So, after seeing the abundant Haruhiism on various boards, including Megatokyo, I decided to grab a couple of eps to see what the fuss was all about. I have to say that the first episode was quite possibly the single best piece of anime I've seen since FLCL (which is saying alot). It completely matched Furi Kuri's slice of life feel, randomness and it even had a red bunny outfit! I was quite in awe of the originality that went into that episode and thusly looked forward to the next one.

Sadly, the following eps didn't capture my imagination the way the first one did. Certainly the production values of the series are high, character design is great, there's actually a likeable male lead for once which is awesome. I can't stand how many anime get marketted on the females in them, then you come to watch them, and find out the actual narrator/main character is a guy with about as much personality as a dish towel. Not one with pretty floral designs either. A beige one.

The plot isn't too terrible, it's just rather basic and for a comedy the show doesn't pack much into each episode. The last couple of eps have been a lot better though, so I'll definitely keep following it.

Another anime I've only had the pleasure of watching one episode of so far is Utawarerumono, which features mostly dog girls (an interesting departure from the ubiquitous cat girl). Having not watched more than the first ep, I can't really say whether it's for me. The first ep didn't really endear the male lead to me particularly, but Eruruu is uber-cute and the standard of the anime is really high, which I like. I've read a few forum threads which seem to suggest that the story gets a lot more interesting later on.

Interestingly, Utawarerumono is based on a Japanese RTS H-game (I.e, strategy with random sex scenes thrown in). Another anime which I've now watched to completion, Fate/Stay Night is also based upon an H-game (only found this out part way through). While Fate was pretty much a battle anime, I kinda got hooked on the awesomeness of the character designs. So far I've got 2 chibi Saber and Shirou figures and one big ass Rin (when I say big, I mean huge). I have another 2 Saber Alter figures on pre order (the quality of the figures is amazing; I got 2 evangelion Rei and Asuka figures by Alter last month and they rawk).

Hopefully I'll have some more stuff to upload to here soon. I'm going over a friend's tomorrow, with the intention to draw to my heart's content.

Ja ne ^__^

Finally, phase one of my plan is complete! Well, ok, not necessarily phase one, but certainly one of my PSO goals. I finally got Signal to level 100, which means all four of my characters are now 100+ =0 At the time of posting, the levels stand as follows: Sen (RAmarl)- 132, Laruto (HUcaseal)- 113, Signal- (FOnewearl) 100, Itagane- (RAcaseal) 125. Phew.

I have a pic in the works to commemorate the fact, which I really should get round to finishing seeing as it's mostly coloured already =/ Animal Crossing: Wild World keeps foiling my plans with its shiny mortgage-paying fun. I really should get round to figuring out how to play Xenosaga Episode II since I bought it...I played around 15 mins so far, and I have to say, if I'm not missing some vital part of the battle system that makes it engaging and fun, it may just get shelved. The dubbing is pretty awesome though, they chose some great voices ^_^ Oh and Katamari Damacy just came out I think, which for some reason I really wana play after accidentally googling some really fantasticly weird cosplay attempts.

I also need to remake my list of every game I've ever played/anime I've ever seen. The last one got wiped when my external HDD corrupted. The purpose of it was mostly to keep track of how much anime I'd seen since the ability to download unlicensed stuff meant I saw a lot of stuff that I'd probably never get round to owning (I.e, like the 3 eps of 'Maria-sama ga miteru' or whatever the funk it was called that i randomly downloaded, or the few eps of Kanon I saw before the overt-cutesiness of it made me vomit with shame). Right now I quite wana get Fullmetal Alchemist. I read the first manga volume and it really rather rocks. The train arc was kinda wrapped up a bit too quick I thought, but meh. Ed reminds me of Sydney (*yum*) from Vagrant Story, so it's all good =^_^=

Anyways, think I might go watch some Wolf's Rain. It's good in a weird 'Wolves are following a girl who is literally a plant to try and get to Paradise' sort of way...

Ja ne ^_^

Ok, so haven't been posting much stuff lately, mostly on account of two holidays, job seeking...

...and a little game called Phantasy Star Online >_> I played it pretty extensively on Gamecube, but the beta for Blue Burst (the new PC version) was released a while back and seeing as I'd just built a desktop pc I decided to join. I quickly got hooked and decided to sign up when the beta ended seeing as its only a fiver a month. I've since joined a team called Mythos and have been having a great time ^^ I'd never played online before so its all pretty new to me. New and fun. So very fun. I swear, that one shade of red still makes my heart stop 0_0 I'm hoping to actually achieve some of the things I never did on GC. These include:

1) Levelling my two alt characters to level 100+ so they can actually find me some decent rares

2) Own an Agito 1975

3) Own a Sealed J Sword

I'm going ok towards the first goal on that list. So far my alts are 36 and 44 and have decent equipment. I settled on designs for them which I'm not getting tired of which is usually the key thing for me. I actually did two fanarts of Signal, my fonewearl while i was on holiday, so I'll have to scan, colour and post those ^^

So anyway, hopefully I'll be able to post a bit more stuff from now on. I moved my PC into my little bro's room (where it can actually grab the wireless signal >_> which helps a lot.

I've decided to accept a few commissions for a while. I'll start with one and see how I go. I find that often the pieces I enjoy most and come out best are the ones that have some form of direct inspiration, especially when someone suggests an idea. So if anyone has a character they'd like me to draw, they can make a request.

Just post a reply here and I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything spectacular, but I'll give it my best ^_^

Anime/anime-styled game characters only please, although I'll consider requests for characters that aren't.

Ok, couldn't help but share these sites, only just found them, but they both have such awesome art.

First off:
[link]

Mostly a fansite for Bleach, but with some Naruto pics thrown in there as well. One of the most awesome site layouts I've ever seen Their b/w work looks like it's straight out of a manga! The wallpapers are great too.

Second one:
[link]

Another great site, with an amazing Naruto gallery. The artist really got the characters perfect in a lot of the pics. Great colouring style. The coloured Naruto scans are amazing too.

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