Fer Serial?
I think I vomited a little in my mouth during last night's Avatar. Seriously, did Zuko and Mai actually have a sunset date, say "I don't hate you" to each other, and make out in front of Azula? That seriously blew my mind away...I can't believe that's what their canon ship has been reduced to...
Anyway, for things I did like: thinkingbeard!Sokka, this is the MOST AWESOME version of Sokka yet; Aang's dance with Katara was very cool; I like the "I am Spartacus" kind of moment with the headmaster where everyone's wearing a headband; and Iroh is...just so sad. D:
The story seemed to flow a little better during this episode, even if I didn't understand why certain scenes were included (okay, let's face it, I just didn't understand the Maiko scene XP)...But overall, it was less flighty than last week's episode. Then again, we weren't playing catch up.
In other non-Avatar news, I just read an interesting little essay, titled "Manga is a Feminist Issue," by Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica, a book which explores how Japanese culture has invaded the U.S. In the short piece, Kelts explains the strong female characters in an upcoming anime film, how manga fans are predominantly female in the U.S., and how Japan, despite progress, is still a male-dominated culture. I found it an interesting read...Kelts also did a radio interview with National Public Radio regarding "manga diplomacy," which has recently been pushed by Japanese politicians trying to highlight Japan's cultural contributions globally. The podcast also links to a very good article in the Wall Street Journal that criticizes the current push by Japan to use anime and manga as a PR tool.
To continue the conversation from yesterday regarding downloading anime and manga, here's a little news bit from Anime News Network regarding the halt of fansubbing on Romeo x Juliet. Looks like FUNimation sent a "cease and desist" letter to the fansub group, Shinsen-Subs, and the group complied. It's entirely possible that such actions will become more prevalent in the future, especially as companies take more steps to safegood their licenses and products in an ever-increasingly competitive U.S. market (see Geneon).
Speaking of Geneon, looks like Bandai will be distributing its products exclusively online, as its previous distributor, Geneon, is out of the biz as far as we know. For now, the site (dotanime.us) is under construction...
Well, I have provided the ever-lovely loveroftheflame with the first few chapters of my modern AU, Tarantino-inspired Zuko/Sokka buddy fic. She's reading over it, telling me whether or not it's total crap or something worth continuing (and I am in no way sensitive to her telling me it's crap--I work with journalist's for God's sake!). When you have ideas for fics, it's so hard to gauge whether it's a good idea or a plot bunny that should be dealt with as mercifully as possible...
I've also been lucky enough to beta read the past two chapters of pasifik's/DamageCtrl's Under a Sapphire Sky--which if you haven't read it, you should immediately go do so! All I have to say is this: vampire!Jetarko...
Otherwise, I've got to add another oneshot to The First Date, a rom-com look at Zuko's and Katara's first date set in the College Daze universe.
Lastly, I've reluctantly decided to do the Zutara 100 challenge from the zutara100. In a writing class I took last fall, our instructor mentioned that a great way to improve your creative writing skills is to write a little bit every day. She recommended a ton of books that were full of daily prompts. None of them looked that interesting to me, but I did find zutara100. So far, nothing all that spectacular; I don't know if I'll even upload them all here, or just the few that strike my fancy. I never realized what a great exercise it was to write a short creative piece every day...So far, so good!
Anyway, for things I did like: thinkingbeard!Sokka, this is the MOST AWESOME version of Sokka yet; Aang's dance with Katara was very cool; I like the "I am Spartacus" kind of moment with the headmaster where everyone's wearing a headband; and Iroh is...just so sad. D:
The story seemed to flow a little better during this episode, even if I didn't understand why certain scenes were included (okay, let's face it, I just didn't understand the Maiko scene XP)...But overall, it was less flighty than last week's episode. Then again, we weren't playing catch up.
In other non-Avatar news, I just read an interesting little essay, titled "Manga is a Feminist Issue," by Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica, a book which explores how Japanese culture has invaded the U.S. In the short piece, Kelts explains the strong female characters in an upcoming anime film, how manga fans are predominantly female in the U.S., and how Japan, despite progress, is still a male-dominated culture. I found it an interesting read...Kelts also did a radio interview with National Public Radio regarding "manga diplomacy," which has recently been pushed by Japanese politicians trying to highlight Japan's cultural contributions globally. The podcast also links to a very good article in the Wall Street Journal that criticizes the current push by Japan to use anime and manga as a PR tool.
To continue the conversation from yesterday regarding downloading anime and manga, here's a little news bit from Anime News Network regarding the halt of fansubbing on Romeo x Juliet. Looks like FUNimation sent a "cease and desist" letter to the fansub group, Shinsen-Subs, and the group complied. It's entirely possible that such actions will become more prevalent in the future, especially as companies take more steps to safegood their licenses and products in an ever-increasingly competitive U.S. market (see Geneon).
Speaking of Geneon, looks like Bandai will be distributing its products exclusively online, as its previous distributor, Geneon, is out of the biz as far as we know. For now, the site (dotanime.us) is under construction...
Well, I have provided the ever-lovely loveroftheflame with the first few chapters of my modern AU, Tarantino-inspired Zuko/Sokka buddy fic. She's reading over it, telling me whether or not it's total crap or something worth continuing (and I am in no way sensitive to her telling me it's crap--I work with journalist's for God's sake!). When you have ideas for fics, it's so hard to gauge whether it's a good idea or a plot bunny that should be dealt with as mercifully as possible...
I've also been lucky enough to beta read the past two chapters of pasifik's/DamageCtrl's Under a Sapphire Sky--which if you haven't read it, you should immediately go do so! All I have to say is this: vampire!Jetarko...
Otherwise, I've got to add another oneshot to The First Date, a rom-com look at Zuko's and Katara's first date set in the College Daze universe.
Lastly, I've reluctantly decided to do the Zutara 100 challenge from the zutara100. In a writing class I took last fall, our instructor mentioned that a great way to improve your creative writing skills is to write a little bit every day. She recommended a ton of books that were full of daily prompts. None of them looked that interesting to me, but I did find zutara100. So far, nothing all that spectacular; I don't know if I'll even upload them all here, or just the few that strike my fancy. I never realized what a great exercise it was to write a short creative piece every day...So far, so good!