Oct 22, 2023
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Being a Fan
I guess this never made it onto here, but I have a broad yet fairly clear-cut definition on what it means to be a fan. Put simply, to be a fan is to have the innate to share your love of something with everyone. That's it. That's how you be a good fan.
Want to be a bad fan? Do the opposite of sharing. It's that simple. Tell someone they can't be a fan if they don't do x, or because they're not y, or because more people liking your thing means that you're not as special as you think you should be. Shut all the gates and lock yourself in your ivory tower. That's what being a bad fan is. If you see someone doing something actually wrong (read: illicit and/or illegal), yeah then you can tell them to knock it off, but you also point them in the right direction. You don't try and bounce them from your super not-important club.
So I will continue to do what I do in the name of being an unabashed fan, no matter who wants to strike me down, because you know what? Screw them. We as a community are better than our worst members. And yeah, maybe we'll have to cross paths with the "bad guys" but it'll me totally worth it when we win and our community gets stronger.
This image is from a manga called Peepo Choo and has been making the rounds quite a bit. What I find perturbing are the rather strange knee-jerk reactions to it that've been flooding my dash. Some things to consider:
1. The author of this is Felipe Smith, a man from the West (listed as Argentinian, Jamaican, and American). He was a part of Tokyopop's OEL manga maketing drive back during the anime boom and was published in the States in a compilation called "The Rising Stars of Manga", nevermind that the term manga is a publishing distinction and by definition cannot apply to comics originally published outside of Japan.
2. The entire point of this marketing campaign was to ride off the Cool Japan sentiment that had come with the anime boom wherein Japanese cultural products were immensely popular in the West in general and the United States in particular. A common and nearly overwhelming sentiment among anime and manga fans at the time was exactly what's reflected in the comic above, namely that Japan is some sort of wonderland for Otaku, anyone anywhere could draw "manga" (which I must reiterate is NOT an artistic style), that everyone in the Far East is exceedingly courteous and into nerdy things, and so forth.
3. Felipe Smith eventually went to Japan and trained to be a published manga author, ultimately resulting in the publication of Peepo Choo. Peepo Choo is semiautobiographical, meaning that many of the sentiments and traits of the characters in this manga are derived from Felipe Smith's personal experiences, though there are obviously many fictitious elements. You want to know why the main character Milton is Black? That's because Felipe Smith is too and Milton is a self-portrait of sorts. That's it. That is literally the only reason so those Tumblr-ers reading racism into the choice of race can find something else to nitpick.
4. The theme of disillusionment with the reality of Japan is a response to both the unquestioning and superficial Western Otaku infatuation with Japan during the anime boom and his own experiences living what many of his peers would have considered "the dream" of becoming a legitimate manga-ka, only to realize the grueling, merciless schedule and competition among those in the profession.
5. Consequently, the manga in question deals with a lot more than just "hurr durr American Otaku are fucking dumb". At minimum, it also accounts for the exoticization of things like American gangster culture in the form of an American-obsessed Yakuza member who runs around speaking in broken Ebonics, mashing random gang signs together because they look cool, and whatnot. In essence, the reckless generalization of foreign cultures is portrayed as a two-way street. I bring this up in particular because at least one person has complained that the above panels are equally as bad as a walking caricature of American stereotypes, which is clearly and definitively dealt with within this manga.
May I humbly request a signal boost on this so we can derail the indignant train of people who see this one image and interpret it as an unmerited attack on Otakudom? If you see something on your dash, guys, don't just accept the statements as fact without regard for context and don't use other people's mindless reblogging of "rageworthy" subjects as an excuse to get angry and fly off the handle.
What have you found is a good technique for creating more realism in art? (Otakudom aka Paradiseeve)
Light and values! Without a doubt!
Learning to "paint with light" was definitely the biggest step I took on the road to improvement. It was more or less when I started to use Corel Painter that I started to play around with this technique. Thanks to the awesome blender brush, I could start with a pure black canvas and then just erase some areas and blend them in order to create grayscale transitions between the light and the dark.
Instead of struggling with getting a perfect sketch as foundation, I just imagined the white color as light - which resulted in that I could create shapes and depth right from the start.
This technique also made me start to paint all on a single-layer, and I didn't have to feel limited to any kind of lineart.
Since we can only see the world through light, it is the light that brings you the closest way to realistic painting.
otakudom started following you
Good evening (for me) and welcome~ :D
30 Day Anime Challenge Day 28: Favorite pokemon
30 Day Anime Challenge Day 28: Favorite pokemon
WAT. Seriously? Okay, screw this. First of all, magikarp. Second of all, on Scott A Melzer's (probably less than serious) suggestion, I am going to answer a question about yaoi instead. My favorite yaoi pairing? ... besides Minor Acts of Heroism, its easily Natsuki x Mizuki from Hana-Kimi. Now, before everyone jumps on my and points out that Mizuki is actually a girl, I am more interested in Natsuki. Because even though he isn't gay, he loves someone who is [he thinks] a boy, and decides to follow his heart.
When people talk about their favorite homosexual pairings, its always about characters they want to see smite evil - er... bump uglies (sorry, Order of the Stick got me all confused). Instead of saying, "Oooooh I want to watch all the characters from Kashimashi in naked love mud wrestling" or "I think Code Geass would've been better if Suzaku and Lelouch confessed their love," why can't we get excited when characters decide to do what their heart tells them, even if it goes against what they believe about themselves?
Semi-related: Shoujo is a kind of anime. So is yaoi. And yuri. And mystery. And drama. And comedy. This list isn't really all that good, because it treats anime fans like a bunch of old men hiding in their mothers' basement watching Gundam reruns and hoping no one finds out about their import Japanese love pillow. We need to stand up as a fandom and show that we aren't ashamed to enjoy anime (Day 4), that we like things that aren't fighting (Day 10) and mecha (Day 11), that we don't have terrible grammar (Day 13), that we aren't just perverts (Day 19), and that we seriously can get over Pokemon someday (Day 28). Where are the questions about my favorite drama (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, or Hana-Kimi)? Where are the questions about my favorite comedy (Ranma 1/2, Excel Saga, even K-ON!)?
I'm not going to answer days 29 and 30, either. Day 29 is "Favorite school uniform" which, I guess, is the one from K-ON! but seriously, that's not something I really study up on. And Day 30 is "an anime you wish never ended and just continued its awesomeness." Good things end. That's part of what makes them good. Ice cream is not as wonderful if you have it for every meal. Code Geass deserved to end after two seasons. Case Closed really should've ended years ago. Bleach was good for a while, but seriously, its old now.
Anyway. That's my rant.
The original list (and my suggested changes) is posted here:
Day 1 - Very first anime
Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far
Day 3 - Your anime crush
Day 4 - Anime you’re ashamed you enjoyed (Anime you liked that others didn't)
Day 5 - Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were) (Favorite anime character)
Day 6 - Most annoying anime character (Least favorite anime character)
Day 7 - Favorite anime couple
Day 8 - Most epic scene ever
Day 9 - Saddest anime scene
Day 10 - Favorite fighter anime (Favorite action anime)
Day 11 - Favorite mech series (Favorite drama anime)
Day 12 - The anime you've rewatched the most
Day 13 - Cosplay of your a character you would cosplay as(or want to) (...I... still can't figure this one out. I guess it's "Character you like to cosplay [or want to cosplay]" which I guess is okay)
Day 14 - current (or most recent) anime wallpaper (Favorite anime wallpaper)
Day 15 - Anime you want to see but haven't yet
Day 16 - Favorite attack someone used in a anime (Favorite comedy anime... This should be Day 12 I guess but whatever)
Day 17 - Favorite weapon or gear from an anime (Favorite weapon, gear, or attack from an anime)
Day 18 - A picture of a scene from a filler episode you hated
Day 19 - A picture of any anime character in a swimsuit (NO. STOP. WE ARE NOT ALL PERVERTS. How about 'An anime that you used to like, but now dislike' or something)
Day 20 - Favorite anime of characters attending high school (...really? I guess this is okay. It could just be 'Do you like Azumanga Daioh or Haruhi Suzumiya better?' but hopefully we can be creative)
Day 21 - Favorite goofy character from any anime
Day 22 - Favorite animal side kick, pet or summoning from any anime
Day 23 - Anime you think had the best, or most interesting art (See, this was a problem for me but its a good question.)
Day 24 - Favorite anime hero or heroine
Day 25 - Best anime villain
Day 26 - Favorite anime opening theme song
Day 27 - Favorite anime ending theme song
Day 28 - Favorite pokemon (NO. STOP. Pokemon came out in 1996. Let's move on, okay? Favorite anime based on a game is good enough, isn't it?)
Day 29 - Favorite school uniform (Favorite anime outfit? Just something less... lolipedofiendish)
Day 30 - An anime you wish never ended and just continued its awesomeness (Your favorite thing about anime fandom)