#Japanese script guide

[bhumi1066]

From Hiragana to Kanji: Understanding the Three Japanese Scripts

The beauty of the Japanese language lies not only in its sound but also in its writing system. If you’re just beginning your learning journey, you’ll quickly encounter one of the most unique aspects of the language—its use of three distinct Japanese scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Understanding how these scripts work together is essential for reading, writing, and eventually speaking like a native.

1. Hiragana – The First Step

Hiragana is the most basic of the Japanese scripts and is usually the first one learners master. It consists of 46 characters, each representing a specific sound. Native Japanese words, particles, and grammatical endings are written in Hiragana. For example, “たべる” (taberu – to eat) and “わたし” (watashi – I) are written entirely in Hiragana. This script is essential for constructing basic sentences and learning verb conjugations.

2. Katakana – The Script of Foreign Words

Katakana is the second phonetic script in Japanese, also with 46 characters. It’s primarily used for writing foreign words, names, scientific terms, and emphasis. You’ll see it often in menus, advertisements, and pop culture. Words like “コーヒー” (koohii – coffee) and “ホテル” (hoteru – hotel) are written in Katakana. The characters are sharper and more angular than Hiragana, giving them a distinct appearance.

3. Kanji – The Ideographic Script

Kanji is the most complex part of the Japanese writing system. These characters were borrowed from Chinese and are used to represent entire words or ideas. Kanji are not phonetic—each character can have multiple readings depending on its context. For instance, the character “日” can be read as hi, bi, or nichi depending on usage. While there are thousands of Kanji, roughly 2,000 are commonly used in everyday Japanese. Learning Kanji adds depth and clarity to written text.

How to Learn the Japanese Scripts Effectively

At Japanese Language Classes, we help students master all three scripts through structured lessons, visual aids, interactive writing practice, and real-world reading material. We believe that learning Japanese scripts isn’t just about memorization—it’s about understanding the logic, beauty, and function behind them.

Whether you're aiming to pass the JLPT or simply want to read a Japanese novel, mastering the scripts is your first milestone. With the right support from Japanese Language Classes, you can read and write with confidence in no time.

[anielskaaniela]

3 Japanese Writing Systems: Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana

In this post , you will learn on 3 Japanese writing systems. Check out my japanese products [here]. The Japanese writing system is a fascinating and complex blend of different scripts that evolved over centuries. For anyone looking to learn Japanese, understanding these scripts is essential. This post delves into the intricacies of the Japanese writing system, exploring its history, structure,…

[tofupixel]

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Edit: Now available in Google Doc format if you don't have a Tumblr account 🥰

Hello, my name is Tofu and I'm a professional pixel artist. I have been supporting myself with freelance pixel art since 2020, when I was let go from my job during the pandemic.

My progress, from 2017 to 2024. IMO the only thing that really matters is time and effort, not some kind of natural talent for art.

This guide will not be comprehensive, as nobody should be expected to read allat. Instead I will lean heavily on my own experience, and share what worked for me, so take everything with a grain of salt. This is a guide, not a tutorial. Cheers!

🔹 Do I need money?

NO!!! Pixel art is one of the most accessible mediums out there.

I still use a mouse because I prefer it to a tablet! You won't be at any disadvantage here if you can't afford the best hardware or software.

Because our canvases are typically very small, you don't need a good PC to run a good brush engine or anything like that.

✨Did you know? One of the most skilled and beloved pixel artists uses MS PAINT! Wow!!

🔹 What software should I use?

Here are some of the most popular programs I see my friends and peers using. Stars show how much I recommend the software for beginners! ⭐

💰 Paid options:

⭐⭐⭐ Aseprite (for PC) - $19.99

This is what I and many other pixel artists use. You may find when applying to jobs that they require some knowledge of Aseprite. Since it has become so popular, companies like that you can swap raw files between artists.

Aseprite is amazingly customizable, with custom skins, scripts and extensions on Itch.io, both free and paid.

If you have ever used any art software before, it has most of the same features and should feel fairly familiar to use. It features a robust animation suite and a tilemap feature, which have saved me thousands of hours of labour in my work. The software is also being updated all the time, and the developers listen to the users. I really recommend Aseprite!

⭐ Photoshop (for PC) - Monthly $$

A decent option for those who already are used to the PS interface. Requires some setup to get it ready for pixel-perfect art, but there are plenty of tutorials for doing so.

Animation is also much more tedious on PS which you may want to consider before investing time!

⭐⭐ ProMotion NG (for PC) - $19.00

An advanced and powerful software which has many features Aseprite does not, including Colour Cycling and animated tiles.

⭐⭐⭐ Pixquare (for iOS) - $7.99 - $19.99 (30% off with code 'tofu'!!)

Probably the best app available for iPad users, in active development, with new features added all the time.

Look! My buddy Jon recommends it highly, and uses it often.

One cool thing about Pixquare is that it takes Aseprite raw files! Many of my friends use it to work on the same project, both in their office and on the go.

⭐ Procreate (for iOS) - $12.99

If you have access to Procreate already, it's a decent option to get used to doing pixel art. It does however require some setup. Artist Pixebo is famously using Procreate, and they have tutorials of their own if you want to learn.

⭐⭐ ReSprite iOS and Android. (free trial, but:) $19.99 premium or $$ monthly

ReSprite is VERY similar in terms of UI to Aseprite, so I can recommend it. They just launched their Android release!

🆓 Free options:

⭐⭐⭐ Libresprite (for PC)

Libresprite is an alternative to Aseprite. It is very, very similar, to the point where documentation for Aseprite will be helpful to Libresprite users.

⭐⭐ Pixilart (for PC and mobile)

A free in-browser app, and also a mobile app! It is tied to the website Pixilart, where artists upload and share their work. A good option for those also looking to get involved in a community.

⭐⭐ Dotpict (for mobile)

Dotpict is similar to Pixilart, with a mobile app tied to a website, but it's a Japanese service. Did you know that in Japanese, pixel art is called 'Dot Art'? Dotpict can be a great way to connect with a different community of pixel artists! They also have prompts and challenges often.

🔹 So I got my software, now what?

◽Nice! Now it's time for the basics of pixel art.

❗ WAIT ❗ Before this section, I want to add a little disclaimer. All of these rules/guidelines can be broken at will, and some 'no-nos' can look amazing when done intentionally.

The pixel-art fundamentals can be exceedingly helpful to new artists, who may feel lost or overwhelmed by choice. But if you feel they restrict you too harshly, don't force yourself! At the end of the day it's your art, and you shouldn't try to contort yourself into what people think a pixel artist 'should be'. What matters is your own artistic expression. 💕👍

◽Phew! With that out of the way...

🔸"The Rules"

There are few hard 'rules' of pixel art, mostly about scaling and exporting. Some of these things will frequently trip up newbies if they aren't aware, and are easy to overlook.

🔹Scaling method

There are a couple ways of scaling your art. The default in most art programs, and the entire internet, is Bi-linear scaling, which usually works out fine for most purposes. But as pixel artists, we need a different method.

Both are scaled up x10. See the difference?

On the left is scaled using Bilinear, and on the right is using Nearest-Neighbor. We love seeing those pixels stay crisp and clean, so we use nearest-neighbor. 

(Most pixel-art programs have nearest-neighbor enabled by default! So this may not apply to you, but it's important to know.)

🔹Mixels

Mixels are when there are different (mixed) pixel sizes in the same image.

Here I have scaled up my art- the left is 200%, and the right is 150%. Yuck!

As we can see, the "pixel" sizes end up different. We generally try to scale our work by multiples of 100 - 200%, 300% etc. rather than 150%. At larger scales however, the minute differences in pixel sizes are hardly noticeable!

Mixels are also sometimes seen when an artist scales up their work, then continues drawing on it with a 1 pixel brush.

Many would say that this is not great looking! This type of pixels can be indicative of a beginner artist. But there are plenty of creative pixel artists out there who mixels intentionally, making something modern and cool.

🔹Saving Your Files

We usually save our still images as .PNGs as they don’t create any JPEG artifacts or loss of quality. It's a little hard to see here, but there are some artifacts, and it looks a little blurry. It also makes the art very hard to work with if we are importing a JPEG.

For animations .GIF is good, but be careful of the 256 colour limit. Try to avoid using too many blending mode layers or gradients when working with animations. If you aren’t careful, your animation could flash afterwards, as the .GIF tries to reduce colours wherever it can. It doesn’t look great!

Here's an old piece from 2021 where I experienced .GIF lossiness, because I used gradients and transparency, resulting in way too many colours.

🔹Pixel Art Fundamentals - Techniques and Jargon

❗❗Confused about Jaggies? Anti-Aliasing? Banding? Dithering? THIS THREAD is for you❗❗ << it's a link, click it!!

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE tutorial of all time for understanding pixel art. These are techniques created and named by the community of people who actually put the list together, some of the best pixel artists alive currently. Please read it!!

��How To Learn

Okay, so you have your software, and you're all ready to start. But maybe you need some more guidance? Try these tutorials and resources! It can be helpful to work along with a tutorial until you build your confidence up.

⭐⭐ Pixel Logic (A Digital Book) - $10 A very comprehensive visual guide book by a very skilled and established artist in the industry. I own a copy myself.

⭐⭐⭐ StudioMiniBoss - free A collection of visual tutorials, by the artist that worked on Celeste! When starting out, if I got stuck, I would go and scour his tutorials and see how he did it.

⭐ Lospec Tutorials - free A very large collection of various tutorials from all over the internet. There is a lot to sift through here if you have the time.

⭐⭐⭐ Cyangmou's Tutorials - free (tipping optional) Cyangmou is one of the most respected and accomplished modern pixel artists, and he has amassed a HUGE collection of free and incredibly well-educated visual tutorials. He also hosts an educational stream every week on Twitch called 'pixelart for beginners'.

⭐⭐⭐ Youtube Tutorials - free There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutorials on YouTube, but it can be tricky to find the good ones. My personal recommendations are MortMort, Brandon, and AdamCYounis- these guys really know what they're talking about!

🔸 How to choose a canvas size

When looking at pixel art turorials, we may see people suggest things like 16x16, 32x32 and 64x64. These are standard sizes for pixel art games with tiles. However, if you're just making a drawing, you don't necessarily need to use a standard canvas size like that.

What I like to think about when choosing a canvas size for my illustrations is 'what features do I think it is important to represent?' And make my canvas as small as possible, while still leaving room for my most important elements.

Imagine I have characters in a scene like this:

I made my canvas as small as possible (232 x 314), but just big enough to represent the features and have them be recognizable (it's Good Omens fanart 😤)!! If I had made it any bigger, I would be working on it for ever, due to how much more foliage I would have to render.

If you want to do an illustration and you're not sure, just start at somewhere around 100x100 - 200x200 and go from there.

It's perfectly okay to crop your canvas, or scale it up, or crunch your art down at any point if you think you need a different size. I do it all the time! It only takes a bit of cleanup to get you back to where you were.

🔸Where To Post

Outside of just regular socials, Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, Instagram etc, there are a few places that lean more towards pixel art that you might not have heard of.

⭐ Lospec Lospec is a low-res focused art website. Some pieces get given a 'monthly masterpiece' award. Not incredibly active, but I believe there are more features being added often.

⭐⭐ Pixilart Pixilart is a very popular pixel art community, with an app tied to it. The community tends to lean on the young side, so this is a low-pressure place to post with an relaxed vibe.

⭐⭐ Pixeljoint Pixeljoint is one of the big, old-school pixel art websites. You can only upload your art unscaled (1x) because there is a built-in zoom viewer. It has a bit of a reputation for being elitist (back in the 00s it was), but in my experience it's not like that any more. This is a fine place for a pixel artist to post if they are really interested in learning, and the history. The Hall of Fame has some of the most famous / impressive pixel art pieces that paved the way for the work we are doing today.

⭐⭐⭐ Cafe Dot Cafe Dot is my art server so I'm a little biased here. 🍵 It was created during the recent social media turbulence. We wanted a place to post art with no algorithms, and no NFT or AI chuds. We have a heavy no-self-promotion rule, and are more interested in community than skill or exclusivity. The other thing is that we have some kind of verification system- you must apply to be a Creator before you can post in the Art feed, or use voice. This helps combat the people who just want to self-promo and dip, or cause trouble, as well as weed out AI/NFT people. Until then, you are still welcome to post in any of the threads or channels. There is a lot to do in Cafe Dot. I host events weekly, so check the threads!

⭐⭐/r/pixelart The pixel art subreddit is pretty active! I've also heard some of my friends found work through posting here, so it's worth a try if you're looking. However, it is still Reddit- so if you're sensitive to rude people, or criticism you didn't ask for, you may want to avoid this one. Lol

🔸 Where To Find Work

You need money? I got you! As someone who mostly gets scouted on social media, I can share a few tips with you:

Put your email / portfolio in your bio Recruiters don't have all that much time to find artists, make it as easy as possible for someone to find your important information!

Clean up your profile If your profile feed is all full of memes, most people will just tab out rather than sift through. Doesn't apply as much to Tumblr if you have an art tag people can look at.

Post regularly, and repost Activity beats everything in the social media game. It's like rolling the dice, and the more you post the more chances you have. You have to have no shame, it's all business baby

Outside of just posting regularly and hoping people reach out to you, it can be hard to know where to look. Here are a few places you can sign up to and post around on.

/r/INAT INAT (I Need A Team) is a subreddit for finding a team to work with. You can post your portfolio here, or browse for people who need artists.

/r/GameDevClassifieds Same as above, but specifically for game-related projects.

Remote Game Jobs / Work With Indies Like Indeed but for game jobs. Browse them often, or get email notifications.

VGen VGen is a website specifically for commissions. You need a code from another verified artist before you can upgrade your account and sell, so ask around on social media or ask your friends. Once your account is upgraded, you can make a 'menu' of services people can purchase, and they send you an offer which you are able to accept, decline, or counter.

The evil websites of doom: Fiverr and Upwork I don't recommend them!! They take a big cut of your profit, and the sites are teeming with NFT and AI people hoping to make a quick buck. The site is also extremely oversaturated and competitive, resulting in a race to the bottom (the cheapest, the fastest, doing the most for the least). Imagine the kind of clients who go to these websites, looking for the cheapest option. But if you're really desperate...

🔸 Community

I do really recommend getting involved in a community. Finding like-minded friends can help you stay motivated to keep drawing. One day, those friends you met when you were just starting out may become your peers in the industry. Making friends is a game changer!

Discord servers Nowadays, the forums of old are mostly abandoned, and people split off into many different servers. Cafe Dot, Pixel Art Discord (PAD), and if you can stomach scrolling past all the AI slop, you can browse Discord servers here.

Twitch Streams Twitch has kind of a bad reputation for being home to some of the more edgy gamers online, but the pixel art community is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Some of the people I met on Twitch are my friends to this day, and we've even worked together on different projects! Browse pixel art streams here, or follow some I recommend: NickWoz, JDZombi, CupOhJoe, GrayLure, LumpyTouch, FrankiePixelShow, MortMort, Sodor, NateyCakes, NyuraKim, ShinySeabass, I could go on for ever really... There are a lot of good eggs on Pixel Art Twitch.

🔸 Other Helpful Websites

Palettes Lospec has a huge collection of user-made palettes, for any artist who has trouble choosing their colours, or just wants to try something fun. Rejected Palettes is full of palettes that didn't quite make it onto Lospec, ran by people who believe there are no bad colours.

The Spriters Resource TSR is an incredible website where users can upload spritesheets and tilesets from games. You can browse for your favourite childhood game, and see how they made it! This website has helped me so much in understanding how game assets come together in a scene.

VGMaps Similar to the above, except there are entire maps laid out how they would be played. This is incredible if you have to do level design, or for mocking up a scene for fun.

Game UI Database Not pixel-art specific, but UI is a very challenging part of graphics, so this site can be a game-changer for finding good references!

Retronator A digital newspaper for pixel-art lovers! New game releases, tutorials, and artworks!

Itch.io A website where people can upload, games, assets, tools... An amazing hub for game devs and game fans alike. A few of my favourite tools: Tiled, PICO-8, Pixel Composer, Juice FX, Magic Pencil for Aseprite

🔸 The End?

This is just part 1 for now, so please drop me a follow to see any more guides I release in the future. I plan on doing some writeups on how I choose colours, how to practise, and more!

I'm not an expert by any means, but everything I did to get to where I am is outlined in this guide. Pixel art is my passion, my job and my hobby! I want pixel art to be recognized everywhere as an art-form, a medium of its own outside of game-art or computer graphics!

This guide took me a long time, and took a lot of research and experience. Consider following me or supporting me if you are feeling generous.

And good luck to all the fledgling pixel artists, I hope you'll continue and have fun. I hope my guide helped you, and don't hesitate to send me an ask if you have any questions! 💕

My other tutorials (so far): How to draw Simple Grass for a game Hue Shifting

[darenimoinai801]

Slow Damage: Fan Re-Translation Patch Release

For the second anniversary of Slow Damage, we’re happy to announce that we are releasing a fan translation patch.

We made this patch because we wanted the game to be understood better by people around the world, since most of the liberties taken by the English localisation cater mainly to the US audience.

Another reason for the patch is because the wording of the localisation greatly changed the perspective of the plot, the characterisation of the cast, the tone and impact of many scenes, and more… all for the worse, essentially resulting in players being misinformed, which is something we seek to rectify.

We have been working on this project for around 2 years. To avoid attracting trouble from the localisation company – at least too soon, that is – we made sure to keep this project secret until we were sure that we were finished with the patch and can finally share it online.

It is important to know that while this patch will only work with the English version of the game, we stress that this is not an endorsement of the English localisation, which was flawed enough to compel us to create this patch in the first place. Just as you downloaded this patch, we hope you are resourceful enough to find a way to play that does not further support amateurish and inaccurate translations. 

So in a sense, it would be your way of acknowledging and showing your appreciation for our hard work, as we have devoted a lot of our free time to this patch, and given the time and effort it took for Slow Damage alone, we don’t have any plans in repeating the process for any other games.

Of course, we do wish to express one more thing. We're not oblivious to the disputes regarding the English localisation, whether it’s criticism or defences. If you happen to find this patch offensive, we recommend that you merely pretend it doesn't exist. This patch wasn't made to sow discord, as we just wished to create an opportunity for people to enjoy a version of Slow Damage that is closer to the original Japanese one. 

You will find the installation guide and other relevant notes in the link to the patch below. Please read the translation notes added by the translator for more information about the game’s content. If you happen to stumble over a bug during your playthrough or have any other questions, you are free to contact us.

Lastly, we would like to inform you that the patch will receive a future update that will include some additional CGs edits which we are currently unable to do, but since the patch is playable overall, we didn’t want to withhold it any longer. Feel free to reupload the patch, but please keep the patch notes inside.

With that, thank you very much for picking up this patch, and we hope that it gives you an enjoyable experience with what will essentially be playing Slow Damage blind once more.

Note:Hello, the translator speaking here, I saw a lot of assumption flying around the translation that this is just an "edited" version of the original script and I like to make it clear that yes, this patch doesn’t retranslate every single sentence from new. First of all, because doing a completely new translation from scratch for free for a 50h+ game would take a lot of time and work, which I as an adult with a job can't provide, that being said I did retranslate a huge amount of the game especially in the later chapters (with some of the restranslation going up to 90% of the whole chapter). I read through every Japanese sentence in this game and retranslated every part where the translation, tone or context was off. The second reason why I didn’t retranslate everything from new is that I don't see a point in retranslating a sentence that was perfectly fine to begin with. We never had the intention of hiding the fact that this is not a "from 0" translation and that why it only works with the English game. So yes, a huge amount of the game text was translated from new again with only the Japanese text. Please don't let some post going around the internet, telling you that this is only "an edit of things we didn’t like" hold you back from trying the patch. Also the translation does not include any personal opinion of anyone who worked on this and is fully based on the Japanese text. Thank you!

Link

[katyspersonal]

Heolstor might be a Carian in-law, or just a Carian + Ranni tried to prevent his raise too?

So, he has a Moonlight Sword! It is a staple in Fromsoft's games, but in Elden Ring setting, it is a customary gift by a Carian queen to her chosen one

+ not a ring finger, but it reminded me of a ring of purple gemstone that Rennala is depicted wearing (also not a ring finger, funny enough):

So, I wonder whether he also was engaged with a Carian at some point? He is apparently an AU version of The Revenger from Weeping Peninsula whose whole nation got wiped off by Godfrey ( x ), and sorcerers from Liurnia, Carians included, were also enemies of the Erdtree before Rennala's marriage!

I am actually questioning whether it might have been an existing character? 🤔

I was not sure what to make out of the fact that in Japanese original script, Ranni says that now "the night is infinitely far away" besides the fact that 'age of stars' is somehow a different type of the 'night' than whatever it was that she presumably prevented!

But now, seeing that Nightreign's whole poster is an Elden Ring that was altered into a blue version with crescent motives, that Heolstor has Elden Ring inside like Radagon once did, and that he has a sword gifted by a Carian princess to her consort (and maybe their customary ring), I feel like I know just the person that can offer some insight on this situation!

The thing is? The Carian princess in question here is not Ranni, but Renna herself! It is especially apparent by how Lazuli Conspectus sorcerers in Raya Lucaria were already a thing before Ranni was even born, and they wield this crest!

@val-of-the-north explained why the Snowy Crone is Renna in a way more detail in this ( x ) post, but all in all, Renna was long time ago dead and became the four-armed blue cursed ghost herself:

Ranni's motivation is to push the Elden Ring out of anyone's reach as it is the tool to hack laws of nature and people's fates according to your own vision, and allow a presumably more "objective" force (the stars) guide people instead!

But if Renna knew Heolstor, and already was dead from old age (?) by the time Ranni found her, she might have also added something like "Oh by the way there is another guy who will seek to nuke the Golden Order but not for a noble reason that you do, he will seek revenge upon all living after what happened to him, I don't know when or if he will raise but you might want to prevent him from taking the Elden Ring as well :/". So now, along with other things, the Night is also "infinitely far away", because Heolstor did as much as he did through taking the Elden Ring!

Now, I am not sure whether Renna herself was his bride! Could be that, could be someone else but she would still know about him through being family in law. Maybe Godfrey nuking his country even was the actual reason Liurnia became hostile to the Erdtree? The thing is, trolls, close allies of Carians, were traitors of the Fire Giants that sided with the Erdtree during that war instead! A Troll named Theodorix was even glorified as a hero by them. Raya Lucaria soldiers also seem to honor the Golden Order's ways, as they specifically loathe Albinaurics for their "impure blood" and went against Carians because Rennala "was no god, after all" (so, didn't like how divorce effected her). Original Raya Lucaria sorcerers also respect the golden amber along with the stars, as the source of ancient life, as said by Sellen, just that they aim higher for the cold stars!

I was confused, but with the new information, it started to feel like it were Carians specifically who went against the Golden Order! It just meant roping everyone in Liurnia with them too, since they are literally the rulers of the region! And maybe Heolstor's people being killed off and Castle Morne / Weeping Peninsula usurped became the trigger. Something more like 'well when we decided to not do anything about the usurpators we didn't expect they'd eventually usurp us :/'.

At the same time, there is also the whole fact that "night and flame" is exactly what Heolstor inflicts on the Lands Between x)

He must have been in a very close association. Alternatively, maybe he himself a Carian princess that went a very separate way to establish a different territory and country, but the Erdtree could not let someone thrive without their authorisation. -_-"

+ fun fact that might be a coincidence but maybe not: Weeping Peninsula and Liurnia are the two regions where whole settlements tormented by Frenzied Flame exist! A residence of Carians, and a residence of a Carian's consort......

UPDATE: @sahashbelvanie left a comment and:

Yes, seems like the Moonlight Sword restricts him, it isn't necessarily his.

sjhfshdsh Well, folks, perhaps like 70% of the post is cancelled, it is JUST about how Ranni intending to stop him along other things was foreshadowed XD

[shnowyfox]

Shnowy's collection of transformers art references! Idk if anybody has done this before but here's my collection ^^ feel free to add on, I may edit as I discover more.

G1

Tfw2005 g1 model sheets

Probably the one I use the most. Not all but MOST characters from s1 s2 tftm and s3 are there. Sadly no s4/the rebirth. They even have a good collection of sheets for weapons, ships, background characters, ect. I'll usually Ctrl+f and type a character name to get to it quickly though this doesn't work with cybertronian modes since those are named separately from the characters.

Tfraw model sheets refs and concepts from g1 and multiple series there after

Model sheets and reference scans from s1 s2 tftm and I think some g1 patent concepts? Also contains background location stuff. There's also scans of art from The Headmasters model sheets which include characters and some set piece sketches. There aren't any Masterforce model sheets but there's scans of art from a dvd set that I use as reference. Beast wars design sheets that I assume were originally patents or simply very early passes. Plenty of Beast Wars 2 sheets for characters, locations, weapons, accessories, ect. Beast Wars Neo character models and locations. And stuff from Car Robots (Robots in Disguise 2001), Micron Legends (Armada), Superlink (Energon), Galaxy Force (Cybertron), Animated, Combiner Wars, Titans Return, and some official style guides for stuff around 2016 I think? I haven't looked through all of these since I haven't needed to yet. So they may or may not be useful to you but they're here regardless.

Sunbowmarvelarchive g1 resources

Lots of PDFs, I mainly go here for the scripts and the show Bible, though there's plenty of stuff regarding marketing and patents too I believe. There's a second page for transformers content I still have yet to touch on and the site covers multiple other pieces of media such as MLP and GI Joe.

TFRaw Japanese translations

A collection of Japanese translations from magazines audio books and ads, I don't use it much but maybe you will.

Transformers concepts and art

Patents, model sheets, and concept art

Lots of stuff from Japan, I'm not as familiar with this site as I only recently discovered it.

Imgur background art

G1 background art

Allspark concept art toys

There's a lot of cool stuff in this thread, I mainly know it for the beta megatron designs

TRANSFORMERS ONE / TFONE

Tfw2005 most kayou cards

My main references for tfone characters, there's also a link to a thread with the 13 primes kayou cards

Tfw2005 13 primes cards

Said thread with the 13 primes.

Tfw2005 concept art

A tf2005 thread with a lot of the concept art

Tfw2005 character concepts and renders

Character concepts and renders

Ilm concepts

Has background characters as well

Ilm study

I forget what this one is but I found it recently

Tfw2005 masterpost

Basically a masterpost of a few additional resources.

If anyone wants to share that is again appreciated! I'm currently looking for sheets from The Rebirth/s4, masterforce, victory, and idw1 concept art or references in particular.

I've been meaning to hunt through the artist and writers social medias to try and find some stuff but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. If it's on Twitter I'm probably not going to be finding it.

Also tfwiki is amazing for lore and stuff if you don't know about it already, and depending on character I'll go there for quick reference images. It's incredibly funny too.

Edit: I forgot how links work on Tumblr I'll fix it tomorrow oh geez..

Edit: fixed links

[shiranuieditorial]

20 inspirational names for a super summer!

List summary: 新夏、夏向、夏涼、夏艷/夏艶、琉夏、夏樂、夏怡、夏悅、夏嬉、夏歡/夏懽、梨夏、夏梅、夏蓮、莽夏、青夏、勇夏、承夏、平夏、峰夏、and 夏緒！ (Keep reading ’til the end to discover their meanings, readings, pronunciations, guide to etymology and history, and more linguistic knowledge!)

Is it just me or has this summer been unnervingly chilling for us tropical islanders? 🌞🥶

Check out this summer-inspired name bank I’ve been working on for the past 5 months!

Each name was…

→ meticulously hand-picked like exotic cherries 🍒

→ carefully translated to the best of my ability 🉑

→ and then packed with a mini beginner’s guide to 夏 (the Han character/Chinese character for “summer”, used throughout the Sinosphere) 📖

→ which contains its standard readings in many languages: Mandarin Chinese, Dungan Tili, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Wu, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese! 🀄

(If you need info on any other topolect, dialect, or time-specific variant not mentioned here, just ask away! I’ll see what I can do for ya!)

👉🏼 An incredibly versatile character, it’s impossible to run out of given names containing/based on 夏!

The possibilities are endless, and the only limit is our imagination! 💡

👉🏼 If we visit the Wiktionary entry for 夏, we’ll see a whole lot more linguistic variants & historical hypotheses on this ancient grapheme dating back to 2070 BC, and even a reconstruction of its Middle Chinese & Old Chinese pronunciations based on recovered millennia-old scripts! 😱

👇🏼 Comment “Wiktionary” and I’ll send you the link to read further. It’s very interesting to read, whether you’re a curious beginner or a veteran Sinologist.

❓ QOTD 1: Which name stood out to you in particular? 🤔

❓ QOTD 2: Do you know what the difference is between “reading” and “pronunciation”? 🗣️

👇🏼 Also also also, let me know what you think of this list! 📜

Is it interesting enough? Are the tables mathematical enough? Are my font choices weird enough? Have I managed to convince you that I’m secretly an omniscient Taoist immortal from the 16th century BCE here to steal all the trees off your backyards, or should I try harder? If so, what other attempts at floor-length grocery lists should I make to satisfy your most honourable expectations?

Remember—your plants are at stake here! 🧚🏼‍♀️🌲🌳🌴

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Guide to Persona MC names

Just a small guide to help newcomers understand all the names and nicknames/fannames for their fav Persona MCs. Keep in mind this is main games/nameless MC's only (so I won't list Aigis in the P3 but I will mention Maya as well as the notes at the bottom, this is due to how I structured P2 vs P3 sections) (Edit: may add to this list later but it's pretty complete for now)(Edit 2: Note that Shunjiko translates as Protagonist/Hero/Main character):

Persona 1:

P1MC: shorthand for Persona 1 Main Character

(P1) Hero/Shunjiko: Japanese generic title

Boy with Earring: In-game moniker

Naoya Toudou: Manga name

Yuuya Narumi: (one of the) DramaCD names (note: other dramaCD is just labeled "protagonist")

Jihei Suzakuin: Novel name

Persona 2:

Tatsuya Suou: MC for P2 Innocent Sin, can be renamed and it'll carry over in EP (and Katsuya's last name will change as well)

Maya Amano: MC for P2 Eternal Punishment. Cannot be changed, just like Aigis

Kazumi Kiba: MC for the manga Persona: Tsumi to Batsu. (not really related to the games but it takes place right before P2EP, Edit: mentioned him because I've seen some people think he's suppose to be an adaptation of Tatsuya or something when he's just a different character all together)

Persona 3 (Male):

P3MC: Short hand for Persona 3 Main Character

(P3) Hero/Shunjiko: Japanese generic title

Kitaro: The Japanese Fanname, due to his resemblance to the main character Kitaro from Gegege no Kitaro.

Minato Arisato: Manga name

Makoto Yuki: Movie name (*gets adopted later into games)

Sakuya Shiomi: Stage Play Name

Leader: Generic Name for MC in Drama CDs and such

Roger: A name used in AtlusUSA marketing (maybe related to this line in the game?)

Door-kun: (English) Western fandom joke nickname, spoiler reasons.

Gettaro/Tsukitaro* Yamada: provisional name for P3MC in the movies' script. A play on Kitaro. (thanks @aliliceswonderland for reminding me, as well as the other's! TToTT)

Persona 3 (Female):

P3FeMC or just FeMC (sometimes/old variations FeShe or MShee): Shorthand for (Persona 3) Female Main Character. Since SMT if/Tamaki, Maya, and Aigis have fixed names (in Persona canon), this one is usually who people mean when they hear "FeMC." Though some might use this word as a "what if" for P4/5/6 having a female protagonist. But it's usually for the P3 one.

Leader: Generic Name for FeMC in DramaCDs and such

(P3) Heroine/Josei Shunjiko : Japanese generic title

Hamuko (Arisato): The Japanese fanname, IF Arisato is used, it's derived from the P3MC's manga name.

Minako Arisato: The Western Fanname, derived from Minato Arisato but making it "ko" since a lot of females use that name (note: Minato is actually a unisex name to begin with)

Makoto Yuki: P3MC's movie name. SOME adopted this name after the movie was release due to being a unisex name)

Kotone Shiomi: Stage Play Name (*only official name she's gotten, and unlike P3/4/5MCs whose names were taken from anime adaptions, she's the only one to have her's taken from the stage play).

Door-Chan: (English) Western fandom joke nickname, spoiler reasons.

Canon-chan/Non-canon-chan: (English) Western fandom joke nickname, usually in regards to her canon status. (answer: she is canon)

Lunako Gekko: Name used for Famitsu article

Persona 4:

P4MC: Short hand for Persona 4 Main Character

(P4) Hero/Shunjiko: Japanese generic title

Leader: Generic Name for MC in Drama CDs and such

Bancho(u): Japanese Fan Nickname (he's also called this in Arena's files, short hand for his Arena fighter title)

Souji Seta/Soji Seta: Manga Name

Yu Narukami: Anime Name (*was later used for games)

Various Stage Names: Unlike the P3MCs who have a fixed stage play name, P4's gimmick was to change the name each showing. The ones used in the DVDs are: "Yuuya Seta" for the first one, "Hayato Asakawa" for the second. (complete list, at least for the 2nd stage play coming soon)

Charlie "Chuck" Tunoku: Giant Bomb Endurance run of P4 (I think this is the more famous one)

Kenpachi Ramasama/Ramasama Kenpachi: Two Best friends play P4

Chad: (English) Western fandom joke nickname, something something blame the anime (originated around it's run) esp the scene with the King's game. He got all the chicks or something.

Persona 5:

P5MC: Short hand for Persona 5 Main Character

(P5) Hero/Shunjiko: Japanese generic title

Joker: His in-game code name

Akira Kurusu: Manga name

Ren Amamiya: Anime Name (*was later used for games)

Various Stage Names: Like P4, they adopted the gimmick of doing different names each showing. The ones used on the DVDS are: "Itsuki Onda" for the first one, "Naoki Toudou" for the second one, "Nozomu Akase" for the third one, and "Kaito Shinno" for the forth/last one. (complete list here)

Chair-kun: In reference to the original teaser for P5 (there were a lot of chairs)

Pego: Fan nickname for P5MC, usually english fandom from what I've seen. Stands for Pe(rsona) and Go (aka 5 in japanese). It's a very common one and I...literally forgot TT0TT

Akiren: Alternative fan nickname for P5MC, for fans that like both Akira and Ren's names but don't want to choose I suppose.

Persona 5 X:

P5XMC: Short hand for Persona 5X Main Character

(P5X) Hero/Shunjiko: Japanese generic title

Wonder: His In-game code name

Fun facts/other notes:

FeMC is the only one who breaks the streak of using anime names (due to not having an anime adaptations), it also causes P3 to cross between two different kinds of supplementary canon. (see more on this reblog)

Not all of P4's various stage names are known, namely (haha) the first stage play. If you dig you can find all of the 2nd ones (I should really post that list one day DX)

Despite P1MC not having a consistent chosen name, Atlus seems fond of Naoya, specifically using Naoya/Kazuya together (Devil Survivor 1 manga and P5 Mementos Quest mission) with characters. If you read the P1 manga you'd understand why they put those two names together.

Kitaro and Hamuko were used as place holder text for the P3MC and FeMC chars names for PQ2.

Banchou was used for P4MC's mocking title card in Arena/Ultimax, it was translated as "Kingpin" in english.

Some other chars I didn't listed as having "Leader" could very well be called "Leader" at some point.

Shin Kanzato is the MC to the anime Persona: Trinity Soul, a series that takes place 10 years after P3. It's in it's own separate canon from the P3 we know, Edit: but I'm mentioning him because of it being the original sequel of P3 for a brief period.

Aigis' name obvie can't be changed just like Maya, but she is the MC of both The Answer, as well as the Aigis: The First Mission cellphone game. (sometimes fans refer to her as a "toaster"...bc she's a robot)

Edit: Anna is the MC of P2's novel adaptations iirc, and Naoto and Yosuke are protagonists of their own books/novels/manga. There are most likely others but I will probs end it there (as I just wanna stick with games/original MCs and having Aigis/Kiba/Shin was a bit dicey)

Similar to Pego, P3MC may also be referred to as Pesan, and P4MC as Peyon. I haven't personally seen it (considering the other more prominent names they've had) but I wanted to list it just in case.

To update: Since I mentioned Roger, it's only fair I dig for all the other ones used for other characters (it's just Roger is the most popular, and it's not used often even at that).

[letustalkaboutlevihan]

6) DOES LEVI HAS FEELINGS FOR HANGE?

When Hange asked Levi to live with her in the forest together, Levi didn't answer and continued to pretend he's unconscious.

When Eren talked to all the Eldians informing them about his plan, Levi got reminded by his goal to kill the Beast Titan so the first thing that came out from his mouth was, 'Where is that piece of shit, Zeke?'

Hange knew that they can't win against Zeke even if they'd fight him together, so she tried to comfort Levi, but her words was cut off when Levi told her, "if we just run away and keep on hiding... what will we have left?" / "What's left... If we run and hide like this..."

Levi (actually) didn't dislike the idea of living together with Hange. He didn't reject her. But they vowed to dedicate their hearts to sacrifice their lives for humanity... He's the captain and she's the commander. The kids still need their guide and help to stop Eren from his plan. When he saw the 'project' Hange was making, he immediately understood that Hange is not the type of a person who can stay still outside the action.

So instead of running away, they both chose to continue fighting and focus on their goals.

How do Levi see Hange? Is she really just a close friend for him?

Levi didn't express his feelings for her through words until chapter 132...

I heard Levi's words here became a hot topic to Japanese fans because Isayama changed the kanji word used for 'love' into a more romantic meaning and Levi was trying to tell Hange here that her love for titans are unrequited, but Hange's love for him is requited. (Yes, he did intend to say that Hange has feelings for him. Which makes me believe more that Hange asking him to live with her in the forest is really a confession.)

If you need more explanation about this, watch this video and this video or read this post. (It's up to you on how you would take it/respond to all the explanations and analysis)

I'm not Japanese, but I don't need to be a Japanese to notice the sadness in Levi's eyes when Hange tried to change the topic.

There's a long pause (six dots) after Hange changed the topic. If we consider the possible thought that Levi (indeed) confessed his feelings for Hange in this chapter, then we can assume that the long pause was because he's hurt... because Hange ignored his confession 💔

To summarize and explain it in more simpler way, this is the possible conclusion for Levihan's relationship.

-Hange confessed to Levi in chapter 126.

-Levi responded to her confession, telling her that her love for him is requited (unlike her undying love for titans) in chapter 132.

-Hange had a long pause after hearing it (probably shock or something). Levi also had a long pause and he got sad/hurt when Hange changed the topic and ignored his confession...

Again, this is just a possible conclusion, and it's up to you whether to believe it or not.

Hiroshi Kamiya, (Levi's va) wrote "aishiteru/I love you" below his signature on Romi Park's (Hange's va) script book. Given that Hange's va is already married, then that "I love you" was possibly meant for Hange, and Hiroshi wrote it on behalf of Levi.

Also, I won't shut up about how beautiful Hange is from Levi's point of view

If Isayama would say that Levi doesn't have any love interest to anyone, then how can he explain this?

Levi stealing glances to Hange in official arts. I think Isayama doesn't need to confirm anything because Levi's eyes already said it all 💚💜

to be continued~ 🥰

(continuation here)

[fox-teeth]

Continuing my final days of ShortBox Comics Fair posts (first post here) about the process of bringing "The Maker of Grave-Goods" from idea to completion here, where I'll discuss how I take a page of comics from outline to final art.

So after writing an outline I create lots of these messy stream-of-consciousness "sketch pages" where I write/revise the script, sketch out potential panels, and start fitting them into thumbnails simultaneously. I've never written a script before drawing--the two are too thoroughly linked for me.

I then draw big thumbnails (layouts?). I usually do these at print size on templates I print out as a way to make sure all the text and details will fit/look OK at the final size. This comic was digital and this stage was mostly done in a library so I just roughed things, 2 pages to an 8.5x11 sheet.

After I completed the thumbs and did some revisions on the script, had it copy edited, etc. I moved on to pencils. I printed templates with different divisions (fourths, thirds, etc.) for reference on legal size paper, hand lettered it using an Ames guide, and drew the art using 2B and col-erase pencils. (Unfortunately the paper I used for this was awful, too thin, just the worst)

I inked the pages on nicer paper (Strathmore 400 vellum bristol) using a lightbox. I mostly used Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes sized 000-0 and Winsor & Newton india ink; but for the lettering and small details I used Japanese nibs (Nihonji for lettering, g nibs & maru for drawing) and speedball ink. And Delter 2 ink for white fixes.

Next is what I think is the most boring part: scanning, dropping images into templates, cleaning up, re-kerning a lot the hand lettered text, to get the traditional inks ready for digital coloring. (Thanks to my partner Sam for assisting with clean-up!)

For the coloring, I wanted to bridge what I'm known for (risograph comics) with digital so decided to treat this comic like a faux two-color riso. I made up two ink colors, "grape" and "phthalo green" and created a digital riso color chart to colorpick from (left) Compare to a real printed one at right.

The coloring uses only colors on that chart and lots of color holds, gradients, big flat spot colors, and even some simulated overprinting like the 2nd panel on the left page. And a noise filter for texture on top. Overall I'm really happy with the coloring--it looks exactly how I wanted it to.

This is pretty typical of how I make comics--I hope it was informative especially if you're interested in traditional media comics making.

Buy "The Maker of Grave-Goods" on ShortBox Comics Fair

[sagelasters]

 𓍼 ྀ ۫   ۪ ׄ      ͡꒱     .  .  the sun shines for all . .  ᭝ ᨳଓ ՟  

 ᛝ  ∿ ⁺  i go by via in general and i have gotten into loa for two years, started my blog only for a few months though. i usually just post whatever i want, to be honest, but my posts are a mixture of non-dualism and law of assumptions. most of my beliefs are from the hindu and buddhist scripts + neville and other philosophers.

ᛝ i am eighteen and is vietnamese chinese. i love writing, reading, and listening to music. my top favourite artists is ethel cain, sufjan stevens, sade, the japanese house, and the 1975.

ᛝ this is a digital guide book. im simply here to spread my knowledge.

⨳　˚　𖨂 disclaimers . . .

before sending a dm, please make sure you read the sources i have linked in my intro. i will not reply if you trauma dump/rant without asking.

i will also NOT be replying to anti-loas and anti-shifters asks, so save your breath. this is not safe space for limited beliefs.

do not ask me to enter the void for you.

　

𓉸ྀི　　  ˚　　𓍼 helpful sources  ˚　　𓍼ྀ　　₊

  ͡꒱ the void state explained through buddhism and hinduism

  ͡꒱ you are god

  ͡꒱ a study conducted on people's awareness in their sleep

  ͡꒱ the infatuated ego

  ͡꒱ words of comforts

  ͡꒱ use your imagination

  ͡꒱ barbados is a mindset

  ͡꒱ the potter and the clay

𓉸ྀི　　  ˚　　𓍼 helpful sources from others  ˚　　𓍼ྀ　　₊

  ͡꒱ a youtube playlist of bill donahue's lectures

  ͡꒱ alia's post on the self

  ͡꒱ lola on doing nothing

[foxena]

Non-sims Interests »

Thank you for the tag, @introvertedfox!

List 5 (or more, or less) of your non-sims interests. These can be hobbies, shows, books, other games, etc.

I’m such a hobby-hopper—I'll fall headfirst into something, burn out, and then jump to the next obsession. But a few things have managed to stick around, so I’ll list those under the cut.

Other games – Shocking no one: I’m a gamer. I won’t list every title I’ve sunk hours into, but here are some favorites: Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Terraria, Assassin’s Creed, My Time at Portia, The Witcher 3, Animal Crossing, Prison Architect, and Scribblenauts Unlimited. A bit of chaos, a bit of cozy, a lot of save files.

Indoor plants – This is one of the few hobbies that stuck! I picked it up during my long COVID journey—five years later, I’m (thankfully) much better, and my little indoor jungle is still going strong. I don’t obsess over care guides anymore, but I still water, repot, and fuss over them like they’re my children.

Sourdough – Speaking of children... this little guy also came to life during my long COVID journey. It took years before I felt even a little proud of my bread—perfectionist, much? But now? I’ve become a bit of a bread snob. Nothing but my own loaves seems to satisfy my finely tuned tastebuds.

Violin – This hobby has always been in the background for me. Saying I’ve played since I was 8 (so, 17 years) sounds way more impressive than it is—because I don’t practice regularly, I’m not all that great. Lately, I’ve been trying to learn more classical pieces, but I think what I really need is a better practice routine.

Fitness and group training – Before long COVID knocked my health off a cliff, I worked as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, mostly teaching Les Mills programs like BodyPump and BodyCombat. I want nothing more than to get back to it. Recovery’s slow—and honestly, patience isn’t my strong suit—but I’m trying.

Tabletop role-playing – I’ve played a bunch of different tabletop RPGs with a group of friends over the last 6–7 years—I can’t believe it’s been that long! Last year, I gave DMing a shot for the first time, running sessions in the Swedish version of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s been both terrifying and incredibly fun.

Japanese – I’ve been casually learning Japanese with Duolingo and Anki for the past couple of years. I’m not super serious about it, but I do study a little every day—so I figured it deserves an honorable mention. And if you’re also on Duolingo, we can bond over our mutual hate towards the owl.

Programming – I really enjoy the problem-solving side of programming, it’s another skill I’ve been learning bit by bit. I’m no expert, but it’s already proving useful! I’ve written scripts to automate some of the repetitive stuff I do here on Tumblr—like generating tzr posts or deleting anything tagged “delete later.” Most recently, I built a little program that pulls my scheduled and queued posts into a tidy spreadsheet.

I told you I have too many hobbies! If you made it this far, consider yourself tagged—I want to know what you’re into!

I’m also tagging @aliengirl, @tipsy-clouds, @minty-plumbob, @sharona-sims, @alxandergoth, @thiassimz, @bloomingkyras, and @wolkentage!

(No pressure at all if you’ve already done this or prefer to skip!)

[lauralearns]

Notes on ひらがな 📚✨️

Disclaimer: I haven't been posting a lot lately (life's been hectic) so I decided to start sharing some of my notes. These were taken a while back, based on Tae Kim's grammar guide.

Japanese consists of two phonetic scripts (Hiragana and Katakana, referred to as kana), with a little less than 50 characters each. Today we'll study Hiragana!

Hiragana (ひらがな) is used for a couple of reasons:

• Grammatical purposes;

• Words with really difficult/rare Kanji;

• Colloquial expressions;

• Onomatopoeias;

• Or by beginner students and children, in place of unfamiliar Kanji;

Every character in Hiragana corresponds to a [vowel] or [consonant + vowel] syllable sound, with the exception of [ん].

When practicing by hand, it's extremely important to remember that stroke order and the direction of strokes matter a lot! You don’t want to end up with the writing skills of a clumsy toddler.

(the chart bellow has hiragana and katakana btw, the hiragana characters are on the left side)

source: r/japaneseresources on reddit

Thought learning all the characters was hard enough? Fear not, there's additional sounds for you to learn.

📚 The Muddied Sounds 📚

There are five more consonant sounds that are written by affixing two tiny lines (dakuten) or a tiny circle (handakuten) to a character. This creates a less clipped version of the consonants, as you can see bellow:

source: japanistry.com

📚 The Small [や], [ゆ] and [よ] 📚

We can combine a consonant with a / ya / yu / yo sound by attaching a small [や], [ゆ] or [よ] to the /i/ vowel character of each consonant.

source: guidetojapanese.org

📚 The Small [つ] 📚

A small [つ] is inserted between characters to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the end of the first.

Note that when you encounter a small [つ] between characters, there's almost always a clipping sound to the pronounciation! You gotta make sure to clip the right consonant (the consonant of the second character).

Example: ざっし (zas-shi / magazine)

📚 The Long Vowel Sound 📚

You can extend the vowel sound of a character by adding [あ], [い] or [う] to them. See the chart bellow:

source: guidetojapanese.org

Example: to create a extended vowel sound from [か], we add a [あ] to create [かあ].

Remember to actually hold your vowels long enough, or you'll end up saying stuff like [ここ - here] instead of [こうこう - highschool].

Lastly, there are a few exceptions where and /e/ vowel is extended by adding [え] or and /o/ vowel is extended by adding [お], but those are few and far between, so pay attention but don't worry too much about it.

Example: おねえさん (older sister)

See you next time! 💌

[loop-lover-central]

Oh wise guide with all the knowledge, if it's not a bother I always wondered where it's mentioned that in Loop's loops it rains because I played both games and I never saw anything like that.

It's been so long since I've played the prologue and I only ever played through it once in one sitting so I don't remember exactly where it's said tbh??? The only reason I think of such a vague detail at all is because it lives on in whispers among the fandom.

If anyone has the direct quote feel free to drop it here somewhere.

I'd normally direct you to the Script Project but I'm not sure if they actually have the entire Prologue script yet. Last I checked they didn't. (They're working hard on doing a lot of stuff at once, I'm pretty sure. Like adding the Japanese text from the official Japanese translation, and a search feature. So Start Again is probably lower on the priority list)

[sahashbelvanie]

Malenia Ramble

I wanted to explore Malenia’s early life and her characteristics as an individual. Often, her characterization is reduced to serving as the loyal blade of her twin brother. While that may be partially true, I wanted to discuss the aspects of her that define her as an individual—despite being ultimately shaped by her debilitating circumstances.  

I’m relying on my memory of both the English and Japanese scripts, so I may miss certain details.  

Malenia, like her twin brother, was born afflicted—a “fragile” existence. They were born of Marika, she who is God. The text for “single God” and “one true God” are quite similar in the Japanese script. However, if I recall correctly, one refers to Marika’s singular or exclusive nature as God, whereas the other rejects the existence of other deities in a purely monotheistic framing. Take that as you will.  

It is my personal opinion that Malenia was born of Marika, the one true God, with her other self, Radagon, as a separate but equal entity (Marika is divine; Radagon is not). The singular nature of their conception is why she was born afflicted with a “chronic disease”—the Scarlet Rot, a decay that consumed her flesh—but was also recognized and selected as an Empyrean alongside her brother by the Two Fingers. When her mother’s reign, the era of the Elden Ring, ended, Malenia became one of three candidates to succeed Marika as the next divinity, charged with establishing a new world order.  

Miquella is the elder twin, which is fairly self-explanatory beyond the irony of his short stature. An interesting fact about Malenia is that she is the only true-born daughter of Marika, at least as far as we are allowed to consider. Ranni, technically a stepchild, is related to Marika only externally, despite having been sired by her masculine half. As the child of both Radagon and Marika, Malenia should have been the holiest of all demigods—or rather, her Great Rune should have been the holiest, according to its description. The only problem was that she was afflicted.  

Like her brother, Malenia undoubtedly loathed her affliction and saw herself as lesser. Miquella sought strength in a consort, whereas Malenia sought it in a mentor as an act of self-cultivation. Millicent’s journey is meant to mirror Malenia’s early life. Malenia, young and precious, was afflicted with a rot that ate away at her limbs and memory. Her brother’s needles, woven from pure gold and inserted into her flesh, halted the progression of her rot—alongside her own willpower. A frequently referenced characteristic of Malenia is her persistence: her will to resist the rot, her warrior ferocity, and her pride. Just as we give Millicent the strength to aid us in combat through her prosthetic limb, someone gave Malenia that strength as well.  

Malenia may have left Leyndell to seek her fate on a journey—whether by chance or design—where she met her mentor. Through his training, she became a fearless warrior with an indomitable will. She attained confidence. This is why, for her rot to fully bloom, she had to shed her pride and will to resist.  

I need to wrap this up because I need to sleep, but I really like how Millicent’s journey implies that Malenia left home after her brother healed her, seeking her own destiny. She attained confidence and self-assurance through the warrior’s path, guided by a great man of mythic accomplishment who was also disabled. It’s not just that he had previously suppressed the rot through the power of flowing waters—I’ve always wondered whether the royal family permitted her mentor to train her within the safety of Leyndell. However, Millicent’s story suggests it was an act of self-cultivation.  

This is why it’s so tragic that Malenia is so compelled to defend her brother. She herself recognized both the allure and terror of Miquella—despite his childlike stature and loving demeanor. His intervention is the reason she lives. She owes everything to him and the promise of an era of compassion and abundance.  

How Malenia attained her own loyal knights is beyond me, especially considering that Miquella not only has his own lord-sworn army but also his close circle of needle knights. They fought alongside her despite the rot and were awarded talismans depicting Malenia’s victories and the wings of strength. It’s worth noting that Malenia was known as the Arbiter, and she served to prevent or stop conflicts outright, carrying the moniker of Red Queen. I assume her army was a mix of demigod nepotism and genuine admiration, along with a display of warrior skill and determination.

[magicalgirlsandcerulean]

More Love Macho animated characters: Tawarayama-sensei, Akoya and Arima.

More YouTube shorts: "Remove Yourself From Me at Once!" from ep. 7 and "I Know the Excitement You Show in the Emails You Send to Me and Yumoto Are on Totally Different Levels!" from ep. 8.

This is the design of the deluxe original photograph which comes with TV Guide Voice Stars vol. 32.

Takamatsu looked back at what he did 10 years ago. The script has a silhouette but the characters were different, plus "Umatani" has a typo (LOL).

You can currently reserve a copy of the Ribon Big Winter Special via Japanese Bookwalker.