#utapri mascot characters

[ifanclover]

what’s your favorite soda flavor?

anyways it’s soda-kun soda-kun and soda-kun

or, as i nicknamed them, strawberry lemon and melon

when i first visualized their designs like years ago, i had them basically be walking recolors

but now they all got their own style to give em more personality

and that’s all my utapri mascot gijinka humanization whatever redesigning done

i might draw some stuff with them in the future because i hold such a soft spot for them and i just think mascots are neat

[uta-no-sin-sama]

5 Fun Facts and 5 Headcanons - Part 1/23: Cosmic Cuteness Edition

As soon as I announced the new project a couple nights ago, of course I'm posting the first part.

A very happy birthday to our favorite universally-cute idol!

Light spoilers for Season 2 in the fun facts, but nothing too major.

I hope you all enjoy!

--------------

First up, 5 fun facts!

1. Nagi's birthday is January 7th, which makes his star sign a Capricorn.

2. He is the only HEAVENS member (back when they were a group of three) - and possibly the only person who watched STARISH's live performance of "2000% Love" - to not be affected by the resulting Happy Pulse.

3. Despite his cutesy and childish persona he has onstage, and the fact that he's the youngest member of HEAVENS and of the Utapri idols in general, Nagi is actually mentioned to be very intelligent and cunning.

4. An example of this intellect can be seen in his hobby of doing puzzles.

5. Nagi often gets embarrassed to admit that he likes childish things, as seen in Maji Love Kingdom where he gets flustered when Shion and Syo suggest that he's a fan of mascot character "Soda-Kun".

And now for 5 headcanons I have about him!

1. Nagi sleeps with a stuffed rainbow guinea pig named Rubik (yes, named after the Rubiks cube) every night. No one knows about this with the exception of Shion, who finds it adorable.

2. Speaking of Rubiks cubes, Nagi can solve one within a couple of minutes and has never been unable to solve one. His current record for the shortest amount of time it took for him to solve one is 15 seconds.

3. Whenever Eiji is having a bad day, Nagi will secretly sneak into his flower garden and softly sing to the flowers growing in it in the hopes of helping them grow stronger.

4. Though Nagi has pulled some elaborate pranks on his fellow HEAVENS members in the past (such as the time he painted Van's entire room orange mentioned in an episode of the first radio series), his favorite pranks are the ones that are only mildly inconvenient. Examples include moving everything in someone's room two inches to the left and baby-proofing the entire HEAVENS house... on two separate occasions.

5. Nagi taught himself sign language and offered to help teach the other HEAVENS members learn it as well. Little do they know that he sometimes misleads them into saying some pretty wild shit under the guise of it meaning something wholesome or innocent.

-------

Up next, the dashing Count of Permafrost himself!

[mikaze-discord]

Love letter project ♡

Sooo to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Shining live, I put together a project! I basically got a bunch of people to write a love letter for their favourite boy. Things like, why they like them, how they got to like them and what they like about them were all accepted!

The event was supposed to have 2 fans for each boy but unfortunately I was unable to get two for some of the boys. 

Under the cut will be the love letters for all of Class A!!! Please enjoy~ And thank you for all the people who participated in the event and taking the time to write the love letters out. 

CLASS A

OTOYA ITTOKI

From @ponzu-penzui:

Hello world! My nickname is Yuki, and I’m here to tell you about the sunshine boy that is Otoya Ittoki. The redhead of the series, Otoya is your seemingly a-typical sunshine in a mascot boy character. But, as we all know with these types, the sunshine isn’t as, well, sunshine as they seem. Or, if you didn’t know, well… spoiler alert I guess. Go watch the anime, or play the otome games, then come back here. Anyways, let’s get started on our journey, shall we? Through the rabbithole that got me here in the first place!

Otoya immediately became my best boy the second I saw him. I’m not quite sure what immediately got me at first, whether it be his red hair and eyes, his voice, or his immediate friendliness, but here we are. I should also mention that UtaPri was my first idol anime, so I was completely unaware what was going to hit me later. And, if you’ve watched the entire anime, you know where I’m going.

Season 4 was an emotional wreck. I cried at least twice. Did I have a newfound appreciation for Otoya after all that heartache? Definitely. Without spoilers, it was incredibly painful for me to watch, but I don’t regret it.

After watching the anime, I soon found out about the existence of Shining Live. So, with no other UtaPri content to binge, I started to play SL in late 2018. After playing for a little more than a year, I tiered in my first Otoya event (Heartwarming Snow Festival), and achieved my first top 200. Ever since then, I’ve tiered in every Otoya event, getting top 200, then top 100.

But, why do I like Otoya Ittoki even to this day? Well, I guess this is the time where I say that, after a certain point, I started to see bits of myself in Otoya. This led me to start to RP him, and, as you probably know if you’ve ever roleplayed a character before, I started to look at the miniscule amount of translated game content (many thanks to the Ohayaho Translation Team) for, well, more content. And content I did receive. Long story short, this only served to solidify Otoya as my favorite boy of not only UtaPri, but from all anime/manga/game content I’ve ever seen/watched. His cheerfulness may have been the first thing that got me in this rabbithole, but his backstory and how he managed to grow up pulled me in even further. And, I don’t think I will or want to get out anytime soon.

Next one from; Anon

As much as we all know our Otoya for how sweet and kind he is, there is so much more to him than just a precious smile. He is uplifting, cheerful towards everyone he meets. He has empathy and goes out of his way to make sure his friends are happy. Even so, Otoya has feelings that aren’t always happiness and smiles. He can feel sad and angry just like anyone else.

The reason I care and love Otoya so much is because he has shown me that I don’t have to always put on a smile. It’s nice to show off your pearly whites, but sometimes, it’s okay to be sad too. There are times in everyone’s life when they feel out of place and that they don’t belong. Otoya also felt this way and that’s perfectly okay. He’s still being the best idol he can be: The idol that Otoya loves the most.

MASATO HIJIRIKAWA

From Anon: 

Masato Hijirikawa. Why do I like Masato Hijirikawa? I like him to the point that it feels weird for me to even question why I do. He's just- a good boy. A great boy. I love him. As a joke, I'd usually say that it was his weirdly pretty, bowl-cut hairstyle that drew me to him, or I'd say that he caught my interest when I read that he was "very good with his hands" (wink wonk) in his Shining Live description, and while both of these reasons are still true, it wasn't until I started role playing him in an old server that I really started to appreciate his character more.

Masato, despite his aloof and almost "perfect" initial image, is a very relatable character. When he first arrived at Saotome (in-game) he wasn't necessarily seen as someone with a lot of talent to become an idol, which he acknowledged with grace and worked hard to make up for. He's humble despite his privileged upbringing and is incredibly self-aware of his flaws, which are sources of insecurity for him sometimes (a lot of times). Though it should be said that most of this insecurity stems from not having a lot of control over his early life, which is why it felt so gratifying to see him break free of his metaphorical chains to pursue his happiness without any doubts. He's a hard worker and is willing to accept criticism with open arms, not only for himself but for the people around him. Despite his traditional upbringing and nature, he's very receptive to change as long as it benefits both him and STARISH. He values the people he cares about more than anything, which is why he constantly strives to be a better version of himself every day, not only for himself but for the people around him.

Though his stoicism sometimes makes him seem plain or even "boring" to some people, he hides a warm, hidden passion within that's just as bright as everyone else's. Like the springtime bloom of cherry blossoms after winter, Masato shows his passion and love with no restraint to anyone who takes the time to understand him, and I can very much attest to this. I love him a lot and I hope to see more content of him, STARISH, and the others for more years to come.

NATSUKI SHINOMIYA

From uh....me:

HELLO I’m Z~ also known as the mod of the mikaze-discord/utapri-hcs tumblrs, as well as the organiser for the event! But enough about myself, let's talk about Natsuki Shinomiya.

When I first watched the anime as a youngin, I had already known about the games and their plots but had decided to try out the anime as well since I had nothing better to do.

Natsuki was actually one of my least favourite characters in the anime just because of how they presented him. I just...didn't care for him at all. He was just some random tall guy who loved hugs and almost murder…. Yeah.

I’m sure like most, I had a changing point. Originally, I was a Tokiya rper but...I was just unhappy with how my Tokiya was, I wasn't as experienced in rping with that server being my first rp server i was ever in. I didn't feel like I matched up with the others. I felt my Tokiya was just lacking something, substance maybe. Another person actually had a similar feeling and had changed their character from Camus to Syo and since we already had an Ai, I had just decided to go with the flow and complete the rest of the cute team. Best decision of my life. I’m so grateful for Natsuki and everything I associate him with. Without him, I probably wouldn't have made my tumblrs, I wouldn't have stayed in that server, I wouldn't have gone looking for other servers to rp in. I don't think I would be the same without Natsuki. I just find him so endearing now, he is just a lovable giant who happens to be able to be a disney princess. He is just so darn cute damn it. , just look at his Christmas card, his King card, quite literally just half his Shining live URs. Also, just like his songs just slap. Natsuki to me, is just serotonin. He gave me so many opportunities that I could have missed. I don't even think I would have started this love letter project without him if I’m being completely honest. I genuinely enjoyed all the memories I made as Natsuki. Thank you to Natsuki and to the Mikaze-discord for basically starting me off.

From Luke:

Natsuki was actually the very first character I encountered before I got into utapri. A friend showed a photo of him and told me that I'd probably be into this guy. She sure was right! After installing shining live for the first time and having a familiar face on the screen, I grew curious of him each day and just had to find out why was so attracted to him. The fact that I've seen him so many times in the past was haunting me, telling me that this man actually watched me grow up from a distance without even knowing his name. It sounds weird but I find it rather comforting for someone who doesn't want to be protected but isn't strong enough to defend myself alone.

The thought of having him there was enough to get me through the day and gave me enough reason to wake up to the next. I admit I may have adapted some of his habits after looking after his account for a year but that isn't a bad thing if it means that it would turn me into a much better person than I am now. I guess you could say we've grown together now in a sense, preserving the feelings and just living through the moment no matter how happy or sad it is. What's important is that we're not alone in all things we do and in everything we feel, there will always be someone there to keep us moving when we feel like giving up.

[uta-no-fakku-sama]

But who's Henry's son (the kid who got bite and saw his sister get killed by Baby, sorry if you already knew that)

i haven’t gotten the whole story intact yet, but i do have some ideas :3!

if this were a “fnaf where everything is the same except all the characters are replaced with utapri” thing sister location would be the heavens side of the story

i feel like the circus baby of that would be eiichi because main mascot/character and stuff which would mean he’d be elizabeth

and, coincidentally, eiji is his little brother, so i guess that would make him the son (i’m unsure if i should call him mike or not because of the whole storyline thing is kinda confusing)

also, i think you might be talking about william?

it’s been a while since i dove deep down into fnaf lore and stuff but i think henry is the one whose daughter became the puppet

maybe i should read up on those books scott released so i can catch up

and maybe i can get in on who the twisted wolf and that dog animatronic is in that series owo

quarantine be like “let’s take a good look back at fnaf shall we?”

oh shit does that make raging william afton??

fucking dead purple dude walking around in a golden rabbit springlock suit?

also montgomery gator/dino (i don’t exactly know yet;;;) robot boi in the new game coming out i’m excite

[shiningliive]

How I Made Utapri Character Cookies

I made these in December, but I thought it would be worth finally sharing this in case any other baking novices were looking for something do to for their favourite characters birthday or any other occasions!)

*Disclaimer that I am in no way good at baking, and these were the first thing I had ever made like this (and because of this, it took me 3 days straight) but I had so much fun making them, and they tasted way better than I expected for simple cookies.

Some advice and the recipes under the break to avoid a very long post.

Recipe Links:

After much searching for a recipe that wouldnt spread or darken when baked, I found this recipe, which worked super well! As advertised in the title, they have very neat edges which is especially good for making these character cookies. It also has the option to swap between metric and US measurements.

Here is the recipe I used for the royal icing, but I eventually got to the point of just mixing different amounts of water/milk, colour and icing sugar to the right consistency. There are more complex recipes that use pasturused egg whites or meringue powder, but hey, this ended up tasting pretty damn good anyway.

Method:

This is a very rough method, and I’ll only include things I did differently to the original recipe since I was making very specific shapes. 

1. First, I made some very rough templates. If you’re going to do this, make them as simple as you can. Using pre-existing cookie cutters would be easier, but it’s not like you’re going to find any in Utapri shapes. It’s possible you could find cat shapes for prince cats, use stars, crowns or just square/round cutters and ice on top of them though. There is also the option to make your own cookie cutters.

2. Once I had made and printed my templates, I baked the cookie dough as instructed in the recipe listed above. I swapped out koscher salt for normal salt, and didn’t use vanilla bean paste, only vanilla essance.

3. Before putting them in the oven, I placed the cut out templates of each character on top of the dough and painstakingly used a small knife to individually cut around my templates. Again though, this would be a lot easier and quicker if you didn’t have 12 shapes different shapes lol. Once I had cut around the edges of the printed template and removed it from the rest of the dough, I moved it to a separate area and used my fingers to smooth out and fix some edges. 

4. Oven time! I was worried about the edges spreading and not being clean once they got out, but they stayed almost identical. They need to cool for a long time before being iced, so make sure you do everything a day or 2 in advance. 

5. Use a royal icing recipe to mix one thick and one thin icing mixture. Use the thick icing for borders and details, and the thin icing as a fill. Past this, it really depends on how many colours and what designs you’re doing. Make sure you don’t stack them for 24 hours after being iced. 

Tips: 

Halve the recipe: at the size that these were at about 6cm tall and wide i ended with so many that even with four people eating them and storing them in the fridge i sadly had to throw some out after about a week.

Think in advance: either draw, or google templates you could use so you have some idea of what size and designs you want. 

Focus on less shapes than I did: Even after simplifying my templates having to cut each one separately as I said about, it took me 1 day to bake them and 2 whole days to decorate them.

Testing: Test shape, baking and icing on an extra cookie. I forgot to make an extra one, so all my tests were done on Ren and Piyo-chan (sorry guys.)

Counter Space: You’ll need a lot of it if you’re not halving the recipe and will be using a lot of different coloured icings. I ended with about 40 cookies (hell) so you’ll also need somewhere to store them, as well as not being able to stack them for 24 hours after you ice them to avoid them getting dints and scuffs in the icing. 

Materials: I’m a cheapscate, so of course I just used zip lock bags with the corner cut off instead of proper piping bags, but if you have access to them im sure theyre a lot better. for pretty much all the faces and details, I used a skewer to almost pain them on since i had better control over it. 

The Prince Cats were by far the simplest to make, since it was an easy shape to cut and they had very simple features. If anyone wants them I might make some fixes to my templates and upload them somewhere, but really theyre just very simple images of the boys and mascots. 

[utaprifanzine]

Will there still be no romantic ships (both between ocs and readerxcharacter)? Or will all ships be platonic? Also, will characters outside of STARISH, QN, and Heavens (Ringo, Hyuga, Tomo, Shining, etc.) be included?

Hi there!

It depends which zine you’re asking about!

As far as Prismatic, the content rules would be exactly the same as before: no romantic ships and/or OCs/x reader. Characters who are not in SL are fine if they don’t overlap the focus of the UR or UR/SR pair.

For the AU zine, we’re planning to be a little more lax on the content rules since, obviously, there will be a lot of AU information that won’t make it to the final zine.

Let’s say, for example, that you have a fantasy Utapri AU that you want to submit to the zine that contains mature themes, has an endgame romantic ship (or several romantic ships), has OCs and is written to be x reader - you could still potentially submit that AU to us, and those elements wouldn’t be penalized in our review of the AU.

However, the 8 pages of content that will be made for the zine must still fit a generic, R15 frame. In other words, you can have romantic ships in your AU, you just wouldn’t be able to focus on them in the content that’s made for the zine. It also wouldn’t be allowed to be written as an x reader for those 4 pages.

As far as other characters, canon characters outside of the three main idol groups are obviously fine, but OCs would need to fit into a specific character category in order to be included in the final print. As long as the OC is a side-character, that has a justifiable connection to the plot/character goals, but is otherwise insignificant or has very little presence (i.e. a magical mascot or a deceased family member) then that’s fine. Otherwise, the OC can’t be featured in the 8 zine pages.

We hope this answers your question!

[lululazza]

Which Utapri mascot character could hold their own in a fight against the Duolingo Owl?

[cherry-valentine]

Winter 2019 Anime Season, What I’m Watching:

My Roommate is a Cat is easily the cutest series this season, possibly the cutest in the past several seasons. Your mileage may vary, depending on how much you like cats, but for me the show is a delight. Following a reclusive young author who recently lost his parents (the only people he interacted with on a regular basis) as he bonds with a stray cat he decided to take in on a whim, the show cleverly splits its time between the viewpoints of the human protagonist and the cat. The smartest thing the series does is show both viewpoints of the same events, first from the human, Subaru, and then from the cat, Haru. And somehow, even though we’re viewing the events for the second time, Haru’s view is more compelling. The show is by turns genuinely funny and genuinely touching. Subaru reminds me of a less extreme version of Handa (from Handa-kun and Barakamon) in that he’s socially inept and usually assumes the worst intentions from those around him. Haru is a somewhat feisty young cat who thinks she’s protecting her strange, hopeless human. Haru is a bit rough around the edges after spending much of her life as a stray, and her tough attitude keeps the show from getting too saccharine. As it stands, the show is just the right amount of cute, sweet, awkward, sad, and funny. Very high on my watch list.

Meiji Tokyo Renka is yet another historical otome series (seriously why do so many otome anime have historical settings?) featuring a high school girl being sent back in time to the Meiji period. This is, of course, one of my favorite time periods just for the clothing alone. The character designs are varied enough to make all the guys stand out from each other and the colors and backgrounds are lovely. The heroine, Mei, is much more comical than the standard otome heroine and is refreshingly proactive in her own story. She’s surprisingly independent in a time period when that was probably frowned upon. There’s a strong supernatural element to the story, not even counting the time travel aspect. There are spirits in this series that only certain people can see, Mei being one of them (and it’s nice that there are several others in the main cast who can as well, preventing her from seeming too conveniently special). It seems like these spirits can come in many forms, from cute animal spirits to literal ghosts to characters in novels springing to life and escaping the books to run amok. The show is certainly not dull. The romance is almost shoved to the background to make room for spirit shenanigans, but I’m not complaining. One of the more fun otome series in recent memory.

The Promised Neverland is easily my pick for best show of the season. It has a fantastic setup, with a first episode twist that I did not see coming (I knew something was going on, but my guess was way off the mark). It has a unique art style that makes it stand out, fluid animation, awesome opening and ending themes, a kickass heroine, and some heart-stopping cliff hangers. It’s the show I look forward to most each week. There’s only one minor quibble I have with this series, and that’s the weird way faces are drawn. The mouths seem too high on the faces, to the point that I kept thinking their mouths were their noses. I’ve gotten used to it as the episodes rolled by, but every now and then I still notice it. It’s just... irritating. Still, that’s a super nitpicky  complaint for a show that’s otherwise excellent on every level with consistently high quality art and writing. At the very tippy top of my watch list.

Boogiepop and Others is a sequel (I guess?) to a much older series called Boogiepop Phantom that I watched many years ago. To be honest, it’s been so long that I don’t remember most of the details about the original anime. I just remember that it was a somewhat gloomy show that focused on supernatural mysteries and was episodic in nature. This newer series has an updated art style with more modern character designs. It’s also easier to follow, and has a stronger focus on action, whereas the original focused more on atmosphere. Special mention should go to Aoi Yuki’s phenomenal voice acting. She really brings Boogiepop to life and carries the show, much like she did as Kino in the recent Kino’s Journey anime. The show has great music, with my favorite ending theme of the season. Has a secure spot on my watch list.

B Project Season 2, an otome series about cute male idol groups, has seemingly decided to dial back the focus on the whole otome thing and instead showcase the borderline BL relationships between the boys. Seriously, there are several episodes in which the heroine, Tsubasa, is barely there at all, and even when she is, the series gives no real indication that any of the boys like her as more than a friend. Instead, the boys seem to be in love with each other (which is fine by me). This season adds a new boy band to the three we already had, which I felt was a little unnecessary. The new group really doesn’t add anything to the story. The music is nice, especially the ending theme, and the character designs are attractive. The series seems to have taken a page out of Tsukiuta’s book and now uses CG for the more elaborate dance numbers. The problem is that they don’t look nearly as good as Tsukiuta’s and definitely don’t blend well with the 2D animation around them. Overall, the series is cute but I still think of it as “less fun UtaPri”.

Fukigen no Mononokean Season 2 was a bit of a surprise for me, since I didn’t realize it was being made. I enjoyed season one very much with its pastel, candy-colored art and sweet, mostly light-hearted stories. And of course, the main draw of the series was the budding friendship between our two leads, Abeno and Ashiya. Season two keeps all of those elements and adds a very interesting mystery concerning Ashiya’s father, as well as an overarching plot and an actual recurring “villain” type character. The stakes are raised considerably, but the overall tone of the show is still fairly light and gentle. Seeing the cute mascot character Fuzzy (a white, furry youkai) makes me a little sad though, since it reminded me so very much of my cat (also a white furry creature named Fuzzy) while watching season one, and Fuzzy has since disappeared. Which reminds me, the youkai in this series are so adorable, varied, and charming. Very high on my watch list.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a comedy about two overachieving high school students who are secretly in love with each other but are too prideful to admit it, so they set traps for each other to try to force the other to confess first. It sounds like a dumb setup, to be honest, but it actually works surprisingly well. The two leads are likable despite being petty and stubborn. Even though they’re extremely talented, they have tons of quirks and they’re both completely clueless when it comes to love. There are a few fun side characters as well. The show is hilarious, with three skits per episode. There’s also a touch of sweetness as their affection for each other comes across as genuine. Anyone who’s ever been in love can relate to some of these moments, of going to great lengths just to increase your chances of being near the person you like, or making little changes to your appearance just to see if you get a reaction from them. Or, of course, the disappointment you feel when your carefully laid plans get ruined. The series uses humor and extreme reactions and hilarious facial expressions to convey these feelings, resulting in a highly entertaining show.

Carry Over Shows From Previous Seasons: Black Clover Run With the Wind Hinomaru Sumo Best of Season: Best New Show: The Promised Neverland Best Opening Theme: The Promised Neverland Best Ending Theme: Boogiepop and Others Best Male Character: Subaru (My Roommate is a Cat) Best Female Character: Emma (The Promised Neverland)

[ifanclover]

i feel like peace-kun should have his own post since his unique mascot trait is that he originates from the theater dramas

in a way he kinda has two people representing him, hence the two colors

i never gave him an official design with outfit and all, so the clothes are all gonna be original from hereon

one thing i changed from the only time i drew him before is that he has brownish hair that was dyed blonde once and now he’s kinda letting it grow out

oh and the double ahoge for bunny ears because peace-kun is a bunny

[ifanclover]

more mascot characters except they aren’t ones that are as recognizable and only appear in merch related to their creators

i still think about seagal tote bag to this day

anyways uh

rock-kun’s hairstyle is less sticky-outy or however you call it. it’s downward spiky now. also i changed his hoodie design print to actually look like a print you’d see on a real hoodie.

seagal hasn’t had much of a revamp and more like lil tweaks here and there but they’re still baby and the long sleeves will never be taken away they are essential to their human design

i love them so much they’re my scrunfle bunfles

[ifanclover]

i’m kinda redesigning my utapri mascot humanization/gijinka things

onpu-kun’s long things got cut for the lil ahoge thing to represent his mascot tail

piyo-chan’s only change is their hairstyle, i wanted to make it rounder to go with how round and cute piyo-chan is as a lil chick

penguin’s clothes are still cozy-looking but his hairstyle got revamped so hard i realized shortly after drawing him i accidentally turned him into a prettyboy

i’m planning on doing more but these three are like the main three so i had to do them first y’know?