Saturday, September 28, 2013

Homecoming!!!

I just got back from the homecoming dance! It was so much fun!! I went to my friends house before to get ready, and I did her makeup, and then her mom brought us over. It was really fun! Haha we don't hang out outside of school much, so it was pretty cool :)

WHEN I GOT TO HOMECOMING PADFOOT WAS THERE! I haven't seen her in forever, because she stayed homeschooled while I went off to Trinity, but iT WAS SO AWESOME TO SEE HER! She's like... the Padfoot to my Prongs (yeah, we call each other that :p. she and I just loooove Harry Potter, especially the marauders.)

Of corse, no dance would be complete without some of the biggest hits right now...




Oh, yes, I have soooo many conflicted feelings about this song.

 


And then there was this....

Yeah, I'm not to sure how that one got requested. I liked how the playlist was made: the students got to send in requests last week, and they made a playlist from that,

Ugh, I am so tired and sweaty, but tonight was great. Super fun. Awesome. *falls asleep*

"Hakuouki" Review

So after FMA, I was a little lost. I wanted to watch FMA: Brotherhood, but I needed time in between the series. I didn't feel like watching something super cute and girly like "Fruits Basket", either. Fortunately, my friends General Snips and May came to the rescue with "Hakuouki". I absolutely loved this show, and it was a nice break from the fast pace of FMA. Because of school starting, and being busy during summer it took me forever to watch, and I watched half of it in Japanese with the subtitles, but I remember most of it.


(Source)

Synopsis:
The protagonist, Yukimura Chizuru, is the daughter of a doctor who works in Edo. The father leaves Edo to work as a volunteer doctor and moves to Kyoto without his daughter. As time passes by, Chizuru starts worrying about losing contact with her father, so she decides to go to Kyoto in search of him. On the way, Chizuru is attacked by few criminals and witnesses a fight between an oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody and saving her, the Shinsengumi debate on what to do with Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for. So they decide to become Chizuru's protectors and help her look for her father (the doctor). Lots of events happen while she stays with the Shinsengumi, as they discover mysterious secrets and also fight against the Bakumatsu group. 
from: Here


It is based off of the real life Shinsengumi Samuri group, which was started in the early/mid 1800's. Go check out this page for more information of the Shinsengumi and the character's real-life counterparts.

Warnings:
This show is about samurai and a rebellion and changing times, so there is quite a bit of sword fighting/blood/injuries and deaths. One of the characters has tuberculosis, and there are quite a few scenes where he is seen coughing up blood. There's no super intense gore or anything that I can remember.

On a moral level, it takes place/was made in Japan, so the obvious religion and mythology come into play occasionally. There are creatures referred to as "Oni" or "Demons", and some people try to re-create those creatures. They come out as somewhat vampire like. Ok, let me explain. They are created killing machines, and sometimes they loose their grip on reality and go into a rage that can only be stopped by drinking blood. As you can imagine, this can cause a number of problems when some of the members of the Shinsingumi are turned into these half-demons.

 I have to admit, I am really bad at remembering if there is swearing in anything. It goes in one ear and out the other. But I wrote myself a note! So now i know to say "there is some foul language, but honestly, it's not much worse than most other animes I have reviewed so far." So there you go.

Oh, and you may need a box of tissues and chocolate for the second season. Just sayin', especially if you get attached to any of the characters.

Availability:
I believe you can buy it on Amazon, but I watched the subs on YouTube, and the English dub on an off-site, so if you want a link for that I can send it to you. It's not exactly a popular/well known show, so it's not available on most sites like Netflix or Hulu.

Characters:
Chizuru Yukimura
Daww... she's such a cutie
Our heroine is a strong and complex character who is very well written, animated, and acted. Some people say she is weak willed and pathetic. I say that for a woman of Imperial Japan, she is extremely strong and has completely destroyed all gender roles of her time. Yeah, she's my favorite character of the show.

Let's take a moment to appreciate how great a character she is! (BECAUSE HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER SHES JUST TOO CUTE!!!)
Well, she's a bit clumsy :) (Go watch the video it's priceless)
But she's strong, too. Ok, I'm done ranting about her.


Toshizo Hijikata
You really could smile more
HIjakata is the Vice-Commander of the Shinsingumi.  At first his character seems cold and distant, but as time goes on he becomes a likable character. Personally, he isn't my favorite, but I did like him. He has a few surprising character traits, though, and the audience gets to know him better in the second season. He is generally refered to as Hijikata


Souji Okita
Bby you're my favorite :'(
Souji Okita, commander of the first unit, is a good natured, though often sarcastic, character. He instantly became my favorite... which I guess just goes to show that I always fall in love with the ones with the most tragic plot. He is alternately called by Okita and Souji. Okita is his family name.

Sanosuke Harada
Idk if i ship or bro-ship him with Chizuru
Sanosuke Harada is the tallest among the commanders. He is easily the most cheerful of the group, and is often making jokes with the others. He becomes very close with Chizuru, and I love how their relationship grows throughout the series. He is also very close with  He's my third favorite :). He is generally referred to as Sano, but Harada is also common.

Saitou Hajime
Haha, this scene ^.^
Saitou Hajime is the leader of the third division. He is a master swordsman, and is one of the best of the best in the Shinsingumi. His talent lies in quickly cutting down his enemy in one move, a style called Iaijutsu. Though he is an excellent warrior, he seems to be rather shy. The times he does talk, though, he usually has something important to say. He looooves swords. I think it would be fair to say he is much like us fangirls... once he starts talking about swords, he doesn't stop! He really is a great character, and I probably would have liked him even more if he had more screen time. He and Souji have a close friendship, and he is mostly called Saitou.

I now realize I have written more about him than any other character... haha, and I thought there wouldn't be much to say about him! 


Heisuke Toudou
He's almost as cute a Chizuru... almost...
Heiskue Toudou (or Todo, but I guess the spelling is irrelevant) is the the youngest of the commanders, being only 18. He's energetic, out going, friendly, and is a bit of a prankster. He, Sano, and Shinpachi are very close friends *can you hear that? that's me crying my eyes out over my perfect BroT3*. Sometimes he is called Heisuke, sometimes he is called Toudou.

Shinpachi Nagakura
And the last member of the epic 3
Shinpachi Nagakura is a relatively light hearted character, and enjoys having a good time with his friends and comrades. As I said earlier, he, Sano, and Heisuke have a close relationship. He is most commonly called Shinpachi.

I believe that I have covered the most important characters. A little side note: there is an OVA for each of the main characters. They are the ultimate source ship and bro-ship material.




Well, I'll spare you from the "not so spoiler free end" after this long post. Instead, I have a few questions about the way I do these reviews:
Should I make them less biased or more personal?
Does the lay-out work and make sense?
Is there something I should add/not do?
Should I go from a more Christian-like stand point?
Should I talk about acting/production quality?
What can I do to improve the reviews?

I would love it if you shared input!




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

What on earth did I write?

"She wasn’t like other girls. In fact, she was rather unusual. She was pretty, sure, but not a Hollywood star. She didn’t walk with grace, but with a strong, determined, steady gate. She preferred off-brand classic lolita, instead of the major trends that most girls followed, and her tail was...


Well, I guess it was rather unusual, isn't it? That’s what made her different from other girls. She had a tail. And claws instead of fingernails and padded feet. And if you ever got a chance to see her back, you would notice that the skin was rather green and scaly.


Reading and fashion and choosing tea over coffee are all regarded as normal, especially when you are comparing it to somebody who has a tail.


Fortunately for our extra-appendaged girl, she had good friends who didn’t mind, and her peculiar sense in classic and gothic fashion covered her up enough to be considered... normal.

Well, that is until the black dye comes out of her beautiful mane of hair and it is revealed that it’s natural color is a dark forest green. Still beautiful, strangely unusual."

I found this in my google drive while clearing it out today... I'm not too sure what it is, but I vaguely remember writing it while I was sick. Haha, I could probably turn this into a story at some point. Or some art. That would be fun :).

Other than finding random partial-stories, I've been getting all caught up on the work that I missed from being sick, and getting ready for homecoming! I'm super excited for the dance, the theme is "to infinity and beyond", and I'm wearing a black and white dress. I'm going over to my friends house to get ready!

AND AND AND AND OMG So there's an anime convention near us on October 5, and my mom said we might be able to go! I'm super excited, and praying that it all works out. And I'm almost done with the next anime review, so that should be up soon... maybe.

Alright you lovely people, have a great week!


Sunday, September 22, 2013

It is now *officially* my favorite season!

Because, you know, autumn starts on September 22, the fall equinox (which I think has a fancier name, but whatever)

BUT IT IS NOW MY FAVORITE SEASON GOOD GLORY HALLELUJAH!

*coughcough* so yeah, I'm excited!


In late September/ early October, we'll get our indian summer. Where I live, the three summer months are full of cold days and sunny skies, and it's just plain weird. Sure, we get some warm days, but most mornings don't get over 60ºF, so the rest of the day is pretty chilly, as well. Actually, this August was pretty warm, which was cool.

It's been realllly windy recently. I love the wind, and how it rushes through the trees and whistles through my window (I should get that fixed, though), and ugh I just love fall. It rained yesterday! Which was awesome, because I love the rain, it makes everything around here look so beautiful!

Now, I live in a very nice, nature-ey, beautiful place. Only one problem: the trees are all evergreens! We have oaks and pines and red-woods and all that wonderful stuff, but very few of the trees actually change color. That's what makes the ones that do so much more beautiful, though. Well, it doesn't make my fall any less beautiful in any way, actually. The foggy mornings and cold days and beautiful sunrises and sunsets and home made apple crisp and going steampunk are all worth it.

Yeah, school starts, but that's probably the only downside to fall. Even that isn't too bad!



Friday, September 13, 2013

I found my OTP's song

So as y'all know by now, I ship Roy and Riza from Fullmetal Alchemist. Here is their song...


And my favorite artist drew a Royai pic inspired by this song.

Go check her out here!

And "Legend of Korra" starts today, finally!!!!! So I did a little doodle of her last night:

BUT ROYAI, I JUST SHIP THEM SO HARD!!! 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Saturday, September 7, 2013

When people are talking about being in a relationship

and I'm just sitting there like
 

Yep. Pretty much. But I might want to get married. Idk. Just don't really want a relationship right now. So yeah. random stuff. Oh, the reason why im thinking about this is because a whole lot of my friends are just soooooo in "love"

And it can be pretty annoying having to listen to them talk about hot teachers and guys and people in general im just tired of it. 

Meh, im not making sense. sorry. im sich rit now and cant think straight, but I havent posted in a while so i figured i would post now

Sunday, September 1, 2013

August 2013~ My Version of 365

Oh, wow, I'm getting this one up early! But chances are I'm not going to do any more art today, so yep, I'm uploading this now.


 Rule 63 Merlin and Arthur
Inspiration struck and died with this picture, end of story

Riza Hawkeye
Simply because she is MY ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER!

 Lady by the Pond
Idk, she makes me think of Mary Popins and makes me want to do an old-fashioned spring photo shoot. Yep.

Mako Mori
I really loved "Pacific Rim", absolutely one of my top 15 movies. Mako was awesome and strong and not de-feminized, and I loved her blue hair and OMG just everything about the movie made me go YAAAAY!!! Especially the animation, and the plot, and the music and everything. Like, when we got out of the movie I was speechless for about 20 min. and then I did not shut up about it for an hour. My grandmother can back me up on that :).

Close up of the suit. I didn't have a reference picture, so I just made it up as I went along. It was really fun to work on! 

People! Pt. 2/?
More practice on drawing diverse people 





Rogue in Rouge dress
So I got the Rogue Squadron dress (yay!) and then had the strangest idea to draw Rogue (or Anna Marie, which ever you prefer) in the Rogue Squadron dress. Idk, i needed something to do and this happened.

And one time it happened with Asami. Idk i like putting characters in Rogue Squadron dresses...
Riza Hawkeye 2 
Because, like I said, I LOVE Riza

I am so proud of the shading on here its not funny this is the best I've ever done
 People! Pt. 3/?



The Tree and the Rock
Yeah, I started this a loooong time ago, and finally finished it!

Galaxies
Messing arround with my black canvas :)

Autumn Forest
Super excited for my favorite season :)

Winry Rockbell Cosplay
I found some hair extensions that match my hair perfectly, so obviously the first thing I did was cosplay Winry! I used my black skirt, white tank, and black leather jacket. I also borrowed my moms shoes.
(thanks to my Dad for the pictures!)
Some days she walks to the end of the road,
waiting for her boys to come home.
"Abby' s Mad..."
Abby from Primeval. Somebody must have tried selling her pet dinosaur... again.
(Quick 15 min. sketch)

Young Korra
I am so excited for season 2! She's probably a bit younger here than she is in the show. This was my first attempt to do a digital project without scanning in a sketch!

Anakin
Because I felt like taking pictures of my action figures while playing around with my camera

Shaak Ti
Playing around with different settings on my camera

more playing around with my camera
My bedside table and cork board. I still have my CVI badges up there.
The purple lamp thing was from Europe. Good memories.
Wow, this picture makes my room look really pretty :)
My drawing stuff. man, I must have cleaned my room before taking pictures...
My katana. My dad took it out of storage and gave it to me when we moved :)
And lastly, My dress and skirt for the Italian Heritage festival!

17 total projects (not counting the photos), with a total time of 12.67 hours. The sketches take a lot less time!

Have a great week!