Merry Christmas Eve! At The Anime Blog homebase (of St. Louis), we’re preparing to visit our family. In the meantime, check out the latest AnimeAICN article!
We hope you all have a safe and happy holidays – and check back for a special message from us on Christmas Day! 
After I played the demo, I had no intention of picking up this game for a while. A friend of mine got lucky playing poker, however, and I received it as a gift. Lucky me. Well, in spite of that, fate did not seem to want me playing this game. I couldn’t play it for over a week due to broken controllers, a scratched disc, and several other unlucky circumstances. Maybe I should have seen it as a sign.
I was not overly fond of the demo but I still got swept up in the excitement of a new FF. As I mentioned in the demo review, FF’s are some of my favorite games of all time and the allure of a new one is too much for me to resist. I eagerly jumped into this game with my shiny new controller and an honest desire to enjoy the game in spite of the demo.
For their most recent installment, Square Enix released the first console FF with a real-time battle system (I never played Final Fantasy XI – I think that was also in real time). Each character has a set of gambits or commands that control what they do in battle. For instance, you can set up characters to automatically heal themselves if their hit points get below a certain percentage. You can still manually command a character to do something in battle but it takes a bit longer. The battles are fast paced and you don’t really have time to think.
Apart from leveling up, you enhance your characters via the license system. For every enemy killed, you gain experience and license points. The license points are used to obtain licenses that can add hit points, enhance magic, gain strength, etc. There are also licenses for each weapon, accessory, and piece of armor. You can’t just buy a weapon and use it if you don’t have a license for it.
There are many aspects of the gameplay that will be familiar to FF players such as espers, chocobos, quickenings (similar to limit breaks), and of course, plenty of sidequests. I didn’t find the fighting to be overly tedious or difficult. The game is not completely hack and slash but the fighting is mindless and there aren’t really any puzzles to figure out. I pretty much never used my espers and rarely used magic other than to heal. Merely by going through the game with out any sidequests or by wandering around to level up, you can probably still achieve a level that you can beat the game with. I was actually rather disappointed with the ease of the final battle.
The story is set in the world of Ivalice where warring empires and small kingdoms duke it out for the power to rule. To be frank, it is rather dull. I never cared about any of the characters. I never laughed, cried, or really shared any emotions whatsoever with them. It felt to me like a lackluster version of Star Wars and a friend of mine remarked that it “was like watching a really boring war movie.†Then there was the ending…well, I have more interesting things floating in my udon soup right now (seriously—there’s this brown spongy thing – is it a mushroom? tofu?) than the ending to this game. It’s sad really because FF’s are known for their endings.
The graphics were of course, outstanding. The CG’s were especially pretty. The environments were vast, beautiful, and full of rich, natural colors. The character designs were rather dull, but then, they fit in with the general dullness of the story. I must admit though, I really liked the Viera. Some of the other anthros were really neat as well. I can’t use enough superlatives to describe the overall graphics in this game. I am very excited to see what the Square Enix team will come up with for the PS3.
The music is generally entertaining and I never had to mute it in favor of my own music. The FF franchise as a whole generally has good, memorable music. They re-use a few of the more unforgettable tracks from previous FF’s such as the intro theme and victory song from VII.
The voice acting is all really good even though the dialogue was lifeless. It took a while to get used to some of the stranger accents (Fran, the Marquis…), but I really enjoyed Balthier and Cid’s voices.
This game felt a little too much like an mmorpg, and I really don’t like those. It took me a while to get any enjoyment at all out of this game actually. I couldn’t play it for more than a couple hours at a time without falling asleep. It wasn’t until I was about 60-70 hours into the game and going through extra areas and doing sidequests when I realized that I was enjoying the gameplay. Oh well, they can’t all be winners. I give this game a 5/10.
I’m a huge fan of anime style art and fan-art. When I say huge, I mean I go on deviantArt late at night and browse the literally, thousands upon thousands of pics for GOOD art. I use some of the best pics I find on my desk top and as wallpaper for my cell. When I see a great pic, I bookmark it and go back from time to time to see if that artist has done something new. Hell, if it’s really good, I send it to people I know, saying "Isn’t this soooo awesome!!!"
I love watching artists evolve and develop their style on deviantArt; it’s so much fun! Wanna know what’s more fun, however, than mindlessly drooling over fantastic art late at night? Interviewing the fantastic artists!
I finally took the initiative to speak with one of the awe-inspiring artists at deviantArt to pick their brain on the subject of art and anime. Her deviantArt name is apricot8585 but she said she would prefer it if we referred to her as Apricot. Apricot was willing to chat with us about herself and her work.
Rachel: How old were you when you started drawing?
Apricot: I started drawing using crayons when I was around 4 years old in kindergarten and I started drawing in earnest when I was around 18 years old. (Apricot is now in her early to mid twenties ^^ R.)
Rachel: Tell us why you started drawing to begin with.
Apricot: Drawing pictures was like making my own world. To me, it was just fun! And it still is.
Rachel: What kind of formal training do you have if you have any? If yes, where did you get formal training?
Apricot: No, I don’t have any formal training. I took only some art classes in school.
Rachel: What platform do you use to draw with, Macintosh or PC? Which do you prefer?
Apricot: I use windows xp now. I used to use Macintosh but I prefer windows!
Rachel: How did you learn Photoshop? Where did you take a class if you took a class to learn?
Apricot: I learned from friends of mine and tutorial books. My technique is very simple…lol. I just scan a pic and put colors on it.
Rachel: About how long does it take you to finish a drawing from start to finish?
Apricot: If there’s only one character, it takes me around four hours. If there’re many things and backgrounds, it takes me around three days or more.
Rachel: Do you make a sketch first and then scan it in or do you the whole process on the computer?
Apricot: I draw a sketch and do lineart at first, and scan it and color with Photoshop. I use Micron pens and Brush pens on my lineart.
Rachel: What other media do you use if and when you don’t use the computer?
Apricot: I once used Copic Pens for a while. The color comes out well! But I don’t use them at all now.
Rachel: What can you tell us about the techniques you use to reproduce the woodblock print appearance in some of your work?
Apricot: I use a texture that I made using "hard pastel" in the brush toolbar in Photoshop.
Rachel: Why did you choose to work in a style that imitates woodblock prints?
Apricot: Actually, my style was more manga-tic before. I got fed up with my style because I couldn’t see anything unique in my work. My style at that time was too common.
One day, I saw some Japanese woodblock prints called Ukiyo-e from a book. (Of course I knew Ukiyo-e since I’m Japanese lol. However, I was not interested in it very much until then.)
It was so gorgeous! It caught my eye and gave me a lot of inspiration. It’s an old-fashioned art but so fresh to my eyes, which are used to seeing thousands of anime or manga stylings. I thought I wanted to bring this "fresh" art into my drawings. So I decided to change my style.
That’s why I make my drawings looks like woodblock prints. I’m still seeking to perfect a style with it!
Rachel: Which particular woodblock artist inspired or impressed you the most and why?
Apricot: Eisen Keisai. Although the way he drew bodies is a bit strange, his works hold an attraction and draw people’s eyes. The way he drew faces is different from other Ukiyo-e, especially the way he drew eyes. That’s so sexy…
Rachel: Your color palette is exquisite. How did you develop your color usage?
Apricot: Thank you very much! Umm…I didn’t use many colors before because an artist once said, “You should not use many colors. Using many colors could be proof of not having confidence in your art. Simple is the best.†I read it from some magazine and thought she was right, so I always used to use as few colors as possible in my pics.
As I said, I see Ukiyo-e that have many gorgeous colors. I ventured to use many colors; it was so fun and made me happy! I think feeling happy makes me develop. Now I believe that what that artist said is right, and also that the opposite of what she is right. Simple and gorgeous are both right
Rachel: One of my favorite prints of yours is the one titled “Nagi and Namiâ€. It depicts the two primordial gods Izanagi and his wife Izanami creating the world; in this instance the islands of Japan. How interested are you in Japanese traditional myths and legends? What fascinates you most about that?
Apricot: Thank you very much! I am interested in Japanese traditional myths called "Kojiki" (or "Nihon Shoki") from long ago.
I think the idea of Shinto fascinates me. The gods from the myth are Shinto’s gods. Shinto is a Japanese religion that believes that innumerable gods reside throughout all of nature. There are many Shinto Shrines here and there in Japan and I like visiting them. I like to think about each god that resides in each Shrine, remembering the myth.
But actually, what I prompted me to be interested in it was an anime, lol. The anime wasn’t a story of the myth but the characters were named from the myth, like Yamato Takeru. He is a very famous hero in the myth and a descendant of Izanagi. I read about him vaguely when I became captivated with the myth without noticing, lol.
Rachel: How big of a role does symbolism play in your work?
Apricot: Umm…it’s "the atmosphere of Edo", I think. My most favorite Japanese era is the Edo era. I think the famous ‘ image ‘ of old Japan and the style people who like Japanese culture are interested in is the Heian era. It is beautiful and graceful because the Heian-style is part of the noble’s culture.
Edo-style, however, is the town people’s culture. It’s so cheerful and funny! I love the people in the Edo era and the culture. Although I don’t draw Edo correctly at all, I always want to leave the atmosphere of it in my drawings.
Rachel: What is the biggest influence on your work?
Apricot: It’s Ukiyo-e in the colors, and it’s modern manga in the sketches, I think.
Rachel: How would you describe your work?
Apricot: I’m driving for mixing traditional things with modern culture. I love just Ukiyo-e itself, but I think it’s boring to imitate it precisely. I’m trying to draw a lot of things going on in a piece to make people who watch my works feel like merrymaking like at a festival.
Rachel: What would you say is your favorite style of art?
Apricot: I like Ukiyo-e and Art Nouveau. The detail in the both arts is amazing.
Rachel: Where do you find your inspiration for your work?
Apricot: Kabuki, fashion magazines, kimono magazines, design books, and of course Ukiyo-e. These give me a lot of inspiration. And inspiration often could come to my mind while I’m doing yoga, lol.
Rachel: What kind of routine do you have when you draw? What kind of schedule do you have if you have any?
Apricot: Nothing special but I make kimono patterns before I color. This is the thing I need patience with the most…When I get tired from coloring, it’s really hard to make them. So I make them first.
Rachel: Can you describe your work station at your computer or drawing board?
Apricot: At my computer I have a talisman I got from Seimei Shrine in Kyoto, an electronic English dictionary, a memo note, drawing pads, and a tablet-pen.
At my drawing desk I have a light box, dolls called Super Dollfie, a mirror, teaching materials for English lessons, ukiyo-e books, stationeries, aroma goods, and a lot of small articles.
Rachel: What do you do if you ever get “writer’s block†or in this case “drawer’s blockâ€?
Apricot: I don’t think I’ll know till that day comes…
I’d stop drawing and thinking of anything related to drawing for a while. I’d read books, watch movies, and play with friends to make me feel refreshed until the inspiration comes to me.
But I’m not sure; I might brood on the block and couldn’t do anything…
Rachel: What kind of artist would you consider yourself?
Apricot: Uh…an Ukiyo-e manga artist? lol. I want to be one.
Rachel: What would you like to do with your drawing skills?
Apricot: If I could, I’d like to make manga books, art books or illustrations for novels!
Rachel: What kind of art do you do besides drawing, if you do other stuff?
Apricot: Nothing. But I want to do kraft paper art and make houses in the Edo-style! I want to make a small Edo town. lol.
Rachel: Where do you see yourself at 15 years in the future with your art?
Apricot: I hope I would be a big artist! It’d be nice if I could live on the royalties of my works! Just kidding.lol. I hope to be someone who inspires a lot of people with my work someday…
Rachel: What kind of feedback do you get from fellow artists in Japan?
Apricot: Someone said, "Mixing Ukiyo-e and modern manga was a probable style but there was never one before. I think that’s interesting. Keep it up." I worried if there wasn’t anyone who would notice what I wanted to do, but he said this to me. I was so glad!
Rachel: What do your friends and loved ones think of your art?
Apricot: They say that my works is better than before. Thanks!
Rachel: Where in Japan are you from?
Apricot: I live in Tokyo. But my town is on the edge of Tokyo and there are many green fields. People often say my town isn’t Tokyo as a joke!
Rachel: What’s it like being a female artist in Japan?
Apricot: Actually, I once debuted on a manga magazineand drew a little of their work. I’ve left the magazine now since I want to try to improve my new style. But I learned so many things through the precious experience.
Rachel: What kind of anime and manga do you like? What titles?
Apricot: The most of my favorite mangas is little known, even in Japan, but very famous among maniac manga enthusiasts; like "Nejishiki" that’s written by Yoshiharu Tsuge…do you know? ^-^;
Rachel: What type of music do you listen to?
Apricot: My favorite music is NOT popular. I like old Japanese songs and traditional songs called Nagauta that is played on Kabuki stages or something.
Rachel: Who’s your favorite band or musician?
Apricot: I like Umekichi who does Geisha style and sings old Japanese songs with her cute voice, playing Shamisen.
Rachel: What’s your favorite food?
Apricot: I like fruits, especially oranges.
Rachel: Could you tell us what your fave color is?
Apricot: RED!!!
Rachel: I read on your profile that one of your interests is lolitas. Me too! How do lolitas fit into your life?
Apricot: Oh, really? That’s nice! I never wear Lolita clothing myself but I love watching lolita-fashion magazines and cute girls wearing them! I love drawing pictures of lolitas and use a lot of pinks because I usually don’t use pink very much. Using pink makes me feel girlish, lol.
Rachel: Name some of your hobbies for us.
Apricot: My hobby….is drawing, lol! And collecting dolls, watching Kabuki.
Rachel: What do you do when you aren’t drawing?
Apricot: I study English!
Rachel: What would you say is the most interesting thing about you that people might not know about?
Apricot: umm…nothing special…I like dogs, especially Pomeranians, I don’t like meat, I like dolls, I like horror films but I don’t like grotesque films…………everything is boring, lol. Oh, I REALLY LOVE YOU ALL who say to me that you like my drawings!!!! I really want to let you know that!
And we love you for bringing us all your awesome art! The name of the manga magazine Apricot used to draw for is Melody which is published by Hakusen-sya who also publishes Hana to Yume, another shojo manga publication.
Anyone who is interested in viewing more of Apricot’s art can view her gallery here. To purchase prints from Apricot’s gallery you can get them by clicking here.
Katsuhide Motoki’s Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro has gone from manga to anime to…live action! The main character Kitaro (who was – gasp – born in a cemetery) tries to help people and to get goblins and humans to live in peace together. You’ll notice his striped sweater, which gives him magic powers that he can control with his mind!
I highly recommend you check out the Official Kitaro Movie Site and be sure to check out the trailer! Kitaro hits theaters in Japan on April 28, 2007.
The live-action film
The manga
Additional references from TwitchFilm.com!
A Newly-Designed Site for the Nation’s Largest Convention Provides the Perfect Holiday Present for the Anime/Manga Enthusiast
Wondering what to buy for the Anime/Manga enthusiast this Holiday Season? Look no further than to the newly-designed Anime Expo® website to purchase their attendee badges for 2007! Anime Expo® 2007 will be held from June 29, 2007-July 2, 2007 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. More information can be found on the 2007 Anime Expo website!
Attendees who pre-register prior to December 31, 2006 will automatically be entered into a drawing for hot manga titles from the young and up and coming manga company Infinity Studios, LLC. Winners selected will receive a host of amazing titles including the newest titles releasing in January 2007: SHINOBUDEN Vol. 2 and SWEETY Vol. 2!
All prices (all Major Credit Cards and any ATM Visa/Mastercard check card accepted) are as follows:
The pre-registration contest ending December 31, 2006 applies only for All 4-Day passes ($45.00). Winners will be announced January 2007.
Attendees interested in booking flights and hotels for Anime Expo® 2007 can do so via the AX Travel Store.
Discussions about all current Infinity Studios, LLC offers and products can be found on the internet in the forum area of the Infinity Studios, LLC website.
About Anime Expo®
Located in Long Beach, California – Anime Expo®, the nation’s largest anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests of the general public and animation/comics industry. This event serves as a key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the industry to conduct business. AX 2007 will be held June 29 Â July 2, 2007 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Southern California. More information can be found at www.anime-expo.org.
About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more popularly known by its entertainment property Anime Expo ®. More information can be found at www.spja.org.
About Infinity Studios, LLC.
Headquartered in Richmond, California, Infinity Studios, LLC is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of Asian Graphic Novels. Founded in 2004, Infinity Studios, LLC maintains operations in the U.S., Japan and Korea. More information about Infinity Studios, LLC and its products can be found at www.infinitystudios.com.
Believe it or not, being a lolita isn’t easy. Finding the perfect ensemble for a picnic or a tea party for two can be damn difficult if you don’t know what’s What and who’s Who. Not knowing where to get that perfect dress or even what’s being offered in a season’s line up can be a pain in the petticoat.
In Japan, there are many brands or “houses†that cater to lolita needs, just as the West has famous fashion houses for contemporary style. For every Gucci, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana, Japan offers up Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Innocent World, and Angelic Pretty. To all lolitas just starting the loli lifestyle and to all seasoned lolitas, here’s some fashion info for winter from The Anime Blog’s Lolita Fashion Editor, Codi:
by Codi
As Winter approaches, so does the line for Autumn and Winter goods from the various brands!
This year, however…your faithful loli is completely saddened by the lack of beautiful things to adore. Many brands this year started on pre-orders of their various winter goods much earlier than usual, with the standard coats and velveteen versions of already existing dresses. (I am staring at you icily, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright.)
The problem was there was nothing to fawn over! No brand this year is offering any stand-out series or coats; they are all dreadful re-hashings of things they’ve already done. Although there are certain things we come to expect with certain brands (Poodle series with Angelic Pretty, Sailor Series with Metamorphose, for example.), the lack of creativity still stands.
That being said, it was hard to find a common connecting theme or what is hot this year. Series (where brands take a print fabric and design a one-piece, jumper-skirt, skirt, bag, and matching headpiece with the fabric), are the only real trend for Winter. This is a surprising shock as prints are mostly left for the Summer lines. Angelic Pretty wins (and not necessarily in a good way) with not only one series, but four in total. Punk fashion house Putumayo comes in second for their tried and true Alice/drug-induced-themed prints. Metamorphose temps de fille completely loses for bringing out their kimono print, normally reserved for their summer kimono and summer pieces.
Another thing that’s always in style in Winter are plaids. Each brand offers their own plaids, and this year’s offerings were more like the plaids you’d find on the $1.00 a yard rack at the fabric store than in classy boutiques. Offering such gaudy plaids as orange and blue, and pink and black, Baby the Stars Shine Bright stray from their usual fare, but in the process lose all that is cute. A real winner here is Victorian Maiden, for using standard plaids with clean lines, and not using overkill with bells and whistles to distract from the plaid.
There is not all negativity in this! Many of the coats this year, while lacking any common theme, are simply divine. Ankle-length coats are in vogue this year, replacing the cutesy knee-length overdone ones. Simplicity and clean lines seem to be a common theme from everyone to Atelier Boz to Victorian Maiden. Innocent World shines with this, as their coats are exquisite without being gaudy. From a small choice in button design to one of the only brands offering gobelin print, Innocent World brings coats back to their humble beginnings in the lolita world. It is truly a Renaissance in a Victorian World.
Scott has posted an update to his Hellsing: Ultimate Contest. He also has has some news regarding Shinobi: Heart under Blade screenings.
Reader Comments