A blog that will cure your apathy and inspire your dreams...
Warning: All who watch anime, play video games, like J-music and K-music, and the like... ARE OTAKU!
Hi everyone, here are a few cool Otaku things I found browsing the internet. I hope everyone has fun looking at all these new Japan Otaku culture memes that are just beginning to take the world by storm. Keep watching anime and keep reading manga, keep the Otaku dream alive no matter what!
Otaku Forever!
Move Over Belgian Waffles, the Real Keyboard Waffles Is Here (forevergeek.com)
Anime Expo 2015 in Pictures – Shenron DBZ (forevergeek.com)
10 Useful Skills You Can Learn from Video Games (forevergeek.com)
Monopoly for Japanophiles: Monopoly Japanese Traditional Arts and Crafts Edition (forevergeek.com)
JNTO Embraces Otaku Tourism (forevergeek.com)
Anime Expo 2015 Super Mario and Super Luigi Girls!
Anime Expo 2015 Super Mario Star (Forevergeek.com)
Hello, I've returned! I decided to share something about one of my many hobbies this time!
For those that don't know, I enjoy cosplaying, but some of my past experiences were...bad. I'm terrible when it comes to time management and I hate spending money. These are big issues for me when it comes to making a cosplay and/or props within the time left til con.
There's always the option of commissioning a cosplay or buying on eBay, but the chances of getting scammed, a late delivery or poor quality is pretty high. Not only that, but the cost could be more than it would if you were to make it yourself. You can get lucky and find things you need in a thrift shop or just make it out of things you already own. I did that with my first cosplay as Luffy from One Piece (That was nearly 10 years ago and no pictures survived).
Since I'm busy more often, I'm always trying to find ways to make things easier for myself. When I heard about an app called CosPlanner, I downloaded it. What attracted me to it the most was that it was free. You can pay to disable ads or add more slots for pictures or tasks which is only about $0.99 or so. You can set a budget, store reference/progress pictures and put reminders to buy materials or make pieces of your cosplay.
I used the app for my cosplay of Korra last year to see if it would really keep me on schedule before the local con. It worked out well until I realized I needed more slots for my tasks. I eventually bought the add-on for more tasks and pictures, but it's worth it. After getting my extra tasks filled, I was able to set alarms to remind me to buy the materials I needed. You can also add the cost of all the things you buy and the app will let you know if you are over or under your budget in the summary section.
The only way this app can fail is if you procrastinate on doing things you scheduled for yourself to do, which I did. I completed my cosplay, but some parts could have been better if I had spent more time on them. I'm using CosPlanner for my future cosplays, (Yuna from Final Fantasy series) but trying to stay on schedule is going to be a challenge for me.
Hello everyone this is chansu, back with a vengeance! I did the research, I made the journey, and I witnessed the beauty... What am I talking about you ask? I am referring to the 53rd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Washington D.C. of course!
I got a few snapshots, so let me give you the lo-down on some of the most pre-con season fun you can have during sakura blooming season!
These are the pictures of the brave people who've donned the gear of their favorite anime character at Anime Expo 2012. They're all cosplay successes in our book! Take a look!
Oh--I know... *ahem* GOMENNASAI!! ;___;... I know I haven't posted in ages and this post is long overdue, but I intend on making it up to you guys with a bunch of awesome posts coming up! Let's start with this one, shall we? ^^
It's been a long 2011 and for a while it seemed like we were going to shut down, just like they brag about on Gintama. But everything's good now, have a beer!
We at the Otaku Reviewers managed to catch cosplayers in their natural habitat, the anime convention. While we were busy with the many attractions of Otakon 2011 we got some great cosplays for you! All these cosplays were successes to us!
The date was May 22nd 2011. The weather was downcast at times, but very temperate. The place was Central Park in NYC. And the event was Japan Day @ Central Park 2011! Japan-lovers gathered to celebrate the culture and endurance of Japan under this year's motto: "Ganbare Nihon!" ("Do your best, Japan!").
The focus of this year's Japan Day celebration was to bolster and support the resilience of Japan as they endure trying times after a series of earthquakes (one of which was magnitude 9.0, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded) and tsunami that hit the nation and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Since these problems arose, Japan has been struggling to recover. Japan Day in New York supports Japan by collecting donations in exchange for Japan Day memorabilia.
Nearly 30,000 people stopped by Japan Day. The attendants were a big lively group of people. An entire spectrum of Otakudom all its own existed at the event, from Rukia and Toshiro (from Bleach) to Ragna the Bloodegde from the Blazblue game series (best cosplayer of the event in my opinion). Below are some of the best cosplayers, with more in the spoilers tab!
» Awesome Cosplayers from Japan Day 2011 [Click to Show] «
[If you cosplayed, maybe we have a picture of you here!]
There were many fun and interesting booths to enjoy at Japan Day! At the Language booth, a Japanese teacher taught short beginners classes for small groups of people. Here are some of the phrases I learned:
Inorimasu - I pray for you.
Kibou wo motte - Have hope.
Ouen shimasu - I cheer for you.
The content was very limited and the phrases emphasized related only to the theme of Japan Day. It was a fun experienece and probably inspired some inexperienced people to learn Japanese!
Another fun booth was the Caligraphy area. Wait on line for your turn, think of an awesome Japanese phrase to write, and have a seasoned caligraphic expert help you compose it! Needless to say, it was an exciting experience all its own. It really fed the "power of dreams"!
There were many other fun booths. The Hello Kitty booth allowed you to take a picture with the adorable fuzzy mascot that is all the rave in Japan!
The Origami booth was a blast, and they even hosted a 1000 cranes charity fold.
The Traditional Toys booth was one of the most interesting.
There were many fun traditional toys such as the Kendama (a cup-and-ball game similar to toys of the same kind in America) and kenkagoma koma (Japanese spinning tops). It was truly a fun time with classic Japanese toys!
We caught the concert at the beginning stages during the sound check. Aisha performed with Darryl Daniels or DMC, singing a cover of New York and Walk This Way. Aisha is a new jpop artist who made her professional debut in December 2010. Aisha, international pop star who we saw first at New York's very own Japan Day!
The Japan Day staff handed out free tea! That's something that rarely happens in New York city, free, safe, and delicious beverages being handed out. The brand of tea is "Teas' Tea" by Ito En, a Japanese tea company. I have to say that the tea was delicious and very relaxing.
Otaku Reviewers is very glad to see Japan Day grow as an annual event in New York where we live. Japanese influence in the United States is usually limited and behind the scenes, but after the disaster in Japan everyone is finally coming together to help one another and celebrate culture and just have fun! If you didn't make it to Japan Day this year, I highly recommend you make it out here for next time! It surely won't disappoint!
This blog, "The Otaku Reviewers", was started in February of 2010 on this very same platform, Blogger. At first, it was a venture into the informational and informal world of comics, anime, video games, and Japanese culture. In other words, just a random blog.
Over time, the founder of the blog credited with the pseudonym "RPGhero" was joined by two fellow bloggers and friends with the names "Chansu" and "Deretsun". Together the three bloggers looked up interesting Japanese culture facts, recommended new anime, talked about their own "otaku" interests, and traveled across the United States to various anime conventions.
There have been off periods when the blog ceased production of content and there have been times when there would be dozens of blog posts per week. The schedule varies depending on the lives of the people behind the alias'. However the pattern is that we always get back into the game with even newer information about Japanese culture, anime, video games, and other nerdy hobbies.
The motto of our blog is:
"A cure for your apathy and an inspiration for your dreams. ...Applies to Otaku, anime fans, J-pop junkies, and the like"
The purpose is to blog about cool stuff related solely to anime and otaku stuff. There's no other reason we're doing this.
If you like our blog, please support us in however small a way that you would like. We appreciate our readers!
