Shiokara-Bushi/ Squid Sisters Melody: Lyrics and information

Squid Sisters: The iconic pop due of Splatoon

Splatoon, the one game I bought an entire system for, just recently came out with their CD soundtrack aptly named Splatune.

Within the 2 CD soundtrack you get various songs and SFX from the game. Mainly you get most of the multiplayer/lobby songs on the first disk. While the second disk is filled with the Splat-Fest, single player campaign, and special SFX and two special songs. But out of everything I was most excited for the Squid Sister battle song. The song's tittle is actually called Shikoara Bushi.

Shiokara-Bushi or Sea O' Colors Bushi is an interesting title itself. Shiokara deals with Sea O' Colors, or what the Squid Sisters are known as in Japanese and bushi is the suffex for folk songs in Japanese, but along the word simply stands for melody. Either way, bushi can be used in both context on this CD soundtrack, since we do get an alternative, or rather a more traditional version of the song.

Track 19: Shiokara-Bushi
Track 35: Shiokara-Bushi (Traditional)

The traditional version of Shiokara-Bushi is more what you would hear during a festival; taiko, shamisen, and the flute along with the singing of the song and bursts of traditional chanting show how varied the song actually is. Though on the tracklist it is just the one I typed above but when putting it in my player you get an interesting title, Ganso Seicho Shiokara-Bushi (which contains kanji I don't know the entire meaning) but people have translated it to Original Traditional Salted Fish Melody. I'll go look up the kanji later and see if the common translation is accurate.

But honestly, that isn't the thing that I was the most excited for. The lyrics are in the booklet. Here is a picture of the lyrics that I took, it may not be the best; but here it is.

Shiokara-Bushi lyrics: In hiragana only

From what I can gather, this is a bunch of gibberish, but I'm not exactly sure; there are no words I can actually pick up to translate and there is no actual sentences and verbs or anything. But I'm not exactly sure.

I initially bought the CD soundtrack just for this single track, but I haven't listened to everything yet. I will make an actual review once I listen to the entire 2 CD soundtrack. But I do actually like the music in Splatoon, so most likely this purchase wasn't bad for me.

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma-Overview

Out of all of the current Weekly Shonen Jump series that I'm currently reading, none hits closer to home than; Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. Since being a Shueisha title it is printed in English by Viz, but this is one title I am glad they translated and put out into English.

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma Volume 1 Cover

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma deals with a story of a young boy by the name of Soma Yukihira who works in the kitchen of his father's restaurant. Soma's lineage of working in a common place kitchen restaurant leads people to believe he's not an actual cook and deals with common place food and has no ideals of traditional cooking techniques or even the grace of actual lineage.

Soma by the request of his father, encourages his son to leave the nest and safety net of Yukihira (the family restaurant bears the same name as the family) and join Japan's top cooking school Totsuki Academy. Passing his exams and being a bit haughty during the entrance ceremony leads Soma to have a bad reputation among many classmates, but throughout the manga it is emphasized that those without the ability to make their dreams reality and who will not keep pushing forward are going to be expelled and not worth it. And with a final graduation rate of only 10%, Totsuki Academy makes good word on what they say.

While many traditional shounen pieces depict leveling up and traditional battles Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma does their battling in the kitchen akin to Iron Chef (the good one, the one made in Japan). The actual title in the English release being called Food Wars most likely stems from the meaning of the Japanese work Shokugeki. While I have never heard the word before this manga, shoku means food and geki can be used for fighting with weapons, or weaponry itself.

But within these battles aren't just a way to test which dish reigns supreme, they come with some of the highest risks imaginable. Whenever a Shokugeki is decided people put things or even themselves on the line, therefore creating more tension within the actual story. While the Shokugeki isn't used very much within the start of the manga, it is used over and over and is a central point of all deciding factors within Totsuki Academy.

 A group of first year students from Totsuki Academy

The characters in in this manga are varied within the manga, the image is just a small sample of how varied the characters are; people are various body sizes and ages. You won't get characters mixed up which is a great thing, because now a days distinct characters are a good thing since I remember reading a lot of manga and getting various characters confused because of how similar they look in both body and face.

This manga is a breath of fresh air in the shounen genre, while it has it's serious moments and some ideas not grounded in reality, it strikes a good balance between the two. If you like cooking manga like Bambino or What Did You Eat Yesterday, this might be a manga to look into picking up. As a currently weekly publication, it currently is on about Chapter 138 in the WSJ print and Volume 9 in English print. Just be warned that there are ecchi themes within the manga, so that's just something you have to deal with.

ONE's One-Punch Man

One-Punch Man, or commonly called One-Pan Man (pronounced Wanpan Man); is a hilarious web comic created by a person who goes by the name of ONE. But to be honest...Most people do not notice his work because it gets overshadowed by Yusuke Murata's redrawing of the comic. But is this actually a bad thing? In ways it really is, because it seems that people cannot appreciate ONE's creation of his story.

Many people cite ONE's problems as not drawing as well as Murata, which is kind of obvious. You're pitting a pro against a person whose just drawing a web comic, an is a manga artist as a hobby. Most people can only cite ONE's art as the problem, which to me is somewhat a valid comment but at the same time I have a slight inkling that people are spoiled and demand for "beautiful art". But is wanting beautiful art such a bad thing? To me yes and no. For someone who has been reading manga and watching anime for a long time, you see how styles change and evolve; the switch from 90's style to the current 00's style is vastly different.

But back to ONE and his web comic, it's not bad. Sure it does look simple at times and anyone thinks that they can draw better than him, but once you get further along you see the progress he has, and how good he is at drawing detailed scenes and fighting now.

Taken from the One-Punch Man web comic

Even though it's just rocks falling all over, the composition in the piece does show that ONE does know what he is doing. There is focus in the piece and shows that he does know what exactly what he is doing.

Taken from the One-Punch Man web comic

Also thanks to ONE we have the beloved main character Saitama, who looks dull and boring but just wants to have fun being a hero. But it isn't just that fact at all, ONE's story contributes much to the characters; how they act and how they interact with the world around them.

Taking that credit away from him, just because his art isn't the most amazing and visually pleasing out there is a disservice to One-Punch Man, to ONE, and to Murata as well. Murata is a fan of ONE's work and has done a few collaborations with him. But based on his stories alone, ONE is an amazing story teller getting his story Mob Psycho 100 picked up and serialized on the internet from Weekly Shounen Sunday.

If you ever get a chance to read One-Punch Man or Mob Psycho 100 by ONE, try to look past the art if you can and see how story telling is done, and how a good story can just grab you and makes you want to read more.

Odin Sphere HD release for Playstation Family

Odin Sphere:Leifdrasir

Odin Sphere is getting a new HD remake called Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir, which is going to be amazing. The reason why it is going to be amazing is because it's a remake of a vastly beloved game from a small developer, but every game this company has pumped out has been amazing as a whole and when you look at each part. 

Vanillaware, founded by former Atlus employees and spearheaded by George Kamitani have created a very niche visual artscape and game design that isn't very much dealt with in Japanese games now a days. George Kamitani from the games he has produced takes a love of fantasy and a love of food; which only increases the visual punch the games have. Though eating in his games serve a purpose not many games will have you do the physical act of consuming or making food; which is odd since food is necessary to our survival.

But back to the remake at hand, an HD remake is going to be a good thing for this game as it lets more people play this game, or for people like me; have a physical copy with a modern console. Also Vanillaware is still including the standard PS2 version in the remake if you want to play the original game, which is a very stellar and stand up thing that they did regarding their own IP.

Main Characters and their voice actors

The game is being released in Japan and North America for sure. For Japan it's being released in January 14, 2016 and is going to be on the whole current Playstation family; PS3. PS4, and PS Vita. Japan also has an accessory pack for the game as well that includes a pouch. I'm not exactly sure what the images are going to be but it's a standard accessory pack that Japan releases.

I reserved the Japanese version for the PS Vita and the accessory pack as I really enjoy buying my games on the PS Vita and having physical copies. Once the English version gets released I will make sure to buy the English version for the PS3 and most likely the PS Vita again. My only hope is that Atlus doesn't force an English only dialogue on the game, as they have a nasty habit of not giving Japanese language dialogue on games.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the Hype is REAL

It's not a con, it's real guys, it's REAL. Final Fantasy 7 is going to be remade for the PS4, with the chances of it eventually being multi-platform as well.

When Final Fantasy 7 came out, that was the time I was already living in Japan. At first I found it really hard to make friends. I was in another country, so mom bought me a playstation and a few games, one of them being Final Fantasy 7. Through this game, through gaming I was able to meet lots of friends.

I remember one thing fondly, and it's going to be the oddest thing too. It was the weekend and I was playing up in my room during the summer, really hot day and the floor was super hot. But I was in Sector Six, specifically the Wall Market area trying to get all the stuff to crossdress. None of my friends could get Corneo to pick Cloud but I did it. I remembered running over to the phone and trying to dial in to get to their phone number on the naval base. I called so many Japanese people that day on accident.

Eventually that same day I told my mom that I was going out to the base to go over to my friends house for the day and made the hour long walk to go meet them. I bought a giant can of Coca-Cola for 120 yen and a can of CC Lemon as well.

This was during the time that the internet wasn't so great, you know when dial up was a thing.

I have such fond memories of this game, and most Final Fantasy games up til 10 actually. I cannot wait for this to come out. I'm still surprised that it is coming out to be honest.

Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler-Undertaker Scale Figure Impressions

Oddly enough perusing through Amiami the other day I saw the preorder for the Undertaker from Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler. From what we have gathered about the Undertaker is he's a renagade shinigami but has some sort of relation with the Phantomhive family, and currently a great interest in Ciel.

If you haven't read the manga yet, we get to see the true nature of the undertaker and get to learn more about the Shinagami's job, and why the Undertaker defected. Another interesting thing to learn about the Undertaker is that he's most likely really old as his scythe is different from everyone else. While everyone in the modern day within the Shinigami have modded their scythes to resemble tools; even the other Shinigami mention that his scythe is an old model.

What is odd about his scythe that we can see has to deal with the fact that he's using a skeleton and oddly enough the skull has a thorn crown on it. This is an odd allusion to Jesus, which would make sense giving the timeline of the story.

Another interesting thing that the Undertaker has is a mourning chain. This also is where we learn that the Undertaker knew the Phantomhive family. Each locket is detailed quite nicely just like in the manga. Though it is really interesting to see see the lockets in color.

I really enjoy how Kotobukiya got the smile of his down, as it is the most interesting and unique feature of him. It's rather a creepy yet cute facial expression of his. Also I enjoy the scar and how it looks on his face, I am really excited for him.

The Undertaker figure is 1/8 scale from Kotobikiya and is about 12,000yen roughly depending where you may order it from. The figure will be released on October 2015 if there are no complications with manufacturing.

Bloodstained-Igavania on Kickstarter

Growing up I played a lot of Castlevania games, and I mean A LOT. In fact I really like the concept of Igavania games; though more people will know and refer to them as Metriodvania. Well however way you want to say it, there hasn't been a good track with Konami this year and dealing with their IPs, so now Koji Igarashi the producer of Symphony of the Night has put out his own kickstarter campaign for his new title Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Though we only have concept art it does look really promising so far.

Igarashi has already stated that he's using 2.5D for the game and is taking inspiration from Guilty Gear Xrd as inspiration for usage of the Unreal Engine and will be focusing on shading ASAP to get a more painted/anime feel. Which if you haven't seen Xrd's graphics go check them out because they look pretty sweet and I think they'd lend well to Bloodstained.

Another great thing, and this is just a personal like on my side; our main character.

Our main character is named Miriam. While games don't usually have female protagonists Igarashi stated in a small Q and A that the main reason of my the main character was chosen to be a girl dealt with his previous workings on Castlevania. Whatever the reason my be, I am enamored with her design and how well it fits with the gothic and stained glass theme they're giving overall. Also... Even though I know that's a part of the curse on her legs, they look like cute tights instead.

 The main villain of the game, Gebel looks pretty awesome as well and looks like a mix between Alucard and Soma which also fits well in this. We don't know much about the characters yet but again the concept art does look promising.

While they're are many tiers since this is a kickstarter, I decided to go for the $60 tier and secure myself both a physical copy and the artbook. The kickstarter edition does include a few things not included anywhere else:
-The SwordWhip: If you went to swordorwhip.com it was a voting for items that you wanted to see or something (I'm not sure as I just answered whip), and is a limited item that joins both clans together.
-One special boss which is how you get the SwordWhip
-Kickstarter edition slipcase

Now I will have to get a PS4, because there's no way I'm just buying a glorified steam key and I don't like the Xbox (I already have a computer).

Though just a final note on this kickstarter, Igarashi has come out and said he has most of the cost of production secured but will only happen if he can prove there are people who want this type of game which is why Igarashi went to crowdfunding. It wasn't that they weren't confident with Igarashi but said that these games have no fanbase, so that's where we come in. If you want to donate go ahead, but as I'm writing this the campaign has already surpassed  2 million dollars. With it having a slated release of 2017 as well may bring people off of it.

Please everyone remember that this is kickstarter and there are risks, if you're uncomfortable with donating; or in other peoples cases have been spurned by video game kickstarters I do not blame you for not helping even if you want it to succeed. This is my first video game kickstarter and I am really anxious about it, but I do know the inherit risks with these kinds of things.

Funding for the project ends on June 12 at 8pm PST so if you want to donate here is the link again.

Golden Week- Shops Are Closed and a bit of Life Update

If you rely on Japanese websites like I do for things, you'll notice that pretty much all of them have come to a standstill for the first week of May. This has to deal with their holiday called Golden Week. But why is it that most things come to a standstill when it comes to sites like Amiami and such? It mainly has to deal with every one taking their vacation time and it's a popular time for travel (this includes overseas travel as well). So even though the celebration ends May 5th in Japan, most companies will observe the holiday time for just a bit longer.

So even though I know Golden Week is happening I keep going to sites like Amiami and then being sad because I know there's no updates. I've been having a bit of health problems and I still feel a bit sick from time to time, along with school and there's a ton of writing in both along with basically at least 4 chapters of reading. But I will have more updates; I have lots of pictures and I still have to edit all the pictures from the GSCxMax Factory panel from Sakura-con even though it's late. Also I've been watching One Piece, from the very beginning.

More updates will be soon, also I have a convention even though it's small this week about ball joint dolls, so I will probably talk about that too.

Sakuracon 2015- Good Smile Company Booth

Sakura-con 2015 was an amazing year; there was lots of fun stuff to do.

On the first day of the con we actually got to our hotel at a little bit past 9am and we were able to check in already also a huge thanks to Henry and the staff at the Roosevelt as always for giving great service; which goes above and beyond expectations.

Anyway the dealers hall opened at 10am and I made sure that with my group of friends that we went to the GSC booth before anything else. And we were one of probably the first 30 people in line. And all of us were able to get everything that we wanted. But what was even great was the area that they were in had lots of toys and displays that they brought with them for even more fun.

Snow Miku was a popular purchase for most people though I was in there to get the nendoroid Sayaka and Kyoko. Though when I went to make my purchase I noticed they had the Shimakaze nendoroid and purchased that as well. From what I had overheard by the time I picked up my nendoroids they were almost out of the Kyoko/Sayaka pack. Which would make sense, because c'mon they're together and cute.

Besides that there were toys and figures all over. And some of them made me greatly regret that I don't like Figma.

I remember watching Big O on TV, and recall fondly the dub of the series and my overall love of the series. I remember when I got heavy into collecting toys and figures, the orders for Roger Smith were just closed. I did though enjoy looking at them, and I am pretty sure I stared at them for a good couple of minutes.

All the Kill la Kill that they had. Also the Ryuko is actually pretty badass looking in real life. Though I'm not too keen on the prototypes legs being like that with only one grounded while the other is just hanging there. But still looks cool none the less.

On the side, of their booth is were the face drawing challenge was, and for only $2 you can make your own nendoroid faceplate and keep it.

It wasn't available at the beginning of the day for obvious reasons, but I didn't have time to do it due to scheduling problems. But luckily enough Mamitan let us buy one so that I could paint it at home. And yes, I will hopefully be doing that soon, if not I have a nopperabo face just for fun. But in all seriousness I'll probably have the face painted within a couple of months because I already have paint, I just lack brushes for small scale and finite detail. Though at the area where the expression drawing was, they were using gundam markers.

Overall the GSC booth was amazing and a blast like last year. I hope they come back to Sakura-con again, not only because they bring some of the best toys and figures with them. But because the events that they had were amazing.

Q-Pot x Sailor Moon Goods

The Japanese accessory brand Q-Pot is known for having rather unique style all its own; all created by a man named Tadaaki Wakamatsu. Wakamatsu designed Q-pot not only as an accessory brand, but also as a tool for means of communication. If you're asking yourself how does that actually work, trust me, people do take notice that what you have is something unique, but it's not something bad, but rather a feeling of happiness or having a smile come over your face. But also Wakamatsu as well cares about people all over the world, and education of kids and women in more impoverished nations. Q-Pot accessories are made in Japan with a great deal going into design (all items are designed by Wakamatsu himself) and even down to the packaging; which means the items are pricey, but I've bought a few items, and I feel the price is worth it.

Besides his own unique take on items, Wakamatsu works with artists and designers and created unique collaborations based on them. While a lot of his more known collaborations have been with Disney, the Sailor Moon collaboration has taken his iconic look and design and mixed it perfectly well with the 90's magical girl anime.

Crystal Star Macaron Bag Charm-18,000 yen

First is a macaron based on Usagi's compact that she uses for transformation. It's a really iconic item that takes well to Q-Pot's design. The top of the macaron does have more mass detail than the back like it would in real life. Though my only complain really about this item is that it's just for your bag/purse and they didn't make it a necklace. A more intricate design like this; and the fact that it is a compact that Usagi wears on her chest, really should have made it a necklace or a brooch instead.

Moon Phase Pocket Watch Necklace-24,00 yen

Now this is more of my style of item; the Orgel. While there are lots of these already made by individual artists and groups on the internet, Q-Pot took theirs one step further and put an image of the Usagi and Mamoru to show off even more that it's a Sailor Moon item. Since this is an official collaboration I'm actually glad they decided to do something like this, instead of the traditional we're going to make it a locket playing Moonlight Densetsu. Though I haven't seen it on a person yet, I have no idea if this is a big piece or a small one, but I will be leaning towards big because of the details within the necklace.

As of all Q-Pot collaboration items, they're a bit more pricier than their regular stuff, but also keep in mind there will be limited quantities and pretty much this may be a preorder only type of deal. While I wish that I can get my hands on either one of these, by the time I do have this type of money after Sakura-con it will probably be too late. I just hope the Q-Pot blog will have someone wearing one of these so I can admire them.

Bloodborne is out...I need a PS4

The endless cycle continues

Usually I am not the type of person who buys a console or anything during its early stages, but Bloodborne just recently came out on the PS4 and I just cannot stop watching let's plays of it to satiate my desire to play it. Right now I'm watching theRadBrad playing as a lady through Bloodborne. And I got to say it really not only is my cup of metaphorical tea, but the female model looks damn well nice and makes me want to actually play as a girl.

While Hidetaka Miyazaki said it has the DNA of Demon Souls, it's its own thing, and not a successor to the game which a lot of people thought it would be. But you know what I am ok with that. Honestly though, I would have never thought I would have loved the games that From Software put out as they don't seem like the things I would play; but I fell in love with the Soul series. I think I'm just a glutton for punishment, though things like dying constantly don't bug me.

Anyway back to Bloodborne, the gothic style of the game just really makes me happy as it's an aesthetic I really love. As those are the types of fantasy situations I would write about when I was a kid and would pretend I was a hero in fighting against all sorts of spiritual and fairytale apparitions and monsters. I remember when I was young back in elementary school, a girl who liked anime back then let me borrow her VHS copy of Vampire Hunter D and my mom and I watched it together. I think it was that and the combination of the Adams Family that lead me down the gothic aesthetic.

Which means that Bloodborne feels like nostalgic to me without honestly playing it yet. But it feels like a thing I need to play. So I'll just have to get one soon after saving up for a bit. Hopefully by then there will be even more games I want for the system instead of a few choice ones.

More Sakura-con Fun from Good Smile Company

Today I was bombarded with all sorts of information from Good Smile Company about what they were bringing for Sakura-con. We only have the images of the limited items that they're bringing for sure, but that's enough to know I will have to be there early, as soon as the dealers hall opens.

They're bringing the Snow Miku again. Even though I have already the nendoroid on preorder, if they're avaliable I will so be getting another one, because I really think she's a cutie. Also for sure want those capsule toys and the Kyoko and Sayaka from Madoka Magica. I mean I already have three different Madoka nendoroids, but I really like that Kyoko, because it is what we see her wearing for most of the series. Also those cute capsule toys, I just want to line up all the cuties on top of my monitor or near my bed because cuties being cute.

Also we're getting the whole faceplate drawing thing, and that's going to be fun. I can't remember where I saw this at, but I remember seeing a video from Japan with this; it may have been something about Wonfes but I am not sure. Anyway super stoked for this little event, as it should be a lot of fun. I mean who doesn't love drawing on blank faces.

I just checked the Sakura-con website and found that there's a link to a video that GSC has put out for it, so here it is.   

 I am really excited for all the events from GSC and will be looking forward to the live sculpting event which is followed by a Q&A about the Japanese collectibles industry.

Really stoked and barely over a week left before the fun.

Monthly Purchase for March

Well I haven't done one of these in a long time. I just got in a huge amount of stuff from AmiAmi and I thought I would share it with you. Well it's not huge, but my box was pretty big. Inside contained a figure and some other things inside.


All the images have been taken with my iPhone, so hopefully the images look good. Also who doesn't love the cute Amico illustrations that Amiami sends people, because I know I love them.

So with my package I got a little bit of all sorts of things, and lets' just start out with the two things that kind of are different from all the rest; a CD and a game case.

I ended up getting the 24 card case for the 3DS from Hori and the Persora: The Golden Best 2 album. Oddly enough I actually found the first volume at Kinokuniya and bought it. I personally like volume 2 better because it has songs like Backside of the TV and Light the Fire Up in the Night from Persona Q. If you like P4 you should get volume one and volume two for P3. Though both have a good mix of songs, so honestly get both if you're into music collecting from video games.

 I also started to collect Gugure Kokkuri-san Bluray and poster collection. I haven't opened any of the posters yet but probably will pretty soon. If I have any duplicates I'll probably sell them online, because what am I going to do with all those posters. it's a pretty full box. The Bluray itself is pretty cool, I haven't watched any of my new Bluray's yet, but out of all of them, I think Gugure Kokkuri-san has a pretty interesting box style.

 I also bought an Otome game for the PC. It's called Taisho x Taisho Alice. This is volume one and I have ordered volume 2 as well. I haven't done anything besides looked at case itself and it seems like a genderbent version of fairytale characters. On the cover is Cinderella and Red Ridding Hood. But on the back is more fairytale characters. I'm sure this is going to be quite an interesting game, I hope to have either some sort of review or in progress shots as I go along. It should be a pretty good time as I really love Alice in Wonderland.

I also bought a few Hello Kitty x DRRR covers for my phone. I will be honest, I really only got an iPhone just for the cute covers along with the fact that I've been using the same phone for about 5 years without getting a new one. I did need one, so I bought an iPhone since the camera on it is pretty ok too. I was pleasantly surprised though, that the covers were all made in Japan. Right now I'm using the Heiwajima Shizuo one right now, but I probably will switch it to the white one or the other one in a couple of weeks. I actually have quite a few anime covers already, and will most likely be getting more in the future.

There is one thing I did get that made the majority of the box, but I just couldn't take a good picture and that's of my Sol Badguy figure. Hopefully once I open it, I can take pictures of it. But as of right now I cannot.

I do have more Blurays coming in but that's not really anything of a big deal. Hopefully during Sakuracon I should have images up of what I buy or things that I do, so look forward to that.

Sakuracon 2015 Plans

It's almost Easter, with that said more importantly for me, it's almost Sakura-con time. I've attended a few anime cons both big (like Anime Expo) and smaller ones as well, but I've always liked Sakura-con the best. I feel as if it's always getting better each year, and varies out what it does and focuses on each year.

This year I'm excited for quite a few guests, events and the concert.

First off the concert is both going to have Kanako Ito and GARNiDELiA. If you have no idea who either of these people are Kanako Ito does a lot of vocal music for Nitro+ games including Steins;Gate while GARNiDELiA has done music for various animes including Kill la Kill.

I'm very excited because I've never seen either live but I've watched a live of Kanako Ito doing Skyclad Observer and I really enjoy how her voice sounds just as lovely as it does in recordings. Also Kill la Kill's second opening is vastly superior, in my opinion.

There will also be both a BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd tournament as well. Though I won't participate, I will be watching the tournament going on if I have nothing to do or if there aren't any events that I will be going to.

I'm also really excited for the Good Smile Company guys as well as h.NAOTO coming to the US. My friend told me the Good Smile guys are going to do a live sculpting event, and if that's true... It's going to be amazing. I went last year to the Magi/Sword Art Online live drawing and it was super fun.

I've got a little bit of money saved for the con so if I see something I like I'll make sure to get it. For sure I will be going to the Good Smile Company booth first to see what they're all selling, which is my main thing as I buy multiples of a lot of toys (for modding), but usually isn't much I buy because you know, online shopping.

I will make sure to post everyday of the con hopefully or at least have a huge megapost at the end of the con.

I have 22 more days before 3 days of con fun. I cannot wait!

Hatsune Miku V3 1/4 Figure Impressions

I was browsing the Good Smile Company website when I saw another Miku figure out. I thought it looked really pretty and have not ordered any sort of default looking Miku figure before, so I thought this one looked really nice from the thumbnail. I was more surprised when I clicked the link.

Miku is HUGE, 1/4 the size of a human or also standing at 43cm or almost 17 inches tall. The fact that Good Smile put a CD next to her so that you can see the difference in size is a really good thing if you're not sure what the measurements actually meant. But having such a bigger figure can do much more for the actual design more than anything else. The details are very well sculpted so far the actual details that we can see so far, they're very meticulous. I really love how much detail they've put into the hair, as Miku's hair usually looks rather static sometimes, now it looks free flowing and rather whimsical.

Costing about 27,000 yen after tax and before shipping it's probably not something that much people would purchase unless they're a huge fan of Miku's. For me I purchased it because I do enjoy bigger figures and Miku but also the details in the hair is just something that amazes me. I am all about simple things with attention to detail as much as I like cute things. 

With a base price of 25,741 yen from Good Smile directly, with tax being about 27,000 it doesn't mainly differ between purchasing it from them directly or going to Amiami.

I ended up going with Amiami for a few reasons. The sale price of the item is 21,360 yen though with shipping it will most likely end up being about the same as ordering it from Good Smile. But mainly the reason for me going with Amiami has to deal with points. Receiving points from prior purchases, I can use it to make Miku cheaper and also the points I get from purchasing Miku as well. It may not seem like a good reason for most people, but I do shop at Amiami almost every month for my otaku needs.

Hatsune Miku V3 1/4 Figure is sculpted by FREEing and distributed by Good Smile Company, slated for a release of September 2015 for the base price of 25,741 yen.

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess

On March 2nd, a few friends and I went to go see The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. When we parked in the garage after going downtown we rode the elevator up and saw something pretty neat.

Promo Poster for the Third Season of Symphony of the Goddesses called Master Quest

The actual event itself was pretty darn amazing. There was a lot of people nicely dressed up and lots of people dressed up in cosplay. My friends and I were halfway in the concert hall towards the right, so we actually got a super good seats and the music was AMAZING when they started playing.

After a few songs there was some video feed commentary between Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and Koji Kondo. Each song was compossed amazingly and in such a way where it fit in and melded various themes together in a way where it wasn't rigid but very fluid.

The concert program was like this, taken from the website for the symphony:

Act One:
Overture
+*Interludes*+
-Gerudo Valley

-Boss Battle Medley

-Suite from Majora's Mast
-A Link Between Worlds

+*The Symphony*+

-Prelude:The Creation of Hyrule

-Movement I: The Ocarina of Time

-Movement II: The Wind Waker

Act Two:
-Intermezzo: The Great Fairy Fountain

-Movement III: Twilight Princess

-Movement IV: Time of the Falling Rain

Finale

Was the concert worth it? No doubt it was. The music was amazing, to the point of tears a few times. And it was well worth the money that I spent. I hopefully will be doing this again during the Distant Worlds concert.