Summer Farewell @ Da Sein (04/07/2009)

I did promise I would post this before the month was out and true to form, I will, since THAT deadline ends, well… tomorrow! The poster stated that this party was co-organized by  Akai Panda and Nozomi Ongaku but if I want to be really fair, credit goes to Akai Panda’s Namida, who really took care of setting the date, getting the poster from Camus (and many thanks to Camus for making it during a busy time at work) AND finding videos to match my retro playlist. As you recall, at the time I was engrossed with the latest translation and I could be of virtually no help, save giving Aya-chan (our lovely DJ Lola) some pointers about making the playlist (and then again, those were not terribly important, since she played a bunch of cool things that I have absolutely no contact with, such as Ayabie, Yousei Teikoku, Sug, Hungry & Angry etc. – I even took the liberty of checking out Yousei Teikoku and adding a piece to my own list, after she mentioned her).

At any rate the attendance was stunning yet again (I have to admit, being early July, the weather tortuously hot and humid and the party not being an official cosplay, I did not expect so many people – but you proved me wrong). Meanwhile, there were also two birthdays, that of Eri-chan and Lucifer, to whom Zauk yet again dedicated (all the way from his Army Service) “It’s My Birthday” by the Korean band Bulldog Mansion. You will notice there are not as many photos as ususal, which is due to my being very tired from work that night, as well as sweating like a marsh boar – however, I believe you will find them telling, so enjoy!

Birthday Girl Eri-chan (with a dress and corset!) and Darkside Blues.

… … … (sorry, busy drooling).

Someone I hadn’t seen in quite some time (almost 6 months), Marina-Belial, looking great as ever.

Surprisingly, even Cavu passed by and (not surprisingly) chugged away.

Birthday Girl #2 sporting my favorite hat…

…although more than one normal picture would probably be too much.

There was, of course, a host of the regular suspects, such as Niovi…

…Misa Yoshiko (although I like your real name better), Neuro and Miss Toujours Pure…

…Thanh, N8 and um…

…in fact we’ve never been introduced – gomenasai – …

…with Bloody not too far away…

…as well as our near-resident lollies, Didi…

…and Ayami…

…our very own maid DJ Lola!

“Eeetoo, Speedy-san I am not entirely comfortable with that nickname. You see I…”

Yes, yes, you passed first at the Computers Department of the University – being called DJ Lola won’t ruin your image you know! (Just kidding, just so we avoid any misunderstanding hon’).

Tomodachi, Glastenen and GTP.

Marina, Alexander and Dragonbunny. Marina was widely desirable for photos…

…as seen by her forced participation here, along with Estorial, NickUnknown, Raziel, Velvet Vortex, Niovi and Xander…

…although at some point she had quite enough of all that. (Now, now, manners…).

A little after midnight it was time to cut Lucifer’s cake (and what a cake it was…!).

Happy 18th lass!

Ah, another couple rarely seen in recent months, Moboros and Jenny.

Mysticism Lover, Miss Toujours Pure and Misa Yoshiko, with a friend whose name I unfortunately don’t know.

Kon Okami, Megi-chan and Neuro. After this photo, we tried something like 15 poses for Megi before…

…getting this one! This is my favorite picture from this batch and it confirms my suspicion: evil looks god on a good girl.

The unstoppable Mai-chan, having stolen yet another of my hats…

…and then…

…and then… and then… I am at a loss for words…

*Hrm* Back to something a little less ero and a little more otaku, Aya with Ploutonas…

…and a set of poses to show off her maid dress. Curtsy…

…Twirl (3-4 very dizzying shots, mainly for her, since she was spinning)…

…3/4 Back…

…and Back view. My collective hats off to her for wearing such a terribly warm thing on that day and in there!

Aya and Didi: they are very near becoming something the Thelma & Louise of lolidom.

Add Mai to the mix and… well, I don’t need to say it , do I?

A very Visual Namida at the decks.

Christina, always willing to pose (where are your two significant others?).

Eri-chan, of whom it is, of course, too much to ask NOT to grimace. You are killing me girl!

Didi, up close and…

…saturated! (Ideal colors to mess around with in Photoshop, nya!).

Slowly and inexorably, as every party must…

…this one also draw to its close…

…although not before we have people headbanging a little with D’espair’s Ray.

Aya-chan was the last to borrow my hat for the night…

…and a good thing it was too, for it somehow made her look from “The Little House in the Prairie”…

…turn into one of the “Bad Girls”.

(Also among my favorites from this set).

Right at the end, all three of us took turns putting on songs for anyone who cared to listen…

…and , well, dance to them, until we closed shop.

By the way, did you know I have this hat for nearly 10 years now? I bought it back when I graduated and it was the hat which accompanied me on our first vacation with Ergo Proxy and has ever since, on every vacation we ever went on together, whether the two of us or with other friends, such as Cavu, Unbound and Darkside Blues. If only ox-skin could talk, this hat would have near unbelieveable tales to tell and now it has even witnessed the craziness that are the J-Parties.

Well, that’s how last season ended and in less than 2 weeks, a new one begins, along with other things which I cannot yet disclose, but I promise will rock your world. Until then, take care, keep your noses clean and do not whine too much. You have your whole lives ahead to do that.

Before I go, here are my two playlists of the night, although the second one had to be scrambled a bit to make room for some requests right then and there:

Playlist – 2009-07-04 – Mukashi Mukashi no Omoide

01 – Umi no Triton (TV OP) [1972-04-01].mp3

02 – Mazinger Z – Mazinger Z (TV OP – TV Size) [1972-12-03].mp3

03 – Getter Robo (TV OP) [1974-04-04].mp3

04 – UFO Robo Grendizer – Tobe! Grendizer (TV OP – TV Size) [1975-10-05].mp3

05 – Jetter Mars (TV OP) [1977-02-03].mp3

06 – Captain Harlock – Space Pirate Captain Harlock (TV OP) [1978-03-14].mp3

07 – Galaxy Express 999 – Undying Spirit in Arcadia [1978-09-14].mp3

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

09 – Blackstar (TV OP) [1981-09-12].mp3

10 – Ulysse 31 – Ulysse (TV OP 1) [English] [1981-10-03].mp3

11 – Taiyo no Ko Esteban (Les Mysterieuses Cites D’Or) – Boukenshya-tachi (TV OP – TV Size) [French] [1982-06-29].mp3

12 – Plawres Sanshiro – Super Heavy Weight (TV OP – TV Size) [1983-06-05].mp3

13 – Plawres Sanshiro – Ju-Oh Maru Theme Edit (BGM) [1983-06-05].mp3

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

15 – Candy Candy – Watashi wa Candy (TV OP – TV Size) [Greek] [1984].mp3

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

17 – Thundercats [Better Version] [1985].mp3

18- She-Ra – Princess of Power (TV OP) [1985-09-09].mp3

19 – Gummi Bears (TV OP) [1985-09-14].mp3

20 – Silverhawks (TV OP) [1986-09-08].mp3

21 – Defenders of the Earth (TV OP) [1986-09-08].mp3

22 – Sanjyuushi (The Three Musketeers ) – Yume Bouken  (TV OP) [1987-10-09].mp3

23 – Bravestar (TV OP) [1987].mp3

24 – Peter Pan no Bouken – Mouichido Peter Pan (TV OP – TV Size) [1989-01-08].mp3

25 – Ranma Season 2 – Little Date (TV OP) [1989-04-15].mp3

26 – Chojin Locke – Lord Leon OVA – Try to Believe (OVA OP – OVA Size) [1989].mp3

27 – Sailor Moon Classic – Moonlight  Densetsu (TV OP 2 – TV Size)  [Greek Version] [1992].mp3

28 – X – Men [1992-10-31].mp3

29 – Lord of Lords Ryu Knight – RUN ~Kyou Ga Kawaru Magic~ (TV OP 2 – TV Size) [1994-04-05].mp3

30 – Lord of Lords Ryu Knight – Ryu Paladin (BGM) [1994-04-05].mp3

31 – Iron Man (TV OP 2) [1994-10-24].mp3

32 – WildC.A.T.S. (TV OP) [1994].mp3

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

34 – Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran – Leave It To The Wind (TV OP  – TV Size) [2000-01-26] .mp3

This list was a follow-up feature of the one I did last year at BIOS and translates as “Memories From Long, Long Ago”. If you go to the end of the linked post, the dates and format are explained.

Playlist – 2009-07-04 – East Meets West

01 – Buck-Tick – Alice in Wonder Underground.mp3

02 – An Cafe – Aroma.mp3

03 – E Nomine – Das Tier in Mir (Wolfen).mp3

04 – Speedgrapher – Girls on Film (TV OP).mp3

05 – Kaya – Kasha.mp3

06 – Yousei Teikoku – Patriot Anthem.mp3

07 – Maximum the Hormone – Chu Chu Lovely Muni Muni Mura Mura Purin Purin Boron Nurururerorero.mp3

08 – Bulldog Mansion – Happy Birthday to Me.mp3

09 – Perfume – Electro World.mp3

10 – Kaya – Glitter Arch.mp3

11 – D’espairs Ray – BRILLIANT.mp3

12 – Fullmetal Alchemist 2 – Again (TV OP 1).mp3

13 – Weiss Kreuz – Piece of Heaven (TV OP 2).mp3

14 – Ray The Animation – zero-G (TV OP).mp3

15 – Weiss Kreuz – Velvet Underworld (TV OP 1).mp3

16 – Rentrer en Soi – Jude.mp3

17 – Breaking Benjamin – Breathe.mp3

18 – Gankutsuou – You Won’t See Me Coming (TV ED).mp3

19 – D’espairs Ray – HORIZON.mp3

20 – Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Sorairo Days (TV OP).mp3

21 – Loudness – Like Hell.mp3

As I said, this playlist was not executed as intended (a couple of songs were replaced with others and some were played in a different order), but I put it here at least for the record.

See ya soon,

Speedgrapher

Oni Market #18: Video Mania

Hello again everyone: just a quick pop to inform you on what’s out among the stalls of otaku culture’s little bazaar of the bizarre at the moment Here goes:

Item #1: Sakura Syndrome Cosplay (06/06/2009) slide show video by Akihisha, a.k.a. Kretinos2. Akihisha once again did a great job of editing the slide-show with music (this is his second video related to Greek cosplay - the first one is over here) and giving alively presentation of a once again great cosplay night. Enjoy!

Item #2: Canaan. A series that premiered on the 4th of July of the current year, sporting peculiar assassins, a photographer and some interestingly weird science, especially a condition called synesthesia (an actual medical condition where input from one sense mixes with the others, so to the person sufferning from the condition sounds have visible colors, images may have taste etc.), which is used in the anime as a special ability. The first episode takes place in Shanghai during the New-Year Festival. There will be some things possibly familiar to those who have watched shows such as Noir, Madlax, Black Lagoon, El Cazador de la Bruja and Bakuretsu Tenshi – however it is a possibly new and interesting approach.

Item #3: Pandora Hearts. Another episode I downloaded on a random whim. A series (by Studio XEBEC) that begins with the coming of age of heir Oz Bezarius and is surrounded by a peculiar aura of menace, past sin and toys gone bad. This series (which premiered last April) probably falls under the category of “noble-born with a terrible secret”, as did DNAngel, Metantei Loki Ragnarok, and Suteki Tantei Labyrinth. The design and animation are not anything terribly special, but the scenario and prospective cast of characters seem promising enough.

That’s all for now,

Speedgrapher

September 2009 Events

Here we are then, with the new season right before the gates and the new (academic) year kicking off with forest fires galore, hundreds of thousands of hectares of green being burnt to cinder, people loosing homes and our politicians bickering of fractions of percentage points in the polls.  Many among our number (the Greek Japanese culture enthusiast community) were touched or very nearly touched by the fire, Ayami, Mai and Wabbit among them, as well as Kyoshiro who did volunteer firefighting right in the midst of the fiery chaos (here’s her short but explicit report). As I have said in the past, life is bound to throw real problems and crises our way, so let us not invent some of our own to add to them…

However, as I have said before, this blog is strictly dedicated to modern Japanese culture, so even with all this going on and much more yet to some when the extent of the damage is assessed, I have two events to report, omitting the glamorous presentation out of respect concerning these events. Here goes then:

On Saturday, the 12th of September, Akai Panda will be organizing the first party of the season at Da Sein (12, Solomou St., Exarheia), featuring DJ sets by Camus, Namida and Glastenen, as well as Nozomi Ongaku’s mighty KrizD as a guest. The party will include a cosplay contest and lottery for giveaways, as well as a surprise (for you) which I greatly anticipate… The party starts at 21:00 with free entrance.

1st Party of the Season (Poster by Megi).

Two weeks later, on Friday the 25th of September Sakura Syndrome are starting thei 5th season of activity, with a cosplay party at CoFiX (11, Lori Margariti St., Salonika), which will feature all the usual goodness plus anticipated surprises, given the team’s new association with CLJ records. You can read more at their blog. The party starts at 21:00, with an entrance of 4 euros (including drink).

That is all for now but there will be more soon, so wait for it as I receive it.

Take care,

Speedgrapher