Anime-ted Morning!

I didn't purchase a lot of anime at Anime USA 2 weekends ago. I only bought 2 DVDs!!!! I spent most of the following Saturday morning watching "Panda! Go Panda!" and "Sea Prince and the Fire Child." "Panda! Go, Panda!" was written and created by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, predating Studio Ghibli. This short movie hit Japan at the height of the panda craze, initiated in September 1972, when the government announced the loan of a pair of giant pandas from China to the Ueno Zoo as part of Panda diplomacy. "Panda! Go, Panda!" offers a charming pair of adventures for children. In Panda Family, Mimiko, a cheerful, energetic little girl, adopts a baby panda and is adopted by his father. Her parents are dead and her grandmother is away, so Mimiko is delighted to find a substitute family. They quickly establish a merry menage, although they wreak havoc wherever they go. Mimiko and the Pandas befriend Tiny, a lost baby tiger in Circus in the Rain. Unruffled by a storm that floods her town, Mimiko organizes the rescue of the circus animals, including Tiny’s mother. Like Miyazaki’s Totoro, whom he resembles, Papa Panda embodies the warm, reliable, magical friend children dream of having. I'll say it right off the bat: I can definitely see similarities in the character designs of "Panda! Go Panda!" and "My Neighbor Totoro," another Miyazaki project! Little Mimiko looks a lot like Mei. Unlike the majority of Miyazki's works--which I feel are suitable for all audiences--this one definitely seemed to be aimed more at children and less at families in general. Whether or not I will keep it or give it away is a decision I have yet to make! Yes, even an Anime-niac such as myself doesn't like absolutely every anime out there!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for "Sea Prince and the Fire Child," the story was reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet." (Which was also made into an anime and licensed by Funimation.) "Sea Prince & the Fire Child" tells the story of how The Gods once lived on earth, and two siblings, Oceanus - God of Water, and Hyperia - Goddess of Fire, lived in peace and dearly loved each other. However, the God of Wind, Algaroc, become jealous of the pair's happiness, and spread lies and deceit between them until their hatred for each other brought about war. Finally, Algaroc was imprisoned by the King of Gods, but after that time, the brother and sister still despised each other, so the Children of Fire and Water forever remained apart. But, then Prince Syrius of the Water and Princess Malta of the Fire meet and fall in love. The love of Syrius and Malta may not be enough to surpass their parents' hatred. Whether they can stay together forever may be impossible. As for me, I believe that true love conquers all! Did the anime prove me wrong? That's something you'll have to discover for yourself!!!!!!!!! In the meantime, I'm going to take a break from anime and spend the next few weekends watching holiday movies and grooving to yuletide carols, old and new!!!!!!!

Anime USA 2012

I am physically drained, but I am determined to finish this post tonight! I got home from this year's Anime USA a few hours ago. This was the first anime con where I wasn't working on the staff, for the press, or manning a table with Hubby Christopher Wanamaker and the DC Anime Club. I can look at this con solely from the point of view of an attendee. On the whole, the con itself wasn't horrible. Hurricane Sandy prevented some of the guests from attending, which meant that some of the panels had to be rescheduled or cancelled. Friday was pretty good. Chris and I dressed as Mario and Toad from the "Super Mario Bros." video games. We even participatd in a photo shoot! I wanted to check out the first 3 episodes of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica," which was being shown in one of the video rooms, but I decided to skip the viewing and check it out via Netflix instead. I spent the rest of Friday evening in the hotel room watching television with Hubby. Saturday was a lot of fun. Chris and I dressed as Rainbow Brite and Krys from the "Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer" movie. Quite a few people asked to snap pictures of us, and we even had some professional photographs taken. Of course, one of the highlights of any con is seeing familiar faces. For me, one of those faces is Kevin Bolk! (Hi, Kevin!) I didn't see the guy who likes to cosplay as Ponyo's father at this con, but I did see several other people I knew: Penny Weir AKA "Moon Mama", her daugthers Rusty and Melissa, and several members of the DC Anime Club, which my Hubby founded and is President of. The last day of the con wasn't bad. Several people made it a point to attend the Feedback Panel. Chris and I cosplayed as Wonder Woman and Wolverine from the DC & Marvel comic book universes. The one thing I missed this year was attending the Masquerade!!!!! I think Chris and I were too tired to attend. However, this is a staple at almost every anime con we've been to, so we'll probably catch it at Katsucon 19, which is scheduled to take place in February 2013 over the President's Day weekend. (Side note: the deadline for Katsucon registration is the end of December!) In the meantime, I have a couple of anime DVDs to keep me occupied: "Panda! Go Panda!" and "Sea Prince and the Fire Child!" I know what I'll be doing this Saturday! (Aside from catching up on sleep, that is!) LOL!!!!!