Japanfest Atlanta 2010

There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of Anime Weekend Atlanta 2010, I have decided to attend Japanfest 2010. After my mother and I read through the details of this event, I spent some time talking Dezi into attending as well.

JapanFest Weekend will be held on September 18-19, 2010, from 10 am to 6 pm (Saturday) and 10 am to 5 pm (Sunday) at the Convention Center at Gwinnett Center (located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097). Tickets are $8 (free for kids 6 and under) and can be purchased at the door.

JapanFest, now in its 24th year, is the largest Japanese festival east of Houston and south of Washington, DC, and typically draws crowds exceeding 18,000. Organized by The Japan-America Society of Georgia, The Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, and the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, JapanFest is designed to promote understanding between Japanese and Americans in the Southeast.

- Japanfest Official Site

In light of this year's theme, "Discover Japan," It was much easier for me to make a final decision on what I would wear this convention season, and the choice is... a Yukata, a Japanese summer cotton kimono! Sadly, not the kimono I wished to save enough to buy, seeing as there is just no way to get it in time for the festival. Instead, my father and I bought the materials needed for me to sew my very own Yukata just yesterday.

Wish me luck!

The GazettE - "SHIVER"

Japanese Visual Kei rock band, The GazettE's, newest single, "SHIVER", was released July 21,2010, and was selected as the opening theme for Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) 2.

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) 2

Or "Kuroshitsuji Sidestory," as I like to call it. This season of Kuroshitsuji shys away from the manga's original plot sequence even more so than the last, and introduces a new master and butler, as well as another staff of servants in their stead.

Picture - Claude Faustus (Left) and Alois Trancy (Right)

Taking place three months after the climax of the last Season, Kuroshitsuj 2 follows the young head of the Trancy household, Alois Trancy. A boy who, much like Ciel Phantomhive, disappeared from his home under mysterious circumstances several years prior to the story, and returned with a mysterious man clad head to foot in black.

His new butler, Claude Faustus, is a demon who assumes the form of a spider and, unlike Sebastian Michaelis, seems very boastful with his supernatural talents as the Trancy butler, yet overall cold and emotionless.

Shortly after his disappearance, Alois' mother is said to have taken her own life. Thus she never lived to see his return. However, his father expired soon after Alois was recovered. The actual circumstances behind the demise of Alois' predecessors has yet to be explored, though Alois himself has stated that his own father was responsible for "rescuing" him from his captors. If so, just what role does the demon play, and what is the nature of the contract that exists between them?

The Series' cast includes recurring characters we know and love from the previous installment, and the new servants of the Trancy household. Hannah Anafeloz, the timid and mysterious maid clad in shades of purple and white, who seems utterly terrified of her young master, and Thompson, Canterbury, and Timber. The triplets who assume the positions of Gardener, Steward, and Cook resepectively. Like Claude, they rarely engage in regular conversation, and if they do speak, the viewer does not hear.

In his home, Trancy is addressed as "Your Majesty," rather than, "Young Master," and the overall atmosphere is darker in comparison to that of the house of Phantomhive.

Somehow the destinys of both Alois Trancy and Ciel Phantonhive are related, and their ultimate fates, or the meaning of their meeting each other in the first place is already a promising adventure in Kuroshitsuji 2!

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) 2 premiered July 1, 2010.

Anime Weekend Atlanta 2010 - Cosplay Ideas Part 3.

This is "Lalah Sune." A supporting character from "Mobile Suit Gundam," Created by Sunrise Studio's Yoshiyuki Tomino, and the very first series that started the Gundam franchise in 1979.

She is one of several possible cosplay arrangments I have in mind for Anime Weekend Atlanta this September, and quite possibly the one I may ultimately choose. Her overall design seems pretty simple, accept for her eyes, a brilliant shade of sea foam green.

Anime Weekend Atlanta 2010 - Cosplay Ideas Part 2.

No, I am very serious... I may attend AWA as a dearly beloved Pikachu! Lady Dezi is already prepared to make her own poke ball!

The above tutorial was put together and origionally posted by "Secret life of a bio nerd."
You can find this, and more D.I.Y. episodes at Threadbanger.

Anime Weekend Atlanta 2010 - Cosplay Ideas Part 1.

This Sapphire Shrysanthemum Gothic Wa lolita Kimono ensemble from FanplusFriend Garden is my first choice of attire for Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) this Fall. It costs quite a pretty penny... actually, a whole bunch of "pretty pennies" I do not have right now, but experience has already taught me not to go on without not one, not two, but a series of backups! Its good to be double or triple prepared for an unexpected disappointment, or a last minute disaster, but I still hope to save enough to get that dress by the end of this Month!

Please check back for later posts related to Gothic Lolita Fashion, and Japanese fashion links!