#San Japan 15

[delaneytalks-tostatues]

I don't have a fun quote this time. I just love my friends. We are so silly goofy in cosplay.

Kiwi is Doug Eiffel

Cheery is Dr. Pryce

Alana is Dr. Maxwell

Alecks is Daniel Jacobi

@ghostcat-cosplays is Warren Kepler

Laura is Rachel Young

Photo by AlfaShots

Like what you see? Check out my Instagram for more

[galacticxangel]

Coming soon to a Con near you!

[tadashidumba]

A couple shots of my little trash man maid Kishu cosplay and pics I took at the TMM meet up. Everyone looked so cute ( ≧∀≦)ノ

[deductivisms]

if you're interested in my yapping i posted a convention recap hehe

[twinandroids]

"My flames may flicker, but they will never die!"

I don't post my cosplays here too often anymore but I debuted my Joshua rosfield cosplay this weekend at San Japan 🫡

[gamingoddessreviews]

Here is the San Japan 15 review is done! I hope you enjoy as we check out some awesome cosplay, and explore the convention grounds and everything they have to offer.

[vintage-every-day]

15 August 1945: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich enjoying coffee at KFWB, a Los Angeles radio station, after announcing the news of Japan’s surrender.

The San Fernando Valley Times reported: “KFWB had the most “glamorous” copy-girls in the nation during last Monday’s all-night alert caused by word of Japan’s surrender. Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth, who came to the studio with Orson Welles early Monday evening stayed all night, watching the teletypes and rushing bulletins to the microphone, where Welles did a “marathon” commentary lasting most of the night.”

[croquis-el]

I think everyone has already seen that short dossier in the court records about Odoroki (Apollo)

The entire Internet managed to laugh at the line "I call him Apollo" (Bro, that's literally his name)

I, in turn, will say that this is the result of unsuccessful localization (for now I'm talking about one specific line, don't swear)

In the original version, a slightly different meaning was embedded under this explanation. Namely, that Naruhodo does not "call him", but "gave him a nickname".

Won't you agree? Already a different message.

More below

ふとしたキッカケで 知り合った新米弁護士。 愛称はオドロキくん。

futoshita kikkake de shiriatta shin kome bengoshi. Aishō wa Odoroki-kun.

A novice lawyer whom I met by chance. His nickname is Odoroki-kun.

愛称(aisho) - A friendly, affectionate name used to address someone. (syn.) nickname.

In Japan, great importance is attached to friendly names, with their help people show their affection (of course, there are also offensive nicknames, but that's not the topic of the post)

Addressing by last name + warm, friendly suffix -kun shows us a respectful and trusting attitude towards the young lawyer

The dossier was probably entered into the MAISON system after Odoroki started working in Hodo's office, so there was confusion with the content (7 years ago, Odoroki was only 15 years old, he could not have been a lawyer, since he was in school)

Of course, this line is difficult to convey in another language with the same emotions and meaning, so everything was lost again

Yes, the Western world is more accustomed to addressing by name in friendly relations, so this line seemed stupid to everyone, but this was influenced not only by the impossibility of correct adaptation

And also by the way other characters address Odoroki

We will not mention episodic characters, but let's focus on those who appear in each case

The judge addresses Odoroki in two ways:

弁護人 (bengonin) - counsel; defender; advocate

At important and serious moments in the trial

Odoroki-kun - in a situation where the case takes an unexpected turn

よろしいですね? オドロキくん。

yoroshīdesu ne? Odoroki-kun.

Is that okay? Odoroki-kun.

Minuki Naruhodō (Trucy Wright)

Contrary to all the established impressions that the young magician very quickly begins to address the lawyer informally and behaves very boldly with him, giving him the nickname "Polly", in the original everything is completely different.

Absolutely always, Minuki addresses him exclusively as "Odoroki-san"

だ。ダメですよ、オドロキさん! ちゃんと、お話を聞かないと!

Damedesuyo, Odoroki-san! Chanto, ohanashi o kikanaito!

No. That's no good, Odoroki-san! You have to listen carefully!

San - さん.

It is the most common Japanese honorific and can be used to address both male and female adults. 

Like mister and misses, san is used when you do not know the person very well or when you want to show respect for someone who is not a close friend.

Minuki treats Odoroki with respect, but at the same time keeps him at a respectful distance. She guards her secrets to the very end and simply could not so quickly trust, essentially, a stranger, even if dad told her about him.

This freedom of adaptation changes Minuki's character and a new character, Trucy, appears (although all players should have approximately the same impression of the characters, after all, we are playing the same game).

She continues to call him the same in AA 5 and 6, probably just to accommodate the age difference (as with other adults)

あ、オドロキさん! お早い到着ですね。

a, Odoroki-san! O hayai tōchakudesu ne.

Oh, Odoroki-san! You arrived early.

Kyoya Garyuu (Klavier Gavin)

The prosecutor most often uses a unique and friendly nickname - Odeko-kun (Herr Forehead)

なあに。他に説明がつかないからさ。 そうだろう? おデコくん。

Hoka ni setsumei ga tsukanaikara sa. Sōdarou? Odeko-kun.

What? Because there's no other explanation. Right? Odeko-kun.

But when he's angry, our lawyer suddenly becomes Odoroki Hosuke (as a way to express frustration)

あ! キサマか、王泥喜法介! ぼくを燃やそうとしたのは!

a! Kisamaka, Odoroki Hōsuke! Boku o moyasou to shita no wa!

Ah! You, Odoroki Hosuke! You were the one who tried to burn me!

Kirihito Garyuu (Kristoph Gavin)

Just Odoroki-kun, nothing out of the ordinary

Kokone Kizuki (Athena Cykes)

As a junior co-counsel, she addresses him as "Odoroki-senpai"

あ! オドロキ先輩。

Ah! Odoroki senpai.

Senpai (先輩、せんぱい, "former born") is used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues and students in a school, workplace etc.

By doing this, she shows respect for her senior colleague and respects subordination.

I understand that it is very difficult to adapt the honorifics that are used in the original version, but it was possible to leave Mr. Justice where he rightfully belongs

[karasukarei]

Wind Breaker Drama CD vol. 1 – Fuurin, Memories of a Summer (Part 3 - final)

This is the last part, thanks for all the patience!

Part 1 here! Part 2 here!

Translation masterpost here!

Scene 6 – 11:46~13:42

Sakura: *stomach growls*

Ume: That’s a loud growl!

Sakura: Shut up! Hurry up and finish cooking it!

Ume: Well, hang on a bit! Everyone! Did you bring drinks?

Nirei: Yes! We’ve got them.

Ume: Right! Once again, thanks for coming today! Here’s to our summer! Cheers!

All: Cheers!

Sakura: This, can we eat it yet?

Nirei: Wait, Sakura-san, that’s still raw!

Suo: You’re really hungry aren’t you!

Tsuge: *virtuous gulping and swallowing* Yum!!! Meat is great for a tired body! I can feel my muscles celebrating!

Kiryuu: I was wondering about eating outside in such hot weather, but this is so tasty!

Hiiragi: There’s more coming, so eat up.

Suo: These vegetables, are they the ones that Umemiya-san planted on the rooftop?

Umemiya: You could tell! I harvested them together with Sugishita before coming today! Thanks for helping, Sugishita!

Sugishita: No, it was my pleasure.

Ume: They were all raised so well! I’m so happy everyone gets to eat them! (t/n: I WANT TO EAT THEM TOO)

Sakura: Oi Sugishita! Don’t take my meat!

Sugi: *scoffs very loudly. Like a dog*

Sakura: Don’t ignore me!

Hiiragi: There’s still a lot so don’t fight!

Ume: Yum! Eating together with everyone really makes the food taste good! Don’t you think so too, Sakura?

Sakura: *blushes very loudly* Mm, well, it’s not bad…

Ume: Hee hee.. Hey Sakura, you’re only eating meat?! Here, this bell pepper has been perfectly grilled!

Sakura: Don’t just give it to me! I don’t eat vegetables! (t/n: we can shake on that Sakura bell peppers suck)

Tsuge: Oh, is this Sakura’s virtue as well?

Suo: I think he just doesn’t like it.

Ume: Eh?? But vegetables are delicious…

Suo: Sakura-kun, you also leave the vegetables with your omurice behind don’t you?

Sugi: Hmph. What a brat.

Sakura: Huh?! You wanna take this outside?!

Hiiragi: Shut up and eat!

Ume: Hahaha, this is so fun!

 Scene 7 – 13:42~15:56

Suo: Step... by step… Going down the dimly lit corridor, there was a shadow up ahead. It feels bad, I’m scared, the man thought as he raised his voice. “Good evening,” he said, but there was no reply.

*somebody gulps; probably Sakura”

Suo: Behind him, he felt a presence, and the man turned around… there was a woman with long hair and a face that was all d-

Nirei: HIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Sakura: Hiie! I was scared by your voice!

Hiiragi: Suo, you’re really good at ghost stories, I was starting to get a little spooked there.

Ume: Really? I can’t see ghosts or spirits, so they don’t come to me at all.

Suo: But if you tell stories like this, they’ll probably come! (t/n: there's a test of courage called the Hyakumonogatari, where it's said that after telling 100 ghost stories a ghost will appear.)

Tsuge: M-maybe we should stop telling them…

Nirei: I’d like to go to the toilet…!

Tsuge: M-me too!!

*sound of washing hands*

Tsuge: Ahh, once it’s summer, everyone starts telling scary stories.

Nirei: Well, it does suit the season after all. (t/n: In Japan at least it’s something of a tradition to tell ghost stories in summer; it’s the same as how the beach or eating watermelon are also associated with summer)

Tsuge: Speaking of, this inn is pretty old, isn’t it? (t/n: remember that this is more like an empty private house that was rented out, and not a ryokan-type situation where there are always other staff around)

Nirei: Indeed, it has character or something like that.

Tsuge: Hey Nirei-kun, why did you suddenly stop there?

Nirei: Tsugeura-san, the corridor there…

Tsuge: There? It’s dark so I can’t really see.

Nirei: Isn’t there something there? A girl with long hair…

Tsuge: Maybe it's another guest?

Nirei: We rented it out today right?

Tsuge: Maybe it's the staff?

Nirei: But they told us they would come only during breakfast, didn’t they already go home long ago?

Nirei and Tsuge: Huh?? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Scene 8 – 15:56~18:33

Ume: Hm, what?

Suo: Just now, wasn’t that Nirei-kun and Tsugeura-kun’s voice?

Hiiragi: I’ll go take a look.

*Nirei and Tsugeura whimpering*

Hiiragi: What are you guys doing here shaking so much?

Nirei: J-j-j-just now, o-o-over there!!!

Tsuge: A woman with l-l-long h-hair…!!!

Hiiragi: Huh? Woman? Hmm… Ah… *chuckles not of anguish* Umemiya… don’t laugh…!

Kiryuu (I think): Speaking of… Sakura-chan… pfft…

Suo: So you guys mistook Sugishita-kun for the ghost of a woman!

Sugi: *growls*

Ume: DAHAHAHHA! That’s a disaster!

Sakura: How did you mistake this guy for one???

*Ume and Sakura laughing (t/n: THIS IS SO CUTE)

Nirei: But the corridor was really dark!

Tsuge: And the hair was waving in the wind, like sassassa!

Kiryuu: That’s cos Sugi-chan has such pretty hair~

Hiiragi: I was also thinking that it was just Sugishita.

Sakura: But even so, a woman??

Sugi: HMPH *throws a pillow at Sakura*

Nirei: Sakura-san! Are you ok!

Suo: Oh! A perfect straight on hit!

Kiryuu: No matter how soft the pillow is, a hit like that has got to hurt~ (t/n: omg the way he says this line is SO CUTE)

Sakura: Yooouuuu!!! Ha! *starts throwing pillows*

Tsuge: He’s equally vicious! Sugishita-kun, are you alright?

Suo: Sakura-kun nice shot! *claps* (t/n: THIS MAN JUST WANTS TO SEE THE WORLD BURN)

Nirei: This isn’t the time to clap?!

Ume: Great! Since we’re staying over, let’s have a pillow fight! Let’s join too!

Tsuge: Sounds good! We’re joining in!

*multiple cries of war*

Kiryuu: It seems fun, but I don’t want to sweat again after just getting out of the shower~

*Kiryuu gets hit*

Kiryuu: Ow… Who was that just now?? Guess I have no choice…

Suo: Joining in sometimes isn’t too bad too! (t/n: HE DEFINITELY THREW IT AT KIRYUU)

Nirei: If it’s like this, I have no choice but to join!

Hiiragi: Even if it’s just us, don’t make too much of a racket. Oi. Are you guys listening. Tch. SHUT U- *gets hit by a pillow*

Scene 9 – 18:33~end

*very loud manly snoring*

Sakura (I think): The meat… is mine… *snores more*

Tsuge: Next… ??? (t/n: can’t hear this part)… will be disturbed…

Nirei: Everyone has fallen asleep.

Suo: Everyone did play a lot today. I’ll be sleeping soon too. Nirei-kun, will you be sleeping soon?

Nirei: I’ll sleep after I write my diary!

Suo: I see! Good night.

Nirei: Hmm, today, I went to the beach with everyone from Boufuurin. We played watermelon splitting, had shaved ice, and the barbecue was delicious! The pillow fight was pretty intense though. So many things happened, I can’t finish writing about them all. But if there’s one thing I can say, it was that it was the best day ever!

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 777: Sohoku's sprinter

Pag 2

1: Houruaaagh

2: Buooraah

3: It's not.... “he's going to attack one more time”!!

Pag 3

1: He's attacked already!!

Pag 4

2: Fifth stage!!

He used the last curve!!

3: Feelings at full throttle!!

He got his “three seconds” in the curve and then accelerated!?

This guy has been tearing apart-

Pag 5

1: Aventador!!

Orange*!!

-road racing common sense over and over again!!

(*NdT.: Issa's attack's name)

Pag 6

4: One guy has jumped ahead as they were turning the curve

Hakogaku and Sohoku are chasing him!!

The guy who's ahead with two strong guys following him.....

Pag 7

1: I've never seen his jersey before!!

Hyaaa!!

Who's that guy!? An unknown cyclist!?

But he's here at the sprint line

Can something like that really happen!?

Pag 8

1: Words things like “of course”, “I already know that”, are like shackles that bind our thoughts

2: There is discovery in “common sense”, yon!!

4: Even so, in road bikes

5: there are two or three ways to hold the handles, so you can change your posture

Pag 9

1: and use various muscles to accelerate, yon!!

2: Three people passed the 300m point, and now it's just a straight road

Pag 10

1: There's still one person running ahead!! The two people behind him can't catch up!!

2: They can see the sprint gate already!!

3: Tch, really, he forced his way through with an ambush like this

4: But

5: My “number one in Japan” plan hasn't wavered one bit!!

Pag 11

1: Lat year's autumn

Woooah cap!!

2: Gap!!

3: Guaagh.... it's always just me saying “gap”!!

Whatcha talking about, Kabu

4: About Doubashi!! I wanna leave him “gaping”!! Me!! Since I lost to him in the summer Inter High!!

You’ve lost the ability to differentiate between the words ‘gap’ and ‘gaping’, haven’t you?

5: Huh? I was able to say this properly when I talked to Aoyagi-san

… which was it again?

6: By the way, Naruko-san, you're supposed to be a good sprinter

Supposed to be!?

Don't you have some secret weapon? Like an ace up your sleeve

7: I'm a genius, so I think if you teach me I'll get it right away!!

I really don't feel like telling you... honestly

8: No, but.... I also thought of myself as a genius, but surely I wasn't that stupid

Pag 12

1: But it's a favour to a kohai, it can't be helped

I've grown too, after all

2: Listen carefully to this “secret weapon”

When you're sprinting

3: The “cog-wheels” you imagine, try imagine them more accurately!! Until the tiniest details!!

4: The....

5: … cog-wheels!?

6: Ah? What does that mean!?

7: Be more specific, please... you're not very reliable, huh

Ugh!! This guy....

I've been thinking this since before, but me and you really don't think alike, Naruko-san...

I'll kill you....

Pag 13

1: As expected from Naruko-san

2: Aoyagi-san was more reliable (even thought he was taciturn)

What does he mean “imagine”?

Hop

3: Ohhh, amazing, Kaburagi

4: Hahaha, I know, right

6: I can do this too

Ohhhh... a blind catch!!

7: How did you do that!?

Hahaha, I'm a genius, so I can do anything just by imagin....

Kaburagi is so cool!

Pag 14

1: Imagining!!

2: Just now I did a blind catch just by imagining it!!

Do it again!

What's wrong, Kaburagi?

3: Oi oi, wait, wait- is this what he meant?

4: Does that mean it'll work? If I apply this to biking!?

6: Imagine

The cog-wheels

7: accurately

8: until the tiniest details

9: Detailed

10: Times and times again

Pag 15

1: I imagined it over and over again!!

And then my “cog-wheels”evolved into “gears”!!

2: Oi, San-na!! Do you have one more special move?

4: Tch

Pag 16

1: Buah!!

Of course!!

I need one more shot to crush you!!

2: It's “Huracan*”, which is stronger than “Aventador”!!

(*NdT.: written as “raging bull” but read as “huracan”)

3: Use it now!!

5: I, too

Pag 17

1: will pull out “golden yellow” now!!

2: If we use them at the same time, it'll make us catch up!!

3: You understand it, San-na

There's no time for complaining about it

4: This guy..... the “golden yellow” that he absolutely wanted to save until the last minute before the sprint line!!

5: We have to close the gap and line up to him now

At this rate, that guy

Pag 18

1: He'll be the first to arrive!!

2: The lead is passing the 200m sign!!

3: Who's that, Gunma!?

I thought the Gunma team was supposed to be Jousui?!

Did the team debut this year!?

There's a guy that strong in Gunma

4: Waaaa

5: That number 181 is debuting now.... but

His career and profile is crazy!!

Pag 19

1: It's Kiji Kyuui!! He's the MTB Inter High two-times champion!!

Huh!?

2: So, the two chasing him won't be able to catch up, at this rate!?

Pag 20

1: Huh!?

What was that just now

For an instant, behind those two

2: I saw blooming golden yellow flowers, and a raging bull

Pag 21

1: This year's may

2: I see

3: Please

Basically

4: Doubashi, you mean you want to race me in a serious sprint battle... now that I've become an university student!!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

There are now three possible answers to the question "when does Godzilla (2014) take place?", none of which come from the finished film itself.

#1 - Godzilla battles the Male MUTO in Honolulu on May 16, 2014 ("The Godzilla Revelation" featurette)

#2 - Godzilla kills the MUTOs in San Francisco on May 16, 2014 (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, bottom left of the frame)

#3 - Ford Brody arrives in Japan on July 15, 2014 (deleted Akira Takarada cameo scene)

[delaneytalks-tostatues]

"I'm not "in love" with Reina Valencia, I just think she's super amazing and hot--"

This is your sign to listen to @pasitheapowder if you haven't already. Look at us. GAZE UPON US. Sophie simping so hard for Reina Valencia is CANON.

@ghostcat-cosplays as Reina Valencia

Kiwi as Josephine Crooks

My super amazing and hot girlfriend Alana as Dr. Jane Gonzalez

[flowersforabel]

Heya! San Japan sold out my beret stock entirely, so we’re doing a pre-order to get a full restock! If you’d like to get these before anyone else, consider joining the pre-order here! It’s running until September 15 and will help me with the bulk ordering costs!

[foxufortunes]

From: unknown number you’ve been invited to a monsters ball lucky you rabbit

Finally, the fic is out, A Monsters' Ball the pro-exy team MSBY Black Jackals (ft Andreil and some rabbits). Details like team line up and positions, alt jerseys, layers and some backstories beneath the cut.

So, our team line up and some details (and yes, I do have a colour coded spreadsheet to keep track of all this, which Neil and Sakusa constantly mess up by being the wrong year for their age bc they're babies, but ages are rough because no everyone has a declared birthday/age) with some art breaks between:

#4 Captain Meian Shuugo - 29, backliner, 5yrs MSBY, 5yrs college, from one of the country's best high school teams, 1 season as captain, trying really hard to be mature and not find everyone's antics funny, eternal rival to Hirugami Fukurou, captain of the champions, the Alders.

#20 V.Captain Hirugami Shouko - 26, backliner, 2yrs MSBY, 5yrs college, from another top high school, middle child of 2 pro-exy players (two of the earliest adopters before it got big, probably ppl who went to uni with Tetsuji and Kayleigh), younger sister of Alders captain Fukurou, joined the Jackals out of desire to say fuck you to her older brother.

#2 Amani Kanoka - 23, striker, rookie MSBY, 5yrs college, from a private all girls high school that became the best in the country, known as the Queens of Exy, very shy, has a lot of confidence issues, that she handles by being the best on court.

#5 Nathaniel Wesninski - 24, striker, MSBY rookie, 1yr Baltimore Wildcats, 4.5 yrs EAU Ravens, 0.5yrs PSU Foxes, joined the Foxes after only a year playing in a nowhere team but was quickly poached by the Ravens at Christmas that year and was a regular member the team the next year under his real name, very flighty, big fan of secrets, no idea how to handle the Jackals' chaos (they're like the Foxes but without the trauma).

#12 Bokuto Koutarou - 24, striker, 1yr MSBY, 5yrs college, one of the top 5 strikers in Japan in high school, another top high school team, ultimate himbo, might have committed tax fraud, has a word of the day calendar he's trying really hard to use properly, known for super sharp angle shots and for just bodying people and the ball.

#15 Sakusa Kiyoomi - 22, striker, rookie MSBY, 5yrs college, championship highschool team several yrs running, one of the top 3 strikers in Japan in high school, collegiate MVP, Team Japan 2016 squad, Team Japan U19 rep, grumpy baby, very into properly folded handkerchiefs, do not touch, preferably do not interact outside of court, speak to him via his adorable cousin or not at all unless saving him from bugs.

Halfway through the team stats, time for some art. The Away Colours! Maybe the racquets change to white too, idk I couldn't be bothered to recolour them though.

Ok, back to the second half of the team:

#3 Andrew Minyard - 25, goalkeeper, 2yrs MSBY, 3yrs USC Trojans, 2yrs PSU Foxes, best goalkeeper and rookie awards during his rookie season, didn't really tell anyone his plans after university just kind of vanished, only told a handful of people he'd signed for a team, Neil thought he was dead, he has a motorcycle now because city traffic is awful on his sports cars and the stadium is walking distance, sometimes plays defensive dealer.

#6 Inunaki Shion - 26, goalkeeper, 4yrs MSBY, 3yrs college (dropped out to go pro), middling high school only competed nationally once, the vodka aunt of the team, here to get people drunk, instigate drama with the monsters and then sit back and laugh, actually very soft on the youngsters, tolerates stupid nicknames like Inu-san and Wan-san (never get tired of that being translated Mr Dog and Mr Woof).

#9 Adriah Tomas - 27, backliner, 1yr MSBY, a transfer from European leagues, surprisingly fast for his size, just happy to be here, comes across as a bit of an airhead, but is usually right next to Inunaki instigating chaos and then pretending he doesn't understand the language enough to know what happened.

#10 Oliver Barnes - 30, backliner, 2yr MSBY, Team USA 2016/2012 Olympic squads, transfer from America, big friendly softie, dad of the team, actual dad of a 5yo girl, starting to consider retirement into coaching so is happy to spend the end of his elite career with these idiots.

#13 Miya Atsumu - 23, offensive dealer, 5yrs MSBY, Team Japan 2016 Olypmic squad, Team Japan U19 rep, from a top high school, considered the best dealer in Japan in high school, signed straight from high school, a particularly offensive dealer, easily doubles as striker, all rounder (all Jackals are all rounders but the dealers in particular), demanding and thoughtless jerk but not trying to be nasty, can come across as arrogant but is the first to accept his own mistakes.

#21 Hinata Shouyou - 22, defensive dealer, MSBY rookie, 2yrs playing street exy in Brazil, middling high school team on the rise, player backliner in high school despite wanting to be a striker, but learned to play all positions in Brazil, sometimes move position based on what team they're facing, general ray of sunshine, obsessed with exy, does meditation and yoga in the sunrise preferably on a beach.

Ok, team done, have some more art because yes, I did layer these team pics up slowly from the base dri-fit layers to the armour/padding to the jerseys.

The Jackals provide uniform everything from base layers to padding to anything like compression sleeves, knee/arm pads and everything else. Armour is provided by them to ensure it's up to regulation and team standards, the Jackals require some kind of shoulder padding (most of the team has detachable shoulder pads, while Bokuto and Sakusa who prefer more shoulder rotation and just more coverage respectively, where seperate bicep/shoulder pads). I've talked more about armour on older wip posts, but they're based on lacrosse chest pads. Brief version: strikers were shorter, around the vitals, backliners generally are longer on the sides to protect the ribs, goalies have more coverage because duh, and dealers wear whatever they like. Every single one has either hollow rigid or extra padded piece over the centre of the chest because, especially in younger players, a ball to the chest can stop your heart.

And there we go!

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

07/31/2007 coors amphitheater chula vista ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/03/2007 verizon wireless amphitheater selma tx - effvee

08/04/2007 smirnoff music center dallas tx - mrsmoore710

08/05/2007 cynthia woods mitchell pavilion the woodlands tx - allyhr80

08/11/2007 ford amphitheater tampa fl - DAK

08/13/2007 walnut creek amphitheater raleigh nc - ddr2nite

08/18/2007 darien lake performing arts center darian lake ny - megaphone25

08/19/2007 nissan pavilion bristow va - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/21/2007 molson amphitheater toronto ca - Taylor & saofan20

08/22/2007 dte energy music center clarkston mi - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/24/2007 tweeter center for the performing arts bostom ma - ricola7 & the academy is my beautiful romance

08/25/2007 tweeter center camden nj - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/26/2007 new england dodge music center hartford ct - blackmariah224

08/28/2007 mohigan sun grandstand new york state fair syracuse ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/29/2007 pnc bank arts center holmdale nj - darkxdisco

09/01/2007 first midwest bank amphitheater tinley park il - jeana k

10/04/2007 coca cola auditorio monterrey mexico - stagglp

10/07/2007 palacio de los deportes mexico city mexico - my chemical romance official youtube

10/24/2007 maxwells hoboken nj - my chemical romance official youtube

10/30/2007 sportová hala pasienky, bratislava, slovakia - kiss955

11/04/2007 x-tray zurich switzerland - waylien87

11/11/2007 metro radio arena newcastle upon tyne england - moshmocyanide

11/12/2007 aberdeen exhibition and conference centre aberdeen scotland - t3hOutlaw

11/15/2007 o2 arena london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/17/2007 king's hall belfast northern ireland - xxeternalflamexx

11/28/2007 brisbane entertainment centre brisbane australia - skejemer281

12/03/2007 adelaide entertainment centre adelaide australia - zsazsalahore

12/09/2007 stadium merdeka kuala lumpur malaysia - ffillusionseb

12/11/2007 singapore expo max pavilion singapore - msliveformusic

12/14/2007 neal s.blaisdell arena honolulu - xdegrassilover92x

1/25/2008 eastwood open park manila phillipines - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/27/2008 national taiwan university sports center taipeh taiwan - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/29/2008 asia world expo hall 10 hong kong china - MCRThePatient

01/31/2008 plenary hall jakarta convention center kota administrasi jakarta pusat indonesia - mhit2

02/15/2008 vio rio rio de janiero brazil - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/17/2008  hellooch curitiba brazil - elle10one

02/19/2008  via funchal são paulo brazil - hicao182

03/29/2008 rialto theater tuscon arizona - raven pictures

03/30/2008 the joint at the hard rock hotel las vegas nv - Biancha Hidalgo

03/31/2008 the joint at the hard rock hotel las vegas nv - Donanae Dunwoody & rnm1947ebe & nachocheesechips & justsleeep

04/02/2008 san jose civic center san jose ca - daylinmychemrocks

04/06/2008 bamboozle left verizon wireless amphitheater irvine ca - jackiejackiebootysmackie

04/09/2008 crystal ballroom portland oregon - mcdreamysgirlXOXO

04/12/2008 autodromo hermanos rodriguez coca cola zero festival mexico city mexico - the academy is my beautiful romance

04/18/2008 congress theater chicago il - Ashley Tara

04/19/2008 the fillmore detriot mi - stephanie roose

04/24/2008 house of blues new orleans la - megan williams

04/25/2008 baton rouge river center baton rouge la - sam

04/28/2008 stubb's bar b cue austin tx - sue nellis

05/02/2008 beale street music festival tom lee park memphis tn - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/04/2008 lifestyle communities pavilion columbus oh - christine steele

07/31/2009 the roxy west hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/08/2009 maishima osaka japan - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/26/2010 backstage werk munich germany - song des tages

10/30/2010 melkweg the max amsterdam netherlands - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/22/2010 house of blues west hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/30/2010 p.c. richard & son theater nyc ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/1/2010 maida vale studios london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/2/2010 fuse tv studio nyc ny - koi no yokan

12/05/2010 1-800-ask-gary amphitheater tampa fl - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/06/2010 rockefeller plaza nyc ny - heather the human

12/08/2010 the midland by amc kansas city mo - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/09/2010 the daily habit los angeles ca - koi no yokan

12/11/2010 spike tv video game awards la convention center la - hidden gems & the academy is my beautiful romance

12/11/2010 kroq almost acoustic christmas gibson amphitheater universal city ca - kroq

12/15/2010 q101 twisted christmas house of blues chicago il - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/17/2011 conan burbank ca - JuanPI

1/21/2011 lopez tonight burbank ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

01/21/2011 the hollywood tower hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/10/2011 xfm radio studios london uk - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/22/2011 metro radio arena newcastle on tyne england - ZoneMum

02/23/2011 o2 academy brixton uk - emzlouise90

02/24/2011 o2 academy islington uk - emziixmcr

03/09/2011 kesselhaus munich germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

03.12.2011 ciutat de les artes i les ciencies valencia spain - CarlosCapBlanc3

03/20/2011 hartwall areena helsinki finland - the academy is my beautiful romance

04/23/2011 terminal 5 new york city ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/15/2011 carlisle lake district airport carlisle england - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/24/2011 universidad complutense de madrid madrid spain - pamyale24

06/26/2011 autodromo internazionale enzo e dino ferrara imoli italy - denis rossi

07/02/2011 coke sound up stuttgart germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/03/2011 dyrskuepladsen roskilde denmark - søren thomsen

07/07/2011 passeio marítimo de algés oeiras portugal - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/09/2011 roundhouse london england - slavka941

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

[cherrylng]

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade final US tour live report [ROCKIN'ON (July 2008)]

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

The Black Parade's ‘final’ US tour. 3 West Coast shows & finale in New York follow-up report!

Text & text photo : Yukiko Amida

13th Feb. A newsletter arrived informing us that My Chemical Romance would be touring the US from the end of March. "Before trying to make a new album, we decided to take another turn", it said, "When we started this band, we could feel you guys right in front of us. It's time to give that another go. See you soon," they wrote. I knew they would probably play one last show in the US to close it out, but I was surprised to find out that they would be travelling around the country for over a month. They had started touring the world just before the album release, starting with Summer Sonic in 2006, and had been touring without a break, with a schedule that would leave you breathless just by watching them. In the meantime, they've grown into an arena-class band thanks to the huge success of their album, and now they've dared to choose a smaller venue for the real ‘end’ of The Black Parade….. I want to see this at all costs! I want to see it too much!!! So I decided to fly to the West Coast. I decided to go to the West Coast at the beginning of April because Eddie Vedder had announced that he was going on his first solo tour around the same time, limited to 10 shows. I made the strongest dream travel plan in my history: to see Eddie twice in Vancouver, then see My Chemical Romance in San Francisco, stay at a friend's house in Bend, Oregon for a few days, see My Chemical Romance twice in Portland and return to Japan. Remembering that the Philadelphia show I was supposed to go to last May was cancelled due to food poisoning among the members, I was praying that they wouldn't eat chicken…

4th Apr. From Vancouver to San Francisco after Eddie's dense stage performance, where I had to check several times to make sure my nose wasn't bleeding. I was at the airport early in the morning at 5.30am, eating a lot of Burger King to prepare for My Chemical Romance, which was 15 hours away. I arrived at the hotel around noon and went to the front of the venue to see fans who had slept in the night before (this was the second day in San Francisco) wrapped in blankets and about 30 people already lined up. I had a reserved seat ticket that day, so I went back to the hotel and took a nap, and when I came back at the opening time, there was a long queue that surrounded the venue for one block. Every time I go to a My Chemical Romance show, especially overseas, I always think that the fans are young. And I feel they are getting younger and younger every year. While we were shivering with body warmers on, most of them were enjoying themselves in short sleeves, saying things like "Oh no, it's a bit cold…". There were a lot of kids with their parents, and I thought I must be the oldest fan who wasn't with a child, so I finally entered the venue, stood in another long queue, bought a bunch of T-shirts and took my seat. The Warfield is a historic venue where the Grateful Dead played their 15th anniversary show in 1980, and has a large theatre-like balcony with reserved seating above the standing floor. Even at the top, the steep incline gives a good view of the stage, and for a capacity of 2,000 people, it feels quite intimate. The first support act, Drive By, is already well known amongst My Chemical Romance fans (vocalist & guitarist Todd [Price]* filled in for Frank on the Japan tour last January when he had to return home to the US after a sudden illness!), and the floor was hot from early on. Billy Talent, who followed, had interrupted work on his new album to rush in and gave a performance that made you feel he was at the top of his game, with his creativity on the rise. The girls in the back were screaming so loudly that even using torn toilet paper as ear plugs hardly helped, and the double punch of Benjamin's super high-pitched vocals was already crushing my ears…….. But the next time the lights went down, I had taken out my earplugs, and when My Chemical Romance appeared on stage, the volume increased by a factor of 100 and I was surrounded by screams, but then the intro and start of ‘Thank You For The Venom’ and the huge sing-along from the start blew it all away, and I forgot about my ears.

Considering that Mikey was not present at last year's Budokan concert, I was first of all moved just by the fact that all the members were there, and furthermore, they were now brimming with energy generated by the sense of accomplishment and liberation they felt after having performed The Black Parade as their second ego and shedding that, they looked dazzlingly bright. The aggressive ‘This is How I Disappear’ was like a shower of super-high water pressure, with every single note coming down from the stage with such force that it shook the entire venue with laughable catharsis, and ‘Dead!’ was the third song to bring the crowd to a climax, and I nearly fell off the balcony when I heard the guitars that started next. Hey, this is ‘Hang 'Em High'!! This song, which continues to be the most played song on my now antique iPod mini, was finally available to me live!! It's impossible, it's even cooler than the album, the guitar is so far forward and the vocals aren't muffled at all, I want to listen to it at home with this much volume… I kept thinking about it, almost letting myself go and then rushing back to consciousness, and as I kept repeating it, I realised that it was only 2 minutes and 45 seconds long to begin with. It's a short song, so it was over in no time at all.

And then, before I could even think about it, I heard the keyboards for ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ and suddenly my head was clear. Seeing Gerard, who had mic'd the audience several times since the start of the show, listening intently to everyone's singing, I felt I understood why My Chemical Romance had decided to do this tour one last time. They are making sure. The band has grown through the experience of making this album and living through their own fears and what "The Black Parade" was for them, for their fans, and the fans who have taken in their image and message have also grown to the point where they can sing in their own voices, "We'll carry on"—I felt that they were confirming this with their own eyes and ears. This feeling was reinforced towards the end of ‘Famous Last Words’, which Gerard began by saying, "It's still the hardest song I've ever sung". Gerard seemed relieved to hear the audience singing in a firm voice, "I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone", as he had stated publicly that "I'll be taking a break for the next two years, so this will be my last tour for now". Another emotional moment of the day was when Gerard returned to the dark stage after the end of ‘Cancer’ and a quiet keyboard solo, and sang (just a little bit) a slow version of their first song, 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You'. From there, the band rolled into ‘Give 'Em Hell, Kid’, followed by a vertical cover of Bob Dylan's 'Desolation Row', and closed with the classic 'Helena'. The band must have been pushing forward almost non-stop for nearly seven years since they started, but the band's uncanny energy, with not the slightest hint of fatigue or weariness, left me in awe.

8th April. We took a bus from Bend to Portland early in the morning, but to our surprise, it was completely covered in snow from late at night. But we arrived not too late, about three and a half hours, and there was no snow in Portland, but a light rain. I heard that Gerard was signing copies of “The Umbrella Academy”, a comic book he wrote himself, so I stood in line at the comic book store in the occasional sleet shower. After three freezing hours, I finally made it to Mr Way's** table and was about to have him sign my copy of the March issue of Rockin'On, which featured an interview with Mikey, when he seemed to take a liking to a full-page shot of his brother and a photo of him at the Budokan in Japan. He asked me repeatedly if he could have it, so I reluctantly, but with great pleasure, gave it to him. While I was still excited, I hit it off with a girl I met on the bus back downtown (I later discovered we were close in age and felt even closer to her……), and we decided to go to the show together. The Crystal Ballroom, the venue for the show, also has a long history, and is a popular venue for its dance floor that sways as if it were floating, and the beautiful and funky interior designed by McMenamins, which operates microbrew pubs all over Oregon and beyond. The front of the stage was packed, but the side partitioned bar area, which is only open to over-20s, was relatively empty and cosy. The day started with the dramatic ‘Sleep’, which took the audience by surprise. I had no idea that this song, which is so painful on the album, could sound so powerful in their current hands. The amazing power of the band grew with each song, with Ray's dynamic guitar playing, with his afro and physique looking even stronger, Bob's acrobatic drumming, which I have never seen before, with his hair longer and (for some reason) wearing a red flannel shirt, and Mikey, also with longer hair and more beautiful features, moving around and unleashing the bass. Frank's guitar seemed not to be in good shape that day, but his passion for playing was as strong as anyone else's. Confidence could be felt from every faint note of each sound. And speaking of confidence, Gerard, who had been persistently wearing long sleeves, was proudly showing off his upper arms as he wore sleeveless for the first time in a long time (since the hot Warped Tour, I think). The confidence that they had overcome something so huge, as if they were trying to repel the demons that had possessed them, made them look one or two sizes bigger than they were on stage. The last song of the second album, ‘I Never Told You What I Do For a Living’, was a joy to hear on this day! James, now an indispensable keyboard player, sang the Motley Crue classic ‘Home Sweet Home’ and the flow to ‘Cancer’ also made me cry.

9th Apr. Day 2 in Portland is Gerard's birthday! The mood was even more festive than usual, with a cake-shaped balloon raised by a fan at the edge of the stage. After the second song, ‘Dead!’, Gerard himself led the rendition of Happy Birthday, and even after the song, ‘This is How I Disappear’, the audience got excited with a huge chorus of “I want to listen to it one more time!” In the past two days, I've heard all three songs from "Live and Rare" that are not on the album. I was especially happy to hear ‘Kill All Your Friends’, which I had always wanted to hear live. This song was supposed to be the sixth song on The Black Parade, but was cut from the final version and released as the B-side of ‘Famous Last Words’, and when I first heard it, I thought it sounded simpler than the other songs, and I was convinced that the reason was to avoid making the album too long, but later I could see what Gerard meant when he said later, "I wish we had put it on the album". Behind the disturbing title of the song, ‘Kill All Your Friends’, there is the reality that ‘I’ am stuck in the town where I grew up, and the only time I can see ‘you’, my classmate who has left my hometown, is at someone's funeral. With the disappointment and fear that "you will leave again, and I will die here", I decided that, "I should kill my friend, because then I will see you again". It is an ironic expression of twisted feelings. And when they sing the part where they repeat "You'll never take me alive / Do what it takes to survive, 'cause I'm still here" in a live setting, they are giving each and every one of us who feels the same way the courage to stand up for ourselves. So the flow of this song and ‘I'm Not Okay’ is the strongest, and it is burned into my mind as an explosive climax that releases all the kids who are about to be torn apart by their pent-up feelings at once. I'm really glad I came to see it, thank you! I desperately suppressed the urge to get on a plane to Salt Lake City, the next venue, instead of Tokyo the next day.

Then 8th May. I was unsure about the last New York show when it was announced after I got my West Coast tickets, but after seeing this tour I became more and more determined not to miss this finale, so I flew to New York as well. Luckily, the Honda Civic Tour, headlined by Panic at the Disco, had just arrived in New York and I was able to catch the second day of the show. The stage was cute, with flower-decorated microphones and a papier-mâché set that looked like a school play, and they played their new album "Pretty. Odd." The new album's dreamy world was recreated, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the old and new songs complementing each other better than expected at the show. Can't wait to see them again at Summer Sonic!

Finally, 9th May. It has rained heavily since this morning. Passing by the entrance to the standing area of Madison Square Garden, plastic sheets, raincoats, chairs, and bags of snacks were strewn about, a testament to the large number of people queuing in the rain. In addition to being the finale of the tour, there was another reason why this show was so special, as Mikey wrote in his 25th February newsletter. 'About a year ago now, my brother brought me here to see Smashing Pumpkins. So I looked at my brother's face and said, "This is what I want to be…… We have to do this…… Someday we're going to be on that stage." We both felt exactly the same thing. And now we can announce the realisation of that dream performance.' After warming up with Drive By and Taking Back Sunday, which Adam [Lazzara] happily said was his dad's birthday, the bass line begins as if to give Mikey the leading role. When the dream performance started with 'Give 'Em Hell, Kid,' my heart was so hot that I was almost overcome with emotion. Surrounded by fans in the arena and in the stands next to the stage, the five of them looked more nervous than ever before, but this was soon swept away by the joy of having made their dream come true, and the air was filled with a sense of celebration and thanksgiving. Midway through the show, when Gerard wanted to sit everyone [the band] down to watch the Wave, Ray apparently whispered to him that they could do it standing up, but Gerard just laughed and shook his head and said, "No, we'll make it more dramatic!" and they ended up sitting down, and it was amazing to see a really dramatic huge wave of excitement rise up and flow throughout the stands. I'll never forget the smiling faces of the audience raising their hands and the members just smiling and looking on in disbelief.

Before the final song, ‘Famous Last Words’, Gerard told us an anecdote about seeing Smashing Pumpkins at this venue, and he said that Mikey brought him there. During the interlude, Gerard picked up Mikey from behind (he was still playing the bass!) and looked so happy. The song, played with such brotherly love, was filled with more joy and hope than I could ever have imagined. Countless mobile phone lights flashed during ‘Desert Song’, and a huge chorus echoed through the last song, ‘Helena’, as if they were regretting every second that passed. The final "goodbye, goodnight" turned into a scream, and amidst truly head-splitting applause and cheers, Gerard said. "Even if we never do another show, we'll keep on living—" These last words have caused a stir, with some people thinking it means the end of the band, but when I heard them there, and now that I've written them down, I can't help but feel a little more pleased to have made it this far, and less anxious about it. It was The Black Parade that opened with the song ‘The End’ and showed me that the end is the beginning. And the end of the tour, when we see where it has led us, shows us that the place is so beautiful and that we are so much stronger for going there. When My Chemical Romance comes back to us again, we want to be able to make them proud. As one of the fans from all over the world who has been given more strength than I can take, that's all I can wish for now.

Getting pumped up at Burger King in the morning

The Warfield before the storm

From Portland to Bend by prop plane

Return trip by bus through snowy landscape

A stylish sign at the Crystal Ballroom

Bought a T-shirt without thinking

A flyer for Frank's Skeleton Crew / advertisement for the Portland show

A poster for a book signing with cartoonist Way-sensei (pics by Mycki)

A very personal New York specialty pancake that was treated to our correspondent Akemi Nakamura.

The brilliant stage of PATD decorated with flowers

The poster of the fateful Smashing Pumpkins concert was found at the venue!

Translator’s Note: Sooooo I bet some of you didn't see me coming in with this translation of a MCR live report, eh? 👀

Fun fact: In Japan, My Chemical Romance’s short name isn’t called ‘MCR’, but rather shortened down as “マイケミ / Mykemi”. Just like in the western world, it’s not unusual that Japanese fans will shorten band names to make it easier to pronounce, but in this case, it was shortened based on their writing system. You can see this with Red Hot Chili Peppers / Redochiri and Smashing Pumpkins / Sumapan, for example.

*I’ve checked on who Todd Price of Drive By is and, uhhhh, yeah… other than the frankly brief Wikipedia article about the band, it turns out he had just passed away earlier this year in March. Didn’t expect that when I Googled for more information, but here we are.

**In the original text, in this particular sentence, the journalist actually referred to Gerard as ‘Way-sensei’, an honorific term of respect towards him. But this sentence was the only instance that the word ‘sensei’ was conferred onto him, so most likely this was used while he’s Gerard Way the comic book artist, not as Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. I used ‘Mr Way’ in that sentence instead as it still conveyed a form of respect towards him.