#maybe there’s some possibility of a comic series in KO’s future?

[perfectkaio]

Couple of notes about the episodes (spoilers!):

The interactions between boxman and carol..............i died

It was nice to see at least some kind and caring interaction between PV and his kiddos

KO and Fink have an awesome special move together and I hope we get to see it again before the show is over!

I also wonder if any of the upcoming episodes are going to have Fink be more upfront with her feelings about PV and maybe have them come to more of a father/daughter type situation?

We don’t get a lot of Dendy content but “You’re a Good Friend, K.O” was great!

The bull nephew villain has such a cute design

Dendy is my daughter now and I love her little kappa head ❤️

The Red Action episode was okay and it kind of felt like one of those episodes cartoons/American shows in general often do where they reminisce about previous episodes and pad most of the runtime with those recollections

BUT ALSO?????? GIRLFRIENDS!!!!

ON SCREEN KISS!!!!!!

My heart was really breaking during “Carl” for K.O. because he’s such a sweet little guy and he really wanted to believe that PV would turn around and be nice but it just isn’t going to happen :(

He believes in the good in everyone and PV broke any trust he might have had/shattered the ideal that everyone can be a good person for him and it BREAKS MY HEART i love my son

The way TKO came back felt extremely like he was embodying not only K.O.’s anxieties but like...just anxiety in general. How quickly KO made all the problems his fault even though he didn’t do anything wrong and how those thoughts spiraled in to TKO coming back and taking over and that to me is wild on so many levels

Also mister “oh I don’t have any powers boo hoo” YES YOU DO. YOU CAN TRANSFORM IN TO A LITERAL SNAKE MAN.

I’ll just come out and say it. Shadowy Venomous. 10/10 would bang.

You can really tell that Fink is having a hard time with all of this but isn’t able to make peace with her emotions and I hope there’s enough time for her to really come out of her shell

BOXMAN TOO oh my gosh. You go back a few episodes and those two were practically inseparable. A love really grew there but, just like with Carol, PV was too caught up in his own head over the pursuit of great power that he let it eat away at him. Literally nothing matters more to PV than power and it’s ruined two great relationships, the one with Boxman even more so.

TLDR BOXMAN DESERVES TO BE LOVED TOO!!!

Carol deserves SO much better I will not say it again

Boxbot Prime looked cool when it was being put together but the full-body reveal.........its so bad to look at I love it

Special notes; PV’s wink at Foxtail, Justin McElroy, the fact that PV’s lair on the hilltop was equipped with a winding snake driveway, boxman’s eye thing????, the bag in Shadowy’s hideout that just said “glorbs that I stole”

The only thing I’m really concerned about at this point is that the next episode (“Plaza Tournament” or something? It was teased at the end of “Dendy’s Video Channel”) could possibly be the end, though I have no evidence to support this! I just hope we get a bit more before we have to say goodbye.

We have a bit more time! Two unannounced episodes!!

[dropintomanga]

Can Sports Manga Really Break Through in North America?

Here we are in the summer of 2020 and it’s usually San Diego Comic-Con time. And with it comes discussion of how manga is doing in 2020. There was a Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable discussion at Comic-Con with representatives from almost all of the U.S. manga publishers (which you can watch here) about what’s happening in the U.S. side of things. While manga sales have dropped due to the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have rebounded back in some ways. A great thing about this is that it’s not just mainstream titles that are selling; it’s also series that are from other genres like slice-of-life and horror.

Which now leads into the title of this post because at the end of the discussion, publishers were asked about what they would like to see in the future. Erik Ko, chief of operations at UDON Comics, said something that really piqued my interest. He said that he wants to see if sports manga can truly break out in North America (i.e. reach levels of sales and popularity a la My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, etc.). Erik mentioned how his daughter loves Haikyu!! on Crunchyroll and watched all 3 seasons multiple times (It’s also mentioned that Haikyu!! sold well during the pandemic for its U.S. publisher Viz Media).

While the manga has officially ended as of this writing, Haikyu!! will last for a while as the anime will have a 4th season and possibly more. However, while Haikyu!! is loved by a lot of anime/manga fans, it’s not exactly a series that has gotten EVERY shonen fan or manga reader talking. With the many sports manga licenses that manga publishers have gotten over the past few years, it doesn’t sound like there’s significant traction.

This does beg the question of what will it take for sports manga to really catch the eyes of manga readers here in the United States.

For starters, I’ll discuss a bit about the history of sports anime here in the United States. It’s been noted that a lot of sports anime do not tend to sell well over here. There was an Answerman article on Anime News Network answering “Why Do Sports Anime Bomb in North America?” that really goes into this. While it’s noted in the article that Yuri!! on Ice and Free! are indeed sports anime and have sold well, almost all discussion about those series revolves around the relationships between the male characters. Sports play second fiddle to the relationships compared to series like Haikyu!!, Slam Dunk, and Captain Tsubasa (where the sports aspect is still preached a lot).

Speaking of Captain Tsubasa, if you don’t know about this series, this is the one sports anime/manga that generated a lot of love overseas in countries that worship football/soccer. In the Manga: The Citi Exhibition book, there was an article on the promotion of Captain Tsubasa in Baghdad, Iraq by the Japan Self-Defense Force. The series was promoted via pictures on water distribution tanks in Iraq in the mid-2000s’ as a way to make Iraqi children smile. During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Japan would later work with Iraqi media channels to show programming that would help encourage the country. One of these shows happened to be Captain Tsubasa, which was dubbed in Arabic. The series’ fandom took off from there and more places in the Middle East (like Saudi Arabia) even got in on the action using hacked satellites to watch. 

I wonder if this is what Erik Ko wants to see - something like Captain Tsubasa that not only gets fans gushing about the story and characters, but also inspires kids to become professional athletes or at least become more physically active in their own lives.

A big problem that gets in the way of this happening in the U.S. is how sports culture is like over here. How do I explain this? I’ll use a quote from a 2016 article in the Milwaukee Independent about Anime Milwaukee.

“While the Anime Milwaukee convention does not collect statistical data about those who attend, walking around the convention provided empirical confirmation of how Anime speaks to multi-generational and multi-cultural people. 

Anime itself will not solve the very real problems faced by disadvantaged residents in Milwaukee. 

But unlike the adversarial escapism offered by sports teams and the nature of competitive games, the appeal of Anime is with its positive messages. Where as sports is an unrealistic role model for struggling youth, for the most part Anime offers socially beneficial and moral examples.”

Sports in the United States are very much “us versus them.” In Japan, sports focuses on healthy competition between players. At least, that’s what Japanese sports stories try to focus on. While healthy competition between players does happen over here, it either doesn’t get shown as much in U.S. sports media or that competition becomes toxic to the point it hurts innocent people. In the U.S., you’re supposed to win and get recognized in order to move ahead in your respective sport via whatever means necessary. A good example is college basketball over here and how competitive schools have been involved in recruiting scandals over the best high school players. Another example is the psychological trauma faced by the number of young female athletes who were sexually abused/harassed and forced to believe that it was all part of the process to get ahead in their respective sport. I want to note that sports programs in the U.S. are often heavily underfunded, which adds to the pressure that faces any youth going through sports programs.

There’s also this tendency to view athletes over here as all-knowing celebrity gods (i.e. athletes who say awful things with confidence on social media) or people that only know how to play their respective sport (ie. the “shut up and dribble” comment to outspoken basketball players on social issues). There’s no in-between where we get to see the complete humanity of the athlete.

This does tie into how sports fans and anime/manga fans may not get along. You usually learn more about the nuanced aspects of life from outside sports than within. Sports over here preach some questionable values that anime/manga fans sometimes don’t believe in. Add the fact that sports is shoved down Americans’ throats so much and you can see why not everyone over watches sports. I do want to note that there are U.S. pro athletes showcasing their love for anime. While this is nice to see, almost all the titles they grew up watching are mainstream shonen/shojo. I’m curious if athletes would watch series like Haikyu!!, Kuroko’s Basketball, Eyeshield 21, etc., but then I wonder if they would keep watching as they can only handle so much sports drama as it’s part of their everyday reality.

So what will it take for a sports manga to break through in a big way? Viz Media tried to promote Slam Dunk here using the NBA to promote literacy in 2008. I also found out that Tokyopop tried to do something with the NBA via its Cine-Manga initiative in the mid-2000s’ and it only lasted from 2004-2007. So to that extent, there probably has to some kind of manga that’s similar to the now-famous The Last Dance documentary, which chronicled Michael Jordan’s last championship run with the Chicago Bulls in the 1997-1998 NBA season. 

Though honestly, it’s gonna take a mangaka who’s really interested in all aspects of American sports culture to come up with that kind of story. What might be better is that the story heavily criticizes the culture in a compelling and sometimes humorous way. I think that’s what will really get all U.S. manga fans and comic fans interested, especially those who are sick of commercialized sports exposure wherever they go. I do think over time as anime/manga continue to be accepted in the geek ecosystem, we can see this kind of story take off. 

Until then, if you happen to be someone who likes both sports and anime/manga in a level-headed manner like me, you’re doing alright. It’s hard to occupy both spaces when you’re supposed to choose a side. Although I liked physical education during my school days, I can understand why anyone whose hobbies lie more towards the artistic and creative side disliked physical education possibly due to the structure in how it’s taught. I know sports anime lovers that dislike watching real sports in general and I get why.

Hearing Erik’s comments made me wonder about the beauty of sports manga. Now that I think hard about it, sports anime/manga are a intersection of both the “nerd” and “jock” in a way that helps everyone. To be honest, that intersection is what really bridges gaps that makes people better. It’s what truly completes a person. I’ll use this example - you can’t have mental health without physical health and vice versa. Some kind of exercise can help the mind while learning how your mind works can help you do better in physical activities that connect people together.

Maybe more importantly, what sports manga tends to preach is that winning shouldn’t be everything. Right now, everyone is encouraged to win at something just for a taste of meaningless status and we’re seeing how that mentality can ruin someone. Sports, with all of its benefits freed from corporate influence, are supposed to teach us (like all great manga stories do) that there’s no “us versus them,” there’s only “us” in the end.

And that kind of story deserves to hit a home run that rounds all the bases to reach a celebratory and meaningful win for the world.

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Podcast Episode 10

I haven’t done outline posts for other SU podcasts, but I’ve listened to them all and loved them. I just figured I’d go ahead and give my summary and favorite bits list because I just listened to the podcast and it’s fresh in my mind.

Thanks to McKenzie for doing such a cute and fun job with these. :) I love you @pearl-likes-pi !

The episode:

The Sugar siblings discuss their childhood stories that ended up in the show as well as answering fan questions, and Rebecca Sugar plays the song "Escapism" on ukulele--an unreleased song from an upcoming episode.

Highlights from the childhood stories:

Steven Sugar's comic "Nightmare in Birdland" was written in a day--Rebecca was so surprised that Steven could do comics so fast when she agonizes over comics. He chose birds as his subject specifically because he didn't know how to draw birds, which taught Rebecca that she could build a project around doing something she didn't know how to do.

Steven's TV is on the floor on the show because the Sugar siblings had their TV on the floor so they could play video games while hanging out and drawing.

The video games in Steven's room are confirmed to be Wind Waker and Animal Crossing. (They were playing New Leaf at the time and Steven's town was named Donut. Rebecca's was called Slowdown.)

"Rose's Scabbard's" ending, with Steven doing nice things like magic tricks to cheer Pearl up, was based on Steven Sugar doing things Rebecca would like to cheer her up when they were younger.

Highlights from the Q&A:

When asked what Diamond she would follow if she were a Gem, Rebecca said she'd probably follow Blue because blue Gems are diplomats and intellectuals, but she'd probably actually be in Pink's court. (She can't say more without spoilers.)

Rebecca's crappy Toyota Corolla morphed into the Dondai from "Last One Out of Beach City."

The protagonists' Gem placements are very calculated. Pearl being in her head all the time inspired a head Gem, Amethyst speaking from the heart suggested a chest Gem, and Garnet being hands-on and balanced meant she should have her Gems in her hands.

Amethyst's favorite soda is the apple soda Apple Sidra. (She would hate Guacola though.)

Fluorite is inspired by the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland and Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas.

Pearl's favorite color is pink. Of course.

Rebecca used to be a vegetarian and loved eating pineapple and jalapeño pizza.

Rebecca confirms that some of the Crew did not go to art school, and she recommends doing LOTS of your own work.

Rebecca says they actually LOVE square pizza (from Ledo's!) and doesn't know why Steven has a problem with that shape. She thinks Paul Villeco came up with that.

Rebecca's favorite One Piece character is Usopp because he's insecure.

Pumpkin does not need to eat, but does sleep.

Sardonyx is a little like Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear in that she can transcend reality (like Garnet seeing possible futures), which is why she can break the fourth wall.

The idea that Garnet's visor changes to be balanced more between pink or blue based on whether Ruby or Sapphire is influencing Garnet more? It's not true at all. She's not being piloted by two people--she's her own person, though she does have internal conversations of course.

Yes, the Zircons are okay but in trouble.

There might not really be superheroes in Steven's world because of the ancient Gem invasion.

The Zircons have monocles because of the iconic monocles associated with the lesbian nightclub called Le Monocle. The Zircons were inspired by Film Film Film, Jughead, and the jesters from What's the Truth about Mother Goose.

Unfamiliar Familiar is confirmed to reference His Dark Materials. Rebecca says the series blew her mind as a kid.

One-eyed Gems might have depth perception issues, but their Gem placement in the eye may indicate enhanced vision actually.

The Fusions that currently exist as Fusions COULD actually exist as one-Gem Gems--meaning you could maybe find a single-Gem Sugilite or Opal or whatever, occurring without being a Fusion. Rebecca confirms they would look different from the Fusion version, but says there could absolutely be a one-Gem Garnet.

Rebecca would love to have a crossover with OK KO. She had a concept of sort of fusing the characters together.

The song: Debut of "Escapism."

Rebecca played ukulele for this upcoming show song.

I transcribed the lyrics and I hope I got them right:

I guess I'll have to face

That in this awful place

I shouldn't show a trace of doubt

But pulled against the grain

I feel a little pain

that I would rather do without.

I'd rather be free, free, free.

I'd rather be free, free, free.

Free, free, free from here.

(She of course does not disclose which character sings it or in what episode. Musically, it reminds me a little of "Everything Stays" from Adventure Time.)

[Archive of Steven Universe Podcast Summaries]

[skyscribbles]

Plans for 2018

I say ‘plans’ cause lord knows what’s gonna happen but!! Better to plan and try than give up just because I’m not sure. Anyway it may be long so I’m gonna ramble it below the cut

First major plan:

Work on a set schedule

I feel like I can get a little bit lost because I don’t have STRUCTURE anymore. Working in a classroom or general work environment did me so many wonders, cause my brain could snap into a work-mode. Unfortunately I don’t really have access to that kind of thing anymore, so I have to set it myself. 

The basic plan is:

Monday: Sketches Wednesday: Linework Friday: Color/Finish

This can apply to commissions or personal works! If I have multiple commissions, I can send off multiple sketch stages on Monday, try to get lineart done on Wednesday, finish ‘em by Friday, etc! Tuesdays and Thursdays would be sort of free-drawing days where I can doodle or have fun.

That’d be one drawing a week at the least which is!! Ideal!

Saturdays and Sundays might be study dedicated? So I can kind of keep myself on the ball, while still getting work done. Of course I’ll have to factor in IRL stuff and anything that gets in the way, but if I can get at least something done each of these days, it’ll be good enough. 

100 Theme Challenge

I opened a folder on DeviantART for a 100 theme challenge! I’m gonna try to make complete pieces for it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish all 100, but I’m gonna try! If I can manage one piece every week, I can get it done in less than 2 years... /dies

Which should be a good show of my progress. Of course I’ve taken on many challenges before and have fallen short, but ATTEMPTING challenges is better than not, cause even if I do fall out of it, I still have work done that I wouldnt have done before! So there isn’t much to lose, and some to gain!

Get Some Kind of Project Going

Patreon sadly is probably not going to happen in the near future until i can get some personal stuff settled, but I did consider maybe trying to open a Redbubble store! I have to research proper printing colors/formats and the like so my products wont be cheaply put together, but that’s a possibility!  I may also do something with my Ko-Fi! Probably simple commissions if people donate or something! I’ll worry about that later.

I’d do a comic but honestly I am not any sort of comic artist. I haven’t shown much interest and passion for it, and I know it’s something you absolutely NEEEEEED to be passionate about to even hope to finish. It doesn’t mean I wont ever try a short comic or two that’ll be like, 2-3 pages! But a long running series is not in my future.

Stream....Eventually

This one’s part tech issues and part anxiety issues. 

I kind of hate being WATCHED when I draw cause it makes me stiffen up really bad and then I can’t quite draw as easily, and then THAT makes me worry all my stuff is turning out bad in front of everyone and that I’m a sham of an artist, blablabla etc, and I know it’s something I’ll HAVE to get past eventually. But I’m gonna take baby steps on this one. Maybe I’ll try to upload Youtube videos or something of me drawing once I can learn some basic video editing!

And Finally, Try To Get Over Myself

I KNOW THIS SOUNDS MEAN LMAO but hear me out:

I have, a lot of issues with anxiety still. Even sharing works can make me nervous and tense cause I get hard on myself if I worked SUPER hard on something and just comes out...subpar. I have to work on getting over these fears, and learning to not get so personal with every drawing. It’s mostly on me and a mental thing I have to work out, but I want to become courageous and post more, even if it ends up garbage! At least people can see that I’m not always at the top of my game, and it’s fine to have drawings that just aren’t as good.

No artist is always at 100%. I don’t expect that from others and I shouldn’t expect that from myself. Not to say I wanna be LAZY but, just learn to forgive myself if I screw up a drawing... 8′D;

ANYWAY THATS THE RAMBLE, here’s hoping I can stick to at least most of this!! And see y’all in 2018!!

[studiotaleproductions]

URL change coming soon! Important!

So with Studiotale’s second anniversary, Studiotale is pleased to announce we’ll be making a few changes. 

Studiotale will now be making a transition into Studiotale Productions! 

Studiotale Productions is the step for many members of the group to begin pursuing a career in the arts industry. With this, many new changes are coming. You may have noticed with recent events, we’ve been enunciating that any fandoms are welcome. Studiotale Productions will no longer be SOLELY focused on Undertale, but we’re not cutting it off either. 

With this, @askstudiotaleerrorandbluesy will very soon be changed to StudiotaleProductions. It will also include additional members of the cast as a group blog. 

Studiotale Error and Bluesy WILL still be available in the blog and will answer asks when they’re able to, but now, not only with them, you’ll be seeing other cast members appearing for questions as projects are released. 

Studiotale Productions is aiming to make a name, even create whole new fandom communities. You all are our history. You were the ones that were there from the very beginning. We hope you will continue to show your loyal support to our group and to help spread our name and works together!

StudiotaleProductions will also be having new websites for you all to follow as well, including a Patreon! These, and the blog,  are all currently under construction until further notice. 

http://studiotaleproductions.com

http://www.youtube.com/c/StudiotaleProductions

https://www.facebook.com/Studiotale-Productions-378894472492586/

https://twitter.com/STP_Studiotale

https://picarto.tv/StudiotaleProductions

https://www.twitch.tv/studiotaleproductions

Additional questions are going to be answered down below and the FAQ page will be updated as well. Thank you all again! 

Love what we do? Help us save up to serve you all better! You can now buy Studiotale a coffee at the link in the description or directly right here: https://ko-fi.com/A555POK

What is Studiotale Productions?

 Studiotale was originally based off a joke AU by loverofpiggies for Undertale events, focusing solely on Undertale-based characters. Since then, the muns of Studiotale have grown closer and improved in their skills and have decided to have less of a focus on Undertale. They decided to start focusing on their own projects as well and to work together under one name: Studiotale Productions.

 What’s the difference?

 Not much except the name. We’re still around for RP and all, but we’ll also be posting original content with the rest of our things. Our original content is copyrighted and we’ll be creating merchandise for our fans.

 Does this mean no more Error and Bluesy and anyone else?!

 No, no! They’ll still be around, along with new characters. Studiotale Productions is just opening our target audience to all fandoms. You’ll be seeing new original characters from Studiotale Productions’ own works, as well as new characters from CrayonQueen’s other projects. Error and Bluesy will be available for questions, as well as other existing Studiotale characters and new characters, such as:

 Studiotale Blue

Studiotale Cherry

Studiotale G

Studiotale Papyrus

Studiotale Fresh

Studiotale Sage

Studiotale Kip

Studiotale Stitch

Studiotale Acha

King Asriel

Bing

Lily

Sanyo Blackthorn

And more coming soon!

 What else is coming with this change?

 With Studiotale Productions, we’re trying to make an effort to secure a career in media arts in whatever career has always been our focus. We want to combine our talents and resources to become an independent media group. With this, we also need funding for better resources (better computers, better software) to help improve our productivity. Many of the members are also financially struggling just to make ends meet and we want to have an emergency fund in case anything goes wrong. We also want to begin saving up for a home, with a home studio, for us to work from in the future.

With that, we’ll be asking for donations or for people to fund the projects through Patreon, as much as people are willing to offer for the things we’ll offer in return. We’ll also be making merchandise based on our projects in the near future.

 I can help out with something you don’t have! Can I join?

 We’re not actively looking for people. We’ve always relied on the bonds we create with people. Some people just fit into the chemistry so well. While we’re making steps to becoming an organization, we’re still a family-run business. If we like you, you’re in, no matter what your talents are. Though we would love original music composers and voice actors.

 If I don’t join but want to help with projects part-time, will I get paid for it?

 At the moment, it’s unclear. As we get started into a schedule, start getting an idea of how much money is coming in, and what things we need, we’ll start focusing on how we’re paying people outside of Studiotale for things such as voice acting. Chances are, it’ll be negotiated how much you’ll be paid, if it’ll be a one-time payment for each appearance or if it’ll be consistent, etc. and a contract will be written. But as of now, it’s not clear.

 What projects will you be doing?

 Our main focus is comics, as well as some writing projects. Some projects are done by individuals or broken up into groups. Our main projects at the moment are below:

RPGoner – Led by Caira Ake

Dia Dos Muertos – Led by Liss

 Will you still be doing events and interacting with fans?

 Of course! We’ll be doing occasional RP events for any fandom and OC to take part in for anyone. We’ll also post links to streams, Skype calls, video games as they come up. With enough requests, we may even make a public server just for chatting with them as they feel like coming on.

 Who all is officially associated with Studiotale Productions and what are their roles?

 Caira Ake – Head Director of Studiotale Productions, Director of RPGoner, Voice Actor, Graphic Design

Lyss – Director of Dia Dos Muertos, Audio Editor

Kip – Character Designer and Writer, Storyboard Artist

Ksquared -  Storyboard Artist

Flamour – Social Media Director, Web Design, Character Designer and Writer

Dan – Character Designer and Writer, Voice Actor

Alvin – Character Designer and Writer, Coordinator

Cassie – None as of yet

Blue – None as of yet

Bun – None as of yet

 What else should we know?

 Well, you may know of our Youtube channel, but we have also extended into other websites and social media to make it easier to get into contact. The current websites are below and will be updated as necessary. Many sites are under construction at this time:

 http://www.youtube.com/c/StudiotaleProductions

https://www.facebook.com/Studiotale-Productions-378894472492586/

https://twitter.com/STP_Studiotale

https://picarto.tv/StudiotaleProductions

https://www.twitch.tv/studiotaleproductions

 Will Studiotale Productions still have a family-friendly rating?

 Studiotale Productions will continue to be a public blog with at least a teen rating. There’s swear words and all, maybe some mentions of sex (though not in graphic detail, verbally or visually), but overall, it should be safe for anyone who meets Tumblr’s terms of being at least thirteen years of age. However, we do have an 18+ blog at StudiotaleSkeletonCloset that is restricted to minors. The blog is flagged as adult-orientated and we are not responsible for minors who bypass Tumblr’s minor restructions. If we learn that a follower is below eighteen years of age, they will be swiftly blocked, and if possible, their IP will be entirely redirected. This will not be reversed, even when the minor becomes eighteen.

 I really enjoy the series so far! Can I do fanart?

 For the most part, of course. Studiotale Productions projects are all copyrighted as they are completed and we encourage fanart if you enjoy them so we may be able to public them! Remember to submit all R34 fanart to StudiotaleSkeletonCloset.

 Note: The only exception to this rule is Anna Borowski/Rory Masters, and any other alias they are going by, does not, under any circumstances, have access to anything under Studiotale Productions as name, nor does anyone else associated by her. Doing so will lead to a Cease and Desist, and if necessary, legal action will be taken.

 I have an unanswered question.

 Feel free to send an ask, on or off anon! We’ll be happy to answer it and add it here if it’s useful for everyone to know!

 Studiotale Productions is copyrighted under Caira Ake (under her real name and not her online persona). Studiotale Productions projects are all copyrighted under their respective owners. If you have any questions on these copyrights, please get in contact.

[dancitron-days]

Restoring Action Master Optimus Prime

Action Masters - a sub-line from the twilight years of Transformers Generation 1 that will live in infamy! The biggest and perhaps the best toy released in this series is the Armored Convoy, a truck driven by Optimus Prime. No, you didn't mis-read that, the world's most famous robot lorry guy kicked off the nineties by dropping his alt-mode and becoming a trucker.

In the first half of this video I'll share with you my childhood anecdotes about the mix-up that resulted in me getting this toy, and the minor defect that he's had all this time. In the second half, I perform a full restoration on both the Armored Convoy and Optimus himself. New stickers, new accessories, and replacement parts intended for GI Joes used to repair the Autobot Commander - but things don't always go to plan!

Fun game: Take a sip every time I say "1991" in this video. It's my job to be repetitive. My job! My job. Repetitiveness is my job.

If you'd like to see more videos like this, please like / subscribe / hit the bell etc., in fact any indication that you enjoy this kind of content will be appreciated. I'd really like to do some more videos like this in the future (Maybe a more line-wide overview of Action Masters or the Euro Classics era?) but I really need some kind of indicator that there's an interest before I can devote time to it. Next video will be a timelapse demonstrating how the title card art of Action Master Optimus Prime was created.

I'm also on Ko-Fi! Donations of any size are appreciated and will help make future videos, art and comics possible: https://ko-fi.com/corbie