MAC Meetup XII - 1st Year Anniversary

Its been more than a year since Mumbai Anime Club (MAC) began functioning, and what a journey we've had! All of us got to know that there are so many Anime fans that DO exist in our city. We met up periodically, had great fun and got the privilege to attend some great events like Washoku Street Festival and Japan-India Creative Contents Forum. MAC has put a mark as "the" destination for Anime fans in India. We as the managing staff can only look back to the moments that started it all, and are filled with so much joy and pride to see how the Club has grown. ^_^

So when we decided to have our Anniversary meetup, we tried our best to make it filled with a lot of stuff to get everyone excited. Plans had been made and were under motion since last month, and we are happy to see that most of what we planned was executed nicely. And so the day of the Meet (29th May, 2010) finally arrived. We even had a projector in place (courtesy Mohita-san) for the special occasion ;)

This meetup saw the attendance of more than 45 members which included 6 first timers which was great to see. :) They made their introductions as the rest of the crowd listened and welcomed them to the group. As all of us finally settled down, we played the video that I (Abhishek) spent the entire night making X_X It was a slideshow of all MAC meets from Meet I till XI:




Members loved the video and I'm sure it gave a nostalgic experience to everyone who was part of the few initial meets. The video encompassed MAC's history, the moments we spent during our glorious year. After the video we aired a bunch of AMV's from Naruto. Later Rachi started with the Fishpond, where a random member was chosen and asked a fairly simple question. The first person we picked up was Karanveer and the question was "Name any two of Miyazaki's Movies". He couldn't answer. Still, we were lenient and asked him another very easy question (basically we wanted to give away the prize). And the 2nd question was: "Who's the Mangaka of Naruto?" I think all of us present in that room knew the answer. But when we saw that he didn't even know that everyone just threw him out xD Then we chose another member Roy, who answered the Miyazaki question correctly and got a free A4 poster :D

Rachita then announced what kind of events we had at the meetup. Inside the we had a Fortune Telling session by our very own Mohita-san, who totally dressed up for the occasional in a gypsy outfit. We also had Harini-san reading Tarot Cards and telling us about ourselves and the future (more accurate than *ahem* our fortune telling xD).

Mohita reading Akshay's fortune (which has nothing but bad luck xD)

We also had a beyblade session courtesy Jayesh Ko who got the beyblades and the Bey-Stadium too. It was fun to "Let it Rip" after so many years. Members seem pretty engrossed in playing that. We even had a Duel Masters Card game session. Me and Shashwat started off with proceedings and others joined up to watch.

Beyblade xD

There was a message board on the wall where members could write any message, sign their names or just give a hand-stamp using the paint. Along with the message board we also had some awesome sketches made by Daanish, Ajitesh and Mrinal Roy that were put up on the same wall.

The Handprints done by Members on the Message Board :)

We got food orders from McDonalds as well as from Sushi And More - a new Japanese store that has opened up recently. The Bento Boxes that were ordered looked pretty good and tasted just as well. ^__^

Niha-san came too, dressed up as the awesome Ai Enma (Jigoku Shoujo), was greatly cosplayed. The eyes in particular were kinda scary if you looked at them for too long. *_* Members were just having a chilled out session the entire time as the screening kept on happening. We aired Culture Japan - A documentary video by Danny Choo which showed the Japanese lifestyle and its Pop Culture.

Niha with her cosplay of Ai Enma and Eva Schimmer :)

Sean had brought along a CPU of the Predator series. It was a gorgeous looking CPU which he showed us inside out. If anyone is interested in buying the CPU (or the entire Predator series) at a pretty affordable price, do contact him. :)

Mrinal Roy was there drawing temporary tattoos to any member who wanted them. He made some fantastic creations, including one of the Kyuubi from Naruto :)

Nine-Tailed fox from Naruto. Drawn by Mrinal Roy

The MAC Meet this time was truly random. We didn't stick to schedules and let things flow the way they were. And it did seem to work pretty well, as everyone was somewhere or the other doing something or the other. At around 5ish we started playing Japanese Music and literally had a ballroom session. At first everyone seemed reluctant to start off but Mave-chan and Akshay started off, followed by Bhan and Leon. And soon enough a lot of people joined in and we started dancing. Girls with girls, guys with girls, guys with guys, xD. And later "Satsugai" from Detroit Metal City was also played which saw most of the guys shouting their socks off, headbanging like crazy and faking to play the guitar as they reveled in the insanity of "Satsugai". The meet thus concluded with the rest of us going off for the after party to have another epic time. :D

MAC ^__^

All in all, the MAC Anniversary meet was pretty awesome. For all of us, it marks a proud moment for us. MAC has completed one year, and it certainly has no intent of stopping anytime soon. Although things will change, and we know that they will, it will continue to exist as long as the Otakus in Mumbai wish it to be.

Long Live MAC - For the Love of Anime \m/

MAC Meetup No. VII - Cosplay Action!

MAC Meetup VII has certainly been a meetup of novelty! And what a novel time we had. Characterized by superb cosplays, an awesome dance performance by the girls, an appreciative screening, intense anime debates, an AMV Workshop and a whole lot of fun (\m/), Meetup VII has accomplished many firsts in our short little history of MAC. ^__^

The day started off with a lot of work for the staff who had to prepare the meetup hall and the technical stuffs, not to mention the girls were still practicing their dance in the morning. :P The members started coming and our cosplayers made an entry downstairs as the members cheered and screamed as they came. :P Yes indeed we had quite a few members who dared to be different… B-)

The meetup initially began with a wonderful dance performance by the girls group – Rachita, Tanya, Mohita and Aadya on the song “Lonely in Gorgeous” by Paradise Kiss. You can check out the video here:

They were simply superb and everyone loved their performance. The male cosplayers posing towards the end of the Dance performance looked really cool. And we’re definitely hoping to see some more performances like these in upcoming meetups (perhaps us boys can lend a hand too). xD

After the dance the cosplay introductions began where each cosplayer talked about themselves, as the character’s theme was played in the background. First up was Rishabh, who really dressed up pretty well and resembled Kakashi a lot. Although he was feeling suffocated with the mask and had to remove it to talk :P Members were like, “Now we know how Kakashi looks like, ha ha!”

Rishabh – Kakashi (Naruto)

Next up was Rachita aka Ai Enma. Looking kawaii dressed in a blue kimono. Her introduction went like, “Hello, I’m Hell Girl from the Anime…. Hell Girl”. The entire crowd went laughing =)) including me! XD She was trying to act cold like Ai Enma but that soooo didn’t work out.

Rachita – Ai Enma (Hell Girl)

Then it was Gaurav-san’s turn, who was looking incredible as Ryu from Street Fighter. As the arcade style music played in the background, Ryu flashed some of his trademark blows and the crowd went “Oooo”, it was quite entertaining. :)

Gaurav – Ryu (Street Fighter)

Akshay was dressed up in a straw hat as Luffy from One Piece. Everyone LOVED Luffy but were booing Akshay =P But he performed an awesome move of Luffy and looked really cool while doing so. :)

Akshay – Luffy (One Piece, from a particular movie)

Tanya-chan came dressed in a cloak, just as how Nekozawa is like. I couldn’t help overhear Pranay and a few others teasing her clothes as “Burkha” =))  Nekozawa though, was without Beelzenef (his cat) xD Tanya-chan did a nice job acting up as Nekozawa, those who’ve seen Ouran would have found it funny. =D

Then came Mohita-san dressed up as Sunako from Yamato Nadeshiko. Apparently she’s a girl who’s always bullied upon by others and acts scared, and Mohita-san really performed well to her character. =)

Tanya – Nekozawa-sempai (Ouran High School Host Club)
Mohita – Sunako (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)

Nikhil-san’s turn was up next, dressed as Zero from Vampire Knight, or should we say, “Black Zero” xD With an Air Gun in his hand, Nikhil started talking about who Zero is, in particular his theme song sounded really cool. ^^

Nikhil – Zero (Vampire Knight)

And lastly, our cosplayer queen (or maybe princess o.O) Jane stepped up, dressed beautifully as Yuki from Vampire Knight. The detail to her cosplay was amazing, with the wig and the striped white lines on the dress, it was really nicely made. ^_^

Jane – Yuki (Vampire Knight)

The Karaoke happened later. We started with spot-on Karaoke and got people up to sing random songs from Anime. It was kinda difficult but it made for a humorous experience. Then the normal Karaoke rounds began with Nikhil giving an awesome performance on the song “Go!!” from Naruto. *__* The entire crowd starting singing along with him. :D
Rajasi then came up and sang “Aikoi” from Tsubasa although she wasn’t able to multitask with the mic and the paper she was reading from :P
Then Abhishek and Tanya sung “Sen No Yoru Koete” from the 1st Movie on Bleach, and the crowds started waving their hands as they were singing. It was really a funny scene to watch. xD

Tanya and Abhishek - Karaoke

As the Karaoke ended it was finally time for the screening. For the screening this time we aired 3 AMV’s made by Anirudha, Jane and Abhishek. People really liked the AMV’s. Then Toradora’s First Episode was aired and people really had a fun time watching that. After that an Academy Award Winning Short Anime Film called “Tsumiki No Ie” or “La Maison Petit Cubes” was aired. It was really moving and was quite emotional. ^_^

Members ^_^

As the screening finished, the food arrived and was served in a very efficient manner. This time we ordered Pizza too and people relished it. We then took a break and everyone started eating and formed groups where they exchanged conversations and socialized. After the break was over, the Debate Section and the AMV workshop began simultaneously in the main hall. Abhishek was in-charge of the workshop and he explained the interested members about Movie Maker and AMV Making. It was a half an hour session and many members left with good inputs about AMV making. :)

A Bunch of loving Otakus ^__^

The debate was on Kira vs L and it was on fire. On one side was Vishnu and Mave-chan rooting for L and on the other side was Pranay and Leon supporting Kira and others pitched in as well. The debate got really intense and both the sides put up really valid points. The conclusion for the debate was a draw, much to the discontent of both the sides. :P

As the debates ended, the usual photo-sessions began, inside the HQ and later outside. Although this meetup didn’t have the crowd like the last few times (we had 30 this time), it didn’t make much difference to the experience of a MAC Meetup. As usual, we will continue to have meetups every month. We will continue to grow and get bigger and better.

MAC \m/

Just to take you back through the entire meet (to those who didn't attend), Popo Chibi (Vinay) made a really sweet video. Have a look ^__^:

Mumbai Anime Club - The Otaku revolution in India begins from here…

Character of the Month - November

She's mean, kawaii, dangerous and totally NOT the stereotypical female characters that we see in plenty of Shoujo Anime/Manga. She is short, dangerous and famously known for being the "Palmtop Tiger" of her class. Hailing from the Anime Toradora, November's Character of the Month is none other than *drumrolls*.................... TAIGA AISAKA!!!

Watch'a lookin at?

Character Profile:

Taiga is a girl in Ryūji's class. She has a well-regulated and beautiful appearance though is unable to stomach company from others. Due to her often snapping at others in brutal ways and her short stature, she is given the nickname "Palmtop Tiger".

Her under-developed body and the added nickname has given her a complex which in turn serves to give her a negative attitude and facial expression.

Essentially, Taiga gets upset easily and is considerably clumsy. She is also brutally honest, typically when she is lashing out at someone. Due to her cute looks (described as a doll by Ryūji), she often gets confessions of love by boys, but she turns down every one of them, including Yūsaku Kitamura (which she later regrets).

Taiga-chan thanks MAC for putting her as Character of the Month ^__^

About the Anime:
Toradora is a really fantastic series to watch and will be loved by those who enjoy school life type Anime with a sense of humor. One of the best talking points about the Anime is that it grabs you right from the first episode.

It's realistic and remains humorous without creating any non-sense. It's also a story of characters who are entwined in the mess of love, and how 2 of them (Taiga and Ryuji) get together to help each other out with their love interests.

The Opening and Ending songs are pretty entertaining. The slow background music in the Anime really gives out a calm, happy feel when watching the Anime. Considered as an intimidating delinquent (Ryuji) and a scary looking girl (Taiga), the story that develops between the two of them is truly heart warming :)

In all a really great Anime to watch. ^__^ Definite recommendation :)

The main characters of Toradora! (from left to right): Ryūji, Yūsaku, Taiga, Minori, and Ami.

MAC Meetup No. VI

Sensational! The 6th Official Mumbai Anime Club Meetup has truly been one of the most innovative and organized meetups we’ve had. O_O With over 45 people in attendance yet again, it makes me happy to see that we now have a bunch of awesome otakus who’ll always keep coming. ^__^ Yet another milestone to M.A.C’s growing popularity. \m/

The day started with the staff meeting up early, still with many things to sort out. The were a bit of things to be finalized in S.O.S and the screening had to be checked as well. Around noon though, everything was settled and the members started coming. We announced the time of the meetup at 12pm expecting members to come by at most 1pm. And thankfully so, most of the members were in the hall by that time :P Thus began the processions ^_^

I really don't know what they are doing XD XD

                                   

This meetup exhibited many firsts for M.A.C. We officially had our first cosplayer in Jane Wesker, who looked kawaiiiiii dressed up as Yuna from Final Fantasy X holding a staff. ^___^ She and Pranay also Karaoke’d the song “Again” from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and sung superbly (considering how difficult the song is O_O).

MAC's very own cosplayer, Jane :)

Rachi-san then took over and asked the new members to introduce themselves. :) This time we also asked them a question as to How they could be useful to MAC. ^_^ It’s always a good feeling to see new people coming in every meet, most of them being big fans of Naruto, Death Note and DBZ. :P

We then began the Spot-On Karaoke round, hu hu. Yes, the members were asked to sing along songs by just hearing a preview of that song. First up was the song “Life is Like a Boat” from Bleach (By Rie Fu). Many seemed reluctant but finally Rachi-san grabbed Rhea and she was made to sing. :P And sung beautifully she did ^__^. The 2nd song was “Boats and Birds” and everybody started shouting “John John” and he had to come up to sing along. When asked if he needed a partner, Karan voluntarily joined in. And when they sang, I was almost on the floor. =)) But it was really a commendable effort to come up and sing, so kudos for that :D The last song was “Lithium Flower” from Ghost in the Shell, and Nishi and Pranay got up to sing that, whilst Rachi-san and Ani too sung long :P It was a nice chorus and the members too went in with the groove of the song. Akshay-san came around that time with Mave-chan, who studies in Pune and came back to Mumbai for her holidays. It was nice meeting her ^__^

Rhea-san singing Life is Like a Boat ^_^)

Rachi-san, Ani, Nishi and Pranay singing Lithium Flower

Quickly the orders for the food were taken and it was time to start S.O.S, which literally means “Save Our Souls” but Rishabh though S.O.A sounded better xD The game and its rules were explained and people were asked to participate. After some reluctation we were able to get Pranay, Sagar, Tanya-chan ^__^ and Aadya (had to drag her >.>) to play along. All of them did a wonderful job acting out their villains. Sagar was asked dwindling questions about Vegeta like, “If Bulma’s hair is blue and yours is Yellow, how come Trunks hair is Purple?” xD Aadya-chan played Aizen and gave some good replies to Akshay :P Tanya-chan was kawaii playing Diva from Blood+ and Judges found her to be the nicest xD However, it was ze astounding Pranay Bahn who impersonated Orochimaru brilliantly and answered well to take the 1st Prize. :D

Pranay acting out as Orochimaru :D

Vishnu-san arrived late but was just in time for S.O.S. After announcing the results, he along with Rachi-san started explaining about some Rules at the Club along with the Membership details. Since M.A.C has been growing exponentially, it cannot just survive on donations from members. Hence a membership system will be effective from next month. More details on that will be made in another post. ^^

Members listened intently as Membership and other talks happened ^^

After S.O.S it was time for the screening ^__^. AMV’s made by Jane and Ani were shown, members seemed fascinated by it and the OVA Voices of a Distant Star was aired. The food arrived at the same time and people started munching on the burgers whilst watching the screening. At the end, another AMV (by my friend) was showed and thus concluded the screening. :)

We also had a bit of a surprise by a few members. Heena-san as always bought sushi for us which was delicious. We really can’t thank her enough for doing this every meet. ^^ Oh oh but also, :P some other kawaii girls too went ahead and surprised us. :D Ann, Chantel and Sanjana baked a really awesome cake for all the members at MAC. They were simply oishee *_* I myself had 3 pieces :P Arigatou Gozaimas ^__^. While we enjoyed the cakes and sushi, we all got down to do something that wasn’t done often here at MAC – discuss anime :P We spent nearly half an hour talking about different anime like Fairy Tail, Hungry Heart, Slam Dunk etc and members voiced their opinions on the same. ^__^

Cakeeeeeeeeeeee *_*

Nishigandha bought along some awesome posters of Bleach characters and others, including one of Byakuya that was just *__* All the members felt like stealing the posters =P They were awesome. Also some sketches by Sanjana and others were simply marvelous. It’s so great to see the talent we possess here at M.A.C :D

After the discussions we just chilled out at the premises of the Joglekar Bungalow, took loads and loads of photos and talked more. ^__^ After around an hour of doing the same, we finally left to our individual places (along with some to the after-party) :P

Otaku-ism \m/ - MAC Members

MAC Meetup No. VI marked new beginnings for the Club. From next meet we plan to initiate the membership process, and also introduce new events (that includes Manga Drawing, AMV Workshops etc). It just keeps getting better and better. ^__^ A big Arigatou to all those who attended and those who will be attending the next meetup. ;) M.A.C ish awesome ^o^

Character of the Month - October

Kouga Gennosuke (Basilisk -Kouga ninpo chou!)

Basilisk is a anime about the war between two ninja clans - Kouga and Iga. Its the fight to the finish to decide the next heir of the shogunate. Gennosuke Kouga becomes the leader of the Kouga clan after his grandfather's demise. Taught in the mystic jutsu by Hyoma and his grandfather ,Gennosuke possess the Mystical reversal eye technique by which he can revert an opponent's homicidal intent causing them to hurt\kill themselves.
Being a idealist and a scholar who believes in looking at the future instead of being burdened by the past, always questions the battle's pointless practice. Though usually peaceful Gennosuke can easily kill tens of ninjas within seconds.
His knowledge about his power as well as the unworthy bloodshed , he continues on his path of peace by undertaking a journey to Sunpu to question the higher-ups regarding the War.