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vapormaison · 5 years ago

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2019 Best Press 3/4: カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title by TANUKI

While for many vaporwave vinyl is doubtless equal parts collector’s item and audio source, I don’t want to lose sight of the goal of this blog here: developing a canon of the genre for high fidelity enjoyment. That said, when I come across something remarkable or noteworthy about a particular piece of wax, even if it is not a “purely audiophile” object, I want to make mention of it.

And TANUKI’s カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title wax release is not only noteworthy, but contends for hi-fi consideration despite it’s status as a picture disc.

But let’s back up slightly.

Going back to the previous thesis on why we buy records, sometimes you just want to own a vinyl just because. Just because you’re a collector trying to compile a discography on wax — or, better yet, just because you truly love the album art. For me, カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title (Double EP) was undoubtedly all of the three “just be-causes”.

A while back, I noticed that the LP was going into its 3rd press, and decided to snap up a copy because I like Tanuki, I like Lum, and because of those other just becauses. Unfortunately the only format available was not the pink vinyl, but the picture disc. As I’m sure is well-known (because audiophiles are very loud about things they dislike), picture-discs are a big no-no in the audiophile community. This is because while a beautiful objet d’art, a serious listening session of a picture disc release will usually produce greater amounts of surface noise than any other type of vinyl. You can, of course, with the right system, neutralize and mitigate this process slightly, but true-blue hi-fi heads pursuing that elusive muse of “pure sound” would never give a picture disc a second look.

I’m not one of those people.

Tangentially, I’ve heard whispers of ghosts of rumors from when I was living in Shenzen, China — that various record suppliers (small batch Makers) are working out manufacturing and material processes that minimize these issues on pic discs to create appealing records that cover all the bases: hi-fi suitability, collector oriented visual esoterica, and price. I should also admit I have no idea where those companies are in terms of R&D and/or producing these. I end up catching a lot of very fast talk from extremely motivated enthusiasts, but Chinese is still as elusive a language to me at times as “pure sound” can be. With that in mind, however, it’s logical to surmise that advances in technology will eventually render the differences between picture discs and traditional black wax undistinguishable. So long as the world isn’t destroyed in some cataclysmic climate disaster (very real possibility), or -- as we are watching evolve now: World War 3. My view is that it’d be pointless to dismiss the format out of hand when there are active attempts to innovate it as we speak.

That all said, I know what to expect when a contemporary, big-label picture disc plays. During my college days, I used to spin wax at the university radio station. One of the previous catalog managers had a fetish for this “collectible” format, and was convinced he was doing the station a favor by purchasing all these vinyls, noting a pre-supposed resale value later. I remember throwing these on the well-worn Technics SP-10 we had as our main turntable, and listening to the occasional scratch, frequent popping, and constant surface noise, that for the uninitiated (bless you), sounds like a sustained “cracking” in your Rice Krispies — or for those born in the analog age, CRTV static.

So when I sat down with the Tanuki picture disc, I had this laundry list of preconceptions and prejudices about the format. I thought that I could listen to a moderately scratchy record once or twice, keep it as more a visual boutique item and then eventually include in an article where I bemoan the poor quality of the genre’s releases.

But then, I actually listened.

And it sounded… well, I won’t get ahead of myself. Here’s the full review:

THE MUSIC

BABYBABYの夢 — is doubtless the reason why many of us have bought the EP from a sonic perspective —especially if the band-camp reviews are indicative of trends. I still maintain that this is the Mariya Takeuchi sample/remix work par excellence. Tanuki hits all the essential notes here, a genuine respect and love for the sound-staging of its original source, Yume No Tsuzuki. I still get echoes of the original arrangement in my system, (ever so slightly) with a bright and dance-infused collection of unique sounds — particularly in that delicious, wide mid-range — that flesh out the track into its own sort of masterpiece.

何がGoin' On — the curatorial and conspiratorial side of my brain tells me that Goin’ On will probably go down as one the under-appreciated vintage bangers of this era of future funk. I can envision hipsters two or three decades from now sussing out a neophyte with pretentious questions about this track’s pitch-shifted sample draws from. It has that sort of vibe that you know hits with a certain subset of electronica fans — rich & vibrant, making the tweeters on your system work out in all the best ways — it’s just great.

がんばれ — Tanuki is at his best when he gets playful with brass samples. I firmly believe that the titans in this genre each have their go-to piece in their best arrangement — like Dan Mason’s creative vocal array, or greyL’s manipulation of micro-samples. For Tanuki, it’s whenever her gets a horn — synthesized or otherwise, into his production workflow.

ファンクOFF — continues Tanuki’s magic act, taking another city pop track more iconic for its soulful electric guitar riff and turning it into the most slap-worthy single on this EP. I prefer it when Japanese pop samples are fundamentally re-imagined, although I can see how the perfectionist tweaking of someone like Yung Bae is more appealing for some. Tanuki is undoubtedly one of the innovators of this genre, and there’s no more solid evidence of that talent than this track.

腕の中でDancin’ — if I ended up hosting a sort of mythical vaporwave grammies or something like that, (I’m available, folks!) I would probably go off on a Ricky Gervais style rant on how artists aren’t in touch with “the people” (read: me) because all we really want are more remixes of Meiko Nakahara songs — who given her impact on City Pop should have way more play in this genre than she does. This one, like most of the Meiko mixes I’ve heard, is a banger with an absolute fire bass riff punctuated throughout.

Radiant Memories — this might be my first certified “hot take” in the publication (they’ll be many more, I imagine) — but as far as I’m concerned this is the superior Plastic Love edit. I’ll just leave my thoughts there, so they can soak in with a portion of the fanbase who split my reddit account on an open fire of downvotes for suggesting that other artists than Macross 82-99 (Praise be upon him!) are allowed to touch this song as well. While Macross’s mix is definitely the more up-temo of the two, and that for some is the very essence of the genre, this slightly down-mixed version is both the perfect conclusion for the EP and ideal antithesis.

THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Signal to Raise ratio on the following albums:

カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title: ~61.9db (1 db MoE)

Tron Legacy, Daft Punk: 58.4db

Love Trip, Takako Mamiya, Kitty Records Press: 65.8db

(ratings based on averages 5 minutes of sustained play on the testing unit, the machine actually complied this data on its preset, which is another fascinating part about this sort of vintage press-testing tech). The margin of error is because the machine, according to my mentor Dr. Juuso Ottala formerly of Harman International, informs me it was never meant to give accurate readings of picture discs, and to add about a dB of error margin.

One of the benefits of growing up in New England and, subsequently, New York, is that there are no shortage of heritage professional audio brand HQs in operation around a 200 mile radius from Manhattan to Boston. Off the top of my head, there’s Harman/Kardon, Boston Acoustics, Bose, NuMark, Marantz, and Rane headquarters within an hour’s drive from my two hometowns. Early on in my audiophile quest, I got my hands on some cool vintage gear — vinyl lathe testing equipment that has collected dust in both an old Harman technician’s storage unit, and now my parent’s basement. Over the holiday, I recently brought it out to do some surface noise testing on it to get a rough confirmation of what I was explaining in yesterday’s hi-fi guide. The innards of the machine looks eerily like a plinth-less linear tonearm and plate pair attached to a monitor. After making sure I’m not violating some kind of Harman International trade secret, I’ll post it on instagram.

Wanting to also get a firm idea on just how good my ear-test sounded, I grabbed another picture disc vinyl I had received as a gift a few years ago from my brother — the Tron Legacy OST. While I found the film passably enjoyable, my own preconceptions about pic discs, and a general exhaustion with french house — left me with no discernible desire to spin the thing. I hadn’t even broken the seal on the plastic wrap, so it seemed like as good as a blind test as any. I also grabbed what my ears tell me is a ��good”, “heavy” press, a 1982 original dead-stock copy of Takako Mamiya’s Love Trip LP pressed by Kitty Records Japan. I’ve played it maybe a half dozen times since I bought it, so it’s as close to “new” 80s audiophile pop record as you can get. The Japanese are infamously anal about low SNR on their vinyl.

And, well, the results speak for themselves. The sweet spot for most black vinyl records is between 60-70db depending on age, weight, and a host of other frankly uncontrollable factors that aren’t worth getting into detail here, as I’d go on forever. The main takeaway here is that Neoncity’s and Tanuki’s record sat at the low end of the audiophile vinyl reference spectrum. Which in itself is a remarkable achievement for a pic disc. It’s worth taking a look at Tron Legacy, which just barely scratches 8db above a cassette tape, and 7db a Japanese vinyl from 1982.

This is all in an effort to say: damn, this is pretty good.

This also somewhat counters the usual “picture discs sound like shit” narrative that’s prevailed pretty consistently in the audiophile community. Tron Legacy? Yeah, that probably sounds like shit if I could bother to suffer through a listen. But whoever Hong-Kong based Neoncity is using actually makes “good” — if such a qualifier needs to be attached — image-pressed records. And that devotion to audio fidelity should be rewarded.

It might be time for me to re-asses picture discs on the whole, and that mind-expanding moment is something I owe to the fine folks at Neoncity.

#bestof2019 #bestpress

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darkspellmaster · 6 years ago

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Anon Asks in my Inbox as of 10/29/18 –Afternoon edition

Updated link of the Master Guide: http://darkspellmaster.tumblr.com/post/179532344635/update-and-edit-and-master-post-to-the-fokker

1. i(.)imgur(.)com/2UHctWY(.)png this picture works if you paste it into your address bar and just remove the ( ) symbols around the dots. It's his left hand since you can see the overside. Wether you find it weird to hold someone at the waist when kissing them or not is irrelevant, the arm and hand does not vanish which is the main point. Add it to your post so people can see for themselves.

Thank you for the picture Anon, due to the blanket removals of BTISudio related things I’m holding off putting the image up and I’ll use something as a representation of the arm motion that you have up. Again apologies for not being able to put the picture up. But I see it, and you’re right the arm is there, but it’s a really weird way of placing it as the natural cure of a kiss like that would have it where one person would have their hand higher than the other. Like I said it’s a weird position.

I’ll link your said picture so others can look at it. It’s in the main one.

2. You say in 4 that the studio leak image is that of a cropped shot of the previous leak as they cut off the other mouse - but that's not true. You can clearly see the mouse on Pidge's shoulder.

Added the Edit to the post anon. Thank you. I explained why I missed it. It’s still a bit odd that the mouse has not moved at all.

3. The voiceline thing that one anon was talking about was, somebody took lines Lance’s VA said in other shows/games he worked on and they also picked some lines from the 1 voltron VR game and put it together in one clip. The person included some random lines from the other characters too. And claimed it was “leaked audio” they got. Never said how they got it. Clearly fake, and a whole bunch of K/L fans obsessed with it for a bit before they lost interest.

Okay so they claimed to have data mined. That’s interesting because normally you would only be able to do that with games, since there is a lot of dialogue that is recorded and then left in there when they choose not to use it. Actors will record hours of dialogue for a game and then studios may change plans on how they are going to use it.

For example, Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Yosuke, for Persona 4 had lines that indicated that at one point in the game they were planning to have Yosuke be a love option for the MC, but then dropped that plan for whatever reason. This was later data mined by fans from the finished product. But I’ve never heard of a way to data mine for recordings via a tv show, since the extra tracts would be left off the final disk, and you would have to have access to the main audio recordings of the show, and I don’t think Andrea would just go leaving them out there.

I’m sorry that the fans had to deal with that. That’s also a low thing to do because it cuts into issues with the whole audio department and such. Also it sucks for the fans because it’s a cheap way to get attention and isn’t fair to the listeners nor the actors.

4. I didn't see this added yet, but there was a Plance fake "leak" that got a DMCA takedown here on Tumblr from DreamWorks 3 days ago. The artist admitted it was fake when posted, it was meant as a joke and to show how easy it was to make a "leak." This kind of takes validity away from "posts are getting taken down so it must be real!" Sounds to me Dreamworks just wants all of this to go away (since it's upsetting fans or whatnot.)

Yeah I got one too way back on the 24th, and realized that that was probably why my first post was taken down. I’m trying to be more cautious out of respect for the BTIstudio. But yes, using any form of intellectual property:

Name of studio, logo of studio, art, dialogue, written words, even plants and other items.

Can be subject to claims. So even if it’s something made to debunk, if it so much as has a whiff of anything that could be connected to the actual studio, then that stuff has to be taken down for copyright reasons, and I completely understand that.

Next time I go to my convention in May, there’s a lawyer group that shows up and I’m going to try to ask about leaks and fake leaks and blanket take downs and the rules of it all.

5. Honestly Shiro's sight lines in the first 2 pics make more sense if someone shorter was standing next to him. In the third, (I) it's a profile shot so it'd be easy to rotate or tilt the head up/down if this Fokker is a dummy stand-in for another character and (II) Shiro's hand is literally on Fokker's ass due to hand position and the dude's height which is A LOT for a Y-7 show. Now if it were a shorter character, Shiro's hand would be at his waist. 🤔

Interesting catch there. In the original art where the head shot seems to have come from, the eyes are pointed down and to the left away from where Roy is looking.

This would leave us with the question of who is shorter than Shiro right now, as the only ones I can point to are Pidge, Romelle, Allura I think, or one of the Aliens. Keith, Hunk and Lance are all about the same height to him, and since he is looking slightly sideways it makes me think he’s looking at someone who is not the person with him. It’s a weird line of sight that is for sure for the shot.

6. Apologies if I misread this, but I think you implied the crisscross watermarks were a function of VSI Chinkel software and therefore would only appear on their studio's work. However in the other Chinkel studio shots, that crisscross isn't there. Watermarking is done by the originator (I.e. Dreamworks) not by the recipient. Also the pause | | in the upper right hand of the wedding is from the program the leaker is watching it in (VLC media player, specifically)

Yeah I thought that it could be something that happened there. But you’re right that the other image clearly shows that it’s not happening on the main one. I’ll have to edit that factor. Still the actual dubbing equipment, according to their website is one of a kind.

The thing about the VLC is also right, since we use it at my college. However I don’t know of any dubbing studio that would use VLC when they have access to more expensive and better software to watch media on. Also most get it in some digital form that they could play on Adobe or other media player that is far more useful for pausing and doing scripting, and seeing where the audio track is and what it’s doing. So I find that someone using an Open source tool is strange, at least to me, when it comes to a professional workplace.

7. that dude isn't roy, i think, he has the same skin tone as adam.

Oh anon, bless your heart here. Your right in that it’s not Roy himself, because that would land them in real hot water. He’s a look alike or representation. I don’t know if the character has a name at this point, but I’m calling him Roy as it’s easier than calling him “The dude that’s clearly a homage of the guy from Macross that was an inspiration to Shiro himself as a character.” Because that would take way to long. As I said before, this could be what someone thinks Adam without glasses and longer hair would look like.

8. I also thought Roy's arm disappears through Shiro, but in another pic of that kiss that's in a google doc going around debunking the leaks, his arm is very much in that photo and around Shiro's waist like you'd expect. Ngl, that threw me off because I'm starting to think I imagined things and only saw flaws where there weren't actually any at all.

And this is kind of the purpose of leaks that are not clear, or are not right, or have bad resolution. They are there to cover up the mistakes or things that make people realize they are false.

It’s one reason art forgers will be very careful to not make mistakes, but the issue is that there are always tells. Some are very very tiny and you have to take them under a microscope and look at them with the eye of someone trained to find them out.

As for the situation, take a break from it Anon. Go outside, enjoy the fall weather, watch another show or find something else to do. As I keep telling people, relax. No one has a horse in this race, I certainly don’t and nether should you. Our focus should be more on the real image that came out from JDS and LM and figuring out what was up with the table and, hey, on the plus side we have a “The End” shot. XD

9. Saw an anon point out that the “missing arm” is there and they are right. It is mainly behind shiro’s new arm and the hand is on his waist. It is a very normal way to hold someone, just because you can see the majority of it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there at all.

As I said I edited the post to reflect that info. The arm may be there, but there’s still something off about the whole thing to me. And again, if I’m wrong, oh well, if I’m right, oh well. I have no horse in this race and honestly am not into the ships.

10. Lotor’s statue isn’t 3D.... it’s very clearly painted... I think you’re starting to reach a bit with some of your debunking.

Changed the statue to an actual screen shot that I have to reflect it better. The thing is to me it looks like what you would do with a matte painting over a 3D image to create a more statue like approach to things. Since we have the white light filter over it, it makes it harder to see if it has the same 3D like rendering as Aang’s statue. Also between the time that Korra came out and now, they may have made the program smoother so it’s harder to tell if it’s 3D or not.

While I agree that they do some statues in normal drawings, the other ones, like Lotor, seem to need details, and I feel like a 3D rendering would be a better way to do it than, a 2D drawing.

11. I so want to believe they’re fakes. So much points to it, but one thing bothers me: this is an awful lot of trouble that someone has gone to, for a cartoon!? I mean finding photos on I’m assuming private Instagram accounts or other social media to highly edit? No one can actually find the originals. Plus Chinkel do actually use the multiple watermarks thing. So? Maybe those ones with the cast in them are real. They seem like far too much trouble to fake unfortunately 1/2

2/2 and I’m gonna stab a guess here and say that DreamWorks and whatever other studio it was, aren’t taking any real action besides silently removing the images but not saying anything because they feel like the images don’t give away a huge plot spoiler? Just the supposed one year later thing? Like I said it’s far too much trouble to go to. Someone would’ve had to literally scour the ENTIRE French VAs’ personal social media to find that cast pic, because no one else can find the original.

To be honest Anon, you would think that right? But the thing is that there are people out there that do this for fun. Namely because they know that it upsets a fandom and they’ll try to stir up the fans and then sit back and laugh at them.

Given the incident with the actresses and the cloud leak, it can be done. Seriously you can hack anything that has some sort of connection to the net. There’s always a back door, and it��s something that the “White Hats” have been trying to deal with for years. Social media isn’t a safe place when it comes to keeping pictures and such because people can and will break in, all the time. Remember the Sony leak not that long ago?

The photo with the cast is real, I just think the image on the screen is not. BTIStudio was sending takedowns, I got one on the 24th of October from them from a Mr. Rachel in the IT department. So my guess is it was a blanket take down regarding the name being used, since BTIStudio is now owned by Investors Shamrock and Altor, who just got the studios recently so there may be business reasons, or intellectual reasons “name being used” to pull it down. As another anon pointed out a Fake debunking image got pulled too because of them showing how to do it.

It's work, but for someone who has the time and skills it’s not insanely hard to do. Because of digital media and how good Photoshop, illustrator, and several other programs are now, it makes it easier and easier to copy art and make forgeries. It’s something artists are dealing with right now because people are finding ways to copy and sell fakes of their digital paintings.

12. Something else I noticed about the fake leaks - Ezor's eyepatch. So far, none of the galra with missing eyes wear eyepatches. They all have some sort of cyber prosthetic. Like Sendak, Ranveig, Branko, and Janka. Why would Ezor have a normal eyepatch while the rest of them don't? Doesn't make sense

That’s an interesting point there too. Given what we’ve seen previously, it doesn’t make sense to change up how a character is shown to have a wound like that covered. Unless she couldn’t’ get it done, but that doesn’t make sense either since if she was working with the Blade they would have set her up with stuff on earth by now. And Ezor doesn’t strike me as the type to be all “No I won’t have something cyber put on me” that’s more Zethrid.

13. The photo with JDS and Lauren are from His official Twitter account.

Thanks Anon, I think I’m going to do some Theories about that when I have a moment. After I finish sewing my costume’s sleeves, and getting done with the prologue to my novel.

I did see it, and it’s interesting, especially with the Red ribbon of fate, the candles and the silver piece on the side. Though that could have been there from another event. XD

14. I saw that apparently the joke fake "pl/ance leak" was taken down by DW because of copyright as well? if so that proves that the leaks don't need to be real to be taken down.

Yup! As long as it has something that equates to “Intellectual Property” studios and copyright owners can take anything down. It’s a huge issue with Youtube and their review groups and such. That’s why the Essay’s have evolved so much to only put shorter clips in and other aspects.

Fan Art can be copyrighted if it’s too close to original works, or even fake fakes like the Plance art. Most studios just go “Anything that has our name on it, take it down” even if it’s not a real leak.

15. I think that the anon who mentioned the "fake Klance voicelines leak" is talking about the fake audio leaks that were taken from Jeremy's line from another show and claimed to be about Klance and also a fake picture of Keith with Lance's jacket on .

Well that’s different. As I said, data mining is a bit hard to do from a tv show since there would be no additional tracks. It’s why most people don’t do that when it comes to creating fake info about a show and typically stick to art, or altered scripts since it’s easier to do. Typically all tracks that are recorded are edited and the ones that are not used are stored on a server that’s not easy to access and isn’t even on the net, it’s in an in house server.

As for the picture, huh, I think I heard of that one but never saw it.

#voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #fake voltron leaks #voltron leaks #ask darkspellmaster #anon asks #answered questions #hope this helps people

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mageinabarrel · 6 years ago

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2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows. So as I started to consider “my year in anime,” I wondered if I would have much to say.

I needn’t have worried. The year is 2018 and anime is still good, so in the spirit of the 12 days of anime project (that I didn’t do this year)—here are twelve anime things that brought me some joy this year.

I Rediscovered Anime Crushes

It had been a long time. A long time since I’d felt those little flutteries you get when an anime character is really cute, really good, and really nice. But even before I knew that Ginko was a space princess, I was enamored. Cute anime girls are a dime a dozen, but characters that exude genuine warmth and care in the way Ginko does—from her time as a princess all the way through her cathartic moment in Planet With‘s finale—are something special.

So I spent a nice time with Planet With, amidst all of the show’s other wonderful strengths, feeling a cozy bunch of crushy feelings about Ginko Kuroi. It’s silly, but it was nice to be reminded what it felt like to have an anime crush once again. And, seeing as Ginko is far and away the Best Girl of 2018, my heart couldn’t have made a better choice.

Space princess! Space princess! Space princess!

Finding My Fate Anime Niche

I’ve never really been much of a Fate fan. After an extremely poor experience with Fate/Zero, there’s never really been much to attract me to the sprawling franchise. But when you’re needing an that you can put on while washing the dishes and cooking and Netflix shoves Fate/Apocrypha into your face, what can you do? You can watch it, be surprised at how much you enjoy it (especially Astolfo), enjoy the fact that the two opposing Ruler characters are both Catholics, be wowed by the stunning animation of #22, and finish the show somewhat more positively disposed to Fate than you’ve been before.

This will lead you to give Fate/Extra LAST ENCORE a shot, and after the show gets over its early inclination to appeal to the audience’s presumed base desires for Nero, you’ll be stunned as the show pulls a truly evocative atmosphere out of the now-cliché SHAFT stylings you thought were too tired to be effective. You won’t understand quite everything that happens, but the tremendous thematic coherence and the way the character relationships evolve from dull to genuine will grip you. It’ll be one of your favorite anime of the year. And, in combination with Apocrypha, it’ll leave you feeling like maybe alternate universe Fate series are the ones for you—which is good to know.

3 Perfect Episodes

If you asked me to name my favorite episode of TV anime of the year, I’d probably give the honor to Hugtto Precure‘s #16. But, fortunately, I don’t have to make such a specific choice here, so I can also add Yama no Susume S3‘s #10 and SSSS.GRIDMAN‘s #9 to that list. If you watch these three episodes (honorable mention to Hugtto #4), you’ll likely see the stylistic similarities between them. Of course, there are also plenty of things to distinguish them from each other, but it’s those similarities—a strong affiliation with cinematographic language, a tight grip on the power of atmospheric storytelling, and a webgen animation-adjacent visual style favoring bold and flat colors—that stayed with me.

But more important even than those smaller details is a sort of ideological unity that these episodes share. Each is distinctly a cartoon, yet also displays an impressive level of cinematic sophistication. Although some might be tempted to place cartoon and cinema in opposition to each other, these three episodes are a brilliant refutation of such narrow thinking—they embrace, even dance, in the best qualities of both. They are proof that cartoon-making and film-making are not separate arts but, rather, one and the same.

Hisomaso Wins Everything

When it comes to TV anime this year, one show stands head and shoulders above the rest for me: Hisone to Maston. Yet another show confined to the Netflix dungeons, I wasn’t prepared to let the streaming giant deprive me of my chance to watch Mari Okada’s return to TV anime weekly, and Hisomaso, yes, was worth it. From story to scripts, background art to character design, OP to ED, Hisomaso had it all—including the X-factor of the adorable dragons.

In short, there was really nothing else that aired that was anything like Hisomaso. Cute and quirky throughout, thoughtful and incisive at times, funny and dramatic in turns, this anime had basically everything. In the final rundown of the year, I expect it’ll likely go criminally under-watched, underrated, and under-remembered, but such is the reality of the anime times in which we live. I, at least, will remember Nao head with immense fondness. We salute you, brave solider, and all you stand for.

An Ode to a Strawberry

What do I think of Darling in the FranXX? I think it’s bad. I didn’t finish it, but I watched enough to consider it a representative portion, so I’m comfortable making that kind of wholistic statement. Basically, I think the very early criticism I made of the show proved to be a crucial flaw in the whole dang thing. But Ichigo? Ichigo was very good. She might have done a few things wrong, but not many. I liked Ichigo. 苺 means strawberry, and Ichigo was a very good strawberry with a killer character design.

No anime watcher is unfamiliar with the phenomenon of a good character—or even just a character the really appealed to them personally—stuck in a bad show, but I’d be hard pressed to think of another character who surpasses Ichigo’s gap between her relative goodness and the quality of her show. Not only was she cute and a childhood friend, but it was fascinating watching her navigate her complex feelings for Hiro, try her best to be a good leader for her team, and struggle against her own flaws. Best girl? Heck yeah. Eat your heart out, Zero Two stans!

Matsumoto Chocolate

This year, Rie Matsumoto (Heartcatch Precure! Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show…Desu ka!?, Kyousougiga, Blood Blockade Battlefront) storyboarded a few random episodes for other anime here and there. But in the time that she’s had a last major project, which if you’re counting like I am is THREE DAMN YEARS, other of her contemporaries have had multiple films released and done other great things. Meanwhile, aforementioned storyboards, the Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond ED, and whispers of a possibly discontinued film project aside, Matsumoto’s existence itself has been in question.

That’s why, when “Baby, I Love You Daze,” a music video/commercial directed by Riechang-kantoku herself and backed with some legitimate animation power, appeared almost out of the blue, I experienced a rush of joy unlike anything else I felt this year. Not only was Matsumoto back with something completely original, but it was a delightful, energetic little thing emblematic of pretty much everything I love about her as a director.

Please 2019. Give us something, literally anything. An announcement, an actual show or film. I don’t care. Give us back Rie Matsumoto.

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This Bit is about Liz and the Blue Bird…

Wow, I saw a lot of anime movies (in theatres!) this year! Thankfully, I wasn’t asked to be on any year-end anime panels, so I wasn’t forced to make a choice that would kill me—to pick my favorite anime of the year. Liz and the Blue Bird, which is a stunning, delicate, spectacular, [blah blah blah how to make actual words about this damn thing] film, would be one of the top contenders, although as you’ve seen I can barely articulate what about it impressed me so much. But this is a blog post, so I will try.

If we set aside the craft elements (HA! You coward!), the heart of Liz is that its resolution is about something like learning to let go. Mizore and Nozomi are different people, with their own paths to follow in life. And yet, at the same time, they love each other deeply, and that love makes such realizations difficult to even perceive—as both struggle to do throughout most of the film—and to accept. But that catharsis of letting go, which is in many ways similar to the slow process of grief after the death of a loved one, is healthy. Love can tempt us to possessiveness, to illusions of control and ownership. But we may find in letting go that love can flourish in newer, healthier, and truer ways than we’ve known. [Editor: This paragraph might be complete garbage. Please give Bless some leeway if you think so. An attempt was at least made.]

…and This Bit is about Maquia.

I could not pick between Liz and Maquia if you asked me. I could not do it. Unlike the previous pair of Yamada/Okada analogues, Koe no Katachi and Anthem of the Heart (which is dominated by Anthem), these two films are at once so similar in concern (love) and yet so different in every other way that I could not, in my great fondness for each, possibly choose between them. They are, together, the best anime I saw this year. Fortunately, unlike with Liz, I’ve already struggled through the pain of writing about stupidly good things with Maquia. So you can read that if you like.

Maquia‘s merits left to my prior writing, the other thing that made Maquia particularly special for me as a moment in my 2018 anime-watching is what it represents for Mari Okada’s career. Okada was the first anime creator’s name I ever learned, and it was because she had been involved with so many anime I loved. So seeing her continue to grow as a writer over time, seeing her reputation improve, and seeing her career flourish to the point that she was the chief director for her own movie has been really special—and Maquia is, in many ways, the culmination of that journey so far. Here’s to you, Okada-san! May you have many more works to come!

Owned by Macross. Again.

Early in the year, I watched Macross Flashback 7. Now, Macross has some horribly gratuitous parts to it—and I love them all—but you could make a very, very compelling case that FB7 is caps them all. The plot of the OVA/movie/special/whatever is that Ozama Lee finds some VHS tapes that basically contain the footage of Macross 7, which results in most the main members of Macross Frontier coming over to his and Ranka’s apartment to watch them. Yes, the Macross Frontier characters get together to have a Macross 7 watch party. I could type that out again in all caps, but I won’t.

That on its own is pretty pandering, but then the whole thing concludes with a Sheryl and Ranka mega-medley of Macross 7 songs with Basara even appearing in some of the background vocals. I was basically in tears by the end of the performance, which is just ridiculous, but that’s just what Macross does to me. It swings for the fences, trusts you love Macross, and gives you the fanservice you want, with big guitars and Sheryl and Ranka belting “OMAE NO MUNE NI MO LOVE HEART” in unison, and the gleeful stupidity of it all just smacks you in the gut and you feel the tears coming because it’s Macross, dammit, and you love Macross. Point, Shoji Kawamori.

A Comic Girl Isn’t As Good as a Doujin Game Artist, but I’ll Take It Anyways

If 2017 was the year of Saekano Flat, then 2018 was the year of me desperately hoping I’d find another show about creatives that would move me in the same way. I didn’t, but I did find Comic Girls, which gave me enough periodic artist anxiety that it earned a mention here.

Actually, looking back on Comiga, I think I actually didn’t give the show the credit it deserved at the time. While it was airing, one of my main complaints about it was that Kaos’ perpetual incompetence made it difficult to believe that she was indeed a manga artist with an editor, but then I think about my own haphazard art practice habits and my own incompetence despite my desire to be an artist and suddenly I feel like maybe it was spot on. So, just like Kaos, as down in the dumps as I might feel about my work and my talent and the speed at which I’m progressing, I’m not going to give up. Even though it hurts sometimes, I’m not going to give up! So yeah, thanks for that, Comiga.

METAL OVERMAN KING GAINER

In 2018, I finished watching Overman King Gainer. Inspired by my positive experience with Reconguista in G, I was interested in watching another original Tomino show, and settled on King Gainer mostly because I’d seen the OP on YouTube, and thought it was awesome. This proved to be a good choice, as King Gainer has many good reasons to watch it. I enjoyed the show quite a lot, and had fun tweeting about it and learning about some aspects of its production.

But that OP… I went out a bought it and let me tell you, there is nothing like coming to the end of a run with the Overman King Gainer OP pumping in your ears as your make a final sprint to the tree that marks the end of your workout. King Gainer‘s broadcast ended in 2003, but that song is timeless. 2018 may have been a crappy year for the world as a whole, but according to iTunes I listened to “King Gainer Over” about 60 times, so it’s impossible to say whether the year was truly bad or not.

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And those were the highlights of my year in anime! I’ll probably put together a little graphic at some point for my top shows, but this’ll be the only blog post from me wrapping up the year. Happy New Year’s to you all, and here’s to a wonderful 2019!

What were some of your favorite shows, episodes, moments, or anything else of anime in 2018?

12 Anime Things that Made Me Happy in 2018 2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows.

#2018 #Baby I Love You Daze #Comic Girls #Darling in the FranXX #Fate/Apocrypha #Fate/EXTRA Last Encore #Hisomaso #Hisone to Masotan #Hugtto Precure #Liz and the Blue Bird #Macross #Macross 7 #Macross FB7 #Maquia #Overman King Gainer #Planet With #Sayoasa #SSSS.Gridman #Yama no Susume

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parakayeja · 4 years ago

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New Year Message Hihi

Bien:

Hi baby! sa iba man ay worst year nila ang 2020 but for me it's the best year! kasi ito ang year na nakilala kita 🥺 kahit ang dami mang ups and downs we manage to survive all of that. Let us cherish what we've experienced this year and let it be our guidance this coming year. Bring it on 2021!

More kulitan, kamuritan, kiligan, tawanan, iyakan? (wag naman Hahaha iyakan sa sobrang saya pwede pa) with you my baby this 2021, alam mo namang gusto kita kasama sa lahat ng oras. More kita na din and hopefully, makapag travel narin tayo! 😊 Wish ko lang satin this year ay continue loving each other, mahalin pa natin ang isa't isa at patuloy parin tayo maging strong para sa lahat ng darating na challenges this year ay malampasan natin 😘

This is our first of many many many new years together! Sisiguraduhin kong mag kasama tayo next new year para naman maranasan ko ang new year kiss Hahaha!! 😂 I love you so so so much my baby 😘🤗💚💙 Happy New Year to you and to your family! lets get ittttt 2021!!

Diane:

May nakahanda din akong gantong message baby kaya lang hindi ko natapos kaya eto now ko pa lang tatapusin hahaha:

Happy new year bienson kong murit! Never expected that this year would turn out differently especially during these trying times. They say good things in life happen unexpectedly and spontaneously and true, isa ka sa mga magandang bagay na nangyari sakin ngayong taon. Was never really looking for love, lagi lang kami naglolokohan ni Pau every year kung kelan kami magkakajowa pero wala naman kaming ginagawa. But then you came. Just like any other end-user that we have, normal lang kami makipagtransact dahil its just pure business and no need for personal agendas. But out of all of them, you were the most thankful and thoughtful. Nakakatuwa dahil nakaka-appreciate ka. And that’s how I started to like you.

We never really started good, we both know that, it was a hard decision pero as we became fond of each other, the doubts began to turn into something deep and real. You are one of the greatest blessings I received this year and I may not be looking nor waiting for love to come but I surely am praying for it. You are my answered prayer baby.

It was a very hard year for me, you know that — physically, mentally and emotionally but you made it bearable. I found a friend in you na always down for me at isa yun sa pinakasasalamatan ko dahil pinaramdam mo sakin na hindi ako nagiisa sa lahat ng bagay. Naiiyak ako habang tinatype to dahil naalala ko ung gabing pinagusapan natin to hahaha thank you 🥺🥺 lagi lang din ako nandito for you alam mo yannn

We have a lot to learn and hindi natin maiiwasan one day na magaway, magkatampuhan o ano man pero sana isipin natin bakit tayo nandito. Sobrang mahal kita at di kita kayang mawala pa. And true baby, umpisa pa lang to ng marami nating mga taon pa at malay mo sa susunod na dekada, mag-asawa na tayo hahhahaa char. Natutuwa ako dahil meron tayong clear vision ng future at napaguusapan natin kiligs hahaha 😂

I promise you this year na magkakasama pa tayo madalas at may mga maccross na tayo sa bucket list natin, naniniwala akong malalagpasan natin ang mga challenges na darating dahil sisiw satin yan as long as have faith in each other. I love you so much baby. Thank you for this year, to more years together and forever yieee. 2021, ready na kami anuna 🥰🥰 i love you Chris Bienson Guintooo!!!

PS: pangarap ko din po yang new year’s kiss 😘 hihi mwa mwa thank u sinamahan mo ko magluto kahit tahimik ako madalas hahaha na-appreciate ko yun sobraaa. Samahan kita maglaba minsan 😂

Bien:

Baby!!! 🥺 nakakaspeechless talaga kapag nag long message ka kasi english nakaka-nosebleed ne Hahaha 🥺 tinalo mo ako ngayon ah ang haba nito 🥺 nakakaiyak pero all joke aside baby thank you for this sobrang naappreciate ko to sobrang nakakataba ng puso alam kong hindi ka talaga masyado nag lolong message but once na nag long message ka napakaganda parang tula kaya thank you my baby. I love you so much 🥺

Yes tama ka baby na we never started good, naalala mo yung mga gabing nag heaheart to heart talk tayo 🥺 lagi nating sinasabi ""kung maging tayo man" ganto ganyan, okay lang bang ganun, magiging issue to panigurado" ang daming doubts and napaka hirap man but we both decide na pag patuloy parin ito nakakaamaze lang kasi dun palang sa time na yun napaka tapang and solid nanatin parang alam natin magiging okay lang lahat. Hindi ko pa ito nasasabi sayo baby but hindi ko talaga plan to enter a relationship after the breakup, plan ko na ito before pa tayo mag kakilala. But then you came, sabi ko kay Lord, love will come unexpectedly po talaga no, hindi po mapipigilan. Kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko God's plan ito kaya sobrang thankful ako sakanya and sayo I'm very grateful to have you my baby, binigay ka ni Lord sakin and I will take care of you forever for the rest of my life.

It's really amazing and nakakatuwang balikan yung mga panahong nag sisimula palang tayo baby ne, late night/ weekend/ after work chats sa viber, binigyan kita ng maraming cookies, ginantihan mo naman ako ng pizza at Jco, pinapanuod mo sakin how to get away, nag sesend ka ng selfie para makita kung gano ka pula mukha nung umiinom ka (baby since na sinabi mo narin na jinudge mo ako dati na babaero ako sasabihin ko naman yung akin ne akala ko tanggera ka talaga dati mahilig uminom ganun kasi nakwekwento mo na parang lagi kayo umiinom ng mga ka officemates mo tas anong oras na nakakauwi, nag chichill, nag babar minsan pero ayaw mo dun kasi maingay, tas tumitikim ng vape, ayun medj naturn off ako pero hindi ka naman pala ganun ne bait yang baby ko na yan ih 😘), lagi kitang nireremind baka makalimutan mo susi sa pinto mo, salamin mo, payong mo kasi nakahoodie kalang pag lumalabas tas naulan ne, umiwas sa mga matatalim na bagay lagi kakasi nasusugat ne, sinamahang bumili ng bumbilya nung napundi ilaw mo sa condo, panahong umamin ako, nagheart to heart talk tayo, hindi nag usap ng one month, may mga panahong hindi talaga natin kinaya kaya nag uusap parin tayo, nag selos ako kay Marikina (ahh karita 🙄), nag sendan ng dots, nag paparinigan sa ig story, binigyan mo ako ng cake, "GL -D", binigyan mo ako ng coffee and yung jacket, lumipat ako dito, nag resume mag usap nung Sept 29, nag first I love you ka sakin na naiyak ako, binigyan kita ng minimalist cake, late night calls (hindi na chat yiieee), HINDI NA AKO DISPLAY! naalala ko rin yan yiieee, and ang dami pang iba! ang dami ko pang hindi nalagay pero di ba!! How amazing is that?! Kaya pag kwinento natin sa iba yung love story natin pang MMK sis! Hahaha wala lang sobrang naaamaze lang talaga ako how we started ang sarap balikan baby and it all happened in 2020! Starting from the bottom now we're here! eyyy! basta nag start lang tayo as a friends then naging best friends then ngayon lovers na yiiieee naaalala ko pa sinabi natin dati na magandang mag simula ang relationship as friends kasi magiging strong yung foundation nun and look us now! We're super strong! 💪 Hahaha

Wala na akong masabi kundi thank you, thank you kay Lord, thankful ako to have you, lagi mo ako pinapasaya. Proud na proud ako na sabihing meron akong katulad mo and sa relationship na to. And yes sisiguraduhin kong mag kakasama tayo ng madalas this year para marami tayong macross out sa bucket list! I love you so much my baby! Thank you din for this year! sa lahat ng panahong kasama kita sa up and downs. As always, I'm here for you. You'll be always my favorite and lagi naman akong sayo at akin kalang! I promise na I'll be more patient and understanding to you and mas mamahalin pa kita baby. 😘 To more years together and forever yiiiee kakilig nung nabasa ko to Hahaha 🥰 and hindi malabong ikasal na tayo in the next decade as long as we support each other para matupad agad natin mga goal natin sa family 🥰 I love you Edrianne Joy Escobal Asuncionnnnnn!!!! 😘😘😘 lets goooooo 2021!

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polyx · 7 years ago

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Get to know me tag:^)

I was tagged by @criminalmastermine

Name:

Polyxeni

Gender:

Female

Star sign:

Virgo/Sheep

Height:

170 cm

Put your music on shuffle, what are the first six songs to pop up?:

Ok because I listen on Soundcloud, Spotify and my folders on my phone, I’ll do 3 separate :^) Spotify 1) VIXX LR – Chocolatier 2) BTS – Lost 3) MOBB – Hit me (feat. KUSH) 4) Taemin – Thirsty 5) VIXX – Dynamite 6) BTS – Moving on (Ok it’s pretty obvious that I use Spotify mostly for k-pop lol)

Soundcloud 1) Sunday – Only 2) Sofi Tukker – Hey Lion 3) マクロスMACROSS 82 - 99 - 葛城ミサトYEBISU (YUNG BAE EDIT) 4) Vantage // - Patrick Converter (ft. Chrollo)

5) M.RUX - Rembetiko Mon Amour // ρεμπέτικο αγάπη μου 6) Seiun – otogibanashi My folders on my phone 1) Lorde – Liability 2) Clueso - Achterbahn (Handgepäck Version) 3) Incubus – Pistola 4) Lana Del Rey – Once Upon A Dream (Maleficent OST) 5) Little Boots – Working Girl 6) Banks - Haunt

Grab the nearest book, turn to page 23 and write line 17:

“(…) because “a realisation that comes from society itself” could “already contain a reform (…)“. (roughly translated from German)

Last time you played air guitar?:

Uhm… I don’t know ^^° I rarely do it tbh… I usually dance

Celebrity crush?: The first person that comes into my mind is Lucy Lawless :^)

What’s a sound that you hate/love?:

I love it when it’s 4 in the morning and my window next to my bed is open, and the rain softly hits the glass and no car drives by, or when you sit by the beach at about 7pm in Greece in the summer, when most people had their share of sun and leave the beach, and the water softly hits the shore and a seagull are audible somewhere in the distance, or when you float in the water and your ears are under the water and you hear the water and your heartbeat… also the soft flat breathing of the person laying next to you, or the rustling of the fabric of your bedding when you lay down to sleep… Idk I like a lot of subtle sounds. I hate hearing my joints cracking because I feel like I am breaking apart or something (?)

Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?:

Ghosts not so much, aliens? Definitely.

Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?:

I’ve had my licence for 5 years now and I never crashed :3 I don’t drive much though.

What was the last book you read?:

Simon Beckett – Totanfang / The Restless Dead (original title)

Do you like the smell of gasoline?:

Hm… kinda.

Last movie you saw?:

Fack Ju Göhte 3

Worst injury you’ve ever had?:

Broke my left arm.

Any obsessions right now?: A lot, although I should focus on studying: k-pop (like the biggest obsession atm), writing/reading fanfiction, drawing (my go to instant stress reliever), gaming (I still need to finish Hellblade!!), music overall, manga, my succulents (my babies)

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who’ve wronged you?: Yes. I try to forgive or forget (or both) for my sake, but often it doesn’t work.

In a relationship?:

Yes.

_______________

SECOND VERSION

Appearance:

I have long brown and blue hair, brown eyes and a long thin nose. My face is quite rectangular, and I have olive skin tone (but pretty light compared to others). I am chubby and well-proportioned I’d say. My nails are always short (except for holiday season because my nails won’t constantly break like during work) and usually some kind of varnish is on it. 50% of the time I wear clothes with some kind of pattern on it or colourful stuff, 25% of the time black and 25% pink shit, and always my casio on my wrist. I have 2 tattoos and 4 piercings, one stretched earlobe. Usually I wear make-up, and everyone knows me for wearing colourful eyeshadow.

Personality:

I am quite outgoing and like spending time with my friends and family and partner, but as much as I love having people around me, I need time to be alone. I just need to. I try to have an open ear for other people’s problems, but be prepared I might cry along with you because I am a very emotional person (like on Friday I was in a concert and started crying because the song was so touching lol). I’d say I am quite confident, but I need time adjusting in a new environment before returning to my confident self. At work I am the most patient person, but with my family I tend to be impatient a lot and I hate myself for it, but it’s getting better. I am very creative and love dwelling on details on random stuff (like I could tell you for an hour why I like a particular song for example). That’s also a reason why I can’t get shit done sometimes because I daydream a lot. Like… a lot… one person told me I remind them of Luna Lovegood because I seem trapped in my own bubble. I love arts. I used to be super tidy as a child, but now I am quite messy. I am often late (sorry to anyone affected by this v.v°). I love travelling. My bag is always ready for my nomad life, as I am always on the go.

Abilities:

I speak 3 languages! Also I draw and make jewellery. Also I have the ability to make a mess out of my room in the shortest amount of time, just watch me :^) professionally I am a druggist (but not the one working at a pharmacy, mind you) and I have a bachelors degree of trade and commerce. Also I’m a certified trainee instructor.

Experiences:

Well? I don’t know what this refers too… Maybe some random shit: -I used to do traditional greek dance as a kid. -I’ve never left Europe (sadly), but I’ve travelled to London, Vienna, Paris, Berlin and other cities. -When I was a smoll bean, I went to the central plaza of my dad’s village in Greece and returned with a puppy in my arms. My grandmother kept the pupper. -I love freaking LOVE technology, when I used my huge ass multitalented wireless printer for the first time and printed something via my phone I almost cried in excitement. -I can stop reading a book if it’s boring. -Once on my way home I sat in the tram, and there was a group of friends, drunk, pretty loud and happy, they were wearing traditional Bavarian clothing (Tracht), and they were …deaf! And one of the girls sat opposite to me, and complimented my hair, like we talked without using words, only by using our facial expressions and our hands, and she grabbed on piece of her hair and pointed at mine and we laughed, and then she offered me some of her vodka and I was so yolo at the moment I accepted, although I don’t accept drinks from strangers usually. I had such a blast these 10 minutes we spent together on the tram, I often think about her, and hope she is doing fine :’) - I remember as a young girl, I was sitting on an old faucet which was built in the short wall framing my grandparents’ house, and I was starring at the sky in disbelief. There I was, a young city girl, born and raised in Munich, sitting on an old faucet somewhere in an small village in Greece starring at the beautiful nightsky, seeing something I’ve never seen before. There were so many stars, just…so… so many stars… thousands and thousands of shiny dots across a black canvas. And they seemed to be alive. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Till this day, I remember this night, and I hear my mom asking what I was doing out there alone, surrounded by the wild noises of thousands of bugs around me. It has been more that 10 years, and this night is so vibrant in my memory. I will never forget this moment till my dying day. Still, I often spent time in Greece watching the stars, always in the back of my mind what my grandma told me once: don’t count the stars, it brings misfortune. - I pierced my ears on my own (…stupid). - I pretty much had my hair dyed any colour of the rainbow (except yellow, but I guess blonde counts?). - I’ve been to A LOT of concerts.

(I have some negative experiences too of course, but I don’t want to dwell on them) My life:

I still live with my parents, because I cannot afford anything on my own atm, but also due to other circumstances. Till the end of September I worked full time, now I started studying sociology (BA). I have been employed in the company I work for for 10 years now, and I love my work although it’s tough :’). I have a little sister who I love dearly, and she is making me a proud big sis:). My parents are the best parents, seriously you could not wish for better parents. I am super grateful to them for all I’ve been able to do in my life and all the love and support they have given, and are still giving me. Also, I’m so proud of them. The thought of what my parents have gone through makes me cry. I used to think I don’t have a lot of friends, but I do! And they all are beautiful unique personalities, I love them! I live the nomad live, as I feel I’m rarely home, always on the go. My co-workers are the sweetest people, I love seeing their faces light up when they see me :’) (ILY!!!) And my partner… there are no words to describe what sweet of a person he is. A puppy is nothing against him. I want to cuddle him forever. I am online a lot, but I don’t get involved with a lot of people online, safe for… 2 :’D Rach and Mine! I usually admire from afar, and fangirl in the tags for example. Overall I wake up everyday being thankful, my life is good! I appreciate every moment. I am blessed.

Relationships: I’ve only had 2 lmao, and I’m still friends with my first partner. Random stuff:

Ups I think I answered this earlier already…

THIRD VERSION

Relationship status:

In a relationship. We have an imaginary daughter lol.

Fave colour:

All hues of blue! Basically every colour but blue is the most dear to me.

Lipstick or ChapStick:

Lipstick for sure. I always have one in my pocket.

Last song:

Shahmaran by Sevdaliza

Last movie:

Fack Ju Göhte 3

Top 3 shows:

I don’t watch TV, neither do I have the time for series (I have GOT on halt, as well as “Halt and Catch Fire”) … But “The Vision of Escaflowne” is my favourite series of EVER. The story, the characters, the music, the art, the world building, I could cry it’s so beautiful. Also the whole ATLA and TLOK Series, it is so good!!! *cries*

Top 3 ships:

Oh man… ok. I’ll go for Amorra (Amon and Korra, TLOK), Truhan ( Gohan and Trunks, Dragonball Z) and basically every possible VIXX ship, because I love them all (but Wontaek though…)

I’d like to tag @valkerymillenia, @abnaxus, @coolera but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to :’)

#polyx #polyx personal

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zehturtle · 8 years ago

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Fanime experience, merch, autographs, and more. Quick info blurbs if you click on the images!

Quick and wordy thoughts of the event after the jump. (Warning there’s a lot)

Quick takes: -I had a good time. -Spent too much money. -Met some great artists/people. -Missed out on a few autographs/merch(notably Shigeto Koyama & Hiroyasu Kobayashi...). -Cons aren’t really what they used to be for me anymore. -Sorry I missed a few names for recognition.

Long takes/thoughts:

Overall I had a pretty good time. I usually just go with one of my old friends I’ve known since forever and almost only see maybe once or twice a year due to various reasons. Fanime has sort of become an annual trip now, possibly, maybe. We did discuss it after going this time around since it’s our I think 3rd or 4th time. If it does become our annual trip it’ll be interesting once I talk about other stuff later. It’s hard to describe since I enjoyed my time there due to hanging out with my friend and then other friends who came along after so the day was good but the convention itself I’ve got some mixed feelings about.

I went there mainly to hang out with my friend and going there I figured I’d be spending money since when I go I tend to try to support artists I like or just when I find something I find interesting. I told myself, “I’ll only spend up to this much but I probably shouldn’t” and then ended up spending it all anyways with the only thing stopping me from spending more was the fact that the vendor’s hall and artist’s alley closing which was both a blessing and a curse! Also later on in the day my friend’s brother and his friends also joined up for more shenanigans. Bought lots of merch as you can see posted today, play or watched a few of them play some video games, went out for some food late at night, and had some good conversations before, during, and after the event.

Some things I found for the first time at the convention in the vendor’s hall at a booth were animation cels from various old school shows! There was Ranma animation cels, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi Muyo, Macross, and a bunch of others. I was totally surprised and it was one of the things I found early on that I wanted to come back through after we went and explored the event first, but sadly I ended up missing out on because of waiting in line for autographs that I didn’t even end up getting. T_T I also missed out on some prints for the same reason as the animation cels and because I did the wait and see, go browse everything then come back for it later which gotten sold out. That’s entirely on me though and realistically not that big of a deal since I have so many posters I’ve no clue what to even do with them at this point.

So, thanks to all the artist who talked to me, signed my sketchbook, or that I bought merch from. For the most part I don’t think I had any problems with anyone other than a little too shy to their customers but that’s a typical occurrence. I know some didn’t seem very enthusiastic about signing my sketchbook so for that I’m grateful that they were still willing to do so. It’s always a bit of a tough deal because I know sometimes people don’t want to do it and I do make it a point to say they have to sign it at all but I understand that feels like added pressure too. I’m just honestly a fan and like to collect things from people I find of some interest in. One could argue I’ve become a bit of a hoarder because of that but that’s something for another time. There’s a few notables that I met and had a good to sizable conversation with at the con, and even more surprising was how long I had one with someone who was super busy manning their own booth. I did feel bad but he kept telling me it was ok. I hope I do meet him again in the future be it at another convention or just outside.

On to the not so great part(s). I was waiting in line for the Shigeto Koyama & Hiroyasu Kobayashi ‘s autograph session but sadly it was cut off before I could get there. About 2/3 of the way through, which was about 45-50min into the session they had decided that doing both drawings and signings at the same time was too time consuming so the staff announced that they had to cut off the drawing portion and see if they could get to everyone. At the time only maybe about 10-15 people got to meet the both of them, and then only about another 10-15 people got only autographs at the time. The thing that I was a little upset about was that the time for only signatures portion wasn’t that much different from people who got drawings and signatures. I thought to myself once it was announced that we’d only get signatures, “well at least it’ll be going faster since it’s just signatures” but then I don’t know what went wrong. I don’t get it, were the ones that went in for only signatures allowed to talk to them for nearly the same amount of time as those before who got drawings to go with the signatures? I’ve no clue and I couldn’t tell either because the line was blocked off by a wall to the signing so you had to walk passed the wall to go into the signing section and since I was in line I couldn’t check it out. It killed 1hr-1hr30min and around that time it was close to closing time for vendors and artist alley. That was probably the worst part of the adventure since I was really anticipating this autograph session. It’s fine though, can’t win them all.

Now onto probably a bit of something else a tad more negative. The event itself was kind of lack luster and felt kind of like just a straight up cash grab. There wasn’t anything spectacular on Sunday going on that you wouldn’t really see anywhere else. To be more clear on that point, I meant there wasn’t anything over the top or anything that stood out like “Ah, this is why you should have gone this year or you don’t want to miss out on this.”. It felt kind of watered down to me as honestly a lot of conventions have been recently, at least to me. It’s great to meet artists, it’s great to go to panels, vendors, etc., but I felt the vibe wasn’t there that would have made this one this year really special. I know after you’ve gone to a few it can start to feel like more of the same o’l, but isn’t part of the point of these events to make them memorable and exciting? I can go on about this a lot deeper but I’m just going to leave it at that for now. I’m a little disappointed as far as how the event itself was, but I still enjoyed the people I met and the things I got. It might sound completely weird to some for me to say that at the same time, almost hypocritical but it honestly felt like the effort to make it a show was not there. This is just my opinion so anyone out there that went and would say otherwise I’m ok with that.

I gotta apologize to the artists that I missed giving credit to who signed my sketchbook. Yesterday was a long but eventful day and I truly do appreciate everyone who signed the sketchbook. Next time around I’ll keep better track of everyone. Til next time!

I know there was a significant portion of this post that was ranting but I honestly had a good time and I’m glad to have been able to go with my friend and others who met up with us later on in the day. Also it was great to see and talk to everyone I met. Thanks for anyone who read this far!

#text post #long text post #fanime #artist alley #convention #autograph session

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thelatenightsession · 7 years ago

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In a time before Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, Activision had another smash hit that seemed like it was everywhere yet licensing soon stopped them in their tracks. It didn’t stop them from churning out new versions of it though. That game is 1995’s MechWarrior 2 – a mech combat “sim” and sequel to their 1989 game that brought FASA’s BattleTech sci-fi wargaming slash roleplaying franchise back to PC gaming in a big way.

The Timberwolf “mech” had a unique design that helped differentiate MechWarrior 2 from similar games.

The simulations I was currently playing were either derived from the modern military such as F-19 Stealth Fighter and Gunship 2000 or space based in the form of Wing Commander or the glorious TIE Fighter. But in this case we have players driving massive bipedal combat machines with their giant boots to the ground going head to head with others on the battlefield of the future. No matter your age, battling robots never gets old or as cool as this.

Set during the 31st century, mankind has expanded to the stars thanks to advances in spaceflight technology. From this would come the Clans: remnants of an interstellar force who broke away and chose their own paths to follow. In the worlds of the Clans, feudalism is rife and conflict a constant threat as governments vie for supremacy. From this would come the BattleMechs and with them the MechWarriors – the ultimate warrior caste driving the ultimate war machines.

As a child I was aware of the franchise but didn’t really know much about it apart from the sterling box art that showed many of the franchise’s designs in all of their glory. Though more utilitarian in their look compared to their sleeker Japanese counterparts in Macross and the like, that fit in perfectly for people who grew up with the “used universe” of Star Wars where machines were rarely shiny and dents and scrapes were a typical sign of use.

Choose your destiny…

Set in the year 3057 during “The Refusal War”, the game gives you the option of choosing a side in the conflict. No matter whether you choose to play either clan Wolf or Jade Falcon, you will still have the option to jump over to the other side and play missions from the opposing perspective though I’d imagine most people would prefer to play through them one at at a time. The source material is rich with backstory that may evoke similarities to science fiction from Dune to Warhammer 40K.

For players not wanting to dive into a lengthy campaign, there’s an additional mode called “Trials of Grievance” that quickly throws you into the action. There’s a few options in it too so that you can tailor it to your liking and try out strategies against different opponents. Even if you’re not playing it for the challenge it’s an easy way to become aquainted with the controls. Useful for me as I had forgotten to read the manual I had dug out of storage so that I could write about the game. 😉

The CGI intros that play after selecting a Clan haven’t aged well, most examples of the era don’t to be honest, but they are still effective in setting the tone for the world that you’ll be inhabiting and giving each faction their own personality. This use of narrative was always a strength of the science fiction based simulations over the modern military versions – a campaign was more than just a series of missions but a real story to tell. And you were part of it.

Gameplay certainly fits the simulation model with control over movement and weapons systems. In the world of a MechWarrior, the biggest issue you face isn’t always about ammunition: a lot of it is about heat. Mechs generate heat during general use and especially when using weapons – if pilots don’t manage keeping it within tolerances the mechs will immediately shutdown to cool. The last thing you want is for that to happen during a fight so you need to be well versed in managing your resources so that your mech remains running. This is not the kind of game where being trigger happy or linking all your weapons together is a good idea.

Combat will feel quite familiar to anyone who has played a Microprose military SIM and it’s a blessing that a lot of the control concepts from other games in the genre apply here too. Players of Gunship may feel more at home here thanks to how both work in a fight where you often line up a shot then rip away with a mix of guns and missiles. A cool touch is that the damage model applies to individual limbs on the mechs so it you target a leg and blow it off they will be unable to walk. Likewise shooting an arm off may hamper their offensive capabilities. The same can happen to you too so it’s also wise to avoid standing still for very long.

There was even a multiplayer component added later called NetMech that allowed up to eight players to face against each other over a network in the twelve maps included in the package. Though it runs on the older IPX network protocol, it’s apparently still possible to get it up and running and even play it online.

It’s certainly not the prettiest game now but it still plays well.

Activision’s licensing of the brand ended with MechWarrior 2 so they were creative in finding ways to keep the game’s success going including an expansion pack (Ghost Bear’s Legacy) and a standalone expansion (Mercenaries). The series would continue on but jumped from publisher to publisher until Microsoft snapped up FASA Studio and the electronic rights to the BattleTech property as well as others including Shadowrun and Crimson Skies.

Microsoft did made an attempt to bring a variant of the game to consoles with the 3rd person MechAssault series but unfortunately no new titles have come since those that appeared on the original Xbox console. Games continue to come out though (there’s been a MechWarrior 3 and MechWarrior 4 in that time) and through licensing there’s MechWarrior Online which is close to being a direct descendent of the games but now in a fully dedicated multiplayer form.

BattleTech is also returning to its strategy roots soon with the turn based BattleTech which is coming from the studio owned by one of the franchise’s original creators, Jordan Weisman.

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MechWarrior 2 doesn’t appear to be available from Steam, GOG, etc likely because of the licensing issues but I’m guessing it’ll be around somewhere on Abandonware sites. Because of that it’s going to take a bit of work to get the game up and running again on a modern PC. With the three different versions I have (DOS, Windows 95 (Pentium Edition) and the 3dfx Edition) I’d really like to try and get the best (ie. 3dfx) version to work. However the odds of getting the game to run in DOSBox are far higher as the others may be hampered by Windows compatibility issues not to mention getting a 3dfx Glide wrapper to work. If you’re lucky to have a copy, there’s a great guide here on finding the right set up for you to get into the game once more.

If you take the DOSBox route (running the DOS version of MW2) you should be up and running in an hour with most of your time spent on making a disc image of the CD-ROM so that it can be mounted in the emulator. With a beefy PC there shouldn’t be any concerns about it running at the maximum 1024×768 pixel resolution. It may not be the prettiest version of the game but it works well and loads WAY faster than it ever did back in the old days. Just take your time to get the controls working the way you want them but even the default mouse and keyboard work well enough.

It’s rare to find a game that makes you want to play it over and over again just because of some slight improvement leads to a re-release but that was the case for me with MechWarrior 2. A game that seemed to upgrade as much as my PC did back then and helped ease me into the new world of 3D graphics cards in the process.

Greatest Games is a feature where we highlight our favourite games from the past and try to explain what we think makes them great and worth searching out to play again. If you’ve got your own thoughts on the subject, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Greatest Games: MechWarrior 2 In a time before Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, Activision had another smash hit that seemed like it was everywhere yet licensing soon stopped them in their tracks.

#3dfx #Activision #BattleTech #DOS #MechWarrior 2 #PC #Windows

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bytalosthiscantbehappening · 8 years ago

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Ten Facts

Tagged by @dippindotslover mY SWEET CHILD BLESS THEM

1.) I’m ambidextrous, which means I can write with both my left and right hand. I can do certain tasks better with one hand than the other however, for example I eat and type predominately with my left hand and I draw with my right hand (because notebooks are designed for right handed folks).

2.) Both of my parents were part of the New York Cartoon/Fantasy Organization back in 1985 and went on their first date during a meeting. I was literally raised by a weeaboo (my mum) and a trekkie/mecha dork (my dad).

YOO SO THIS GOT PRETTY LONG SO I’LL PUT THE REST UNDER THE READ MORE, honestly I recommend clicking it, I put some thought into this and even if you known me for years you might not know some of this.

3.) I REALLY like Japanese food. I think I eat more types of Japanese food than I do any other kind of food. It really helped me expand my palette when I was younger (I used to be EXTREMELY picky, but when we moved to Japantown most of what was available was Japanese food). One of my favorite memories of living with my dad was when I could walk two blocks to the Japanese supermarket and pickup a ton of fresh made riceballs or sushi for a reasonable price.

4. I wasn’t allowed to cut my hair as a kid, so I had ridiculously long golden blonde hair like Rapunzel. When I turned thirteen it turned brown and I cut my hair to my shoulders without my mum’s permission. That was also when I first dyed it, because I thought brown was boring. I’ve been dyeing my hair ever since!

5.) My favorite book series is The Captive Prince by CS Pacat, while The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Zac Brewer comes to a close second. I highly recommend both, though I only would recommend The Captive Prince to adults, since it’s really heavy at times.

6.) Everyone in my immediate family is an avid bookworm. I have two bookcases in my room, along with a few large stacks because I don’t have enough room to fit another bookcase in there. Between the four of us we probably have around 15,000 books, and that’s not counting the comic book collections. Library book sales are a huge deal for us.

7.) I can play the flute and ocarina. Well, I’m trying to teach myself how to play the ocarina. I’ve been playing the flute since I was eight though. I’m not super good, but I can bust both of them out for that elf/faerie aesthetic if I gotta.

8.) Despite my aquatic aesthetic with my username and persona, I can’t swim and I have a lot of trouble floating. There was one time that I went to a friend’s pool party and I nearly drowned (like my lungs filled with water and I felt consciousness fading) three times because I was so determined to be in the pool and hang out with my friends.

9.) Speaking of which I’ve had a lot (more than ten) of near death experiences and I would say 90% of them are caused by me not being able to freaking breathe, followed by the four times that I’ve fallen from great heights (that’s including when I fell off a cliff). The moral of the story is don’t take me outside.

10.) I have a somewhat secret obsession with anything mecha, thanks to my dad. I’m REALLY into Mobile Suit Gundam and could talk about it for HOURS, same goes for Macross Frontier. It’s probably the reason I like Overwatch so much, because of the omnics, cyborgs, and D.Va’s mech.

I tag: @danekez, @pericci, @tyrantwaffles, @little-lotti, @half-ginger-half-goddess, @starcyntress, @pasta-understands-me, @arminhasthebestbooty, @this-undead-soldier, @sugar-coated-dame, @furyeclipse, @crispsauce, @thehylianbatman and whoever else wants to~!

#troll fish blatherings #tagged

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