KrisZ on Anime, Manga, Cosplay and Video Games

Zion National Park in Utah, a gorgeous place. Do you remember the first time you set foot in a Yosemite National Park? As you stepped out of the vehicle, your mouth is agape of nature’s beauty. Your head moved in wonder, as you looked at the sheer cliffs accented by gorgeous waterfalls, in the silence you hear a bird in the distance flying from a granite cliff to a pine tree, the sunlight hitting rocky walls to illuminate your spirit. Now, you are at peace with the world and nothing can go wrong. What I just did was conjure up a memory; if you went to Yosemite, my words would create a vivid image of your first experience. Memories are little vignettes we have of the past that we play over long after they happened. Some memories are joyous, brining smiles on our faces as we recount tales of the past. Other memories are sad, leaving us with a bitter tale that we hesitate to recount. Memories are powerful because they shape us and they are a strong motivator that pushes people long af...

When Hyperdimension Neptunia was announced, it fascinated people with its cute characters and unique premise. The game was subsequently released in Japan, Europe, and North America and sold fairly well for a niche game. Neptunia developer Compile Heart knew that they had a new and interesting franchise, so they released Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 . The game had the subtitle Mk2 since the main focus of the game was on the successors to the lead characters in the original game. Neptunia Mk2 was also an interesting game since it was not a direct sequel to the original game , but more of a parallel universe or a reboot of the franchise. The game itself was a huge improvement over the original game graphically and gameplay-wise. With the Neptunia franchise doing reasonably well, the question is which direction the franchise would go? Rumors circulated that Compile Heart was considering making a game starring the steampunk Sony goddess Noire due to her complete domination in the popul...

In the short history of Japanese RPG’s, few franchises have had as many regular releases as the Tales franchise. Since the release of Tales of Phantasia in 1995, the franchise has seen 12 main titles, each with a unique theme and storyline. As the franchise became popular, the Namco Tales Studio worked split into two teams, Team Destiny and Team Symphonia. These two studios developed unique styles that differentiated them from each other. The two teams were recently merged together with the release of the latest tales game, Tales of Xillia . The games released have combined worldwide sales of 13 million units. I will explore what makes this franchise unique in the world of video games. Game Titles Tales of Phantasia Tales of Destiny Tales of Eternia Tales of Destiny 2 Tales of Symphonia (Team Symphonia) Tales of Rebirth (Team Destiny) Tales of the Abyss (Team Symphonia) Tales of Innocence (Team Destiny) Tales of Vesperia (Team Symphonia) Tales of Hearts (Team Destiny) Tal...

  Los Angeles is home to many huge conventions and events, Anime Expo, Electronic Entertainment Expo, and now Comikaze Expo. The convention first launched in November 2011 and it billed itself as the first major comic convention for the Los Angeles area. They went after a new market that didn't have a large comic convention of its own, and the people responded. For its first year, the convention had an impressive attendance of 40,000 people, immediately becoming one of the largest comic conventions in the United States [1] . I had the pleasure of attending Comikaze Expo for its inaugural year and I had a very glowing review of the convention. The location was great and I loved the layout of the event [2] . Comikaze Expo has announced today a huge announcement, a new executive on board the event and a new location change. The first big announcement is that comic book master Stan Lee will be working with Regina Carpinelli on Comikaze Expo. This is a huge announcement since this is ...

As if the slate of bad news didn't keep on coming, Sony has announced today that the company is expected to lose $6.4 billion for the 2011 fiscal year. They recently announced plans to cut 6% of their workforce or 10,000 jobs [1] . A major reason why is because of the ailing television division that is dragging down the organization. This division has lost money for the last eight years [2] . The new CEO of Sony, Kaz Hirai has his work cut out for him as he tries to steer the organization into profitability. Sony has recently launched the PS Vita all over the world, with a fairly icy response from the gaming community. This has led to fairly poor sales across the board, with the consoles failing to live up to sales forecasts [3] . The tepid response to the PS Vita and the legacy debt from the PlayStation 3 along with the increased competition from tablets, Microsoft, and Nintendo means that the PlayStation 4 will likely have difficulty establishing itself when released next year. ...

Southern California is known as the car capital of the world, the automobile is the main artery of this massive megalopolis includes communities from Santa Monica to the east to San Bernardino in the west, moving south all the way to San Diego. We are so dependent on the car that people forget that Southern California used to be home to one of the largest mass transit systems on the planet, the Pacific Electric system. In the height of light rail, the system covered Southern California with over 2,500 miles of track. Due to heavy government subsidies on public roads and slick marketing in the rise of the automobile era, the Pacific Electric system waned and were replaced with huge interstate highways. With huge traffic difficulties, the light rail system is slowly coming back in Southern California. The opening of Metro's Expo Line on April 28th is a part of a huge mass transit expansion. This new Expo line will open up new possibilities and will continue the urbanization of downt...

Anime conventions brings a variety of people together, cosplayers, photographers, fans, and many other groups. Among the people who attend the convention, one of the most under-appreciated groups of people who attend the convention are photographers. Unfortunately, photographers are viewed in a negative light by some due to negative perceptions from various assumptions about photography. These assumptions assume that photography is easy to do, anyone can do it, it is very cheap, and that a good photographer is a dime a dozen. I believe that these assumptions are wrong, and these false assumptions do devalue good photographers. By knowing the real facts, I hope that people can see the real value of a photographer. A false assumption I see quite often among people is that photography is easy to do, anyone can do it. The truth is that photography is easy to do, and anyone can do it, but it is only half the story. The problem is that photography is also hard to master and it ta...

Review by: Susan Zyzzx Nerima Rich-Con 2012 Lauhlin Convention Center March 31-April 1, 2012 Badge Price: Three packs of Rainbow Skittles and $5 Website A new feature for my website is having contributor reviews. This review is by Susan Zyzzx Nerima, she is well known for her anime and manga articles in Antarctica Monthly and Weekly National Geology. Here is her convention review for the largest Richard/Anime Convention in North America. Anime conventions are fun experiences; I have been attending anime conventions since the late 1970’s. So many conventions are happening nowadays that a convention has to separate it from the pack. Originally, an idea between friends, Rich-Con started in 2010 and has become one of the largest conventions in the United States that no one knows about. It uses a unique combination of a focus on everything Richard related with anime and manga. The convention stunned the world when it announced it guests of honor that include guests like Richard ...