Dude, what the heck are you still doing here? No, seriously, why are you still here? This isn't my domain anymore. This is an ex-blog. I mean, don't you wanna learn my true name? What I look like? What my voice sounds like? Don't you wanna go to a blog where you can (gasp!) write comments on!?
You can now. Here are my relevant links.
My new blogspot: here.
My Google Plus: here.
My Facebook: here.
My Twitter: here.
My Youtube: here. (Also, the Madoka review is up. You can find it on my channel.
And most importantly:
My Smashwords account: here.
My first ebook: here.
And there you have it, the foundations of my empire. This is only the beginning. Also, I told you I had a French last name!
But I consider it a good thing I got this experience with writing this blog first. I've been on here for three and a half years, and there are approximately 598 entries here, including this one. This blog can still be accessed from my fanfiction.net profile, but after this, I'm not touching it anymore. Whatever typos are still left, well, they'll still be here.
I first started communiating online nearly six years ago, but like I said, I was scared of showing my true self online. Well, I wanna relate something to you.
A few years ago, I saw a documentary about comic book superheroes. It included an extensive interview with Stan Lee. At one part, they talked about the Spider-Man story arc where Peter Parker is sharing an apartment with a roommate who is abusing drugs. It ran for three issues. During its initial printing, it was not approved by the Comics Code Authority, yet Stan Lee insisted that Marvel publish it anyway, which they did. Stan Lee said something like, "The world didn't stop rotating. We didn't receive complaints. Spider-Man was not canceled, everything just kept on going." Later printings of that same arc are now approved by the Comics Code Authority, since it does show the dangers of drug addiction.
And you know what? The same thing is happening. The world is still going. My old enemies aren't suddenly showing up at my doorstep. (Do they even remember me by this point?) I'm still of sound health. What do I have to be afraid of?
Nothing. There's no reason I can't succeed as an independent ebook author and publisher. But honestly, the more time I waste here, the more I could be spending on my new empire, so I'll just end this by saying those are the facts.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Penultimate Entry
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, a popular form of entertainment in America was Vaudeville. Vaudeville performances were usually divided into 10 acts. Each performer could perform to the audience in any fashion they desired: music, dancing, comedy, magic, animal acts, re-enactments, impersonations, and so on. Many famous actors such as Buster Keaton, Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, and Jimmy Durante got their start in Vaudeville.
Vaudeville producers usually saved what they considered the best performance for the second-to-last act, or penultimate act. The actual last act would be a "crappy" performance meant to clear the house, but the penultimate act is what people often came to see. Now, I saw a documentary on Vaudeville many years ago, and it claimed that the penultimate act was often a duet between a man and a woman, usually singing about love; I guess love songs never go out of style.
I mention this because this is the second-to-last thing I will ever post here. Later today, I will begin signing up in places showing my true name and face. This will be the end of my anonymity online, just as sound in cinema signaled the end of Vaudeville. This is the end of a phase of my life, the phase that started when I finished high school, and ended nearly a year after I earned my college degree.
In the past, I did not want to show my name and face online, for there are people from my past that I've encountered in real life that I am not on good terms with. I did not want to deal with them, so I hid under pseudonyms for nearly six years. However, I can't run away anymore. If one of these people wants to try to confront me again, I will just have to face them head on. I can't be a coward anymore; it's time I faced both my fears and my enemies if I am to make something of myself.
In the visual novel Little Busters, in my favorite route, your character, Riki Naoe, learns that Yuiko Kurugaya is a talented pianist. She has also written a song that she hasn't titled. She will play this throughout the route; it is a slower and softer remix of her leitmotif. I will end this entry with an embed of her song. If for whatever reason, this Youtube video goes down, just play, "No title 'a Capriccio Played by an Awakening Love'" somehow. It's the most appropriate way to signify the end of this period of my life.
"Consider the rose . . . The rose is the sweetest smelling flower of all, and it's the most simple, right? But sometimes, you got to clip the rose. You got to cut the rose back, so something sweeter smelling and stronger, and even more beautiful will grow in its place."-Zutty Singleton.
Vaudeville producers usually saved what they considered the best performance for the second-to-last act, or penultimate act. The actual last act would be a "crappy" performance meant to clear the house, but the penultimate act is what people often came to see. Now, I saw a documentary on Vaudeville many years ago, and it claimed that the penultimate act was often a duet between a man and a woman, usually singing about love; I guess love songs never go out of style.
I mention this because this is the second-to-last thing I will ever post here. Later today, I will begin signing up in places showing my true name and face. This will be the end of my anonymity online, just as sound in cinema signaled the end of Vaudeville. This is the end of a phase of my life, the phase that started when I finished high school, and ended nearly a year after I earned my college degree.
In the past, I did not want to show my name and face online, for there are people from my past that I've encountered in real life that I am not on good terms with. I did not want to deal with them, so I hid under pseudonyms for nearly six years. However, I can't run away anymore. If one of these people wants to try to confront me again, I will just have to face them head on. I can't be a coward anymore; it's time I faced both my fears and my enemies if I am to make something of myself.
In the visual novel Little Busters, in my favorite route, your character, Riki Naoe, learns that Yuiko Kurugaya is a talented pianist. She has also written a song that she hasn't titled. She will play this throughout the route; it is a slower and softer remix of her leitmotif. I will end this entry with an embed of her song. If for whatever reason, this Youtube video goes down, just play, "No title 'a Capriccio Played by an Awakening Love'" somehow. It's the most appropriate way to signify the end of this period of my life.
"Consider the rose . . . The rose is the sweetest smelling flower of all, and it's the most simple, right? But sometimes, you got to clip the rose. You got to cut the rose back, so something sweeter smelling and stronger, and even more beautiful will grow in its place."-Zutty Singleton.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Let's talk about 4th War Rider
What's a better portrayal of Alexander the Great? The failed 1968 television pilot starring William Shatner as the King of Conquerors? The 2004 box office bomb starring Colin Farrell as the legendary commander?
Or how about Fate/Zero's rendition?
The thing I like most about Fate/Zero thus far is Waver and 4th War Rider, AKA Iksander. (Huh, they even use his original name, kind of like how FSN referred to Hercules as Herakles.) I'm even revising the next chapter of my Nasuverse fanfic thanks to the new information I have been learning.
I definitely like the 2nd episode more than the first. Less talking, more skullduggery! Yes! If I were to review on an episode to episode basis, I would give the first episode a 7/10, and the second episode an 8/10. Haven't seen anything that made me go crazy go nuts, but bear this in mind: Darker Than Black got really good by its 4th episode. Patience, my dear readers.
Also, I know I said there isn't a (lot) of movement in the animation, but you know something? The most beautiful animated tv series I have ever seen, Mushi-Shi, was that same way. The artwork and camera work was rendered in such a way as to not compromise the visual integrity of any shot, and I like that. Sure, that means you would only see really fluid animation during the "money" shots, but hey, I don't mind.
-----------
Yeah, you're probably wondering why I still haven't unveiled myself and release my book yet. Um . . . it's for reasons outside of my control. I don't wanna go into details, but I've encountered some setbacks. Hopefully, later this month, I could get started. If we're lucky, later this week, but right now, my hands are tied.
Until then, I can keep making videos, so when I get on Youtube, I'll have several videos for you all to see at once. And I guess I can keep writing, too.
Or how about Fate/Zero's rendition?
The thing I like most about Fate/Zero thus far is Waver and 4th War Rider, AKA Iksander. (Huh, they even use his original name, kind of like how FSN referred to Hercules as Herakles.) I'm even revising the next chapter of my Nasuverse fanfic thanks to the new information I have been learning.
I definitely like the 2nd episode more than the first. Less talking, more skullduggery! Yes! If I were to review on an episode to episode basis, I would give the first episode a 7/10, and the second episode an 8/10. Haven't seen anything that made me go crazy go nuts, but bear this in mind: Darker Than Black got really good by its 4th episode. Patience, my dear readers.
Also, I know I said there isn't a (lot) of movement in the animation, but you know something? The most beautiful animated tv series I have ever seen, Mushi-Shi, was that same way. The artwork and camera work was rendered in such a way as to not compromise the visual integrity of any shot, and I like that. Sure, that means you would only see really fluid animation during the "money" shots, but hey, I don't mind.
-----------
Yeah, you're probably wondering why I still haven't unveiled myself and release my book yet. Um . . . it's for reasons outside of my control. I don't wanna go into details, but I've encountered some setbacks. Hopefully, later this month, I could get started. If we're lucky, later this week, but right now, my hands are tied.
Until then, I can keep making videos, so when I get on Youtube, I'll have several videos for you all to see at once. And I guess I can keep writing, too.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
nya hyah hah!
Before I continue, I just wanna say, if you don't already worship Jouji Nataka, then do so already.
Now then, first four episodes of Carnival Phantasm . . .
Eh.
There were two segments I liked. The first was the Holy Grail show from the first episode. Remember, Gilgamesh is the owner of everything original. No exceptions. The other was Rin tackling with technology in episode 4. That was funny, and cute of her.
Speaking of Rin . . . she actually sounds like how I picture her to in Carnival Phantasm. I complained in the actual Fateverse, she sounds too much like Rachel Alucard. Here though, she sounds . . . .PAFECTO! Ilya still sounds off though, but maybe that's just me being weird.
I am hoping for some Sakura in the later episodes; seeing her in Fate/Zero is making me want more of her. And I saw Caren in the OP and ED; I wanna see her too. (I like both the OP and ED songs.) Oh, by the way, there's a new commerical for CP out now, featuring Vermillion Akiha in . . . really . . . really . . . really . . .
What is this urge to roll around on the floor, imagining myself hugging her, and shouting, "KAWAII!" over and over in a squeaky voice of affection? Is this what it means to feel . . . moe?
------
It's too bad we won't be seeing any Garden of Sinners in CP though.
I'm . . . somewhere in chapter 5 right now. Haven't been able to read for a while, since, you know, I've been a little busy lately, but I still love it. Awesome stuff.
Oh, as of right now, my favorite character in Garden of Sinners is the main protagonist, Ryougi. However, in the overall Nasuverse . . . I would only rank her fifth. She somehow gets outshined by a little German girl, a tsundere, another tsundere, and a True Ancestor in terms of likability, but the characterization in Garden of Sinners is very good, either way.
Now then, first four episodes of Carnival Phantasm . . .
Eh.
There were two segments I liked. The first was the Holy Grail show from the first episode. Remember, Gilgamesh is the owner of everything original. No exceptions. The other was Rin tackling with technology in episode 4. That was funny, and cute of her.
Speaking of Rin . . . she actually sounds like how I picture her to in Carnival Phantasm. I complained in the actual Fateverse, she sounds too much like Rachel Alucard. Here though, she sounds . . . .PAFECTO! Ilya still sounds off though, but maybe that's just me being weird.
I am hoping for some Sakura in the later episodes; seeing her in Fate/Zero is making me want more of her. And I saw Caren in the OP and ED; I wanna see her too. (I like both the OP and ED songs.) Oh, by the way, there's a new commerical for CP out now, featuring Vermillion Akiha in . . . really . . . really . . . really . . .
What is this urge to roll around on the floor, imagining myself hugging her, and shouting, "KAWAII!" over and over in a squeaky voice of affection? Is this what it means to feel . . . moe?
------
It's too bad we won't be seeing any Garden of Sinners in CP though.
I'm . . . somewhere in chapter 5 right now. Haven't been able to read for a while, since, you know, I've been a little busy lately, but I still love it. Awesome stuff.
Oh, as of right now, my favorite character in Garden of Sinners is the main protagonist, Ryougi. However, in the overall Nasuverse . . . I would only rank her fifth. She somehow gets outshined by a little German girl, a tsundere, another tsundere, and a True Ancestor in terms of likability, but the characterization in Garden of Sinners is very good, either way.
Monday, October 3, 2011
WOMEN AND CHILDREN!
And fakers too!
Oh, you probably are aware that the anime version of Fate/Zero is now live. I've seen the first episode.
Quick synopsis.
Good stuff: better than the other Fate animes. Fills in a lot of holes between this and FSN. Also, I like Waver; I wanna see more of him. The artistry is beautiful . . .
Bad stuff: . . . but there's not a lot of actual motion in the animation. Oh, and guess what the first episode of FZ consists mostly of? Different groups of people talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and . . . if this really is an accurate translation of the novels, I must say, Gen Urobuchi did a really good job imitating the one thing I dislike most about FSN. Oh joy.
Oh yeah, remember how serious Fate fans have disowned the earlier Fate animes much like how everyone has disowned the Tsukihime anime? Well guess what? We did that for a good reason! Even if you seen the FSN animes, it'll do you no good for FZ. If you haven't played the VN, yer gonna be lost, man. It's luck that I even know as much as I do............But FZ is still better than Ordinary Life, that's for damn sure. I haven't lost interest in it, yet. There is one thing I do wanna learn, which I hopefully will. When I first started writing about FSN, I described Ilya as being, and I quote, "The most evil cute girl ever." Will FZ explain why she was like that in FSN? Here's hoping.
Oh yeah, since I seem to be watching more fansubbed anime lately, sometime tomorrow, I'll give you my impressions of the anime version of Carnival Phantasm.
......
.........Seeing as how I can't move on to my new empire just yet. I thought I'd retire this blogspot by now. I guess that's just gonna have to wait.
Oh, you probably are aware that the anime version of Fate/Zero is now live. I've seen the first episode.
Quick synopsis.
Good stuff: better than the other Fate animes. Fills in a lot of holes between this and FSN. Also, I like Waver; I wanna see more of him. The artistry is beautiful . . .
Bad stuff: . . . but there's not a lot of actual motion in the animation. Oh, and guess what the first episode of FZ consists mostly of? Different groups of people talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and . . . if this really is an accurate translation of the novels, I must say, Gen Urobuchi did a really good job imitating the one thing I dislike most about FSN. Oh joy.
Oh yeah, remember how serious Fate fans have disowned the earlier Fate animes much like how everyone has disowned the Tsukihime anime? Well guess what? We did that for a good reason! Even if you seen the FSN animes, it'll do you no good for FZ. If you haven't played the VN, yer gonna be lost, man. It's luck that I even know as much as I do............But FZ is still better than Ordinary Life, that's for damn sure. I haven't lost interest in it, yet. There is one thing I do wanna learn, which I hopefully will. When I first started writing about FSN, I described Ilya as being, and I quote, "The most evil cute girl ever." Will FZ explain why she was like that in FSN? Here's hoping.
Oh yeah, since I seem to be watching more fansubbed anime lately, sometime tomorrow, I'll give you my impressions of the anime version of Carnival Phantasm.
......
.........Seeing as how I can't move on to my new empire just yet. I thought I'd retire this blogspot by now. I guess that's just gonna have to wait.
Monday, September 26, 2011
No penalty this time!
Good news, everyone! The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is better than Ordinary Life!
Well, I'd hope so. Even Endless Eight was better than Ordinary Life.
Short version, Disappearance is as good as the better episodes of the first season of Haruhi. It was a worthwhile purchase.
I also saw it in English. You know what's weird? It's actually been a while since I've seen Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Sam Reigal, Wendee Lee, Bridget Hoffman, and Kari Wahlgren in anything new, so it was good to hear their voices again. And as you know, I've remarked how pleasant Bridget Hoffman's voice is whenever she's not playing KOS-MOS in Xenosaga (which she was also godly in), but . . . you know something else? I also find Stephanie Sheh's version of Adult Mikuru to sound really pretty too. I guess it's probably just from years of hearing her imitate a moe girl, but I've become so conditioned to it that I . . . I . . .
(imitating Kyon) That just the sound of her voice is so moe, I can't help but perk up my ears whenever she speaks! Oh, tell me of your day, you beauteous angel from the future!
(normal voice) Eh, what the hell? Why am I thinking like Kyon right now? That can't be right!
Oh whatever. Here's hoping that Kyoto Animation continues to adapt the Haruhi novels.
------
I'm getting closer to the next phase of my life. All of that behind the scenes stuff is essentially me laying down the foundations for an empire. In as early as one week, I may already be starting up my new profiles under my real name. Of course, it may take longer that, remember, Rome wasn't built in a day after all, but yeah. Oh, get this; I'm also getting a Google Plus. Hey, why not? It's free advertising for me!
But you see, once I start one of these new profiles, the internet will then know my true name and face, and by then, I will no longer be anonymous. Shortly before I do that, I'll make a second to last post here, a penultimate entry if you will. After that, the last entry I make here on xm0123's Domain will be a link to my first ebook, as well as all of my new profiles. Then after that, this account will be a testament to a time in my life when I interacted on the web under a pseudonym. Of course, I may make make more entries before these last two, but depending on how things work out in the real world, it may come sooner than you think.
Oh, speaking of that progress, you wanna how it's all going? It's not going super duper fast, but so far, things have progressed without a hitch. In short, everything for me is going . . . . . .
Exactly as planned.
Man, remember when I used to print Death Note quotes left and right?
Well, I'd hope so. Even Endless Eight was better than Ordinary Life.
Short version, Disappearance is as good as the better episodes of the first season of Haruhi. It was a worthwhile purchase.
I also saw it in English. You know what's weird? It's actually been a while since I've seen Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Sam Reigal, Wendee Lee, Bridget Hoffman, and Kari Wahlgren in anything new, so it was good to hear their voices again. And as you know, I've remarked how pleasant Bridget Hoffman's voice is whenever she's not playing KOS-MOS in Xenosaga (which she was also godly in), but . . . you know something else? I also find Stephanie Sheh's version of Adult Mikuru to sound really pretty too. I guess it's probably just from years of hearing her imitate a moe girl, but I've become so conditioned to it that I . . . I . . .
(imitating Kyon) That just the sound of her voice is so moe, I can't help but perk up my ears whenever she speaks! Oh, tell me of your day, you beauteous angel from the future!
(normal voice) Eh, what the hell? Why am I thinking like Kyon right now? That can't be right!
Oh whatever. Here's hoping that Kyoto Animation continues to adapt the Haruhi novels.
------
I'm getting closer to the next phase of my life. All of that behind the scenes stuff is essentially me laying down the foundations for an empire. In as early as one week, I may already be starting up my new profiles under my real name. Of course, it may take longer that, remember, Rome wasn't built in a day after all, but yeah. Oh, get this; I'm also getting a Google Plus. Hey, why not? It's free advertising for me!
But you see, once I start one of these new profiles, the internet will then know my true name and face, and by then, I will no longer be anonymous. Shortly before I do that, I'll make a second to last post here, a penultimate entry if you will. After that, the last entry I make here on xm0123's Domain will be a link to my first ebook, as well as all of my new profiles. Then after that, this account will be a testament to a time in my life when I interacted on the web under a pseudonym. Of course, I may make make more entries before these last two, but depending on how things work out in the real world, it may come sooner than you think.
Oh, speaking of that progress, you wanna how it's all going? It's not going super duper fast, but so far, things have progressed without a hitch. In short, everything for me is going . . . . . .
Exactly as planned.
Man, remember when I used to print Death Note quotes left and right?
Friday, September 23, 2011
RAH! Sucky anime!
This title should warn you what's ahead.
So, Crunchyroll. Got a lot of foreign made shows there; even live-action Japanese soap operas. Well, lately, I've been hearing some hype for an anime series made by Kyoto Animation. Based off a manga called Nichijou, AKA Ordinary Life. Seen some hype, and it's made by a studio I like. So I checked it out.
And the music, my god, the music! It's with a full orchestra! It's beautiful! And it fits the scenes so wonderfully! Oh, if only I could acquire the soundtrack separately!
As for Ordinary Life itself? Um, I think it's best I start off with a comparison.
Okay, Ordinary Life is a comedy series, a high school comedy series. Sure, these days, it seems like every anime is either that or a shounen action tale, but I'm willing to try. After all, Gintama is a comedy series, and I like it very much. Do you know why I like Gintama so much?
BECAUSE IT'S NOT COMPLETELY FUCKING RANDOM ALL THE GODDAMNED TIME!!!!!
How many times do I have to say this? Complete randomness does not translate to good entertainment. Randomness is what ruined FLCL for me, and it's what ruined Ordinary Life as well!
---
Although there's an anime coming to my house soon, also from Kyoto Animation, that I have high hopes for.
I'm of course referring to the blu-ray version of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
A lot of fans, (or at least the ones who didn't abandon the franchise after 2009) act like Disappearance is The Best Movie Ever(tm). I don't know if that's true or not, but when I find out, I'll be sure to let everyone know by writing a review on MAL. However, that will be the last written review I do. The next anime I review after that . . . will be a video review.
---
I . . . I can't wait any longer. The entire thing's out on blu-ray now. And besides, I play plenty of video games fansubbed, can't I see anime fansubbed occasionally? Once the last two eps get subbed, I'm gonna go ahead and watch Madoka.
Sometime between now and after I get established, I'm gonna watch Madoka in the background. Hey, I should at least make sure the future North American release is worth buying first. And also, well, I signed a contract, a contract stipulating that I write a fanfic that's Madoka related in the future, regardless of whether I like it or not. Might as well get my research started now rather than later.
But I also wanna make a review of it. Not a text review, but a video review. However, I don't want to violate any copyrights, so it won't be like a That Guy With The Glasses review. It will be a slideshow, with my voiceover reviewing the show. The review should be out . . . sometime after I get established, so Mid-October hopefully.
However, before I put my review out, do not ask me anything about Madoka. Do not ask if I like it or not, do not ask who my favorite character is, do not ask if I dropped the series or not, do not discuss plot details with me. The review will explain everything once it comes out. Same goes for Disappearance.
However, I'll say this about both Haruhi and Madoka; they both better be better than Ordinary Life, cuz if not . . . . . . . there will be Hell to pay.
So, Crunchyroll. Got a lot of foreign made shows there; even live-action Japanese soap operas. Well, lately, I've been hearing some hype for an anime series made by Kyoto Animation. Based off a manga called Nichijou, AKA Ordinary Life. Seen some hype, and it's made by a studio I like. So I checked it out.
And the music, my god, the music! It's with a full orchestra! It's beautiful! And it fits the scenes so wonderfully! Oh, if only I could acquire the soundtrack separately!
As for Ordinary Life itself? Um, I think it's best I start off with a comparison.
Okay, Ordinary Life is a comedy series, a high school comedy series. Sure, these days, it seems like every anime is either that or a shounen action tale, but I'm willing to try. After all, Gintama is a comedy series, and I like it very much. Do you know why I like Gintama so much?
BECAUSE IT'S NOT COMPLETELY FUCKING RANDOM ALL THE GODDAMNED TIME!!!!!
How many times do I have to say this? Complete randomness does not translate to good entertainment. Randomness is what ruined FLCL for me, and it's what ruined Ordinary Life as well!
---
Although there's an anime coming to my house soon, also from Kyoto Animation, that I have high hopes for.
I'm of course referring to the blu-ray version of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
A lot of fans, (or at least the ones who didn't abandon the franchise after 2009) act like Disappearance is The Best Movie Ever(tm). I don't know if that's true or not, but when I find out, I'll be sure to let everyone know by writing a review on MAL. However, that will be the last written review I do. The next anime I review after that . . . will be a video review.
---
I . . . I can't wait any longer. The entire thing's out on blu-ray now. And besides, I play plenty of video games fansubbed, can't I see anime fansubbed occasionally? Once the last two eps get subbed, I'm gonna go ahead and watch Madoka.
Sometime between now and after I get established, I'm gonna watch Madoka in the background. Hey, I should at least make sure the future North American release is worth buying first. And also, well, I signed a contract, a contract stipulating that I write a fanfic that's Madoka related in the future, regardless of whether I like it or not. Might as well get my research started now rather than later.
But I also wanna make a review of it. Not a text review, but a video review. However, I don't want to violate any copyrights, so it won't be like a That Guy With The Glasses review. It will be a slideshow, with my voiceover reviewing the show. The review should be out . . . sometime after I get established, so Mid-October hopefully.
However, before I put my review out, do not ask me anything about Madoka. Do not ask if I like it or not, do not ask who my favorite character is, do not ask if I dropped the series or not, do not discuss plot details with me. The review will explain everything once it comes out. Same goes for Disappearance.
However, I'll say this about both Haruhi and Madoka; they both better be better than Ordinary Life, cuz if not . . . . . . . there will be Hell to pay.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
I'm gonna out-indie all you indies!
Hey guess what? The first ebook I plan to self-publish? I already finished it! Completely! Written, edited, formatted, it's all set to go!
The text, anyway.
At Smashwords.com, there's a policy that if your ebook satisfies certain conditions, it will be put on a so-called "Premium catalog." When this happens, your ebook will not only be available for sale at Smashwords, but on other websites that sell ebooks, such as Amazon, iKindle, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader, and so on. As a soon-to-be marketer, I can tell you that having your products for sale in multiple markets is good for business, especially a business like this.
One of the conditions you need to satisfy is your book needs a cover. You can upload an ebook without a cover, but you won't go premium, and in the site founder's words, it also looks unprofessional. So I'm now working on a cover for my first ebook.
Too bad I can't draw worth shit.
Most ebook writers commission other people to draw covers. Smashwords does have people dedicated to this, and they charge pretty good prices. I imagine for my later books, I will pay an artist to draw the covers for me. However, I wanna get this product out as soon as I set up my Smashwords profile . . . which I will gladly do after I set up my new Blogspot with Google ads . . . and my Youtube . . . and my Facebook . . . and my Twitter . . . and whatever else I need to do behind the scenes before I get started.
But my cover man . . . it'll probably just be text on a blank background, but it's still a while before October, so maybe I'll have something not too unbearable by then. However, I will warn you right now, my first cover will be the most indie book cover ever. Not the worst, but definitely the biggest indicator that I'm a one-man writer, publisher, and editor that you can conceive of. I'm gonna do book one Robert Rodriguez style. And even after I start hiring people to draw covers, everything else about my stories will still be done entirely by me: no agents to impress, no publishers to persuade that my manuscript will be the next Harry Potter, no editors to attempt to censor me, no release delays for marketing and printing of books (Ebooks are eco-friendly!). I figure if people like my fanfics, imagine how much they'll like my original stories, where I don't have to worry about canonicity and OOC, since I invented the canon and characters.
Wave of the future, Dude! One hundred percent electronic!
The text, anyway.
At Smashwords.com, there's a policy that if your ebook satisfies certain conditions, it will be put on a so-called "Premium catalog." When this happens, your ebook will not only be available for sale at Smashwords, but on other websites that sell ebooks, such as Amazon, iKindle, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader, and so on. As a soon-to-be marketer, I can tell you that having your products for sale in multiple markets is good for business, especially a business like this.
One of the conditions you need to satisfy is your book needs a cover. You can upload an ebook without a cover, but you won't go premium, and in the site founder's words, it also looks unprofessional. So I'm now working on a cover for my first ebook.
Too bad I can't draw worth shit.
Most ebook writers commission other people to draw covers. Smashwords does have people dedicated to this, and they charge pretty good prices. I imagine for my later books, I will pay an artist to draw the covers for me. However, I wanna get this product out as soon as I set up my Smashwords profile . . . which I will gladly do after I set up my new Blogspot with Google ads . . . and my Youtube . . . and my Facebook . . . and my Twitter . . . and whatever else I need to do behind the scenes before I get started.
But my cover man . . . it'll probably just be text on a blank background, but it's still a while before October, so maybe I'll have something not too unbearable by then. However, I will warn you right now, my first cover will be the most indie book cover ever. Not the worst, but definitely the biggest indicator that I'm a one-man writer, publisher, and editor that you can conceive of. I'm gonna do book one Robert Rodriguez style. And even after I start hiring people to draw covers, everything else about my stories will still be done entirely by me: no agents to impress, no publishers to persuade that my manuscript will be the next Harry Potter, no editors to attempt to censor me, no release delays for marketing and printing of books (Ebooks are eco-friendly!). I figure if people like my fanfics, imagine how much they'll like my original stories, where I don't have to worry about canonicity and OOC, since I invented the canon and characters.
Wave of the future, Dude! One hundred percent electronic!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Fanfic posting
You all probably wanna know what the status is of my fanfics, don'tcha? Well, like I said, even though I'm now focusing on original stories, I will not abandon fanfiction just yet. Now that Eternal Blossom is finished, that just leaves four active series.
Help Us, Professor Kokonoe. It's not going away anytime soon. The next piece has been started. Of course, it's far from finished, but it's getting along. I don't have plans of retiring HUPK anytime soon, either.
Gensokyan Backstories. I've been writing the fourth story. I still can't tell you who it's about. I've decided who part 5 and 6 will be about, but I still can't tell you who they are either. Only that part 5 will be about somebody from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Who that is, you're just gonna have to wait. Only problem is these stories take loooooooooong to write.
Touhou Omake. I started part 4. I'm bringing back a character I haven't written in a long time, someone that I really wanna bring back, even if it's only in omake form. Also, Touhou characters I have yet to feature in a fanfic will show up. I got two other solid ideas for the omake series, and I may come up with more in due time.
Curse of the Tohno Clan, AKA, why are Type-Moon Characters Acting Like Umineko Characters? This will probably be my next update. I would estimate part 3 is 80 to 85 percent complete right now. Part 4, the conclusion, is 20 to 30 percent complete right now. The ending will explain everything, and I'm pretty certain some of my readers will like the ending.
After that, another interlude in the "real" world will ensue, then someone will ask another question . . . a question involving the Good Doctor Zel!
Then we'll see The New Adventures of Doctor Zel, in three parts and in three universes. (And no, I'm not doing another Code Geass cop out; these will be explored settings, I assure you.) I already decided what three universes they're gonna be, and it's none of the ones I've already done.
Of course, keep in mind, between this and my other projects, it may take me months before I write all of these out, if not a year.
"Hey wait, xm . . . where does Madoka fit into all of this?"
Good question! Where does Madoka fit into all of this . . . well, seeing as how I still know nothing beyond trailers and what have you, I . . . haven't really decided what to do about that yet. But fear not! Something will come . . . eventually . . . after I have experienced Madoka, for obvious reasons . . . yeah, don't expect to see anything Madoka related from me this year. You'll definitely have to wait on that one, but it'll be a worthwhile wait.
........
Just think; one month from now, this blog will be retired.
Help Us, Professor Kokonoe. It's not going away anytime soon. The next piece has been started. Of course, it's far from finished, but it's getting along. I don't have plans of retiring HUPK anytime soon, either.
Gensokyan Backstories. I've been writing the fourth story. I still can't tell you who it's about. I've decided who part 5 and 6 will be about, but I still can't tell you who they are either. Only that part 5 will be about somebody from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Who that is, you're just gonna have to wait. Only problem is these stories take loooooooooong to write.
Touhou Omake. I started part 4. I'm bringing back a character I haven't written in a long time, someone that I really wanna bring back, even if it's only in omake form. Also, Touhou characters I have yet to feature in a fanfic will show up. I got two other solid ideas for the omake series, and I may come up with more in due time.
Curse of the Tohno Clan, AKA, why are Type-Moon Characters Acting Like Umineko Characters? This will probably be my next update. I would estimate part 3 is 80 to 85 percent complete right now. Part 4, the conclusion, is 20 to 30 percent complete right now. The ending will explain everything, and I'm pretty certain some of my readers will like the ending.
After that, another interlude in the "real" world will ensue, then someone will ask another question . . . a question involving the Good Doctor Zel!
Then we'll see The New Adventures of Doctor Zel, in three parts and in three universes. (And no, I'm not doing another Code Geass cop out; these will be explored settings, I assure you.) I already decided what three universes they're gonna be, and it's none of the ones I've already done.
Of course, keep in mind, between this and my other projects, it may take me months before I write all of these out, if not a year.
"Hey wait, xm . . . where does Madoka fit into all of this?"
Good question! Where does Madoka fit into all of this . . . well, seeing as how I still know nothing beyond trailers and what have you, I . . . haven't really decided what to do about that yet. But fear not! Something will come . . . eventually . . . after I have experienced Madoka, for obvious reasons . . . yeah, don't expect to see anything Madoka related from me this year. You'll definitely have to wait on that one, but it'll be a worthwhile wait.
........
Just think; one month from now, this blog will be retired.
Friday, September 9, 2011
The things I do for you all
I just finished revising this blog; took me all week. In case you forgot, I'm getting a new Blogspot (Hey! I'm familair with its format!) later this year, and under my true name so that I can promote my ebooks. This blog will still be accessible, but it'll no longer be updating once I finally get off the ground. (And besides, you're gonna like the new Blogspot; I'll have comments enabled!)
However, I had to correct a lot of typos, edit some things, add some stuff, and even outright delete some entries for the sake of my future. I still have to do a lot of other things to do behind the scenes before I can finally become a freelance writer, hence the title of today's blog.
But you don't wanna read about that. That would bore you. I know what you really wanna read.
------------
I've been doing some more . . . research, on something. I think you know what I'm referring to.
There's a superstar of Madoka's staff I neglected to mention; Akiyuki Shinbo. Apparently, he was the one who came up with the concept initially.
He directed the first season of Nanoha . . . which I did not like. He also directed (and is still directing) the anime version of Hidamari Sketch . . . which I also did not like. (Although that would explain why HS' artist contributed to Madoka.) Somehow, I get the feeling that if Madoka is as good as everyone says it is, that it will basically be what Nanoha should have been. Here's hoping.
Cuz if not . . . well, I should be on Youtube by the time I finally get to see Madoka . . . imagine me ranting about something I hate . . . in person. But hopefully, I shouldn't have to do that with PMMM.
--------
Oh yeah, today's also Cirno Day, 9/9. On this days 16 years ago, the PS1 came out in America. On this day 12 years ago, the Sega Dreamcast came out in America, on 9/9/99, no less. Whee.
However, I had to correct a lot of typos, edit some things, add some stuff, and even outright delete some entries for the sake of my future. I still have to do a lot of other things to do behind the scenes before I can finally become a freelance writer, hence the title of today's blog.
But you don't wanna read about that. That would bore you. I know what you really wanna read.
------------
I've been doing some more . . . research, on something. I think you know what I'm referring to.
There's a superstar of Madoka's staff I neglected to mention; Akiyuki Shinbo. Apparently, he was the one who came up with the concept initially.
He directed the first season of Nanoha . . . which I did not like. He also directed (and is still directing) the anime version of Hidamari Sketch . . . which I also did not like. (Although that would explain why HS' artist contributed to Madoka.) Somehow, I get the feeling that if Madoka is as good as everyone says it is, that it will basically be what Nanoha should have been. Here's hoping.
Cuz if not . . . well, I should be on Youtube by the time I finally get to see Madoka . . . imagine me ranting about something I hate . . . in person. But hopefully, I shouldn't have to do that with PMMM.
--------
Oh yeah, today's also Cirno Day, 9/9. On this days 16 years ago, the PS1 came out in America. On this day 12 years ago, the Sega Dreamcast came out in America, on 9/9/99, no less. Whee.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
more magical girls
Did you know Japanese blu-rays sometimes have English subtitles? It eliminates the need for fansubs. In fact, if I didn't mind paying for an expensive import, I could own the first Nanoha movie and still be able to understand it!
Oh wait, did I just give away the newest anime I reviewed on MAL?
Yeah, I revisited Nanoha. Even though it's really Fate Testarossa's series. The movie is definitely better than the tv series, but it falls short of masterpiece. My review on MAL goes into more detail.
Naturally, this caught the ear of Archon Wing. Now he and I are waiting for the second Nanoha movie. At the very least, I only found one typo on the subs for the movie; good job!
---------
But while AW and I chatted, guess what we brought up? Madoka. And listen to what he told me:
"Madoka I'd say was a wave of fresh air to this genre, keeping with a small cast and trying to get each character to have some purpose and meaning. Plot events are like that too, not just to throw in there for the hell of that and look cool."
Wait, are you saying . . . that Madoka obeys . . . The Almighty Narrative!?
Now I'm more hyped than ever! AW also has more detailed reviews on Animesuki. They contain spoilers, provided you read more than the numerical scores. Check his scores for Madoka:
Visuals: 7/10. (I can live with that. Just look at Castle in the Sky; okay visuals, amazing film.)
Audio: 10/10. (The Japanese voices sounded pretty good in the Aniplex trailer.)
Story: 9/10. (YOU GUYS BETTER BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS!)
Characterization: 10/10. (Remember, he has Homura on his favorite characters list . . . whoever that is.)
Enjoyment: 10/10. (Definitely higher than my enjoyment score for Nanoha.)
Overall: 10/10. (Wait, this is at least as good as Eden of the East, if you go by my reviews? Whoa.)
Oh yeah, I also know of a Madoka doujin game out (that didn't take long!) called Grief Syndrome. I saw playthroughs of the first level on Youtube. It looks like a pretty basic game; you just run around on a 2D plane and kill things. But I think I discovered why people say Madoka is a subversion; that same girl, Homura, uses firearms. Since when did magical girls use guns!? Huh, I wonder why no one ever thought of that before. I mean, how long have Sailor Moon-styled magical girls have been around? Nearly twenty years now? And only now are you finally realizing the technological wonders of the gun? More hype for me, that's for sure.
Say, I wonder if those girls will appear in Magical Battle Arena eventually . . .
-------
.... 'Cause those chicks from Magic Knight Rayearth now did.
Yes, a patch came out . . . . after I deleted the game. Too bad my interest is dead for that game. No matter, I saw a video for them. (I don't know their names; bear with me.) There's three of them, but they're all one character; you switch between them during the fight.
Also. THANK. GOOOOOOD. they don't look like how they do in the manga and older MKR anime. They look like how they do in the OVA and their brief cameo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. (Oh yeah, I figured out which one I said was cute; it was the one with red hair in a braid.) Well, nice to see some more content for fans to enjoy.
Oh wait, did I just give away the newest anime I reviewed on MAL?
Yeah, I revisited Nanoha. Even though it's really Fate Testarossa's series. The movie is definitely better than the tv series, but it falls short of masterpiece. My review on MAL goes into more detail.
Naturally, this caught the ear of Archon Wing. Now he and I are waiting for the second Nanoha movie. At the very least, I only found one typo on the subs for the movie; good job!
---------
But while AW and I chatted, guess what we brought up? Madoka. And listen to what he told me:
"Madoka I'd say was a wave of fresh air to this genre, keeping with a small cast and trying to get each character to have some purpose and meaning. Plot events are like that too, not just to throw in there for the hell of that and look cool."
Wait, are you saying . . . that Madoka obeys . . . The Almighty Narrative!?
Now I'm more hyped than ever! AW also has more detailed reviews on Animesuki. They contain spoilers, provided you read more than the numerical scores. Check his scores for Madoka:
Visuals: 7/10. (I can live with that. Just look at Castle in the Sky; okay visuals, amazing film.)
Audio: 10/10. (The Japanese voices sounded pretty good in the Aniplex trailer.)
Story: 9/10. (YOU GUYS BETTER BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS!)
Characterization: 10/10. (Remember, he has Homura on his favorite characters list . . . whoever that is.)
Enjoyment: 10/10. (Definitely higher than my enjoyment score for Nanoha.)
Overall: 10/10. (Wait, this is at least as good as Eden of the East, if you go by my reviews? Whoa.)
Oh yeah, I also know of a Madoka doujin game out (that didn't take long!) called Grief Syndrome. I saw playthroughs of the first level on Youtube. It looks like a pretty basic game; you just run around on a 2D plane and kill things. But I think I discovered why people say Madoka is a subversion; that same girl, Homura, uses firearms. Since when did magical girls use guns!? Huh, I wonder why no one ever thought of that before. I mean, how long have Sailor Moon-styled magical girls have been around? Nearly twenty years now? And only now are you finally realizing the technological wonders of the gun? More hype for me, that's for sure.
Say, I wonder if those girls will appear in Magical Battle Arena eventually . . .
-------
.... 'Cause those chicks from Magic Knight Rayearth now did.
Yes, a patch came out . . . . after I deleted the game. Too bad my interest is dead for that game. No matter, I saw a video for them. (I don't know their names; bear with me.) There's three of them, but they're all one character; you switch between them during the fight.
Also. THANK. GOOOOOOD. they don't look like how they do in the manga and older MKR anime. They look like how they do in the OVA and their brief cameo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. (Oh yeah, I figured out which one I said was cute; it was the one with red hair in a braid.) Well, nice to see some more content for fans to enjoy.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
some new reading material
Hey guess what? The sequel to my serious Touhou fanfic, Eternal Blossom, is now out!
Except I couldn't think of a title for it, so I just released it as a continuation. Now EB is two one-shots in length! See more of my own personal interpretation of Touhou! Including this:
"Why are most of the characters female?"
I provide an answer! Kind of.
But that's not the only thing I want to talk about.
Remember a few months ago, I told you about a dream wherein I saw Ayu and Makoto from Kanon? And they were cute? But then I said I haven't seen Nayuki in a dream yet, and I had a sadface?
I'm not sadfacing anymore!
Not too long ago, I had a dream I was watching my Kanon DVDs. My mom walks in and asks me a question she's asked me in real life, "How can you even remember them? I can't even remembertheir names." (She asked this because my mom cannot remember Japanese names. At all.)
I respond, "Oh, that's quite simple! Makoto has her hair in pigtails, Ayu is shorter than the other girls, and Nayuki has a really pretty voice!"
And right on the screen, Nayuki said something in her beautiful (English) voice, and the mere sight of her with Ayu and Makoto drove me into kawaii-overdose.
But that's not the best dream I had recently.
A couple of nights ago, I had a dream I was hosting a party at my house. All is well and good, until I spotted some hidden microphones. I then realize that someone in listening in on me. I and the guests go around the house, finding several microphones. We ripped them all out. With the mikes in hand, I went outside. It was the day of the week that the garbage collector came, so the garbage cans were out in the front yard. I went and disposed of the mikes. As I did that, two girls I recognized came by, one blonde, the other brunette. They were invited guests, however, since they showed up after I ripped the mikes out, I was paranoid, and didn't want them to know what I was up to. The cans had been emptied by the collector, so I brought them back into my backyard, making it look to the girls that all I was doing was bringing the cans back in.
When the last can was back, the brunette girl stepped outside. She had something in her hand.
A giant meat cleaver.
I had nothing in hand to defend myself with. She swung at me, but I somehow parried her blow with my bare hands. It wasn't enough though, and right afterwards, she swung again, hitting me in the chest with the sharpened point of the cleaver.
I woke up. I recognized the girl; she was a character from a series of short stories I wrote in college. I had seen her in dreams before (fully clothed, mind you), but now she was killing me? And with . . . that, as her weapon!? And for further analysis, she didn't look like an anime character; she was life-like. (I based her image off of Natalie Portman. Oh yeah, she was one of two of the token babes of my series, the blonde girl being the other.) And I'll tell you right now, killing people like that would be entirely OOC for her, trust me.
This could only mean one thing; Oyashiro-sama's curse has spread to my hometown! But how could that be possible!?
Oh, here's something interesting. Hinamizawa may be a fictional place, but it's based off a real city, Shirakawa. It's a small village with less than 2,000 people living there, mostly mountainous forested terrain. (any of this looking familiar?)
But rest assured, I'm gonna read more Higurashi eventually. When that will be, I'm not sure.
Except I couldn't think of a title for it, so I just released it as a continuation. Now EB is two one-shots in length! See more of my own personal interpretation of Touhou! Including this:
"Why are most of the characters female?"
I provide an answer! Kind of.
But that's not the only thing I want to talk about.
Remember a few months ago, I told you about a dream wherein I saw Ayu and Makoto from Kanon? And they were cute? But then I said I haven't seen Nayuki in a dream yet, and I had a sadface?
I'm not sadfacing anymore!
Not too long ago, I had a dream I was watching my Kanon DVDs. My mom walks in and asks me a question she's asked me in real life, "How can you even remember them? I can't even remembertheir names." (She asked this because my mom cannot remember Japanese names. At all.)
I respond, "Oh, that's quite simple! Makoto has her hair in pigtails, Ayu is shorter than the other girls, and Nayuki has a really pretty voice!"
And right on the screen, Nayuki said something in her beautiful (English) voice, and the mere sight of her with Ayu and Makoto drove me into kawaii-overdose.
But that's not the best dream I had recently.
A couple of nights ago, I had a dream I was hosting a party at my house. All is well and good, until I spotted some hidden microphones. I then realize that someone in listening in on me. I and the guests go around the house, finding several microphones. We ripped them all out. With the mikes in hand, I went outside. It was the day of the week that the garbage collector came, so the garbage cans were out in the front yard. I went and disposed of the mikes. As I did that, two girls I recognized came by, one blonde, the other brunette. They were invited guests, however, since they showed up after I ripped the mikes out, I was paranoid, and didn't want them to know what I was up to. The cans had been emptied by the collector, so I brought them back into my backyard, making it look to the girls that all I was doing was bringing the cans back in.
When the last can was back, the brunette girl stepped outside. She had something in her hand.
A giant meat cleaver.
I had nothing in hand to defend myself with. She swung at me, but I somehow parried her blow with my bare hands. It wasn't enough though, and right afterwards, she swung again, hitting me in the chest with the sharpened point of the cleaver.
I woke up. I recognized the girl; she was a character from a series of short stories I wrote in college. I had seen her in dreams before (fully clothed, mind you), but now she was killing me? And with . . . that, as her weapon!? And for further analysis, she didn't look like an anime character; she was life-like. (I based her image off of Natalie Portman. Oh yeah, she was one of two of the token babes of my series, the blonde girl being the other.) And I'll tell you right now, killing people like that would be entirely OOC for her, trust me.
This could only mean one thing; Oyashiro-sama's curse has spread to my hometown! But how could that be possible!?
Oh, here's something interesting. Hinamizawa may be a fictional place, but it's based off a real city, Shirakawa. It's a small village with less than 2,000 people living there, mostly mountainous forested terrain. (any of this looking familiar?)
But rest assured, I'm gonna read more Higurashi eventually. When that will be, I'm not sure.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
a muscle revolution
Damnation! VNDB made me look like Masato just now!
The "Common" route in Little Busters just refers to the beginning part before it splits off into separate routes for the different girls!
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
So now I can't do anything else until the patch is completed 100%. And even then, I'm probably never gonna play the Ecstasy edition.
But yes, this part is true: my favorite character in this Key Visual Arts product called LB is (GASP!) not a girl! It's instead a guy! An idiot jock, of all people! But that's what's so great about Masato; he's a good guy with a heart of gold, just don't ask him to flex his brain.
Yeah, the characterization is the best thing about LB's story. Except for Komari, I like all of them, and even then, I don't dislike Komari; I just find her to be a bland moe girl. But with that said, I will wait patiently for the final patch release.
Just like I'm waiting for the English patch for Umineko 5-8 to finish.
And the retail English release of ef - A Fairy Tale of the Two.
And for an English version of Rewrite.
......
WAITING FOR VISUAL NOVELS MAKE ME SAAAAAAAAAD!
The "Common" route in Little Busters just refers to the beginning part before it splits off into separate routes for the different girls!
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
So now I can't do anything else until the patch is completed 100%. And even then, I'm probably never gonna play the Ecstasy edition.
But yes, this part is true: my favorite character in this Key Visual Arts product called LB is (GASP!) not a girl! It's instead a guy! An idiot jock, of all people! But that's what's so great about Masato; he's a good guy with a heart of gold, just don't ask him to flex his brain.
Yeah, the characterization is the best thing about LB's story. Except for Komari, I like all of them, and even then, I don't dislike Komari; I just find her to be a bland moe girl. But with that said, I will wait patiently for the final patch release.
Just like I'm waiting for the English patch for Umineko 5-8 to finish.
And the retail English release of ef - A Fairy Tale of the Two.
And for an English version of Rewrite.
......
WAITING FOR VISUAL NOVELS MAKE ME SAAAAAAAAAD!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Girls, Guns, and Games
A long-ass time ago, I believe in the late 1990s, there was an ad for either a magazine or a website, I can't remember for sure, that reviewed video games, and claimed that theirs was the best source for Girls (included a picture of Lara Croft, since people still cared about Tomb Raider then), Guns (a necessity for the survival of the video game industry), and Games (obvious). Guns won't feature too heavily into today's entry, but two other things will.
Part One
Longplays. What's a longplay?
It's essentially a Let's Play of a video game, but with no commentary, and it's not a speedrun either. Longplays show everything that can be done in a game in a single video. True to their name, they are long, sometimes several hours long. I've known about longplays for a little bit since Retsupurae rips on longplays of Sega CD games (how 'bout that riff of Earnest Evans, guys? Fuckin' hilarious! I love games of the early 90s), but I've never actually tried to watch any until now.
For example, do any of you remember the Amiga game Another World, AKA Out Of This World? I never played it, even though there was an SNES port. (my loss, I know.) But I saw the longplay, and I can understand its importance in game history. That's what's great about longplays; even if it's a game on a system you can't run, or can't emulate on your computer, you could still experience it in video form. Heck, you don't even have to go through the frustration of playing the game and dying a thousand times to see the ending! I can see myself old, and unable to play games properly anymore, but still watching longplays of favorite games of mine to relive them.
The easiest place to watch longplays is here. Aside from Another World, I also watched a little bit of the cult classic Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, both the PC-Engine original, and the PSP remake. I'd like to actually play that someday, but it's nice to be able to compare it to other Castlevanias for now.
Now, not every game in the world has been longplayed yet. I already checked; I can't find any Touhou ones out there, nor any visual novels either. But you can watch the classic LucasArts adventure games of the 1990s on that channel. Ah yeah. The video game artform will never die now!
Part Two
Guess what I started playing again? Little Busters.
I completed the routes for Kud and Mio, but their routes were boring, and really burned me out, for two months straight according to the save games timestamps. Well, in spite of that, I completed the Yuiko route earlier today, well, okay, I meant the Kurugaya route, since she hates being called Yuiko.
It's the best route yet.
It didn't play out anything like a typical Key story. It subverted me completely, and I loved it for it! Of course, those "fans" on VNDB acted like hers was the worst, said the ending sucked. That's horseshit. I like Kurugaya now more than ever, and I'm more psyched for LB more than ever! I just gotta do the Common route, then wait for the final patch, then I can see the true route of the game! But gawd, why are otakus so damn hard to please with endings? I know I've complained about that before, but mark my words; I'm gonna get back at them in a youtube video eventually, on this very subject. It is inevitable.
Anyways, Little Busters, uh, you know, I'm on the fence regarding Rin. (Rin Natsume, not Rin Tohsaka.) Now . . . I can't decide if I find her Moderately Cute, or Insanely Cute. I'm on the fence with her. If I finish the game 100%, maybe I'll know for sure then.
Oh, speaking of visual novels, aside from Umineko, and aside from Key's own Rewrite, did you know there's one other VN out there that I want to try out? You wanna know what it is?
Ever Forever: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
There is an official translation int he works, so I'm curious to see what will unfold. As for LB, I should have the Common Route finished later this week. Until then, I leave you a quote from my favorite character from LB:
"KINNIKU KINNIKU!"
LATE EDIT: Oh man, you have to see my reaction to the "common route". Just hit the "newer post" button to find it! Oh god; my reaction is exactly like a scene from LB itself!
Part One
Longplays. What's a longplay?
It's essentially a Let's Play of a video game, but with no commentary, and it's not a speedrun either. Longplays show everything that can be done in a game in a single video. True to their name, they are long, sometimes several hours long. I've known about longplays for a little bit since Retsupurae rips on longplays of Sega CD games (how 'bout that riff of Earnest Evans, guys? Fuckin' hilarious! I love games of the early 90s), but I've never actually tried to watch any until now.
For example, do any of you remember the Amiga game Another World, AKA Out Of This World? I never played it, even though there was an SNES port. (my loss, I know.) But I saw the longplay, and I can understand its importance in game history. That's what's great about longplays; even if it's a game on a system you can't run, or can't emulate on your computer, you could still experience it in video form. Heck, you don't even have to go through the frustration of playing the game and dying a thousand times to see the ending! I can see myself old, and unable to play games properly anymore, but still watching longplays of favorite games of mine to relive them.
The easiest place to watch longplays is here. Aside from Another World, I also watched a little bit of the cult classic Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, both the PC-Engine original, and the PSP remake. I'd like to actually play that someday, but it's nice to be able to compare it to other Castlevanias for now.
Now, not every game in the world has been longplayed yet. I already checked; I can't find any Touhou ones out there, nor any visual novels either. But you can watch the classic LucasArts adventure games of the 1990s on that channel. Ah yeah. The video game artform will never die now!
Part Two
Guess what I started playing again? Little Busters.
I completed the routes for Kud and Mio, but their routes were boring, and really burned me out, for two months straight according to the save games timestamps. Well, in spite of that, I completed the Yuiko route earlier today, well, okay, I meant the Kurugaya route, since she hates being called Yuiko.
It's the best route yet.
It didn't play out anything like a typical Key story. It subverted me completely, and I loved it for it! Of course, those "fans" on VNDB acted like hers was the worst, said the ending sucked. That's horseshit. I like Kurugaya now more than ever, and I'm more psyched for LB more than ever! I just gotta do the Common route, then wait for the final patch, then I can see the true route of the game! But gawd, why are otakus so damn hard to please with endings? I know I've complained about that before, but mark my words; I'm gonna get back at them in a youtube video eventually, on this very subject. It is inevitable.
Anyways, Little Busters, uh, you know, I'm on the fence regarding Rin. (Rin Natsume, not Rin Tohsaka.) Now . . . I can't decide if I find her Moderately Cute, or Insanely Cute. I'm on the fence with her. If I finish the game 100%, maybe I'll know for sure then.
Oh, speaking of visual novels, aside from Umineko, and aside from Key's own Rewrite, did you know there's one other VN out there that I want to try out? You wanna know what it is?
Ever Forever: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
There is an official translation int he works, so I'm curious to see what will unfold. As for LB, I should have the Common Route finished later this week. Until then, I leave you a quote from my favorite character from LB:
"KINNIKU KINNIKU!"
LATE EDIT: Oh man, you have to see my reaction to the "common route". Just hit the "newer post" button to find it! Oh god; my reaction is exactly like a scene from LB itself!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Life is beautiful-
-when you are a fan of cute magical girls.
Shocking as this may sound, I'm not the only fan of cute girls out there. Get this; according to the Touhou Wiki, one reason Aya's articles have interviews with the other characters is because she likes to have interviews with cute girls from Gensokyo. Probably to drive up sales. But this leads us to an interesting revelation of mine:
You know what I started to play just now? Shoot the Bullet, and Double Spoiler.
First thought, GOD, these are hard! You know how in most Touhou games, you just hold down the fire button (POFV notwithstanding) and avoid shots, and you could win battles like that? That doesn't work in Aya's games! And it's all because the objective is different! You don't duel with people; you snap pictures of them as they're shooting at you . . . with danmaku! Sooo . . . you have to dodge shots, wait for the camera to reload, then get close enough, be at the right angle, and snap your shot (which you can't do while focused) and repeat til you have enough pictures, or until you die. But it is a lot harder than it looks, especially in DS!
The games themselves are good, though. And although neither of them have that many music tracks, they are outstanding . . . better than Ten Desires, anyway. It's a shame more people don't remix these scores, for they deserve it.
Oh yeah, I tried out another Touhou game, Mountain of Faith. I've never played it, not even the demo. I've tried out all the other ones, but MOF slipped though my fingers somehow. Well, I tried it. It was good, but not great. But the music! Well . . . I already knew MOF had a beautiful soundtrack (I have it on MP3!), but hearing it in-game, wow. However, I can't get past Sanae . . . on easy! On normal, I die before I get to the second boss. (Hina's too strong as a mid-boss!) Dang, these games are hard!
Oh, but that's not the only Touhou thing I want to discuss.
------------
Did you know I put out another Touhou Omake? Look at the title, "Mima Returns." Now you know why I waited until Ten Desires came out.
However, I had some inspiration. Remember how I said that there was a fanfic about Alice from the PC-98 era by someone named Max Knight? It was this, however, he and I talk every now and then. One thing he likes is fanfics based off the Power Rangers. Now, I was a fan of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers . . . about 16 or so years ago. He still is, unlike me.
But you see, PR is something I have nostalgia for; I enjoyed it as a kid, yeah, but I don't like it anymore. Aside from the epic levels of cheese, I also found PR too formulaic, and once I started being able to predict the episodes, I stopped watching. (Although I didn't mind the camp as a kid though; it was the predictability that turned me away initially.) Nonetheless, the good times I had as a kid are still there. So, why not throw in a few PR references in this latest omake? Three guesses as to who plays the parts of Bulk and Skull in my fic, hint, it's not anyone particularly strong.
However, I don't have any concrete ideas for the next omake. I have a few ideas, but nothing solid yet. I still have Gensokyan Backstories, and the sequel to Eternal Blossom, though, so maybe I'll concentrate on those for now, when it comes to Touhou fanfiction and me.
Shocking as this may sound, I'm not the only fan of cute girls out there. Get this; according to the Touhou Wiki, one reason Aya's articles have interviews with the other characters is because she likes to have interviews with cute girls from Gensokyo. Probably to drive up sales. But this leads us to an interesting revelation of mine:
You know what I started to play just now? Shoot the Bullet, and Double Spoiler.
First thought, GOD, these are hard! You know how in most Touhou games, you just hold down the fire button (POFV notwithstanding) and avoid shots, and you could win battles like that? That doesn't work in Aya's games! And it's all because the objective is different! You don't duel with people; you snap pictures of them as they're shooting at you . . . with danmaku! Sooo . . . you have to dodge shots, wait for the camera to reload, then get close enough, be at the right angle, and snap your shot (which you can't do while focused) and repeat til you have enough pictures, or until you die. But it is a lot harder than it looks, especially in DS!
The games themselves are good, though. And although neither of them have that many music tracks, they are outstanding . . . better than Ten Desires, anyway. It's a shame more people don't remix these scores, for they deserve it.
Oh yeah, I tried out another Touhou game, Mountain of Faith. I've never played it, not even the demo. I've tried out all the other ones, but MOF slipped though my fingers somehow. Well, I tried it. It was good, but not great. But the music! Well . . . I already knew MOF had a beautiful soundtrack (I have it on MP3!), but hearing it in-game, wow. However, I can't get past Sanae . . . on easy! On normal, I die before I get to the second boss. (Hina's too strong as a mid-boss!) Dang, these games are hard!
Oh, but that's not the only Touhou thing I want to discuss.
------------
Did you know I put out another Touhou Omake? Look at the title, "Mima Returns." Now you know why I waited until Ten Desires came out.
However, I had some inspiration. Remember how I said that there was a fanfic about Alice from the PC-98 era by someone named Max Knight? It was this, however, he and I talk every now and then. One thing he likes is fanfics based off the Power Rangers. Now, I was a fan of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers . . . about 16 or so years ago. He still is, unlike me.
But you see, PR is something I have nostalgia for; I enjoyed it as a kid, yeah, but I don't like it anymore. Aside from the epic levels of cheese, I also found PR too formulaic, and once I started being able to predict the episodes, I stopped watching. (Although I didn't mind the camp as a kid though; it was the predictability that turned me away initially.) Nonetheless, the good times I had as a kid are still there. So, why not throw in a few PR references in this latest omake? Three guesses as to who plays the parts of Bulk and Skull in my fic, hint, it's not anyone particularly strong.
However, I don't have any concrete ideas for the next omake. I have a few ideas, but nothing solid yet. I still have Gensokyan Backstories, and the sequel to Eternal Blossom, though, so maybe I'll concentrate on those for now, when it comes to Touhou fanfiction and me.
Monday, August 15, 2011
ComiKet's over
Okay, I examined the new Touhou-ness as much as I could without actually playing it.
New characters are definitely well-designed by ZUN standards. I'll give him props for that.
The new music . . . uh . . . well, I know ZUN can still write music, because I loved the tracks for Great Fairy Wars, but most of the music in Ten Desires . . . I'm just not feeling it. I found it even more disappointing than UFO's score. Well, here's hoping the remixes can make up for that.
But for Comiket . . . I was expecting more fanvids. Well, still, it's not Reitaisai; Comiket is for everything, not just Touhou. Still, there were two new vids I liked.
One with the SDM looking like Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt (as in very Americanized), yet . . . so . . . stylish.
Oh, but that's not what you want me to ramble on about. I know what you really want me to talk about. The next Touhou Kinema Kan.
Holy crap. This is the greatest fanvid for anything I have ever seen. Most of the character designs are great (though I think Yuyuko and Yukari are too boobtastic for my liking), background art's pretty good, and the animation is as fluid as most modern anime tv series. But the music! Oh my god, the music! It's just like the music of the cartoons I watched as a child; beautiful, and fits every scene perfectly! And it's all Touhou remixes, naturally. I need the MP3s for this! Sound effects are good, too.
The only thing that's missing is audible voices. There is dialog, and lip flaps, but it's all subtitled . . . in Japanese. Okay, how long you wanna wait until another group fan dubs this thing? In fact, you could even dub it in more than just Japanese, also . . .
But, there's something curious I observed. First, look at this image I extracted.
This came out just a couple of days ago. In early 2010, (I think), I published A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing Part 3.1. Note the following descriptions:
"[Remilia] was short and petite; indeed, she looked like a 12 year old human girl . . . [Flandre] was shorter and smaller than Remilia, looking like a 7 year old girl . . . [Patchouli] is slightly taller than Remilia, but only slightly . . . [Sakuya] is somewhat taller than the Scarlets and Patchouli, and is much taller than the fairies . . . [Meiling was] a tall woman . . ." Do you know what this means?
[Imitates Chester A. Bum] THAT'S RIGHT! TOUHOU KINEMA KAN STOLED MY FANON! They must've been like 'We need to decide the height of the SDM. I know! Let's read a fanfic in a language we can't read without Google-ma-Translate!' Or, (gasps) OH MY GAWD! THEY HACKED MY COMPUTAMATOR AND READ MY (as yet unpublished) TOUHOU CHARACTER SHEET, WHICH LISTS THE EXACT HEIGHT OF THE TOUHOU WIMMINS, AMONG OTHER THINGS! like sanity. I'm Sure they were like, 'But this is written in American metrics! How do we convert!?' 'Just take the inches and multiply by 2.55!'"
[Back to normal voice] Okay, I'm just being paranoid now. But it's weird that they caught how I think Meiling is taller than Sakuya, even though I didn't specify that in my fics. (Meiling = 5'8'', Sakuya = 5'6''. This is a conspiracy, Satou!)
But one last I like about this short is, much like my own writings, it's not longer or shorter than it needs to be. It's not set to the arbitrary length of 22 minutes like a tv episode; it's just what needed to be shown. No filler, no padding, just Touhou in all of its glory. I now want more.
Oh, and the next Touhou Omake is coming along swimmingly. When it's published, you'll find out why.
New characters are definitely well-designed by ZUN standards. I'll give him props for that.
The new music . . . uh . . . well, I know ZUN can still write music, because I loved the tracks for Great Fairy Wars, but most of the music in Ten Desires . . . I'm just not feeling it. I found it even more disappointing than UFO's score. Well, here's hoping the remixes can make up for that.
But for Comiket . . . I was expecting more fanvids. Well, still, it's not Reitaisai; Comiket is for everything, not just Touhou. Still, there were two new vids I liked.
One with the SDM looking like Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt (as in very Americanized), yet . . . so . . . stylish.
Oh, but that's not what you want me to ramble on about. I know what you really want me to talk about. The next Touhou Kinema Kan.
Holy crap. This is the greatest fanvid for anything I have ever seen. Most of the character designs are great (though I think Yuyuko and Yukari are too boobtastic for my liking), background art's pretty good, and the animation is as fluid as most modern anime tv series. But the music! Oh my god, the music! It's just like the music of the cartoons I watched as a child; beautiful, and fits every scene perfectly! And it's all Touhou remixes, naturally. I need the MP3s for this! Sound effects are good, too.
The only thing that's missing is audible voices. There is dialog, and lip flaps, but it's all subtitled . . . in Japanese. Okay, how long you wanna wait until another group fan dubs this thing? In fact, you could even dub it in more than just Japanese, also . . .
But, there's something curious I observed. First, look at this image I extracted.
This came out just a couple of days ago. In early 2010, (I think), I published A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing Part 3.1. Note the following descriptions:
"[Remilia] was short and petite; indeed, she looked like a 12 year old human girl . . . [Flandre] was shorter and smaller than Remilia, looking like a 7 year old girl . . . [Patchouli] is slightly taller than Remilia, but only slightly . . . [Sakuya] is somewhat taller than the Scarlets and Patchouli, and is much taller than the fairies . . . [Meiling was] a tall woman . . ." Do you know what this means?
[Imitates Chester A. Bum] THAT'S RIGHT! TOUHOU KINEMA KAN STOLED MY FANON! They must've been like 'We need to decide the height of the SDM. I know! Let's read a fanfic in a language we can't read without Google-ma-Translate!' Or, (gasps) OH MY GAWD! THEY HACKED MY COMPUTAMATOR AND READ MY (as yet unpublished) TOUHOU CHARACTER SHEET, WHICH LISTS THE EXACT HEIGHT OF THE TOUHOU WIMMINS, AMONG OTHER THINGS! like sanity. I'm Sure they were like, 'But this is written in American metrics! How do we convert!?' 'Just take the inches and multiply by 2.55!'"
[Back to normal voice] Okay, I'm just being paranoid now. But it's weird that they caught how I think Meiling is taller than Sakuya, even though I didn't specify that in my fics. (Meiling = 5'8'', Sakuya = 5'6''. This is a conspiracy, Satou!)
But one last I like about this short is, much like my own writings, it's not longer or shorter than it needs to be. It's not set to the arbitrary length of 22 minutes like a tv episode; it's just what needed to be shown. No filler, no padding, just Touhou in all of its glory. I now want more.
Oh, and the next Touhou Omake is coming along swimmingly. When it's published, you'll find out why.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Comiket is soon
The next Comiket should be starting soon. Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of the time zone I live in, so I expect that piracy new doujin releases should be unleashed upon the world later this evening. Personally, I want to wait until Monday before I check any Touhou fansites from this point. I want to give the fans a little bit of time to uncover the new music, artwork, and characters before I look anything up. Also, if any of you are reading this, don't tell me anything Touhou-related until Monday. I want to find out everything by myself.
But before I start my wait, I have two Touhou fanfics to recommend to you.
One of which is by someone named HakureiIllusion entitled Relentless Eastward Wind. It's an origin story for the Moriya Shrine, and it's currently only one chapter long. And it's the author's first fanfic. However, I was quite impressed for a new writer. So much so, I even wrote a review for it, (a critic coming to the defense of new talent; I must be crazy!) and only found one small thing wrong with it. I'm expecting an update in the future, for I foresee good things.
The other one has a little more substance to it. It is The Grimoire of Patchouli. It's basically Patchy describing people and things in Gensokyo. It is well-written, with some interesting fanon behind it.
But getting back to Comiket, I just realized that the original ebooks I will eventually self-published are technically doujin, for I will be releasing them myself to the public for sale. And also, some of my personal inspirations include ZUN, Type-Moon, and 07thExpansion. But Comiket includes self-published Touhou products, which would make them doujins of doujin. Do you think that would happen to my original works eventually? That people would make fanfics, fanart, and whatnot of my own works? I can actually picture people writing fanfics for my more elaborate ebook concepts. But if that ever happens, do me two favors:
1: do not sell your fanworks without my permission first.
2: If you have Rule 34 of my original characters, don't send them to me. Most of my ebook concepts don't even have sex to begin with, so why do it?
I will now wait warmly for the next few days.
But before I start my wait, I have two Touhou fanfics to recommend to you.
One of which is by someone named HakureiIllusion entitled Relentless Eastward Wind. It's an origin story for the Moriya Shrine, and it's currently only one chapter long. And it's the author's first fanfic. However, I was quite impressed for a new writer. So much so, I even wrote a review for it, (a critic coming to the defense of new talent; I must be crazy!) and only found one small thing wrong with it. I'm expecting an update in the future, for I foresee good things.
The other one has a little more substance to it. It is The Grimoire of Patchouli. It's basically Patchy describing people and things in Gensokyo. It is well-written, with some interesting fanon behind it.
But getting back to Comiket, I just realized that the original ebooks I will eventually self-published are technically doujin, for I will be releasing them myself to the public for sale. And also, some of my personal inspirations include ZUN, Type-Moon, and 07thExpansion. But Comiket includes self-published Touhou products, which would make them doujins of doujin. Do you think that would happen to my original works eventually? That people would make fanfics, fanart, and whatnot of my own works? I can actually picture people writing fanfics for my more elaborate ebook concepts. But if that ever happens, do me two favors:
1: do not sell your fanworks without my permission first.
2: If you have Rule 34 of my original characters, don't send them to me. Most of my ebook concepts don't even have sex to begin with, so why do it?
I will now wait warmly for the next few days.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Just some stuff
As you know, the next Comiket is in a few days, and with that, the new release of Touhou: Ten Desires. The last day of the Comiket will be the 14th, but to be on the safe side, I'll wait until the 15th to look up Touhou stuff. By then, people will have had at least a little bit of time to dissect the new content. As I've said before, the direction of the third Touhou Omake depends on what will be in the full version of Ten Desires. I can't say what detail just yet, but just know that I'm planning ahead.
----------
Oh yeah, I finished chapter 2 of Kara no Kyoukai. Started chapter 3 now. Haven't lost interest yet. Hey! If this keeps up, I could write a Kara no Kyoukai version of Love is Not A Toy! Of course!
-----------
There are some things I'd like to buy. But for you, my readers, I know you only care about the products of entertainment. These are mostly things I already said I'd like to buy, but the last one is one I haven't admitted to buying here yet, and the rest of the entry will be about it. Anyways, the list:
Last volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist.
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Volumes of the Higurashi manga . . . IN DIGITAL FORMAT! (I'm telling you, man, ebooks are the way of the future.)
Skyrim . . . well, I'll rent it first. If it lives up to the hype, then I'll purchase it.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica . . . wait, Madoka!?
Yes. The only time I mentioned that here was when I was talking about Twitter, and that characters from this franchise had Twitters. Again, if I can (legally) sample Madoka, I'll do that first, but if not, well, know this. A certain fanfic author talked about Madoka to me, said it was a deconstructive masterpiece (even though this was shortly after the tsunami, and the last two episodes hadn't aired yet.) He also planted a plot bunny involving Madoka. He also plotted a Madoka plot bunny for me.
Mark my words, Neos; even if I don't become a Madoka fan, it's no longer a matter of if, but when. I don't have to like something to write a fanfic of it, ihihihi!
Speaking of friends, one of my friends on MAL, Archon Wing, listed Madoka on his favorites list after it concluded, as well as . . . I'm guessing the black-haired girl is the token stoic, emotionless warrior girl of that series? Yeah. Archon and I have pretty similar tastes in anime, and I asked him if I would like Madoka. He said I might, but only if I knew about mahou shoujo anime.
Well, I've seen the anime version of Cardcaptor Sakura in its entirety, I own every volume of the manga version of CCS, I know of Sailor Moon, including liking the SM manga (oh yeah, isn't that being re-printed now? All my money . . .) and I tried to watch the first season of Nanoha two years ago. I'd say I have some inkling. I know Nanoha tried to be a darker and edgier mahou shoujou series, but in my eyes, it failed in that regard. Failed as in it didn't entertain me. I know a few other things about Madoka:
-Its primary author is Gen Urobuchi, writer for NitroPlus, as well as Fate/Zero. (Another anime I'd like to watch.) I'm not familiar with his work, but apparently, it skews into heavy material.
-The character artist is the author of the Hidamari Sketch manga, Ume Aoki. You may recall that the anime version of HS . . . left a dull taste in my mouth. I'm not exactly a fan of that art style either. Well, at least it's not Code Geass bad.
-The composer is Yuki Kajiura, who wrote the music for Kara no Kyoukai, and some other anime I've never seen. I've never heard her music outside of the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle anime, but the music for that was the one saving grace of said anime. Hmm . . . looks promising.
-I saw MasakoX' review of Madoka's first episode. He seemed really impressed with it. Also, there were some cool special effects in what I saw. Hmm . . . also looks promising, or at least more so than Nanoha.
-Aniplex' American branch is licensing the show here, as well as recording an English dub. Strange; this looks like a show only serious anime fans would watch here, and most serious fans don't even watch English dubs anymore. The only reason they might do that is . . . if they plan to air it on television. Adult Swim and the Sci-Fi (it's not SyFy, god damn it!) channel are the only networks that still air anime that isn't kids' shows, but I can't imagine Madoka airing on Adult Swim. I wouldn't rule out Sci-Fi picking it up, though. Hmm, more possible sampling before I buy . . .
-People on Beast's Lair keep evoking the mascot character Kyubey like he's fuckin' Gendo. Watch, those of you who have already seen it, watch, you're all gonna lose your shit in three . . . two . . . one . . .
"/人◕‿‿◕人\ xm, I can grant you your wish to become a successful writer, if you make a contract with me."
Sorry, but I don't sign contracts out of the blue.
But yeah, the hype for this series is immense. You guys better be right about this! Because if you're not, well, you know how scathing my reviews can be.
----------
Oh yeah, I finished chapter 2 of Kara no Kyoukai. Started chapter 3 now. Haven't lost interest yet. Hey! If this keeps up, I could write a Kara no Kyoukai version of Love is Not A Toy! Of course!
-----------
There are some things I'd like to buy. But for you, my readers, I know you only care about the products of entertainment. These are mostly things I already said I'd like to buy, but the last one is one I haven't admitted to buying here yet, and the rest of the entry will be about it. Anyways, the list:
Last volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist.
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Volumes of the Higurashi manga . . . IN DIGITAL FORMAT! (I'm telling you, man, ebooks are the way of the future.)
Skyrim . . . well, I'll rent it first. If it lives up to the hype, then I'll purchase it.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica . . . wait, Madoka!?
Yes. The only time I mentioned that here was when I was talking about Twitter, and that characters from this franchise had Twitters. Again, if I can (legally) sample Madoka, I'll do that first, but if not, well, know this. A certain fanfic author talked about Madoka to me, said it was a deconstructive masterpiece (even though this was shortly after the tsunami, and the last two episodes hadn't aired yet.) He also planted a plot bunny involving Madoka. He also plotted a Madoka plot bunny for me.
Mark my words, Neos; even if I don't become a Madoka fan, it's no longer a matter of if, but when. I don't have to like something to write a fanfic of it, ihihihi!
Speaking of friends, one of my friends on MAL, Archon Wing, listed Madoka on his favorites list after it concluded, as well as . . . I'm guessing the black-haired girl is the token stoic, emotionless warrior girl of that series? Yeah. Archon and I have pretty similar tastes in anime, and I asked him if I would like Madoka. He said I might, but only if I knew about mahou shoujo anime.
Well, I've seen the anime version of Cardcaptor Sakura in its entirety, I own every volume of the manga version of CCS, I know of Sailor Moon, including liking the SM manga (oh yeah, isn't that being re-printed now? All my money . . .) and I tried to watch the first season of Nanoha two years ago. I'd say I have some inkling. I know Nanoha tried to be a darker and edgier mahou shoujou series, but in my eyes, it failed in that regard. Failed as in it didn't entertain me. I know a few other things about Madoka:
-Its primary author is Gen Urobuchi, writer for NitroPlus, as well as Fate/Zero. (Another anime I'd like to watch.) I'm not familiar with his work, but apparently, it skews into heavy material.
-The character artist is the author of the Hidamari Sketch manga, Ume Aoki. You may recall that the anime version of HS . . . left a dull taste in my mouth. I'm not exactly a fan of that art style either. Well, at least it's not Code Geass bad.
-The composer is Yuki Kajiura, who wrote the music for Kara no Kyoukai, and some other anime I've never seen. I've never heard her music outside of the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle anime, but the music for that was the one saving grace of said anime. Hmm . . . looks promising.
-I saw MasakoX' review of Madoka's first episode. He seemed really impressed with it. Also, there were some cool special effects in what I saw. Hmm . . . also looks promising, or at least more so than Nanoha.
-Aniplex' American branch is licensing the show here, as well as recording an English dub. Strange; this looks like a show only serious anime fans would watch here, and most serious fans don't even watch English dubs anymore. The only reason they might do that is . . . if they plan to air it on television. Adult Swim and the Sci-Fi (it's not SyFy, god damn it!) channel are the only networks that still air anime that isn't kids' shows, but I can't imagine Madoka airing on Adult Swim. I wouldn't rule out Sci-Fi picking it up, though. Hmm, more possible sampling before I buy . . .
-People on Beast's Lair keep evoking the mascot character Kyubey like he's fuckin' Gendo. Watch, those of you who have already seen it, watch, you're all gonna lose your shit in three . . . two . . . one . . .
"/人◕‿‿◕人\ xm, I can grant you your wish to become a successful writer, if you make a contract with me."
Sorry, but I don't sign contracts out of the blue.
But yeah, the hype for this series is immense. You guys better be right about this! Because if you're not, well, you know how scathing my reviews can be.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
You cannot escape-
-the prowess of Kinoko Nasu.
I can't help but admire the craft and writing behind the original novel version of Kara no Kyoukai. I finished the first chapter earlier today, and I started chapter 2 not too long ago.
Even though this is a traditional novel and not a visual novel (despite a few images by Takashi Takeuchi), it has Type-Moon's signature all over it. Three characters are trying to make sense of a series of suicides that have been occurring. These people are Ryougi, Touko, and Mikiya. Ryougi is a young woman . . . who talks and behaves like a man. I like her! Mikiya, true to his appearance, is kind of like Shiki from the later Tsukihime; seemingly ordinary guy with a sarcastic streak. Touko is smart but cynical, kind of like . . . her sister. The first chapter only features one other characters besides these three, but they are fascinating. It's written in first-person narrative, so you really get to hear their thoughts. However, time keeps jumping back and forth, like a Tarantino movie. Not only that, the person narrating will change without warning. It can be confusing, but it adds to the intrigue.
After reading what I have read, I have to wonder; why does Nasu even need Takeuchi and background artists? He is very descriptive with words when he needs to be. The city looks just like Misaki city (noticing the Type-Moon signatures, yet?), and details that some authors (like myself) might overlook aren't overlooked here. Okay, getting back to my question, yeah, I know Nasu and Takeuchi are best friends, and I know Takeuchi has slipped in a few ideas throughout the years, but if I had Nasu's descriptive ability (minus the sex scenes), I wouldn't need artists. When Kara no Kyoukai was professionally published, it did sell well, after all. I guess the artwork must be for merchandise. Ah, commerce.
But now, we must confront Nasu's biggest flaw (outside of mollusks); his tendency to draw out scenes with a shit-ton of exposition. There is some of that here; all of the characters speak philosophically at least once at one point. BUT! It's handled rather well from what I've seen so far. It never gets out of hand like Nasu did for Fate/Stay Night. And also, you wanna know why Ryougi's my favorite character so far? Check this out; there's a part where she interrupts a discussion between Touko and Mikiya, and says:
"Well, cut it down to a phrase, will you? When you and Mikiya talk, it's like a goddamn thesis committee."
I laughed so much! A shame Nasu didn't take his own character's advice later on. (And even despite that, I still love the UBW and HF routes of FSN.)
There's also action in KnK. It's not like the action scenes in Fate, which were epic in scale. The action scene in the first chapter is more like the fight scenes in Tsukihime; low-key, with a greater focus on the psychology of the characters, and standing up against the unknown. I know I've only seen trailers for the anime version of KnK, but I got a feeling things may get more drastic later on.
Some people like the novel version of KnK more, while others like the anime more. I would actually like to experience both versions, (although it looks like I'll have to pirate the anime version also if I want to see it. Joy.) but I'm good with the novel for now. It hasn't lost my interest yet.
Oh, and I do know about Azaka. (Well no shit! She's in my latest Nasuverse fanfic!) Once she gets properly introduced, I'll see if I like her as well as the others. I can say right now that I'm looking forward to seeing her; she is kind of cute.
What else would you expect from me?
I can't help but admire the craft and writing behind the original novel version of Kara no Kyoukai. I finished the first chapter earlier today, and I started chapter 2 not too long ago.
Even though this is a traditional novel and not a visual novel (despite a few images by Takashi Takeuchi), it has Type-Moon's signature all over it. Three characters are trying to make sense of a series of suicides that have been occurring. These people are Ryougi, Touko, and Mikiya. Ryougi is a young woman . . . who talks and behaves like a man. I like her! Mikiya, true to his appearance, is kind of like Shiki from the later Tsukihime; seemingly ordinary guy with a sarcastic streak. Touko is smart but cynical, kind of like . . . her sister. The first chapter only features one other characters besides these three, but they are fascinating. It's written in first-person narrative, so you really get to hear their thoughts. However, time keeps jumping back and forth, like a Tarantino movie. Not only that, the person narrating will change without warning. It can be confusing, but it adds to the intrigue.
After reading what I have read, I have to wonder; why does Nasu even need Takeuchi and background artists? He is very descriptive with words when he needs to be. The city looks just like Misaki city (noticing the Type-Moon signatures, yet?), and details that some authors (like myself) might overlook aren't overlooked here. Okay, getting back to my question, yeah, I know Nasu and Takeuchi are best friends, and I know Takeuchi has slipped in a few ideas throughout the years, but if I had Nasu's descriptive ability (minus the sex scenes), I wouldn't need artists. When Kara no Kyoukai was professionally published, it did sell well, after all. I guess the artwork must be for merchandise. Ah, commerce.
But now, we must confront Nasu's biggest flaw (outside of mollusks); his tendency to draw out scenes with a shit-ton of exposition. There is some of that here; all of the characters speak philosophically at least once at one point. BUT! It's handled rather well from what I've seen so far. It never gets out of hand like Nasu did for Fate/Stay Night. And also, you wanna know why Ryougi's my favorite character so far? Check this out; there's a part where she interrupts a discussion between Touko and Mikiya, and says:
"Well, cut it down to a phrase, will you? When you and Mikiya talk, it's like a goddamn thesis committee."
I laughed so much! A shame Nasu didn't take his own character's advice later on. (And even despite that, I still love the UBW and HF routes of FSN.)
There's also action in KnK. It's not like the action scenes in Fate, which were epic in scale. The action scene in the first chapter is more like the fight scenes in Tsukihime; low-key, with a greater focus on the psychology of the characters, and standing up against the unknown. I know I've only seen trailers for the anime version of KnK, but I got a feeling things may get more drastic later on.
Some people like the novel version of KnK more, while others like the anime more. I would actually like to experience both versions, (although it looks like I'll have to pirate the anime version also if I want to see it. Joy.) but I'm good with the novel for now. It hasn't lost my interest yet.
Oh, and I do know about Azaka. (Well no shit! She's in my latest Nasuverse fanfic!) Once she gets properly introduced, I'll see if I like her as well as the others. I can say right now that I'm looking forward to seeing her; she is kind of cute.
What else would you expect from me?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Eternal Blossom: behind the Scenes
You know how in literature classes, you're required to read "classics" from the past? A lot of these "classics" aren't really that good, or maybe, they were, but their messages have become outdated. But some of them actually still hold up, and are worth reading. This is what I aimed for when I wrote Eternal Blossom; a novelette that shows that even in an ancient time and place, true love transcends gender and race. Granted, no one could print that in a textbook until Touhou fell into the public domain, but that was my goal.
This story had to be from Yukari's perspective. As I've said, she is the true star of Touhou Monogatari. I started out writing stories in first-person, so writing this was like going down familiar territory.
It starts off with her saying the document is printed in English, so no one not versed in the language could know. She then admits that she's only romantically to people of the same sex. A lot of yaoi/yuri fanfics are very idealized, in that sexual orientation means nothing. In an ideal world, that would be the case, however, that's not quite true. Fortunately for Yukari, she's in Gensokyo, and she has power; if anyone found out and tried to blackmail her . . . they wouldn't get far. But the point is, would she ever find someone who was like her in that regard? Statistically speaking, most people, and I'm guessing youkai too, are not gay nor bisexual. Yukari does find someone eventually, but not for the earlier portion of her life.
When writing EB, I had to consult the web on Japanese culture during the Heian era, since I speculated that was when Yuyuko was mortal. A lot of it was information I learned way back in middle school, but it helped out. One, Yukari looks quite different back then as she does in the present. Also, it was actually true that Japanese noblemen could learn Chinese to communicate with China, but not women. The fact that Yukari, a woman (albeit one with a lot more free time and lifespan) knows fluent Chinese is intriguing, to say the least. Also, Yukari originated grazing, long before spell card duels existed.
Yuyuko was not identical, either. She was human, not a saintly ghost yet. She, like all the other humans, feared youkai. Also, although she still wears the same clothes, her eyes and her weren't pink. (A Touhou fanvid depicted her with black eyes and hair, hence my description.) Yukari disarms Yuyuko by pointing out that her haiku poems are stereotypical. When I was writing this, I was studying poetry, and I noticed that a lot of poems are not how people picture poems. Most of the good ones were not about love, longing for love, the beauty of the world, or anything like that. Also note that when they first meet, they address each other as "Yakumo-san" and "Saigyouji-san." People in Gensokyo actually used to follow honorific rules.
Over time, the two meet whenever they can. Yuyuko reveals she's to be married off, and that she can, in her words, "invite mortals to their death." She has only used this on lesser youkai that can't be reasoned with, but Yukari now has a new vision of Yuyuko.
But then, loves strikes. From my own personal experiences, you know you're in love when the first person you think about when you wake up is the object of your affection, and who should Yukari be thinking about other than that pretty noblewoman by the tree? She looked forward to meeting her more, even showing her trademark ability; forming gaps.
Then Yuyuko reveals about the tree that they visited under. It's the (now dreaded) Saigyou Ayakashi. She mentions it has killed people, including her own father. Yukari is understandably shocked. It was also during this conversation that they drop the formalities and address each other by first name only. Isn't that sweet?
Yukari now wants to be affectionate toward Yuyuko, but again, she's still unsure if another woman would love her back. Then we learn that Yuyuko ran away from her family because she skipped the arranged marriage. Why? because she likes Yukari more! Even to the point of abandoning her family! She doesn't say "I love you" since that's too cliched, but she did say, "I love everything about you, Yukari!"
The two of them are in tears, and Yukari finally embraces Yuyuko. (by the way, if this is ever turned into a manga, this scene here should be a two page spread.) They knew it was dangerous to stay at the tree because of its influence, so Yukari gaps into her house with Yuyuko.
Yukari's mansion is just how it is in the present, minus the technology. This was before Yukari met Ran and Chen, and instead had numerous fairies maintain the house. Yukari tells Yuyuko she's welcome to stay there, then kisses her on the forehead. (lip lock would again be too cliched, but a peck on the forehead? Priceless!) However, Yukari sleeps right afterwards. I think the Saigyou Ayakashi manipulated her into dozing off so it could kill Yuyuko; it's too contrived otherwise. Also, the hairclip mentioned in A Touhou Fanfic About Nothing was first introduced, and that its message roughly reads "Eternal Blossom." Yukari is Yuyuko's eternal cherry blossom, isn't that sweet! However, Yuyuko is gone, and Yukari has a hunch.
She gaps to the tree, only to find it dead. Not just mostly dead, all dead. Not only that, Yuyuko's dead body was there, too. There's a Touhou doujin out there that shows that Yukari was the first one to discover Yuyuko's human body, but in the doujin, she holds the body and cries dramatically. However, this is Yukari we're talking about, and this is Gensokyo; even if someone "dies", it doesn't mean they no longer exist. On edge, Yukari races to Higan, home of the Yama. She runs into Komachi (which I think is my only appearance of her yet in my fics) and races off to Higan. She encounters some Yama, including what fans would recognize as Shikieiki. She learns that Yuyuko's judgment was passed; that she would reside in the Netherworld as a spirit, and anytime she doesn't leave the netherworld, she can't die. However, she will forget her mortal life.
Yukari races to the netherworld. She finds her, except her hair is now pink. She is at ease, but remembers nothing about Yukari. Yukari cries, trying desperately to remind her, but it's useless. Yuyuko tries to comfort her, despite her lack of remembering. It's perhaps best this way, since Yuyuko couldn't remember her rebellious streak, and her having to kill herself to destroy the tree, which now resides in the netherworld. (did she expand the boundary of the netherworld to encompass the tree? This was nearly a millennium before the spell card duels.)
However, because of her amnesia, Yuyuko forgot her feelings toward Yukari. Fortunately, since the two of them are so close, she did eventually fall in love with her again, but it took decades for that to happen a second time. If you ever meet Yukari, don't ask her about the time she loved Yuyuko, but was not reciprocated, it's . . . it's a delicate subject for her.
Oh, also, I will admit, since I am only romantically attracted to (human) women, it's easier for me to picture someone desiring a woman as opposed to a man. However, there is a franchise out there that has a yaoi pairing I love. (No, it's not Naruto. It's not FMA. And it's not Kingdom Hearts either. Look deeper!)
As I admitted in the AN, I was mostly influenced by Recalled Lunar Romance by Usually Dead. Personally, I consider that superior to my own EB, but UD made a mistake; he added the yuri cliche of (in his story) Eirin and Kaguya interlocking fingers, while I avoided that! Ha! However, while I enjoyed writing this story, I have no plans to do another romance, hetero or not. EB's sequel won't be as emotional, either, but it will feature Yukari and Yuyuko being affectionate. (Sorry, still won't be any lip lock . . . or sex. GAWD! You don't need those things to tell a good love story! Haven't you heard the lyrics to "As Time Goes By"?) However, the followup will be the last of these shorts done in first-person perspective for the time being.
This story had to be from Yukari's perspective. As I've said, she is the true star of Touhou Monogatari. I started out writing stories in first-person, so writing this was like going down familiar territory.
It starts off with her saying the document is printed in English, so no one not versed in the language could know. She then admits that she's only romantically to people of the same sex. A lot of yaoi/yuri fanfics are very idealized, in that sexual orientation means nothing. In an ideal world, that would be the case, however, that's not quite true. Fortunately for Yukari, she's in Gensokyo, and she has power; if anyone found out and tried to blackmail her . . . they wouldn't get far. But the point is, would she ever find someone who was like her in that regard? Statistically speaking, most people, and I'm guessing youkai too, are not gay nor bisexual. Yukari does find someone eventually, but not for the earlier portion of her life.
When writing EB, I had to consult the web on Japanese culture during the Heian era, since I speculated that was when Yuyuko was mortal. A lot of it was information I learned way back in middle school, but it helped out. One, Yukari looks quite different back then as she does in the present. Also, it was actually true that Japanese noblemen could learn Chinese to communicate with China, but not women. The fact that Yukari, a woman (albeit one with a lot more free time and lifespan) knows fluent Chinese is intriguing, to say the least. Also, Yukari originated grazing, long before spell card duels existed.
Yuyuko was not identical, either. She was human, not a saintly ghost yet. She, like all the other humans, feared youkai. Also, although she still wears the same clothes, her eyes and her weren't pink. (A Touhou fanvid depicted her with black eyes and hair, hence my description.) Yukari disarms Yuyuko by pointing out that her haiku poems are stereotypical. When I was writing this, I was studying poetry, and I noticed that a lot of poems are not how people picture poems. Most of the good ones were not about love, longing for love, the beauty of the world, or anything like that. Also note that when they first meet, they address each other as "Yakumo-san" and "Saigyouji-san." People in Gensokyo actually used to follow honorific rules.
Over time, the two meet whenever they can. Yuyuko reveals she's to be married off, and that she can, in her words, "invite mortals to their death." She has only used this on lesser youkai that can't be reasoned with, but Yukari now has a new vision of Yuyuko.
But then, loves strikes. From my own personal experiences, you know you're in love when the first person you think about when you wake up is the object of your affection, and who should Yukari be thinking about other than that pretty noblewoman by the tree? She looked forward to meeting her more, even showing her trademark ability; forming gaps.
Then Yuyuko reveals about the tree that they visited under. It's the (now dreaded) Saigyou Ayakashi. She mentions it has killed people, including her own father. Yukari is understandably shocked. It was also during this conversation that they drop the formalities and address each other by first name only. Isn't that sweet?
Yukari now wants to be affectionate toward Yuyuko, but again, she's still unsure if another woman would love her back. Then we learn that Yuyuko ran away from her family because she skipped the arranged marriage. Why? because she likes Yukari more! Even to the point of abandoning her family! She doesn't say "I love you" since that's too cliched, but she did say, "I love everything about you, Yukari!"
The two of them are in tears, and Yukari finally embraces Yuyuko. (by the way, if this is ever turned into a manga, this scene here should be a two page spread.) They knew it was dangerous to stay at the tree because of its influence, so Yukari gaps into her house with Yuyuko.
Yukari's mansion is just how it is in the present, minus the technology. This was before Yukari met Ran and Chen, and instead had numerous fairies maintain the house. Yukari tells Yuyuko she's welcome to stay there, then kisses her on the forehead. (lip lock would again be too cliched, but a peck on the forehead? Priceless!) However, Yukari sleeps right afterwards. I think the Saigyou Ayakashi manipulated her into dozing off so it could kill Yuyuko; it's too contrived otherwise. Also, the hairclip mentioned in A Touhou Fanfic About Nothing was first introduced, and that its message roughly reads "Eternal Blossom." Yukari is Yuyuko's eternal cherry blossom, isn't that sweet! However, Yuyuko is gone, and Yukari has a hunch.
She gaps to the tree, only to find it dead. Not just mostly dead, all dead. Not only that, Yuyuko's dead body was there, too. There's a Touhou doujin out there that shows that Yukari was the first one to discover Yuyuko's human body, but in the doujin, she holds the body and cries dramatically. However, this is Yukari we're talking about, and this is Gensokyo; even if someone "dies", it doesn't mean they no longer exist. On edge, Yukari races to Higan, home of the Yama. She runs into Komachi (which I think is my only appearance of her yet in my fics) and races off to Higan. She encounters some Yama, including what fans would recognize as Shikieiki. She learns that Yuyuko's judgment was passed; that she would reside in the Netherworld as a spirit, and anytime she doesn't leave the netherworld, she can't die. However, she will forget her mortal life.
Yukari races to the netherworld. She finds her, except her hair is now pink. She is at ease, but remembers nothing about Yukari. Yukari cries, trying desperately to remind her, but it's useless. Yuyuko tries to comfort her, despite her lack of remembering. It's perhaps best this way, since Yuyuko couldn't remember her rebellious streak, and her having to kill herself to destroy the tree, which now resides in the netherworld. (did she expand the boundary of the netherworld to encompass the tree? This was nearly a millennium before the spell card duels.)
However, because of her amnesia, Yuyuko forgot her feelings toward Yukari. Fortunately, since the two of them are so close, she did eventually fall in love with her again, but it took decades for that to happen a second time. If you ever meet Yukari, don't ask her about the time she loved Yuyuko, but was not reciprocated, it's . . . it's a delicate subject for her.
Oh, also, I will admit, since I am only romantically attracted to (human) women, it's easier for me to picture someone desiring a woman as opposed to a man. However, there is a franchise out there that has a yaoi pairing I love. (No, it's not Naruto. It's not FMA. And it's not Kingdom Hearts either. Look deeper!)
As I admitted in the AN, I was mostly influenced by Recalled Lunar Romance by Usually Dead. Personally, I consider that superior to my own EB, but UD made a mistake; he added the yuri cliche of (in his story) Eirin and Kaguya interlocking fingers, while I avoided that! Ha! However, while I enjoyed writing this story, I have no plans to do another romance, hetero or not. EB's sequel won't be as emotional, either, but it will feature Yukari and Yuyuko being affectionate. (Sorry, still won't be any lip lock . . . or sex. GAWD! You don't need those things to tell a good love story! Haven't you heard the lyrics to "As Time Goes By"?) However, the followup will be the last of these shorts done in first-person perspective for the time being.
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