#i love seeing improvement in manga artists work from chapter 1 and i hope this grows well too.

[saba-ody]

i know everyone rn is all haha kagurabachi meme manga industry plant

...

but honestly i'm kind of invested and i want to see where it goes. its got a solid opening so far and some nice art. chihiro might be an angsty bitchboy right now but there's some clear opportunity for character development that if taken could be really fun to read. i'm real excited to see where it goes tbh!!

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (07/07/24)

didn't post yesterday cause was busy all day (against my will) new season starting tho so that's fun, even if I'm not watching a ton this time around, also the end of this new serialization round I'm on vacation for the next couple weeks so hopefully I find the time to catch up/finish some stuff but I also got the ff14 expansion I want to play through so we'll see

green - new series/new to me

Anime

Plus-Sized Elf Ep1

I completely missed the announcement that this was gonna be a short anime so I was surprised when I saw the lenght was only 11 minutes, it's fine tho, it fits the manga and makes it more easily digestible. Anyway, that was alright, nothing too impressive and a lot of still panning shots as you'd expect from an adaptation like this. I was surprised by the full on uncensored tiddies tho. What really carries shows like this is the voice cast and Itou Ayasa did a solid job I think. Not expecting a lot out of this, but since it's short it should be a nice little appetizer before I watch Samurai on fridays

The Elusive Samurai Ep1

wow wow wow WOW Like what else can I say but that? I wasn't too hopeful for the anime from the pvs we saw before, they looked good, yes, but it felt like something was missing, to me. All those doubts are completely dispelled now however. Ep 1 was nothing short of incredible, like it's hard to even find the words to explain just how good it was, you gotta see it to understand. Everything was great. Both OP and ED had good visuals and songs. The OST and voices were great, and the animation was really solid too. There was a chance to have some sakuga during a certain scene, and they didn't do it, but it still looked good, if they keep that throughout the whole show then it should be fine. My favourite part was the colours tho, it looked beautiful and there were a lot of great shots like the ones below, among many others. It's just refreshing to see such creative use of colours, like some shots looked good enough to be in a movie adaptation instead of a TV anime

But anyway, I've been reading the manga since day 1 so it's crazy to see it get such a great adaptation. Matsui truly is built different. Me and my buddy mega were discussing were the anime is gonna end, since it's confirmed 12 episodes, and I'm fairly sure it's gonna be on chap 58 for various reasons. We'll see how the pacing for the new few eps goes tho, it may not get quite that farhard

Manga

Hima-Ten! Ch1

That was... ok. As I mentioned before I read the author's previous work as it came out years ago, and it was a ping pong series. I figured this was going to be sports based too, so I was surprised when they released the synopsis and I found out it was going to be a rom com. I'll start out by saying I'm not too big on romance stuff. Like I love Blue Box but it took a while for me to warm up to it and even then it lacks a lot of the issues I usually have with that kinda stuff.

Back to this series tho, my biggest complaint about chapter 1 was setting up this secondary girl (the black haired one in the pic below) and making it clear that the MC even has a crush on her, just for the main girl to show up and, obviously, win him over eventually. I mean the damn summary for the series on M+ ends with "Say hello to some company president girl x house-cleaner boy romantic comedy hijinks!", so there's not much room to wonder about what'll happen.

Other than that it was a nice chap 1. The art has improved so much that it's like a completely different artist (tho there's still some recognizable bits from his old stuff) and this new style is super cute, I actually really like it. The interactions between the mains were fun and the expressions were good too, it really is just that nagging point I have with it. We'll see how the next few chaps go I guess but not expecting much tbh

Dandadan Ch159

while this was inevitable and I knew it was a matter of time til it happened it really took me by surprise to see it happen now. Ofc I could see the build up in the few pages before it but still I don't remember if I've talked about this arc so far but it's been pretty cool, basically jumanji but instead of the game coming out they go inside the game. It's had a buncha cool ideas and the new chara with powers is a nice guy too

[shigaeru]

I always get so excited when I see a notification from you, I love the comic and the way u draw these two moron, really, amazing job!!! I wanted to ask, if its not a problem, how do you design the panels of a comic? I'm new in that field and it's honestly a black magic to me and I love yours, they're easy to read and also interesting to look at!

Hi!! Thank you!! <3 and sorry I took so long to answer but I wanted to do it Right for your question. SO HERE GOES, MY TIPS FOR PANELING:

First thing's first: I basically visualize stories as film/anime and it helps a lot. The main rule I follow is that 1 shot = 1 panel. I found this edit super interesting because this is basically it, but in reverse. See how each panel becomes a shot?

It'll depend on how much of the action from one animated shot you'll want to show too. Do you have a shot with your character changing expression? While there's only one shot, the expression at the beginning and at the end are both important so that'll be 2 panels, or 3, or even 4, depending on how many key frames you want to show). Is the character traversing the screen from left to right? Is it important to see them at the beginning of their run, in the middle or at the end? Or all three?

Now, there's a big rule in comic :

The bigger the panel, the longer the action will feel. Your eye will take more time to pan over the picture and it'll trick your brain into thinking time has passed in the story. See how different these feel?

After this one, I'll personally follow a few other rules, but many artists don't, or have their own, so feel free to try these out if you want, or not! The goal is to have fun first and foremost.

Each page makes sense on its own. It has a beginning and an end, and no speech/shot is cut in the middle at the bottom of the page.

I try to at least have one panel per page that has a physical, tangible background, it helps ground the reader in what's happening in the scene.

I mainly use 2/3/4 rows of panels (which is specific to manga, other genres often have more) and I try to mix the shapes of the panels on the rows so no rows look the same, and no pages look the same within the chapter.

Every space in the panel is used for something, no "empty" spaces (I put bubbles in those to fill in the gaps lmao)

Slanted panel borders are for action scenes.

(now that’s kind of a director’s take but) when changing shot/panel, changing the angle always make things more interesting!

When depicting action, I found it the most clear when showing the anticipation, the action and the aftermath. Like with a punch, you'll see the run-up, the contact, and then the guy's on the ground in 3 panels, you know?

(this one's super specific to my brain but) bordered panels are for static camera and "open" panels are for camera movement within the shot

HAVE FUN! most of the time I'm improvising with what feels right, and what READS right. So many times I finished my chapter and went "oh the pacing is so wrong" and changed the paneling just before posting after everything was supposedly already done. So yeah, don't hesitate to have a beta-reader that can tell when the paneling is interfering with comprehension, it always helps improve!!

These work for me, but I’ve accumulated most of these after trial and error, so if some don’t work for you that’s fine, and I hope you find the rules you’re comfortable with!!

[snkpolls]

SnK Season 3, Part 1 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 240 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE FIRST COUR 231 Responses

Overall, respondents had a positive experience with the anime’s retelling of the Uprising arc with a 4 being the most popular ranking. It seems most believe there was room for improvement, but that it was overall enjoyable!

Good shit man, good shit. Next arc is gonna wring my heart dry of every last feel in existence, but so far I am satisfied.

This season was poor. I hoped for better. The scenes I loved it the manga were removed. Lots of character development was gone. But my biggest pain is anime version of Kenny. I will be honest - I am disappointed.

I liked it but the manga version will always hold a special place in my heart

I thought it was amazing, despite all the new things and things taken out. I still love the series way too much to really criticize choices they or Isayama make. I know I'm still gonna watch it and love it.

FAVORITE ANIMATED COUR SO FAR? 235 Responses

Nearly half of voters favor the Clash of the Titans arc’s adaptation the most so far, but the Uprising arc came at a surprisingly strong second overall! 

Well done, WIT Studio! Although some of my favorite chapters became my least favorite and vice versa (sadly), this was over all the best arc in my opinion.

It was a good story, but they cut out way too many scenes I loved making it not the best adaptation when it comes to comparing it with the manga. Season 3 is still my favorite season though.

FAVORITE EPISODE(S) FROM THIS COUR? 231 Responses

“Friends” was the most well-liked episode of the first half of the season, but overall the last four episodes performed the strongest. This is likely due to their more faithful adaptation of the manga material than than the earlier episodes. On that note, “Pain” did pretty well in regards to the earlier episodes. 

First two episodes were meh (way too fast for my liking), then it got slightly better, but the last 4 episodes were amazing

that ending scene in ep 12, what the hell, that scared me so much but it was so well done! also that last scene before the ending song is great for hype lol, Erwin's (japanese) voice actor is a god, my god what a man, SUSUMEEE

RATE THE SOUNDTRACK 236 Responses

It is probably safe to assume that the majority of respondents agree with the sentiment, “OST when!?” The soundtrack was great this season according to voters. Hopefully Sawano treats us soon! 

It was so good and I really want the soundtrack to come out, I have 6 months to mentally prepare myself for the return to Shiganshina arc and I still won’t be ready

RATE THE ANIMATION 235 Responses

Overall, reactions to the animation were positive. Although there were some scenes that had room for improvement, ultimately we can’t deny that the hard work done on the action sequences really paid off. Here’s hoping for even more glorious animation in the second half of the season! 

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING KEY CHARACTERS BY THE END OF THE COUR?

We’ll let the results speak for themselves on this one. Levi, Historia, Erwin, Hange and Kenny drew the most positive feelings. Rod evoked the most negative feelings.

ARE YOU PLANNING TO WATCH THE NEXT COUR? 237 Responses

We’re happy to see that most of you guys will be around for more! 

I feel like this section and onwards are not going to make for very entertaining episodes and are better in manga format, particularly if it's going to keep forcing major changes

HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING THE DUB? 237 Responses

The majority of respondents have not watched the dub and have no desire to do so. 16% will get around to it eventually and 14% are keeping on up on it. 

IF SO, WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS OF THE DUB THIS SEASON? 211 Responses

Aside from the 75% who haven’t been watching it, those who have are having an overall positive experience with it this season, regardless if the original Japanese is the preference or not!

This season has been an improvement both in voice acting and script, I've been pretty satisfied with it.

I'm not sure why people think animes need dubs tbh. They never sound good. Kenny's voice actor really butchered the cowboy voice.

I've only seen a few scenes but when Levi shouted ''Nifa!'' it sounded really weird in the dub xD

The very idea of watching dubbed anime is heresy

DO YOU THINK LINKED HORIZON WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE NEXT COUR? 233 Responses

The majority are feeling pretty confident that Linked Horizon will be back again for part 2 with an exciting new opening for us! 16% are sure they will stick around, but we may not see them retake their role as the artist of the opening. A small sliver of respondents think that they will be absent. 

OVERALL, DID YOU THINK THE ADAPTATION OF THE UPRISING ARC WAS DONE WELL? 237 Responses

Just over half of respondents believed that the Uprising arc was adapted well overall. 28% felt it was a good story, but not a good adaptation - still enjoyable, but not close enough to the source material. Smaller percentages either preferred the anime’s retelling or, on the opposite end, believe that the adaptation wasn’t good in any way. 

Í think a few parts would've been better if they had stuck to the source, but overall it was a good adaptation

It was horrible to be very honest, ehhhhh they ruined it

There were a few cuts and changes that didn't make sense or took away from the story but it wasn't too bad. I love Attack On Titan too much to be ungreatful lol.

At some points it was a better adaptation, with changes I liked, and at some points the attempts to fix some issues created some others. I'd say I find it about even with the manga, the pros and cons balance out.

I enjoyed it, and I loved the action animation in the first few episodes, but I'd still have preferred a more faithful adaptation.

First half was rushed, i like the manga version of it better, but the second half that went more like the manga was excellent

It could've been a teensy bit better, but glad they hit all the marks that were important (except for the hesitation of the 104th squad killing people)

It was a good story, but they cut out way too many scenes I loved making it not the best adaptation when it comes to comparing it with the manga. Season 3 is still my favorite season though.

Although the story was entertaining and was produced well, it missed a lot of key factors present in the manga that really brings it down. At the end you have a feeling of hollowness as opposed to satisfaction

OPINIONS OF THE ARC BEFORE THE ANIME? 238 Responses

Prior to the anime adaptation, the majority of respondents were fond of this arc of the story. A few were indifferent or didn’t enjoy it, however. 

I thought this arc was boring when I read it in the manga and it honestly wasn’t any better when it was animated.

AND AFTER? 237 Responses

Opinions stayed about the same after the anime retelling, with just a small bump up in the “liked it” area.  

I actually like the Uprising arc. So when the anime came up I expected it to be better. So for me this is a good adaptation. Plus I think half of the budget was spent on making Levi 100 time hotter... My only regret is that they didn't show Levi shirtless.

Uprising arc is my favorite in the manga. So many changes have driven me mad but in the end, I have rather enjoyed this cour. The chara design and the animation are insane. Feel robbed in many ways though, but never mind.

I felt like a lot of details that made the arc good in the manga was lost in the anime

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING MAJOR CHANGES?

While most stances were overall neutral on many of the changes, the most disliked change was taking away Levi forcing Historia to take the crown, thus unraveling subsequent events which eventually lead to the beloved punch/smile scene. The most well received change was including a proper Kenny vs. Levi fight scene in the cave. 

I did disapprove of some removals and additions, because I felt that the way the manga structured it made the plot flow easily. For the anime, it felt a tad rushed with the fast stream of information given to the viewers.

Like many manga readers, my biggest and only really significant complaint was the removal of Levi's choking-and-speech moment. It was entirely crucial to both his and Historia's characterisation and future development.

I only liked two of the changes. Everything they did that stuck to the manga was really well done.

The fandom is happy because of the 2nd fight between them in the cave. That was the worst fight IMO: Kenny didn't learn anything from the first battle between them and decided to go against Levi again; he was babbling some nonsense, offended his nephew and as result - he almost got killed. So in other words - Kenny was shown as immature, dumb simpleton who despised his nephew and was pathetic fighter.

while different, i still think it was a good adaptation and none of the changes really bothered me too much.

An additional scene that I'm still upset they didn't include - the conversation between Nile and Erwin before Erwin's arrest, where they discuss their childhood together.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST COUR?

A shame a bunch of the political parts were ''rushed'', but it was to be expected. Otherwise a good adaptation!

Decent adaptation that skimmed over the boring stuff. Too bad some scenes were hacked away.

"Okay, this is epic." - Ben Shapiro

I don't care that Isayama approved the changes and that the majority of people seemed to have enjoyed this arc more in anime form with the changes. I'm not an idiot, I know how adaptations work and that they're a different medium and that it wouldn't be a 100% panel by panel adaptation nor was I expecting it to be. Neither of the previous seasons were. But they removed and changed SO MUCH of what made the arc great and my favorite personally that I'll never get over that.

After a few fast paced episodes that were slightly Concerning™️ things slowed down and made a lot of sense. I’m glad that isayama got a chance to see uprising play out in the way he would have liked. And as far as changes, some were great, some were not awesome, but we always have the manga. Overall it was amazing and what will I do with my Sundays for the next six months rip

It was pretty calm, right before the storm of the next cour

First sighting of god tier character Floch

I feel like a fair bit of changes were made just to give the main/loved characters far more screentime, and some other changes to be simply dumb and entirely unnecessary

I wish they had just stayed true to the manga. It seems like they wanted to remove some of Levi's darker parts which makes him a less interesting character.

While it could have been better (less CGI!), it was phenomenal overall, and I believe guarantees that the Shiganshina arc is in good hands!

Rod's Titan was so gross. YUCK!

EEEEEEKKKKKK

10/10 there was a brief flashback of Mina Carolina in the Cave.

I'm still salty about some cuts but overall I liked it. Who will say no to Anime SNK?

For Yams story and characters are the most important, for the anime team - it's fun for watchers. That's a bit sad but okay.

Historias new coronation outfit was better than in the manga

I see the anime as an extra, so nothing that happens in the anime will change how I see certain characters or the arc itself. So I really had a problem answering your poll. In my eyes, it a gimmick, a nice animated extra but nothing more.

Despite not being a 1:1 adaptation of the manga, the anime still manages to do a fantastic job of adapting Uprising as well as altering it. The story and characters were still executed very well, and this arc overall had a MUCH better reception than its original counterpart which, in my opinion, says something.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 221 Responses

SHOULD THE POLLS CONTINUE/OVERALL POLL FEEDBACK? 226 Responses

We’re happy to see you guys are enjoying the polls! We appreciate all of you! <3

Thanks again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in April! 

[franeridart]

Hey! So sorry if you already answered this but what application and tablet do you use??

I use Easy Paint Tool SAI and a pretty old wacom intuos tablet! Both questions are answred in my faq, actually~

Anon said:You. You awesome person. You are my new fav artist. 💘💘💘

AW thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I love your art and the style, it’s all so cute and it might give me a heart attack

He c k let’s hope not! Thank you so so much!!! ;^;

Anon said:hey, can ya do more tokage, pls

Sure, I mean to draw more 1B in the future anyway~

Anon said:nori is soo adorable!! I love your art and seromina so much and seeing them combined makes me mega happy!!! I gotta ask though, how are sero and mina as parents and how do they handle nori’s quirk?

They’re disasters as parents but they try their best and are always having fun - Nori adores them! In their house not a minutes goes by without someone laughing, they’re all super loud and cheerful always~ neither of them has any problem dealing with Nori’s quirk, Sero has spent a whole lifetime learning how to deal with sticky stuff and tape and glue so he knows all the tricks to save clothes and furniture from accidental quirk usage and so on, while Mina’s own quirk makes it easy to counter any glue that might end on her - the main thing actually is that the quirk itself was a surprise! Since Nori looks a lot like Mina, both she and Sero had expected her to have acid like Mina so when she started gluing herself around in places and walking along walls and stuff it was a surprise (they had expected to have to deal with the house being constantly half destroyed by acid though, so glue is nothing compared to that haha)

Anon said:Heyy I saw your twitter account and was wondering if you could link some of those “fics about them boys sharing a bed..“ I’ve been following you for a while now and absolutely love your work (: I hope you don’t mind lol. I need more kiribaku in my life gahaha ❤️ thanks !!

I didn’t really bookmark any and most were old things I had read in the past and spent time rereading lately, but the newest one I read is this one - honestly though at this point 99% of the fics set in the dorms have them sharing a bed, you just need to open ao3 and scroll down less than a page to find stuff lol

Anon said:If you’re not an Adventure Time fan this ask will make no sense to you (so skip it), but when I saw your drawing of Katsuki with a guitar, I immediately thought he was singing some edgy Marceline song, like the teasing-aggressive “I wanna bury you in the ground / I wanna bury you with my sound” (which he actually says at some point I think XD) or the romantic and melancholic “Slow Dance with You” and Eijirou M-E-L-T-S.

Not an AT fan, but the concept is adorable so I’m keeping the ask anyway

Anon said:Do you think you might draw more of your fantasy AU children while you’re playing with you’re new pencil tool? It would be neat if you did! Regardless, I’m grateful for anything you draw!

Yup! Can’t promise when it’ll happen but I love the fantasy AU and I love childhood friends AU, so the chances of me going back on it are pretty high!

Anon said:Are you going to draw Mako and Taiyou again? They are so wonderful.

YAH that’s definitely in the near future plans! Thank you for liking them!!

Anon said:I just…I love all your art. It’s so amazing you’re awesome

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!! ;^;

Anon said:Stavo scorrendo il tuo blog e ho notato che hai risposto ad una domanda in italiano? Ho seriamente pensato fossi inglese tutto questo tempo! Amo seriamente i tuoi disegni, i tuoi oc sono meravigliosi e non vedo l'ora di scoprire più di loro.

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH grazie infinite omfg ;^; specialmente per i miei oc, è sempre incredibile per me sapere che alla gente piacciono abbastanza da volerli vedere di più ;^;

Anon said:Hewwo! I’m a huge fan of your artwork!! I was wondering if you have any time could you draw some more of those dorm room scenarios?

Anon I’m sorry but I need you to be more specific, which dorm room scenarios are you talking about? Most of my comics at this point are set in the dorms hahaha

Anon said:I just noticed that on every artwork you sign “do not repost” and I hate it.I don’t hate that you do it, but the fact you NEED to do it. Artists all over the Internet say to not repost their art but people still do it…I hope this will stop someday Sorry for my english btw

Yeah well, I guess as long as people keep on following and giving notes to reposters that’s not really gonna change is it orz

Anon said:You should draw Present Mic x Aizawa *awkward finger guns*

Hell I really should, shouldn’t I

Anon said:my god im gay for your kiribaku like they’re so good aibdjsbsknwnx and i love the interactions between the bakusquad ahh keep being awesome :)

HECK THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Anon said:Honestly, this might be an odd question I don’t know, but would you ever consider putting your art together in a art book to sell? Cause to be honest, there’s not a piece by you that I don’t adore and I’ve seen some artist do things like that before so I didn’t know if that was something you’d consider. Maybe like all your BNHA pieces or something?

It’s not like I never considered it? It’s more like I dunno how worth all the work to figure out how to make it/where to print it and then to actually make it would be compared to the interest people would have in buying something they can have for free on my blog? It’s just doodles after all haha

Anon said:Would you be willing to draw a little lavi (dgm) doodle for me? Anything tiny, I just love him and your art!!!

I’m not doing requests right now, sorry, but soon enough the new chapter is coming out so I might draw him around then!!! I always fall in a serious dgm mood around the time of the chapter release haha

Anon said:More abuse of the ask function: 1- I love your art and have been for months. On top of that, it often feels cathartic, which is amazing to me. 2- I love how balanced you can make KiriBaku. You even manage to make me appreciate that overrated attention hogger that is Bakugou, you can handle him so much better than the author, because your character dynamics make so much more sense!! 3- I always, ALWAYS find myself reading through all your tags. They’re awesome. Thank you for everything.//Avevo finito lo spazio nell'ask precedente, so I’d only like to add that aside from cutie-smoochy (“It’s not about whether you break” and “I don’t need you” might be my favorite, and for what’s worth, I remember writing something exactly like the latter in the past), you also make mu burst into laughter. Like, the comic where Katsuki is about to out Eijirou on his red hair, I am still rolling. Kiri’s giant mouth is seriously hysterical XD

Thank you for the compliments!! I’m glad I can make you like a character and a relationship you’re not much of a fan of in the actual manga? ? ? Bakugou’s actually one of my favorite characters ever though so………. maybe……….don’t offend him and the way Horikoshi writes him while talking to me………….orz

Anon said:I am starved for Bakukamikiri stuff in this fandom……..But you got some good shit.

I’m!!! happy to be able to help there!!!! haha

Anon said:They mama Mitsuki art you drew 👏💯💖☺️💕👌 I love your art so much

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Yessssss you have Twitter! It is boring at the beginning but then you’ll love it! I can’t wait to see you here and there! Now all my Bakushima favorite artist have one I can die of happiness!!

I’m!!!!!!!!!! Still trying to figure it out but!!!!!!!! For now it’s not that bad? Just!!! Very different from tumblr so I’ll need to get used to it first!!!!

Anon said:Omg do u shade jirous hair like its a heartbeat line? Dhdisbdisb thats so fuckibg good

THANK she actually has it in canon too, tho, so I can’t take credit for this!!!

Anon said:Im crying on how you draw kirishima’s soft hair

S O B I’m glad you like it!! ;^;

Anon said:Can I ask what your stance is on bakugo’s mom being abusive and sorry if you’ve answered this before

I love Mitsuki with my whole heart and while I don’t think she’s perfect I do think she’s loving and caring and trying her best and always looking out for what’s best for Bakugou 👍 no abuse anywhere, for me

Anon said:OMG I LOVE SEROMINA LOVE CHILD NORI

Thank you for liking her???? heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I wish I could use your art for my phone’s background ;^; You’re amazing! I love youuuuuuuuuu

No one’s stopping you from doing that, anon!!! Unless you don’t have a phone that allows you backgrounds, in which case ;-; thank you for liking my stuff that much tho!!

Anon said:Hey! I followed you way back when your main output was haikyuu!! comics and once you started putting out more bnha, i had to unf because i had no idea who everyone was rip. but now that ive finally had the chance to watch it i’m glad to come back and see how much you’ve improved!

HECK THANK YOU???? I’m glad you decided to come back????? oh man that’s super flattering !!!

Anon said:Yolo bakusquad bakubowl ?

I don’t really like the whole concept of [character]bowl, sorry!

Anon said:I absolutely adore your art style😍 every time I see your art it makes me happy:)

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Can you draw Hawks and Tokoyami together? You are rlly creative and amazing! So I believe you will produce sth. awesome!!!! (If you don’t want to draw Hawks, could you draw a Tokoyami fusion?)

I can draw that! I’m just waiting to know how tall Hawks is compared to him before doing that 👍 be patient pls relative heights are something I’m stupidly fussy about 

Anon said:Burn the whole world to ashes for you? R U serius?! You always killing me dude. I ascended to the heaven of soft things. I N C R E D I B L E. Im sorry for the break down, i was without tumblr 2 months and the firts thing i do is go to your profile. Keep doing this plis im trully love it 😭💖

mAN I’m so glad you liked that one this much, drawing the boys being unreasonably soft with each other is my fav thing to do tbh !!!

Anon said:Omg I can totally imagine Nori and bakushima’s daughter being friends!!!

THEY ARE !!!!!!!

Anon said:Your seromina is amazing!!! I love that ship I feel like it is so underrated! Thank you for this blessed image!! 😭

No prob!! thank you for liking it!!!!!!! I’ve been in such a seromina mood lately, I might actually draw more soon enough!!

Anon said:Omg imagine a Tetsuwase love child. Something tells me they’d be adorable and one rather angry child, considering who their fathers are

I can see them as being quiet and grumpy………. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Anon said:Hey just wanted to tell you I love your art. It’s so soft and beautiful. My dad doesn’t ship any characters from the series, but he does like the series and he thinks your art and style are really pleasing. We were talking about how nicely you shade and that the style is well developed and lovely to look at. Thanks for making such great art that makes me smile and giving me and my dad yet another thing to bond over.

YO THAT’S SUCH A COOL THING TO HEAR!!!! Thank you to both you and your dad for liking my stuff????? h e c k !!!!!

Anon said:Thanks to you I started reading haikyuu.

I hope you’re enjoying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[centerofstupidity]

Dracula the Undead: Author’s Note Part 1 Snark

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Interested in reading the previous Dracula the Undead chapter snarks? They can be found here.

Summary: An aperitif of the clusterfuckery that is to come. This is a long-winded and self-congratulating author's note.

Both writers claim that their novel stays true to Bram Stoker's vision even though it contradicts and re-writes the original story.

In case anyone wants to read the original author's note in order to form their own conclusions, you can read it here.  

~ Dacre's Story ~

Since I am a Stoker, it is not surprising that I have had a lifelong interest in the work of my ancestor.

At the risk of sounding like a complete ass...

This "interest" is financially motivated. 

Bram’s youngest brother, George, believed to be the sibling with whom he had the closest relationship, was my great-grandfather, so I am Bram’s great-grandnephew.

"Which means that I am related to Bram Stoker and can write an 'official' sequel to Dracula. And that will make me a shit-load of money."

In college, I wrote a paper on my great granduncle,

I'm getting the impression that is statement is supposed to make Dacre Stoker sound unique...

Even though there are plenty of other college students who have written an essay about Bram Stoker or Dracula for an assignment.

For instance, yours truly did a PowerPoint presentation on Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley for a class in college. 

examining what may have motivated him to write Dracula.

Again, this isn't groundbreaking stuff. 

Many people have published articles or books discussing Dracula. 

Scholars like Professor Elizabeth Miller have dedicated their lives to studying it. 

My research opened my eyes to how, from my family’s perspective, the history of the book Dracula, is pretty tragic.

"And before I give everyone a history lesson, I'm telling you all this so I can justify butchering my ancestor's work."

Bram Stoker died without ever seeing Dracula become popular. The sales of the novel were so limited at the time of his death that his widow, Florence, thought she would never benefit financially from Bram’s “wasted” seven years of research and writing. With Bram’s other fiction and nonfiction books out of print, Florence was convinced she would live out her days on a tight budget.

Actually, that isn't true. 

According to scholar John Edgar Browning, the majority of critics gave positive reviews. 

His findings were published on February 1st, 2012. 

It is important to note Dracula: The Undead was published in 2009.

But in an interview in 2013, Dacre Stoker said this: There is this statement that used to kind of drive me crazy—‘Dracula was met with mixed reviews when Bram was alive’. 

He then briefly discusses Browning’s research.

Which means that Stoker knew about Browning’s findings...

But he ignored it and printed misinformation. 

Dacre adds that it was only "ten years after Bram’s death" when Dracula became popular.

Posthumously, Bram started to receive recognition as the progenitor of the modern vampire/horror novel.

Not to diminish Dracula and its impact on popular culture...

But it is not the first influential vampire novel. 

Varney the Vampire is. 

Dacre Stoker goes on to talk about Florence Stoker (Bram Stoker's wife) and her legal dispute with the creators of Nosferatu.

He also states that Dracula became public domain in the U.S.A since 1899 because Bram didn't complete a requirement so Florence Stoker had to live off the U.K. royalties.

With the U.S. copyright lost, Hollywood, corporate America, and anyone else was free to do whatever they wanted to Bram’s story and characters.

This is the part where the reader is supposed to boo and hiss at Hollywood...

And then give Holt and Stoker a standing ovation for writing Dracula the Undead. 

Dacre Stoker talks about how his family wasn't asked for approval of "any of the hundreds of incarnations of Dracula over the next century."

My father’s generation had a negative feeling for all things Hollywood and Dracula.

Which is understandable given what happened. 

But after reading the author's note...

The history of Dracula is being used in order to deflect any criticism.

And to justify bastardizing Dracula under the pretense of honoring Bram's original vision and righting a past wrong. 

—except, of course, for Bram’s original novel.

So we have two options:

They knowingly endorsed a novel that defamed Bram and mocked the original novel. 

Or they loved Dracula and would be appalled that Bram was dragged through the mud and the original lore was ridiculed. 

According to Ian Holt in an interview in 2010, he says that “Bram’s bitter demeanor was even worse in real life than we depicted in the novel.”

And in the same interview, Holt passively aggressively says: “Do your research. The fact that the chapters with Bram were written almost completely by Dacre in consultation with his family means nothing to them.” 

So yeah...

I’m leaning towards option number one. 

I didn’t write about these issues in my college paper, but they were always on my mind.

Dacre Stoker admitted that he didn't read Dracula until he went to college.

Stoker says it was "a shame" that his family was unable to "control the legacy of my great-granduncle" and  "lay claim to the character of Dracula."

It was many years after college that I met an interesting character, Ian Holt.

Stoker doesn't realize that calling someone "an interesting character" can be a veiled insult.

Ian is a screenwriter who has been obsessed with all things Dracula since childhood.

A lot of people love all things Dracula.

Doesn't mean that they are a talented writer.

Ian, being a true idealist, had a plan that inspired me to not accept the frustrating history of Dracula.

"He was my knight in shining armor!"

He wanted to change history.

History reveals that change isn't always positive. 

Sometimes it is negative. 

Ian’s plan was simple: to reestablish creative control over Bram’s novel and characters by writing a sequel that bore the Stoker name.

To my surprise, none in my family had ever considered this.

Translation: "Why haven't any of my family members tried writing a novel? It's the obvious solution to the problem." 

And it didn't occur to Stoker none of his family members had any interest in being a writer. 

It really pisses me off when people act like writing any kind of fiction is easy or that anyone can be a writer. 

While any literate person can write, not everyone can be a writer. 

It requires talent and passion along with the desire to learn about the craft and improve your writing skills.  

Intrigued, I decided to join Ian on a roller-coaster ride as coauthor.

And for readers, it is a nightmarish ride where clusterfuckery gallops and a literary classic is violently raped.

In writing Dracula the Un-Dead, I felt a strong sense of duty and familial responsibility.

"It isn't because I wanted to piss all over my relative's legacy and make a shit load of money."

I hoped to work with Ian to represent Bram’s vision for the character of Dracula.

Bram's vision should be called Sir Not Appearing in This Novel.

We aimed to resurrect Bram’s original themes and characters, just as Bram conceived them more than a century ago.

The Dracula characters appear in name only.

They are cast in an unfavorable light. 

As for the themes?

They are discarded. 

So many books and films had strayed from Bram’s vision—

It is extremely rare for adaptations to stick extremely close to the original story. 

Usually, adaptations take artistic license with the source material. 

And just because an adaptation or a retelling differs from the original story, doesn't mean that it will automatically suck. 

For instance, I like films, mangas, and video games that are inspired by/loosely based on Dracula. 

and thus our intent was to give both Bram and Dracula back their dignity in some small way.

Dracula is depicted as a misunderstood man with fangs who is every woman's erotic dream. 

And readers are supposed to despise Bram. 

I think Bram would be proud that a family member has taken this initiative, and finally done justice to the legacy he created.

Bram would be livid that his work was bastardized and that his descendant depicted him as a desperate and a talentless hack.

~ Ian’s Story ~

I am not ashamed to say it, I LOVE horror films.

Ah, all-caps.

How I loathe thee.

A lot of people like horror and it is a popular genre. 

So that doesn't make you unique.

And horror movies are no longer considered depraved or scandalous.

Holt mentions that his favorite horror movie as a kid was Dracula (1931).

When I was ten years old, my mother bought me a record for Halloween with Christopher Lee narrating the story of Dracula by Bram Stoker. Reading that record sleeve changed my life, for it was then I learned that Transylvania was an actual place and that Dracula was a historical figure.

Where do I begin? 

If you are LISTENING to an audiobook, you are not READING IT.

Ian was "inspired" by the audiobook that he decided to read Dracula.

I was surprised at how different the novel was from the films—and I had seen every Dracula film ever made.

"Who knew that Count Dracula swings both ways? Or that Mina is an assertive and intelligent woman and not a stupid Dracula fangirl?"

The novel was more intelligent, astute, and dark.

While this literary abomination is a cash-grab filled with gratuitous gore and sex.

The novel had more intricate and exciting characters than I could have ever imagined.

While Dracula the Undead has depraved lesbian vampires and a whiny prat along with a handsome and misunderstood vampire who only wants tru luv.

I felt cheated by Hollywood. I vowed revenge!

I get it, Holt and Stoker. 

I'm supposed to hate Hollywood but adore your literary travesty. 

Fifteen years later, my opportunity came.

And Dracula fans wished that it never arrived.

Flipping channels one night, I came upon a program on the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that this story will result in name dropping. And Holt insisting that he is a scholar.

On the program, Coppola held up the 1972 book In Search of Dracula written by Fulbright Scholars Professor Raymond McNally and Professor Radu Florescu (Prince Dracula’s actual descendant).

Vlad the Impaler is also known as Vlad III, Vlad Dracul or Vlad Dracula. 

Sometimes he is referred to as Vlad III of Wallachia or Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. 

But I have never heard of any scholar referring to Vlad III as "Prince Dracula."

A quick Google search reveals only this book and a YA novel called Hunting Prince Dracula. 

Every time I see Vlad III being mentioned as "Prince Dracula", I can't keep a straight face. 

Because it reminds me of Beni Gabor calling Imhotep his "prince." 

Coppola had used the professors’ research of the historical Prince Dracula’s life as inspiration for the opening sequence of his film.

And he discarded the rest of it in order to make Dracula a guy who is looking for his one tru luv.

Before taking a breath I was on a plane to Boston College to meet the professors. After showing them some notes on the screenplay I planned to write based on their book,

"I smelled an opportunity to make some money!"

the professors sold me the rights for one dollar

"They were impressed my awesomeness!"

The friendship I forged with McNally and Florescu has borne fruit in many ways. I soon began traveling with the professors giving lectures on the impact of Bram Stoker’s novel on our culture.

According to Dracula the Undead on the official Penguin Publishing House website, Ian is being described as:

There is a BIG difference between being a fan, a historian, and a documentarian. 

A quick Google search reveals that Ian Holt has not published anything in an academic journal.

However, one of the first things that pop up in an internet search is this. 

This garnered me an invitation to speak at The First World Dracula Congress in Bucharest, Romania, in 1995—a gathering of Dracula/horror scholars from around the world.

I don't doubt that Holt went to The First World Dracula Congress.

But I don't think he was a speaker.

Elizabeth Miller wrote a report about the gathering. 

And Ian Holt isn't mentioned among the speakers. 

Holt went sightseeing in Romania and how he made "the dream I had as a ten-year-old come true."

Thanks to the friends I made at the First World Dracula Congress, I was asked to join the Transylvanian Society of Dracula—a scholarly organization dedicated to the study of all things Dracula.

We get it, Ian Holt. 

You want us to think that you are a scholar because you are friends with scholars and historians. 

But I don't think a scholar would be constantly name-dropping.

Through friends in the society I met Professor Elizabeth Miller, the world’s foremost authority on all things vampire, Dracula, and Bram.

"And I'll use my scholar friends as a shield to deal with criticism."

Professor Miller asked me to speak at the Dracula convention in Los Angeles in 1997, where we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the release of Bram’s novel.

According to a report on the 1997 Dracula convention in Los Angeles, Holt isn't mentioned as being one of the speakers.

Holt says during the convention he came up with an idea to write a sequel to Dracula. He admits that a Dracula sequel isn't a new idea.

But a Dracula sequel was never written with "input from a member of the Stoker family."

Holt goes on to say that "securing that input became my goal" and contacted the Stoker family patriarch.

Still scarred by the Nosferatu copyright affair and years of being ignored and abused by Hollywood, the members of this generation of the Stoker family wanted nothing to do with me.

I could be wrong...

But I'm getting a strong feeling that Holt was miffed that some members of the Stokers didn't want to touch him with a ten-foot pole. 

Especially since Holt said the Stoker family at "long last" supported the idea for an official sequel.

But I wouldn’t give up.

Holt says how he "kept building up my film-writing résumé and Dracula connections." He eventually meets Dacre Stoker.

I pitched him my sequel idea, which at the time I had been planning as a screenplay. Dacre was enthusiastic and suggested that the proper way to proceed was with a book first.

If it is a novel, then it will be proper lit-ra-choor.

Because a movie wouldn't be "deep" or "elevated". 

Both Dacre and Ian agreed to a writing partnership.

And Dacre contacted his family members and presented them with the sequel proposal.

Once it was understood that this would be a labor of love,

"We gleefully shit all over the original lore and insist that it was all a lie."

our intentions honorable, and that our plan was to restore to the world Bram’s original vision and characters,

If that was the case, then:

The original lore of Dracula wouldn't be repeatedly violated.

The Crew of Light wouldn't be depicted in an unflattering light.

And Bram Stoker wouldn't be vilified. 

the Stokers offered support, at long last.

Translation: They finally appreciated my genius!

Dracula the Un-Dead is the culmination of my lifelong dream and years of hard work.

"And why is the Devil laughing and doing a victory dance?"

It is my gift to every horror nut out there.

If by "gift", you mean a literary turd, then I agree with you.

My greatest wish is we have created a book that is close to Bram’s original gothic vision

"Close to Bram's original gothic vision"? 

Hell no! 

It contradicts the original story and reads like a shitty Coppola's Dracula fanfic. 

—while modernizing it at the same time.

By stealing a twist from The Empire Strikes Back and copying a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Believe me, I realize how lucky I am.

And readers will regard this novel as a plague upon mankind.

I have been truly blessed that in some small way, my name will be linked with

a mean-spirited and shitty novel.

that of my hero, Bram Stoker—

I'm not convinced that Dacre or Ian regard Bram as their hero.

Here is an excerpt from the novel:

"If there were to be any truth to Stoker's novel it would have to be where no sunlight could ever reach."

Translation: you can stick it where the sun don't shine.

the man who invented modern horror.

I'll say it again...

Stoker wasn't the only one who invented modern horror.

Some of the other writers were Edgar Allen Poe, Ann Radcliffe, Sheridan Le Fanu, Algernon Blackwood, and H.P. Lovecraft.

[otakween]

I'm Standing on a Million Lives - Volume 1

Hurray! Moving on from 100% Pascal Sensei, this is the next series on MAL alphabetically due to its Japanese title (100-man no Inochi no Ue ni Ore wa Tatteiru). I'm excited to be catching up on something so recent as season 2 for the anime is actually coming out this month! I'm going in 100% blind so, I guess we'll just see where this goes. Chapter breakdown after the "read more."

Ch. 1

-Well, this was really awkwardly paced and written, not a promising start if I'm honest. I hate it when people are isekai'd and barely react, it's so jarring.

-Protag-kun is an edgelord who "hates Tokyo and all the people in it," has no friends, and just wants to play video games. Of course his video game skills are rewarded in isekai-land. Typical cliché BS so far. At least he had a self-aware "oh wait, I'm being a self-centered prick" moment.

-The art isn't hideous, but I don't sense any creativity here. Everyone looks very generic, including the monsters. At least the two-page spreads look nice on my new e-reader

-I feel like this would read as batshit to people who aren't familiar with the isekai genre. They just assume that people are so used to these tropes that they don't need to explain anything. I would have liked it if they showed us more of the "normal" world so that the isekai moment would be more of a shock and we could get a better feel for the characters/setting.

-Game master dude is really annoying. I hope they explain why he speaks in partial sentences. None of the characters even acknowledged it which was really weird.

-Kinda dumb how Kusue saying "I want to be useful to people!" just completely blew Protag-kun's mind and changed his whole world view. First of all: can we save epiphanies like that for at least the end of volume 1?? Second: how easily swayed is this man!? He felt like he went through the entire A Silent Voice MC's character arc in 2 seconds.

-I feel like the level of gore doesn't fit the tone they're going for. It just feels out of place and gratuitous. Like, this isn't Attack on Titan, this is more of an adventure series (I think)

Ch. 2

-The characterization in this is really annoying. So far the characters don't feel like real people, they're just assigned archetypes. Yuka is an otaku, Kusue is the "frail girl," etc. I think one thing that's lacking is the girls barely get a chance to speak and we're stuck with Yotsuya's incel monologues. Hopefully this improves.

-Real convenient that all the chosen party members are girls so far. The setting/make up of the party reminds me of Konosuba a lot.

-Why are bullying scenes in manga always so over the top? I'm pretty sure bullies don't typically go the sexual assault route. Similar to the gore feeling out of place, that felt unnecessarily dark. The character's also reacted to it as if it wasn't a big deal (???)

-Today in "fancy words used in manga": polyandric. Apparently it means an animal that mates with multiple males.

-I was honestly triggered by the centipede monsters. I have house centipedes in my apartment and they're horrifying. The thought of one wrapping around my head...-shudder-

-The bullying rescue scene was interesting. I feel like normally it would be a big, heroic moment, but instead they chose to show how all the girls (bullies and victim) were afraid of Yotsuya for suddenly showing up and acting like a maniac. It was kinda nice to see his "you love me now, right?" rejected lol.

-The self-aware anime stuff is obnoxious. MC being like "woah this is a harem situation" and the girls being like "gap moe!?" at the end of the chapter. It's jarring when characters that aren't supposed to be otaku bring up otaku things.

-Game Master showing up on Yotsuya's phone was pretty funny lol. I liked his selfie.

Ch. 3

-Shindo's backstory was so weirdly written and awkward: she was a bad kid, made friends with an older girl who taught her to be good, and then that older girl killed herself. She then overheard her family members being like "lol that dead girl was ugly" so...she vowed to protect the weak...or something? I dunno it was confusing. Also, more needlessly grimdark content with Shindo's parents basically saying that girl deserved to die because she was ugly.

-I don't think this mangaka understands anatomy, the abs on the male characters look...off

-Interesting rule where they lose EXP for fighting humans. Although, that does make me wonder about the cover art for this volume. Are the "million lives" supposed to represent all the times the characters die and are revived or...?

-Yuka being like "I don't think Shindo's a good person because she's got pretty privilege." Rubbed me the wrong way. She reeks of the "not like other girls" trope

-When Yotsuya said he's "not like other boys" because he'll listen to your tragic backstory and Shindo reacts "are you gay or something?" That felt like a mix of casual homophobia and toxic masculinity, not cute.

Ch. 4

-We get a new harem addition and her stupid quirk is that she likes cutting people up. I dunno, something about the way she robotically announced that while fighting felt so unnatural and forced. This manga is anything but subtle.

-Only now realizing that the artist and the author are two separate people. Honestly, I was surprised to find out that this is just a manga and it doesn't have a corresponding light novel. It really feels like it's being adapted from something, but maybe that has to do with the writer and artist being separate?

-Every time they mention a new fantasy name it kinda seems like the author just threw scrabble letters at the wall.

-The design of the bipedal steeds wheel attachment looked like it wouldn't work. Like, how do those things walk with a big giant wheel right in front of their feet? I guess I'll find out in the anime lol

-Very, very confused about Yotsuya's "career." When he became a chef he dressed as a chef, but now that he's a wizard he's back to dressing like a farmer and using a hoe? That seems like a continuity error. Either that or they didn't explain how things work very well. Can you switch between your past careers?

-They reveal that they only feel 1/36 of normal pain in this world, which would have been nice to know in chapter 1 when people were being torn apart, but okay.

-One of Yotsuya's new skills is "the ability to raise or lower the persuasiveness of your words." Immediately I was like, "wtf? In what situation would you want to lower your persuasiveness?" Maybe if you're using reverse psychology? -shrug-

-I enjoyed the author's mini essay at the end about stories standing the test of time. I guess this is their first serialization so now I kinda feel bad for trashing it so much lol. Oh well, gotta be honest in my reactions...

[akagami-no-rae]

2017 Creations

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this [last] year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3

I was tagged by @youseimanami @superhappybubbleslove and as raediation by @hidetheremote

(listed in the order they were posted)

1) Mithridatism: This started out as a fic in my head playing with the headcanon that King Kain was poisoned. I had the idea that whoever did it also would have laced Izana’s drink, but in a twist a little baby Zen ended up being the one to drink it instead. This was supposed to lead to Zen barely making a recovery and leading to a fear of being poisoned and to his eventual mithridatism… That is not what this story ended up being. It instead plays with the idea of what if Kain was a terrible king and Haruto and Izana murdered him? #MadKingKain

2) Welcome Back, Shirayuki: I really liked the way it turned out! I still think about this particular picture as one of my best. It was also super therapeutic? Zen and Shirayuki had been away from each other for two years and for me it had also been nearly two years since i caught up in the manga. Chapter 88 posted soon after I posted this and I actually laughed at how it was almost right on to what happened, but if Zen was Obi and Shirayuki was the one telling him “Welcome home.” But Zen and Shirayuki kissed so that was pretty sweet. (also it’s the only post nebluus has ever reblogged from me and I had an unabashed ‘senpai noticed me’ freak out on the other side of the computer. DON’T TELL HER. she doesn’t follow me, she wont see this, and I need her to think I’m cool hahahaha)

3) It’s Britney: So @sabraeal and @superhappybubbleslove do this thing where they tag particularly sassy Izana pictures as “It’s Britney, Bitch” this inspired me to listen to some Britney Spears for the first time. I’m in love with her now. I thought Circus was perfect for Izana and I still enjoy watching that vid. Also, shout out to Joanna for writing an in depth analysis on it!!! That was above and beyond and I love it and I reread it still. 

4) Zen Wisteria vs. the World: I make my videos for me. I rewatch them all the time like a lunatic and I laugh at my own jokes. I’m like Kanye listening to his own album. I did NOT expect this video to get any notes. I took my favorite movie and mashed it with my favorite anime in a self indulgent blender that I was supposed to sip alone, BUT IT TOOK OFF!??! (”took off” by our fandom’s standards) It has more notes than my Move Obi AMV that’s had since 2016 to gain notes. I really really like this video and I’m thrilled other people like it too.

5) Zenyuki Wedding and Domestics: This made it in just before the new year as a birthday gift to myself. I made it because I needed it, a lot of times I feel kinda alone out here and I was having a really rough month. It wasn’t as popular which is always disappointing, but I remind myself that I make stuff for me and just hope other people like it too. Over all I think it turned out really nice and is a good showcase of my improvement from the last year. Here’s a link to something I made at the very beginning of 2017 to give you a point of reference  (really different huh?)  

Also shout out to @hidetheremote for writing a little fic for it!!!! That was AMAZING and I was so flattered! Thank you for the birthday present!

And tagging, totally up to them if they want to share:

@party-with-books  @theblondeartist @somemakoinyourpool @monochromevoid @cyansighs

[silverloreley]

To be frank I disagreed with you on the notion that it’s wrong for bakugou to be brought in on the ofa secret especially since the logic for you Is basically that it’s wrong because bakugou bullied izuku etc I have got to be frank bakugou and izuku cooperating with each other is great (and improve the from the previous gen izuku being the all might and bakugous parallels with endeavor (where bakugou got served humble pie when he was young which began his development 1/?

Bakugou’s character development process since day one. Was never simply just arrived at a zenlike conclusion on his own through stern self-reflection or anything like that. his entire story has been him learning and growing from one humbling experience after anotheR had it not been for that he could have become endeavor when he grew up They are improvements to previous gen as shown by how izuku pet bakugou in on the secret and they are working with each other 2/?

I believe that the series is building up to Deku and Bakugou working together to become The Greatest Heroes as a team,

(I received those three together, so I assume they are a single topic. There’s another sort-of-question in my inbox too, but that will have to wait because I already spent an hour for this reply and I have irl things to do today)

We can certainly agree to disagree. Everyone is allowed to have their point of view. Let me make some clarifications before I reply (although there wasn’t a real question here, just an opinion and probably an attempt at making me change my mind... -.-)

First of all, ”Bakugou was a bully” wasn’t the only logic behind my refusal. I have other reasons, that was just the one that probably came out stronger from my fic notes.

About that, this is what I wrote:

“ I mean... do I love Bakugou and his character development? Yes. Am I still waiting for a proper apology to Izuku? Hell yes. Do I think he should have known about OfA? Abso-fucking-lutely NO. That's the hill I'll die on. No, I didn't have a chance to watch the second BnHA movie yet, but I don't think I'll change my mind on that. Plot-wise it was pointless and I can tell you it won't happen here. “

You may notice I don’t discard his character development, it’s actually one of the things I like about him (aside from the obvious traits I see in him of myself, almost as many as I have in common with Izuku, which is another discussion entirely). It’s not his past as a bully the reason I don’t think his involvement in the secret was necessary, although it certainly factors in my head, but the fact the plot didn’t need it AND he wasn’t ready for it.

He didn’t grow enough, he asked to know and he was given what he wanted just like he always had. Yes, he made leaps from where he started, but he didn’t need to be put apart of OfA’s secret. He needed to be told where he went wrong so far and accept the simple life fact you can’t get all you want just because you feel entitled to it. He should have offered to help without knowing how vital it was, how important it was to All Might.

Only after seeing him help because he feels it’s right and not for competitivity/reward I could have agreed to let him know.

Now that I saw the second movie, I am still of the same opinion: this ending was discarded for a good reason. It was all scenography and no actual content, the Twin Stars thing is not the ending I want to see and I hope Horikoshi realized it’s not ideal either. The best part of the movie was, honestly, the way the class collaborated flawlessly, even if it came down to one-on-ones (or two-on-one in Nine’s case) at the end.

I may add the reason I’ve been waiting for an apology (or even just an admission “I was an ass to you”) is mostly for my sake, for the part of me that, like Izuku, was bullied to the verge of breaking, the me who never had a single word of apology for the way I was hurt and had to pick up my pieces alone. I’ll never have it in reality, let me at least get it in fiction.

It’s a very personal thing, okay? I don’t expect people to agree with me (which is funny, since I used to be the kind of person who always felt in the right, again, a lot like Katsuki here. In a way, I could say I was bullied so much without help like Izuku I had to become Katsuki to protect myself. Again, another discussion entirely).

Second: I understand Horikoshi’s artistic choices, it doesn’t mean I have to share them or find them perfect.

Again about my note: you may notice I said “plot-wise”, which should probably be corrected, now that I’m on par with the manga, with “the plot could perfectly work even without that”. What use was it having Bakugou in Toshinori and Izuku’s OfA reunions? He could have helped from the outside, if he wanted to prove he’s a better person, a better person doesn’t need to be apart of every single detail to offer his help, especially because he didn’t add anything of value (think about when they are talking about OfA predecessors, the only thing he does is point out they died young and snarked about how lame their quirks were, what kind of useful input is it?) Even in the last chapters (I won’t delve to keep it spoilers-free), his presence in the fight had no particular relevance save for a couple moments, but he could have been replaced easily and/or decided to go anyway without knowing (just like Todoroki did, to say)

Oh, I do like the idea of the new generation correcting the past, I’m all for an ending that deletes the competition between Heroes and favours cooperation, except I’d like to see a whole cooperation among all Heroes, not the Twin Stars thing Horikoshi is hinting towards. I wanted, from the start, to see Deku become the de-facto leader of a community of Heroes who work together in equality, each depending on their abilities and strengths without trying to outdo each other at every turn but working as different parts of a single body.

The Twin Stars thing defeats this purpose, it’s an artistic choice that hinges on keeping up parallels and foils where things improve from one foil to another, but eventually keeps a similar status quo.

Now that we’re talking about artistic choices, I want to add I don’t like the overuse of parallels in works of fiction. Having too many defeats the purpose of having one in the first place, which is to point out important bits of the story and the difference a single choice or point of view can make. Too many are distracting and don’t allow the reader to decide which ones are really important.

Horikoshi put in BnHA definitely too many for my taste: All Might-Deku vs AFO-Shigaraki should have been the only relevant one. For how much I like the Eri vs Shigaraki, it wasn’t explored, yet, which means so far it’s not relevant. Endeavor vs Bakugou is an interesting one too and I’m fine with it, but making it an All Might-Endeavor vs Deku&Bakugou is a choice I can’t share. To me, the story should get to the point to completely push down the current inefficient Hero system, and not improve it the slight little bit with having a pair of Number Ones instead of an absolute one and everyone below them.

Again, that’s my point of view, agree to disagree.

[keyofjetwolf]

It is 3am and I had a long night at work and a bit too much to drink as a result, so if this comes across snarky or snippy I'm super-sorry and I didn't mean it to it is a legit honest question but I am not toning well right now. Obviously, you are not happy with the way the manga is going. I think one of its issues is that it had only so much space to play with--you had a set number of pages, and that was it. So especially in light of the Giant Sailor Moon Canon Voltron, I'm curious: (1/2)

(2/2) given a similar amount of space, if you had to tell all of the story that was in the original–e.g. no “let’s just skip an arc for space’s sake”–what would you do differently from the actual manga that you think would make it a better story? Like I’m sure it can be done but as someone who masters in talking too much I’m fucked if I can imagine how. I AM KIND OF HOPING YOU HAVE MORE AND OR BETTER IDEAS THAN ME.

Not snarky, no worries!

“How would you rewrite the entire manga in the same amount of space” is a pretty huge fucking question though, and to be completely honest with you, I don’t care enough about the manga to try and fix what I find wrong with it (which is basically everything). But let’s talk about some stuff for a bit!

I don’t think that “there’s a space limitation” is a valid excuse for … well, anything, really. This isn’t a constraint unique to Takeuchi, it’s a truth for basically every form of professional media we have. TV shows have a very set and firm number of minutes they’re allowed, movies generally have about two hours to tell their story from start to finish, books and novels and short stories all have some degree of length constraints, comic books are churned out week after week and for the most part adhere to the same number of pages. I said this repeatedly when I was watching Crystal, but the problem isn’t how much time you have so much as it is what you DO with that time.

Let’s take the final act of the Black Moon. Specifically, let’s look at how limited time and space was used in that chapter. I’ll break the whole thing down, STRAP IN.

pg 1-5 (5): Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen disappear

pg 6-10 (5): NQS wakes up and emerges from the palace

pg 11-17 (7): NQS talks about power, sends Chibs to help Sailor Moon

pg 18-24 (7-1=6): In space, Usagi and Mamoru reaffirm their love

minus one page where Planet Ryan is spooky and threatening

pg 25-28 (4): Chibi-Usa is “born” from their love and they kick Ryan’s ass.

pg 29-34 (6): Crystal Tokyo is revived, everyone gets a free power up.

pg 35-42 (8): Goodbye to Crystal Tokyo

pg 43-49.7 (6.7): Usagi says goodbye to Chibs

pg 49.7-54.7 (6): Mamoru and Usagi say goodbye to Chibs

pg 54.7-54.9 (.7): The Inner Senshi split a panel for their welcome homes

pg 55-59 (5): Chibi-Usa’s back

It’s the end of the arc, so let’s be a little generous about some allotment of space and try to focus on parts that are overly bloated or incidental to the plot.

Immediately, we’ve got five entire pages of something which can be resolved in two panels, but let’s say we steal just two pages.

NQS waking up, easily another two pages we can steal.

YOU CAN CUT EVERY LAST SECOND OUT OF USAGI AND MAMORU IN SPACE IN MY OPINION, but honestly, six fucking pages is so unnecessary, so I’m taking half.

The entire Usagi/NQS meeting makes me grumpy for so many reasons, but it absolutely does not need eight goddamn pages of “BUT I WANT TO MEET YOU BUT I CAN’T BUT I WANT TO BUT I CAN’T OH FUCK IT”. Granting some artistic indulgence, I’ll just take two.

You know what, I’m already at nine pages (NINE PAGES), I can stop. What would I do with those nine pages?

How about one each for the Inners getting to return home? Actually you know who hasn’t hugged them or welcomed them back or said she missed them or was so worried about them? ANY OF THEM TO ANY OF THE OTHERS OF THEM INCLUDING FUCKING USAGI

Rei was missing since LITERALLY THE START OF THIS ARC, and Usagi has yet to actually say her fucking name. So yeah, one page of my nine for the Senshi (ALL the Senshi, looking at you manga Usagi) to actually show they give a shit about each other. Then a page each for the Inners to show them returning home. What kind of relieved but knowing looks did Grandpa give Rei when she returned home after being missing from anywhere from three days to three months ?(seriously how long was she fucking gone) Did anyone water Mako’s plants while she was missing, or are they all dead now? Did Ami have a series of lies and excuses on her lips, only to discover that the note she’d left for her mother since just after Rei was taken is still unread? How is Minako quietly (or not so quietly) coping with having once again been the only Senshi when she lost her girls?

Five pages down. I’ve got four left.

How about one for Pluto actually being dead? Let’s be generous, let’s give her TWO. Pluto gets a fucking memorial. Even if “our” Senshi can’t be there, let’s see it in Crystal Tokyo. You don’t even have to have words. Chibi-Usa lost and mourning. Her mother maybe tentative at first, unsure after so long, but then providing the direct comfort and affection she sometimes struggles with.

Those are ideas just off the top of my head that would have improved just this issue tremendously for me, AND I STILL HAVE TWO PAGES.

The problem isn’t limited space, the problem is limited caring.

[loserbeam]

2016 retrospective

I usually do these right after the new year, but I’ve been getting clusterfucked so here we are. Sorry for making you wait, literally nobody!

JANUARY

Stepping off of a burst of energy from wrapping up finals and celebrating the new year, I lapse into a heavy depression.

Consequently I take time off stage. This is death to me.

My roommate takes full advantage of my insecurity about not performing. My home life is a lot of hearing about how I’m not a comic if I’m not performing.

And why? I don’t know. He fed me the line, “I’m just trying to help you.” This is a classic tactic of emotionally abusive people and, as I’m gullible, affable and eager to please, I fell for it hard. 

The idea that I’m not doing well in comedy is a much bigger road block to doing well in comedy than actually not doing well in comedy.

Instead of working on my thesis, I read a lot of comics and hide in bed.

FEBRUARY

My roommate took our utility money without paying the bill and our gas gets shut off. This sparks a mood swing that ends with me punching out a window. 

I start writing poems during math lectures again.

I get back on stage slowly. I feel like a newly born giraffee up there (google it (but not at work)).

In typical bipolar form, I obsessively chase the only thing consistently making me feel good. So I dedicate myself to writing a new character every week.

MARCH

Lapsing out of my depression one warm day I realize how many of my troubles are in my head. In an effort to take back my life, I pitch my show as a SPANK and, surprisingly, it gets accepted.

I wonder briefly about life post grad school and, terrified, eat a sandwich instead. 

My brother mentions that he needs someone to apartment sit in LA for the summer. In the parallel structure that underpins the crap novel that is my life, I am reminded of the summer I spent with my sister immediately after graduating undergrad--which was the last few months before I finally got treatment for bipolar. So I agree to go for a few weeks only, in case it all goes awry.

APRIL

With my birthday, I am faced with the cruel reality that I am absolutely not a kid anymore. I’m 25. When my grandpop was my age he had three kids and a drinking problem. It’s time to act my age.

With no sense of irony, I purchase the entirety of the Naruto manga.

For the first time in memory I have a birthday I enjoy. A last minute change of venue put us at the Stonewall on a slow night; celebrating in such a historic place made me feel connected to being a gay in a way that random grindr hookups and being self conscious about my body never has. A smattering of people from all walks of my life come together. There is much love in the room. Perhaps I am not a bullshit person.

My roommates ask me to leave the apartment because I punched out a window.

I realize I have done almost no work on my thesis.

Oh no. I am a bullshit person.

MAY

With my thesis due in under a month, I end up spending 2 weeks nonstop on a breakneck schedule: wake up at 8 am, in the library by 9 am, there until 12am, home by 1 am, bed by 2.

I fail a final and laugh at the possibility that that might doom my degree. (It doesn’t.)

In the same week, I put up a SPANK, turn in my thesis and move out of my apartment. Then I go to LA.

The plan is to literally go straight to the airport after moving out of my apartment. I enlist the help of one of my roommate’s estranged ex’s, now a good friend (because he has taste, at least), in moving my things to a storage unit. She yells at his bed, hoping she can yell loudly enough give advice to herself in the past, and we briefly contemplate stealing his dog.

We should have, but we didn’t.

The night before I go to LA I decide to leave my apartment early and stay up all night to go to BYOT, the mic I frequent at UCB. This is an act of defiance against the universe, which is my oppressor, because I no longer have authority to revolt against.

The night is great--a great set, a great time, great friends. It feels like the last day of school. A chapter in my life is closing.

Before I head to the airport I decide to get something to eat. I am caught with my luggage in a rain storm and get completely soaked before sadly eating McDonalds. This is an omen.

JUNE

My expectation is that LA will be a place I want to move in my thirties--quiet, calm, a better quality of life but so much less going on. I am completely right.

My only chore at my brother’s apartment is moving his car to avoid parking tickets. Twice a week I nervously get behind the wheel and inch it down the street--because I have only driven 5 times in my life, the 5th being the license test. The first time I move it I have to google “which pedal is the brake?”

I acquaint myself with LA busses, which are essentially NYC subways but with all the crazy people jammed into one car.

Which is wear I witness the best dialogue I’ve seen in person. My favorite: A grumpy old man yelling at everyone; a tired queen headed home from WeHo. Queen: “Stop being a dick.” Old Man: “Stop sucking dick. I worked with Sinatra you fag, who are you?” Q: “If you worked with Sinatra then why are you riding a bus?”

I do an escape room for the first time with a friend from NYC who was also venturing out. We keep this up back in New York for quite awhile.

I also spend a lot of time with my uncle, who is a very successful writer and producer. He imparted some very important knowledge, including haranguing me for not working enough, which stung but I needed to hear it. Some other highlights:

I had picked up a habit of judging improv and other comics from my shithead roommate (who is a stand up, kind of). I got coffee with my uncle after seeing a weekend team at iO that was fun but a bit underwhelming. “But you know, that’s improv,” I laughed. He rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, “What do they have on you except 10 years of performing experience?”

Another time we met at a cafe he liked. Everyone--I do mean everyone--was on a laptop writing a screenplay. “What a cliche,” I joked. He looked at me very sternly. “I want you to understand this,” he said, “Everyone in here is working and you are drinking coffee I bought you. Okay? They’re doing the work and you’re making fun of them. That’s the difference.”

Ow!

I shit on my own experience, talking about having bar shows where the audience is the other comics, performing for 3 people at a time, etc. He tells me the story of his own big break--as a two man group he had a show at a new club. Three person audience. Instead of being flippant about it they put on the best show they can; one of the people was there to review the club. They got mentioned in the paper. It snowballed.

“And stop talking shit about your material,” he said, “You’re just telling people you’re not worth watching.”

JULY

On the plane home I write the entirety of a pilot I had been thinking about but was afraid to put down.

I check my email as soon as I touch down in NYC. A festival I had never heard back from had a drop out and needed me to do 20 minutes of stand up.

The show has a 6 person audience. I’m about to feel bad about it until I remember my uncle’s advice. I take it seriously. i do well. This show puts me in graces with an artistic director who would go on to stage many of my shows. Good advice, that.

UCB finally gets back to me about my SPANK. It is rejected.

The ebbs and tides of my life feel more like droughts and tsunamis.

I live for the month with my good friends Ryland and Dave. They are the absolute best to me. Dave smokes in his room and ashes on the window sill. Cool breezes blow through as we watch Buffy. One night we try to find the documentary Tickled, but it’s just out so we can’t find it. We settle on watching one of the actual competitive tickling videos. It’s a little hot.

I go on a date with my now-boyfriend. He is cute.

AUGUST

I finally lock down a new place. My new roommate? My ex. Why? I love a story.

The apartment is a trap. The gas isn’t set up, the construction isn’t finished. We struggle to find someone for the third room.

One night when things have finally calmed down, I throw myself a small dance party and in the midst of it notice a bed bug crawling up my wall. This is the death of my happiness, I decide, and for the most part I’m right.

We find someone to move in to the third room. He is a bland twink and could be replaced in the story of my life by a mannequin.

I spend a lot of time at boyfriend’s, consequently.

I call him my boyfriend for the first time at his birthday party, which felt tacky cause I didn’t get him anything (per request) and I hope he didn’t think that was, like, my gift.

SEPTEMBER

A friend from grad school hooks me up with my first ever teaching job. I am an adjunct instructor, but I like to tell people that I am a 25 year old professor, which I very much get off on.

The only perks of the job are getting off on calling yourself a 25 year old professor. It’s fun but I’d get paid more as a doorman.

After hosting some stand up, I mention to my director friend that I’m working on a show. He agrees to put it up.

OCTOBER

For the first time, I put together a one-man show. I perform it as an 18 year old womyn doing her one woman show about her family. It is fun and stupid and a handful of people come.

I produce two running shows at other theaters about town. They have no audience but nobody knows that when I say it.

I make my boyfriend do a couple’s costume. 

NOVEMBER

My friends from BYOT and I form a sketch group, CHUMBLE. (We’re a fan of caps lock.) They ask me to direct the inaugural show, which will need to be written and rehearsed in under a month.

We pull it off. It’s great.

On election day I go back home to vote. I get dinner with my mother and a work friend of hers, a mouthy French woman who is a delight. Slowly word eeks out that Trump is winning. This memory feels a bit like the band playing while the Titanic sank.

I end up writing more about nazis than I thought I would be.

I start going to workshops for Queerball, an LGBT thing at UCB, where I meet a new director for my one man show.

We both, incidentally, end up in the same scene of a film shoot where our characters have our dicks stapled together by a murderer. (It’s a horror comedy.)

DECEMBER

My one-man show premiers on the mainstage at PIT, paired off with Ryland’s. It’s a good night to be human.

But I don’t get to celebrate much, because I have to be up to teach in the morning.

Christmas is a rough patch. Bland roommate decides he will move out, telling us to use his deposit to cover his January rent--which sucks, because we aren’t a management company. I go broke. My boyfriend and I have a spat. (But we make up.)

I get to spend New Years with Ryland and Dave and so many of my best friends.

Ryland drinks his favorite beverage, a large cup of midori. And its flavor matches my year: a dose of thick cough syrup doused in neon green.

[iesorno]

I spoke to Alice a long time ago and have been very slow in getting this interview up on the site, for which I apologise.

I’d seen Star Bright in the small press section of my local comic shop (without realising that Alice worked there at the time) and was intrigued by it, flicking through, but never quite committing as it wasn’t my normal art style. When I put out a call for interviews and reviews and Alice responded I was pleased as it gave me the reason to engage and test that prejudice. I’m glad I got that chance as I was particularly struck by Star Bright, so struck I awarded it one of the five Paper Underground awards zine love gave out for 2019. I was very moved by the story, it ended with an admittedly quiet emotional outcome, but it hit with quite a heavy weight.

I also want to thank Rob Zwetsloot for their additional responses (and help with editing!!)

That there are only 200 copies, and not all are sold, seems to me a big shame. It’s a strong and accessible work, even for younger children and it seems like a comic that could fly with the right publisher to raise awareness and get some strong distribution.

Star Bright can be found online, on twitter and bought here

Alice Clarke can be found online, on twitter , on instagram and facebook

Rob Zwetsloot can also be found on twitter

ZL – Hi Alice, could you give a brief introduction about yourself first of all?

AC – Hi Iestyn! I’m a Brighton born & raised artist. I’ve been drawing since a young age and graduated from the University of Brighton with honours in Illustration in 2017. I lived in Texas for two years from when I was about twelve, which is where I first came across manga in my middle school library, and ever since then I’ve been hooked on comics.

ZL – I guess the obvious question is, what have you been doing since the strip finished up at the end of October 2018, apart from, running a successful Kickstarter to get it physically published?

AC – It took quite a few months to fulfil the Kickstarter as I was doing almost everything by myself and I was working full time. In April I quit my job to sort and pack all my earthly possessions and on the 1st of May I moved to Japan – so since then it’s been an adjustment period I suppose! Comics-wise I’m working on my first solo comics project, a lot of which has been building up the courage to start drawing. I’m thumbnailing it right now!

ZL – How did it feel to see the Kickstarter do so well, and then receive positive reviews from the likes of Broken Frontier as well?

AC – It took me a long time to work up the confidence to even try to make a comic in the first place and I only feel I was able to do it with the support of my wonderful co-creator and writer, Rob Zwetsloot, as well as friends and peers who cheered me on every step of the way. So, for the Kickstarter to be such a success, I was completely overwhelmed and overjoyed. I am extremely grateful that people such as Stephen at Page 45 and Holly at Broken Frontier took the time to read and review our work and say such nice things about it.

ZL – You got a lot of backers, I was wondering how many copies you had produced over and above those to fill the initial Kickstarter orders and how well they are selling, and where people can buy them if they want a copy?

AC – We had a pretty small print run of 200 copies, around half of which were for the Kickstarter. We have around 30 left over not including copies may be left on shelves in comic book stores – my previous workplace, Dave’s Comics in Brighton, Page 45, all the Travelling Man stores… You can buy them on my Etsy store! Rob is fulfilling orders at the moment since most of our readers are in the UK, it didn’t make sense to send them to myself in Japan.

ZL – I’ve read Star Bright myself and – terrible person I am – as soon as you said it took you two and a half years I went and looked at the first drawings and the last ones to see what improvement there was.  I was struck by two things straight away.

The character designs were strong from the outset, it is easy to tell characters apart and there’s great scope for communicating their emotions, which is very important in this story.

Your figure work and anatomy were very strong by the end, also your line work was much more assured.

Do you see the difference and how do you feel about your progress?

AC – Thank you so much. That’s not terrible at all – I always do the same, I think it’s fascinating to see someone’s growth in this way! For me personally, I feel the change is immense (I actually can’t bear looking at the old pages haha) and I learned so much as I drew each page of the comic – people aren’t kidding when they say if you want to get better drawing, draw a comic. It forced me to draw many things I would never usually draw (backgrounds!!) and think about how to lay out each page and panel in a way that was visually interesting but conveyed more than just an illustration on its own would. I think I also got a bit more confident in my work and was more willing to take risks with angles, poses, etc.

ZL – Is there a point where you thought that the drawing really hit its stride and you felt that you were achieving an outcome you could be proud of, were you proud right from the start?

chapter 3 frontispiece

AC – I don’t think I was particularly proud of my work (meaning the drawings themselves) until maybe end of chapter 3, chapter 4. A long way in, I know, but I have a lot of self-confidence issues with my drawing (thanks art school) and it wasn’t until that far in that I think I found my stride and the way I wanted to draw the comic. I am pretty proud of all the pages at and after that point.

ZL – What was the genesis of this comic, did you know the writer Rob before you started working together?

AC – I think we knew of each other through mutual friends and the UK cosplay community, but it wasn’t until I put it out on Twitter that I was looking for a writer for a comic project that we really started talking. Rob came to me with a rough outline of ideas and character concepts and I just loved it straightaway, the rest is history!

ZL – I find it interesting that you call it out as an LGBT comic, because, to me at least, it’s far more universal, dealing with social anxiety and self-image. I’m particularly interested to see a comic written by someone with different life experiences that handles the feelings and emotions of teenage girls so convincingly and wondered what inspiration and insight Rob drew on to write the story. Did you work together on the storyline and character decisions or was this a more traditional writer and artist collaboration?

AC – As LGBT creators we always want to create work that reflects ourselves and our community in one way or another, and while Star Bright may not feature a story with a hard-hitting LGBT subtext, I think it’s important that people can read and access comics and books that feature gay and trans characters without that necessarily being the focus of the story. Especially as a book aimed at a younger audience who may not have figured out or even thought about those things yet (I know I certainly hadn’t when I was Zoe’s age…) I wanted to manifest LGBT themes in a manner that was more suggestive but also conspicuous. Accepted. Like Robin and Sarah always showing up holding hands, Zoe and Star’s progression from friendship to something more just being accepted. I hope that makes sense.

Robin and Sarah in the background holding hands

Rob is non-binary, so I think those self-image issues and feelings of anxiety and not fitting in would not be too dissimilar to a young teenage girl’s at all. Although it was chiefly Rob who wrote the story, it was quite different when originally brought to  – there are whole characters we decided together not to use in the final version. I would say we were co-creators more than anything else when it came to the script, and as someone who was once exactly in Zoe’s shoes, a young teen girl struggling at school with loneliness and friendship troubles, I did my best to help nuance Rob’s wonderful script in a way that echoed my experiences. In that way I think we are a little bit outside the traditional writer-artist style of collaboration. Rob also gave me almost complete freedom with page layouts and pacing, only really giving me stage direction and visual pointers when they had a strong idea for how a certain page or scene needed to be drawn. I think our collaborative method was really symbiotic and we both helped each other constantly to build on our strengths and grow our skills.

ZL – This sounds like an interesting point and I’d like to bring Rob in on this and get their point of view, how did you find the experience of writing about teenage girls?

RZ – First and foremost, I wrote these characters as just people, with wants and desires, different history and life experiences. I think that’s important with storytelling, otherwise you’re concentrating on just one part of them (and it reeeaaaalllllly shows when you do). A lot of Zoe’s character was based on me growing up and some of the problems I faced. It was sort of wish fulfilment for how I’d liked to have been able to face my issues while I was still a teenager. It’s been nice to learn that a lot of other people had these sorts of experiences, so I wasn’t quite as lonely as I thought – although I guess the irony there is, we were all too lonely to reach out to each other at the time. Having said that, while writing the story I was worried that I might end up not writing the girls ‘correctly’ – despite the agnostic approach to creating the characters, I don’t have experience as a teenage girl. I think at one point I was even asking friends “did you ever just talk in Simpsons quotes as a kid?”.

However, I said to Alice at the start that she should correct me if I did something wrong. It really helped with the way the scripts were written. I’d write the chapter, do my edit passes, tweak it until I was happy with it (or as happy as I could get), and then Alice and I would read through it together and punch it up, almost like a TV show writers’ room. We’d add bits and change stuff for story reasons, consistency, for better visual layout in the comic, etc. It definitely would not have been as good as it is without her input. I think Zoe ended up an amalgam of Alice and myself in the end, and really the only mistake I made with them was initially writing them a bit too mature. We added in more of the uncertainty and confusion of being fourteen and left it up to the reader.

  ZL – What impressed me most with the art on this was how you used it so efficiently to highlight emotional states, it’s interesting to see someone approach a Japanese style comic that develops the use of body language and silent connections more than the hyper normal, speed line mania one usually sees being aped. The approach lifts what is really a small, introverted narrative and lends it a heavy sense of emotion, rather than playing up an opportunity for melodrama. I’m wondering if there was a conscious decision to play the story that way, or whether it was something that came from the characters as they emerged, or whether it was something that the two of you brought from your own influences?

powerful loneliness

AC – Thank you very much, I’m really pleased you picked up on some of my visual choices. I am not really sure, I think for my part I just tried to draw and convey the story and the emotions in a manner that felt natural to me. Some of my most favourite storytelling techniques in comics are found predominantly in manga, so a lot of the ways I decided to draw certain scenes involving drama and emotion are probably very influenced by Japanese comics. I find the quietness and subtlety of melodrama in manga oftentimes much more emotive and appealing than some of what I’ve seen in western comics, and I think it’s closer to reality so it works better for stories like Star Bright where the narrative is close to home and relatable, (well, except for the whole alien thing haha).

ZL – I don’t know whether you were aiming for this, but it’s definitely something that I picked up, whilst this is clearly a comic aimed at teenagers, a YA style, it’s also something that I, as an adult could read and identify with. The style is engaging and endearing and open and it feels like I’m getting an insight into the lives of the girls and girls that age in general. What was the aim of creating this story, who were you hoping to talk to and what was it you felt you had to say to them?

AC – Thank you so much. I really like books that have a wide appeal, that have something for everyone. Many of my favourite series fans’ ages range hugely so I guess maybe it’s a natural way for me to create work (Cardcaptor Sakura, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Lord of the Rings…) For me, not having a voice when amongst my peers and the smothering feeling of loneliness and being misunderstood as a teenager was something I had rarely, perhaps never seen represented in books and comics I’d read, so I really wanted to voice it myself with this comic. With Star Bright, I was hoping to talk to that lonely girl who spends her school breaktimes at the library reading by herself, who begs her mum for sick notes, so she doesn’t have to go on school trips, the girl who’s always last to be picked in P.E., who never has a pair for group work. I’m sure there are lots and lots of Zoes out there in the world, and I wanted this book to find them somehow and let them know they’re not alone, and if they didn’t find them yet, there’s definitely a Star waiting for them.

ZL – It’s also surprising how, if you gave it as an elevator pitch, something seemingly sweet and so low stakes in terms of character arc, manages to be so engaging and supple in its storytelling. I genuinely came away feeling happy and like something good had happened in my day. Part of that was how well the art managed to communicate the characters feelings, both using body language, character interaction and then more subtle artistic effects, for example, when Star first goes and stays with Zoe’s friends. How much thought and how many tries did it takes to nail that approach? Did that solution just come naturally to you or did you think it through and try different approaches?

Double pages – illustrating what happened

and how it feels

AC – Wow, thank you. That means a lot to me! We spent a lot of time reworking the last chapter and a half or so, trying to figure out the emotional beats and get the height of the drama just right for the bus scene with Zoe and Star. Like you say, it’s a low-stakes story and I was always worried that it wouldn’t be enough to engage some readers. It’s hard to know how many tries and rereads it took to get the script right, since I was always working with Rob right up until I had even finished drawing the page to tweak lines of dialogue, etc. I can say however that there are almost no pages I drew more than once or that changed dramatically from their original thumbnail sketch.

ZL – Final question, I promise!

What are your plans for the future, would you like to do more comics and see them published, or stick to webcomics, or are you out of the comics games for a while?

AC – I would love to have my comics published someday, it’d be a dream to be published by somebody like First Second. But small steps, for now I’d like to try and successfully complete something solo and really indulge in my interests.

ZL – …and you Rob?

RZ – At the moment I’m (very slowly) working on a new story concept that may end up as a book. As for Star Bright, it’s over for now but we may always return to it in the future.

ZL – Thanx for all your time

  — Paper Underground Award announcement —

  all art copyright and trademark it’s respective owners.

content copyright iestyn pettigrew 2020

  the long list interview – Alice Clarke and Rob Zwesloot I spoke to Alice a long time ago and have been very slow in getting this interview up on the site, for which I apologise.

[recentanimenews]

My Week in Manga: November 6-November 12, 2017

My News and Reviews

The Bookshelf Overload for October was posted at Experiments in Manga last week, giving a quick summary of some of the interesting manga, anime, and other media that made their way into my home last month. Otherwise, it was a fairly quiet week at the blog, and it’s going to be even quieter this week. I’m currently work on my next in-depth review, but I suspect that it won’t be ready to reveal to the world until sometime next week. (Hopefully it will be worth the wait.) As for other interesting things recently found online: Brigid Alverson wrote up a recap of an interview with Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima from this year’s New York Comic Con for Barnes & Noble and over at Crunchyroll Evan Minto interviewed Frederik L. Schodt, a manga translator, scholar, and personal friend of Osamu Tezuka.

Quick Takes

Shirley, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori. Only the first volume of Shirley was ever released in English. It’s now well out-of-print, but it’s also well-worth picking up. I would love to see Yen Press release the entire series in a handsome omnibus that would be at home next to the new edition of Mori’s Emma. I believe that most if not all of the short manga in the first volume of Shirley precede Emma, but the collection was only published after the first volume of Emma was released. The artwork is simpler than that found in Mori’s most recent series in translation, A Bride’s Story, but it is still quite lovely and evocative. As a whole, Shirley is a charming work. Mori’s love of maids is quite evident. The first volume collects five episodic chapters which follow Bennett Cranley and the titular Shirley Madison, a young maid that Bennett hires, in addition to two other stories unrelated by plot although they both also feature Edwardian-era maids. Shirley is only thirteen when she starts working for Bennett and they develop a close, if somewhat unusual, relationship as a result. While Shirley is a very capable maid she is still young–at times its as though she’s more like Bennett’s ward rather than her employee. She’s a sweet, likeable girl, so it’s easy to see why Bennett would be so taken with her.

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag. I first learned about The Witch Boy while at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival earlier this year. Ostertag was on the panel “LGBTQ Comics Abroad” along with several other creators when she mentioned the upcoming publication of the graphic novel; I immediately added it to my list of comics to pick up when it was released. Ostertag is probably best known as the artist of the ongoing webcomic Strong Female Protagonist and has collaborated as an illustrator on several other comics projects as well. However, The Witch Boy is her debut work as both author and artist. The graphic novel is aimed at middle grade readers, but the comic will be able to be appreciated by adult audiences as well. Aster comes from a family of magic users–the women are taught the secrets of witchery while the men are expected to learn how to shapeshift, a tradition which is strictly adhered to. Much to his family’s dismay, Aster would much rather study with the girls than roughhouse with the boys. Forbidden from learning the women’s magic despite his talent for it, Aster longs for his family to accept his true self. The Witch Boy is a beautiful story with a wonderful message; I hope to read more of Ostertag’s writing in the future.

Attack on Titan: The Anime Guide by Ryosuke Sakuma and Munehiko Inagaki. Kodansha Comics almost exclusively publishes manga, although over time a few other things have been released as well, most of which are in some way a part of the massively successful Attack on Titan franchise. One of the more recent non-manga offerings is Attack on Titan: The Anime Guide, a full-color volume consisting of artwork, character designs, process overviews, and other background information relating to the first season of the Attack on Titan anime. The Anime Guide will mostly appeal to readers who are already devoted fans of Attack on Titan. What interested me most were the numerous interviews included in the book. The most notable is the lengthy interview with and conversation between Hajime Isayama and Tetsuro Araki, the original creator of Attack on Titan and the series director of the anime respectively. (Isayama saw the anime as an opportunity to improve upon or even correct aspects of the manga with which he wasn’t completely satisfied.) The interviews with the anime’s chief animation directors, Titan designer, action animation directors, scriptwriter, voice actors, and theme song musicians were also interesting to read.

By: Ash Brown