Transcendence

OMG YES! Then there's 'Prince Ludwig' from Ludwig Kakumei and... yeah, I think it would go on forever!

I get what you mean. If you enjoy a hobby, you get the urge to do it once in a while, even if you know you really can't quite do it then! It just drives me mad when I have an exam and I really want to edit some pics, or draw or read or *something*. The flipside is when you do something you love really intensely for a while you can get that feeling where you *need* a break for your sanity. Even though you still love it, lol.

This song. J-Ska is an underrated genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftCxqsJ4mAM


And this song. Because I am a minecraft addict. LOL 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_XGxzMrq04

I love recommendations threads! It's great to pick up new series from people with good taste 




Action:
Kekkaishi (shonen, boy and girl save school grounds from spirits at night. Underrated abroad, did well in Japan. One of my faves)
Death Note (what would happen if you could kill anyone by writing their name?)
FMA (original anime series or brotherhood. Brotherhood is the first anime redone, this time following the manga closely)
The usual suspects - Naruto, One Piece, Bleach (WARNING: Be prepared to invest like YEARS into filler episodes, 60 manga volumes and 400 anime eps!)
Crest of the Stars (underrated space opera with blue-haired elves.)


Romance:
Fruits Basket (family curses, ahoy!)
Fushigi Yuugi (if you can stand all the soppiness)

Slice of life:
Wandering son/Hourou Musuko(about a boy who wants to be a girl, and his facing transgender issues, a really gentle series)
Chihayafuru (Chihaya learns a card game called Karuta, learns to kick ass and make friends)

Fluff:
Chii's Sweet Home (chii is a cute kitten. That's really all you need to know!

Weirdness:
Mawaru Penguindrum (penguins, hints of incest, time travel, secret terrorism and orphans...just weird but a little awesome)
Durarara!! (gangsters, irish headless fairies, demonic headless motorbike riders, hackers, and all round fun!)
Kino no Tabi. (A girl called Kino and her talking motorcycle Hermes wander through strange lands being philosophical)

Mythology, supernatural
Mushishi (thoughtful man solves Japanese peasants' problems with mysterious magical organisms called Mushi)
Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume is a friendless boy whose ancestor put him in a lot of trouble with various magical beings he can see. Now he must return something to them...)
XXXholic

Anime Films:
Anything Studio Ghibli
5cm per second
The Place Promised in our Early Days
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Most of the series I love are like one or two seasons long, so not more than 24 or 52 episodes, so quite watchable without having to give up your life for 3 months. Hehehehe

I have a Wacom Bamboo and it does exactly what it says on the tin. I think I got it on Amazon when it was on sale, too, so it really was a bargain at the time.

I think with Tablets, you get what you pay for, but because the really good ones are SO expensive, it might be worth getting a cheaper one at first to see if you will actually like using them. (Case in point: I haven't used mine much because I remain a traditional media kinda girl, so I'm glad I didn't spend $$$$$ on something I wouldn't use and then felt really guilty).

I do also recommend taking the time once you get it to really get familiar with the tablet, as well as using it with software. My Wacom came with Artrage free, and I have a couple of other free programs such as Autodesk SketchBook Copic edition and GIMP to test it out on. So don't forget to get some software to go with it! Like I said, it needn't be expensive software.

Out of paid software, I have experience with Photoshop, but I hear a lot of digital artists prefer Painter. I think they're both $$$ if you buy them legally, so it's OK if you can't afford fancy software. Likewise, if you mainly want to draw your own manga, MangaStudio is actually a lot cheaper, meaning you could buy it legally for a decent price. The newer and deluxe versions are expensive, but the 2009 version is £20 legally so a real bargain. Actually, might have to get a hold of that, myself, for if I ever resurrect my old comic 

(Thread necromancy because tablets are always relevant to us digital artists, a category I include scanlators in)

...did someone say... COOKIES? 

Iced coffee, even though it's cold. Because I'm a caffeine-addicted badass.

''Comics are for kids'' - discuss.

OK, so we all know that's not true. Graphic literature exists in many forms and genres and is not only read by all ages, but caters to a wide range of ages and experiences. But...

Many of us have been reading manga for a long time, whilst others of us are new to the scene. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss how our manga habits have changed with time (and perhaps with the dawn of the internet). Is there anything you feel you have outgrown, or do you still read pretty much what you used to? Have the characters you're interested in changed in age or type at all? I think it would be really interesting to find out how everyone experiences their hobby :)

Myself I find that as my teens turned into my 20s, and I have less time for manga, I have become more selective. When I was new to manga, I wanted to try EVERYTHING out because I had less knowledge of what I would like, but also less exposure to manga. So I couldn't afford to be as picky. Now with the internet and online shopping, I don't have to take the one manga that's out there, but can find something that suits. And now that I've read around, I have a better idea of not only what I prefer, but what a better series may be. And I'm more bored of cliche's! But also because I have less time, I look for series to get into that look more meaningful to me. I have little interest in the 507978th 'moe' schoolgirl anime of the year, I wait to pick up anime or long manga series that I feel are above average for me.

What about you guys? All the same or changed with time?

I know! The animes can be harder than the manga, because they have less of the awesome detail and style, so the dangly long arms and legs can just look even more freaky. Like, in the manga, they almost get away with it, but put it in an anime where the characters are moving around and walking and stuff? Just doesn't work as well. I know. I love CLAMP, but if they agreed to make the limbs like, 30% shorter, I might love them even more!

Yup, weird people can be freaky. I know people have a bad reputation if they have mental problems, but 90% of the time it's not true that they're dangerous (they're really more of a danger to themselves, if anything). Ironically, some of the nicest people I've met have been on a psych ward, so it's not so much craziness that's offputting, as nastiness. And when you're out at night you can run into some just plain nasty people. But luckily they're also a minority.

Hahaha I have a funny story about spiders. Or maybe a horror story.  One morning I put on my jeans from the floor (because I'm a messy bunny), and walked around my morning routine as usual. It was only quite a while later when I went to the bathroom and pulled them down that a spider came out of the jeans and ran across the floor. It must have been there all morning! O_o Luckily I'm not too scared of them, but it's always a shock that second when they appear.

Aww you can tell that puppy is just dying to eat the food! And those fox cubs are tooo cute!

So, I love copic markers (expensive, but they're one of the colouring tools professional mangaka use, in case you haven't come across them), and when I was on their site I came across a software they designed with Autodesk (also a reputable software company) called Autodesk Sketchbook Copic edition. It is available for free from the website below. 

It's a bit like a normal computer colouring software (think Artrage), but the colours are copic marker colour tones, so I'm guessing they teamed up as a promotional thing. I've only messed around with it a little, but it seems easy to use. And the fact that they are giving it away perfectly legally free is the best thing about it So whether you're an expert with a tablet or just like doodling, why not give it a go?

http://copic.jp/en/sketchbook-ce.html

I couldn't think of a way to phrase this without it looking like spam LOL but they are both reputable companies in their respective fields, whose products are by no means cheap. And I'm not affiliated with either of them, I just thought there might be some digital artists in this community who could benefit from a legally free program like this 

  Oh wow, this is a thread to get you excited XD 

I thought I'd share something interesting (not my personal crush taste, but cool nonetheless). Bartek Borowiec is a male model who looks like he walked straight out of a shoujo manga.

veeery skinny - check.
moody good looks - check.
long hair - check.
In a ridiculously pretty shade that most people could never naturally have - check.
ridiculously pale skin - check.

Awwwwwwwww Kitties are so adorable! no shortage of cute kitties on instagram. My faves are   nala_cat, wa_sabi and of course, kittensofinstagram.

Since it's nearing Easter time, I thought I'd celebrate by sharing some cute chick pictures from the net. Because they're just so darn cute! I would totally get one if I had the space for a chicken (free eggs, whooo!) and the time to be a responsible pet owner. One day, maybe...

PS the multicoloured ones are real, apparently in lots of places they dye them before they hatch. I just hope they go to a good home afterwards, I hate when animals get abandoned :(

That's definitely true! An action series needs realism and clean lines (so you can tell what's going on), whereas a romance series needs a good focus on the characters' emotions and expressions. Art style is a lot about personal taste, as well. I'm really surprised when I recommend a manga I like to a friend and they say they just can't read it because they don't like the style (and I like the style), but then when people recommend some series, I have to admit that the style isn't my thing sometimes. Ah, well, at least there are so many styles in manga that it doesn't matter :)

Ah really? I should catch up on it soon! I love the sense of completion you get when a long series ends. It's sad because you have to say goodbye to characters you get fond of, but it's nice to find out everything that happens at the end :) and I know it's easy to get a bit bored of series if they go on hiatus or slow down, but I do fall back in love with them again when I catch up :)

I just might use animelist. It's getting more and more difficult to remember everything I've enjoyed. It's hard to recommend series to friends when the only ones you remember are the ones you've read last XD

  There are people who just take someone else's releases and put their name to it? That really is awful. I don't believe in anyone taking credit for someone else, it's just not fair.  Exactly like you say, I think that as a community we should work together. Not-so popular series need love too (in fact, they need more love because they're often never licensed and will otherwise be read by a lot less people).

If I were a scanlator I might be less bothered if someone picked up a series I, say, hadn't done releases for for a year or something like that, but otherwise if I was working hard to regularly release that series for a long time it must feel pretty bad to have it taken over by someone else. Also quality is important I think. Even as a fan I used to get annoyed when a series I liked (and was being released at a perfectly reasonable rate at decent quality) was then picked up by some group who rushed to get in lots of releases at first, and then nearly gave up on it, or else their releases were rushed and messy. I'm really not at all particular as a fan when it comes to quality (if you guys aren't getting paid for it, nobody should crucify you over a few mistakes!), but there's no point in taking over from someone unless you can do as good a job.

I know all this must drive you experienced scanlators mad, though.

^ visiting Tumblrs with loaaads pictures of my favourite hot actors on them. And collecting those pictures  I know that's not exactly odd, but when you should be revising, finding that you've zoned out looking at hot guys *again* makes you feel a little guilty. Plus when people catch you at it hehehe ;)
< I have an exam in a couple of days, so SHOULD be revising. It's OK, though, I'm pretty sure I will do fine. :)
V  What's the lamest film/manga/anime/whatever that you just love anyway even though you know it's silly?

Get to sleep whenever or however long you want. If you never slept I suspect I would totally be bored most of the night (and there would be nothing to separate going to work from funtimes before then hehehe).

Immortality or just a really, really long life?

This Princess Tutu one is a classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9197GTl1ASg/

I have so many favourites  that it's hard to remember them off the top of my head. I love AMVs, not only can they get you into new music, but into new anime series. Often I'll be recommending an awesome new song to friends that isn't in the charts and they'll be like ''where'd you come across this?''. I'm like ''Youtube, man, youtube!''

True. I do find I have a high tolerance for listening to a song on repeat before I get bored of it. Sometimes I will have left a song on a loop to play waaay too many times before I realise XD

I was really sad to find that Tokyopop went bust, because they played a big part in getting manga out there into normal bookshops where girls like my young self could find and buy them and support the industry they love.

I did like how they encouraged Western artists who were manga inspired and wanted to write manga comics, because that's an awesome thing to do. Yep, not all of them looked ' like manga', but manga remains very diverse. And true, they didn't always pick the most decent titles (why would anyone pick up Peach Pit? Dears was really boring, sexist and overall not great, not even the art), but at least the industry picked up a fair few series. I'm quite sad that with a lot of companies gone, there will be many fewer releases in English, and less chances for us fans to own series we love in a language we understand (and support the industry). I just hope enough people buy the stuff that is being put out to keep at least some companies in business. I think part of it was also due to Japanese companies realising they could do releases in other languages themselves and cutting out the middle man. As long as the product is good, that's OK by me, too.

Art style is a personal thing, so I would never disrespect anyone for being put off a series 'because of the art'. Hey, I've been put off a fair few because I just couldn't stand to look at them. most manhua and a lot of BL stories have that effect on me. Really stretched anatomy or something just ...can't... stand... it!   

About your link: I forgot such an interesting site existed. I think it's a great resource, and hope that if the industry has learned anything, they will look at how successful groups operate and what can be learned from the community to make them more successful.

I was turned off the Kaname option when I found out they were siblings. I'm not averse to incest per se, but when one raised the other I'm not fond of the power differential thing. Plus it was all too neat. 'Oh, it doesn't matter that we're siblings because we're vampires and our parents were siblings so it's all cool' and she didn't really reel AT ALL from all the revelations.  but if it all floats your boat then that's OK, obviously ;)

Plus I just found Zero's character more grounded. But I have no idea what's been happening in that series for years, so both the guys might now be psychopaths for all I know.

I haven't read black cat, but I do agree that it doesn't always have to be a bad thing when the art improves. There are few series where the art doesn't improve if it lasts long enough, probably.

I think it matters that a lot of mangaka are still starting out when they get their first popular series and still have a way to go to become confident. But then, like Fruits Basket (love that series too!) there reaches a point where the mangaka's gone beyond 'getting more experienced and confident' where perhaps they are experimenting with their art style. And sometimes it leads in a direction where the art looks a bit less pretty (at least in the opinion of some of us fans). I do agree, Fruits Basket's style got a bit more plain right near the end.

I really like it when an artist's style is unique and of course not all have to be incredibly talented with a realistic drawing style, but what I can't really stand is when a style becomes really general. Like if it could literally have been taken straight from the pages of any random moe series or BL doujinshi (which are fine by themselves, because part of these sub-genres' appeal is that like harlequin romances or smething, they are all rather alike so if you like one you will like most of them). I think a typical plot does fine with a typical style, but if a mangaka wants to go for something more unique their style has to have quirks.

Wow, they put a lot of effort into Lord of the Peeps with their props and everything. O_o Awesome :D

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/the-cutest-things-that-ever-happened
because you can never have too many pictures of reaaaaaaly cute baby animals 

clouds

Being a noom, I'm quite curious to know what counts as stealing projects between groups. A lot of groups I've seen have their own policy as to what they call stealing so I just wondered if it was really relative, or if there's some semi-agreed code. Because of course stealing from each other is bad.

Even as a reader I've noticed lots of rivalries and it always seemed pointless to me. Why take over a series from someone who was releasing regularly, and then fight over it and produce the same chapter from 3 groups, when that work could go into 3 different series, and then everybody would be happy and no toes stepped on. I think it gets quite bad in weekly shonen series from the notes I read from various groups whose works I used to follow. Made me feel really sorry for decent scanlator groups. 

Free hugs for y'all for your hard work :)

Unfortunately, you sped so fast that you had a bit of an accident. (Oh no, sorry that's morbid!)

Shoulderbag, it leaves your hands free to do stuff or stop yourself from falling over.

The ability to fly, or the ability to be invisible?

Never, I always feel guilty if I spend 'too much' on something fashionable (all my spare money goes on books or art).

Never have I ever broken any bones.

I love that song! Informative and cute. I just had to show it to my little siblings and cousins when I found it. Now hopefully none of them will be playing near train rails!

Me and my sister did the exact same thing! I was off super hero films for a while, then when I gave in and watched the Avengers, I had to get her into it and marathon ALL the films preceding it! (Except for the Hulk films, never did get around to those ehehe ) The Iron Man films are the funniest out of the lot, but the Avengers is like an awesome collection of hot guys all in one ;) So many attractive actors in tight clothing 

Haha well that cheers you up, right away! I think it's impossible to be sad listening to something like that.

  so beautiful! I really like all your art.  Even the 'doodles' look really crisp and clean 

You have a lot of talented artists among Transcendence as a whole in these threads. No wonder your releases are so awesome ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzR95TyMda0
Frida Amundsen's Be Mine. I love her September Blue album. Ironically I love sad music when I am happy. And angry music when I am sad. LOL

In the cinema, Wreck-it-Ralph. Great for gamers hehehe. Just now, on TV, Ghost. Patrick Swayzeeeeeeeeeeee noooooooo

I love this series! The fact that she has a private side and a public one makes it more believable than a lot of shoujo manga where a girl is either 'perfect' or a complete loser (and nothing in between).

Too much cuteness here! XD

To contribute, I give you http://mymilktoof.blogspot.co.uk/
The My Milk Toof teeth. Check out their adorable adventures! They are one of the cutest things I have ever seen and I just can't help squeeing every time I see them

Oh boy! This is a topic and a half!  I find I go through periods where I either don't have time to read manga, or else I am just more interested in spending my spare time doing something else (say, reading books, knitting, arts and crafts, watching films, gaming,  whatever), so I can easily drop even series I love for months, even years. But just like you never really stop loving a friend who moved away, I find myself coming back to series afterwards to pick up. And in the mean time I often pick up lots of one shots or short series that I may well forget.

So, ones I am still reading:
Dengeki Daisy
Natsume Yuujinchou
Chihayafuru
Katana
Shibariya Komachi
Chii's Sweet Home
xxxholic
Nabari on Ou (did that even finish?)
Fruits Basket (Yup, still not finished this one)
Black Bird
Pandora Hearts
D. Gray-Man
Soul Eater
Mirai Nikki
Matsuri Special
Black Lagoon
Yankee-kun to megane-chan
Hayate X blade
Vampire Knight
oresama teacher
kimi no iru machi
shirayukihime kaden
Bakuman
Naruto
Bleach

but in all honesty, I have a spreadsheet somewhere devoted to listing all the mangas I was keepinig up with, so I've missed a lot of them out because I can't remember them at this moment XD

I think the FMA dub was pretty good. Though Vic Mignogna is not a bad voice actor, I feel he's been overused as the main male character because he was really popular in FMA. Superb as Ed, but could I ever see him as Fai in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle? Daisuke in DNAngel? Yoshimori in Kekkaishi? No, not really. I think we need more diversity in English dubbing simply because it's too easy for every series to sound the same.  And some voice actors need a bit more coaching on how to pronounce Japanese names a bit more authentically, It's a bit painful hearing some of them strain over their rolling Rs and generally mashing up names ><.

Personally dubs irritate me a bit when they come across as unabashedly American. Not so much the voices (I guess the fact all their voice actors are from the US can't be helped) but in the phrases or 'references' that sneak into anime and manga sometimes. No offense to y'all , but if a series is set in Japan, (or anywhere outside of the US) it would be nice if the language used was something non-Americans could also appreciate. I mean, if it was entirely in British slang it would probably be equally irritating to you guys, so the same courtesy in reverse would be good ;)

I love subs, too, naturally, the original voices often work so well that it's hard to get the same effect in a new language. But I think that would work equally in reverse. So if I were to watch, say, a Japanese dub of Avengers Assemble, I would find that as horrendous as an English anime dub.  (Actually, there's a thought! XD)

I know it's an old thread, but I know this kind of feeling happens to a lot of people, so I thought I'd reply anyway, in case it helps anyone else :)

First of all, it's OK not to have it all figured out when you're starting out. I know loads of people still figuring out which direction they want their lives to go in, what studies to study, which careers to go for. It's not something that everyone can decide quickly. I'm an indecisive type with a lot of interests, so I know how you feel.

Uni is a time when many people realise how much or how little they actually like their subject. There's no shame in realising something just isn't for you. You can carry on studying it until the end, or you can see if your uni will let you transfer to another course, if there's anything you prefer. If there are particular things in your course that you really dislike, you can decide if you can put up with them (every course will have something you dislike) or if they really are dealbreakers for you.

I also think it's important you talk to somone at uni, like a counsellor, about how you feel. Because it's also not uncommon for students to feel under stress or get depressed, and for that to be what's causing them to feel unmotivated or stressed. If you have access to a doctor, or you feel really bad it may also be worth talking to them in case it's something easily treatable like an underactive thyroid, which again can cause you to feel like that. 

I have had friends who changed courses, and I've had ones who kept on with the 'wrong' one then redirected themselves after they graduated. Either course of action can work, depending on your case.

If you find yourself liking a lot of areas, the options are either to pick one that you particularly like, or that has more career opportunities, better work and life balance, or more money. There is no shame to picking which area to go into based on these things, either, as long as it's still an area you enjoy. Talk to others in different fields and you can get an idea of what the good and bad points are about each, and how able you might be to go into that field.  Or, if you really can't decide on one, look for degrees, training or a job in a field which crosses over several of your fields or combines them. Teaching, for example, in some countries might have you applying yourself to loads of these areas.

I'll end by mentioning that it's really not about how early you decide, but about finding something you can live with. I know plenty of people who stuck with what they had 'always' wanted, only to hate their job (hey, it turns out a 6 year old really doesn't know what engineering is like!), and plenty of people who decided much later on, but wouldn't change their life for the world. The important thing is to look at career option advice from school/uni, ask around, try things, and remember that if you don't like something you can change it. Best of luck to anyone working out their path in life :)

I actually quite like spiders, and animals that most people dislike, like snakes, rats etc so as long as an animal's not deadly, and not about to kill me, then it's OK. And the dark's only really scary when you've just been watching a horror film then have to go to bed hehehehe

Hmm... I guess you could say 'dangerous situations', like if you're out late and some really scary looking drunk comes up to you, but that's probably normal. Some of my friends have no fear of being out late at night alone, which I find strange O_o

People who are arrogant, especially because usually they act that way because they want to prove something. I've known a lot of amazing people who are good at lots of different things, in lots of different ways, and it irritates me when someone acts like they're better than everyone. If you're good at something, it will just show. You don't need to 'prove' it by having a tantrum or expecting people to treat you differently!  And the most brilliant people I have known have also been incredibly kind and humble as well. Even if someone is talented, being mean to others just isn't justified. 

And yeah, people who are mean. We should be helping each other out and making the world a better place, right?

I love people who are friendly. I'm shy so  know what it's like to be awkward and nervous, but when you're trying really hard to be nice to everyone and make new friends, it's hard when others don't really bother. It's not even about being quiet (I have a lot of quiet friends), but some people just act with more warmth towards others.

I love rain, it can make a change. And snow. Even storms can be quite exciting. Maybe it's because I live in the UK and we don't get exciting weather 

You're welcome! It's understandable that stuff comes up in life and people get busy! I know myself I find I either have lots of free time, or else am so busy I don't know how I will get anything done!

I will do that :) I actually don't have previous experience as a scanlator per se, but I am familiar with various image editing software, and did do comics of my own back when I had time, so I imagine that if I got the right fonts and had a look at how Transcendence usually prefers their typesetting, with a little guidance I'm sure I'd be up to your standards without too much hassle or training. Thanks :)

Last batch for the time being~

I did these because I often love having brightly coloured manga wallpapers myself...

wow, thank you!  A lot of it was done when I had more time to indulge myself experimenting with GIMP and such. And when you've already made one, it doesn't take a lot of tweaking to come up with lots of colour schemes. It's normally hard to decide which one to go for XD

Thank you for enjoying it :)

And some work-in-progress shots from the same mangaka's blog.  I always think it's really interesting when they give you an idea of how their work progresses. Hope you all like :)

Some more artworks from this series :)

If anyone still wants good clean anime:

Thoughtful/neutral:
Mushishi
Chihayafuru (not sure if that's dubbed)
Natsume Yuujinchou

Shonen: Kekkaishi, D. Gray-Man, FMA

Shoujo (not too girly): Fruits Basket (classic!), Ouran (funny), Victorian romance Emma, chii's sweet home (cute kittyyyy!)

Of the studio Ghibli films, the safe ones are:
Arietty
Kiki's delivery service
Laputa castle in the sky
Spirited Away
My Neightbour Totoro
among others.

I love CLAMP. Their art style is pretty distinctive, and whilst some of their series (I'm thinking Tsubasa) went crazy in terms of their plot, there's something grand in their version of craziness. There was a reason they re-used characters in Tsubasa repeatedly (I think the series was to celebrate an important anniversary for them, I forget the details). They're not perfect, far from it, and their art style is not without bugs (really, guys, they get a bit toooo stretched sometimes), but they're definitely distinctive.

When I was a tiiiny kid, Moomins, but I didn't know it was anime. I first remember seeing something like Pokemon or Sailor Moon on TV. Fruits basket was the first series I bought as a manga and actually chose to watch, so that's special for me :)

Of the big three I've read and watched Naruto, read Bleach and not touched One piece (I know it's good, but I have no time for another big series). They take up so much of your time that even when I watch Naruto, I skip the filler seasons and movies. I'd rather take that time to pick up a new series that's shorter.

Just thought I'd share some pictures from her new series. It's currently 4 volumes long (I think it may be complete), and looks interesting for those of you who can read Japanese.

It's set in the Wild West, with what looks like a Japanese Schoolgirl in a sailor school outfit time-travelling back to the olden days of Cowboys and Indians. It's suitably full of bishies, too! XD

Beautiful cosplay!

I love this series, particularly the dreamy, relaxed, almost otherworldly look of it. I love that there isn't a focus for romance (though I like romance sometimes), just Natusme learning to be friends. Friendship is something that's really underrated, so it's lovely to see manga exploring it rather than just focusing on romance.

Thank you guys for all your hard work on this series :)

Hey, all!

Sometimes it's natural for a series to have artwork that evolves. Naturally, if a mangaka is working on a project for years, they will mature, meet new influences, and evolve as an artist. And sometimes they might even hurt their arm in the process (the name of such an artist escapes me, but I think it was the one who did D Gray-Man). Anyhow, this is to share (feel free to include pics!) and discuss series you feel really changed in terms  of their art style, and whether you liked it.


For me, D. Gray-Man really changed in its style (I might post pics another time). At first I liked the changes, but as the series kept on evolving more and more over a short space of time, I started to not like aspects of the artwork (it became more angular, characters started to look quite different). Naturally, I'm supportive of the artist growing and especially if they hurt their hand that might change things, but I do think artists should bear in mind where their art and characters started out, so that it still looks reasonably similar.  I notice art style changes in all reasonably long manga, which is normal because the more they draw, the more polished their art style gets, but maybe if a mangaka wants to try something really different it's best to leave it til their next series? What do you all think?

I like lots of different types of manga. There's the cliche shonen or shoujo that you love despite how mainstream they are (I'm looking at you, Naruto!), and then there's the more offbeat series. For me, something like Emma (The one about the Victorian maid), or Mushishi, or Natsume Yuujinchou, or Chihayafuru or Wandering Son are much more memorable than Naruto because of their slightly more reflective, meaningful contents. For me, fascinating is something that means the series left its mark and introduced you to something you didn't think you would find in manga, and all of the above did that for me. Though I still have a place in my heart for all the big, action-packed or soppy romance series I read, too. I'm just aware that we get different things from different series :)

Probably Naruto and Bleach. My favourite shonen series was actually Kekkaishi, that was probably also quite long. More leisurely and mature than most shonen series as well. Aaah I miss that series!

More wallpapers. I don't mind if you use them for releases, either.

And now for some wallpapers for y'all (widescreen, sorry, but anyone can use them). Again, credit to tinnako or T-Ko would be nice if you put them anywhere else, but feel free to share the Shibariya Komachi love. <3

And I just remembered, some stuff I made that, if you guys want, you can include with chapter releases (you don't have to, obviously) :)

I thought it might be nice to tell fans a bit about the Mangaka, and maybe do a recap of the series to include with chapters. Simply because I know that when I come back to a series after I've not read it for a while (because I took a break from it, or because releases were a bit rare) it can really help to be reminded who is who, and some of the story details, just to make it easier to follow the newest chapter and to go back to squeeeeing at the new developments hehehe

The concept sketches are by the mangaka, but I thought fans might like to see them, too. I don't know what the writing says, might be interesting...

Hi, I sent you an email about Shibariya Komachi (don't worry, it wasn't 'when's the next release?' - I'm not stupid lol), and since hotmail was being weird and wouldn't let me sign up here, I started a yahoo email account and joined up here, just wanted to let you know you can pm me on the forum about the email if you wish. And that if you did reply, and I don't reply, it's not because I'm ignoring you, I might never have received your reply!  And if you can't find the email, then I will send it again. I've had such bad problems with email recently!

Anyhow, thanks for all your hard work, you guys rock! thanks :)

Quote from: promise2sweet on December 08, 2011, 15:39
I find this series rather intriguing - I was caught off guard with the plot twist.  There's four more volumes until the end, so I'm curious how things are going to develop - how does one fight against a friend who's more powerful?  How do you overcome betrayal?  Will Chiko be stuck as a little kid the rest of her life?  Who's her red thread attached to? I'm hoping the series ends strong.

Since it's been 120 days since the last post, I have a feeling I may be alone in my curiosity 

Thanks, Transcendence staff, for translating this series and all your hard work! (I hope you don't drop the series, but I understand if you do). 

Having seen the raws, I can say that your questions WILL be answered! It looks to me like the end wraps up fairly conclusively, but of course I can't read Japanese! So we will have to wait to reaaaly find out  hehehe


More colour artworks from the mangaka for fans of this series :) 

And some more...

I forgot to say before, but you're free to use these wherever you wish. Credit to me (tinnako) would be very nice. Just want to share the Shibariya Komachi love :)

So, I thought I'd share some stuff, though I'm too busy these days to do much drawing or editing any more.

And some more artwork from the mangaka:

I quite like how she posted up pictures showing how her artwork goes from a rough sketch to a detailed one. It's always nice to see the creative process at work!


The Mangaka's blog is here, btw: http://id74.blog32.fc2.com/
and her twitter is @mick_lily
(both Japanese only)

I have some colour artworks that the Mangaka Mick Takeuchi posted up on her blog that I thought I might share with SK fans, (if that's OK, since I'm a noob here), because Takeuchi-sensei has a lovely style for colouring in her pictures :)

It seems it won't ever completely be released in English, because Go!Comi who were doing it have gone bust :(  I do like the raws, they give quite a few hints about what happens along the way, but it would be sooo great to be able to read Japanese ;)

For some reason, I've really taken a liking to this series.  So I do hope it gets to be completed. But I do know Transcendence staff are working reaaaaaly hard on a lot of series, so no pressure there. We fans are grateful for anything you release ^_^

(Transcendence staff, I've sent you an email about the series and possibly helping out on it (if you haven't seen it, or it's got caught in your spam filter)...


I'm adding some colour artworks from the series, if that's OK, just thought I'd share the Shibariya Komachi love with other fans ^_^ They're from the Mangaka's blog, and are pictures that we've previously seen in black and white for chapter covers and stuff. But all are really pretty and deserve to be seen in full colour, don't you think?