By Miki

This was a great series with a planet of giant man eating plants, underground luminescent water and a mate…….

Two 11-year-old twins, Thor and Rai, live on the space colony Juno until they come home to find their parents have been murdered. The unknown assassins drop Thor and Rai on Chimaera, a secret planet used as a prison colony. Thor learns about Chimaeran society’s four “Rings” and how to leave Chimera by becoming the Beast King from Zagi.  Zagi warns Thor that Rai will get him killed and he should let him die.  Thor tries to protect Rai but fails when a plant eats him and almost eats thor as well, but a girl (Tiz (ティズ Tizu) saves him and takes him to the Ochre ring. She claims him as her mate therefore securing his place. Thor remains in the Ochre Ring where he gets swept up into that Ring’s politics and winds up defeating its Top, bringing him closer to becoming the Beast King.

Thor becomes the Top of Ochre Ring at the age of eleven; Tiz becomes his Second, and Third remains his third. He is known as the Silver Hawk for his silver hair but he hates the name. A Top, he improves the lives of those living in Ocher Ring, even creating an air conditioning system.  The Ochre Ring, Sun Ring, Blanc Ring and Noire Ring, are based on skin color.

After several years Thor faces off with Zagi who has violently taken over the Blanc ring and is determined to rule over and change Chimaeran society.  The Blanc ring has wiped out the Noire ring and the Sun rings leader fears they are next.  He approaches Thor to create an alliance but they are attacked during this meeting. He realizes Zagi is now a leader also.  He meets Karin (カリン) and falls in love.  She is the Blanc rings second and Tiz becomes jealous creating some wonderful dynamics.

With all the rings defeated but Thor and Zagi they create an uneasy truce and a plan to force Juno to negotiate with Thor. When Thor finally meets the President of Juno the mystery of Thor’s and Chimera’s secret origins are revealed. When Thor learns the planet’s inhabitants are to be sacrificed for Juno’s society he destroys the scientific facility attempting to terraform Chimaera.

This was a great royal treat with intrigue, loyalty and a knight’s honor.  We start with D’Eon de Beaumont (デオン·ド·ボーモン) finding his sisters body and then gathering friends to journey to discover why the psalms have been taken.  The king Louis XV has sent D’Eon and friends to Russia to find the book of royal psalms.  This book tells about the kings of France and can only be read by those with royal blood.  As the group journeys to Russia we find Lia de Beaumont (リア·ド·ボーモン) knew the empress well and saved her life. We also start seeing a blending of Lia and D’Eon in his body.   This anime reflects on the beginnings of the French revolution.  The psalms are used like a weapon and turn people into gargoyle like zombies.   The queen tries to protect her family and speaks to the skull of a murdered child.  There is so much going on that this is one anime you have to watch.  It’s insightful and full of mystery.  We never expect the ending.

The story begins in Paris 1742, when the body of a woman named Lia de Beaumont is found in a casket floating along the Seine. The only clue regarding her death is the word “Psalms”, which is written in blood on the lid of the casket. Her brother D’Eon becomes her soul’s vessel and they share one body.  This is so she may finish her quest for the king. Thanks to this blurring of siblings the relations she has with the Empress of Russia and the Queen of England carry over for D’Eon, and he receives the help he needs.

With the psalms we learn that things aren’t what they seem.  This is an exciting and exhilarating experience, especially if you like history but not all the facts.   It helps open the eyes to what could have caused the revolution.  I really enjoyed this piece of historical art.

By Miki

               So this year there were some conflicts but overall it was a fun and eventful convention.  We started Friday morning in costume going to the exhibition hall where we saw all the wares.  We then went to the funimation panel to learn about what’s new, after that was the live dubbing then followed by the Lolita fashion panel.  We had planned to go to the masquerade but ended up getting tired and the crowds were so large that we canceled.

Day 2 was even busier so many people.  The escalator was so packed it looked like a river of people.  We started much earlier and were dressed as medusa and Java Joe from Soul Eater.  We went to Intro to Cosplay this was a great panel.  Holly was our speaker and enjoyed props the most.  She said a prop can make a costume and we found this very true by leaving Joe’s coffee mug at home.  We then went to Japanese etiquette where we learned a little about life in japan.  We learned sneezing is considered rude but slurping noodles is not.  Then back to Funimation’s panel we actually spent time talking to the guys after the pane, partly because we were removed from the Dark Horse panel.  This was a disastrous faux pas due to lack of communication.  There were lots of irate guests who asked for management assistance and were denied after having this happen again later with us being denied access I then went to press office and got a solution.  We finally spoke to a Molly Schudle who was the assistant manager and should have been brought during the uproar.  I wish I had gotten names of the other people who were removed but unfortunately I did not so if you were involved please email me miki@animesalvation.com

Day 3 feels almost empty after the other days.  We took over two hours to spike my hair and went as Road Camelot and Skin Bolick.   So we then started at the photo booth seeing as how we didn’t know if my hair would last but it did thanks to Joico’s Blast spray glue.  We went to Tokyo Fashion first then Voice acting vs. Stage acting and then to the exhibit hall.  We finally decided on our purchases.  This was where we had another problem I bought a shirt that when I got back to the hotel did not work.  The con was closed and we called their company and they blamed us for getting a raw deal on top of that they had sign saying they were $20 but charged me $40.  They ignored me when I tried to find out why.  This company EFM is a scam and their design is extremely flawed, it is not wearable the way they show.­­­­­Electro Media _http://www.electroflashmedia.com/ They have still not returned my money or even attempted to contact me.

Overall it was fun and exciting if you’d like to read more about individual panels please check out our magazine @ http://anime.us  or at our review site animesalvation.com I always enjoy these conventions and hope all of you interested can attend one soon.

You may recall a couple years ago we interviewed Initial P and reviewed his album Anime Love Hardcore. We were just informed there is a sequel to this beloved album, Anime Love Hardcore 2.

In prepartion for the release of Anime Love Hardcore 2, we have interviewed DJ initial P, aka Pete Ellison, with DiskoWarp Records. Coming soon will be our review of Anime Love Hardcore 2.

AnimeSalvation: Are you going to be performing at any cons or other shows this year?

Initial P: I’ll be playing Kumoricon in Portland, and Disko Warp is sponsoring a new event in Portland called Newcon at the end of the year. If you’re interested in having me perform at your local con, tell them! Send an email to their programming director and post on their forum that you want them to book Initial P.

AnimeSalvation: What’s your favorite con or venue to perform at?

Initial P: I love playing for the anime con crowd because they’re so fun and supportive and really engaging. I get to connect with a lot of fans. It’s a different kind of rush playing for 1,000 people, but my jam will always be playing small parties that are more intimate. I love it when it’s a crowd of 50-100. People want to highfive me and try to touch my beard, and I really feel like they are dancing for me and not just because it’s a con or a rave. I get really into it when I dj and I dance and stomp around a lot, and it’s more fun for me when I can pull that energy directly from a crowd. I dig it when its kinda sweaty and punk rock.

AnimeSalvation: What is the best/most memorable experience you’ve had performing live?

Initial P: So many. A pretty great moment happened recently when I was in Seattle for a party. I’d stopped off at Kinokuniya earlier in the day and noticed they had a copy of a Japanese trance CD that I helped produce (“Hapikoa Speed 2″ on Pony Canyon). I posted a pic of it to twitter, and this guy picked it up and brought it to the show that night and asked me to autograph it. It was a nice reminder that there’s people I don’t know that are really paying attention to what I do.
At Atomic Lollipop in Toronto they surprised me by lighting off fireworks at the beginning of my set. It was the sweetest thing ever. The next day I played a 2nd set mid-day and Bespa Kumamero went by in a giant wooden tank and waved at me.
AnimeSalvation: In general, how difficult is it to acquire the rights to use anime theme songs?

Initial P: I get asked this all the time and I always wonder why, because it’s so boring. Does anybody really want to hear about my paperwork? There’s agencies that do this sort of thing for you, so I don’t have to handle it at all.

AnimeSalvation: Have you received any feedback on your songs from people who were involved in any of the original songs or their anime?

Initial P: No, I think I’m pretty far off of their radar, but I’d be curious to hear what they think of some of the arrangements. I’m curious what anybody thinks about my version of “Still Doll” because it’s the song that I took the most liberties with in my arrangement.

AnimeSalvation: Are you taking suggestions/requests for Anime Love Hardcore 3?

Initial P: I probably won’t do another anime album for a while, but when I get around to it I’m strongly considering posting some kind of poll for people to vote for songs they’d like me to cover. I’d still have to have final say though because the songs need to be something I can get excited about.

AnimeSalvation: Obviously there was some success with Anime Love Hardcore 1 to decide to make a sequel. How successful was the first album?

Initial P: It continues to sell very well, I had a lot of fun making it, and made a lot of great connections from it.

AnimeSalvation: You mentioned in your email you were attending the Sakura-Con, Do you cosplay at anime conventions? If so who have you cosplayed as?

Initial P: I’ve never cosplayed as a character because I don’t want to shave my beard, and I don’t look anything like Jigen from Lupin The 3rd. This year at Sakuracon I wentdressed as a lumberjack. I think if I did a character cosplay I’d want to be something from a cute video game, like Mr. Driller or Dig Dug maybe?

AnimeSalvation: Anything else you would like to say?

Initial P: Please check out my album Disko Warp Presents Anime Love Hardcore 2 which will be out on CD and in iTunes by the time you read this!
www.diskowarp.com. For bookings please email mailbox@diskowarp.com

Note: Links to our first interview and review of 1st Anime Love Hardcore album.

Tama is back Ladies and Gentlemen!!

Hey guys it’s been such a looooong time! I know you all missed me…NOT!  But anyways,  I’m back on track and I’ll be posting  a couple of reviews during the weekend  and during next week, if you have any suggestions please comment and i shall read your prayers

So please look forward for my upcoming reviews which at the time will be Bakuman, Highschool DxD and Black Rock Shooter. So don’t cry no more cause Tama is BACK!!

AnimeSalvation will be covering the 2012 Sakura-Con once again this year. Keep an eye out for the lovely Miki on the prowl in her newest cosplay outfits. Keep an eye out also for Doc with her. She loves to loiter at all the panels. If you see them be sure to come and say hello. If you are up to it pose for a picture in your cosplay outfits. We are covering the Sakura-Con For Anime Salvation Magazine Issue 5 (due out in late April 2012). Your picture could be featured.

Also, our newest reviewer LikitaRenn will be attending and covering the convention for AnimeSalvation.

Hope to see you there!

Miki has the pink hair in this picture from Sakura-Con 2010

Miki and Doc @ 2011 Kumoricon

Miki as Lt. Yachiru Kusajishi and Doc as Captain Kenpachi Zaraki @ Kumoricon 2011

This is going to be my 7^th Saku in a row, so I’ve come to expect certain things from this convention… and I can already tell there are a couple of major changes in store for attendees this year! First, and probably most significant for those who are used to just checking into their hotel and heading to the convention center to pick up their badges: the registration and pre-registration lines have moved this year. They’ve moved a few times before, but this year is definitely the weirdest move I’ve seen yet; the lines are actually in separate buildings from each other! People who have preregistered will be picking their badges up from the third floor of the Conference Center across the street from the convention center, and people who are registering at-con will actually wind up going to the first floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  I can imagine this is going to cause a few people a bit of frustration from going to the wrong area and having to be redirected, and I really don’t want to know how many people staying at the Grand Hyatt are going to have an issue with this decision… but it does open up a pretty huge space in the room where it used to be, across the skybridge from the main convention center. This is actually quite helpful for the next transition.

The second major adjustment they’re making is to expand the Exhibitor’s Hall into the now-empty area previously used for badge pickup, and to put the Artist Alley in with the Exhibitor’s Hall. This is good in some ways, and not so great in others. The pros: the Artist Alley has now been expanded to 100 tables (up from the 55 of last year), the AA will be in a higher traffic area instead of a random hardly-used hallway, and the artists are less likely to have their stuff stolen after hours. The major con: the AA will now have the same hours as the Exhibitor’s Hall, which is super frustrating for both the artists who usually get a lot of business after the EH closes, and the people like me who stroll over to the AA between panels when the EH is closed. I personally loved the old skybridge AA location from the last few years, before the 2011 con when it was re-located to the awful spot it wound up in, but I understand that the skybridge location was an issue for some fire safety/evacuation regulations or something of the sort… which honestly makes sense because that area gets crowded enough even without there being a bunch of tables in the middle. I’m excited to see the variety that 100 tables will bring to the AA, and though I’m bummed about the hours, it really does make sense to combine the Artist Alley and Exhibitor’s Hall into one magical spend-o-rama land. I just wish they would pull out their little dividers and close the EH while letting the AA stay open later. But I’m sure the new setup will be pretty cool the way they have it planned.

Last but not least, this year Sakura-con is not offering any pro-rated individual day memberships. I almost always preregister and have never gone for less than the whole weekend, so I’m not sure how big of an effect this will have on people. They have a more in-depth explanation available on their message boards, but the quick version is that it was causing problems with ANCEA/Sakura-con’s non-profit organization financials, and since they are already coming close to filling up the Washington State Convention Center, the best decision was to discontinue offering the pro-rated memberships. However, this was handled quite well in my opinion; announcements were made 2 months in advance, and other steps were taken to ease the transition. Hopefully this doesn’t cause too many problems with people who can only attend the convention for part of the weekend, but it seems like something that needed to happen for the good of the con.

Now, on to the good stuff: guests! There are 24 guests of honor this year, spanning a huge array of talent. For American guests, we have voice actors Todd Haberkorn, Steve Blum, Jaime Marchi, Clarine Harp, Christopher R. Sabat, and Leah Clark, as well as actor/stuntman Reuben Langdon and Jonathan Klein, video game director and VP/co-owner of New Generations Pictures, Inc. This year’s Japanese guests include producer Michihiko Suwa, character designer and director Yutaka Minowa, publisher Katsushi Ota, producer Atsuhiro Iwakami, animator/director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, seiyu Masakazu Morita, writer Gen Urobuchi, manga-ka Retsu Tateo, artist Zekkyō, doll supply company Obitsu Plastic Manufacturing Co, Ltd, and designers Yuko Ashizawa, Fumiko Kawamura, and Naoto Hirooka. Musical guests featured at con this year are STEREOPONY, Kanon Wakeshima, and Moi dix Mois. Sakura-con will also be hosting GoFa, the “Gallery of Fantastic Art” featuring the works of Japanese artists. GoFa will be set up in the Exhibitor’s Hall. Other special events this year include the Gothic/Lolita Tea Party, and Gundam Model Contest. Of course, more details can be found on the Sakura-con website.

The things I’m most excited for this year?

- Todd Haberkorn: last year was the year that I finally came to have an appreciation for Todd, borne of my (then) new-found obsession with Ouran Host Club… and of course it was one of the years he wasn’t at Saku! Looks like he’s got a whole bunch of panels this year, so I’m excited to check some out. (Especially “Mystery Science Theater with Todd Haberkorn”; um… yes, please!)

- Zapp Brannigan’s Spaceship of Love, and Loveline with Zapp Brannigan: I don’t know who the guy who cosplays as Zapp and runs these panels is, but he’s RIDICULOUS (in a good way of course). These are seriously the most hilarious panels at con, every time. One of them is an all-ages panel, the other is hugely and wonderfully inappropriate and for mature audiences (so you need to get a hand stamp at the ID-checking booth), but both are not to be missed.

- A panel called “Looks yummy! (…what is it?)”: I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had this exact same thought. I can’t find a description for what this panel actually entails, but I’m going anyways!

Well, I think that’s probably enough from me for now. Check back for post-con reports from Miki and myself… and if you’re going to Sakura-con, let us know on the Anime Salvation Facebook page! This has been a report from your friendly neighborhood LikitaRenn… signing off! ^_^

Anime Salvation Magazine Issue 4 PDF

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