Fanime 2008 Pic Spam

For Fanime 2008, I cosplayed as Murrue Ramius from Gundam SEED. I met a bunch of new friends at the Gundam gathering. As my blog entries have been slow lately, here's a few photos to tide you over until I go to Japan!

Ani and I did a mini shoot outside.



And now I'll be vain and post the photos of me that she took.







After the gathering, some of us did a mini shoot with winterwish (Found these photos on Flickr)





At the Gundam Gathering:



Strange crossover with a Zeon flag...

Tieria and Lockon (Gundam 00)



Tieria and Lockon (Gundam 00)



We played tossing the Haro while we waited.

YouTube is embedded now!





Lockon and Allelujah (Gundam 00); Gato, Kou (Gundam 0083); Setsuna (Gundam 00); Lacus (Gundam SEED)



Lockon, Allelujah (Gundam 00); Gato, Kou (Gundam 0083)



Lockon, Allelujah (Gundam 00); Gato, Kou (Gundam 0083)



Allelujah (Gundam 00); Gato and Kou (Gundam 0083); Lacus (Gundam SEED)



Lockon, Feldt, Allelujah, Lockon, Setsuna, Tieria (Gundam 00)



Lockon, Feldt, Allelujah, Lockon, Setsuna, Tieria (Gundam 00)



Kou (Gundam 0083); Amuro (Mobile Suit Gundam); Maureen (Blue Destiny); Sayla (Mobile Suit Gundam)



Me as Murrue, Lacus (Gundam SEED) and yeah, Chibi actually took this picture. But no my camera.



Me as Murrue, Lacus (Gundam SEED)



Tieria mirror!



Gato (Gundam 0083); Garma (Mobile Suit Gundam)



Garma (Mobile Suit Gundam); Maureen (Blue Destiny); Amuro and Sayla (Mobile Suit Gundam); Kou and Gato (Gundam 0083)



Stupid Sexy Lockon!

Heero (Gundam Wing); Feldt, Lockon, Allelujah, Tieria, Lockon, Setsuna (Gundam 00)



Gilbert, Stellar, Lacus, Cagalli (Gundam SEED Destiny)



Tieria, Lockon, Feldt, Louise (Gundam 00)



Kou takes on Gato with a Yoko's (Gurren Lagann) gun (Gundam 0083)



Cutting Setsuna's hair (Gundam 00)

These are the photos that my friend took of the Gundam group on her camera. I'm too lazy to label everyone in these photos, LOL.







My stupid belt rode up underneath my boobs... oops.

















(Last one found on twfeline's account)





And holy crap, it's the 82 dollar Gundam I bought!

Why didn't she come to Fanime? *cries*

Kotono Mitsuishi was at Animazement this weekend. I wish that she was at Fanime. She's Murrue's voice actress, and it totally would have been awesome to meet her (especially while cosplaying Murrue). Keiko Han (Lalah's voice actress) and Mitsuo Fukuda (the director of Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny) were there too. Apparently, very few people attended the panel.

I found a transcription of the Gundam panel here, but I'll copy the important parts here:

For Kotono Mitsuishi, she talked about her role as Murrue Ramius and the pink Haro. Mitsuishi talked about how Ramius was a female captain and she wasn’t sure how to perform the role, but she was glad to find out that Ramius was a strong but delicate person. It was challenging and interesting. She also recalled meeting Fukuda in Dendou and how he told her that she may be called in again to do a captain role. Then Mitsuishi recalled her first meeting with Keiko Han being an older sister figure (not quite like mom, but).
....

Q2: Are there any plans to continue the Seed series?

MF: I can’t say there are no plans, but there is nothing official right now about that.
...

I'm thinking that maybe the SEED movie isn't going to happen. Oh well.

Q3: Why did you choose Mitsuishi for the voice over for the previews?
...

MF: I can’t remember how it went but Morosawa (writer) was the person writing the previews. One of the rule for the preview is that they have to have the “gundam” phrase in every one of them. It was tough for her (Morosawa is the wife) to do that.

Q3: So why did you choose Mitsuishi…

MF: Captain Ramius… In Dendou, the character Vega was captain for a short time. I thought she would be good for that role. After that I thought she would be perfect for Ramius. It also just happened the role for the captain does the voiceover.
...

Q5: Can you do the Ramius line where you launch the Archangel?

KM: "All hands to battle stations, Archangel hasshin!"

Q8: I think Seed is the first Gundam series with a female captain of a ship. Was it intentional and are you aware you are laying the groundwork for future female captains?

MF: It’s not a big deal these days. After seeing Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager, I thought you can do a female captain just fine. That is how I decided how it would work in Seed.

MF: “I like Star Trek Old Series.”

LOLz.

You can read the rest of the interview at the link I posted above.

But seriously, she should have come to Fanime instead. *cries*

Fanime Photos coming soon!

Gundam 00: Episode 24

SPOILERS.


And well, Gundam 00 tries to become Zeta Gundam with this one. Except that in Zeta everyone got killed off at the END. NOT THE MIDDLE. I wonder if this means that we will have a new cast in the second season. I hope not. Because then they should just make it a different series. Like Zeta. And meanwhile, thousands of miles away: Tieria and Setsuna reenact the "IT'S ALL MY FAULT RYU DIED" scene from Mobile Suit Gundam. The part of Bright will be played by Sumeragi - slap! And now Feldt writes a letter to her parents... and Lockon. And now some flashbacks for Christina and Lichty, BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO DIE. Alejandro thinks that he's pimping in that golden mobile armor. Hey dude, even though it's gold, it's a MOBILE ARMOR. You're screwed. Of course, when you are the one shooting the GIANT LASER BEAMS, then it guess you'll last a little longer. This would be a good time for one of the Meisters to have a golden mobile suit. I wonder if Patrick is really dead. Because he got the White Flash of Death (TM). Did Christina just lie to Feldt to get her off the bridge? Why? Yup, she lied... for some reason. Impending doom? At least Lichty tired to protect Christina. We find out that he is part robot, like Will Smith in I, Robot, only more so. And then Christina (and the audience) founds other that he was in love with her. :( At least Sumeragi got a hold of Christina before they died. Christina tells Feldt to live for Lockon, and then, guess what, the ship EXPLODES. Well, next week is the last episode of the season. I wonder how it's going to play out.

Gundam 00: Episode 15

Being that I haven't got any comments recently, I'm going to skip the spoiler warning and ~~~'s from now on. If you're reading this blog, then be prepared for spoilers. That's all I'm going to say.

Kati, Natarle 2.0 looks more like Kyoya from Ouran High Host Club than Natarle; must be the glasses. I'm still wondering about the purpose of Saji and Louise. The side character voiced by Amuro Ray's seiyuu said, "I hate adults." That's definitely a shoutout to Mobile Suit Gundam. So Lockon's rival is Graham, and Setsuna's Ali. I was expecting Graham to be Setsuna's rival too. What about Patrick? Next episode we get a new trio of pilots. I'm looking forward to them, but I really hope that they are not as bland as the druggies and Extended from both Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. This series needs to learn how to balance between "talking episodes" (like last week's) and fighting episodes (like this one).

The Awesomeness that is Bright Noah

So, I said that I was going to do this, and since I cannot remember what I was planning for today's entry, I decided it was time to make this post instead.

Let's begin!
---

Bright Noah, in Gundam ZZ

Mobile Suit Gundam was the second Gundam series I ever saw. I won't get into the particulars, because that is for it's own entry. Anyway, around the fifth episode, I said, "Man, I really like that Bright guy." And that's when it began.

Most anime fans my age don't really get way I obsessed over this guy. Naturally, he couldn't be hot, because he was first drawn and created in the 1970s. And according to most anime fans these days, nothing good came out of the '70s. But this isn't an essay about that, nor should I be stereotyping.

While I admit that Bright is not bishounen (not to mention he's too old to be one), I think he's a well drawn character, ie, good looking. But I have other reasons for liking him as well.

We first meet Bright Noah in the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam. He's only (supposed to be) 19 years old, and he's already an ensign in the Earth Federation Space Forces. With Bright starts the Gundam archetype of the captain - thrust into the role after the original captain dies, leaving him to control a motley crew, and keep the angst-ridden Gundam pilot in check.

To many casual viewers, Bright can be considered to violent. He is known for what many fans have nicknamed "the Bright Slap". Sometimes it's used as a verb, such as "I wish that someone would Bright Slap Shinn." Or, "Shinn deserves a Bright Slap". Perhaps Bright is a little to slap happy, but I see it as someone acting their age. Bright supposed to be 19, people. He has to act like an adult the rest of the time, but it makes since that his immunity sneaks out a bit. Bright is also sometimes considered stern and/or stoic, and therefore not as interesting as Amuro or Char.

However, I remain infatuated. Bright, in most elitist Gundam circles, is a fan favorite. And not just because of the slapping. He is considered by many to be the best captain in all of Gundam. Although he might not seem like it at first, up deep down, Bright's really a compassionate guy, trying to do the right thing.

It's impossible for me to mention Bright without mentioning Mirai Yashima. Part of the reason that was so interested in him was because of his relationship with the ship's second-in-command. I admit that I am a romantic at heart, and therefore am often more obsessed with the romance story lines than I am the political part of the plot. I will, however, leave this for another post, as I feel that Bright and Mirai are one of the top Gundam couples of all time.

As Zeta Gundam comes around, Bright has grown. Although he has mellowed some bit, he is still the kick-ass captain he was in the original series. He's nicknamed the Eternal Captain, because he never sustained any major injuries (nor dies) throughout the entire original UC saga. Also, he appears in Gundam ZZ, whereas Amuro and Char do not.

I realize that I am not painting a very clear picture as to why Bright Noah is awesome. That's because it is just too hard to pinpoint his awesomeness. Thus, I suggest that find out for yourself!

I'm back.

Okay, I've been back for awhile, but now I really am going to post things.

I'm still trudging along with Turn A Gundam. It just doesn't seem like a Gundam series to me, sorry. I understand that a lot of people think it's awesome, but perhaps leaving it for last has led to have certain expectations when it comes to Gundam.

That being said, let's take a look at Gundam 00.

First, check out the info on Gunota, and form your own opinion.

Okay, now for mine:

*I already don't like that the captain of the ship isn't really a "captain". Reminds me too much of Bright and Murrue. And while I love them to death, I'd really like the captain to be different. Well, Murrue is very different in character from Bright. But I was kind of wishing for a more Gundam X set up in the way of captain. While it seems that the captain-lady is non-military, she's got this (I'm just going to say it), "I've got to be sexier than Murrue!1" vibe I don't like. But this is bad, since the captain character is often my favorite.

* All the girls seem to be boobalicious. Fanservice much?

*Other character's include a celebrity (Lacus, anyone) and a princess (because you can't have Gundam without one). The fact that there is a celebrity and a princess is waaaaay too SEED for me. The celebrity is Chinese and aged 17. The princess is luckily 24. We've also got some students in there (SEED again?!)

*Haro (yes, Haro) is yellow-orange in this series Mobile Suit Gundam size, and is... wait for it... Lockon's partner! Lockon's the oldest and he gets the Haro! At least the Haro's in every timeline, go to different types of characters. Maybe he will tell Haro his secrets, LOL.

Well, I'm going to try and watch this series with an open mind, but that's going to be hard.

~Mirai

My obsession

[A bit of disclaimer: This my view of the Gundam fandom. I'm sure that your opinion is different, but remember, different strokes for different folks. Agree to disagree. Thank you.]

Well, I was going to try and write a blog entry everyday. I'm crazy like that. Seriously. On LiveJournal, I have a entry for everyday. But I forgot to write yesterday.

Anyway, finally, I shall write about Gundam. Gundam is my main fandom. And by Gundam, I mean pretty much every Gundam series.

I'm not going to give you the complete history of how I got into Gundam. But I will describe it briefly. Like most people, I was first introduced to Gundam by Gundam Wing. Then I watched every Gundam series that was aired on Cartoon Network. And then the others through other methods...

Mobile Suit Gundam, the original series that was aired in Japan in 1979, was scorned by many Gundam Wing fans (which aired in 1995 in Japan), because of it's old animation and funky campy style. Others become extreme UC (Universal Century; the timeline used in the original saga) fans, and thought that Wing was simply a cheap remake. Although MSG easily become my favorite anime series, I still love Gundam Wing.

In fact, I came to like most Gundam series. I use most, because I'm currently watching Victory Gundam, and it's not doing that much for me. But oh well. I also still haven't seen Gundam X or Turn A Gundam yet, but I plan on watching soon.

I supposed that I am unique because I love both MSG and Gundam SEED. And yes, I liked Gundam SEED Destiny. (Mainly because a certain someone came back from the dead. Which I know is another unpopular opinion). And yes, Zeta Gundam is good, but not my favorite. Oh my.

Now, the newest Gundam series, Gundam 00 is coming out this fall. And I'm excited. Are you?