FFML/AX Memories

by Xoth, Master of Black Magic

    No doubt some of you readers are sick of my 14m3455 commentary by now, so here is a section where any FFMLer who has been to the AX get-together can talk about it.  After all, what’s the point of having many people meet if only one person ends up talking about it?  Besides, having a site like this is probably stroking my ego a bit too much; this way, at least no one can accuse me of hogging the soapbox. :) And it means I no longer have to do all the work. ;)  And finally—this would be one rather skimpy website without extra sections like this. ^_^

    So, fellow FFMLers, feel free to email me (“cosmic_chicken” at “excite” dot “com”) with anecdotes, musings, mini-essays, and other things about FFML/AX.  Rank your AX experiences, recall your favorite dealer room purchases, do humorous semi-fictionalized accounts like mine, whatever.  But be aware that I will format stuff the way that I normally do; and also note that I retain the right to decide whether or not something might be offensive/derogatory to someone else and thus to send your email to the Trash if I wish. (Sorry to sound negative, but I hope the person I’m addressing specifically gets the hint. :P) And please note that this is FFML/AX only.  Unless I change my mind sometime in the future, I won’t be hosting memories of any other get-togethers.  I haven’t got the time or the MB to do anything else. (what do you expect, this is a free web site :D)

Note: Just a note on the emails.  I’ll use the online handles I normally use unless you specifically ask me not to.  Please put the “title” of your memory as the subject, to make things easier on me.  I will accept photos and scans, but please don’t make them 8" x 10" and 300 dpi. ^_^
Oh, and yes, I will be contributing my own memories, mainly so I can fit in things that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise. >:) Don’t let that stop you from contributing, though.

FFMLer: Xoth
      Date: 03/13/2002
      Title: My Standout Purchases

    For those of you who don’t know, I’m a massive Miyazaki fanboy.  Thus, in the first three years of AX, I’ve racked up a—well, pretty pitiful collection of Ghibli/Miyazaki-related merchandise. (I’m devoted, not rich, mind you.) I’ve also got the (translated) first three volumes of the Magic Knight Rayearth manga.  But this isn’t about all that.  This is about the other stuff.

    At AX ’99, I bought a Yoshitaka Amano art book calledImagine.  Of course, what with Amano being character designer for many of the Final Fantasy games, and me being a member of the Final Fantasy Mailing List, it’s probably not that surprising.  However, this book doesn’t have FF art.  Well, one image that I think is FFIV’s Cecil, but nothing else.  There is also Vampire Hunter D and Gatchaman (I think) character art, but nothing that I would have really known about.  Why on earth did I pick this out all the other Amano art books that were available?  I don’t know; maybe there’s more to Amano than just what I’m familiar with. ;P  It’s still a nifty art book—if you can stand Amano’s style, that is. :)

    AX ’00 saw the purchase of the first volume of theHow to Draw Manga series.  That you can blame for the godawful illustrations accompanying my AX Reports. ;) Still, I’m not a big fan artist like a lot of others; drawing for the AX Reports is really all that I do.  So it got quite a bit of use at first, and now it’s just kinda gathering dust.  Well, the illustrations are amusing, anyway.  And apparently it’s been shakily translated into English, as well. :D (Ex.: “Sometimes you just want to pose guts-posture”)

    Finally, at AX ’01 I acquired a small collection of anime soundtracks.  Aside from the requisite Ghibli CDs (including two different Totoro ones), I also picked up the soundtrack to Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaia.  Having seen that movie at the previous AX, its score obviously impressed me.  So despite remembering little specifically other than the fact that I was impressed, I decided what the heck and bought it.  And it hasn’t disappointed me. :)

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Disclaimer: This account contains a lot that could offend people.  Sexual content.  Drug use.  Profanity.  Violence.  Celebrations of Japanese culture.  Non-white people.  Crudely drawn pictures.  Sentence fragments.  If anything in this account offends you, find another web page. If your kid reads something that offends you, tell them to find another web page.  If you’re really ticked off by it, then e-mail “cosmic_chicken” at “excite” dot “com” so I can ignore you.  Certain characters, events, etc. referred to and depicted in this account come from Japanese animated films and television series and are copyrighted by their respective companies.  Whatever the SPJA and Anime Expo have copyrighted belongs to them.

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