#and all of the rwby cosplayers this weekend were amazing!

[jonthejournalist]

Happy RTX!

With RTX finished for another year, it has been amazing to see how happy the RWBY fandom has been this weekend, regardless of being in Austin or simply reacting.

To see how excited people were for the RWBY panel, watching everyone get so hyped over the outfit reveals and new content! And seeing how quickly every single artist could produce art for it was honestly stunning! 

(Ngl, just wanted an excuse to put the picture back up, it is so cool)

It was great to see people so happy to have Coco confirmed as lesbian, to have that representation in the show. That we are getting Team CFVY’s return in another book, with the added bonus of Team SSSN returning too! That we have RWBY comics on the way, as well as new merchandise (Come one, we all want that Crescent Rose)

And that’s before we even get to the sneak peak at next volume! Or the small reveals from Miles and Kerry of what to expect! Barbara and the 3 words for Volume 7! (You know the words 😉). The Bisexual Bob and then it getting called that by the designers too? Hilarious, fantastic and amazing. (All in favour of a Korra style haircut scene?)

We have not even mentioned the cosplayers? To see the dedication and love put into the outfits is just so cool! From Flynt, to Salem, to Penny, to Maria, to Grimm Ruby, to Sun, to Neo, to Cowboy Yang (Shout out to @yang-smash-trash for that one 👍).

There is a million more things that could still be mentioned, from CRWBY’s interaction with fans, mass Yang meet up, Tumblr and Twitters RWBY tag meltdown in excitement and numerous reported mad antics that have happened.

But ultimately? Regardless of if you were there, or reacting, you all made the RWBY community full of love and laughter this weekend. So thank you! 

[periodicreviews]

RWBY/RTX Austin 2018

Last weekend, I went to RTX Austin which is Rooster Teeth’s annual convention. Last time I went in 2016, it was about primarily to try it out, but I was also interested in seeing the RWBY panel for the plan the staff had for the forthcoming Volume 4, the first without Monty. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Jeff Williams would be performing a concert and this turned out to be the highlight. 

I skipped 2017 because there was no Jeff Williams concert and partially due to being disappointed with Volume 4.

I bet this year on the fact that Jeff would be coming back and that turned out to be a good choice because the show did not disappoint. I don’t think the 2016/first time experience can ever be topped, but this 2018 show was equally worth the money.

After the disappointment that was Volume 4 and the mediocre Volume 5, I wasn’t as hyped about RWBY, but I figured I should still go to RTX and see it since I’d be there anyway. But admittedly I was going more for the concert than anything else.

The following is a summary of the RWBY panel #1 on Friday, the JWFO concert and Q&A, and a few other things.

RWBY pre-panel

There were several things that stood out to me at this panel.

Before the panel began, two women came out on stage to warm up the crowd. (This was after Craig from GameAttack came out to ask for donations for the Extra Life charity stream that they do). I hate to reduce them to stereotypes because I don’t really know anything about them and don’t have anything against them, but it’s the easiest way to convey the scene. Girl #1 was cosplaying as Yang. She seemed to be a very energetic and outgoing type of person and I got the impression that she is trying to get hired by Rooster Teeth in a marketing/PR role. Girl #2 was wearing a RWBY dress and was the quieter kind of nerdy girl who had a little trouble speaking either due to nervousness or she just stutters when she talks. Girl #2 also had a bat wrapped with barbed wire, like from The Walking Dead which apparently someone just gave to her as a gift.

I bring up their appearances/personalities because they mentioned they had introduced several panels together, meaning that some organizer had put them together for some reason. There just didn’t seem to be any chemistry between the two. Girl #1 would start to go off on a PR line about how beautiful all the Yangs/cosplayers looked and Girl #2 would say “I like turtles”. She didn’t actually say “I like turtles” but I’m just trying to illustrate the kind of disconnect between them.

 “So amazing!”

Girl #1 repeated this phrase at least 20 times while she was on-stage. I get she was there to hype up RWBY and RT, but maybe she went a little too far. She made it sound like everything at RTX was the best thing ever, which I get for fans, it’s a very enjoyable experience and from a PR perspective that’s what you want to convey. This is no different from something like Electric Daisy Carnival where they really push the “You are loved”/“We are all friends” message as you bake for 12 hours in the sun.

“Proud of me yet dad?”

Girl #2 said this near the end of their time and it felt like it was one of the few genuine moments during that opening.

“RWBY is the most forward facing property that Rooster Teeth has.”

Girl #1 said this and it’s one of many things she said that made me think she was trying to get hired.

“Are you guys ready for the Yang-bang with Barb?”

I cringed at this. I was completely unaware that the group selfie with Barbra Dunkleman (the voice of Yang) and other Yang cosplayers was referred to as a Yang-bang (I looked it up and that is what she tagged it as in 2016). I get that RWBY is now dark and gritty and no longer a “kid-friendly” show per se. But phrasing the selfie like this seemed to be a little too casual pun on “gangbang”.

Besides this, they went through the usual crowd questions like “Who’s here to see RWBY?”, “How many people have been to RTX before?”, “Did you guys get your merch? Oh that merch is so great.”, etc.

RWBY main panel

Once the panel officially started, I was confused as to why, just like in 2016, everyone seems so unorganized/unprepared. Maybe they think it’s funny, but I’d much rather prefer just a concise 45 minutes of presenting/banter, with 15 min for question. Kerry is always like “Oh guys, where did I put that? Is this next? Is that later? Should we just do it now?”

They announced “RWBY After the Fall” a new set of YA novels from Scholastic. It makes sense that they’re exploring the RWBY universe but it does make me wonder whether the V4 timeskip was seen as more of a business opportunity or done more in service to what would make the story better.

The most shocking thing about the panel was the discussion about how the writing process is different for Volume 6. Kerry and Miles initially started to say “In the past” but then quickly altered course and said “Let’s not talk about how we used to do it, just how we’re doing it now.” They basically described how they are writing more than one draft/getting the opinions of other people in the company who have been on the RWBY team for a long time.

It was shocking that they are doing it just now in Volume 6. I can understand Volume 1 and 2 just being a product of Monty/Miles/Kerry and 3 can kind of get a pass. But before/during Volume 4 and 5, wasn’t there anyone that said “Hey, maybe we need to do something different”? Maybe they did and it didn’t work out like they hoped. I am glad to hear that they are trying to improve the process.

The other big thing they did was to show a new character short. This one focused on the villains, mainly the White Fang/Adam. The short featured at least one new Jeff Williams vocal track and some of the animation looked amazing. In general, the animation for V4 and beyond has been decent to good, but there aren’t many instances where it really blows me away.

The short shows Sienna Khan using a chain rope weapon against multiple enemies at the same time. The chain (with a blade at the tip) moves so fluidly and the combat has a real sense of rhythm to it. Sure, you can have the greatest animation in the world, but it doesn’t mean anything if the story isn’t there to match it. I’m willing to stick around some more to see if the script improves. They did also announce a new RWBY Co director and if this short was a product of his involvement, then I like what I’m seeing so far.

Jeff and Casey Williams Q&A

When tickets first went on sale, the only option to be on the floor was to pay 60 dollars for a poster, ticket, and Q&A with Jeff and Casey. I think afterwards, you could just buy the standalone ticket, but I didn’t want to risk not being on the floor.

I get that the concert is hosted by ACL and not by RTX, but you would think there would be a little more coordination between the two organizations given that the concert appears on the RTX schedule and the graphic says “RTX presents”. On Saturday afternoon, I tried to figure out when and where the Q&A would be held. The regular guardians didn’t know and referred me to their manager. I was told to contact the venue to find out and that RTX wasn’t in charge of the event. It was just weird that RTX staff didn’t seem interested in finding out for themselves. I would bet I was not the only person to ask someone at RTX for information about the concert. Additionally the guy in charge of coordination was apparently not at RTX that day so I guess maybe he would’ve known. I ended up getting an email at 4pm telling me to go to the venue at 6pm. But for anyone who didn’t see that email, they were pretty upset that they missed it.

When I got to the venue, one of the staff members saw my Babymetal shirt and asked if I had seen them at ACL. I said no, but that I had seen them elsewhere. From that guy’s reaction and some of the looks from the other staff members, it felt like they instantly had a level of respect towards me. Like they had seen how the fans of Babymetal were at the show and thought “hey, this guy knows his good music.” Maybe I read them completely wrong. It was a very bizarre feeling because few people know what Babymetal is and fewer can read my almost illegible shirt.

Jeff seemed like he didn’t enjoy the stress of having to put on a big show and seemed kind of bored or just tired? Maybe RWBY fatigue is setting in and he feels kind of trapped by the constraints of the show. He talked about wanting to retire and start his Rush Limbo side project, which is music by the band Rush set in all 4-4 time in a reggae style. Obviously someone had to be that guy to ask Casey if she was single. I realize the guy thinks he is being funny or has a chance, but I think you’d be far less likely to go out with someone after subjecting them to a question like that where they are obligated to give you a response.

They floated the idea of playing shows in other locations but that seemed to be constrained by the forces at Rooster Teeth. Or maybe they’re just concerned they aren’t big enough to make any money off a tour. Jeff recommended everyone read a book called “The War of Art” which is about overcoming yourself to create the thing you’ve always wanted but never finished.

JWFO concert

The concert itself was great, but got off to a late start.

I almost forgot about all the weird things that happened while waiting for the concert to start. Someone started a sing along to Bohemian Rhapsody and several other songs. I’ve experienced the Bohemian Rhapsody sing along before, but never at another concert. When they played Numb by Linkin Park as background music, everyone sang along to that too, which is something that I have seen at other concerts at Hard Rock/House of Blues. At one point some people in the crowd erupted in shouts of “Jason?!” which I can only assume was a Heavy Rain reference. Then the crowd started to cheer whenever any technician or photographer came on stage. Again, this is not something I experience at many/if any shows.

This super hype atmosphere is fine, until it turns into everyone trying to be a comedian while there’s either a break between songs, or when the musicians are conversing on stage. Someone said like “Rest in pieces Pyhrra” or something like that at one point and sure I can handle one or two jokes or the occasional shout out. But at the end of the day, I’m here to see the band, not the crowd. I don’t blame those people in the audience trying to get Jeff or Casey to notice them and to have that deeper connection, but it gets old after a while.

There seemed to be communication issues or just not enough time to practice the ordering of the songs. Richie Branson was incredible as an opening act. I’ve seen him three times before and he is great every time. I think a lot of the audience didn’t know who he was or that there would be an opening act, but he seemed to win everyone over by the end of the first song. Adrienne Cowan, Lamar Hall, and Lydia were great again on vocals during the main act.

There were sadly no solos sections like there were in 2016. I remember vividly the extended piano solo the keyboardist performed to lead into “When It Falls”. Jeff also didn’t crowd surf this year either. But I think they were just pressed for time. Casey still seems to struggle more on some songs than others, but she was frank during the Q&A that she has a long way to go and it’s a struggle to keep up at Berklee.

Highlights for me were “Ignite” and “Smile” off the Volume 5 soundtrack.

 Other things

I spent the majority of my time in the Vendor Room playing Rock Band 4. Harmonix was there because “This Will Be The Day” is now available as DLC. But with everyone playing the same song, I think they were grateful for anyone who wouldn’t play that. There were some talented players there and it just felt good to play Rock Band after not having done it with a group in a while. I think the people in the Rock Band line were some of the friendliest I met all weekend.

I felt like I struggled socially during the whole weekend. Maybe it’s just that most con-people aren’t very good at socializing. Or it’s just me or a byproduct of going alone. Everyone else staying at the hostel I was at was interested in talking though.

I went to see an improv comedy show at the Fallout Theater. The show was called “Penalty Box” and there were a set of rules that the audience knew but the performers didn’t. So every time they violated a rule, they would get sent to the penalty box and through trial and error they would figure out most of the rules. It’s entertaining as an audience member, but as someone who is taking improv classes, I recognize how painful it is for the performers. Some of the rules prevent you from doing things that you are taught to do, resulting in at least one scene where the performers just stood still on stage and didn’t talk.

The Mega64 panel was also very enjoyable. Arcade UFO is a pretty nice arcade with a lot of games you don’t normally see in the US. I also got to see a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I have mixed feelings about Troy Baker’s “TED” talk style panel, but I respect that it was not just “another Q&A” type panel.

��Maybe I’ll go back next year.

[zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen]

So Anime Nebraskon ended yesterday, and it was definitely the most fun I've ever had without being injured. (Looking at you Neverender)

I met the members of Team RWBY and Winter Schnee, who I also found out voiced Urbosa from Breath of the Wild. They signed my sketchbook for me, RWBY signed a poster for my niblings, and Urbosa signed one for my bestie. Also, my bestie got signed by Todd Haberkorn for a friend of ours.

I saw so many incredible cosplays. I think I saw Nora Valkyrie the most. Lots of RWBY in general. But I also found a few Eva cosplays and a couple Yuyu Hakusho cosplays, including Genkai and Kurama.

I supported my local artists by buying more posters than I have wall space for, and a couple chibi Ayanamis.

There was a Nora cosplayer on staff that worked the RWBY panels, and I'm pretty sure she was the actual Nora. She escaped into our world and wreaked havoc on our con, and it was lovely. Also, there was a Blake working a merch table that had Chibis and a can of tuna in her pants, and made certain everyone knew it.

The line at the RWBY Q&A got cut off like ten people before me, but I was in the presence of greatness anyhow.

Arryn Zech took a picture with me and wigged out that I drew her. Lindsay Jones said that I was super polite and that she loved Kuwabara. She also told my bestie thst Rainbow Dash was Best Pony. Kara Eberle lightly complained about having to cut conversations short due to time restraints. Barbara Dunkleman made puns at my bestie. I'm still shook that I met them all. Also I neglected to pay for my pic with Zech, but her money taker person didn't hunt me down and steal my wallet, so that's a plus. Plus I went back to pay for more autographs anyway. I'M SORRY ARRYN! CONVINCE NORA TO COME BREAK MY LEGS!!

I also made some pretty incredible panels otherwise. Voice Acting 101 with Zech and Erica Lindbeck was amazing, and some of the more staff run ones were nice. I showed up late to YOUR SONIC OC AND YOU and didn't get to participate, but it looked really fun. I also ended up taking part in the late night jam with Bard and friends.

The weekend was a monumental success. Now comes the worst part. My bus leaves this afternoon and I have 30 some-odd hours to get sad about it being over, or to get sad about leaving Nebraska. Leaving here is always tough, but I do have stuff to get back to doing. That's why I appreciate these times so much more.

Also Lindsay, Arryn and Elizabeth complimented my Bob's Burgers shirt. Arryn actually took a picture of it, and Elizabeth and I talked about an episode for a moment. I nearly forgot that. In the same strain, I saw a few BB cosplays. All the Belchers but Gene made the party. ^^

[mementocosplay]

Otakon 2017 - Convention Review

So this was Otakon’s first year in DC and it was absolutely amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I miss it being in Baltimore, but the change in location didn’t take away any of the fun.

First off, we got there pretty late Thursday and went to go pick up badges. This was my first time wearing my completed Oracle outfit and I immediately noticed some things that need fixing before I can wear it again, but it was well received and on the outside you can’t really tell that it’s held on by hopes and dreams and safety pins. Of course, when we got back we promptly changed and went drinking like responsible adults. It’s fine, we’re all over 21.

Day 1

We started off the convention with RWBY, because it’s not Otakon without our RWBY cosplays. At the convention we met up with a huge group of RWBY cosplayers and just hung around meeting people and taking pictures for over an hour. Then we hit up the dealers hall for a little bit and let me tell you, it was epic. There were so many booths and so many things I wanted to buy. My only saving grace was there wasn’t a lot of Persona stuff to blow my money on.

After that it was time for the RWBY photoshoot. It was kinda hard for us to find, but we were able to get directions and made it mostly on time. The convention center is really big and disorienting at first, but by the end of the weekend we could mostly find our way around. So hopefully next year we get a little less lost.

The RWBY shoot was a lot of fun. The only issue was it took too long to do all the single shots so we ended up running out of time to do some of the scenes. But we still all had a good time and that’s what matters. After we changed into our Love Live cosplays because wearing them for just one day didn’t seem right. We didn’t really do much else on day 1 though, mostly just hung out and made friends and partied some more. Also Rave RWBY was a thing and that was awesome!!

Day 2

It was finally Persona day!! I was legitimately in my Oracle cosplay for over 12 hours. It’s not that it was uncomfortable, but it’s a very involved cosplay. So we did three photoshoots in one day and that was incredible and hectic and I loved it. The official SMT/ Persona shoot was ok. The location wasn’t very good because the lighting washed all of us out. Also, the fandom might slowly be getting too big to group them all together in one photoshoot. Regardless, it was fun and I met some really nice people. There was only one other Oracle too so it was cool to be one of two people in our cosplay. The same happened with Queen.

Our second photoshoot was a private one with my good friend Ryan. He was so sweet to do the shoot with us and put up with us floundering around totally unprepared. We took a lot of silly pictures and maybe a few serious ones too.

We hit up Iron Editor which is tradition for us at Otakon and it continues to be amazing. I literally made it to only one full panel and it was this one. After that Queen and I saw a little of Boku no Pornarama which is another favorite and then we were off to our third Persona photoshoot of the day. This one was unofficial so it didn’t feel rushed and we got all the pictures we ever could have wanted. And of course we met so many amazing people and it only served to remind me that the Persona fandom is a friendly and accepting place. I can’t wait to cosplay more Persona and hanging out with these incredible and talented people again.

Day 3

Today was all Love Live. We ended up leaving a few things off because finishing them meant rushing and possibly doing this poorly. Regardless, I’m really proud of how they turned out. We mostly just hung around and did last minute shopping today. Then we met up with Weiss (who couldn’t come to the con) and went out for lunch. Then the con was over and we all had to say goodbye and we were so sad to leave but it was an amazing weekend and I can’t wait until next year!!

In conclusion: I bought too many things, met amazing people, hung out with old friends, and had an amazing time!!

[mementocosplay]

Convention Write Up - Katsucon 2017

This was my first time attending Katsucon and it was a very positive experience. I only regret not taking Friday off work and going for the entire convention. Only really getting there Saturday and Sunday felt too quick.

I managed to do so much yet nothing at all, which doesn’t even make sense. But I only attended two panels and spent relatively little time shopping. Yet I also managed to accomplish a lot over the weekend and meet some really nice people.

This was the squad by the end of the weekend <3

We got there Friday night and grabbed our badges. Then I hit up the RWBY PJ party since I managed to make Yang’s PJs. I spent most of my time there just chatting with some of my con friends. I’ll try not to spam you with selfies since I’ll post them all later. But below is Raven. We met at Otakon 2016 and it was actually her birthday. So being the pain in the ass that I am I totally got everyone to sing happy birthday.

After the PJ party we totally intended to go out in Alexandria, but then we all laid down at the hotel and didn’t manage to get back up. In hindsight, we probably should have just stuck around the convention, but it was kinda nice to relax too.

Saturday I debuted my Neo Politan cosplay. I made this in about a month and I’m so proud of it. We went to the RWBY Photoshoot, but honestly it was too big and hard to manage. Plus, the room was so hot I was sweating. So we left a little early and came outside to get our own photoshoot pictures. We reenacted scenes from the show and also took Baked Alaska pictures because Lissy and I love that ship more than we should.

That night most of us went to the Burlesque show. It was honestly amazing and there were so many humor acts. I adore burlesque and would absolutely recommend going to a show if you get the chance. Also, we helped organize people because we chanted “Go see Kevin” whenever the staff person needed to direct people. Not gonna lie, that might have been my highlight of the con.

Sunday I was back in my Yang cosplay, because I can’t seem to go a convention without wearing it. Sunday was super chill. We did all of our last minute shopping and then I went to the Love Live Dance performance with Aaliyah. It was really good and I feel like I really need to watch the anime now.

Then the whole squad went out to eat. Pretty sure the food gave me a religious experience. The convention passed so quickly and I wish I had another day. This one is definitely going on my list and I will be going the full weekend next year.

Cosplay: **** There are a lot of talented cosplayers but people don’t seem to be as interested in taking pictures. I’ve noticed a lot less being uploaded as well.

Performances: ***** Burlesque and Love Live were both amazing!!

Value: **** It was a good convention with a lot to do. If I had gotten my ticket earlier the price would have gotten five stars. It’s pretty reasonably priced for its size and value.

Shopping: ***** No complaints here.

Overall: **** It could feel a little over crowded at times. And I wish things were easier to find. The map on guidebook could be really hard to use. I did really enjoy the con though and look forward to going back next year.