Some Sketches/The reason my lecture notes are horribly dirty.

It’s kind of late now (around 12.30 a.m) and I’ve lost the inspiration to write on episode 6 of Natsume Yuujin Chou (great episode btw!), so I’ll be leaving that for tomorrow. So I was wondering; what do I post instead? So I took a look my lecture notes on my table and *boom* inspiration hit me! Why not post about my sketches? It’s not as if I keep them or anything, and more often than not they end up serving as ‘decorations’ for my lecture notes (though my friends disagree). So there you have it; a post about my bad habit of sketching incessantly on any form of paper I get my hands on (partially inspired by some friends at another animeblog)

Shall we start then?

First up we have something I cooked up in about a minute, so I hope you guys don’t mind it’s sketchiness. >_<

In case any of you we’re wondering the inspiration for the woman in front is Ranka. I just decided to leave out that hand sign she usually uses. The idea for the frame was also taken from those photo-taking machines we see so often ( in malls and stuff). xD

So, secondly we have something I drew when I should have been studying for my Chemistry exams.

The full view

A focused shot

First thing you guys might have noticed is that huge smiling face at the bottom. I came up with the setting after drawing some random faces, so please disregard it. >_<

Anyway, the motif for this sketch was my old class room. If you we’re wondering, yes, these we’re my old uniforms. They’re the same throughout schools in malaysia with white shirts & dark green pants for the guys, and white shirts & blue pinafores for the girls.

I kinda liked it, so I traced it on to a new piece of paper, which is probably a waste considering it’s a page I was going to write on. Oh well, art is spontaneous I guess. XD

Big

Small

Yeah, I changed their hairstyles a bit. xD

So I hoped you liked my sketches. Do comment if I’ve made any mistakes in drawing them or whatever. God bless! =)

So how has Anime/Manga affected your life?

Okay as far back as I can remember even before the days whence downloading anime became a pastime, before my fingers were permanently grafted unto my keyboard, and even before I became one with my computer; I’ve always loved animation. Granted that in those days animation meant shows like Power Rangers, Ultraman and a host of other shows most people wouldn’t be caught dead watching (although I’d watch all of them! Except Power Rangers…) and we’re far cries from the animation of today, it played a vital role in sculpting my personality as it is today.

Secondary only to my Christian upbringing, TV shows in those days were like my window to the world and to the impressionable young boy I was; growing up in a somewhat rural area (you know the usual small town wide range setting) those shows we’re my lifeline to the big world of whats known today as creative arts. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it was those shows that started me off on the things I love doing; things like drawing.

Now, you’re all probably saying ‘what does this have to do with anime or manga?’. Well, it’s common knowledge that though its not exactly anime or manga, ultraman has its roots planted deeply in japanese culture. I mean c’mon can you think of any other people who can imagine up giant people who look like they’re wearing tightsuits coming to earth to battle monsters? Power Rangers is also the western worlds take on the lovely ‘HENSHIN!!!!’ shouting sentais of the day. xD

Anyway, the first manga I read would have to be Dragon Ball. Yes, yes, yes before you start pulling clumps hair from your heads remember that I was young (around 9) and to a kid all this was like opening a treasure chest filled with manly men fighting! Yeah, suffice to say that Dragon Ball was probably the most interesting thing to me back then. Doraemon came next. I still have fond memories of saving money every week just to buy the softcovers from the local convenience store. I can’t remember even anticipating anything as much as I did back then. Good times, good times.

Yes, yes, I know they’re pretty torn up and in malay but they’re my comics! yes and I know my table is pretty messy too.. =_=

After that, well many things happened. I shifted, from my old settlement to somewhere a little bit more urban. This change opened new doors for me in terms of accessibility. Internet, a good TV and what have you. It was probably around then when I started watching anime actively. Even now in my tertiary years where coming home means dinner and anime there’s still not much of a change. So, no need to talk about the present right?

Which brings me to my main point; how has anime affected my life in earnest?

Most importantly, like any good kid. It made me want to draw, and I mean really draw. I was at it non-stop, from notebooks to textbooks, even on my walls! xD And though I’ve lost quite alot of my old drawings I’ve managed to keep a few. Like this;

I know the quality is bad! Anyway, I suppose you can guess who this is?

Or more recently;

PIERCE THE HEAVENS WITH YOUR DRILL!! Too much of a clue?

Also, being the violent (just joking) guy I am, anime even made me take up sports chanbara a toned down sports form of kenjutsu. I’d try to explain it to you but it’s best to just see it yourself. Here’s a youtube link of what it’s supposed to be like;

Not my dojo. Somewhere in japan I guess.

Another example.

Ignore the horrible music >_<

SO what do I have to say at the end of this horrendously long post? Well, first thing I want to say is congratulations on even making it halfway through, I admit I get carried away when I write stuff like this. I also hope you guys will post your thoughts the matter. How has anime/manga impacted your life? Has it made a significant difference in the way you think? or has it taken over your life? Feel free to write what you feel. =D

Time for a little break~~

Hmm, I think it’s about time I wrote a filler post. After all, my life isn’t totally about anime (I’d say a large chunk of it is thought. xD). So I thought that I’d probably just list down a few related things, some stuff I’m working on now and the like.

First up, I’d like to say that my term break will be starting next week. Thats three weeks of holidays, of which is going to be quite a pain. Why a pain you ask? Well I’m going to have to sit for my Mid Semestral Exams right after the holidays, and If any of you who’s reading this post happens to be a Bio student, you’d probably guess that my three weeks are going to be a flurry of books and papers. Wow thats so exciting. =_+

Anyway, that doesn’t mean that I’ll be any less free that I am right now, so my blogging won’t be affected.

Okay, for all those of you who enjoy manga (especially good romance ones) this one is for you. I’m currently reading Kare Kano and I’m just totally awed by this manga. I’m not done with it yet but I feel that it just presents the emotions that Masami Tsuda, the author (affectionally dubbed ‘Tsuda’) wants us to feel so well. I’ll definitely review it once I’m done reading all 21 volumes, so I’ll leave this for another day.

The main point is; whats so great about romance manga? I for one think that romance manga beats romance themed anime any day, while for other genres anime easily takes the cake. I don’t know but when I’m reading great romance manga (one example would be fruits baskets) I can just take all the time I want to fully understand the significance of a particular scene. While I agree anime can do this rather well too; with the addition of great music and the like, nothing beats reading though a particular page and realizing just how much it can mean.

Although some exceptions do exist, for example the visual style incorporated by Bokura Ga Ita (another totally awesome show/novel) was just so touching at the very right moments because, I feel, they focused solely on the ability of the viewers to empathize with the characters ( the white backdrop, absence of music, face pans and so on). Yeap, manga is awesome.

Lastly, I should be going to a cosplay fest by ACG with some of my old buddies soon. Unless I’m wrong it’ll be held in Downtown East (Singapore, Changi for all those don’t know) and with their permission I may be covering their work. So look forward to that! And who knows? I might even be putting on the old cosplay mantle again. ^_^

Thats all for today, I hope I didn’t bore you all too much with my rants. So until next time!

No way, the trailer is finally out! School Rumble Sangaki

Oh My Gosh, finally a trailer of some sort! After 2 and a half years It’s finally here!

Now, I was really hoping for a full season but we’ll have to do with an OVA. From earlier news I heard its going to be packaged with the manga. Geez, thats a problem seeing as I won’t be able to get it (living in Malaysia and all) but if it ever does come to my shores, oh boy!

That said I can’t wait! xD

First Post FTW!

Hello all potential readers. I’ve just decided (with much influence) to start my own animeblog.

Now, I don’t expect any of you readers to expect too much from this blog since I started it to view my ideas on the anime I watch to friends and stuff.

So a little background info for all of you. I’ve been following anime for about 5 years now, which means I started actively around 2004 or so. Which in turn would mean that I wasn’t ‘around’ in the era of masterpieces like evangelion and other stuff.

Okay, my preferences of anime include those with substance, so I basically toss fanservice based anime out my window (I’m a guy, yes, I am). I also look for inspiration in my anime, so alternative and experimental anime are my targets too.

So, I hope to get along with all potential viewers of this blog.