#i have a different metaphor for what luffy feels like in every post

[ace-no-isha]

the best metaphor for luffy is a color the world didn’t know existed cus wow he is a whole new dimension of beautiful the world needed painted over itself. he is unimaginable until you see him with your own eyes. he is brilliant and warm and god i just can’t find words for him. he made a blind man wish to see again just to see the shade he added to this world. i adore him

[dissvicious]

Okay hey listen. As an avid, rabid Shuggy shipper (overplaying it I am chill) myself I would absolutely Loooove to see the stuff you have to say about them even if I myself like to make their connection romantic. I sometimes feel like people misconstrue shippers playing with characters like they are sims and just putting them in relationships nilly willy as us having no interest in platonic / other content of these characters at all, which couldn’t be further from the truth for me at least. I’m admittedly very romance focused because I just find romance fun to read and write but it’s not like I can’t appreciate anything else. If I went with the fandom metaphor of „Siiigh why should I even bother making this cake? It’s not as good as the other one.“ „OH FUCK YEAH TWO CAKES.“ having more content that’s different from what the majority of the fandom makes would be „Why should I even bother to bring pizza here? Everyone brought cake.“ „AND THEY HAVE PIZZA HERE TOO HOLY SHIIIIIT!!!“

TLDR: Don’t let us shippers keep you from making non ship content for characters because not only will someone be like „Thank god finally something that’s not romantic for these two.“ there are also gonna be people all „I like these being romantic but fuck man I like this as well!!“

That's really sweet thank you so much!

... but to be 100% honest I have a thing with Shuggy & Luffy ships that goes beyond the "just not my cup of tea", you know?

Like there are ships that are "not my favorites but I still enjoy seing them", Crossguild ships are that for me for instance, or ships that are "hey I don't really like it but I don't mind", Sanji x Ace for me...

... and ships that are just "Nope nope nope, this creeps me to the deep core for extremly personal reasons, I can't even look at it without cringing - no hate to people who ship them buuuuut nope I can't I REALLY can't" and that's how I feel with Zolu, Lawlu, Shuggy, Nami x Usopp let's be honest Nami x every male character etc... like I muted the tags on all my social medias because I specifically don't want to see them.

Aaaand I fear that if I post some cute drawings of kid buggy and kid shanks here acting like siblings oooor angst about broken friendship/brotherhood some people would reblog them with #shuggy oooor that if I state "no shuggy please" it would hurt people who ship them which is really not why I want... you see?

Maybe I overthink, but it's just too many complications for not enough satisfaction

[frobin]

Hi! Ok, I know it isn't very related to Frobin (except if you decide to mention them in the answer), but I am curious about your opionion on this thing. If the end of One Piece have someone of the Straw Hat crew that can die, who can be? OBVIOUSLY I hope nobody, that this thing doesn't happen, but never say never. There're people who say Luffy to recreate Roger's connection. Someone else Usop (but I miss the reason). Or Jinbe, who has also some problems and enemies from previous experiences?

Hey there anon!

No worries about asking questions. This is a FRobin blog but it's also a One Piece blog so it's fine to ask all kind of questions about One Piece. Even though I wouldn't consider myself much of an *expert* so everything I write is very much influenced by my own impressions.

But you're asking for my opinion anyway so that disclaimer is not necessary in this case. XD

---

Okay, first of all: I'm no fan of death flags. I never see them and when I read about them I feel like people pull them out of nowhere.

So I don't think any of the Strawhats will die before or even while the big end fight. Also it's not like they will reach their goal and then just drop dead (don't forget the dream are very different too but more about that later). Like what kind of life would that be?

Also we can't forget that Oda still believes he is writing this story for 14 year old boys. So, even though death is and will be a theme I don't think he will kill off the main crew.

That would not be very clever story wise and is not how to tell a story about adventure and fulfilling dreams for young boys.

Right now it's very "fashionable" to let characters die for shock value. But the more it's done the more annoying it becomes and less of a shock and Oda won't stoop so low to use this kind of element. Why do I think that?

So far we had three deaths in OP and they all shocked us a lot. But they were also used as motivator for other characters. Whitebeards death was a motivator for a whole new Generation of pirates, as well as his crew to try to save Ace and his little brother. Ace's death was a launch of character development for Luffy, Sabo, Garp and even Sengoku and probably more. Pedros death was a motivator for Carrot and other Minks. (Even the fake death of Pell was a huge motivator for Vivi. Interestingly compared to other deaths his sacrifice did not stop the war, which would have been an adequate impact. So him coming back alive actually makes sense.)

But look how few and far between they are. Of course there was more death but the important ones are kept as those.

Why am I talking about that? Who would benefit from a Strawhats death?

Literally no one. They are all already motivated to go until the end for each other. It's more likely that a death would cause Luffy to just give up, him becoming catatonic again.

Who would Luffy fight for if he even loses one of his crew mates? Or maybe two?

If I were a Marine I would try to make Luffy think that his friends are dead and then catch him but that is beside the point.

But for One Piece, a Strawhat death it would not move the story further. There is no additional motivator needed and that would be the only reason to kill one of the crew.

Killing a Strawhat makes no sense in my opinion.

A death would only make sense after they reached their goal.

So it is possible that we see the Strawhats die but long after the story came to an end, them reaching Laugh Tale (if that is the end). And yes, I think all of them will die of natural causes and/or sickness. Most of them at an old age. I think Luffy, Zoro or Usopp being the firsts because of the trauma their bodies had endured would make most sense.

I hope that answered your question anon... and anyone who does not want to read even more about my nonsense can stop here.

But let me break down why I think that all Strawhats have plot armor against death flags, behind the read-more.

-> It is very important that I think the huge clash with the Blackbeard Pirates, which will be the end fight, will happen right before Laugh Tale. And Laugh Tale is the end-goal and the end of the main story. (I MIGHT BE WRONG!!!)<-

Everyones own story can only end after they reached their goal so let's look why I think that these dreams give the Strawhats Plot Armor.

Luffy: Become the king of the pirates. That means he has to reach Laugh Tale. I often hear that Luffy will die early because of the parallel to Roger. That does not mean he won't reach his 40s or 50s. Even after reaching Laugh Tale Roger lived a bit longer and even had time to "make a child" so, killing off Luffy in the end fight makes no sense. So maybe dying after the fight, on Laugh Tale? That could happen and would be the earliest death of any Strawhat imo.

Zoro: Become the strongest sword fighter. That means he still has to kill Mihawk. I don't think Mihawk will go and look for Zoro. So, Zoro has to survive and then return to Mihawk and have his duel. No sense in killing off Zoro. I am 100% sure that he will survive until then.

Nami: Drawing a world map. For that Nami has to travel the world many times more. After they reached Laugh Tale, Nami has only finished part of her dream. She has to visit all of the Blues, travel the Grand Line and the New world multiple times. Drawing a Map of the world will take a lifetime. Her dream will take the longest to be fulfilled.

Usopp: Become the great warrior of the sea. Now here we have a dream that is not really tangible. Usopp will be a great warrior as soon as he realises that he is one. In my opinion he already managed to become a great warrior. Time and time again he has shown how amazing he is but this is all about his own self image and so hard to grasp. This actually makes Usopp the most likely to have a death flag BUT we can't forget that he still has to return home and tell his stories to Kaya and the Usopp pirates. It's part of a promise that is only secondary but for me it's enough to think Usopp too is safe until he did that.

Sanji: To find the All Blue. Sanji thinks that the All Blue is something physical. We can't know that and if it is physical we can consider that it's maybe a part of the New World near the Red Line where all seas somehow come together. So again, until Sanji found that place he hasn't fulfilled his dream. And since I think that would be BEHIND Laugh Tale, again I think Sanji is safe. Alternatively the All Blue is just a metaphor for something completely different but I can't hink about what.

Chopper: To cure all illness. Here too, this is something that takes time. Chopper is still only at the beginning of his career of being a doctor. Finding a magical cure for every illness that exists is not something that just happens. Logically he would need to talk with many other medical experts and together they might be able to find it. When and how and if that happens is impossible to say but again that would be something that would fit best in the time after reaching Laugh Tale.

Robin: To find the truth of the void century. Right now we figure that she will find that at the end of their travel, on Laugh Tale. Maybe it will happen earlier in case the Strawhats storm the World Government. Either way she will learn the truth. But that will not be the end to her. After learning the truth it's up to Robin to bring it to the world, to write it down, to teach, to make people understand that they can't erase history and that they have to learn from it. Again, that is something that takes time and so, truly fulfilling her dream.

Franky: To travel the world in the ship of his dreams. Again that is a vague dream. But it would mean to at least return to Water Seven, so that Sunny has traveled the world once. But even then it's only been a small part of the world and traveling the world would mean to visit at least every of the seas. So far, Sunny had been in two to four, depending on how much you take the movies into account. But to fulfill Franky's dream he needs to survive a bit longer and so does Sunny.

Brook: To meet Laboon again. This is simple. But for that Brook has to reach the end of the New World and then get over the Red Line again. What he will do after that is hard to tell. But again, the Red Line is behind Laugh Tale and so I'm sure Brook too, has to survive... even though he is already dead YOHOHO!

Jinbe: Equality between merfolk and humans. Again this is something that is no easy feat and will probably take more than one generation. Also it is not only up to him and more to Shirahoshi and the World Government. This dream is about teamwork too, but who could be a better ambassador for the merfolk than him? Losing Jinbe would be a huge backfire for the cause. Jinbe too is safe in my opinion. If you have reached the end of the post, let me tell you again my headcanon about FRobin: After the main adventure Franky and Robin return to Water Seven where Franky helps to turn W7 into a boat and after that is done, they travel to the island where Ohara used to be and there they rebuild the island. More people return and it again becomes a hub for scholars and history.

[tuchimuchibrainvomit]

EPISODE 2:

Aloha, fellow Sakuga Seedlings!

Welcome to my case study series, Brain Vomit.

Name’s

Tuchimuchi Yoshinori – or just Tuchi…

And I enjoy animation. Especially animation from the eastern archipelago of Japan, also called “Anime”

In this series, right here, I’ll be exploring Japanese Animation Production and enlightening this growing community and myself to the power they have in this expansive animated medium.

Today’s Lesson is on Animation Principles!!

So, you want to learn the basics of animation--which are completely universal, so this may be our most accessible… Maybe, I should have made this the first episode instead.

Oh well, my show, my rules…

Back onto topic--

Q: What is animation?

A: Animation (n): the technique of photographing successive drawings or positions of puppets or models to create an illusion of movement when the movie is shown as a sequence.

“I GET SO EMOTIONAL BABY!! EVERY TIME I THINK OF ANIMATION!!!”

Or basically, moving pictures one after the other in sequence.

But you can’t just go in and animate all willy-nilly, yet. Not until you’ve learned the basics of Animation.

Think of them as analogous to the Art Elements of Line, Color, Form, Value and Texture.

But since there are far better sources to give you a more in-depth analysis of each principle -- I’ll take a rudimentary approach to save myself time because it’s Saturday and I have like a billion other things to do...

I’m a human, damnit! Fight me!!

So let’s break them down, shall we:

-- Squash and Stretch: My favorite principle, and in short, exaggerating proportions in movement to allow for stronger illusions of motion. A great example of this from both an animation and writing standpoint is Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, who is written completely around this principle.

But how can I use this in my own animation?

Well, it can be used for a myriad of things, from effects to specific character motions. However, due to the limitations of frames, these stretches and squashes have to be calculated and takes a lot of experiments to get it right!

-- Anticipation: As it sounds, setting up actions between other actions. Be it holding a motion back, extending a keyframe to a longer period or slowing down/adding more frames to a specific action. Like in horror, anticipation is about slowing things down and snapping when necessary. Snaps without anticipation look choppy and anticipation with no pay off is unfulfilling. Unless you’re like horror movies and trying to troll your audience into a false sense of security.

In this example, the Obari Punch method is literally an exaggeration of Anticipation. A build up to an action -- thus anticipation for the punch itself. Take it away, Saitama:

-- Staging: While one of the more vague. Staging is both literally and metaphorical. Staging a set or scene, is knowing your layout, your characters and the context.

But staging in this sense is more about clarity.

Is the idea of your action, scene or emotion being delivered clearly? That’s the most important question.

The start of a Pokemon batlle is just a style of staging. You know the scene, two trainers, two monsters, battle. Stage set.

Bonus: JEDI LUNGE!!!

-- Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: While less of a type of animation and more a method of animation, these two together are different ways of animating and both are integral to understanding animation.

SAA (Straight Ahead Action) is when you draw each frame and in-between one after the other, letting the outcome from the action’s flowing.

P2P (Pose to Pose) is drawing each pose and filling the transition between them in. This is most commonly seen in limited animation as Keyframe Animators draw Keys which are main poses, and In-between Animators fill in the rest with--in-betweens.

Both are integral, but I find using a mix of the two depending on the situation and direction to be the most successful. Better tool sets.

Here is an example of more clear straight ahead animation...

And my Animator Husbando, Imaishi is an obvious lover of pose-to-pose animation.

Both have merits in different situations, ya see.

-- Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Probably the most literal of the components, Follow Through is literally following through the action, making sure motions stop when they are supposed to and Overlapping Action follows, setting up the next action. Like people, characters never stop existing and Overlapping Action and Follow Through keep that sense to never be lost. A great example of this is imagine a jump, when you land, you impact (possibly stumble or roll), Follow-through and Overlapping Action.

All of these Rolling Girl animations, while traced from an original base, are full of follow-through and overlapping actions. Each movements flow and adapt to one another.

Knowing how weight works in reality is one of the many facets needed to master FT and OA.

In my opinion, anime can be very -- flaky to weight and overlapping action in general anime. But then there is Mitsuo Iso.

An animation is worth 24,000 words per second.

-- Slow In and Slow Out: Or more commonly known as Ease On and Ease Out, is the natural acceleration and deceleration of an action beginning and ending. When a ball rolls, it doesn’t just start at top speed or stop on a dime. It starts slow and gains speed, then tops off and comes to a stop.

See how a bouncing ball steadies as it reaches the apex and accelerates as it bounces?

Slow in and Slow Out.

-- Arcs: Curves. Real life is about curves. This is one principle that can have several different meanings.

Curves as in curvature motion is one. All human motion is done through curves, angular motion is often more attributed with mechanical systems.

Curves can also mean line of action, or a character’s basic motion can be broken down into a series of curves.

It’s also a meaning for the fact the visual path is in arcs. As in how you see and perceive motion. This principle is all about knowing how the human eyes work and acclimating that to extend to the illusion of movement.

Bouncing Ball is the best animation study subject. It can hit most everything. Just draw the arcs in animation, it’ll make more sense and will become handy as I hit more topics and animators down the road.

-- Secondary Action: As we know, all moving parts are not created equal. This is that principle, animation is the exact same idea, If you have a character with a long flowing tail, it will animate far differently and at a different pace than the rest of the body and clothing. Secondary Actions are the motions created by the actions of another. Such as moving cloth, the smoke leaving the character’s mouth or water splashing from a character taking a dive.

A scarf or hair is a great way to practice Secondary Action.

-- Timing and Spacing: Arguably the most important principle, understanding what time actions occur and how to space the drawings to be believable. The best way to practice and understand Timing and Spacing is to research, research, research and then experiment.

What movement speed feels right for the actions I’m working with?

Now how do I space the drawings to emulate that timing?

In limited animation, am I using the same frames or all new ones?

Am I animating on the ones, twos, or threes?

These are important things to remember and ask yourself. On the ones, twos and threes is merely how long each frame is held, often messing with the natural times.

Experimenting with timing and spacing can lead to strong impacts and more believeable formats.

I know this was in one of my last posts, but this GDC conference about Skullgirls animation goes into timing manipulation to add to fighting game impact. I’m putting it here again because it’s truly worth watching.

-- Exaggeration: How far can your character’s proportions be warped for the sake of movement? Knowledge of this is omni-important.

Exaggeration can be both in art, as well as a specfic metaphor or motion. Tsuritama does a really good job at both metaphorical and artistic exaggeration. But that’s just one example.

Other anime that do a great job are anything directed by Akiyuki Shinbou,

This -- just this... Everything about the facial expression, the wind, the camera, the shot composition and negative white space... It leads to an exaggerated sadness and feeling of loneliness -- hell, it could even see as a loss of innocence in an imperfect world, when you see the weight of the left side of the frame breaking the of subtly overpowering the white purity on the left and her intense motion breaking the balance even further...

It’s Monogatari so probably both and more, because this series is all about visual metaphors and exaggeration of emotions. But I digress, I didn’t come here to become the next Mother’s Basement or Digibro -- I love them both, so don’t flame me.

Moving on...

-- Solid Drawing: Simply defined, difficult to master. Solid Drawing is the ability to draw your character from ANY POSSIBLE angle in any pose and make it look accurate. This comes with knowledge of both manipulating a metaphorical camera, knowing your character’s design and body and form. The best advice I can give is to practice.

Model sheets are a must-need for solid drawing, especially with a team of animators from different backgrounds and styles.

-- Appeal: Simple and conclusive, draw something that is satisfying to the audience’s eyes. Make it feel authentic, whether it’s horror or action, it has to come across that way to the audience. Appeal is a broad spectrum as not everyone can be satisfied by one thing. So know your audiences well and appeal to them. However, my best piece of advice and in my honest opinion in amateur animation is to appeal to yourself and enjoy what you are making.

If you don’t enjoy it, you wouldn’t do it, right?

Goddamnit, Pusheen... You’re too appealing that I cannot...

And this is a great segue into our topic for Episode 3, where Appeal matters most: Character Design.

I’ll see you all next time!!

ON THE NEXT BRAIN VOMIT!!

EPISODE 3: CHARACTER DESIGN, THE LIFE FIBER 100% SYNCHRONIZE -- KAMUI SENKETSU!!!

STAY TUNED NEXT SATURDAY AT 7PM EST FOR NEXT EXPEDITION INTO SAKUGA GOODNESS!!

DON’T MISS IT, OR I’LL HAVE TO PUNISH YOU!!

Remember: Always bloom proudly,

– TUCHI OUT!!!