[ 相楽夜 ]  YORU SAGARA

Haven't blogged anything decent for a while cos of RL matters. I'm still gonna write about that meeting with Kurohiko (yah, it's more than a month late already! *facepalm*) and I have to do an indie comics review (cos I promised someone~). I also have to write about a bunch of stuffs as well. Just gonna take my time doing all of these. Teehee~ But I thought of blogging now cos I want to fangirl-rant over something.*(*´∀｀*)☆

Last Saturday, me and some CDOtaku people held an audition for several talented performers for an upcoming cosplay event. Now I won't go into details about the audition cos I'm not sure if I can share about it in public. Suffice it to say that I was quite pleased with the performances, and hope that they will be as awesome in said upcoming event.

Now one of the singers who auditioned was Yoru Sagara. If you can recall, I wrote a bit about him in a previous entry. The first time I heard him sing was during the TORCH II CDO LEG held last July 2011. At that time, I thought he had a great voice but wasn't really paying much attention. Looking back, maybe I should have. Hahaha!

Well, after the Torch II event, he just slipped out of my mind. But during my internet browsing moments, I kept stumbling on his name (maybe because common friends are subscribed to his Facebook and Youtube channels), and it piqued my curiosity. So I read up a bit about him and learned that he is a local amateur singer who has been doing quite a number of covers, mostly Vocaloid songs, and he has been uploading his song versions on Nico Nico Douga and Youtube. To add to his credentials, he also performed during the recent VOCA★FUSION event which was held in SMX Convention Center (you can watch video here). Now, not being so familar with Vocaloid songs (well, excuuuuuuuussssse me for being such a cave person!) and not entirely too fond of song covers, I admit that I wasn't exactly that interested at first. Until... I heard his collab cover of 背徳の記憶〜The Lost Memory〜 and I was totally blown away. In fact, even until now, I still get blown away whenever I listen to that song. As a matter of fact, said song is set on repeat in my player as I'm writing this. (*ﾉ▽ﾉ)

As of now, I'm only subscribed to TWO Youtube channels, which are JamesNintendoNerd and yes, Yoru Sagara. But I must admit that I never got around to listening to all his videos (cos SRSLY, there are A LOT of them), and as I said, I'm not at all familiar with Vocaloid songs (despite having more than 5GB of them in my hard drive!). Well, fast forward to last Saturday... He was already there when I arrived, and I thought, well, he just seems like an ordinary guy. Despite being popular online, he wasn't the airy type. He didn't even mention that he has...

... almost 3000 Youtube subscribers and almost half million pageviews!!!!

I mean, SRSLY!!!??!!!  (((( ;°Д°))))

Hime asked me then if I have heard his version of 1/3 の純情な感情, which incidentally is my most favorite Rurouni Kenshin ED song. I said, "No, I haven't." (Boo to me!) So I decided to check it out the other day, and yah, it blew me away too and I was compelled to click [download] and put it in my music player. I'm actually in a bit of an RK hype right now (more about that next time), so hearing that cover is kinda fanning the flames of my fandom. Check out Yoru's cover here:

Lovely~ It gave me goosebumps. (^ω^)

Yoru sang this Vocaloid song called, "Mr Music" (again, I have no idea what it is until I googled it just now), and initially the sound system wouldn't cooperate and kept crashing. But he waited patiently for it to get fixed, and we were also actually eagerly anticipating. And he did not disappoint! I mean, he is not perfect, but he has such a lovely voice. He has his own rendition of the song, and not just tastelessly singing it. I think his Nihongo sounds legitimate, and not as if he's just the boy from the next town (which he is, btw).  And I think that just because you make great online videos, it doesn't necessarily follow that you can perform well on stage (especially when said audition stage is within the premises of a fitness club! XD) But it seems he has better stage presence compared to last year, though he could still further improve on that. 

I would have wanted to pose more questions, ask for an autograph/picture with him, and bully demand force coerce request him to sing Pigstar's Shoudou and maybe some Uta*Pri Songs!!! (fangirl KYAHHH~!!!) But ... I forgot to speak (*facepalm once more*). I think all of us were quite pleased, though I still don't know if he passed the audition. I hope he gets to perform during the event, so I can fangirl some more  uh, *cough*cough* so we can have the pleasure of listening to him sing again. ♬

相楽夜, がんばれ! ヽ(^。^)ノ

MY SUMMER KOMIKON EXPERIENCE

The Summer Komikon 2012  was scheduled on a Saturday, the 26th of May, hence I intentionally scheduled our family trip to Manila on that specific weekend. So while my Mom and sister were relaxing in a water spa, my boyfriend and I went geeking out in the Bayanihan Center, where the event was held. 

As we arrived at the parking area, a car also parked beside us. And when the door opened, my boyfriend and I were like, "zomBBQ! It's THE Budjette Tan!!!" He is the talented writer and creator for the comic series, Trese, which I also collect. I've met him before during the first Komikon I went to, which was on November of 2009, and he was really friendly and nice. Sadly, I wasn't able to bring my copy of Trese #4, so I wasn't able to have it signed. (・n・)

It was already around 11am when reached the venue, and to our utter dismay, there was already a long queue of people! Like the first Komikon we attended, our main objective was to obtain a copy of Sir Elmer Damaso's Cat's Trail Rewind. And we learned from his blog that he was only bringing 80 COPIES of issue #4! In my mind, I was already calculating, "If all these people each get a copy of CTR, then there won't be any copies left for us!!!" I'm sure Suoh was also thinking the same thing, but we tried not to panic as we paid for our way in. 

Freebies! -- A copy of the Komikon Journal, a Summer Komikon 2012 poster, and an FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) comic.

So the moment we set foot into the carpeted hall, I was mesmerized by the sights of manymanymanymanymany comics and the manymanymanymanymany people! I was about to reach for some stuffs when Suoh snapped me out of my trance, and reminded me of our primary goal. We immediately did a quick round searching for Sir Elmer's table, but we didn't find it!!! We must've gone around the place three times until final reaching a conclusion: either #1, CTR sold out in less than an hour and Sir Elmer went home already, and #2, that he has yet to arrive with his merchandise. And thank God #2 was the correct answer! After a few minutes, the emcee announced Sir Elmer's appearance, and we immediately rushed to his table.

DEJA VU. It's like a blast from the past while I stood in line for my turn.

We waited a bit for some fans to buy their copies, before we got our turn. His wife, Angel Mei, was also with him, and I was plain awestruck. They were really really really super nice and friendly, and were very simple and humble, and just so awesome!!! We got our copies of CTR #4 (and I also got extra copies for Hime, Shika, Don Vic and Gervie), and asked to have gadzillion copies of Culture Crash signed. Miss Angel Mei was so sweet and wonderful! Each time Sir Elmer finished signing an issue of CC, she'd gently blow on the ink so that it won't blot!（*´▽｀*）After all the issues were signed and safely secured in my bag, it was then that Suoh introduced himself as one of the winners of Sir Elmer's contest, and he got a most remarkable, stupendous, superb, [ insert more superlatives here ] artwork from Sir Elmer as his prize!!!!

It was at that point that I truly, really, surely felt a most piercing pang of envy in my heart. So I think I really have to write about this here...

/start rant/  You see, Sir Elmer had a sort of "Who's that Pokemon?" guess-the-name-of-the-character contest in his blog. We weren't able to join in the first set, but luckily, there was a second batch. The first three to respond with the correct answer wins an artwork from Sir Elmer himself! Suoh called me up that night so that I could post my answer too and get a chance to win. That time I was feeling sick so I wasn't online, so it took a few minutes for me to turn on the PC and connect to the net. And those few precious minutes made the most drastic difference in my life! I was even joking to Suoh then that Rei might have also logged in within that time. And true enough, when the results were posted, Suoh got second place, Rei got third place, and I came up fourth -- only THREE MINUTES later than Rei!!! In a way, I was happy they were the winners since at least I know them and I got to see their prizes. Besides, although I have more than 20 OCs, but I only got to draw two(?) of them, so I probably won't know which character to request if ever I've won. So I guess I'm happy to be able to share their joy. And I hope to get my chance next time, and maybe by then, I'll have drawn profiles for my OCs. But still... THREE MINUTES!!! (*￣m￣) *cries*  /end rant/

OK.. So going back to the con. We took some pictures with Sir Elmer and Miss Angel Mei before we left. And since I'm feeling all nostalgic right now, I'll also post the 2009 pics here so you can play a little spot-the-difference game. Despite my jitters (cos I was really shaking there) and my bloopers (I recall saying a lot of things which made no sense!!), it was really a most wonderful pleasure meeting Sir Elmer and Miss Angel Mei again, and I just can't wait to tell all my friends about it! (*°∀°)

.
It was also in this table where Rei apparated out of nowhere and showed herself to us. Rei is a friend I know from online, and though we weren't that close back in our Anime Illusions forum days, but we suddenly became BFFs since the start of the year. This was our very first meeting, and since that will take a lot of time to explain, I will devote a whole blog entry for that after I wrap up this Komikon report.（＾ｖ＾） 

With Taga-ilog. Minus the bucket. ^u^;;

Next stop: since we were already lugging around our Culture Crash issues, we figured that we'll grab the chance to have them signed by Taga-ilog too. And so we went to his table, which to my surprise was actually the table of Point Zero comics, (and add to my surprise later on, was that the creator of Cresci Prophecies is actually his wife!!!). Suddenly, I became very very very shy, and FROZE stupidly in front of their table for probably more than two minutes. Suoh kept nudging me to talk, and I was like, "Ehehe.. They told me he ALWAYS had a bucket on. I actually believed that for more than ten years of my life!!!!" Then finally, I found myself in front of their table, and blurted out, "One of everything please." (For Pasig, I think I bought three copies! I really don't remember. ＼(◎o◎)／) And then we asked him to sign our Culture Crash copies. He was really nice too! But I was just so nervous and tongue-tied. And I didn't say anything to Miss Joanah Tinio-Calingo at all. So rude of me. *facepalm* I hope I can find a chance to redeem myself next time. By the way, all of their comics (Pasig, Kanto Inc, Curtains for Hire, and one one-shot) are fantastic!!! Kanto Inc was really funny, and Curtains for Hire got me crying. Next time I'll save money for Cresci Prophecies. 


After that, we went back to the Suoh's pick-up to hide safely store the Culture Crash copies. It was already getting heavy and quite bulky to lug around. I remember Suoh popping a question to me then, "I wonder what they feel when they see copies of Culture Crash. What do you think?" And I don't know where this came from, but I answered, "Maybe, it's like seeing your ex-girlfriend once more..." And we both became quiet and a bit sad as we pondered about it. Culture Crash, at the peak of its time, and for us still students back then, was THE local comic book to watch out for, and was a huge artistic inspiration that Yes!, da Filipino Ken!. And since I live far down south, it was a rare commodity. Even with its erratic publishing, the fandom was solid and strong. And up until now, I'm sure a lot of the CCCom fans would love to see it back in the market again. And if it means so much to us, I'm sure it means even much much more to its creators. Although it's sad that it's all in the past now, but still I am glad to have had that reading experience in my earlier years and to have the opportunity now to meet some of these amazing creators of CCCom and see them move on with their individual projects. 

(Left) Marco Dimaano and Kriss Sison signing our Ninja Girl Ko copies at the Gunship Revolution table.
(center) Mangas. Lots and lots of them. 0___0
(Right) Me with the happy Salmon Komiks tropa. It was nice to meet Nica the diva dubber again. ^^

Without our heavy bag, we went back to the con again, and this time went around the tables looking at the other indies and comics for sale. Some were familiar, but most of them I honestly do not recognize. But it really piqued my interest to know more about the Filipino artists and the local comic industry. I was so tempted to hoard and buy everything that appealed to me but due to my current jobless state the limited funds I had with me that time, I just chose to buy comics that I know. I got a copy of Ninja Girl Ko, all Oh-No Manga issues, and a Love Hina light novel. I also got a copy of Salmon Komiks #2, and met Nica the diva dubber again. (If you don't know Nica, she is the nameless dubbing contestant in this really old story and incidentally, that blog entry was what led us to know each other.) Suoh bought some stuffs for himself too. We left the event to grab some lunch and have some bonding time with Rei (details in a separate blog entry), and although Suoh and I went back around 530pm, I guess we kinda missed out on a lot of things.


Like, we missed Sir Elmer's interview, didn't get to see Mark Millar, Dingdong Dantes and Lovi Poe, and lost the chance to participate in a hotdog-eating contest (I didn't know there was one, and being the hotdog lover that I am, I might have been convinced to join, hahahaha~!). I also failed to get Rei to introduce me to Enjelia and Sui. Looking back now, I regretted not buying some of the comics in the event. Skyworld was launched that day, and at that time I was thinking that I already had the previous indie(?) issues so I didn't check out their table anymore. I should have bought the new book versions back then and had them signed by the authors. There was also a table for Karen Francisco's Naermyth, and I didn't know she would be there to sign copies or else I would have brought my book along too. Even the comic adaptation of Tiktik: the Aswang Chronicles looked very interesting (and the movie trailer was quite a feast for the eyes). I can write on and on about other things I now regret not paying much attention to, but there really is no use crying (a week later) over spilled milk. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and pray that I can get a chance to attend the next Komikon again, and hopefully by then, have a better idea on what to watch out for, and also have moar monies to splurge（＾◇＾）.  


So for now, here is a picture of my Summer Komikon haul!

It was truly a fun and memorable experience, and I hope I can attend future events like this with my other artist friends, like Gervie and Don Vic. 
I am also inspired to draw my own comic now, but the possibility of that becoming a reality is yet ... unforeseeable. ヽ（´ー｀）┌

~ BEAUTIFUL STORY ~

If you are familiar with the popular franchise Densha Otoko, then you might also be familiar with Getsumen to Heiki Mina, the anime spin-off from the TV drama series. If I recall correctly, in the height of my Densha Otoko x Mina days, I blogged something about it here.... hmm... here it is! (interspersed within an ultra-long rant about random stuffs XDXDXD) Well, it took me a while to finally get my hands on a copy of the 11-episode anime, and even a longer time to watch it. I just finished it this morning. Yay!!! /(^o^)/


Getsumen to Heiki Mina is about a high school girl / TV announcer named Tsukuda Mina, who transforms into a supergirl (miina) and battles sports-obsessed alien rabbits alongside other miinas. (Yes! You heard me right. These are alien rabbit mutations that will literally kill for their favorite sports game TAT). The plot is nothing special, and may even be downright ridiculous, but what I love about the story is the pure and determined nature of Mina. The other characters are also likable, even the comical Mutsumune Escartin (who is the recurring butt-of-all-jokes in the series). I just wished we could have seen more of the other miinas and known their backgrounds, but I guess 11 episodes are just not enough for more character development. Thankfully, they made brief cameos in the final episode, so I guess I should be contented with that. And yes, I was particularly satisfied with the last two episodes, which served as the climax of the story. Mina finally realizes what she must do in her life and accepts her fate. I also realized that as cliché as that may sound, it actually got me to shed a tear or two. >__<


Another thing that I really really REALLY LIKE about this anime is that the character designs are made by one of my most favorite artists, Okama!!! His other works include the designs for the animes Kamichu!, Himawari!, Gunbuster 2 and many others. He is also the artist for the manga Cloth Road, and is the costume designer for the Wii game No More Heroes (which is quite an interesting game, but sadly, I do not own a Wii console. TAT) I really love his style, and the soft colors of his illustrations. See more of his wonderful illustrations <<< HERE >>>.

With that, I'll end this post with the ending theme of the series which is filled with Okama's pretty drawings!

Here's Beautiful Story, by Marina Inoue, the seiyuu for Tsukuda Mina/Tsukishiro Miina. 

ENJOY!!! \(^w^)/