Who is driving? Bear is driving! How can that be?

The theme of this website is competition anime because I love how those series affect me. I get pulled in by the story and the bishonen. Then the games reel me in the rest of the way. When I am in the middle of such series, I have many sleepless nights trying to watch as much as I can at once. When I watched Slam Dunk, I found myself yelling for Ryota to pass to Rukawa. I screamed for every score. I almost cried when Shohoku lost one of their games. When I watched Initial D, even though I knew that Takumi was the main character and therefore could not lose, I still had my face really close to my computer/tv screen yelling for him to win. I am finishing up Hajime no Ippo. I only have the OVA to go. I was so into Ippo that I screamed during one of his fights. While watching Prince of Tennis, Tezuka's game against the other captain put me through the ringer. And then there was Grappler Baki. All I can say about Baki is, "Damn, the giant ape ate his own eye!"

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 2:48 PM
Justin Loots Marketing

I was listening to my headphones and typing up Operation Anime stuff, when Justin Cook came behind me and continuously tapped me on the shoulder. It scared me. He wanted volume two of Kiddy Grade. I gave him the other copy of Shonen Jump we had too. He was a very happy Justin. When he walked out of the Marketing office, he looked around in the hall and then ran off with his goodies.

2:22 PM
Yar! ^2

Yar! the first. One of my dreams has come true. I get to go to all the summer anime conventions that FUNi is attending for free and get paid. The only way I would be unable to attend one convention is if I was already going to another one. I'll post my list of cons once I find out which ones they are. I know for sure that I am going to A-kon and AnimeFEST. I'll also be attending OniCon even though that is not in the summer.

Yar! the second. I got the latest issue of Shonen Jump for free. Normally, I don't get the Jumps. PR snags them, but since Sonia had to leave for law school, I get her copy. FUNi rules. Now, if only I could get the back issues. Time to head to Halfprice Books.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004 5:37 PM
Osu!

Ooh! At least one person reads my blog! Hello, Sandy! Chu. ^_^

12:49 PM
Bad news and Good news

Bad news: I'm not cast...yet
Good news: This is not the final casting. There could be changes made even to the main character.

I emailed Tara about the audition status. Turns out what Justin was doing was dubbing the first episode for something to show the Japanese. This means that it's only kind of cast. Tara says they may not do a second episode. Things are looking up kind of. I know that when Tenchi GXP was first dubbed, the entire cast was changed after the first version of episode 1. Though, I'm going to assume that I was not cast for the main if at all. I still have a tiny glimmer of hope I guess, but I'm not going to think about it. There are two other titles, that I want to audition for so maybe I'll get something in that. But dammit, I want to go to Otakon, E3, and Acen for FUNi! I want to go to any con outside of Texas for FUNi! I don't care if it's as a guest. I'll work at the dealer table. It doesn't matter! WHAAAAAAAAAA!

Monday, March 29, 2004 5:39 PM
DC ++ Chat

I was on Direct Connect ++ in the Crazy Cat Girl hub last night. Most of the time, people just talk about random crap. Last night's conversation actually had some things that I thought were worth posting here.

"Japan has no regular army, just a defense force. I bet though, if Japan was invaded, Gundam robots would pop out of the water and totally rock them."

"Bond." It's the drug of choice for the Japanese teen on the go. Bond is a mixture of craft glue, this off brand Sharpie marker with toxic ink, and lighter fluid. You mix everything in a plastic bag, place your face in, and inhale for one minute. It makes you feel like, "woah." I don't recommend this practice, of course. I just thought it was interesting. It seems that drugs are very hard to come by in Japan. They do Bond in Korea too, but they call it "Bonduh."

5:35 PM
Jersey Girl

I saw Jersey Girl on Friday. I don't care what the critics say. This movie was so great! I can't understand what they think is so bad. ^_^ It just makes you feel good. It was movie gold. Plus, J Lo bites it in the first fifteen minutes. Everyone must go see Jersey Girl...right now!

You know, even if Kevin Smith wrote the worst movie ever, I would still go to see it. It's freaking Kevin Smith!

Friday, March 26, 2004 5:08 PM
Audition update

When I got to the break room to get my Pepsi, I noticed that the sides for the anime I auditioned for were back on the table along with the sides that are meant to stay in the recording booth. Could this mean that auditions are truly over? Perhaps I will hear something soon. Regardless, I am still going to email Tara on Monday. Blargh! I have another weekend to wait through before finding out.

I must remember to keep my cell phone charged. I could get a call from Tara or Scott over the weekend.

*faints* *dies* *revives* Ah! That was refreshing. All this waiting and worrying really takes it out of ya. *drinks Pepsi*

5:00 PM
Hat Day

Yesterday, Lance and I decided that Friday shall be Hat Day in Marketing. I got to wear my Naruto Forehead Protector. Lance wore his Kyo hat. Jeff wore a skull hat. Christi wore cat ears. Diane wore a regular hat. Jennifer and Sue didn't want to get hat hair so they didn't wear hats. Blargh.

When I went upstairs to get a Pepsi as I do everyday since my orange soda was taken out of the machine, Justin saw me and my Naruto forehead protector and called me a dork. :P I say who is the bigger dork, the one wearing the Naruto forehead protector or the one who knows what the Naruto forehead protector is from? Yeah, it's me. I'm the bigger dork. ^^;

4:53 PM
Looting Time!

It was Sonia's last day today at FUNi. After she left, we looted what was left in her cubicle. I got me some Shonen Jumps. ^_^ Now I'm all caught up and current. I still have yet to pay for a single copy of that mangazine. >:D I now have May 2003 through March 2004. If anyone has copies from before then and wouldn't mind parting with them, I know someone who could take them off your hands. ^_^

Lance, my boss, has lots of weird funny sayings and puns. He's so awesome. ^_^ Here is the first in the series I shall call "Lance Quotes." Enjoy.

Lance quote: "My hair is straight as crap. Well, not crap. Crap is lumpy."

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 4:04 PM
Full Metal Alchemist Watch

I ordered the Full Metal Alchemist pocket watch on Sunday from The Anime Store. Raymond said he would call me today when the shipment arrives in Japan. I hope he calls soon. I will post pictures, when my watch arrives. Ah.. I've never spent so much money on a single cosplay accessory before.

While I was at The Anime Store, I purchased the Naruto forehead protector. It came with a ring that was like a mini version of the forehead protector. I bought it for $35. Take that expensive table in Ushicon's dealer room that was selling it for $80. Ha ha!

I will post a pictures soon.

3:03 PM
The Audition Sides are Gone

I went to the break room to get a Pepsi and saw that the audition sides for the anime I auditioned for were gone. I guess auditions are finally over and Justin is now going over all the recordings. I've decided that if I don't hear anything by Monday, that I am going to email Tara and ask if the anime has been cast.

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:56 PM
Can you find Gasshu?

(~'o')~ ~('o'~) ~('o')~ <-- This is what Anime-Empire puts on the screen during the eyecatcher of Konjiki no Gash Bell. It's too cute. ^_^
Yes, I'm bored. I'm just killing time now...

4:40 PM
There is Still Hope

Yar! The audition sides from the anime I auditioned for are still in the break room. This means that auditions are still going on. Here's to Scooby Doo sleuthing!

However! This could also mean that Justin is still having auditions because he is looking for someone to be the main character since I am not good enough.

Or! I could be the front runner for the main character guy, but Justin is making sure that he gives the regular voice actors the chance to try out for the main. If he does not find anyone, then the part is mine.

Maybe! The part is mine, but Justin still has to cast the other voices for the main parts. He has not told anyone the cast because he wants to announce all the main parts at once. <-- I like this scenario best.

Still! The anime could have already been cast and the audition sides were just not picked up out of the break room yet.

All the studio room doors were open so there was no recording going on. I'm not sure what the significance of that is, but it is something I noticed since usually all the doors are closed. I didn't bother to look in. I always feel like I'll be in the way. It's around 5 p.m. Maybe the day ADRs stop at 5 and the night ADRs start at 6. I know Chris Sabat comes in at that time. The doors being open means that everyone has gone home for the day. This is killing me. If only my Yu Yu Hakusho TCG deck was ready. Then I could play Yu Yu tonight at FUNi against Justin and try to read his mind and gather clues about the status of the auditions and the casting! I really should not post the inner workings of my warped obsessive mind.

I need more Yu-Gi-Oh! to watch... <.< >.> ^^;

2:25 PM
I Give Up...maybe

I don't think I've been cast. Blargh. It's been so long since that audition that I've been having doubts. Rumor has it that the cast will be announced this week, but what if it was announced yesterday and I didn't find out because I was not cast? It's funny. I don't feel that bad about it. I am disappointed, yes, but I'm not as devastated as I thougt I'd be. I guess it's because this whole time I've also been having doubts as to whether or not I can pull off being the main character. The character I was hoping for has a big emotional range that I don't know if I can do. Playing his part might be too much for me. I guess it's time to move on and just accept that I was not chosen. It'll be easier when I eventually find out who was. Oh, well. Maybe someday I will be a big character in something. My audition did go really well so maybe Justin will tell the other directors and they will let me audition for other titles. There are 3 others that have yet to be announced. I think I would rather be in one of them anyway. Two of the titles look like they would be fun to be in.

Even though I write this, there is still a tiny bit of hope in the back of my mind. The fact that I have not heard about the casting just might mean that Justin really is taking his time. Maybe I do have a part. I wish I could talk to him about it, but that is the one thing I can't do. It's so frustrating. It's so frustrating that I'm about to go upstairs on the pretense of getting a Pepsi when in reality I will be snooping to see if I can hear anything good. ^^; I'm so sad.

2:12 PM
I Bet it was Written by a Thirteen-year-old Girl Too

I know that just by posting this and mentioning yaoi, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, I'll get a bazillion more hits. Christi told me about a fanfic that is a Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter yaoi crossover. Can you name the pairing that this particualar fanfic featured? I'll give you a lovely quote as a hint.

"One has never been someone's precious before."

>:D I bet you all feel dirty now.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 5:23 PM
Lance's sister, Christi

Lance's sister started at FUNi today. I'm so happy. ^_^ She's so cool. She watches anime and cosplays. She showed me pictures of her cosplay. Wai! Ureshi-desu!

5:17 PM
Audition Update

As of Monday, there are still auditions going on for the series I auditioned for. This means that I won't find out about the cast until next week. I'm dying here, Justin! I'm staring at the image of my character on my computer's desktop at work, listening to the opening theme to the song, pining for the part. Ah, the worrying and self-doubt has begun.

Justin walked into marketing today. He wanted to steal volume 2 of Kiddy Grade I think. We don't have any yet. I don't even have my Kiddy Grade cards that come with the DVDs yet. Justin walked in with one of the VA's for Kiddy Grade. She's the voice of Eclipse. She's a lovely woman and very nice. As soon as I saw him, I wanted to ask about the auditions, but of course didn't. Dude, I should give up on this before I end up emotionally damaged. ^^;

5:13 PM
Nostalgia

While I was at work today, I was reminded of my previous job. I used to be a computer lab technician at UTA. My job boiled down to picking up what people printed off the printer and then putting the print jobs on a table. Sometimes I would have to fix the printers. Today, I had to fix the printer at work. It had gotten jammed with five pieces of paper and had somehow also folded them. Weird. That printer is evil.

Monday, March 15, 2004 5:22 PM
Samurai Deeper Kyo

Eventually, I will add an anime review section to my site. For now, I'll post my reviews here and then transfer them to the reviews section.

Samurai Deeper Kyo is about this guy named Mibu Kyoshiro and this guy Demon Eyes Kyo. In the beginning of the series, you see them having a fight. Then this meteor hits. The story fast forwards to four years later. Kyo and Kyoshiro now share the same body. Kyoshiro is a nice and somewhat perverted medicine seller. Kyo is a bloodthirsty samurai. When Kyoshiro becomes scared he'll switch to Kyo. There is way more to this, but if I divulge anymore I will spoil it. Kyo is traveling to get his body back. Along his way he meets traveling companions, rivals, friends and enemies. I liked it. ^_^

Spoilers after this point! ---------------------------------------------

Characters: My favorite character is Benitora. He's the closest thing to the pervert/ladies man of the series. I am a bit partial to Yukimura though. He's pretty and smart. The female lead in the series is ok, but if you're looking for a strong woman that can hold her own, you might want to watch a different anime. Yuya has a gun and can handle it well enough, but she's still pretty helpless and ends up relying on Kyo and Benitora. Though, the bad guys in this series seem to all be pretty hardy against bullets. There is one episode where Yuya shines, but it's only one.

Bishonen: There is much bishiness in this series, a definite plus. ^_^ Only minor one-episode enemies are ugly. Everyone else, including the main bad guy is pretty.

Action: The action is ok. I think I've been spoiled by Kenshin and Naruto. Those series had me wanting very badly to see the next fight and I was on pins and needles until the fight was over. Hell, even Yu-Gi-Oh! did this to me. In Kyo, there were no such feelings. Each character in Kyo seems to be a one trick pony with only one special move. I mean sure, Naruto had his Kagebunshin and Kenshin his Hiten Mitsurugiryu (I can't remember exactly what it is), but those moves had variations and weren't always used at the same time in a fight. The attacks also evolved over the course of the series. Kyo seems to rely on his one special move and even then it doesn't always work. He'll do basic sword moves until the special move and if it doesn't work he'll do more sword moves until he figures out how to use his special move to get around the bad guy's defenses or the bad guy escapes. Kyo does this until he learns four other moves that correspond to the four sacred animals, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, and Seiryu. That's great except you don't get to see them all, only Suzaku. You don't even get to see Kyo train. I wanted to see him get hit on the head by Muramasa! Blargh! I needs me some sword techniques!

Story: The story is pretty good with a good mix of action, comedy, and plot including a little twist to the setting of the last fight, not that they showed much of that fight. Grr! I really wanted to see it! It's the most important one. Oh, that reminds me. The characters talk throughout the entire series that if Kyo and Kyoshiro were to ever meet face to face again that they would have to fight. That happens in the last episode, but they don't show the fight! Mother fucker!

Love Story: There is a love story... sort of. Of course, the main couple is Kyo and Yuya. Benitora is in love with Yuya too, but she never acknowledges it. It's sad. I like Benitora. There is one moment in one episode where Yuya is about to kiss Kyo while he is sleeping outside her room, but Kyo wakes up and yells at her, killing the atmosphere. You can tell that Kyo loves Yuya. You can see it sort of throughout the series. He reacts when he thinks that Akira killed her. It's not enough though. I need shojo anime love action! This is a shonen series though so it's to be expected. You don't see any resolution to this until the very end and I mean very end. It's not enough though. You see that they are together, but you don't see them kiss or hold each other or anything. Makes me mad! Makes me want to watch Marmalade Boy or Hana Yori Dango or .... Gravitation!! Yay!

So here is how Samurai Deeper Kyo scores on a scale of one to awesome! (Awesome! = 11):

Story: 7
Action: 5
Characters: 7
Bishy: Awesome!
Love Story: 2

I liked Samurai Deeper Kyo. While it's not on my top ten, at least the end was satisfying enough. It did have me wanting to see the next episode, but not so bad that I would forego sleep, food, work, and class. I recommend Kyo to anyone looking for a samurai action anime with an interesting story. However, if you're looking for love, you're looking in all the wrong places. It's a shonen so, of course this is the case. :P Kyo is put out by ADV, but I was bad and watched my fansubs. >:D Would I buy it? No, it didn't have enough nail-biting action for me. Keep in mind though that an anime has to be a thing sent from the gods for me to buy it. I don't have much money. If you're looking to download this series stay away from Saikou-fansubs. Those episodes had a horrible font, which was hard to read. Go with Anime Keep. Even if they are slow at releasing a series, *cough* Inu Yasha *cough*, they make up for it, by having the best damn subs of anyone.

Yay! My first review. ^_^ Check back for more. I think I'll review Full Metal Alchemist next.

4:36 PM
My Adventure in the Mud

Calvin and I went to a blot this past weekend. It's part of the Norse religion. That's not the adventure part though. On the way to the blot, we got lost. The blot was held at Cheree's freind's house in Little Elm, TX. The directions said to turn on Main Street, but we turned on the wrong Main Street. The directions meant the Main Street in Little Elm, not the one in Lewisville. Calvin and I dubbed this Lewisville Main Street, "The Evil Main Street." We eventually made it to the blot and had a lovely time, but that's not the end of our adventure. It started raining towards the end of the blot. Since it was raining, the front yard and dirt driveway had turned to mud. I almost slipped in the mud while we were walking to the van. I'm so glad I didn't. As we were backing out of the driveway, Calvin's van went in a ditch that was right before the road. We were stuck. Luckily, Swain, the guy hosting the blot, and his friend helped us out. Swain drove the van while Calvin, the other guy (I'm so bad with names), and I pushed the van out. We got the van out, but not without getting muddy. It was still raining too. Once we were on the road, we had to wait for the defroster to defog Calvin's windows. While we were waiting, we looked at each other burst out laughing. We both decided that living in the country sucks and that we both prefer the city, or at least the suburbs. When I finally got home, I was really tired and wanted to go to bed, but I knew I had to take a shower because I didn't want to go to bed dirty. I took a shower, but I was cold, so I turned the shower turned into a bath. Then I decided I wanted bubbles. I had the water really hot. It felt so good. I had to take another shower, though, to get rid of the bubbles. I think I must have spent an hour in the bathroom. ^^;

Friday, March 12, 2004 5:02 PM
The Tale of the Audition

So there was an audition at FUNi last week. I can't say what anime it was for, but trust me, it's gonna be big. Now before all of you clog my AIM, I did give certain people the email you are supposed to write to to get on the audition call list. I'm not allowed to tell people when auditions are since they are by invitation only. The only way to find out is to be on that list, so if I was a little persistant with some people to hurry up and get on the list, that would be why. Justin is the director so he was running the auditions. FUNi has what they call "cattle-call" auditions. They let the people that signed up to be on the audition call list go on Monday through Wednesday. Then the "in-house" people, those that work at FUNi, went later. Then I think they had the actual voice actors audition. I think maybe they were mixed in with in-house as well. During the cattle-call auditions I went to the break room to get a Pepsi. I say Pepsi because my precious Orange Soda was removed. Little did I know, that the break room was also being used as the audition ready room. I walked in and saw this kid sitting at the table looking over th audition sides. A side is a piece of paper with a picture of the character, the character's name, a description of the character, and 5 or 6 lines that the characters says in various episodes. I see this kid and instantly I'm jealous. (This is while I was waiting to hear if I had gotten an audition time.) I put on a happy, nice face and ask if he has an audition. He says, "Yes." I ask who he's reading for. He says the main character and this other guy. I start to fume inside my head. "Stupid 12-year-old kid! I want an audition. Even if I'm not cast, I at least want a chance. Argh! He's freaking 12! Why is he here?!" I smiled at him sweetly, wished him luck, got my Pepsi, and left. I'm so Sakura from Naruto. :P Sweet on the outside, rough on the inside. I went back to my cubicle and emailed Tara to see if I had a time yet. She emailed me back and asked if I could do it on Thursday. I said I could. Then she emailed me back saying that Justin didn't want to do anymore audtions that week and asked if I was ok with Monday. I told her, "Of course." Happy that I finally had an audition time, I went on the network and found the audition sides. I printed them out and practiced them all weekend. Then I practiced them Monday morning. I practiced so much, I had them memorized. I still do. Every now and again, I'll say the main character's lines to myself. I even recorded my voice with my computer and played it back while the appropriate scene from the anime was running. Yes, I have the fansubs of it. I know, I'm sad. I kind of like my voice as the main character. It kind of works. When I was doing the lines, though, I was doing a boy voice. It's a rougher version of my regular voice. Think an older version of Kid Trunks. That's the voice I did. Monday at 10 am arrived. While I walked to find Justin, my heart was beating like it was about to fly out of my chest. I found Justin and he asked if I had read over the sides. I told him I had read everyone except for the guy character in his 20s and this other lady character. He told me to read over the guy's lines. I'm thinking, "His? Why?" I told him I would and I went to the break room to do so. Then I went to Studio C where Justin was. He looked happy to see me. He told me to come in whenever I was ready. I went into the studio. Justin told me to first read for this girl character. She was the only girl in the list and was therefore the closest to my own voice. I read for her and Justin had nothing but praise. He said I read fast and with confidence. ^_^ He said there was a sandy quality to my voice that he liked. So, then he had me read for the guy character but in my own voice with a cool kind of low quality to it. I know it's weird. I don't have a guy's voice. At most I sound like a little boy. I thought it was weird too, but what the hell, so I read his lines. Again, Justin had nothing but praise to give me. So, then Justin tells me to read for the main character. Justin said that he had been trying all week to find a voice for this character and I guess he saw some potential within me. I had always cursed this slightly male-sounding voice of mine, but now... Justin told me to read the main character's lines just like I did with the other guy's lines. So, I read through the main character's lines in a slightly lower voice than my regular one. I sometimes slip into this voice in regular conversation so I was totally comfortable with it. The voice I had originally been doing while I was practicing didn't give me enough of a vocal range to be able to express all of the main character's emotions. Then Justin had me concentrate on one line. Then I read through them all again. He really worked with me. He had me imagine the scenes from the anime. When the audition was over, Justin had me hop out of the recording booth. Now, at the beginning of my audition, Justin told me that he hated holding auditions. It's nothing against the actors. He just doesn't like it. When my audition was over, Justin looked happy. He said to me, "You have no idea what I'm thinking right now," in this excited voice. It was now 10:45 or so. Auditions normally last for 5 or 10 minutes. Mine was 45 minutes. I think that might mean something. ^_^ Justin said, "I'm sorry for having you come in so early. I know you don't come in to work until later on. We could have had this during your shift." I told him not to worry about it and that I could just get lunch and come back. He told me to have a "victory lunch" because I had a really good audition. He told me I have a really good chance of being cast. So, then Tuesday rolled around. I really wanted to know when Justin would announce the cast list, but I dared not ask for fear of annoying him. Luckily, Mike was on AIM. We got to talking and I asked if he had auditioned. He told me he had and that his audition was so-so. He said he did ok on the guy character, but totally bombed the main character. Then I asked if he had any idea when the cast would be announced. He said probably next week. I was thinking I would have to wait at least a month. Needless to say, this has been an agonizing week as I wait for Monday. Though, I have no guarantee that it will be announced then. The title will be announced at E3 so the cast has to be announced before then. I just got done talking with Kyle. He has yet to audition and said that there were still a few people who hadn't. I'm wondering if they will just be passed by and Justin will announce it Monday. I don't want them to be passed by, but I also want to know who is on the cast list. Before my audition, I was content with being any character in that show even if I was one character with one line in one episode. Hell, even if I didn't get cast, I figured I could be cast for something else in the future. This audition could springboard me to greater things. Now that I've had my audition though, I really want to be the main character. I want it so bad, I went and found a pic of him online and made it my desktop picture on my computer at work. I want it so bad that I'll slip into his voice more often and I'll say his lines to myself. I even start saying lines that I remember him saying from the anime, but weren't in the audition. As I watch my fansubs, I recite his lines in his voice. This means that if I don't get cast as him, that I'll be really upset. It will take much viewings of anime to bring me back. It also means that I may grow to hate this anime. Only now, am I starting to like Fruits Basket again. I seriously bombed that audition. ^^; I'm trying to tell myself not to get worked up and to consider myself not on the cast list. It's not working. I'm really worried now. I have some encouragement though, I have passed by Justin at least once every day this week and he's been all smiles. Maybe I do have something... Argh! Announce the cast list already! I'm dying. I can't wait all weekend! Email me now! Call me now! AIM me! Anything! Please! Even if I'm not on the cast list, at least tell me so I can stop worrying!

11/01/2003 - 11/30/2003
03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004
04/01/2004 - 04/30/2004
05/01/2004 - 05/31/2004
10/01/2004 - 10/31/2004