#i tried making it look like Posuka’s art

[ctrl58]

bit of matilda fanart from @sleepyhouzuki ‘s fic!

from chapter 8, when she’s meeting Smee for the first time :3

[just-like-playing-tag]

Personal highlights from the fifth chapter of the fanbook!!! You can read the entire chapter translation here :)

Thank you so much @/1000sunnygo for the translation!!!!!!

Forgive me for this got so long, but really there was pretty much nothing not interesting in this chapter ;;;;;;

The comparision between Shirai's draft and Demizu's finished piece pfftt- they make such a great team.

Shirai confirmed when meeting Norman again was the first time Emma cried since the first chapter: “Emma tried her best not to cry all along for the promise she made in chapter 1 ("I won't cry anymore") but ended up crying when she met Norman.” ;;;;;;

T/N: The last sentence wasn't present in the final version of the chapter: “I let you go away, it was me. To a place where you won't return from.”

This omitted sentence left me?? Shocked????????? I always thought it was Norman's choice to let himself be shipped, so I never put much thought into what it could have meant for Emma (beyond the feeling of betrayal). But to think that she kept blaming herself for his death is so heartbreaking... Besides, her never bringing it up again, refusing to look back at what's done and can't be changed but still keeping blaming herself for it is also very Emma pffft. This girl is too good for the world!!!!!!

The “1000 years ago” setting was inspired by the fact that about 1000 years ago people used to believe in demons; the existence of demon-like creatures makes a parallel between TPN's world and the real world. I find it nice, it's like Shirai is giving his own in-world explanation to way 1000 years ago demons disappeared from the human world.

This bit: “The reason why Norman admired Emma caused their ways to diverge at the same time”. It's at the same time sweet and tragic you know- the reasons why Norman admired Emma, like her determination in wanting to save all the children or her confidence for being able to change the world, ended up setting Norman down a path Emma herself would have never chosen 🥺🥺🥺

Shirai notes that Norman had a short lifespan and couldn't build the world Emma desired without killing the demons. Norman wanted to ensure a safe world for Emma and everyone. Shirai thinks Norman might have chosen a slightly different method if he wasn't running out of time.

I feel like we shouldn't overlook this??? I've seen so many people arguing that it was ooc for kind and good-hearted Norman to choose such a bloody way; however, Shirai himself said Norman would have probably gone for another way given more time. Norman prioritized ensuring a safe world for his family while he still could, and I think we should give him credit for at least that?

In the initial concept, Shirai wanted Norman to reappear as a different person and gave him a slightly different design. But Norman in Posuka's arts seemed to follow a natural growth of his younger self, so Shirai discarded the idea. The storyboards had some leftovers of the old design. [...] [Rephrased] traces of the old design are still visible, such as the longest bangs through chapters 119-124.

... Maybe this explains why Norman looks so different post time skip? (“Natural growth??????” lmao Shirai)

Shirai and Sugita praising Ray's growth, so true besties 🤧🤧🤧

Sugita notices how the trio ended up saving each other in rotation: Ray was saved by Norman and Emma in the first arc; Norman was saved by Ray and Emma in the Royal Capital arc; Emma was saved (more like, found again?) by Norman and Ray in the last arc. I love how it all came to full circle :')

Hayato, Jin, Cislo and Barbara were all modeled after Bartolomeo from One Piece to add comedic elements

(About chapter 124) “Shirai wished they [Barbara, Cislo and Vincent] could interact with Emma's side more.” MH-MH TELL ME ABOUT IT BRO

“Unlike most demons who wear dark-colored clothes, Geelan wore white”. I never noticed before, but I think it's s a very cool detail! Somehow foreshadows his past of a just and morally noble demon, different from the other black and corrupted regent houses and royalty.

Geelan's old (pre-decaying) design had yet to be set at the time of his first appearance. Shirai says that if Geelan's royal and elegant past appearance had been decided from the very beginning, he would have made Geelan's speaking in chapter 125 “a little cooler” pfffttt-

Shirai says it was particularly hard to write Emma and Norman's confrontation because Norman was correct. However, reading back Shirai says that “Emma didn't lose the argument at all and had her own way of being correct” which warms my heart :')

THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH THAT LEGIT MADE ME CRY WHEN I FIRST READ IT:

Norman was capable of doing various things, so his weakness was his tendency to fight alone. In the old stories, boys carried certain responsibilities on their backs. Saying something soft was considered as a weakness. From all TPN characters, Shirai thinks Norman's mindset was the closest to such beliefs - “mustn't be uncool in front of a girl”, “never whine or complain”, and “must be strong”. To save Norman was to save him from these self-imposed principles. Even before starting TPN serialization, Shirai decided to make him say “help me” as a part of his growth.

It's so true that TPN is a Shonen manga like no others.

Shirai says he requested the 'god or devil' panel because everything becomes cool when drawn by Posuka.

THIS PART IS SO HILARIOUS TO ME BECAUSE LIKE

Anime Norman: Edgy, overdramatic, uncool

Manga Norman: Cool, stunning, iconic

Lambda's seizures where inspired by Shirai's own experience, who started suffering from severe headaches daily. It says that “Following Sugita's suggestion, he had to tone down the depiction of pain in the storyboard” like bruh king you ok????? (The Lambda seizures seem already painful enough????????)

Additional details on the five regents houses leads personalities!!!:

Dozza was an arrogant upstart. Yverk was an aristocrat who had been around for a long time. Bayon Jr. was Bayon's serious natured son. Pupo had the image of a harmless old man; Shirai and Sugita wanted to make him flashy and dumb like the World Nobles from One Piece. Noum had the image of a young, serious and excellent Patriarch (like a character from Game of Thrones).

And on the queen:

Leglavalima was Leuvis's sister. She's the strong, fearsome and charismatic queen who held dignity and beauty. Her design was a mixture of royalties from Europe and China.

Legravalima my beloved ☺️☺️💕💕✨✨❤️❤️

The first concept was having a king rather than a queen, but apparently “ "Leuvis's older sister" gives off a scarier image than "Leuvis's older brother" ” (??). Legravalima was set to be female also to tie, as one of the final enemies of the story, with Isabella, who was the first.

Chapter 134 had only 11 pages. Shirai had a cold for 4 months that worsened even after taking care of his health, so he had to take a week's break. Mangaka who draw their manga themselves can take a week's suspension if they fail to complete their manuscript due to sickness. Author-onlies have to submit a leave application. Shirai admits that he cried in frustration, as it was hard for him to make his own decision and ask "please let me rest."

Bruh I had no idea they overworked authors so badly, this is?????? Horrible???????? I'm upset authors have to go through this and severaly angry at SJ too- no author deserves such treatment.

Apparently writing Ayshe's side centric chapters was “healing” for Shirai :')

Ayshe's first design was drafted right after the first arc. At first, she was supposed to have the appearance of an older woman; the design was then changed to the one of a wild girl with furry arms. Although she had a scar on her face in all versions, how she got the scar was unknown.

The amount of times during the serialization Sugita intervened asking to "make it pretty" is quite funny pfftt. (He did it for Geelan's old design, Ayshe's wild design, Leslie's design... )

Ayshe was thought to mirror both Norman and Ray: Norman, as someone who was similarly raised by demons, yet didn't hate them; Ray, as someone who had a “monster” as a parent.

Shirai considered Ayshe to be a partner for Ray, but then thought that was unfair because apparently Ayshe is too pretty for Ray PFFFFTT

There isn't any specific story behind Ayshe's dad's scar; the deformed face is an accidental abnormality. Ayshe's dad was a former aristocrat, and that's why he knew the demon language ("former aristocrat who fell in disgrace" feels like a recurring trope for Shirai lmao). Once his face structure collapsed, he couldn't stay at home anymore and started living an hidden life.

The firstborn child of the Bayon family is a girl. As reported in the exhibition booklet interview, Demizu told that the most shocking request she faced was learning that the Bayon children were going to die too soon. It seems like Demizu drew a girl while imagining various things, like her becoming friends with Emma. But then the girl died in a second. “How cruel was that? If I heard it beforehand, maybe I would've made her appear more” (Shirai). This was so cute and wholesome, Demizu is such an angel I swear (╥﹏╥)

About the fancy suit Vincent wore in chapter 137, Shirai says that Vincent is “fashionable and picky with his clothes”

The Seven Walls' cube was supposed to be a 4-D hypercube, how cool is that!!!! Seeing it in motion makes me appreciate Demizu's depiction even more.

Demon god's appearance transforming when Emma reached the Seven Walls was a remnant of Shirai's unused setting according to which Scribbles' appearance changes based on the time of day (looking like a child in the morning, a young person in the daytime and an old person in the evening).

Shirai doesn't think Julius was a bad person, but rather a pure and serious man who hadn't been able to rest in a long time.

(Pretty obviously), the ancestors were designed with a rebirth-like theme.

Lewis looking so old and Sonju looking so much younger is because Lewis received many wounds and regenerated too much: the more of a warrior-like a demon was, the faster they would age. An early concept had a note that Lewis was a “combat enthusiast”, and didn't eat as much as Legravalima. Shirai says that “contrasting to Lewis, Legravalima was like “a beautiful witch who would do anything to keep her beautiful appearance” 🥰🥰🥰

Sonju's chapter 144 quote “I'll turn you into meatballs" was a line Shirai had wanted him to say even from before the series began.

About the matter of Yverk and Julius reaching the Day and Night so smoothly, Shirai reports that a secret passage exists, but only the queen and Yverk know about it. Shirai answering my 2019 old questions :')

Barbara and Cislo were random picks for Lambda

Like Hayato, Jin's ability is his superhuman speed

Norman made Zazie's paperbag. Since Zazie grew up in a dark room, he hates lights / electricity.

Like Norman, Vincent was brought to Lambda because his test scores were exceptionally good. Once at Lambda, he was forced to undergo brain surgery to determine if he could be pushed further to Norman's level (that’s the reason behind the scars on his head). Though his scores improved after the surgery, he never managed to reach Norman.

Ray's “huh / what?” in chapter 117 was because of him seeing the farm's mass produced children- seems like once again Shirai asked “is anyone else going to add trauma to this kid” and didn't wait for an answer (个_个)

[couldnt-think-of-a-better-name]

Why is timeskip Norman drawn so grown up?

I have seen this question floating around a lot, and I know there is plenty of speculation going on about it, but I thought I would share my two cents as well.

Obviously, spoilers for anime only readers for future content, before you read on. Not all my posts are spoilery, but most are 😜

So timeskip Norman looking like an adult is pretty much an aninomous observation by now. I know that plenty of people have suggested growth experiments, and I have argued against that in my Norman is a Ratri genetic experiment born at Lambda theories, but I am not here to talk science today.

Haha, I guess I do enough of that in my day job.

What I want to talk about is the symbolism and poetic meaning behind making Norman look older than he is. There is an artistic purpose, and it's not the first time Posuka-sensei uses this tool.

The same thing, though the opposite way (and much more drasticly) was used in these panels:

We all know that both Yuugo and Lucas are definitely grown up, and there is no logical reason why they would suddenly transform into children for mere moments, just before their death.

In my opinion, it's a visual tool to invoke that feeling of, "Ah, 15 years passed, they grew up physically, but in their hearts they are still the same children" without having to use a narrator spell it out to us.

I think there is also a secondary purpose of making this statement just before they fall to their death. After all, this is a manga about Neverland, a place where children can never grow up... because in this promised Neverland children die before they grow up.

By reminding us that Yuugo and Lucas are still stuck in that past, that they are still those bright children at heart, the message is that they couldn't escape this cursed, promised Neverland, even if they physically grew up: they died as children at heart.

I am sorry if I have made you sad with that thought, but I wanted to make the point that the way Norman is portrayed is with this theme in mind. And it's all because of this part:

Norman intends to break the Neverland curse, but it isn't just a literal destruction of the farm system. There is an added layer of symbolism in the fact that him CHOOSING to GROW UP already breaks the theme of this Neverland.

The irony of the situation is that while this 13 year-old barely teenager is literally surrounded by a group of adults, he is the one who actually behaves the most adult out of them. Experiment or not, they are all physically grown up, yet Zazie seems hardly capable of more thought than a toddler, then Cislo and Barbara pretty much behave like small children, shown when talking with Emma and Ray, with Vincent acting like a snarky teenage brother who was left in charge by the parent to babysit them...

If you look at those panels again, you can actually see how the art illustrates those behaviours: the baby toy tiger on Zazie, the childish expressions on those two’s faces and Vincent’s deadpan expression as they squabble with him.

Well, it’s no surprise that Norman ACTS so GROWN UP, after all, he is literally and figurately trying to fit the clothes of James Ratri, and carry the mantle of William Minerva. (If you ask my friend @vobomon about the topic, I bet you will hear a really good explanation of how this parallels Peter Pan in scarlet, the sequel to Peter Pan, where Peter Pan tries to wear the coat of the gown up, James Hook... and ends up with an identity crisis. I won’t comment on it more though, since I don’t know it well enough).

Both of these roles are that of an adult, so Norman can’t afford to be seen as a child by others. Technically there is no way for him to age his body, but body language, mannerism and clothes can do wonders, and Norman, ever the perfectionist goes to town on this with a full blown business suit that literally couldn’t scream more ADULT and RESPONSIBLE visually speaking. 

He is so successful at it actually, that he manages to convince a full crowd of children, and even his followers that they should see him as a depenable adult, rather than the teenager he is in reality. Actually, it goes as far as him getting compared to a god... and being viewed as a superhuman being, or having all those expectations of a saviour piled on someone must be an awful lot of pressure even for an adult, and Norman is only 13...

I don’t want to dwell too long on this, but I do want to comment how super unhealthy this situation must be for his mental health, how it must make him feel isolated and under an insane amount of pressure to succeed and keep this image up... The only way I see it heading is a mental breakdown, possibly with a full on panic attack followed by anxiety disorder... yes, unfortunately I’m speaking from experience.

Guys, seriously, the ominous thing about Norman isn’t that he might be evil, but that he is trying to do too much, trying to do humanly impossible things, trying to not make any mistakes, all by himself, without an emotional support system, and we are basically watching in slow motion as he heads towards a car crash once things don’t go his way... Just look at his expression when he finds out Mujika is alive despite his calculations... That expression isn’t just simple fear, but a full blown punch in the gut by anxiety that HE WAS WRONG AND WHAT ELSE COULD HE HAVE GOTTEN WRONG OH NO... HE CAN’T AFFORD MISTAKES NO NO NO...

Right, but lets get back to my original topic, and to the fact that Norman can act as adult as he wants, he can’t actually change that on the inside he is still basically a child, and certain situations make his adult mask crumble and revert him back to a child. One of the best examples is how when Emma sees him after almost 2 years, he appears at first, calm, collected, ADULT, but as soon as he calls her name, he can’t hold himself back from actually breaking, and crying like a KID, as he hugs her for dear life (not illustrated here, cause I have enough pics lol).

Posuka-sensei chooses to visually illustrate the contrast, and this is what some of you have observed as an “inconsistency” in her recent Norman art. However, the truth is that she is VERY CONSISTENT. Every time Norman is shown looking older than his actual age, he is behaving as if he was older. E.g: while talking politics he is drawn like a middle-aged politician.

But every time his adult mask breaks, or every time he allows himself to relax around people (which is mostly just the Gracefield kids, and especially Emma and Ray), he is drawn like a child. Like in the panel that everyone loves, it goes as far that it almost looks like those adult clothes are too large on him, and don’t actually fit him...

So that’s it. In summary, I think Norman is only symbolically drawn as older than his age, and only as a visual emphasis when he is actually acting adult, and trying to look grown-up. But in situations where he acts like a child should, we can see the real him drawn by Posuka-sensei.

Just look at these two panels side by side, they are even the same pose, but one of them shows Norman with his walls down around the GF kids, and the other is of him among demons he knows want to eat him.

(P.s: I tried writing this post on the PC to be able to include more than 10 pics without reblogs, but now I don’t know how to format the pics to not be so giant... D,: yes, I know I fail, sorry...)

[megaboy335]

Mega’s 2019 Top Anime List

Another year of anime has come and gone. This year I ended up watching a lot less due to the over saturation of Isekai and light novel anime, but there was still plenty to enjoy. As usual I consider any show that ended this year as a contender to be on my list. This is simply my opinion and there will be spoilers below.

1) Pokemon Sun & Moon

Starting this list with a show I watched for 3 years, Pokemon Sun and Moon was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with the Pokemon anime. It took the best aspects of XY and added loose animation to the mix. Ash and friends have never had so much personality as each episode brought the characters to life in new ways with funny facial expressions. As an adaptation of the game, Pokemon SM did better in some areas compared to others. The trials were simplified or restructured to account for Ash’s classmates being trial captains in the game. While the Kahuna battles were spaced out very far apart in the anime. I always thought it was strange that in-between major story battles, Ash barely ever thought about the challenges.

The two major story highlights of the anime are Lusamine’s arc and the Pokemon League. Lusamine’s story was the main plot of SM and it played out almost exactly like the game. Her downfall to her Ultra Beasts obsession and then Lillie knocking some sense back into her mom is still an emotional highlight of the series. In any Pokemon anime, the Pokemon League is what brings meaning to Ash’s entire journey through the region. SM’s league is similar to the game where it’s the first league of the region. The rival pairings and matches were completely predictable, but it ended with two big surprises. First, Ash was actually allowed to win for once (matching your character becoming the first champion in the game), and secondly he had a full 6 v 6 match with Kukui. It spanned 3.5 episodes with Ash’s Litten completing its character arc by reaching its final form during the battle. It was a rare match where both parties are battling it out for fun and it ended with a flashy finale of two hype Z-moves. Pokemon SM will be remembered for its simplicity, yet ambitious approach in always showing something new week after week.

2) Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

Mob-Psycho continues where it left off in season 1. The main protagonists have come away from a battle with Claw and now daily life resumes. This season featured a love story, Reigen’s arc, deeper exploration into psychic powers, and the return of Claw. Just like in season 1, Mob continues to excel in two major areas. First is of course the animation. An average episode of Mob is literally that one stand-out episode of a one cour anime. Psychic power usage is often a reflection of emotions and they are animated in different ways depending on the characters thoughts in a particular scene. There were so many highlights this season that it would be impossible to list them all.

Mob’s second strength is the character writing. In season 1 Mob was a boy struggling to create his own identity. This season Mob actively tries to break out of his shell and become his own unique person. We see this through his efforts with the fitness club, again when he separates from Regien, and again as he shows everyone that having psychic powers is no substitute for personal growth or status. Mob is no longer a timid boy like he was at the start of the series. He can now stand on his own two feet and help others who are struggling to get up. Considering there is still a little more manga left to cover, I can only hope it gets one last season to finish out the story.

3) Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

In order to understand the appeal of Kaguya-Sama, just for a second imagine if Death Note was a romantic comedy. Both of the protagonists are locked into a battle of wits to outsmart the other in the events of daily life. The mere act of choosing a vacation spot, going somewhere, or giving an item to each other suddenly becomes a high stakes duel. Kaguya-sama follows Kaguya herself and Shirogane as they try to avoid being the first to admit their love for each other. The side characters only help to add wildcards to each battle such as Chika being able to change the tide of battle with a single phrase.

I enjoyed seeing how absurd each battle would become week after week. The presentation is simple, yet very effective in this anime. Resources were definitely allocated for use in certain places for maximum impact. The voice acting also helped a ton in selling just how important each battle was in the minds of the characters. Overall, the series knows how to play with your expectations. Some battles turn out as expected, some with a twist, and others end on some kind of middle ground. However, each battle brings them a little closer together. I can’t wait for the next season in April.

4) Run with the Wind

Almost all sports anime revolve around high school students trying to become as good as possible and win nationals before the 3rd years graduate. However, Run with the Wind takes a different approach to this formula. It focuses on a group of college students who, at the start at least, would rather do anything else than run. It takes about half of the show before our group of characters even get on the same page about running. I enjoyed how this anime put us into the heads of each character. Some have personal reasons for not wanting to run, while for others it was something trivial. However, by committing themselves to the team they each gained a new outlook on themselves and those around them. It was quite literally an uphill for the team to reach the level of success they got at the end. The final run brilliantly showed how each character learned from the experience and how the time they spent on the team was a positive life changing moment. Run with the Wind shows that it's never too late to try something new.

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Jojo is back on the list after an extended break between parts 4 and 5. Compared to previous stories, Part 5 is most similar to part 3. There is a quest to clear and it involves the main group traveling across the land and defeating enemy stand users each step of the way. The differences between part 5 and its previous stories becoming apparent right away. First off, the protagonist is not a traditional Joestar. He is the son of Dio born from when he had Jonathan’s body. Secondly, the group of main characters are not exactly good guys. As mafia members they display a sense of unity, but lack the high integrity of previous Jojo characters. A connection they all share is being looked down upon in society, but placing a place in the world through Bucciarati’s squad.

The aspect that makes or breaks a JoJo story for me is usually the villain. I consider Diavolo to be the weakest of any villain across the various JoJo stories. During the early arcs of the story, Diavolo comes off as an interesting character. He has a mysterious personality and will clearly stop at nothing to keep his identity hidden, including killing his own daughter. The series then adds layer of complexity when we meet his alter ego Doppio. The two personalities are clearly distinctive, but the line between which one is charge can be murky. However, his character intrigue quickly comes crashing down as the final arc fully brings Diavolo into the limelight. The story comes down to who can control the stand arrow, which is a sharp contrast to previous villains who drove the final arc on the back of their eccentric personalities. While JoJo part 5 is still a good anime, it will always come near the bottom of my favorite JoJo parts.

The Year of High Profile Weekly Shonen Jump Anime Adaptations

As the 2016-17 hits from Weekly Shonen Jump have aged up, all of their anime dropped in succession this year. I am a huge fan of the magazine, so here’s a section with some quick thoughts of their anime.

The Promise Neverland - The anime changed the escape arc from a mental battle to a horror series. While animation is definitely better suited to playing with the idea of show don’t tell, the result ended up being telling the story through a different lens. While I appreciated the idea, I feel it came up short. The loss of Posuka Demizu’s art was another major blow to the mood they were trying to create.

Kimetsu no Yaiba - When the manga first began, I never imagined it would become a 1+ Million seller. Ufotable brought their top class digital effects to a manga that at a quick glance would make anyone think it would be the last series to get such treatment. The anime brought a lot to the table and greatly helped to bring the manga to life. It was a great experience from start to finish (episode 19 is a major highlight of the year). I’m looking forward to the upcoming film.

Dr. Stone - Compared to the other Jump anime this year, Dr. Stone’s animation and presentation stuck very close to the manga (if not even inferior to Boichi’s creative spreads at times). The aspect that sold this anime best was the voice cast. They brought so much life into the characters and conveyed the passion each one has for science and learning. I enjoyed seeing Senku create his inventions in animated form.

Bokuben - This might not exactly be considered “high-profile”, but I can’t help but find myself impressed by the anime week after week. It adds a few touches here and there to better tell a cohesive story and occasionally adds a scene or two. I appreciated the heart the anime brought to the series through the seiyuu. Introducing a new seiyuu unit from the cast was also a nice bonus as well.

Best OP/EDs of the year:

1) One Piece Opening 22 - The One Piece anime has changed dramatically under Tatsuya Nagamine. This opening is fast paced and filled with future story teases. It changes the format by cutting the op run time down to 2 minutes and includes clips of the episode. The final sequence of Luffy vs. Kaido always gets me hyped each to watch the episode each week. 

2) Mob Psycho II Opening - This opening feels like a natural continuation of the first season opening. It once again showcases how the show is full of creative animation and unusual characters.

3) Mix Opening 1- Mitsuru Adachi is known for his nuanced writing of giving characters the space to convey their thoughts. This opening fully shows these traits through its sequence of character shots that feel like a natural usage of his writing style. 

4) Kaguya-Sama Chika Ending - Cute song and amazing choreography. There’s a clear reason why this swept across the internet last winter

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Opening 2 - Not only is Traitor’s Requiem a very cool name for a song for this part of the story, but the plot teases are perfectly timed in the song. The opening animation also kept on giving with the villain version and Giorno later recapturing the opening.

This brings 2019 to a close and another decade comes to an end. As my way of recapping the decade, here is a list of my top shows in each post I have made since I started posting them in 2014:

Space Brothers

Hunter x Hunter

Kill la Kill

Nisekoi

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3

Sore ga Seiyuu

Death Parade

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3 (Second Half)

Hibike Euphonium 

One Punch Man Season 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4

Mob Psycho 100 Season 1

Yuri on Ice

Konosuba Season 1

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tsuki Ga Kirei

Re:Creators

Ero-manga Sensei

Owarimonogatari (the Monogatari series in general)

Hugtto Precure

A Place Further than the Universe

Yuru Camp

Dragonball Super

S.S.S.S. Gridman

[dotzines]

Artist spotlight: Tankitan!

✿ Commissions ✿ Pixiv ✿ Tumblr

Header source: [X]  

Introduce yourself I'm a Vietnamese living in United State. I'd like to be called "The Bat", I just love bats so much, friends usually call me the lazy bat... I love pop culture, especially manga and cartoon. There are many fandoms that I'm into, but my biggest ones are Touhou Project and Fate series. When did you start drawing? Are you a digital or traditional artist? I started drawing when I was five. But I didn't take it seriously until seven years later. I'm both traditional and digital artist, but recently I've been drawing digitally more. Do you use any traditional mediums? If so, which are your favorites? I love inking and watercolor!

Why do you prefer traditional over digital? (or viceversa) I prefer digital because I it's cleaner to draw digitally. Digital can be more convenient and suitable for me. What do you think is the most challenging part about being a traditional/digital artist? Being a digital artist is very convenient but the challenging part is that you have to learn to use softwares. Unlike traditional artists, you have to find or create your own resource like brushes, texture and pattern What inspires your pieces? My favourite artists' art, things around me (plant, animal, weather, people,...), music and books!

image source: [X]   Explain your "everyday" drawing process First when I come up with an idea, I tried to sketch it out immediately, though sometimes ideas just can't pop up in your head randomly so you have to generate them by tons of researches and references. Then I try to think about how should I create my piece, think about what media, traditionally or digitally, what tool I have to use, what do I want to convey in my drawing... When I start to draw, I keep my references around me conveniently and listen to some music, but sometimes I feel better to draw in silence. Since I'm still a high school student, I have other things to do so I take 30 minutes to 2 hours everyday to draw. Treating myself well is important, too. Sleep, have some snacks and relax while drawing can help motivate yourself, just remember not to overwork. Do you have an artist you admire (or more than one)?

I love Posuka Demizu's free style drawing, and various styles from 666pigeon. I'm also inspired by mangaka like Jun Mochizuki, Yusuke Murata and Shirahama Kamome! They are awesome. I have a list of my favourite artists here: http://fav.me/daepse2

Is there an artwork you are most proud of? Why? https://www.deviantart.com/tinkatiranor/art/Bhavaagra-795527609My newest piece: Bhavaagra. It's a Touhou fanart because I drew this based on a place in Touhou. I used to be afraid of drawing scenery, but I wanted to be better so I stepped out of my comfort zone and studied, practice until I can create something I'm proud of. This is it so far!

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing?

Mostly Touhou music and instrumental music. I have a few playlists here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtpOXt5G9ciTRjuVt9gVqz3vey5lYRjyJ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtpOXt5G9ciQch0E8y7n3oWxCZnSKRK_c https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtpOXt5G9ciT665-WCDJ_ywWKN6P4Ic5J

image source: [X]   What makes art interesting for you? Art is unlimited, unpredictable. Art gives me emotion, gives me motivation, gives me another view of anything in my life. What do you do when art block strikes? I think the best ways are surf around the Internet and try to look at others' artworks, listen to some music, read some books,... or just go to bed and take a nap like me. But before doing all those stuff, I cry first (just kidding). What’s the most valuable art advice you’ve ever received?

“Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do”, Edgar Degas

[couldnt-think-of-a-better-name]

Hey. :D We know about Normans feelings for Emma but what do you think about Emmas feelings for Norman? Do you think her feelings for him differ from her feelings for the other family members?

Hi!

Well, I would say that I am almost certain that Emma has no idea of the true extent of Norman's feelings for her. For us, the way he looks at her when he gets shipped and tries to gently cup her face is a glaringly obvious sign of a longing beyond that of a sibling. (plus we can read his thoughts as well, which does help...)

But Norman never articulates his feelings more openly to Emma, and Emma seems entirely oblivious. It's understandable for a 11.5 year-old girl to be oblivious to romantic affections unless they are spelled out to her word by word, and honestly Emma seems on the slightly masculine side who wouldn't pay much attention to romance.

Plus consider how she is overwhelmed in that situation by the reality of Norman's impending death, and that all of her other siblings may follow.

Almost two years had passed since then, and Emma is more mature, but she has spent a huge amount of her time entirely focused on fighting demons and searching to cross the Seven Seas Walls, and to change the fate of the world. I think she has been sufficiently distracted to not have time to reflect on romantic ideas.

She has a valid excuse, but perhaps some of the reason why she threw herself in so hard was to not have to think about certain things... who knows, either case, she had been extremely distracted, just look how she didn't even take care of her hair.

So no, I don't think she has had any chances to realize any feelings she may or may not have. Even in chapter 127, Emma is being contrasted against the maturity and grown up arguments of Norman by both visually being exaggerated as childish, and acting also more emotional and taking the more naive side of the argument.

So I think it makes sense for the introspective and sensitive Norman to have realized and for the more brash and extroverted Emma to be oblivious.

In that regard, it's difficult to tell if beyond that oblivious surface lies any deeper feelings. Well, uh, unless you treat this scene as an allegory of that.

When Emma lays dying at goldy pond, her subconscious reminds her of the FAMILY she loves as siblings...

As she sinks further into the depths of her subconscious, the person she sees is Norman.

Emma looks surprised at him. Why is he here? Indeed, why does the deepest parts of Emma's subconscious hold Norman? Why does her mind separate Norman into a different category to her other siblings?

When Norman's presence pulls her back to the surface, we see her greeted by Mama. It makes sense that Emma loves Mama differently than she loves her siblings, you love your mother in a different kind of way, and Emma knows this.

So then what was that other category of love she holds for Norman? And does the fact that this Norman in her mind lies below the surface mean that she has some feelings about him that she is not aware of?

Well, I can't answer those questions with just this single possible clue, so I think it's left vague, but perhaps it is meant to be a scene with subtle hints. We know Posuka-sensei uses her art to convey poetic meanings sometimes, like when she aged up or down Norman based on his behaviour, or portrayed Emma as more childish when she clung to naive hopes.

So maybe that scene of Emma's subconscious does mean something more?

In any case, at least Norman's feelings doesn't seem to have changed. When he sees Emma again for the first time, his desire to touch her face with gentle care which has already signified his special feelings for her are back

(and ppl I dunno about you, but I don't see an awful lot of people wanting to caress their siblings this way... no matter how close they are...)

It's still poetic to me how in the shipping scene Norman wanted to touch Emma, but couldn't due to Mama's intervention. Whereas here, Norman can finally fulfill that same desire.

However now this moment is interrupted again, but by the missing ear that Emma cut off in order to throw Isabella off her track. So Isabella still has an effect on the scene, but it's not the same level of interruption as before.

While hugging Norman or crying is fairly standard sibling behaviour, Emma does also touch his face, although she is far from gentle... but well, she has always been brash.

Emma also holds Norman's hands, something that also happens during their argument in chapter 127. While Emma is fairly open to touch people, she doesn't seem to share the same level of desire to touch Ray for example. Nor is Ray shown to touch Emma with the same level of intimacy that Norman does. When they have their heart to heart, Ray does touch Emma in comfort, but only on the shoulder and the head. These touches seem a lot more like something you may share between close siblings to me at least.

I guess my last thought is, that if I am right about the Peter Pan references, and Emma is a Wendy reference, whereas Norman is Peter Pan’s shadow, then I like how the roles are reversed, it is Peter Pan's side that is now the obvious one with romantic feelings and Wendy is more oblivious, stuck in childishness. After all, Peter Ratri's as Peter Pan and James Ratri's as James Hook as villain and hero are also reversed...