Crazy Plastic Love and Obsession

This was posted on this blog and Prim's too so I shrugged and said, "Might as well spread the plastic love...or jealousy."



I'd so love to have that much figures...and more! But then the space problem arises and you'd be left with no other option but to buy a warehouse.

Ozine Fest '08

This is like a long overdue post of the recent (more like last week's) convention that happened here in the Philippines, specifically April 5-6, 2008 in Megamall's Megatrade 2 Hall. It's not much of a figure/toy con nor an anime con so no big hauls to show :(

Anyway, this convention, as you can see on the picture on the right is called Ozine Fest '08. It's the second convention spearheaded by Ozine (which is a local "anime" magazine) and the main highlights of the two-day event are the group and solo cosplay and the launching of the Lineage II online game. Aside from There were a also a bunch of local anime/figure/ongaku groups who came and showcased their activities and sold their items, aside from the usual merchant attendees who really sold items like plushies, toys, anime merchandise and anime CDs.

Contests were also held including: Battle of the Bands, art contest, video game tourneys, karaoke singing and eating contests to name a few. Can't say much about them though because they were almost all happening simultaneously, and I found myself being dragged everywhere by the sight of cosplayers and by my friend.

There were a few booths where you can play games for free too but the lines were long and they kept running out of darts (pop the balloon game), pellets (target-shooting game) and paper net thingies (scoop the goldfish game) so I pretty much ended not playing any. There were a lot of people in the online gaming booths because they were giving away posters and installation cds for these MMORPG games. So I got like a CD for each game that they were promoting and I received around 10 posters that I didn't even bother checking when I got home. The Kamael (new game) booth also had this mini game where you have to fix letters so that they form the word "Kamael" and my cousin won thrice so yipee...I got a water bottle ^0^

Overall, the convention was pretty fun - especially when you run around chasing the cosplayers trying to take pictures of them. They were very cooperative and posed in either solo or group shots. i forgot to mention that the first day was for the group cosplay and the second, for the solo. I just wish they switch to a bigger venue next time...there were either way too many people or the place is too small. My bet's on the latter.

I think I've said too much. Here are some pictures from the event (mostly cosplay pictures) that my friend (Codename: Sieghart) took. His other pictures are posted up in his Multiply page here. (Oh yeah, come to think of it, me and my friend thought we were lost in some sort of gothic/punk/lolita convention with all the girls - and boys - dressed in black and lace and heavy make up...you get my drift.)

Lovely Ladies Overload!

Is it just me or are there more and more lovely figures worth watching out for? They're all so pretty and nicely done...but they can burn your wallets to ashes too with the skyrocketing prices of them lovely ladies.

These are some of the figures I have my eye on. These are some of the to-be-released and just-recently-released figures. Hopefully, I can find a new job soon so I can get my hands on them too. (Any offers?? I can send you my resume!)

Can anyone name them all?

Lovely, are they not? There's more but I don't want to over-stuff this post. I'll just put in more pictures in another post one of these days. Anyone have any of them already? Or on pre-order at least? (I'm burning with envy, mind you.)

Oh and whoever gets to name them all in one go, without cheating... Give yourself a pat on the back! I'd do it myself but... XD

Manga Trends for 2008

Yeah I know it's a bit too late to post this since we're almost at the middle of 2008, but there's still 8 more months to go! So I stumbled across this list of 2008 manga trends that are quite apparent this year. Plus we're getting a glimpse of what else we're expecting in the months to come. It's a pretty good year for manga fans like me, especially with these trends that we're seeing these days.

Without further ado (while it's still 2008), I bring you the 2008 Manga Trends:

1. Movies based on manga. Yep, we've been seeing these a lot with the list of manga being adapted into movies - and not only movies, but live-action series as well. Examples are Dragon Ball Z, Speed Racer, HanaKimi, Honey and Clover...the list goes on!

2. Return of the "dead" manga. Old and has-been manga titles are coming back this year as publishing companies re-publish them to return them to their glory days. Expect to see Slam Dunk, Crayon Shin-chan and Black Jack in your bookstores soon.

3. Mainstream goes manga. Seems like a lot of bestselling authors are trying their luck with manga. Now even James Patterson and Dean Koontz will create a story that will be published as manga: Maximum Ride (Patterson) and In Odd We Trust (Koontz) are coming later this year.

4. Downpour of OEL manga. I've never been a fan of OEL (Original English Language) manga but I could be part of the minority for all I know. But a lot of them will be coming out this year including a Simpsons coming drawn manga style! (That I want to see.)

5. Mooks. What are mooks? Magazines and books combined equals mooks. They're prettier than books but more of a collectible than regular magazines. One of them actually caught my attention: The Gothic and Lolita Bible. (It's already out so if anyone has a copy, tell me if it's good.)

6. Mobile manga. Companies like CMX, Tokyopop and Flex Comics are tapping into Japan's (supposedly) $20M cellular phone manga market. They've recently showcased their respective applications for the mobile phone. Wouldn't it be a bit too hard to read manga on a cell phone though?

7. "Unclassified" manga. This year, we'll be welcoming some manga that aren't in your usual shoujo, shounen and [insert manga genre here] genres. The way the stories are written and how the artwork are drawn is pretty new to manga too. Three titles will be/are available for this year among others: Me and the Devil Blues, The Bible Manga and Yakuza in Love.

8. International tie-ups. This means that manga can be and will be released at the same time in Japan, USA and Korea. That's all there is to it. Lucky you people who live in those three countries.

9. Yaoi at its finest. I'm so not a fan of yaoi, I just want to make that clear. Anyway, expect to see an influx of yaoi titles this year as established manga companies bring forth their yaoi imprints: Boysenberry Books (Broccoli Books), Deux Press (Aurora Publishing) and Yen Press.

10. Hooray for josei. We need more sexy josei manga! And in response to that, LuvLuv Press will be releasing a series of sexy manga for women my age. The first in this line was already released last January: Voices of Love. (Need to find it!!)

11. Take a breather, kiddos. There isn't that much kid-friendly manga slated for release this year. So sorry, kids. You just have to re-read your old manga or try looking for other manga titles that you haven't read yet - which are for your age, of course.

Well, there you have it! Is there a specific trend that excites you...or something?

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