Welcome to "Love Live Hell"

There is an anime, in which I watched because of curiosity. Many of my friends are sharing posts of this anime on Facebook. A friend of mine also said that once you enter this fandom, there is no escaping it. I jokingly commented that I'm accepting the challenge. Months ago, I watched the series called Love Live! School Idol Project, because I want to know why this anime is so popular. Curiosity kills the cat.

The anime is nice, so nice that I have to resist falling into Love Live Hell. This lasted for a few weeks, until October 2. This is when I finally let go of my restraints, and accept the fact that I'm already in Love Live Hell, thanks to some friends who are with me in a convention. I'm pretty aware that I'm already very late in this fandom.

How deep have I fallen into Love Live Hell? Here are some examples:

1. My phone is filled with songs from µ's.

The name of the main school idol group is µ's. The anime is full of songs, considering the history of this group where they started out releasing singles and doing live shows before having an anime adaptation. When on the road, my playlist would be purely µ's songs, or mixed with my other songs. Some of my favorites are START:DASH!! and No brand girls.

2. I play Love Live! School Idol Festival (everyday)

 LLSIF is a rhythm game for Android and IOS, pretty similar to O2Jam. Just like other mobile games, there is a luck based system for obtaining rare in-game stuff. For this game, players aim to get the UR (ultra-rare) cards, which would help in scoring better on live shows. One and a quarter month into this game, and I got my first UR.

Rings move from the center towards the characters.

My first UR, dated 11/19/2016.

 3. I have a best girl / waifu in the anime.

For some people like me, we believe in having one waifu per game / anime. For this anime, my waifu is..... *cue in drum roll.

Koizumi Hanayo (a.k.a. Kayo-chin)

It took me a long time, just to pick from the nine of them. Each of the characters are unique in their own ways. In the end, I decided to pick Hanayo. Here are some reasons why I picked her over the others:

3.1. I see myself in her.

Hanayo is known to be really shy, and the quiet type. That is how I really am. Believe it or not, this is because of me being an introvert. How do I relate to the second picture? I explore a lot of different things, but I don't specialize in any of them. This is also known as being "jack of all trades".

But when it comes to something Hanayo really likes...

Hanayo then becomes someone who talks a lot, like the loud type. Her shyness also disappears when this happens. This is me when I go to anime / cosplay / otaku / etc. conventions, and socializing with other people. This especially happens when the topic of Fire Emblem or Terra Branford (Final Fantasy VI) is brought up.

Hanayo also happens to be a rice lover. As Asians, rice also happens to be our staple food. There's nothing better than rice. Rice is life. If only our local rice can be eaten without any dish. I'm gaining weight because of rice, but I can't help it. Reducing rice intake is difficult, when it is your staple food.

3.2. I find her the most adorable among the members of µ's.

All of the characters of µ's are adorable in their own ways. I was also considering Nozomi, because I find her the most mature member of µ's, or Kotori, because of her cute voice, and her appearance, also mentioning all those Rowlet memes.

In the end, I chose Hanayo above everyone else. She's cute, in appearance and in voice. I love her personality. I adore her more than the other members of µ's.

3.3. We're similar. We both wear eyeglasses

Okay, that is not really a reason to choose her. I already picked her, before my friend told me about this. In a convention, I showed the Love Live fanart stuff that I bought, and majority of them are Hanayo. I told my friends Kia and Denise that my pick from µ's is Hanayo. Then Kia told me something like this. "Hanayo. You also have 'megane' just like her." I'm not sure if that is supposed to be a complement or a joke.

On the side note, this is where I officially fell into this fandom, also thanks to both of them.

4. My phone wallpaper is...

I can also change my laptop wallpaper, but that would be the ultimate betrayal to my "best among the best" waifu which is Terra Branford.

5. The sounds that my phones produce are...

a. message tone: "Dareka Tasukete!" - Hanayo's signature scream which roughly translates to "Someone help!"

b. call ringtone: START:DASH!! (2nd years version) and No brand girls for the two lines I use.

c. notification sound: "Zura?" - Hanamaru of Aqours saying zura because of her dialect. She is from Love Live! Sunshine!!

6. I would like to make a collection dedicated to Hanayo.

This is related to my new hobby (to have a separate blog post) which involves being a collector. As I have just started with this, I only have one at the moment.

Koizumi Hanayo - Korekara no Someday

by

Furyu

I've searched for some more, and I'm planning to buy them in the future. All for my love for Hanayo. (Well, that's what collectors do right?) Here are some of my aim for next year.

A CD, seriously? Yes, I'm serious about this. This is an album which contains songs sung by Hanayo in solo. Just imagine the opening theme song, but it's just Hanayo you hear.

 Nendoroid Koizumi Hanayo - Bokura wa Ima no Naka de

Nendoroid Koizumi Hanayo - Training Outfit Version

These two Nendoroids are really cute.  There are other changeable parts which are not shown in the pictures. Hanayo is the reason why I got interested in Nendoroids (somehow).

Figma Koizumi Hanayo

I've been thinking of using this for a diorama contest, just like what I've joined last June during Toycon. I just hope the theme for next year would fit what I currently have in mind. Figma Lucina and Figma Black Magician Girl would be involved, if the contest theme would be the right one.

There are some more to add to the collection, like the ones made by Sega, and Hanayo - Love Wing Bell version. I won't be placing them all here because there are a lot more.

This is how deep I am now in Love Live Hell, and it's bound to get deeper. Is it that bad? I don't know. I've known people who are deeper into Love Live Hell than me.

Cosplay Mania '16 - Wanted: New Companion

Two years ago, I've started showing up on different conventions which involves toy collections, anime, cosplay, and etc. Last October 1-2, I went to Cosplay Mania, and this, no doubt, is the convention that I enjoyed the most, when in comparison to other conventions that I attended for the year. I attended both days of the event, and it was totally worth it!

The thing I like about this convention, are the cosplay. It's fun seeing your favorite characters. In my first convention two years ago, I would be happy when I recognize the characters. For some instances, I would even socialize with the cosplayers, when we have the same interests.

Here are some of the shots taken by me at the convention.

Hana (Kazahana in JP) from Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright


Although many people do not like this character, it's nice to see cosplay of the most recent Fire Emblem game. Seeing cosplay from Fire Emblem is good enough, as most of the cosplay on conventions are from anime. Kazahana actually is my waifu for FE:Fates Birthright.

Shidou Hikaru from Magic Knight Rayearth

Two words. Childhood crush. My younger self would be very happy.

Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You

One of my favorite shots, and I even have to edit this for maximum effect.

Johnny Bravo

A blast from the past! Main character of one of the famous shows of Cartoon Network back in the 90's.

The Final Fantasy X squad.

This is what makes cosplay fun, group cosplay!

I always wanted to try cosplay, with a group of Fire Emblem characters. Sadly, this plan got ruined two years ago, for the same convention, because of some reasons, and then I had trust issues.

Batman V Superman

Parenting done right! This kid attracted the attention of crowds. He's dragging a superman mannequin around the hall, and steps on a tomato pillow thing. The fruit is labeled "Rotten Tomatoes", the "true" enemy of the DC universe.

The different cosplay in the convention shows that there's no such thing as "outdated" in cosplay. As long as you love the character you cosplay, why not?

Apart from the cosplay, there are also other activities which can be done, mainly from sponsors.

Answer the question correctly, and get a "medal", and some souvenirs. This is from NHK World channel. I always get the hard topics, and have to do it three times before I answered correctly (with luck). At the same booth...

A pic with Domo! There's also the Domobics, where you do acrobatic exercises with Domo.


Like every other conventions, I always leave the event with some hauls. Most of these are from the fanart section, where there are stalls which sell their art in the forms of keychain, bookmarks, button pins, and etc. Requesting an art for commission is also available there.

I shouldn't have this many stuff, but because of me recently getting into another fandom, Love Live!,  my haul increased drastically. In fact, half of these stuff are from one fandom only. Could've been more, but the art stores ran out of my favorite character of this fandom.

For the next convention that I will be going, I would wish for a new companion. Why? I have a friend who goes with me to conventions, but as the time flows, I don't think he's the right one for company. I'm kinda fed up with how he behaves during these events.

He criticizes people, and sometimes loud enough that people might hear him. It also feels like he's complaining about everything in the convention. I was with him during the first day of Cosplay Mania, and I've heard enough. He would say things like, "That cosplay is not accurate enough", "The cosplayer is not even pretty", and stuff like that. Little did he know that the first time I attended this convention two years ago, I would appreciate any character that I would recognize, and take pictures.

He also complained that most art booths contain Love Live! stuff and Mystic Messenger stuff, and he has harsh words when it comes to hating.. I hope he realizes that sometimes it is better that he just shut his mouth, so he would not hurt others. What he had done is ruining the mood. I'm supposed to be enjoying, and now I also have to deal with him.

Going back to my haul, my Love Live! stuff were bought at Day 2, because I do not dare buy them with my friend around, which is why some stuff of my favorite character ran out of stock. If I did, I would have to deal with his hate comments. I tried explaining in a calm way, how this certain fandom became so popular, but this does not seem to convince him. He could just say that it's not in his books, but he would go too far by saying "yuck".

I would like to say to him, "Walang basagan ng trip." which roughly translates to "Don't ruin what others want." Each of us have different likes, so just respect each other and appreciate each others' fandom. Even once, I did not bash any of the fandom he is into.

As for cosplay, in my opinion, I would cosplay a specific character, because of how much I like/love this character, and most cosplayers would do the same. Even though the cosplay is not perfect, people put their heart into that character, and that's what cosplay is all about.

And again, here I am saying that I need a new companion when I attend these conventions.

Characters I Adore (From Facebook)

I saw this picture on Facebook, and I thought, "Why not?". There are a lot of characters to adore anyway. This could be fun.

I saw that others just comment pictures on their post. I like to make this more interesting by adding why I adore these characters.

I'm just hoping that I will not run out of characters. Also, please note that they are not arranged in any manner, well, except for the first one. Also note that for characters from anime series, I use their Japanese translated names rather than their localized names.

If there are changes in the number of likes on my Facebook timeline, I will be updating this.
Current like count: 13

1. Terra Branford - Final Fantasy VI

There's a very long explanation on why I chose her. Long story short, she's my game waifu. I will be posting a complete explanation in the future, on my gaming blog.

2. Ophelia Dusk - Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest / Revelation

She's the daughter of my Owain (Odin Dark in Fates), favorite guy in Fire Emblem: Awakening. She's so adorable, and she speaks just like her dad. Others may find that weird, but I actually like her manner of speech. She is my waifu in Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest route.

3. Hana - Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright / Revelation

She is the retainer of Sakura, a princess of Hoshido. She may be a tomboy, but she's whom I picked as my waifu in Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright. She may have a lack in self-restraint, causing other players to dislike her, but I find her adorable nonetheless. Who wouldn't want someone who is better than most of Hoshido's troops?

4. Black Magician Girl - Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

She is one of the special cards in Yugi's deck, and she has a lot of personality. First seen in the battle against Pandora, she plays an important role throughout the different arcs, until the finale. She's like my waifu of the anime, because I don't find anyone else more adorable than her. I'm actually planning to build a collection of her, starting with the upcoming figma of her.

5. Nowi - Fire Emblem: Awakening

I'm actually fond of Manaketes, people who can turn into dragons. What's the best part for Nowi? She's so cute, yet she can be a dragon. She's my waifu in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Her childish personality is one of which made me like her. More details on why she is my choice in the game can be found in this post.

6. Celes Chere - Final Fantasy VI

She is my second favorite in Final Fantasy VI. She may be the serious type, but she can do unexpected stuff like singing in an opera. The opera scene is one of my favorite scenario in the game (although vocals does not exist in the game). She goes through a great development as the game progresses, and becomes a strong character, notably during the World of Ruin.

7. Ilyana - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance / Radiant Dawn

Ilyana is my favorite character in the mentioned games. She's very adorable, and she is just like me, always hungry! I remember when I first recruited her, I made sure to always use her so she can fight well on the endgame. If only there is an avatar in the mentioned games, I would have married her (or at least, reach the highest support level if marriage is not possible).

8. Elsa - Frozen

From Toycon 2016

Long story short, I'm such a fanboy for Elsa, and I can't seem to let it go (pun intended). I liked her a lot, from when I first watched Frozen.

9. Sakura - Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright / Revelation

This cute little sister of the avatar is the reason why I chose Birthright over Conquest, during the game's launch. Thanks to the trailers, I was able to make my choice even before the game released in our region. Sakura is one of my choices as the waifu(?) for the game (explanation of this contains spoilers), but I ended up choosing Hana over Sakura.

10. Nah - Fire Emblem: Awakening

Nah is the daughter of Nowi (and in my case for the game, mine also). I grew pretty fond of Nah for the same reason as Nowi, manaketes. If I would pick from the child characters of the game, she would be my first choice. She's adorable like her mother, although she does not act her own age. She is more mature than her mother.

11. Shidou Hikaru - Magic Knight Rayearth

She is my favorite from the three main characters of the anime. Although she is known to be a tomboy, she is still cute. She is one of my childhood crushes (well, I don't remember if there is anyone else). I've rewatched the anime, and kinda got jealous when she and Lantis are to end up together.

12. Airy - Bravely Default

She is a non-playable character who acts more of the party's aide. Though her personality may be annoying, she is actually cute. Well, until you find out the truth about her. Don't worry, I'm not gonna spoil that here.

13. Patamon - Digimon Adventure

Partner of Takeru, Patamon is my favorite Digimon from the main characters, since childhood. Cute, yet he evolves into one of the best in the series, HolyAngemon! The way I see it, he put WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to shame during the battle with Piemon.

P.U.T.A. 4 Reminiscence - January 6, 2013 Post

First of all, I am not swearing in Filipino. It's just by chance, that the event name forms that specific acronym. The event name is Pump Up the Animo.

The term is about to start and training for P.U.T.A. 5 will start. Back then, P.U.T.A. happens on the third term, which used to start in January, before the calendar shift. I think the yearly event P.U.T.A. is already discontinued.

I remember how horrible last season's experience was. That season had our team perform a routine which became a performance that SHOULD win, not the usual just enjoy the dance and winning not the main objective. Of course, we also wanted to win, but this time, I did not enjoy the routine, just like how I used to do with my previous competitions. Every training night became a tiring night. We are falling behind in terms of completing the routine because in every training night, someone will be absent. WHERE IS THE DEDICATION? The training days are just wasted. That includes our energy, and include the effort of everyone who is present.

I am forced to be a base lifter, something that I don't really like to do because my arms are unable to support very heavy weights. I admit, I'm also afraid to lift, with my arms stretched, because there is something different with my elbow joints. My elbow can bend the other way for around 30 degrees, I think.  This is much harder because the one I lift somehow has a problem in maintaining balance with one foot, that is, when executing a scorpion. Most of my energy is depleted per training day during the mastering of this part, until the competition day, where we failed to execute this part of the routine perfectly.

It's easy to spot which part of the routine I'm talking about where we failed to execute the lift perfectly, and we're in the middle!

I got tricked by a girl. When she found out that I got a crush on her, I think she abused it. She is one of the people who made me drunk one night during a team gathering on University Week. Of course, there's peer pressure, but there's also her. During her debut, I just requested for a photo with her on the photo booth, she said "later" and I agreed. Then she never did a photo booth with me. I kept reminding her about it, but she ignored them. I just wished she never invited me to her debut. I walked out with anger and hurt within me. Damn her attitude!

I got left out. I know I'm the quiet type, but that doesn't mean they should leave me literally. On a debut of another teammate, there was supposed to be a performance by the team. I volunteered to be one of the performers. I kept asking them when and where the practices will be. Since I transferred to another school already, they said they can't let me in their practices because they are going to practice in their school, on the sports building. Okay, I would just accept that but "how the hell did our coach teach the choreography of the dance?" He is not a student in their school. They could have practiced outside of school but still what the hell. No one would reply to my questions. Damn again! Some teammates they are.

Lastly, those useless college heads. They are members of the university's cheering squad assigned to the teams for assistance. They are supposed to help us, like help us reserve a training area, show up during our training, ask if any help is needed, give reminders, etc. What did they do? The only help I recognized is they teaching us the traditional cheers, which is required as it is included in the routine. What made me really mad is them telling the whole team that a video presentation introducing the team is required. When did they tell us that? The day before the actual performance at around 10 p.m. I'm in a rage because I'm the video editor (I think video editor is not enough. I believe I'm also the scripwriter, cameraman, director, everything!). I told the team that I will be rushing the video the next day, since the performance is in the afternoon, and the video will be very simple. While we were shooting for the video, the college heads just told me to use the trailer that I made weeks before the performance day. I actually made the video for fun, and for endorsing our team on Facebook. Again, damn! They could have told me that the previous night. I already got my video outline, and a part of the video is already made. I just submitted the video of the trailer. Imagine that I have to bring my laptop on a cheerdance event where I am a participant. Added weight on the stuff that I actually have to bring.

During the event proper, our video is not played because of codec problems on the laptop used. They did not test the video to see if it is working, before the actual event. I found that out through my friend, who are one of those who watched the event. And again, DAMN!

This is the video which I made, and it's mostly based on the trailer of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This video is made using Adobe Premiere CS3.

 

I just wished I did not join at all. We did not win the gold. I failed a lot of subjects, resulting to a lot of units this term and was forced to transfer to another school. P.U.T.A. 3 team is still better, because it is the competition where I actually enjoyed cheerdancing. P.U.T.A. 3 is the first one that I've joined since it is when I'm in first year college.

Note: Text in italic are added texts. I feel like placing a commentary on my own blog post from years ago.

Blog Title Origins

This blog page may be new, but the title says "It's Fearless 2.0". This would hint that there is a 1.0 version. Actually, there is a previous blog, named "It's Fearless".

The blog title actually came from a line of a song, from one of my favorite albums. The line "It's Fearless" came from the song Fearless, from the album Fearless by Taylor Swift. You would want to call me a Swiftie, which I was, during the albums Fearless and Speak Now.

Moving back to the topic, I chose that title, because I would want to express my thoughts though blog articles, without fear, fearless.

As I read through my previous blog, I've been thinking. What in the world was I writing? I tried to make a year of blogs, which was discontinued, after three months. I guess there is the pressure of thinking what to write, when you ran out of topics.

I'm trying to be active in blogging again, and I've decided to just leave out the old blog, and put my articles in this newer blog. I'm going to "migrate" some of the more meaningful posts to this blog.

I'd rather not share the link of the previous blog, unless you want to read a lot of useless discussions.

Toy Diorama Contest

Last June 12, the last day of Toycon 2016, I tried participating in a toy diorama contest. I wanted to experience making a diorama, with the use of my favorite game character, or should I say, game waifu.

On the left is the original colors. On the right is the customized colors. I have two of the original so I can have the second one painted.

The character that I will be using for this diorama is Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI. The fig that I will be using is a custom painted Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Trading Arts of her. The scene that I'm attempting to create is the path to Narshe mines.

I would love doing the scene with the Magitek armor, but I do not own yet the Terra fig riding the armor.

I'm on a tight budget, so my diorama consisted mainly of recycled paper, and Styrofoam. Other materials used are cotton balls, illustration board, and poster paint. In short, my diorama is made of cheap materials.

First off, the illustration board will serve as the base. When I was at the bookstore, I made sure to pick the one which is really firm, as there are other brands sold which tend to bend when weight is placed on them.

For the steps of the stairs, and flat landscapes, I used styro boards since these are lightweight, firm, and easy to cut. The styro board which I bought is half-inch thick, which lessens the trouble of creating stair steps of the right elevation. Half-inch thick is also firm enough, making me not need to buy the 1-inch thick one.

I started off cutting Styrofoam boards for the stairs. To support the elevated steps, I rolled some paper to make poles. To make them even sturdier, I glued together four of them. Thankfully, these poles did the job perfectly.

These paper poles are also used to support the higher landscapes. Even these are used for supporting the elevated cave. Thankfully, these poles did not collapse under the weight of the cave.

For the rocky slopes, these are just crumpled paper which are glued together. It's pretty hard to keep them stable though. The same goes for the cave, same process and same problem. I tried my best to make it look like an actual cave, but it's pretty hard. For the color, I mixed white and black poster paint, with the ratio 2:1, to create a gray one.

Lastly, cotton balls are used to show thick snow. I unrolled these cotton balls to spread them easier. I spread them all over the stairs, and on the path that leads to the cave. I also spread them on the rocky slopes and on the cave, to hint snow accumulation.

The Terra fig. does not stand well, without the aid of her stand, and yet I have to hide it. To solve this problem, I glued the stand so it won't move. After placing Terra on the stand, I covered the stand using cotton. I made the cotton very thick on this part of the diorama, trying to show that the snow is too thick for Terra to walk on.

I did not win the competition. The other competitors are serious about winning the contest. How would you expect my budget-tight diorama to win against these?

A scene of analyzing Star Lord with live action screen just like in the movie

Batman breaking into Joker's lair

Deadpool

(I missed taking a photo of one of the entries)

Terra is one of the most underrated characters in the Final Fantasy series, and she is set to compete against characters from these popular movies. This is the greatest challenge of my favorite character for this competition.

Japanese inspired Star Wars

I did not win the competition. I thought Star Lord is going to win this one, but the samurai style Star Wars won this one. Even though I did not win, I had a great experience, and at least I was able to show my love towards my favorite character Terra Branford. Even though she's underrated, I took the time and effort to enter her into a contest she has low chance of winning.

My contest entry

I have a friend who also loves Terra Branford. She was very glad to see the diorama that I created, and the custom painted Terra. She is the one who told me to push through the Narshe scene, since that is where she is first seen in the game.

Terra lovers joined together in front of the diorama. (They are twins).