The urge to draw one of my OTPs like this was 😩... but then I fumbled and procrastinated in finishing it.
I had this idea of redrawing a screencap from quite a while. There was a Vapowave compilation video that appeared on my YT reccomendations which thumbnail caught my attention just because of its somewhat silly premise (it was from a 80s or very-very early 90s commercial for beverages or bubblegum... wish I knew which it was since I don't have the link of the video on question in my hands, lol).
Silly concept of a couple on what it seems like a boat in the middle of a summery day = why not trying it on Mage and Ritsuka? It's been a long while since I last drew them too, hahah.
Just a drawing exercise trying to understand some anatomy (and I reworked details on this after a while because I wasn't convinced on the first version of this pic's linearts... Even though I know some things are still a little off, OTL).
I also made a noise-filled edit that makes it look like coming from an old TV screencap from a VHS, but I will be real in saying that I'm not fully convinced on how it came out, lol. This edit and the original commercial screencap I used as base are under the Keep Reading cut~
The edit of the pic with a "retro" aesthetic "filter":
Two months or so ago I was working with an idea of “what if” if DwD had a Mage ending. SURE, I was also discussing about the idea of “well, I could defintiely not do a “Dance with _____” song in, but, well.
My “definitely (happy) ending” thing would be a timeskip of various years into the future, Mage holding his and Ritsuka’s child, in the middle of this huge field (during the sun set?), revisiting the first moment he fell in love of Ritsuka (while a duo performance between Subaru and Himika is heard in the background*bricked*). In this route (and ending), he decides to stay in the human world because he doesn’t feel like going back to the demon realm (due to various reasons, but I will go further into that when I have time writing that).
And thus, this pic.
I think he and Ritsuka would be in their mid/late 20s when they would have their child. She was born with more blondish hair, but as she is growing up, her hair is more or less matching Ritsuka’s color. Also, Mage is a proud and happy papa.
This was one of the first pics I did with FireAlpaca,and went on to do lots of things with the whole illustration like the details of the grass (which were based in a tutorial, for example) because I felt it would be empty if I only drew them. and I’m happy how it turned out? For being a first time?
I cannot exactly pinpoint why I love the outfit that Mage uses in EverSweet (2016/17)... it just... kinda is my fave outfit? Something casual and different than the usual, while not losing that “Mage” feel (I hc that the shirt he is using beneath the jacket is sleveless, lol). I was on the floor when the first reveal of that illustration came up. It even was my Tumblr icon for a while!
I also adore how his hair is styled (while not being tied/or in a manbun). I’m very cool if designers/illustrators put him with his hair down (like the cover for Charming Book), or when they try something a tiny bit more different (like the Airline theme for AGF2017 Avex’s merch). Mage has that kind of silk-like hair I crave want to touch, lol. (Lots of thanks for character design decisions, tbh).
Like I pointed out in my previous post, Mage is by far my fave character in the franchise. It’s also thanks to Subaru(’s voice acting) that I like him that much. I love how is this character, who is all “oresama this” and “oresama that”, who looks like he enjoys getting in trouble, but, at the same time, is a BIG softy in the inside (you see this a current recurrent thing in many of Suba’s charas?), to the grade of being a tsundere. I also love the contrast where he manages to show his affection and feelings and is willing to save the love of his life w/o restraints.
One of my fave moments in the anime is still that fight vs Lindo, especially when Ritsuka stopped the battle, while both of them deflected their attacks to not harm her.
Speaking of Ritsuka... you will notice that this is a (not-so) subtle MeiRitsu piece. Is there a continuation to this...?
DwD Character Appreciation Week - *BONUS* Day Eight
Tachibana Ritsuka
It took me a while, but I realized from WHERE this set of clothes was based on. And I tried to not make it look more closely to the merch set I based this pic on.
Ritsuka’s wearing a similar attire to the one she used during the School Festival in the anime. You know, the one where her group were doing a café, and when Lindo did the most ridiculous thing he could DO as a way of keeping an eye on her.
So, anyway. There’s this set of (Union Creative) merch visuals that I really don’t remember was announced through the oficial PR account for the franchise, but I saw them on AmiAmi in earlier 2017 (probably before Fortuna was announced to be in production). By October, I went to snatch a box from the can badges (as they didn’t sell out) as they were kidda cheaper than they were when the pre-orders opened. So, yeah (they are supposed to be here, but my post service’s hijinks are TOTALLY a thing).
I admire Ritsuka.
I’ll defend her and her actions from heaven to hell, and back. She was motivated to find her kidnapped mother, what she knew about her own life was a lie (from her being the Forbidden Grimoire; to her disappeared dad being a demon from another realm; to her “older brother” being not only her cousin but also having a severe siscon, etc), and all of sudden, being in the middle of devils vs vampires war who wanted to have an almighty power to conquer them all. Not to mention that she fell in love of a devil. And that her best friend died while protecting her. All in a short span of time.
At the end, she is the owner of her own destiny... although she knew they could be together, the reason she stayed in the human world instead of being alongside Rem in his, is because she wanted to stay human, with the rest of her little family. Maybe things weren’t going to be the old same, but she wanted to rebuild them... even if that meant not seeing the one she loved the most in a long time.
Tbh, I don’t know why people think Ritsuka would have given that up to pursue Rem. And Rem absolutely knew that was the fair and possible route that would have happened after all they did in making her suffer. Besides, they knew that their mutual love didn’t know frontiers, as much as sad as it really was meant to be, because the future is quite uncertain. “Long time” is uncertain.
This piece is obviously a continuation from my Mage’s pic, with a more Valentine-ish feel to it. Because, why not~
While I ship MeiRitsu as my OTP, I’m very okay with RemRitsu as such, and I melt away with stuff about them, too. Looking at my old posts about the series as such, there are things that I often smh because most of my feelings have been reinvindicated. SURE, I love MeiRitsu and love this AU idea of how Mage and Ritz may have worked out, but everything is just part of my imagination, partially based from the game and so, and so, (and how I wish Fortuna was different than what it ended up being... curse you, fake incentives >.>) and I wish I have more material of (and from my own hand, as well), but you know... RemRitsu is also beautiful in its own way too.
This is the cutest thing that Rejet may have given as an earlier-christmas gift (for me as a MeiRitsu fan), as part of these Christmas-y scenarios for My Carol.
I do agree that the colors from this CG (and the other routes variants) are very dull, though? I understand that it’s supposed to look “bright” because of the lights, but let’s be honest...
Also slight complaints -
* Mage, if it’s supposed to be cold... and I understand is kind of your go-to kind of sleveless clothes... I’m pretty sure a scarf doesn’t do anything to cover a “slight” cold breeze.
*Also, CG illustrator(s) and character designer for the game... Ritsuka could have used another couple of (newer) casual clothes too, ya know?
Have been meaning to post this from a LONG WHILE (finished it on February!) I see that my phone camera doesn’t do it too much justice either.
Although not my first Meiritsu’s pic, I wanted to do something more chibi-fied? I cannot believe to say that while Ritsuka’s uniform is kinda hard to draw in such form... Mage’s hair WAS HARDER. WHY.
