#like your artstyle is already so fucking masterful

[djcarnationsblog]

I've made so much fanart already what is wrong with me??

....aight have some more-

@dianagj-art I mean this with all my heart when I say in full confidence that your separated leo au is my all time FAVORITE separated leo au

I mean this in no slight to any other sep leo au, but like-

HOLY SHIT THIS BOI IS SO FUN TO JUST FUCKING WATCH

LIKE-LOOK AT HIM GO, LOOK AT THAT LIL' SHIT GO, THAT MOTHERFUCKER MAKES ME WANT TO STRANGLE HIM/aff

Also, Primadonna by MARINA popped up on my playlist while I was drawing and it just hit me like a fucking TRUCK how well this song fits One, my god-

[vel-sig-gaming]

Short form reviews x7

Might make longer reviews of some of these but here's a rapidfire of some games I consider truly exceptional (that you probably havent heard of already.) Because a lot of these are too good to not know about for even a day longer.

[Sifu]: First person fighting game about getting revenge with kung fu, Insanely hard game, very hard to master, very rewarding. Get it if you like fighting games or hard games, Single player only, 8/10.

[One step from eden]: Usually deckbuilder roguelikes are more slow paced. This one turns it into a FPS where if you don't have high APM you're dead meat. The execution is steller, the character options are great, the difficulty is nightmarish, and the music is amazing. Also it just came out with a multiplayer fighting game spinoff. 9/10

[Balatro]: Another roguelike with a twist, this one is poker themes but your hands deal damage. Kill the enemy in a limited number of them by grabbing muultipliers, modifiers, and special effects. One of the best designed ones i've seen lately, just go try it now. 9.5/10.

[Luck be a landlord]: This one is a much shorter game, but it's very hard to stop playing once you try. the demo for this one is free on steam and of a good size. Only about 4 hours of good gameplay though so get it on sale maybe. 6/10.

[Cassette Beasts]: It's a monster catching game but with a good plot and good combat that isn't just "Oneshot them with your strongest attack move" looking at you, pokemon. Also it does that thing where the artstyle changes and the music adds vocals during tough encounters. Fucking love that shit. 9.5/10. it's like pokemon if it were actually good.

[Sunless sea]: This one is hard to evaluate. The writing and worldbuilding might actually be the straight up BEST I'VE EVER SEEN. However it does NOT mix with roguelike gameplay very well as you'll sometimes end up re-reading the same slow encounters 10 times. However the gameplay as a whole is a mastah fucken peece. 6/10, but if you turn on savepoints and lower difficulty, 8 or 9/10.

[Tangledeep]: This one is a only semi-randomized roguelike and it's more of an adventure game/dungeon crawler. But the real draw of this game (besides the amazing music) is HOARDING ALL THE LOOT. 10 Cooked chickens, a potion that gives you 50 buffs, legendary armor and weapons made of tree bark, Shark swords, Giant bombs, it all goes in the bag. Fucking love it. 8/10. it's a bit unbalanced though.

Some games are too good to not play in my opinion. That's why i'm here to let you know of the better ones just a little bit sooner, at least I hope so.

Make sure to enjoy. More in depth reviews later.

[hypnoticwinter]

What I learned from commissioning art

It may surprise some of you reading this, but this is actually a writing blog. I know I do a very good impression of being an art blog most of the time, but I actually made this blog three years ago (what the fuck) to host my novel set in the Mystery Flesh Pit, Down the Rabbit Hole.

It's no secret, though, that I'm a lover of art. I've always been a writer first and foremost, but I decided a long time ago that if I could go back and do things over again, I would have much preferred to be some kind of visual artist rather than a writer.

I know, I know, just learn to draw. The trouble with that is that while I'm certain I could learn to draw at a pretty competent level if I put everything else aside and worked at it, I have a significant disadvantage in that I have very good taste in art; or, to be less snotty, I have a very defined taste in art.

Taste is a great asset to any creative, but it becomes a curse when you haven't yet learned a medium, because it artificially inflates your standards for your own work at the time when you need that the least. When you're learning, you need to be able to accept that the things you create are going to be garbage, but that each one is going to bring you incrementally closer to meeting your ideal for what you're trying to create. Your standards need to be rock-bottom, essentially, and gradually raise as you go on as your skill permits. I remember, sometimes, the decade or so it took me to really master writing to the degree I have already, and even now there are still things I have to work on.

I never really planned on commissioning any art for basically any reason. The first time I did, I was about 75% done with my first novel. It had been a very intense and emotional experience for me, not least because I had never really believed I would be able to write a novel and have it turn out decent, and by that time, about 150k words deep in the story, I was starting to realize that I was actually doing a good job.

I was looking through the art tag on here one day and one particular post caught my eye and I looked through basically the artist's entire blog and followed her, and then I saw that she did commissions, and I thought that I might as well get one as something special to commemorate my first novel. Just a little drawing of the main characters standing side by side, like a cast photo.

Well, in the three years since then, and the two novels I've written since then, I went a little overboard. In my defense (and in fairness, I don't have to justify it, I can spend my money on whatever I want), there is something really, really enchanting about this artist's artstyle that keeps me coming back again and again. It's definitely a taste thing, cause I know on an objective level that it isn't perfect art or anything. In every drawing I get from her I can sit down and, if I look at it long enough, I can probably pick it apart even from my untrained perspective, whether it's something about proportions or perspective or a broader compositional issue or whatever.

And I don't mean that in any kind of disparaging way or anything, it just is what it is. In a way, I think I appreciate that more than anything else; it shows a certain kind of authenticity that I think sometimes ends up missing when you go on the higher level of commissioned art and you're shelling out thousands of dollars for an end product that's as objectively perfect as it's possible for art to be. There's an attraction for that too, and I get it, but when I see a drawing come in from her that I paid sixty bucks for and I see something like a quickly-painted background, or maybe some awkwardness in the way a character is standing, or maybe some vague perspective issue if I've asked for a particularly weird angle, I find it so much more charming than something with zero flaws on a compositional level.

That's a taste thing, of course, and I imagine it might irk some people, seeing issues like that. And of course the more cynical response might be 'you get what you pay for' and pointing out that it might show a lack of care or laziness or whatever, but even if that was the motivation, that she noticed but didn't care to fix that perspective issue or that awkward pose, isn't it more important what my perception of it is? I'm the client, after all.

But the title of this little essay is 'what I learned from commissioning art,' and by this point, if you've bothered to read this far, you might be wondering what exactly it is I've learned. All I've said so far is that this artist's style really speaks to me, to such a degree that I interpret the flaws in her art as being charming rather than defects. No, what I learned is actually that I am a very lonely and very sentimental person, maybe to a detrimental degree, and more so than I thought I was. It's hard not to know if you're a lonely person, and I've always been given to solitude, but sometimes it comes through a little more strongly.

You see, when I got that first commission back from her, three years ago, there was something so utterly magical about seeing those characters transformed from images in my head and the words I'd written on the page into an actual artwork depicting them that I really couldn't get enough of it for a while. I still can't, really; even as I write this I'm in the middle of another cycle of commissions with her, and the feeling seeing the images and scenarios from my imagination transformed into reality, even to such a tiny and inconsequential degree as this, is still so wonderful to me that I constantly try to find ways to thank her, to impress on her how much it means to me that we've cultivated this working relationship for the past three years.

And that's the issue, isn't it, because what it is is a working relationship. And while I do believe all relationships are transactional to a greater or lesser degree, the most transactional are financial relationships, the relationship of the client and the producer, and that's what this is. I hold no illusions that if I were suddenly unable to pay for the work I ask her for that she'd continue drawing for me out of the goodness of her heart. Nor should she; we aren't friends, although we're certainly cordial with each other, but after three years working together, who wouldn't be?

Maturity is a weird thing. I'm almost 30 and I'm still able to look back on myself every year and see how much I've grown since then, reflect on my relative immaturity, marvel, in some ways, at how different my perspective is.

I've given this woman gifts in the past. Cash gifts, probably the least meaningful gifts there can be, but she lives in Spain and I live in the US and shipping something more meaningful to her would be out of the question - mostly because that's a step too far for a working relationship. But now, looking back at the last three years and how much I've grown in that time, I realize that these gifts were not me saying thank you for a job well done, or something perfunctory at a major holiday like Christmas or whatever, what I meant when I gave her these gifts was instead 'this is how much what you do means to me.' Not in a monetary sense, of course, but in the sense that 'I as a client am willing to give you not inconsiderable amounts of money for no reason, just because you have always been there and willing to work for me in the past.' In the sense that 'the things you've created for me mean more to me than I can professionally express and retain any kind of dignity.'

I can't imagine how these gifts and how the various overtures I've made at different times trying to explain even a small, restrained hint at this feeling must have come across to her. I can only hope that, at the very least, she thinks of me charitably as being somewhat eccentric but well-meaning.

This too is the nature of a professional relationship, especially of this type; I am the replaceable one, she isn't. If I were to disappear, she would still have plenty of people to pay for her work, although in truth I don't know if she has any customers as consistent as I am. But if she were to disappear, I don't know that I'd be able to replace her, or that I'd want to.

But this is as it should be. And all I can hope is that she understands in some small way what it means to me when I do see the work from her come in, and I see what she's done with the prompts I've given her, and I hope she knows that when I tell her I like the colors, or that it looks gorgeous, or that I imagined it so differently but I love how it turned out, that I mean that she is, unexpectedly, a large part of my life, that I look at these images again and again at times, thinking of the thoughts that had originally made me want to see them outside of the confines of my own mind, that without her and her work and the lubrication of this professional relationship, I would probably be living a life that's a little duller and sadder. Not a lot, but a little, and she saves me from that.

But this is dramatic and far too personal for me to ever say to her, not directly, not if I want to maintain the illusion that I am as detached as she can sometimes appear to be, that this is nothing more than a professional relationship and that I am playing the role of the satisfied customer to her quiet efficiency.

And this is as it should be.

But inwardly, although I'll never say it to her, every time I ask her for something new and we agree on a price and I make the paypal transaction, my heart burns to ask along with it, 'does this mean as much to you as it does to me?' even knowing that the answer cannot possibly be yes, because to be lonely is to hope, to hope beyond all reason that the few contacts you have with other people, with other lives, burn as brightly to them as they do to you.

[vulnonapix1234]

Redesign of Rock Lee

Alright. Rock Lee is my favorite character and he honestly deserved better.

Please just look at his Boruto Design

He is more than just an Gai Clone, so I changed a few aspects.

(I intended to have him more scared up, but I am not familiar with this artstyle)

I honestly think that he copied Gai because he thought of him as a father. If they looked alike, then he could at least pretend that they where family.

They had an heart to heart after Lee got injured after an important mission.

(that was also where his facial scars would have come from, if I could draw)

-He started to grow his hair out, cause Neji would always get distressed when he mentioned cutting it. (cause long hair means that you are powerful and Lee is one of the few people that can beat him)

-he has an youthful face, due to the power of youth. But wisdom came with the years and Lee is considered as one of the best Taijutsu Master in the Land.

- he still kept the green color scheme and the knee warmers, cause he really loves them. They are part of them already

- Lee is an Jonin and specialized in rescue missions, because of his speed and friendly personality. (that is also where he got Metal from)

- Trust me. He can and will fuck you up if he gets the chance. Lee is the kind of guy who is like 'only show your teeth when you are ready to get them bloody'

-Metal is the Apple of his Eye and he loves him with all his heart. He acts in the way towards him, the way he wished that Gai had.

- He, Gai, Metal, Neji and TenTen eat together nearly every day on TenTens and Nejis Farmhouse.

- They are his Family and he loves them a lot.

- Lee also writes Gaara and Shinki biweekly. He also loves them a lot.

- He and Metal spend their Vacations in Suna with them.

- his and Gaaras relationship is undisclosed, cause it would make thinks really complicated if things came out.

- Lee is also really close to the 'next generation' cause he is the type of shinobi that would try to teach them. (even if he isn't their sensei)

- he also has an army of Forrest animals.

(also the scetch, so you can understand how scarred I intended him to be)

[mineqraft]

22, 31, 39?

ooooo

22. What is/was your fave event ?

honestly? if this is like, event that happened in a mcyt series? i gotta go with an oldie but goodie, the whole 'master clone' situation in Yoglabs, with xephos n honeydew. that shit still slaps

31. Are you team moobloom, team iceologer or team glow squid ?

glow squid mostly because i adore making glowing signs. i already try to make the most obnoxious looking sign combos and glow squid ink helps me in that endeavor

39. Do you have a favorite MCYT animatic ?

god yes i do. i have many. i have a playlist i just keep all my favs on ill snag a few (mostly dsmp cause thats what i was curating the playlist on)

DSMP: Curses, i just love the song so much and i am a complete sucker for crimebros. anything with siblings fuck me up. Welly Boots, for the same reason tbh. Prince of Nothing b/c this is one of my favorite songs and the editing of it is SO WELL DONE. fundy my dude i am so sorry for your everything.

Hermitcraft & 3L/LL: How Bad Can I Be? because i'm a big sucker for scar looking cool. Tangerine, the artstyle is so cute. I Can't Decide because now everytime i hear it i think of this animatic. Strawberry Blond because Flower Husbands my beloved.

[xakumi]

What the--

Since when did I have 1000 followers?

God- I.. I don't know what to say! Thank you guys so much!

I never thought I'd be on here this long. I've been on here for almost 5 years! It's kind of weird to think that I was on here before Anti even existed on the channel. It's even weirder to think about the fact I'll be 17 in less than 3 months.

I just want to thank you all for helping me get this far. I didn't think I'd even live to 15, and yet here I am, about to be 17.

To the JSE Community, you guys are like family to me. You are the most perfect family I could ever wish for. You guys are so inclusive and accepting, and you just have so much positivity it's amazing! I started drawing because of the artists in the community. You guys are the reason I draw and write, so thank you.

I remember going to the HDWGH Tour for my 15th birthday, and that was the best day of my life. The amount of positivity before, during, and after the show was amazing! I didn't know where everyone got their septic lights and felt left out, but I started talking with someone and they gave me theirs, which made my night honestly so much better. That was my first time cosplaying in public too, and I got compliments from a lot of people which did a lot for my self esteem.

@isa-ghost I look up to you a lot, and your art style is so unique! When you drew Bean and I, I actually cried. You inspired me to keep drawing, and I'm really glad we're friends.

@confusedbeansblog bitch ily!! Your art is amazing and I always look forward to seeing what you put in discord! (Also respond to dms you heck-)

@frostednebula You've improved so much in just a few months, and I'm so proud of you! Your art was great then, but it's somehow even better now! You make me laugh so hard in vcs that my stomach starts to hurt after, and I love it. You also make me want to fight you when you're cryptic, but I'll let that slide... for now. =^=

@basicflavortext Bro when we first met in the JDC, I immediately knew we'd get along great. You are like me, but more adultier. I love your sense of humor and ypu are really fun to play dbd with!

@divine-champion You already know why I'm tagging you. I love that whenever you play dbd we have to turn your volume down so much, because michael always ends up fucking you over. Those times are usually the highlight of my day, so thank you for shouting at the top of your lungs and calling myers a whore lmao

@deaths-presence I don't even have to say much here. All I have to say is two words and you'll know exactly what I mean.

...

DUN DUN

@angelwings-234 Mika, your sense of humor is so cursed and I love it. You always make me laugh with those cursed as fuck images. And I never would've noticed that we have the same frames for our glasses which is really cool.

@bunchofdoodlesinspace CUP. YOUR. ART. IS. AMAZING. I LOVE YOUR ARTSTYLE AND ANIMATIONS. AAAAAA

@kgl-redacted You are like a mom to me and I love you. Also,,,, laughing fox.

@nebula-starlight Scribe I love you and your characters, but sometimes I really want to throw hands with you-

@marginmaster87 You are the pun master. I bow before thee.

@illyriashade56 bitchass

@ everyone else Thank you for sticking with me up until now, I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me. ❤

[thenichibro]

Summer 2017 Anime First Impressions

Well here we are again, four weeks into the season before I finally get around to catching up on the twenty shows I’m keeping track of. Not like anyone reads these anyway. Regarding this season, we can say one thing: at least it isn’t last season. Thus far there’s been nothing super stand out, with a lot of middle-of-the-road shows and a few ones slightly better. Much preferable to the shit show 16 weeks ago. As usual, here’s what I’m watching, with MAL links and original shows marked:

Tsurezure Children (MAL) Starting off, we have a webcomic turned serialized manga turned anime, and for good reason. Tsurezure is a 4-koma romcom focusing on way too many couples in bite-sized happy romance stories. Defined by reaction faces, exclamation points, and yet a surprising amount of exposition, it's a quirky comedy I glad I started reading. One of the main downsides of Tsurezure is that although it has overarching themes, minute-to-minute enjoyment is very much based on the current couple. Personally, I love the Class Prez/Deliquent, Chiaki/Kana, and anything with the Love Master. The problem, then, is that once you find the few you really like, it's kind of a shame you only get so much time with them. A simple art style that matches the manga belies an infectious humor that Toshiya has mastered. This is one short show I wish was longer. Watch this.

Aho Girl (MAL) Continuing the notable increase in half-length shows, we have this half-witted one. Aho Girl, lit. "Clueless Girl," follows Yoshiko, an idiot, and her friends(?), mostly childhood friend Akuru, trying to deal with her idiocy. A suitably odd OP, both in sound and visuals (or relative lack thereof), leads into Yoshiko's introduction through getting a 0 on all her tests. I guess that confirms the title, now doesn't it? Tsukkomis, wild attitude swings, and bananas are the name of this show's game. One thing I love right off the bat is just how blatantly annoyed Akuru gets with Yoshiko's antics. It's not hard to see the "he's supporting her because he does feel something," but that being shelved in favor of faces of disgust is just funny on a very essential level. This show knows exactly what it is, a dumb comedy about a girl being dumb. And yet it's dumb fun all the same.

Isekai Shoukudou (MAL) A somewhat restrained take on the well-worn isekai genre, Shoukudou involves Nekoya, a resataurant that serves fantasy creatures once each week, connecting to "the other world" through the restaurant's front door. Right off the bat, the upbeat OP is coupled with some fantastic visuals. I missed having a food porn show last season, but Shoukudou brings it back in force. Further, throughout each episode the background music keeps pace with events and is a very nice touch to the cool tones of this show. Indeed, this show absolutely exudes cool. The smooth tunes while the last few customers (albeit they being beastmen, wizards, and the like) finishing their orders, Aletta and the Master cleaning tables into the night, it's just so nice. Aletta is the new hire, a demon girl homeless in "the other world" who finds the door to Nekoya by happenstance and promptly gets a job and a new outlook on life. She's real cute. Shoukudou has plenty of the "customer narrates the intricacies of how good the food is" every time a new customer comes in, but it's great all the same. If this show is a slow introduction of new characters to Nekoya for the rest of the run time, I will be more than satisfied. AOTS contender right here. Satisfied with an isekai? What is this season coming to?

Koi to Uso (MAL) Marraige is arranged genetically for happiness at 16, and other love is forbidden. As if there was a premise that lent itself more to a high school romance-drama. I have to say, I am in absolute disbelief that Koi to Uso isn't penned/drawn by the same creator as Scum's Wish. The artstyle and really the whole tone, albeit Koi to Uso being a bit more restrained, I immediately thought it was the same author. Wild. Anyway, we're dropped into a modern Romeo and Juliet, Nejima and Takasaki confess, to each other, just as the government - the external circumstances - are pulling them apart. It's not a new path forward, but I think the latter half of the first episode conveyed the emotions pretty well. The beautiful artstyle helps, and with shaking hands, red cheeks, and streaming tears the ending scene got me into it, despite the expected outcome. ...Is what I was thinking as Nejima fucking fell on top of Ririna (his assigned wife) in the second episode. Why. Why do that? Why have that 6 seconds into the show? At least the girls are cute - Takasaki in a hoodie, shorts and thighhighs was just incredible, but Ririna with her curious eyes and attitude beyond her height, hoo boy - guess I'm rooting for the underdog now. Time to suffer. With Ririna's schemes, Koi to Uso is perfecting anxiety - having something so treasured so close, being trapped by things out of your control, being trapped by things inside yourself - so much anxiety. This show can't go anywhere except emotional turmoil, but if it's already getting emotional responses out of me, I'm going to stay interested. Especially after episode three's ending.

Netsuzou TRap (MAL) Yet another shorter-than-normal show, we have NTR. Yes, that NTR. The "fuck over the caring guy and get off on cheating behind his back" kind of NTR. Just now with lesbians. Even moreso, I dislike Hotaru's archetype so much it just makes me feel bad for Yuma. If you're into that, watch this. If you're not, don't. I don't know why I did. There are better fetishes.

Clione no Akari (MAL) The fourth and last of the short shows, Clione no Akari begins with Takashi and Kyoko trying to help Minori, who is getting bullied. Its muted art style matches this tired premise. I know it's only nine minutes, but the first episode still felt like it dragged on for some reason. Moreover, both Takashi and Kyoko reflect on their weakness and that they want to stand up to the class for Minori, but then in the second episode all of that possible growth just gets passed over. They call out to her after she almost gets splashed by a car, and then Takashi says "After that, Kyoko and I grew so focus on how we could solve Minori's current situation, it was as if it were happening to us." So after they complain about their weak personalities, instead of forcing them to change, they simply get a way to help Minori while not directly standing up to the class. It seems like if it affected them that much you'd see a bit more exposition rather than nothing to "And then, we became super close to her" over the span of fifteen minutes. It might seem like I'm asking for a lot from a 9-minute show, but that's exactly the point - if a show aims to be an engaging drama about making friends and standing up for one another, it needs to have more substance packed into its short timespan, and Clione no Akari does not.

Hajimete no Gal (MAL) And the award for "highest percentage of animation budget used exclusively for cameltoe" goes to... First, make sure you eschew the HorribleSubs release on this one, because the censoring is bad. Not Terra Formars bad, not Shinmai Maou no Testament bad, but it's not great. Now then, this is a very simple decision: you watch for the fanservice, or you don't watch at all. I'm serious when I say the animation goes to Yukana, and to a lesser extent the other girls, because the male characters (even the MC) and everything else looks downright bad. The fanservice, however, is pretty damn nice. Junichi's delusions lead into some steamy scenes that are top tier gyaru action. Other than that, the OP/ED are generic, the other girls are lackluster, and the "comedy" is unfunny. Just skip through the dialogue until you get Yukana being cute, and this'll be somewhat enjoyable.

Gamers! (MAL) A nothing main character spoken to by the cutest girl in school because she's interested in video games and especially his passion for them, despite never talking prior. Wew. Karen, said cutest girl, is attempting to bring back the school's gaming club, where real gamers play games with their gaming friends. These are serious gamers, so serious about their gaming that they forget everything else except the game, like the true gamers they are. Episode one has fantastic lines like "I've been looking for new members who are undeniably true gamers" and "Why did you guys become gamers?," like it's something you have to awaken to. And yet even in spite of this, the glorification of gaming is still going hand-in-hand with the conceptualization of "gamers" as outside normal people. Karen hasn't told anyone about her gaming passion even though she's so popular (and it's foreshadowed she'll lost her widespread respect), and Amano gets the description "Games are his friends." Every character is just entranced with Amano's gaming spirit that they can't help but want to game with him. And just like a good MC, Amano is humble and pessimistic about his own gaming passion, but stands up for the game club and the gamers that make it up. This show feels like an E3 PR rep's ideal anime. The game references themselves aren't half bad, but that's certainly not saving this waste of my time. Guess I'm just not a true gamer.

Made in Abyss (MAL) I was originally off-put by the character designs, but I am glad I finally decided to watch it. A city sits on a massive hole - The Abyss - full of ancient ruins - and our main characters are delvers into the giant void. Importantly, Made in Abyss lets us know right off the bat that it will not be all idyllic landscapes - a close call with a dangerous monster now foreshadows so much better than suddenly changing the show's tone halfway through. Background music and art style both benefit this show greatly - the music rising and falling with he action while the art easily conveys the current state of the landscape - overgrown yet hiding secrets. Riko is a energetic girl at an orphanage guild, known for swiping Relics she finds and generally causing trouble. In the tussle with the monster, she is saved by a robot boy, Reg and promptly takes him back to experiment. Just the first episode sets up tone, characters, and the mystery of the Abyss with precision. The choice of children as main characters is an interesting one, but I almost didn't think twice because the rest of the people in Made in Abyss didn't think anything of it, either. Starting with a premise that has such a clear objective, like the Abyss' bottom, also relatively anchors the show against wild plot swings, which gives me more confidence in the story going forward. All these things combined are making for quite an enjoyable experience, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Ballroom e Youkoso (MAL) Tatara is our typical despondent teen protag, who through a chance encounter is roped into trying ballroom dancing, and in it sees an opportunity to find himself. I picked this up solely on its premise, because I've never seen an anime about ballroom dancing before. It just seems so far from the typical slate that it caught my eye. This show's unique animation style, credit to Production I.G., has its ups and downs. For the most part, the show looks clean, the lines look great, and the motion is good. On the other hand, the actual dance scenes seem to lose a bit, in favor of dramatic freeze frames or showing the top halves of people rather than their legs moving or other intricate motion. I'm certainly not going to yell at the animators, for a show in which Tatara is won over by simply watching a ballroom dancing DVD, to get the viewers interested the motion, the visceral movements of the dance need to be shown, and more often than not they aren't. Oh, and the necks. Why is everyone's neck so long? Apart from Tatara, behind Sengoku's bombast lies a calculated, seriously powerful personality that is the perfect motivator for Tatara. And I don't know about you guys, but Shizuku is cuter in her practice/casual clothes than in a ballroom dress. Just my taste. Anyway, alongside the stalls in animation, I can't honestly say I like Tatara's VA. To me it just gives off the trying-too-hard-to-be-a-teen vibe too much for me to not notice it every time he speaks. While still enjoyable, these two faults are noticeable the entire time you watch the show. However, if you are interested in the premise, and don't mind animation quirks, then by all means, Welcome to the Ballroom.

[ORIG] Princess Principal (MAL) Alt history, 20th century steampunk London, and spies but also superpowers and made-up minerals, this is Princess Principal. Smooth jazz while a loli-ninja wearing a mushroom hat cuts up 20th century cars? Sure, why not? Cavorite, the aforementioned made-up mineral, allows for temporary control of gravity, allowing the girls to make their first daring escape with a VIP. Also, the girls are spying between the Commonwealth, or the West, and the Empire, or the East. Also the Princess herself is a spy. It's certainly a lot to take in immediately, but this show seems to revel in the craziness - echoing the fast-paced, spontaneous action of the spies themselves. Our main girl Ange lies to get through life, and is soft spoken and terse. The others in her immediate crew range from the authoritative onee-san to the cheerful loli. I personally feel like they could have made a perfectly enjoyable spy thriller with just alternate history and no supernatural element Take Joker Game from a few seasons ago - that even went so far as to be historically accurate in its place names and such, and aside from some same-facing was a wonderfully engaging show. While I do feel the personalities more in these femme fatales, I just don't see the "thriller" part as holding up as much. It's really not bad - I just feel my main gripe here is the overpresence of themes that don't need to be there. Still worth a watch if you don't mind it.

Centaur no Nayami (MAL) Having watched both MonMusu and Demi-chan and consequently becoming an Expert™ on monster girl shows, Centaur no Nayami is most certainly more of the former. I'll say at the very least that guys in school also being monsters is a welcome change, rather than including a harem. Hime, the titular centaur, acts just like her name. Nozomi is our sharp-tongued, tomboyish tsundere, while Kyouko (my favorite) is a terse, blonde tsukkomi. We get a surprising amount of world-building right out of the gate - the world is as it is thanks to a different evolution path, and to avoid the discrimination of the past, "equality" is aggressively and strictly enforced. The seemingly dark background behind the otherwise peppy slice-of-life is definitely off-putting, and seems immediately at odds with the tone. If while walking around town the girls maybe glimpsed an abuse or something similar, the aggressive equality mantra might seem like an understandable government reaction. Seeing nothing of the sort while hearing Kyoko not want to ride Hime because that's discrimination and she might get sent to a "correction facility" is more than a bit unsettling. Production-wise, the show looks and sounds great. Quirky music for quirky circumstances, and the motion of all the characters' different bodies is conveyed convincingly. The A/B Parts splitting the episode is something I haven't seen in quite a while, but I think it lends itself well to the SoL part of the show. Overall, this is a surprisingly endearing slice of life with a higher-than-normal amount of kissing, and I just wish they'd lay off the dramatic background. Worth a watch if you're into monster girls or slice of life more generally.

[ORIG] Action Heroine Cheer Fruits (MAL) Last but not least, we have Action Heroine - Heroines (as in those live-acted hero shows) are now super-popular, and the show follows one town that is way behind the curve on popular heroines. Immediately, I like the art. It seems like not too much more than "generic anime-style," but Diomedia has a way of doing soft lines and expressive faces that just looks great. Now I don't pretend to like hero/heroine-type premises, but even I can see this show's got remarkable heart. Spurred by her sister wanting to see Kamidaio, the current most famous heroine, Mikan, an earnest, caring sister teams up with Akagi, an energetic Kamidaio-super fan to put on a small-scale show, and the rest is history. Their first performance is carried singlehandedly by the effort the two girls put into making Mikan's sister's dream come true. Action Heroine gives off the feel of an idol show (he says, having not seen LoveLive nor Idolm@ster), with a diverse cast of girls all trying to be the best for their fans. While I don't think this show is exactly going to enjoy LoveLive levels of success, as I've said - you can see the heart it has. Some individual moments were also very strange - like a flashback where one girl loses a tennis match because a bug flew in her face, and another girl talks to her imagined anthropomorphizations of model trains. If you're into the nostalgia of hero/heroine shows, this plays right into that. Otherwise, it's a show you can pretty easily avoid.

[thomasroach]

Baldur’s Gate 3 Interview with Larian and Wizards of the Coast

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Interview with Larian and Wizards of the Coast appeared first on Fextralife.

Catching up with Larian Studios Founder Sven Vincke and Mike Mearls of Wizards of the Coast and Creative Director of Dungeons & Dragons, we had a few burning questions in mind in the wake of the news that Larian Studios are working on Baldur’s Gate 3. The studio is well known for its Divinity Original Sin series, and we wanted to find out exactly how this whole thing fell into motion. It was Sven Vincke who originally approached Mike Mearls with the interest of developing BG3, but as we found out in this interview, a lot went into this collaboration.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Interview with Larian and Wizards of the Coast

We knew fans would be eager to know how previous games would impact Baldur’s Gate 3, whether it would continue the story or use different time frames like their Divinity games. Vincke explained that there have been “several instalments of Baldur’s Gate involving the Forgotten Realm’s lore so you have Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, as well as the tabletop campaigns”, with the newest one called called Descent into Avernus releasing on September 17th. Baldur’s Gate 3 will take place after these events “[meaning] you are going to see plenty of references to things that happened in city in the past” as well as seeing settings from BG1 was based on the Forgotten Realms, along with references to events that happened in the new campaign Descent into Avernus.

Vincke assures that this will be a new story for fans to enjoy, with “several characters from the campaign” so you will see some familiar faces if you’re fan of the series. We had a number of questions pertaining how their experience with Divinity would influence their development with Baldur’s Gate 3 as well further details features, multiplayer and more.

FL: What rule set will you be using?

Vincke: Based on the 5th Edition because we ported all the rules to the computer game and looked at what worked and what didn’t work. There are somethings that don’t work for video games. But there is also the aspect if you’re playing tabletop, the game master and imaginations is a large part of it. There are things that are just not described in the rule set that you could do and we obviously have to make it work inside of the video game, that is something that we have to add on top of it.

FL: Are you planning to add anything that you had done with Divinity to that, or will it be straight Dungeons and Dragons?

Vincke: No, if you are in combat you say “I take the table and I throw it at him” right so that is something that we have to describe in the video game also, that’s an interaction with the environment, things like that you will see we have gone quite far.

Mearls: We don’t have specific rules for all those interactions, its up to the game master to extend those rules.

FL: How linear are you planning on making it?

Vincke: It is similar to the original Baldur’s Gate, and especially in Baldur’s Gate 2 it has a really cool mechanic that I really liked and I referenced a lot throughout Divinity Original Sin to the team where it had earn I think it was 20,000 gold to be able to take a ship, that was the type of freedom that was present there which we offered in DOS and you will see in BG3.

FL: Can you create a save based on the actions based on your actions in the previous games Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2?

Vincke: No, as they are closed chapters.

Will BG3 have multiplayer?

Vincke: From DOS1 to DOS2 you saw a lot of change how we handled multiplayer. So from DOS2 to BG3 you will see an evolution on how we handle it. The party is a very big focus this time, the slogan of the game is “gather your party”. BG2 was very party focused, they had a lot of mechanics for that time, how they handled the party. So expect innovation in that direction. Yes it will have co-operative multiplayer.

We did asked more specifics on the mechanics of parties and how many would in a party but Vincke was not willing to share exact details at this stage.

FL: What engine are you using, is it the same as DOS2?

Vincke: It’s the next generation of our own engine, Dragon Commander was 1.0, DOS1 was 2.0, DOS2 was 3.0 and Definitive Edition was 3.5. Now we are heading to 4.0, a completely new shift, we’ve upgraded the engine, there’s a lot tech that has been developed for quite some time.

FL: In regards to the artstyle of the game is it going to be similar to Divinity or are you guys going in a different direction?

Vincke: You’ve seen the teaser trailer? That sets the tone.

FL: In terms of camera angles, are you going to use the top down isometric view or go with the approach that you had with the definite edition of DOS1?

Vincke:[Laughs]You’ll see.

FL: How long can we expect the game to be in terms of gameplay?

Vincke: I expect players to spends 100 hours, if they go through everything. We’re making it a more a length to what we had in DOS2, its hard to tell until everything is done but I would say approximately 100 hours.

FL: Are you going to keep the traditional D&D classes, will you maintain this or expand upon it?

Vincke: Yes. If you know D&D 5th Edition and start Baldur’s Gate 3, you will know what to do.

FL: Will you be able to take sub-classes like in other D&D games?

Vincke: Yes you will.

FL: Will you have any famous D&D players appear as Easter eggs in the game?

Vincke: No comment.

FL: This is a hugely anticipated sequel, how much pressure is that and how do you deal with that?

Vincke: Well there is obviously a lot of expectations, people have been waiting for this game for a very long time. We try not to think of the pressure, we focus on making a good of a game as we can, our team is very very talented. We have Dungeons & Dragons we have Wizard of the Coast helping us, the collaboration is very close, we also have the funding to do this also without the publisher pressure as we are doing it ourselves. We have all the ingredients to make a really good RPG, we could still fuck it up, but there’s a really big drive and passion within the team to make it really good, more so than what we saw with DOS2. For a lot of the members of our team, their first RPG was Baldur’s Gate. There are a lot of tabletop sessions going on continuously in the offices and the different studios, so there is a lot of drive in this.

This is what we’re trying to do with BG3, the video game is the game master we’re trying to give you as much possibility of doing things just like you would be able to in a tabletop, that’s literally the drive behind what we do.

FL: In Divinity Original Sin you added a Dungeon Master mode, are you going to add something similar to that?

Vincke: No comment.

FL: Are you going to have modding tools?

Vincke: No comment.

FL: What platforms will it be released on?

Vincke: PC and Stadia.

So far PC and Stadia are the only platforms announced for Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian were unable to comment on whether it will be open to further platform in future.

FL: What is your publishing time frame?

Vincke: We have a time frame we’re looking at, we know people have been waiting on this game for sometime, they will probably will wait a bit longer. We need to get it right, we won’t release it if it’s not right. This is a game we want to play ourselves also, so it’s something we’ve been waiting for ourselves for a long time. We are going to try really deliver on it, we’ll see how much time it takes. We announce now because we to want to talk with the community, really understand what they are looking for, match it against our vision of what we’re doing, then together evolve.

FL: Are you going to do an early access?

Vincke: What we are not doing is a Kickstarter. We will announce when the time is right.

FL: How do you guys know that Larian was the right studio?

Mearls: I was involved in the business side of things, once the deal was signed. It was funny because when I first was told “oh we’re working with Larian” I was running many DD campaigns, there was one DD campaign I was running, I asked people at the table if they were to make Baldur’s Gate 3 who would you want to make it? They all answered Larian. So that told me we were on the right track. I remember when we first started working together, started collaborating, it was just a natural thing. On a creative level I think we have very similar attitudes towards roleplaying games whether they be tabletop or digital computer RPG, and I think we also have a similar sense in idea of developing the community. Roleplaying gamers, it’s funny, we each tell our own story but I think like the role of telling our own stories together, that there just a natural sense of community. That’s what happens when you bring people together in a tabletop, or even in a video game, the idea of sharing what you’ve done or playing co-op. So I think its kind of reflected in how we work together, it feels like almost this adventuring party getting together and plotting out the next great D&D story.

One of our first meetings we just laid down a map of the Sword’s Coast in Baldur’s Gate, “what if we went here? What if we went to this location?” It just felt like a natural design jam, it just felt like the D&D team, it didn’t feel like outsiders coming in, it just felt natural. There’s stuff mechanically where we were thinking of making a change to one of classes of the tabletop game, so I sent email over to your side [Larian], Vicke said “oh we have something very similar, we’re already thinking of implementing”. Theres even some part we were working on in terms of the lore, that’s going to be coming back from the game to the sort of core of D&D, that might influence future tabletop stories. It feels very collaborative, if this wasn’t part of my career it would be something I would be dying to know about, it feels like a very natural partnership.

Divinity Original Sin has been spiritual successor of Baldur’s Gate, it has the same agency, you can do so many things in different ways. From talking with both Larian studios and Wizards of the Coast, this seems to be a match made in heaven. Baldur’s Gate 3 appears to be in very good hands, not only taking inspiration from the previous titles, but adding their own uniqueness with their story as they plan together the next great adventure.

If you enjoyed this interview be sure to check out the Baldur’s Gate 3 wiki which will keep you up-to-date with all the latest information as it unfolds.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Interview with Larian and Wizards of the Coast appeared first on Fextralife.

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