Angel Beats! – Key-tastic?

Mmmmm tasty Key-juice

Its really the main reason I’m watching ‘Angel Beats!‘. Key’s involvement. Sadly the chara designs are more Little Busters than Clannad, but its still Key, and therefore worth a go in my opinion 🙂 Jun Maeda and all 😀 My little brother also wanted to watch it because of what I told him about the series before. I think he liked the violence and comedy parts most really… which is fair enough… he’s 12 XD

So far, (seen up to ep 4) I’m liking it, but I’m not *loving* it, I haven’t picked a character to latch onto. I am particularly happy to hear Rei Otohata from Super Gals! again though hehe. As the main chara 🙂

Lobster Iron Man!!!

Meet Lobster Iron Man.

...the unholy cross of...

...crustacean and comic book hero...

And if this doesn’t give you nightmares… I’m sure this will; (Below the cut people, NSFSC XD)

Why don’t art teachers really acknowledge anime/manga style artwork?

Yeeaaah cos this isn't technically accomplished at all is it?! -_- And sooo easy to get it looking this pretty....riiiight? ¬_¬

During my time in the education system(so far) I have only met one art teacher who doesn’t completely disregard anime and manga style artwork. The rest have either not considered it real art, thought of it as ‘too easy’ or said its been “done to death”. (Please not, this is veeeeery old now, posted it over a year ago and I was on a rant lol)

Do you know how disheartening this is? How spirit-sucking it is? To be actively dissuaded from doing the things you love? Not because I need to expand my horizons, but because the teachers just don’t seem to like it, or don’t seem to acknowledge it(or understand it, it seems…)? It’s just… it ruins the fun. Most other teachers in school who have ever seen me drawing or doodling in class have at least been impressed by it and commented on it, but never the actual art teachers. English, Science, even maths, but not the art teachers. They just want us to do poncy watercolours and oil paintings it seems. Modern art which alot of the time doesn’t even have any real form. I know art is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz, but really… some of the modern art I’ve seen in galleries is complete shit. Or at least completely devoid of any real prettiness. Sold chunks of colour with a single stripe across it… what the hell is that really? Drawing manga style artwork is NOT easy. If it was every tom-dick and harry could do it. You think all the manga-ka just started out as brilliant as they are now? To be as good when they started drawing as to when they finally got published after all the years or slogging away? The teachers here in the UK just don’t know enough…

I think the main problem is they haven’t seen enough. They think its all the same, whereas a fan will know its most definately not all the same. Most people have only been exposed to the mainstream stuff, Pokemon, Dragonball, Digimon, Sailor Moon, if your lucky, some not even that, mostly like Pokemon usually, and they refer to them as ‘those big eyed Japanese cartoons’ which, in alot of cases, is fairly accurate I’ll admit, BUT its not all that dammit!!!

Its just disheartening is all… they should encourage your passions right? Not discourage them…

Below the cut for some more prettiness 🙂

Danny Choo @ SOAS

I was sitting here to begin with, but moved before the talk started 🙂

Last night, as many of you may know, Danny Choo gave a talk on creative industries in Japan, at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, (where he got his degree in Japanese 🙂 ) And, as many of you may know, I got to go! lol. I will try and keep the fangirly flailing to a minimum ^_^; but this was pretty much on the same level as meeting Misha Collins/seeing David Tennant live. Danny has had such a big impact on my life, consciously or otherwise lol. I still blame him for me wanting to buy loads of figures hehe. And Dannychoo.com is where I first found Chie Yoshioka too… my wallet still cries for its lost brethren… so much lost… but so much gained 😀 (More pics n stuff below the cut.)

How to Train Your Dragon – How to make an awesome movie about awesome dragons, more like :)

Lovely, lovely movie.

Saw this on Wednesday instead of seeing Chris Addison at the Norwich Playhouse, which sucked… parentals forgot I’d be home for the holidays, so didn’t get a ticket for me. BUT it gave me the chance to go to the cinema, and I hadn’t been for weeks, one of the things that sucks bout living in the countryside, you gotta drive/be driven to get ANYWHERE.

I loved it. It’s a wonderful movie, made me smile sooo much. I remember seeing the trailer god knows how long ago, and thinking it looked cool, right after I played the ‘How to raise a dragon‘ mini game on Armor Games. Thought the dragon looked adorable. The dragon in question being ‘Toothless’, a Night Fury. Apparantly the scariest of all dragons because no ones ever seen one and lived to tell the tale.

How adorable is that? I mean really, Toothless is damn adorable... I want a toy of it....him I thinks...

More pics below the cut. After seeing the movie I became a tad obsessed with tracking down a plushie or toy, just something!!

Creative Industries in Japan: an audience with Danny Choo – And I get to go!!!!

Click the image to go to where I got this pretty piccy 🙂

So who else is going??!! (If you have absolutely no idea what I’m on about, check here & here first lol.) Yatta!!! I thought I wouldn’t be able to, cos when I first checked, train ticket prices were high, and I’m *trying* to save money. BUT after I talked with my dad bout it today he thought it’d be a good idea!! The mingling with like minded folk, making connections in the right places and all that jazz. Either way, it means I CAN GO!!! :WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO: Details about said event are all here. And more info on Danny Choo’s post too.

Its taking place here, at the Brunei Gallery on the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In the lecture hall, which, far as I can tell, is this!!!

I wonder where I should sit...

Or if we get designated seats? Will have to see. 🙂

Super-super stoked. Am even gonna get some business cards made up for it!! Not sure exactly what they’ll have on… illustrator… blogger….graphic designer? Not the last one I think… Chie will be on it probably, as she’s recognisably linked with me forever haha. I have a few days, can get em printed in Norwich or somewhere. Or over the weekend, depends where I go really. Online order really isn’t an option at this point hehe. Wish I’d asked my dad if I could go earlier… bah… BUT I do get to ride First Class on the way there!!! It was like £1-2 more than normal, so I thought why the hell not?!? Thank god for the 16-25 Railcard haha.