Saturday, April 27, 2013

"Fruits Basket" Review


Hi everyone! I have recently finished the animate series "Fruits Basket" and I really enjoyed it! I'm going to do a (mostly) spoiler free review first, but if you have already seen it, feel free to skip down to the not-so-spoiler-free end.





Synopsis (taken from here):
After her mother's death, Tohru Honda finds herself living with the Sohma family consisting of three cousins: Yuki, the 'prince charming' of their high school, Kyo the hot headed, short tempered outcast, and Shigure the mischievous novelist, if not sometimes that of a pervert. Tohru finds out the Sohma family secret that when a member is hugged by the opposite gender or they are tired out, they turn into the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Filled with many lovable character and many plot twists along the way, life at the Sohma house will never be the same again. -Written by Anonymous

Warnings:
There is some minor nudity, when characters change back to their human form, but this is "cleverly censored by little puffs of smoke"(here). There is very little cursing, rarely using anything stronger than "damn" and "bastard". There is little violence, and Arisa is an ex-gang member. There are a few characters that seem homosexual, but in the end it turns out they are not. There are also a few mentions of abuse.

The show is rated PG, and I recommend it to anyone 12+. Younger viewers will have a harder time relating to and understanding the characters and high school setting.

Availability:
All 26 episodes are available through instant-play on Netflix. Multiple box-set editions are available for $20+ on Amazon and Ebay.

Characters:
One thing in particular that I really loved about the series is how well the characters are developed. Main characters are very well rounded, and so are many side characters. There is one character, Ayame, who makes me uncomfortable, but that may just be because he reminds me of someone I had some bad experiences with. So episodes 14 and 20 are difficult for me to watch (but I sufferd through 20 because of my BroTP).

Animation:
Keep in mind that the show was released in 2001, so the animation isn't at the same standard we have now. Aside from that, the animation is very well done.


Fruits Basket was my first Anime, aside from some movies and Pokemon (ATLA isn't technically Anime). If you are considering getting into anime, like fantasy stories and are looking for a new show, Fruits Basket is defiantly a good place to start. (If you don't like the first two episodes, though, don't bother continuing)

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(Here is the not-so-spoiler-free end)

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Fruba!

Yuki wins the prize for most adorable animated character ever.



But he can be a nasty little rat ;P

But seriously, the way that he was abused when he was younger is so sad. The fact that so many of the Zodiac members were abused by Akito is so sad and every time they mentioned it I just wanted to hug the character.



My BroTP :)


I think one of my favorite moments in the entire series was when Yuki and Kyo go and get Tohru back from her grandfather. That scene was just so amazing and showed how much they cared about her. Another scene that I loved was when Kyo and Yuki go back to Tohru on New Years eve. It was so sweet!


I love this cosplay!
Arisa is probably my favorite character out of the series, though. We look alike, and both are short tempered and are very loyal to our friends. I think I'll cosplay as her soon! And to add to my list of favorite scenes, Arisa's first introduction when she beats up the Prince Yuki Fan Club is one :).

It's funny, I don't actually ship anybody in the series. I know Kyo and Tohru end up together, and thats great, but I just don't care that much. Well, I guess if I had to ship people I would ship Kyo and Arisa, they might work well together.

I just love some of the quotes from the show, too.




I think this one is so powerful, because it completely relates to insecurity in real life.

Well, I think that's it. Have a nice week!




Friday, April 19, 2013

It's been a long, hard week...

And I'm sure we are all glad it's over.

These bombings have taking a toll on the whole country, not just the families who were effected.

I want the terrorists to be found, to be questioned, then killed. I want everyone to feel safe. I want all of the victims to be OK.

But, most of all, I want everyone to remember this: every battle consists of two parts- the battle of the mind and the battle of the body. Once you let fear enter your mind, the battle is lost, no strength can ever overcome physiological fear. If terrorists make our country afraid, we will fall apart. DENY ANY FEAR YOU HAVE. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to destruction. Stand strong.

But also remember this: people rushed to help, to save lives, and to donate blood. Don't forget the good people who helped and are helping.

Continue to pray for all of the victims of this past week <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">
~Shaak

Friday, April 5, 2013

Feb./March Art~ My Version of 365

Things have been really busy, so I'm combining February and March into one post.

February/ March Arts

[Quartermaster] Older/Marriage
I completed Quartermasters wedding picture thing. She informs me that she is getting married to Loki. TARDIS blue dresses and fezzes, you can tell she's a Doctor Who fan! 


 Completed!




Close ups of the bride maids faces. Misty (top left)  and Syrena (bottom left) don't look like themselves at all, so they aren't them, I guess. Top middle girl looks like our friend Padfoot (she wasn't intended to be her, but thats just how it worked out). Top right could be me, but really the bridesmaids aren't actually supposed to be anyone. So basically I subconsciously drew my closest friends as bridesmaids. 



By request of my friend Hayley. I haven't finished it yet, mostly because I plan on doing them digitally.



Mystique Digital
Still not done.



I am Not Guilty
TCW fans will understand. I just couldn't deal with all of the plot twists in the finale, so I drew this. TCW WILL LIVE ON! *coughcough* sorry...



Iron Man Dress
So, as I was watching the Oscars, I noticed that ball gowns seemed to be in style. I thought it would be fun to design dresses based off of my fandoms. I know, people do this all the time, but it's really fun! No two creations are alike. (All of these dresses are modeled by Jade Rachel)
Blue Necklace and Fabric for Arc Reactor
Gloves with red & gold to make dress mor recognizable as suit.
Full Dress



X-Men Dress
This dress is mostly inspired by mistique's First Class outfit.
Ok, see where the black line stops and there is a darker blue shadow  That could be a hood or coller or something.
X-Men X belt. If that dosen't scream X-Men, I don't know what will!
Full Dress, I even cut Jade's hair so it looks a bit like Mystique's!



Captain America Dress
Not as big as the other dresses, but I feel like, for Captain America, it should be simple. So a one shoulder dress that just hangs down after her hips seemed like a good choice.
Star and Stripes. There would also be a necklace with a little diamond star. Nothing big or fancy, though.
Full dress



Thor Dress
This really is not that great, just a plain, silver, shawled dress with a bit of poof. This one, though, is really cool!



I made Ahsoka's armbands after TCW season 5 ended, but I have misplaced them, and we may never see them again :'(.



Tropical Sunset
Did this painting some time around 11pm. Mom said it looked like a tropical sunset, so that's what it is.



A Snowy Trek
Idk just random stuff to practice with



Ahsoka's Hallelujah
Yes, I know, I know: I'm doing wayyy to many Ahsoka/End of TCW things, but I made this video. But I probably should have warmed up my voice before singing, lol!


And the very last one... 

10 and Jade Rachel (1)
"Who is this Jade Rachel person that Shaak keeps talking about?" you ask yourself. Here's the page I made about her (and other random things you may need to know). So she is traveling with the Tenth Doctor right now (and will be for a while) and si going to a fairy tale wedding to stop the evil witch from doing something evil or the goblin from stealing the cake or the princess from eating the apple or the prince turning into a frog. Or maybe they're just there for a good time. Whatever you want. We have to wait for the next picture to find out!

Well, thank you for looking at my art! have a nice day! (Oh, and give me suggestions on how to improve, that would be good.)