Hey this series is back. Welcome to 10 questions, the series where I ask 10 questions to people about their gaming interests. Today I'm asking 10 questions to a friend and a person who's work I've been a fan of for some time, RecklessDani, I talk to her quite a bit on twitter, a lot of her cosplays are great, and she's just a lovable ball of fun! I'll leave a link to her twitter and her Patron as well at the end of this interview, but if you love fun people, she is a person you should follow for sure. Also big thanks to Dani for doing this, I really appreciate being able to interview you!

Besides that that I have nothing else to say, so thanks for reading, and enjoy the interview

What was your first game? Do you have any fond memories of it?

​The first game I ever played was Super Smash Brothers on the Gamecube. It's actually insane but I still have my old Gamecube in mint conditions as well as all my games including Super Smash Brothers. Honestly I have so many amazing memories playing this great game. I played a lot with my Dad and we had a ton of fun plus we would play sometimes all day and order a pizza and just relax at home. I guess I can say that was my first time getting addicted to the world of video games and what it had to offer.

When was your first exposure to the wider gaming community (when you looked more into other games that you were not into at first)?

Since I was really young back in the day I played mostly on gamecube and psp but once the xbox was released my father rush to buy it. That was my 1st getting expose to games like Halo & Gears of War. I watch my dad played for hours these game and tyey always peeked my interest. When my dad would go to work I would log into his account and play both these game. It expose me to the online community and making up clans with your friends to play.

What was the first game you truly fell in love with?

The first game I fell in love with was Gears of War. When i first saw this game it intimated me and scared me as well but I saw how my dad got into the game and how much fun he had. Eventually I picked it up and would play story mode with my dad and that was the best thing ever. He was Marcus and I was Dom his right hand hand. After finishing up story mode I started playing competitive online with my friends that's when I started getting hooked.

What was your first video game cosplay?

My first game cosplay was Janna from Leagues of Legends. It was my first time building a cosplay and I really loved how Janna looked it was a great learning experience and my first time getting expose to making cosplay and armor.

Which video game cosplays gave you the most trouble? 

The cosplay that gave me the most trouble was Ibaraki from Fate Go. I still till this day put this cosplay on the back burn because I didn't like how it was coming out, had to redo the horns and headpiece several time. Plus getting all her tattoos handpainted was such a pain but I will finish her someday when I feel more confident. She a amazing character and I really want to do her justice! 

What was your favourite Video Game cosplay?

My favorite video game is Mercy from overwatch I just love her character design! It's my dream to be able to cosplay all her different outfits and to be able to wear those amazing wings. She will forever be very precious to my heart.

What Draws you to Cosplay? Why do you love it so much?

I have been cosplaying since I was small I just never realized it was call cosplay. What really draws me to cosplay it's the feeling that you get when you put on your cosplay you feel like that character. Its just feels magical to be one of your most beloved character brings a lot of joy to my heart and I love going to Cons and interacting with other cosplayers. It really is a amazing feeling and you feel like you are a part of a wonderful community.

What draws you to video games?

8. I thought at first what drew me into video games was my dad but in reality its the inline community, my friends and the types of game that I play. I love sitting down and forgetting about real life issues and just immersed myself into the video game world where I am a better version of myself. Video game gives meaning to my life and also just helps get through rough patches in life.

Where do you see your cosplays going in 5 years time?

I think in five years I'll still be cosplaying with either my son or daughter I'll probably start making duo cosplay. No matter what I'm a kid at heart and I believe I'll be cosplaying for a very long time. I'm also sure my crafting skills will be much better and more redefined. I can't wait to see all the growth!

Why do you think people should cosplay?

I think people should cosplay because it's really enjoyable also you meet such aamazing people that also have a love for cosplay. Cosplaying let's you be your favorite character and completely immerse yourself its just quite beautiful honestly. It also gives you a confidence boost and overall you feel happier. I really recommend that everybody cosplay its life changing!

All photos are from Dani's social pages and used with permission from Dani herself

I'll be honest right now: I've wanted to write about this subject for a long time, but I've also been scared to. While I'm very passionate about this subject, I don't think I'm as passionate as some others on the subject, and I'm not sure if I'll do it full justice, so you were expecting a full breakdown on why No Title is a great song, or the breakdown of one of Eve's music videos, then this is not article for you(though I could probably do that last one). This is just me talking about I a medium I love, as I mostly do on this blog.

Also, as a disclaimer, I am using Romaji English for titles that don't translate to English well, because my keyboard doesn't have a Japanese type setting(and even then, I don't know Japanese), and it will make things easier to understand for people who are not weeb as s**t like me.

So, what is J-Pop you are asking? Well, think of it like K-Pop, but in Japanese, however, J-Pop from what I know tends to encompass all Japanese music that isn't traditional here in the west. As such I wouldn't be surprised if people associate the term "J-pop" with Rock music, like how people pair African Music with distinctive styles of "Highlife", "Hiplife" and "Afrobeats".

So you probably wondering, how did I get into this kinda of music? A lot of people would say anime or maybe JRPG among other pop culture phenoms. Me? As with most things in my life it was Kamen Rider.

.I remember listening to Kamen Rider Gaim's theme, Just Live More by Gaim no Kaze. It's very energetic, giving the feeling of non-stop action through the song thanks to the guitars.

Kamen Rider also introduced me to insert songs. These are songs that usually play in the middle of battle, and these are usually made to fit certain characters or rider systems.

For example in Kamen Rider Kiva, Kamen Rider Ixa actually gets 4 songs. One of these is Fight for Justice, sung by the main user of the Ixa system, Nago Keisuke, talking about he wants to show he is the best user of the Ixa system. Also just to get this out of the way, in the Japan they usually credit the song in the name of the character, with the actor's name usually reversed for CV usage.

The second of these is called This Love Never Ends, sung by the main user in 1986, Kurenai Otoya, talking about how he will fight for his never-ending love. The 3rd is also sung by Nago Keisuke and is called Don't Lose Yourself, talking about the battle within himself when he uses Ixa's final form. called Ixa Rising. The last one is by the band TETRA-FANG, called Individual System, telling the story of Ixa, the white soldier that is waiting for fate.

Once I got into anime, my liking for J-Pop rose. One of my favorite ending themes in anime was Shiawase no Arika or Whereabouts of Happiness by Local Connect. The song just flows very nicely and the lyrics are very meaningful. An opening that I like is Melissa from Porno Graffiti. This is the intro to Full Metal Alchemist 2003, and it's a really nice song. Even with songs that are not considered J-Pop, I'm a sucker for things with acoustic guitars.

The moment I began getting more into mainstream J-Pop was when I listened to Kataomoi or One Sided Love by Aimer. I watched a Kingdom Hearts OC ending with a the song, looking for the anime it was from.

There was no anime. It was an original song. An amazing, unique, beautiful song. The flow of the music is so nice, it just carried me away with it's soothing instruments, and Aimer's beautiful voice.

Now I'm not to just talk about J-Pop and why it's a big thing to me, I also want to get people into the genre. But if you like anime or tokusatsu, I think it would help if you looked up some of your favorite opening songs, insert songs and ending songs to start off with. If you want me to individually recommend songs that are nice to listen to, I would say wait until the end, I'll put some down there. However, I think it's important that we get to know a few artists because they have distinctive styles for their music and music videos.

Just as a quick aside, while most of the link here go to YouTube, there are few Amazon links for the albums. Read more about those here.

Let's start off with everyone's favourite Kamen Rider Band.

RIDER CHIPS

Old men with a HELL of a lot of style, don't you think? These 4 have been the official band for the Kamen Rider Series since 2000. Originally consisting of Terasawa Koichī, Miyawaki "Joe" Satoshi, Nomura Yoshio and Watanabe Cher(Not pictured), the band was the official Kamen Rider band until 2007, with Ricky(the man with the sunglasses and pink streak in his hair) join the band in 2006 after Kamen Rider Blade. I can't really recommend an album, but I would recommend songs from them such as Elements and Next New World to really get a feel for the rock style they have, it's very dynamic and flowing, especially in the lead guitars.

Gen Hoshino

I think that 2019 was a break-out year for Gen Hoshino. He started off by releasing Pop Virus in 2018, which lead into the song getting into Death Stranding! Awesome, even if I'm not really into Kojima's games. He released Same Thing in October of 2019, and I recommend that single on the sole reason that the title song for that album is in English, and was written by Gen Hoshino himself, and the song features the Australian band Superorganism. I would also recommend listening to Sarashi-mono, as that song is pretty relatable in my opinion, and Gen also mentioned that the songs in this single contain some thoughts about his career so far, and you can feel it in all of the songs in my opinion. For an Album recommendation, I would say Pop Virus, or Yellow Dancer, as these contain some of his best work, such as IDEA, an awesome song about loving life.

Reol

A lot of people may be familler with the Vocaloid Band REOL(and we will get to Vocaloid recommendations soon, trust me), but I'm more familler with her workings as a solo artist. For an album recommendation, I will plug her upcoming 2020 album, HYPE MODE. Reol's songs lately tend to be inspired off Buddhism, or Zen Buddhism, the version of Buddhism that Japan tends to pratrice, so if you like her songs, go and look for the lyrics online. I personally recommend Utena and Phanto(me), especially since Phanto(me) ties a lot into spirits.Also I recommend Saisaki, it's a fun song, and I made a scene based off it.

E ve

Eve is known as an Utaite, or as I like to say a indie artist who has worked with a lot good animation studios such as WIT STUDIO, the people behind attack on Titan. Eve's songs tend to be theory heavy, which is good for his fandom, as people can guess the feelings and emotions going into the song. I reccomend Outsider in order to get a feel for his style of music and for his music videos are animated by Mah, who's art style is very, very rough. For an album recommendation, I would say his latest album, Otogi, and his upcoming 2020 album, smile.

Kenshi Yonezu

He is probably the one of biggest artist in Japan right now. Kenshi started out as a voclad producer under the name "Hachi". I'll be honest, I'm not super into Vocaloid music, because the synthetic voice is a bit ear grading to me, but I do like Donut Hole, as that song talks about a girl who has lost her memory, and can't remember her true name. I'll get into some more Vocaloid recommendations later on. 

Kenshi is probably most known for doing the first opening to My Hero Academia. known as Peace Sign, but his music varies in styles. Even his older music has some synth in his voice, and backing track music is more focused on a flowing simple beat shown in songs as MAD HEAD LOVE and vivi. However as you get to soon as you get to Shunrai and Eine Kleine, the synth is gone, and there is a lot more complexity in the beat.

For an album recommendation, I would recommend Bremen or Bootleg, as both have some amazing songs on them, such as Flowerwall and Unbelievers for Bremen, and Hien and Nighthawks for Bootleg.

Hikaru Utada

Probably the J-Pop artist I have known for the longest time thanks to Kingdom Hearts, the game that also put on the path that I am on now. Utada's music in the past was very western inspired I must I say, but it makes sense as she was brought up in New York, so the songs are catchy and flowing. However for Kingdom Hearts. Simple and Clean(Hikari) is more of a slow ballad than anything else, as it was Remixed by PlanitB and later, PUNPEE. Outside of Kingdom Hearts, she has released a Album called Hatsukoi. This is my Album recommendation, as all the songs there are pretty varied and it has Anata on it and that is one of my all time favorite songs. That is something you listen to with the one you love the most

Other Artists I recommend but don't listen to as much as the ones above

• SIRUP
• Kamen Rider Girls(current band for the Kamen Rider Series)
• UVERWORLD(MHA S3 OP 2, The Promised Neverland OP, BLOOD+ OP)
• LiSA(MHA S2 ED, Several SAO OP/ED's)
• Daichi Muira(Kamen Rider Ex-Aid OP, DB Super:Broly theme)
• amazarshi(MHA S2 OP 2)
• Masaki Suda(Phillp from Kamen Rider W, MHA:The 2 Heroes theme)

Vocaloid and Solo song Recommendations

• Yobanashi Deceive  - Jin
• A Tale of 6 trillion years and a Night - IA
• Plastic Love - Mariya Takeuchi (I think Noelle would complain if I didn't put this in)
• Last Summer Whisper - Anri
• Eternal Love and Kimi ga iru Kara - Sayuri Sugawara
• REAL X EYEZ(Kamen Rider Zero-One theme) - JxTakanori Nishkawa
• We Two - Aimer
• Go now! Alife a Live neo(RIDER TIME:Kamen Rider Ryuki theme) - Rica Matsumoto
• Labyrinth - Mondo Grosso
• Colours(Code Geass 1st opening theme) - FLOW

My 2 top tips

• THE INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND HERE. English translations exist for most songs in any language, and if it's from an anime, there will be a translation  for it, so get to look for it!
• If you are using them for creative influence, look into the lyrics of the song, and pay close attention to the visuals. How do certain things make you feel?

That's all I have to say for this subject. I hope that this.. I'll be honest, over-extensive look into one of the mediums I love, and a piece of entertainment that inspires me, has inspired you to try something new.

All Images used(C) Their respective owners

Spooky month has ended(quite literally), so let's recap it!

Writing in Review
This was a good month for my writing! I wrote about anime, including the Devil is a Part Timer and My Hero Academia Season 3!
Blog Posts written this Month
My Hero Academia Season 3: Review 
The Devil is A Part Timer: First Impressions
NM Gameworks #24:Maya VS Blender
Game Savvy Pieces written this month
Wings of Glass Review
Favourite Art Pieces This Month

Awesome things I saw/read/did
-MoeGamer put out a nice article what people said were overlooked games!
-We got a trailer for Kamen Rider Reiwa: The First Generation!
-Alyssa from Nerd Side of Life did a 30 day geek out challenge!
-A big shout to my friendYully from Twitter! You are awesome girl!
-I WENT TO THE POKEMON CENTRE AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!
-Gen Hoshino released a new Single featuring Superorganism called Same Thing, and it's in English!  Explicit Language warning if you want to listen to it.
-Also Eve released a new MV called raison d'etre, or reason for living, and it's amazing,
-Reol announced her 2nd Album called HYPE MODE, and released a single of the same name!

Games played this month
I haven't a lot this month, but I did play Wings of Glass to review! And it's very fun! I recommend you try it out!

Also more Nep-Nep! Cute and fun as always.

Merch This Month
Nothing this month. I am a broke uni student.

Final Thoughts
This month... it's been pretty awesome! Uni has been amazing so far, and I'm fitting in very well, however the second half of last week was... well shit. I was out of money for 4 days until my friend bailed me out. I also had to cut off a friend because they didn't want anything to do with me before... and I'll confess, I had pretty intense feelings for her. I'm just glad I had people to talk to, and I hope things get better for me.

November begins the push to Christmas! As such a BIG amount of focus will go into my T-Shirt store and just generally trying to push my Brand. I'm currently wait on some new graphics of my 2 OC's so maybe a refresh will happen soon here! I've also put in a news letter in place, so click the button below if you want to know when my content is coming out, and a month newsletter to inform you of all my content!

But that's it! Thanks for reading, and I will catch you guys next time!