Continuing from my recent Nappa x Gotham banner for the Geek blog, I made another Nappa inspired theme for the Fit blog.
So to begin I downloaded 3 images from google. I wanted to portray Nappa's intensity as the theme of the banner (fitting for a workout/exercise blog).
So after clearing out the backgrounds for each picture with photoshop, I exported the images to illustrator. For the Tien and Piccolo pictures I had to add in some solid lines in order for illustrator to recognize the lines in live trace. Ie. Tien's cut off arm is too faint because of the wavy light lines coming out. And Piccolo's picture was too faded, so I magic wand'd the outline of Piccolo and used stroke at 1px outside. Then I used pen & brush tools for other outlines.
Nappa's picture required no extra editing for live trace and it turned out well since he's so jacked in the pic.
I also had the notion to replace the crushed rock in Nappa's hand in the pic with Gaspari SuperPumpMAX (one of the most popular supplements for bodybuilders). So just downloaded a pic and live traced it.
After adding in live color to Tien and Piccolo, I exported back to photoshop.
After splicing all the images together, I duplicated the Tien and Piccolo parts twice more (so 3 layers each). One layer was put through brush stroke filter. The other layer was liquified to have that distorted effect--then I set the opacity to 50%.
After rearranging the layers to my liking and adding text titles, here's the final results.
Used photoshop and simply magic wand'd the black city and filled with red or blue (have to duplicate layer first). Then rectangle marqueed one half and delete. Adjusted layers so the half city was on top.
Nappa lineart was made from image off google. Used photoshop to get rid of everything but Nappa in the picture. Then used illustrator's live trace with some adjusted threshold/min settings. Then adjusted paths to fix gaps, and made my own paths with the pen tool/brush.
After splicing the images together, final result was this:
FINALLY, my week is complete!
The newest chapter of Fairy Tail is released!
Fairy Tail 301: The King of Dragons
The title alone screams awesomeness! My earlier prediction of the king of dragons was partly correct, but of course sensei Mashima just made every FT otaku in the world drop their jaw. This chapter alone explains so much behind the dragon and dragon slayer history. And in true Fairy Tail fashion, this newest chapter added in a mix of humour. Unfortunately the status of Sabertooth will have to wait until next week, but this chapter was well worth having to wait one more week to see what happens to Saber's emo twin dragons.
NSFW in America. Totally necessary for Japanese elementary kids.
Re-read older chapters 250-253 when Zeref awakens and Acnologia attacks
Stemming from a recent resurgence of Pokemon affliction, I re-watched the entire first season of the Pokemon TV series. The very first episode was like a tsunami of nostalgia as soon as the opening theme song hit my ears. I wish the newer generation of Pokemon fans would take the time to watch season 1. The gameboy games, trading cards, and show were all a part of a Poke culture for many of us, young and old alike. When YTV use to be good, kids got a daily blast of anime in DBZ, Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, and of course Pokemon. Pokemon was clearly the most popular because kids got to interact with the different characters in a sense, such as playing the game more or battling cards with friends or siblings. But I'm here to discuss the TV series and not of the cultural impact Pokemon had, so here goes.
Animation 8/10
This show had very classic elements of popular Japanese anime. Loose artwork without excessive details works well with a kids animated show. But the flow of sequences and the battle scenes give older kids/teenagers something worth watching. Though the animation isn't as fast paced and detailed as the other popular animes at that time, you could be sure that there was rarely, if ever, any rehashing of scenes, which would seem imposible since Pikachu's electric attacks every episode is a bit repetitive. Nor did the artists take the lazy route in drawing "fast streaks" (ie: DBZ characters moving faster than the eye can see). Furthermore, the pokemon attacks are well animated and not glazed over as one would expect from a children's show. Be sure to watch Ash's battle vs fire gym leader Blaine, probably the best battle of the season.
Music 7/10
Let's be honest, Pokemon is more of a visual experience. All it needs is catchy theme music for whatever the mood. You have casual walk through the forest, battling, mystery, sad, and even Team Rocket music. That being said, the music does well to pull the audience in and put them in the mood to keep watching. Watch the opening theme again and be hooked.
Characters 8/10
All of the characters/pokemon are unique, colorful, and interesting in their own ways. There's quite a bit of humor mixed into each character as well, especially Brock. The reason why I give an 8/10 is because Ash at times can be the worst protagonist ever, and Jesse and James bog down the episodes with their pointless motto (it's a cool motto and all, but every episode?!). And to illuminate further on my Ash hate, the kid is simply brain dead at times. Sending in pokemon with the type disadvantage, but somehow pulling wins out of his ass. He didn't catch nearly enough pokemon to be considered a master anything. I would have much rather watched a series following Gary Oak. At least you knew he was a capable trainer who captured and trained a huge variety of pokemon. But alas, this is a kid's show so they can't make Ash too cool or there'd be no room for character development.
Finally, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are indeed hotties. And it's a funny gag to have Brock fall in love in every city. Though on a weird note, the Jenny from Cerulean city stated she was the sister-in-law to the one in Viridian. So that means Cerulean Jenny's brother married their cousin from Viridian. Japan right?
Storyline 8/10
There's not many ways you can go wrong with a story based on capturing, raising, and battling wild creatures with special powers against other trainers and gym leaders. The story does lose points however for including too much filler material, especially in the lead-up to the Indigo League. For reference, the first season was over 83 episodes long, while the second season (Orange Islands) was about 50 episodes.
And like any series there must be an antagonist, played by Team Rocket's Jesse, James, and Meowth. Unfortunately, these baddies are portrayed as epic clowns. How boss Giovanni tolerates their failures is beyond comprehension. To be more accurate, Team Rocket is there for some slapstick comedy and as fodder for Ash and company to unleash their pokemon on. But seriously, how many times is enough for Pikachu blowing them away with thunder attacks? You can simply fast forward through the episode once "Prepare for trouble" is announced (more like "prepare for boredom"), because it will always end in predictable fashion. Kid's show, I know.
The end to Ash's league run was very disappointing. The show did well to keep Gary's pokemon under wraps until the end of the season, but we never got the anticipated grudge match between Pallet town's best trainers. Instead, we get to see Ash lose to his lesser clone Ritchie and his ultra mediocre team. Only two other 1st generation pokemon have been confirmed on his team, spearow and tentacool....We're suppose to believe that Ritchie made it all the way to the 5th round of the league without losing one round?
To sum up the show's story, like the game it leaves us unsatisfied and wanting more.
Which one of us sucks more?
Overall: 31/40
Not as epic as I remembered. Like all things, it's less satisfying after the first time (especially if the first time was as a kid).
So the big manga serializations' newest chapters were finally scanlated yesterday and here's my summary
Naruto 603: Rehabilitation
The flashback of young Obito continues. More is revealed about the Zetsu's (the white and spiral forms) and their links to the Gedou Mazou. They actually seem pretty docile and offer a nice comedic relief for Obito since the decrepit Madara apparently needs to nap for long periods of time to preserve what little life he has left. The implanted half of Obito's body turns out to be very handy, having properties of the 1st Hokage. And upon learning his friends are in danger, Obito vainly attempts to escape the chamber. The spiral Zetsu turns out to be a nice guy and offers Obito a hand. My thoughts on Madara is he suspects Obito's sharingran allowed him to avoid being completely crushed by the boulder. Obito indeed lost most of the right side of his body, but his sharingran and, presumably, the half of his brain survived.
Bleach 509: Tenchi Kaijin Captain Yamamoto's Zanka no Tachi South is disgustingly awesome. Yuha Bach is definitely cowering before the shinigami's destructive force. More is revealed about the Steinritter's ability to steak bankai. Apparently the explanation is very simple and disappointing at the same time. Yamamoto explains why his, as well as Ichigo's, bankai hasn't been stolen yet. And finally Zanka no Tachi North: Tenchi Kaijin (lit. Heaven and Earth Burned to Ashes) is unleashed in simplistic, destructive fashion. But the biggest surprise of the chapter came with Yuha apologizing...to himself?
Beelzebub 174: Tasumi and Takachin
A very slow paced chapter, as expected of flashbacks to Oga's non-demonic days. The highlight of their past was definitely seeing Oga's oneesan as leader of the original Red Tails gang. Back to the end of Furuichi and Oga's battle, Behemoth is still hovering about. He makes a curious observation about Furuichi having absorbed so much demonic power, likely hinting towards Furuichi stepping out from the shadows permanently.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 503: The Ultimate Dying Will
The dying will bullet makes a cameo. The scenes of Tsuna going apeshit in his boxers at the beginning of the series were some of the funniest I've ever seen in animes. So it was curious to see what would happen to Tsuna who was shot with his dying will flame already on. With the trend of crazy armor, VG weapons, and general badassness that the series has been pumping lately leading to the end, I was expecting something similar. But the chapter surprises with a very minimalistic approach and Tsuna gets some payback on Bermuda. Though at the end Bermuda reveals his final trump card while Tsuna seems unfazed.
Just finished a little fun project. Made a vector from a samurai mask (or kabuki? not sure) that I found on google. Took a couple hours and I'm satisfied with the results. Didn't want to use line strokes so mostly vector
Fairy Tail 300: Where the souls of the dragons sleep
The manga finally picks up following Fairy Tail's victory in the tag team match where Natsu spanked the white and black baby dragonslayers. We knew Saber Tooth's master, Jiemma, had a nasty streak in him and that he wasn't going to tolerate failure like when the spirit mage Yukino was made an example of. The chapter shockingly takes a dark turn, which bring up even more questions. Like what's up with Jiemma? His magic, strength, and even his daughter Minerva are called into question.
Meanwhile Fairy Tail investigates the dragon graveyard Gajeel found where they find potential clues.
And the mysterious cloaked (Zeref) person is seen again to foreshadow the events of the next chapter. Specifically the arrival of the Ryuuousai. Acnologia perhaps?
So I'd like to attend an anime convention before I die, thus plans are being set in preparation for next year.
Problem is I can't think of suitable character to cosplay. The limiting factor for my choices is that I'm bulky. 5'7, overweight, and some muscle. But let's assume I turn the tides and am leaner/meaner next year (a very doable notion I might add). Need suggestions for characters to cosplay matching/close to my body type. Also, I plan to make my own costume and will keep spending to a minimal (especially not on buying some crazy Power Ranger style helmet).
My favorite anime is Dragonball Z so Goku was undoubtedly at the top of my list. But after some googling, I realize I can't do it any better than this guy
If I get to this guy's level then maybe I'll fall back to Goku.
I think I could also go Killer B or the Raikage from Naruto (since Naruto is too blonde and Sasuke too skinny). Or Akuma from Street Fighters.
Totally open to suggestions, and if you want to share your own pics, send me a link!
It started with Pokemon Red and Blue (I nagged my father into buying me Red and a red gameboy...lol, turns out my favorite color was blue). The game was revolutionary, I'd never played an RPG game before and instantly got hooked. Raising up little animals to grow stronger, battle one another, mutate, and take down the man? Genius concept to say the least. Plus the game encouraged kids to mix-n-mingle in order to battle and trade game exclusive pokemon (ahh the old link cable). Finally, I'll admit to using the missingno hack to multiply my nuggets and masterballs (haha!).
Fast forward 16 years to 2012 and Pokemon is still going strong as ever, though the creatures are becoming more and more convoluted, but still remain interesting. Kudos to those creative Japanese artists. I haven't kept up with all the games or episodes since Pokemon Johto and the Ruby game, but what little that I did was still very enjoyable. Now in my 20s I've gotten back into it with Black and White (and 2) as well as the Best Wishes show. Still awesome, but now I feel guilty for wasting time on childish frivols. But hey, Japanese men get away with it.
So up late (early) Wednesday morning and saw that a huge number of manga chapters have been scanlated/released. Check out mangainn for some great reading.
My brief thoughts on some of my favs Naruto 602: Alive
The talking continues between the Uchiha's, Obito and Madara (yawn). Further questions open, Madara had apparently given his right eye to someone for safekeeping. I'm presuming the eye was the activated rinnegan given to Nagato. A little confusing since Obito/Madara (before revealing himself) had earlier declared that the rinnegan was his to begin with, and that he was simply taking it back. Also, Obito's Zetsu-like half is indeed the way it seems. Unfortunately there was too much philosophical sermonizing for my taste. Some light humor throughout, but I felt it was forced.
6/10, at least there weren't panels of panels from earlier chapters
Bleach 508: Like a Raging Fire
The lead-up and progression to this battle has been well worth it. With each chapter we are revealed the enormity of the Captain Commander's badassery. Zanka no Tachi North is revealed, and holy shit is it insane. Yuha Bach seems to be getting clowned, but one has to wonder whether, like the other Sternritters laying siege to Soul Society, if he can also steal a shinigami's bankai. This certainly seems like the near outcome, otherwise there's no point for Ichigo to even come. Also, too bad the Commander refused to have his arm restored; I feel like we're missing out on amazing kido spells, and remember that it was the Commander who recommended Kenpachi practice kendo to dramatically increase his power? This fight would've been over already, so that would be boring.
10/10, if North was crazy, I can't wait for Zanka no Tachi South
One Piece 682: Mastermind
More mysteries are revealed in this chapter, the biggest one being Doflamingo and his crew. In classic OP fashion the humour is well placed and we get some hilarious dialogue and action. The Samurai is hilarious and has great chemistry with Brooke it seems. I had initially wanted Jinbe or a female character to join the crew later on, but it seems that the Samurai is the top contender. Especially now with the shocking reveal of Momonosuke's whereabouts. It also makes sense, his fox fire style is powerful, his mannerisms are quirky, he complements Brooke's ice attacks, and can make clothing of any kind. Basically, he'll be the ship's wardrobe artist! No huge battles, but we get to see the rest of the Straw Hats shine. nin nin nin
9/10, the plot thickens
Beelzebub 173: Oga vs Furuichi
The battle concludes it seems. More Behemoth members are called to action, and Furuichi pushes Oga to the max who's attempting to save his friend. More of their past is revealed, albeit hilariously. The next chapter looks to be some flashbacks of their past. But this mini-arc has been very enjoyable seeing Furuichi step out of his entrenched lolicon, punching bag role.
9/10, great balance of humour and action
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 402: Curse Lifted Battle
Bermuda is too much and Tsuna is getting schooled. Only choice is for the master to step in for the final battle. Tsuna somehow is blind to the truth despite his Vongola hyper intuition. What a dummy! In true style, Reborn's true aim is to bring out Tsuna's true potential.
10/10, amazing action Chaos!
Gamaran 156
The mysterious enemy is yet another warrior from Gama's past, but this time he's fueled with sadness and rage. Toujou takes a backseat to the battle, but not by his choice. Gama's overconfidence gets the best of him, but despite some setbacks he seems poised to release more ways of slicing and dicing. Looking forward to seeing how these new guys join past enemies as fodder for Gama's evolution. Jinsuke is still far away behind his personal corps.
I officially became a proud member of the illustrious "those who have watched all the original Transformers cartoon episodes" club very recently and I figure I'll share a brief review to get this blog rolling...
CAUTION: Spoiler alert
I began watching this series with the preconception that it was going to be a wondrous and titillating phenomenon that future generations would surely regret missing upon. After watching it, I still believe today's fans of Michael (*Boom sfx) Bay's version should watch the originals for themselves in order to gain an appreciation for the epicness that began it all.
You should be warned that there are 4 seasons, 98 eps, and each ~24 min long. Also, you'll need to have watched Transformers the movie before the 4th season. Nobody told me this and I was stuck in Jackie Chan face through the first couple of eps, mainly because *spoiler* Optimus DIED!
I won't ruin it more than that in providing synopsis (plenty of wiki/imdb sources for that). Here's my general review:
Animation: 7/10
Wasn't as good as other cartoons around that time (GI Joe, Thundercats, He-Man), but if I was an animation artist forced to constantly draw with a ruler (because robots are kinda blocky) then I'd shirk on some of the details as well.
The animation/details certainly gets better as the series progresses so look forward to that.
Music/Sfx: 7/10
The music throughout the series is just like any series. You have your theme songs, character themes, and mood themes (ie: fighting, mystery). Right off the bat I'll say that I used to only know the chorus line to the Transformers theme song, as in "Transformers, More than meets the eye, Transformers, Robots In Disguise".
The only real gripe I had was with the special effects. Especially in the first couple of seasons, you'll hear a lot of familiar Star Wars fx, such as lightsaber battles, tie fighters, even C3P0's cry in Empire Strikes Back.
I will say that I loved Stan Bush's "You've Got the Touch" which was the feature song for the movie.
I honestly jam to this song when at the gym and make believe I'm Optimus Prime working out.
Characters: 9/10
There's so many cool characters in this series that'll evoke the emotional gamut from repetitive/boring-to-inspiring-to-badass.
Some brief thoughts on the characters:
Optimus can do no wrong. A masterful and inspiring leader. "Autobots! Transform and roll out!"
Megatron lacks resolve. Quick to give up, and talks up to everyone but the insubordinate Starscream.
Bumblebee was Spike Witwicky's taxicab basically.
Soundwave has a ridiculous amount of bots inside him. Simply the most annoying bot in the series because Laserbeak and Ravage are so annoying. But without Soundwave the Deceptions would've been fucked.
Starscream was not a warrior, but a huge pansy. Combine his shreaky voice and cowardice and I'm confused as to how he was ever a popular bot. Maybe people liked him because he was the only Decepticon who had the gall to bitch at Megatron, but would get handled like a bitch.
Grimlock and the Dinobots were hilarious. Grimlock is such a lovable retard.
Sam Witwicky, not as annoying as Shia Labeouf.
Too many combinations/giants! Too bad Michael Bay had to piss all over the constructicon combination of Devestator
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Storyline: 10/10
As I said from the beginning, it's a long series, but the storyline is the best part of this series. There are some lemons along the way, but for the most part the episodes had you rooting for whomever was being featured. I especially liked "The Girl who loved Powerglide"
I will say that I was personally dissatisfied with the way the series ended, but luckily the Japanese took care of that (you'll see).
Overall: 33/40
Definitely some worthwhile time spent. And I hope that those who only know the Bay version of the TF universe go and watch the originals in order to supplement their appreciation even further.
Well there you have it, Transformers in a nutshell.
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