Disney-Pixar's "Inside Out" directors comes to Manila! :D

I never thought I'd ever see the day, where I would be in the same room with the directors from Disney-Pixar, and last friday that day finally came true when I was invited to the Disney-Pixar's "Inside Out" press conference which was held at the Manila Shangrila Hotel! :D

The day started off with me meeting some old and new contacts from my blogging circles! It was so nice to meet you guys again! :D

And then the moment arrived where the 2 directors of Disney-Pixar's "Inside Out" finally came to the stage!

One notable guest was co-director; Ronnie del Carmen, who left the Philippines in the 1980s dreaming of making movies of his own that people would love to watch, now comes home with a Disney-Pixar film he co-directed no less! He was given a warm pinoy welcome by fellow filipino Pixar fans.

At the Q&A portion, I loved the directors dishing out alot of trivia that fans like me enjoy learning about! Some of the most memorable trivias they share are:

• Ronnie del Carmen revealed that there is a "pinoy-centric" group of artists within Pixar that they labeled as "Pixnoys". According to Ronnie, they are fun, loud and loves to eat every now and then.
• According to Pete Docter, the film originally had atleast 27 emotions in the original draft. However, they cut the number down to 5, and combined many of the emotions they created to be embodied by just 1 major emotion.
• Speaking of emotions, the two directors also revealed that for the movie, they actually consulted with psychiatrists and experts in emotions to help them in crafting the movie.
• The one of the film's main characters; Riley (the girl where the 5 emotions have their misadventures), was based off Pete Docter's own daughter; Elie. When she was younger, she is known to be bubbly, happy and full of life. As she hit puberty, she is now more quiet and this gave Pete the idea of playing around with what is happening inside his daughter's head (which is the main idea of the film). Looking at Riley and Elie, I can definitely see the resemblance!

• Ronnie del Carmen revealed that apparently he was the one who directed the first 5 minutes of the Disney-Pixar film "Up". Here's the said clip for reference:

• Speaking of "Up", Pete Docter also revealed that his own daughter Elie, was the one who provided the voice of the younger Ellie in the film.
• Someone asked if there's any truth to the "shared Pixar Universe", while both Pete and Ronnie debunked the said rumor, they did however not stop the fans from dreaming up the possibilities (and also plugged in the Disney Infinity toyline)
• According to the directors, the voice talents behind the different emotions, not only influenced the character's look, but also how the character was written due to the actors' way of delivering lines and how some of them are actually great writers on their own.

Overall, the event was really awesome and as a Pixar fan, I feel so honoured to be in the same room as these amazing people. To close off, Ronnie del Carmen, left an inspiring answer to a question that most aspiring artists (such as myself) always wanted to ask people at Pixar of how can they be successful in what they do.

And his answer? Just do stuff.

Doesn't matter whether or not your work is great now, just make stuff and show it to people and you will definitely get feedback to improve your art. The more you get yourself out there, the more possible it is for you to get noticed and hopefully one day, join the guys at Pixar. :)

Catch Disney-Pixar's "Inside Out" on August 19, opening nationwide thanks to the distribution efforts of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures! :D

Gundam Unicorn Episode 7 Philippine Screening + GMKC 2014 = My Epic Gundam Birthday!!

May 18th, 2014 marked the day I finally become 31. I don't really FEEL any different, only that I bear some life lessons that shaped my life for the better. :D This comic more or less captures what I feel "getting older"

My feelings about "adulthood"

However, little did I know, that this day would shape up to be THE best birthday celebration I've ever had in my life. :D

As you guys can imagine (if you managed to see most of my blogposts) I'm a HUGE fan of Gundams. As my significant other mentioned, I'm in a "Gundam High" this year. So imagine my delight and excitement, upon Gundam Philippines' announcement that the seventh and final episode of Gundam Unicorn will be shown here on SM North Cinema 10... on MY BIRTHDAY. :D

My face lit up like this upon learning of the awesome news

And thanks to my Gundam Model Kit Competition entry, I got to score 2 tickets for the screening of Gundam Unicorn for me and my significant other. You can read more about it via this blogpost. 

Having the screening of Gundam Unicorn's final episode set on my birthday was pretty much awesome already, however, the awesomeness of my birthday didn't just stop there. One of my good friends; Mr. Kenneth Guevarra of SenZaru Multimedia, gave me an early birthday present...

Thank you so much Kenet!! :D 

He drew a chibi-fied version of me (and my cat Tigger) with a Gundam head (which happens to be the Build Strike Gundam of Gundam Build Fighters) and it looked AMAZING!! :D I was lovin all the little details (like the Sub-Zero shirt), and my love for videogames (3DS in hand). I was more than surprised and thankful upon receiving such an amazing artwork from my friend, and added more to the awesomeness of what will become a Gundam-themed birthday celebration. :D

So on May 18th, me and my date went to SM North early, to avoid the long line (and hopefully score some nice seats). However, as soon as the mall opened, to our surprise, the line for Gundam Unicorn's movie screening was already INSANELY LONG. Alot of fans were really excited to watch the film, like us, and so we had to wait out abit before we were let in.

Thankfully, we weren't too far off the line, hence we immediately went in and luckily we got to score some really great lazy-boy seats in front, and I LOVED IT!! :D

As soon as the movie started, the room erupted in applause and happy cheers from the crowd. The entire place was filled with so much gundam love, that it made watching the final episode on the big screen more worth it. :D The feeling reminded me of the first time I watched Rurouni Kenshin being screened here in the Philippines, where tons of fans are having such a great time, it was AMAZING! :D It was definitely an experience.

I can almost imagine everyone in the cinema
reacting this way, after watching epic moments in the film.

Without spoiling too much, I can say that the film was a completely satisfying conclusion to the Gundam Unicorn saga. It had alot of highs and some lows, with lots of emotional moments that made many fans weep (including me and my date) inside the theater.

To my surprise, my date had a blast watching the film, despite the fact she wasn't able to finish the first 6 episodes of the series (she only got to episode 3). And after watching episode 7, she was definitely a fan of the series that she wished she could've had money to buy herself an HG Gundam Unicorn or Banshee kit. :D To view more of her take of the event, you can visit her blogpost.

After the event, me and my date went straight to the Gundam Model Kit Competition (GMKC 2014 for short), and IT WAS SIMPLY GUNDAM HEAVEN.

And as seen on my previous blogpost, I showed my date the towering Gundam Banshee statue that was on display that day.

Obviously, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to have herself taken a picture with the statue. Infact, she wants to freakin hug the thing if not of the sign that tells her otherwise. XD

There were alot of people; both new and old fans alike, crowing the event. Because aside from the awesome gundam model kits that are on display, they also had a HUGE SALE on gundam model kits!!

Parents, kids, and kids-at-heart, all enjoying the awesome sale.

Number of people in the event area is insane!!

She REALLY wanted to get this kit. :D

Would love to add this to my collection one day. :D

Speaking of sales... remember on my previous blogpost where there was this one gundam model kit I was praying for, that it would still be available and on sale when I get back on May 18th? Well on my birthday, my prayers were answered!! :D

I was super worried I would never be able to buy this kit, due to the sale. Considering this was priced at Php7,000 and then they lowered the price down to Php3,500 (more cheaper than the ones sold on Greenhills), it was a pretty sweet deal IMHO. And yes, I'm very giddy and happy as a kid as soon as I bought the kit. BEST. BIRTHDAY GIFT. EVAR!! :D

However, that's not all. Upon purchasing the mega size model kit, I was given a free special edition Hobby Japan magazine. I didn't think about the magazine too much at first, however, as soon as I got home and opened the magazine I was surprised to see it in FULL ENGLISH!! :D

Kudos to Bandai, Toy Kingdom and Bankee trading for this wonderful freebie!! :D I hope this is a start of Bandai's improvement in terms of making an impact globally, as I would LOVE to see the day where Gundam model kits being distributed here in the Philippines are in full english, from the box to the manuals!! I highly encourage Bandai to do so. :D

As for the GMKC 2014 event itself, where I actually joined as a New Challenger in the Open Category, unfortunately I didn't win (there were simply alot of tough competitors). It was all good though as we got to meet after the event the head of Bankee Trading, Mr. Rodel (the official distributors of Gundam model kits in the Philippines) and the representative of Bandai from Japan, Mr. Oyama.

Thank you so much guys for having such an awesome event here in the Philippines!! We hope this is a start of more great things for local gundam fans. :D Overall, my birthday ended on a very epic note, as the next day, I got my cake... or make that CAKES.

THREE FREAKIN CAKES!! :D What an epic way to cap off my 31st birthday!! :D It's been an amazing experience for me, and I'm very thankful of how my birthday turned out this year. :D Looking forward to next year!! :D

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders 2014 adaptation is PURE FAB~

2014 has been such a big blessing in my life lately. Not only have I started alot of interesting stuff lately (which will be for another story), but it also gave way to one of the most amazing things ever to happen for a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (JBA for short) fan like me. David Production has finally released the 2nd animated adaptation of the 3rd JBA book; Stardust Crusaders.

Back in 2013, after the end of JBA book 2's animated series, I was left worried that David Production (DP for short) would simply call it a wrap and end the adaptation at book 2. It was because after seeing their work in Phantom Blood (book 1) and Battle Tendency (book 2), I'm immediately convinced that DP nailed everything about JBA. And now fast forward to 2014, and JBA fans are rewarded for their patience with, what I believe to be, THE BEST adaptation of JBA Stardust Crusaders. :D

David Production delivers all the goods and more. Their adaptation of the manga is simply AMAZING. Not only did they closely replicate the detailed art of the manga, but they even kept all the insane/awkward/ridiculous/fabulous poses JBA is well-known for. They practically lifted every scene from the manga and animated it to life! Here's some samples from the series comparing it with the original source material:

But DP didn't stop there, even the ending theme was a treat! Just like book 1 & 2 of JBA's animated TV series run, where they used a well-known 70s-80s pop music, they did it again for JBA book 3; this time with the hit song "Walk like an Egyptian" from the Bangles

THIS is why I love the new JoJo's Bizarre Adventure adaptation by David Production. Not only did they get the amazing amount of detail in illustration as well as ridiculous poses that JBA's manga is well-known for, but also for its references to popular 80s music. And the ending theme for JBA's 3rd book is not only fitting for the story, but is ridiculously catchy as it was in the 80s. Meshing 80s music, with highly stylized visuals, JBA sets itself apart from the rest. I'm simply happy to be alive to watch this wonderful adaptation before my eyes after waiting for more than 10 years for this series to be finally in animated form, and I couldn't be any happier with this. One happy fan here! :D