#i have NOT read witch hat atelier but i WILL be watching the anime when it comes out

[jewlwpet]

There was this short anime on YouTube that I watched and didn't like, which for some reason I was convinced was Witch Hat Atelier. Whenever I saw people talking about Witch Hat Atelier, I thought they were referring to the anime I watched and didn't like. Then later I looked up Witch Hat Atelier and found out its anime hasn't even be released yet, so it's completely different from whatever I thought it was.

I'm just glad I never publicly made a comment like "Witch Hat Atelier is overrated," "I don't get why people like Witch Hat Atelier so much," etc, bc I was totally thinking those things, but this whole time I had it mixed up with some other series entirely.

[chibivesicle]

Current manga[ish] reading list in no particular order

Neighborhood Story (Gokinjo Monogatari) by Ai Yawaza - I now own up to volume 3 of the English release of the manga. The four volume set is based on what I believe was the 10th Anniversary reprint of the manga in Japan. The French edition also follows the four book format but I think the German sticks to the original seven. I have the original tankobon editions for volumes 1-3 where when you line them up, it creates a long dinner table with the entire cast.

I read the entire manga in the early 2010s via scans and had spent the late 90s to that point praying for an official release after Paradise Kiss was printed by Tokyopop. The series was old enough that in the late 90s early 2000s no one was out there doing the line by line translations that I used to use to read manga. I read all of Wish that way with the original manga and the speech bubble guide. e.g. page 12 panel 5 Overall impressions - this was a white whale for me - I likely bought the original manga when I was sixteen or seventeen based on the art style alone. I would say it falls into your standard dramatic shoujo manga with high school students but the lives of ones in counter-culture, outside the norms of usual expectations. When I read the scans I enjoyed it and while it was nothing mind blowing it is a rewarding read. The various individuals sporting alternative fashions is one of my favorite aspects of it. You have a MC who leans mostly towards mod style (Twiggy from the 1960s) with a strong vintage twist, punk, lolita, generic 90s alternative dude, preppy and your designer brand girl.

I look forward to getting volume 4 and completing the set, just it will be likely 28 years later than I would have wanted. The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda - I sprung hard for the recent English hardcover editions. One of my friends lent me her roommates 2 volume tankobon set of this series in 2000, but it too lacked a good translation to find online and read along to it. I watched the anime in 2014 and bought the DVD box set. Of course, I couldn't say no to this classic shoujo manga. I'm through the first three volumes and slowly working my way through it. Seeing that I already watched the anime, nothing in it is overall surprising.

I have noticed that early on the level of gay is pretty high and this current "twist" of Andre getting closer to Oscar is much stronger than I felt in the anime. The entire loss of Rosalie and her fawning over Oscar was a disappointment, also toned down in the anime. There is a lot more questioning with Oscar's character as to who she is, what she desires and how to fit into her world. I really wish it pressed those questions more but alas, I'm really starting to feel the Oscar x Andre pressure ramping up. In the anime I felt like it sort of came out of nowhere and in the manga it is more like - okay Rosalie's crush was cute but real adult relationships need a man. lols. Even with my different opinion on the manga compared to the anime, I cannot stress how owning such a fundamental manga series is. I don't think I'll ever attempt a meta on this - more than enough already exists about this with how long it has been around. Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama - An impulse purchase at The Comic Swap on Allen Street. I'm pretty sure some of the individual volumes of X and other early 2000s manga were on the shelf when I was in university.

I'd heard some good murmurs about this manga and a friend kept recommending it. I can't explain how blown away I was this series. The art style is amazing with little use of screen tones and the emphasis on line art. With the author's previous work for DC and Marvel it shows but in all the good ways as far a composition and again that line art. And we haven't even gotten to the story itself! I have read through volume 3 and the pacing is excellent. It doesn't info dump how magic works and the world building is natural and unforced. It already has brought up great questions about who controls knowledge, disability vs accommodation, dealing with trauma, what is your purpose in life/goals. It has the right amount of whimsy that you feel cozy but at the same time you know when shit is serious.

What I feel the most is that Witch Hat Atelier is intentional with everything in it. It is a carefully constructed story and comes together naturally with a good balance of young pupils and adults. And the character designs! Oh my goodness, I love them all.

The Apothecary Diaries by Natsu Hyuuga - Can't skip my gal Mao Mao. I mean I cosplayed as her back in April because how frequently do you get a pragmatic female lead with deadpan humor and is a scientist who likes plants? I also watched the first season of the anime loving every moment of it and how it really shines with its focus on women navigating a world not made to really benefit them. I decided to read the original light novel instead of the manga based on the light novel. I think by time I finish volume 2 I will have caught up to season 1 and hopefully, pull ahead of the eventual second season which comes in 2025, I think.

Out of all the titles, this one is likely my biggest guilty pleasure as a plant biologist; Mao Mao as a character has a lot of common scientist traits which make her very relatable and fun to see in any sort of media. Her obliviousness to certain things not because she doesn't have an eye for details but because she can't be bothered is realistic but rarely given to a female character in most forms of media regardless of cultural context.

Will I dive into the rest of these series for a meta? I'm honestly not sure. I may do a "quick" review of Gokinjo Monogatari when I complete volume 4 but it isn't the sort of manga that feeds into deep critical analysis. It is a coming of age story about artistic kids and looks cool.

I'd likely be more inclined to tackle Witch Hat Atelier but sometimes I just want to read something and not deep dive into it even if it intellectually feeds my curiosity. My current plan is to catch up on the manga and I'm relying on my county library to read volumes 4-13. If I really like it, I'll probably become a sucker and buy it at some point but I need to be a little more mindful of my manga purchases for the sake of my overflowing bookshelves. I took one of those surveys about how much manga you own and I wasn't expecting to clock in at almost 200 volumes when I've given away/sold/donated them from time to time.

I've got some thoughts on Kekkai Sensen but I'm waiting for the next chapter to drop since it ended on a cliff hanger with that plot twist where the "Count" from previous statements in the manga was not some old frumpy classic Dracula like Blood Breed but instead in a teenage form as Edgar. I liked the twist since I was suspicious of his character but didn't think he might have been the true mastermind of things. But we'd be lazy readers if we'd forgotten that Blood Breeds can easily shapeshift as demonstrated with Girika and Tonio. I will always give her ultimate cougar cred testing out her boy toy before committing to making him a Blood Breed instead of snacking on him.

[sleepyhead-poll]

BONUS! MOD'S CHOICE POLL!

Mod's Propaganda Under the Cut:

Judai:

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Yu-Gi-Oh fan. For whatever reason, this series imprinted on me when I was a child and I just never let it go. I've watched the original series, season 0, GX, 5Ds, and Arc V, as well as read the original manga, the GX manga, and the Arc V manga, as well as watched all the movies. The point is: I like Yu-Gi-Oh. There are people who like it more than me, that have watched all the series and what not, but I think I still like it an absurd amount. And out of all the protagonists I know, Judai is my favorite. He's just so lovable, you can't help but like him! He's goofy, he's reliable, he's fun, he has a descent into madness, he's gay, what more could you want in a shounen protagonist? Though being sleepy isn't a major part of him, it's more of a gag of him slacking in class and always going to sleep, it's still super funny and I'm a little sad that he lost in Round 1, though I do like Sonic as well (who he lost to). Give the Slifer Slacker a chance!

Linhardt:

Considering Linhardt is my profile picture at the moment, I don't think I need to justify this too much. But I will anyway. Linhardt is the sleepy crest scholar. Although I will be the first to admit that I am not actually a Fire Emblem fan (and tbh I find the writing in Three Houses kind of bad) (sorry to those who enjoy it) I love Linhardt so much anyway. He's probably my favorite in that very large cost. I love that he's so unapologetically sleepy, like he doesn't care if you scold him to do work, he will do work on his own time. Not only that, but he's actually really smart and dedicated when he wants to be. Linny's friendship with Caspar is really nice, especially since I think someone needs to save Caspar from his awful dad & self-destructive tendencies. Plus, I really like his supports. Especially with Marianne, Hubert, and Edelgard. His supports with Dorothea in Three Hopes is also really nice.

Garfield:

It's Garfield. He's a classic comic. He's a classic meme. Little orange kitty. What more could you possibly want? I love Snoopy, but to be perfectly honest I think Garfield should have gotten as far as Snoopy.

Sleepytime Tea Bear:

Again. He's just a classic. What more would you want but a sleepy bear in pajamas on a chair?

Olruggio:

I'm a big Witch Hat Atelier fan and I love Olruggio. Like yes, I like Orufrey like everyone else, but I also just like Olruggio on his own. I like his scruffy little look and I love the fact that at first he is so intimating but almost immediately he's revealed to be a big softie. I love his light magic motif and I really think it's sweet that he made the thing to keep you warm when you sleep and gave it to the kids-- he's a FATHER. This man needs a nap fr though. Man I need to catch up with this manga.

Osaka:

IT'S OSAKA. Like!!! I don't even know how many clips and comics from Azumanga Daioh make the rounds around Tumblr, but specifically the ones about Osaka are amazing!!! She has the most autistic anime girl swag I love her so much. She's so sweet and earnest and silly... I always lose my mind at "OH MAH GOD!" and she has so many other classics. Like when she makes the Osaka stamp with her eraser or when she struggles to cross the street because she keeps zoning out when the light gets green or when she's distressed about Americans wearing shoes inside... I love her. And to her sleepyheadness, she's always falling asleep in class and whenever she's studying she just starts falling asleep. She's just like me fr...

Takane:

Back in the day I really liked Kagerou Project and so as tribute to my old obsession from middle/high school I have to give a spot to Takane. My favorite part of the series was when we saw flashbacks to the Yuukei quartet and Headphone Actor is still a bop.

Tanaka:

THE REASON WHY I STARTED THIS TOURNAMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE??? Last December during finals I decided to read something light and fun while working and I chose Tanaka-kun is Always Listless because I remember the title from a few years ago when the anime came out and like I loved it SOOOOOO much. He's the ultimate sleepyboy and he's just so funny and relatable. He needs to be carried around by his best friend Ohta and his ultimate goal in life is to minimize as much effort as possible and he's always nodding off and he dislikes being a main character, instead wishing he was a background character... my favorite guy for real.

[gen13ordinaryheroes]

Hi !!! Regarding that recently popular post of yours about female characters always existing to indulge the male protagonist or to get involved in something romantic I COULDN'T AGREE MORE , I don't know if it's bc I'm aromantic but I'm just so tired of getting into a movie, book, series with well written female characters only for the writers to give them some sort of romance that most of the times serves as a weakness , or is there to show that she is indeed human guys look she isn't a bitch who only cares about her work /purpose etc. Like give me a fucking break , women can have other flaws and weaknesses it doesn't always have to be a romance thing . It's almost like female characters can only make mistakes or act flawed only when it comes to romance otherwise they are annoying and problematic. There are so many media comics, books , anime, cartoons with male protagonists that never got them romantically involved and yet they are considered complex and fleshed out characters. GIVE ME FEMALE CHARACTERS LIKE THAT please 🙏. Sorry for my yapping , could you please recommend me some of your favorite media with female protagonists that dont focus on romance . I'll take anything, I'm desperate 😮‍💨

List compiled from checking my back-issues and polling multiple discord servers. Extremely comics-heavy because this is a comics blog.

(*) indicates that I have not personally read/watched/played/etc whatever is listed, so I can't personally vouch for it.

Also, due to the fact that I am not personally familiar with everything listed, I can't provide relevant content warnings. Some of these are significantly heavier than others. Some of these are parts of larger franchises that may not make since without background knowledge.

Comics/Graphic Novels:

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld (1983), (1985), 1986 one-shot, Amethyst (1987).*

Batgirl (2000)

Batgirl (2009)* (these get separate entries because they're about different characters)

Birds of Prey (1999)* and (2010)*-- some romance, but it's not the focus

"Most Black Widow runs"*

Botticelli's Apprentice by Ursula Murray Husted*

Champions (2018) -- ensemble cast with multiple female characters. Some romantic plots, but not the focus.

Dark Spaces: Good Deeds (2023)

DIE (2018) -- ensemble cast with transfem/genderfluid lead. She is married, but her wife exists mostly off-screen, and romance isn't a major plotpoint.

Exiles (2018) -- team book with female lead, I don't think there's any romance, though characters may reference past romantic entanglements

Gotham Academy (2014)*

Harrow County (2015) -- I don't think there's any romance with the main character

Hawkgirl (2023)*

Huntress (1989) -- some light romance, but it's not the focus.

Lumberjanes* -- there is some romance between the leads, apparently, but the main focus is friendship.

Manhunter (2004)*

Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat! (2015)*

Powergirl (1988) and (2009)*

Radiant Red (2022)* -- main character has a fiance but I am told this is not a major aspect

Scarlet Witch (2015)

Something is Killing the Children (2019-ongoing)

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015), (2015-2017) -- this does feature some light romance, to memory, but I don't think it's central

Unstoppable Wasp (2017), (2018-2019)* (aspec main character and aspec writer)

Wonder Woman: the Hiketeia

Wonder Woman: Historia

World's Finest (2012)

X-23 (2010), All-New Wolverine (2015), and X-23 (2018)

X-Men (2013) -- almost entirely female cast, no romance

Gwenpool, the character-- I know some of her earlier stuff is rather romance-centered, or at least includes romantic plots, but more recently the character is explicitly aroace, so you might be interested.

Anime/Manga:

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure part 6: Stone Ocean* (some romance, but not the main focus)

Magical Girl Dandelion*

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

"Any Ghibli movie with a female protagonist", Spirited Away*

Witch Hat Atelier

Movies/TV:

Alien

The Descent*

Derry Girls*

Evil Dead (2013)*, and Evil Dead Rise*

Hellraiser*

Video Games (blanket statement: I do not play video games. I am not personally familiar with any of these.)

BloodRayne

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Fatal Fame franchise

Resident Evil 2, 3, Resident Evil 8 DLC: Shadows of Rose, Resident Evil: Revelations 1 & 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Silent Hill 3

Books

Wayfarers series* by Becky Chambers, especially A Closed and Common Orbit, which has 2 female protagonists and 0 romance. Can be read as standalone.

Tamora Pierce's body of work*-- the amount of romance may vary book-to-book.

I hope this is helpful to some extent or another :) -- others are welcome to add their own recommendations in reblogs/comments.

[jjs-brainrot]

Would you like to contract Witch Hat Atelier mind? Would you like to think about funky gay witches and beautiful art?? Would you like to hear about them???

So I did actually try reading Witch Hat Atelier a few years back but I kinda fell off of it at some point and I couldn't really tell you why tbh. Might have just been my brain arbitrarily deciding to say "no" midway through something I'm reading or watching for no reason. It just does that sometimes and I hate it when it does tbh.

I def want to pick the anime up when it drops and give it another try as I could definitely tell there's some really strong stuff there.

[wrathfulmaiden]

Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

tagged by @wisteriaphyte!!! <3

🌼 three ships i like: i dont really ship often unless you count persephene (yeah thats the name for sphene/kore i came up with, deal with it), sooo... definitely fang/vanille and tifa/aerith/cloud

🌼 first ship ever: probably fang/vanille because i never did that stuff until recently ;o;

🌼 last song you heard: my castle town from deltarune, its a very kore song soi i have at least 7 different covers in one playlist lmao

🌼 favourite childhood book: when i was young, and honestly even now, my favorite books have been ispy and look-alikes, i admired the tiny world and made stories of the plastic people in my head + i used to make fairy homes with my grandmother as a child so i LOVE minature sets so so much, i love that attention to detail and the way you can turn common household objects into a vibrant world. a few others were if kisses were colors, the secret garden, the counte of monte cristo, jekyll and hyde, neon genesis evangelion, where the wild things are, and a midsummer nights dream.

🌼 currently reading: witch hat atelier! i dont like anime but i adore manga!! after this i plan to reread every book in my library!

🌼 currently watching: about to start house of the dragon, after that im planning on watching the lord of the rings since ive never seen it and, maquia recommended by a friend!! :3c

🌼 currently consuming: water and limes!

🌼 currently craving: boba tea ;o;

tagging: anyone else who wants to!

[hapuriainen]

Hapuriainen's animation, comics & Games from 2024

Anime: Delicious in Dungeon, One Piece Fan Letter

The magical girl stuff: Wonderful Precure!, Heartcatch Precure!, Precure movies, Märchen Mädchen, Sasaki & Peeps, MahoAko, MahoAku, MahoNare, Acro Trip, Magilumiere, Samurai Flamenco

Manga: Shangri-la Frontier, Pokemon Adventures, How Do We Relationship, Vinland Saga, A Sign of Affection, A Sinner of the Deep Sea, Go with the Clouds North-by-Northwest, Enidewi, Is Reiroukan still alive?, A Kingdom of Quartz

Continuing: One Piece, Undead Unluck, My Hero Academia (end), Spy x Family, Frieren, Witch Hat Atelier.

The magical girl stuff: Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, Shugo Chara Dream Joker, Magical Girl Dandelion, Mermaid Melody Aqua, Champignon Witch, Pretty Guardian Stress, Who Said Blues had to be Cool

Games: Zelda games (Adventure of Link, Majora's Mask, Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, A Link between Worlds, Echoes of Wisdom), Pokemon Scarlet DLC, Animal Crossing New Horizons DLC, Ghost Trick. Unfinished: Some Pokemon BW2, Overcooked, Super Mario Wonder.

Movies: Elemental, Spy x Family Code White

Overall I think I watched very little animation that wasn't magical girls, and those have been extensively documented on the other blog. Dunmeshi and the second half of Frieren the only non-mahou anime I can remember, and I meant to watch many of the newer Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks movies but keep missing the chance and haven't even seen Wish yet. Hopefully next year will be better on this front, I do like magical girls but it's nice to branch out too.

The manga side had a bit more variation. I finished/caught up with several titles that were in the Humble Bundle set of award winning manga, but there's still plenty left. Vinland Saga is really good and I'm sad to see it go now that it's clearly about to end, Shangri-la is shallow as a puddle but good fun, and Sign of Affection is ok I guess but a bit bland. I also read a bunch of Harta/adjacent manga this year for the art and vibes.

Then I surprisingly started reading Pokemon Adventures, because I simply need to meet the manga version of Scarlet. I started from the beginning though and haven't even made it out of the Ruby/Sapphire arc yet so it's still a long way. So far I've been really happy with the writing of the female characters, but I hear the quality drops on that front after Platinum which makes me worried.

This year I've been quite the gamer because I played something other than one of the big Nintendo franchises I've been playing for years. Which is Ghost Trick and Overcooked, both of which were great. Mario Wonder is still in progress, it's a fun game but doesn't exactly have a gripping narrative, but I'll finish it for Daisy. Next year looks promising for game variety too since I bought a bunch of games from the Switch e-shop sale (and already finished Gris but that was in 2025).

For Pokemon I unexpectedly became a total hardcore player and voluntarily gave Protect to more than one mon. Ultimately getting into the competitive aspect is way too much upfront work with team building, but I feel I gained a lot of appreciation of the franchise in how there's some really complex mechanics under that kid friendly gameplay. And then I even got into the gotta catch 'em all aspect when I finally downloaded Pokemon Home and started filling my Dex, but that project is on pause right now since there's just no way I'll be able to get some of the rare/version exclusive mons. Also I found 3 shinies in like a week which still baffles me.

Best work: Echoes of Wisdom

Best music: Eow final boss final phase

Best visuals: One Piece Fan Letter, EniDewi

Best character design: Delicious in Dungeon in general

Best OP: Magilumiere (for the song)

Best ED: Samurai Flamenco ed1 is the one I most often didn't skip so I guess it wins, no real standouts this year

Biggest WTF: All those shinies in Pokemon. Also Mikau's death (in Majora's Mask) was really funny. The reveal of the painting in Ghost Trick was a great twist.

Best Girl: EoW Zelda, PokeSpe Sapphire for runner up

Best Boy: Thorfinn (Vinland Saga), Sissel (Ghost Trick) for second place

Best Side Girl: Hilda (a Link between Worlds)

Best Side Boy: Kieran, and also my Skeledirge! (Pokemon Scarlet)

Worst Girl: Lukia from Mermaid Melody Aqua

Worst Boy: This goes to Mermaid Melody Aqua too, forget his name but he sucks

Worst Side Girl: the other magical girl from MahoAku had a cute design but character wise was pretty worthless

Worst Side Boy: the one note big corporation boss from Magilumiere, those blue armoured freaks from Zelda 2 (assuming they're male)

Best romance: Elemental was ok, or alternatively SatoIro from Wonderful Precure

Best non-romantic relationship: I like what they did with EoW Link and Zelda but I'm not sure if I ship them

Worst romance: Lukia's drama from Mermaid Melody Aqua

Worst non-romantic relationship:

Plans for 2025:

Maybe it'll finally be the year of NGE? I should start keeping track of how many years I've been saying I'll watch Eva at some point…

Some anime that is not magical girls

Finish the backlog Precure seasons

Finish the backlog Zelda games

Wish, Inside Out 2, Wild Robot, Moana 2

The stuff from the Switch e shop sale

[iantimony]

not a yearly roundup! just a tuesdaypost!

the yearly roundup coming soon!

listening: playing some podcast catch-up, also did some KONGOS, thanks beloved mutual celestialtourguide. Odysseus by Brian Keane was also linked in a server I'm in and I like it.

reading: there was exactly one day in which I and a bunch of my friends all overlapped in the same place so we were able to convene at beloved mutual celestialtourguide's apartment on this past Saturday! in there I noticed the volumes of "Witch Hat Atelier" on the shelf and WHILE SITTING THERE HANGING OUT I zoomed through the first two volumes. I borrowed 3 and 4 and read them that night. I have since read through volume 9. I am forcing myself to stop reading for today and will space out the last three available volumes in the next few days because it is more fun than just binging even though it's sooo easy to binge, especially a manga. I love you libby I love you my public libraries, all the volumes were available with no waits. apparently there is a new volume in January and an anime coming out sometime next year so I'm now very excited for that.

some really really good characters in here. I haven't checked yet but I will be SO disappointed if people aren't smashing Qifrey and Olruggio together like dolls. listen there is just something so . something. about one wiping the other's memory like that. has it happened before? who knows. it's fine. it's so good. the tassel swap. augh. and not to bring the cnovel shizunfucking into it but beldaruit and qifrey too huh. anyways. I didn't know it was still in progress when I started reading so now I'm really excited to have a series to keep up with!

Contemplation of a Decaying Corpse: The Japanese Art of Kusôzu: content warning for graphic corpse decay. it is a little funny to me as described as "feeling horny? go look at a rotting corpse, you won't be horny any more"

Thread: What do Ancient Greek myths tell us about the Greek view of Omegas? (ghostwriterofthemachine, loosingletters): REALLY fun. love a little omegaverse metafiction. formatting probably looks best on desktop.

watching: watched most of the single Chanukah hallmark movie. fun to watch in a 'laughing at weird hallmark choices' kind of way.

Getting My Life Together for the New Year (Morgan Evelyn Cook): her again! she has a lot of Youtuber Vibes (idk if that means anything but whatever). good background noise.

why does wicked look like that? (Mina Le): color grading discourse! fun little history recap of the wizard of oz and film grading in general! she does pronounce "Fiyero" as "Fero" a few times and it made my brain go friends at the table mode lol

playing: fallow

making: working on the fingerless gloves! these will be a birthday gift for my mom instead of a holiday gift lol but I had other stuff for her so it's fine.

eating: made this pineapple bread to use up some crushed pineapple leftover from a kugel! I pressed in some pomegranate seeds into the top as well. it came out tasty but it was a bit of a harrowing bake - there was a point where the edges were cooked but the center was still raw?? which was scary. it took an extra FORTY minutes (!!!!) from what was prescribed in the recipe to cook in the center and thankfully it didn't burn the edges. it was a little dry because of that but still tasty! made it for a Chanukah hangout with some friends, have had some delicious latkes in the past week, all is well :-)

also made the overnight oats ratio from this reddit post, it was good but I feel like the oxidation of the banana made an impact on the taste after a day or two. still edible, just hmm.

misc: posting this on a Monday night and will be writing up my yearly roundup tomorrow on the last Tuesday and last Day, Period of 2024!!!!

[lovelyfaerie111]

December Art Blog

Project Status: Pre-Production, Scriptwriting

What I’m Reading: Witch Hat Atelier

What I’m Watching: You on Netflix

Hello! Welcome to my art blog, where I reflect on the past month and express my hopes for the next! I can’t believe it’s already December. This is one of my absolute favorite months, because I get to see all of my friends and family that I don’t normally see, and I absolutely love Christmas! It’s also my birthday month, so I get to end the year getting lots of loving messages.

I also can’t believe it’s month 3 of committing to being a full-time artist! For the last month in particular, I’ve been taking on lots of roles. Since any independent full-time artist is also an entrepreneur and a marketer, I’ve needed to do a lot of non-art-related research. So right now, it’s a combination of making progress on my webseries and making progress on finding an audience.

When it comes to my actual projects, I’ve done a lot of the world building and story development and can really get going! My big focus right now is on the pilot episode. I already know the events that take place on a macro-level, so now I’m going into the script and adding depth to the characters. Basically I write down what physically happens, then I ask myself: What do I want to convey emotionally? And edit accordingly. I also want to get started on the webcomic, but the pilot takes priority.

As for finding my audience, I’ve been making many, many social media accounts. I want my characters to have the fans they deserve! And that means casting a wide net. I’m very excited, though, even if the amount of art I’ll need to make for social media is a little daunting. If you have any ideas of what I should post, please please leave a comment!

My Advice: If you’re just getting started, take some time to get super organized! I personally use Notion for planning social media posts and making content schedules. I have three calendars that I use: one for my actual projects, one for my paid content (Patreon and Ko-fi), and one for social media content. I also use Google sheets for tracking my time and finances. If you’d like to see any of my templates, let me know! I’m very happy to share :)

Question of the Month: Do you celebrate any holidays? If so, how do you celebrate?

My Links:

Patreon https://patreon.com/lovelyfaerie111

Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/lovelyfaerie111

Youtube https://youtube.com/@lovelyfaerie111

Instagram https://instagram.com/lovelyfaerie111

Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/lovelyfaerie111.bsky.social

Spacehey https://spacehey.com/lovelyfaerie111

Divider Credits:

@issysh3ll

@mikeykuns

@saradika

@strangergraphics

[beldda]

⇢ ˗ˏˋᥲᥣᥣ ᥲboυt bᥱᥣdᥲ! ࿐ྂ

୨⎯ "general stuff" ⎯୧

— belda | 17 | she/her

— currently still a student

୨⎯ what i’m into!⎯୧

manga/anime : witch hat atelier, from the red fog, vanitas no carte, delico nursery, 86, bungou stray dogs, black butler, phantom busters, pandora hearts, gokuragai, ragna crimson.

games : honkai star rail, reverse 1999, wuthering waves, stardew valley.

music : adrianne lenker, phoebe bridgers, olivia rodrigo, her’s, mitski, paramore, laufey, girl in red, kate bush, TWICE, aespa

series/movie : harry potter, alien stage, clueless, gossip girl, dr strange multiverse of madness, corpse bride.

୨⎯ what will i post? ⎯୧

i don’t really have a vision to what will i post in the future but i will stick to posting things about the shows i watch/read or games i play, maybe i will post some scenery too but i’m still not sure! i don’t have a schedule to when will i post cause time is tight for now :)

୨⎯ some facts about me!⎯୧

i’m afraid of cats (not hating just scared!)

my favorite song is “forward beckon rebound” by adrianne lenker

my favorite colours are orange and green

my star sign is capricorn

i’m a big fan of marvel

some my favorite characters are : luluci (wha), sua (alnst), eugene (phantom busters), domi (vnc), lorelei (r99), sharon (pandora hearts)

[avatarthelastairgender]

nine people you'd like to know better

tagged by @crepusculesque

last song: like or like like by miniature tigers!!! however i've been listening to a lot of aesop rock lately. i want to plug acid king because it's great, vivid, sinister storytelling told to an ominous beat. and it's a true story about someone who went to the same high school as the musician (albeit not at the same time)

favorite color: I HAVE NO IDEA! it used to be purple but it's hard now. i like red, like a deep red, a lot. i like jewel tones in general.

currently watching: DUNGEON MESHI!! i want to read the manga. when a witch hat atelier anime comes out jagirl is going to be uNBEARABLE

sweet/savory/spicy: spicyyyyyyy! but i do love chocolate. i love to have a little chocolate treat.

relationship status: i am MARRIED!!!! i got married 6-7 weeks ago!!! it was so nice!!!!!! i hav a wonderful hugsband and they are the best.

current obsession: ok is it cheating if i literally just say my dnd campaign. it is genuinely a special interest of mine and thinking about it and talking about it is honestly my default mode at this point. i have a big ASK ME ABOUT KIMBER FISCHER sign i am pointing to it 24/7. ask me about kimber fischer ask me about kimber fischer ask me about kimber fischer ask m—

IF I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SAY FINALE i've also really been enjoying the discworld books lately. and by 'lately' i mean for like a year now they've been the bulk of my reading. i'm currently reading lords and ladies and it fucks so severely

last thing you googled: boring immigration related google search about getting your photo taken at london drugs. the last NOT BORING thing i googled was "what is eepy" because i didnt know what it meant.

tagging: @catwithaknife @transmutationisms @seraymerichateblog @themyscrian @txttletale @familyabolisher @souryogurt64 @lonelyroommp3 @annabelle--cane

[dropintomanga]

October 2024 - An Amazing Month for Manga

Hey everyone, I've been out and about this whole month because of manga-related events.

I got a chance to check out Kodansha House, the pop-up experience that was in my home of NYC. And it was everything I hoped for. There was a lot of display of art from series like Akira, Initial D, Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga, Witch Hat Atelier, The Flowers of Evil, and Blue Period.

Not only that, there were goodies on sale, a bubble tea pop-up, 2 Initial D: Arcade Stage cabinets, a manga library full of Kodansha titles to read, and a 2nd floor for events with free concessions.

I got a chance to watch the Blue Lock: Episode Nagi movie to celebrate the launch of the manga spinoff in the U.S.. It's a nice change of perspective and it definitely pleased fans of Reo Mikage x Seishiro Nagi. The English voice for Yoichi Isagi, Ricco Fajardo, was also in attendance and did a Q&A about what he loves about Blue Lock and voice acting in general.

Before New York Comic-Con happened, I went to the Anitomo Manga Matsuri at the 53rd Street New York Public library and attended a manga publishers panel. Representatives from Viz Media, Yen Press, Square Enix and Kodansha all recommended titles worth reading in shonen, shojo, LGBT+, horror, series with anime tie-ins, and Spring 2025 picks. There's a lot of titles worth reading and I can't name all of them here. But popular titles like The Summer Hikaru Died, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't Really a Guy at All, Kagurabachi, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, The Apothecary Diaries, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Dragon and Chameleon were featured.

There was some online commentary about The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity being listed as a shojo (it's published in a shonen magazine) and someone at the panel did raise a point about a neglected manga genre that still hasn't received its great moment yet (I might get to this in a future post). All in all, I enjoyed the intimacy of this panel as there wasn't a large crowd and everyone immediately felt the energy of talking about manga with experts that know it well.

And while I didn't go to New York Comic-Con, I did hear that anime and manga was front and center still despite major comic publishers not being at the event. A lot of the buzz came from Japanese-related businesses, so it's nice to hear.

Finally, I got a chance to see Makoto Yukimura of Vinland Saga fame. What a guy. I remember when Vinland Saga was first licensed here in 2013, not many people gave it a chance. Kodansha USA representatives at the time said the manga was struggling sales-wise and were relying on buzz to get new volumes published. Then an anime adaptation finally came 14 years after the Japanese manga debut and fans finally saw how great the series was. Yukimura was very chill and hilarious. He said he strives to be like Thorfinn as best he can. I got a chance to tell him that my favorite character is Hild an I'm looking forward to seeing how Yukimura ends the manga because the endgame is not too far.

Anyway, October was fun. I hope there's more Kodansha House events in the future in other places. Other North American metropolitan areas deserve a pop-up experience like Kodansha provided. It's an intimate setting for a community of fans that continue to demand the best from manga publishing folks. Everyone looked to have a great time, whether it was riding Kaneda's famous bike to dressing up as a Titan lording over a town to playing Initial D to reading manga.

I'll say this - despite manga sales not as high as they once were during COVID, manga is here to stay. We're still in a golden age of manga here. Enjoy it while we still can!

[magioftheseas]

I really love your writing and stories and sense of characterization, and i was wondering what books have inspired you or you generally like and would recommend.

Or... feel free to take this ask to ramble on about your favourite story of all time, whether its an anime/manga/etc.

I mean...other than Scum Villain's Self-Saving System lmao? Like that one's an easy fave and it got me into danmei as a whole. It's definitely a masterpiece but it's the kind of masterpiece that (correctly) gatekeeps itself because it's unabashedly trashy. It's the most beautiful circus music you've ever heard from within a dumpster on fire.

But if you want to try danmei with something a bit less aggressive, then heaven official's blessing is an easy rec. It also has two seasons of a donghua you can check out!

Also I haven't read the second book but She Who Became The Sun is fucking amazing and everyone should check it out. It's very mulanesque with tons of war, amazingly messy (and queer!) characters, and an intensely ambitious protagonist!

Magnificent in every way is right!!! There's also a lot of complex introspection on gender and sexuality. It's great!!! I'll definitely check out the second book later!!!

But in terms of writing inspiration, it's a mixture of magical girls and When They Cry lol. I grew up on Higurashi but Umineko also really left an impact on me.

I also read a ton of Arina Tanemura manga, the most inspirational probably being Full Moon O Sagashite. I watched the anime a lot too, but the manga is...way fucking better. The anime has music tho so it evens out.

Another amazing inspiring manga is Witch Hat Atelier which is getting an anime soon (and if it's not peak, I will set things on fire)

And of course I'm an Ikuhara fan. While Revolutionary Girl Utena IS the best one and a masterpiece, the one closest to my heart is Yurikuma Arashi and it's definitely inspired a good number of my works.

Also inspiring was a good number of manhwa. The standout ones are Surviving Romance (which is finished), Kill the Villainess (also finished), Your Throne (which is...in-progress but it's getting pretty rocky despite being so stellar for so long), and Wait Where A Shooting Star Falls (which is on indefinite hiatus ;w;).

[lakanakana]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

I was tagged by: the sexy beast @thatlittledandere

Currently reading: a couple of manga I have on my anilist “reading” and “paused” lists, my faves being Otoyomegatari / The Bride Stories (a slice of life story about Central Asian women and their lives centering around marriage and chores etc and IT’S GOOD IDK HOW BUT IT IS AND I AM GAY FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM and I know that like only 2 of them might be queer but still. I am having less bean thoughts for them) and Tongari Boushi no Atelier / Witch Hat Atelier (a fantasy story about a girl finding out that witches cast their magic just by drawing runes - yet they keep this a secret from the general populace - and she’s about to start a shitshow about it from the looks of it)

Favorite color: ourple.......

Last song: not counting the song on Dandere’s post, it’s Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait bc I’m obsessed with the shitty cgi in that vid and also the lady looks so 80s that I’m starting to bite my lip. She would probably drop and flop like a fish on dry land if she time travelled to the present day.

Last movie: Moeru Butsuzou Ningen / The Burning Buddha Man which was... uh. and experience. I watched it bc an acquaintance said that it’s his fave movie. Basically some girl’s parents get violently murdered right in front of her eyes by some Buddha statue and she goes into the fucking afterlife or something for revenge, only to slowly become a Buddha statue(?) herself.

Currently working on: fan art piece that I’ll be posting when the stars align. Fr I started it before christmas (I think?) and then just forgot about it bc it was harder than I expected and also I had to finish my courses, work on a coding project and most of all my mom was hospitalized somewhere around the new year’s eve and she passed away last week which has just halted my ability to even properly take care of myself or my apartment tbh. Yesterday I had a random inspiration to tidy up my room so that you could see the floor and idk I’m taking my time to recover.

for tagging I’ll pick the last 9 people from my notes >:3c @manillaroad @pajunkissa @flyinginanimeheaven @solemnrosary @mas-arte @moltenmountain @wizardchampion @stunks (i know that your Thing™ is like cute little animals but this is what you get for interacting with me) @parsakaalimato

[the-east-art]

Chatting about Trigun

(Both the manga and the new anime)

A couple of my mutuals have asked me about my thoughts, and if yall wanna dm me and keep talking I LOVE chatting, but I also thought it would be fun to write down some of my thoughts for everyone. For reference, I have finished watching Stampede and I'm a little less than halfway through TriMax. There isn't really a 'point' to all of this, just some misc thoughts :3

So first of all really loved Stampede. I read the first manga and got like 12 chapters into Max before giving in to watch the anime, both because I was excited to watch it, and also because the manga is... a little rough to read? I don't watch or read a ton of anime or manga these days, working on art and full-time school and my job make it hard to pick what to do in my little free time. The manga that I've read recently has been Yokohama Shopping Log, Dungeon Meshi, and Witch Hat Atelier. While Trigun is fun paneling and storytelling wise it isn't as easy to read as any of the manga listed. I found myself having to reread some pages a few times because between the words, the paneling, and the art I couldn't tell what it was trying to get across. It is also heavy on the action and fights scenes (much like some manga I read in the early days like Bleach or Naruto) and I'm not about long fight scenes, especially when it's hard for me to tell what's going on. The story that the manga has going on is very interesting, however, it reminds me incredibly of Katekyo Hitman Reborn (or tbh even D. Gray Man) in that the early portion of it really feels like the Mangaka wasn't sure what the entire plot was and kind of made it up as it went, especially leaning into funny tropes quite early on. The manga reads like the mangaka realized that they needed to focus up and iron out the story idea when they ended the original Trigun, and had a better idea of what they were going for when they wrote Trigun Maximum (obv idk if that's true, that's just the vibe)

Stampede feels like they're trying to write the story of Trigun but more focused, if the story had been more put together from the beginning, which I really like. A few of the changes I struggle with, but I'm trying to be optimistic to how these changes can be remedied in season 2. Season 1 of Stampede was both the original Trigun books AND the backstory of the books in a way, which I really like I feel like having the destruction of July being the incident before the two year gap actually works really well, as well as letting us see how some of the characters develop. Meryl in season 1 has been much more naive and soft than I felt like she was in manga, but I think you do get the vibe that in season 2 after the developments of the finale and the two year gap she will be more like the Meryl from the manga, which actually if it is true sets up her character pretty well!

I like the designs for a lot for the characters in Stampede too, although I am a little sad that they leaned more into the generic white futuristic clothing for the people on board the ship. I really like that in the manga, even though they're all like astronauts and stuff they're seen wearing t-shirts and jeans. Also I think Rem has more of the milf vibes like that (someone said that she looks more like a big sister like that and if so I think I like it even more haha, since she was thrust into the position of mom really suddenly). The many wrappings/belts of Vash are also missed, but I also like his new design so they're both good lol.

The last thing I wish that they included or that I really wish they'll add into season two is how Vash when he was still with Nai and Rem was less optimistic. In the manga I just got to the part where Vash acts out after seeing the previous Independent, going as far as hurting Rem. The idea that he became so steadfastly optimistic after his world falls apart is so good. Not that he was pessimistic before, but that he was just a kid that was still figuring things out, and scared.

Haha, it's also a small thing, but in the manga when the ships go down, Nai specifically says that Rem thwarted his plans, but in the anime I feel like it just kind of vaguely says she might have or might not have helped.

Uhhhh if you have any questions though about any other thoughts I might have about things let me know! It was a fun watch and I'm excited to finish reading the manga, even if I do have my critiques lmao.

[sharlulu]

Hi! Hi! It's me again! Loved your previous answer! Stephan and Gray are truly made for each <3

Also if you don't mind I'd like to know which manhwa/manga are your favorites? And which underrated manhwa or anime would you recommend is a good read/watch?

Thanks and have a good day!! (Guessed it might be day where you are since our time zones seem to match. It was pretty late where I live too when I sent the previous ask😅)

Hi anon! Yup, it's day for me too, hehe.

Fav mangas:

Pandora hearts (i actually own physical copies of this one; if I were to rank my favs, this would take the first place. Great worldbuilding for a fantasy story, great characters, and the end just left me in tears) completed

Witch hat atelier (started reading it not long ago, and just loved it! I adore the magic system here and the concepts that this story explores are also immensely interesting) monthly updates

Frieren: beyond journey's end (a very melancholic fantasy story, I loved the atmosphere and the characters; and the artstyle was also great)

The apothecary diaries (one of my fav main characters and a great detective-ish storyline + palace intrigue + setting in ancient china) but oh my god are updates slow

Adabana (a very dark story about sexual abuse, murder and just angst in general. Nearly all men here, except for one, are trash. I guess this has an interesting potrayal of female rage and I'm pretty sure that the main heroines loved each other) completed

Fav manhwas and recs:

Duty after school (one of my first favs, has a very interesting artstyle and storyline. It's, hm, humans vs aliens war, but focuses on the characters and their relationships. And, eh, they are all high schollers) completed

Annarasumanara (actually has a k drama adaptaion, beautiful love story, just vibes no plot) completed

Hand jumper (has a very interesting fantasy concept with a morally grey and very smart mc, who is also not op) on hiatus

The weight of our sky (a story inspired by real events in 1969 kuala lumpur malaysia, emotionally gripping and also made me cry) completed

And ofc weak hero ;)

They are all available on webtoon btw. And I would say that half of them are criminally underrated

Oh and i also have the guilty pleasure of reading all those villainess reincarnation manhwas. Tho i never finish them 😅. The only ones which i can kinda recommend are Your Throne, Raeliana, Who made me a princess.

Underrated anime recs (not sure if these are underrated, but anyway):

A place further than the universe (slice of life, a nice story about chasing dreams) 13 episodes

Death parade (have no idea how to describe this 😅 interesting concept and great execution?) 12 episodes

March comes in like a lion (a story about a shogi prodigy; focuses more on internal struggles that actual shogi. I'd say the season 2 is better that the first) 2 seasons, 22 episodes each

Magi (typical fantasy story with great animation and character design. Keep in mind that it's not finished, and won't get a continuation any time soon) 2 seasons, 25 episodes each + a prequel

Whoa, that took a long time 😳, thanks for the ask, i had so much fun making this list, hehe

Have a nice day, anon!