Monday, May 10, 2004

blah!!!
Alo, it me again. tuff if you were expecting someone else, this is my site after all.

Spent the weekend doing some art. Might upload it if I have time, effort and no exams. Its a two parter called Fallen, and it was inspired by Fallout161 at Deviant ART.com I might upload some of my other Earth Angel art.

Whilst working this weekend, toiling the mindless hours away behind the checkouts at the supermarket, I had a great idea for a manga. You have this guy (whose name I havnt decided yet) whose blind and one day this girl (no name yet) turns up, naked, on his doorstep. She's mute. Then something happens and the guy can see...but through her eyes. She can see and he can see both using her eyes. It gets weirder. She can speak through his mouth. Not directly, but the words form in his mind and he can choose whether he wants to say it or not. And life continues on thus with this weird symbiosis. Im thinking of calling it "See no Evil, Speak no evil," and its kinda a cross between Midori no Hibi and Fallout. What do ya think?

Personally I wish I could stop coming up with all these bl00dy ideas. I mean, I got two Earth Angels series plus spinoffs, I've got a couple of fanfics being written, Im toying with this idea for a manga about an assassin which I've called "Stacked Deck," and now this.
I have no time for this.
What with cadets and A-levels and my job as well as numerous other things that need doing, my manga is suffering. Need a job that doesn't actually require any work yet pays a reasonable amount. unfortunatly the job of Bill Gates/Richard Branson (delete according to continent) is taken so Im going to have to make do.

Thought for the week: When you see somebody, give them my love. The lord knows I have no use for it.
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Thursday, May 6, 2004

Hi again...
I had an AS exam today. It was the easiest test ever in the history of the world and I SCREWED UP.
basically its for my music tech class. We got given a sheet and we had to fill it out. Then all we had to do was memorise what we had written and put it onto the test paper. but I only started to fill it out last night. So I only knew about half to 3 quarters of the test. Plus it took me part of an hour to do it and the test was an hour and a half long! i was sitting around doing nothing for the best part of an hour. I ended up trying to move my pen with the power of my mind, I was so bored.

I was inspired by KaiKurayami to post the details of my manga. Please bear in mind theres no actual manga. Just random pics in my sketch pad and a huge amount of stories, including spinoffs and side stories. The manga is called Earth Angels. There are five main characters. Gabrielle, who has metal wings, Nicola, a psychic, Ace, a electricity manipulator, Jodie, a energy power house capable of firing beams of energy wider than brooklin bridge (thats just for reference, they're based in England. Well I am english) and Darke (hence my name) the Angel of Death. Gabrielle to Jodie are Earth Angels, Humans gifted with singular angelic powers assigned to protect the Earth from the forces of hell. Thats basically it. Theres my main spin-off starring Jen, an Earth Angel from the future with the power of combat, Faye, an E.A from the past with the power of speed and Rachel, a genetically enhanced human from the present. Based in Los Angeles, they are a small vigilante group cleaning up the city one punk at a time. They are Earth Angels: Heaven and Earth. And theres a few side stories starring Darke, Tsunami, a japanese girl who is an agent for the Powers That Be, the mysterious organisation God set up to comabt the Shadow Forces, of which the Earth Angels are a subsidary, and Laura, a guardian Angel.

So what do ya think? If it sounds interesting i might ppost a few stories or a few character profiles. I would post some fan art, but my scanner is crappy and it might take a while. I'll think about it. But i NEED feedback. Cya round y'all.
Thought for the week: It is later than you think. (ancient chinese proverb)
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Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Cowboy Bebop report...
Cowboy Bebop: how it works…

If you read my review of Martian Successor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness, you would have seen how it was a dismal failure. As a better alternative, I suggested Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knocking on Heavens Door. It is exactly the same length as Nadesico: P.O.D but unlike Nadesico, K.O.H.D (Knocking on Heaven’s door), works. The principle reason for this is that the directors followed the same format as every other episode of C.B.: It does not follow a set plot. That is to say, Cowboy Bebop has not sub-plot, no storyline. There is the little thing of Vicious and Julia, but that dictates maybe five episodes out of the entire series. Each episode follows the format of: find a bounty head. Catch a bounty head. Do it with style. Or don’t do it. Each episode is set apart from the rest. Few episodes actually relate to one another. The movie is just an extra large episode that can fit in anywhere between Edward joining the crew to Edward leaving the crew. It actually fits between “Brain Scratch” and “Cowboy Funk” I think. So point one: It doesn’t conform to a set story line, whereas P.O.D had to be set after the series and had to fit with the events of the original story.
Hot the heels of point one is point two: The general feel of the story. P.OD was dark and should not be dark. K.O.H.D was dark in places, but had humour as well and just general all round coolness. Like the series. The series wasn’t set to a single tone. Like the freelance style of the Bebop jazz musicians, the C.B series was free and footloose. I can’t quite explain it, but C.B can be dark, it can be sad, but it can also be funny and bright. It works in any format.
Point three: Character development. Nadesico has about a dozen or so main characters in the series alone. Of course, a whole series is ample enough time to get to know them all. But in the movie, there is hardly enough time to give each of them a significant focus plus introduce any new characters. This leaves the movie very poor on the character front. C.B has four main characters. This leaves a 90 minute movie open for two new major players, Vincent and Electra, plus a few supporting characters like Lee Samson and Rasheed. This gives all the characters equal focus (although it could be argued that this is a Spike film) and thus it makes the story have more depth, we can see why Vincent wanted to do what he did, unlike P.O.D where we barely see the bad guy.
Other Points why C.B works, and is one of the coolest animes around:
The Music: written by the one and only Yoko Kanno, the music is the coolest part of Cowboy Bebop. The movie itself has several genres of music. From rock (“Knock on the sky,”) and pop (“Cosmic Dare,”) to country (“Diggin”) and the blues (“Gotta Knock a little harder,”) and these don’t even include the cool “Ask DNA,” and the ultimate in chase music “What Planet is this?” And im probably forgetting a few. The music of Bebop is the best out there, and I wouldn’t want to listen to anything else.
Misc: Did you know that Spike’s movie V.A is different from his V.A in the TV series? I still can’t tell the difference. Also, does anyone else find Jet’s name amusing? Jet Black. As in the shade of Black? Very Droll.
C.B is the best anime I’ve ever seen, with the possible exception of Evangelion (although the Eva movie was a bit…well…let’s just say it scarred me for life.) but it’s close. I really can’t say which I prefer. The Bebop movie however is a real piece of movie candy which I would watch again and again in Japanese (which is what I watched it in when I first went to see it in London) or in English. It just shines through and through and if anything better ever comes out I will personally shoot myself in the leg. Twice. What are your views?

P.S. Don’t worry about me shooting myself. In the unlikely event that anything better than K.O.H.D does come out, I will have to actually get a gun first, then if I do find one, Im useless at anatomy and end up shooting myself where it doesn’t hurt. Say, my head. But im dead already so it won’t matter.

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Friday, April 30, 2004

just a brief note...
going to go and get F.M.P vols 3 and 4 today. also, its a bank holiday weekend so I wont be posting till tuesday. 3 day weekend!!! it'l give me time to write my Cowboy Bebop essay (read last post for details.) ciao..

Also: MIDORI NO HIBI. funny manga. Go to Onokij's Myotaku site and read it. I've downloaded the whole series from SnoopyCool.com i love it. Midori is so kawaii!
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Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Martian Sucessor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness review
Yesterday I went and bought MSN:POD on DVD. And with great expectations and excitement and forgetting about all my outstanding coursework, i watched it when I got home. Heres the review.

I like Nadesico. I watched the whole series from start to finish. I laughed with them. I creied with them. I felt hot blooded passion and I felt the horrors of war. It was a great anime, worthy of being one of my favourites. The characters were like family. So I was really looking forward to a sequal. But theres an old saying: "Dont fix what aint broke." Thats why the POD movie only gets a three out of ten from me. I was sorely disappointed. Dont get me wrong, the visuals are stunning and it could almost work as a stand alone movie. But as a Nadesico feature it falls flat on its face. The main protagonists get a couple of lines maybe. Theres also some new characters, but no character development here. The story, instead of answering my questions just mde me ask more. Who is that girl? Whats wrong with Akito? The main baddy gets barely any screen time and is defeated with one punch from Akito's aestivalis. The movie does have its funny points, but not on the same level as the series. We barely get to see either the Nadesico B or Nadesico C or their capabilities. Characters like Urbitake, Magumi and Nagare Akatski are barely seen.
The whole movie tone is dark. Nadesico should not be dark. It should be funny most of the time. Occasionaly melancholy. Akito should not be dark. Spasticated, scared, but strong, but never ever dark. The movie is only 90 minutes long, but thats about the same as Endless Waltz or Cowboy Bebop. It should be more than ample time to tell a decent story with a great ending. I am sorely disappointed. At best, this movie is weak. If anything, this is a Ruri story. Thats not so bad, as Ruri has previously been voted most popular anime character, but its not enough to save the movie. I loved the series, but the movie fails to perform. I would recommend Gundam Wing Endless Waltz as an alternative mecha series sequal.


on another note, I bought Full Metal Panic vol.2 as well, and that is brilliant. No qualms here!

Stay tuned for a short essay on why Cowboy Bebop works and why the movie works, considering Spike's voice actor is different and is only about 90 mins as well. ciao.
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Monday, April 26, 2004

ALO again...
Thanx to all of you who supported me during my little rant. My chi has recovered to blue state (laidback and relaxed) so its safe to visit for a while.

This is all thanx to my new anime that i bought: Full Metal Panic.
Its a nice blend of seriousness, mech action and humour. Kinda like Nadesico, but not in space, and with CG.
Speaking of Nadesico, im planning on getting Prince of Darkeness( Nadesico movie) on DVD shortly. Stay tuned for the review...

My Gundam fanfic is progressing slowly. My 1st fic was about 24 pages long. This one has gone through about 24 pages before I managed to re-introduce the main Gundam. *mushroom cloud sigh* This is gonna take a while.
I missed my Geo mock last thurs so the teacher gave it to me to do over the week end. How stupid is that. Take as long as I like on it with full resources. *doi* I know id only be cheating myself, but what the hey. I gotta tonne of english work to do and all my music coursework is due in by next thursday. oh well.

Have you ever had one of those days? When you wake up in the morning and think: "whats the point? Will I really make a difference by getting up and living today? Will the world stop rotating if i refuse to get up? no. Whats the point? We're all going to die anyway. Im dead
anyway, but thats just a technicallity at this point." Im having one of those days. The only highlight of my day is being here for about half hour. I have to go back to cadets tonight and its wedgewood (smart) blues tonight. Which means im going to be standing around with a shirt thats too small cutting off the blood and air to my brain whilst being inspected by some uptight warrant officer. I might just skip life for a few days. Roll on half-term. Im going to new york to see my bro's graduation.
The one small other sparkle in my life at the mo is that its a beautiful day. *sighs again*

Thought for the week: "You gotta love living baby. Cuz dying is a pain in the ass."- Frank Sinatra.
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Friday, April 23, 2004

Whats the world coming to?
I was at my cadets last night, trying to teach some new recruits how to march and there was this young (12 or 13) girl turning me seriously uphill, really p-ing me off. She was all walking about out of the squad and all, so i just pushed her back in the squad (which im technically not allowed to do, but i could care less) and she got all indignant and claimed i had touched her breasts and I turned round and (really pissed off by now) told her that she was as flat as an open can of Pepsi thats been sitting open in a scorching hot desert for a week. Which was the *TRUTH*. Girls her age do not have breasts. Anyway, she got all upset and went and complained to a Warrent Officer who got all righteous and started b*llcking me for insulting this stupid recruit and I had to apologise to her, despite the fact that she was the one being a narky little b*tch and not doing what I asked, And I got threatened to be dropped back to cadet, have my newly aquired Sgt stripes ripped off me and im just so pissed off because of stupid Political Correctness that governs my country, and I can't even insult or touch or even get within a cadets personal space, which is stupid because if they cant takeit they shouldnt be in cadets, they should be in scouts and im just really pissed off at asll the bullsh*t in my squadron and all this rant is because of one stupid FLATCHESTED LITTLE COW!!! *breaths heavily all angry and ready to kill somebody*

Im better today, but thats cause im going to go and buy some anime today with some money I got for easter, plus I get paid today, which is the small compensation I get for going to work and putting up with all the cretins that shop at TESCOS.

Later...
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Wednesday, April 21, 2004

and in the end...it doesn't even matter...
Im just adding a post for now, for the sake of adding a post. ...hmm. I might add some fanart soon. but first, i have to draw some...im listening to Linkin Park "In the End" at the mo. I don't normally listen to Linkin Park, but it seems appropriate at the moment. I gotta stupid Geography mock tomorrow...yawn. And i got my english teacher on my back, thinking im not coping...and I got two to four weeks to complete ALL my music work. oh well. i'll get over it. later y'all.
Thought fot the day: Its just...he was all alone. never anyone to play the game with. In the end, it was just a dream. But what is a dream...and what is reality? are you living in the real world?
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004

MITSUO...MENDA..NAHANAHA!!
I had to go to some stupid awards evening at my air cadets last night. It was really boring. But, i did get promoted to Sargeant, which I wasn't expecting. Today started off really bad though. Stupid traffic everywhere, then i couldnt find a place to park... I need a release. I might just go home, forget about college and watch anime for the rest of my life...
Thought for the day... too tired to think...
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Monday, April 19, 2004

Beware...death has returned....
IMMMMM BACK!!!!!! Easter break was cool and all, but sooo boring!!! I really missed being here. so here I am, return-ned onceses again!!! I got me MS Gundam: Feddy vs Zeon on PS2 and Wing Gundam 1/100 model. I also got W-zero custom action figure. The wings are bl00dy huge! But that seems to be all that i got anime wise. That and countless watching of my Gundam dvds. hmmm....

Thought for the week: EVERY GREAT JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP! unless you happen to be in a wheelchair -_-' (I apologise to all crippled wheelchair users who might take offfence to that remark. Of course, if I really cared, i wouldnt have put the thought in would I?)
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