Tag: cosplay

30 Days Of, 30 Days Of: Anime

30 Days Of: Anime, Days 5 and 6

ohnoitsjade

Sub_30Days2

Day 5: An anime you’re ashamed you enjoy

Sorry to be super boring, but there’s nothing I’m really ashamed about. I made it a point to not be ashamed about anything I enjoy after spending much of my teenage years feeling the same.

Day 6: Character you would like to cosplay

Oh boy…. that’s kind of a loaded question. I have so many cosplay plans from anime. I want to cosplay from every Ghibli movie, for a start. So far I’ve only done Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, so I’ve got a long way to go on that.

IMG_5460

Other cosplans that I had for this year were Pixie-Bob from Boku No Hero Academia, Ray from The Promised Neverland, and Izumi from Love Stage, but who knows if I’m going to be able to leave the house this year to be able to do them!

30 Days Of, 30 Days Of: Anime

30 Days Of: Anime, Day 1

ohnoitsjade

Sub_30Days2

Day 1: Very first anime

Way back before I even knew what anime was, back when I was 11 or 12, my first was Pokémon. Pokémon was something I was pretty obsessed with in my youth, and still enjoy playing now. I haven’t watched the anime for a really long time, probably since I was about 13 or so – when I last watched it they were still in the Kanto region. I’m not certain I would watch it now. I feel like it’s a lot of time to invest into something, and Pokémon has already had enough of my time.

As an adult making a conscious decision to watch anime, the first anime I watched was Death Note. Death Note is something I should probably rewatch as I can’t really remember, but it still holds a fond place in my heart. I even cosplayed L a couple of years ago – here’s a photo of that with my friend, Chelsie,as Misa.

max-5.jpg

2018 challenges, Challenges

2018 Challenges: March Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

So, I bailed on doing one of these for February. It’s not that I hadn’t achieved a lot, it’s just that I got really busy with a lot of stuff and didn’t really have time, and then before I knew it, we were well into March. So before we get too far into April, let’s have a look at where I was at the end of last month!

Watch 30 ‘First Watch’ films

I was off to a flying start on this one at the beginning of the year, but I’ve stalled somewhat since then. I will get back on track – I’m still only at 1 film watched, The Pianist, and I still haven’t written my review for it yet.

Watch all of Naruto

Oh man. I had the best of intentions when I put this challenge down. I really want to watch Naruto still, but just… it’s so time consuming. My progress with Naruto has become a bit of a running joke between me and my friends, who will just randomly ask, “How’s Naruto going?” to shut down a conversation. I’ve still only watched the two episodes, so I’m about 65-70 episodes where I need to be for this time of year. The spring anime season is so busy for me as well, so I don’t foresee this actually happening, but I might surprise myself and everyone else.

Watch 30 anime series

As of the end of March, I’d completed 2 anime series this year. This has now actually increased in the last few weeks, and I’ve made a lot of progress very quickly. I’m pretty confident on this one.

Platinum 12 games

I sprang out of the blocks on this one at the beginning of the year, and I’ve just sort of… stayed there since. I’ve been focussing on clearing my backlog (or trying to) instead of platinum hunting, so this is still at 1 platinum trophy. I’m confident I can claw this back.

Make 3 cosplays from scratch

I’m having a debate with myself about what constitutes ‘from scratch’, and how much of a costume I’ve made before it counts for this. I made a lot of my recent Sasha Braus cosplay, but not everything. I’ve not made anything else this year, apart from a skirt for Violet Evergarden. The sad thing is none of my cosplans involve me making everything for the costume, but plans change so we’ll see if this happens!

Watch 50 films in the cinema (and write a review for each film)

By the end of March I’d seen 15 films in the cinema, but only reviewed 3 of them. I’m still planning on getting at least a small review out for all of them, so stay tuned! This is pretty encouraging progress on at least the film-watching aspect of this challenge, so that’s something!

2018 challenges, Challenges

2018 Challenges: January Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

For January I’ve been focusing a lot on my personal goals for the year rather than too much related to the 2018 Challenges, so progress has got off to a slow start. Having said that, I am really pleased with the small amount of progress I’ve made (and a great start to my personal goals also!), so here’s what’s been going on.

Watch 30 ‘First Watch’ films

So I’ve actually equalled my total from 2017 on this front, but I’ve watched something on my First Watch list. Celebrations all round! A review is in the pipe-line (recurring theme), but I watched The Pianist. Hooray!

Watch all of Naruto

Perhaps my weakest area, I’ve only watched 2 episodes of Naruto. I was afraid I wasn’t going to like it, but I really do, so me being behind isn’t down to lack of enjoyment, it’s mostly just a lack of time and having to prioritise my free time to other areas.

Watch 30 anime series

So for January I haven’t actually managed to complete any anime series. I’ve started a lot of ongoing shows and something from my To Watch list from MAL. I’m hoping to really turn this one around come February.

Platinum 12 games

Well and truly on schedule for this one. I platinumed Telltale’s Batman after it came free on PS+. A platinum review is forthcoming!

Make 3 cosplays from scratch

I’m having a really hard time planning my cosplays this year. My next couple aren’t going to be entirely from scratch though a lot of the elements are. My main issues are that I’ve not got a lot of conventions lined up, so I’ve not really got anything to plan for which makes things a lot harder.

Watch 50 films in the cinema (and write a review for each film)

I think this challenge might potentially be the one I struggle with most this year. I’ve watched 9 films in the cinema so far but have only written reviews for two of them. I struggled enough to get those reviews out as I felt really out of practice writing a film review, it somehow feels like a totally different process to writing a game review, which I suppose it is in many ways. I do want to get them done and catch up with myself, so again, these 7 reviews are going to be hitting the site imminently.

 

As always, you can follow my progress on Twitter by following me or on #cs2018challenge.

2018 challenges, Challenges

2018 Challenges: The Beginning

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Though I rarely complete any of the challenges I set for myself, I actually quite enjoy having them there to focus on throughout the year. I also have a few personal targets I want to meet which are more standard ‘New Years resolution’ type things; get a new job, lose weight, get fitter, save money, travel more, as well as some other hobby based things which aren’t really measurable; continue to improve with photography, get better at posing for cosplay shoots, blog more. Having these challenges as a side to all of the other things I want to achieve helps me focus on things, even if I do end up never fully meeting the goals! It’s fun to try, at least. So, with that in mind, here’s what I’m aiming for this year!

Watch 30 ‘new old’ films

And come up with a better name for this feature! Yes, that’s right, I’m actually going to watch them this year. I’ve replaced the one film I actually managed to watch (and the one that made it onto the list without me realising I’ve actually seen it), and I’ll be getting all of this stuff done!

Watch all of Naruto

My anime knowledge has a lot of gaps, mostly due to the fact that I was a really late starter. I wanted to watch all of a long-running show, and after a lot of research I decided the show for me was Naruto (I will be honest, mostly due to Sasuke and Kakashi). Originally this challenge was to watch all of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, but I’d managed to underestimate how much there was, and do some truly horrendous maths to figure out how much I’d need to watch each week, and frankly, it’s just not doable with everything else as well! So, not wanting to completely surrender my 2018 to Naruto, I’m settling for just watching Naruto.

Watch 30 anime series

Dejavu much? I know I didn’t manage to hit this last year, but as I said in my 2017 wrap-up, I was slow on the uptake and didn’t really get started until a good way through the year. I do think 30 series is probably pushing it, but hey, at least Naruto will count as one, right?

Platinum 12 games

Wow, another recycled challenge? As I mentioned in my 2017 wrap-up post, I want to get back in the platinum game. 12 platinums is only 1 a month (gr8 maths), so this is totally doable. Which is why I managed it last year. Oh, wait…

Make 3 cosplays from scratch

Last year I really enjoyed making cosplays, so this year I want to push myself more on that front. I also want to rewear a lot of stuff, which is why this isn’t a “do X cosplays” sort of target; that works out hella expensive. I think I have a vague idea of what I want to make across the course of 2018, so I’m excited to get some projects underway.

Watch 50 films in the cinema (and write a review for each film)

I hit 41 on this challenge last year, so I think 50 is pretty reachable. Sometimes cinema-going feels like a bit of a chore to me, but I do really love it still. In the spirit of trying to get myself into the habit of posting more regular blog content, I’m also going to try and post a review for each film I see.

 

Have you got any suggestions of challenges I can add in? Let me know in the comments!

2017 challenges, Challenges

2017 Challenges: October Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch)

MCM London at the end of October saw me hitting my 10 cosplays target as I added Knives Chau, Speed o Sound Sonic, and V to my total. What a relief to have actually met one of my targets this year!

Watch 30 anime series

After careful consideration and A LOT of research, my total number of anime series now stands at 12 series’ watched. I had actually added to this number with my completion of Convenience Store Boyfriends, but as I was pondering whether to speed through the next 3 series of Voltron, I came to the conclusion that I won’t be counting Voltron as an anime for the purpose of this challenge. There are a lot of arguments out there about whether or not it should count, and as there doesn’t really seem to be a definitive answer, the uncertainty made my decision for me. So, a step back! 

Platinum 12 games

You know what? Maybe I’m just not the trophy hunter I used to be. Maybe the thrill isn’t there for me anymore. Maybe I’m just ruminating on the fact I added no more platinum trophies to my collection. 

Watch 30 new ‘old’ films

So, this definitely isn’t happening, and I’ve made my peace with that. I’m going to shelve this challenge until next year, where I will blast my way through this list!

Watch 60 films in the cinema

Currently I’m at 33 films on this a me, so yet another challenge that’s not happening. 

Clear the gaming backlog

Sorry, did you say clear or add to constantly? Because I’m definitely doing one of those things….

2017 challenges, Challenges

2017 Challenges: September Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch)
I love starting these posts off positively, only to watch them go rapidly downhill. As always, 10 new cosplays is the least of my problems. I’ve got 7 in the bag already, and MCM is at the end of this month where I’ll be debuting three more, reaching my target! That’s not even counting the 5 new cosplays for Hibanacon, one for MCM Birmingham and another for Hyper Japan…

Watch 30 anime series
I still feel stupidly confident about this one. I’ve now finished 12, and I know I’ve only got two and a half months to go and I’m not even half way yet, but I feel like it’s doable. I have a few series’ I’ve started already, so hopefully this number can increase soon!

Platinum 12 games
I actually managed to add another one to this total as well! Two platinum trophies in 10 months, Jade from 3 years ago would be ashamed. I still feel like I can nudge this up before the year is out – maybe get halfway? We’ll see!

Watch 30 new ‘old’ films
I am determined to break double figures on this one, even if I’m still loitering at 1 film watched. Stay tuned!

Watch 60 films in the cinema
My ‘end of September’ total was 31. Just over halfway. Is it doable? Probably not. Am I going to try? Also probably not, I’m really busy with all the other challenges which actually stand a chance of being completed.

Clear the gaming backlog
What’s a little backlog between friends? Yeah, so I just… can’t do this. It’s impossible. Even if I’m not adding to my physical backlog, I’m mentally adding games to it, “I must play that when I’ve finished some of these games.” It’s neverending!

 

Here’s hoping for a November miracle!

2017 challenges, Challenges

2017 Challenges: August Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch)
We’re still at the same point with this one; seven cosplays made, including the from scratch one. The next convention I’m going to is EGX at the end of September, where I’ll be rewearing Chiaki from Danganronpa 2 (I’ve made a new skirt for her, but it totally doesn’t count). I’m also planning on attending MCM London, Hibanacon and MCM Birmingham before the end of the year, and my planned cosplays for those will bring my total to 17 new cosplays for the year, so I’m not concerned about this one at all.

Watch 30 anime series
This one is clocking in at 9 series watched. I’m quietly confident on this one still. I have a few ongoing series’ I’m watching from this season which are due to wrap up soon, so I’ll be adding a lot to this total in the next month or so.

Platinum 12 games
Although I’m only at 1 for this challenge, I still feel like I can get at least half way on the board by the end of the year. We’ll see!

Watch 30 new ‘old’ films
This should be the easy one! Still only 1 film watched, and even that was from January! Terrible business.

Watch 60 films in the cinema
My cinema-going habits have changed a lot this year it turns out, so I’m only up to 28 on this one. I’ll easily get to half way, but I’m hoping I can get to at least 40.

Clear the gaming backlog
I’ve started this now! Currently, I’m playing Danganronpa 1-2: Reload ready for Danganronpa 3 at the end of the month. Progress is slow because I have been watching a lot of anime lately which seems to be taking up all of my time, but I definitely want to have wiped a few of these games off the list by the end of the year!

2017 challenges, Challenges

2017 Challenges: June Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch)
Halfway through the year, and halfway through this challenge! Five cosplays done, including that “from scratch” cosplay. I have a con coming up later in the month which I’m planning at least one new cosplay for, hopefully two depending on money/how costesting goes! I also have a con in November which I’m planning six (6!) new cosplays for, so I’m confident I’ll hit the target on this one.

Here’s a photo of my Kubo, which is the one I made myself.

kubo2.jpg

Watch 30 anime series
Surprisingly, I’ve managed to add another couple of series to my list since last time; Attack on Titan s02 and Room Mate.

Platinum 12 games
Finally, a score on the board for this one! You may have read my Platinum Review, but I recently managed to complete Nubla (in 51 minutes and 1 second according to PSN Profiles).

Watch 30 new ‘old’ films
I decline to comment.

Watch 60 films at the cinema
As always you can follow my progress on this one via my Twitter and the hashtag #cs2017challenge, but I have managed to so far see 23 films in the cinema. Not quite on track, but not too far behind either. I’ve found that my cinema-going habits have definitely changed, and I find myself going a lot less frequently than in previously years.

Clear the gaming backlog
Hey, look. I only just made the post for this challenge, so let’s not rush things. Like I said in that post, now I have my mitts on Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy I don’t have any new releases on the horizon until September’s Danganronpa 3 release, so I’m hoping to make real headway with this challenge from now on. Realistically, I don’t think I’ll be clearing the whole list but I want to get a good chunk of it done!

2017 challenges, Challenges

2017 Challenges: April Recap

ohnoitsjade

Sub_Challenges2

Wooo boy, only two weeks late with this one, but it’s been kind of hectic, you know? April is done, that means we’re 1/3 of the way through the year, so I should be 1/3 of the way through all of my totals… right? Right?!

Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch)
MCM London is next week, and as previously mentioned, I’m doing three new cosplays. That’ll bring my total for the year up to 5, so that’s pretty good going! One of my cosplays for next week I have also made entirely from scratch, and I’m really happy with it so far! I did have a minor meltdown over the wig and the trousers, but I’m through it now (touch wood). I still have some finishing touches to do on each of them, but I’m excited to share photos when they’re done!

For those interested, this is my line-up:

mcm lineup

Watch 30 anime series
I had been doing really well at this challenge, but I feel my progress has slowed down a bit the closer it’s getting to con and the more time I’ve had to spend working on cosplay. It’s really hard to watch anime in the background of cosplay as I find I need to concentrate quite heavily on both activities (I am quite prone to sewing in sleeves inside-out).

Having said that, since last month, I’ve managed to watch the first season of Black Butler, which brings the total to five completed anime series. To refresh, that’s:

  1. LoveLive! School Idol Project
  2. Voltron: Legendary Defender (s01)
  3. Vampire Knight
  4. Vampire Knight: Guilty
  5. Black Butler (s01)

I need to majorly up my game on this one!

Platinum 12 games
This is the part of the list where things start to get a bit less impressive… so the less said about this one the better, I think. *coughnoplatinumtrophiescough*

Watch 30 new ‘old’ films
I think what is needed is a weekend where I just obliterate this list, but until then, I will have to be satisfied with my one tick on this list of thirty.

Watch 60 films at the cinema
Look! An actual challenge I’m on track for! I’ve seen 20 films at the cinema so far, so bang on target for the time of the year!

Clear the gaming backlog
So little progress has been made on this challenge, I still haven’t even made the list yet.