dormcat's cubicle, Blogger division

Muse Communication has released its acquisition of six new anime titles before Comic Exhibition Taipei 2009: Maria Holic, Hetalia - Axis Powers, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Battle Spirits: Shōnen Toppa Version, Yatterman (not sure which version), and Vampire Knight. Information about Muse's booth, video products, discounts, special events, and related merchandises can be found here .

The galleries of day 1 and day 2 can be found at respective links. In case you don't recognize Sōichi Negishi and his alter ego Johannes Krauser II from Detroit Metal City , here's an easier character: captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Eiko Kera, creator of ATASHIn'CHI manga that serialized in Sunday edition of The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper for 14 years, visited Taiwan between July 24-26 to promote Taichung County Children's Art Museum that transformed one of its exhibition area into the home of the Tachibana family of ATASHIn'CHI . A press conference was held on July 24th at KingStone Cultural Square which has a specialized manga corner. Unlike most Japanese guests of honor who usually keep a distance from his/her fans, Kera-sensei was very open to questions and very kind to her loyal fans like these two little girls (note their handbags).

This cute tabby kitten is in the arms of a Di Gi Charat (Dejiko) cosplayer. Isn't he adorable? Other photographs of the first day of PF10 can be found here . My second day at PF10 was mostly occupied by this specific character: In addition to the album of the second day , I've also opened an independent album for this Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi chan . She was so popular that more than 20 cameras were surrounding her at any given moment of the entire afternoon. By the way, I contributed one of the three sub-notebook computers.

A small collection of cosplayers and other event photographs of Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) 2009 can be found here . Unlike Fancy Frontier, Petit Fancy, or CWT, there were very few cosplayers at TIBE. While the quality of cosplaying contests was very high, the atmosphere just couldn't compare to dōjin events.

I don't really have to tell you who he is, do I? Galleries of day 1 and day 2 can be found by clicking on the respective links.

Top-Insight International has also announced its official web page of events and merchandises during Comic Exhibition Taipei 2009. However, the index page seems to be incomplete, yet " hot merchandise " and " seiyū bundle pre-order " have been completed. (Man this is a bloody long page……) According to this list of merchandises, in addition to D.Gray Man , Gundam 00 , and NANA (all Top-Insight's flagships), Junjō Romantica and To Love-Ru have been listed as well. Looks like they've licensed those two fan-servicy titles (for girls and boys, respectively).

I've tasted our delicious Haruhi Suzumiya potato chips. Official page of Family Mart Anime Festival I love both beef noodles and potato chips, but beef noodles-flavored potato chips is kind of weird. By the way, Komica has opened a discussion thread for "Haruhi tasting."

Man, Proware has released way too many anime-related franchise. It would be faster to read their official page directly. While most items are collector-only i.e. no practical value, this little tool has raised my interest: These are small magnetic clips featuring anime characters; Hiiragi sisters and Konata/Miyuki from Lucky Star is just one of many examples. Other characters are from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya , Code Geass , Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha , School Days , Saiunkoku Monogatari , Ah! My Goddess , Fate/stay night , Full Metal Panic! , etc. These small magnetic clips are perfect for bag sealing e.g. potato chips.

Official website: http://www.spp.com.tw/spp2006/other/00/2009comic/ PR Chief Cyopoko from Sharp Point Press has published franchise information for the 10th Comic Exhibition Taipei on his blog for six consecutive days, including new releases, derived goodies, and autograph sessions. The most attractive item is this life-size limited edition (for Taiwan only) Chizuru pillow illustrated by Koin, the original illustrator of Kanokon novel. The cosplayer holding this pillow is Neneko; her other pictures can be found at her photo album . In fact I've met Neneko once, way before this publicity photograph was released. It was at the ceremony of Taiwan Kadokawa 1st Light Novel & Illustration Contest , where she played Kadokawa's top virtual idol Haruhi Suzumiya; I even took this picture in her album. It is quite embarrassing that I couldn't identify her immediately when I saw her playing Chizuru; instead I only felt a sense of deja vu . In addition to this life-size pillow,

Near the end of 2008, CWT 20 was held on December 13-14. Coincidentally, the user gathering of Bahamut (www.gamer.com.tw), the largest gaming community in Taiwan, was held on the same weekend (Saturday only), including a cosplaying contest. Unlike Fancy Frontier, CWT is more female-oriented (similar to Petit Fancy), although male fans can still enjoy high-quality cosplayers: Female fans are not left out, of course: More pictures of day 1 and day 2 can be found by clicking on the respective links.

Soon after Fancy Frontier 12, CWT 19 was held on August 10, 2008. I didn't enter the exhibition area of CWT 19 but merely took pictures of cosplayers around the NTU stadium. The quality of cosplayers were exceptionally high; there were comical ones like this: ...and juicy ones like this: More pictures can be found here .

In order to warm this blog up I'll start with providing links to my cosplayer gallery since July 2008. Photographs of cosplayers at Fancy Frontier 12 can be found here . Looking at pictures needs no translation, right? By the way, this title picture of Aria cosplayers was taken by my old Nikon Coolpix 3700, which was one of the best ultra-compact digital camera ever made and could still beat many current models with its vibrant color and sharp lens.

A necessary and mandatory width test.

http://www.ccpa.org.tw/ comic/ When: 8/12/2009 to 8/17/2009, 10 AM to 6 PM Where: Taipei Show (formerly TWTC Hall 2) Who (Japanese gusts of honor, sorted by date and time of appearance): 8/12 Kanan Minami , mangaka, Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu , Ever Glory Publishing Katsumi Nishino , novelist, Kanokon novel, Sharp Point Press 8/13 Akemi Takada , character designer, Taiwan Tohan Kei Sazane , novelist, Tasogareiro no Utatsukai novel, Kadokawa Media (Taiwan) Riku Ranjo , novelist, Akikan! novel, Ching Win Publishing 8/14 Yōko Aoki , novelist, Victorian Rose Tailor novel, Ching Win Publishing Hideaki Fujii , mangaka, Battle Spirits: Shōnen Toppa Version , Ching Win Publishing 8/15 Hidekazu Ichinose , Suguru Inoue , Takashi Kondo , all seiyū, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! , Muse Communication Mayuki Anan , mangaka, Momoiro Maji Mode! , Sharp Point Press Toshiyuki Morikawa , seiyū, D.Gray-man , Top-Insight International Riichirō Inagaki and Yūsuke Murata , writer and mangaka, Eyeshield 21