Tanjyoubi no Ichiban Special: It Was A Dark and Stormy Night…

…with no frigging trains for a number of trajectories! Wait a sec, I am getting ahead of myself: the how and why this party was organized is more or less explained in A Couple of Things on the Horizon, where I also did a first introduction for Nozomi Ongaku. Now, there are a few other things you should know, concerning the background of the party (the Director’s Cut, if you will). First off I would like to take a moment and thank Akai Panda’s Namida, who participated as our surprise DJ, as well as Raven Sweetwater for helping with suggestions for the playlist (seriously, few people know J-Rock as she does and I am certainly not one of them). As for the co-organizer, KrizD, what can I say? The dude started off with Prodigy, just for the heck of it (in fact, some of you had requested it of him personally but I won’t give you away)!

At any rate, we knew this party would be choke-full of surprises for all involved, but it seems one can never plan enough: talking with Raven, it was pretty obvious she was quite downcast and going through a rather hard time on many levels. So we put our heads together with Kyoshiro to think of something that would cheer her up. Her birthday was a week away from the party but maybe, just maybe… Of course! There’s nothing like the pick-me-up of knowing how many people care and feel for you, so all we had to do was a… demonstration; and what better way than to make a vinyl poster, of one of the most popular pictures of this here blog, Raven, Sweet Death (to be exact, it’s the second most popular post). Now, that would be surprising enough, sure, but Kyoshiro thought that it would be even better if we had a marker, so that anyone who wished could write a dedication to her.

It was a bit of a race: I gave the file to the print-shop on Friday afternoon, then Saturday I had to go pick it up before the science theater rehearsal (14:00-19:00 somewhere near Gazi). Just my luck, it started to rain… Thankfully, Dragonbunny provided me with a resilient poster-case to protect the poster from the rain, but my *ehem* rather particular association with time, accompanied by the foul weather, stopped me from going to look for a marker. As for Kyoshiro, she would be busy with work until late in the afternoon and she did not have such a marker on hand. It was starting to go tits-up real fast… My last resort was to call Dragonbunny on the cell and ask her if she could go look for a marker, but after a while she called back with a “nada”. Hence, we resigned to having the poster as was – it wasn’t such a bad thing really, but you know how it feels when you come up with an idea you find really cool and then it is somehow flawed, beyond your control. That was not the end of it but we will get to that later.

After 5 straight hours of rehearsal, I jumped into my change of clothes (looking at me in the morning, you would think I was going away on atrip, loaded as I was with two bags – and then added one more, with the poster case – one filled with notes,  CDs and DVDs for the party, the other with said clothes), but before I could run back to Da Sein, we had to talk shop with the theater troupe, accompanied by Tsipouro (note, I had not eaten anything since my morning coffee). That said, I managed to be at Da Sein (Solomou 12, Exarheia) at around 20:15, srpinting from Stadiou, where a friend dropped me off. Along the way, I bumped into Sokail who was wandering around, looking for the place. I was around 45 minutes early and that was good, since we had to do sound checks and set up the video projector, transfer the files into the PC and so on and so forth: it was then I realized that the PC did not have dual projection (i.e. the screen would show either on the PC OR the projection canvas), but optimist that I am, I just figured I would work the thing from a distance – not one of my brightest ideas but all went well with a little help from our friends (“Oooi, Velvet, go up there and tell me where ‘Interstella 5555′ is!” for instance).

People started showing up at 21:00, but I started playing my first set at around 21:30, so as to have both the projector ready and allow for a few more people to show up (seeing as they would miss some songs I knew they wanted to listen to, otherwise). I must admit, learning along the way that some train trajectories were off due to station repairs on that day, coupled with the rain, made me worry for a little while. It needn’t have. The show was on…!

Around 22:00 arrive Kyoshiro, Birthday Boy Fle-chan and Raven, while Namida…

…Flame Alchemist, Accela and company had arrived a little earlier.

There’s Birthday Gal Velvet Vortex and Sokail (seems kinda sleepy, no?)…

… and then along comes the mighty KrizD! Around this time, it’s time for Namida to take over…

…and Raven’s poster to be revealed, which, until we could figure how to put up, I resigned to keeping aloft, in front of me!

Raven: “There, there, you’re a good schoolboy Fle-chan, yes you are…” Flexxy: “Raven-sempaaai!”

With Namida on the decks, I at last had freedom of movement…

…to tend to and photograph the new arrivals. Hey there, Nepheli-chan!

Da Sein was becoming rapidly crowded…

…while people grasped the opportunity to be photographed along with “Raven, Sweet Death” (you will see further on).

(Fle-chan may have taken the initiative with the poster but it goes without saying that KrizD and Kyoshiro would be next).

Gradually, everyoe assembled: Xander…

…Ioli-chan (cosplaying as Kanon Wakeshima – congrats!!!)…

…Matu-san (here with Akai Panda’s Namida at the decks)…

…didi dollie doll (I reserve my heinous comment of this picture for another day – nyarr)…

…Louiza and (what the Hell is he doing down there…?) Spider-Maniac Ed Elric…

…JS and Ploutonas…

…Kami with 2 (!) Ravens (I am starting to see a “The Crow” reference)…

…Niovi-chan (first relaxed smile – omedetou!)…

…as well as fresh faces…

…like Faceless Redgrave (if THAT’s not a pun…).

Namida did a great job on the decks…

…and the usual suspects started getting up and ready…

…as Mana-sama creeped up to whisper to Kanon-chan!

Two unexpected and masterful cosplays by Ioli and Constantine. Kudos, kids!

(Raven has always had her way with celebrities…!)

If one celebrity warrants the presence of another…

…it’s a safe bet it will be Mika-chan (as one of W in the song “Koi no Vacancy”, here with Anna-chan)!

As time wore on and the Flexxxisterone kicked in…

…some kept their cool (I believe I have cool-i-fied Ed as far as it goes here, hehe – you da man)…

…others arrived at an opportune moment (such as Ota-kun to the left)…

…and good cheer had already spread all around.

As the clock neared 23:30…

…the place was already packed…

…and more familiar, friendly faces showed up. (Hey there SWA! Been ages.)

The transition to KrizD’s sets in three easy steps: 1…

…2…

…Firestarter! Twisted firestarter!

Given time, even Estorial…

…and (nearly) the entire One Piece division can show up. (This was the last picture taken, before my first set of batteries died on me and I had to rush to the nearby square to get 4 new ones. Lucky shot!).

By the time I got back, a Tomodachi hotter than Hell had arrived…

…dressed as 2 (!) gothic lolitas (I know, I know, I am stuck on this joke – so sue me!).

“Gothic lolitas rawk! *sniff* Mmm, beer!”

From Velvet and Raz…

…to her sister, Jo, and Sokail…

…(*ahem*)…

…the night’s Visual corner (hey Lance)…

…(Mana with Demetra)…

…and even A-chan and his/her girls in civilian clothes…

…everyone enjoyed Kriz’s music differently.

“In KrizD we trust, Speedy-dear.” Now that the scene is complete with Milk and Chiroto…

…it’s time for Maximum the Hormone (didi’s freaked face: priceless)…

…and the cozy bar becomes a moshpit!

Ploutonas: “What? What is it didi-chan?” Didi: “They are scaaaaryyy, Ploutona-sempaaai! Hold me? Pretty pweeease?”

There is not much point in captioning EVERY picture. Suffice to say…

…that with the people already there, whether posing…

… or playing darts (!)…

…and the addition of the Eating Meeting crowd (another Happy Birthday to Misa Yoshiko-chan)…

…there was a staple of people singing and dancing…

…interr– *a-hem* now, what would that on your neck be, Mr. Alchemist (what, you DIDN’T think I would miss that, did you?!).

As I was saying, interrupted only at 01:00, in order to sing wishes, cut cakes…

…and Fle-chan tattle on a 3rd (well, 5th actually, if you count Misa-chan) person who had his birthday that very same day!

After friendly altercations…

…and warm wishes…

…it was time to play my one and only Korean song, “Happy Birthday to Me” (Bulldog Mansion), dedicated to the celebrants by the absent Zauk.

As my second (and perhaps too long – if you add the requests) set wore on and didi tried to freak me out…

…(again, I keep my perverted Speedy-jiji comments to myself)…

…providence took care of our only loose end: Velvet had a silver marker with her, so we could then write dedications on Raven’s poster! Zatanna has nothing on you!

So everyone took turns…

…writing on the poster…

…as the line grew longer…

…and the dark poster was silvered with wishes (hullo, Psofaki-chan!)…

…even from the ever-silent and cryptic Mana.

If we had an award for best t-shirt, this would be it!

Tomodachi, Xander and Niovi dancing to “Real Onigokko”…

…as well as “Unmei no Wa” from Higurashi live-action.

The poster, after the completion of its adornment…

…along with the original. Many happy returns Raven-dono!

Kami just can’t get enough, hehe…

Although I could not satisfy Fle-chan’s wish to photograph him with all the lollies (perspective is an amazing thing – didi looks like 2 meters tall here!)…

…I think the twin high-schooler concept makes up for it.

Oh, yeah, and this too! (Actually, this is a real blood spatter which I manga-fied for the picture).

Some people told me that they considered this the best party ever…

…(you know who you are and I thank you)…

…but let’s not kid ourselves: if not for you all, braving erratic transport and rain and giving it your all…

…KrizD, Namida and I would be headbanging in an empty space.

I have said it a thousand times: it’s the people attending, their mood, their joy, that make a party great. (Yes, this is me messing around in Photoshop again).

As long as it raises your spirits, it makes our own soar…

…so know that the experiment was successful and there is more to come!

Well, that’s as well as it could have been, indeed. As for those pictures of me, they were posted  on pain of death and I regret that they hurt your sensitive eyes, after all those cool boys and gals. I believe I have said all I could and have mushed over it ad nauseeum. So instead of elaborating further, on how fun, warm and fuzzy that night was, I will restrict myself to posting my playlists:

Playlist – 2009-03-21 – Schuldig Engels Gedicht Verse III – Arcturus

01 – Luna Sea – HURT .mp3

02 – Rental Magica – Faith (TV OP).mp3

03 – Acid Black Cherry – Scar.mp3

04 – Sci-fi Harry – Mysterious.mp3

05 – Gundam SEED Destiny Special – Enrai Tooku ni Aru Agari (TV ED 3).mp3

06 – Acid Black Cherry – Murder Licence.mp3

07 – FFX – The Skies Above.mp3

08 – Luna Sea – IN SILENCE.mp3

09 – Shaman King – Northern Lights (TV OP 2).mp3

10 -Tsubasa Chronicles – Blaze (TV OP).mp3

11 – Nishi no Yoki Majo – Starry Waltz (TV OP).mp3

12 – Neo Angelique Abyss – Second Age – Silent Destiny (TV OP 1).mp3

13 – Juushin Enbu Hero Tales – Flashback (TV OP 2).mp3

14 – 3×3 Eyes – Owari Naki Tabiji .mp3

…from 21:30 to 22:30 and:

Playlist – 2009-03-21 – Tanjyoubi no Ichiban Special

01 – Bulldog Mansion – Happy Birthday to Me.mp3

02 – Uchyuu Senkan Yamato (TV OP) [1978-10-14].mp3

03 – Iga no Kabamaru – Circus Game [1983-10-20].mp3

04 – Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs [Extended] [1984-10].mp3

05 – Dragonball – Makafushigi Adventure [Greek] [1995].mp3

06 – Fullmetal Alchemist – Melissa (TV OP 1).mp3

07 – Bleach – Hitohira no Hanabira.mp3

08 – Hakushaku to Yousei – Feeling (TV OP).mp3

09 – Bleach – Rolling Star (TV OP 5).mp3

10 – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – Hitotoshite Jiku ga Bureteiru (TV OP).mp3

11 – Perfume – Chocolate Disco.mp3

12 – Transformers Galaxy Force – Itsumo (TV ED 1).mp3

13 – D-Gray Man – Innocent Sorrow (TV OP 1).mp3

14 – Claymore – Raison D’ Etre (TV OP).mp3

15 – Basilisk – Kouga Ninpou Chou (TV OP).mp3

16 – Bleach – D-Technolife (TV OP 2).mp3

17 – Tytania – Lost in Space (TV ED 1).mp3

19 – Trinity Blood – Kresnik.mp3

20 – Kotoko – Real Onigokko.mp3

21 – Bleach – Velonica (TV OP).mp3

23 – Black Lagoon – Red Fraction (TV OP 01).mp3

24 – D-Gray Man – Doubt & Trust (TV OP 3).mp3

I am fairly certain that this list was not played as is, since some songs were requested in the interim (such as Sailor Moon and something from JAM Project, eh Six-Winged?) and took the place of others -  no matter, there will be other times. However, I feel I owe an apology to KrizD and Namida for monopolizing the post-birthday-wishing-and-cake time slot. I assure you, it was not done on purpose: we had some glitches in finalizing hours and I will admit to getting caught in the moment… After all, I am a sentimental old man.

Thank you all,

Speedgrapher

Oni Market #12: Girugamesh Bio

Yes, yes, yes, I KNOW! “The pictures”. Well, in fact the pictures are edited and ready, but it is already too late to post them AND write the relative text and captions (oh, and there’s going to be some weird stuff in those…!). At any rate, I noticed another thing that will interest a number of you, but expecially Fle-chan and that is the Girugamesh Bio up on J-Rock Revolution. Click on the banner below to read it.

While you are at it, you might want to check the video below – it’s one of my favorite songs by this band.

Finally, you must absolutely go listen to their cover of  “Glamorous Sky” from Nana (originally by Mika Nakashima). Unfortunately, its embedding is disabled but you can find it here.

Well then, check back later today for the report from the party @ Da Sein.

Cheerio,

Speedgrapher

Oni Market #11: J-Rock & Strawberries

Hello there again! I am still working on the edit from Da Sein so please be a little more patient and you shall be rewarded (it’s only been a week after all…). There are, however, a couple of things that came to my attention (one mentioned by Dragonbunny yesterday and one noticed today) and I believe merit yours as well. Without further ado then, here we go, starting with the least funny of the two:

Item #1: J-Rock Choice Awards Announced

Remember back here, when I mentioned the voting? Well, the results are out and some may not quite be what you expect (well, others are, like Gackt’s “Jesus” for chrissake – pun inteneded). Clicky!

Item #2: Death & Strawberry

It is well-known to those with whom I keep company, that I am against the translation of literature, in a general sense. Before you start pointing fingers at my own work, my work consists purely of scientific translations, which have a set terminology to be followed. The last book, which was filled with French colloquialisms, left me ragged for the effort of trying to decipher the meaning behind and then, try to find an analogue in the Greek tongue. In some instances, where even that was impossible or too ridiculous, I just changed some phrases completely, according to context. Even so, given that translation IS a useful thing when you have to deal with texts from various languages, I am absolutely and vehemently against the “translated from the translated”. It is given and well-known that quite a bit is lost in literary translations, even of the highest quality. Hence, translating a Japanese text in Greek, say, from its English version, means that the end result has been submitted to two different translators’ skills,  the level of expertise of which, is unknown: however, the quality of the final text evidently shows its defects, if one but looks. Anubis Comics is a subsidiary of Compupress, which in turn is the Greek branch of a French company.

Advertisement for the Greek edition of Bleach.

At any rate, time and again, Anubis has shown that it does not take its translations too seriously, often committing horrible errors and making my stomach churn. Also, their view and undestanding of manga is… impaired to say the least, the most shameful example being that trash the had initially published, “Akasuki”, where the also tried to “inform” the reader about what manga is, displaying the full scope of their ignorance. Yesterday, an advertisement for the Greek edition of Bleach and Death Note came to my attention and there on the cover, proudly featured, the tome’s title: “Strawberry-dude and the Reapers of Souls” (here, the defects of translation arte obvious: while what I wrote is the closest one can get to the actual Greek phrase, it doesn’t even go near its actual ridicule). The main character’s name, “Ichigo”, may be translated as “Strawberry”, but due to the Japanese language’s quirk, of words changing meaning depending on how they are written (in kanji), his name actually derives from “Ichi Go Mai”, which means “the First” or “the Best”. In fact, there is a whole discussion about that mistake, between characters in the first volume and in the Japanese edition, they even wrote the title “Death & Strawberry”, in English, on the cover (derived from the first three chapters contained within, also titled “Death & Strawberry” 1-3).

The editors of the English edition MUST have had a good reason NOT to change “Strawberry” into “Strawberry-dude” or “Death” into “Reapers of Souls”: that being, it’s fucking ridiculous! The original title is ambiguous and really, could mean anything, until you open the manga and actually read the corresponding story. Why would someone go the extra-length to make the translation seem so idiotic, is really beyond me. I must apologise to English-speaking readers, for only Greek-speakers can really appreciate (in a negative way) what is written on the cover above.

Take care,

Speedgrapher