I Did a new pic!!

I was thinking up designs for my Cosplay for an upcoming anime convention when I did THIS :DD

The character is my idea, so pleae, don't steallz!!

People Should Invest In Headphones

They're called headphones, people- USE THEM!!

The spark behind this post is because people just have no respect for others. In class (as I am still a student) people just blast music from their computers expecting people to like the same music choice.
They do this during projects too!



Not that long ago in the Cyber class we had to do a Typography assignment that included having to use a 30-second clip from a song/ play/ musical- anything you could think of and liked well enough to hear every day for the next month.
Anyway, during this monthly process, people decided that they wouldn't use earphones and blast their 30-second "piece of wonder" to the entire room. And this happened with almost everybody!!



Now, you don't need to invest in some fancy-pansy ear buds like the cute Panda ones in the above picture, but come ON. You need to remember that not all people like to listen to Kanye West- especially the same 30-seconds for an entire month!!


And in conclusion, if you are the person in the room that sits just over there, and you're reading this- or even if you yourself blast your music inconsiderately- please, please, please... Just go to the dollar store and buy a pair of ear buds, headphones, wireless head buds- whatever!!

Just save the rest of the world from whatever music you're listening to.

Yuri Versus Yaoi (*Warning Attached*)

~~~~THIS IS A WARNING. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY HOMOSEXUAL ANYTHING THEN PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS POST!! YAOI IS BOYS LOVE, YURI IS GIRLS LOVE, AND THIS READING MAY BE OFFENDING TO SOME READERS.~~~~

((Also, I"m really sorry there aren't any more than one Yuri Photo. As I mention below- Yuri is just too sexual to be considered anything but porn nowdays. All you get when you search Yuir in Google is porn porn porn. >.<))



Sorry about the warning, folks, it's mandatory. Anyway, today I am here to tell you about *drum roll* Yaoi!!

If you asked me to describe Yaoi I would say this:

Yaoi is boy's love. It is sexy and although I tell people I don't like the hard stuff people don't believe me.

However, Wikipedia would tell you a different story.

Yaoi, also known as Boys' Love, is a popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by female authors.

Now... let's get down to business.



What is Yaoi?

Originally referring to a specific type of dōjinshi (self-published works)of mainstream anime and manga works, yaoi came to be used as a term for female-oriented manga, anime, dating sims, novels and dōjinshi featuring idealized homosexual male relationships. The main characters in yaoi usually conform to the formula of the seme (literally: attacker) who pursues the uke (literally: receiver).


BL (boy's love) creators and fans are careful to distinguish the genre from bara, including “gay manga”, which are created by and for gay men. However, some male manga creators have produced BL works.



And so, what exactly is Yuri?

Yuri, also known by Girls Love, is a Japanese term for content and a genre involving love between women in manga, anime, and related Japanese media. Yuri can focus either on the sexual or the emotional aspects of the relationship, the latter sometimes being called shōjo-ai by western fans like us American or Canadian folk.

The themes yuri deals with have their roots in the Japanese lesbian literature of early twentieth century, with pieces such as Yaneura no Nishojo by Nobuko Yoshiya. Nevertheless, it is not until the 1970s that lesbian-themed works began to appear in manga, by the hand of artists such as Ryoko Yamagishi and Riyoko Ikeda. The 1990s brought new trends in manga and anime, as well as in dōjinshi productions, along with more acceptance for this kind of content. In 2003 the first manga magazine specifically dedicated to yuri was launched under the name Yuri Shimai, followed by its revival Comic Yuri Hime, launched after the former was discontinued in 2004.



YURI VERSUS YAOI

And now I'm going to stop being really formal and just got for it.

So this raises the question, do you go for Yuri or Yaoi? Or neither? Either way, I'm here to tell you my own resolution.

The first time I ever read a 'homosexual comic', it was a yaoi by the name of FAKE. I read all seven of the books, enjoying the police theme tied in with the BL story line, but when I got to volume seven- the final one- I was wondering why they hadn't DONE anything yet!

Not even a kiss? I mean come on they said they're in love, but seriously? And this is rated 18 and up?
But of course (here come spoilers), the three final pages of the book, the characters... ahem... "got it on".



The second time I read a comic like this it was a yuri. I decided to choose a softer rating this time, fourteen and up. Strawberry Panic was a delightful manga so I continued reading Yuri. But what I found was that the more I read the yuri, the bustier the women got and the more sexual activities they did- I didn't like it at all!!

SO I switched back to Yaoi.

Yaoi, I find, has a sweeter plot line. The stories always seem to be better thought-out and planned, the characters are cute and a bonus is that even if you get a hardcore manga (which I've stumbled upon a couple of times by accident), you can just skip right through the scene and be right back on track again.





So, Yuri versus Yaoi?

The winner for me, Yaoi. Like I mentioned, the plot lines are better, the characters cuter and just over all the Uke are just SOOO CUTE :D


WHERE TO READ YAOI MANGA

Here are some good sites if you want to try out the Yaoi ness <3 I hope you still purchase your Yaoi, that way you show your support towards the artist and Yaoi!

Manga Fox

Aarinn Fantasy (Login/ Download)

Manga Volume

Click on the image to veiw it for the subtitles, it's from an anime and it's really funny :3

Hissing Anger

I called it "Hissing Anger" for two reasons. Well, first because he's obviously a cat, and second because he's angry.
Simple right? :)

My Brother-who's-not-really-my-brother-but-my-cousin-who's-like-a-brother asked me to do this for his RP with one of my friends.

He said it was perfect, buuuuut I have a feeling I could do better ;)

The picture is copyright to me, and it took me 45 minutes on PAINT.

For next time,
Tomo <3

Anime Plushies

Everybody collects things. Weather it be stamps, posters, umbrellas, action figurines, Books, DVDs, or even Video Games. For me, all of those are what I enjoy collecting, especially figurines.

But there's always one thing that I can never turn down; an anime Plush Toy.

To me, these Plushies are like my life. Literally.
(More Below)



I remember when I bought my very first anime plush toy, I was at a Convention with my friends and even though I had a bag, I carried that Plushie around all day and didn't put him down until I got home.

On the next day of the Con, I bought two more plushies. I was obsessed- and still am!
At the moment, I have eight plushies, but that is because I've only been collecting for a few months.

What gets me irritated though, is that there are no plush toys of Female anime characters that I like!! And so, I am constantly on the look-out for any anime plush toys. If you know of any good places, I'd love to hear of them.

Post a comment and let me know what YOU collect!!

Angels and Demons??

For a while, I've been watching an anime called "Kuroshitsuji."
The above picture is of Sebastian MIchaelis and his master Ciel Phantomhive- the two main characters of the following anime.

This anime holds the concept of Angels and Demons, giant dogs (once again under the concept of demons), and even a strange turn on an angel being.

This angel being tells the veiwer during the show that it- and I say it for a good reason- has no gender; meaning it meerly takes on the form of a male or female.
During this show however, Kuroshitsuji, the angel has a female form- Angela- and a male form- Ash.

These two are very interesting because one mind wants to destroy the world and the other wants to save it.... by destroying it.

Weird?

Yes.

But the anime is worth watching many, many times over :)

For next time,
Tomo

Reccomendation- BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

Yukio, known by his friends as "Koyuki", is a regular 14-year-old Japanese boy who enters junior high school with two childhood acquaintances. One is a pervert, and ironically the other is a highly sought after female student.

Koyuki's boring life is changed when he saves an odd-looking dog, named Beck, from some kids. Beck's owner turns out to be an emerging rock musician, Ryûsuke Minami, who soon influences Koyuki to start playing the guitar, and even gives one to him.

The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their rock band named BECK, and Koyuki's relationships with the members of the band, in particular Ryûsuke and his sister, Maho.



Now this anime, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (let's just call it BECK), inspired me to begin expressing myself through song and music.
During my time watching it, I got to learn the songs and even started singing along whenever the band would play a song. The music always got me up and dancing, singing and sometimes a scene would even have my crying.

The Theme song is HIT IN THE USA by The Beat Crusaders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xClFjEe0SBw

In this Anime, even the Animation itself is AMAZINGLY WELL DONE.
And I mean, really well done.
The details on the people, backgrounds, scenery... It's all very amazing.
During the series, the character Ryûsuke Minami gives Koyuki a guitar. The name and brand of the guitar escape me at the moment, however I clearly remember that the guitar looked exactly like the original one in real-life.

I would definitely recommend this anime to any and all music lovers.

For next time,
Tomo <3