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7

Put the Sparkle in Those Eyes

Some of you might be aspiring to work in the anime industry, or simply have interest in the art. I myself love to draw (though I don't really have much time anymore nowadays) and if I could, I'd love to learn how to colour my works as well. Don't you always wish mangas had colour too? It'll definitely be livelier. (^o^)

I was actually looking for some ideas to help me draw my own doujinshi when I stumbled across some colouring tips compiled by others (all hail Deviantart). They're very interesting and looks pretty simple to follow. But hey, I can't really be the judge of that since I've got zero Photoshop skills. You can check the tips out here and try them out for yourselves:
  1. Tetiel's Anime Eyes Tutorial

  2. gchanmaiden's anime eyes colouring

  3. Chibi Nakoruru Anime Eyes Tutorial
In fact, I think I'll try it out for myself one of these days... I've finally got Adobe Creative Suite in my comp. When else to utilize it? *^^*
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6

Brand New Goal!

I had a total Suzumiya Haruhi moment. ROFL

I've been staying up until 7AM - 8AM every morning the past week to finish off my assignment papers and presentations. Now I'm suffering somewhat akin to jet lag. I can't sleep until the sun's risen. @_@

So I've been keeping myself occupied reading mangas (now it crossed my mind I should have written some posts) and I've read so much there's practically nothing more to read. And the ones I liked, are still not completed projects. So while I've been biting my fingers eagerly for my favourite mangas to be updated, it suddenly dawned on me. Rather than wait, why not get things done?

Unfortunately, I don't think my level of Japanese is enough to pass as a translator. Unless I wanna work on Google Translate which might not be so accurate anyway. But I'm sure I can be a hell of a proofreader. One of the fansub groups I tried visiting today does not have an opening for a proofreader. But it's okay, I'll continue looking around. In the meantime, I'll brush up on my Japanese so hopefully one day I can be a translator and fansub animes and mangas for you guys~ (^v^)V
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5

Cowboy Bebop The Movie: Knocking On Heaven's Door

Nothing can get me excited like Cowboy Bebop - my all time favourite anime. Though it's supposed to be a movie, it's really just an extended episode from the TV series. Still, there's no denying that the TV series was excellent and you can't expect any less from Shinichiro Watanabe.

Taking place somewhere between episode 22 and 23, Spike and his mismatched set of crew headed off to Mars to earn themselves a proper meal other than the cup ramens they've been living on. Faye was given the task to catch an underage hacker wanted by the authorities. During her pursuit, she found herself caught in midst of a bio-terrorist attack. A bounty of 300,000,000 wulongs, the highest bounty ever offered in the galaxy, was later promised by the authorities for anyone who catches the perpetrators.

It was a great chance for the team, especially when they had the lead. They quickly set off to sniff out the attacker. However, the team quickly found themselves entangled in more danger than they bargained for. With the fate of the entire city, and possibly the human race, in their hands the team must play their cards well to stop the impending armageddon.

This is totally an awesome movie to remind us of all the reasons why we love Cowboy Bebop so much. It's also good for those who have not watched the TV series and are wondering what the whole fuss is about. Let's start with music - two thumbs up. I love the jazzy feel, soothing yet catchy and somehow fits perfectly to the whole setting. Then we move on to the art - definitely no complaints there as well. As a matter of fact, the art of the movie is better than that of the TV series. You can see the improvisations here and there.

Okay, character-wise, it was a little bit of a let down because I didn't see much of Jet, Faye and Ed. And I absolutely love Faye and adore Ed. However, Spike was at his best, and newcomer Electra is hot! I'm not crazy about the plot either, but it's not to say that it was bad. It's diverted from all that search of Julia, but it's still Cowboy Bebop-ish with the sporadic moments of laughter, exciting action sequences and awesome animation. Fans of Cowboy Bebop would still find it enjoyable, and those who have not watched Cowboy Bebop will definitely be tempted to start watching.

Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Adventure
Rating: 9/10
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3

Hate Mail

I kid you not. I actually received a hate mail.

Well, the writer threw in some swear words, something about me being an otaku and not wanting to admit something, and that he has a video of me doing something bad and threatening to show it to my mom (as if my mom would give a damn)...

Oh wait, it's a spam. But LOL! It did caught me off-guard when I read the first few lines before I actually opened up the email. Sorry if I scared you too. :D But heck, halfway through I was laughing out loud. The email really sounded contemptuous save the part of asking me to click the link to the video if I don't believe that he has 'proof'. And the part where there's replies by some unknown people, I didn't even realize it was sent to many! X_x

That was my first time receiving a hate mail. In fact, one that was directed to otakus. LOL I thought spam are usually about get-rich schemes and buying Vs... @_@
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8

Hayate The Combat Butler - Episode 1

Don't sit too close to your computer and make sure your room is well lit when you are reading Chika-Chin's Anime Mania! =^v^=

Meet Hayate, one of the surviving species of really good men. He holds on firmly to the advice given by his own conjured Santa that people who doesn't work doesn't deserve to eat. But then, Santa is his only form of assurance in a life of misfortune, not only was he born into a poor family, his parents are completely delusional. Delusional enough to run off with their son's hard-earned money, causing him to lose his job and on top of that, leaving him with a debt higher than Mount Everest as a Christmas present.

Thanks to his well-trained body due to working so much, Hayate manages to escape from the clutches of the loan sharks sent to take him away. Could it be a sign that God was helping him for him to meet the daughter of a rich family in the park on such a dreary cold night? Well, the angel said go for it! As Hayate formulates a brilliant kidnapping plan, two young guys attempted to hit on her. When one of them got too pushy, Hayate unconsciously came to the young lady's aid and gave him a good smack.

Though it was a good deed, it totally ruined his plans to use her for ransom. But she offered him a deal for saving her life, which he immediately took up with an improvised plan - just ask her to go out and stay with him. No, he does not mean it that way, he just wanted her to stick to him while he calls her guardian for the ransom. LOL But look at the little lady misunderstanding his intentions. Ah, pure feelings of the young! >:D

However, it was not meant for Hayate to be lucky in any sort of way. Not only did he blew up his plans by identifying himself to the girl's guardian, his last remaining money fell into the drain. A young lady bumped into him as he lied on the ground feeling miserable for himself. She borrowed him her muffler, and her act of kindness burned a new fire in him. Just then, they heard the little mistress scream and saw her being piled into a car. Now that's how you kidnap someone! :p

Hayate, the upholder of justice, of course did his best to save the little miss (putting aside the fact that he tried to kidnap her as well). He successfully put a stop to the kidnappers albeit ending up in a pool of blood and gore so bad the producer decides to censor it. :p Who knew his second act of bravery lands him a job as a butler for the Sanzenin mansion. Well, he did ask for a job and the little miss has definitely taken a liking to him after his blunt 'confession'...

If you're looking for something quirky and humorous, this is definitely the anime for you. I watched this with my boyfriend, and we couldn't stop laughing right from the start - the snobbish girl trying to intimidate a malicious robot more than ten times her size, Hayate's blunder with the narration, the narrator himself - it was pure comic! The part where they censored Hayate on the ground bleeding was so unexpected it was hilarious! And what the hell was with that confession...? ROFL

Hayate is really cool - that is before his 'accidents'. The characters all seem really interesting. I love the art. Ok, it's not really all that great but it somehow feels right to the anime, get it? I don't rave too much about the music though... Maybe I just need it to grow on me more. Well, it's typical happy anime music anyway, so some of you might like it. But this is definitely an interesting watch, even the narration will crack you up!
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