 Chihayafuru 2 - Episode 3 - Feel Love Deepen Jan 25th 2013, 20:00 
It is time for the High School Karuta Championship; the first years are amazed by the skill level of their upperclassman. Wataya continues his goal to the National High School Championships.
 |   Ai-Mai-Mi - Episode 4 Jan 24th 2013, 15:30 
Mi-chan is incredibly courageous and will do anything to prove it.
 | | Creative Spotlight: Episode #195 – Yu Cheng Hong Jan 25th 2013, 00:04 
Yu Cheng Hong is a very talented artist from Taiwan. Yu Cheng is a well known skilled digital artist, creating beautiful characters and illustrations. His first job was in a cartoon animation studio in New Zealand and has since grown to one of the best illustrator and creative out there. We sit down and pick this artists brain and share creative strategy, art, and more. Read below for the full interview… Could you take us through the design process of creating a new character from the early concepts, to the development stage and final execution? YCH: The early concept of the character often coming from the game design. like what is his/her personality, what is his background…and when I get the concept story, I start draw the sketches for this character for the client. Once there is no problem in the sketch, then I start painting in PhotoShop. Here it’s more technical. First, I paint Black and White values in Photoshop, and then start to add color using layer modes (overlay, hardlight, softlight, color, etc. ) and also used some adjustments like color balance to get the color I want. Once satisfied with the color, then I start painting the detail and bring it to the final stage (here are some working in process I wrote on my website to demonstrate how I achieve) for a painting most important stage is in the beginning stage (black and white value sketch) it will determine the painting is either good or bad without put into detail. 
When you first begin creating the character digitally,how do you go about choosing what you want the character of the painting to be, what type of lighting and where the light source is from? YCH: First, I will collect lots of references, like pose reference, cloth references, armor references, and the color palette that I want. I always used 45 degree angle light direction, and the main light source is warm sunlight. and shadow area is from the blue skylight. I used this kind of lighting strategy in 2012, and I still try learning other light strategy for future paintings. 
How is one so talented in so many areas? Was it hard to become a multi-disciplined creative? YCH: I think this is due to my education background, I studied graphic design and media animation in University. In our school, our term assignment is always one student needed to finish an animation film by himself (include storyboard, concept art, 3D model, texture, rigging, animation, VFX effect, and finally you need build up a website to present your portfoilo online) during these years I actually learned a lot of skill in animation. But when I graduated from school, my first career was a 3D modeler in the game industry. But my passion is to be an illustrator and concept artist and for a long time didn’t touch any 3D and animation (about 10 years). Currently I just focus on 2D painting and learning from tradional and hope I can get better. How hard was it to nail down anatomy? Did you struggle with character drawing as a young artist? YCH: Yes! it is very hard for me. I really spend lots of time to memorize the muscle shape and how it works in different movements. Now, I still practice everyday on my sketch book, and try not to forgot these. There is no escape without 10,000 hours parctice, if you want to become a professional. 
You also feature tutorials on your site. Do you also find meaning through teaching? Perhaps being an instructor someday? YCH: Currently I still need to learn a lot of knowledge of art, but maybe one day when I have more experience in the industry, I can be a teacher to share the experience for the young students. Lastly any advice to any creative out there, who might be struggling? YCH: Keep passion, practice, and make it perfect! 
Want to stay up to date on all his projects? Follow his cookie crumb trail below: http://www.yuchenghong.com/ | | Blood Letter – Review Jan 25th 2013, 00:02 
This is Vietnam’s first foray into the realm of epic historical martial arts film. Don’t know about you, but that excites me! How many films from Vietnam do we get a chance to review here? The plot of “Thien Menh Anh Hung” is pretty much banal. I feel like each moment of the film reminds me of something I’ve seen in the past. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. But, what do you expect from the first of it’s kind? Tran Nguyen Vu story begins with him washing upon the temple of a monk. After a rock hard guardian lion comes to life and gives the monk some trouble no less. After twelve years this Tran is now a man and ready for action. He sets off to the city and ventures away from the temple his been at most of his life. He learns when he enters the city all is not right in his kingdom as a bunch of assassins or off to kill high officials. One thing that stands out from the Chinese Wuxia, is the Vietnamese scenery, it's absolutely beautiful, this is a visually stunning movie. Kudos for the cinematography of this film. You could review it against the many successful mega-epic historically accurate and mesmerizing productions from the best of the world, or you could review it from the scope of what it achieved within the budget, storyline, execution and for the market it was made for. And there is enough creativity in the action choreography to leave you impressed. The effects could have been more polished but the music and sound effects unlike even some great epics, are beautiful and crisp. I am especially drawn to the double arrowed flying assassins! Ultimately, is there room to improve? Definitely. But more importantly I sum up the entire movie as an epic milestone for Vietnamese film-making. 
At first, this film is not well-acted without any painstaking effort from the producer or the director (Victor Vu). In this film, for his sake, Nguyen Vu decided to move out where he was brought up and came to the town to find out the truth. However, when the secrets were clarified, he easily refused to revenge who dared to kill all of his family. It was so ridiculous and rigid. this context should be somehow ambivalent which will either deliver a painful bane to innocent people or bring a elated boon when finally killing “demons”. Moreover, film background was definitely not impressive. Not like a Chinese drama, a city would be crowded of people and shops, but in this film, it is poorly not. But it is just one of the vanguards in making history film in Vietnam, it should not be discouraged. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ugXCj4Ro0 Martial arts and special effects were the films bread and butter, just the mix of super powered abilities in fights made them all the more special. And all of them are in search of the possibly non-existent blood letter, a letter written in blood by a dying eunuch who knew all the secrets of the royal household at the time of the Nguyen family’s fall and the Queen’s rise. How the two sisters and Nguyen Vu meet their challengers, and what fates await them, is all in God’s hands, according to Nguyen Vu’s mentor, but perhaps he can create some of his own fate. I wouldn’t list this film among the very best of its kind, but I would buy it should it appear in blu-ray form in the future, as it was quite entertaining and very beautiful to look at. Slight Recommendation.
 | | Rikyu – Review Jan 24th 2013, 00:04 
Toyotomi Hideyoshi is one of The major figures in the history of Japan, being one of the great unifiers along with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the last decades of the 16th century he took over Nobunaga's legacy and continued striving towards unifying Japan, which had been completely divided and in a state of chaos and turmoil for over a hundred years during the Warring States era. He managed to create political stability and introduced many sociopolitical reforms that would help define Japan as it grew into a modern nation in the subsequent centuries. When the main island of Japan was just starting to stabilize, Hideyoshi felt he was on a roll and announced his ambitions to conquer the Chinese mainland by way of Korea. An overly ambitious plan that would indirectly lead to his downfall. Hideyoshi is clearly a very interesting figure and has inspired a number of films and especially television series. This particular film, however, is not about Hideyoshi himself, but about a monk who served him. The monk's name was Rikyu and he was one of the most revered masters of the tea ceremony and ikebana (flower arrangement). Furthermore, he was one of Hideyoshi's most trusted confidants. In this film we follow the relationship between Rikyu and Hideyoshi, and how it changes when Hideyoshi finds out that Rikyu appears to be quite skeptical concerning his military ambitions. 
After nearly 18 years of absence from film-making director Hiroshi Teshigahara returned to the big screen with this modest film which is not at all to be compared with his amazing surrealist masterpieces from the 1960s (Pitfall, Woman of the Dunes, Face of Another). Rikyu is essentially a historical drama, but what makes this film so special is the attention given to the aforementioned traditional Japanese arts of tea and flower arrangement. After seeing this film it might not come as a surprise that Teshigahara himself is a master of ikebana, and highly interested in many fields of art. Truthfully, when watching Rikyu, it starts to feel like the entire relationship with Hideyoshi is merely a side-story. Instead, Rikyu is purposely trying to steer clear of political intrigue and simply wants to focus on practicing and spreading his Arts, especially that of Tea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qceaLoovZZU Unfortunately the rambunctious spirit of the times have their way of dragging innocent people in, and that's what happens to Rikyu. He ends up forced to express his opinion concerning his liege's plans and cannot avoid answering truthfully. Despite Hideyoshi's personal attachment to Rikyu, this cannot be tolerated, and Rikyu faces a tragic fate. The soundtrack is provided by Toru Takemitsu, the man responsible for scoring nearly all true Japanese masterpieces (Harakiri, Woman in the Dunes, Double Suicide, Ran, etc.) and as always manages to create the perfect ambience to fit the film. Teshigahara's shooting style is, as mentioned before, different from his older films, and has almost an Ozu-like feel to it, again fitting the themes of tranquility and traditionalism. Teshigahara has created this serene film about Japanese traditional arts with the utmost care and respect, while at the same time delving into famous and interesting historical characters. This is a must-see for anyone even slightly interested in Japanese culture.
 | | The Protector – Review Jan 24th 2013, 00:02 
Shout! Factory kicks off its 2013 martial arts movie releases with a double feature of Jackie Chan films from the '80s and '90s – "The Protector" and "Crime Story." We delves into Crime Story here, however this is out first take on 1985′s The Protector. The Protector was one of Jackie Chan’s early attempts to break into the American movie market and it has lots of action and is better than most of the buddy cop movies of the 1980′s. The basic premise of the movie is that Jackie Chan is a New York City cop who is involved in a shooting where his partner is shot and killed and he goes rogue in order to get the man who killed his partner. This puts him in hot water with his boss (of course), and he ends up getting stuck on a “crap assignment” in which he and Aiello end up being witnesses to a kidnapping. They end up getting assigned to the case and travel to Hong Kong where they run into a massage parlor full of beautiful naked women that end up trying to kill them, which is just one of many adventures they go through in their pursuit of the kidnappers. As the story unfolds, you end up finding out that there is a lot more going on than just a simple kidnapping. The story progresses to the inevitable showdown at the end of the movie between Jackie Chan and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. 
First, after production wrapped Jackie Chan shot new scenes and re-edited the movie for it’s Asian release. Jackie Chan’s version edits out some of the violence and all of the profanity and nudity. The producers, etc. didn’t get what made Jackie successful in Hong Kong and rather than make a “Jackie Chan” film and inviting his input, they tried to make him ‘fit’ Hollywood and made a typical cop flick starring Chan. The film works for what it was, but falls short of what a true Jackie Chan film can be. So, as you can tell, there were just too many hands in the pot, so to speak. This character casually swears and treats woman with little respect. Not Jackie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD1E71Rql7g But all that aside. It was only Jackies second attempt at American success. But since the film was done with out much free will to explore by Jackie, it was again, a failure. And he would be the first to admit that! This makes the whole thing more realistic, with more emphasis on bloody gunfights and explosions as is typical of James Glickenhaus’ work. Suggesting this is the best Shout! Factory had to work with, this blu-ray looks very well-done, with black levels and colors popping vividly. The collection of bonus material offers a few surprises – namely "The Protector's" alternate cut. The interview with Glickenhaus is also interesting, if only to hear his side of the story. Jackie completists, who definitely pick up this blu-ray but all others should casually pass.
 | | Tutorial Services and Practice Tests Jan 23rd 2013, 15:37 
Although the Adobe certification exam for Muse (Muse 1.0) is currently only offered in English, it is a globally recognized vendor and product specific skill validation exam that confers an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) certification upon achievement of a passing score of 68 percent or higher. There are a total of 50 questions on the Muse 1.0 exam which cover five primary divisions of Muse specific knowledge and expertise.
Successful candidates for the Adobe Muse 1.0 exam possess ability to create websites using Muse design methods and features. They must be able to demonstrate they can design appropriate graphics and text in Muse as well as add interactive features to create dynamic and engaging website visitor experiences. In addition to demonstrating mastery of Muse design methods and program functionality, candidates who are successful on the Adobe Muse 1.0 exam also possess the knowledge and skills necessary to work with other Adobe programs, including Illustrator and Photoshop. Mastering Muse is best achieved through gaining hands on experience with the program, but Adobe also offers training programs to help testing candidates build their product knowledge and skills. Candidates are also recommended to use tutorial services and practice tests offered by sites like TestsLive.com to measure their testing readiness and their level of mastery of Muse prior to scheduling their Adobe certification exam. | | Cosplay Corner Episode #80: AngieRikku Jan 23rd 2013, 00:04 
Los Angeles native AngieRikku grew up surrounded by Asian pop culture and Japanese anime. Add in that she's a junior at Otis College of Art and Design studying Fashion Design and it comes as no surprise that AngieRikku is also a damn good cosplayer. Though AngieRikku obviously has a soft spot in her heart for Rikku from the Final Fantasy franchise and is on a mission to cosplay all of her dress spheres from FFX-2, her cosplay portfolio includes many other kickass ladies and is likely to only get more awesome as Angie completes more costumes! Read below for the full interview… You have a very strong interest in Japanese culture and have spent several years studying Japanese. Would you say your broader interest in Japan stemmed from watching anime and other form of Japanese pop culture, or vice versa? AngieRikku: My broader interest in Japan definitely was born out of watching anime. When I was younger, I always wondered what the symbols on the backgrounds in Sailor Moon were. Upon researching online, I found out that Sailor Moon was Japanese! Rei's Miko uniform, the Shinto shrines, Lita's (Makoto's) homemade lunch, and of course the iconic seifukus themselves led me to look deeper into what made Japan unique, considering I was only about 8 at the time. You are currently a student at Otis College of Art and Design. How has your formal education influenced your perspective on cosplay and costume creation? AngieRikku: I have to say that having the opportunity to spend one year in fashion design and one year in the product design majors really contributed to my cosplay. Otis' fashion program is pretty straight forward as to what their target audience is being high-fashion. Cosplay isn't well received at Otis so I don't bring it into my education as much as I would like to. However, everything I learn about garment construction, textile science, patternmaking, and silhouettes I bring into my costume creation. On the other hand, Otis' product design program is more open to the idea of entertainment design. Product design showed me that even if you're confused in the beginning about what you are making, it will all come together at the end with enough research, brainstorming, and hours and hours of hard work (with caffeine and little sleep). 
Many cosplayers (myself included) find prop-making very intimidating. What are some tricks and techniques you use when making new props? Are there any specific materials that you like to work with? AngieRikku: When faced with a new prop I think about what materials would be appropriate for the prop (via weight and texture), how those materials can be manipulated, and how durable the chosen materials would be. I really enjoy working with MDF and wood as they are easily sanded, take most types of paint very well, and are strong. Sometimes wood isn't a good choice, especially for thick items (for example my Berserker Rikku pauldrons and horn). I like to use foam as a core for things that need to be light and either work fiberglass or paperclay over it depending on the size or amount of detail. What is, for you, the most essential part of making a cosplay costume? AngieRikku: I tend to pay a lot of attention to the little details. I think that is what transforms a good costume into an extraordinary one! The types of fabric, buckles, snaps, jewelry, and shoes used on a costume really reflect the overall feel of the costume. If I can't find something perfect for the costume, I'll end up making it myself! For example, Rikku's shorts from FFX (FMV) are not only lime green denim but they have lighter green pinstripes spaced relatively far apart. I was lucky enough to find the perfect denim but there was no way I was going to find it with the pin stripes too. I ended up satin-stitching the pinstripes into the fabric! 
Sexism and misogyny in geek culture has become a pretty hot topic for debate. While videogames and comics have created many strong, talented, and intelligent female characters, they are also heavily sexualized. Do you ever feel like this puts female cosplayers in a difficult position? You, for example, feel a very strong connection to Rikku's character…but do you ever feel like people assume that cosplayers dress as her just because of her sexy designs? AngieRikku: I feel that the sexualization of such female characters does make it difficult for cosplayers to portray the character accurately while being physically and socially comfortable at the same time. You have to have a lot of confidence to pull off these characters. At Comic-Con 2003 I was dressed as FFX-2 Thief Rikku and was approached by a photographer who said, "Oh you're that sexy girl from Final Fantasy." I understand that that is how non-fans of the series will remember me, but I would like to be remembered as Rikku, not "that sexy girl". Rikku is a cute and very cheerful girl who kicks major butt but when I see cosplayers posing as her in a sexually suggestive manner I feel that that sends a message to the audience that people do cosplay her just for the sexy designs. Recently, it also seems very common for people to assume that women who cosplay are only interested in being models. What are your feelings on cosplay 'models' versus cosplayers who actually make their own costumes? AngieRikku: I feel that cosplay models and cosplayers alike enjoy what they do. I feel they differ in the fact that models dress up, style their hair and make-up, and pose for photos being the one and only star of their composition. Cosplayers on the other hand are more hands-on where they place more emphasis on challenging their craftsmanship skills to make a costume and then dress up for photos that display the artist and their works of art. Have you ever wanted to cosplay a certain character but decided not to because you were concerned about how it would be received? AngieRikku: I did come across that with Cammy from Street Fighter. A good portion of the fans and general audience know her by her thonged leotard and butt. Of course one of her victory poses does showcase her backside so that is part of her character. I varied my poses between action poses, stances, and her victory pose showing all sides of the character. I was worried that cosplaying her would have the audience perceive me in negative taste, however, I did not have nearly as many people commenting that way as I did as having "OMG, Cammy!" which made me very happy. 
It's very disrespectful for people to overlook the hard work that goes into creating costumes and only focus on a female cosplayer's hotness. Why do you think this trend is so common online? Do you think there's anything that can be done to change this? AngieRikku: I think the internet empowers people with the freedom to say whatever they feel without the face-to-face social repercussions (consequences) they would experience without the shield of a computer screen protecting them. They can reserve their desired amount of anonymity by posting things online rather than saying them to somebody's face in the public eye. Because the internet is very unrestricted, I think that changing this trend would require some drastic revising of websites including disabling anonymous posts and requiring some form of identification to obtain IDs for websites where users would be commenting on such photos. I have a feeling that if people's real names were attached to their posts on the internet that they would say things that could damage their reputation. To date, what costume are you the most proud of and why? What are your future goals for cosplay? AngieRikku: That is a tough one… but I'd have to say I am most proud of Berserker Rikku for the sheer learning experience. Aside from being a self-taught sewer, I knew next to nothing about hard goods aside from wood by working with my grandfather. I took Berserker Rikku on in 2006 and I did a lot of researching before I decided to tackle it. I ended up carving the pauldrons and horn from foam, sealing them, fiberglassing them, bondoing them, and sanding the heck out of them. Although I didn't know how to use the materials I ended up learning so much from trial and error! I ended up redoing my horn with foam and paperclay in 2010 because having a heavy bondo'd horn on my head really gave me a headache. Aside from hard goods, the prosthetic plush feet and paws were new to me as well. I had to learn how to think of things in smaller pieces to actually design them and I really loved how they came out! My future goals for cosplay are to build upon my prop making skills as I've finally ventured into silicone molds and resin castings. I want to experiment with many different mediums and progress my crafting abilities. I've always wanted to make Dark Knight Rikku (a full suit of armor) but I have postponed it so many times. Hopefully soon I can make that dream come true! Finally, what are some of your upcoming conventions and costumes? AngieRikku: I will be going to Anime LA and Fanime this coming year! I'm very excited as the past few years I've been focusing on schoolwork and commissions and I will finally be getting to work on my personal costumes! I plan on finishing up some costumes that have been on hiatus including May from Guilty Gear, Rikku White Mage from FFX-2, Wolfie Selkie from FF: Crystal Chronicles, and Amy from Soul Calibur IV all complete with their respective props.  
Want to stay up to date on AngieRikku? Follow her cookie crumb trail below: http://www.facebook.com/AngieRikkuCosplay
http://www.cosplay.com/member/980/
http://angierikku.deviantart.com/ | | The Victim – Review Jan 23rd 2013, 00:02 
Sammo Hung is known to be one of the respected martial arts/action choreographers of all time and the 1980 martial arts film The Victim may be one of his lesser-known but nonetheless best films Sammo Hung has ever directed. While he is the director, the main character/star is actually played by Bryan Leung who is one of the lesser-known stars in Hong Kong action cinema. This lesser-known gem in Sammo Hung's film collection is one that all martial arts fans should consider finding. The story is quite intricate actually. Bryan Leung (with that famous beard of his of course) plays Chun Yao who early in his life was an orphan and taken in by a rich and kind man who had a son who didn't take to his new brother too well. In fact, when Chun Yao gets married to the step brother's former girlfriend, his step brother holds a nasty grudge and decides he will hunt down his step brother and defeat him for his bride's love. Sammo Hung plays Chan Wing who is a bumbling man who one day challenges Chun Yao to a fight, getting defeated in the process. Chan Wing then decides to become Chun Yao's student, much to the chagrin of Chun Yao because he doesn't want to attract attention. Chan Wing will not take "no" for an answer so he follows him around as he made a promise to his ancestors to learn kung-fu by the man who would defeat him in a fight. 
The acting is actually pretty good and the story is done quite well. The relationship between Sammo's and Bryan's characters stays at a stalemate for much of the film but when the time finally comes for him to trust him, it's just in the nick of time. Later you find out more about Chan Wing and you start to feel more for his character and you begin to understand why he is so determined to become a martial arts master. Alright, enough about the story how's the action choreography? Well, it's pretty cool to say the least. One action scene has them in a bath house and it's absolutely hilarious because Chun Yao is trying to get away from Chan Wing but be warned; there are naked butts all around so if you like Asian men's butts then this is the scene for you. The final fight scene is outstanding. That's it. That's all I'll say about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G56mz_AXyU It's a shame that this film is one of Sammo Hung's lesser-known (there's that phrase again) films because this is a film that should be appreciated more. If you want to go away from the norm of martial arts films for a bit then I suggest searching for this film and see one of Sammo Hung's lesser-known (how many times is that now?) films. I'm sure you won't be disappointed because if you are, well then I don't know what to say about you.
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