Aoi Honoo- Blue Blazes

Aoi Honoo was a show Mikey wanted to watch after checking out The Hero Yoshihiko since it is by the same director, Yuichi Fukuda, who also did Hentai Kamen. Although I loved Yoshihiko, I was not interested in watching Aoi Honoo until I noticed Tsuyoshi Muro as Hiroyuki Yamaga. As I have said before, I am a big fan of his work.

Not to mention, Mikey and I have this game we play where I can spot any actor from a previous show we have watched 98% of the time. In fact, I noticed a small cameo by Yoshihiko himself, Takayuki Yamada, in the last episode. By the time Jiro Sato made an appearance, I was sitting and watching each new episode with Mikey (although Sato could have been simply dicking around on set and they managed to catch some of it on camera).



The series takes place between 1980 and 1981. Moyuru Honoo (Yuya Yagira) is a college student and an aspiring manga artist. However, Hideaki Anno (Ken Yasuda) has easily proven himself to be the best creator in the class. Hiroyuki Yamaga (Tsuyoshi Muro) quickly snatches him and Takami Akai (Tomoya Nakamura) to work together in class to use their talent and become a producer so he will "never miss a meal again". This concept gives him the occasional internal manic episode.



Anno is indeed Honoo's rival but he is by no means perfect. Like most artists, he's one big oddball that his friends have to contend with. He has an obsession with Ultraman and mecha series which is the prime subject of his animation.



The difference between Anno and Honoo's passions reflect their success. Anno loves his subject matter and demonstrates it through his animation. Honoo has the desire to be a manga artist of any genre as long as he makes it big. Although it is never specifically stated in the show, therein lies his major downfall.

These names are celebrities in the manga world, but most of them go over my head I am afraid, one of the main reasons I was not initially interested in watching the show. Many of the real people portrayed in the show had cameos as smaller characters. As an actor, meeting the real person you portray must have been an honor. Behind-the-scenes clips aired during the ending credits showing who was who and featured quotes from manga celebrities, most of them humorous.



Being a writer, I feel that I should have liked the show's plot more than I did. I joked with Mikey that if the plot were about a writer, there would be more alcohol and suicidal attempts. Here is what Mikey had to say about the show as a whole. I feel like my apathy toward most of it cannot do it true justice:

After just the first episode, however, I was irrevocably hooked. The performances of the cast definitely had that Yuichi feel that I remembered from Yoshihiko; low-budget sets, deadline shoots, but you could tell everyone was having so much fun.
I also didn't know what to expect from Honoo as a character, but throughout the series I found myself constantly identifying with his struggles to express his creative side. Even his tendency to obsess over details in his favorite manga and anime that most people overlook was charming; sure he sounds crazy, but he had a point that these were little things put there for a reason, even if he sometimes overestimates their importance.

As an anime fan I enjoyed the numerous references, though unfortunately many of them were a little dated or just outside my experience. I giggled like a school girl at each Kamen Rider reference, but the super Ultraman fanboyisms from Anno often passed over my head, even though I know at least the general idea of the Ultraman franchise.

Fortunately, the references are just fun extras that you don't require intimate knowledge about to get the plot or the characters; as it is, the show tells you everything you need to know about them.

As with the director's other drama series, Blue Blazes is mostly comedy, but in this series the comedic situations are centered around very real struggles of finding the drive to create, dreaming about what success is like only to learn first-hand how harrowing the fight for it is, and finally accepting the responsibility and anxiety that comes with being recognized as an artist.

The last two episodes dramatically increased in quality. They were much better paced since everything was coming to a head. This is also the episode where Yamaga has his most prominent bout of mania.

With the penultimate's build up to the final episode, not even the foreboding loss of clients could keep me from finishing the series, and I could not have been better rewarded.

Honoo at first decides to enjoy his youth in college but there is no one around to enjoy it with, so he goes back to manga. It is a small plot point but his second wind is significant. Many creators, be they artists or writers, do not have a second wind. They go into career fields that make them miserable so they can pay the bills and become a normal contributor to society. I did the same and I failed.


This is based on real events so spoilers should not be much of a problem. I will sum it up quickly. Honoo finally gets his manga in the weekly manga anthology Shonen Sunday, but he is not as happy as he thought he would be as a published artist. Anno explains to him that now he has the  responsibility and stress of being at a professional level. Then, he pulls out the issue of Shonen Sunday with Honoo's entry and asks him to sign it.

I wanted to cry. This reached me on a personal level. When I was published in my first writing anthology, my father-in-law asked for my autograph. My hands shook as I signed the inside cover. That first autograph is something truly special even if you are nothing more than a lucky creator who ended up winning a contest. That was Honoo's first success and in the end, he made it. He fulfilled his dream.

Blazing Transfer Student is Shimamoto Kazuhiko's work that ends up in the spotlight during the series. Apparently, the manga is still running. I have seen the anime which did not make it past two episodes. However, it is hilarious and I would recommend it to anyone. I would also recommend Aoi Honoo to any creator or manga enthusiast. With the growing YouTube and video community, this is especially true. It has been translated unofficially but has no American license. You can find the episodes here: http://over-ti.me/releases/blue-blazes-01/

And here is a link to everything Shimamoto Kazuhiko: http://bato.to/search?artist_name=SHIMAMOTO%20Kazuhiko

Road to MAGfest 2015- September 27, 2014

Mikey needed a pair of loafers to wear for his broken toe, so I took the opportunity to do some shopping for my costume. Marshalls is a great place to get ugly shit for cheap, but everything I found that had a pattern that was close enough to consider was either way too small (like a size 4 or 6) or it was a top.

I also tried to find the particular red teardrop charm that hangs around his neck. I thought I saw it in blue at Walmart but I could not find it, so I took a picture of a charm at Michael's that was close. I'll buy it if I cannot find something else.



I did however find the scarf! Yatta! My first piece of the costume!

Road to MAGfest 2015- September 25th

I cannot believe my triumph today. I have only eaten three meals (trying to eat dinner now anyway) but I ran with Khaleesi and worked out my arms.



This is the face of a tired dog.

Not only that, but I knocked my disability interview out of the water by staying confident and clear. In the middle of this post, I went to the store since I had to drop off a spare PS2 so I don't have to go out tomorrow!

I don't know what to say. I hope I can repeat the success tomorrow and I do not just crash.

I am embarrassed to say how I came about such motivation. My abnormal mind comes with obsessive tendencies and phases. I have tried fighting them in the past but it just makes it worse, so I let them run their course in a healthy manner.

This is what my desktop looks like most of the time:



It is a screenshot from a cool fight scene from Hentai Kamen that I really enjoyed. I love the look of determination on Muro's face. The entire movie is silly, but for just seconds in this scene, the music swells and becomes a bit ominous and the fight is more serious. Only three minutes before, this character was kissing... well I'm not spoiling anything.

At first having this set up was a bit of an indulgence of my wild imagination. I am a severely visible person and the thoughts inside my head are what drive most of my success. Everything I wrote and how I portrayed myself today was fueled by this picture and I think I got some of the best content I have had in months. I could be wrong, I have not had anyone edit the work.

I could just have a case of the anime determination bursts



Feeling super positive. Sleep is not likely anytime soon.

Road to MAGfest 2015- September 24th

Last year, I had my heart set on cosplaying as David from Shaun of the Dead since I am a huge fan of Dylan Moran. Seeing as I have yet to find a Shaun (either no one wants to do a cosplay so simple and outdated or they have not seen the movie), my costume would be nearly unrecognizable. The reference is too old and although people remember Moran's character, they would hardly be able to spot him in a crowd of costumes.


Um... Gordon Freeman?

And I have not lost enough weight. I might as well go as Ed, Shaun's unsophisticated best mate. With everything that has happened this past year, Justin's suicide and losing my grandparents and my childhood cat, I have put on a good amount of weight and not been trying to deal with it. None of the cosplays I want to do involve a fat blonde girl and my Clippy cosplay is stained to hell.



So now I am into Yuusha Yoshihiko and have a favorite character. This is who I shall be for MAGfest.



Meleb is a subtle and somewhat sarcastic character who has only useless spells as a wizard. He does not even use his staff to defend himself. He is rubbish. I love it.



I follow the actor who played him, Tsuyoshi Muro, on Twitter because I am a general fan of his work. He is currently working on another show, Blue Blazes (or Aoi Honoo/Blue Flame in Japan), that is airing in Japan weekly now. After it is translated, we can download it and watch it about a week after the episode airs. I follow all of that too and I wish some of the other shows were translated. They seem like something I might want to see.

On to the costume. These are some of the things I have picked out that are as close as I have found so far:

The "robe" (it's a dress. Either that or an oriental rug)

The cloak

The shoes

The staff I can borrow from my father in law or buy possibly at the local ethnic store. I can buy the pipes on Ebay and make the amulet (it's a stylized bead and a chain, easy peasy). For any small details, I can rely on my awesome cousin who knows about making costumes.

And the hair I have. I am actually going to try to make it look like I am wearing a wig by darkening my eyebrows and sideburns. I might have to tint the natural shade of my hair a bit though, just to make it look more like Meleb's hair.



I think that is everything except getting my weight down. I have been practicing facial expressions and some of the smaller sayings of the show. The rest is up to fate and time.

Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions

Mikey and I went to see the Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions concert in Philadelphia on Friday. It started out in DC and I believe it had such a huge turnout that they needed to plan another venue. I have played maybe an hour of Fire Red and seen 1 movie which I was dragged to. Here is Mikey's impression of the concert since this was his day:

"To this day I remember the first episode of the Pokémon anime, where it starts with a mockup of Pokémon Red's Game Boy opening, digital chiptune music and all, that transitions to full color animation and an orchestral rendition of the main theme. Since that day I've always wondered what it would be like to have a full orchestra perform music from the games, even as the games got better quality synthesized instruments throughout the generations. Symphonic Evolution is like the culmination of all those desires over the years; it was truly a night to remember."

One of the last songs they did was Gotta Catch'em All which is the only song I really know. I had to sing it when I was a freshman in high school and I absolutely hated it. Hearing the song now makes me cry.

In exactly one week, it will have been 10 years since I lost my best friend. She was the biggest Pokémon fan. You could give her a number between 1 and 151 and she would tell you which Pokémon that was. I wish she could have been there with us.

Next week in her honor, I will be writing a Pokémon fan fiction, or at least I will try my best with the limited knowledge I have. If my readers have any advice on what I should put in it, feel free to comment.

Why Mario Chases Peach

Mario opened the last door to the castle where Peach sat waiting. Upon seeing Mario at the entrance, she stood up and was taken aback.

"Mario, listen, I-"

A female toad jumped in front of Peach with one hand on her hip and another straight out in front of her. "Hold up, ho'!" She shouted at Mario. "You need to leave dis bitch alon'. She don't want yo' ass. She be tryin' to escape yo' ass for 8 worlds! You need to take a hint n' be gone!"

Petey Piranha was bobbing its neck vine in the corner of the room. "You preach it, girlfriend!"

"I tried to be nice," the toad continued. "And hoped you would get it, but oh no, you just gotta be all over her like a shell on a Koopa Troopa. You come in all Bullet Bill through those doors, demandin' to see her. Bitch, she can do so much better than yo' ass! She-"

Mario put his arms up in protest. "No, no, no. There'a must be some sort of a misunderstanding. I fix'a her sink and she no'a pay me. She owe me'a money!"

The toad scowled at him and then turned toward Peach. "You pay yo' bills?"

"Hell yeah, I pay mah bills!" Peach exclaimed, snapping her fingers.

The toad turned back toward Mario with a smug smile on her face. "See, she pay her bills."

"Alright'a then," Mario fumed through his teeth. His face was bright red. "I am'a sick of'a chasing you. I will'a see you in'a court."

The doors of the room burst open. "Hold it!" cried a familiar deep voice. Bowser stood in the doorway, breathing heavily like he had just climbed out of a deep pit. "I'm sick of this battle too. Just tell me how much she owes you."

"A' seventy eight ninety two."

Bowser pulled a checkbook and pen out of his shell and quickly scribbled out a check. He tore it out of the book so roughly that it nearly ripped in half. "Here. I'm sorry for all the trouble."

Mario snatched the check from Bowser's claws and looked it over. Satisfied, he smiled and put it in his pocket. "Next'a time you need plumbing done, I'm sending'a Luigi."

Peach ran over to Bowser and grabbed his arm. "Thank you, sweety," she said in a sweet voice. "You know you mah boo."

"A boo wouldn't put up with your shit." Bowser grumbled as he balanced his checkbook.

What's Wrong With Kingdom Hearts?

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in the middle of a dark cold room. I could tell it was a spacious environment as my breathing echoed. It must have been a warehouse. A bare bulb of light shined over me, revealing only faint shadows of the figures behind it.

"You know why you are here." The man on the left spoke up. There were two of them and they wore business suits and sunglasses.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I mumbled in response, turning my head to avoid their gaze.

The man on the right rushed into the light and grabbed by shirt. "Don't play with us! Reveal your secret!"

"Down boy, Agent Smith." the other man laughed.
"But, Agent Jones, -"
Agent Jones put his finger up to quiet Agent Smith and then turned his attention back toward me. "We can do this the easy way. We just want to talk about... 'that' game."

"I know my rights and I am allowed to be silent."

"Oh, we can certainly make you talk. Why don't you just tell us? Why do you not like it?"

"I'll never tell!"

"Everyone else loves it. You will tell us."

"My lips are sealed."

The man on the right grabbed the armrests on the chair I was bound to. "Tell us! Why don't you like Kingdom Hearts? What is wrong with you?" His hand raked me across the face in a hard slap. "You like Disney, don't you?"

"I love Disney," I groaned. "Donald's freak outs are hysterical in the game."

"And you love Final Fantasy 7?"

"Of course. 6 and 7 are my favorite."

The man on the right tore his tie off and threw it away. "The game has both! It makes no sense! Explain this!"

"I can't. I just don't like it."

The man on the left snickered. "Explain why you don't like it or..." He pulled a VHS out from behind his back and moved the light that was blinding me. It was then I noticed a VCR and television on a table in front of me. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I panicked as I read the cover of the tape; The Fox and the Hound.

Agent Jones took it out of the case and slid it into the VCR. My nerves iced over. Every part of my body shivered. He had it set to that one part of the movie; when Widow Tweed takes Todd to the woods, takes off his bandana, hugs him, and leaves him there. Rocks formed in my chest. My lips rolled into my mouth. Tears were forming in my eyes.

"Alright! I'll talk! Stop the tape! Put the damn fox back in the car! He can't survive out there on his own!"

Agent Jones turned off the television while Agent Smith slid a chair in front of mine and pushed the light back into my face. "Spill it," he spat, literally.

Words wanted to fail me but I pushed them out like a ten pound baby. "The idea was just too perfect. The player would get to go through all the worlds and meet Disney characters like they dreamed of since their youth. It was made by Squaresoft, so we knew it would be well developed and not some crappy kids' game to be played once and then forgotten. They could have done so much more with it. All the heartless looked the same in every level. There are henchmen and character extras in every movie that could have been turned in Heartless but they just didn't do it. You go to a level, beat up Heartless, have a boss battle, and you're done. It was the same thing under a thin shroud of Disney, like ordering a cheeseburger with extra pickles and there's one pickle in the middle of the sandwich. And don't get me started on the Gummy ship! So much customization for a dinky mini game. Sure, people complained about how bad those segments were, so the company was like 'oh, okay, here's Kingdom Hearts 2, Gummy ship evolved!' and we were like 'where's the rest of the game?' and they were like 'you never asked for that'! They could have brought Bambi's mom and Mufasa back to life... and I would still be disappointed!"

A tear fell from each of the agents' cheeks. They untied me. "You're free to go, ma'am." Agent Smith sniffled and opened the door to the warehouse. As the sun's lovely rays hit my face and the color of nature danced in my eyes, I felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of my shoulders.

It's No Use

Egoraptor levitated over the Soleanna town square, frozen in place by Silver's telekinesis. This was the 4936th time he had caught Egoraptor. Egoraptor cringed at the thought of hearing "it's no use!" and "take this!" as Silver flung him against the wall of a building and knocked out his rings. Instead, Silver just stood there holding Egoraptor in place.

"Aren't you going to go 'it's no use'?" Egoraptor sighed. "Get it over with."

Silver smirked. "I've got an even better idea." While holding Egoraptor off the ground, he used his other hand to pull a record player and speakers out of a nearby office window. Once he set them on the ground, he pulled out his own record. Egoraptor noticed there was a deep scratch in it before Silver put it onto the player and moved the needle to just after the scratch. Egoraptor realized what Silver was doing and struggled against his bonds. Silver cackled and sat down. "It's... no... use..."

"No, please don't do this! I'll admit defeat!"

"It's no use..."

"I'll put down the game. I'll never be grump again!"

"It's no use..."

"Please! No!"

Silver let the needle of the record player slip through his fingers. Egoraptor wished his hands were free so he could gouge out his ears as the record skipped over the same phrase.

"It's no use. It's no use. It's no use. It's no use. It's no use. It's no use. It's no use." Few things in his life had felt so blissful as when he finally died of thirst one week later.