F-ZeroOne

Relatively difficult when you didn't expect to be cosplaying at all Oh, don't you wish, Mappy? I'm not absolutely certain, but I think I may have actually taken that picture - I'm not sure because there were so many photos of Mappy in the company of attractive Japanese females, I just wish he wouldn't shove me out the way so fast... (nah, just kidding! ) Mappy wasn't cos-playing, it was just a photo-opportunity. That picture doesn't really do the girls justice - much nicer looking in real life, honestly, and - as far as I could tell through my slightly biased translator, nice ladies too...! (okay, am I done playing the gallant Englishman now? )

That AcGuy - was that at Wonderfest 2003, Winter? I met that "him" too. And an awesome Big "O" too. And the girls. So many pretty girls...

Inconceivable!

I wouldn't mind betting that the automatic rifle version doesn't get used much - the overall XM-8 looks nice, but historically automatic rifles tend to fall between two stalls - too heavy to be easily ported around, but too light for sustained fire operations. There, as ever, exceptions (the BAR possibly being one), but its always been a difficult one to pull off successfully...

Railway commuters - and employees - in Britain might disagree with you there, Agent One... ... Why would they? It has been proven many times over that private industry is many times more efficient than government run industry. Cutting a very long, and off-topic, story short, its generally agreed that rail privatisation in Britain was botched. I'm not saying privatisation in itself is a bad thing, just that it can go as badly wrong as any government run operation. If you'd like a more in-depth explanation, Agent One, please PM me...

Railway commuters - and employees - in Britain might disagree with you there, Agent One... Well done to Scaled Composites, though, for injecting some hope back into us grounded space cadets. I believe Warp One is the next target, yes?

You were a GM, Roy, weren't you?

Two main reasons: one, the D6 system used in Star Wars was one of the most elegant I've ever come across; granted, its wasn't particularly sophisticated or detailed, but it was a perfect match for the Star Wars universe, and the system really encouraged "heroic" gameplay (also, the West End Games sourcebooks provided a good deal of information used by the various Star Wars novels to flesh out the Star Wars universe, though I've never been entirely clear how much may have come from Lucasfilm itself - it would seem even Lucasfilm Games used some of the RPG material in their X-Wing games... ) Two: West End Games did Paranoia, one of the greatest RPG concepts of all time. Along with Call of Cthulu, possibly one of only two RPGs that you knew your character was going to die horribly at some point - not if, but when. The trick was to go out as stylishly as possible, and in Paranoia, take as many of your fellow players with you as you could (and as every character in Paranoia has six extra "lives", you could take quite a few with you...! )

Why do I suddenly have this image in my mind of Minmei in a Valkyrie, with the Queen Alien standing over Hikaru, and Minmei yelling: "Get away from him, you BITCH!" US Godzilla vs Valk: dead Godzilla. Heck, if F-18s could take out the US Godzilla... Japanese Godzilla vs Valk: now this is a Godzilla that knows how to handle fighter jets - fry 'em with your radioactive breath stream!

Don't take that tone of voice with me! You wouldn't know one furry from the next hence, I wouldn't know one giant robot series from the next... And as for Jcat's ridiculous obcession with photography, I'm not actually sure he's taken any photos of anything other than cosplayers I was so embarrassed... And like I said - one of the better hobbies to have! BTW, that jumbo jet the Poke-girl is holding suddenly reminds me of a famous Twilight Zone episode...!

Oh, so you can tell between Gundams now, Mappy?! I've never quite forgotten you going up to a load of Zeta Gundam cos-players at WonderFest and asking if they were from SEED...! The person, J-Cat, that Mappy mentions is a very nice guy who just happens to have one of the better hobbies imaginable...

Uh, oh, there goes the neighbourhood... Hi, Martin! I think you took a wrong turning, the cat-girl forums are over there... (just in case anyones wondering, Mappy is a friend of mine, and has the ever-handy-gift of knowing Japanese girls that like to cos-play. Ah, F-ZeroOne, we meet again This is the only thread on this forum where I can give a positive contribution! ! Next time we meet up in Japan I'm going to take revenge on you for taking me to so many mecha shops in just the space of 3 weeks. I'm now finding myself reading posts about a Q-Rau Bandai and getting all excited! Besides, you know Agent Kyuu now... Mappy, if you can find a Bandai Q-Rau, there will be more than just you getting excited, I can assure you! (sigh... I can't take you anywhere, can I?!) Just so you know, BTW, there appears to be a problem with the links you're posting...? Noriko - very nice shoes. Though I'm surprised anyone noticed, considering whos wearing them...!

I thought it was a bit better than I was expecting, but the dub will remind you to get down on your knees and say thanks that anime companies find it harder to get away with things like that now...

Pardon my ignorance, how would one go about getting one of these if they became available? I really like the second one myself, it reminds me of a similiar Valkyrie design t-shirt Cos-pla did a little while ago.

picture's not working. Pants, I can never get these things to work when I want them to. Here's the link: http://www.shadows-gathering.co.uk/yuna.JPG cheerio, Mappy Uh, oh, there goes the neighbourhood... Hi, Martin! I think you took a wrong turning, the cat-girl forums are over there... (just in case anyones wondering, Mappy is a friend of mine, and has the ever-handy-gift of knowing Japanese girls that like to cos-play. The lucky &*%$£!! )

Its perfectly possible to have an enjoyable holiday in Japan while not speaking Japanese - I've done it that way twice. However, be prepared for mis-understandings and a little confusion from time to time. Theres no doubt that knowing some Japanese does help quite a bit. Take a good guidebook. You will get a good map of Tokyo. That toy-shop ouside of Ueno is easily identified as it has what looks like the starship Enterprise mounted above the entrance; if you go out the exit by the Hard Rock Cafe, turn right and look over the balcony you should see it fine. Kiddy-Land in Harajuku is also good. "Mainstream" toyshops like these are sometimes better for certain things than dedicated hobby stores; they often have slightly older items that have been stock-cycled out of the dedicated places. Akihabara is a good place to explore for new anime items. Just walk around and keep your eyes open. The Nakano Mandarake is interesting for more vintage stuff; you can't miss it - take the Chuo line to Nakano and look for the cathredral-like corridor across the street from the train station. Walk down the long corridor, go up a the escalator at the end and then just explore the various floors. Opening hours tend to be variable, though - the shops all seem to pick the day I visit to close...

I've always assumed that its a Briareos-size Guges-D. However, thats speculation, not something I'm seen confirmed anywhere...

"Close quarter sniping"? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Wonder how long it'll be before his blue hair grows out? Congratulations to you both!

Are those contacts, "red-eye" from a camera flash, or are vampires into cos-play now?!

Two answers: 1) behind the Monster. 2) behind Milia. Because, ah, you know, er... "rearguard" actions are important... Edit: thanks, mcpaz - nice work!

Very crowded by most accounts - and, er, no, I'm not speaking from experience! Japan can be an expensive country, but it doesn't have to be... Another piece of advice: do your research. Read up on the places you want to go to, try and get familiar with them in your mind. You'll be too distracted once you're there... BTW, SolScud, when you say "the subway" in reference to the Japan Rail Pass, do you mean the above-ground JR services like the Yamanote and Chuo lines, or the underground subway - as far as I'm aware, those are privately operated and a JR Pass doesn't cover them...? One onther point I make: when you buy a Japan Rail Pass, what you get is an exchange order that you swap for the Rail Pass in Japan - most large railways stations should be able to do this, but I think you can also do at the airport rail terminals if you want to use it right away.

I've stayed in the Hotel Crowne Plaza; its nice but pricey. Avoid the main bar and try and get breakfast somewhere else if you can; Ikebukuro station is a very short walk away and should have all manner of cafes and things to get a more reasonably priced breakfast in. The Japanese Inn Group is a good starting point for value accomodation in Japan. Investigate a Japan Rail Pass. A 7 day pass will start out around £150 ($200?) Sounds expensive, but a one way trip from Tokyo - Kyoto by bullet train will be about £60 ($100). Thats one way. You don't have to get one, and if you're prepared to take slower trains, it might not be worth doing so, but if you're going to travel around a bit, its worth it. If you do get a rail pass, buy a plastic protective folder either before you go or when you arrive (Tokyu Hands Shinjuku, the store that sells everything, will have something suitable); it disintegrates easily on its own. Railway station staff generally speak enough English in my experience, but elsewhere in Japan it can be difficult - bear this in mind when going for meals. The Tokyo public transport can be confusing at first but is generally logical once you get used to it. Main piece of advice, if staying in Tokyo: get a good map. A really good map. Kodansha do a bilingual Tokyo A5-size atlas thats very good; its a bit pricey, but believe me, you'll thank me later. GPS can be helpful for direction finding but English-language street map data seem to be unavailable. True story: one time in Tokyo I was with a friend, and we were looking for a place he knows. We had a map, we had the address, and my friend speaks Japanese at the conversational level. We circled around Shinjuku for an hour without finding the place, and eventually resorted to phoning them for more specific directions. The phone turned out to be right next to the building. We'd been walking round it all the time without knowing. GET. A. GOOD. MAP. OF. TOKYO! Don't take much luggage. Japans public transport is awe-inspiring, but luggage space tends to be limited and some places you can stay at have staircases that are 90 degrees to the vertical. Not good for hauling heavy luggage up. Railway stations always tend to be huge. You can do a heck of a lot of walking in Tokyo. Tokyo quick recommendations: Akihabara for electronics and anime; Shibuya and Harajuku for fashion and music, Shinjuku for department stores, Ueno for museums. Try and see Mt. Fuji if the weathers nice! Kyoto is a nice place to visit, but don't delude yourself that you can do it all in a day, especially if travelling in from Tokyo. If you only have a day, pick two or three things you especially want to see, and try and keep them all on the same side of the city. Ideally, to really see what Kyoto is like, you should stay there for a few days. Kyoto quick recommendations: Kiyomizudera temple, the "Golden Pavilion", the old "geisha" area, Nara (not part of Kyoto but short train ride away). I've always wanted to spend more time in Hiroshima; its always struck me as a pleasant place, though its history can make for unsettled feelings for Westerners. Thats just some very quick advice - if you've got any more questions, e-mail me at justin@briareos.demon.co.uk and I'll try to answer them if I can!

Considering that Hayao Miyazaki is considered the Walt Disney of Japan, its no wonder that these will get accepted by the general public more than other anime. I'll accept that, but I've now got a bit more time to develop my thoughts a bit...! Regardless of what the Japanese people as a whole think of anime, I think the best expression I can use is that it is part of their culture, and a reasonably big part at that. The actual number of people who buy merchandise, DVDs, etc might be fairly small in comparision but I doubt theres many Japanese that are unaware of anime, even if they don't like it. I will agree that an impression is often given that anime is everywhere in Japan, which doesn't exactly tie up with my own experiences of visiting Tokyo - its common, yes, but not exactly omnipresent! Perhaps the best comparison I can come up with is football to the English. A visitor (and I think Graham was the one who commented on this) might conclude that the English are football mad, all of us. Its not quite true - I am only reasonably aware of football goings-on because my family are all fans to one degree or another, and the "girlfriend who can't stand it" is a common theme in English humour. Despite this, there are often letters to newpapers etc. bemoaning the coverage football gets on TV etc. In other words, football is very much a part of English culture, but that doesn't mean it gets total approval by everyone. It doesn't neccessairly mean that football is dying (and indeed, money crisises of one kind or another is something the English game has had in common with anime studios lately!) Even for those of us not interested, its difficult to escape the impact that something like the forthcoming Euro 2004 tournament may have.

Thanks for confirming that, David - I've only seen it in one sentence in one book and have always wondered how much truth there was to it. Of course, using three against two might not strike people as a fair fight, but in "real" air combat you try and avoid a fair fight as much as possible! I've always been a bit skeptical of newpaper military coverage ever since I saw one list a A-10 as having a 300mm gun...!