KR Girls: Go Get 'em

Exactly 1 month's time before the very first Kamen Rider game gets released on the PS3. It's a Japanese only game, so here's where years of learning Japanese finally pays off! Well at least it gives me a valid reason to learn new vocabulary and get my dictionary app online again. I've ordered my pre-order exclusive version online, which gives extra music tracks from the original shows.

 In the meantime while waiting for game related news to come trickling in, I've also been listening to the main theme of the game, sung by the Kamen Rider Girls. It's only the 2nd song from them I've really cared about, but I've been listening to the preview version dozens of times already. At this rate I might grow sick of this abridged version even before the actual single gets released. Till I get my hands on a copy of the game, I''ll be counting down the days. :p

Rena's Gwiyomi: Getting the video done

A few days ago I had this idea of doing up a video with Rena performing the Gwiyomi dance. It's basically a short and simple Korea song, with hand gestures that can be improvised as long as it fulfils its ultimate purpose of being cute. Initially, I thought about making a full video, but realised Rena's unlikely going to remember all the moves in the sequence so I changed it into a photo show video instead. Much easier but a lot of editing work.

Luckily she cooperated pretty well for the photo shoot, and that was the least of my worries. I just had to batch operate in photoshop to clear out the background, draw outlines, and resize the photos. Should be fairy easy provided I needed to invest a couple of hours. The song itself and the lyrics were readily available online so that's no issue. I only hope that we can do a full video in the future when Rena's ready. :)

I posted the video clip up on Facebook, and you can find the link either direct on my Facebook timeline or via this link. It's on youtube too and embedded here for your convenience.

魔道ホラーは俺が切る！

Episode 2 gave us a few new revelations: Rian is a Makai Priestess that uses guns. Well, and her brush of course. She fled from her first fight and like the rest of her predecessors, she seems to be more suitable as a support role for the Makai Knights. 

And she changes clothes and hairstyles anime style, even faster than the knights who still need to summon their armour. Still, my favourite female character in the entire series (that's not saying a lot actually).

We learn that Zaruba doesn't talk to Ryuga because he thinks he's still a kid. Probably, if you compare him to Kouga. And that his armour will eventually turn totally gold, as hinted by what happened during the end of the fight with that poor salaryman monster. Nothing too outstanding but a lot more questions are raised and it sets up the rest of the season on a proper, character driven plot. And for those interested, yes, that brief nude scene that's customary to pilot episodes happened in this episode instead. So keep the young ones away while watching this one.

GARO ～闇を照らす者～

Season 3 of Garo started airing this week in Japan. Since the beginning of season 1 back in 2005, it has now reached cult level status, following a string of successful movies and spin offs, based on the 2 seasons thus far. With season 3, the producers decided to start the series with fresh faces, and hence we have a new lead character this time, as the legendary Golden Knight Garo no less.

In the pilot episode, the only recurring character we see is Zaruba, the magical ring once owned by the previous Golden Knight, Saejima Kouga. It seems that the setting of this series is in the future, with the law enforcers holding futuristic weapons. The new Garo is now Dogai Ryuga, who looks younger than Kouga, more bashful and arrogant, but equally cold and serious. At least that's what it seems at first.

There is a visible make over to the Garo suit as well. It is no longer totally Golden. Dogai hinted that Zaruba has yet to accept him as Garo, so perhaps the reason why the armour is not totally golden is because he has yet to fully inherit the powers of the Golden Knight. But at least visually it still looks pretty cool. Pretty sure I'll get the Equip & Prop figures once they are released to complete my current Garo collection.

The trailer gave us glimpses of a young woman who uses magical powers. She doesn't seem to dress like the Makai Priestesses we saw in the previous seasons, but that might just be due to the time or cultural differences. Good thing is she looks hotter than Jabi or Rekka. Combined. :p

The pilot episodes of the 2 previous seasons both gave audience a little extra in terms of soft core nudity. This is an adult show after all, airing in midnight and coming with PG tags. It seemed like a cheap way to attract audiences since on both accounts the nudity was a little uncalled for. I was kinda anticipating this but there was nothing. Yes, the monster of the week is a bride but nothing hentai this time round. Just to be clear I'm not disappointed, just surprised... XD

The reason why Garo enjoyed such success is probably due to all the short, dark stories that reflect on society. Story arcs that stray from the main storyline usually lasts around 1 to 2 episodes, but I really enjoy the short stories because they are deeper than the average tokusatsu shows and trigger thoughts. I'll be looking forward to the rest of the season and will post updates when I feel like sharing more :)

Rena Worldwide!

3 years ago I made a video of Rena using pictures edited with PhotoFunia, an iPhone app which takes your photos and edits them with funny and interesting backgrounds. I recently went through the app again and found some new backgrounds, and hence did a few more photos and made them into a slide show:

I didn't spend as much time and effort as the last one though. I used to make videos every other week, but now I don't get that kind of time, nor the creativity required any more. I still enjoy doing up all these videos, as they remind me a lot of Rena's growing up process. Kids grow up so fast, and parents grow old so fast that if we don't archive these feelings, we are likely to forget how we felt as well as the emotions, when they eventually fade away with the memories. That's why I try my best to write my journal, blog, take photos, make interesting pictures, and make videos. All because I know I have a bad memory. :)