Denkyu: Anime Webzine

Besides sushi, curry is one of the most well known dishes in Japan. Although originally from India, Japanese curry usually has a thicker sauce. In order to make the thicker sauces, curry roux such as House, S&B and Glico brands are used. Curry mixes help thicken the sauce and can vary from hot to mild.

Nearly any food product can be used in making curry. This leads to many variations of curry that can be made. But today we will be focusing on how to make Chicken Curry since most of the ingrediants can be found at your local foodmarket. Though it may take a some effort to find curry roux in the foriegn food section. These are some of the possible names curry roux could fall under when searcing: House Foods’ “Vermont Curry”, “Java Curry”, “Kokumaro Curry” and “Curry Casero” are all “Curry Roux”.

Some basic tips before starting off:
* Saute onion well until brown.
* Use garlic if you can.

INGREDIENTS:
* 12 chicken legs
* 1 onion
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 clove ginger
* 1/4 lb Japanese curry roux
* 3 cups water
* 1/2 tsp curry powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp pepper

PREPARATION:
Sprinkle salt, pepper, and curry powder in chicken legs. Slice onion thinly. Heat a pan and saute chopped ginger, garlic, and sliced onion. Add chicken legs in the pan and saute well. Add water and simmer for 30 min. Add curry roux and stir lightly. Simmer for 5 min.

*Makes 4 servings.
*Recipe originally by Setsuko Yoshizuka, Denkyu is not responsible for any burns you may recieve in attempting this recipe ^_^

Written by Andromeda

Going to anime cons can be a fun and exciting time. This con was no exception for me. My very first con was AFO3, so being able to go back for AFO5 and AFO6 to see how it’s changed and grown is an experience all in itself. Anime Festival Orlando is also one of the biggest anime conventions in Florida and always draws a large crowd.

This year I was on staff for Wasabi Anime, working in their 48 hour viewing room of Transformers. No, not that stuff that came out when I was a kid. It was the episodes of seasons that have come out in Japan since the first generation. And let me tell you, I’ve seen enough Transformers in one weekend than I ever saw as a kid. Nor do I ever want to see again. I love the first generation, but everything after that just seems… odd.

What made this con different for me than any of the others over the last two years is that not only was I involved in a fraction of the happenings that goes on to entertain all the fans, but I did more than just hang around my friends. It’s wonderful to see them, but I didn’t spend all that money and time driving just to visit them. Thankfully this year nothing happened to my car like it had last year driving down.

This year’s theme was TV. The viewing and panel rooms were called channels and the con guide was set up just ike a TV Guide. It was fun, yet confusing at the same time. After the first day though, it was easy to pick up what were shows and what were panels. It was a tad bit difficult actually finding three of the rooms because they weren’t listed clearly and their doors were shut. Just another little something that was easy to figure out for the rest of the weekend fun.

At the opening and closing ceremonies was the world renowned taiko drumming troupe from Walt Disney World’s EPCOT. If you have never been to EPCOT to see them, you are missing out. It takes amazing skill to play those drums and the drummers deserve all the praise that they receive.

Some of the con guests were the same favorite voice actors and artists from the year before that everyone in Florida loves to see and talk to. Each and everyone one of them are friendly and have smiles for all their fans. And of course there are the con guests new to AFO, one of which I found to be the most humorous person I’ve ever met.

Now this is where I turn fangirl. I’ve met a few celebrities before, but none that really interested me, or was involved with anything that I liked. I didn’t know who he was or that he was going to be at AFO until I had arrived. When I was told what animes he’s done voices for I went completely fan girl. I went so fangirl I asked him to do my voice mail for my cell phone.. and he did it! Now it’s Vegeta you hear when I don’t pick up instead of the automated voice.

Going fangirl as I had, I quickly began looking for anything from Dragon Ball Z and YuYu Hakusho. Of course that’s easier said than done. Being that those two anime titles aren’t the big craze any more, things are harder to find. Why did I pick those two titles when he’s done voices for others, such as, Kiddy Grade and Fruits Basket? My five year old son Mathew is a huge fan of Dragon Ball Z and YuYu Hakusho. My son now has two signed and framed posters hanging in his room.

I mentioned earlier that he was one of the most funniest people I have ever met. You’d understand why if you had ever had a conversation with him or sat in on one of his panels. There’s nothing funnier than Chris Sabat singing LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” in Vegeta’s voice. He knew every word and sung it without music. And if you don’t believe that this guy is awesome, just ask him, he’ll tell you he’s awesome. ^_~

Other highlights of AFO were the costume contest, the cosplay contest and the first ever Cosplay Back Dance. I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with the Raves that happen on saturday night. This year Wasabi Anime did Cosplay Back which went well with the theme of the convention. 80′s remixes of our favorite songs and video games blared as bits and pieces from our favorite tv shows and movies played on a large screen. Not only that, but all of the Rainbow Brite kids performed dance numbers periodically throughout the night.

Cruising the Artist Alley, I also met the creators of Peach Fuzz. They were more than happy to sign copies of their graphic novel for fans and potential fans. It’s a very cute story about a ferret and her owner. I also met another artist who has done a wonderful comic that I can’t wait to read more of titled Chaos in the Outer Region. The artwork that these three artists had displayed were wonderful. And if I had had the money, lord knows I would have spent a good bit at each of their tables.

Remember, a con is what you make of it. If they become boring for you, then maybe you need to step back and take look at what has changed for you. For me, I had not been doing what I had been at the first two cons I ever attended. They had become an expensive hangout and not something to entertain me. This year I changed that and it became what I loved about going to cons all over again. Attend the panels! Go see some anime! Play a few video games… remember to bring your nose plugs for fan boy funk. Meet the guests! Participate in the panels! And of course hang out with your friends!

Convention Report: Anime Festival Orlando
Written by Vinz

Anime Festival Orlando took place on the weekend of August 5th to the 7th, marking the sixth installment of one of Florida’s largest anime conventions. In the increasingly crowded and competitive Florida anime circuit, AFO has built a respectable reputation as one of the premiere conventions in the state. Anime Festival Orlando 6 was an enjoyable affair, with an attentive and eager staff, fun guests, enthusiastic attendees and interesting events marred only by problems beyond the control of the convention.

After moving around for the first few years of its existence, AFO seems to have found a permanent home at the Wyndham Orlando Resort hotel, located along a major roadway not far from world famous theme parks. The hotel boasts a large convention center with several large meeting areas, as well as three pools and other amenities that many convention-goers took advantage of during the weekend. It was also conveniently located within walking distance of many different fast food establishments, a consideration for the budget conscious anime fan.

The convention center itself was roomy enough, with plenty of space for the crowds to move up and down the halls. Although there were occasional traffic snarls due to cosplay photography, that is an issue symptomatic of any convention. The con center was nicely air conditioned; a relief to cosplayers in heavy costumes, as the Florida heat and humidity was intense over the weekend. Parking was plentiful and free, although latecomers faced a short walk to the con center. The hotel staff was generally unobtrusive, although AFO shared space with a wedding over the course of the weekend: another case of convention centers patrons making strange bedfellows.

Guests for the con included a strong showing from Harmony Gold, the holders of the Robotech franchise. Chris Sabat of Full Metal Alchemist fame, as well as Lex Lang, Sandy Fox and the ubiquitous Steve Bennett were also in attendance. Aside from their usual guest panels, the guests participated in other aspects of the con—notably the extremely personable Bennett who was often sighted at the pool or mingling with attendees.

The quality of the Dealer’s Room is usually a matter of opinion to each person, but AFO’s was comparable in size to most Florida anime conventions.

Two of the premiere events at AFO were convention standards: a cosplay and a costume contest. The cosplay took place Saturday night and was judged by guests Sandy Fox, Lex Lang and Chris Sabat. In a departure from most cosplay contests, each entry was immediately scored by the judges on stage and a running total was kept. Each entry was ranked on a score of 1 to 10, and the judges added their own comments as they revealed their score. Although this method of judging eliminated the normal wait for the audience, potentially there could have been some hurt feelings for less than stellar acts. However, the judges kept their comments mostly constructive and positive, barring a last minute remark by Chris Sabat intended to rile the audience up more than lambaste an entry.

The costume contest was helped along by extremely humorous commentary by Tentacle Chris, a well known personality at Florida anime conventions and a fixture on SciFi Zone Radio. Chris’ lively emcee act kept the crowd well entertained while focusing attention on the cosplayers.

To keep people entertained in their hotel rooms, anime was broadcast on closed circuit television. The animes shown were an eclectic mix, but a glitch with the computer system running the shows resulted in an episode of Winamp TV, and the subtitles were difficult to make out in some programs.

Other events at AFO included game shows, super robot panels, quick draw competitions, voice acting workshops and the extremely popular Panel About Nothing. As is the case with most conventions, although the panels and events were usually well attended, many attendees were simply glad to be with new and old friends and wander the convention. The game room proved to be a strong draw throughout the weekend, with Halo, DDR and the increasingly popular Naruto GC game usually the centers of attention.

Cosplay was not in short supply at AFO, with Naruto still in the running for the most popular choice among cosplayers. Long time fan favorite Final Fantasy was well represented, but AFO cosplayers represented a wide variety of animes as well as the occasional EGL outfit.

Despite months of planning, nothing as large as an anime convention goes off entirely without a hitch and AFO was no exception. One of the most highly anticipated events of the weekend, the screening of the Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC) video, was delayed until the very end of the con due to a series of accidents and technical difficulties. An anime-themed spoof of the Spike TV mainstay MXC (which in turn is a spoof of the Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle) the AFO video featured bizarre and painful contests and humorous intermissions poking fun at situations common to conventions. All the while, the commentators searched for convention drama, with frequent jabs at the online blogging site Livejournal. Originally scheduled as a marquee event early Saturday night, the video was not shown until just before closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon. Even as the video played, the staff was forced to contend with last minute technical problems.

Two other eagerly anticipated events suffered setbacks as well. Anime dodgeball was unfortunately cancelled due to hotel management concerns, leaving a substantial crowd bitterly disappointed. However, the would-be players did not let the cancellation spoil their weekend, and most went back to the convention to find other activities. The Saturday night 1980’s themed dance, sponsored by Wasabi Anime, had to endure a fire alarm and the subsequent evacuation of the building. According to Wasabi Anime members, a fault with the fog machines led to the false alarm. The dance continued after the building was cleared by the fire department. Minor delays plagued a few other events, but the staff was usually up to speed on the changes and did their best to ensure a smooth transition. Lastly, an ice cream social on Thursday night for pre-registered guests drew few people outside of staff members. It was a solid idea that simply needed more promotion. Perhaps next year other events will be scheduled to entice convention attendees to drop by.

Overall, AFO 6 was a solid success. Combining a location with easy access to the amenities convention attendees crave with a good hotel and good events has consistently meant AFO will rarely disappoint. Here’s looking to AFO 7.

It was a nice day on the internet when my favorite frog came up to me and asked if I would like to join him on an adventurous endeavor. Shrugging, I asked him why pick me. And he replied, “Because you’re resourceful and have insight!” So, a bit oblivious to what would come, I joined the party like any adventurous Mercenary would do.

Wait a second… my bad… this isn’t an MMORPG… but that’s basically how I was recruited for Denkyu!

A group of people gathered together in a yahoo group and began throwing around name ideas and other ideas for things like articles and layouts and such. It wasn’t a pretty picture. I was given a black eye by one of those slung ideas. They were hard to dodge! So many ideas! So many discussions! So many opinions! But finally, we got ourselves together, ideas in hand and a core group of us united together with one thing in mind… to create an anime ezine for all to enjoy!

Our core group was widdled down until a handful of us were left. The dedicated ones became known as Co-Founders. And along the way we picked up many who would join us for brief adventures or would stay where we call home, the forums. We have great months and we have good months where we have many writers with us on our journey or just a handful.

Almost all of the writers have been good friends of at least one of the founders and we have always appreciated all that they have done for us even after we’ve tortured them. Lord knows I’ve poked a few of them hard enough to leave bruises to get articles from them, or tortured the most manly of them by making them watch animes like Petite Princess Yucie. No wonder they gave me the nickname, Whip Toting Editor!

One of our highlights through these last two years of Denkyu was when ADV recognized our site and asked us to review new releases and soon to be releases. It was a moment of celebration and also the realization that we needed to become a bit more serious with the ezine and to be slightly more dedicated than we were. But that wasn’t a hard thing for us to achieve because of the anime fans that have come to the site, for the writers that have donated their time, and for our friends who have supported us.

I want to thank all of those that have watched us and joined us on this journey. We appreciate your support and dedication. We hope that you will continue to support us, giving us the motivation to move forward towards another fulfilling year.

-Andromeda
Denkyu Editor

Written by Fabric Alchemist

On her sixteenth birthday, it is prophesied that Pacifica Casull, the titular character of the anime Scrapped Princess, will bring about the destruction of the world. Naturally, lots of people are trying to prevent the destruction of their world—by killing her before she reaches sixteen. What’s a girl to do? With the protection of her adopted siblings Raquel and Shannon, Pacifica takes to the road—dressed for danger!

Dressing like a scrapped princess isn’t easy—this is one of the trickier cosplays to assemble, as I’m discovering through making a version for my sister. Going over the costume step by step, I’ll share helpful tricks that will make this outfit feasible.

The Dress

Pacifica wears a fitted dress, with Xena-like skirt flaps. Consider using a fabric like faux suede; she spends a lot of time camping outdoors, so a natural look would be best. I decided to use heavy interfacing for the bodice of the dress, to make it more armor like, but you could also consider a built-in bra or be otherwise clever with your undergarments so that they don’t show. Be mindful of the fact that you will have to depart from the character design slightly—to get the dress fitted closely around the bust, you’ll have to add darts that aren’t drawn in the picture.

I’ve also found that a side zipper works best, so that the point at the back of the dress is uninterrupted. Use bias tape for the bust and flap trim, to get a finished look.

The Shoulders and Sleeves

Here’s where things get tricky. In the show, Pacifica’s shoulder pads are separate from the dress (achieved by small eyehooks). However, I thought it might be easier to attach them to the nude panel across her shoulders (which also attaches to the back of the dress and the collar), as a variation on an attached shrug jacket.

Trickier even than the attachment, is the actual shape of the shoulders. Here, you’re going to need to get daring and draft your own pattern. To help them keep their shape, I used heavy interfacing and then stuffed them.

Don’t forget the collar and cuffs! Again, I can’t stress the wonders of interfacing enough. It can be ironed on, and it gives the piece the perfect stiffness.

Leggings and Boots

You’re on the home stretch now! The leggings can be achieved by altering a pair of blue stockings and keeping them in place with spirit gum (not very durable!), or by making a pair out of heavier sports material.

The boots depend entirely on how detailed you want to get. You could simply use a pair of old cowboy boots. OR, if you’re feeling really ambitious and want to get your costume just right, consider making boot coverings. A tutorial can be found here “http://www.limitbreakcosplay.com/FAQ_BootCovers.htm” and here “http://www.sarcasm-hime.net/bootcovers-tutorial.html” .

Finishing Touches

Don’t forget to add the trim and buttons. Details really make your costumes shine! If you want to get really authentic, Pacifica gets a pair of earrings later on in the series, and you could add those as a crowning touch to your hard work.

Aside from styling your hair, you’ve got it covered! Just remember to watch out for wandering knights! If you have any further questions on constructing this outfit, feel free to drop me an email or ask in the forums—this’s a tricky one!