That is a LOT of stuff up there.

And guess what; it’s not everything.

This is what’s in the picture:

• Rocket-punching Chogokin Hatsune Miku – $220
• AFA T-shirt MikuPa ver. – $35
• 2x MikuPa 2011 T-shirt – $50 each
• 2x MikuPa lanyard – $18 each
• MikuPa sling bag – $72
• Vocaloid pin badge kit – $35

There is also another MikuPa T-shirt not in the picture; the design consists of the official illustration by Osamu. You might remember him as the character designer of Rin/Len Append.

That also cost $50. That means everything bought on the night of the concert (that is, everything listed so far except the figure) amounted to nearly $300. Cripes.

We did manage to acquire a set of 3 ZANEEDS posters from their booth in the convention itself, which consisted of Miku, Rin and Luka in sexy outfits, the same characters in a burger, and Miku imitating our national animal, the merlion.

Sadly though, we couldn’t fit everything into one photo, and I’m actually rushing this post too, so you’ll have to use your imagination from our photo of the ZANEEDS booth. ^_^;

While Fariz was more than satisfied with all of this, I wasn’t, so I picked up this little box from the Artists’ Alley.

This box is actually a fanart set from Alice Overture in the theme of Black Rock Shooter. It doesn’t just contain an artbook though.

It comes with a pin badge, a card sticker, a bookmark and a printed microfiber cloth. The pin badge, card sticker and bookmark may have one of 3 designs each, and while they should be random, the booth was kind enough to build an entire set from scratch for me, letting me pick the designs I want. ( *A*)

The artbook contains a series of illustrations from several artists, ranging from pretty to downright gorgeous, or as Feidamu puts it, “fap-able”.

This one is a rendition of BRS by 礫音(Neptune).

Each illustration is accompanied with a piece of prose, be it a poem or a short passage. Now, I will be perfectly honest here: the grammar needs a little work. Other than that though, it’s a good attempt at showing a bit of “story” behind the picture.

One of the main reasons I bought this in the first place is that the circle actually focuses on all known aspects of BRS, including the game, the “Innocent Soul” manga and other “official” creations aside from the usual BRS vs Dead Master anime material. Here’s a rendition of BRS Beast by rosene.

Here’s a closer look at the pin badge, card sticker and bookmark. The design of the pin badge is BRS by 雪桜々, the one on the card sticker is BRS & Dead Master by Linsert.D, and the design of the bookmark is XNFE by 究.

I promise not to dirty you too much, Grey~

Finally, we have the printed microfiber cloth, which has an beautiful illustration of Grey by 雪桜々. I’m liking her art more and more. =3

Here are links to all the artists listed in the book, in order of appearance:

• 木shiyo
• feifei
• 礫音(Neptune)
• 雪桜々
• rosene (also the President of Alice Overture)
• 暴力社長の猫@主婦
• Linsert.D
• 究 (doesn’t seem to have any illustrations posted as of time of writing)
• centimetre

FYI, the set costs $40 in all. It may be a little exorbitant to the casual buyer, but I know true fandom and effort when I see it, and I think the price fits the product.

Not to mention that nearly everything MikuPa-exclusive is even more expensive.

Warning! The following post only contains thoughts of the author, and not much of actual coverage.

If you’re looking for proper coverage, you could head over to Fabrice Requin’s blog. He’s done several great posts on the convention. Otherwise, read on.

The reason I’m not going to do a proper event coverage post myself is because I’ve already attended 3 times. Say what you wish, but anything gets old after you’ve done it for a while.

(also laziness)

Now for my 2 cents.

First off, I’m not too sure how it happened, but they managed to screw up the infamous first-day queue. Again.

It may have been due to Suntec organizing 2 other major events on the same day, though, but you’d think Sozo would’ve worked out something by now. Or maybe they can’t. Maybe it’s a staple habit of Singaporeans, or events in general. Someone do enlighten me.

Other than that, AFA’11 was pretty awesome. They managed to rope in Nico Nico Douga of all things, offering streams of the convention and parts of the concert on both the English and Japanese versions of the site.

Crypton also had a presence there, though they were restricted to the Cool Japan Forum and a tiny booth in the Cool Japan Pavilion, in the back of the hall. They were promoting MIKUBOOK like no tomorrow, what with the itasha on display nearby.

Even ODEX (of all things) got into the fun, expanding their movie selection from 2 to 5, though you have to buy $10 tickets for each and watch in a separate theatre. And I’ll bet most old-timers burn the posters once they see the ODEX logo on them. ^_^;

To their credit, they did still air the 2nd Mardock Scramble movie and the 4th Gundam Unicorn for free. Only watched the latter though, but it was awesome.

Chiwa Saito came to answer questions, and also did live dubbing of Homura. Great stuff, especially when she dubbed that Kyubey shooting scene. People who haven’t watched the show got spoiler-ed lol.

It seemed that the technical issues haunting the MikuPa concert on Friday night were also present during the concerts on Saturday and Sunday, as well as some of the daytime stage events. While I didn’t attend the Saturday concert, I thought that there was way too much bass and reverb during the Kalafina portion.

Performance-wise, though, May’n actually turned out to be disappointing; she ended up singing only a few of her newer singles. Milky Holmes was meh (given since I’m not exactly a fan of the show), though I did get to see true Japanese fanboys in the act.

I think I became an angela fan after their portion though. They had the most enthusiasm and audience interaction among all the performances, and they even threw in Cruel Angel’s Thesis for good measure. Fuck yeah.

All in all, I think AFA’s really improved over the years in that they keep bringing things to the table, though I think the management needs to iron out the problems that have been hanging around since the previous conventions.

Up next, the obligatory swag post.

Also, thanks for some of the images, Subarashinki! Check out his AFA album here!

The blog may be a little dead (cough), but there’s no way I’m letting this go.

In the midst of Hari Raya and conscription (I actually have to book in right now), here’s wishing another year of great music and fun from Miku and all you awesome composers.

Also, American Miku. What do you chaps think of it?

Finally the legal age to vote, yay! Now if only I was 21 a month earlier…

In any case, thanks for all the wishes, everyone! I think this is one of the few times I actually get on Facebook to reply to all of you. ( *w*)

Today wasn’t much of a birthday, though; I spent most of my day resting and sleeping, and basically trying to recover from my “job” (i.e. guard duty).

I did have a birthday dinner at night though; it’s like a tradition in my family. This year, we went to Bali Thai over at IMM (we couldn’t be arsed to go further hurr hurr).

And yes, that is a tapioca “cake” up there. It may look like some cheap ration in a war (according to TP), but tapioca pudding with coconut is easily one of my favourite desserts.

Well, I’m stuffed, and I’m pooped! I better sign off and get some shut eye before I potentially undo my hard work of shaving some hours off my eternal fatigue.

( *A*)/

Okay, okay, I know, KK’s been dead for about…a month or so? I’m a terrible blogger, I get it.

Anyhoo, if you somehow forgot about MikuPa, it’s about to start! Yup. Right now. And I was lucky enough to get the rest of the day off for this. I do pray I don’t disconnect halfway though.

You can join the stream and watch it, and for those of you who are at the scene itself, have fun!

EDIT: It wasn’t a bad concert…but it didn’t live up to last year’s 39′s Thanksgiving Day either.

While they managed to cram 39 songs into the much shorter timespan, most of them were cut and/or part of a medley, and there was a ridiculous 30-minute intermission during which they looped a set of adverts till even the audience got sick of it.

They used a slightly different set of models this time round, and IMHO they’re an improvement over the ones used last year (which IIRC were taken from Project DIVA Arcade). While the fact that they used a screen (as opposed to a holographic projection) may be a disappointment to most, I don’t really feel the difference. The camera angles used during the stream were terrible, though.

There were a couple of epic moments though. The first was the end of one of the medleys, when they started playing Hatsune Miku no Gekishou. Miku transformed Panty-&-Stocking-style into a silver outfit and sprouted wings near the end. Avid Project DIVA players will know it’s a reference to the way the same song ends in the second PSP game.

The second was the final encore song, When the First Love Ends. I’m not going to spoiler this bit though; you’ll have to see for yourself. That is, if someone manages to leak a full recording. >_>

Here’s a taste of the concert. It’s one of the few portions that was streamed for free:

(Yes, I ended up watching it through UStream. FFFFF)

Here’s the songlist, courtesy of pKjD:

XX.) 「かくれんぼ / Kakurenbo」 – buzzG & Aizawa Mai
01.) 「Ievan Polkka」 – Otomania feat.初音ミク
02.) 「こっち向いて Baby /Kocchi Muite Baby」 – ryo (supercell) feat.初音ミク
03.) 「二息步行 / Nisoku Hokou」 – DECO*27 feat.初音ミク
04.) 「アルビノ / albino」 – buzzG feat.初音ミク
05.) 「え？あぁ、そう。 / Eh? Aa Sou.」 – papiyon feat.初音ミク
06.) 「ぽっぴっぽ / Po Pi Po」 – ラマーズP feat.初音ミク
07.) 「トリノコシティ / Torinoko City」 – 40mP feat.初音ミク
08.) 「キャットフード / Cat Food」 – doriko feat.初音ミク
09.) 「崩壊歌姫 -disruptive diva- / Houkai Utahime -disruptive diva-」 マチゲリータP feat.初音ミク
10.) 「白い雪のプリンセスは / Shiroi Yuki no Princess wa」 – のぼる↑ feat.初音ミク
11.) 「ワールズエンド・ダンスホール / World’s End Dancehall」 – wowaka feat.初音ミク＆巡音ルカ
12.) 「ダブルラリアット / Double Lariat 」- アゴアニキ feat.巡音ルカ
13.) 「No Logic」 – ジミーサムP feat.巡音ルカ
14.) 「RIP RELEASE」 – ryuuseiP feat.巡音ルカ
15.) 「Japanese Ninja No.1」 – デッドボールP feat.巡音ルカ
16.) 「ルカルカ★ナイトフィーバー / Luka Luka★Night Fever」 – samfree feat.巡音ルカ
17.) 「結ンデ開イテ羅刹ト骸 / Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro」 – ハチ feat.初音ミク
18.) 「ローリンガール / Rolling Girl」 – wowaka feat.初音ミク
***30-MINUTE INTERMISSION***
19.) 「trick and treat」 – OSTER project feat.鏡音リン・鏡音レン
20.) 「悪ノ娘 / Aku no Musume」 – mothy_悪ノP feat.鏡音リン
21.) 「悪ノ召使 / Aku no Meshitsukai」 – mothy_悪ノP feat.鏡音レン
22.) 「いろは唄 / Iroha Uta」 – 銀サク feat.鏡音リン
23.) 「炉心融解 / meltdown」 – iroha(sasaki） feat.鏡音リン
24.) 「ココロ / Kokoro」 – トラボルタ feat.鏡音リン
25.) 「メランコリック / Melancholic」 – Junky feat.鏡音リン
26.) 「リンリンシグナル / Rin Rin Signal」 – Dios/シグナルP feat.鏡音リン・鏡音レン
27.) 「SPICE!」 – minato(流星P) feat.鏡音レン
28.) 「Fire◎Flower」 – halyosy feat.鏡音レン
29.) 「Packaged」 – livetune feat.初音ミク
30.) 「ハロー、プラネット。/ *HELLO, PLANET.」 – sasakure.UK feat.初音ミク
31.) 「マージナル / Marginal」 – OSTER project feat.初音ミク
32.) 「初音ミクの激唱 / Hatsune Miku no Gekishou」 – cosMo（暴走P） feat.初音ミク
33.) 「歌に形はないけれど / Uta ni Katachi wa Nai Keredo」 – doriko feat.初音ミク
34.) 「Yellow」 – livetune feat.初音ミク
35.) 「タイムマシン / Time Machine」 – 1640mP feat.初音ミク
36.) 「ARiA」 – とくP feat.初音ミク
***ENCORE***
37.) 「カラフル×メロディ / Colorful x Melody」 – ちーむMOER feat.初音ミク
38.) 「メルト / MELT」 – supercell feat.初音ミク
39.) 「初めての恋が終わる時 / When the First Love Ends」 – supercell feat.初音ミク

You can check out more photos and information from his post, as well.

If you’ve been keeping up with the local times, you would’ve realised that the arcade machines have already been set up in arcades around the mainland. If you haven’t though, now’s the time to take a look at the official list.

The above photo shows the machines in TIMEZONE at West Mall. Which happens to be a five-minute walk from where we live. I’d imagine Fariz is going to clock his hours like crazy (as if he didn’t already during the location test).

Those machines have been laying dormant for quite a while now. Well, that ends (approximately) tomorrow. It’s time to bring out the tap cards.

The only reason I know is because fellow comrade nutcase23 SMSed me very recently that a couple of these machines were already up and running. While he didn’t tell me where exactly, it’s obvious at least a couple of operators have taken the liberty of turning their machines on early.

And when the arcades listed in the Project DIVA Arcade website open their doors next morning, well, you know what to do. Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, you’ve had your fun. Now it’s our turn.

Everyone else… >_>

Of course, on the off chance that I’m jumping the gun and the machines don’t turn hordes of fans into money-burning zombies just yet, do point it out, and I’ll edit this post accordingly.

P.S. Oh, and since this is a popular question, if you don’t have the Project DIVA Arcade card, you can likely get it from the arcade counter. Like other arcade games with progress tracking. Yeah, thought I’d point this out.

Games still cost about $2 each.

And 2010 draws to a close. It was fun while it lasted, man.

So this marks the second new year KK’s gone through. God, it sure doesn’t feel that long ever since the last new year’s post, eh?

This also marks the one-quarter milestone in my conscription. Just 18 more months to go!

…yeah, maybe I’ll save that countdown for later.

To be honest though, I’m a little thankful for it, since I did become a little less of an introvert and more of an “open” person, if you know what I mean. I guess it’s true what they say: NS is like the Singaporean’s rite of passage to adulthood; it breaks you, and forces you to grow out of your shell.

Of course, I’m thankful I didn’t change for the worse, though it has affected my blogging behaviour to the point of near-stagnation. There were points that I was afraid KK would just die off because the posts weren’t coming. Fear not, though; I still intend to keep writing. There’s nothing like knowing jack about a certain subject matter, researching and interrogating the Internet for info, then regurgitating everything I learned into something at least remotely readable (though possibly tl;dr).

I’ve noticed that there haven’t been any personal or review posts for a long while though, and KK’s turning more into a news site than being about the brothers referred to in its very name. Guess I better start focusing on that, too. ( *A*)

Speaking of brothers, Fariz isn’t here with me to commemorate the occasion; he’s observing the fireworks with some of his cosplayer friends. That’s Fariz for you, haunted by cosplayers, as Hitoribocchi would say.

As for me, I didn’t make any special plans, so I stuck myself at home. I’m possibly playing Warzone 2010 the very moment you’re reading this post. Not exactly the best way to start a new year, I know, but some years, you just don’t get to end with a big bang.

With every new year comes a new year’s resolution. What’s mine? No, it’s not something silly and simple like “I’m going to watch more anime” or “I’m gonna blog more” (although that does sound like something an ailing blogger like me should be doing). It’s this:

I want to continue living.

I want to continue meeting people. I want to have a lot more hilarious convos. I want to enjoy the next moeblob anime that everyone else is hatin’. I want to keep on gaming all them retro games. I even want to keep on going through the crap in NS, since it’s not after you go through it that you begin to see the real joys around you.

After all, the most fun is found in simply living your life out the best. And I also resolve to come up with something better next new year’s eve. >_>

Also, yes, Japan already had their new year’s day an hour ago. I know; I saw it on the MOGRA livestream.

Happy year of the rabbit then! How did you spend your zero hour? What’s your new year’s resolution?

Since I gotta go out for lunch with a couple of friends (and I really don’t want to delay this post any further), this is the best I can do for now.

In other (related) news, there’s a DLC for Project DIVA 2nd just for this occasion, and Rin/Len Append was released on the same day, too. The illustration was released way earlier, though. Totally dig Osamu’s design (which IMO is better than Masaki’s take on Miku Append).

To make up for the obvious lack of content, let’s play a little game. How many PVs can you identify from the header image of awesome (which has been my wallpaper for a while now BTW)?

Good luck! No prizes for those that can do 100%, though. (Hint: There are about 39 of them, if I’m not mistaken)

Don’t expect anything special this year; I’m stuck guarding a camp on Eve AND today.

Sad Christmas for me this year. Hope you’re enjoying yours, wherever you are. ^_^)/

I’ll cut this short, since I really should sleep soon.

Firstly, the queue-before-the-gates-open. As it turned out, few knew where tp queue, and 10 minutes to show-time, the queue turned into less of a queue and more of a zerg rush waiting to happen. Thankfully the gatekeepers turned it into nothing but a bottleneck, but I expected better from AFA, being in in its third year running.

Secondly, yes, the Project DIVA Arcade machines work just fine, though you’ll have to queue for quite a bit before you’ll get your turn. The machines are in full demo mode; everything’s unlocked and free-to-play, but you can’t save any progress on your card.

Thirdly, Aki Takanori (GSC’s head honcho) announced a second BRS OVA during the Kana Hanazawa panel (which I missed FFFFF). Wait, let me reiterate that properly, lest you be skimming through this post.

BRS SEQUEL B****ES

There aren’t any more details, and heck, it’s not even officially announced on the website yet (though apparently it got a mention over at 2ch). I’m kinda glad that we were the first to find out about this. Inb4 speculation about the plot. Again.

Oh, and they’re gonna try to get huke to come over next year too! I APPROVE.

And lastly, Anisong. JAM Project and Aniki were good (though JAM Project’s performance obviously outshone Mizuki’s, judging by the crowd activity), but the Miku “bonus performance” was…horrible. They actually managed to make it worse than last year’s fiasco by simply playing back videos, as opposed to rendering it live. Here’s the songlist, for the curious:

1. こっち向いて Baby
2. 恋スル VOC@LOID
3. StargazeR

They used the PV of こっち向いて Baby found in the DVD included with the split single, and Project DIVA Arcade gameplay videos for the next two. All 3 of which a typical Miku fan would’ve already seen by now.

Total fail.