Monday, October 14, 2013
New York Comic Con 2013 Cosplayers
Well another Comic Con has passed
This year was a great one and to celebrate , enjoy these amazing cosplayers who put lots of effort and creativity into their costumes!!!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Crossovers and Collabos
We recently heard some exciting news , that's right The Simpsons and
Family Guy will join forces in the fall of 2014 . The two series have
been head to head for quite sometime and we will finally see the
characters interact with one another. In celebration of this occasion
lets take a moment and celebrate some memorable crossovers and
collaborations in animation ,music , television , and video games that
really stood out .
Animation
Animation
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
Captain N: The Game Master
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Year : 1988
A crossover between live action and animation , Who Framed Roger Rabbit would probably be considered the " It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World " of the cartoon world ... or something along those lines. From Betty Boop to Bugs Bunny , from Donald to Daffy , this film is what a fanboys dreams are made of and it is truly classic.
Comic Books
Archie Meets Glee
Year : 2013
The folks from Riverdale get caught in some confusion with that one Glee club thanks to Dilton Doiley.DC vs. Marvel
Year : 1996
Two brothers who personify the DC and Marvel Universes become aware of the other's existence, and challenge one another to a series of duels involving each universe's respective superheroes. The losing universe would cease to exist. The story had an "out of universe" component in that, although there were eleven primary battles, five outcomes were determined by fan vote
Worlds Collide: Sonic and Mega Man
Year : 2013
Archie comics who have published the Sonic comic books for about 20 years acquired the rights to adapt the Blue Bomber. It didn't take long for Capcom , Sega , and Archie to join forces and have two of the most iconic ( and very blue ) video game mascots of all time crossover for the first time since that one time in an old EGM magazine ( I wanna say it was EGM ) let's hope that Nintendo is nice to us and brings Sonic back so that we can have the holy trinity in the upcoming Super Smash Brothers.
Music
Black Republican - Nas and Jay-Z
Year : 2010
Television
Cheers/St. ElsewhereVideo Games
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Year: 2000
Despite the swag jacking and weak attempts at shade throwing , Capcom was feeling charitable and decided to do a few crossover titles with their longtime bitter rivals over at SNK to make the fans happy. It worked out fairly well especially for Capcom since the titles they published sold more than the ones that SNK published.
Kingdom Hearts
Year : 2012
Disney and Square Enix joined forces and created absolute perfection. Cloud Strife and Aladdin in the same game ? sign us up please !!! It has the Disney magic and the flare of Square Enix and this title touches gamer's hearts so much that some even shed a tear once they hear " Dearly Beloved " or " Simple and Clean " . Perfection example of east meeting west and snatching wigs in the process.
Marvel vs Capcom ( series )
Year : 1995
Capcom began a partnership with Marvel in the early 90s and halfway through they finally go the go ahead and paired Marvel Superheroes with their own and create pure excellence with X-men vs Street Fighter. Many believe that the reason that the Marvel vs Capcom franchise was so successful and beloved was because aside from the characters crossing over Capcom always cared about the quality of their games that were based on comics and cartoons ( see all of their Disney games ) and that appeared to be very uncommon back in the day. Capcom and Marvel spent almost a decade apart but in 2011 they rekindled their relationship and revived the series. The mutual respect each company has for one another is what makes this series so amazing , you have Viewtiful Joe looking up to Captain America and Chun Li joining the X-men ... it's just beautiful.
Super Smash Brothers ( series )
Year : 1999
This Nintendo crossover was originally released in the days of the N64 and doubled it's popularity with it's Gamecube follow up. When the second installment of the series was released for the Gamecube fans were lead to believe that Sonic and Tales would be included in the game but it turned out to be an April Fool's joke which enraged many in the community. However in Super Smash Brothers Brawl gamers rejoiced when Sonic The Hedgehog ( who was Sonic's main competitor in the early 90s and even defeated him in some areas ) was included along with Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid as playable characters despite being third party characters. Mario and Sonic also went head to head in the Olympic games for the Wii .
Monday, August 12, 2013
90s Kids .... People think we have special snowflake syndrome ....
... But we kinda are special snowflakes ?
This is something I always hear from people born after 1995 to be honest , I always used to argue with them too but it's not really worth it anymore because it is something they will never understand.
You didn't need cable to enjoy television in the 90s , sure cable had Nick , Cartoon Network , and all of those good things but broadcast television had great series ( Pokemon, Batman TAS , Muppet Babies , Disney Afternoon ) , the only bad thing is that some of the good shows came on in the same time slots so it was hard to choose. Cable or not it was always a delight to come home afterschool to these great cartoons and then do homework afterschool when it was time for Montell Williams which honestly none of us kids were here for. Also I noticed how all forms of animation were treated equally and there was really no seperation of japanese animation and western animation.
They actually advertised toys commercials on television and we would all be like " I want that for Christmas or my birthday !!! " and who can forget collecting Chip n Dale and Gummi Bears toys from the cereal boxes?
Another thing people don't realize is how much the dynamic has changed in television since the 90s , there was much more diversity on television. There were successful shows that featured full cast of strong women and people of color , something that you do not see much in the year 2012.
I'd like to touch a little on the videogame industry as well because younger people just don't understand what it was like to be a gamer in the 90s. Cartridges collecting dust and having to blow them out was madness but full of great memories. Some people don't think that the industry has changed much but again they are younger so they have no idea about the insane glitches that occured in earlier consoles.
I was able to witness the transition from 16 bit to 32 bit and it was pretty amazing and something that I will never forget because compact discs were far more convenient than cartridges because you didn't have to deal with the chopped up glitches , it was all a matter of caring for your games and making sure they didn't get scratched. Also Nintendo was holding everything down in the handheld department , but purchasing batteries was a huge pain in the ass and also it was a bit of a pain having to play in black and white with poor lighting , but The Gameboy devices were the things to have to ... everybody enjoyed them.
About this music industry , because yes IT DOES MATTER. I know that the sounds change with every decade but you could convey a postive message through song and still hit #1 on Billboard Top 100. Also as with television there was more variety in the industry because Rap and R&B was positioning very well on the Billboard Charts against Pop and Rock music which again is not something you really see today.
Last but not least , The Internet!!
I know that people get tired of us 90s kids complaining about " Being the last generation to grow up without the internet " but once again , if you were not one of us it is something that you will never understand because you didn't grow up without having to rely on it. I was in middle school when AOL Chatrooms , Angelfire , and Geocities were still things so I did begin to rely on it but I was pretty much in my teen years at the time , but that also helped realize that growing up without was so significant because I looked back on the times where I was able to have fun without sitting infront of a computer for hours and hours. So when 90s children talk about growing up without relying on it we are not trying to take digs at younger children because we don't expect you guys to be like us , after all we are two different generations , we are however just celebrating our youth. We often make comparisons to the past and present because we are inbetweeners and we have seen so much change despite the fact that we are still youngsters in the year 2012. I am only 26 years old and even though I feel old as shit when I say things like " Remember back in my day " it is now my place to say such things and the same applies to any 90s kid.
Why Can't We Be Friends ? A Little " Magical Girl " Lesson
As you guys know by now I am a huge geek ^___^ and I appreciate pretty much all forms of animation and things like that.
I grew up watching Sailor Moon, I still remember the very first time I saw the 5 inner senshi , it was in a "VUE" TV Guide and before I even saw the show I made up my mind that Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were my favorites.
This series used to air at like 6 am here in the US and I tried to wake up every morning to watch it , if I didn't it was all good because my brother recorded it so I would be able to watch it afterschool. ( Oh and BTW this was around 95-96 long before the series started airing on Toonami )
The year is now 2012 and I am still very fond of the series, Naoko Takeuchi is a goddess and I am so thankful for this wonderful creation she has shared with the world. I am also blessed that I was able to experience Sailor Moon in all of it's glory back in the mid 90s , it was a huge part of the girl power movement in North America.
Sailor Moon had her own merchandise, 3 original english soundtracks, and she was even preaching that afterschool special talk at the end of each episode.
Sailor Moon's popularity inspired a couple of series that were similar
The Sky Dancers
Okay this was actually a popular toy line before it was an animated series. I believe the series was released in 1996 about a year after Sailor Moon arrived and as a fan of both series it is pretty obvious that Sky Dancers drew inspiration from Sailor Moon with the outfits and transformations. I am aware that Sailor Moon did not start this trend ( that is actually the reason I am writing this whole damn thing but I will get to that later ) but at that time the girl power movement was going strong partially because of series like Sailor Moon and Sabrina The Teenage Witch and I guess the manufactures wanted a piece of it.
Princess Starla aka Princess Gwenevere and The Jewel Riders
Another fantastic series that aired shortly after Sailor Moon's arrival.
Princess Tenko and The Guardians of Magic
This was a cross between live action and animation. I also think this series actually started right around the same time as Sailor Moon, infact it is originally what Saban had in mind for Sailor Moon in the very beginning ( thank god it never happened and we got the flawless anime ). Even though they started at the same time I still felt like I needed to include it.
The PowerPuff Girls
I am pretty sure the short for this debuted before Sailor Moon came to the states and I can easily say it was just as popular. Japan took notice of PPG and gave them their own anime.
It was a great time to be a girl in the 90s, there were so many shows catering to little boys, don't get me wrong I love me some Power Rangers and X-men but all of the series I mentioned above kept a smile on my face because I could truly identify with them.
Now while I have been praising Sailor Moon's light since the first time I saw the girls , I have to keep it real and say that Sailor Moon did not create the "Magical Girl" genre.
The reason I am bringing this up is because I am also a fan of an Italian series called "The Winx Club"
This series has been labeled as a "Sailor Moon knock off" many times because they are .... well magical girls who.. yah know transform , wear colorful outfits and have special attacks. I watched this series every morning with my niece and yes the character design is heavily influenced by japanese animation and Iginio Straffi made it clear that he looked to Sailor Moon for inspiration and I don't see why that is such a bad thing, if anything it represents how important Sailor Moon really is as far as animation is concerned and it backs up Sailor Moon's popularity in Europe . So as a fan of the series I was able to see the similarities and I was also able to see what set it apart from Sailor Moon. I think The Winx is a little more like Harry Potter meets Sailor Moon, Disney, and a little of The Craft. To be honest there was one thing I liked better about The Winx Club and it was the fact that all of the girls got a shot at true love whereas in Sailor Moon it was only really Usagi/Sailor Moon who was able to experience true love. People who claim that Iginio ripped off Naoko Takeuchi have no idea what they are talking about because they never watched the series, there is a difference between inspiration and stealing and Iginio did not steal anything :/ I doubt he is that stupid.
The Winx Club is not the only show that gets the heat ( although I do think they get it worse because it's a non japanese magical girl series )
Tokyo Mew Mew and Magical DoReMi have also been labeled as Sailor Moon copycats. I don't really understand why so I am going to pray that the people making these claims are just judging books by their covers because there is no way you can watch either series and claim they are jacking Sailor Moon...there is just no way. The Mew Mew origins and strengths differ from The Sailor Senshi and DoReMi revolves around witch craft :/
People constantly complain about "Sailor Moon knock offs" and it is so annoying I mean come on son does this ring a bell?
Cutey Honey is a well known title from the 70s and while it was makes the original version of Sailor Moon look like something along the lines of Dora The Explorer , there is no way in hell you can deny the similarities between this series and Sailor Moon. " Make Up! " is pretty much the modern " Honey Flash " lets be real. Cutey Honey is one of the OG magical chicks.
What is a magical girl?
Magical girls (魔法少女 mahō shōjo, also known as mahou shoujo or majokko) traditionally belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga, but it has gained traction in non-Japanese formats, such as animated television series, graphic novels and webcomics. Magical girl stories feature young girl heroes with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity,[1] although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic and a transformation (such as Full Moon o Sagashite and Sailor Moon). Ojamajo Doremi features magical girls as protagonists, but its plot differs from the standard as the girls use magic for friendship, behavior and achieving goals, rather than for attacking antagonists. The Japanese language identifies magical girls as majokko (魔女っ子, literally "witch girl"), though this term does not generally apply to modern magical-girl anime. Sally, the Witch (1966) counts as the first magical girl anime.
Source
Himitsu no Akko-chan ( 1962)
She is more OG than Cutey Honey considering she is the first magical girl as far as Japan is concerned.
Sally the Witch ( 1966 )
Another one taking it back
Speaking of older characters , since people want to throw shade at shows like The Winx Club and W.I.T.CH. for being non Japanese magic series I want to show you all something.
( W.I.T.C.H. is another Italian series and it is awesome )
I mentioned Cutey Honey was one of the OG magical girls , I would like to introduce you to some more and just to let you all know, whether you like it or not this genre has never been limited to Japan.
Sabrina Spellman (1962)
First appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 in October 1962.
She may not transform but she counts because she is a good witch.
Wanda Maximoff (1964)
Another good witch
Rainbow Brite (1985)
Adorable little kiddies ain't they?
Jem and The Holograms (1985)
Jerrica Benton would use her earrings ( Sailor Moon's disguise pen anyone? ) to call upon Synergy to help her transform into Jem. Similar to "Full Moon" but Jerrica is not bad shape like Mitsuki.
She - Ra (1985)
He-Man's little fierce sister and her fierce gang getting shit done in fly ass outfits.
Kinda like those other fierce ladies
( the color schemes are almost similar OMG I AM HAVING A HAPPY FANGIRL MOMENT XD )
So .... yeah, please pardon my late night rants but this is something that has been on my mind for awhile, please excuse all of my typos and crap like that. One day I will edit this without all of the swearing and internet slang.
Anyways I just don't understand why people have to complain about things and why people think it's so wrong to like more than one series. I love Sailor Moon more than a huge portion of the series I just mentioned but that doesn't mean I have to limit myself and trash other series. Why can't there be more than one good magical girl series? I people need to calm the fuck down and atleast gather proper information about certain series before trying to talk crap.
It's almost 4:30 est , I need sleep
Magical Girls are awesome <3
I grew up watching Sailor Moon, I still remember the very first time I saw the 5 inner senshi , it was in a "VUE" TV Guide and before I even saw the show I made up my mind that Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were my favorites.
This series used to air at like 6 am here in the US and I tried to wake up every morning to watch it , if I didn't it was all good because my brother recorded it so I would be able to watch it afterschool. ( Oh and BTW this was around 95-96 long before the series started airing on Toonami )
The year is now 2012 and I am still very fond of the series, Naoko Takeuchi is a goddess and I am so thankful for this wonderful creation she has shared with the world. I am also blessed that I was able to experience Sailor Moon in all of it's glory back in the mid 90s , it was a huge part of the girl power movement in North America.
Sailor Moon had her own merchandise, 3 original english soundtracks, and she was even preaching that afterschool special talk at the end of each episode.
Sailor Moon's popularity inspired a couple of series that were similar
The Sky Dancers
Okay this was actually a popular toy line before it was an animated series. I believe the series was released in 1996 about a year after Sailor Moon arrived and as a fan of both series it is pretty obvious that Sky Dancers drew inspiration from Sailor Moon with the outfits and transformations. I am aware that Sailor Moon did not start this trend ( that is actually the reason I am writing this whole damn thing but I will get to that later ) but at that time the girl power movement was going strong partially because of series like Sailor Moon and Sabrina The Teenage Witch and I guess the manufactures wanted a piece of it.
Princess Starla aka Princess Gwenevere and The Jewel Riders
Another fantastic series that aired shortly after Sailor Moon's arrival.
Princess Tenko and The Guardians of Magic
This was a cross between live action and animation. I also think this series actually started right around the same time as Sailor Moon, infact it is originally what Saban had in mind for Sailor Moon in the very beginning ( thank god it never happened and we got the flawless anime ). Even though they started at the same time I still felt like I needed to include it.
The PowerPuff Girls
I am pretty sure the short for this debuted before Sailor Moon came to the states and I can easily say it was just as popular. Japan took notice of PPG and gave them their own anime.
It was a great time to be a girl in the 90s, there were so many shows catering to little boys, don't get me wrong I love me some Power Rangers and X-men but all of the series I mentioned above kept a smile on my face because I could truly identify with them.
Now while I have been praising Sailor Moon's light since the first time I saw the girls , I have to keep it real and say that Sailor Moon did not create the "Magical Girl" genre.
The reason I am bringing this up is because I am also a fan of an Italian series called "The Winx Club"
This series has been labeled as a "Sailor Moon knock off" many times because they are .... well magical girls who.. yah know transform , wear colorful outfits and have special attacks. I watched this series every morning with my niece and yes the character design is heavily influenced by japanese animation and Iginio Straffi made it clear that he looked to Sailor Moon for inspiration and I don't see why that is such a bad thing, if anything it represents how important Sailor Moon really is as far as animation is concerned and it backs up Sailor Moon's popularity in Europe . So as a fan of the series I was able to see the similarities and I was also able to see what set it apart from Sailor Moon. I think The Winx is a little more like Harry Potter meets Sailor Moon, Disney, and a little of The Craft. To be honest there was one thing I liked better about The Winx Club and it was the fact that all of the girls got a shot at true love whereas in Sailor Moon it was only really Usagi/Sailor Moon who was able to experience true love. People who claim that Iginio ripped off Naoko Takeuchi have no idea what they are talking about because they never watched the series, there is a difference between inspiration and stealing and Iginio did not steal anything :/ I doubt he is that stupid.
The Winx Club is not the only show that gets the heat ( although I do think they get it worse because it's a non japanese magical girl series )
Tokyo Mew Mew and Magical DoReMi have also been labeled as Sailor Moon copycats. I don't really understand why so I am going to pray that the people making these claims are just judging books by their covers because there is no way you can watch either series and claim they are jacking Sailor Moon...there is just no way. The Mew Mew origins and strengths differ from The Sailor Senshi and DoReMi revolves around witch craft :/
People constantly complain about "Sailor Moon knock offs" and it is so annoying I mean come on son does this ring a bell?
Cutey Honey is a well known title from the 70s and while it was makes the original version of Sailor Moon look like something along the lines of Dora The Explorer , there is no way in hell you can deny the similarities between this series and Sailor Moon. " Make Up! " is pretty much the modern " Honey Flash " lets be real. Cutey Honey is one of the OG magical chicks.
What is a magical girl?
Magical girls (魔法少女 mahō shōjo, also known as mahou shoujo or majokko) traditionally belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga, but it has gained traction in non-Japanese formats, such as animated television series, graphic novels and webcomics. Magical girl stories feature young girl heroes with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity,[1] although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic and a transformation (such as Full Moon o Sagashite and Sailor Moon). Ojamajo Doremi features magical girls as protagonists, but its plot differs from the standard as the girls use magic for friendship, behavior and achieving goals, rather than for attacking antagonists. The Japanese language identifies magical girls as majokko (魔女っ子, literally "witch girl"), though this term does not generally apply to modern magical-girl anime. Sally, the Witch (1966) counts as the first magical girl anime.
Source
Himitsu no Akko-chan ( 1962)
She is more OG than Cutey Honey considering she is the first magical girl as far as Japan is concerned.
Sally the Witch ( 1966 )
Another one taking it back
Speaking of older characters , since people want to throw shade at shows like The Winx Club and W.I.T.CH. for being non Japanese magic series I want to show you all something.
( W.I.T.C.H. is another Italian series and it is awesome )
I mentioned Cutey Honey was one of the OG magical girls , I would like to introduce you to some more and just to let you all know, whether you like it or not this genre has never been limited to Japan.
Sabrina Spellman (1962)
First appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 in October 1962.
She may not transform but she counts because she is a good witch.
Wanda Maximoff (1964)
Another good witch
Rainbow Brite (1985)
Adorable little kiddies ain't they?
Jem and The Holograms (1985)
Jerrica Benton would use her earrings ( Sailor Moon's disguise pen anyone? ) to call upon Synergy to help her transform into Jem. Similar to "Full Moon" but Jerrica is not bad shape like Mitsuki.
She - Ra (1985)
He-Man's little fierce sister and her fierce gang getting shit done in fly ass outfits.
Kinda like those other fierce ladies
( the color schemes are almost similar OMG I AM HAVING A HAPPY FANGIRL MOMENT XD )
So .... yeah, please pardon my late night rants but this is something that has been on my mind for awhile, please excuse all of my typos and crap like that. One day I will edit this without all of the swearing and internet slang.
Anyways I just don't understand why people have to complain about things and why people think it's so wrong to like more than one series. I love Sailor Moon more than a huge portion of the series I just mentioned but that doesn't mean I have to limit myself and trash other series. Why can't there be more than one good magical girl series? I people need to calm the fuck down and atleast gather proper information about certain series before trying to talk crap.
It's almost 4:30 est , I need sleep
Magical Girls are awesome <3
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