[ cosplay ] uriu : madoka kaname vol. 2

layer : Uriu
character : Madoka Kaname
series : Puella Magi Madoka Magica
score : *****

as promised, here's a few more of uriu-san's magnificent madoka-get captured in fine, more elaborate fashion by one of the best / highly regarded cosplay photog out there - yuuro_an. needless to say, these pictures were just perfect, and we simply favor in the setting + lighting quality of which has fully brought forth the mood and atmosphere of the original medium from which this very character originated. that, and uriu-san's priceless ability to shape and mold herself into most [ if not every ] character she's cosplaying, of course :3


[ all images are property of yuuro_an ]

+ophanium's summer 2011 watchlist : prelude to first impressions

before i went on with our usual first impression commentaries i would first like to post in a quick compendium list of the summer 2011 series of which me and zange will be keeping close track on based on summaries / those that i have seen so far. as usual, these lists are subjected to future changes.

HIGHEST PRIORITY
description : these are the series of which we'll be following very dearly week after week without fail; a slight miss on one episode will possibly result in multiple head-desks on our behalf.
- yuru yuri ♪ ♥

- mayo chiki ! ♪ ♥

- baka to test to shoukanjuu ni ! ♪ ♥

- nekogami yaoyorozu ♪ ♥
- the idolm@ster ♪ ♥

- usagi drop ♪ ♥
- ikoku meiro no croisee ♪ ♥
- dantalian no shoka ♪ ♥
- blood c ♪ ♥
- kamisama dolls ♪ ♥
- ro-kyu-bu ! ♪
- r-15 ♪

MEDIUM PRIORITY

description : these are the series of which we'll be following week after week without fail just like the priority set above, however we won't be giving ourselves multiple head-desks in case that we forgot to get ourselves updated on the new episodes of those listed here; in fact we'd rather marathon a number of episodes in a go- :3
- kami-sama no memo-chou ♪
- kaitou tenshi twin angel ♪
- morita-san wa mukuchi ♥
- appleseed xiii ♪

- double j ♪

LOWEST PRIORITY
description : being the lowest priority set, these series risks themselves of being deported to the on hold / dropped list based on their respective performance[s]. however, we'll still be giving them minor justice by forcing ourselves to keep on watching them just to fill in the void left in-between the release of new episodes of the two priority set above.
- N/A yet

OVA / OAD / ONA / THEATRICAL RELEASE
description : this list mostly encompasses those retail / simulcast-exclusive series of our highest priority.
- higurashi no naku koro ni kira ♪ ♥
- sora no otoshimono : takeijikake no angeloid ( pending for video release ) ♪ ♥
- carnival phantasm ♪ ♥
- kore wa zombie desu ka ? ( completed ) ♪ ♥
- kissxsis ( now watching ) ♪
- nichijou ♪
- maria+holic alive ♪ ♥

WAITLIST / WISHLIST
description : those listed here were either sequels which we have yet to watch over the previous season they were continued from or just those poor underdog titles which has yet to be picked and subbed upon.
- N/A

+ LEGEND +
♪ = hime's watchlist
♥ = zange's watchlist

...

FAQ

Q : do you really watch all those listed on your watchlist above ? A : yes. well usually i would break down my aniwatch session into two; the weekly episodic watch and the complete full season marathon by the end of a series' run. at the start of a season block, i would often took my time and give each of these series' first / pilot episodes a try before i decide whether to put them on my weekly watch or the full marathon watch session, depending on their performance as well as the state of balance between the genres offered within a season.

[ cosplay ] makiron : kuroko shirai

layer : Makiron
character : Kuroko Shirai
series : To Aru Majutsu no Index / To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
score : *****

here's our double thumbs up and standing ovation for makiron and her splendid kuroko-get, of which has been safely inducted into our list of 'greatest kuroko cosplay ever' alongside ai toujou's and midori kanda's. well honestly said, both of us weren't much into makiron's previous cosplays but this one however has swiftly won over our hearts and attention, and might as well lead us to rediscover and reevaluate our previous impression stamped over her past resume.

we gotta note it here that the biggest winner of all in regard to her kuroko-get was her lovely wig; very handsomely done it was indeed.

[ cosplay ] uriu : madoka kaname

layer : Uriu
character : Madoka Kaname
series : Puella Magi Madoka Magica
score : *****

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人＼

...and speaking of her 'absolute win' madoka-get from then, here's a post specially dedicated to it, of which would probably be the first of 2 to 3 series of entries over the same character [ by the exact same layer of course ] in times to come - well, maybe :3

needless to say, a flawless madoka-get it was and definitely is one of her best cosplay ever so far. that said, every single thing about her madoka-get were truly spot on in each and every aspect of it [ thus the 'flawless' remark just now ], leading her to [ unofficially ] represent the entirety of madoka cosplayers as both midori kanda [ homura akemi : click here ] and renka [ mami tomoe : click here ] did with their respective characters in terms of presentation / execution quality over the whole madoka cosplay fandom.

[ cosplay ] uriu : homura akemi / mami tomoe

layer : Uriu
character : Homura Akemi / Mami Tomoe
series : Puella Magi Madoka Magica
score : **** [ both ]

BEING HOMERUN IS SUFFERING

and so our standing favorite uriu-san once more return with two more characters from puella magi madoka magica; and this time she had chosen to personify the tragic stoic homura akemi as well as the trigger happy tea enthusiast mami tomoe, much to our delight :9

anyway, these two certainly were not as impactful as her 'absolute win' madoka-get then, yet her one magnificent charm finely prevailed in these two to our greatest pleasure - in which her ability to shape and mold herself into the characters she's cosplaying, and this can be very well seen on her facial expression as both homura and mami as depicted above. that said however, we weren't quite impressed on the accompanying rifle for her mami-get, of which seems to be quite a disaster - construction / presentation-wise.

[ all images are property of mukki-san ]

[ cosplay ] renka : mami tomoe

layer : Renka
character : Mami Tomoe
series : Puella Magi Madoka Magica
score : *****

without further ado, a magnificently perfect + spot on mami cosplay by renka-san, and by far the most ultimate mami tomoe-get we have witnessed so far [ even topping over uri-san's and riyu-san's splendid take on the same exact character here ]. +just for the note, renka-san has been featured twice on our cosplay channel for this mami-get alone, and thus our editor-in-chief zange-chan personally requested that we put her on feature here as well.

needless to say, we frankly believe that this is just as close as reality could get on recreating mami tomoe outside of the fictional realm from which she originated; whereas many did succeed with their respective mami-get, still renka-san excellently took hers on to the next level in realism thankfully via her careful presentation as the character - much details were being especially taken care of over her costume, accessories / props [ hands down the best mami rifle out there ] and her overall appearance itself - a series of effort which undoubtedly gave way to excellence and outstanding result such as this.

[ cosplay ] ami hayase : meiko 'menma' honma

layer : Ami Hayase
character : Meiko 'Menma' Honma
series : Ano hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai
score : ****1/2

both team members of +ophanium mutually fancies on the ghostly quality of ami-san's menma-get here; very excellently done for each of its presentation aspect - most remarkably her bright / playful poses which wonderfully embodies menma's character and presence in them. easily is our favorite menma-get so far to date, and very little of others which we assume to be able to rival ami-san's magnificent effort [ yet ] as featured here :3

[ all images are property of boat people ]

saki : second anime season announced !

heads up people~! plenty more of animated yurilicious dramatic mahjong saki goodness to be hitting our way soon, as a new [ tv anime ] project has recently being green lighted for production alongside a new manga spin-off, as per announced on the jacket for volume 8 of the manga [ click here for the sauce ]. our thoughts on this news ? AWESOME x9 !

[ cosplay ] rushi : fumino serizawa vol. 2

layer : Rushi
character : Fumino Serizawa
series : Mayoi Neko Overrun !
score : *****

2回死ぬ！

plenty more of mayoi neko overrun ! goodness from rushi-san, and this time we get to witness more of her fumino-get, now clad in DAT stray cats uniform [ which itself was one of the best costume ever designed in manga / anime, from our perspective that is - all hail peco-sensei ! ]. once again, a splendid one from her as well, mainly on the fact that her costume are definitely well made; its built and construction looks kinda flawless to our eyes - not sure whether she made them herself or bought / commissioned them somewhere else, but the costume does look great in its overall execution / presentation.

her wig is just as exquisite as her costume, with much attention seemingly paid to its sculpting and its two accompanying hair ribbons. the wig for one has framed her face well, bringing out the fumino in [ near ] accordance to the actual character design. also, she seems to be smiling a lot which is kind a little bit off character, but her poses indeed personifies the fumino we know and loved well.