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The Web Series Quadrant: RWBY Volume 7 Review!Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! It’s time for my long awaited review of this!

RWBY Volume 7 Review!

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and observations of the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts because she has different opinions from people on YouTube. You have been warned!

I know the seventh volume of RWBY ended in February but due to work and the CoVid19 pandemic rising I didn’t get the chance to do it. I finally got to sit down and re-watch the season and here we go!

Team RWBY arrives in Atlas to not so open arms. All thanks to the ship they arrived on being seen as stolen they are welcomed by Ace Operatives who are an elite group of huntsmen and huntresses appointed by General Ironwood. Despite the cold welcome, they are warmly welcomed by an old friend who was presumed dead since the Vital Festival, Penny. Once meeting up with Ironwood again they are now given new jobs to work with the Ace Operatives to be seen as trusted and handed their licenses and in on a secret expansion of Amity Stadium to help reunite everyone in Remnant. Even though Ironwood wants to keep this a secret danger arises when Dr. Watts and Teri an come to Atlas to cause trouble for him and try to frame Penny and not only that cause disruption in an election for the Council Head between Jacques Schni and Robin Hill. Besides the troubles in Mantle, Weiss has come back home to not only a cold shoulder from her father but a warm hug from her sister Winter and that her sister may take on the powers of the Winter Maiden since times have gotten worse since Ironwood is trying to find ways of protecting Atlas and Mantle from another attack by Salem. Will they be able to keep her away or will the Grimm and Salem’s allies be able to take down Ironwood his friends including Team RWBY?

Thoughts: This was a better volume because it did continue from where Volume 6 left off and felt like it was a better story. Even though Volume 6 had some added back story but here it felt like it brought back what we enjoyed with the early volumes of RWBY or at least me. I have been noticing people on YouTube have been complaining about some parts of this volume and I agree a little bit and disagree with most of it. How so?

Penny: First off Penny was brought back and I was hoping to see her returning after what had happened to her in Volume 3. Some people think she should have stayed dead but to me I had a feeling that she would be back at some point and this is where she did return since Atlas was where she was created. Got to remember folks, Atlas is known for their military, tech, and dust mining in the world of Remnant and being able to bring her back was not hard even though it was revealed later that someone’s aura was used to help her be brought back. Hey, you have to get it from somewhere. Even though she was treated as the protector of the city but we did get to see more of her in a newer light this time since I kind of felt like despite being able to hang with Ruby and the gang during the Vital Festival she was able to hang out with them again this time but as a helper. She did help with the enemies in this and even with the Winter Maiden, which I will touch upon later, but I did like how she was brought back for this volume and I did like her from the start. I wonder how she will play in the next volume after I talk about the Maiden role this time.

Ironwood: With all the things that have taken place I did notice that Ironwood did show that he was pretty mistrusting towards a lot of people. Yes, he did keep a huge secret and yes he was trying to do it to protect everyone but he was acting very rash in order to do that. I did notice it when Team RWBY and the rest of JNPR meeting up with him that he was holding a brave front but inside you can tell that he is afraid of what may happen if he tries to trust anyone. As in how is he able to share his trust with Qrow this time? How will he trust Team RWBY? Will he be able to trust Oscar since he is the newest Ozpen reincarnate? It made the story seem to flow smoothly until the end when everything started to fail when he noticed that things are starting to fall apart as in that even though his team of Ace Operatives were the strongest but there was something that made them vulnerable and open to the enemy. I also did like Oscar’s philosophical talks with Ironwood in this one because he was able to try and reason with him knowing that Ozpen could say the same to him since the theme here is fear and that everyone, including Ironwood, has it and it’s hard to escape from it even when Salem is the one bringing it. I wonder how it will continue in the next volume with Ironwood since someone did say he was going to be on the death list next but who knows how that will play out.

Team RWBY: I felt that this volume made them stronger because not only they were able to get newer weapons, also new looks, but also trained by the Ace Operatives. I also feel like their personalities also improved. Some people were ragging on how Yang was not the same as she was from the first volume, especially looking out for Ruby, which I kind of see it but I am also noticing it’s that Ruby has grown up and same with Yang after she had lost her arm in Volume 3 and found out that her mom, Raven, is the Spring Maiden and that they can still work together but at the same time can make themselves stronger when working on their own. On top of that, I noticed how Ruby has taken more of a leader stance since she is the title character after all and since the past few volumes it didn’t feel that way but since the change and now knowing what Salem is capable of she needed to step up! I did like how she gave orders in how to handle the dinner party Weiss’ father was putting together and the election was probably rigged and that she had Weiss go in to find that evidence to prove it. Plus, she did step up when Ironwood was starting to break under the pressure towards the end of the volume. Despite what others think I feel that she has gotten stronger and same with Weiss since she wasn’t too happy about coming back to Atlas but she had to with her team. I did like how she stood up to her father towards the beginning of the volume since he noticed how she cared for her friends but said that they are family to her. I did find it interesting how her mother, on the other hand, pointed to her that she left Whitley, her brother, alone. I have feeling that may play into the story somehow but we will see! Blake, let me see, I have noticed this volume she has become more out spoken since Volume 5! She did get a new bold hair cut but she did have a change in personality even around Yang since now it looks like they’re dating. Yes! Even though she did have that fight with Adam towards the end of last volume which I am seeing that she is starting to get over it and becoming better as the volume rolls on.

Winter Maiden: In this volume we get to meet the Winter Maiden finally and her name is Freya. Unlike the spring and Fall Maidens losing their lives young, Freya has reached her old age and this time she needs to pass her power on and it ended in an interesting way. Sorry for spoiler’s people but if you have not seen this volume I would say watch before you read! At first Winter was ordered by Ironwood to take the power since he thought it would be able to help her be able to use the Staff of Creation but unfortunately due to Cinder getting in the way the power went to someone else! It was Penny who ended up with the power.

I decided to go back to the Maidens Wiki to see if my hunch was correct about what had happened and it was which Freya gave her the power. I find it interesting though because isn’t Penny an artificial human with a soul? I even remembered that the way the power is passed onto another young woman is that either they are in the dying maiden’s thoughts or the maiden deems them worthy. With Raven it was out of nowhere while Cinder took it on due to greed, with Penny, on the other hand, I felt that Freya knew that cinder was not the one but waiting for someone else who was worthy and that was Penny. I think Freya noticed the aura inside of her and that it was pure and passed it onto her and I found this interesting since now we have her as Winter, Raven as Spring who is a bandit, and Cinder who took the Fall powers, I wonder what about Summer?

Thoughts on Summer: This brought me to this point since I kind of have been wondering like a few others on who might be the Summer Maiden? She hasn’t been revealed yet since now the circumstances with Salem are changing and things are getting worse. My thought is that did Salem kidnap her? It is a possibility because during the second to last episode she brought up Ruby’s mom and of course her name is Summer. I am wondering could she be alive and did she kidnap her? Because up to this point I remembered Ruby mentioning that her mom didn’t come back from her final mission and there is a possibility she may have had a run in with Salem. I am not sure if she had the Summer powers but if she did then it may have been passed on or Salem would have taken them since she wants the Maiden Relics in the first place. Either or I am hoping we can see the Summer Maiden next volume or if my theory would be partially right. Let’s see how that happens!

What Do I Want to See in Volume 8? Where to start? Definitely Summer Maiden because of how things are going down and I feel as though she may make an appearance or my thoughts may be the idea of how it will be revealed. And of course seeing how Penny deals with her now new position of Winter Maiden. I have a feeling that Ironwood won’t like it since he was hoping Winter would take them on. Also, this will still bug me since I feel like it was forgotten, the dreams of Pyhra coming back since those appeared in Volume 4 and hoping to get to see if those appear again if they are still a message.

Rating: 5 Shooting Star Paws Out of 5! I know I didn’t get to put a real rating but this deserves the five because it did continue the story from the last volume. Some people have been talking about the negatives and how this series is not the same as we remembered. Yes, Vol. 4 and 5 seemed to be the filler volumes and it did drag the story a bit not focus on Ruby herself but I feel that 6 and 7 fixed the story since we got to see some back story behind Remnant and what Salem is planning and that we got to see how badly Ironwood is afraid but didn’t want to show it and tried to make things safe but there was an opening for things to go bad. Plus it did bring back an old character and it built our favorite characters up to be better in this one so I feel that the story is stronger and it will get stronger, hopefully, with the next volume.

Also, I want to give major props to Christina V. as Robin since she did a really job playing this character during this volume. She did an amazing performance and I enjoyed every chapter of it!

Well guys that is it for this review! Sorry if I haven’t given this blog much love since of course we are going through a major pandemic and times gotten busy after all. I will get back to here and of course I do have the podcast to do on top of it. And then of course I do have one more RangerStop video to put here and that will be next! Until next time!

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by moonleopard85 on April 5, 2020  •  Permalink
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The Convention Quadrant: Legendary Voice Actors Panel at RangerStop 7!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! I am back for another post!

Legendary Voice Actors Panel at RangerStop 7

Another panel video for you all and it is the Legendary Voice Actors Panel from RangerStop last year! Two of the guests they had were Samantha Newark who played Jem on Jem & the Holograms and Wally Wingert who you’ve seen my interview on YouTube and here on the blog! This was a very interesting panel because we get to not only hear Sam’s adventure in becoming a voice actress but also Wally’s adventure too. I did get to ask a question and had to re-iterate it a bit because it was kind of lost. I asked about how they feel about live-action adaptations of classic cartoons? I came up with the idea due to how Jem & the Holograms was adapted into live-action and well it didn’t get a lot of rave reviews and same with many others like Josie & the Pussycats as an example due to how the movie didn’t have a good script if I remembered one answer was said but you get to hear their answers. I do agree since you will see and hear my question in the John Tui Experience video that if it is a bad script then the movie wouldn’t do so well and can see why other cartoon live-action adaptations weren’t really made for the big screen. I did like the one Scooby Doo movie that Cartoon Network had a few years back on how the gang got together and wished they continued with that. Anyways, all tangents aside, just enjoy the rest of the video!

That is it for this post! I will get the next panel video up but I do have another book review for you guys so stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on February 23, 2020  •  Video  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, Panels, Television, Voice Acting
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Posted by moonleopard85 on February 23, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/02/23/the-convention-quadrant-legendary-voice-actors-panel-at-rangerstop-7/

The Convention Comet: Omni Fandom Expo 2020 in Kissimmee, FL

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! It’s time for the first convention of the year!

Omni Fandom Expo 2020
Dates: March 20-22, 2020
Location: Days by Celebration, Kissimmee, FL

Another year has started and you know what that means? Time for another convention season to start and our season starts with Omni Fandom Expo. As you all know we’ve been doing press for these guys since their first year in 2014 and glad to get another!

Location: Change of location this year and it will be at the Days by Wyndham Celebration located in Kissimmee. This hotel is located near Disney and of course a few miles away from Universal if you want to check out the main attractions. The features include free parking, express check out, free breakfast, a work out room, hot tub, and pool and even a restaurant known as Savannah Bar & Grill. The room rate here is $129 a night and I would say reserve as soon as possible because this discount ends on February 27th!

Guests: This year’s guests include Grey Delisle Griffin who is well known for her roles as Mandy from the Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Azula from Avatar: The Last Air Bender, and of course can’t forget Vicky from the Fairly Odd Parents! Returning to Orlando after years of not coming back is Neil Kaplan which makes me happy since it’s been years. You can hear him as Lord Zarkon in Voltron: Legendary Defender! And of course, returning again this year is Mr. Xemnes himself Paul St. Peter! And of course we can’t forget Speak Easy Sirens who has been a Burlesque troop that always been performing every year and bringing on Theoretical Rejects as another troop for this year’s event. And finally, one group that will be doing a performance this year is Shinobi School which is a performance troop from Tampa that specializes in park or, circus acrobatics, and so much more.

Events: One event I’m excited for is Miyazaki Madness which will be performed by Shinobi School and will be taking place that Saturday at noon during the convention. It will take our most beloved Miyazaki characters and have them do many feats and dance moves. If you want the more eighteen plus stuff, Speak Easy Sirens and Theoretical Rejects have Lore Olympus and NetFlix & Chill during that weekend. Please leave your kids at home since these two are eighteen and up only!

That is about it on this year’s event! Can’t wait to see you guys there! Hoping they add more guests in the meantime since we haven’t interviewed Grey yet and glad to see Neil back in Orlando since his last con was around 2009 I believe? So can’t wait to see what he has in store if we get that chance to interview him. And with Paul, we all know his events and can’t wait and see if Pirate Curses makes a return and if you want to learn voice acting I highly recommend his voice acting class panels. We will be buzzing around the convention floor this year and of course having new teammates! Let’s meet them shall we?

Damion Alexander Faelan and Michael Roach: Welcome our new teammates who will be joining us to do photography during the event. If you’re cosplaying, there will be photoshoots being held by these two and Damion does have his own photography business known as Shadow Rayne Photography which we will include a link down below.

And of course, we do have a new camera coming with us for floor interviews so a lot of new things will be with us so stay tuned. And of course, don’t forget our podcast Nerdy Shique Transmissions where I will also be talking about this convention in each episode leading up to the convention itself! Anyone on Breaker? I forgot that you can also listen to it on there too!

What is next? Our start of the RangerStop Panel videos since Damion was also helping us in getting those put together since they were recorded in separate parts. First of the panels is the Magical Source! Mystic Force! Panel! Stay tuned!
Shadow Rayne PhotographyOmni Expo Home Page

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by moonleopard85 on February 10, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, cosplay, Gaming, Travel, Voice Acting
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Posted by moonleopard85 on February 10, 2020

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The Convention Quadrant: RangerStop 7 in Orlando, FL

Before this post begins I want to say that this post is dedicated to Robert Axelrod. He just passed away yesterday and I remembered meeting him at the very first Omni Fandom Expo. He did suffer from a big surgery a year ago and Barbara Goodson did raise money for treatment at last year’s RangerStop. I still remembered going to his Sunday panel at Omni where he talked about his role as Lord Zed in Mighty Morphen Power Rangers and his work on Digimon. Rest in peace Mr. Acxlrod you were a very talented voice actor who brought a lot of entertainment to kids as they grown up like I had when I first saw Zed on screen.

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with a new convention spotlight!

RangerStop 7 in Orlando, FL November 8th through the 10th, 2019!

It’s Morphen Time again with RangerStop 7! Yes, another year for Orlando’s Power Rangers convention. If you were in Atlanta you probably have went to the pop culture version of this convention and probably met other familiar faces besides our favorite Rangers. Let’s see what this year has in hold for the fans that are excited for the Orlando counterpart!

Hotel: This year the convention will be held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort which is in the heart of International Drive. Me and Gondras have stayed at this resort before the renovations have been done back in 2011 and 2012, we did go to AFO 2015 as attendees and seen the changes. There are more panel rooms added, ramps and stairways well small ones stair sets. If you have a wheelchair or a blind cane, watch your step as my tip. We will be staying at the hotel which the price for the discount is $109 a night. I would say book now because the rooms will go fast in time for the convention and if that happens you can stay at other places in the area, there is the La Quinta to let you know. Besides the hotel, you do have many attractions surrounding the hotel like the Orlando Eye for example, CityWalk down the road, even Universal alongside SeaWorld and their parks along with it. And for bites to eat, there are many restaurants you can go to like Red Robin for example or can order in if you wanted to if you have Uber Eats!

Tickets: There are so many tickets to choose from
You also get a 20% discount on some of them like the weekend pass with a shirt, the all weakened pass for example. One ticket I found interesting is of course the Family Plan where you can have two adults and up to five kids age’s four to twelve for $100 at the moment. For information on tickets, you can visit the link I will be providing down below!

Guests: This year there will be a lot of returning guests such as Kat Sutherland, Karen Ashley, Austin St. John, Christopher Kayman Lee, and a few new ones to add which one we are excited about! John Tui will be appearing at this year’s RangerStop for his first time. For anyone who has remembered the season SPD like we have he played Doggie Cruger in that season. Another interesting add on for any pop culture lovers and that is Samantha Newark who is known as Jerika and Jem from Jem & the Holograms! Make sure you follow RangerStop on their Facebook group because there are more guests to come. I am crossing my fingers on some and hoping to interview a few to add to our channel!

Well guys that is it for this spotlight. I know it’s short but there are new announcements to come for this convention. I do have to say is that this one is a huge blast to go to and worth the money since I did attend back in 2015. The guests are veryRangerStop Orlando Page nice and you get to hear their stories from being on the series or from their own convention experiences since they do appear at other conventions around the world. And of course with our second year of press we will be wearing the shirts and bringing the pamphlets along since we want to spread the word about our work so can’t wait for what this year brings.

What is next? Still waiting on my subscription boxes to come. I also am saying that I did join Dollar Shave Club well sued to hygiene issues…okay I was lazy in using RangerStop Tickets PageGondras’ razor from his box! Now I get one myself! It is worth it! Anyways, I am waiting on Glam Bag Plus and BoxyCharm at the moment since they got shipped out recently. So, until next time!

Also, check out the links to the tickets page and RangerStop Orlando!

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by moonleopard85 on September 10, 2019  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, conventions, Television, Travel

Posted by moonleopard85 on September 10, 2019

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2019/09/10/the-convention-quadrant-rangerstop-7-in-orlando-fl/

The Convention Quadrant: Holiday Matsuri 2018 Opening Ceremonies!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! I am back with a post that was supposed to be up a while back!

Holiday Matsuri 2018 Opening Ceremonies!

I know, why am I doing this close to the end of May? Well, life did get in the way! Ever since Gondras and I moved into our own place, took place during the Volcano Bay hang out when there should have been a Google Hangout for Press, things have happened since. As in me starting my job, getting unpacked, doing groceries, getting things for our living room and well during January the both of us got sick except me it was serious with a sinus infection! We weren’t able to upload the last two videos which one was the Opening Ceremonies. While doing groceries for the weekend on the day the convention started, Nerdy Shirts texted me about recording the Opening Ceremonies and said, “Yes but not the dancing parts!” The past years we did record them we got claimed for the music being in the shot. Anyone doing press at any convention, just record the important parts and not any performances because YouTube loves to claim everything for Copyright even if it’s overseas. Heck, I did warn the Press Staff at Matsuri about Idol Fest, this is one good reason for a Hangout to mention.

Anyways, hope you guys have enjoyed these videos. Sorry for the wait due to life getting in the way and this will be our last Opening Ceremonies at Holiday Matsuri we will ever record. I will explain in the next post which is the voice actor’s panel that Nerdy Shirts also recorded! Stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on May 25, 2019  •  Video  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, comics, conventions, Panels, Travel

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 25, 2019

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2019/05/25/the-convention-quadrant-holiday-matsuri-2018-opening-ceremonies/

The Convention Quadrant: Omni Fandom Expo Year 6!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe from traveling the vast universe! Sorry for taking so long for doing this!

Convention Impossible: Omni Fandom Expo 2019!

I was ill during the end of March with a Bronchial Spasm, how it happened was that after Omni I was feeling a bit exhausted since I was going to bed around midnight during the convention and had to wake up early for work afterwards and by Thursday of that week that was when I got sick. I could not breathe that evening after work and Sunday night so Gondras took me to the Urgent Care twice and that was when I found out I had borderline Bronchitis. I am healing still, I even did a video Tuesday unboxing the new Jeffree Starr pallet which you get to see me use on YouTube this weekend.

So, since Omni passed and all I have to say is that I had a blast this year and let’s get to it!

Hotel: First was a first for us at the convention and that is staying at the Florida Hotel. As you guys know that this is the hotel that is attached to the Florida Mall in Orlando and a lot of tourists from all over stay at this place every year throughout the year. It is a huge tourist trap. I can see why this is a popular place because not only the hospitality is the best but the rooms are amazing! For the convention discount you get a pretty big room and we got a room with two queen size beds, a couch, and an easy chair. We also got a pretty good sized fridge and bathroom. Plus, our room did have a nice view of M & M World which is also an awesome place.

The convention was pretty much the same layout except Panel Room 1 was changed up where it was slightly smaller this year but I did get to the room very easily since I got to explore the night events on my own instead of waiting for Nerdy Shirts and Gondras to take me down to it. I do love how the hotel hallways are very shoreline friendly with my cane. And in case if anyone is wondering, no worries my cane survived this convention without incident. Since I mentioned events…

Events: This year it was mostly going to evening events since our day was packed with the Press Booth and of course we had interviews on Sunday during the convention. I did go to Derek Steven Prince’s panel Shino & Friends since I didn’t get to check it out last year along with Nobu’s and Sawa’s Q & A Panel since they were both guests and did perform during the convention, which we did catch some of that on Saturday and they know how to work with each other. Didn’t know Nobu was a metal fan either since he was starting to sing “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns & Roses or I give him props for good taste.

We did check out one of the big shows and that was the Marvel Parody Show. One thing I will admit is that I am a fan of musicals and my z musicals are still Rent, Grease, the one with Travolta and Newton-John, and Repo the Genetic Opera. This was one of those Broadway looking musicals with a contemporary feel with the Marvel Heroes and Villains! It was amazing and entertaining! The only issue I had was Ant Man because he had the song dealing with “All the Small Things” by Blink 182 which is a hard song to sing and the person had bad timing from what I seen. Everyone on the other hand did really awesome and the best songs from it happened to be the one Black Panther did to “Roar” by Katie Perry, Dead Pool doing “Thomas the Tank Engine,” and of course Captain Marvel doing “Immortals” and perfect timing for the newest Captain Marvel film. Hoping this group does another musical like this for next year because they did a really good job with this one. I also did attend the script reading again and it was still entertaining. All thanks to this year’s reading I want to watch Zootopia due to how well Paul St. Peter and Derek Steven Prince reading their parts. Plus, Tia Ballard being a part of it as well. Speaking of which!

Guests: This year’s guests were great again! We still got Bruce doing his balloon creations, heck Gondras even challenged him with one of the many key blades from Kingdom Hearts and had it hung on our wall for a little while. Paul St. Peter still remembers us as usual and we did hand him over our pamphlets which I will get to later. It felt great to meet Tia Ballard since of course she played Happy and glad to get to interview her for the channel. We also got to sit down with Sawa since we didn’t get to last year. We also had Nobu with her which a lot of you may not know this is our FIRST Japanese recording artist interview to date. Yay! Stay tuned everyone we will get those videos up since I was sick after all. What was also awesome was meeting Hisashi Yakawa in person. He was the one who did the art for Pokémon when it came out in 1997 and the first four seasons of Sailor Moon. I have been a major fan of both when I was a pre-teen and still remembered not only reading Teen People, Pop Star and other teen magazines I also collected Pokémon cards and Sailor Moon cards and stickers. I did bring my box set of the first twenty six episodes of Pokémon that got signed by Veronica Taylor and Eric Stuart and now Mr. Yakawa and of course on our wall in our apartment are pictures of Sailor Moon he has drawn to give to people. Did we get stuff signed by Tia in case if you’re wondering, we did get Cat Planet Cuties and a part of Fairy Tail with Happy and Natsu on it? Gondras did bring our Kingdom Hearts 3 art book to get signed by Paul and Derek since they are in the game as well.

Vendor Room: Finally, I have to include the Vendor Room. I felt this year it was more organized and sectioned off with Bruce doing his work in his corner, long with anything on display, then of course we had the guests along one side of the wall, the cosplay guests in one box, and then the vendors selling items in another. I only bought a few items in the room since we were busy all weekend and did go into the mall for food and I did have to drop by the NYX store for some stuff.

First off is the Tyaki stand! I loved this girl’s little cakes and glad she came back. Funny thing was while being in the Press Booth, we found one and Gondras thought it was our Japanese Snacks friend who brought it and we took it and when I ate it I felt the familiar taste since it was cookies and cream. On Sunday, I found her stand and happy I did since I got a sample pack this time where I got to not only have her classic flavors but also two new ones which were white chocolate caramel and the breakfast delight. I still love the chocolate peanut butter one as usual since I am a Reese’s lover and of course the chocolate chips in these are really good. I did buy from the shirt stand that helped us during Holiday Matsuri with my cane. I did get the United States of Smash shirt since that was All Might’s most epic battle in My Hero Academia and the guy at the stand remembered I loved Steven Universe and had a new one where Steven is Dr. Strange and made sense, I even worn it when Daddy Blue Cat visited me last month. I did thank them for the help during Matsuri by the way and did mention how I posted my story time video about it and used it on the Omni group to say, “Hey! This happened so watch out!” And finally, Japanese Snacks Guy was around yet again and picked up some new snacks. One of them happened to be takoyaki chips. If you guys don’t know what this little dish is its octopus dumplings and they are delicious! I had them during a Japanese culture festival in Orlando years ago and squid is one of my favorite seafood of all time since I do love Calamari. These chips to me tasted like plain Lay’s since I felt like I didn’t taste anything. I was hoping to be hit by a slight touch of fish flake and octopus mixed in or at least seaweed but nothing. Another item was melon flavored Kit Kats which was interesting to say the least. I was dying down a bit on Kit Kats since I have so much chocolate to eat still but ever since I moved I haven’t eaten it much due to how mellow I’ve been. I did try one and it felt like I was eating cantaloupe covered wafers and it was a light chocolate taste mixed in. Not bad in a way. I haven’t tried the gummies I bought in apple and peach since it’s been forever since I had Japanese gummies. I hope he will be at Ranger Stop since that is the next con we will be aiming for!

Verdict: CONVENTION ACCOMPLISHED! I have to give it an Accomplished because I felt like we have accomplished some things and that includes getting some new things made to promote ourselves and they are shirts and pamphlets. Yes, ever since Holiday Matsuri last year I had an idea to get pamphlets made to show our work even to handlers since it feels like our work is not being taken seriously. Gondras did say it was a good idea to do and it worked out well since we had them made at FedEx and he did the design with a template and got them done in time for the convention that weekend. FedEx has pretty good prices so will be printing with them instead of Staples. And now onto shirts which people did like. Last year while doing the Customer Service Basics class, the teacher told me that we do cosplay and enjoy it but should dress the part of representing a blog and looking back on it I do agree with that. So, for a few months I looked into Vista Print and even Custom Ink for shirts and all thanks to the excellent customer service that Custom Ink has done even helped with the design after understanding that I am blind that the shirts came out amazing! Even had a sample for GOndras to try in his size because we have to make sure he could fit in their shirts and he did. Definitely will be having these shirts with us and I will be going back to Custom Ink for anything else because they do other items too and I have some ideas. Also, we still have our lovely business cards to pass out to attendees too. So hoping our new promo material keeps going.

Also, we did get to stay in the hotel finally since it would be hard commuting back and forth between Daytona and Orlando and the Florida Hotel has some of the best hospitality I’ve ever seen. Better, or shall I say way better than the World Center because I even had text messages sent asking about my stay and the guy who helped at check out even gave ideas on breakfast when I asked him. And not only that, some tourists even helped me when it came to finding the Starbucks and a bathroom too. And I think the hospitality also spreads through the mall since it is attached to it, I got amazing service at the NYX Store too since some of the store attendants, Gondras, and I did talk about how NYX;s complexion items are hypoallergenic and did mention that the primer, Hydro Touch, works out for me. And anyone who wants to know, the location is nice since it’s a lot more roomy than the other one I’ve been to since it fit all the displays and makeup stations very well.

And one last accomplishment would probably be finally getting to interview Sawa and Nobu because we wanted to interview Sawa since last year and due to scheduling we couldn’t get that chance until this time around.

Needs for Improvement: Even though the convention was a success but I do have one thing to talk about that needs to be improved and that is the Press Booth. This year press teams get to have time blocks to promote themselves, even play recordings, and even interview attendees if they wanted and well…I felt…this was a bust! How so? Sorry to say, forgot to disclaim but this is a review based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer after all and well due to the location of the booth people didn’t stop by. I am a very quiet observer despite my extrovert personality and from what I heard most of the attendees were either with the cosplay guests, the industry guests, or even in Artist’s Alley and the Press Booth was a small alcove in the back of the vendor’s area and it felt hidden away. Heck, even when we played one of our interviews from Omni Fandom Expo past no one paid attention. To me this should have been in an easier to spot area rather than a tiny alcove. We are press and we promote our work and we should be loud and be seen rather than be hidden. Heck, we used the last hour or so of the convention to use for interviews which is another thing which I have noticed where one press team did use the booth to interview Tia Ballard when we did our interview upstairs with her which I think the Press Booth should have been used better as the interview spot rather than upstairs. Which that does draw attention to an audience where people could be like, “Hey, someone’s talking to someone, let’s watch!” I even watched the Tia interview myself at the end. Not only that there was supposed to be a press conference thing with Hisashi and Mamoru but that didn’t happen unfortunately at the Press Booth. If this was used again, I would say just use it for all guest interviews and place it in an easier to see spot because we want to show our work and sucked that not a lot of people paid attention to do so.

And another thing, which I didn’t realize until our buddy Evan said it, guest autograph times should be posted on the booths for them somewhere because there were times where we wondered what time some people would show up and conventions tend to put a small display board saying, “Person Will Be Here At…” Heck, even Holiday Matsuri does it. So, why not have poster board saying it? Thinking about it now…as a joke maybe…maybe I should be in the creative team for this convention. Just saying!

Well, that is it for this review! I am glad we got to do another year of Omni Fandom Expo and this has been the only convention that keeps us coming to do our work every year. I still remember 2014 and how it was a small and very ambitious convention and it has morphed into what we attend today. I would say this has been the best year besides 2014 and 2015 combined. Plus, it is always blind people friendly because my cane is still in one piece and I don’t feel invisible either as in just an attendee with a prop. Which for the record my cane is not a prop! Anyways, hoping next year will bring many more people and there is one guest that should come back and he misses Orlando since I have gotten back in touch with him and that is Neil Kaplan! Reason why I got back in touch is that recently the NFB did a news story talking about the CWB not hiring a blind actor to play a blind character and I remembered Neil having a class teaching students at the Braille Institute in California how to do voice acting. He no longer does it but still stays in touch with students and did mention Omni Fandom Expo and he wants to be a guest. So Omni, if you are reading this, please get Neil! He is one of the biggest sweethearts and he has been on Digimon and of course he did say he wants to sit down with us for an interview which is even more awesome.

So, what is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? Well, my video trying out the new Jeffree Starr Blue Blood pallet tomorrow! Yes, I jumped the gun and picked up one of his bundles from his collection to bring it to you all on the YouTube Quadrant and I will also post the video here for anyone who may be curious little space kitties as well. Of course we have our interviews from Omni Fandom Expo, I am sorry for not getting any events recorded. First, the Marvel musical was not allowed to be recorded, also went to night events that would kick you out if you did record it, and plus I was enjoying attending things by myself since I rarely got to do it. Yes I could have done it at Matsuri but after the cane breaking I would have gotten hurt if I tried. Also Press Booth did keep us pretty busy. Again, sorry about that! And I have more posts to come!

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by moonleopard85 on April 6, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, cosplay, Manga, Reviews, shopping, Travel

Posted by moonleopard85 on April 6, 2019

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2019/04/06/the-convention-quadrant-omni-fandom-expo-year-6/

Cartoon Quadrant: RWBY Volume 6 Review!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! I am back with another review!

RWBY Volume 6

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts on what she is about to say even on one particular subject. So enjoy!

After saving Mistral, Ruby and the gang are on the journey yet again to head for Atlas this time in order to protect a possible relic of the Seasonal Maidens (That’s my name for them by the way!) While traveling, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Qrow, and an old lady by the name of Maria end up finding out what the Spring Relic really is and find out more about the world they live in. Meanwhile, Cinder returns and is now cut off from Salem and crew, now as a solo villain she plots to find Ruby with the help of Neopolitan. On top of it, Adam Taurus is in vengeance mode against Blake for what she did to him at Mistral and not get over the past and her betrayal to him.

Thoughts: Damn! This volume was deep! Very deep! What I mean by this is that not only it answered questions about some stuff I was hoping for but it also shown the origins of Salem and Ozpen. Plus, how Remnant began along with it. Basically, Salem was a girl who lived alone in a tower and one day a legendary hero by the name of Ozma shown up and was able to help her escape. Ozma became ill after a sickness appeared and Salem hoped to get help from the God of Light, yes this deals with deities and I kind of felt like it was really deep even when the tale kept on going. It even went really deep when the God of Light refused to save Ozma and the God of Darkness shows up. It did cause a fight between the two gods after Ozma’s health was returned and led to Salem being immortal and not be with Ozma ever again. I can see as the origin story continued that Salem did walk the path of darkness and how she put faith and love into deities that she prayed to and they failed her in the end and how she became the crazy person she is and creating Grimm and other things kind of shown that she has to do things herself especially with what the post end credits revealed.

I don’t want to give too much away since this also tells how the relics were created and later on how the Maidens were also born except what made me happy was that they finally explained where Silver Eyes came from. Basically they are from the God of Light which Ruby was trying to find ways of activating them more throughout this time and all thanks to Maria and some knowledge from the Spring Relic she is able to use them. I did find it pretty epic with how she was able to use it again zombie-like Grimm at a barn and then later on a Kaiju Grimm but it did finally helped her grow in a way. When I first started watching this series she was the immature and reckless teammate among Team RWBY and when the Fall of Beacon took place that was when her silver eyes activated. By the time Volume 4 took place, she knew that she couldn’t stay home and let Beacon stay in ruin and must find the guys who destroyed it. Volume 5 just shown how she must take out Salem before anyone she knows dies like with Pyra and now in Volume 6 she wanted people let her do what she needs to do in the fight and let people have faith in her, especially with Qrow.

Speaking of which, he was pretty much annoying during this volume and wished someone just yell, “Shut up!” Even towards the end when Ruby finally said, “Step aside and let me do it!” I think he was being too protective over Yang and Ruby due to how Yang lost her arm and didn’t want her to get hurt even further but seeing how Yang helped Blake again which I will get to next I think she’s fine! While Ruby, I can see it since Ruby is the only thing left from her mom, Summer, he doesn’t want her to get hurt or killed even after what they went through in the last two volumes. I wonder what will happen to him in the next volume since apparently they will be replacing Vic as his voice. Oh yeah, not sure if you heard guys but Rooster Teeth has cut all ties to Vic due to some allegations of sexual assault and harassment were made alight as the new Dragonball Super movie with Broly came out recently. Not only that, Funimation also dropped him. I will give you my thoughts once I do my rating.

Now onto Yang! This volume shown her and her relationship with Blake starting off rocky at first since Blake has returned and with some series this can happen. As we know that Blake ran off at the end of Volume 3 after Yang got hurt when she helped Blake from getting hurt by Adam! I can see why it started off a little rocky since Yang was hoping to help Blake get over having her losing her arm except it did take a while for Blake to return. This volume did reflect on their awkwardness of being teammates again and mostly friends…ahem, even though me and Gondras agreed they should kiss, still the final few episodes did show an epic fight of them working together again and this time it was them against Adam. I am glad that that fight took place and how it ended made it better! I am hoping with Volume 7 they keep their dynamic going since these two know how to work together.

Acting: I have to give major props to the acting for this volume. Not only the story was well written but the acting matched it too. It has improved since last volume and how each character interacted was beautifully done. I give major props to Melissa Sternenberg who voiced Maria in this volume. She brought some of the comedy back in with being an old lady throughout this thing and also giving fighting advice to Ruby since she did have the Silver Eyes herself but were taken from her. I did like how she could connect them to tech so she could see since she did mention they needed repairs. Also, I give major props who voice Cordova since she had to yell her lungs out towards the end of the volume.

Rating: 5 Star Paw Prints Out of 5! This volume definitely brought on and deserved the five star paw prints because it was a very well done volume. I hope they keep this going for the next one because it looks like it’s about to be End Game from what we’re seeing with the Post End Credits. I am hoping not since there are more things to come since we have the last two relics in Atlas from the looks of it and Vakuyo which was revealed in this volume before Hazel interrupted. Also, we don’t know the Winter and Summer Maidens yet which those two seem to be important and we haven’t seen the Winter one as of yet either. I am hoping with the next one it will show themselves. Ruby has grown up significantly with this volume because I can see she is starting to show that she may be a tiny fighter but she can kick butt and did speak up for herself. Not only that Yang and Blake did have their rocky start after getting back together at the end of Volume 5 but they did take on Adam together to get their team dynamic back. Seriously, these two need a relationship too since they give off Utena and Anthy vibes in my book with how they want to protect each other. Now to the bigger elephant!

I know I mentioned about Vic being replaced for next volume due to being let go and it does suck that you lose your job even in the voice acting industry. This feels like the original actor who played England in Hitalia except his sentence was worse due to having child porn. Unlike Vic, these kinds of allegations will follow him forever until he pretty much dies. I am not taking any sides because I have experienced loved ones even Gondras lose jobs even in more serious things and to me I was up for karma catching up to him since I have heard the stories even from friends who have volunteered at the conventions he was at and one of them was MetroCon and he did get banned from. I do have to say is that looking at my first experience meeting Vic at Anime Festival Orlando 2006 I had a good experience. I did have a creeper get on me at the same convention but four years later at a late night event and I can tell most creeps don’t care about how you feel nor if you have a significant other. I also have seen some of the Tweets on Twitter from some voice actresses I do follow that have said something and I can say this, someone can be innocent until proven guilty. I am not siding with anyone at the moment and at the same time I hope things do clear up because there needs to be hard evidence towards something like this and pictures don’t always cut it. I would say if something did happen why didn’t police get alerted early on? Is it due to work or something else? I am not sure. All in all, I hope the best for Vic and I also hope the best for anyone who had something that probably have been victimized and I understand sexual harassment is not a good thing and a lot of things can be risked when it happens. So, if you have been a victim recently, take to the proper authorities right away and not wait. Scars can happen and people can get hurt.

I bet you’re asking me, who do you think should play Qrow now? Well, I think either J. Michael Tatum should use his Scar voice or maybe Todd Haberkorn since I have heard him do an older man’s voice. Who knows, we have to wait for this fall for the next volume!

Well, that is it for this review! I know that last bit was a bit deep but hey I had to put my own two cents in with latest updates. Please don’t get on my case for what I said either since my Disclaimer is something I stand by so please respect my opinion. What is next for us? Hoping getting any remains of Holiday Matsuri items up and of course Omni Fandom Expo is in a week and a half or so so yeah this year is breezing by fast! I will also try to do my Coastal Scents Revealed Rouge look soon since Omni is happening soon and my parents will be visiting me in a week. So stay tuned on our Twitter for the latest updates!

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by moonleopard85 on March 4, 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, Response and Opinion, Reviews, Voice Acting

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 4, 2019

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2019/03/04/cartoon-quadrant-rwby-volume-6-review/

Interviews: Jennifer Hale Interview from Holiday Matsuri 2018!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! I am back and this time it’s with another interview!

Jennifer Hale Interview from Holiday Matsuri 2018!

Now it’s time for the other interview! We finally got to interview Jennifer Hale at Holiday Matsuri since we wanted to do it before. We wanted to do it during MegaCon Orlando 2017 except they said no to it. As you know our logo you see over on our Twitter and YouTube was inspired by the Mass Effect games and not only that Jennifer has voiced Sam on the series Totally Spies which you can still watch the Reunion video from MegaCon 2017 on our channel as well. I was super excited about this even if my cane did break during the con and getting to sit down with her felt like you were sitting down with a great friend not just interviewing a great voice actress. If you haven’t seen the second Wreck It Ralph movie, I would suggest it and try to catch anything else she has been in.

Well, that is it for our interviews from Holiday Matsuri. Again sorry about Zach Callison since we didn’t get to have that interview but will see if we can catch him at another con we will do press at or probably over Skype.

What is next? Well, we are having something new starting on the channel so stay tuned for that! Definitely have February stuff coming up so stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on January 26, 2019  •  Video  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, conventions, Gaming, Interviews, Travel, Video Games

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 26, 2019

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2019/01/26/interviews-jennifer-hale-interview-from-holiday-matsuri-2018/

Convention Impossible: Holiday Matsuri 2018!

Hello to all of my beautiful nerds traveling the vast universe! It’s time for our Convention Impossible post on Holiday Matsuri. It’s going to be a hard one this time around which I know there will be some Needs for Improvement.

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and observations from the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts on the convention and its rating because not everyone has the same experience especially with this convention.

Oh man! Where to start! This year we had a different experience from past years since it felt like the convention gone and went without even knowing. We did stay at the World Center like last year and I felt like we spent more time in the room than the con itself. Let me talk about the hotel.

Hotel: Like I said above, we stayed at the World Center and we spent some time before heading there by getting some shopping done for the weekend as in getting food to eat in the room and getting checks cashed because apparently there was a security breach that took place and best to use cash at the hotel areas itself rather than your card. Trust me, being hacked is not fun. So, we got to the hotel and the parking was packed! Apparently, besides Matsuri, there were two other events taking place and it was a military ball type event and a business convention in one of the wings. This does happen at some venues where some events take place at the same time, especially with conventions. Good examples, the cheerleading competitions during MegaCon when they were held in March, Omni Fandom Expo taking place at the same time as Florida Anime Experience when they first started, even a beauty pageant took place at the World Center as Omni Fandom Expo taking place, these are a few but these three going on at the same time caused parking to be full and Gondras was told to park at the outlets and take the shuttle but he did find a parking spot. We were glad we had East Tower this year with our room and it was a one bed and one couch situation. I did remember that leading up to the convention that they talked about rooms being sold out and the Queen Bed rooms were taken by then and I have a feeling people from the other two events were also staying in those. So glad they extended stay slots at other hotels in the area to cater to everyone. We were afraid that Hol Mat would be moved next year but heard that it won’t so who knows where we will be next December. I did point out Gaylord Palms but realized that they have their Ice exhibit and that would be an issue to hold Hol Mat there unless they give discount tickets to attendees, just saying. We did have a great stay this year and man that King Size Bed was comfy. Also our roomie was great too! At first we asked on the Hol Mat Housing Group to find new roomies and the first cancelled due to financial reasons which does happen, second one what friends coming, and third person was a major charm! She was awesome and she is a big Tales fan and she did host a trivia panel which I will get to later!

Game Room: I have to point this out because this year’s Game Room was very impressive this year and better than years before. Not only it featured your classic cabinets that you tend to see at this convention but we also had Japanese games including the famous Gundam pods! If you haven’t been to Japan in the Otaku areas, it’s basically a Gundam cockpit simulator game where it’s in an arcade that you have people dressed as the attendants in the Gundam anime series and you get to be in the pods where you get to pilot Gundams ranging across the vast series. Gondras wanted to play this thing so bad if we ever got to go to the arcade with it and they brought it here except he didn’t fit in it due to how tall he is. That did make him happy that they brought it to a convention of all places where a lot of fans would roam around. Also, there was the Rock Band set up which not only had the classic songs but there were a few more added in. Besides this room having games inside there were games spread out in the convention itself like Music Tag near the vendor’s room which I will get to now…

Vendor’s Room: I liked it better this year than the last. How so? Not only it felt bigger but the vendors were better this year! As in there were more variety in merch than it has been before as in plushies, apparel, even artists for instance which I felt like I bought more items from as usual since I do love handmade items since they are more unique. Some of these items include a seatbelt type belt for your pants featuring Happy. You know I love the kitties from Fairy Tail and haven’t gotten much of Happy lately and glad to get this because this is a comfy belt! As in, you just have a cloth strap versus leather which to me leather belts do become uncomfortable even while being Lucy thank you very much! I should have taken a card from this vendor because I would want to see if they can make a plain black one. I also did find my favorite seller who had the cat ears and tails. She did give me a discount again which made me happy and did pick up two of her newer furs which one pair of ears and tail had pastel spots all over and pink bows with the bells and I didn’t mind having that on my ears because they matched better with the pastel spots. As you know, calico kitties are one of my favorite types of kitties. While the other pair is more interesting which is a very fluffy fur that is in red with silver striping. I didn’t get the bows and bells, which I should have asked, maybe I should message her about that but it was so soft that I did hand her the money for them too. I love her ears and tales and I suggest buying from her. I did run into Japanese Snacks Guy at the front of the room which he had a really good spot. He had new items which are these long gummy things. They remind me of those jolly Rancher bars I remembered as a kid which I wished I could find them again but as a gummy. I haven’t opened them yet since I have been munching on candy canes all thanks to my L cosplay! I am not kidding, after Hol Mat, I have not only my remnants of the Hershey’s candy canes but two boxes of Sour Patch Kids canes, a box of soda flavored which features Crush, Dr. Pepper, and A&W Root Beer canes which the A&W got my interest since that is my fave root beer ever! And now waiting on a shipment of Trolli Brite Crawler ones which I did order a box through Shipt and they taste good! They aren’t overbearing sour since the sour powder is inside. Anyways, I did get another pack of Hi-Chew which is green apple, I did like this flavor from long ago when I first got into them and got a bag with multiple flavors. I still have my stock just in case I need something to chew on even at work and that is not gum. Also, I did get something chocolate but only one item since I still have a big container of mint bark and a chocolate bar thing from Gondras’ job and my chocolate container filled to the brim. They are these chocolates I did love but this time different types of strawberries which is going to be interesting. Other items I did get were for holiday parties, I did get a Charmander for a toy drive party but didn’t go due to really bad weather rolling through Daytona Thursday, even a tornado warning happened and had to stay in the building, and got a Groot keychain for a White Elephant gift thing for the staff party and was entertaining seeing that get passed on for a gift steal. I also got a new Jolteon plush which you guys know I cosplay as my own Thunder Gym Leader and I had a plush from Disney of Jolteon but it was a chibi form one. This one is him on all four legs like my little figure on my desk. Trust me I couldn’t resist since the only Evees I have left to get are Umbreon, which I have a Dark Trainer in mind, and Espeon, which I haven’t done a Psychic trainer yet. I will have to wait for Omni to see if anyone sells an Umbreon in the same style as my Jolteon which the interesting thing there was one but in a prize machine. I did almost have Gondras get me Umbreon as a belated birthday present but I wanted the Pikachu with the Rawst Berry instead because I didn’t know when I could see that one ever again. And Gondras did get something and that was Keith Silverstein’s autograph on his Persona games. When we heard Mr. Silverstein being at the con, Gondras wanted to bring him something that was rare and it was these games he got from Cyber Tron Gaming here in town, which is a game shop that sells vintage games and some anime too. Which by the way…

Guests: Oh man the guests! Did we interview? Yes! The only one we didn’t interview was Zach Callison because by the end of the weekend according to his Liaison that he was done for the weekend. Hoping we can get a Skype interview since we have a line to get to for that with some people from Ranger Stop, I did Tweet Zach to see if he can do it with us and haven’t heard back. We did get to have a video interview with Brittney Karbowski which was great, I know we did interview her years ago at MetroCon but had to transcribe it and now that we do video ones it worked out. And we did interview Jennifer Hale finally! As you guys know we wanted to do it at MegaCon 2017 but since everything going down we didn’t get it and since this was another chance for us we did get to sit down with her for one and it was great! We will get the videos up as soon as possible if we can since I am really busy with work and Gondar’s is to, we will try to get them up as soon as we can so stay tuned on Twitter!

Panels: We didn’t go to many this year. I did say we spent most of our time in the room and I felt bored. I know it’s sad since panels are the greatest part of the convention experience. Not only that this year we didn’t have a real coverage schedule which I will get to that later due to press not being as organized as it has been. I admit I was on Colour Pop and Ulta’s websites shopping since Ulta was doing a gift to spend $35 to get a free gift from their brand. I did make it and it’s at my parents’ place, I am thinking of doing a collective haul of beauty stuff since I did buy clothes for work and fleece jackets too since it was freezing here for a bit. And Colour Pop did a 40% off pallets and picked up two I was eyeing on and a $30 off their Lux Lipsticks which I got one I wanted. So, yeah I was a bit bored. We did go to two yaoi ones, well me with Vivi and Tobi. We went to Yaoi after Dark and Yaoi on Ice, the Voice Actors panel on Saturday which Nerdy Shirts did record from the start which we were late due to something that took place. And the Funimation Peep Show. I told you guys not that many and wishing we did go to more or at least had a set schedule this year. I did try submitting Blind Perspective but didn’t hear anything about it, I think it was not approved being it a writing panel. Oh well, I don’t think it will be a panel I will submit again, I do want to bring Blind Experience though since that was a success even though some people did tell us it wasn’t that great. I think it is a success in my eyes and people did enjoy it during Hol Mat 2013. Let’s see what 2019 brings. I did forget to mention the Tales Of Trivia Panel, that was also a fun one since all thanks to playing Xilia 2 for the most part with Gondras, I did get to answer the questions on that game. I did win the Mila and Jude keychain or shall I say phone charm.

Verdict: Convention…abor…Complete! I am saying why! I felt like this convention was almost an Aborted this year due to some things going on but I give it a Complete because I have noticed some staff were working harder than others and I will explain in Needs for Improvement!

Needs for Improvement:
Hotel NFI: Don’t Plan SO Many Things At Once! I know this is something that does happen but I feel like the hotel was overbooked for events this year and as said above that included a business convention in the western part of the hotel, the Military Ball, and Hol Mat. This caused a major parking problem and I felt like due to the overbooking not everyone could park at the hotel even when you were a person with a room. I did see that on the group were there was supposed to be more parking areas but it wasn’t noticed. Even motorcycles took up an entire space! There should have been parking slots for motorcycles instead of having the riders do that. With the Outlets parking, I don’t think anyone of us who owns a car would have enjoyed it. ZI did see one of our friends did have to park there but being towed is not great either. SO, my message to World Center, don’t overbook when you know hol Mat is there for you guys. Not only that for anyone who wants to hold an event in Orlando at the same time as a convention, there are other places in town that you can hold events and some of them are pretty big like the Caribe Royale where Hol Mat was at, Rosen Shingle Creek, Rosen Center, Holiday Inn Across from Universal has a decent size ballroom, I can go on, even the Florida Mall Hotel is pretty big with how Omni holds their events. I would say do research in holding events at other places please, there were so many people coming to this thing, plus some people did say they had complaints about some of the Military Ball attendants, which I haven’t heard much of.
Attend Your Meet Ups! I have been hearing about how meet ups are being held and others just had people bail on them, this is according to Vivi. I understand the convention is filled with shiny things that you can be distracted by but having a meet up with people that you schedule on a group is something important from what I have seen. I remembered people posting meet ups for Naruto, My Hero Academia, even a Lolita one and these are planned ahead in time and scheduled with the convention and it not happening is something that says it was not cared about. I know Vivi was excited for the Yuri On Ice meet ups and the Lolita Meet Up because she ordered an actual cord for her first time and it’s sad to hear that it didn’t go well, it was just crafting and some people almost came in but didn’t go in since it wasn’t really a meet up. I guess I am glad that I didn’t go through a meet up, I bet if I were to cosplay as Sue or one of the Wild Pussy Cats from My Hero Academia and find out the meet up wasn’t happening at last minute where people just left I would be mad! I am not sure if that still happened since that would have been fun to witness.
Press.pardon my French…WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU GUYS!? Sorry guys, I had to ask because the past few years Press was really organized ever since we have started getting the press pass with them and thought they were a good con to go to since we have seen great and unique events, meet up with awesome guests and hoping to interview them. I was glad we got the interviews this year and I noticed that the Guest Relations people were working harder since they had to take care a lot of people and working with press for possible interviews like us. Press this year….I know they had higher demand…I know they probably have been swamped…but I was lucky to meet someone who helped in getting us in. I haven’t seen bad organization since JACON 2009 actually. To tell you the truth, I preferred Press at Hol Mat to be more organized as in first of all having a set schedule to cover events which was great, it helped get more coverage out there even on our channel where we had so many videos, like our coverage from last year and the year before, not only that it kept us going to more events too that we never got to see. I also enjoyed that! We also got great pics from the Cosplay Runway over the years and now this year we didn’t go due to our interviews which was fine in my book. This year without that set schedule, yes we got to be a bit more slack but I missed it especially doing the Google Hangouts which the past two years we got to sit down with the Press Staff, even last year was the best Hangouts because I got to talk to the other teams that were covering Hol Mat but now this year I am wondering who else got approved besides us or shall I say who else got handed Press Passes? We didn’t get to meet anyone from Press unlike last year where we got to meet some of the other Press teams in person. See where I’m going? I know Press can have high Demand and I can see why with this year but not being able to see who else is doing it with you makes it like you’re the only ones doing it. I am glad that whoever has known what we do remembers us, even the staff member who has responded to my post about my giving away some of my manga due to the move knows about us all thanks to her daughter. That is why for 2019 starting with Omni Fandom Expo we will have better promo materials since we have worked hard especially this year with Omni, interviewing APl DeAp at the NFB Convention, Ranger Stop, and now with this one I felt not so much work. I am sorry guys but with my rating with what I was about to say was almost an Aborted because I felt this convention felt disorganized and Vivi pointed out that attendees weren’t as friendly in person as I have seen more people talking on the group and once the con does happen not a lot of people talk in person, it just becomes a huge standoff mess. I did have fun with our roomie though during her panel since it was a trivia thing and hoping to get to stay with her again maybe for Metro and we are looking into a room for Omni next year since working now we can do hotel stays a little more often. Also was supposed to meet another person I have met on the board but she was in line for something. I know big tangent…next point…
Watch Out for Disabled People! What do I mean by this, I had my cane cracked by someone during the con? I know, gasp! Okay, the story is that Gondras and I were heading over to the voice actors panel on Saturday and on the way there someone walked up and walked and in front of my cane but in the worst way, it was halfway up the cane and tripped over it and caused it to crack. I wasn’t hurt nor the person and it caused the cane to twist and cracked one of the joints where it collapses. We did get it duct taped Sunday because using an umbrella was not easy for me, I even ran into a wall since I missed my cane so much and almost cried Sunday because of it helping Gondras carry stuff to his car. This was something that still made me mad and bid felt like I lost a best friend when my cane cracked. Even the mobility instructor was annoyed when I told him about what had happened when I went to get a new cane, I didn’t show up with my taped one because I felt awkward so I show up with my short cane I had since my college days. I know the con was crowded but when I am at cons using my mobility skills people step aside! Even people with guide dogs, wheelchairs, and even crutches get that treatment too but what I went through was even worse. The person who tripped even said, “I didn’t know!” I was appalled when I heard that because here is the thing, all thanks to the comic Homestuck, people have cosplayed the blind character in that even back in 2012 when the comic had a major spike in popularity and people thought my cane was a prop and I was cosplaying the character when I now the comic with the troll side having candy corn horns. I even remembered seeing someone with huge horns from that comic, I think they did a better horn design for their character they were doing. Anyway, I cosplay as characters like Lucy, my many Pokémon characters even my variation of Link, and so on and my cane is always with me. Plus, it is my symbol of being someone in the bind community getting to enjoy a convention like a sighted person and doing press for it. So please guys, watch out for people in wheelchairs, guide dogs since there was a story that Vivid Barnacle read that someone had their service dog get hurt really badly at a con to use as an example, and watch out for blind canes because they’re not props and blind people are real! Yes Homestuck did have one in comic form but we are real!
Please Wait to Celebrate After the Con! What I mean by this is that I did notice that there was a meet up at Volcano Bay three weeks before the con or was it four weeks, can’t keep count but still it was planned during my moving weekend. It is great to have meet ups outside of the convention and good to party but best to save it during a time after the convention or during like how AFO does it with any volunteers. During the last three weeks before the convention it should be taken as a way to plan and make sure things are finished as and secured for the con, plus I think that would’ve been a better Saturday to do the Google Hangouts for Press too since I did get my internet in and would have spent the time before my dad shown up to take me for my grocery trip talking to the Hol Mat Press Crew and when the con is over then you can go to Volcano Bay or have dinner somewhere. I did notice that not every convention goer could go to this thing, like I said I was moving that weekend, so best to just save any big party things for after or at least during the convention to do a pat on the back thing for a job well done. The convention weekend is the real test of how the event goes rather than thinking it will be great in advance. That’s my opinion on that.
Need Better Security! Even With the Rooms! Apparently this year there was a lot of stuff being stolen, even a projector was stolen from someone’s room. I am glad no one went to our room or Vivi’s and Tobi’s room. I would be pissed if someone stolen my Braille Sense Polaris because that thing isn’t cheap! There should be better security at this thing since we have seen so many things happen at cons and now this taking place I feel a little unsafe with Hol Mat knowing that people broke into hotel rooms to take things. It’s sad that people are willing to hurt others to get their stuff, one thing is it’s not right, just save up for that product you want and then buy it. Someone else’s stuff is not yours people and plus you are risking your freedom for jail and being banned from the con itself. So, please better security.

Well guys that is it for this year’s review. I know a lot of people had fun during this weekend but I felt like even though we were Press doing what we do but I felt like this year was not the year that we had more work as Press. I did mention above on asking what had happened. I know conventions are supposed to be fun but I did say in my Ranger Stop review that I enjoy doing press and looking at this one I felt like my experience at Hol Mat was not as great as it had been last year and with 2016. I understand there being a higher demand in one department but Press could have been better handled. We did try to salvage what we could, we did enjoy our roommate which she was fun and she did have to volunteer during the weekend. Are we coming back? It looks like not so much at this point. I did answer someone asking who is going to what in 2019 and we just got word about our Press Passes for Omni Fandom Expo which is a great Christmas gift and hoping to get a room next year for that since I do live here in Daytona now. And of course Ranger Stop since that was a major blast this past year even getting to interview some of the guests this year. Vivi did mention MetroCon which I want to go back to due to how that one was our first Press job of all time and it’s been years since we’ve gone back to them. AFO…it will take us forever to meet their press requirements of how many followers which I wish we could have a bypass on that when we have done a lot of work already and do have still have a small following and Reuben Langdon is on our list for interviews we want to do. Let’s see what 2019 brings with our Press work!

Note: I know it seemed biased with this review but people experience different things and this is how I felt about this year’s event. I want to thank Jerad from Guest Relations who worked hard in getting us the interviews that we were able to do and Trina Wilson for helping us get our press passes when we didn’t get much of a response when it comes to how many applications they have received this year. If anyone from Hol Mat’s staff reads this, sorry for being harsh but I was pretty honest and observed what I have been even before the convention itself, it is a big “IF” in coming back. Thank you for understanding.

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by moonleopard85 on December 24, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, cosplay, Panels, Personal Experience, Reviews, Television, Travel, Video Games

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 24, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/12/24/convention-impossible-holiday-matsuri-2018/

Interviews: J. Michael Tatum & Brandon McInnis!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Today we have something super special awesome!

Interview with J. Michael Tatum and Brandon McInnis!

So, if you remembered that we didn’t get to interview these guys back at Holiday Matsuri 2017 which we got to talk to them and they were nice enough to let us interview them over Skype which we did. This is a new format to us since we tend to interview convention guests on the spot but there are times where schedules get packed with a lot of events, panels, and other interviews, so this is something new we’re trying out for the YouTube channel and it was something to get used to.

As you guys know or maybe new to these two actors, J. Michael Tatum has voiced many characters including Sebastian in Black Butler, Ita in My Hero Academia, which I’m a fan of the series since I’ve been watching it with Gondras on the Funimation Now app (highly recommend if you need new anime to watch), and Clyne from RWBY which might be back in Volume 6? Who knows! Brandon McInnis is known for Patrick Phelps in Black Butler, Finral in Black Clover, and now he’s in the new Card captor Sakura series, Clear Card as Yuna D. Kato. What did I ask these two? You have to watch the video to find out!

Will there be more interviews like this? Hoping so since we have interviewed so many people and a convention is three days or four depending where you go so this does bring a new format to our channel and hope to keep it going. Hoping to get Sawa for one since we didn’t get a chance to get an interview during Omni. So stay tuned to our Twitter for any updates!

That is it for this interview! If you want to find out anything about these two actors like any convention appearances make sure you click on the video for Mr. Tatum’s website and I will also link it in this post! More things to come as June continues and wait a second! ::hears the Convention Alert Alarm:: What’s this!? A new convention coming up in July and will do a post about it! Stay tuned and followJ. Michael Tatum’s Website! us on Twitter @ Nerdy Shique!

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by moonleopard85 on June 7, 2018  •  Video  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, Interviews, Voice Acting

Posted by moonleopard85 on June 7, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/06/07/interviews-j-michael-tatum-brandon-mcinnis/

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