ARTNERD Jumbletalk: Nekomogatari (Kuro)

**Discusses Nekomonogatari in terms of  art/graphics  only**

What a start of the year! Although we could only catch less than 5 seconds of Senjougahara’s back, these 4 episodes sure is my kind of fan-service: the pornographic 5-point distortion overlay on the one point perspective, semi-realistic atmosphere effects, the interchanging rendering style of the characters, the lovely flat panty-flash of solid color typography…. *kneel and bow*

It’s clear how much effort they placed in keeping their quality up to their own standard –and they did with extra surprises. Instead of showing off their fancy CG and $$$ spending artwork (did you see those feathers?) they weren’t afraid of slapping on their familiar black and white silhouettes. Their powerful abuse of point of view and denial is undeniably  fantastic.  Just the intro itself is enough “graphic porn” for a month. Their 3D is mixed in seamlessly with the flat renderings and the even more flat slide show bursts…

What I appreciate the most is their backgrounds. Obviously , they had the ability (and money up till part 4) to make the whole movie with all that scenery porn, but instead you get less than 5 seconds of each of those…  Quite sadistic move on their part (but I like it <3) There’s not a scene where the lighting is half-assed, making even the calmest scenes pleasurable for us who have ADHD in their eyes. All this clash of rendering/ drawing style couldn’t have worked without their carefully palette choice and alternating schemes. It almost spurs jealously in my worthless pride as a self-claimed artist… \(T^T)/. They still kept their graphic gradient foregrounds and figure suggestion, making neko~ very consistent (yet not boring) part of the series.

I’m very tempted to talk about neko~ ( and the blood-letting fanservice)  but I’m hope one of us would do so instead some other time…. From this point on im judge anime this season from a scale of 1 to  neko~ (though they’re probably not art related what-so-ever.)

Now I shall fly back to the land of gradients, hard lines, and bad headaches ❤
Len.Canvas (bursto outo!)

INFERNO COP – A hilarious show everyone should check out

SUP guys, TL here. With the the winter season upon us, I thought I might put up some of my thoughts on what I’ve seen

Today, I’m here trying to bring to attention an anime that probably went under most people’s radars. This show has actually been airing for three weeks now, and most people have probably never heard of it.

The show I’m going to talk about is Inferno Cop.

Basically what happened is a bunch of people from Studio Gainex, including the director of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (TTGL) and Panty and Stocking, left Gainex, and formed their own studio, and this is the first ‘show’ they’re making.

It’s pretty much a non show. The episodes are 3 minutes long, and the animation is extremely low budget.

So why am I talking about it?
Because it’s probably the most randomly hilarious thing I’ve seen in a long time. I honestly can’t tell if it was INTENTIONALLY hilarious, or just a case of “so bad it actually becomes good”. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed each episode. From the ridiculous plot, to nonsensical plot twists, to having what seems like two dudes voice every single character (including a female character), this show is just way too funny. It’s one of those things where the parts add up to be way more than the sum. It’s one of those “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M EVEN WATCHING, BUT IT’S PRETTY EPIC” things. It really makes no sense, but I’m enjoying it a lot.

Inferno Cop can be found for free here.  The videos have been translated, just make sure you have captions enabled.

Of course, it’s probably not for everyone, but in any case, they’re all less than 3 minutes each, so the worse that could happen is you’ll waste 9 minutes of your life.

The first episode was a little iffy, but episodes 2 and 3 had my splitting my sides.

So why are YOU not watching Inferno Cop.

Another Look into the New Season

>>> (^^)/// Len.Canvas here!

Being as terrible a person as I am, I can’t help but give another take the upcoming season. Although I did say (if anyone pays attention <(_ _)> ) ….
This season is looking better for me; at least this time I’m seeing season 2 versions of my animes I have watched. If you haven’t already don so please read TL’s post:

A Look at the Winter Season

Here’s my list that will most likely follow (and review of if it gets interesting):

1. Nekomonogatari (100%)
– I expected an arc for her in nisemono –thankfully they’re giving us such a wonderful new year’s gift ❤ Expecting fan-service, Senjougahara, great artwork, lots of laughs and smirks.

2. Amnesia (70%)
– the description reminds me of Tsubasa Chronicles and Pandora Hearts (hick*) but we’ll see if this ends up being some lousy shoujo…

3. Tamako Market (90%)
– kwaaah ❤  still waiting for a cute group of childhood friends closer to the level of K-on. Am I too optimistic?

4. Good Job Club (80%)
– remember Daily Life of High School Boys? just hope its not a female version of that (since I never read the LN) … but that won’t be too bad either…

5. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai (100%)
– AMATERASU??? (vg reference) and the art work looks sweet and the PV looks very promising. Hard-to-pull-off anime. Fingers Crossed….

6. Vivid Red Operation (100%)
– did I mention I watched Strike Witches I and II. Looking forward  to more loli-fighting (in bloomers anyone?)

7. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai S2, (70%)
– Don’t let me down cuz I will get bored if theres no relationship progression. But gag me till I cry and I’ll forgive you.

8. Mondaijitachi ga Isekai kara Kuru sou desu yo? (100%)
“It is our problem child is likely to come from a different world?”
according to google translate
– Len-looking character?! click* click* click*yum*

9. Hetalia: The Beautiful World (100%)
– Italy entertain me moar!! :3

10. Doki Doki Precure (10%)
– WTF! I saw this on our local channel of season 1. gonna only watch one episode though… How can this shit get 10 seasons…

OVA
Saint Young Man
– the manga was hilar. and ova wouldn’t hurt…

Stay tuned in my attempt to fill my anime-void 😀

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

A Look at the Winter Season

Hey guys, TL here, with a short piece talking about what I think about the upcoming winter season.

For those that have not seen it yet, here is a chart with a rundown of what’s going to be shown in the upcoming season

Right at first glance, it really stuck out to me that there seemed to be a lot of moe, and as someone who isn’t particularly a fan of moe oriented shows, I have to say that I’m not particularly excited about this upcoming season.

There ARE a few shows that interest me though. Here’s a brief overview of what I will be watching.

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha: As I was reading the short description for each show, one of the few that I didn’t instantly go “NOPE” on was Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. The premise of it sounds interesting, and it’s also based on an LN that a lot of people say is decent. I’ll give this one a shot, hopefully it turns out to be good.

Tomako Market: I realized that I had earlier just said that I wasn’t a fan of moe shows, but Tomako Market is a show by KyoAni, and I have to admit that I do enjoy KyoAni’s works. On the other hand, it is an original show, and apparently last time they tried to make an original show, it sucked, so we’ll see how it goes this time.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukanai: I watched the first season and found it surprisingly enjoyable. It was stupid – but still pretty fun. Hopefully it continues to be funny and stupid, although I have a feeling there’s going to be some drama/romance in this season.

Chihayafuru S2: I’m watching the first season right now and I think this show is awesome. Can’t wait for season 2.

Sasami-san@Ganbaranai: The description sounds really random, but it’s an anime from SHAFT, and SHAFT usually makes pretty good stuff, so I’ll give this a try

Mangirl: Just kidding. I just put this here to point out the fact that there’s actually an anime called “mangirl”. Talk about most unfortunate name ever.

And there’s the sad reality – I’m only interested in 3 upcoming shows. It’s highly likely though that I’ll pick up more shows, after I get some feedback from the community.

On top of that I’ll be continuing on with the shows I’m following from this season, which are still running on. These shows are Magi, Psycho Pass, Sakurasou no Pet Kanojo, and Little Busters. I’m also going to pick up JoJo, probably, whenever I have the time to catch up.
I’ll probably try to catch Nekomonogatari, but it’s only going to be 4 episodes/movie length-ed.

Makoto: 5 Centimeters Per Second & Voices of a Distant Star

LenCanvas here,

Been a while since I’ve written anything. You’ll probably see something from me in the next week or so. Hopefully the team has been entertaining. Consider me the one that brings the alternative to this blog since I don’t try to catch the newest (or new) anime season. Today, I bring you some “literature” of anime:

||      Voices of a Distant Star and 5 Centimeters Per Second are both by  Makoto Shinka
||      discussing the intangible and mysterious connections between relationships. As the
||     titles suggest, these animations are neither harem-filled, panty-flash eye-candy (though
||     they do have scenery porn), nor ending with happily ever after. These animations hit
||     the bittersweet heart-buds and are meant to be watched with concentration and detail to
||     character roles.

||     The plot in 5 Centimeters Per Second is highly composed and brutally
||     honest, not afraid to give glimpses to the repetitive but equally numbing actions
||      growing children take. As you can tell I felt very moved by the movie but appreciating it
||      requires much attentive relation to the characters. Hence, if you search around google
||     you would see comments of boredom and lack of interest. Highly recommended for
||     the softhearted.

||     Voices of a Distant Star is a (dated) sci-fi fantasy ova harping on those same
||     heartstrings. The story is much less complicated –a preview in comparison to 5
||     Centimeters Per Second. There’s a lot more implied in the characters’ roles: the
||     typical childhood friend scene with singular, timid mix of friendship and hormones. The
||     artwork is not for everyone but if you’re into mech and space scenes…. The breadth
||     of this ova disappoints me but is acceptable since its was all done by Makoto and his
||     wife (later re-dubbing from professionals.)

5 Centimeters Per Second:

artwork: 6/7
plot: 6/7
Lencanvas points: 7/7

.

.

.

Voices of a Distant Star:

artwork: 4/7
plot: 4/7
Lencanvas points: 5/7

~~

STRESS TIME AGAIN! *SMASH FACE ON DESK*

BAHHH!!!!! SO… It’s that time of year again… (No, not Christmas…)

EXAM WEEK! I don’t know why, but I NEVER felt anything until maybe a week before exams started… I am starting to  get really angsty and have been swearing at almost EVERYTHING I see. BAHHH!!!! I guess I’m sort of writing this article today to let out some stress –and it does. 😛

Just yesterday, my computer started freezing up and I ALMOST smashed it onto the floor, but then my brain started to talk to me and said “BRO! DON’T! THAT’S A BAD IDEA!” I listened to it, took a moment to think and put the computer down! That was pretty helpful…

Well anyway… I know I’m not the only one out there, so to all the other exam takers: I salute you! Good luck everyone! ^_^d

P.S. Yes… I know we said we were going to post more frequently, but most of the Void.Canvas crew are also feeling super angsty at the moment 😛 Sorry for the wait!

-CardOtaku

PEWPEWPEWPEW~! Back From Japan!

Hey guys! CardOtaku here 🙂

I came back from Japan a few days ago and man… I am TIRED!
This was mainly because I had to attend class the day right after and I got home at 3:30AM the day just before >_>

Whelp! This is just a quick update to notify you guys that I am back, but I will have exams starting next week so I might not be able to post as often 😦
The other boys at Void.Canvas are finishing their exams and so that’s probably why you haven’t heard from them lately… Hopefully they will start posting again after they finish this semester! *cough* (I’m talking to you guys! Seriously… Don’t make me do all the work! XD)

Anyway… It’s time to go study again…

See yall soon! 😀

-CardOtaku

COLLECTING THINGS! FIGURES,CARDS & OTHER GOODIES :DDDD

Hello Everyone CardOtaku here!

Today we’re gonna take a break from the mid-season reviews and talk about something a bit more random…? O.O?

Sure! Let’s talk about figures n other collectables! I, CardOtaku, am addicted to collecting things (Mostly anime related things). What kinda things do I collect? Well… I collect things like cards (duh!), figures, wall scrolls, posters and a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t really matter. What I really want to know is what kind of things do you collect? It doesn’t really have to be anime related!

Now, lets talk about how I go into collecting things… (Yayyyyyy story time! :3)

When I was a toddler, I really liked to play with action figures and so did all the other boys in my school (though I think most of us liked to play with action figures at one point >_>).  So, I usually begged PapaCard and MamaCard to buy me action figures. As time went on, I got bored with my actions and they kind of just disappeared from my life. PapaCard and MamaCard got so annoyed that I abandoned my old toys after playing with them for a short period of time that they decided to find me something that will last a “little” longer. They talked to my friends parents and they came up with the idea of buying me Pokemon cards because at that time they were cheap and “coooool”, but I’ll tell ya now… It was a BAAAAAAAD mistake. I really loved my Pokemon cards even if I didn’t know how to play with them I would spend a lot of time just looking at them for no apparent reason (Yeah… I was THAT lame! Actually, now that I think about it… I still do that! Just not with Pokemon cards O.O…Crap…).  Back on topic, I started to collect other cards after I learned about their existence like Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Duel Masters. I would just spend SO much money buying these things. As I grew older, I got a bit more money and with it I would start to buy other things like figures and models. This kept building up and I started to collect more and more things because I felt a certain kind of unexplainable happiness when I have a set of something or when I could obtain the characters I knew and loved. The funny part is that these figures and models weren’t too much different from those action figures I played with as a kid (I played with Gundam action figures back then that would probably cost a fortune now… How naive I was ._.).

WELL ANYWAY… TLDR: When I was I kid I played with Pokemon cards and it sort of developed into an addiction for collecting things. 🙂

YEAH… Today’s post was kind of boring, but I just felt like sharing it after a LOOOOONG day at school T_T.

Question of the Week: What kinds of things do you collect?! 

I leave you with a picture of my room…
-CardOtaku

Mid-Season Review! Starting with CardOtaku! :DDD

Hey everybody! CardOtaku here!

Recently, as you’ve probably seen… I lack motivation to post more often than I should, but that changes today (hopefully)! My good friend TL has re-sparked my motivation to post and came up with some very interesting things to write about.

First up! The members of Void.Canvas will be writing some mid-season reviews of animes that are currently airing and we will each give our opinions on them! So lets begin!

Psycho-Pass:
This anime really interested me when it first came out because due to various factors! First, it is written by Gen Urobuchi, the author of Fate/Zero and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika. For those of you who don’t know those two are some of my favorite anime and so I have some very high hopes for this anime. Secondly, the art style for this anime is the same as that of Katekyo Hitman! Reborn! which maybe a good or bad thing depending on your personal preference. Now, originally the anime started off quite slowly and the characters in the anime don’t really appeal to me. However, after the watching the recent episodes this show has again interested me. 🙂 (Also… I’m LOVING it’s ending theme! Egoist ftw! XD)

Art: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Story: 8/10
Music: 8/10

Psycho-Pass Mid-Term Evaluation: 8/10

K:
K is an anime that is very “fan-serviced” based in my opinion and it gives eye-candy to both it’s male and female audiences. However, for some people that may be a huge turn-off. For example, I always get goosebumps whenever Shiro (the main character), blushes infront of Kuroh (a pretty boy featured in K). However, I must give huge props to animation that is present in K because it’s probably one of the only things that’s keeping me interested in this anime. However, like Psycho-Pass, the recent episodes are starting to become more interesting, but still not quite up to what I was expecting. 😦

Art: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 6/10
Story: 7/10
Music: 7/10

K Mid-Season Evaluation: 7/10

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
Ah yes! Chuu2 is probably one of my favorites this year and I can list a number of very good reasons why. First, this anime is full of cute characters that have K-On like art. Second, the art and animation is top notch. Third, the main cast of characters are different enough that their interactions are interesting to watch every episode. These are only a few points that I will make, but after watching the newest episode, I feel that the anime will change in direction and move closer to the relationship between the two main characters. I hope this anime doesn’t disappoint me because I really like it. XD

Art: 8.5/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Music:8/10

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shita! Mid-Season evaluation: 8.5/10

Robotics;Note
This anime has a lot of mixed reactions from my group of friends because many netizens are saying how bad the game was and how it doesn’t really stand up against it’s predecessor Steins;Gate. In all honesty, I loved Steins;Gate because I walked in to watch it without a very high expectation due to Chaos;Head being Steins;Gate’s predecessor. However, after being amazed by Steins;Gate I unknowingly walked into Robotics;Note with a high expectation. I try not to be too biased against Robotics;Note and just watch it for what it is and not what came before it. Now, getting back on topic, Robotics;Note features a cast of characters that are interesting to watch, but the more interesting character in the series are the minor characters because to me the two leading characters seem to generic. As of episode 7, Robotics;Note threw in a few cheap shots that gives us some very important information, but is interrupted by ongoing events which kind of “movie trailers” us into continuing to watch the anime. I don’t really think it’s a bad thing, but it’s one of the worse parts of watching ongoing anime because we wont ever know the answers until they air the episode. >_<

Art: 8/10
Animation: 8.5/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Story: 8/10
Music: 8/10

Robotics;Note Mid-Season Evaluation: 8.25/10

Keep in mid that all these ratings n’ what not is my own opinion and you do not have to agree with me >_<
Next, we will have Jampopo write about the anime of his choice this season and his mid-season evaluations!

-CardOtaku

Return of the Void.Canvas

Heyyyy guys~~ jampopo here~

Sorry for the blog’s inactivity. We will soon be returning with more anime-related content to keep you guys up to date and entertained! Thank you all for waiting and please continue to support us!

What’s coming up next:
 – On Sunday, we’ll go back to a regular schedule of posting, starting with CardOtaku! Return to us on Sunday and expect a post~~~!!
 – A new member has joined us! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay~~~~ *Party time~~ ungchi ungchi* Please look forward to this new member’s debut! Don’t be too hard on him though, he might cry T~T kuku~

Alright then, see you guys soon! We’re glad to be back!  ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆