#off topic does anyone know a good website to read manga

[schoenht]

Thank you so much man! Move in day is already on the 9th and I have to leave my job soon. I feel really bad because we’re short staffed and with me leaving until holidays it’ll be worse. ~ 🍩

OH WOW that's so close !!! idk if you're rooming or wtv but i'm so excited for you !!! mannnn that sucks like the guilt for that :( but i'm sure they're gonna be so excited when you return i'm sure you're a rlly good worker !!!

[galactichoneybee92]

Thoughts on BakuDeku

I’ve been lurking in the MHA fandom for a while now, just kind of silently watching, and I have a few observations that I would like to make. Just perspectives that I would like to put out into the universe. I am on the older side of this website, much less this fandom and so I am no stranger to fandom culture. And when I say old? I mean like I was an active participant on ff.net circa 2005 so like, I’m sure some of you are older but I’m getting up there. My point? I’ve seen things.

As far as fandoms go in general, the MHA is far from the most toxic that I’ve seen but there does seem to be a few points of contention and per usual it comes back to shipping. This is nothing new but lets speak a little on BakuDeku as a ship. I warn you now, it’s not always going to be things you want to hear, but I encourage you to read to the end anyway. 

Horikoshi has fully admitted to having been a huge Naruto fan and it’s pretty easy to see the influence in his work. On that note, it’s pretty safe to say that the Midoriya/Bakugo relationship can be compared to the Naruto/Sasuke relationship. You can see other parallels (All Might = Iruka, Aizawa =  Kakashi, etc...) but for the sake of argument let’s focus solely on Midoriya/Bakugo. Personally, I tend to prefer MHA to Naruto overall, as I just like the characters better and as such I like Bakugo a lot more than Sasuke. Horikoshi has taken more time to humanize Bakugo, and while he started off being a total dick, he’s also a dumb fuck teenage boy and he’s had a lot of character growth over the last 29 volumes. 

In the Naruto fandom, much like in the MHA fandom, there were loads of fans who shipped Naruto and Sasuke romantically. If we are judging the probability of Midoriya and Bakugo becoming a cannon couple, it stands to reason that we can examine the author’s influences and infer that, no, they probably won’t. For one thing, homosexuality is still considered a controversial topic in Japan like in America, and even if the author wanted to make it romantic he would probably receive a good amount of push-back from publishers. 

Now I don’t want you to read this and think that I am at all against it. I’m not. And forever ago when I was reading Naruto I occasionally wondered what would happen if an author published a Shounen manga, got millions invested, and then SURPRISE it was a M/M romance all along. I think it would be fun but I can’t say that I am realistically convinced that it will happen. But that isn’t really the point of this post.

My point, is that this fandom, like many others (And this website in general???) needs to learn the difference between actual queer baiting and a ship that just...doesn’t happen? And I’ve seen all the arguments, about how they clearly love each other and how their bond is so deep and how if either of the characters had this kind of relationship with a female character it would ABSOLUTELY be romantic. And I hear your points, but if I may provide a few of my own: 

1. There are many different ways to love in the world and they don’t all have to involve romance and kissing and sex. Do you love your family? Do you have friends that you would die for? These are relationships that people have and their just as valid in fiction as in real life.

2. Yes, if they were opposite genders than it probably would be the central romance of the mange, but that isn’t proof of queer baiting so much as a general failure to accurately represent opposite gender friendships in media. There should be male and female friendships that are just as strong while remaining platonic so this is a failure but not the failure you thing it is.  (If anyone likes Kdramas, Suspicious Partner is an excellent one that has not only a great romantic subplot but also some WONDERFUL platonic M/F friendships and it’s just beautiful) (That being said I also recommend the Taiwanese drama HIStory 3: Trapped for a wonderful M/M romance since if you’re reading this post that’s probably something you’re into) 

I think that a lot of the problems come from the fact that good romantic relationships do build similarly to friendships. You get a lot of bonding moments, the characters getting to know each other better and coming to care for one another and since media tends to focus predominantly on romantic relationships it’s easy to just get into the mindset that like, all bonding moments are leading somewhere. And in a way they are: to friendship. And then sometimes that friendship leads to romance and sometimes it doesn’t but what I’m saying is that the two look very similar. You SHOULD be friends with your romantic partner, and I think that that is why it’s so easy to ship these sort of couples. Especially when they do have an especially deep bond like these two have.

As far as BakuDeku as a couple in general, yeah, I ship it. I’ve read my fair share of fanfiction and if it did happen I would be psyched. I didn’t always like Bakugo (He’s just doing THE MOST at all times) but I grew to love him and if he continues to grow in the direction that he has been I wouldn’t personally have any problems with it. They have an interesting dynamic that incorporates some of my favorite tropes and I think it would be cool if the manga went there. But if they don’t? That’s also fine. 

There have been several ACTUAL examples of queer baiting in media that I can point to such as the Japanese ads for Sherlock (I didn’t necessarily find the show itself to be queerbaiting but the Japanese ads for the new seasons hardcore did) and while I tried hard to defend Supernatural (WAY too much of the fandom shipped actual brothers together for me to believe that they understood the value of any sort of platonic relationship) they kind of blew that out of the water with whatever the fuck happened in that last season. 

I don’t see that happening here and while I know a lot of you are set for your ship to become cannon I just want you to maybe manage your expectations. Because in my experience, when it gets built up this big, if it DOESN’T happen the next thing fans do is start ranting about queer-baiting and insulting the series and the team and I don’t want to see that because it isn’t fair to any of them. I’ve seen it happen in other fandoms and it gets real ugly real fast. 

Alternatively, if anyone has watched the reboot of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power you will know that the creators played their cards super close to their chest, doing their best to properly develop the homosexual relationships they wanted while keeping it subtle enough that they could prevent themselves from being cancelled before the last season aired. Then they went all in and made their homosexual ships cannon in the final season because at that point the whole show was out wtf was going to happen? They’d get cancelled? It was already over. So if you would like a serving of hope to cling to, that is a thing that happened. I just wouldn’t necessarily bet on it. 

That being said, I fully support your right to ship anything you want. And if by some chance it does become cannon? More power to you. I’d be psyched. Horikoshis assistants ship the hell out of it and he clearly doesn’t mind so there is a point in your favor. But if it doesn’t? A lack of romance doesn’t invalidate the depth of their feelings for one another. Platonic love is still love and it’s still a powerful driving force in the story. Their relationship is still compelling even if there isn’t ever a kiss, or a confession. And hey, that’s what fanfiction is for. 

Remember kids: Please ship responsibly. 

[jeremybthompson]

Is hellsing and hellsing ultimate have the same artist

Anime is a Japanese term for animation, and in the West it is used to refer to all animation from Japan. The word comes from the abbreviated pronunciation of "animation" in Japanese, where アニメーション (animeshon) is pronounced as "animeeshon." Anime can be either hand drawn or computer generated. It has evolved over time into a broad art form with unique styles that capture audiences of many different cultures. Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate are two anime series that have been created by Kouta Hirano, but they have different artists who drew them. In this blog post I will compare and contrast both anime series' artwork so you'll know which one suits your taste best!

 How are Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate related?

 The Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate series are both works of fiction that feature a powerful vampire named Alucard. Although there is quite a bit of overlap between the two, the anime series Hellsing Ultimate does not follow the manga storyline from which it was derived. Notable differences include who Alucard's father is in each work as well as his motivations for working with The Major and Millennium.

Even though they share many similarities in terms of characters and story arcs, these differences make them distinct stories within their own right. This article will explore some notable ways in which they differ including how they portray Alucard himself as well as what happens to him at different points throughout both works.

 Which is better Hellsing or Ultimate?

 When it comes to the anime series Hellsing, there's one question that always pops up: is Hellsing better than Ultimate? Well, this blog post will explore both sides of the argument and help you determine which series is best for you.

 -Hellsing has been around since 2001 and has 12+ episodes  while Ultimate only has 4.   -Ultimate was created in 2009 so technically it would be newer than Hellsing but still not as old as some other popular anime like Naruto or One Piece.  -With an average rating of 7/10 on IMDb, Hellsings seems to be more well received by viewers than Ultimate with a 6/10 rating on IMDb. So when all things are considered what do you.

 Does Netflix have Hellsing?

 If you're like me, then you love to use the dictionary. It's so fulfilling to know that I can look up any word and find out what it means! The only problem is when I'm watching a show but don't know what some of the words mean because they are in another language. This often happens with foreign movies or TV shows, especially if they were made in Europe. Luckily for us, there are plenty of online dictionaries that will translate just about anything into English (among other languages). One of these websites is called "The Free Dictionary." Another site worth checking out is "Dictionary.com." These sites provide definitions for words as well as translations from one language into another — which includes European languages such as French.

 There are many different versions of the show and not all of them appear on Netflix. It is also possible that they have discontinued some series which would make it hard for anyone to find out if they have it or not.  If you do want to know more, please read this article in full for tips on how to find out what's available on your particular version of Netflix.

 Is Hellsing Ultimate Complete?

 "Hellsing Ultimate is a manga and anime series that follows the story of the vampire Alucard. The show was originally released in 2000 by Studio Gonzo, but it went on hiatus after only 14 episodes. In 2012, Hellsing returned with Madman Entertainment as its distributor, and the first two volumes were rereleased in 2013."

"The series has been popular enough for fans to create their own interpretation of the ending through fan art and other creations; however, there are still many unanswered questions about what happens to some characters like Seras Victoria."

"Fans might be waiting until 2017 when creator Kouta Hirano releases his final volume before they can get closure on this epic tale."

 Is Hellsing Ultimate Dub good?

 Many people are asking themselves the question, is Hellsing Ultimate dub good? This blog post will explore this topic and provide a definitive answer.

This blog post will be about whether or not the Hellsing Ultimate Dub is worth watching.

The Hellsing Ultimate Dub was created by Funimation and released in October of 2017. It follows closely to the original manga written by Kouta Hirano with some alterations in order to appeal more towards American audiences. The story follows an English Police officer named Alucard who works for the organization known as "Hellsing." They are tasked with fighting against vampires that threaten England’s safety from time to time. In addition, he also has a mission to destroy any remnants of his former human.

For some, the idea of Hellsing Ultimate Dub is a breath of fresh air. The dubbing company, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, has been noted for their high-quality voice acting and this movie does not disappoint. For others, though, it's just another rehash of something they've seen before with new actors and voices that don't match up to the original ones.

  Conclusion:

Recently, there has been a lot of confusion as to whether or not the two Hellsing manga series have different artists. The original artist for the first Hellsing manga is Kouta Hirano and he also illustrated the anime adaptation. However, when it comes to Hellsing Ultimate, which was created after the success of its predecessor with an all-new storyline that spans 10 volumes and 38 chapters so far (with no end in sight), many people think that Yasushi Nirasawa is responsible for illustrating them both. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Let’s take a look at some evidence supporting this claim before we get into why these misconceptions are happening.  First off, if you go back through.

[dropintomanga]

Regarding That CODA Anti-Piracy Campaign

So I found out that this is a thing.

CODA (Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Agency) decided to do a manga campaign featuring 16 manga stories from notable mangaka (list of mangaka can be be found here) about anti-piracy in order to stop readers from reading manga on scanlation and/or unofficial raw sites. The theme of every manga in this campaign is basically read legal manga with lessons featuring each respective mangaka’s series and characters (i.e. Adachitoka and Noragami’s Yato and Yukine). 

As of July 3, 2020, all the comics are out. They give off important messages about anti-piracy with humor, anger, and grace. I just don’t know who they are trying to convince at this point.

A big problem is the issue of awareness and education when it comes to topics that no one may care about (yet). I see this in mental health. While we have things like Mental Health Awareness Month, suicide rates continue to rise, people with mental illness continue to be ignored and the mental health system continues to be in shambles. The problem with promoting “awareness” is that it doesn’t point out notable actions one can take after hearing about what they are now aware of. It just doesn’t feel measurable. There are fine people who want to know how to help, but you need to tell them how. 

Now there’s one CODA manga story that does tell people to look for legal manga apps/volumes containing an official sign of legitimacy, which is labeled “ABJ - Authorized Books of Japan.” But almost all of these stories don’t really provide useful advice on how to support the Japanese manga industry. They just tell you to do the right thing.

I worry about the hyperbole shouting in some of the manga. One manga has a character going “Do you want manga to be wiped off the face of the earth!?” in an effort to shame someone who read illegal manga on their phone. Another character in another manga said that the industry loses 3.2 billion yen per year (a number I find very hard to believe). There is a big danger to manga in Japan, but piracy is only part of the picture. 

There’s also something that bothers me - some mangaka featured in the campaign know that a good number of fans are naive about pirated manga and see the good in people. However, while there are multitudes of legal manga options available in Japan, the same can’t be said for most of the world that’s not America, France, England or any notable first-world country. Region locks are still a thing and Japan is super-notorious for this.

For an organization that’s focused on overseas promotion of content, region-locking shouldn’t be a thing if you do see the good in people who are willing to support manga as best they can.

I wish mangaka didn’t have to resort to drawing stories telling fans to not pirate their works. I know there are fans who wish a service that has everything (Spotify, Crunchyroll, Netflix, etc.) is the perfect solution. I just don’t know if it will make a difference because reading isn’t highly valued as a leisure activity overseas compared to Japan. The number of anime viewers still dwarf over the number of manga readers.  

I feel like nothing is going to change. However, I do have one suggestion that probably will never be taken. Train mangaka to be more of a visual online content creator-type a la Twitch streamers. With art streams being more of a thing on Twitch, the timing is perfect. This idea came to me as I listened to a fascinating podcast about the psychology of Twitch donations. Basically, it talked about why do Twitch users donate money and subscribe to streamers. 

There was this caveat about research on Twitch donations in that the people who donate/subscribe often make low-to-moderate income. So what compels them to give? Why are they willing to support streamers? While content is still a major reason, another key is an emotional connection that’s experienced via the visual medium that is the stream. There’s some kind of meaningful interaction via Twitch chat as streamers do mention users by name and thanking them for the support.

The researcher in the featured podcast believes the days of “the internet is always free” are becoming a thing of the past. This is true as more industries are figuring out how to make money via the internet that works for them and their consumers. The researcher also argued that having just content isn’t enough to make money on the internet. She said that if you’re not going to make easy all-in-one solutions (i.e. a Netflix-like manga app), then you better deliver added value to the consumer that isn’t just more content and makes them feel appreciative.

Right now, there’s very little-to-no visual emotional connection/community between the manga industry/creators and the fans at all. Everything’s all about content without feeling visual attachment to the manga creator. I see manga publishers promoting special editions with extra goods like OVAs/charms/etc. Those feel more like incentives than rewards as they don’t really change fans’ behavior. There has to be some added value alongside the manga in the form of community (this is one major reason why Crunchyroll has thrived). Maybe overseas fans need to feel that their voices really matter to mangaka or want mangaka on a video platform to acknowledge them in a para-social kind of way in order for them to provide some monetary support.

In Japan, mangaka get letters from fans and they talk about them from time-to-time. Sometimes, those letters do get mentioned online. I would love to see talks of fan letters via video form as a way to reach online audiences.

I do feel that manga publishers outside of Japan are trying their best as they do get mangaka and manga editors to come over to their countries. They are generating community as best they can, but they are still limited in scope since they don’t have control of what the entire Japanese manga industry says. I don’t envy anyone who works in manga because of this.

To be fair, I can’t expect every mangaka to start streaming on platforms like Twitch/Nico due to privacy reasons and general shyness. Sure, there’s Twitter, but how often does social media lead to donations? Rarely. Mangaka also have no time to worry about what overseas readers are into when they have to worry about their own country. Publishers may not also totally understand how streaming works as promotion and the intentions of its users. Look up Atlus Japan and Persona 5 streaming as an example of Japanese companies being unnecessarily wary of streaming. Japanese companies arguably want an absurd amount of control when it comes to promoting their messages to overseas audiences.

I don’t want to bring up Stu Levy, but he once tweeted years ago that the games industry seemed better to work with than the book publishing industry. I hate to admit that there’s a grain of truth in what he said despite whatever you think of him. Seeing Japanese manga publishers continue to struggle with how to handle piracy makes think about Levy’s words. 

I think a more reasonable goal at this point is to get fans to pirate less manga over time. You can’t expect every fan to quit pirating 100% right away. It never works that way. There will be relapses and we have to be forgiving of that. Relapse is part of the healing process. Shaming someone who may continue to make mistakes from time-to-time (instead of believing they can still heal via good planning) makes them go more all-in on hiding their “bad” behaviors. I mean, as someone with mental illness, I was afraid of making mistakes as I didn’t want to be yelled at. I was told that failure was awful. It made me feel I would never be loved if I wasn’t perfect despite my best efforts. Is this something we want manga fans to experience?

CODA’s manga website URL has the word “enlightenment” in it. The only enlightening thing right now is that we still haven’t reached a solid middle ground that truly bridges manga fans and the manga industry together and financially rewards both to create a manga ecosystem that’s as good as the anime ecosystem today.

[philologer-mosaic]

Hey! Fellow writer here! I was curious as to how you learn to write characters and /keep/ them in character without it being overly stereotypical or stiff? I've read your work and I'd love to learn from you ;^;

Hi! Glad to meet you, and wow, I am so flattered to be asked this. Happy to help out a fellow writer, and I’m always down for rambling about writing-related stuff! I’m not sure how helpful some of this will turn out to be, but here goes.

I’m not sure if you’re asking about characterisation in general including crafting OCs or specifically about writing canon characters, and a lot of this advice will be relevant to both, but I will say this straight off: I’ve seen a fair amount of quibbling about how fanfiction won’t teach you how to worldbuild and maybe that’s true, but there is nothing like writing fanfiction for teaching yourself how to craft character voices. Especially when your source material is a movie/ TV show/ whatever definition RWBY falls under. So: rewatch! Pay attention to all the little details. What turns of phrase do they use? How do they stand, how do they move? What’s their usual emotional range? Pick a line they speak, think about what descriptors you’d use to get across their tone of voice or their emotional state if you were writing the scene in a fic. When you’re writing new dialogue for them, try to hear it in the actor’s voice (if that’s a way your imagination works; some people don’t have great auditory imaginations. Mine can be kind of hit and miss!).

Rest of this advice is going under a cut, because this got looong!

With canon characters: start from what you know, then extrapolate. Especially with characters we don’t see all that much of, boil them down to a handful of personality traits/ ways-they-present-themself first, then consider what might underly them. And in reverse: take the things we know about their status and backstory, consider what that implies about them as a person.

So, Clover: I think I boiled him down to ‘confident, friendly, professional’, and what’s underlying ‘confidence’ is really obviously his semblance: he’s never had to hesitate about anything, he always knows he can rely on himself. So in his internal monologue, he’s not going to second-guess his decisions. He calls Qrow out on deflecting compliments, so he’s good at reading people and also wants to help them; I assume that applies more broadly than just to Qrow. He’s leader of Ironwood’s flagship team of Specialists, and semblance or not I made the assumption he didn’t get there without working for it [that is an assumption, though! People less inclined to think well of Clover will make a different assumption, in-universe as well as out, and how he responds to that is also something to consider], so he’s got to be smart, dedicated, a good tactician, a good leader. And building from that: he’s smart and perceptive but we know he’s also loyal to the bitter end (very bitter); what sort of personality can we project that reconciles those two, what sort of person would respond like that? What I went with is that he trusts the system because he understands enough pieces of how/why it works that he trusts the bits he doesn’t understand are also created with the best interests of the people at heart. (Even when that’s really not true.) So then that’s a consistent philosophy-like thing that underlies a lot of how I write him: he understands the reasons for a lot of why things are how they are and then assumes the best of all the rest.

– This looks like a lot, now I’ve written it out. I thought all this out while working on the early chapters but I never put it some of it into words really. In coming up with the plot or story idea you’ll have made plenty of these assumptions and extrapolations already. Take a second look at them; take them further, find places to link them together or pit them against each other.

And remember, these are your interpretations. There’s not a right or wrong way to flesh these out. Work with semi-canon stuff like the mangas or discard it as you wish; follow fanon or argue with it or throw it out entirely. I interpreted Yang as ‘normal outgoing teenage girl in a non-homophobic world’ and wrote her as having dated people from Signal before she got to Beacon; the other day I came across a tumblr post interpreting her as “a rural lesbian”, by which standard she definitely didn’t have any romantic experience before canon; they’re both entirely plausible takes! Where we don’t know stuff for sure, slot in whatever your story needs, or whatever you think seems interesting. I settled on Clover’s backstory for Soldier, Spy mostly by going ‘ok, what’s an interesting way to contrast him with Qrow?’ And in some of my other fic ideas, he’s different.

Limited third person perspective (or first person, if you can pull if off) is the best for dropping in characterisation smoothly. Though I’m probably biased because I love it so much. Omniscient third person POV is when the narration’s impartial and uninvolved, and skips between person A’s thoughts and person B’s thoughts and pure description of what’s happening, objectively speaking; limited third person is – when the camera’s always over one person’s shoulder in a given scene. It’s less close in than first person, but we get the POV character’s thoughts and no others, we only see/notice what they notice and pay attention to, descriptions are coloured by the way the POV character thinks about the world. I don’t want to be setting you homework, but, a neat writing exercise, if you want it: pick an object, place or person, and consider how two different characters would see it differently. Write those two descriptions. For fun, pick something that at least one of the characters is going to really look down on or dislike parts of! (Qrow’s snark is so much fun.)

This is cynical, but: people lie to themselves a lot. When you put yourself into a character’s head, they’re going to be telling themself a narrative in which what they’re doing is the best thing to do and makes them a good person. (With a few exceptions, the big ones being depression- and anxiety-brain, which instead do their best to convince you you’re the worst.) Get your characters to justify themselves to you.

Goals, motivations, priorities. It feels like a massive oversight to write about how to characters and leave that one out, but honestly I can’t think of anything I can say here that hasn’t been covered better by tons of other writing advice. [Incidentally: https://www.writersdigest.com/ . Subscribe to their email newsletter, it’s free, they will try to get you to buy their how-to courses but there’s no need to, the website has all kinds of articles about the craft and details of writing and the newsletter will send you all the new ones plus curated picks of what’s already there. And also: https://springhole.net/writing/index.html . There’s some stuff specific to fanfic in there, and also general writing advice.] Just: keep it in mind.

Related to that, but a separate thing and one that I haven’t seen other writing advice talk about so much: how does the character try to achieve their goals? What are their skills and resources? And more than that, what’s their preferred approach? In the simplest terms. It’s a matter of mindset, and what options they see as available to them. So the things I would keep in mind for this are: Who’s got social skills/ is good at thinking in social terms, and who isn’t/doesn’t? (Not just interpersonally speaking. James “not really concerned about my reputation” Ironwood is a good example of a character who always thinks in terms of hard power over soft power; even when public opinion is an important strategic consideration he only thinks about it in the broadest and most simplified strokes.) Who would rather work within the system, and who prefers to do an end-run around it? (That doesn’t have to correlate with who’s actually got power, though obviously there are trends. I’m writing Clover as tending to take charge even when he officially shouldn’t because he’s more concerned with solving the problem than with rank, and that’s a case of circumventing the system, it’s one of the things he’s got in common with Qrow.) Who’s more analytical about their approach and what they’re trying to do (which means their failure mode is overthinking and decision paralysis) and who reacts with their gut instinct (which means their failure mode is getting in over their head)?

… I could talk about this one at length. There’s a whole framework I use to categorise characters in this way (I came across it in, of all things, the flavourtext of a supplement to an RPG no one’s ever heard of and it just stuck with me, and I’ve made it my own in the years since) and I could go into all sorts of detail about how it works/ what it means. But I think this is enough to be getting on with, on that topic. If you want to know more, send me another ask? But no one else talks about this thing in writing advice, it might be completely orthogonal to the writing process of anyone but me.

So! Related to the topic of characters’ skillsets, a really great tip I can’t remember where I picked up: how do you write someone who’s smarter/wittier/better at tactics than you? Spend minutes or hours turning something over in your head that the character is going to come up with in seconds. The great advantage of writing: it’s so much easier to be eloquent when you’ve got time to think. [If you had asked me this question in person you would have got ‘i don’t know?’ and then half an hour later I would have thought of half of this stuff and kicked myself. A week and change later, you’re getting the other half too :p ]

And lastly: you said you were worried about your writing getting “overly stereotypical”. And my immediate response to that was stereotypes bad, yes, but archetypes great. The difference being: stereotypes are lazy and offensive writing that let ‘membership of a social category’ stand in for ‘actual characterisation’ and if you’re asking for advice on characterisation you’re obviously too thoughtful to commit them; archetypes are pre-made sketched-out personalities that you can take as your own and flesh out into your own thing. Tropes are tools. No one ever said ‘They were roommates? Ugh, how unoriginal’. By the same token, ‘lone wolf who pretends he’s fine and doesn’t dare trust anyone no matter how much he secretly wants to’ is a fantastic trope that exists for good reason, the CRWBY used it for good reason, and when we found out Qrow’s semblance I went yes please I will have some of all that angst and then laughed at myself because when it comes to fictional characters I have A Type. I’m pretty sure I’ve never written the exact scenario ‘pushes themself way too hard and passes out, wakes up in unexpected safety and immediately condemns themself for not sticking it out longer’ before the opening of Soldier, Spy, but I know I’ve come up with plenty of things that were like it, and if they’d made it to a state of publication you’d be able to see that.

It’s like artists using references. Just because they looked up how to draw that hand and that pose doesn’t mean the final product’s not their own. There’s no reason not to start with your ideas of the character (no matter how ‘stereotypical’ they feel) or a collection of traits you’ve grabbed from other characters that seem like they’d fit – or, for OCs, an MBTI type or a roleplaying class/background combo or one of these or some other personality type you feel like you can find your way around the basics of – and just take it from there. When you start writing/outlining/daydreaming-about-ideas you’ll run into scenarios/setups you can’t copy across from but you can see what responses might come up, and that’s how the template becomes your own unique iteration of it.

… Because really all writing advice does come down to: just write. In your head or on the page, try things out, see what works, see how it goes. I’ve been doing this a long time; most of it never made it to words on a page, let alone to the internet at large. Read across genres, read things people write about themselves and how they live and think and feel, and just – go for it.

I hope this helps! Once again, I was really glad to be asked; feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of this, or about anything else you want advice about. I wish you all the best in your future writing!

[prixmiumarchive]

Do you ever wish for a place to talk to other fanfiction writers? Do you get frustrated with the lack of commentary and text in a commentary-and-text-based medium of expression? Do your plot bunnies look like this fellow in the above, not-so-great banner? Do you miss the days when we called them plot bunnies? Has disenchantment with the state of the discussion of transformative works made you long for the days of dial-up, yahoo groups, and tiny fic archives run on GeoCities? Then this Discord server may be the solution for you!

Now, you might have questions. What is Discord? Isn’t it full of hentai? Do I have to install another application on my duct-taped-together computer? Can I do this on mobile? What, exactly, would make this have the potential for being anything better than the oft-abandoned, crickets-chirping concept of tumblr networks from a couple of years ago?

Those answers and more will be below the read-more. This is a living document which can be reblogged but whose content under the read-more may change. You can find this information and any other important updates to it in a static location at http://metamorprose.dreamwidth.org

Contents

Who this server is for.

How is it set up? 

What is Discord? 

What are Roles?

How do I set a Role or Roles for myself? 

What/why Metamorprose?

Rules for Metamorprose.

Punishments on Metamorprose. 

Disclaimers.

Who this server is for.

This server is intended for those who write fanfiction. If you have written 1,000 words or more of fanfiction, then you can assume this includes you, if you want it to. This is an all ages server with a few important exceptions. At present, there are three text-channels that are marked NSFW, meaning you will need to verify that you are of age to view them. Those text-channels are: nsfw-warren, nsfw-celebritiesrpf, and nsfw-musicbands. They are marked that way for these reasons: #nsfw-warren is a place to talk about writing fic that is rated M or E, #nsfw-celebritiesrpf and #nsfw-musicbands are marked that way because they are under increased moderation and discretion because they may deal with real persons who are living.

This server is open to individuals 13+ with the nsfw channels being restricted to those 18+. Any user found to enter an nsfw channel under the age of 18 will be subject to disciplinary action. Your curiosity and maturity is not wroth getting someone else in trouble.

Metamorprose is intended as a place for people who have a current or frequent interest in writing fanfiction. This does not mean that you must be writing at a certain pace or publishing a specific amount. Writer’s Block happens and so does real life. What this does mean is that if you are just a casual fanfiction reader who rarely writes that this might not be the most fun place for you. If you are an avid reader who has a lot of recs, even if you don’t write, you are welcome to join and see what happens. Any specific entry requirements or rules will be implemented and updated on an as-needed basis. For now, it is up to your discretion whether or not you would be a good fit.

How is it set up?

Metamorprose is vaguely rabbit themed in honor of ‘plot bunnies’ and their legacy. You do not have to care about or like rabbits. It was just the first naming scheme that came to mind.

At the time of invitation launch, the following are the text-channels on the Metamorprose Discord server:

#foxden - off-topic and social chat #rabbithole - where you go to role yourself #thewarren - fanfiction writing/process discussion #nsfw-warren - same as above for M/E-rated material #recs - rec fics by others #selfpromo - rec/promote fics by yourself #beta - seek/offer beta services #ficexchanges - yuletide? uh... anything else? promote and discuss here #catnip - PG13 very off-topic thread, stuff you just had to share that isn’t conducive to regular conversation #inspiration - aesthetics, music, etc. you want to share and chat about what it makes you feel or reminds you of #groupwatching - a place to set up sharing your favorite shows and movies and whatever else, through rabb.it or another service (not affiliated with this vague bunny theme) And text-channels for which you must have the appropriate role assigned to enter where you can discuss fanfiction writing and ideas and related topics for a given genre/medium. These subdivisions are based on Archive Of Our Own’s division of the same with some alteration.

#animemanga #booksliterature #cartoonscomicsgn #nsfw-celebritiesrpf #movies #nsfw-musicbands #theatre #tvshows #videogames #webseries These may change an the adminabun (me) is always looking for constructive suggestions on just about any aspect of my life.

What is Discord?

Discord advertises itself as “Free Voice and Text Chat for Gamers.” In addition to self-proclaimed gamers, it is also a place where one might find those who are interested in “memes” as a way of life and anime/manga fans with some overlap with tech-savviness. These are all generalizations, though.

Discord, in my personal experience, is very similar to Skype but with many more options. It is also, at present, ad-free, and to my knowledge plans to stay that way. If you are interested, the Discord team has provided a comparison chart of their features: https://discordapp.com/features

If you do game, do voice chat, or anything else, then it is my understanding that it really is a great application to use for that. For simple, text-based creatures like myself who rarely play games, however, it is a perfectly serviceable place to keep organized chats and PMs, all under one roof.

Another great thing about Discord is that you have several options to use it. You can use it in your browser simply by pressing “Open Discord” on the app’s homepage. You can use it in a desktop program/application, available for download on the app’s homepage. You may also use their mobile app, which to my knowledge is available for both iOS and Android. (I use Android, so if you have iOS issues with it, not my area.)

The application’s website is here: https://discordapp.com/

What are Roles?

A “Role” is a discord feature and term that determines aspects of a user’s status, permissions, and abilities within a server and its individual channels. For the purposes of Metamorprose, you should choose the one or two most-relevant genre/media roles and the posting medium (where you put your fic most-often) for yourself. The genre/media role will determine your username color, and if anyone hates their genre’s color I would be open to putting it to a poll. If you have more than one genre, you will inherit the color of the genre that comes first in the alphabet. AO3/Fanfiction.net/tumblr roles do not impact your name color.

The currently-available self-assignable roles are:

genre/media: - Anime & Manga - Books & Literature - Cartoons & Comics & Graphic Novels - Celebrities & Real People - Movies - Music & Bands - Theatre - TV Shows - Video Games - Web Series

posting medium: - AO3 - Fanfiction.Net - tumblr

How do I set a Role or Roles for myself? 

First, you need to be in the text-channel #rabbithole. I am just learning about bot usage for this venture, but at present I use a bot called Nadeko. She is a bot who sits there on the channel at all times and will, unless she is having server downtime, respond to your commands. The commands you need to know for self-assigning roles are:

you: .lsar

Sending the message ‘.lsar’ will show you a list of self-assignable roles.

you: .iam ROLE

Sending the message ‘.iam ROLE’ will assign the role typed in place of ROLE to you. For example, if I want to assign myself the Anime & Manga role, I type this exactly: ‘.iam Anime & Manga’. Nadeko will message you back when the deed is done. If It doesn’t work immediately, try again in a few minutes.

you: .iamnot ROLE

Sending the message ‘.iamnot ROLE’ will unassign the role typed in place of ROLE to you. For example, let’s say I am finished with my current Anime & Manga fic project or am moving on to another fic for now. I can type exactly this: ‘.iamnot Anime & Manga’ and Nadeko will tell me when she has unassigned the role from me.

Please note that using these roles most effectively is not assigning yourself every single one of the genre/media roles that you sort of like. Having one or two genre/media roles active at once will make it easy for people to see what you are currently interested in writing, are writing, etc. There are plenty of places you can ping-pong from liked-topic to liked-topic at the speed of your fingertips, tumblr included. This server will be the greatest resource to you if you use roles and the genre-specific text-channels judiciously. You can alter your roles as much as you want, within reason, so you are not stuck just because you have an interest shift. (Trust me, I am the queen of multifandom lack of focus.) Just don’t abuse Nadeko. She is a free service who does not belong to me.

What/why Metamorprose? 

I just wanted a name for the server that was kind-of unique and meant something.

“Metamorphose” is a verb meaning to change the form or nature of;  transform.

“Prose” is what most of us write in, striving for the middle ground between purple and beige.

In the age-old fandom tradition, therefore, it is a portmanteau for the process of creative transformative works: metamorprose.

Rules for Metamorprose. 

1. Treat others with courtesy and respect. Do not insult a person, disagree respectfully, and only offer constructive criticism.

2. Do not bait or otherwise goad another user into misbehavior. This will be considered misbehavior as well. If you are having an issue with a user, please come to the adminabun or any assigned mods to deal with it.

3. Do not post NSFW material in non nsfw channels. This does NOT include posting clearly marked M/E-rated fics in fic rec channels.

4. Keep on-topic within reason in the text channels that are not the #foxden. Reasonable and brief rabbit trails are fine, but don't turn them into niche off-topic channels.

5. Use good sense. Use discord's features appropriately. If you don't know how to or if you can do something, Google it first. If you can't figure it out from the first page of Google results, ask someone you trust. The adminabun is willing to take your questions about discord operation, within reason, after you have tried googling it yourself.

6. Non NSFW-channels should be kept at a PG-13 tone. There are no nsfw or profanity filters set up on the non-nsfw channels, so this is based on the honor system and abuse of this WILL get you warned.

7. Theft or plagiarism will merit a warning or an immediate ban, depending on context and severity, at admin/mod discretion. 8. Do not direct people directly to your patreon or ko-fi page. What you do in PMs with friends is up to you but do not otherwise promote monetary gain for yourself on this channel.

9. Do not offer financially-compensated commissions on this channel for fic or for art.

10. More rules may be added and will be announced, but ignorance of a rule is not an excuse to not follow it.

On Dreamwidth: http://metamorprose.dreamwidth.org/334.html

Punishments on Metamorprose. 

Egregious and flagrant violation of any of the above rules or other abusive behavior may be cause for immediate ban. However, the general rule is that 3 warnings result in a softban. This will ban you but will allow you to rejoin the channel again after you’ve had a cool-down. 5 warnings will result in a permanent ban.

Disclaimers. 

This Discord server is not affiliate with any of the following: Archive Of Our Own, the Organization for Transformative Works, Fanfiction.net, tumblr, rabb.it, dreamwidth, yuletide, or any other unnoted, official organization. It is a project by the fan and fanfiction writer whose Discord tag is Prix#9110.

By clicking the following link, you agree to be subject to the aforementioned rules and policies, whether you read them or not: https://discord.gg/z3FHEYQ

[nicchiketto]

30K Celebration: Favorite Things

Missed yesterday’s voice reveal? Click HERE.

Here are some of my favorite things~

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Foods: Basically anything with carbs in it. Oh, and sweets. I love desserts.

Favorite Animal: Zebras, since I love stripes.

Favorite Restaurant: It depends on what I’m in the mood for. I actually don’t really enjoy going to restaurants; it’s stressful for me.

Favorite Type of Shoe: Tennis. I’m too clumsy for heels, and I like to be casual.

Favorite Style of Clothing: I really like Harajuku fashion. Mismatched patterns rock! Aside from that, Lolita fashion’s pretty cool. As for me, I just wear comfy, casual clothes.

Favorite Type of Jewelry: I’m not huge into jewelry, really.

Favorite Scent: Anything sickeningly sweet.

Favorite Taste: I love sweet and salty things! Spicy stuff is just okay-though I am getting more into it.

Favorite Memory: Um, currently it’s that time from last February when I got sick in a parking lot and my best friend and I watched a crow eat it. It was awful, but it still makes us laugh a lot.

Favorite Academic Class: Language Arts, or generally any class where I can write.

Favorite Day of the Week: It’s either Thursday or Friday. Thursday, as it’s nice to know the next day is Friday, and Friday because it’s obviously the day before the weekend.

Favorite Time of Day: Right before I’m falling asleep. I spend that time cuddling with my body pillow and thinking about how wonderful my favorite characters are.

Favorite Month: I’d probably say February, merely because it’s my birthday month. It’s also cold, which is nice.

Favorite Holiday: I’ve always been a sucker for Halloween, but Christmas can be pretty great as well.

Favorite Season: Definitely winter. I actually hate the heat; my body does not tolerate it very well.

Favorite Thing to Do When Happy: I tend to sing and hum a lot when I’m happy. Consequently, I’ve been feeling much better lately, so my throat often hurts the next day.

Favorite Thing to Do When Sad: Taking long, hot showers, I guess. Truthfully, I do this every day-it’s just comforting.

Favorite Thing to Do When Angry: Draw! I love to do vent art.  It makes me feel so much better.

Favorite Quote: “All bleeding stops eventually,” –as said by a weird dermatologist my mother worked with once.

Favorite Movie: I won’t tell you the title of my official ‘favorite movie’ (you’ll thank me later), but I love really bad movies. It’s especially good when they’re not played off as bad.

Favorite Type of Weather: I’m most likely to say snow, but it rarely snows around here. Due to this, I’d probably say rain. The rain is soothing, and helps me sleep. There’s a noisy gutter right outside my window, which I frequently hear water dripping down. It’s annoying to everyone else, but nice to me.

Favorite Website: Aside from this one, probably Youtube.

Favorite Book: I haven’t read it in many years, but it’s a young reader’s novel called ‘Sing Down the Moon’. It’s about a Native American woman who has to leave her homeland. I love the way it describes things, and its simplicity. The plot’s also good; albeit depressing.

Favorite Manga/Anime: I honestly don’t have one; I’ve seen so many amazing ones.

Favorite Drinks: Milkshakes, Shirley Temples and orange soda.

Favorite Hairstyle: I’m not going to lie: I dig twintails. I also really want to have them, but I am not very good at doing more than one ponytail-especially one that looks nice.

Favorite School Activity: Without a doubt, band. I just enjoy playing music, despite how hard it is for me to read it. I consider myself almost ‘music dyslexic’, and rely mainly on auditory mimicry to play pitches and rhythms. It’s not that I don’t know the notes…it’s just that my brain takes a long time to process most of them.

Favorite Type of Homework: Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a freak who loves writing essays. Of course, I don’t enjoy writing boring essays. The topic has to be interesting to me for me to enjoy it.

Favorite Gift: Sweets. They go to good use. I also love getting cool socks.

Favorite Compliment: I actually hate compliments, as they feel like mockery. However, if I feel like I deserve the compliment, I do enjoy it. The only compliments I like are the ones I feel sort of proud of.

Favorite Insect: My favorite girly, stereotypical insect would be butterflies. However, I also really like bees (not true bugs, but close enough) and spiders. Yes, I like spiders…just not when they surprise me by showing up at random on my ceiling.

Favorite Flower: It’s either the lilac or the heliotrope. Both smell wonderful and are lovely shades of purple. Pitcher plants and Venus fly traps are also pretty cool.

Favorite Shape: It has always been, and always will be, triangles. I don’t have any real reason why. They’ve just been my favorite since I learned what shapes were long, long ago.

Favorite Writing Topic: All of them. There are very few topics that do not interest me in some way or another.

Favorite Book Genre: I like fantasy and realistic fiction. Some romance novels are okay, but they’re not really my thing.

Favorite Type of Movies: Comedies, though I’m not huge into movies. However, if someone puts one on, I will sit down and enjoy it most of the time.

Favorite Breed of Cat: Probably the oriental shorthair. They have such big ears! Munchkin cats are also really cute. Of course, I really love all types of cats-especially my own!

Favorite Breed of Dog: I think huskies are absolutely gorgeous. German shepherds are also pretty cool, too.

Favorite Night Time Activity: I like to lie in my bed, hugging my body pillow. I let my thoughts wander. Usually, I fantasize about meeting my favorite characters and hugging them tightly. It helps me calm down and fall asleep.

Favorite Morning Activity: I usually spend around 30 minutes on weekdays in bed just waking up. Most of the time, I scroll through Tumblr while doing this.

Favorite Design: Stripes!

Favorite Piece of Technology: My old laptop’s pretty great. She might be 4 to 5 years, sort of slow and has an insanely noisy fan (It no longer phases me even remotely), but she’s reliable. Also, she makes weird clicking noises. I like them! I also put a googly eye on her. It’s called art; look it up.

Favorite Normal Eye Color: Green, I suppose.

Favorite Normal Hair Color: I personally like being a brunette (though I’ve never dyed my hair before, so…)

Favorite Gemstone: Amethyst. It’s my gemstone, in fact.

Favorite Cookie: Why must you ask me the hard questions? Aside from chocolate chip, I also really like snickerdoodles. Maybe it’s because of their name. Maybe it’s the cinnamon. Guess what? It’s both.

Favorite Candy: I guess if I had to choose, I’d pick Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups….but I really like almost all candies.

Favorite Dessert: It’s a tie between Key Lime Pie and Cheesecake. Ice cream is also pretty great. No, not pretty great. It’s amazing.

Favorite Meat: I guess I’d have to go with pork, though I have no specific favorite.

Favorite Fruit: I’d probably pick strawberries, though I like bananas and nectarines as well. Ah, and red apples.

Favorite Vegetable: Aside from carrots, I love green onions. They’re just really good, okay? This isn’t homage to Miku, either-I legitimately enjoy them.

Favorite Dairy Product: Definitely ice cream, although if we’re not talking desserts I’d say yogurt.

Favorite Bread: Sourdough!

Store: Shopping actually makes me nervous, so I have no favorite store.

Favorite Sea Animal: I’ve always loved octopi. They’re so intelligent, and they’re clearly aware of showing sass. Also, there are some pretty amazing stories about them escaping tanks. I also think they’re cute, to be honest.

Favorite Type of Phone: I currently have an iPhone. I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but that’s just the brand I was raised around.

Favorite body type: Any. That’s not too important to me.

Favorite Camera: I use my phone’s camera most of the time.

Favorite Way to Listen to Music: I prefer headphones, but I’ve been using earbuds for almost a year now. My headphones only work with my phone, and they’re too big to fit in my bags without smooshing them. As such, I use earbuds. Currently, mine are pink.

Favorite wish: As corny as it is, it would probably be to be writing for a living and married to my sweetheart.

Favorite Childhood Toy: I always liked to use my play doctor kit on stuffed animals. There was no reason for that; I just liked it.

Favorite Video Game: Currently, I’m obsessed with the Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.

Favorite Sport: Ping-pong. It’s intense, and it’s also something I’M good at. Aside from that, I’d say badminton. That’s also really fun.

Favorite Unnatural Eye Color: Without question, I’d say red. I love red eyed characters. They’re the best.

Favorite Unusual Hair Color: I’m not sure. I guess I’d say blue for…..reasons….

Favorite Pillow Shape: Long body pillows. Mine’s actually the same size as me-5’0! It’s nice because I can easily wrap my short arms around her. Oh, and her name’s Pillow-chan. It’s my ironic nickname I’ve given her; she’s just a plain, gray pillow.

Favorite Thing to Sleep In: Regular pajamas. That is, unless I have a fever. Then I typically like to sleep in my underclothes.

Favorite Ice Cream: Mint chip is a gift from above, in my opinion. I also love cookies and cream flavored.

Favorite Cake: Red velvet.

Favorite Pie: Key Lime, like I mentioned earlier. As for fruit pies, I like blackberry/huckleberry ones the best.

Favorite Thing to Do Alone: Simply being alone. Just sitting back and relaxing without anyone to bother me is critical for my sanity as a stressed out introvert. I might love my friends, but I do get tired of being in their presence.

Favorite Thought: Very few people know the answer to this, and I’d like to keep it this way. Anyway, moving on….

Favorite Person to Be With: Does my cat count? If not, I’d say my sweetheart (obviously). We don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like to, so we cherish every moment of our time together.

Favorite Way of Receiving Mail: Texts. It’s the easiest for me. It also doesn’t require talking on the phone, which is intimidating for me a lot of the time.

Favorite Type of Chocolate: Milk chocolate, though I love (sweet) dark chocolate and white chocolate as well.

Favorite Number Over 100: 188. No real reason. I just like repeated numbers.

Favorite Number Under 100: 7. I’ve always liked the number 7.

Favorite Form of Entertainment: Internet. It can be used anyway, which is particularly why I like it.

Favorite Body Part (Myself): I love my eyes. My sharp canines are also pretty adorable. My hair’s also nice and soft. See? I’m getting better at this self-esteem thing after all!

Favorite Body Part in General: I like looking into people’s eyes. They’re so pretty and intricate.

Favorite Planet: No offense, but I love Pluto.

Favorite Pet: Personally, I’m a cat person. However, dogs are also pretty great.

Favorite Parent (Closest): I get along better with my mother.

Favorite Sibling (Closest): I only have one, so by default, my older sister.

Favorite Vacation Spot: I like visiting the local beach. It’s simple and cheap. If we’re talking exotic locations, Hawaii is really nice. Well, some of it (not the roads-they’re pretty scary in some places).

Favorite Cave: I’ve only been in one, and I was like 5. I cried. I suppose this means I have no favorite cave….this makes me suddenly very sad…..

Favorite Coffee: I like my coffee very sweet and tame. I’m a wimp when it comes to coffee, really.

Favorite Gum Flavor: Mint. Alternately, that Swedish Fish flavored comedy gum was also really good.

Favorite Lava Lamp Color: Blue, I guess. Both of mine are blue. I have two in my room.

Favorite Future Vacation Spot: Right now my bed’s looking pretty tempting…..

Favorite Thing in My Room: Aside from things I’ve already mentioned, I’d have to say the zebra plushy and the microbe plushy on my desk. The zebra’s from my sweetheart. As for the microbe, I believe my mom got it for me as a joke when I was younger (but I still really love it lol).

Favorite Lesson Learned: You should be close to someone before you start dating them to know if you’re about to make a terrible mistake. Don’t do what I did. Please.

Favorite Cafeteria Food: There is no ‘liking’ cafeteria food. It is cafeteria food. What kind of cafeteria did your school have? No cafeteria I’ve ever been in was that great.

Favorite Picture on my Computer: Uh, the 2,000ish pictures of my favorite character whom I’m too embarrassed to reveal. I’m really shy about the things I secretly love, to be quite honest.

Favorite Word: It’s a tie between my old favorite: loquacious, and my new favorite: tumultuous.

Favorite Daydream: The ones I have about hugging my favorite characters and rocking them to sleep, obviously. Those are the only good daydreams I ever have.

Favorite Writing Utensil: I prefer writing in pen, but I prefer drawing in pencil.

Favorite Coloring Utensil: Markers are pretty cool.

Favorite Makeup Product: The only makeup I use is cover up. I tend to claw at myself to relieve stress subconsciously, so my face takes quite a beating sometimes… :(

Favorite Hair Product: Uh, shampoo? I don’t really use anything else…

Favorite Time to Think: Oh, I’m always thinking. It’s rather unfortunate, really.

Favorite Daring Thing to Do: I don’t DO daring things. My body has adapted to prevent me from doing stupid things. It’s just unfortunate that it does it a little TOO well…

Favorite Type of Light: The sunset, I’d say. Other than that, I’d go with regular light bulbs.

Favorite Beach Activity: Since I can barely swim, I like to walk along the shoreline and look for seashells and sand dollars.

Favorite Mountain Activity: I’ve actually never been on a mountain before. I should do that.

Favorite Snow Activity: I’ll be honest….I love running out in the snow and trying to catch snowflakes with my tongue.

List from brokenhime of Live Journal

[destination-of-fate]

(English) Interview with Soraru, Mafumafu, and Satou Tatsuo on the production of “Kaidoku Funou”

Original interview here After the Rain sat down with director Satou Tatsuo to discuss the production of the anime Atom: The Beginning’s opening theme “Kaidoku Funou” for the website Natalie.mu. They spoke about the music, lyrics, and the ways in which Director Satou asked them to include things or change parts of their song. It was a really interesting read so I went ahead and translated it. Please let me know if you spot any typos or inaccuracies (especially since I’m not very familiar with ATB or Astro Boy), and I hope you enjoy! :)

Soraru: We were allowed to observe some of the recording for the anime earlier, and I believe that what they recorded today was an anime-original story, right? I didn’t remember it from any of the manga that I read. Satou: That’s right. It’s centered around the manga’s story, but there are quite a lot of original parts as well. Soraru: I’m looking forward to seeing what the original episodes will be like. For the two of you in After the Rain, what were your impressions after reading the manga version of “Atom: The Beginning”? Soraru: It was really good. It’s been a long time since I read “Astro Boy,” so I only have bits and pieces of it that I remember, but in “Beginning” there’s names throughout it like “A106” and such that foreshadow the events of “Astro Boy.” The setting isn’t too futuristic, but it’s more like a future that’s within reach, and I liked how it gradually connected things to the story that we are already familiar with. Also, A106 is really cute. Mafumafu: Since we’re responsible for this anime’s opening theme, rather than just reading the story, I tried to understand the mental state of each main character as I read the manga. I felt that I needed to figure out what their personalities were like first. As for A106, when I read one certain scene, I thought, “They have an almost human-like sense of self here.” I made sure not to miss things like that as I read through it. Satou: I said this when I spoke with Fujisaku (Junichi)-san who is in charge of series composition, but for Umatarou and Hiroshi, I feel that I want to draw their best times together. Eventually more distance will grow between them until they’re the Dr. Tenma and Professor Ochanomizu in “Astro Boy,” but I think the time they spend together in “Beginning” is really nice. What did you guys think of Tenma Umatarou and Ochanomizu Hiroshi? Soraru: I feel like the two of them were always aiming for something that seemed similar, but was actually different. It’s like they believe they share the same thinking, but in reality it’s different, or something like that. Hiroshi says he “wants to create a friend,” and Tenma says he “wants to create a God.” Even if they create the same kind of thing, the way they do it and their thinking behind it is different most of the time (laughs). It’s the same with music. You bounce ideas off each other and run into conflicts. Sometimes you get in fights with each other too. The future for those two characters was probably a result of them being unable to deal with that kind of stuff. Mafumafu-san was nodding his head a lot while he listened to you just now (laughs). Mafumafu: Eh?! (laughs) Well, I think that’s true. We’re not exactly the same as those two characters in the manga, but we do have disagreements like they do (laughs). I read the manga while really feeling like, “Ah, yeah, I get that.” But with pairs like that, I feel like it might be a bit better to have differing opinions on some things, rather than completely agreeing on everything. Mafumafu: That’s true. Complete agreement isn’t everything, and I think a relationship where you can stimulate each other’s minds is a good thing. So while I look at Umatarou and Hiroshi and think, “How nice,” I’ve also been thinking, “They’re definitely going to have problems a lot later on,” ever since I read the first volume (laughs). Satou: Well, they both tend to do whatever they want (laughs). Right now they both have the same objective of completing the AI called “Bewußtsein,” and Umatarou is the type to open up new paths while Hiroshi organizes things, so they have different roles like that, which I think makes them a pretty good combination. I think relationships where both sides are jealous of the other person’s abilities are quite nice. Director, have you ever had someone who was like both a partner and a rival? Satou: Not really. I’ve pretty much always been a loner (laughs). I’d like to ask Mafumafu-san to describe the lyrics and music that he wrote for the opening theme “Kaidoku Funou.” Mafumafu: Anime theme songs aren’t like normal songs, and they’re difficult, but that’s what makes them fun. Though this makes it sound a bit casual, when you have a big drawing board with endless possibilities, you can draw whatever you want, right? But when you’re told, “Please draw it like this,” it’s fun to cram everything you can do into a single sheet in a way that doesn’t stray from the limited outline you’re given, and I think that’s work worth doing. In particular, what parts are difficult?

Mafumafu: For an anime’s opening song, you have to make it so that an intro, development, climax, and resolution all fit within 89 seconds. Then you have to work on the rest of the song so that it matches that part. With the robots that appear in “Atom: The Beginning,” it has something like a steampunk feel to it. You have to first choose sounds that don’t get in the way of that type of world-building, and that kind of thing takes a lot of thought. Since there were fight scenes in the manga as I was reading it, I thought, “There will probably be fight scenes in the anime around the time the song gets to the chorus, so I should improve the beat here so that it’s easier to attach to scenes with movement.” That’s the kind of thing I get to decide. So to some extent, you picture the visuals in your mind while you make the song. Could you tell us about the lyrics? You spoke earlier about “reading the manga so that you can understand the characters’ emotions.” Mafumafu: In the second verse, there’s the line, “Why do I raise my voice if it will never reach anyone,” but that used to be in the first verse. That change actually came from the director’s instruction himself. Satou: That’s right. In the start of the anime, A106 isn’t speaking with the assumption that anyone will hear them. They only ever speak the words that they’re programmed to. I even instructed Inoue (Yuuki)-kun who voices A106 to “speak each word flatly, one after another” for that part. Mafumafu: He told me, “In the first stages of the story, A106 can’t yet imagine that they’ll ever say, ‘My voice will never reach anyone.’” That’s why I moved it to the second verse. The first verse now begins with the more obscure line, “Even though the transparent sky should have looked blue to me.” Soraru: They don’t yet have a “self” in the first verse’s lyrics, but by the end it finishes with a hint of, “Maybe they’ve developed a bit of awareness now?” I feel like the lyrics gradually develop more and more emotion. Satou: I told them that I wanted the song to begin from when A106 did not yet have a consciousness. The manga begins with them acting consciously, but I spoke with the original author Kasahara (Tetsuro)-san about the anime, and we believe it starts before that part. It is the beginning of “Atom: The Beginning” after all. I asked for them to please reflect that fact in the song’s lyrics. Is it common for you to make requests from the artists like that for their theme songs? Satou: It depends on the timing and the artists themselves. If the scheduling behind the whole thing is too packed and you don’t have any time, you often meet them (the theme song’s artists) for the first time at the post-production party. For this opening I only asked for something “fast-paced,” and I just wanted them to write something first. But then as they were working on it, we ended up saying, “Let’s have a meeting about it,” and there we were able to talk face-to-face. So you were able to have a real meeting on the topic. Was there anything else that you talked about? Satou: I feel like we spoke about this same topic for the entire time. Soraru: Yes, we discussed the lyrics a lot. Satou: I also made some requests for the pretitle (parts before the main title). First of all, there are pretitle parts before the opening song that introduce the story. There are also some set pretitles in “Beginning” that don’t change. Ran narrates some explanatory parts, like, “After the great disaster, robots began to flourish.” I suggested that it would sound really good if the long intro could be connected to the anime’s opening, and they responded, “We can do that.” So while anime openings are typically 89 seconds long, they also created a 120 second version as well. So the pretitle BGM is the intro, and it connects to the opening song itself. Satou: There are some episodes that use the 89 second version, so there are 2 different kinds in total. I see. Do the two of you in After the Rain, as the creators of its OP theme, have any messages you’d like to convey to readers who will be watching the anime? Soraru: All I can say regarding the anime is that I’m looking forward to watching it too, as a fellow viewer. But I would definitely like for people to watch shows that we’ve been involved with. I didn’t write the song so I feel like I can say that it was written with lots and lots of thought put into it, and it’s really cool, so I hope everyone listens to it. Mafumafu: You might discover new things if you listen to our song again after having watched the anime. I tried to write the song to include that fun aspect to it. As the director, what impressions does “Kaidoku Funou” leave you with? Satou: The lyrics look at the “self” and ask, “Where am I going to proceed from here?” They took this perpetual theme for humans and summarized it into something simple, and I think it’s a great song. When you have a song written for an anime, sometimes you have cases of, “I ordered something, but nothing happened.” However, they were very sincere as they worked on this song. Thank you for that. Soraru: Thank you very much! Satou: If you reflect an anime’s story and themes very directly in the song, it actually has the reverse effect of making it seem more distant sometimes. However, in “Kaidoku Funou” there’s the perfect sense of distance when expressing the anime’s feeling and the overall mood. That's why I hope that people who listen to this song will have even more things come to mind regarding the anime and the original work, or they can simply enjoy the music as well. The opening animation is currently being produced, but we’ll have to do our best to make the art live up to the song itself.

[dropintomanga]

Bullies Can Be Victims Too (Sket Dance - Switch On)

Since it’s time to go back to school for a lot of kids and young adults, I want to focus on a topic that’s still a concern today using a underrated comedy manga worth reading despite it ending a few years ago.

When it comes to anime and manga, you know your character is popular when they have two huge harrowing flashback arcs. The super-popular Usui "Switch" Kazuyoshi from Kenta Shinohara's Sket Dance is an individual with two tragic paths that defined his life. The first involved the death of his younger brother while the 2nd dealt with his seclusion from society. I'm going to discuss the impact of the 2nd flashback arc, "Switch On" (Volumes 27-28, Chapters 241-251), and how it relates to seeing the bullying epidemic from a different point of view.

Switch's path to redemption began when Yusuke "Bossun" Fujisaki and Onizuka "Himeko" Hime were looking for a third member to join their upcoming school club, the Sket Dan. While discussing the search for a new member, both were approached by a student who needed their help in finding someone who has been targeting random students via a forum website. The perpetrator was threatening them via e-mail to fight each other with the loser of the fight being shown all across the Internet. The Sket-Dan relied on Switch, who became a shut-in after the events of the 1st flashback arc, “Switch Off”,  to help them find the culprit. They learned that the students being threatened were bullies and the culprit was a victim of one. This person knew about the bullies' past misdeeds and used their actions as blackmail. 

At first, the Sket Dan set up a trap to capture the administrator of the anti-bully website. However, they learned that the person they caught was a former admin of the site. The real culprit turned out to be Switch himself as he wanted to administer justice towards those who hurt others. After some violent altercations, Bossun manages to convince Switch to put his talents for good use by "opening" the door for him to going outside and live life once more.

With all the talk about bullying in today's world, things aren't so black and white. The story shows how there is so much grey in-between to complicate things. Bullies can be victims, while victims can be bullies. The bullies that Switch threatened all did terrible things to others. From selling scam tickets to using other students to boost their grades, why would they do such things?

Two key factors emerge when it comes to children becoming bullies - poor social problem-solving skills and poor academic skills. We also can’t forget about the environment of the school itself. There are times where bullying is encouraged because it signifies strength and character. School officials throw a blind eye to bullies because of this.  

The student, Kenichi Katagiri, that approached the Sket-Dan in the first place was a former bully himself. His reasoning was that his parents kept pressuring to maintain his grades. At first, Katagiri wanted steal other students’ notes and then his harmful behavior grew as he didn’t face consequences until the emergence of the “punishment” forum website. He said his actions helped to relieve his stress. Katagiri wasn’t able to talk to friends about his problems or reason with his parents over his academic life. And he paid the price for his actions towards his victims. However, Switch and the former admin of the website aren’t arguably any better.

Switch told Bossun that anyone who hurts others deserved to face punishment. His methods were more extreme as he was the person who came up with the “death fight” to ruin the lives of bullies. Switch noticed that the school that he and the Sket Dance cast went to, Kaimei High School, had instances of bullying that left victims in fear. He wanted to fight back in his own way. However, Switch’s actions would come back to haunt him as the former admin and all the victims of Switch’s justice decided to fight back.

Even good people become warped bullies. Something changes once people with honest intentions start to have the power to change things. They start to abuse it for reasons that benefit the self. For bullies and bully-victims (which Switch somewhat is, although he was more of victim of circumstances than bullying), their actions aim to protect the self from any negative emotions they begin to feel. They don’t feel compelled to reach out to others at all. 

Bully-victims tend to have a very poor view about themselves. Switch held on to the idea that he deserved to be punished for causing the death of his brother in the past to the point that it created an inner conflict in his mind. Should I fight for justice? Am I right? Am I being ironic? Why haven’t I been punished for my own actions? The natural defense for Switch was to rationalize his actions and be stuck in a cycle of confirmation bias where he believed he was beyond help.

What I and many others can learn from the “Switch On” arc is that friendship matters in stopping bullying. Great friends will do what it takes to help each other, even if it means saying “no” to stop them from doing bad things. Punishment, discipline, etc can help in certain cases, but bullies are human beings that might need help in the worst way. The shaming that punishment does is label bullies in a way that they never feel compelled to become nice people. Why? Because they will naturally feel defensive and resentful. Bossun and Himeko went to great lengths to be friends with Switch. They saved Switch from getting punished by his victims and literally broke into Switch’s room to push him out of his self-guilt, with Bossun ending up taking all the hits from everyone to stop both sides from taking it out on each other. 

The whole story’s a good lesson in how to prevent a cycle of bullying. Be careful about spouting justice, righteousness, judgement, punishment, etc. as those words can be triggers that can lead to something worse. It’s words like these that have encouraged a culture of shaming (especially online) where we really have no nuance or context about what happened and the outrage isn’t that much different than a bully’s. Bossun even asks “Is it okay for people to mercilessly attack the ‘bully’ without knowing who he really is?”

Anger will never defeat anger. Love that respects everyone’s boundaries will. I know it’s hard to say this, but bullies deserve that love because as Bossun once told Switch when they talked online, people can change if you give them the chance to. Far too often, not many people give those opportunities to change because anger is encouraged as the way to deal with conflict. Bullying has to be treated as a public health concern. There’s been community initiatives that treat violence in harsh communities as a disease and it’s done wonders for anyone who’s lived through violence as they start to see life beyond all the chaos. 

We need to give bullies who want to change the chance to “Switch” on and believe they can be the protagonists that they can be.