I'm not usually the type to make icons and throw them out there, but I guess I was in a strange mood today. I saw the poster for Asako's last show (which is called Last Play, lol), complete with bonus Kiriyan, and had to make some icons to share:


Free for the taking, but credit is nice!

This poster is one of the best ones I've seen come out of Takarazuka in a while. Thank goodness they went with something simple instead of going crazy with the lens flare, gradients, and ridiculous 'shopping. Okay, maybe they went a little crazy: they're both obviously shooped up and down :P. /graphic designer dork ramblings

( Here, have a few more random pics from Fanime while I'm here. )

Today Sena Jun, top star of Takarazuka's Tsukigumi, announced her retirement. If Takarazuka doesn't interest you, this entry is going to be boring. However, I'm not cutting it. Scroll past if you desire.

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Like every person who watches Takarazuka fandom semi-regularly, I knew Asako's retirement was inevitably soon. All the signs were there. However, when I read the news this morning I couldn't help the tears that welled up in my eyes. "How silly," I thought to myself, "to feel so upset over some woman I'll never know leaving Takarazuka." But the more I thought about it today, and the more I read the sadly ambivalent reactions of her retirement announcement, the gladder I am that my emotions for once won out over my reason.

I know Asa's been looking tired and distant lately. I know she's lost a little bit of her sparkle since Mihoko left. I know there is an incredible talent just beneath her that deserves her own chance in the spotlight. Sure, this is probably the right move for Asako, and she'll probably have a great career post-Zuka. But I'll be damned if I sit back with a good part of the fandom and breathe a sigh of relief because she's finally retiring. I can't help but abhor that attitude.

I am usually a "live and let live" type of person. If someone doesn't share my same views, big deal. Variety is the spice of life, right? I've even expressed that view in Takarazuka fandom. In the long run, the attitudes of so much of the fandom towards Asako won't matter when it comes to MY feelings about her. But for some reason, today it really hurt to see so many people almost happy about the news. No one reacted this way when Touko or Tani announced their retirements. Perhaps it hurts because Asako is such a big contributor to why I am such a big Takarazuka fan now.

Sure, Saeko was my first top star. She is still my favorite 'sienne and a lot of that comes from watching many of her shows as a newb and adoring her unique androgynous charm. But Asako was the 'sienne that truly pulled me into the strange and beautiful world of Takarazuka. I'll never forget watching Rome at Dawn for the first time. When I realized that dashing, charismatic Brutus was played by the same woman who also played the gorgeously strong yet feminine Elisabeth to Saeko's Der Tod, it absolutely blew my mind. Sena Jun from then on was a force to be reckoned with in my world.

Saeko was already retired by the time I saw my first Takarazuka show. Asako, on the other hand, was the current top star of my chosen troupe. (Thank goodness for friends who suggested to stick to one troupe at the start! ^_-) Maybe I attached to Asako because of that reason, but I think I would have been attracted to her charm no matter what troupe I picked. I still have yet to see another person on the Takarazuka stage that exudes the same charisma as her. Her singing, dancing, and especially acting are outstanding, but no one I've seen yet can come close to lighting up a stage the way she does.

She is the rock to which my Takarazuka love is tethered. Without her presence on stage, I think I'm going to be lost at sea for a while.

I know most of the people who are ambivalent or relieved at her retirement aren't writing these things out of spite or malice. But I still don't want that to be the mood in fandom when Asako retires. So I hope other Asako fans will make these last few months positive again. Write essays or reviews, make fan videos, draw fanart, whatever! Let's make sure Asako goes out with a bang!

My computer has an extra stick of RAM now! Yay! It's so nice to run Photoshop again :D. As promised, I'm starting up with the Fanime photos again. I completed my first shoot of the weekend, Elisabeth.

Elisabeth: sakurae
Der Tod: darth_teca

I'll be uploading the first 9 photos to my ACS account, so if you don't want to wait for almost 2 megs of photos to load here you may want to look at this photoshoot there instead.

( 9 normal photos plus 4 bonuses. )

Several months ago I discovered Elisabeth chirashi (flyer-sized posters) that sakurae and tristencitrine gave me a while back. I decided to take them to work and hang them up. It's always good to have a little reminder of happier things while working 10 hours a day, plus half the office now thinks Mizu!Death's hair is the most awesome thing ever. Anyways, as my little collection has grown so has my wall o' Takarazuka. I took a picture of it yesterday on my spiffy new camera phone.


(Clockwise from top left postcard: Haruno Sumire [Phantom 2006], Ranju Tomu [Phoenix Wright], Sena Jun [Ernest in Love], Shizuki Asato [Jose and Carmen], Ayaki Nao [Nettaiyawa], Sena Jun [The Rose of Versailles: Oscar 2006])

Ahh, I love postcards. Special thanks to sakuramikage for trading me the Shizuki Asato one! I really wanted Zunko on my wall, and Jasmine preferred Asako in a pimp suit to Zunko XD.

In other news, I feel as though a little part of my childhood has died with the passing of Michael Jackson. From the time I was tiny to the present day, I always feel so excited when I catch an MJ music video on the TV or song on the radio. He was an incredibly talented man, and I've always felt sad that a troubled mind came with that talent. I hope that he's finally found peace.

I need new RAM for my computer. Badly. Photoshop had pretty much decided to go on strike until I do. (At least, that's what I think the problem is. Hope I'm right.) Once I get that done (Friday, maybe?) I am going to churn photos out. On top of my Fanime shoots, I've done some shots of my dolls and I have a new costume I'm going to start work on shortly.

( Next costume: Madam Red from Kuroshitsuji! For Anime Vegas 09 )

I set up an American Cosplay Snapshots profile today. I added one photoshoot (Stacie as Mikuru) and I will add more when I, uhh, finish editing photos :D.

Here it is!

Also, sakurae will like my profile picture XD.

. . .I've already broken my promise.

;_;

I haven't been at the computer much, though. But today looks like a good day for photo editing. Once my dad comes over to help me with my backyard weed problem, I don't have anything else planned. Time to knock out some photos and set up an American Cosplay Snapshots account today!

( I do have one picture, though. Hurrah for Piffle World! )

I am a really bad con photographer. It's not that I'm bad with the camera or directing the model (although there is certainly room for loads of improvement there). It's that I never upload any of it. I need to stop that, because I have been lucky enough to work with some very talented and attractive cosplayers.

So even though it's STILL moving very slowly, I am going to post at least one photo a day. Hopefully I'll move quicker on weekends, but I'm starting out with a small goal and moving to bigger things.

( So the picture of today is one of my favorite Der Tod/Elisabeth shots from this weekend. 800px by 532px )

For years I've wanted to cosplay Der Tod but have never found the outfit just for me. The new production of Elisabeth just started and I think I found my one:



Yesssssssssss~

It's gorgeous, and it's not too much. I don't see sparkly stuff everywhere, which is good. (Sparkles + Takarazuka = $$$$, and I can't go too crazy ATM.) I just need some really nice fabric and some shiny asskicking boots. Designs with straight clean lines always appeal to me. The red and black accents really make the whole thing, even though the best part is definitely that shimmery purple fabric.

But oh lord, that wig. It's lovely, but those cornrows look to be very difficult to replicate. I guess I can sew extra hair into each weft on the side. Urgh, my track record with curly wigs is not good.

Whyyyyy am I contemplating more costumes when I'm still so tired from Fanime? I'm a masochist, I swear.

Back from Fanime!

Whoo, I am so tired X_x. But I had a great time. I have no brain fo making a con report right now but I will try to do one later. Thanks to Annie, Stacie, and all the new people I met this weekend for making it one I really enjoyed.

There is footage of me in the dress on ACP, if you're impatient to see it. Pics will come eventually. TBH I actually had more fun doing photography this weekend than cosplaying. Maybe I just didn't pick good costumes to bring. I dunno. I'm just really excited to see how the Der Tod/Elisabeth stuff came out, eeeee :D. I'm not even going to try to look at them until tomorrow, though. Photo editing in my current exhausted state is not a good idea.

One last thing: Congrats to windofthestars, mykasou, and everyone else in your group for your much-deserved award. Rayearth = ♥

I finished everything I wanted to finish on the dress this weekend. It is now wearable. I tried to get into it last night but failed to zip it up. I don't know if it's too tight right now (I obviously can't cinch my corset all the way down all by myself) or if it's just the normal sticking fail of invisible zippers. Anyways, I'm pretty sure it fits and I will make sure of that before I leave.

The wig makes my head feel funny. I've never worn a wig so topheavy before. It is going to take some practice. I think I'll wear it for a little bit of time every night before I leave. In fact, I should practice wearing the whole thing. This is NOT a comfortable outfit, although at least it's not hard to walk in. I will not have a repeat of the fire kimono X_x. It's gonna SUCK sitting in that dress for the entirety of the masquerade, though.

Also, I've decided not to bead the train of the dress. Every time I make a skirt with a train it gets stepped on constantly. (You should see all the footprints on my fire kimono, sob sob.) Plus, look at it this way. I can relax this week, do a few repairs on Phoenix, take my time packing, and fix the few issues I have with the dress and petticoat. Or I can stress myself out trying to do all that AND beading the train that's going to get ruined anyway. Plus, I want to make a pretty reference book and the fan. I'm gonna need that fan - I was hot after only wearing the dress for 10 minutes last night.

(Sigh. I tried to avoid a trip to William's but it looks like I need to get feathers. Maybe I will replace that stone on the tiara.)

Ahh, pre-con cosplay posting spammage. Don't you just love it?

( Damn I suck at styling wigs. )

Takarazuka Day was a success yesterday! Even had some new people :D. Lucifer's Tears is love, man. I had a costumegasm from Komu's opening outfit. I want to make it so bad, but I know something like that (probably one step down from a top star parade outfit) would cost an absolute fortune.

Anyways, Phoenix Wright is absolutely adorable. I definitely need to watch it again after finishing my dress, so I can completely concentrate on what's going on. Erin and Jasmine said that the plot appears to be nearly identical to the fifth case in the first game, so maybe I will watch that case on Youtube and then know more about what's going on.

Speaking of Youtube, I come with a gift!



This is my favorite extra on the disc, so I wanted to share. Don't ask me to upload more than that, though. Yay, it's my first Youtube video ever!

And now, back to beading. Sigh.

I've been tagged by medstar to fill out a little questionairre on a certain character. She gave me an option of two but I can't pick between the two best characters ever! I did both :P.



1. Do you like this character? Oh, yes. I was drawn to her from the moment I first saw her on screen in Sailor Moon S. She was unlike any character I had ever seen. She's the most three-dimensional Sailor Senshi in the anime, IMO. She seems so strong and perfect on the outside, but deep down she's very introspective and unsure of herself. So much of the fandom labels her and Michiru as "too perfect," but it's actually her flaws that made me love her :).
2. What name/s do you call this character? Haruka or Sailor Uranus.
3. What image-color do you associate with this character? The obvious one is navy blue, but her "halo" color is often gold, so I can't really pick between the two.
4. What image-song do you associate with this character? "Shiokaze ni Nosete." It's not even an official Uranus song - it was written by Ogata Megumi (Uranus' voice actress) and was said to be dedicated to a "green-haired girl." That song captures Uranus' spirit more than any other I can think of, anime OR musical.
5. What blood-type do you think this character is? I have no idea.
6. Of all of the titles that this character appears in, what character do you like to put this character with? It is a sin to answer anything but Michiru to this question!
7. What would you want to say to this character? "Your hands don't look dirty to me!"
8. What do you want to do with this character? Take a ride with her on her motorcycle! And maybe do a piano duet :D.



1. Do you like this character? Yes! Here's another asskicking, strong, intelligent woman who is not afraid to stand up to men. Haruka probably wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Oscar! Just like Haruka, Oscar appears to be invincible on the outside yet can be weak inside. She also has a close companion that sees these weakness yet loves her fiercely despite them. (Ooh, I just realized there are as many parallels between Andre and Michiru as there are between Oscar and Haruka! Too bad Oscar wasn't as quick figuring out her feelings as Haruka :P.)
2. What name/s do you call this character? Oscar or Lady Oscar, depending on my mood. TBH, "Lady Oscar" makes me think of that ridiculous live-action movie, which I find terrible yet wildly amusing XD.
3. What image-color do you associate with this character? White, definitely, because we're told that Oscar loves white roses best and that's not symbolic at all, noooooo. Red is a second, close choice because Oscar is such a passionate, fiery character underneath that serious, cold exterior.
4. What image-song do you associate with this character? "Ai no Junrei." It's one of my favorite Takarazuka songs! Unfortunately I also associate "Wa ga na wa Oscar" with her, because of Komu and the pegasus D:.
5. What blood-type do you think this character is? I have no idea.
6. Of all of the titles that this character appears in, what character do you like to put this character with? Once again, it is a SIN to put her with anyone but Andre! (Oscar/Rosalie would be rather cute if Andre didn't exist, though XD.)
7. What would you want to say to this character? "Thank you for being yourself and renewing my interest in art from this time period!"
8. What do you want to do with this character? A Violin/piano duet :DDDDDD.

I tag:
sakuramikage - Andre (HAHAHA)
sakurae - Sakura
friskykitten - Beetlejuice
mykasou - Deedlit
sirnatchan - Integra

You probably noticed I stopped working on the Oscar dress for a while. (Because if I'm not making dumb progress posts, I'm not working on something. Sad but true.) I just started up again this weekend, and I am really regretting leaving it be for almost 3 months.

( Hem trim and beading. Oh my goodness, it's never going to end ;_;. )

Obviously, don't expect much from me until I get this beading done. I've already been neglecting LJ for the past few months, too. Oh well, once June arrives I will be back at it here :).

Just saw this amazing video on Youtube. I immediately decided it must be shared with all of you, especially since so many of you cosplay and are otherwise artistic. Adam Savage's devotion to recreation is definitely something many of us can identify with. It's long, but you should watch the whole thing.



Adam, you are amazing! I wish I had as much devotion to sewing as he does to his hobbies. I guess that's why he gets to be on such a fun show :D.

( Been watching Soragumi Elisabeth. I'm having a grand ol' time. Thoughts and inevitable comparison with Tsuki inside. )

I know, it's been weeks upon weeks since I've done a real update. I will really try to work on that this weekend. I need to post about so many things! I just haven't been keeping up with LJ as much. Twitter is so much easier, lol.

Seems like a lot of people had bad days. Mine was okay (other than my homeowner's association being STUPID) but I know Youtube always cheers me up after a bad day. So here are some of my favorite clips! And yeah, it's all Takarazuka stuff, but I picked stuff anyone can enjoy.

Andre gets tormented by Lulu 6 times in just over a minute. (Unembeddable, sorry!)
I know I'm wishy-washy over liking Berubara Takarazuka, but there are some genuinely hilarious parts in them sometimes. Here's Lulu teasing Andre over something (my Japanese is not good enough to know what exactly). As in most Berubara shows nowadays, there's one or two rotating "guest" roles, and Andre was it for this one (2006 Yukigumi Oscar-hen). Andre was played by six different people, and this clip features all of them! Obviously my favorite is from Tsukigumi - Sena Jun (#3, lol foot stomping), but I thought Haruno Sumire (#2) was pretty darn funny too XD. It was the facial expressions on Osa that made me like her so much in this, I think.

Takarazuka covers Michael Jackson

Have you ever wanted to see Japanese women dress up like Michael Jackson and do the Moonwalk? No? Too bad! Watch the entire thing; Komu's (Asami Hikaru's) "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is particularly great thanks to a ridiculous prop!

Asako and. . .TIMBALAND?!?!

I am not a fan of hip-hop generally, but somehow this fan-made video of Sena Jun and a lot of backup dancers "performing" to Timbaland's "Give It To Me" is strangely addicting. Now I want to see a hip-hop-themed Takarazuka revue, haha.

Real update coming soon, I promise. But for now it's spaz time.

My dream doll is on Yahoo Japan Auctions right now for a mere 400,000 yen.

Oh my goodness, it's the Dolpa 15 Marie Antoinette Liz! FOR SALE! My heart stopped when I saw her. I've been dreaming about that lovely girl since I first discovered her. Seriously, I never had a desire for Liz until I saw this one.

. . .Too bad I don't have $4,000 lying around for her XD. I don't like her THAT much. I'd pay a normal one-off price for her, sure, but not that much.

Posted to normal journal instead of dollie journal because she's so pretty EVERYONE should see her :P.