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While Curiosity’s Mars mission continues right on track, my own has suffered yet another delay. Cosplay projects always take more time than one expects. Sailor Mars is the most ambitious costume I’ve attempted, challenging in both materials and crossplay technique. On the plus side, the test fittings are good and the shoes I got are awesome! But it just needs more time than I have left right now to finish.
I’m still going to Dragon Con, bringing my Uhura to the parade. But Sailor Mars will have to wait until Youmacon for her debut!
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When I first heard of this movie at Otakon, the large anime convention held in Baltimore each year, I literally knew nothing about it. So when Funimation posted the Japanese subtitled version on YouTube just prior to the US Blu-ray/DVD release, I had to take a look, and I am quite glad that I did! I immediately placed a pre-order on Amazon, which came today, and I am writing this having just watched the movie with my family on Blu-ray.
Oblivion Island is a visual treat for the eyes with animation on par with Pixar and Dreamworks, and imbued with overtones from Japanese anime and manga. The character design of Haruka is gorgeous, and you can see that a lot of love and care went into animating her every move. But it doesn’t end with Haruka, the film makers have created a world alive with color and texture that even moved my teenagers!
Beyond the beautiful animation is an equally heart warming tale of lost memories and one girl’s struggle to retrieve them, making new ones along the way. The soundtrack very ably communicates the emotional mood without being over powering or intrusive. The voice acting in the English dub is excellent! The characters are all well matched and the script localization could not have been better! This is a story that parents and kids can equally understand and enjoy, because at its core, that’s what the movie is all about, family and the memories we make together.
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This is the review I posted on Amazon. The first such review I ever written there. So I guess I must have really liked this movie!
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It’s been weeks since the 2012 edition of Otakon ended and connections are still being made. One of the first things you do at pre-reg badge pickup, is choose a design for your badge. These designs are images from a popular anime that may or may not have guests or panels at the con. This year I chose the Oblivion Island design. I hadn’t seen or heard of it, but I liked the design and wanted something different than the other choices which were from shows I’d chosen in previous years.
Today, thanks to the cool folks at Funimation, I got to see Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, for the first time, free on YouTube! When I saw the link in my subscriptions view I thought it was just a trailer to promote the August 14 release of the Blu-ray/DVD. Instead it was the full 99 minute movie in Japanese with English subtitles. I hadn’t planned to watch a whole film at my PC, but I was hooked by gorgeous visuals and a heart warming story of retrieving lost memories and relationships that today was especially resonant with me. So I guess I chose the right badge afterall.
The days leading up to Otakon were busy as always as I feverishly worked to complete my Sailor Mars cosplay. But in the end I just ran out of time and shelved the project for a later con (Dragon*Con hopefully) rather than wreck myself before making a 700 mile drive. That hurt a bit and should have been a warning that I needed to plan things better, but I had my new Mamimi along with a new wig for my Uhura, so I really didn’t take it as such.
No problems on the drive, only some anxiety about not changing the oil before setting out. Again, more planning needed. But somehow I managed to cheat failure and make it into the city as I had 7 times before. I had a lot of trouble getting through traffic to the parking garage, but nothing fatal. No problems with badge pickup either.
I had dinner with friends from the Megatokyo forums, but skipped out on the bar afterwards to get in before the rain resumed and to get some rest for the next day.
As usual, I was several hours later than I would have liked getting ready. But I finally finished up and hit the street in my Uhura cosplay. This costume had gotten a great reception on Sunday last year, so I was anxious to see how it would fare over a full convention day. Well it went over very well with nice compliments, including a “beam me up” from the crossing guard at the convention center. After that, all of my plans started going off the rails fairly quickly.
Now that sex has become boring, I guess I am officially old. *sigh* I’ve never liked doing anything the same ol’ way over and over again. But right now it seems that I am doomed to the same bedroom mechanic for the foreseeable future (if there is such a thing). So I’ve come here to vent a little bit. Even that has taken some effort as I’ve felt so much palpable pressure to conform and behave over the last couple of months.
Well conformity has never been my thing. And I’ve “behaved” all my life. I’m tired of behaving. I just want to be myself and say the things I need to say. I’m supposed to be writing a prayer for Sunday, but right now I’m at a loss. My faith has not left me though, only the words.
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