Hello Kitty and Meaning

Heheheh, in this font, it looks like the title is “Hello Kitty and Meowing.” It’s “Meaning,” and we all know Kitty doesn’t meow because she’s not a cat. Right? Right? This week’s podcast is about Sanrio’s recent comments that Hello Kitty is not actually a cat.

Links!
My previous post about Hello Kitty
Comicbook.com
The Mary Sue
LA Times
An awesomely in-depth article from Thinkprogress.org (BTW, Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” is a must-read for anyone who’s into comics, movies, or basically any kind of visual arts or any culture at all, OMG, go read it right now).

Dammit, Jim! I’m a cartoon character, not a cat!

School Uniforms

School starts tomorrow, so today the podcast is all about school uniforms.

This is the seifuku and the gakuran, which are the standard school uniforms in Japan. We’ve seen these in anime, too.

Here are some examples of the “old-school” (so to speak) gakuran with the school cap:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Up On Poppy Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘ello Gov’na

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School uniforms appear in anime to define characters…

Can’t wait to wear my summer uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…or as a basis for their designs.

Say your prayers, sailor brats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes characters express their individuality through modifying their uniforms. “Cool and spicy” Amu is the only person in her class to rock those giant socks. The girls of K-ON! all wear the same uniform as each other, but they shorten their skirts as a symbol of youth and freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(and notice how they’re still different from one another in terms of their hairstyles, socks, and shoes).

 

Sometimes anime uniforms don’t make much sense, but they still look damn cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaf Hats

Today’s podcast is all about leaf hats!

Okay, so they’re not really “hats,” but I didn’t know what to call them. I’m talking about when an anime character wears a leaf on their head.

Like so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aww!  Hamtaro is so cute!  But, wait.  Haven’t we seen this somewhere before?

 

Oh, yeah! I knew that looked familiar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe it’s a trend to wear a leaf on one’s head…  Right, Naruto?

Believe it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what’s this all about?

Remember our friend and neighbour, Totoro?  Well, he’s got relatives.

 

These are tanuki.  Maybe they can explain what the leaves are all about.

And here is a tanuki, drawn in another style (by someone named vantid).

 

Squishable Tanuki!

And again!

 

The resemblance is certainly there.

 

Leaves can imply magical transformation abilities.

 

Leaves can mean a character is sly and sneaky…

…or cute and naive. Ve~

 

Finally! It is explained how a leaf makes Mario fly.

Basic Cosplay Makeup

Do you like to cosplay but have no idea how to draw on your face? Me too! Except, I learned a little bit about the “drawing on the face” part. This episode is about the most basic of cosplay makeup. I explain it all for the absolute beginner who wants to wear makeup while cosplaying a character who doesn’t wear makeup.

(Hey, would this be a good place to show step-by-step pictures?)

It would be! But I’m not drawing on my face in front of the world at this point. Here’s my podcast where I talk about stupid cameras, squishy potato face, and how to make yourself look good in pictures.

Links!
Nico Nico Douga
Crunchyroll

The Atomic Lollipop 2014 Report

Here are my impressions from my first Atomic Lollipop – the Good, the Bad, and the Luminescent.

Dancing, K-pop, voice acting, YTV nostalgia, dancing, Nerf blasters, dancing, and getting lost in the Science Centre.  And did I mention dancing?

Just as a warning: about two thirds of the way in, I go on a rant about sex in modern culture, so if you’re squickish about the topic, don’t listen to that part. Ah, random tangent rants.

Sailor Moon Crystal

This week’s episode is a review of Sailor Moon Crystal. I talk mostly about the art, since that’s the biggest change from the old anime. I also mispronounce things, ramble, tell deep personal stories, and squee over sparkly things.

 

SPOILER ALERT: I talk about the first episode of Crystal in detail, so you may want to watch it before listening to this episode.

Comfortable Cosplay

Please excuse the background noise.

Today I talk about how to make your cosplays more comfortable. Most of this info comes from personal experience with trial and error. What are some important factors when choosing which character to cosplay? How do you stay cool and fresh on a hot day? How do you get from point A to point B on the day of the convention? Click the download button for the answers to hear me stumble through my n00b answers amidst the background noise.

This podcast isn’t about high fashion (or even high quality) – it’s about freeing yourself from the tyranny of overheating wigs and itchy fabrics. It is the Hakuna Matata of cosplaying. YMMV.

Oh, and for some reason I remembered Ash’s T-shirt as white. It’s black.

The New Sailor Moon

I’m back, and I’m talking about the new new Sailor Moon and the new old Sailor Moon. Most of this is speculation because I can’t actually see the new old Sailor Moon. But, hey, at least I got a podcast out this week.

Here’s Viz’s website.

I am looking forward to hearing the new English voice cast, but I still miss Terri Hawkes. And Katie Griffin.

Hetalia – Busby’s Podcast

I call this Busby’s Podcast because it was CURSED! It took Crys, SJ, and me the better part of a year to schedule recording it. A year! That’s like… almost 10% of a decade!

Finally, we got it done! (and it’s an hour and a half long, so you get your money’s worth).

One of the most awesome things about the Hetalia fandom is how people use the series to educate one another (yes, really). Here are some wonderful fan-made comics about the histories of…
Mexico’s role in the Spanish Civil War
The Exploration Age (particularly Spain)
The Hungarian Revolution
The Thirty Years War
America’s response to Pearl Harbor

Here are the starts of the doujinshi, 1914 and 1939.

And, you know, lots of others. Loooootta good fan comics out there.

Ooh la la!

As was mentioned on the podcast, here is Himaruya’s apology to his fans for the late updates.

Boom!

 

 

 

I was right that there is a cannonball embedded in a tree near the Plains of Abraham. I was wrong that that’s in Ottawa. It’s in Quebec City.

 

 

 

Crys, SJ, and I highly recommend the following Hetalia fan artists and fanfic writers:

ArchangelUnmei
Cadaska
Hubedihubbe
Lady Beemer
Shachaai
Spacedrunk
Talkjive (NOT “jiveturkey”)

Here’s a song!

Marukaite chikyuu,

Marukaite chikyuu,

Marukaite chikyuu,

Boku Hetalia!

My Top Three Manga, Characters, and Songs

This is a continuation from last week.

Manga
-“Rayearth” by CLAMP (I’m linking to their Anime News Network page because their official site is in Japanese only)
-“Wish” by CLAMP
-“Nightschool” by Svetlana Chmakova

Characters

Akane Tendo

JD

Fuu Hououji

Songs
The Path of the Wind

I referred to the twinkly sound as pizzicato, but that’s not quite right. I don’t really know what to call it. What is that? Is it even strings? Xylophone? What?

Kazemakaze

Shell (Instrumental Version)

Finally, here’s the other episodes of this podcast I referenced.
–Girl Power and the Stories We Don’t Tell
–Vampire Anime