Thanksgiving in Japan

So I was thinking about what kind of Thanksgiving do they do in Japan? So I did a little looking and I found that a very similar at the same time as our Thanksgiving, is Labor Thanksgiving Day or Kinrō Kansha no Hi, in Japan held on November 23rd.

The holiday is cited as an occasion for commemorating labor and production and giving thanks to all. The day is celebrated with a labor festival, kids making crafts and giving them to police officers, as well as lots of encouragement regarding the environment, peace, and human rights.

So stay thankful this season! It seems to be going on around the world lol.

COSPLAY: Sailor Moon

Hey everyone, Gaby here. I found this video on how to make your own Sailor Moon outfit. I thought it was neat and its a very well produced video so I wanted to Share.  Props to Helen P.'s Channel on YouTube check her out on twitter too @TheHelenPHung

Enjoy!

Anime North Texas 2014

So the second year or Anime North Texas or ANT. I decided to check this out...

It was more fun than I thought! Yep for a small con you kept running into the same people over and over again but that was cool.
There weren't very many panels or gaming options but there were some pretty good ones. 
Cosplay was really good, I am assuming that people that didn't finish their cosplay for the summer cons have finally finished them for this con, very awesome cosplay.
Other great attractions included a really well put together speed dating event and an awesome anything goes karaoke show!
My hopes for small cons are definitively up now and I certainly see good things for ANT coming in the next few years, in fact some of the staff said they were going to consider looking for a bigger hotel for next year so let's hope to see some awesome things in the future!

Here are some pics from ANT 2014 at The Radisson in North Fort Worth Fossil Creek.

cosplay contest winners

Fiona at the Swap Meet

Sailor Moon princesses Princess Serenity actually won the cosplay contest

cards against humanity and munchkin!

nerdy card gaming too

San from Princess Mononoke

 

 

Naruto fans

Miyazaki enthusiasts

lolita

 

girl Link from Zelda

the short one...Edward Elric

loving the pink

dealers

GOING ON NOW! Anime North Texas in Fort Worth!

'One Week Friends' Anime Reivew

Decided to watch something cute and a little on the sentimental side.
One week friends centers around Fujimiija Kaori and Hase Yuuki. Hase-Kun wants to be friends with Fujimiya-san from the start, even though she delivers a cold and solitary front in class. She stops her in the middle of the hall and proclaims he wants them to be friends. She exclaims she can't. Determined to be friends, Hase-Kun continues to try to make friends with her and ends up sitting with her at lunch on the roof.  She finally tells him the truth, every Monday she wakes up with no memory of friendships of any kind from the week before, and this had been going on since she was in 6th grade. Hase, advises her that she should keep a diary and that he will try to be her friend every week.  Sure enough Monday rolls around and she does not remember him so he asks her to be his friend again and it goes on like that for Mondays on.

Hase-Kun asking Fujimiya-San to be his friend once again

The story does progress a lot and it even takes a few unexpected twists, as long as Fujimiya is able to read her diary of the previous week every Monday she will know she has friends.  This whole anime is a bit of a rollercoaster, especially because we root so much for Hase-Kun and right when things are getting great, something unexpected develops or something from Fujimiya's past comes back to haunt her making the progress of her memory restoration start all over.

Fujimiya-San shows Hase-Kun that she made note in her diary about his birthday.

I highly recommend this anime if you want a sweet high school boy meets complicated girl type of show.

Gaby's Review: Glasslip

Ok so recently I sat down to watch the entire 13 episode series of Glasslip.
It is a pretty good anime, it starts slow, and sort of continues kind of slow throughout the whole series.
If you are into slice of life with a little bit of weirdness (kinda like the Haruhi Suzumiya series) then you will like Glasslip.

Right from the beginning you get the feeling that Toko and Kakeru the two main characters have a special connection, but little do we know that as it turns out that special connection is that they are able to see or hear fragments of the future. The more time they spend together the more these fragments are seen or heard.
Toko's group of friends becomes a love triangle and a difficult relationship, very drama oriented show, not very fast paced at all but yet I couldn't stop watching.
The last episode is actually a little bit confusing but don't fret, just keep watching and it all makes sense in the end.

More Fall Festival Fun!!!!

Fort Worth! get ready because Japanese Fall Festival at the Japanese Gardens in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens will be here for Oct 25th and Oct 26th.

This is a two day festival, with great activities for both Saturday and Sunday.  There will be dancing, music, demonstrations, paper cranes, martial arts, and tea great scenery!

Mark your calendars for this event!

For more information about the event and to see what else is in store at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens check out this link! http://fwbg.org/events/

OTSUKIMI! on Oct 8, 2014

Check out the facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/356407624525711/ 

here's the info below:

Another great event to look forward to on Oct 8, 2014.  Its Otsukimi Hosted by Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth.

In partnership with the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth, the Crow Collection of Asian Art celebrates the full autumn moon each year with an outdoor picnic, Japanese music, and haiku poetry. This program is free and open to the public

Although not commonly observed in modern-day Japan, the moon viewing tradition dates back to the Heian period (A.D. 794–1185), when the evening was marked with poetry and music by court aristocrats. The celebration later spread to warriors, townspeople, and farmers, and became a harvest festival.

For more information:
http://jasdfw.org/pages/program_events_calendar.html

http://crowcollection.org/ai1ec_event/otsukimi/?instance_id=10704

Dallas Japanese Association Fall Festival 2014

So its just about fall season! Basically its fall festival time in the DFW area!
Time to get the geta and yukata out and get ready to go fishing with a scoop!
The next Fall Festial on my radar is the Dallas Japanese Association Fall Festival. Happening on Sunday, September, 28, 2014, from 11am to 3pm. At the parking lot at 4100 Alpha Rd. in Dallas TX.
From the previous experiences I have gone to, we can expect food vendors, games, sponsors vendors, and lots of performances all from local organizations and vendors here in the DFW area.

Here are the details again


WHO: Dallas Japanese Association
WHAT: Japanese Fall Festival
WHEN: Sept 28 11a-3p
WHERE: 4100 Alpha Rd. Dallas TX.
for more information go to http://www.godja.org
or see the flyer here http://godja.org/en/images/stories/2014_Fall_Festival_Flyer_en.pdf

SEE YOU THERE!

Anime Fest 2014

Another year, another Anime Fest!  This year instead of it being held on Labor Day Weekend, it was earlier, August 15-18. 
In my Personal opinion it was so so.  It seemed like some of the panels were lacking more content or some were repeats.  I personally love love love karaoke, but there was no panel for that this year so I was very disappointed. . However, there were many good panels that were done quite well and very informative, like the How to Live in Japan panel was great, very informative in terms of learning how to even get a license to work over there and the such. Other panels were too much talk, not enough interaction or visuals.
The video rooms were great! loved them and the selection of videos.   The concert this year was FLOW, they literally shook the walls, and the dance was all right. The formal was wonderful with a great selection of music from all forms of nerdy places from the Labyrinth, Howls Moving Castle, or anything classy and fun.
Yes there were the usual bad kids pulling the fire alarms and stealing lights off the elevators, but with Anime Fest staff offering a lifetime membership to find these trouble makers, I hope they find them soon!
Overall this con was pretty good, could be better with a little more work from the panels.  Saturday was the busiest day of them all but after that day all other days were very good in terms of atmosphere.
Also the TexMex restaurant at the Plaza of the America's called J. Pepe's is AWESOME! I can't believe I didnt go there earlier!!!

Here are a few pictures from the con.

Awesome cosplay!

lots of dealers in the dealers room

Pachinko Machines

Bodyline Lolita at the Dealers room

Cute fluffy things

Rave glow gear

Princess Mononoke Cosplay

Adventure Time Cosplay

Gaby's Review: The Devil is a Part Timer

So recently I had the pleasure to start watching, "The Devil is a Part Timer."  A pleasure it is indeed!  The first episode is absolutely hilarious.  It starts out as what seems like is going to be an epic type anime with demons and heroes in a fantasy type setting. But then after traveling through a portal the main characters find themselves in modern day Japan having to deal with things like part time jobs, rent, and dates!
The main character is  Satan Jacob, he arrives in the modern world with Alciel, they take on human names Sadao Mao and Shiro Ashiya and also end up running into Emilia the Hero who goes by Emi  in the human world and hilarious trouble ensues.
I've only watched a handful of episodes so far and the storyline gets a little more serious after about episode 3, where more characters are introduced that have to do with the other realm that Satan, Alciel, and Hero Emilia are from.  Some pretty evil characters come to Japan trying to destroy Satan and Emilia so they have to join forces to defeat him, even though they are both rivals of each other.
Overall this is a good show, I'm enjoying it and look forward to see how these battles end!

Good Luck Girl Review

Good Luck Girl

Written By: Taketo Shimoyama

Directed By: Yoichi Fujita

Studio: Sunrise

Manga: Yoshiaki Sukeno

PleaseO'Meter

Storyline (S) ******

Family Friendliness (FF) ***

Fanservice (F) ********

Cultural Hints (CH) *****

Everything in the world needs to stay in balance; that includes the happiness in everyone’s lives. If there is too much or too little happiness energy in one person, Gods of Misfortune like Momiji are in charge of making everything normal again. Our heroine is in charge of Ichiko, a girl who has everything going for her. She’s gorgeous, has all the men at school at her command, and her family is so rich she has her own butler at home. What Ichiko doesn't want to admit is that if she doesn't cooperate with Momijo she will suck the fortune of those around her.

The storyline is very laid back but still has a plot. Despite all the comedy, there is some touching drama underneath which helps the story’s development. It is an enjoyable comedy that is filled with Easter eggs of well-known anime. Some examples include Dragon Ball Z, Death Note, and Lupin the 3^rd.

Although the nudity is censored, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. This and some other characteristics in the anime make it more suitable for older teens and adults. That doesn’t mean you can’t watch it with the family however. Just make sure that everyone’s at least watched Family Guy by the time you share this anime.

The fanservice in this anime tends to be both sexy and hilarious at the same time. (It’s a comedy what do you expect?) But the censorship really is similar to what you can find in Family Guy: the character can be standing but naked and stuff around them conveniently covers just enough to keep the ratings PG-13.

This anime helps you learn a little more about the spirits that are found in Japanese culture. For example, there really is a “toilet god” along with other household deities. You can also find references to yokai, the zodiac, and more.

Sailor Moon Crystal just came out!

The new title screen for Sailor Moon Crystal

Hi everyone, its Gaby. So today, July 5th 2014,  is the new release of the new Sailor Moon Crystal series, a brand new reboot of the original sailor senshi anime Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. The show where school girls in skimpy sailor outfits fight the evil of the galaxy from taking the pure hearts or life energy of unsuspecting characters in the show.
Of course as we can expect this being a total reboot, they have kept the original characters with Usagi of course being our main protagonist.  My only qualm with this is that her voice is a tad bit annoying at first, but as the show progressed I got used to it.  Usagi being a clutz and a scatterbrain steps on the cat Luna as she hurries to school, Luna then later finds her and tells her she is Sailor Moon and then its history.  And may I also say the first episode felt extremely rushed, but its only a 20 some minute show so you can only do so much.

Usagi after her first transformation into Sailor Moon

Yes the animation is newly revamped, however the characters look a lot thinner than in the original and to me its a little bit...uh...not sure.  I guess its just personal preference.

The opening song "Moon Pride" by Momoiro Clover Z has a little bit of a rock feel to it, and I don't think its as catchy as "Moonlight Densetsu" but its still pretty cool.

I do believe we can expect the usual with this reboot as in the original...Bad guy makes trouble, sailor scouts save the day, if they get in trouble, Tuxedo mask will come in etc.

If you are a fan of the original Sailor Moon, then I do suggest you check this out, it may bring a lot of thoughts about the old one, and you may find yourself unknowingly pointing out differences.

If you are new to the sailor senshi fandom, then yes watch this and enjoy it! It's cute, has talking animals, pretty girls in school uniforms, and romance.

Best place to watch: www.Hulu.com They will put up new episodes every 1st and 3rd Saturdays.

Azu Manga Daioh Review

Azu Manga Daioh!

Manga By: Kiyohiko Azuma

Directed By: Hiroshi Nishikiori

Studio: J.C. Staff

PleaseO'Meter

Storyline (S) ******

Family Friendliness (FF) *******

Fanservice (F) ****

Cultural Hints (CH) *****

School has just started when Chiyo Mihama, a cute little prodigy, joins her new class. In this high school she meets some eccentric characters like Tomo, Sakaki, and Yukari-Sensei. From there all kinds of shenanigans await.

The storyline is very simple and definitely gives the slice of life vibe. There are times when it can be cute, silly, and touching; just like real life. For you younger audience it makes you hopeful for what's to come. For you older folk, it does make you think of the "good times." Although if you were hoping for a complex plot... don't watch this anime. XD

This story is good for the whole family. The few scenes that are borderline inappropriate can actually be useful to explain and warn your little sisters about "the creepy guys." (Yes I'm talking about you Mr. Kimura.)

For those who love cute animals, prepare to be overwhelmed. Cats have a special theme in this series and they will pop up again and again. And there will be times when the characters themselves are just adorable. This show does a great job at making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Slice of life anime tend to be very accurate about the Japanese school culture.
I recommend this to new anime lovers who want to learn a little bit more about high school life in Japan.

TEASER! New Studio Ghibli movie. Omoide no Marnie.

Here is a teaser of the new Studio Ghibli move. Omoide no Marnie (When Marnie was There) adapted from Joan G. Robinsons Children's book. Coming soon to a theater in Japan!

Hello all, my name is Chris. I am going to be reviewing Anime alongside Jenny. I will be using a similar format in the review as Jenny. I am also introducing my own rating of "Draw" for my own reviews. "Draw" for my reviews refers to how strongly, i feel, events tie together in making the story watchable consistently. Thank you everyone for coming to PleaseAnime and hope you all enjoy. I am open for discussion for any series I have reviewed. I am even willing to post responses that are appropriate if needed if I have something incorrect.

Golden Time Review

Light Novel/Manga written by: Yuyuko Takemiya

Anime Directed by: Chiaki Kon

Anime written by: Fumihiko Shimo

Studio: J.C.Staff

Story line (S) ******

Family Friendliness (FF) *******

Fan service (F) **

Cultural Hints (CH) ******

Draw (D) ******

When some people go to college they consider it a new chapter in their life. In this series Tada Banri takes it to another level and starting a new book. Tada is a freshmen studying law at a private university in Tokyo where he finds new friendships and love in this slice of life series. This series doesn't push the envelop much when it comes to fan service in my opinion; very generally accepted series.

I break this series into 3 major parts. First being Introductions, second being introductions of a conflict, and third being resolution of the conflict. Majority of the events in the first 1/3 of the series are fairly common events that happen to freshmen in colleges around the world, so its highly believable. Making friends, club invitations, hazing, and classes.

Romeo x Juliet Review

Romeo X Juliet

Written By: Reiko Yoshida

Directed By: Fumitoshi Oizaki

Studio: Gonzo

PleaseO'Meter

Storyline (S) *********

Family Friendliness (FF) *******

Fanservice (F) ****

Cultural Hints (CH) **

Enjoy the story you had to read in high school in a whole new light. Romeo X Juliet is based on Shakespeare's famous play with a twist of fantasy. In Neo Verona the Montagues and Capulets share their home. Tragedy has led Juliet, the last living member of House Capulet to live in hiding. While attending a ball hosted by the Montegues, Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and fall in love. However, as the bond between these two lovers strengthens, loyal members who serve House Capulet want to overthrow House Montegue. In the meantime Leontes, Romeo's father, wants to destroy any threats with any means necessary. If these challenges are not resolved, tragedy is sure to strike.

The storyline is not going to follow the play word for word. In fact, within the first 10 minutes in the anime the fates of the Capulets are completely changed. I would like to explain more but it would spoil the surprise. Be aware that this story has three things in common with the original play: Romeo and Juliet, people dying, and poetic lines that are beautifully spoken.

The worst that can happen in the anime is the occasional dark theme. This anime is rated PG so I'm pretty sure it is possible to enjoy with the whole family. Watching the anime can also help out you students who are currently reading the play. ;)

Fanservice is always different from one person to another. If you want romance and tragedy, it's definitely there. Naughty fanservice... not so much. Since the anime is of the fantasy genre, there will be no noticeable hints of Japanese culture. Although there is a bit of a medieval feel to the anime despite the dragon steeds and 

Review of the Samurai exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX.

 I recently just came back from a really great exhibit going on right now at the Kimbell Art Museum, Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, going on now until August 31, 2014.
This collection of samurai armor is one of the biggest in the world with pieces ranging from the 12th to 19th centuries.  There is no photography allowed in the exhibit but I did find some promotional photos for a sneak peek below.

In times of peace the Samurai armor was more embellished than in times of war.

If you are definitively into Japanese art and culture, this is one to see.  General admission tickets include an audio tour, which is very much worth it.   This was really cool, getting to see a lot of samurai armor up close, discovering a lot of the decorations, gold embellished chrysanthemum flowers, intricate details of the designs.  We learn at this exhibit how you had to be born into the samurai culture, boys were trained at a young age and even had their own smaller samurai armor, in times of peace the armor was more embellished than in times of war, the types of weapons they used (it wasn't all about swords) and that those fans that the samurai carried weren't just for fanning themselves, but it was a way of communication.

Installation of Samurai on horseback.

This exhibit really made me think about the past and how times must have been like. Made me think about movies I had seen like The Last Samurai or anime like Rurouni Kenshin, a really great eye opener!

Totally enjoyed this and I highly recommend any Japan culture fans or artsy people in general to check it out.  For more information about the Kimbell Art Museum and ticket information about this exhibit visit https://www.kimbellart.org

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection - See more at: http://samurai.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.ACqQTdaF.dpuf

Another Anime Review

Another

Written By: Ryo Higaki

Directed By: Tsutomu Mizushima

Studio: P.A. Works

Please!O'Meter

Storyline (S) ********

Family Friendliness (FF) **

Fanservice (F) *******

Cultural Hints (CH) *****

In a town called Yomiyama, a middle school girl from class 3-3 passes away during the school year. Despite her death, the students said that she was still alive. The teachers and students kept up the act all the way till graduation. Then, 26 years later, 15-year-old Koichi Sakakibara transfers to the same class. He later meets a girl named Mei Misaki, who is almost non-existent to the rest of the class. After horrific events occur, it is clear to everyone in class 3-3 that they shouldn't "talk about what doesn't exist."

The storyline has the perfect setting for a horror anime. Gives some background and even a preview of everything you will see throughout the series. There isn't too much I can mention because it may spoil the surprises. Just be prepared for suspecting every character in the anime.

Blood will definitely be seen in this anime so watch out you queasy people. XD
This anime almost has the same amount of bloodshed as Attack on Titan. One big difference is noticed on the level of censorship. As brutal as AOT is, you never actually saw the details of protruding bones and guts. You're more likely to see that stuff in Another.

The cultural hints aren't very present unless if you focus on the setting. The story takes place in a Japanese town and the school uniforms give that feel by default. If you were hoping for a slice of life feel through the anime there won't be much of it. Although it doesn't really matter since the suspense will always keep you entertained through the end.

07 Ghost Review

07 Ghost

Directed By: Norihiro Takamoto

Studio: Studio Deen

Please!O'Meter

Storyline (S) ******

Family Friendliness (FF) ********

Fanservice (F) *****

Cultural Hints (CH) **

.

This fantasy anime is about Teito Klein, who used to be a slave but was able to become a student at the Barsburg Empire’s academy. Right before his graduation exam he overhears some unexpected truths about his past. He was caught eavesdropping and was sent to prison only to be freed by his best friend. 

Now that he’s an escaped convict, Teito must find a way to rescue his friend while being sheltered by the Ghosts and the church. While he’s there the boy learns more about The Eye of Mikhael and why it made him a target of the empire to begin with.

The storyline makes sure to have its fillers without straying too much from the main plot. The anime also treats us to episodes that focus on character development. 

There’s something for everyone depending on your tastes. Something for the adventurer, animal lover, shipper, and the list goes on. That means that you can watch it with the whole family if you wanted to.

Depending on what you’re looking for, there are bits of fanservice all through the anime. And no, it doesn’t have any boob-butt fanervice. >.< (And to you BL fans, the relationships are not canon sorry.)

This anime is of the fantasy genre so… no Japanese culture references. It does, however, have some religious themes even though the religion is fictional (I think).

I love how hope and friendship are strong themes throughout the series. It makes this show a general feel good anime.

A-Kon 25! Another great year!

All right so A-Kon 25....a quarter of a century of a great anime convention! Again this year it was at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas from June 6th-June 8th. Yay fandom!
This is all in my opinion of course but personally I thought the con was great!  They did a really good job with line flow this year, registration was crammed all in one ballroom so they didn't get in the way of dealers room line so that was a plus in my eyes.  It seemed like the line wait was not that bad, and they did a really good job of counting max capacities of rooms in order to oblige by safety regulations.
All in all staff was great, hotel staff was nice, food could have been better, but thank you Kon Suite! ;-)
Here are some pics!

Black Butler cosplay

Ani-Idol winners!

Jedis

Jarreth the Goblin King from Jim Henson's The Labyrinth

Final Fantasy

Sailor Moon/Disney Princess cross

Furries, gotta have 'em right?

FairyTail Cosplay

Attack on Titan cosplay

Pokemon cosplayers.  the originals , Ash and Misty!

Marty McFly with a hover board! HECK YES!

Attack on Titan Anime Review

Attack on Titan

Written By: Yasuko Kobayashi

Manga: Hajime Isayama

Directed By: Tetsuro Araki

Studio:Wit Studio, Production I.G

Please!O'Meter
Storytelling (S) ********

Family Friendliness (FF) *

Fanservice (F) ******

Cultural Hints (CH) **

(Scale of 1-10)

An amazing battle for the survival of humanity takes place in this anime. For a century humans are forced to live in cities surrounded by walls to defend themselves against creatures called titans. Follow Eren, Mikasa, and Armin as they strive to have their revenge against these human looking creatures.

Honestly, I can’t make a lighthearted summary on this anime. It’s too hardcore. (Which is a good thing.) It just shows that the anime is filled with intense action and reflective themes.

The storytelling is amazing although it does get dark. It gets so dark that I don’t recommend for those who get queasy at the sight of blood. And fanservice depends on who you are. Want cute or perverted stuff? Well you’re looking in the wrong place. Want blood, destruction, bones cracking, heads snapping, etc.? Then yes there’s tons of that fanservice throughout the series.

There is quite a melting pot within the community in this anime. This has led to many theories on the ethnicities of the citizens behind the walls. For the most part the characters seem to be of European descent, but you can find other races as well. Big example, Mikasa is one of the last (or maybe the last) people who are oriental.

Keep your eyes peeled for the second season of this anime. It’s expected to come out in 2015. There is also a live action movie on its way too.