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the other way around

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Double Fine employees Jeremy Natividad and Brent Shinn (who drew my avatar!)

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w o m e n

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Free-to-play versions of some of Falcoms games were apparently released in South Korea as part of a service called FROG in the 2000s. The way it worked was that players would watch ads that periodically popped up during loading screens. Pretty funny to see in action.

I got the video from this 4Gamer article talking about the service in 2007.

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A cool two-page advertisement for the original Japanese release of 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on the Nintendo DS. Taken from the January 2010 issue of Dengeki Games.

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Where have I been?

This year's been unusually quiet for me, hasn't it?

Found some of my fanarts edited with the watermarks and signatures removed without my permission floating around on the internet. Not the first time it happens, but I cannot get used to it and I don't feel like sharing what I do anymore. Going on a wild goose chase across all sorts of obscure websites seems like a waste of my time; it's not worth the bother and it's not like my income is being negatively impacted by this anyways. I'd rather cut the supply chain and save on aspirins.

I tried moving on to different concepts and original ideas and I hated everything I was making.

I've barely drawn anything during the last couple of months, instead I've been focusing on furthering my career. I grew tired of the dull routine and giving my all in a position that, in the end, is disposable and easily replaceable. Technology is going to run me over if I don't adapt and quick.

Oddly enough, this new career path is fulfilling the same creative needs as drawing does and I find myself dedicating the same inhumane amount of hours to my studies without it feeling like a chore. I do hope this spark will transfer to my actual work once I get the promotion, because if it's anything like drawing, chances are I'll hate it the moment I'm told what to do and all the creative freedom is taken away.

Time will tell.

Thank you for sticking around in this rather unproductive year, I'll force myself to post the next half-decent thing I make, whenever that happens. If you're fed up with waiting and wish to move on, no hard feelings and thank you again for dedicating a few seconds of your day to looking at my dumb doodles, it means the world.

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The Hundred Line - Famitsu interview June 19th 2024

What does the title Hundred Line mean?

Kodaka: The simplest way to describe this game is: student have to live together in a school while fighting to survive 100 days. This "100 days" timeframe became a major keyword, so we decided to express it through the title The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy.

The game has been described as "a tale of extreme x despair produced by the creators of Danganronpa". This "extreme x despair" keyword reminds me of the Concept Art 1 presented September 2018 at the announcement of Too Kyo Games. Caption: Extreme x Despair. A game co-written by Kodaka and Uchikoshi!

Kodaka: As you can imagine, this is the game from Concept Art 1. We finally managed to announce, but at first, The Hundred Line was developed as Too Kyo's first original IP. However, our company isn't capable of self-publishing, so now we're working with Aniplex, on a half-half split on production costs.

When did development start?

Kodaka: Since we founded Too Kyo Games (2017), so that has been 6 or 7 years. At first, Uchikoshi and I partnered with another major publisher to release our game, but unfortunately, the project was canceled...

In a previous interview, you mentioned a title not coming out as planned, but I didn't think you mean an actual cancellation...

Kodaka: I have so much I could talk about on this one, but I don't think the first talk about this game should be about what went wrong, so how about we save it for another day? Haha. Although The Hundred Line's project was canceled for a while, now, after finding what we needed to make it a good game, we rebranded it and restarted our whole internal development cycle.

We were initially fine with it being indie-sized, but as the story and character designs were getting polished, and the concept gained a more solid form, we started thinking we couldn't make our ideal game unless we went bigger. Determined to put our hand to the test... we took a loan.

A loan!?

Kodaka: It wasn't guaranteed that we'd have the working capital to maintain our enlarged development scope even if we sold all of our stocks. We advanced the production with the phantom of debt on our necks while we searched for a new publisher, and that's where I met Aniplex and smoothly sold our pitch.

However, since this game has simulation RPG sections, they said that'd need a third-party developer. For that, they introduced us to the accomplished Media Vision and had them join the dev team. We're also cooperating with Jet Studio, who worked with us before in Danganronpa and Rain Code.

After all that it took to get this game to a presentable state, we of Too Kyo Games consider it a proud symbol of our persistence, or better yet, the culmination and conclusion to the current stage of our careers.

Staking your life on your work has never been so literal...

Kodaka: True, if this game flops, we won't be able to pay our debt. In that sense, this also provides a rare opportunity to the playerbase too. They get to witness how much a single title's sales can influence the future of a creator and company.

That's not the kind of suspense I want as a game fan, haha. Still, with six years of development, is it safe to assume you've been through a fair share of hardships?

Kodaka: I did. That was my first time dealing with a full cancellation. Also, to enable to Too Kyo to continue its work, to partner up with a new publisher, etc, we couldn't continue the development in the direction we were before. We needed to restart on our semi-complete project, and that's already painful labor in itself.

In terms of creative workload, I can't say I was much busier than I was in the Danganronpa V3 days, having to work in the game and the anime at the same time, but in this situation, aside from my directing, writing, and screen composition duties, I'm also Too Kyo Games's president and producer, meaning I have more work outside my craftsmanship... Making the game and managing the funds at the same time would have given most people a mental breakdown (laughs).

It was mentally and financially taxing, but I don't think I'll ever get another opportunity to pour this level of effort into making a game happen. Putting my life on the line was a very valuable experience.

You mean to say you can feel Too Kyo Games's entire soul in the game? On another note, I couldn't find any of the characters from the concept art in the new key visual or the screenshots. Does the restart mean that those characters got shelved?

Kodaka: The game's general concept is still the same, but to put a new, clean start on it, we changed a few things completely. One of them being the character designs. But despite their changed appearances, they maintain the characterization of their predecessors, so you'll see characters similar to what those would have been.

However, the old politician you see in the upper left corner won't be in the game (laughs). He's a character Komatsuzaki made up on the spot for this illustration, so I know as much about who he is as you do. He's doomed to disappear shrouded in mystery.

(laughs) By the way, considering how The Hundred Line is "the tale of extreme x despair", I'm curious about how this keyword "despair" relates to Danganronpa.

Kodaka: The tagline "tale of extreme x despair" is to signify that this is the first game Uchikoshi and I are directing together. It has nothing to do with Danganronpa, but it is a game made leveraging all of my previous experiences. With that plus Komatsuzaki's and Takada's involvement, I consider it a spiritual successor to Danganronpa.

Who from the main Too Kyo Games roster is working in this and what are their roles?

Kodaka: Uchikoshi and I are splitting the directing and writing work, Komatsuzaki is on the character design, Shimadrill is doing the enemy design and the backgrounds, and Takada is in charge of the soundtrack. Also, Uchikoshi and I do screen composition for the scenes we write.

I didn't think I'd have to do the screen composition job here myself, but I'm the best at handling Komatsuzaki's art and Takada's music, so that job is dumped on me. I got a lot of material to work with. Maybe more expression options than Yuma had in Rain Code.

The Danganronpa series also had me personally choosing faces and soundtrack one by one, so I hope the fans of that series enjoy the familiar vibes in the visual novel sections.

The new announcement came with a key visual. Are these characters in uniforms going to be the main cast?

Kodaka: Yes. They're the students of Last Defense Academy and are living in the school for unknown reasons. The students have special powers called Hemoanimas. They normally have their own sets of clothes, but upon activating their Hemoanima, they change into this uniform and fight against their enemies.

Is the white character a mascot?

Kodaka: Yes. He's the squad coordinator character. So his name is just SIREI, from shireikan; commander. By the way, SIREI is the reincarnation of the raccoon illustrated in the key visual. Both forms of this character were designed by Komatsuzaki. I pointed him in a general direction I wanted but overall let him do whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, the students followed the usual process going through a lot of back-and-forth until their completion.

In Danganronpa, their designs reflected their Super High School Level talents. Does The Hundred Line have any kind of keyword or characterization element that informed their designs in the same way the Super High School Level talents did?

Kodaka: Each student masters a different Unique Subject and has a different weapon of choice. That's what their designs mainly reflect. I'll talk more about Unique Subjects and weapons of choice later.

I'm looking forward to the update. Next question. Danganronpa and Rain Code had all-star casts of voice actors. I have expectations for The Hundred Line's cast.

Kodaka: Unfortunately, I can't reveal the actors at the moment, but I will say half of them have performed in previous Kodaka or Uchikoshi game and the other half is people we're both meeting for the first time. But look forward to it, it's going to be as all-star as any previous game. I know the released PV is voiced by the protagonist, but who is voicing him is still confidential.

Will the creatures depicted flying above the main characters be enemies?

Kodaka: Correct. The enemies are unknown entities attacking the school. They're called School Invaders. If you take a really close look at the key visual, you may notice the academy is protected by a pink flame. That's called the Unextinguishable Flame and that's what prevents the School Invaders from attacking 24/7.

When the School Invaders get past the Unextinguishable Flame, the students will need to repel them. The students aren't informed about the academy's or the unextinguishable flame's secrets, nor they know why the School Invaders are attacking. The story progresses as they fight School Invaders day by day unaware of their circumstances.

Do you have anything noteworthy to say about your interactions with Shimadrill regarding his work designing the enemies?

Kodaka: My priority for the character design of the weaker School Invaders was that they had venomous pop aesthetics. At my first discussion with Shimadrill, we arrived at the idea of making their designs intentionally similar to the monsters of a famous game franchise, but we changed plans along the way. Ultimately, we got likable enemies with that pop aesthetic.

Playing aggressively even on the designs, huh? That's the Too Kyo Games I know.

Kodaka: We changed our aim because copying designs was a really bad idea we took too far. Our mindset at the time is that, true to Too Kyo's name, we wanted to make a game that was indeed too crazy. Too Kyo Games is a company that prides itself on its writing, designs, and music.

However, compliance is a lot more important nowadays, so there's a lot more we need to keep in mind. We were defanged by the corporate structure of our partner for the cancelled version of the game. Depictions of violence and dirty jokes that were acceptable in our previous works weren't fine with them. We had to be on our best behavior to adhere to their compliance demands.

Now that I got to remake the game as something else, I can see that not releasing it on its previous state was for the best. Because I couldn't express my strengths in full there.

The Hundred Line was my first collaborative work with Uchikoshi and our first original IP. Making a game that's simply good wouldn't be enough. There'd be no point in starting this over if we couldn't go all-out. We developed The Hundred Line determined to make a game someone with good sense couldn't make. A title to be considered a product of deranged minds. In the sense, we were very lucky to land on a partnership with Aniplex.

Tell me more about what do you mean by "lucky" here.

Kodaka: To leverage the strengths of Too Kyo Games, we're writing a very controversial narrative. Aniplex is being thankfully quite flexible with what we're allowed to depict, as they understand our fortes and respect our vision. For that reason, Uchikoshi and I were able to depict the crazy story we wanted to.

Kodaka, in a previous interview, you expressed determination toward making this game a story that make people question your sanity. A game people wouldn't expect to be possible to make. Would you say managed to fulfill this ambition?

Kodaka: I can't comment about the gimmick without getting into spoilers, so I have no plans to reveal the answer to this before the game's release. Playing the game for yourself should be enough to convey Too Kyo Games's outlandishness. I believe my reason to pair up with Uchikoshi will be equally evident, and it'll be easy to make sense of why this game needed multiple writers and recruiting new hires.

I know perfectly well this is a tasteless request, but can you drop a hint?

Kodaka: Fine, I'll tell you some details after the interview. You're allowed to address what I'll say in your opinion post (laughs).

I appreciate the gesture, but let's see if I'm up for the challenge (laughs)

Tell us what the general gameplay loop is like.

Kodaka: The Hundred Line follows a cycle of 3 parts: a visual novel section, an exploration section, and a simulation RPG section. I already explained at the opener that it's a game where you survive 100 days of combat, but that doesn't mean time will pass uneventfully.

Like in Danganronpa, something will happen each day, and you'll get chances to talk with your schoolmates and deepen your relationships. You'll get Free Time, you'll get training sessions to increase your stats, and you'll be able to get other power ups by sharpening your weapons. The goal in the visual novel and exploration sections is to enjoy life with your schoolmates while also preparing for the enemies that can appear at any moment.

Got it. Now explain the simulation RPG section too, please.

Kodaka: The simulation RPG section has tower defense elements. It's not just about defeating the enemies, you also have to fight defending the school. Also, since the School Invaders come in large flocks, the main gimmick here is that you need to fight on multiple grids of the board at the same time instead of taking it one grid at a time.

Our developer, Media Vision, has a lot of experience in simulation RPGs. We'll disclose more details about the gameplay later, but I'm glad they were able to come up with and implement hype combat ideas (such as unique traits and ultimate moves for each character) in a way that can satisfy the fans of the genre.

You mean to say the simulation RPG sections are going to be solid?

Kodaka: Correct. That said, a lot of people who buy my games are casual gamers, so I always put emphasis on ease of play.

Then first-time simulation RPG players will have nothing to worry about.

Kodaka: Another point of interest is Takada's soundtrack. I requested the battle BGM to have the intensity of an action game. It's inspired by technical rock bands from the 90s, mainly The Chemical Brothers and Boom Boom Satellites. The visual novel sections, on the other hand, have a more sci-fi-adjacent OST to match its strong sci-fi aesthetics.

Tell us a release date and the consoles.

Kodaka: Early 2025, Switch and Steam.

Less than a year before release. Do you think the team can make it?

Kodaka: We're still working on it, but I think we won't have to delay the release. To be honest, The Hundred Line is progressing faster than Rain Code was (laughs). Besides, Too Kyo Games can't afford to delay a game our creators are staking their lives on.

Messages to players and readers usually often saying things like "We're doing our best" or "Cheer for us", but for this title, I can't bring myself to be so casual about it. I feel like I'm issuing a challenge to the players here.

I have a marketing strategy to draw attention to the game, and I'm polishing it to make anyone who buys it say it's a good game, so I'm feeling more of a "Just watch me!" or a "Wait until you see this thing released!" for a closing message.

Giant Kuroda's editorial comment

As outlandish as promised.

That's the interviewer's honest impression on what Kodaka told me about The Hundred Line's gimmick. I [Giant Kuroda] have been the Famitsu interviewer in charge of Danganronpa since Danganronpa 2. I interviewed him pre-release for a game launched in 2012, which means I've been talking to Kodaka for at least 12 years.

Kodaka and his art surprised me many times. In a good way.

Danganronpa 2's final boss. Danganronpa V3's first case culprit, finale, and the secret hidden in the title. Danganronpa 3 simultaneous broadcast of Side:Future and Side:Despair. Rain Code's first case...

The list could go on forever, but The Hundred Line's gimmick is more impactful than of those. I can't deliver a final judgement until I play the game for myself, but depending on what the game has to offer, it could be his uncontested best. That's how much potential I felt in that spoiler. I get the point of staking their lives on it now.

Also, in what's rare for a Kodaka title, the game will be allowed to be streamed relatively far into the story despite earlier spoilers (information subject to change). Kodaka's story-heavy games are a double-edged sword. It's possible for players to feel like they experienced enough by simply watching a Let's Play that spoils all the twists. However, I believe this game actually benefits from unrestricted streaming. But I can't say why. It's a spoiler...

At any rate, this game is Kodaka's and Uchikoshi's first collaborative story, and as Kodaka said, its narrative is a product of deranged minds. I wait with bated breath to the day I can finally play it, and also look forward to reading opinion posts about it online. You can get your hopes up, Kodaka and Uchikoshi fans.

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Dio for best dad ✌️✨ Gold giorno is jotvro White giorno is jojommds

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NYOHO~~ ft. jotvro as tht hot Johnny

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Beagle

Those with a beagle are inquisitive, focused, free spirits that enjoy being part of a tight group, yet still manage to be themselves. They may adhere to the rules of another for a time, but if they don’t like the situation then that likely won’t last long. Beagles just have to be themselves and there’s no one out there that can stop them permanently. Beagle people are enthusiastic about their hobbies and can be quite exciteable when the situation calls, but may have a tendancy of taking on more than they can deal with. While they can be wary of strangers, they will gladly do anything for someone they care about if it means making them happy. Like all dogs, they tend to be very kind, friendly, and loyal to those they love.

Beagles are hunting hounds bred primarily to help hunt small game, particularly rabbits. As such, they have excellent noses and have the common trait of “fixation” on a target or goal that many hunting breeds exhibit. They are smart and friendly dogs with few health issues, and are known to be vocal. There’s a known bit of humor about beagles wherein they are called “untrainable”. While this isn’t entirely accurate, they do indeed get easily distracted and will not stop until they have found the source of some interesting smell. They are gentle, active dogs that can get melancholy when alone, and are happiest when around family and friends.

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Via Amy Schley

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Final Response RE: Kansas City Debacle

This is the last thing I’m going to post regarding this whole drama llama. And this is one more post than I promised my boyfriend I would write, but I feel pretty bad some cosplayers got swindled out of a normal, quiet cosplay contest.

These FemmeDoc girls don’t deserve to be hated/called names. AT ALL. They certainly shouldn’t be put on a pedestal for standing up to the “professional” cosplayers, but they definitely do not deserve some of the shit I’m seeing around the nets. Knock it off.

There were two contests- one run by the con, and one produced by Syfy. The FemmeDocs were in the one produced by Syfy.

There are no rules stating that more experienced cosplayers couldn’t compete. There were no tiers, but I rarely see tiered competitions at smaller cons. There was also a group of Avengers in full on crazy-ass robotic suits that blasted music- should they be barred from competing as well?

Money wasn’t a thing. YOU GUYS are making money a thing. Holly was simply saying she’d put her own time/money/blood/sweat into the costume, that Syfy hadn’t paid for it. Judging someone for how much money they put into their costume, though, now that’s a dick move. Works both ways, guys.

I’m not saying all of the girls of the FemmeDocs group were in the wrong. We’d only been dealing with a few of them. One of them posted here and she seems quite sweet.

But I do have to respond to a few things in that:

The argument wasn’t scripted.

The “sorting out” ended in Hillary whispering to Jessica to “drop it” under her breath while faking a smile and hugs.

The “out-of-towner” bit was simply a replacement for the term “Syfy plant” because they can’t reference the show. To be honest, “out-of-towner” seems a bit less harsh.

Syfy’s presence at the convention was primarily at the contests (one of which Syfy had PUT ON) and perhaps at the panel where Jinyo proposed to Victoria. Not really much else.

I know we were all tired, and we were all cranky. Of course I’ll take that into account. I’m sorry our show descended upon your convention like a ravenous Kaiju, truly, I know no one asked for that. And I know at this point, a good portion of Tumblr probably thinks I’m a dick. But I just had to respond, because Holly and Jessica and Becky have suffered enough internet trollery bullshit after working their asses off, and I love them, and I want to protect them from the bad things. And these aren’t new issues for the community (assumptions, overly critical thinking, uncalled for judgement, harsh and catty comments, exclusion, etc). I worry about newcomers- ones with less access to resources or ones who are considered “privileged” or ones who have big boobies or ones who have big butts or ones who have eating disorders or ones who have purple hair or ones who prefer dogs to cats or ones who secretly enjoyed 50 Shades Of Gray not for the writing but for the experience.

Anyway, I’m going to get off Tumblr now and try to enjoy my birthday trip. No more responding, Chloe. NO MORE. STAHP.

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IN RESPONSE TO THIS POST: http://wow-lawbringer.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-life-as-villain-of-cosplay.html

What if I told you those judgmental Doctor Who cosplayers were plants? That Syfy told them they needed to cause drama with some of the cast so it would be a more interesting…

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IN RESPONSE TO THIS POST: http://wow-lawbringer.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-life-as-villain-of-cosplay.html

What if I told you those judgmental Doctor Who cosplayers were plants? That Syfy told them they needed to cause drama with some of the cast so it would be a more interesting competition?

That’s not true, but you’d believe me, wouldn’t you? Because guess what, you want to demonize a dumb reality show. It’s A REALITY SHOW. Not only that, but it’s a show that somehow manages to showcase both the negative AND positive sides of cosplay. None of that shit was scripted; Jessica and Riki were both sick out of their minds, Becky DID go to the hospital (in fact, you can see the producer in one of the shots). But also, Jesse and I won fair and square and had a blast doing it. Holly and Jessica did teach me how to work with foam. Monika and I bonded over all the exhaustion and misery and video games.

Look, guys. I would never stand by Syfy if they did something atrocious. I signed a contract, but that’s not signing away my soul.

Syfy didn’t tell the Doctor Who girls they needed to cause drama. It happened all by itself because of three things:

People don’t like things like TV shows invading their small community (understandable).

People don’t like when the odds are stacked against them in a way that feels unfair (though the cast entirely made their own costumes and paid for almost everything). Either way, they won something.

Cosplayers tend to tear down their own kind when they feel threatened. All people do. Especially the cosplay community, though, as I’ve noticed A LOT on Tumblr during the airing of this show.

Originally I wasn’t going to write up a post, but this has been building and building and I can’t stand it anymore. I was mad when it happened, and I’m mad now.

The way it started was that someone from the audience identified my friends as “Syfy plants”. I’ll let Jessica tell the story through a post she wrote up on our secret cast Facebook group. She didn’t intend for this to be seen by anyone, in fact, she wanted to let it go. But I’m not comfortable with this kind of bullshit. It’s takes A LOT to make me this upset, but these girls were cruel.

“The stuff that girl wrote when she was summarizing, not throwing around blame, was pretty accurate. Someone did shout something out from the audience. They cheered. I think Becky (?) asked them why they would cheer or something really Disney Princess and then that girl got all aggro and said that line that you can read her lips, ‘You’re not even from Kansas City’ and all the other things that she pointed out in her message. Holly mentioned that we spent [a buttload of money] shipping things here and that we worked really hard blah blah and they said they only go to one convention every year. Then I said Steven Moffat would be ashamed [that they were being so catty]. Then that’s when Holly said how dare they make this about not having fun and all that, then that’s when the mean girl did her hand thing. Then Becky was crying and Holly hugged her and we gave each other death glares for the rest of the night.

Then Chloe and I later had a really forced heart to heart with them which ended in a really forced group hug with the hand girl whispering, 'Just drop it’ in my ear." 

For the record, I had approached these ladies before the competition because I’m a huge Whovian and loved their cosplays. I complimented them, took pics with them, hung out with them. So since I’d bonded with them, I felt pretty hurt to see them turn on their fellow nerds. Especially my friends, who’d been through fucking HELL trying to get their costumes together in time, and Becky who’d all but lost her vision because she’d fallen asleep with contacts in (thanks to exhaustion).

So to those ladies trying to blame their BS on the show: You can’t edit something in that wasn’t said, and the show portrayed you just as you were. After the show, I started bawling, because it was devastating to me to see how these girls treated outsiders. To be fair, the severe lack of sleep and recovering from that week’s surgery didn’t help.

I hope you felt like a hero defending your con- because you did to us what we all fear the most. You singled us out and turned us into outcasts… The opposite of how a convention should feel.

P.S. No one can make you sign a waiver. It was their choice to appear on the show.

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The Truth Behind Heroes Of Cosplay: New Orleans

The Truth Behind Heroes Of Cosplay: New Orleans

Heroes of Cosplay is a popular tv series on SyFy that showcases certain cosplayers at conventions across the US. But what you might not know about it is how this show treats the people at conventions… the ones that aren’t the “elite” few, the cosplayers and convention goers behind the camera. I never had to deal with them until they came into my town - New Orleans. I thought it would be a great opportunity to see this show in person but my opinion quickly changed.

The way they treated my fellow cosplaying friends and the way they took over our beloved costume contest was completely inexcusable. There were a few mishaps on the convention floor but a majority of the issues came around the time of the Costume Contest. This was my third time attending Wizard World New Orleans and usually the costume contest is done in 1-2 hours. This one took over 2 hours just to get through the individual category. It was clearly being staged because only certain cosplayers were being allowed to talk about their costumes on stage, everyone else was rushed off. I didn’t realize it at the time but the ones they stopped to chat about were mostly Heroes of Cosplay participants. They didn’t care one bit about anyone else. It became really painful to watch/participate when I saw beautiful and elaborate costumes getting rushed off because they weren’t one of the “elite few” from the show.

After the contest was over, my friends and I went on to enjoy the rest of the convention as much as possible. Some of us completely shut out the competition because it was the black mark of the whole show. I began gathering stories from my friends and fellow Wizard World convention goers. Then other people began approaching me with their account of what happened. Here are our collected thoughts:

Encounters on the Convention Floor:

1 -

This happened Saturday around 2:30pm the Cosplay Circuit Digital Hall Awards photobooth, where they take your photograph and post it on the Wizard World site. Jesse Lagers tried to cut in line in front of me. The obnoxious camera crew’s goal was to cut the “Costume Contest Winner” into the line. I was sandwiched right between him and the AVP guys. The costume contest didn’t happen until later that night. They decided the winners for the contest before the show even started.

2 -

I just want to chime in for a second here… I have always loved Yaya, she was always nice to me over the last 3 years and I really admired her up until WW New Orleans. Now I’m a photographer at alot of Cons and I’ve worked for Wizard World for years. This year I wasn’t working for them because I was working exclusively for a very well known website. When I passed by her just in walking around the con floor she pretty much stopped me and was like Oh you ARE going to take my picture now. I was crazy

Keep reading

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Power Rangers Cyber Corps (aka Power Rangers 21)

From the archives comes the third and final installment of my trilogy of ultimately unused Power Rangers pitches (see part 1 and part 2).  Having grown up watching the show as a kid, eventually coming to work on the show, becoming its head writer, leaving it and coming back (a few times now), I developed a unique insight into this long-running series which got me sucked back into the show’s orbit like Michael Corleone more times than is probably healthy.  Having left the show for good (again), my notes on how to adapt Go-Busters for Power Rangers have sat around unused for over a year gathering dust.  With the recent announcement that the Go-Busters season will be skipped in the US, I thought I’d brush them off and share them here.  Grab a seat and buckle your seat belts because this one gets a little crazy.  Here is a glimpse into what might have been with my final unused story for Power Rangers…

(Link to part 1 of this can be found here.)

The year is 2015.  The place is ETERNITY CITY.

Eternity City is a thriving metropolis of the Power Rangers universe not unlike the cities of past seasons.  There are parks, schools, malls, gyms and juice bars just like the sort of cities previous Power Rangers seasons took place in.  One big exception is the several towering ENERGRID TOWERS scattered across the metropolis.  The Energrid Towers are essentially power plants, providing virtually limitless, clean energy to the people of Eternity City and powering the city’s defenses.

Keep reading

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Original Power Rangers Samurai Proposal

Today from the archives comes my unused early rough plan for how to adapt the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger season of the Japanese Sentai series for US television as Power Rangers Samurai.  Created independently and prior to the official production of the show its fate until now has been just to gather virtual dust in a virtual file.  It is presented here for educational purposes and a glimpse into a world of “what if?”

While Shinkenger had many elements that appeal universally it was also a distinctly Japanese story involving elements from Japanese history and culture which might limit its appeal to western audiences without some skillful adaptation and smoothing over.  In the summer of 2010, the original producers were back in control of the Power Rangers franchise and looking to adapt Shinkenger for American and international audiences.  Luckily for them they knew a writer they could call who spoke Japanese, had a degree in East Asian Languages & Cultures, grew up watching the show as a fan, and had even worked on the show as its head writer.  So after getting the call, I shaved my beard and left my mountain refuge for civilization again to find a computer or TV to binge through the 50 or so episodes of Shinkenger in a couple days and come up with a rough plan on how this could be adapted for the US before meeting with the producers.

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