AX 2011: Consolidated Edition

For some reason I've been hearing the word "consolidate" a lot... So I'll use it too for my main Anime Expo post. Last year I wrote up everything in one post and it was looooonnngggg! This year there weren't as much events to describe, so maybe it'll be shorter if I do it in one post. There were some panels that I wasn't allowed to take pictures of and others that I was too lazy to take pictures of... So I'll have some photos that are not related while I'm telling my story... ^^;

Ah and that Gundam Unicorn is human-size. I thought it's a good start since the abbreviation on the shoulder spells out "Anime Expo" :P

Lots of Miku itasha. These ones are the Toyota Corolla ones and inside the Convention Center.

Let's see... Where to begin? The first day, 2 of my roommates at the hotel lined up to get our badges. We were afraid of 3 hour lines, so we got up at 5:30 in the morning and lined up by 6:30. The registration doesn't open until 8 am, but we got our badges by 8:30. Then it's another line to get concert tickets. I missed my chance to get Miku concert tickets, but with slightly overpriced ticket, I was able to sit with my friends.

First up was the Kalafina panel. The line was so long, that they had to move us downstairs and then lined up so we can go back upstairs... How silly... I've already seen Kalafina back in 2009 at Anime Boston, so I knew who they were and wasn't expecting to get an autograph again (though it would've been nice). Unfortunately I had to get to Sawashiro Miyuki panel line right after.

Danny Choo hosted the Sawashiro Miyuki panel and was trying hard to do translations for her ^^; Thankfully Miyuki also knows some English. She was awesome! I was glad to hear about her Puchiko role, how it was her first and she was only 13 years old (if I heard this correctly) when she did it. Afterwards we chased to the Exhibit Hall to get her autograph. A long line already started at the NIS America booth. Fortunately there was a bonus when you buy Arakawa Under the Bridge BD/DVD... Which is a priority ticket to get Miyuki's autograph! So I bought my way in :P I'll tell you this story in another post when I show off what I got signed.

This QAN-T Gundam look really good. Looks much better in person.

After that I had some free time and browsed the Exhibit Hall. So many things that I don't think I've seen every single booth due to the sheer number of them around there. I bought too many things on the first day. I've pretty much found everything I wanted on my wish list. Well, except for a new wallet...

ANA x Gundam

Later on we went to the Funimation panel where I was mostly bored and played with my 3DS because the amount of StreetPass there was unbelievable! I had over 250 StreetPasses over the weekend! StreetPass is basically exchanging Mii information with people who has 3DS. All the trailers for Funimation were dubs, so I pretty much ignored everything. It was nice to hear that B Gata H Kei has been licensed, though with an unfortunate title, "Yamada's First Time"... -_-

A really cool Gundam! Someone PLEASE tell me what this is and maybe I'll get it XD

And right after was the Danny Choo panel. I had to line up again for the panel. Though it was fine since I met Lene there along with Tsundelicious and Kurotsuki while I was there and also got Vince "Lionheart" to get ahead with us in line.

Danny's panel mirrored his recent post with additional examples. Not sure if I'll be changing everything I'm doing, but I am going to try... I still haven't really found my focus, which is still fine. My lack of focus is my focus. Which means I can try everything under the sun without losing focus... Right?

I missed these Mirai itasha the first time... Tsubasa had to tell me where they were XD

I met a lot more people before and after the panel. Ragnablade and CosplayShots introduced themselves to me after Soulfringe pointed me out to them before the panel started ^^; After the panel I immediately met Nekoconeco, PikaChika (whom I met last year but didn't properly introduce each other, lol), Ms. Geek, Gibson, Dancing Queen, and sorta briefly talked with Maridah. And also the ever present Jun aka TofuProd, lol.

And this is apparently Jun's car?

On the Saturday, it seemed strange that there wasn't much that I wanted to do during the day. So I ventured out to the Exhibit Hall again. This time I brought Helen along so I can show them to the people in the Obitsu booth ^^ I have to say that it was one of the most memorable moments this year at AX, even though it was brief. I also discovered Lene's Artist Alley booth and met the 2 Lesters, the Black Hole Stormtrooper variety and the Yuuichikun variety :P

And then finally it was time for the Kalafina concert at the Club Nokia... A much smaller venue this year compared to last year's concerts in Nokia Theater... And it was standing room only -_-  But it was still a great show! And get to hang out at the concert with Yakuri as well ^^

So many people... 50,000 over the weekend is the number I heard.

And then it was time for the Miku concert. There were people packing in the front way before the concert... We waited in the room for a bit, where I met Kitty_Pounce and Simply_Aroused ^_^ Then when we entered through the front of the stage, I saw the size of the screen that Miku was going to be on... So small... It did make look Miku more human size, but still we were far away and towards the left. So when Miku goes to the right of the screen, she fades away... Thankfully her playlist was different than the one from the Blu-Ray ^^ There were some new costumes as well. Unfortunately she didn't sing Melt nor Magnet... I was just a little bit disappointed even though it was a great concert.

Big crowd in front of the Nokia Theater before Mikunopolis

After the concert I met up with a few people and kinda drank a little ^^; I was really red, lol. I would say more, but what happens at Anime Expo on Saturday night stays at Anime Expo XD Ok, I can at least tell you that I met up with SouthernBelleCA to give her the order from Chun, courtesy of Lightning Sabre Courier (LOL). I also met Jeromaru again because apparently he's neighbours with SouthernBelle :D

On the Sunday was the L.A. CGM Nigh... Well Morning actually. It started at 11 AM... So off I go with Helen again and dropped her off with Mugi sitting on her lap beside Tsubasa's Sasara and CrimsonYukikaze's girl... whose name I forgot atm... Sorry!

So then I get to meet the DD group from CA as well... I met BerserkFuryZero again and someone that I've only met the first time there prior to talking on Twitter, MiuofStars.

There were just lines and lines of people waiting to meet with Danny, so I just hung out with Vince and Soulfringe, but later on we meet up with Lene's group as well. I also met someone new, Kupomatic, who was also at Lene's Artist Alley booth ^^ And I had to take a photo of the Black Hole Stormtrooper! Alas, the flash made the picture look a bit bad... I know where to find him. Is ok :P

I also met and got approached by a few new people too ^^ Let's see, I know I saw CoolMikeol because he said he'll be wearing Eiji cosplay. Then I also met ObiWanIvan with a Saber Lily DD and also JRenteria who's got an awesome hair! I thought it was a wig ^^; It was almost hard to keep track of everyone I met... I see why Danny encouraged business cards!

After the Culture Japan x Fakku Meet and Greet was the Maon Kurosaki concert. Which I did enjoy even though it was last minute choice for me. Unfortunately her song list was still too small, so even though everyone called for an encore, she came out again and apologized that (I assume) she doesn't have anything else to sing. Very short concert... And then later that night I went and watched The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya for the 5th time, but the first time for my friend. It was fun and annoying at the same time watching with the crowd. The one part where it was supposed to be a *gasp* moment ended up with people laughing because they didn't know what it meant... Time to rewatch Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody people! ANYHOO... Don't mind my ranting. I'm just a Suzumiya nut ^^;

On the last day was the Good Smile Company X NitroPlus+ panel. It was a lot of fun hearing about the beginnings of GSC and NitroPlus+. Lots of goodies were given away. We saw some gameplay video for the BRS game. Takanori Aki (GSC) and Kosaka Taiki (NitroPlus+) were great sport. They were surprised that we knew a lot of the stuff they were talking about. I am glad I owned the first NitroPlus+ game ever, Phantom of the Inferno. I was going to bring it to get it signed, but I forgot... It was also interesting that GSC started as a talent agency for seiyuu before. They didn't work out, but they found Max Factory and decided to represent them as a "talent agency". Great beginnings ^^

After that panel, I got autographs from both heads of the company and made my way to find special deals at the Exhibit room before it closes for the last time this year. I didn't go to the closing ceremony unfortunately... So after that it was just done ^^; Anyway... Here's a few more pics...

This one's for Chun. Something she created (the shirt) with Maridah Mirai ^^

Yuri Mania 31

Gokigenyou! Ah it has been quite a while since my last Yuri Mania, eh? Well this time I have something special. Last year I had to do a quick Yuri Mania and Weekly Lily before I went to Anime Boston. Docking mousepads! Well what do I do for a sequel? Why... Docking Dakimakuras, of course :P

By the way, some of these may be NSFW. So you may want to get ready to close your tab/window when your boss comes around your desk. Unless you're the boss, of course. If that's the case then feel free to share this with your employees.


So who are the participants? Well you can see Ryomou from Ikki Tousen up there, but Ryomou isn't really yuri... So we bring one of the greatest yuri seme there is!

Enter, Sousou! She's the yuri seme I look up to. When she wants her girl, she'll do anything to get that girl, especially Kan'u. Oh that scene from the first season of Koihime Musou just spoke to me so clearly.

So here's a close-up of the top half of Sousou. It's a good thing that they're both based on the same Three Kingdom, so this is somewhat appropriate, right? :3

And this is the bottom half of Sousou. Her pantsu almost undone and one of her thigh highs are already off.

Here's a close-up of the logo. I still haven't finished second season of Koihime Musou yet, but I'm gonna try to watch them when I have some downtime at AX. Doubtful though ^^;

So why did I get Sousou dakimakura cover, aside from her being my favourite yuri seme? No other reason...

So now our participants are ready. Hmm... Perhaps this side of Ryomou doesn't fit this situation perfectly...

Ah, much better... Ryomou's hands are now cuffed to her back. Go get her Sousou!

Ooh yeah... HAWT! Look how bouncy their oppai are! Docking at its best!

Ah, but Sousou isn't satisfied with just oppai docking... She goes lower! OM NOM NOM NOM!

What's that you say? You can't see anything? Use your imagination! Oh fine... Let's throw in my stick cushion (or bolster, depending what you call it) from IKEA and make it better!

Oh yes, yes! Docking and perhaps some tribadism there, eh? :D

Close up of the docking...

And here's Sousou rubbing Ryomou with her exposed feet.

Looks like someone's feeling left out and decided to pounce on Ryomou...

Oh and she's frisky at that too!

And here's the docking side view.

Tis a shame to show her only bits... So here's a full pic of Mirai. Love the thigh highs! Beautiful ^.^

This is the risque side. Very smooth looking skin. A perfect 2D skin! XD And I'll be bringing her to AX. Except without the pillow ^^; Until next time! Gokigenyou!

The Rescuer

Saber Dollfie finally on her way to rescue her Escalayer onee-sama! This is another Dollfie Dream Theater X Melancholy of Saber Lily, my collaboration with fellow blogger Wolfheinrich. I also had approval from the proud papa to let me get Saber to call Escalayer, "onee-sama". Something a yuri fan like me appreciate very much ^.^

Do follow Wolfheinrich's Dollfie Dream Theater. Looks like something's big is brewing over there!

I'm also glad to have a Saber Dollfie in my room, one way or another, lol. If I ever get a Dollfie, Saber would be the one... or Rei Ayanami, whoever's easier to find or if a sponsor would ever give me one XD

The Melancholy of Saber Lily Part 21

Where is her backup you say? I'll let Wolfheinrich do the explaining below ^^;

Looks like they're busy shopping with somebody's credit card...

Now, I had a really hard time Photoshopping everything out of the background, so there were quite a few delays trying to get this 4koma off the ground. I really wish I have my own Dollfie, lol. Wolfy, care to donate one? XD Oh and I also had to take new pictures of my room for the background picture... So um... don't look for continuity problems, ok? >.>

Behind-the-scene, I have all sorts of figma boxes opened and parts strewn around. I tend to keep my figmas in their boxes to keep them dust free. It's quite a hassle when I have multi-figure shot like the one in the last panel though...

And finally an omake... something that I just felt like doing. The dialogue was pretty much done on the spot too. What I did was asking Wolfheinrich for the Saber Dollfie poses by using my Saber figma. I used Mirai Gundam to be my stand-in for Escalayer. So I thought, why waste pictures when I can use it? Thus the Type F version of the 4koma is born. 'F' for figma.

The Melancholy of Saber Lily Part 21 (Type-F)

I didn't really do much work on it... just plunk'em in the boxes and just go with it. Type-F will be a one-shot thing... so no continuations. Unless I figure out a way to continue it.

Both of these 4komas are on The Melancholy of Saber Lily site.

Mirai Gundam

Gundam of the Future aka Mirai Gundam is finally done! 5 days worth of work and countless hours... Countless because I didn't keep track of how long it took me to make it. There were some extra unaccountable work that I did not foresee. But here is my blog's first anniversary project finally done. In case you don't know, mirai means future in English.

Beware, there are a LOT of pictures! XD

So what started all this? Why, it's Mirai Suenaga of course, the mascot to DannyChoo.com. I knew I wanted to make another Gundam kitbash after the Saber Gundam, but I couldn't figure out what. Then I thought a Mirai Gundam would be feasible with the use of Nadleeh! Oh and if you saw my first post about this Gundam project, I've added a red herring... which is the GN Archer. I didn't use any parts of it on Mirai Gundam :P I have another plan for that one.

Now a word of warning: I am not that good of a modeller... I only have something in mind but I cannot execute it well. So please don't mind the crappy paint job and overall of it, lol. I may take some advice and wouldn't mind having a suggestion for which paint I can use instead of markers for future references if I have time to fix it.

Here's a quick tour of the Mirai Gundam... In the front you'll notice the "d" on the chest. That was a printed out decal from my computer and stuck on with glue. It's not well done and some of the paint stuck on the front of it before. I had to fix it real quick with white paint. Hopefully it's not too bad. Forgot to mention... instead of the ribbon on the chest, I opted to colour in the core in the blue ribbon colour.

The neck piece that is used for the Kyrios torso tilts forwards and backwards, so it has a bit of an effect on the hair at the front.

Angled side view shows the "d" logo on the side of the arm that's supposed to be a part of the uniform for Mirai. And I gotta say... this is the first time I've seen a Gundam with "socks"! I laughed and laughed at this fact. It just looks so strange XD


Here's the back side... the hair had to be repainted just before I took these photos. Some of the paint peeled off because the hair is actually a flexible piece instead of other materials. In the future I may have to repaint it again.


Another side view shows the hair tie on the side of Mirai's head. It was hard to paint it because I was all shaky and couldn't paint in a straight line. I can see visibly how the paint is rubbing off here... I'll fix that soon.

Here's the Mirai printout I used for colour reference. You can see that I was trying to compare my Gundam markers to the original art.


Mirai Gundam with GN Rifle! What do you like best? Mirai with a gun...

Or with a beam saber?

Or perhaps with dual beam sabers?

I'm trying to do all the poses that Mirai does, but unfortunately Danny's mascot page is offline at the moment... Either that or I can't find it at the moment. If I remember other poses that I haven't done, I'll post it here or make another post.


Mirai Gundam with hanky? Do Gundams cry GN particles?

This is the Mirai Figma pose that was shown at Tokyo Figure Show... though the arms are a bit too long here ^^;


The pantsu exposing pose... And YES, I painted the bottom part white for this reason! :P Cannot unsee?

Here's a pose where Mirai is supposed to be in a maid uniform... but I don't have one, so go with this one ok?

I visited Chun on Thursday to show her this Mirai Gundam. She suggested I do outdoor photos. It was a nice day outside, but it was kinda windy. As for the people watching me, I didn't even notice. I was focused on the Gundam not falling from the wind and trying to get the right focus for the camera.

So here she is outside... Had to prop her up on the box I was carrying her in because there weren't any stable surface outside.


Mirai... it's not nice to read over someone's shoulder... or their wrist for that matter. A bronze statue that sat on the bench at the mall I went to.

The mall had an indoor garden with perhaps fake plants... I thought it was a nice setting for this. Just as I finished taking these pictures, my brother called and I tried to quickly grab the Gundam as I was talking... Unfortunately I dropped her on the pot of dirt right beside this bridge... Thankfully it wasn't so dirty. I also noticed a security guard passing by, but she didn't say anything to me.

There's a waterfall in the background.

This is what it'll look lilke IF Danny uses Mirai Gundam as part of the DannyChoo.com banner XD

Here's that kneeling picture again. This time she's holding a smaller version of her Gundam ^^

I really liked this dual wield beam saber pose! So much so that maybe we can use it for a Figure.fm header?



And finally, I had to do a parody of that Hidamari Sketch scene... Gundams are a bit hard to handle unfortunately ^^;


I think I'll have more things I'll do with Mirai Gundam in the future, she is after all, Gundam of the future!