I know exactly nothing about Arc-V. But I heard the concept of preformance dueling and how the main character Yuya duels for pure show and entertains people and. If you don’t think Atem would be so fucking amped about that and into that idea and would want to take Yuya under his wing for a TRUE SHOW TO MAKE THE WORLD CLAP AND MARVEL AT OUR ART then you don’t know how Atem is. Every single duel he wins is a show. He is a stage magician. None of his wins make sense from a technical standpoint against the hyper engineered decks of his opponents. He would fucking LOVE preformance duels. While Yuugi takes Judai under his wing to become an adult Atem would so take Yuya.
Since I’m horrible at organizing things, let’s change that for a sec.
Here’s a masterpost of everything I’ve ever written involving Soranort/Sora-Xehanort. It seems to be my calling.
Sora-Xehanort Saga (on AO3. Click here for the link!): Follows the plot of the entire series (excluding Union Cross and Back Cover, but there is a brief mention of it). 11 parts. Explores what could have happened if Sora had been norted from the very beginning. I’m no good at original names.
Wish Upon A Star: Basically Soranort vs. Kairi. Not related to the story above.
Because I do in fact watch more than just Fullmetal Alchemist, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Cardfight!! Vanguard, I thought I’d share with you some other ones I’ve watched and enjoyed.
The vast majority of these can be found on Crunchyroll.
Pokémon Sun and Moon
Genre: Adventure
Rating: G (General)
Length: Ongoing (73 episodes currently)
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: Yes
Pokemon Sun and Moon follows the adventures of Satoshi/Ash in the Alola region when he decides to stay after visiting it for a vacation. Eventually he decides to take on the Island Challenge, taking on the Trials and Island Kahunas.
The story weaves together Ash’s Island Challenge, the mystery that is Nebby and UBs(Ultra Beasts), along with general slice of life activities. And yes, Ash does go back to school.
This was a surprise addition to the list to be honest. When the Sun
and Moon anime was announced, along with stills of the new art style, I,
like a number of fans, was wary. The art was so different from any of
the other series, far more, cartoonish and stylized. And I have been
turned off shows due to art style before.
And then I
actually watched it, and was taken in. It’s lighthearted (for the most
part) and fun, the characters are all likeable and a treat. The art style actually works, especially when animated and is honestly, really cute, and very expressive, and used to great effect for stylistic and exaggerated expressions.
Even if you’ve never watched any of the other seasons, or stopped a long time ago, this one is definitely worth giving a shot.
Natsume Yuujinchou (lit. Natsume’s Book of Friends)
Genre: Slice of Life, Supernatural, Drama
Rating: T (Teen)
Length: 74 episodes (spread over 6 seasons) + 5 OVAs
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
Slice of life and supernatural don’t normally seem like two genre that would go together, but in this series they do.
Takashi Natsume has the ability to see spirits, an ability also possessed by his grandmother, Reiko Natsume. Unfortunately, this ability led to him being ostracized by his peers and passed from family member to family member after the death of his parents.
The story follows 16 year old Natsume after he comes into possession of a powerful item that once belonged to his grandmother, the Book of Friends, a notebook full of names of spirits that Reiko caught and bound. He is joined on this journey to return these names by Madara (also called Nyanko-sensei) a powerful yokai that becomes his ‘bodyguard’ in exchange for the Book of Friends upon Natsume’s death(though it’s fairly clear that he is quite attached to Natsume).
On top of this, the series is a story of healing, of Natsume overcoming years of isolation and bullying and learning how to form friendships, both with humans and yokai alike. A story about family and home.
It’s what I call a ‘soft’ anime; the art style, the music, it’s never loud or in your face. There’s never any large, world ending sorts of stakes. Even when there are stakes, you always know things will work out in the end.
Kyoukai no Rinne
Genre: Slice of Life, Supernatural, Comedy, Romance
Rating: T (Teen)
Length: 75 episodes (spread over 3 seasons)
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
If you think the art style looks similar that’s because this is another series by Rumiko Takahashi, the brains behind Inuyasha, Ranma ½ and many others.
The story centers around Mamiya Sakura, a normal human girl who can see ghosts, and Rokudo Rinne, a perpetually broke, down on his luck part human, part shinigami, who is also her classmate.
Do not let the OPs fool you, this series does not take itself seriously. At all. It’s vaguely self-aware at times and pokes fun at itself constantly.
Through the course of the series we meet other shinigami, demons, damashigami (basically, an unscrupulous shinigami that takes takes people to the afterlife before they die, a “bad” shinigami) and a wide variety of spirits, good and bad.
The romance is very will they-won’t they. Or to quote the back of the DVD
“Two’s company, Three’s a crowd and Four…. is just the start of another Rumiko Takahashi romance.”
It’s a fairly enjoyable watch over all and the lighthearted humour helps keep it from being *to* serious all the time.
Hell Girl
Genre: Horror, Dark
Rating: M (Mature audiences)
Probably the only thing on this list that requires trigger warning for, pretty much everything. It has dark themes and I advise using extreme caution when watching as some episodes may be highly upsetting. If any of the following are triggering or highly upsetting to you I’d advise probably avoiding this one.
Warning for (but not limited to): Assault, Stalking, Rape, Attempted Rape, Animal abuse, Murder, Abuse(pretty much all kinds), Bullying.
Length: 90 Episodes (over 4 seasons, season 1-3 have 26 episodes each, season 4 has 12)
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: Yes (but only the first two seasons)
Hell Correspondence is a website accessible only at midnight, and if you put in the name of your tormentor Hell Girl will come and drag them to hell for you. But at a price, your soul belongs to hell when you die.
This is the overarching premise of the entire series as unlike the rest of the shows on this list, it is very much like an anthology. For the most part each episode is self contained, the only characters that appear more than once are Hell Girl herself and her associates.
The first season does have an overarching plotline later on focusing on a character trying to stop Hell Girl and figure out the mysterious connection between her and his daughter.
Many of the episodes are centered on seeking revenge upon one’s tormentor and as mentioned in the rating above, it is very dark. If you can think of it, it has probably happened at least once. It’s not gory but it just deals with heavy subject matter.
So if you like dark shows and like watching people get their just desserts then, this is probably one you’ll enjoy.
Hoozuki no Reitetsu
Genre: Dark Comedy, Demons, Supernatural, Fantasy
Rating: T
Length: 31 Episodes + OVAs (currently ongoing)
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
The story follows the demon Hozuki, Japanese Hell’s second in command to King Enma. It’s almost slice of life, if slice of life took place in hell and followed the life of a demon as he deals with Hell’s unusual cases and inhabitants.
I specified Japanese Hell as we meet characters from the Heaven/Hell/Afterlife of various religions/mythologies (Anubis for Egyptian afterlife, Satan and Beelzebub from European Hell for example).
There isn’t to much of an overarching storyline to this one either and despite the subject matter (demons and hell) it’s not all that dark and fairly amusing.
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life
Genre: Supernatural
Rating: T
Length: 26 episodes
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life is a fairly lighthearted anime following the (mis?)adventures of highschool Inaba Yushi after, not wishing to burden his aunt and uncle any longer by living with them, moves into an apartment populated by ghosts and yokai(and the rare human). Most of the adventures take place AT the apartment involving the residents there as well as Inaba’s budding supernatural abilities.
While generally a fairly light-hearted and fun series, it does occasionally touch on slightly more serious subject matter such as death and abuse.
Miira No Kaikata/How to Keep a Mummy
Genre: Supernatural, Slice of Life
Rating: G
Length: Not long enough 12 episodes
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
Much like Natsume, this series blends supernatural elements with a very slice of life tone as we follow Kashiwagi Sora after he receives a tiny mummy from his globe trotting father. As the title suggests the story follows Sora as he navigates life caring for the tiny mummy. Through out the story we are introduced to more creatures including an oni child, a dragon and a baku, all of which end up in the care of Sora’s friends.
The show is incredibly sweet and a very good mood lifter if one is feeling down. And 12 episodes isn’t nearly enough for it imo.
Erased
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Magic/Fantasy
Rating: T
Length: 12 episodes
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: Yes
Psychological Thrillers aren’t normally my types of anime. Or any series really. But this one hooked me so hard that I just had to keep watching to see what would happen next.
Our protagonist, 29 year old Satoru Fujinuma, has an ability that allows him to return to a point in time just before a life-threatening disaster in order to prevent it. Usually it only sends him back a few minutes. One day, after discovering his mother murdered, he’s sent back in time 18 years, to when he was 11 years old, to a time just before one of his classmates was kidnapped and murdered.
The story follows Satoru as he works to try to save his classmate from this fate, discover who the killer is and figure out how to prevent his mother’s murder(and how all of this is connected).
D. Gray-Man
Genre: Dark, Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Tragedy
Rating: T
Length: 103 episodes
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: Yes (and second half is actually being dubbed at long last!)
Set in an alternate version of the 19th century, a group of Exorcists known as the Black Order fight monsters called Akuma, weapons created by the Millennium Earl and powered by the souls of the deceased.
Allen Walker is one of these exorcists, using the anti-Akuma weapon in his left arm and his cursed left eye that can see the trapped souls to fight against Akuma and help lay their souls to rest.
They also fight against the Millennium Earl and the Clan of Noah who intend to destroy the world.
This is also a sequel/continuation series called D. Gray-Man Hallow that picks up exactly where this one leaves off(but has a different voice cast) though watching it not required.
Caligula
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Rating: T
Length: 5/12 Ongoing
Subbed: Yes
Dubbed: No
The series is currently ongoing so the entire plot is not yet known but what is know is that μ(Mu) an AI idol gained sentience and self awareness and in deciding to help alleviate humanity’s suffering created Mobius. Mobius is a near perfect virtual world wherein are trapped the minds of the deeply troubled and/or suffering.
Ritsu Shikishima is among those that has awakened and begun to notice that the world they are in is not real. Unfortunately for him, and everyone else who has “awakened” and wants out, the Ostinato Musicians, a group that are working for/with μ, block the way, doing everything in their power to stop anyone from leaving μ‘s perfect world.
Caligula is, it’s interesting. It’s hard to describe since it’s still ongoing but each episode keeps you hooked and wanting for answers and the animation and music are gorgeous.
I absolutely love your Medieval AU drawings!! Also I have a question, are you going to write a story about it? If so where would you post it? I would love to read it. Your are able to make your pictures come to life and I would love to see how the story goes.
Hi, sorry if it took me so long to answer you!! This art blog is associated with a different email, this is why every post is queued and the activity is so slow…. anyway!! I am writing down a plot! (suggestions are welcomed xD), a little stuck lately, but it’s progressing quite well! When it’s done, I might start writing it down, if I have time (but I’m not sure in which language, since I technically speak Italian….. I’ll see how much effort it will require), but in the meantime you can read what my friends @aceyugiohdreamer, @tenkasen and @animeauthor987 wrote about it!!!
Witch no more - by aceyugiohdreamer (takes place after Divine steals Aki’s powers. Yusei saw the effects of Divine’s spell reverberating in the sky, sensing danger, so he rushed to Aki’s house when it was too late…)
Thorns of hate - by aceyugiohdreamer (Here, Stardust has already been turned into an human; Black Rose Dragon rejected the gang’s begging for help, but Aki came back to her and insisted. (Be careful, my heart was bleeding while reading this))
Lessons - by aceyugiohdreamer (more Aki and Black Rose interaction, there’s a drawing of Yusei, Aki and Stardust too)
Hope these were helpful xD you can check in my (or their) blog for more works, they posted amazing stuff and I totally suggest you to give it a read! xD Have a good day!! <3
What is smearing? Smearing is a multitude of techniques used in animation to bridge two or more frames to create the illusion of motion through methods like blurring, warping, distortion, and a few others.
I wanted to start of with a fresh animation to demonstrate some movements.
It looks like it can definitely use some extra information to convey the motion of the sword. This is where we starting thinking about how to smear the object(s).
The most common approach that I’ve noticed that animators take, especially newer animators, is that they warp the whole object. As in they have a point A, and a point B, and then they just have a “mass” of implied motion in between those points.
Here’s a still shot
It works quite well with objects like swords. So here’s what my attempt looked like.
It definitely helped explain the movements more, but I’m not sure I liked it.
Thankfully there are other “types” of smears that we can look at to try to see if they fit in this particular animation.
The next one I wanted to try was “speedlining.” This is basically when you distort the edges or add speedlines to the edges to make the object appear in motion.
Here’s an example
and the still shot:
notices how the edges appear more sketchy. This one is really common and it can be executed in different ways.
Here’s my attempt
I really like this type of smearing, even though it still lacks some of the motion that the first iteration lacked. The speedlines really add character to the motion that would otherwise be missing in a normal warp, but I still needed that smear to bring it to the point where it needed to be.
So here’s what some call “doubling.” (and just as a side comment, I don’t think any of these have “official names” other than just smearing)
Here’s the still shot
This was a really well executed smear which I don’t think would have worked the same if you would have just warped the faces.
Here’s another slightly different execution
with the still shot
It’s like a distortion mixed with doubling, and that’s what I like about smears.. you can mix and match things you feel would work in the particular scene.
So here’s my mix n’ match smear.
Not the best execution, but for our purposes I think it works well.
Motion blurring is really powerful as well. Film uses it all the time, as does 2d animation. Notice the force of the impact being pronounced with the added blur at the head.
Here’s the still shot
There are a few other smears I thought were interesting because it just speaks to the way our brain interprets these frames without even considering the logical implications of the individual frames.
Here’s one example
I don’t know if you caught that, but here is the still shot:
The guy has a knob for a hand. It works so well, you don’t stop to think about implication of that hand’s morphology.
Here’s another one that doesn’t make too much sense.
Like what is this
That’s Imaishi. It’s part of why we love that animator so much. It’s part of his style and character. It conveys an emotion that would otherwise be absent in a “realistic” smear. Animation doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to look good.
