About a year and a half ago we’ve done some reviews and overviews on various anime titles from the past, as well as the present. From that point on we’ve done a lot of filler posts regarding a mixed bag of topics ranging from anime convention after parties, to ways to save up money for said conventions. After coming back from Anime USA last weekend, we’ve been working on fine-tuning a few things in terms of marketing and maintaining both our online, and offline presence in the anime community.
This being one of them; the return of Throwback Thursday and D&A Friday’s, two of our most popular segments on the blog. We’ll still keep all the elements that you love about these two segments with only one small change; both will be done on a bi-weekly schedule. These two segments will make their return on January 3rd and 4th of 2019, and of course if you have any suggestions on anime titles that you’d like us to review, let us know through our Contact Us page.
Until next post, stay gold! ๐
Asides
The Top 5 Final Boss Battle OST’s!
For a large number of us who love anime, there’s also a large number of us who love video games. There have been moments where the anime and gaming community have merged into one, and that can be found in just about every anime convention you go to. While we’re on the subject of video games, for those of us who have played enough action/adventure platformers and RPGs, there’s always going to be a boss that you’ll have to fight upon reaching the end of a section of the game.
Some bosses can range in difficulty from minor to major, but the true test is going to be the very LAST boss in the game. When it comes to video game OST’s, the soundtrack of the final boss is supposed to be as epic as the battle itself! Here are our Top 5 Final Boss Battle OST’s…
5. Miracle Matter – Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
When you reach the final boss of this N64 game, you (as the hungry pink hero we all know and love) will come face to face with a powerful entity known as the Miracle Matter. Not only is the battle going to be epic, but its got an OST to match its own intensity! If that’s not exciting, then we don’t know what is.
4. Vs. Vegeta – Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans
This is the first ‘real’ RPG in the DBZ franchise, and by real we mean turn-based. After leveling up your Z-Warriors to a certain point, you’ll face the ruthless saiyan prince himself on an all-familiar battlefield. The Goku-Vegeta rivalry is one of the most legendary rivalries in the history of anime, and its got a nice OST to boot – even though its on the DS.
3. Bowletta – Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (3DS)
If you thought the final boss battle OST was epic back when this title was on the Game Boy Advance, then the reboot will bring back that nostalgia in the most epic way possible! With upgraded graphics and brand new features, everything about this title that was old, has become new again!
2. Boss/Final Boss Theme – Plok (SNES)
Even though this game didn’t exactly get the credit it deserved, the OST was on point during the time that it was being produced. Tim Follin of the Follin Brothers is the creative producer behind the entire OST of this game, and despite the fact that its underrated, the sound was ahead of its time.
1. Metal Madness – Sonic Heroes
You haven’t seen true despair (sit down, Monokuma) until you’ve heard it from the OST of this title in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Even though Metal Sonic is the last person we’d expect to be the game’s final boss, the music brought about how truly ruthless he could become – if he wasn’t trolling Sonic all the time due to Eggman’s influence. Nevertheless it did put players on the edge of their seats after collecting all seven chaos emeralds and staring that cold blue metallic body right in its face!
And that ends our Top 5 Final Boss Battle OST’s for this post! If we haven’t shared the news with you just yet, we FINALLY have our own Instagram page, as you can check out all of the cosplay pics that we’ve taken from Anime USA and other cons. Until next post, stay gold! ๐
Anime USA 2018 Recap!
What a great weekend! If you’ve gotten the chance to go to Anime USA this past weekend, you were in for quite the treat. This year marks their 20th Anniversary in doing this convention, and they did not disappoint in the slightest. The location of the convention was at the Wardman Park Marriott near the Woodley Park Zoo, which is conveniently right next to the Woodley Park Zoo metro train stop, on the DC Metro’s Red Line. Upon going inside the hotel the place was phenomenal; a five-star hotel with multiple areas to shop, bars where you can have a nice drink with friends, and a breakfast buffet with the classics that everyone knows and loves. And of course, the cosplay was amazing!
Since this was our first time attending this convention, we didn’t have any idea if we were going to find a whole lot of people in cosplay. Boy, were we wrong. The fans and con goers went all out with their fantastic creations that they’ve been working on for months. The atmosphere at the convention was 100% hater-free, and the hotel staff provided A-grade customer service. If you thought the cosplay was awesome, the voice actors we’ve met were even cooler! We’ve gotten the chance to (finally) meet Stocking Anarchy herself Monica Rial; as well as Crispin Freeman who many know as Itachi Uchiha, Lisa Ortiz who many know from Slayers, Kira Buckland, and many more.
As far as dining goes, the hotel’s location is right in front of various restaurants as well as ‘Bar & Grill’ places for con goers that want to save a little money. The Dealer’s Room had some nice sales on various anime apparel as well as DVDs, Blu-Rays, and manga. If you’re more of a gamer than you are an anime fan, the convention had a vast amount of gaming tournaments and old school video game cabinets from the 80’s and 90’s. There was a little bit of everything at this convention for the young fans, and the fans who are young at heart. So if you haven’t had the chance to check out Anime USA this year, it’ll make its return in 2019!
That will do it for this recap post of Anime USA, but before we go, we just want to give a shoutout to all of the awesome cosplayers that we’ve met while at the con:
- KutieKitten (Twitter & Instagram @kutiekittenxo)
- Mintmacarons Cosplay (FB @mintmacaronscosplay / Instagram @peppermintcakes)
- Caitlyn Mae Cosplay (FB @CaitlynMaeCosplay / Instagram @alahdorei)
- Sean Fraser Yoga (www.seanfraseryoga.com)
- Crystal Soul Cosplay (FB & Instagram @CrystalSoulCosplay / Twitter @CrystalSoul08)
- Labinnak & Mangoloo Cosplays (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube)
Time For A Super Quick Announcement!
Hey guys n’ gals! Sorry we’ll have to keep this one a little short due to the fact that we’re preparing for Anime USA, but we do have some quick announcements that we want to share with you. After Sunday we’ll be returning to our originally scheduled filler post schedule; which is every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It’s been a rather crazy week as we haven’t been able to get our posts up in a timely manner, but we thank you in advance for understanding. We’ll have the full Anime USA recap as well as the highlights video and cosplay pictures! Until next week, stay gold! ๐
The 5 Things You’ll (Almost) Always See At an Anime Convention!
Every year hundreds of thousands of anime fans flock to their local anime conventions either in their hometown, or a con that may be a few states away. From massive conventions like Anime Expo to smaller ones like Anime USA, there’s something for every fan of every age. The coolest things about going to anime conventions is that fact that you never know what might happen. Our experiences tell a story of various times that we’ve expected the unexpected, but that’s another post for another time. Here are 5 things that fans will almost always see at an anime convention, and of course…we’ve seen a portion of these things too!
5. The Inflatable T-Rex Cosplayer
Stomping in at #5 on our list is the world-famous T-Rex cosplay! Since 2017 this dino has been roaming around various anime and video game conventions all over North America. (Heck, it even showed up at a college football game!) We don’t know what this means or why this is a thing, but one thing’s for sure, you can find this guy at a con near you! ๐
4. Deadpool…lots, and lots of Deadpool!
Bring out the Chimichangas cuz’ where there’s a con, there’s your deadly neighborhood Deadpool! This motor-mouthed mercenary can be found at 95% of all super hero conventions and some anime cons. There are all kinds of variations of Deadpool; such as Miku Deadpool, Luffy Deadpool, Rapper Deadpool, and so many others.
3. Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers
Just like Deadpool, you’ll find the emperor of the Dark Side roaming the halls of the convention (or hotel) with his faithful soldiers. Since the 70’s Star Wars has been one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time, and now younger generations get the chance to experience the hype as well. There’s never been a geek/nerd convention in North America, where Darth Vader and his minions just happen to drop in.
2. A Giant Pikachu
Pokemon has been around for 20 years, so there’s no doubt that you might run into a giant Pikachu somewhere at the con. Depending where you live you might find yourself at the sight of a small army of giant Pikachus marching in a single file line. Nevertheless this yellow electro mouse has been somewhat of a mascot to an otherwise famous franchise, that has spanned nearly two-and-a-half generations of Pokemon fans.
1. Cosplay That’s Dead On!
Cosplay during anime and video game conventions is pretty much a given if you’re a fan of one or both. Fans go all-out when it comes to cons, as they pull out all the stops (both accurately and financially) to make their cosplay awesome. We’ve seen a lot of great cosplay from all of the cons that we’ve gone to, of course there’s also some that are dead on 100% (even down to the character’s mannerisms). To us cosplay fans are awesome, so if you ever wanted to cosplay for an anime convention but felt reluctant about it, go for it! ๐
Anime conventions have all kinds of excitement happening at every turn, which is one of the reason why they have become a cornerstone in the anime community. You get the chance to make all kinds of friends from all walks of life, and if that’s not something to get excited about, then we don’t know what is. On that note, that will do if for our filler post this evening, but stick around for more awesome posts coming up later this week!
Stay gold, my friends! ๐
7 Things You Didn’t Know (Or Might Know) About Goku!
Sorry this one came a little late but as many of you may know, there’s a new Dragon Ball Super movie making its way to U.S. theaters on January 16, 2019. That movie brings back someone from the franchise that we’re quite familiar with – and it’s not Frieza. As far as what we know via reddit, Funimation and Crunchyroll, the Legendary Super Saiyan has returned, but he’s not the same guy we’ve come to know in the past three movies. Hopefully more will be revealed about the whole story as the movie date gets closer (fingers crossed).
There are so many iconic characters in this legendary franchise that many of us are familiar with, but with all of the things that we know (and may not know) about them, there are still a handful of facts that only a small percentage of DBZ fans may not be aware of – yet! One of those characters is our very own Son Goku, the main character of the entire franchise. With everything fans know about him already, there are some things that might come as a surprise to some, and not so much to others. Here are seven things you didn’t know (or might know) about the Earth-born saiyan, Goku.
7. He Has His Own Holiday in Japan: May 9th!
If you live in America, you’ll notice that we have more holidays than just Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. These days we’ve got holidays for things that most people would make fun of, but for the DBZ fans of Japan, the leading Z-Warrior has an official day dedicated to him. May 9th is known as “Goku Day” in Japan, meaning that the numbers “5” and “9” translate into “Go” and “Ku” in Japanese. With May being the fifth month of the year and the ninth day happening on said month, you get (you guessed it) Goku!
6. Out of the Nine Tournaments He’s Been in, Goku Only Won One!
Goku is the strongest fighter in the DBZ franchise by far, so it would only make sense that you’d spot him in action fighting in Martial Arts Tournaments. It’s true that he has competed in at least nine tournaments through Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, but out of the nine that he’s been in, he’s only won one – that one being against Piccolo. Having a 1-8 record in the world of Martial Arts isn’t something you’d want to brag about to your friends, but in Goku’s case he’s handling it quite well.
5. Goku Has The Lowest Kill-Count in DBZ!
With Goku being who he is when it comes to fights that could mean life or death for his home of Planet Earth, he always tries and gives his enemies a second chance to change their ways, no matter how nasty the crime was. This doesn’t mean that Goku won’t do whatever he has to do to protect the ones he loves, and he’s only had to do this twice against enemies Yakkon and Majin Buu (who became Uub later on).
4. His First Fight with Frieza Lasted Longer Than The First “Lord of the Rings”
Shout-out to all the Lord of the Rings fans out there. With everything we know about the iconic encounter/showdown between Goku and Frieza, the battle itself actually lasted longer than “five minutes” as Frieza had implied. Of course he had three other forms that gave Goku’s friends and Vegeta a hard time, so it only justifies as to why the final fight took as long as it did – and yet Frieza survived (until Trunks kills him later on).
3. Goku’s Greatest Threat…is Needles?!
Yep, you’ve heard it from us. The strongest saiyan warrior on Earth is afraid of needles, so you don’t have to worry about being the only one who is. Back in the earlier episodes of DBZ, there was a comedic gag where Goku has a fear of needles as well as being injected. Can you imagine what his battle against Cell would have been like had this gag kept going? What’s that? You can’t even? Us too! XP
2. Goku Was An Advertiser For…KFC?
Advertising and promoting are crucial when it comes to anything in the media and entertainment industry – especially anime. For DBZ fans in both the East and West there’s always promos and ads going on about a new series or movie. One bizarre way Goku has been advertised was the time he used KFC as a way to promote the Battle of Gods movie that came out a few years ago. Although a crossover between the Colonel and Goku seems great in theory, it reinforces the fact that saiyans have a hardy appetite.
1. Goku Used The Kamehameha Wave 97 Times in DB and DBZ!
We all know that the Kamehameha Wave is the signature attack of Son Goku taught to him by Master Roshi, however its not the kind of attack that he just whips out once in a blue moon. The K-Wave has been used close to (if not already) 100 times if you throw some Dragon Ball Super episodes in there; making it one K-Wave every five episodes. He’s killed some fearsome enemies with this legendary move, so it’s only natural to the anime and its fanbase that this is the go-to move for the Earth-born saiyan.
There’s other facts and secrets about Son Goku that many of us know, and some of us don’t. Nevertheless he’s a seemingly clueless fighter who has saved the world from powerful threats at least a dozen times. That’s all we’ve got for this post as well as this week, but next week we’ve got more awesome posts and updates including a new convention highlight video that will be coming soon!
Until next time, stay gold! ๐
3 Things To Look For When Buying Anime Merch At a Con!
Being an anime fan these days means more than just watching/streaming titles on a computer or a laptop. In the modern day era we’ve been blessed with not just awesome people who voice the very characters that we’ve come to know and love, but to see those very same people at the conventions that we spend over six months saving up for. Since the 90’s the anime convention circuit has been one of the greatest destinations for anime fans to come together, and one of the first places that many fans head to, is the Dealer’s Room.
When it comes to this particular area of the convention, you’ll find a large assortment of anime DVDs, manga, T-shirts, apparel, figures from the shows, and more! Now before you reach into that FLCL wallet that you have conveniently tucked away in your back pocket, there’s a few tips about Dealer’s Room shopping that we’d like to share with you.
Tip #1: Do A Little ‘Window Shopping’
Dealer’s Rooms have tons of vendors with both official and fan-made merchandise from various anime titles. However after chucking out money for the hotel, your badge, and (possibly) your mode of transportation, your wallet will make you real selective about the kind of anime merch that you want to buy. If you’re a first-time con goer and you have no idea of what you want to by at the Dealer’s Room, shop around for a bit and look for deals that’ll give you more ‘bang’ for your buck! Don’t make an impulse buy on a particular item just because you’ve seen it on a recent episode, because you might find that same item for a whole lot less either online, at a store, or at another convention.
Tip #2: Compare Merch Prices From Different Tables in the Dealer’s Room
If you managed to find the items you want to buy in the Dealer’s Room, it never hurts to look around some more until you find another table with the same items. Once you do, compare the prices of the items on the two tables. If the prices of the items is lower at one table than the other, then your best bet is to buy from that table. Different vendors sometimes sell the same items for less than the competition, but that depends on the convention itself. At smaller hotel-based cons you can find some really cool merch at some rather reasonable prices, which brings us to our third and final tip…
Tip #3: If You’re Hunting For Deals, Sunday is the Best Day
On the last day of the con, everything in the Dealer’s Room drops between 50-70% off. This is really good for fans who want to score some good deals on some merch, however the only thing about shopping on Sundays is the fact that you run the risk of losing out on something that you really wanted. (But that all depends on the fan as well as the convention.)
Types of merch like DVD/Blu-Ray box sets or props are at their highest prices on Fridays and Saturdays, but on Sundays you’ll find them marked down to almost 60% of their originally priced value. If you’re looking to save money or if you brought less than $100 in merch funds with you, then Sunday may be your best bet for buying anything from the Dealer’s Room.
Hopefully these three tips will aid you in searching for some good quality merch at great prices while at the convention’s Dealer’s Room. They may also make you more aware of what you’re getting (money-wise) depending on what you want. Every con’s Dealer’s room is different; meaning that prices found at one con’s Dealer’s Room, will either be higher or lower than the other.
That will do it for this post, but if you have any Dealer’s Room stories or experiences to share, you can post them in the comment section below.
Until next time, stay gold! ๐
Anime Cons: October 2018 Edition (Part 2)
It’s the second Monday of October, which means another weekend filled with anime conventions in various states and places of the world. Tonight we’re wrapping up our October edition of the locations/areas of anime conventions in, and near where you live. If you live in or near the Southwest and Westbound areas of the United States, then you’re in luck! There are some awesome anime conventions that will be happening there, so if you’ve got the time (and money) be sure to check them out! Until next post anime guys n’ gals! ๐
D&A Anime Blog: October Anime Cons (Part 1 of 2)!!
It’s the tenth month of the 2018 year, and there are still so many cons out there left to go to and check out! As always D&A’s got you covered on the convention front with new and exciting cons that are in your area and region. For this post we’ve got cons in the Northeast, Northwest, Westbound, and Southbound areas of the U.S. so if you live out there, check em’ out! That’s all we’ve got for this post for now, but there’s more to come next week on the blog! You can also check out our Twitter page for any incoming updates about our plans for next year, and more. Until next post my friends! ๐
D&A Anime Blog: Plans & Announcements For 2019!!
January 11, 2016 was the day that our baby was born. Back then we were just two guys who loved anime and manga, went to cons in the Baltimore area, and have kindled a 15+ year friendship. Originally the blog was just going to be a digital photo album area, where we would post our pictures with all of the cosplayers we’ve taken pictures with at anime and comic book conventions. Now with our baby turning three next January, we plan on expanding our online (and hopefully offline) presence with our fans, voice actors, and anime distribution companies.
So far one of the newest blog updates we have is the fact that we’ll be going Premium on January 11, 2019 (our 3-year anniversary date). We also mentioned that we now have a title for our official subreddit page called Otaku Outlook, which will feature posts about various topics surrounding the anime community, and the anime industry. Since its been a bit of a struggle on how we were going to deliver our fanfiction segment to you guys, we’ve decided to restart that in January 2019. Our first fanfiction title is a crossover one; featuring characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt series called Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt: Sonic Fury.
Aside from those updates and announcements our music segment where we feature original DJ tracks and mixes from Enzo Blackjack (D.J. Lewis), will make its debut on January 19, 2019. We know that our videos have been a little scarce in the last several months due to the heavy responsibilities of life, but we do have something that we’re currently working on at the moment that will be revealed in due time.
That’s all we’ve got for announcements and updates for the moment, but should anything else come up be sure to swing back here for the info. If you have any questions let us know on our Contact Us page section of the blog. Until then guys n’ gals, keep making D&A a part of you, and we’ll make you a part of us! ๐
D&A Anime Blog 