Hey hey hey hey! It's the post where we (me and Zelos) show off what we got!


So pictured above is my 'haul'. It's limited to pretty much those three items which is why I'm hesitating to call it a 'haul'. Maybe more of...a catch? Either way, it was a pretty pricey catch.

Gracing the boxes of the LEBD boxes are Madoka, Mami and Homura! The lettering is done in a shiny gold foil, and the box itself is entirely white with polka dots corresponding to the colour of who's on the box. I'm both a bit happy and sad that there's no Kyouko and Sayaka. Happy because it means it's 2 less that I had to buy, and sad that those two aren't represented. The two of them have a lot of dedication in info books though.

Sayaka graces the back of  volume 2. There's a sticky note on the back of the boxes that's essentially the back of the case where all the information is. I thought it was actually part of the box until the bottom corner lifted. They're still on the box, mind you. Can't bring myself to take them off!


Inside Box 1. Included are the info book (bottom right), the OST (black, middle), the discs themselves (both BD and DVD are included), the end card illustrations (on post card sized cards, middle) and a double sided poster. I don't think I'll be putting up any of those posters...the fold lines irritate me and I don't know how to get rid of them.


Inside the info book are interviews with various people involved in the series, like Shinbo, Urobochi, and the various voice actors. There are also character sketches and designs (the sketches and drawings by Aoki Ume) and illustrations of the witches that appear in the episodes included in the box. At the end are a set of humourous 4 panel comics based on situations in the episodes drawn by Aoki Ume.


Box 2, though Mami is on the cover, has a lot of Sayaka and Kyouko in it. It comes with two double sided posters, one of which (if memory serves me correct) more or less dedicated to Sayaka and Kyouko. I probably should've taken photos of the posters by themselves, but the double sided-ness put me off.


Another thing the info books have are episode previews of the ones included. I read through them and they're not only well written, but are written so as to not spoil major events. Even the pictures don't spoil enough to ruin an episode for you.


The third and final box. You can't see it too well, but like box 2, it comes with two double sided posters. I also like the cover of disc case the best of the three (the one with all of the girls). If I were to put a poster up, I might put that Ultimate Madoka one up. It's not exactly this, which I'd make into stained glass and use it as the Cathedral of Madoka's altar window, but it's still pretty!


Almost forgot about this one. This is the limited edition poster from Aniplex USA that C&L was giving out with every purchase (of Madoka, I'd like to assume). I bought the three volumes in two runs, so I ended up getting two of the posters; Zelos has the other one.


Have you read A Day with Kenn 110-3? No? What are you doing?! Get over there and read it! It'll only take a few minutes! Read it here!!

For those who have, this is what I got autographed by Nakata Jouji, the voice of Giroro. On the left is the autograph, and on the right (though it's a bit hard to read) is 「目を食いしばれ!!」 If AR somehow gets another voice actor who has a character in Keroro, I'll have them sign on this colour insert beside their respective character! It'll be awesome and great!!


Speaking of Zelos, this is his haul. I forget the artists, but all of these were done by the various artists selling at the Artist's area of the Vendors Hall. Except for that Madoka one, of course. And the dakimakura at the top right of the photo.

Also, pardon the poor image quality. Zelos...doesn't have access to a proper camera.


If memory serves me correct, the top two (Mio and Samus, as well as the League of Legends poster ) are done by one artist, then the Tales and two Miku ones are done by another artist (I think), leaving the others by a third. Samus is probably my favourite of the bunch. The artist who did that one had some other amazing posters for sale too. Including a Nyancat one.


Last part of Zelo's artist purchases. The small one is a book mark!


Flynn! Made by Alter, this plushy has Nendoroid joints in it's body (legs, neck, arms) making it pose-able, albeit very limited. I don't think it can stand, but he sits well. The sword is attached by a magnet to his hand, so you can use it as a fridge magnet too (I think).



"Last" but not least, is The Last Story! Saving this for last because it's not directly related to the convention. It's really, really pretty...the box that is. I haven't started the game yet. The box is designed to look like a book. Not sure if you can see it, but between the 'covers' of the box, it's designed to look like the side of a book (with the pages).


Inside, we've got an art book (middle), the soundtrack, by Nobuo Uematsu!! (left), and the game itself (on the right). I haven't cracked open the soundtrack yet, but I'm sure it's amazing. It's Uematsu after all.


The art book is gorgeous. Full colour images as well as character sheets and sketches. The characters look very...Final Fantasy-ish, but it's to be expected when you consider the game (made by Sakaguchi, formerly the producer of the Final Fantasy series). I've only heard good things about the game, with the only bad thing being "It's too pretty for the Wii".

Anywho, that concludes my coverage of Anime Revolution 2012. If I'm still in town next year, I'll be going again with Zelos (hopefully) for another round of coverage. Maybe I'll have a better camera and won't have to wait for a certain person to send theirs (hint hint nudge nudge). See ya the next time I do a Day With Kenn entry!

Welcome back. It's become apparent that I won't be seeing any of the requested photos until the next transit of Venus, so I figured I might as well just finish it off...

That's me on the left (obviously)

...With my own photo of Nakata Jouji!! Got the convention center early to line up for his autograph session. I had a volume (V16 of Tokyopop's NA release) of Keroro signed. I had him sign beside Giroro and write a little quip 「目を食いしばれ!」, Giroro's catchphrase. You can't see it very well here, but there'll be a better shot of it in the next post.

When I got to the lineup (about 30-45 minutes before the convention started) there was a huge lineup and I was a bit worried about how long I'd be in the lineup. A staff member came by calling for anybody in the lineup for Funimation's "Behind the Scenes" panel. More than half the line disappeared and I ended up about 6 or 9 people from the front. Hells to the yeah!

Zelos (on the left, obviously)

Zelos showed up later and joined me in the lineup. Thought he was going to try and make the NND livestream, but I guess Nakata trumped that one. He had an autograph board signed, and asked for a little quip of Otoo-san from Working!! (if you didn't know, Nakata voices Otoo).

Oh and the third and final day (Sunday) I came with the ladyfriend.


Here's a picture of her with a Bane cosplayer. He didn't have a voice that always sounded like it was in your ear, no matter how far away he was. Nor did he have that odd voice. Oddly enough, there's a Chinese Electric Batman in the background (Hei, Darker than Black).

Walked around the Vendors Hall for the third and final time (first for the lady). Looked at things we (me and Zelos) really pay too much attention to (like jewelery and plushies). Didn't spend any money this round, though Zelos picked up a Flynn (Tales of Vesperia) plushy. It's got Nendo Petit joints in it, pushing it's price well above the average cost of your normal plushy. Over the three days, I think we blew clear of $300 combined (most of it on my part).


There wasn't too many things to take a look at. Most of the events were scheduled on the Saturday, or Sunday evening, which I'd miss. The only panel I went to was Nakata Jouji's second panel, the "Dark Side of Nakata Jouji", which was supposed to focus on his more serious, darker characters, like Kotomine and Alucard, though like his first panel, it was mainly just a mish-mash of everything.

Pictured above was a team of TF2 cosplayers, though the teams are so ridiculously skewed that I'd just quit if I was on the Blue team. Also, the scout on the far right is a friend of the ladyfriend's.

On the Red Team

• 2 Medics
• 2 Spies
• 4 Scouts
• 1 Engineer
• 1 Sniper
• 1 Heavy

On the Blue Team

• 2 Scouts
• 1 Heavy

There was also a Boomer hiding in the crowd, though I'm not sure what team a character from another game would be in.

Here's an amusing shot. Jesus and Master Chief. The first thing that went through my mind was "God mode activate" (or for Starcraft players, Power Overwhelming). Two great cosplays that are even better side by side.


Also spotted what I believe (ladyfriend says it is at least) a Ciel Phantomhive. Really didn't see too many of him at the convention and this one is really good. Photo is a bit wonky (a bit too dark), though it doesn't take too much away from the awesomeness of the costume. No Sebastian sighted though.


Caught this pair while we were heading back to the trains. On the left, Yuna, with her FFX look. On the right, Pit. Both are really great costumes (though Yuna could've done with her staff for completeness).

All the cosplayers hanging around outside must've been a real spectacle for all the toursts coming off the cruise ships or walking around downtown. Even moreso for customers of the Fairmont, seeing all the cosplayers in the hall's lobby.

Anywho, headed back to Richmond to pick up The Last Story (which I haven't started yet) and headed back home to get ready for work.

Stay tuned for next time when I put up our (Zelos included) haul! I've got my 3 Madoka bluray boxes as well as shots of The Last Story (not from AR, but it's during the same time frame, so why not?).

A girl with a rare growth disorder that leaves her in the body of a child at the age of 19 meets a boy with a mental disorder who has the mind of a small boy in a 17 year old form. A Friendly Winter shares with us the endearing story of their day-to-day lives, joys and tribulations.

Kenn's Comment: I don't think this is the first time that I've featured a DAUM serialized webcomic. Unlike the ones I feature in the Weekly Webcomic (which I haven't really touched in a long time), I consider these series to be full manga (manhwa in this case) series that are serialized online. In a way, GanGan Online is similar, as Yandere Kanojo (a manga I featured many moons ago) is serialized both online and in print (the serialized content is slightly different where the print edition has the brunt of the story).

Anywho, this one's a nice little romantic drama of reversed situations. The characters are an endearing bunch, from Min Seong's innocence to Da Jeong's haughtiness, each of the main characters and their close family have something that makes them stand out. Da Jeong's situation is pretty darn complicated too.

Anywho, enjoy the series!

The song and video...are so sad.

You know what else is really sad? How slow my computer has been these past few days.






Title: HEAVEN
Producer: はりー
Genre: Pop
Vocaloid: 初音ミク

Kenn's Comment: It's always a speeding truck isn't? The same kind of truck is the cause of pretty much every single tragedy I can think of Japanese anime related death.

Anywho, cynicism aside, this week saw a three way battle between this, an emotional Miku song, an energetic electronic song with a great looking PV, or a rockish GUMI with godly tuning. Tough choices resulted in this one being chosen. Maybe I'm just a sucker for watching people die or something but I do feel like this was the best of the three. Wait until you get to the end of the PV before your tears start welling. Damn.

Also, here's a cover of the song by KK. It came out really...really fast.

Welcome back to Part 2 of my Anime Revolution experience. Rather than waiting and hoping that Ivy gets me them photos, I'll go on without them. I've got lots of photos for Day 2, though having the ones of Jouji would have been really, really cool. Like really, really cool.





First thing in the morning: awesome Danbo cosplay. There's a switch on the side of his head that turns on lights behind the eyes. Absolutely amazing.

Day 2 begins fairly slowly. We didn't have line ups impeding us and the didn't really have any panels planned for the first few hours, so we trudged slowly through the Vendor's hall. Zelos went through the Artist's section, mentally bookmarking stalls and posters he wanted. As for me, I picked up the 3rd volume of the limited edition blurays for Madoka, pushing my spendings up well over $200. Again, I'll be covering the haul in it's own post.


Spotted a Keima in character. I wonder what he was playing on his PFP PSP. I should've brought mine. It'd help a lot with the lineups.

Compared to Friday, Saturday's vendor hall was fully set up and packed with people. We were there in the earlier hours, so the crowds were still fairly thin, but there still were visibly more people there.


One of the few Gintama cosplayers we spotted. It's hard to say what the most common cosplay was, but I was surprised to see that so few people were going as Bleach / Naruto / One Piece characters.

Zelos and I headed for the first panel, Voice Actor Idol. Think AI, except instead of singing, you're reading a script, putting yourself in character. Cue some lineup mishaps, a massive lineup and a text from Ivy which sent us heading to a completely different panel - Indie Games 101 (not the actual panel name). Can't say it was too interesting. Without their programmer, the panel (the first for the group) was fairly dull. Indie Games are great and all, but when all they are able to talk about is the mind set you'd have to go through, it doesn't feel a lot like a panel about making games at all. Speaker at the panel (from SpaceCat Studios) had to compete with the crowd and contestants over at the Voice Actor Idol; it was often hard to hear him making the panel hard to pay attention to.


Several failed attempts to meet up with Ivy later, we finally catch a break and catch her in line for the first of two Nakata Jouji panels (insert complaints of lack of Jouji panels here). The first panel was supposed to be of Nakata's more comedic characters like Giroro (ケロロ軍曹) and Otoo-san (Working!), though it ended up being filled with questions about his roles as Kotomine (Fate/Zero) and Alucard (Hellsing). It was pretty darn cool though. People would ask questions, often requests for lines from their favourite characters. My favourite questions were the ones related to Giroro, from his ギロギロギロギロ to his more comedic wailing "Natsumiiiiiii!". Zelos' favourite ones were ones related to Otoo-san (Working!). I bet people were surprised to know that Nakata voices such a feeble character when they see other roles he's done, like Kotomine, Alucard, and Sol (Guilty Gear).



Just an example of what things were like.


Three cosplayers from 未来日記 (Future Diary). Not sure which number they are, but Zelos is pretty sure that they're No. 13, so I'll go with that. The one in the middle back was saying "hurry up with the photos!". I'm sure we can all guess why he'd like us to hurry up.


This was an impressive cosplay. Might not look like much from this, but this guy is on stilts. Yes, you read right. Stilts. He stood well over a foot above everybody, and left Zelos and I wondering how the heck he managed to get in and out of the convention hall's doors. He even had an escort clearing the way for him to walk! I think this is One Piece? Correct me if I'm wrong, not a One Piece reader.

I've more of less run out of things to talk about, but I've still got lots of photos to run through.

Pictured here is the lineup for the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary panel. Many of the voice actor guests for the convention had roles in the English dub of the series, so it was nice way to celebrate 20 years of the series. As you can see, the line is pretty big, but it's also chock full of a Sailor Moon cosplayers. This lineup started outside of the hall's doors, but other lineups were in Exhibition Hall A, an entire hall for lining up. Didn't learn about the lineup hall until before the Nakata panel. Blast.


One of the couple K-ON! cosplayers spotted at the con. Interestingly enough, it can be split down the middle - Black shoes on the left, white on the right. I don't think I saw a single Azusa cosplay. Azusa fan slightly discouraged.


Here's another one you didn't see a lot of. Sword Art Online! Kirito and Asuna cosplayers. I'm pretty sure these two were the only two SAO cosplayers, which makes them the best of the convention! These two were spotted in Exhibition Hall A, hanging around outside of the slew of lineups.


Aside from anime and game characters (there was a Team Fortress Medic cosplayer above), you also had comic characters, like Scarecrow (pretty sure this is Scarecrow) from the Batman series. I can't tell you which variation this is (variation referring to which story).


Here's a bad photo. My camera doesn't handle backlight hella well, so the cosplayer of Nell is unfortuntaely, ominously lit.

Anywho, that's it for today, look forward to parts 3 and the haul post. Catch you next time!

Easily one of the mos exciting posts of the year~! Anime Revoluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuution!


Anime Revolution! Vancouver's newest anime convention since the end and demise of our older one, Anime Evolution. This time it's got better sponsors, from big name companies like Glico, EA and Funimation, to smaller local businesses like Imperial Hobbies and Magic Stronghold.

For the first two days I was there primarily with Zelos, and occasionally with Ivy; both happen to be defunct members of this blog, so it became rather interesting to say the least.


Anywho, let's get this show rolling. First day lines were expectedly long. It's been a few years since Vancouver has had it's own anime convention, and I'm pretty sure we've (Vancouverites) have all been starved of a local convention.


The lines, Pre-Registered and Registration, were impressively long, snaking around several times within the convention lobby, and continued long out the doors. In the lines I found a bunch of great cosplayers, from the Madoka troupe (sans the titular character), to an impressive Master Chief (pictured later). And yes, Homura was really tall. Like actually. Cute too. An interesting quip you could make is that world saving soldiers, magical girls, and super villains have to wait in lines too.


For the first day, the Dealer's Hall (or vendor's hall) lay fairly barren. There were less people than I expected there, and some stalls were still setting up. It might have been because we were there so early in the day, but regardless, many of the bigger stalls were open for business. Lots of stuff to see and  buy, from rare figures from Japan (they went for hundreds, if not thousands) to bluray box sets not due for another month or two in North America. I spent quite a bit on the first day, picking up the first two volumes of the limited edition Madoka Bluray sets. I'll be covering my, as well as Zelo's convention hauls in a separate post.


With so many different cosplayers, some interesting scenes would show up. Take this one, Ironman vs M. Bison (?), which I believe could be something straight out of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. This one's taken by Zelos, since he's a bit taller than me and managed to shoot over the crowd. Ironman was a two in one cosplay, as on the surface he's got the suit, and underneath he's got the Stark look. I think I caught him chewing a fake cigar at one point.


Zero Suit Samus! The only Samus I saw at the con, and one of the better ones I've seen. The only funny part: why is she wearing those toed ninja shoes? This is at Zelos' friend's stall at the dealer's room. Figures and posters galore! They had a challenge up: Perfect any song (Project Diva DT2) on extreme and win an exclusive Hatsune Miku poster from the Mikunopolis concert in LA. Sound easy? It ain't. Most people played Project Diva on their PSP and are used to the feel of the buttons. Even players of Dreamy Theatre are probably used to playing on their Sixaxis controller. Challenge made use of fight stick, emulating the arcade sticks used on the cabinet versions of Project Diva. It's a foreign feel - you have to get used to the placement of the buttons, and the feel of using the joystick instead of the D-pad.


I unfortunately work in the evenings, so I was only able to attend the convention for a handful of hours, missing out on many of the main events. We started at about 10 and went til about 3. Zelos stayed the full duration of the day, except the first day due to final exams, but came back after.

Zelos and I headed to the Anime Idol competition, squaring off with 12 hopefuls. My experience with these convention Idol competitions has been entirely comprised of J-Pop and anime openings, but this one was quite diverse. I was only at the first round because that's all I was able to attend given my schedule, but there was enka, Vocaloid (given it's popularity, I'm not surprised) and even someone doing a Sound Horizon song (massive kudos to her). The singers were pretty good, though some stood out more than others. I still await the day someone does 初音ミクの消失 and does it well. That'll be a sight to see.


A photo I snapped at the request of Zelos. I'm not entirely sure as to who they're cosplaying so I can't say too much.

Day 2 might be a bit late as I'm still waiting on Ivy's photos (blame her for delays). She has photos from Day 1 too, but I figured I'd put this one up without hers. Her friend has photos from Nakata Jouji's first panel and I really want those.

Anywho, here ends part 1. Keep your eyes peeled for the next part sometime during the week!

While you wait, have some highlights from Hypelife Films, the film crew covering the convention.

Arianrhod is a young girl from an island called Erin. She is different from all the other kids her age. All the others in the tribe have blond hair while Arian is the only one with black hair and because of this she was bullied many times. One day a traveler in silver clothing came to Erin and “named” Arian. To be named is very important because it reveals one's true self. After that the Master Drisu takes Arian in as his disciple because she was “named” by the stranger. Balor is the evil leader of Death Valley and one night he murdered all the people in Arian's tribe, and she swears to get vengeance on Balor. 

Kenn's Comment: I'm a bit of a sucker for European mythology, especially the Norse and the ones of the peoples on the British Isles. This one delves into a bit of those, but sadly, not as much as I was hoping it would. The spirits Arianrhod calls upon remain the same throughout the 8 volumes I've read so far, and are more or less restricted almost entirely to those 2-4 spirits.

Another thing about this is that the characters remain largely static. Now this is just something I've noticed in the 8 volumes I've read so far, but nothing, absolutely nothing about the characters has changed. Arianrhod isn't too different from the first volume, and I forget her friend's name, but she's only changed marginally. There's also very, very little story about the characters. They kind of get thrown into the story and go from there. Makes them feel a little bit artificial, and makes it hard to really get to 'know' a character. It's a bit of a disappointment, because of how much potential you could draw out from a series like this.

The art is a bit on the retro side, but it's from way back in the 80's so cut it some slack! It does get a bit graphic, much more than it's shounen counterpart, Naruto (it's a joke).

Would I recommend this one? Maybe. It's hard to say. The setting and story is pretty cool, and the art is good too. But that thing with the characters makes it a bit hard to swallow after a while.