Ok everyone. time for a 2002 wrap up.
the year went by fairly slow. no real huge events but national crisises thankfully.

Fujikoma gained a few new members during the year. A few of the older members are "missing" really. No idea where some of them are. 2003 will mean more drinking parties because everyone will be turning 21 ^_^!

Con scene was pretty normal this year. A few good costumes here and there. Some new cons on the Fujikon belt like Otakon and Megacon, as well as one of members DJ Inubito being the official convention Dance DJ at MTAC Pi. Con drama got kind of intense with everyone in the scene getting their own livejournal which started a few fueds and heated debates. This is why the majority of people now choose to have their entries marked as Friends Only. The next con coming up will be Ohayocon 3. DJ Inubito, Schu, Allison, Rachael, and myself will be making the long haul all the way there for the weekend. Its refreshing to have the con scene finally kick back into gear!

The gaming world was definately a change this year. The biggest being Squaresoft. The company's failed attempt at the movie industry sent it spiraling down but how quickly it got back on its feet is amazing. Kingdom Hearts, a collaboration between Disney and Square was a huge sucess dispite its fanfiction setting and cast of characters. Next year FFX-2 is released, a sequel to FFX. This will be the first time square will ever reuse characters from previous games (not including Cid/Sid namesake). The joint effort between RPG powerhouses Enix and Square also teamed up. Who knows what kind of results we'll see FROM THE TWO TEAMS in 2003 and beyond. Konami america finally got their act together and released DDRMax within a reasonable time from the japanese release. Naturally missing a couple of really good songs, the mix was definately an improvement over the earlier release. DDR Extreme 8th Mix are just now beginning to come stateside with loads of new songs and challenges.

Nintendo GameCube is starting to show its true colours. PSO I - II, Metroid, Zelda, Resident Evil Prequels, Remakes, and upcoming Sequel. Not to mention its bonus compatability with the handheld Gameboy Advance. GBA isn't too shabby either with some great SNES classics being rereleased and the upcoming New Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire planned to be released.

America is starting to see more of European music influence. Lasgo, DJ Sammy, Vaiio, Darude to name a few. All getting MAJOR success in the club scene. Now if we could only get rid of country and commerical rap; we'd be SET! Russian duo Tatu also gaining fame in the states.

The Anime scene is becoming more and more mainstream day by day. Why, not even a week ago I ate at TGIFridays and turn my table's personal TV on to see that DragonBallZ was on. How is it not even 4 or 5 years ago i had to send off to some canadian fansubber just to get barely watchable movies of the same shows im seeing now on daytime TV dubbed in English. Trendy or not, its good to see anime finally getting the recognition it deserves. Some new series are showing in Japan based on video games like Rockman, Princess Maker and Wild Arms.

Reviews section WILL BE UP SOON, I promise. Gotta work a few kinks out here and there. It should match the new layout for the site, if that layout is done in time...

Peace Forever~
Mapster