When You Miss Something....

So, sometimes I'll read a manga or watch an anime and suddenly something occurs to me.....I'm missing something. There is something in this plot line that is missing, and it is glaringly obvious like some kind of big, empty vortex or a hole that actually sucks up the story line into some alternate universe where it makes sense and you just can't get there...meanwhile you are left on the other side of the vortex missing that information. Alright....whatever right? Maybes its a mixed plot line where its scattered and you'll find out later? Oh no....then you see a small annotation that tells you 'refer to the video game for the PS2' and you're entire world shatters right then and there because you realize that's why you're missing the information. No it can't be like Marvel comics where the have annotations that tells you to refer to a different issue for more back story on that detail.....no it's refer to that video game. However we are anime lovers and manga readers...we are not video gamers! D: If we were would we be reading this stupid manga? No! We'd be fighting monsters on the PS2...... so now it you like the manga enough and you want to understand the story you have to go out and spend the money on the game and mow your friend's lawn in order to borrow their PS2 or mow your lawn to earn the money to buy your own PS2 and then figure out some way to earn three years worth of gaming skills in order to actually finish the game and finish the story line......or you have to look up walk throughs and trust wikipedia and gather small bits of information from around the web until you feel confident enough that you have the whole story. the sequel to the latter however is that three months later someone mentions that secret love interest or that final hidden boss that changed the plot line entirely and you are like 'What?! No! I finished that manga a week ago--......oh.....you uh......you meant from the video....the video game....ARGH!' You scream and pull out your hair and for the next three months you rely on your cosplay wigs. =.= You see? You see the horrible result from splitting story lines from video games and manga?! Balding. That is the result. Here are things that okay: -Having different story lines for the manga, the anime, the video game, and the visual novel. -Adding extra details and twists to each different version of the story. Here is what is not okay: -Intertwining them all so that if you read or watch one of the mediums you MUST partake in all the mediums in order to understand ANYTHING that is going on. A good example of this was Disgaea.....I read the manga 'Disgaea 2' you know, with Rozalin and all? Ooooh such a yummy story line for the comic romantics! However it had that annotation to refer to the video game and when I finished that volume I never picked it up again because the next part was on a video game. 0.0 this is possibly one of the most annoying things ever done to me. following in a close second is when a manga author refuses to put out more than one volume of multiple mangas and when the anime makes no sense by the end because they cut out too much and you are FORCED to read through the manga for hidded clues and details that were lost in the animation process. Thats it for today. XD The X factor, the void in so many mangas today was the topic. The conclusion? It annoys me. Very deeply. hahaha. If I wanted to play the video game I would, if I was GOOD at video games I would play them...but I'm not so I read manga and watch anime.... Have a good day guys!

Speed Grapher - Episode 1 - Outlook

So the other day I watched the first episode of Speed Grapher. I have to say....my heart stopped at a scene or two. The main character is a gritty, grungy photographer who is in love with his profession and is pretty much scraping by in a hard-time city setting where only the rich are well off and the rest of the people just have to scrape by however they can. (This reminded me of the setting for Wolf's Rain too, I guess I should review that soon. lol Anyways in Wolf's Rain its pretty much the government, the nobles, and everybody else. For the nobles the world is pretty sweet, they are rich and freaky, the government cater to the nobles, and everybody else just scrapes by as best they can in a world that is on the brink of ending it seems. ) Anyways its an exciting setting because its kind of like the opening to a private investigator show, you know with the down on his luck private investigator taking whatever jobs he can just to 'make a living in some kind of dirty city where the streets are littered with trash and the air is just like smoke unless you can afford to live he high life.' *mimics an unshaven private investigator with a drinking problem who smokes cigarettes and dips tobacco* Haha now that that's over with.

The anime seems to be for adults, in the first episode there is already extreme violence and uh...adult romantic scenes that aren't very romantic, so don't watch this if you are young and impressionable or not mature enough to handle mature content. :/ sorry.

The first episode though was really random, but not in a bad way. Sort of like it gave you a small taste of everything the anime will offer. There is a gritty photographer trying to uncover truths of the city and what not, there is a police woman who is VERY corrupt and wants to have adult, romantic scenes with the photographer, there is some kind of dancer who is also an assassin who can curl up into a ball and slingshot across the street, and finally there is a huge, underground cult especially for the rich who can pay for any kind of pleasure they want who all worship some kind of goddess who can either kill them or bestow them some kind of gift upon introduction to the 'Pleasure Seekers' society! *breathes really hard* phew that's a mouth full. Also, this anime is on Netflix, which I thought was cool. I'll admit not many great animes are on Netflix, but some are. Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne is on Netflix!

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Alright guys, this is pretty great. I remember the first time I heard about Epic Mickey from Game Informer. Immediately I went to the game stop and reserved a copy...a year and a few months later it came out, I got the phone call and picked it up! It was amazing! The game is so much fun! It is easy to learn the controls so its user friendly but it also has a fun story line that is awesome! You play as Mickey and you can either help re-built the cartoon world and save it and become the golden Mickey, or destroy the world and turn into an evil rat. Its cool because not only is it a Mickey Mouse game (I love Disney) but its the original Mickey. The mischievous, little trouble maker who was always stirring up something new. The Mickey we know and love now is really a subtracted Mickey. The other characters are characteristics they took away from Mickey, Donald has his old temper and Goofy has is only silly side, leaving Mickey as a stand up, hero character. Anyways, the game is fun and easy to learn, its also for the wii...however...its only one player... ENTER EPIC MICKEY 2: THE POWER OF TWO! ITS EPIC MICKEY WITH TWO PLAYER ACTION! YEAAAAH! So I'm pretty pumped. :) Have a great day everyone.

Disappointment: X-Men

So I know X-Men isn't an anime, but I love Marvel. I've roleplayed several times within the Marvel Universe, both in an X-Men roleplay and a Next Avengers roleplay. Well point being, its not anime, but whatever. I watched the movies and found some pictures of a fiery red-head who was just awesome....yes, Jean Grey. I think she is just awesome. That being said I have scoured the comic book sellers at anime conventions and any where else I could find and if I EVER see Jean Grey or The Phoenix: I get the comic. always. I've yet to read them.... @.@ afraid to mess them up, but still! I love her.

So I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and she wasn't ANYWHERE! I was then informed by my company at the time that Phoenix wasn't a 'main' character because she was too powerful. Whatever that means. I looked through the encyclopedia of Marvel characters though and was extremely disappointed to only find TWO PAGES on Jean Grey, then a few small excerpts....I was not happy at all. I mean she is my favorite character and several times I have bought comics thinking she would be in them: Btw WTF (what the fudge) is up with this chick Hope or whatever. :/ ? I mean seriously? She just came from nowhere and is all havin' Jean's hair color, making me think the comic had Jean or Phoenix in it....making me buy the darn comic...

So yeah that's today's post....Think about your favorite super hero and then think about how awesome Phoenix/jean Grey is and feel shamed because she is cooler. Come on, a fierce red head with nearly infinite power....yeah, she could kick your super heroes but...especially if you thought of Super Man. :P (We don't like Super Man here, we are Batman kind of people. )

So to sum things up:
~Jean Grey/ Phoenix is awesome
~She should be a main character
~I'm disappointed she isn't
~I'm annoyed with Hope Summers for making me buy comics without Jean in them
~Shame for you. :P

Haha have a great day every body.

AH! Broken Zipper On My Make-Up Bag!

AH! Broken Zipper On My Make-Up Bag!

So I'm packing and packing up all of my make up and stuff right? Well you'll never guess...well its the title so maybe you will. The part that pulls the zipped popped off, well genius me, got a key chain, took off the decoration and put the circle on the zipper to pull it with instead. Quick fix that is awesome!

Three things to keep with you for ALL emergencies at an anime convention:
1. Bobby pins (hair)
2. Safety Pins (clothes)
3. Keychains (misc. lol )

Conventions Coming up! Baking Soda V.S. Charcoal, and Instant Results (tanning)

Alright so M-TAC is coming up and I am super excited! I've gotten two big cosplays picked out and they are totally awesome. But for now I'll keep you guessing (hint hint: one of then has green hair, the other has blue)That being said make sure you start packing early and don't leave shopping until the last minuet because you may only think you need eyelashes and fake nails, but it turns out you also need another pair of yoga pants, shaving cream,more hair clips and hair bands, and a truck load of other things. My mother and I got my shopping done this weekend and my mom was amazing and she truly is spectacular when it comes to helping me out. Her first, most important rules for shopping in a hurry?
1. Get everything you possibly can at one store.
2. Make a list before going and don't get flustered or frustrated. :)

So yeah but more on that on a Convention Skills post.


Baking Soda V.S. Charcoal!
So Japan has charcoal in like EVERYTHING! They have it in odder absorbers, face wash, and even toothpaste! (AH! right?)(If you check out J-List you can see the face wash and the toothpaste lol I think they even have it in shampoo) Apparently charcoal is great for your skin because it absorbed oil and apparently it whitened and cleans your teeth like amazingly and its just great stuff. Well here in America we have Baking Soda in like EVERYTHING! We have it in tooth paste now, we use it for cooking, we use it to freshen rooms and absorb smells, and you can even make a face scrub out of it at home! (its SUPER easy, just mix some baking soda with a little bit of water to make a thick, rough paste and scrub your face off with it. Baking soda is used to extract poison from bee stings, well it does the same thing for you face. it absorbs oil and gets out all of the 'poisons' in your face and pore and stuff. I just used it, scrubbed my face with it and it was AWESOME!) So my question is....which has more uses? Charcoal or Baking Soda? ...something to think about for later.. hmmm. (haha coming soon)

Get your bathing suits on, we're staying inside!
Most of us who watch anime and play video games and what not don't make a lot of time for like, sunlight, and we don't really notice how light our skin gets....until you have to wear short shorts for a cosplay at a convention. 0.0 Then you're like 'HOLY CRAP I GOTTA GET SOME SUN!' or 'HOLY GUACAMOLE I GOTTA GET TO THE TANNING BED BATMAN!' of course getting a natural suntan can take weeks, and doesn't work for some people if their skin is just naturally too light and they don't tan well, and come on...a tanning bed? They are sooo expensive and even then it takes a couple of visits. If you've only got a week left, neither of those will work. So what do you do? Read Anime Lovers Delight because I have the answer! Last year I only had two weeks and my mom gave me some Jergens lotion that gradually got your skin darker, I could tell a difference, but it took a lot longer than two weeks and I had to do it EVERY NIGHT before I went to bed and some of use aren't great with remembering to do that. So here's what I did this year, I got this 'spray tan' from Neutrogena. (MicroMist Sunless Tanning) Now I know that when someone says spray tan everyone freaks out because no one wants to be orange, well I am NOT orange and I just did it. :)

So my legs are SUPER pale and the sunless tanning actually made them look, normal. lol It was great. I took a shower and dried off then sprayed on the MicroMist -following the directions on the bottle- and two hours later (it darkens over a period of two hours)well I did another coat two hours later, but now they are looking great! I'm probably going to do ONE more layer but just so that I'm all like goddessy like with my tan at the convention. haha!

We all like instant results, but sometimes you have to wonder if they are really worth it? Well yes, this instant result was great. :) I'm not orange and I don't have any like drip marks or anything. I am extremely pleased and I hope you will be too if you try it out.

Absent: Convention Stuff! (Where to Buy Cosplays and Wigs)

Hey guys, so I bet you've noticed I've been a little absent lately, what with the AMV of the week not being posted up for two weeks in a row. I'm sorry about that, by the way, but you should all know that M-TAC is coming up soon! Yay! So What with last week being my spring break and all I took advantage of every little second I could to prepare for the convention. I'm going up with a group this year and we are doing a group cosplay of Kingdom Hearts. (I'm playing Aqua, yay!) I also went ahead and got together my costume for Rin from Rin: D.o.N. So this is all pretty exciting. We are leaving for the convention Thursday morning. (Early Thursday morning...really early Thursday morning =.=) But that's great because usually I go up Friday morning and get there Friday afternoon and I miss like, a few whole HOURS of convention time so this year is absolutely amazing! Sure I have to miss a day or school (or two) but it is sooo worth it!

So that's my excuse for the lack of posting lately and again I am very sorry for that.

But! Never fear I have some useful information here! (haha rhyming) Now if you didn't have time to get your cosplay together you can rush order one at the last minuet. Yes, buying cosplays are expensive, but you can wear it for all the other conventions you go too and for halloween! :D Sooo maybe you can rationalize it like that. Either way, no matter where you get your cosplay the price will be a little expensive, most tend to run from about 100$ to 150$, but you may as well get a high quality one since you're going to be paying so much anyways. :P

Cosplay House
I've ordered a few costumes from Cosplay House and they were really high quality, I have to say that I loved all of them! For instance, Yuki from Vampire Knight, if you've examined her costume on the show or in the manga, you'd notice that there are a lot of little details on it. A LOT of teeny tiny details and on my costume they were perfect. Also, the buttons on my costume were made of plastic, but they looked like real metal, and the small spike things WERE real metal. So you can go to www.cosplayhouse.com and order a costume there! However you should contact them first before payment and make sure your costume is in stock and that it will reach you in time. Because sometimes they have to make it if you order it custom made or something and well, that takes time :/

Cosplay Magic:
I also ordered my most recent costume, Aqua from Kingdom Hearts, from Cosplay Magic and I LOVED IT! If I was more patient I would have ordered it in a custom size because my his are wide but my bust..uh..isn't. So, since cosplays run a little small most of the time, I ordered a size up, which was great because the pants fit me perfect, but my mom has to take the top in a little...(a lot. She has to take it in a lot alright?! DX ) (haha) But the costume is super high quality and I am absolutely in love with it! The detail is amazing and I think it is really exquisite. Again, contact them and make sure you're costume is in stock and can reach you with a rush order. The website is www.cosplaymagic.com so yeah, go check it out.

Warnings:

So there are a few things to keep in mind when you order a costume online:
1. You want to make sure you can see a REAL picture of the costume instead of just a picture of the character. Otherwise you don't exactly know how the costume is going to look.
2. Once you've seen the costume just do a little bit of examination and make sure that its what you want. You can scope around the internet and see if there is a better costume and compare and contrast pros and cons about each one. I recently tried to find the Beatrice 'Golden Witch Party Dress' and I hated most of them and I wasn't going to order a costume I hated :P but some of them were good. It just goes to show you that some costumes are high quality and some aren't.
3. I know I am vouching for these websites, but still make sure you check out the costume before you buy it. I can't promise that all their costumes are high quality, just most from my experience.
4. SIZING! Sizing is one of the most frustrating things to deal with, luckily there are usually some kind of sizing chart. This chart will help you measure yourself and show you were to measure specifically, and from there you an see which size you should order. Like I said, cosplays tend to run a little small, so while you may wear a size 12 jeans you could wear a size 14 pair of leather short shorts for the cosplay. =.=

Remember- Don't be discouraged if you are a little too big or a little too small, the point of cosplaying is to have fun. I'm not exactly small myself, but we are all shaped differently and are ALL beautiful! :) So yeah, order your costume and have a great time.


Other Sites:
Now then, if neither of these sites really have what you want, go online and look at Ebay or Amazon, you might get lucky. :) (www.ebay.com or www.amazon.com) Make sure you read the description of the item and see some details pictures though, you'd hate to buy a cosplay on ebay then it turn out to be torn or something. And finally you can always try google. :/ I hate using google for cosplay searches though....millions of sites to sift through =.= but yeah, happy hunting. :)



Wigs:
Usually I go ahead and order an official cosplay wig but they can get pretty pricey, especially if they are very long or styled. You can usually find wigs from reliable sellers by searching google or going to a cosplay site, but if you only plan to wear the wig once stock up when halloween comes around. Sure Halloween wigs are really low quality, but they are cheap and if you have to dye it or straighten it or something, then you don't have to worry about wasting money. However I like to get high quality thigns that I can use more than a few times, so I went out to a wig and beauty store near me and bought my Rin and Aqua wig there. The Aqua wig isn't the PERFECT color and its a little long, but I can easily get it styled by my hair stylist. My Rin wig is also a little short, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Again, let me remind you, buying a wig can be a little expensive, but if its high quality, its worth it.

And that's about it for now.