Snowy Saturday? Might As Well Watch Anime!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!  The heat inside is so delightful!  There's snow outside so inside we'll stay and watch nothing  but anime! Hubby and I started off watching "The Tale Of Princess Kaguya," which was recently released on DVD! 
Sanuki no Miyatsuko, a bamboo cutter, discovers a miniature girl inside a glowing bamboo shoot. Believing her to be a divine presence, he takes her home; he and his wife, Ona, decide to raise her as their own, calling her "Princess". The girl grows rapidly and conspicuously, marveling her parents and earning her the nickname "Takenoko" (Little Bamboo) from the other children in the village. Sutemaru, the oldest among Kaguya's friends, develops a particularly close relationship with her.
Okina comes upon gold and fine cloth in the bamboo grove in the same way he found his daughter, taking these as proof of her divine royalty. He begins planning to make her a proper princess. Her life in the mountains ends abruptly as Miyatsuko and his wife relocate her to the capital. She finds herself in a mansion, replete with servants and fine clothes. She is also saddled with a governess, Lady Sagami, who is tasked with taming her into a proper noblewoman. She struggles with the restraints of nobility, arguing that life should be full of laughter and struggle.
When she comes of age, a royal priest, Inbe no Akita, grants her the formal name of "Princess Kaguya" for the light and life that radiates from her. Okina holds a celebration in commemoration of Kaguya's naming. At the celebration, Kaguya overhears partygoers ridiculing her father's attempts to turn a peasant girl into a noble through money. Kaguya flees the capital in despair and runs back to the mountains, seeking Sutemaru and her other friends. She discovers that they have all moved away to let the mountain replenish itself. Kaguya passes out in the snow, only to awaken suddenly back at the party, not missed at all.
Kaguya grows in beauty, attracting scores of would-be suitors. Sanuki no Miyatsuko is delighted by the mass of prospective husbands, but Ona is less enthusiastic and Kaguya entirely uninterested. Five men of noble standing court her, comparing her to mythical treasures. Kaguya says that she will only marry whoever can bring her the mythical treasure mentioned. Two suitors attempt to persuade her with counterfeits, but are thwarted. The third abandons his conquest out of cowardice, and the fourth attempts to woo her with flattering lies and a promise of life in the countryside. When one of the would-be suitors is killed in his quest, Kaguya falls into depression. Eventually, the Emperor himself takes notice of her, visiting her in person. Taken with her beauty, he makes advances toward her, revolting her. Kaguya then demonstrates the uncanny ability to disappear at will, surprising the Emperor. Understanding that he has been too forward, the Emperor takes his leave, determined to still make Kaguya his.
Kaguya's melancholy worsens, worrying Miyatsuko and his wife. Okina sadly tells her that he hoped a life of nobility would make her happy, but she remains distraught. She finally reveals that she has learned that she originally came from the Moon. When the Emperor made his advances, she silently begged the Moon to help her and learned the truth: Once a resident of the Moon, she broke its laws, hoping to be exiled to Earth, so that she could truly experience mortal life due to witnessing the earthly sorrow of another celestial lady. Now having heard her prayer, the Moon will reclaim her on the fifteenth night of the lunar month, during the full moon. Kaguya confesses her attachment to Earth and her reluctance to leave.
Sanuki no Miyatsuko swears to protect her and begins assembling defensive forces. Ona returns with Kaguya to her hometown in the mountains once more. There, Kaguya finds Sutemaru and tells him she would have been happiest with him; Sutemaru vows to protect her, come what may, and they run away together through the mountains until they magically take to the air. However, when the Moon shines upon her, Kaguya begs Sutemaru to hold her tightly. Despite Sutemaru's best efforts, Kaguya is torn from his grasp out of the sky. He awakens alone in a field, and, convinced that it had been a dream, returns to his wife and child. Kaguya sadly returns home to the capital with Ona.
On the fateful night of the full moon, a procession of celestial beings descends from the Moon astride clouds as a form of transportation. Despite Miyatsuko's best efforts, the divine force is unstoppable as it sweeps in unperturbed, putting almost everyone to sleep. A Buddha-like figure directs some sprites to ferry Kaguya to them; they entrance Kaguya, who glides away, much to Ona's horror. She rises to the Moon entourage, from which an attending apsara offers her a crown and a robe that will erase her memories of Earth. Kaguya puts on the crown, but is stayed from the robe by her parents' cries. She begs the attendant to grant her a last moment with Okina and Ona.
The apsara assures her that upon returning to the Moon, she will be free of Earth's impurities. Kaguya rebuffs her, saying that Earth is full of wonder and life, embracing her parents. The attendant then drapes the robe around her, and Kaguya's expression goes blank, forgetting about her life on Earth. She resumes her seat in the heavenly entourage and they ascend to the Moon, leaving Miyatsuko and his wife distraught. As Kaguya and the other celestial beings leave the earth behind, the many people who played a role Kaguya's mortal life are seen simultaneously viewing the full moon.
Despite her apparent detachment from the Earth, Kaguya looks back one last time, with tears in her eyes, before the group disappears into the light of the Moon.
Honestly, I learned of this story from watching "Big Bird In Japan."   I guess you're never too old for the Muppets or "Sesame Street!"  LOL!    Also today, Hubby and I watched "Lupin The 3rd: Napoleon's Dictionary."  I found it when I was looking for "Lupin the 3rd: Legend of the Gold of Babylon."   I never did find "Legend," but I did enjoy watching "Napoleon's Dictionary."  While Lupin does enjoy racing for the sport of it, the prize in an antique car grand prix across Europe is Lupin's only goal. The prize is a dictionary that once belonged to Napoleon. More importantly, the dictionary was also once owned by Lupin's family and contains the location of one of his family's most prized possessions. Lupin does not know what the possession is, but it is a matter of family pride. With the usual suspects on his trail, can Lupin outrace everyone to the treasure?!  The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it was subbed and not dubbed.    I also watched some hentai today, but I won't reveal the juicy details of that! After all, there is such a thing as TMI--Too Much Information!  LOL!

Katsucon 2015

I had a relatively good time at this year's Katsucon, in spite of the fact that Chris and I didn't have a hotel room and commuted daily from our apartment to the Gaylord.  And I missed my Grandmother's funeral to attend the con.   But what could I do?  Katsucon was in the works way before she passed away.  Plus, the funeral was way down in Virginia, and it would have been impossible to attend both  the funeral and the con.  Mom understood. She's the one who told me not to worry about the funeral.  Sigh!  Life goes on, I guess.    I had a pretty decent cosplay lineup this year.  2 kigurumis (Totoro & a hamster) and my new Toad (Super Mario Bros.) costume.  I didn't have much money, but Hubby bought me a few "Lupin The 3rd" DVDs and one hentai DVD.  I was also hoping that one of the merchants might have had "The Tale of Princess Kaguya," but that movie won't be released until later on this week.  Hubby said he'd buy it for me when it comes out!   I tried to attend a few panels, but between commuting and my table shifts for the DC Anime Club, I missed the majority of the panels I wanted to attend!  Mercifully, Hubby said we will be getting a hotel for Katsucon 2016.  I'm glad!  I hated going back and forth this year.  Though, it wasn't the first time.  I stayed with my whackjob cousin Pam back in 2007 and commuted back and forth from her apartment to the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, it took another 2 years to see how crazy she truly was and to completely sever all ties with  her! But, anyway..... back to Katsucon! I ran into Larry Reclusado and a few other individuals I normally only get to see at cons.  Sadly, Steve Bennett didn't show up this year.  Mercifully, after the recent drama on Facebook, I didn't run into Adam Wright, either!  All in all, it was still a good con, and I can't wait until next year's Katsucon!  In the meantime, I'm going to be attending other cons as usual this year.  T-MODE, Otakon, Anime USA, and my first West Coast convention, San Diego Comic-Con!  I can't wait!