Waku Waku +NYC Day 2 [Pic Heavy]

Hey y'all, I hope that had a wonderful Christmas or holiday if you don't celebrate it^^ I had a relaxing day with my friend at his apartment in Queens with his two cats Ali and Boom. I'm back to finish my adventures at Waku Waku +NYC.

Day 2
On Sunday, the first thing on our list was to attend a panel called Introduction to Manga and Anime Studies and it was really interesting. We both are writers (Tiff more so than me), so we figured it would be cool to go to a panel for a career or hobby we are interested in doing. Since I'm a big fan of the humanities (particularly literature) I spent a lot of my time reading in school and analyzing texts. I haven't analyzed manga or anime yet, but I think it would be something I could be potentially interested in doing. The panelists talked about looking at anime and manga under the same lens as film and other contemporary media. They discussed why such a field should exist and one of the reasons being that mainstream American pop culture has been influenced by anime and manga. You can see its influences in shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time to name a few. Putting these texts and films into context is a great way to explore why these influences exist. I wonder if one day the US will be like how it was in Blade Runner.

It's interesting that for manga and anime to be such a huge influence on American pop culture that there is no such thing in schools as an anime/manga studies major or minor. There are a few schools that has Comic studies as a minor. But students that want to examine Anime and Manga are usually studying it under a Japanese literature or film studies major.

The also pondered what is categorized as manga and anime citing for an example that Miyazaki does not like his work to be called anime. I had no idea he felt this way because he is often heralded as a major front runner to the popularity of anime in the West. His work is usually synonymous with the word anime. They also brought up shows like Avatar the Last Airbender and RWBY and how there are debates about whether or not shows like this can be considered anime. It was a really informative panel^^

After the panel we headed back to the Brooklyn Expo center to grab something quick before lining up for the Baby the Stars Shine Bright fashion show. We remembered how long the line was the day before for the PUTUMAYO fashion show and figured it would be even longer for Baby whose show we did not want to miss. What I grabbed to eat was so scrumdiddilyumptious like oh my word! I got a chicken katsu sandwhich from Katsu-Hama and my life was changed.

Sebastian Masuda: Kawaii Meets Art and Fashion at Japan Society

Hey everyone, I hope life has been treating you well. Last month I was able to attend Sebastian Masuda's lecture wit Tiff at Japan Society called Kawaii Meets Art and Fashion. I had to bust my butt to get there after work, but it was SO worth it. It was wonderful hearing about Sebastian's journey throughout his career. As someone that is getting into Japanese fashion, it was amazing to learn about someone that is revered in the fashion.

Sebastian Masuda also known as "King of Harajuku" is an icon of Harajuku and kawaii fashion and culture. He opened a store for his label 6%DOKIDOKI in 1995. It is the only remaining store from the early era of Harajuku fashion. He is also known for being the art director of Kyary Kyary Pyamu's hit smash PonPonPon music video. Sebastian is also an artist and has art exhibitions throughout the world.

He spoke in Japanese which was wonderful practice for me. There was a lovely translated that did a wonderful job conveying his feelings and thoughts. Sebastian talked about using the concepts of shock and color in his work. He's heavily influenced by Harajuku fashion and culture, because it's where different cultures come together. The fashion contains a mix of different styles and age groups. He also talked about what kawaii was. He explained that kawaii is creating your own very small personal universe, and it cannot be obstructed by anyone. This private space doesn't have to be colorful; it's anything you imagine. This resonated with me because when I first came across j fashion, I saw it as a way to express myself and the many sides of my personality. He also highlighted the importance social media has played in connecting others and spreading Harajuki and kawaii fashion and culture.

LINE PLAY vs. CocoPPa Play

Hey bun buns! Hope you aren't freezing in this weather. It's gotten pretty cold here in NYC, but that hasn't stopped Boba and I going on mini dates. I discovered a new cell phone game called CocoPPa Play, and I absolutely love it! It reminds me of Line Play which I started playing back in 2013, but stopped in March. I wanted to take the time to compare both games.

First up is Line Play^^

Line Play is an avatar game made by LINE Corporation. This company also made the super popular messaging app LINE. Tiff and I visited their holiday pop up shop in my last blog post. You basically create an avatar and can buy items and clothing to decorate your avatar and your room. Some items included furniture like beds to Gacha items that can be character themed like Sailor Moon, Hello Kitty, and Rilakumma. They also have rooms for famous Asian stars like Lee Min Ho. The game of course has lots of J fashion and super cute items.

You travel to different rooms and can perform tasks that will give you gems. You use gems to purchase items in the game, you can also use your real money to purchase gems.  There's also mini games and other places you can visit.

♥︎Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Tokyo Rebel Store Opening♥︎

Hey! I hope everyone has been well. Work has still been crazy, but it's starting to calm down. I've been attending some events and visiting new places in the city, and I'm excited to share with you! Last month my boo Tiffany and I got to go to the opening of the Baby the Stars Shines Bright and Tokyo Rebel store together. 

I met Tif at Grand Central and she looked adorable! Her coord was really cute and well put together. Her accessories were super cute!

Her coord

I've decided that I really want to plan a coord, but since I don't know what style I want to do yet or haven't seen a dress that's out that has caught my attention, I would just rock a J fashion street style outfit. 

My outfit

A cute girl of color's mother asked if Tiffany would take a picture with her daughter because the girl liked her outfit. It was the cutest thing ever^^

Next, we proceeded to head down to Astor Place. I noticed the whole time that we were together most people were chill about her and would look at go about their day. There were a few people that were being a little extra about it -_- I'll get into that a little later. 

Frilly lady on the train^^

We decided it was probably smart to eat before we went to the opening. The opening was at 1 pm; I heard the day before that there was a special tea party earlier for people that bought tickets. We figured it would be smarter to eat before we headed to the store. We passed by Ippudo NY and decided to give it a try. Tif had eaten there before, but I hadn't had the chance and always wanted to try it. It's usually super packed at night, so I always end up eating somewhere else. We decided to try the Hirata buns, and they were delish! They were also super filling.

We walked to the store from there and got there right at 1. On the walk over a lady called to Tiffany to ask if she could take our pictures. She remarked that Tiffany looked like a strawberry parfait that came down from heaven. I had to snap a shot of its beauty. I love that purple and black coord in the window ^_^

Unfortunately, the line was down to the end of the block. We ended up waiting in line for four hours. When we left the line wrapped around the block and was longer than we we arrived. The other downside was that there didn't seem to be a time limit, so people were in the store for awhile. Also people were cutting in line. It wouldn't have been a big deal if it was a few people, but it would be like a group of ten girls joining another big group. I  had new flats on like a dummy and the back of my feet were killing me.

The upside was that we made friends with the girls in line in front of us :) They were wearing some awesome coords. Also, there were a lot of POC lolitas and that made me super happy. 

Kitty in her beautiful coord. We exchanged tumblrs and now follow each other :)

Another lovely Lolita

Us waiting in line

Tiffany's macaroon necklace^^

We finally got in around 4. I bought two magazines a KERA magazine and the Gothic Lolita Bible. I could not wait in line with my feet killing me and not get anything lol Tiffany bought a super cute dress.

Tokyo Rebel section

Ugh, I wanted this dress soooo bad! One day my friend you shall be mine >_<

I do have a mini rant to go on about people's reaction to Tiffany and the other lolitas in line in general. Tiffany told me that when she got on the train, she heard someone taking her picture. Also a girl gave her the rudest look ever for no reason. Honestly, people trick you into thinking that because NYC is a fashion capital people don't act weird about different styles. Sadly, that's not the case. There were people just taking pictures of the girls in line. Okay that's a little awkward, but some people got even more disrespectful by taking pictures of girls without their consent. One of the girls we made friends with said someone came up behind their friend and was trying to take a picture of her back. Like wtf?! How about you ask her if you can take her picture?! I saw another older gentleman that was trying to take a picture of a girl without her permission. She told him to stop and his comment was, "Why? You're dressed like that." She corrected him that she dressed for herself and told him to leave her alone. He then tried to stand across the street and take her picture. Tiffany did receive mostly positive remarks, but there were some guys when we left that were being super rude. He was just loudly talk shit about her right behind her back as we were trying to get a taxi. He didn't realize I was with her probably because I was dressed differently. I literally stared them down, and his friend noticed and apologized. Like why do you feel the need to talk about someone because of what they're wearing. Nothing is ever that serious. It doesn't matter what you think about it because it's what makes them happy. End of rant.

I would love to visit the store again when it isn't so crowded. We were pretty tired and just wanted to go home and crash afterwards. I had a lot of fun with her and can't wait to have more adventures with her! If you want to check her out you can follow her at @Ferenteeny on Twitter. Thanks for reading!