MangaNEXT

1. Ciel Phantomhive (I’m looking for a Sebastian, Elizabeth, Alois, or other Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler character for Saturday)
2A. Kagamine Len Servant of Evil ver. (I’m looking for Daughter of Evil Rin, Miku (Servant of Evil ver.), or Daughter of White)
2B. Kagamine Len normal ver. (I’m looking for Rin, Miku, or other Vocaloids for Sunday)
I am deciding between the Servant of Evil version and the normal version for Len. It will really depend on who I find. I am not going to cosplay SoE Len unless a SoE Rin cosplays with me (with is very rare).

AnimeNEXT

1. Kagamine Len normal ver. (I’m looking for Rin, Miku, or other Vocaloids)
2. Ciel Phantomhive (I’m looking for a Sebastian, Elizabeth, Alois, or other Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler character)
3A. Honne Dell (Looking for a Yowane Haku)
3B. Sawada Tsuna or Rokudo Mukuro (Looking for a Chrome Dokuro)
3C. Genis Sage (Looking for a Raine Sage or Presea Combatir)
3D. Amano Yukiteru (Looking for a Gasai Yuno)
I’m deciding between Dell, Tsuna, Mukuro, Genis, and Yuki. I already have/can easily make costumes for Dell, Mukuro, Genis, and Yuki. I would have to make/buy stuff for Mukuro. I’m more likely to be Yuki than the other four I listed. If I find a Chrome, then I’ll be Tsuna or Mukuro (it will be Chrome’s choice). If I find a Raine or Presea, then I will be Genis. Keep in mind that I will only have one costume per day, so I will be Len one day, Ciel another day, and Dell/Tsuna/Mukuro/Genis another day.

Anime Expo

1. Kagamine Len normal ver. (I’m looking for Rin, Miku, or other Vocaloids)
2. Kagamine Len Human Sacrafice Alice ver. (I’m looking for a Human Sacrafice Alice/Hitobashira Alice Rin or Miku for Sunday(?))
Please be specific on which costume you are using. I prefer using the version in this picture, but I also have the normal Hitobashira Alice Len costume. I also put a question mark there because it’ll depend on what day the Vocaloid gathering is.
3. Ciel Phantomhive (I’m looking for a Sebastian, Elizabeth, Alois, or other Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler character for Saturday)
4A. Honne Dell (Looking for a Yowane Haku)
4B. Sawada Tsuna or Rokudo Mukuro (Looking for a Chrome Dokuro)
4C. Genis Sage (Looking for a Raine Sage or Presea Combatir)
4D. Amano Yukiteru (Looking for a Gasai Yuno)
I can do two of those four since there are five days (4 days + day 0). What I said for AnimeNEXT also applies here.

NYAF

I have yet to plan this, but if I do go, I know that I want to form a DOG DAYS group one day. I thought since I need to make the costume (instead of buying it), NYAF would be the earliest I could do this. I will be Shinku Izumi if I do this. This means I’m looking for a Millhiore. I’m also looking for Eclair, Ricotta, Princess Leo, Prince Gaul, and any other DOG DAYS character, but Millhiore is top priority.

Source: pixiv

If you haven’t heard, there has been a recent takedown of Vocaloid videos in Youtube, particularly Hatsune Miku videos. You can look here, here, and here for more information about this because I’m not here to repeat what was already said; I’m here to voice my opinion about Vocaloid.

First, let me give you a brief history of the popularity of Vocaloid. Vocaloid has been out even before Hatsune Miku was there. However, it’s popularity was very limited. Even when KAITO and MEIKO came out, it wasn’t very popular. There is one reason why Hatsune Miku became so popular: Nico Nico Douga.  You could also say that her art allured some people, but without Nico Nico Douga, her popularity would have still been very limited. Nico Nico Douga, like Youtube, is a video sharing website in Japan. As people started posting Hatsune Miku videos, people saw the possibilities of using Hatsune Miku.

Before I continue, I should write a little about Vocaloid licenses. Any song maker can produce songs using Vocaloid, as long as they what they write is not offensive. This means that the song maker owns the rights to the music, not Yamaha (makers of Vocaloid), not Crypton Future Media (makers of Hatsune Miku), and not any other company that provides the Vocaloid voices. Of course, the composer should also give Vocaloid recognition. The exception to this licensing rule is when music is produced under some music label, when then, obviously, gives the rights of that music to that particular music label.

Now back on topic, since Nico Nico Douga is pretty much limited to Japanese speakers, Miku’s popularity was still limited to Japan. That’s where Youtube comes in. People started posting Hatsune Miku videos that were originally on NND to Youtube. Her, and consequently other Vocaloids, popularity started growing outside Japan. Even if she could only sing in Japanese (predominantly), she got attention from the rest of the world and even some media outlets.

A little off topic again: why do I like Miku and the other Vocaloids so much? One reason is that it allows anyone to produce music and broadcast it to the public. The problem today is that it is really tough for composers to get their name out. It was either you get lucky and some musician finds you, or you’re unlucky and your song doesn’t get the recognition that you would want it to get. With Vocaloid, you now have a singer to get your song heard. Of course, I have heard some bad songs, but because of Vocaloid, I have heard some great songs that I would have never heard if Vocaloid didn’t exist. This is why I’m a proponent of an English Hatsune Miku. I know that there are some people that don’t want an English voicebank on Hatsune Miku, but with an English voicebank, it allows even more people to produce music without having to tinker with Japanese phonemes. There are English Vocaloids out there, but Hatsune Miku is much more well known than those other Vocaloids.

Of course, unfortunately, when things become popular, there will always be people that try to stain its popularity. While Vocaloid becomes popular, there are some that absolutely hate Vocaloid, especially its head spokesperson, Hatsune Miku. Though not enough is not known right now, there are indications that some person or persons are taking advantage of Youtube’s reporting system and falsely reporting Vocaloid videos, particularly Hatsune Miku videos that were reposted from Nico Nico Douga. While typically these videos are not posted by the original creator, it is rare for the creator to report these videos because it does get their song out. But now, some videos are being taken down, especially popular videos that were out for several years. For those reasons, it appears to be a move to limit Hatsune Miku’s popularity by those that hate Hatsune Miku and that’s disturbing.

I do have some question to those people that purpose try to limit the popularity of Vocaloid. Why do this? I’m pretty sure that you would hate it if someone were to ban the music that you like, so why do something that you wouldn’t want happen to your music. Sure, there are some songs I don’t particularly like, but people should be allowed to listen to what they want to listen to. Do you understand why Vocaloid is out there? Sure, you might not like Miku’s voice, but as I said earlier, Vocaloid is out there to give opportunities for composers to get their name and their music out there without having to be lucky or spend tons of money for a singer. Would you like it if someone took down your music just because they didn’t like the voice or because it was too popular? And if you complain about SOPA or PIPA or ACTA so much, why do you believe in censoring Vocaloid?

I know that there are some people that won’t like what I just wrote and I don’t usually like to confront people with issues like this, but I needed to get my thoughts out.

I thought that after getting my new Rin-chan and Len-kun nendoroids, I would have a little bit of fun!

Finally came in the mail! Supporting Japan while at the same time, getting Rin-chan and Len-kun nendoroids! Will post more pictures later.

The first song that I associated with an event was ZZ’s Be Survivor, which was played during Eyeshield 21.

Basically, the main team in Eyeshield 21, the Deimon Devil Bats, was a team that overcame the odds in Japanese High School American Football. So, during sophomore year (2007), I associated the Rutgers football team to this song since the team that was host to the first college football game was basically the laughing stock of college football until lately, overcoming the odds.

The fall semester of senior year (2009) is usually associated with Makino Yui’s Amrita.

I first heard this beautiful song during NYAF 2009 when Makino Yui was there and since something really good happened the day before I heard that, I would often think this song when thinking about that semester.

During my senior year (2010), I associated my final spring semester in undergrad with Ikimono Gakari’s YELL.

I had recently heard the song, but it perfectly described graduation, where we would say our goodbyes, walking different paths.

The summer after graduation I associate with Porno Graffitti’s Saudade.

I won’t talk much about why. I’ll only say that the lyrics are related to why I associate this song with that summer.

This past summer is associated with the AnoHana ED, Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~.

With the tragedies that came in March and the unforgettable memories that I had during that summer, I thought that this was a fitting song. Seeing the Chou Heiwa Busters secret base in Japan might have also factored in to this.

This coming semester is my last semester in college (unless I decide to go back one day for a Ph.D.), so I decided to associate this final semester with the Lia’s Toki wo Kizamu Uta.

Actually, YELL would have made more sense, but since I already used YELL, I decided to use the Clannad After Story ED since I just finished Clannad last week. Though I don’t associate any girl with this song (right now), it was just so beautiful. Also, my college life, though sometimes frustrating, is something I’ll always remember (いつまでも覚えてる) because of the good times I had and good friends I made during that time.

Do you also associate anime songs to certain events in your life?

3. Nichijou – This was a tough choice since there were other shows that I thought could be in the top three, but I just had to put Nichijou in this list. It was just too funny to not put in this list. I loved the trio that was Yukko, Mio, and Mai and I really loved the duo that was Nano and little Hakase. The OPs and EDs were also addicting. The songs and the ridiculousness that is Nichijou put this show at number 3.

2. Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica – Again, I had a tough choice between this, but this time, I had to decide between this and my #1. Admittingly, the first part was a bit boring, but I liked the direction of the plot as the series continued. I really liked the scene design and animation and I also really liked the character design and concepts. The soundtrack was also great. If my #1 anime didn’t show, this would have been my favorite anime this year.

Now, to #1:

1. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (AnoHana) - If there was a show that would make me cry every episode, this one would be it. Originally, I wasn’t actually going to watch this, but the ED was what got me in. Funny how I wasn’t planning to watch this, especially since I wasn’t planning to watch Angel Beats last year, which is now my favorite anime. I really liked the plot of this anime and as I said, I ended up crying every episode. I would even cry whenever I would hear the ED and the ED was also very fitting for the plot. The animation was great and the character designs were not over the top, unlike other anime I typically watch. It was great from beginning to end, making this my number one anime in 2011.

The number of anime has been noticabally dropped, but I hope that 2012 will bring more great, if not better, anime.

1. Get a girlfriend: This has always been a resolution that has never been fulfilled. Hopefully, this changes this year. I hope to find a girl that likes me for me. I will not change the way I am. I will not change my hobbies just to get a girlfriend.

2. Be part of a cosplay group: Every year, I get more serious about cosplaying. Unfortunately, other than the random cosplay gatherings I attend, I always cosplay alone, partially because my friends don’t cosplay and partially because I have a tough time meeting new people. This year, I will work to change that. I should probably start using cosplay.com or other sites more often and that’s what I’ll be doing…starting in the New Year. I do also have the group I created, No Cosplayer Left Behind, which I haven’t done anything with yet, so I’ll start doing stuff with that also.

3. Get my Master’s Degree: This year has been so frustrating because of grad school. If I had any thought about getting a Ph.D. back then, this year basically erased those thoughts. I have to take three more classes and write a technical paper to get a Master’s Degree, so hopefully, I’ll finish that this coming semester. College life is great, but academic life is just too much for me, so it’s time for me to step out in the real world, as much as I hate that.

MangaNEXT: 70% (It really depends on if I can get No Cosplayer Left Behind up and running by then, max 1 day)

AnimeNEXT: 99% (I should be able to go. Whether or not I can go Day 0 or Day 1 depends on whether or not I have a job and if I can get out of that job for that Friday)

Anime Expo: 80% (I should have the money, but again, it depends on my working situation)

Possible cosplays for 2012:

Genis Sage: I’ll consider it depending on when Tales of photo shoots occur

Ciel Phantomhive: I enjoyed being Ciel during NYAF. I think I was the only guy cosplaying as him during NYAF (of maybe a dozen Ciels). Most likely cosplay him during AnimeNEXT and Anime Expo.

Kagamine Len original costume: Of course I’ll cosplay him (original costume). I’m even upgrading it so it’s better than before.

Kagamine Len Hitobashira Alice costume: It’s a little bit short of me, but it’s fine. Probably during Anime Expo, maybe during AnimeNEXT.

Kagamine Len Servant of Evil costume: If I go to MangaNEXT, I’ll use this costume. Don’t know about AnimeNEXT or Anime Expo yet because of the hotter weather.

Mukuro Rokudo: I already mentioned in the Cosplay.com forums (I need to start using that more often…) that I might cosplay him. The exact costume I’ll use will depend on my money situation. I don’t like Mukuro, but it’s for the sake of Chrome. Also means I’m looking for a girl to cosplay as Chrome.

Kagamine Len Pretty Fundoshi Aku-malen costume: I’m thinking about getting this costume. Again, it depends on my money situation.

1. Tomoe Mami (Madoka): 512 votes

2. Sakura Kyouko (Madoka): 435 votes

This final was kind of a close match, but Mami had the lead the entire time. Kyouko-chan tried to catch up at the end, but Mami survived. Mami keeps her head for today. Final Predictions record are 121-38 (76.1%) and picks are 80-79 (50.3%).

While this year’s Saimoe had some exciting matches, this year was pretty anti-climatic. Even before Saimoe started, we knew that the Puella Magi were going to dominate this tournament and for the most part, they did. Had Homura-chan not been taken out early by Mikoto-chan, this tournament would have been even more anti-climatic.

This final was also pretty anti-climatic. This final was also really quiet compared to past years. The vote count did not even reach 1000 votes. The last time that happened was all the way back in 2004, when only 384 votes were tallied. So if they were looking to bring Saimoe back to a time when no foreigners knew about Saimoe, they were successful. The IP blocking was pretty successful, so if you got to vote and you were not in Japan, you were pretty lucky.

So what comes next year? Well, we have a lot of past favorites coming back. 2009 champion Aisaka Taiga, 2007 champion Furude Rika, and maybe 2005 champion Takamachi Nanoha (depending on when movie 2 comes out) will be there. So will Katsura Hinagiku, Sanzen’in Nagi, and maybe Haramura Nodoka. The HTT girls will be looking to improve from their abysmal performance this year and Ika Musume will attempt to invade the tournament once again. We might see Mikoto-chan, Index, and others again, but like in the case of Nanoha, we’ll have to see when their movie comes out.

If you are looking for an exciting tournament, I have good news: As of now, we don’t have a Madoka-type series that can take over this tournament. (UPDATE: Spoke too soon, Madoka will be back in the future) The bad news: We still have eight months before we can be sure about that.

So, with this tournament over, that’ll be it for AST-talking until we get closer to next year’s tournament. So, goodbye for now Saimoe.

The championship match has just been completed and this year’s Saimoe is…Tomoe Mami! Here is the result from that match:1. Tomoe Mami (Madoka): 512 votes2. Kaname Madoka (Madoka): 435 votes<more>This final was kind of a close match, but Mami had the lead the entire time. Kyouko-chan tried to catch up at the end, but Mami survived. Mami keeps her head for today. Final Predictions record are 121-38 (76.1%) and picks are 80-79 (50.3%).While this year’s Saimoe had some exciting matches, this year was pretty anti-climatic. Even before Saimoe started, we knew that the Puella Magi were going to dominate this tournament and for the most part, they did. Had Homura-chan not been taken out early by Mikoto-chan, this tournament would have been even more anti-climatic.This final was also pretty anti-climatic. This final was also really quiet compared to past years. The vote count did not even reach 1000 votes. The last time that happened was all the way back in 2004, when only 384 votes were tallied. So if they were looking to bring Saimoe back to a time when no foreigners knew about Saimoe, they were successful. The IP blocking was pretty successful. If you got to vote and you were not in Japan, you were pretty lucky.So what comes next year? Well, we have a lot of past favorites coming back. 2009 champion Aisaka Taiga, 2007 champion Furude Rika, and maybe 2005 champion Takamachi Nanoha (depending on when movie 2 comes out) will be there. So will Katsura Hinagiku, Sanzen’in Nagi, and maybe Haramura Nodoka. The HTT girls will be looking to improve from their abysmal performance this year and Ika Musume will attempt to invade the tournament once again. We might see Mikoto-chan, Index, and others again, but like in the case of Nanoha, we’ll have to see when their movie comes out.If you are looking for an exciting tournament, I have good news: As of now, we don’t have a Madoka-type series that can take over this tournament. The bad news: We still have eight months before we can be sure about that.So, with this tournament over, that’ll be it for AST-talking until we get closer to next year’s tournament. So, goodbye for now Saimoe.