Opening songs
OP 1-Prophecy (Mami kawada)

Genre:supernatural,romance,action,slice of life

Episodes:4

Lets take a break from the chaotic and hectic cosfest. For today, we're going through shakugan no shana S. There really is no need for me to say this but, there are many of us anime fans, and most of us definetely know shana (when I say anime fans I dont mean those that only watch bleach/naruto/one piece). As a series shakugan no shana is great, it relates demons, magicks and whatnot with everyday school life. The ending for season 2 was definetely clear...for most of the part. Now I wont spoil anything from the ending, but lets just say this, shakugan no shana S, was definetely not necessary. Since 2007, fans have been waiting for a season 3, in 2009, they gave us shana S. My cousin told me it sucked, and warned me not to watch it, but as a shana fan, I had to at least take a peak. Heres what I think.

For the opening song, we only have one, and thats prophecy from mami kawada. Since its only an OVA, theres no need for more than 1 opening song actually. Coming from mami kawada, prophecy is definetely not something her league. Compared to other songs she released, like joint/masterpiece/PSI missing, prophecy pales out. Its not that its terrible...its just a little bit boring to listen to. The opening animations as well, they arent anything impressive compared to other shana openings. Well at least the ending sounds good, all in good time, also by mami kawada. At least that one is pleasing to hear.

Rating 6.0/10

Lets face it, being an OVA is no reason for shakugan no shana S to suck. OVAs can be great too, just look at the recent .hack and baka test OVAs, works of greatness. Shakugan no shana S is just underwhelming. The episodes do not tie to each other in any way, with exception of episode 3 and 4. And the differences in timelines between the episodes add even more confusion, its never clear wheter the show takes place before season 1/2, after season 1/2, or somewhere in between. In shakugan no shana season 1 and 2, there was great pacing and story telling, in S both of those are missing. You never know exactly whats going on, since the story is jumping all around the place. In episode 3 and 4 you can at least grasp whats going on, since they are obviously tied, but other than, as 3 different arcs, theres nothing related AT ALL.


Yuuji, "Belive me, theres really nothing impressive going on, now LETS GO!'

In the previous 2 seasons, we have yuuji as the main lead. In shakugan no shana S, yuuji remains as the lead in episodes 1 and 2, while shana overtakes that role in episode 3 and 4. In shana S, the series is geared more towards the everyday life the characters experience. Yuuji still follows shana around as she does her errands involving the other world, and they experience life as usual, encountering small time problems that dont compare to that of tomogara attacks. There isnt even a hint of the love rivalry between kazumi and shana that made the show so damn anticipating in shakugan no shana S. Its not clear if yuuji already picked one over the other, because they just interact like they always do. While episodes 1 and 2 are spent goofing off, 3 and 4 at least take a more serious approach, showing shana's life before she met yuuji. Episodes 3 and 4 are kinda alright I guess, once again, nothing compared to the epicness scale of the season 1 and 2 tomogara arcs. Even if episodes 3 and 4 are somewhat redeeming, they have no ties to episode 1 and 2 at all. Its like, they are shown goofing off in episode 1 and 2, then suddenly you are seeing one of shana's previous extermination jobs. Three words, what the hell? Wheres the connection? Are the episodes even connected AT ALL?

Basically shakugan no shana S is something we didnt really need. The show is in by no means terrible...but its just something that we can do without. Shakugan no shana S isn't what we shana fans have been waiting for, what we( or at least I) want, is a true, legit season 3. Now I have no idea if its coming out or not, if it is, great, keep the production going, and hopefully it can outshadow shakugan no shana S ( I seriously think it will). If theres no season 3 coming out, Im fine with it too, though I will be quite the sad panda, I'll just accept the season 2 ending for what it is. Whatever the outcome, shakugan no shana S isn't the great show its predeseccors were, and if you really want to watch it, just skim through it, don't expect greatness. Season 1 and 2 were just so much better.

Peace.

Sunday 26 June 2011

CosFest 2011 ~Day 2~

......Aaaaaaaaaaaannnddd Im back! Long day again, as usual, tiring as hell, went to sleep the moment I reached home. You though I wasn't gonna post this? Well no way, I'm refreshed as hell now, so heeeree we gooooooooo!



Im gonna start with a brief overview, cosfest is a great. After 2 good visits in consecutive days, I can say this tops STGCC, but sadly it still doesnt top AFA. Still, great stuff, to top it off, the entry is free! I wish this was on longer, I would just be coming and going! The stuff here is lacking in terms of merchandise, but otherwise, the cosplayers and events were what took the cake. The cosplayers were great, I guess somewhere near AFA level...or even better. Anyway, lets jump straight into the cosplayers of day 2. Banzai!!!

We start outside, just like yesterday, while it wasn't as crowded as it was, there were some cosplayers around already. This was probably because we were much earlier than yesterday. While, the place got even more crowded than yesterday later on, but during that time, we enjoyed the quietness while it lasted.......... On a side note, today's pictures are all taken by camera! Not a shitty phone, but still, I guess the quality could be better. I should get a new camera, hmmm.






First off, Miku already? Anyway, love is war miku is something I didnt see yesterday. Shes alright I guess, but its always good to see different variations of miku, I guess. I still think fans should slow down a little bit on miku cosplaying. Still, hey! More miku the better right?


Maid girl? Mio? I don't really know. Either way, the attention she gathered was huge. What would you expect? Cute girl like her, cant say I wouldnt take a picture too.


Dont really know who they are, but girls in kimonos and chinese dresses are always good I guess. Kinda took this for the lolz.

Into the tent we go!



Allen walker. Didnt see much love for D.grayman yesterday, at least allen showed up today. Not too bad, he could have gone all out for the innocense arm, but I guess the overall costume is pretty good. Thumbs up on this one.


Not too sure on this, but I overheard from some other girls that she is meiko. Great costume, but a little flat, lol. Still, she got lots of people taking photos, so I say shes successful. In my opinion shes pretty good.


Even with a camera, I get blur shots! Amazing! So here we have 2 army chicks. I have completely no idea if they are from an anime or something.



A shot of the stage. Just took this for the lolz. It looks empty as hell now. It was about 1pm when I took this, look at it, empty like a desert. But just wait, later in the day, when the cosplay competition started, hell breaks loose, just wait!



Hitman reborn. Not much of them yesterday, except for some tsunas. These 3 are alright, I needed some reborn pics anyway. Tsuna's abit too tall, IMO.


No idea who this is. Miku I presume, but seriously , no idea. Just taken for the lolz.


As much as I like cat girls wielding swords, I have no idea who this is as well. But nonetheless, the cosplayer is pretty hot, so nothing much for me to complain about.


This guy is sad. Dont get me wrong, hes pretty damn good in what hes doing, but there were so many people taking pictures of him that he had to stand in the same spot for at least 20-30 minutes. Great costume overall.


Its that maid from before. But my shot here is dedicated more towards tobi. That mask is pretty cool, I have seen other akatsuki members, but this is the only one I took a picture of, tobi's awesome. Good costume overall.



Can you see that? Its noel!! But too bad shes always sitting in that one corner, I could take a solid picture of her! DAMMMNNNN. See, the picture is so blur, shit. But hey, at least she showed up.


Luka holding tako-luka. There were better luka cosplayers yesterday, but none were wearing her classic outfit, I guess this fits the criteria for that.


I didn't see vammpire knight yesterday, but there were a couple of them walking around today. Good thing I managed to snap one for the keeps. Too bad the picture is blur, bad photography on my part.


There were yunas yesterday, and here we have another today. Its a different yuna if Im not wrong. Among the 2 summoner yunas today and yesterday, I would say this is better. But I gotta say the staff is what caught my attention.


Itachi! Another sad fellow, he had to pose there for 20 minutes straight because of constant cameras trying to take pictures of him. Still, good costume.


One of the better mikus around, thats for sure. But I would prefer the one in the love is war outfit. Still, good effort, still think that miku is getting too much love though.


Hehehe, what do we have here! Its always great to see kamen rider cosplayers, brings back good childhood memories. Anyway, this is one of the more recent designs, I believe he is from kamen rider den-o. I have seen 2 kamen riders in AFA last year, but hey, this guy is better! Great costume overall!


More girls in sailor fukus, not that Im complaining of course! I do not know who this is, but hey, shes cute to say the least.


Shit, kinda regretted on this one. This is a good ass yui cosplayer, but thanks to the pushy people who pushed HER at the moment I cliked snap, the pic went blur. FUUUUU-...anyway, great cosplay work here, if only the rest of the k-on cast were here.


No idea who these are, but the guy looks pretty good, better than the girl in my opinion. Good pair, probably one of the better pairs around.


Good to see some final fantasy 13 love. Here we have lightning with her humongously huge weapons. Weapons were abit too big IMO.


Great, the hunter is back! Not much to say, he was still as great as he was yesterday. Really, he played of the hunter well!


Its good to see cleavage, but I have no idea who this is. Great stuff though, there were lots of people taking photos of her.


Erm...letter bee? Anyway, not too sure about this. Kinda took this for the lolz so....

And back out we go!


Milky holmes and... I dunno, that guy looks like edward elric from FMA. Overall, Im not too sure to say anything. Still, great duo.


Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, hell yes! Power ranger FTW! Dude was totally taking pics with everyone else. Sweetness! Of course Im too old for power ranger, but dude just caught so much attention, so I just joined in.


Heres for another duo of sexy ladies! I have no friggin idea from what anime or game they are from, but props to them! Great body figure plus great costume...what more can you ask for?


The soul eater team. Pretty good stuff. Nice to see some awesome team action! There were 2 teams of soul eater chrs, next one is coming up.


More soul eater ppl, mainly the team of weapons. I like the shinigami headmaster, amazing shit. And good to see blair, my favourite soul eater character, get some love!


Another yui, and this time shes in the maid costume. The previous yui was much better in my opinion. Still, good to see k-on love.


More death masters! This was different from the one yesterday, but the scythe was HUGE. Good stuff indeed.


Milky holmes! I never watched the show, but wow, what good team synchro. I'd say these 5 make a good team, comparable to that of the soul eater teams.


No idea who this is, another girl in sailor fuku I guess. But other than that, she looks pretty cute, so I would say she scores pretty high in my book.


Ika musume! Never watched it but hey, great cosplay is great, you can't deny it. Pretty good compared to some others.

Back in we go....



Sengoku basara? Dynasty warriors? Whatever, they look alright. Costumes are pretty okay, same to the weapons.


Random girl in sailor fuku wielding a assault riffle, now it doesn't get better than this doesn't it? Seriously though, shes hot, great cosplay overall.


Yay! Jack frost is back, and so is pyro jack, but he was still putting on his costume, so I just took jack frost. He's the same bubbly guy as he was yesterday, great stuff!



 Here we have some bleach fellows. On the left we have Hisagi, and on the right we have kenpachi. Not bad IMO, but the kenpachi could use some work. Hisagi on the other hand, looks great.



Erm...country folk rin and miku? Im not too sure if they look the part...but hey, the costumes are pretty good anyway.



Lols. Once again, no idea who these people are, but that guy on the right wearing that suit sure knows how to be funny.


Here we have some people from the durarara cast. I have no idea who the left person is, but she seems like a spit image of kida. Izaya and shizuo really need no explanation. These are all guy characters cosplayed by girls. I would say the izaya looks pretty hot.


Zabuza! Personally, hes my second favourite naruto villian. But in this case, the cosplayer has a great body, defientely fitting to be zabuza! Everything about him fits the character, so I would say hes pretty downright badass.


Mafia miku and rin. More mikus kinda really spoil me, because there are so many other vocaloids that need to be cosplayed! Otherwise, I guess this is kinda alright.


GAWD, SO MANY MIKUS. THERES EVEN MIKUOS. *Wheeze*This is an example of miku overdose, even guys are doing it! However, its not everyday you see 2 mikuos and 3 mikus posing together, so I just took the picture, and lets be honest, its pretty cool.


Moar vocaloids. Good to see a meiko cosplayer. Otherwise, its typical stuff we have already seen better ones of.


No idea who these are, but hey, those are cool costumes. That girl like character sitting on the floor is really cute.


Erm....magical girls? I didnt watch a single magical girl anime, so theres really nothing for me to comment on. Otherwise, as a duo...I would say they did good.



Hoho, whos this pretty girl? Anyway, I dont know who shes cosplaying as, but seriously, good cosplay. Never was really into goth girls..but oh well.


Miku on the left Im pretty sure about that. Not sure about the right girl though. The girl on the right definetely looks better to me, sadly I have no idea who she is.


Miku and rin....again. Well not much to say here, we have already seen tons of them already. But in this pic, Miku > Rin.


Awwww yeaaah! Kamen rider for the win, look at those costumes! Genius! Better than that den-o guy before, but nonetheless, all 3 kamen riders today were great.



Kinda spoilers for whoever didnt finish BBS, but meh, who cares! Great duo, loving that final boss look of vanitus and the X-blade.



Arrrgghh I had a hard time picking the top 5, I had 6 really good ones, including this ichigo over here. Hes really badass, but looks kinda blur in my picture. Definetely one of the best cosplayers, though he didnt make it into my top 5, I would, without a doubt, give this guy 6th place.

Time for some stage event stuff before moving into my top 5. As shown before, the stage was empty, but when the cosplay competition began.....you could barely see yourself! Anyway, here are some pics from the competition on stage. Some are really blur, cuz like, Im pretty far away from the stage, its crowded as hell.


Props to my friend for this picture, mine was blur as hell. Anyway, bleach was the 1st stage show. Fking badass, just look at that hollow ichigo and released ulquorria. Really really great when combined with the episode sound settings, that roar from ichigo....priceless. Definetely my favourite stage show during the day....that much Im sure.


2nd stage show was about suikoden? Not really sure what the hell was going on, I just took a picture of one of the 2 guys on stage killing each other. Lol. As you can see, I didnt really do a good job, but meh, dont even know the plot, nothing much to me.


Haseo! Our third stage event was from hack.G.U. Seriously, great stuff. Though the sound settings were used by the english dubbing, I can say without a doubt that the 2 really put their all into this, it was a good performance overall.



Heres some robot dudes fighting. Kinda cool, I think this was my 2nd favourite performance. The sound settings were all just epic fighting music, which kinda fits the armosphere. Great stuff, well done on the cosplayers' part.

There were more stage performances, but I took only blur pics, so screw em. Honourable mention to the koihime musou pair, Im a huge fan of kannu and chouhi!

Now without further ado..on to my personal top 5 cosplayers!



My life was complete when I took this picture. Accelerator!!!!! And this accelerator is perfect! There was one yesterday, but he was too tall and buff. Altough this accelerator is cosplayed by a girl, its perfect! Shes skinny, she has the sadist and emo face. Coooooooooool stuff, but I may be biased since accelerator is like, one of my favourite characters in all anime history.




Alright, now we're talking! Yesterday I had a death master under one of my top five best cosplayers, but heres something awesome, a rival! An actual black rock shooter girl cosplayer was rare! Yesterday there were guy cosplayers of black rock shooter, where were the girls! Luckily, today I found a good black rock shooter. Amazing cosplay, nothing less.


Did you expect this? Hell I did not! Tornberry was fking awesome today! Look at him, he looks ready to knife you for a 1 hit ko! Hands down, one of the best cosplayers today, amazing stuff. And once again, I never expected this, and I bet many others didnt.



Wassup rags, looking good. Ragna looks awesome, theres nothing else to say really. There were 2 ragnas, but I only saw 1...which was this guy. Luckily, he looked awesome! Now if only the jin I saw would join him in a 2 man shot....



Well here we are, my hands down favourite cosplayer of the day. I never watched guren lugen, but damn! Big boobs, sexy body, great costume....she has it all! Yoko is the lady of the day for sure! Sexy-ness levels are over nine thousaaaaandd!

Thats all for now. Cosfest this year was a blast, that much I can say. If they are holding it next year, you can bet your ass Im going.

CosFest, continue being awesome, I'll see you again next year!