Category Archives: Young-at-Heart

things normal people think that only kids would like …

9th Anniversary of Philippine Ragnarok Online ! ! !

Posted by Meiko on

My little sister and I were very visible since we’re on the front row. ANG SAYAAAA!!!

I thought that we were unfortunate because we failed to acquire premium passes for Cosmania 2012. As it turned out, it was actually a blessing-in-disguise!

The 9th Anniversary of Philippine Ragnarok Online fell on the same date as Cosmania’s. Level Up Games announced that KAMIKAZEE would be performing too so I knew that I SHOULD NOT MISS IT!

I am so glad that I did what my gut told me to do. I did not regret every single second (and cent) I spent on this event!!!

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VocaFusion 2012 . . .

Posted by Meiko on

Love is War

My youngest sister had been bugging me since March 2012 about a Vocaloid-themed convention which she desperately wanted to attend. She was so excited that she asked me to buy tickets a few days after pre-sold ones were available — and because of that, we officially became Guests #1 and #2!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Comfort

Posted by Meiko on
“Words of comfort, skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man.” — Louis Nizer

These are two of my favorite teddy bears — Huggin and Thuggles. I always keep them beside my bed. Huggin is a big teddy which was a gift from my boyfriend on Valentine’s Day of 2011. “Huggin” was derived from Lots-O’-Huggin‘ Bear. Thuggles “The Angry Teddy Bear” was a birthday present from by boyfriend in 2007. He always has that feisty look due to the overlapping fur on his eyes. ♥

Camera used: my Epiphany

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This is my entry for this week’s photo challenge theme. [link] 

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Best of Animé 2011 [Day 2] . . .

Posted by Meiko on

I only visit conventions once in a while and I have to have a good reason before doing such.

My original plan was to meetup with a cosplay-buddy to get my commissioned items but since he had personal things to take care of then our meetup was cancelled. Still, I decided to go because I also promised my little sister that I would accompany her in looking for the manga  that she wanted. I also thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to search for Gothic pendants which are very elusive in regular stores.

MOA is a relatively large place and I don’t frequently go there so I get lost easily. It’s a good thing that I know and I had spotted the right people to follow —- the nerds! We followed their lead without them noticing and after a few minutes, we were already in front of SMX. LoL!

I was surprised that the hall was quite empty even though it’s the middle of the day. The first thing that we did was roam around and looked for manga. Unfortunately, there was none. We only found magazines, pirated DVDs and other customized memorabilia. The only booth that had manga was that of Japan Foundation. My little sister decided to stay there while I roam around some more.

The shops that had a wide variety of merchandise truly caught my attention. I bought a nice Harajuku polo from Sugarfree and Blue. I’ll wear it the next time I attend a convention. It was also nice seeing the Gothic and Lolita communities broadening in the country. I also bought a cross pendant and a customized mug.

I didn’t bother taking photos of cosplayers because they didn’t appeal much to me. I did spend time taking photographs of figma and nendroids, though.

figma from: http://teamoniichan.com/2011/09/19/team-onii-chan-at-the-best-of-anime-2011-day-2/

MMORPG that I play / played ~ ~ ~ (Part 5)

Posted by Meiko on

Playing MMORPGs is one of my stress-relievers. I have been on hiatus for quite sometime due to my busy schedule but I still get to play once in a while.

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ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Dawn of the Enlightened Ones ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Dawn of the Enlightened Ones ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

Philippine Ragnarok Online [Valkyrie Server]

One of the best-striving MMORPGs locally is pRO and I believe this is due to the game’s features and community. This is still my most favorite among the lot.

Dada and I went back when the Renewal job classes were introduced.

Leveling up was a lot easier than its glory days and we obtained the 3rd jobs in just two months! This is due to the daily quests in Alberta and the mod-EXP provided by the game publisher. I surpassed Danaera’s level in a small amount of time!

Although, i did not have as much fun as I had before. Apart from attaining the Arch Bishop class and trying out new skills, most of the stuff I found there are the same.

I decided to quit the game — again.

Related Posts:
Transcending to Renewal ! ! !
MMORPG That I play/played (Part 1) ! ! !

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Arisen - Moonshadow

Allods Online [link]

Moonshadow is an Arisen Savant who can be a DPS or a Healer depending on the situation. She is always seen with her trusted pet, Hellion.

I’ve been fascinated with summoners since I was in grade school. So, when there’s an MMORPG with such class, this always becomes one of my choices (with being the Support: Cleric/Priest/Healer as the first option).

The Summoner class is versatile and is a good support character in the absence of a Healer. Since Allods’ gameplay is much like World of Warcraft‘s (wherein players are better off questing than grinding; and that quests are done alone most of the time) then I knew I should pick a character that can both do damage (when questing) and heal (when raiding).

I stopped playing because my old PC could not handle the graphics — that and the fact that the game was quite dull.

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Kindred Mage

Forsaken World [link]
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This game is a mix of WoW, Rappelz and Cabal Online.
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The graphics are awesome to behold — especially the Vampire classes. The avatars are sexy, showing plenty of skin and the costumes are very intricate. The skills are super flashy too!
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Quests are brutally long, tedious and repetitive. The maps are so big that mounts and warps become requirements in order to jump from one place to another.
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The pets look horrible as well.
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I didn’t last a week in playing this game.
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Eden Eternal - Shaman

Eden Eternal [link]
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Eden Eternal is like the cute-sy version of World of Warcraft (most of the games are patterned after WoW anyway). Quests, items, equipment, achievements and instances are identical in presentation.
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One feature of EE is the versatility of the characters. A player can change job classes whenever needed and there is no penalty in doing so.
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My main character is a Healer, but she can turn into a Warrior or a Ranger when the situation calls for it. LoL!
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Although, like most of the games I tried, we reached a point wherein boredom kicked in —- normally after we reached a certain level and got stuck at a dungeon.
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MMORPG that I play / played ~ ~ ~ (Part 1), (Part2), (Part3), (Part4), (Part5)

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5th TAGCOM (Toys & Hobbies Convention) ! ! !

Posted by Meiko on

Events photography sure isn’t simple. This is definitely not my forte. Aside from the fact that I lack the proper tools (and skills), I also had to constantly request for the cosplayers to pose and then compete with other photographers in getting the shots I wanted. Unfortunately, I was also wearing wedges so I couldn’t walk too much.

Lookie! Epiphany has a tissue wrapped on the built-in flash. LoL! Lawrence said tissues are used as "diffusers" and I was amazed because it did work wonders. LoL!

Anyway, it was still nice seeing my cosplay and my photographer friends. Lawrence gave me useful tips and Erving lent me his camera accessories. Jeiro and Lora also attended the event and I was impressed on how intricate their costumes were. I was kinda surprised too that they still recognized me despite the fact that I’ve gained much weight and I have bangs. LoL!

Some of the cosplayers who attended the 5th TAGCOM.

I only took shots of the cosplayers that caught my attention and there’s just a few of them (some are not included here). I also got disappointed with the quality of the photos I was producing — maybe because I wasn’t putting my heart into it.

Steady ... steady ... steady ... AAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!!

I just roamed around the convention area to ease my frustrations — I felt a bit better but my feet were starting to burn!

The convention area was so small yet it's jam-packed with cosplayers, hobbyists, otaku and their chaperons.

I was eying on a Lolita shop near the stage but I got irritated when I found out how poorly-made the products were. Those people have even sewn ruffles on the edges of the cheap umbrellas to imitate parasols. Blergh!

The booth that caught my interest was The Keybie Café. It had numerous chibi renditions of animé characters. I bought four cellphone-chains which were P50 a piece.

The Keybie Café. The lady there was kind enough and she allowed me to take photos of her booth.

Jeiro, Lora, Lawrence and I held a mini-photoshoot right after the catwalk. We found a nice spot just a few meters away from Marks & Spencer and there was a wall with glowing yellow-green lights.

Lora as the "Lunatic Queen" and Jeiro as "Elisabeth" (Pullip dolls)

The aura suddenly changed when we had the entire space for ourselves. I was able to produce decent photographs with the help of Lawrence and the lights. We then decided to hold a more formal photoshoot soon. Tee-hee~ ♥

I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS WITHOUT PICTURES ! ! !

Posted by Meiko on
One of the things that I regret is my being an otaku. I’ve either thrown or given away most of my comic books and art books but I kept a select few since they are of most value (for me).

Culture Crash is one of the first (if not the first) successful animé-style comic book published locally. It's a downer that they discontinued publishing due to lack of funds. My favorites are "Cat's Trail" and "One Day Isang Diwa". I've collected Volumes 1-15. Vol1 is missing from the photo since someone borrowed but never returned it. Vol 5.5 was signed by Michael V and the whole CC crew.

I was addicted to RAGNARÖK, a MMORPG based on this manhwa (Korean comics). That addiction also led to my desire of reading the story behind that game. My ex-boyfriend gave me Volumes 1-8 (TokyoPop print). When our relationship ended, I bought Volumes 9-10 (locally printed). LoL! Myoung-Jin Lee discontinued publishing the manhwa since he concentrated on creating artworks for the game. Boohoo~

RAGNARÖK FANART COLLECTION VOL.1 :: This is one of my most-prized possessions because... (1) This is one of the prizes I got for winning the "War of Emperium" fanart contest (2) This was signed by Myoung-Jin Lee (creator of the manhwa and one of my favorite artists) (3) This is me blowing a raspberry at Alodia and friend who kept mocking my artwork but didn't win hehe~ >:)

Juicy contents~! I envy those people whose artworks got published T_T

When Central Comic Headquarters (CCHQ) opened, I just knew that I needed to check the titles that they have. I was supposed to get Weiß Kreuz art books but they were so expensive so I settled for Valkyrie Profile. These are original manga based on the game of the same title. It only has two volumes and a lot of characters from the game are missing. Regardless, the story was captured and the artwork is superb!

Before we moved out from Caloocan, one of my childhood buddies gave me a BETTY AND VERONICA comic book (that's the crumpled one on the upper left). After that, I started collecting some more copies. Although, I didn't really like it that much since it's all comedy and lacked substance.

The DARKMINDS comics were lent to me by my late James-sempai (first ever local Lupin cosplayer). I never had a chance to return these to him since he was murdered in UP Diliman. I keep these with me as a memento that there was once a devoted otaku who treated me like his beloved little sister.

I was once a collector of QUESTOR. However, I found the Internet much more useful and much cheaper than buying a printed medium. I'm only keeping this copy since it has the editors' signatures and Weiß Kreuz was their featured animé.

RPG : Metanoia . . .

Posted by Meiko on

Go figure what job classes these guys have. LoL!

MMORPGs have become one of the most prominent computer games and people of all ages are addicted to them — playing hours on end just to gain experience points, level up and obtain powerful items.

Meet Nico, an average kid who pwns in an MMORPG called “Metanoia” but fails in real life. His avatar (in-game character), aptly named “Zero”,  uses a Yo-yo that allows him to make mid-range to long-range attacks.

One Summer day, a “World War” tournament was announced so Nico and his friends formed a party with hopes of winning (I remembered the stupidity of Leroy Jenkins while I was watching the PvP scenes). After the event, they realized that there’s so much more interactive games to enjoy in the real world than just immersing themselves in the virtual world.

During their absence in Metanoia, a great catastrophe unfolded (similar to a zombie apocalypse). It not only controlled the avatars but  it also hypnotized the gamers. It’s up to Nico, his friends and the rest of the Metanoia players to reverse the spread and destroy its source.

~o~o~o ஜ۩۞۩ஜ o~o~o~

RPG:Metanoia is the first ever full-length 3D feature film in the Philippines, which took about four years to complete. Because of this, the movie has received both positive and negative feedback from its audience.

۞ The Good ۞

A breakthrough movie experience. Something fresh, something original (locally, that is). Unlike the recycled and never-ending “Part 1″ to “Part N” of those usual Manila Film Fest entries.

Cultural nostalgia. From houses to the vehicles; from the contents of our rooms to the food we eat; from our friends to the games we played together as kids. The writers and animators have indeed captured these elements.

Bad-ass characters. The one who really caught my attention was Mang Ernie, the Magician. He’s the guy wearing the top hat, barong and carrying an umbrella. They cooked up a nice concept for him. He’s PWNING! I won’t spoil further. Aside from him, there’s also the Monk-type “K’mao” (derived from “Kamao” or fist) and Sumpak the sort-of Gundam HeavyArms of the group. The foreign dudes and dudettes are also cool.

Virtual worlds. They’re not as detailed on textures as most commercial MMORPGs but they will pass. Lighting played a good part as well.

Story. it’s actually a mix of the positives and negatives. Some of the comical parts or jokes are corny and old. The moral values that this film implies are also old, but are told in a different manner that’s why i consider it as a good trick. If the people watching know nothing about MMORPGs, they will most likely get lost between the “switching of worlds” but for those who have little or extensive knowledge on online games (like me), they may appreciate this film better.

۞ The Bad ۞

Voice acting. Our celebrities still need to learn a lot regarding this field. im not sure if it’s a requirement for the voice actors to be “famous” and all, but if it wasn’t a necessity, they could’ve auditioned other worthy people who can do much better — for a lesser fee, I bet.

Subtitles. There were instances when subtitles were needed (not gonna spoil further). Considering that this is a local film which is obviously meant for local viewers and the dialogues were in Tagalog, why were the subtitles in English?

Audience impact. Again, if the people watching know nothing about MMORPGs, they will most likely get lost between the “switching of worlds” … This is also one reason why other MMFF entries are jam-packed with movie-goers whereas sa movie house showing Metanoia, one can practically run around because not too many people were watching. It is possible that this film’s gross revenue will not be that high.

۞ The Ugly ۞

Frame rate. RPG is an action-packed film. Choppy or skipping frames kill much of the hype and stress the eyes. Granted that this is our first local 3D film but c’mon… in 1995, PIXAR already established fluidity in Toy Story. Even the local commercials with 3D rendering look much smoother than this. According to some viewers, only the scenes in Metanoia had poor FPS whereas it’s pretty fluid in the real world. Film experts said this is a “creative decision” to differentiate what is real and what is not; and, give an idea on what it’s like to play an MMORPG when your PC cannot handle the graphics. LoL! IMHO, that has to be the DUMBEST “creative decision” because not everyone can understand the technicalities these filmmakers are trying to convey.

~o~o~o ஜ۩۞۩ஜ o~o~o~

This will be the one and only local film I’ll be watching this year, and that’s only because I got curious as to what this movie had to offer a gamer and an animation fan such as myself.

Regarding purchasing a DVD in the future, they can forget about it because I am certainly not buying it.

I give this movie :