, this is shooped, and therefore it said NOT TOUCH)Also on display by Bandai Ent were figurines! From Neon Genesis Evangelion!Shielding an INVISIBLE SHINJI FROM A INVISIBLE RAMMIEL.LANCE OF LONGINUS AND BLUE PAINT GET!I forgot what booth this was. orzRei + Lance = STICKITIN.Onto the actual cosplay ^^Naruto compels you to watch Animax! DO EET NAO.Seriously, out of most of the cosplayers there, my hat goes off to whoever played Hatsune Miku, seriously.I was never a huge Voc@loid fan, not as much as Fariz at any rate, but still, it was awesome cosplay. She even got down Japanese for her self-introduction at the Cosplay Competition! Two frikkin' thumbs up!The costume's detal was pretty frickin' good too. HER SLEEVES PULSE WITH LIGHT. WINNAR.IMO, she deserved the Cosplay Competition's first placing. WELL DESERVED MIKU-CHAN, YOU'VE ATTAINED YOUR HAPPINESS.CONGRATS MIKU-CHAN ^^Sakura and Syaorun from CardCaptor Sakura!CLOW CARDS BE WHAR?This picture. It has won.Help me ID what character he is and you get a cookie.I KNEW IT.SAVE THE SOUL OF THIS PITIFUL AKUMA.LEEKSABER.DON'T MESS WITH POWA.Simca from Air Gear as a Judge!MAI WAHHHFUUUUUUU~ Also, HAI SHIRLEY.And that's a wrap! Pretty decent cosplay and a well-deserved winner! A success for a first time, even if crowd control and event management need to get their act together.And then it's COSFEST next week, at DOWNTOWN EAST. HOPEFULLY MY OTHER WAIFUS KAGAMI AND REI WILL BE THAR. ^^
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Paku Romi 朴璐美 -- played Loran Cehack in Turn A Gundam, Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Oosaki Nana in NANA -- stage actress with Theatre Group En -- tough, calm, forceful (both her characters and herself) -- won first annual seiyuu award as top female seiyuu -- Korean ancestry -- 36 years old near the top of the seiyuu A-list -- 93 anime roles in a ten-year career: Loran Cehack (Turn A Gundam) Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) Temari (Naruto) Ueki Kousuke (Ueki's Law) Oosaki Nana (NANA) Teresa (Claymore) Haraken (Dennou Coil) Ayumi (Shion no Oh) Yuuki (Itazura na Kiss) Kuchiha (Amatsuki) Popo (Kaiba) 044 (Ultraviolet: Code 044) -- won first annual Seiyuu Award for best female lead of 2006, for rocker Nana in NANA -- has enormous range: plays a ten-year-old boy in Itazura na Kiss, and will play a genetically altered female warrior in Ultraviolet: Code 44 -- but hasn't played any sweet girls in recent years; her characters tend to be tough and forceful, sometimes boys or young men who are mature beyond their years; sometimes tough and aggressive women. other activities -- dubs foreign film and TV: 68 roles -- is the voice of Hilary Swank in most of her films, and of Mila Jovovich in many of hers -- has acted in 15 stage plays -- has done over 35 drama CDs -- has been in 58 games (all all-ages) Korean background -- Japanese of Korean descent: father second generation in Japan, mother from Korea -- went to elementary, middle, and high school at Wayo Konodai Girs' School in Chiba -- studied drama at two-year college: Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music -- studied Korean at Yonsei University in Seoul -- she lists her special skills as piano, swimming, Shaolin fighting, and Korean language -- born 22 January 1972 strong determination -- the day before recording started on Turn A Gundam, she was in an accident, breaking her leg and cutting her lip, but she was determined to show up for work anyway. -- on the final day of a stage performance, she tore a ligament in her wrist -- for a Fullmetal Alchemist fan event, she had a high fever, but appeared anyway. it took her several tries to even get out a word. who she is -- in Shaman King, she got a chance to work with two of the seiyuu she admired most: Hayashibara Megumi and Takayama Minami (Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service) -- she seems forceful and sometimes mischievous, but basically serious and kind. -- she can be slyly funny and talk dirty with Kugimiya Rie, then be quiet and serious with the interviewers on NHK's Anime Giga. her name -- her surname is the Korean "Pak", which becomes "Paku" in Japanese. -- her given name Romi 璐美 is written with kanji that mean "Jade Beauty" -- the first kanji 璐 "[beautiful] jade" of her given name is unusual, and isn't available in the most common Japanese character sets for the computer (Unicode does have it). -- proper way to write "Paku Romi": 朴璐美 -- ways it is written: ぱくろみ, 朴路美, 朴王路美, パクロミ, 朴瑠美, 朴ロ美 charity event -- she was a guest performer at a charity event last weekend, in support of the blind -- she and other seiyuu read from the Tale of Genji and other works -- some other names involved: Kamiya Hiroshi, Konishi Katsuyuki, Seki Tomokazu, Orikasa Fumiko, Taniyama Kishou, Koshimizu Ami singer -- has put out several music CDs -- music video (PV) -- audio from her "Fight!" CD, put out with Miyano Mamoru -- cover versions of anime music (uploaded by houkoholic) TV interviews -- Fullmetal Alchemist seiyuus (Kugimiya Rie, et al.) -- Dennou Coil seiyuus (Kuwashima Houko, et al.) -- conversation with Kugimiya Rie Romi takes control and they spin yuri stories together about her wanting to sleep with Rie and wanting to come home and find Rie wearing only an apron. They are friends, since playing brothers in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Rie has stayed at Romi's place and eaten her Korean cooking. Shakespeare -- Paku-san played Desdemona in Theatre Group En's performance of Shakespeare's Othello links -- home page -- Japanese Wikipedia page -- English Wikipedia page -- Anime News Network page -- radio show with Seki Tomokazu (her ninth radio show) -- search YouTube for Paku Romi (in Japanese; in English) Kugimiya Rie conversation And finally, just for laughs, here are some subtitled screencaps from the Paku-Kugimiya interview mentioned earlier, in which they spin an entertaining yuri fantasy:
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Well the first day of the Toys & Comics Con is over...and it sucked. I am going to be totally blunt and honest here - it sucked. Seriously. Did I say it sucked? Well, if I did not, then it sucked. Yes. It was that bad. Photo-intensive post. You have been forewarned. Click on them to enlarge. First of all the bunch of met up at the prearranged spot and the small group of us moved towards the con. When we arrived, there was, as expected, a hell of a long queue. We had to squeeze all the way in front of the zigzag queue (which stretched the whole length of the floor 1.5 times, I think it was at least 100-150 meters in length, the floor, probably more) just to ask where the queue for the pre-registered participants were. Then we were forced to follow the queue all the way to the back, and then move back up almost halfway before we found the end of the queue. Something like 30-40 minutes passed while in the queue, and ironically enough, the non-registered participants' queue moved faster than preregistered. Whatever happened to "just give your email and name and go"? In the end, some dude came out and said "No need to register! All just go!" Well done. So, Suntec management, did you get your balls screwed on right? Oh wait, you had none. Or was it the event organizers that failed big time? Seriously. Get your minds made up, and get some planning done before the event, not during. We surged into the con, though we were missing a few folks. The missing folks then joined up with us a short time later after getting their passports, which really were unnecessary by that time. The bunch of us then were Squee, Fariz and his brother Infestor51, Biggu Gai and his friend Kenny, and Dead Snake. The remainder of us who had not gotten our passports then went to get it for the heck of it. We then headed back to the con. Obviously the first (and quite possibly the second best) thing I spotted was this cute girl at the Nintendo Wii booth, and quite obviously, I asked for a picture of her. I suck at photography, so, sorry for the blur picture. Certainly, I did her injustice with this ultra fail shot. She still remained the only girl that was worthy of any attention there after I went through the entire con by the way. Strangely though, the lighting was good at the con, but I only got like, 30 workable pictures and some of them were forced issues. The pictures used in this post come from both my camera and Dead Snake's TCC set, thank him for the better pictures, he was using a Nikon dSLR. A shot from Dead Snake's set. I somehow missed this little nekomimi. She looks familiar, can anyone identify her? I did take two with the girl, but Gai was taking for me and my camera came out with blurred pictures, so I scrapped them. Also I took one with a Stormtrooper that walked by, it might have been Danny in disguise...but actually he was from the 501st Garrison (more below). The shot above is from Dead Snake. No idea why but mine was blur too. Whoever took the shots of me and the girl, and with the Stormtrooper, will be knee-struck. So after that we started walking around taking a few random shots. In order not to bore everyone here are a few of what I took. You can view the full album here if you like. Another trooper. No idea what it is called in the series. Gundam form of Guan Yu. This was at Ban Dai's booth. Some American toys. I think this was at Rapid Culture's booth. What it said. To Infinity and Beyond! While a few of us lined to go into the Star Wars booth, which had a walkthrough, I decided to wander around the entire con and snap pictures of what I thought was interesting and to see whether the con had anything else to offer aside from major fail. I was not disappointed. Toy-selling at 3 Kings...whatever that is. Lego! Domo-kun and friends. Predator prop for movie. Obviously fake, but still good. More pictures of other props at my album. I did meet up with the guys at Collateral Damage Studios, here are two pictures that were "saved". Great guys with great artwork, though I only saw one or two to my fancy that I wanted...and neither was on sale. The guys at CDS. Sorry I never got your names. Their table at their booth, with the catalogue in view. At the start I mentioned that the Wii girl was nearly the best thing at the con. What I deem to be the best thing, and I have no idea why I failed to ask if it could be bought, was this picture. Yes, this is also the first picture used at the start of this post, I took two slightly different shots. Dammit, now that I think back, why did I not ask if it could be bought? This image was just, wow. Lovely girl. Some more pictures from mine and DS' set. Also some of them are from the 501st Garrison, which did Star Wars cosplay at the event itself of the Stormtroopers (one was shown above), and a Darth Vader (whom I missed). Darth Vader. 501st Garrison booth. Stuff at the 501st Garrison booth. Not sure if they were being sold though. This was in their display case. Ultraman cosplay. No idea what the guy beside him is doing. Walked about an hour or less and ended back up at the Wii booth, no prizes as to guessing why. 2 girls that were asked, maybe even hired, by the Wii booth's boss (not shown, check my last picture in my album) to play. He did not just allow anyone to play at this particular one either, it was in the center surrounded by other Wii machines, one of which also had a GH3 game for sample play. Actually I stopped at the bigger Wii booth, they had like, two to three with different kinds of games. And of course, having played Guitar Heroes 2 (X360), I was naturally interested in what GH3 had to offer, and Wii does have that game. So I was there all the way, watching people play and waiting for CI and his friend, who both arrived around 1+. Gordon was also in the con around this time, but we never met up. When CI said he had no intention of leaving I then left with DS to Kallang Leisure Park to have lunch and collect my Yoko from La Tendo (finally). Slightly closer shot of the 2 girls playing GH3. I then headed to Bugis while DS went home. Unfortunately I did not manage to get snapshot of Zer0kage from DC.com, whom I met but did not manage to play with. Farp did a vinyl sticker for him of Blanc Neige hotness, for his X360 joystick, I so want one now. Never judge a book by its cover. This guy completed a bonus song (read: difficult) on Medium, which by itself was considered a feat compared to almost everyone who tried GH3. I did play many games in SC but I left with Zero and gang around 8. It was fun chatting with the folks again and playing, but it is time to stop going there for good for some time...since I am expecting to be spending a lot on figures this year. A young photographer in the making who bumped into me. Damn, but he was cute. I will be headed back to the con tomorrow but I still expect major fail. If anyone still is going, I am headed there with more members of Team Blue, but the meeting time has been pushed back to 1:30 PM since going early has no benefits anyway. Well if the image I mentioned above still exists, then I will get it...if possible. I do not give high hopes for any convention held locally though. Because management sucks. That is all...and local cons usually suck. I say usually, because there may still be gems of hope...who am I kidding? Guitar Hero (not), Panther
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link. Bento T-shirt - "Japan Friends of Bento Club" Girls' Fitted version. Ah, bento, the delicious and visually pleasing Japanese traditional boxed lunch. We've made a T-shirt just for our bento-loving female customers, which proclaims you to be a member of the Japan Friends of Bento Club. A delicious looking fitted T-shirt that comes in "wasabi" color. Lucky Star Perfect Guide. Fans of the anime Lucky Star will enjoy this great art book, the "perfect guide" that give you all the information and beautiful visuals on the characters you want. Hello Kitty Pancake Pan. Next time you're sitting around the house bored, why not make Hello Kitty pancakes? This awesome Kitty-chan shaped pan is perfect for making pancakes in the shape of everyone's favorite Japanese feline. This is one of those "J-List was put on this Earth to sell" kind of cool items we like so much. Nintendo Doubutsu-no-mori Bento Set ~ Box & Chopsticks & Lunch Bag This is a really cool bento box and accessory set from the Nintendo Doubutsu no Mori (aka Animal Crossing) that you will love. Includes everything you need to have some seriously fun Animal Crossing bento times. Rilakkuma Mug Cup. Rilakkuma, aka Relax Bear, is the top character from the San-X character company, who we like to think of as the anti-Sanrio. This is a really cool coffee cup that comes in a protective box. Revoltech No.38 Super Valkyrie VF-1A Movie ver. 25th Limited Edition ~ Macross. Wow, is all I can say to this super detailed Revoltech toy that's based on the VF-1A Skull Valkyrie piloted by Hikaru Ichijo in the 1984 Macross movie. Normally available as an exclusive only from Revoltech's main company store, we got them to give us a few units. Includes all "super" armor, alternative weapons and missiles, and dozens of potential poses you can strike. I got one of these for my birthday and I've had tons of fun with it. Animage June 2008 vol. 360. Animage is one of the top anime magazines from Japan, filled with visuals of Japan's hottest anime series, as free posters from Lucky Star, Gundam and more. We have several copies of this issue in stock today. Back Ground Visual Material 1 -- Factory District. The fantastic photobook of "factory moe" (mo-EH) or enjoying the dystopian imagery of big, metallic factories in all their beauty, is back in stock today. Japanese Temple's Donation Box Coin Bank. Here's a really cool item: a wooden coin bank designed to look like the offering boxes in Buddhist temples. How cool is that? Sakura Business Card Holder, Magatama Phone Straps. Enjoy some uniquely Japanese items today, including more metal business card cases that feature cherry blossom styling on the outside, as well as authentic magatama or curved Japanese beads you can you on your phone, keys, camera etc. Fun with Hiragana ~ Sutekina Hiragana. The first place to start learning Japanese is, of course, learning hiragana, the fundamental writing system of the language. This is a fun book to help you get started. Hello Kitty Bento Boxes, Onigiri Makers. Bringing rare and unique Hello Kitty products to our customers all around the world is extremely important to us around here, and today we've gotten in several Hello Kitty bento boxes, for every type of Sanrio fan. Also, fresh stock of those Hello Kitty Onigiri Makers, which shape rice into awesome Hello Kitty shapes. Totoro 3D Bento Boxes, More. We've restocked both of the popular My Neighbor Totoro bento boxes today, as well as the "Trio Set" that gives you a spoon, fork and chopsticks for your bento. There's something good and organic about Totoro that makes food taste better. Hakufu Sonsaku 1/6 Figure School Swimsuit ver.~ Dragon Destiny *Preorder*. There's something about a fighting kung-fu girl wearing a swimsuit that sets a man's heart aflutter. Here's a great large 1/6 scale figure of Hakufu from Ikki Tousen featuring the girl in a tempting pose indeed. FUURIN ~ Japanese Summer Bell " SMILE ". Make your summer happier with this Japanese wind chime that features a smiley face along with a lower section on a string that sways back and forth in the wind, making a pleasing sound. BLUE DRAGON Clear File, Pencil Board, More. J-List has restocked some cool Blue Dragon items, including the "clear file" document protector, plastic pencil boards and more. We also have that dreamy Blue Dragon bento box that is highly recommended. Pen'z Gear -- PG-010 Geometric Cube Green. Also, we have some brand new pens that are great for trying the fun sport of pen spinning, with adjustable weights in the ends to make them go. Oh, you can also write them them. Poison -- Sayaka Ando. Sayaka Ando is back again with her glossy new photobook Poison, filled with amazing photographs of this delicious Japanese goddess showing you how beautiful she can be. This fantastic photobook is 1.5x the thickness of most other books, too. Highly recommended item. Lightning Warrior Raidy Manga. Also, we've restocked the excellent anthology of stories about Raidy, the sword-welding female warrior who fights to bravely in the hit title Lightning Warrior Raidy. Enjoy both the manga and the game! Amane Shiratori Cast Off 1/7 Figure ~ The Nurses You don't Know. Wow, man, just wow. This is a "cast off" figure (meaning you can reconfigure her clothing) based on Toshihide Sano's gorgeous nurse Amane Shiratori, from his current art book and game. In stock and ready for your immediate order! Yulia 1/5 Cast Off Figure ~ Yulia 100-Shiki *Preorder*. A super cast-off figure from the sexy manga Yulia 100-shiki (Yulia Type 100), this is Yulia, a robotic pleasure doll that also cooks and cleans. Buy the preorder figure now.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

A: They are the only two anime in anidb that have the “white devil” tag Some point in recent history, anidb added a tags system for anime. In my experience, these kinds of things are usually hilarious. The ones on IMDB are pretty amusing, because you can search for all the movies that have [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Tired of the old Seven Swords System, Exia got himself some some new swords.Click here to check out Exia’s new swordsThe first pic is The Grand Slam from Strike Gundam + I.W.S.P.Clare’s claymoreSephiroth’s MasamuneCloud’s Buster SwordThe Excaliburs from Sword Impulse GundamTwin blades from Strike Noir Gundam. Looks boring.Huge sword from Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L. Forgot the name.My favourite out of the 7. The colour matches as well.Click here to hide<script language="Javascript">function doHide(myid) {if (document.getElementById("para" + myid)) {document.getElementById("para" + myid).style.display = "none";}} function doShow(myid) {if (document.getElementById("para" + myid)) {document.getElementById("para" + myid).style.display = "";}} function doScroll(myid) {if (document.getElementById("para" + myid)) {document.getElementById("para" + myid).scrollIntoView(true);}}</script>
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

This post is a response to Daniel’s post on mecha as genre. I think going down his line of abstraction is a little too much. I mean, yeah, once you boil it down a Gundam is just a projection of one’s earthly desires into heroism. Why does Superman fly? Why is Nono topless? The difference is [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

I didnt check my blog stats but probably all my visitor think this blog is dead or probably dead.Havent got the time and energy to update since I start working. At the moment, I got about 6-7 projects on hand and practically exhausted most of the evening when I reached home.Anyway, I finally start assembling the MG Gundam Destiny which my bro gave me as a birthday gift back in Feb. Finished the body and the right arm.Currently watching only a few anime like; Code Geas R2, Soul Eater and Macross. Just pick up Dragon Destiny Guardian (Gee, they didnt even bother to sensor this time). By the way, over the last few months, I watched through One Piece, 359 chapters of them!As for manga, still the same; Cross Game and Tsubasa Chronicles. Glad that Hatsukoi Limited has finished, not really a fan apart from the female character designs. As usual, Conan and AMG are long-winded series that belong to never-ending story catergory. Air Gear, I only browse through when very bored.Ok, to the purpose of this post. Remember when 4 Mega Pixels was such a high-edge technology back in around 4 years ago? back then, 3.2M was the norm and I bought the Ixus 40 of 4Mpixels. It has served me very well, especially when I take photos of kids and need to be fast. Well, it has been years and I have decided to get a new one, an IXUS 85 IS, the slimest canon so far. It's a 10 Megapixel digital camera with latest tech such as image stabilizer, motion detectionand image noise reduction. I have also asked my bro to get an 8Gb SDHC memory card. Maybe I'll retake my figure or Gundam shot in near future to see the difference. ^^So a tribute to my old camera and a welcome to my new camera.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

I love mecha. This is acceptable I guess, coming from a guy with an engineering background. For absolutely no particular reason, today I’m gonna hand these personal awards to the following series: The Tech Award: Gundam 00 First of all, Gundam 00 is the first ever Gundam to actually put in effort to make… sense. The age old [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

So I was just thinking the other day, wondering who the voice actors for TTGL were going to be. Since Bandai liscensed it, I instantly thought of Gundam Wing, and next thing I know, I have the image of Scott McNeil(Duo Maxwell’s voice) saying “Who the hell do you think I am?” Not the best image [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)