Pachi Review Night - Blast of Tempest (Logic Ends the World)

Evening, folks! As promised, more anime reviews are coming, and to kick things off, I've got a long'un of a two cour series that finished just this past Winter season: Blast of Tempest. So I don't fall behind on art, I'm going to try and do some images for the reviews as well, as you can see above. And yes, I do intend for them all to feature my penguin person in some way. :) Well, no sense beating around the bush. Click the link below to check out the review! I hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Blast of Tempest* (this review has mild spoilers, but barely at that)

Let's just say if you've never WATCHED Blast of Tempest, you're not going to have ANY clue what the context of this image is. XD I went for drawing Samon as Yoshino and Mahiro have more intricate hair/clothing designs and I wanted something simpler. But wait, why is the Lorax there?! Well, he speaks for the trees. Again, you'll get my joke if you've seen the show. Drawing all those chains and later selecting and coloring in all those chains were equally a pain in the butt. Curse my attention to detail!

Going For a Hollywood Drive

Once again I come to you with a bit of fanart for the lovely and talented Hope Chapman (JesuOtaku), in honor of her new video series', "Anime Derby" (reviewing new anime series as they air) and "Hollywood Drive" (reviewing movies newly released in theaters). Since my last drawing, I wanted to try drawing a car again, and I've been sitting on the idea of drawing Hope 'going for a Hollywood Drive', so to speak, cuz I am such a punny little guy. Ah hah. Anyway, this is the result! Nothing else to report today.....just this! I hope you like it. :D

Also, JesuOtaku has gotten a website since the last time I talked about her~! You should go check it out and support her work - episodes of Derby and Drive can be found there as well as all of her previous material: http://www.jesuotaku.com/

The more I work with coloring and shading in Photoshop, the more prolific I feel I am becoming with it. Not like I'm trying to create a skill that I can have in place of my current career; I've long since realized that drawing is nothing more than a hobby I want to be good at on my own time; but I feel I'm getting quite good at utilizing digital tools to enhance my work. This one, like all the ones before, was a lot of fun to experiment different techniques. As for the drawing itself - not much to say; it's a Hollywood Drive! XD The green/yellow/red lights on the front bumper are an allusion to JesuOtaku's rating system in her new shows - rather than a numbered rating, she judges on a Green/Yellow/Red scale from good to bad. The popcorn is there because I wanted her to have a sidekick in the car. And in the first episode of Hollywood Drive, she had a bowl of popcorn, so........I went with the material given to me! If you look closely, you might be able to tell they're both wearing shades. BD

The Artist's Avatar

Hey guys - got a quickie update tonight. I've wanted to do a particular drawing for a long time now. Akira Toriyama, author of the Dragonball manga series, would always make a little avatar when drawing himself - most commonly a cute robot. A lot of manga-ka do this kind of thing. And though I don't have a manga, I've wanted to portray myself with a cute little avatar. And so, here I am......as a penguin. :)

The style, as some of you may notice, is inspired by the penguins from the anime Mawaru Penguindrum (one of my all-time favorite series), given some of my belongings and appearance - such as my Gurren Lagann drill necklace and my geta sandals. Of course, he is an artist, just like myself. Remember this guy, as you may see him more in the future.....

Don't ask how a penguin gets stubble. He's a very MANLY penguin! That's why he has such rosy cheeks!

Anime Recollection 2012 Reviews - Part 2

Good evening folks - look how quickly I have returned! As promised, I am releasing the remaining three reviews for my 2012 Anime Recollection today. From here on out, as I stated before, reviews will be an occasional thing. I'm not planning to do announcements on when certain reviews will be put on the site, they'll just go up and I'll make a post about it. I can't say for certain what anime I'm planning to review next, but I'm always watching current shows and picking up older releases on DVD/BD, so I've got plenty of material to choose from! The yearly recollection is probably the only time I will post multiple reviews at once - for the rest of the year I will probably only post one review at a time, possibly alongside some art or a sketch related to the show in question.

A note here: my Natsuyuki Rendezvous review is the most "spoiler-ish" of all the reviews I've written so far. I pretty much spoil the entire show, as a matter of fact. ^^; My SAO review contained spoilers too - there's a definite trend there, so I think I'm going to put out a blanket statement on my use of spoilers. If I review a show I like, I will most likely avoid spoilers as much as possible - because I want you to watch said show for yourself. If I review a show I dislike, there's a greater chance I will use spoilers in the review because more often than not, some of those spoilers are the reason I dislike the show, and I'm trying to get you NOT to watch it. XD It's easier just to assume that spoilers could pop up anytime, but I wanted to warn you this time just in case there's someone who's REALLY pining to see Natsuyuki. I advise against it, but still. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the reviews! Look forward to more in the future! ^_^ And more new artwork, of course!

The Future Diary
Kids on the Slope
Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Pachi's Anime 2012 Recollection + Reviews

I watched a lot of anime last year, in 2012! When I take a look back, they kind of run together in my head. I think they went something like this...

It's that time again! The time of the year when I gather my anime experiences from the previous year and lay them out on a broad sheet. But this year, instead of just the usual drawing, I'm going to add something new. I am pleased to announce that from this day forward, Pachi's Portrait will feature written anime reviews! Much like my art, there won't be any kind of schedule to these. For the time being, I am limiting myself to reviews of completed series which I have seen in full. Though I do keep up with the current anime season on a weekly basis, doing a weekly blog on a regular basis is not something I'm ready to commit to yet. To get things rolling, I have endeavored to write full reviews for each anime represented in the recollection art above. You'll find links to them below, or you can navigate directly to the Review page from the top bar. There are two exceptions: I have not written reviews for Space Brothers nor Chihayafuru, which are both featured in the drawing. Two reasons for this: 1, these series are not yet finished. And 2, I can pretty much sum both of them up in one sentence: "This show is wonderful and you should watch it." :)

I have six reviews prepared in total for this Recollection. Only the first three (as a side note, please keep in mind that the Sword Art Online review has potential spoilers within) are ready to roll tonight - the remaining three (The Future Diary, Kids on the Slope, and Natsuyuki Rendezvous) will be coming tomorrow. Look forward to it!

Eureka 7 AO
tsuritama
Sword Art Online

The drawing for last year's retrospective was always intended to be an abstract piece featuring the characters from various shows on karuta cards. I'm not sure why I couldn't have been bothered to try and draw the cards any straighter, but oh well. It was fun and a challenge once again to attempt drawing in different styles, as I tried to capture the style of each show in question. On that note, I apologize for Asuna's appearance here. I made her look SO derpy. XD Look how nervous Yuki is getting up top! Do you think perhaps he dislikes sloths?

Waltz in Visions of Winter

Is this happening?! Yes, it is! I finally have a new drawing to share with you! Took me long enough! This was originally meant to be my yearly tribute to Christmas, but obviously, that ship has sailed. So instead, I present to you my tribute and my dreams of winter. The ideal of a perfect winter is something we North Carolinians often pine for - what we receive is on-and-off warm weather and snowfall once or twice a year. This year has been no exception. But I decided to imagine what it would be like if the snow was plentiful and my friends and I set aside time to forget our troubles and play the old-fashioned way! Wherever you are, I hope your winter isn't too cold (or too warm) and that you are able to find comfort with family and friends. More drawings are on the way, so stay tuned! Here's to a prosperous 2013! ^_^

Like the Pokemon drawing, this image was VERY fun to color. My work began with the splotched sunset and spanned from there. I've never colored such a detailed sky before, and it came out surprisingly well. I'll consider that a trade-off for my disappointment with earlier stages of the drawing. The other two people in there other than me in the foreground are two of my closest friends, and I had originally planned to include three more of them as a tribute to my local group of post-college companions. But my weakness in drawing things very small (curse my big hands!) came back to haunt me - I just couldn't define the minute features for the ones who would be at a more distant perspective. So I limited myself to just three people and filled in the space with other things. Namely, the car. The car is the worst part; I'm not afraid to admit it. >_< Drawing machines/vehicles is not one of my fortes. I'm happy with everything else, though! ^^ For this drawing, I decided not to alter the levels of the base sketch lines. Doing so made the coloring more like a cartoon. Keeping the outlines dimmed, I was able to achieve a more paint-like blending with the colors. It's a technique I'll definitely utilize in the future.

A Nostalgic Encounter - Pokemon

I'm in a bit of a tough position. Today's topic has been covered again and again and again - how can I possibly put a new spin on it? Maybe the answer is not to. Maybe the best course of action is to start from the beginning, emerging from the moving truck in a brand new home, given a momentous task by a local scientist! You're eager to explore the world with this pet you received to aid you on your quest. A lush, rolling landscape awaits you, but be wary of the tall grass, for in them are dangerous creatures, and sometimes......ah! There! Behind that rock! Another like yourself has stepped forward! You've no choice but to put your mettle to the test!

Ghost-type trainers shouldn't be idling this early in the game, what on earth..........well, if it wasn't obvious already, today's post is about that worldwide critter-collecting phenomenon, Pokemon. I hardly should need to expunge on what Pokemon IS if you are a human being and you posses a pair of ears and cognitive thought, but for those not in the know, it is a video game franchise from Japan named "Pocket Monsters"; Pokemon is simply a cute shortening. The name derives from the ability of a user (trainer) to battle and capture monsters, which, when caught, they keep inside tiny capsules (Pokeballs) that can fit in their pocket.

You can see the appeal. Cute critters that you can carry around anywhere and make them do cool stuff? Sign every kid in the world up for that! It had something for kids of all shapes and sizes. The focus on making monsters battle each other in tournament-style bouts clearly shows the primary demographic was young boys, but the story and nurturing aesthetics of Pokemon helped make it accessible to anyone. It teaches kids responsibility and improvement through experience and perseverance, while still keeping their attention with fun monster designs and battle actions. Even adults can understand why kids go ga-ga for this kind of entertainment. I mean, I never ASKED to own a Pokemon game (at first). My wise family, alongside getting me a Gameboy Color for my 10th~ (approximate) birthday (which I also did not ask for), gave me a copy of Pokemon Blue, making it the first Gameboy game I could call my own. The last Pokemon game I played came out two years ago. So obviously I adored the game - why else would I continue to play it for the following 13 years?

This franchise was my childhood through and through. I played the game into the late hours of the night, beating just one more trainer before bed; or resetting every time my last Ultra Ball failed to catch a Legendary Bird, pridefully refusing to use my Master Ball before the coveted Mewtwo on the horizon. I was glued to the TV every Saturday morning to catch new episodes of the cartoon. Previously I've stated that Dragonball Z was the first anime I ever saw; in hindsight, it was actually Pokemon. I saw the (first two) movies in theaters, retrieving the Ancient Mew card from the First Movie. And yes, I collected the CCG too. My first rare card from my first booster pack was a 1st Edition Holographic Charizard. That doesn't expand on my love of the fandom - I just thought that was a really awesome thing. I even had a Pokemon Pikachu - Pokemon's answer to the Tamagotchi/GigaPets. Loved that little guy. Made you want to run and exercise to make him happy! Ingenious, really.

I praised Pokemon earlier for being accessible to kids of all ages and for teaching lessons while still keeping up the entertainment value. But I also said the last Pokemon game I played came out two years ago. Two more generations of the games have come out since then, but after years of catching monsters and making them battle, trying to make them the very best like no monster ever was, I was growing......tired. The fact of the matter is, the Pokemon games, while improving every step of the way, are basically the same game over and over and over again. For kids, that's great; each new generation of 10-year-olds will have a wonderful game to play. For me, now an adult, it's grown stale. I've gone through versions Blue, Silver, Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf Green, Pearl, and finally back around for Soul Silver. The journeys had been long and arduous, and I'd enjoyed them thoroughly. I had game experiences I'd never forget and fond memories of nights trading and battling with my friends; I even had my own #1 favorite monster (Gengar). And yet, over time I realized that I was playing a game that just repeated itself with each generation. I never once leveled one of my Pokemon to 100 - I would buy the next version before accruing enough time to do so, and then the older game would sit in the bin. I came to realize that, for me, such a mindless cycle had to come to an end; the point had been lost. So I made a conscious decision to purchase neither Pokemon Black nor White, and I quit the game for good. Several of my peers have continued the games unwavering, it's just simply not for me anymore. Perhaps you can blame my narrowing taste in video games, but my trainer days have come to a close. Do I regret playing Pokemon? No. My quitting is solely a matter of age and taste - they say nothing of the state of the games now. And I would encourage anyone curious to check them out. They kept me entertained for many long years and hopefully may do the same for you.

Most. Fun. Coloring. Work. Ever. I had so much fun coloring this drawing. It doesn't look like much, but it came together so smoothly. Gengar's triple shade pleases me beyond words. As for Sei, I'm not as happy with him......his legs aren't long enough, for one. His clothing is a little wonky; however his expression is PERFECT. I wanted Sei and Gengar's 'tudes to be in sync, and I think I captured that in the expressions. I debated giving Sei a similar toothy grin, but I decided that would be a little TOO in sync, to the point of being hokey. "Cool Berserker" is a reference to Sei's personality in my story - don't pay it any mind.