Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by ur mum)

Original Post

For the 100th comic I decided to go full circle and refer back to the beginning of the comic to kind of pat myself on the back for getting this far. As far as art goes, I really like how this one turned out. Aside from a few mistakes, it came out just as planned, and looks good for a 100th comic. It even almost has 5-tone shading! And a pantyshot! I’ll be doing a comic on Nico Video soon, which should happen in the space of a couple of days. I want to get it out while the news is still kind of fresh.

In some other comic-relevant news, I finally updated the reference guide after some twenty weeks, and I’m also mentioned in the latest Anime World Order as Daryl’s Sith opposite. So, yay, I guess.

Honestly, I haven’t had time to really catch up with the new season due to work and other things, so right now I’m sitting on a bunch of new episodes of things and some last episodes of things. Once I see more new things I’ll do my short three-at-a-time season review posts like I did for spring. Watch for it! Or something.

I finally finished all of the Nurse Witch Komugi anime with Magikarte Z the other day. Magikarte Z was kind of weak– the first episode had bad animation the humour wasn’t really as spot on. The whole affair felt tacked on and rushed. That said, it wasn’t bad, just not as good as the first one. I guess the good thing is that it’s only 2 episodes, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Also, it has good opening and ending songs.

I’m liking Gurren Lagann Parallel Works. It’s good how the series is at a point in its popularity where it’s big enough for Gainax to make more things based off of it, but it’s not too popular that all Gainax has to do is push out a figure or two every couple of months (sup Eva) to keep the masses interested. The Parallel Works videos are very fun diversions, and I love how each of them have their own unique brand of creativity. The newest one is my favourite– need DVD quality!

Anyways, time to take off and watch anime and stuff.

Current
Chi’s Sweet Home: Good ol’ cartoons
Code Geass 2: Best part of my week.
Golgo 13: ….
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: I’ve finally accepted the fact that this is not a comedy. It still works, but I like it less than I initially did.
Macross Frontier: Consistently entertaining. Though honestly, I just watch it for Ranka and space fights.
Telepathy Shoujo Ran: lol kids show. Like the psychedelic effects.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann music videos: Entertaining little diversions.
To Love Ru: Wonderfully entertaining boobalicious fun.
Toshokan Sensou: Kind of badly written, but it’s a not-boring IG show.
Zettai Karen Children: It has faults, but it’s just too entertaining to not like.

Waiting for other things to start.

Manga
Read a bunch of stuff. Keroro Gunsou is great and I wish I read it 5 years ago and the Hayate manga is just the anime with more stylized art. Moving on to a vampire triple-play with Blood Alone, Karin and Tsukuyomi.

DOESN’T IT JUST MAKE YOU ALL HOT AND BOTHERED

Subbed only, first DVD hits in July. Dub release in 09.

Man, I wish I could’ve been there for this announcement. Not like I could’ve possibly been at the NYCC, but it would’ve been neat. I like how they’re doing a sub-only release just to get it out there as soon as possible. I wonder if there’ll be special editions, or if it’ll just be a no-frills priced down sub-only affair. Who knows!!

Anyway, I’m a bit too tired to get excited about this, so instead have this picture of Nia

Sources: ANN, Bandai, The Internet

Original Post

Here is the Anime Boston con comic, which puts a lid on my Anime Boston 2008 coverage. Like last year, most of this stuff only really made sense in context, but whatever. I should also note these kinds of comics aren’t really what people said word-for-word– if you want that, listen to the podcasts. Expect a comic about noses next week.

Lots of stuff from the TAF, which actually took me by surprise for some reason. Unfortunately, I can’t be all too excited about much of it since I’m not all that pumped about this next season, even after seeing these trailers. I guess I’ll just bullet-point this stuff.

• The Golgo 13 trailer is good, but it has too many still images, which makes me worry for its budget.
• Crystal Blaze looked fine for the first minute, then in the last minute it took a nosedive– I’m afraid it’ll take itself seriously.
• DMC looks like it could be fun.
• Jigoku Shoujo is the same old thing, which means it should be moderately entertaining.
• Michiko to Hatchin is Manglobe’s new offering, and certainly looks more fun than Ergo Proxy. Approaching with some degree of caution, but I have high hopes for this one.
• I’m guessing this new Gurren Lagann footage is from the new music video project, and not from the new movie. Some of it looks quite interesting.
• I certainly hope the people in this video are cheering for something else going on in the hall, and not for Kanokon.

Reading that Ballad of a Shinigami novel that Seven Seas sent me. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and should be done in a week or so. It’s a good light read, but doesn’t really have a distinct writing style that inspires me or anything. It’s not bad, but it kind of just makes me want to watch the anime again. Maybe I’m just not used to reading books that aren’t written by Patrick Macias.

So I guess Hayate is getting a second season, which is good news. It’s managed to keep my attention for 50 episodes, which is quite impressive. Let’s hope they don’t drop the ball with this next one!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s a wrap.

Via pKjd

I must say, this is something of a surprise. I mean, I think there were rumours going about around when the series ended, but I figured nothing would come of them. I’m quite excited, though I have no idea what it’ll be about. Let’s hope it doesn’t suck!

edit: Putting hype aside for a moment, Shingo sez Mr. MoonPhase reckons it’ll be a recap sort of deal like Death & Rebirth and the new Top wo Nerae film. Thinking logically, he’s probably right, but the dreamer in me hopes for some original material.

Despite the title of this post, I’ll try my best to not make it totally inflammatory.

Pretentious fags are no newbies to anime fandom. Hell, they’ve probably been around since before Evangelion (this isn’t to say that Evangelion isn’t a brilliant show, just people approach it from the wrong direction all the time), pondering the meaning behind Kanashimi no Belladonna. These fans all share the same delusion in that they think they’re intelligent. This is one of the worst mistakes one can make, because if you consciously think you’re intelligent, chances are you’re probably dumb as shit. Anime studios sometimes exploit this failing in most people’s brains, and push out shows that stroke and wank their fragile egos to the point of orgasm. Thusly, we get your Code Geasses, your Gundam 00s, your Elfin Lieds, and so on. These same people with defective minds also put-down truly intelligent, and well thought-out works of art, such as Gurren Lagann.

(more…)

“Hey, are we really that depressing? Are we really that weird? Is it a crime to love anime or SFX movies? Why should it be a reason to set us apart? If you’re into playing tennis, that’s just fine and dandy, but if you watch anime, you’re weird? Why?!”

“Kubo…”

“Dammit… Dammit… Dammit… DAMMIT! Tanaka! I quit! No more job-hunting for me!”

“Huh?!”

“If Otaku are going to be discriminated against, then so be it! I’m gonna be a total Otaku!”

“What?”

“I’m not just gonna be an Otaku, but the Otaku of Otaku… THE OTAKING!”

“Otaking…? I like it! I like it! Alright, I quit, too!!”

“Let’s both become… OTAKINGS!”

So goes the end of the first Otaku no Video OVA. Possibly one of the most epic pieces of work ever made by Gainax, even more so than Evangelion and Gurren Lagann. I recently re-watched it a month or so ago, and that re-watch was the first time that I could really tap into its spirit. Viewings years prior weren’t bad, but the show made me feel alienated. I’m not sure if it’s because now I’ve seen more old anime, thusly I can get more of the references, or if it’s just because I’ve become more of an otaku. Probably both. Anyway, I thought I’d preface this post with that small bit of dialogue since it highlights a rather old and tired question, but one I’ve kept meaning to address: What does it mean to be normal?

This question hit me recently as I was laying down with the good Miyamoto-sensei. While staring into her adorable, flat, printed-on-100%-polyester eyes I wondered to myself, “wow, just how low have I sunk?” It struck me that I had spent $200 dollars out of my personal expenses last month on this pillow cover, another of a certain adorable spiral princess and a small figure. Then, it also struck me that rich kids spend roughly that much on Newberry Street weekly, so I felt a little better. But I guess it comes down to just what you spend your money on, right? Spending money on clothes is fine, but spending money on pillow covers with 2D pretreens on them is a touch perverse.

But it could be normal. If everyone was open minded enough. Having a 2D-complex isn’t that weird, right? RIGHT?

Yeah, just a small bit of rambling. Had to get it off my chest. Sorry Mom :(

2007 was really fucking uneven. The first few months got by on the better titles that carried over from 2006, but between April and August it was something of a wasteland. I managed to get my fix for good modern anime by way of genius works such as Gurren Lagann and Hayate no Gotoku, but all the other offerings during that period of time where somewhere between mildly amusing to plain bad. Thankfully, August saw the debut of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Zero No Tsukaima 2, both of which restored my faith in the industry somewhat. October once again impressed with Minami-ke, Kaiji and Clannad.

What follows will be something similar to my monthly posts, but for the Year In Review, I’ll be ordering things by quality using letter grades, starting from the worst to the VERY BEST. I cover a lot of shows in the post, but it’s not everything I watched during the year.

Here’s my rankings.

(more…)

Seriously, fuck you Japan. I’ve given you so much money, and now you just want more?! FUCK YOU JAPAN. FUCK YOU.

I also may do a PART III to :mad: but I don’t feel like it right now.

The fall season has started, and I don’t really care. Nothing starts for me until either Genshiken 2 or Kodomo no Jikan air. So instead of looking forward, I’ll reflect on three shows which have recently ended.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

I can’t really stress how awesome this ending was. If Diebuster was interstellar, Gurren Lagann is intergalactic. What I really love about Gurren Lagann was how far it came in its 27 episodes. Fitting 50 episodes worth of development while keeping good pacing into half that time is no small feat. I really don’t have much to say about this that’s not fanspooge. It just rocked. Also, the people complaining about the ending totally don’t get the point. I may expand upon that in a podcast that may or may not happen.

Darker Than Black

I’ve had it out for this show ever since it started. Bones isn’t a very good studio beyond its production value, I think. They can make things look fairly pretty, but when it comes to entertaining me, they fail. Darker Than Black was just boring. It had some ok episodes here and there, but for the most part it felt like an uninspired mishmash of elements that didn’t quite work. What kept me watching this was the fairly awesome cinematography (at times. I can’t help it, I dig cityscapes) and Yoko Kanno’s music. The show had some entertaining characters, but they didn’t get the exposition they deserved. I was kind of put off by the super power part of the show, since I fucking hate super powers unless they are ridiculously over done, (see: Giant Robo, s-CRY-ed.) but as it went on, I thought it kind of worked. Didn’t save the stories from being boring, though. Actually, the biggest problem with this was its episodic nature. The last couple of episodes try to start a story, but when it runs into the wall at episode 25 it just packs up and goes home. A lot of shit is left unexplained, and I’m left unsatisfied. So yeah, Darker Than Black kinda sucked. At least it was pretty. Also, needed more Yin.

Zero no Tsukaima II

For some reason people were getting on this show’s case for having a shitty story. Honestly, who watches porn for the story? Seriously though, this show is not meant to be taken seriously, so I don’t see why people were. Right up to the end, 0nT II delivered laughs, boners and serviceable drama. It didn’t really deliver when it came to plot, but when it came to everything else, it was totally entertaining. That’s what cartoons need to be: entertaining, and this show was really fucking entertaining, even more so than the first one. I’m really happy about the screentime given the Siesta and Henrietta this season. That’s probably what made it for me. But yeah, novel purists go elsewhere. This show is for people who like to have a good time 

Ok time to watch more animes

note: top image is a shop of a piece of fanart. Please don’t kill me, original artist :(

Original Post

I used a tablet to make the backgrounds in this comic. I only just found out my school lets me borrow them for 24 hours, at the low, low price of my ID. While I’m not super good at it now, it was nice and easy to use. Probably faster than using a mouse, too. I think the drawing surface would benefit from having some degree of friction. Anyone know if they make tablets like that? I may need to get one of these. For the mean time though I’ll keep renting them out of the library.

God, Geneon going down feels like such old news now. Well, people are still talking about it, so I guess wasn’t too late to the boat. Gurren Lagann end and School Days end comics coming soon.

The fall season has started, but it sure doesn’t feel like that to me. As far as I’m concerned, the new season doesn’t start until either Genshiken 2 or Kodomo no Jikan start. That said, I’ve seen Dragonaut and have a sub of Clannad on deck. I’ve only seen Dragonaut raw so far. It’s ok. The story and stuff seems to be awfully cliche, but the animation is of a high standard (if not a bit bland.) The main draw from me is the character design. While I don’t really like well-endowed girls (Kotonoha is about as big as I go) Uno Makoto just does them so well. It also helps that this hot onee-san is voiced by mai waifu :3. I was going to hold off for the 16:9 airing of Clannad, but then I’ll miss all the discussion. Why can’t it air in 16:9 right of the bat? Fucking pan and scan

Gurren Lagann recently ended, and it was fucking incredible. I’m kind of the midst of writing a review which may not ever see the light of day. Also working on a post that’ll briefly talk about the ends of Darker Than Black, Zero no Tsukaima and Gurren Lagann, once I’m done shopping this image I need for it. But yeah, if you didn’t like Gurren Lagann you’re not a man. Or something. That was a manly ending.

Alright, I gotta return this tablet before they beat me to death. I’ll catch you wackos later.

How are you liking those shoulders, Last?

I am hard pressed to believe that pre-timejump Yoko is 14.

…and I don’t really know what to make of it. I think I just can’t really grasp the fact that it ended. The ending is mostly good, but I’m unsure of the events that happen after the final fight. My Japanese is shaky, so I’m going to wait for subs before I pass judgment.

But, overall, fucking awesome series. I guess me hyping this thing to hell back in summer 2006 wasn’t all that off the mark.

In which Gainax reminds us that they did in fact make Gurren Lagann.

(more…)

Art site has been updated with something very NSFW.

Original Post

Was completed on the 7th, but due to a power outage (nice going DC) and me being stuck on my brother’s PS3 until after midnight, it is being posted on the 8th. I am mostly happy with the CG work, even if it didn’t turn out exactly as planned. Tried to go Shinkai with a few panels just to try that out, and it works to some degree. Drawings are pretty bleh. Seems my job has thoroughly ruined my hands. I’ll try better next time. Hope you all can tell that’s Yuuko Gotou and Aya Hirano.

(more…)

Finally, it’s done.

Other things to do:

• Start on KnJ again (Our translator finally returned to the world of the living)
• Make a comic for this week (badly sketched, need to fix it up)

Just copying colours from the official images right now. Will adjust them later to my own tastes.

Photo because I don’t feel like scanning this monster yet. Going to fix some things post scan. Things such as Yoko’s body (oh god the curves are all wrong), fix Rossiu’s eyes and probably nix Leeron all together to make more room for Kamina. Probably going to have to fix the robot, too.

Original Post

I actually finished this about a week ago, but didn’t want to post it right off the heels of the last comic, so I decided to wait. Not sure how fresh the news is now, but it’s not a month old or anything, so I feel posting about it is relevant. For those who don’t have the slightest idea as to what the comic is about or what I’m talking about, kindly make your way over here.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a pretty spectacular just two episodes in. It bleeds with the sexiest brand of negativity I’ve ever seen. I love it! I simply love it! Also, Shinbo’s direction is as experimental as ever. This is probably his best work already. I may actually start blogging it episode by episode and be a true blue cliche anime blogger! Hurrah! Ugh.

Gurren Lagann 16 was all recap. Nothing in the way of newly recorded lines or anything which left me a bit cold. It just felt like a long music video. The ending sequence with all the concept art was real nice though, and the post timejump footage looks promising. I’d really like some of that concept art in an artbook. Here’s hoping.

Ok, that’s all for today. Got some stuff to do. STUFF.

Art site has been updated with loli porn. This is a first for me, supringly enough.

(more…)

Decided to draw something nice to break in the new sketchpad. It’s loli, it’s naked, and it’s after the jump. Needless to say, it’s also NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

(more…)

Spoilerific Gurren Lagann art added to the artsite.

Spoilers for TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN after the jump!

(more…)

Just a few songs I came across today.

Makka na Scarf — This is the full version of the Yamato ending theme. I’ve been looking for this forever. Sasaki’s voice is so great.

Meros no Youni ~Lonely Way~ –  Opening to some anime I’ve never seen, but I love the song.

Sorairo Days — Full opening to Gurren Lagann. Ripped from the PV since the single won’t be out for another 10 billion years.

This is one awesome kid’s show.

Watched Gurren Lagann episode 4 again, and I do have to say that the character animation was pretty dismal. I do appreciate that there is a degree of artistic merit and style in the work, but it’s just totally unappealing to me. This kind of work only works in context. Basically, keep the Studio 4c in Studio 4c, please. Not in my Sunday morning cartoons. Work like this really has no place in mainstream works in general, especially coming out of the blue like it did here. I can understand the desire to experiment, but when you’ve already set a standard, something like this is totally off putting.

(more…)

Original Post

Anime Boston sketch dump. Quick and easy. Comics like these aren’t really funny, I guess. They’re just things that happened. You kind of had to have been there to divine any kind of humour out of these situations. I’d write more about the con but I kind of forgot it all. That, and I don’t feel like it. Check this blog post instead. NSFW, btw.

(more…)