Plenty of 2013 USxUK Calendars left over! And now for half the price!
Visit here for more info: [link]

Additional news: I am ceasing USUK pchat for now as life is becoming more busy. Also, gotten into JoJo's Bizarre Adventure so USUK fan art will slow to a crawl.

2013 USxUK Calendar up for preorder~
HURRY! Pre-orders end by Thursday, November 8th!

If you want to make a pre-order or have any questions, please go here: [link]

Thank you all for the Birthday greetings. ;w;

Also, I uploaded the Britannia Angel comic to dA. Some of you may have already seen it on tumblr and LiveJournal.
For anyone who hasn't seen it, click here to view: [link]

USxUK 2012 Calendar Reprint!
A second chance to purchase the USxUK 2012 calendar if you missed out the first time!
Click here for more info! [link]




2012 USxUK Calendar up for preorder~
HURRY! Pre-orders end by Wednesday, November 30th!
Made the main December/Xmas pic for the calendar~

2011 USxUK Calendar up for preorder~
HURRY! Pre-orders end by Sunday!!
Made the October/Halloween pic for the calendar. =w=b

Black Jack Webdoujin Anthology site is now open!

It's been a while since I last posted an entry here.

This is sorta of a cross-post from my LJ. Also, this is coming from someone who hasn't read the Scott Pilgrim comics yet, but only played the PSN video game.
I've watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World and I loved it!!♥♥♥ *___*
The style, music and energy of this film was great! All the references and sound effects to old skool video games used throughout the film had me in glee! (Zelda, Mario, Street Fighter, and Sonic are the ones I identified. And correct me if I'm wrong, but did they make a NES Duck Tales reference?) Heck, Scott even wore an Astro Boy t-shirt! And I love the humor! XD From the moment that Matthew Patel enters the scene, the film got crazy and exuberant, and a lot of things didn't make a lot of sense from there on, but the film just embraced the craziness.
The cast of characters where also brilliant! Those who stood out to me and I became fond of was Knives Chau, Scott's young high school girlfriend whose character I normally would have found annoying, but she actually came across rather endearing thanks to the actress who played her, and Wallace Wells, Scott's suave, laidback and level-headed gay roommate.
My gripe with the movie is that we don't get to know all too much Katayanagi Twins, how did Ramona met and split up with them (They didn't speak at all!). Perhaps, provide more build up for Gideon, and have slightly more insight on Scott's past relationship with Envy. My other compliant would have to do with all the craziness; how does Scott know how to fight and why no one seems to have a scratch on them after getting pummelled so much? But then again, I had to chalk this up to the video game aspect of this movie's theme, so perhaps my complaint here is invalid.
But other than that, it was a very enjoyable film.
Most definitely recommend people to watch this film, especially to fellow old skool gamers! d*^o^*b

-----

Okay. I'm worried. I haven't received any submissions at all for my online Black Jack anthology project: [link]
And there's only 2 more months until the deadline. @@
I guess I should have started this project sooner when the anime was still be subbed cause I have noticed that slight fall in interest and inactivity with Black Jack around some communities.

I'm heading to the London Expo next week Sunday, so anyone else going would be aware that I'll be there and seamlessly blending into the crowd. Really, I'm not exactly a crowd person so I probably won't stick around for too long. ._.; Not exactly sure what to wear if anyone wants to look for me. A Black Jack shirt perhaps?

-------

Lately, I've been swept up by Hetalia mania. Can't wait to see the film! It was far too easy for me to latch onto England, and I enjoy the banter he has with America and France. (At first I thought fans were just labeling England as a tusndere. Apparently, the mangaka labeled him this too. XD; )
Yes, I do like USxUK. *Sigh* Why is it too easy? It usually takes me time to get into a couple... This can't be a good sign, is it?

-------

B'z news! I'm so behind with B'z! I finally got round to listening to their latest album, "MAGIC", which came out late last year. And I have to admit, it's not so bad, but not great.
Here are my fave songs:

► "Long time no see" - Like this one a lot! Listen here: [link]
► "Yume no Naka de Aimasho" (See you in my dreams) - Really really like how it starts but not so keen on how it ends. Listen here: [link]

Yes, only two songs from the album. The other songs aren't bad, but they're not unique enough or memorable, imo, which is quite worrisome.

There are also a couple of B'z singles which I caught up with but weren't too keen on them either (though the ballad version of "Ichibu to Zenbu" is very nice. The song has very sweet lyrics).
I dunno, it seems like they have been stuck in this particular style of music for a good number of years. Their solo works are great, but when working together, the music they produce seem to have this same sound to them in the last few or so albums... I wonder why? Is it because of age? That they aren't push as much as they use to? Or has the current music scene jaded them to what sounds good? Perhaps all 3?
It seems Tak and Koshi are going solo again and I think it's a good thing as they may benefit from working individually or with others just to gain some additional flavors to their current musical repertoire. Koshi's new single is coming out next month and from what I've heard from the short demo, it sounds pretty good! I look forward it! *Also prays that Tak really does an international tour*

I still very much favor the band and their music, but their current offerings are becoming a tad recycled and slightly unappealing. I dread the day when I listen to a B'z album and not like a single song. ;_;

On a brighter note, Koshi is still looking good for 45. [link]^o^* <---(Shameless)
And I actually like "Sahara" featuring Koshi Inaba from Slash's solo album, "SLASH".
Listen here: (Japanese version) [link]
Listen here: (English version) [link]

Personally I prefer the Japanese version of Sahara as Koshi sounds slightly more aggressive. But the words in the English version, "I wanted to tie you down and make you miiiine" keeps standing out to me every time I listen to it. *^q^* <---(shamelessx2)

-------

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline for the Rock day contest is a week from now! [link]

A reminder on Black Jack Webdoujin Anthology project. Just hope no one has forgotten about it since I haven't had any submissions from anyone in the last couple of months and I'm feeling a little nervous that perhaps I launched this project a little too late. O_O;
Read previous entry on this: [link]

Also, I'm having a Rock Day contest over at the Rock Holmes Club for anyone interested in winning a 1 year dA subscription or Metropolis merch. Contest deadline is by the very end of this month! ^^ Please read here for contest details and rules: [link]

Thanks for reading!

-------------

Tagged by (I pretty much did something similar a couple of entries back, but oh well. ^^)

These are the rules!
1.) Write 10 things about yourself.
2.) When your done, choose 10 other victims' icons and post it in your journal!
3.) Go to your victims page and leave a message saying you tagged them! I'm not gonna do this.
4.) There are no tag backs folks!

10 things about myself:

1. Good with one-on-one conversations, but in a group I tend to clam up.

2. Had the cough coughs for a month now. X_x

3. Finally have a tablet! But for some reason, still love drawing line art on paper.

4. STEPHEN! (Cookie to anyone who comes back with the correct reply!)

5. I admit to not liking a large majority of AMVs (Note: Not all, just a lot). There's only been... 2 that I liked. 1 sparked my interest so much that I went and brought the DVD boxset.

6. After much resisting, I finally gave in and watched Hetalia yesterday.

7. I'm a spoonyone fan.

8. Not so fond of taking the bus, I'd rather walk or take the train.

9. I like curry, but can only take it if it's mild.

10. I still get excited whenever I see the numbers 178. XD;

Victims (You may choose to do this if you wish!)

Hello! How is everyone? ^^
First of all, Happy New Year! Already 2010!
I've been mostly working and gluing myself to livejournal, so again, sorry for the lack of artwork.

Anyway, on with the meme!

Tagged by

1. Post these rules.
2. Each tagged person must post 10 things about themselves on their journal.
3. At the end, you have to choose and tag 10 people and post their icons on the same journal.
4. Go to their pages and send a message saying you tagged them.
5. No tag-backs.

1. Really dislike Caramelldansen. Cannot stand it.

2. Never played an FPS.

3. Have a fondness for old Sega games and consoles.

4. I have come to like Makube Rokuro more over Black Jack. O.O

5. Slowly becoming a fujoshi. But at the same time I don't go over the top. Well, not yet.

6. I don't keep up with a lot of current trends/anime/movies/etc. I tend to run backwards. XD; I love some underdog/cult classic stuff. =3

7. I like to listen to Aadm & Joe (& so forth)
Here's a fun extract from their BBC6 radio show: [link]

8. I'm not good with crowds. o_o;

9. Love ice cream mochi. =9~

10. Currently working on a Black Jack related project. I shall let you Black Jack fan artists know more when it comes closer to the time. ^^



I tag...

As you can tell, I hardly update my DA journal as much anymore. Hometown is completely gone and so is all the B'z scans. T_T Sorry to all those who just stumbled across my page expecting scans...

So what have I been up to?
Well, working mostly, made some lovely new friends, had a couple of reunions, gone to a few events (Video Games Live and Play.com), been posting a little more on my LJ, brought a wii and have been playing a few games on that. It's also been a very family orientated year this year.
I setup a Rock Holmes club~ . You can go check it out for fan art, scans and such (Currently have some Black Jack scans, screenshots and wallpapers up there). =3

Art wise, I have been drawing, but most of it isn't exactly worthy to be posted up here as they are largely of sketches.

Christmas for me was pretty eventful, all I can say is that it is a pretty unusual Christmas. Think drama.

Anyway, that's all I feel like saying for now. Expect more of my infrequent visits and updates on DA. XD; Hope you all had a good Christmas and wish you all a good start to the New Year!


Clubs

Has it been 9 months since my last journal entry here? O_o;
Wow...
Yes, it's an update, but not exactly the start of a frequent return (sorry guys!). But today is special (3rd of November 1928) as it's Tezuka Osamu's Birthday!
I remember hearing Tezuka being called the "God of Manga", and at the time thinking that it was so farfetched of a title for him. But the more I learn about Tezuka and his work the more fitting this title is! He just about covered every genre (yes, shonen ai too!)
There's also been a lot of good news lately. Vertical are planning on translating the entire Black Jack manga series next year (FINALLY!!! *________*), there's an Astro Boy movie in the works by IMAGI, there's been exceedingly good reviews for "Ode to Kirihito" released in English (Again, thanks to Vertical) earlier this year, and some kind soul is willing to scanlate Vampire! Good news indeed!
And for this special occasion I have posted up a Black Jack and Makube fan comic, which you can read through in my gallery.

-s

Happy New Year all! Wish you all the best of luck this year, good health and success!
Year 2007. Year of the pig. So the year of the dog (my birth year) is over... and looking at my DA gallery, I only submitted 5 pieces of work over the last year. Eep. XD; Sorry DA & B'z fan viewers. I'll try and submit more this year... I hope.


-----
B'z Fan Comic Archive

My entry "Redeemon" is a runner up (already decided by the judges) in the Rising Star of Manga UK & Ireland 2 competition. So that means I get the entry printed in the anthology! YAY! *^o^*/
Here are the results: [link]

Congrats to San on her entry with "Experiment 1817295#7205"! I personally like her art style a lot. XD
Thanks to those who took the time to read and vote for the entries!

Now for all you Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban fans. Gyakuten Saiban 4 website is up! [link]
I'm so exited about this. XD Since the trilogy had ended, we now have a new cast of characters!
The main character, Housuke, is rather adorable looking (Shoma? o.o), your rival is Kirihito (Kyosuke and Yurika's lovechild? *Shot* Okay! Enough with the Rival School and Project Justice references!) and Kyouya is... pretty drool worthy. XD
Don't forget to check out the promo video!

Okay, again I'm sorry for putting off posting, commenting and stuff for ages. But things have been busy and all those excuses I make.

Anyway, my manga entry, "Redeemon", for the Rising Star of Manga UK & Ireland competition is up among the top 14. : [link]

Originally TokyoPop were  to choose a top 20 for People's Choice, but only 15 entries were chosen because they couldn't find 5 others that were up to standard for showcasing. Then, they decided to take out :devifuurin: entry: Another Summer Day O_O;; Now that was pretty cruel, especially to do that on the day when the voting page is finally up (but that's been delayed for a week due to site maintenance)... But I hope fuurin won't be discouraged from entering for next year's competition. Best of luck to her!


Now on to the topic of Giant Robo (w00t!).
On the official site there is a mention that there is a Giant Robo manga currently being released "Champion Red" magazine, based on Giant Robo: The Animation. Suppose to be the retelling of the good old OVA series.   Here are a couple of previews from the manga:
Cervantes: [link]
Celestial nine: [link]

My entry "Let's Collab!" is one (out of 5) of this year's NEO Magazine (UK's only anime, manga mag) Manga competition winners. And the manga entry is out in this month's issue (#23).
I have to say, I really screwed up. Spelt "relay" instead of "rely" and "niave" instead of "naive". @_@ Oh well... consider it a miracle that I won despite those minor mistakes. (Boy, do I screentone like a novice... XD; )


B'z Fan Comic Archive

Pepsi Man game: [link]
Really. The guy asking for your help is the highlight of the video. XD But you really gotta wonder why everyone is gonna riot in front of a Pepsi Vending machine when there is plenty of Pepsi trucks and cans laying around everywhere.


B'z Fan Comic Archive

Whoa! Sorry if I still haven't commented back on all your work and comments! I finally got my Uni work up for the exhibition and still have a few more things to organise, so I'm still busy.
So now it's June, which mean lots of Birthdays coming up (including mines)! And my family has already organised a B-day party for my mom next week! Can't wait! Karaoke and all! *^o^* (BTW, Happy Birthday to all you people who are having their B-days on this month! You know who you are. )

The London Expo was fun, for at least 3 hours (I'll provide photos at a later date since they're with my bro). XD; There was a huge load of people turning up this year, and my gosh was there a huge queue to get in! @_@ Got to play Phoenix Wright (can't help but keep calling it Gyakuten Saiban...) for a long half hour. The English names still erk me. XD; Brought some Sweatdrop comics and the English release of Tetsujin 28 DVD, which I brought just to hear what the English dub is like.
Also got second place in the 16+ fan art Manga Art Competition that was held at the Expo (had no time to make a new piece of art for the Expo, so I just submitted my Nube fan pic. )! Funny that I don't even know what I won yet. XD;; But all the other comp winner's art were of extremely high standard! *o*
Sorry If I couldn't catch anyone at the Expo this time round, hopefully I'll get to see you all at October's.

Anyway, until next time! ^_^

Hey! Been a long while since I submitted anything here! XD How is everyone?
Hm... so many messages. @_@

Anyway, I'm happy to say I've got all my work done and ready for assessment next week, but I'm not out of the woods yet. I have a lot planned over the summer holidays so I might not hang around on DA as much as I use to. But I will post the odd art now and then. ^^

B'z already has a new single out: "Yuruginai Mono Hitotsu" and I like their cover version (If I can call it that) of "Pierrot". Also there is a new single release: "SPLASH" (single + DVD combo) which will be released in June 7th AND a new album called "MONSTER" which will be out on the 28 of June! O_O Wow! Already 3 singles and an album released this year!
More info here: [link]
Short PV of SPLASH: [link]
Flash and music demo from MONSTER: [link]

Over the past three months of working I've been watching some anime, reading books, and playing video games (thanks to my bro). Currently playing Sega Ages: Die Hard Arcade. XD That brings back a lot of memories...
Anime wise, I got to see "KO Seiki Beast Sanjuushi" finally! After a decade since AnimeUK dubbed it! XD; I would have loved it if I saw it a decade ago, but now... Well, I feel like I'm a decade late and too old to love it's cliché-ness (though I do love the character designs on the first 3 episodes). I also discovered "Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo!! Masaru-san"! This is a hilarious and weird shonen anime (Think along the lines of Excel Saga)! XD Fuumin is voiced by Kanemaru Junichi AKA Sonic the Hedgehog. ;D And Fuumin does sound like Sonic at times! Definitely a fave to my list of favorite animes!

Plus, I'm off to the London Expo! [link] I would surely be there on Saturday 27th, past 12-ish I think. I'll be carrying my fugly CAT messenger bag with SD B'z keyrings (*Huggles Ana*) on it.

I won't be commenting or posting anything on DA until late June since I'm busy with work and family life, etc.
So everyone will have to wait til then. But if you feel the need to urgently contact me, then you can just send me a note (or better yet an e-mail).
I hope you all can understand.


Also, can someone loan me their voice? It's for an information video about fighting insomnia and I need someone with a formative, yet somewhat relaxing tone to read the following:

• Use your bed for sleeping only. Try to refrain from catching up on work or just hanging out in bed.
• Relax by listening to soft music or a meditation tape before bedtime. Do Yoga or gentle stretching.
• Take a hot bath. Keep the lights dim.
• Use essential oils to help you relax. Add six drops of lavender or marjoram oil to a bath, or put four drops of oil on your pillow.
• Snack on foods high in tryptophan, an amino acid that can help you relax. These include turkey, bananas, figs, dates, milk and tuna.
• Try herbal sleep remedy to help induce sleepiness. Valerian, camomile, catnip, lavender, lime flower, passionflower, hops or skullcap can be taken in tea or capsule form.
• Get out of bed if you can’t sleep. Lying in bed sleepless will only make you feel more stressed.
• Read or perform a light chore until you start to feel sleepy. Then try to go back to sleep – or if you’re feeling stressed or agitated, try some relaxation techniques.
• Return to bed once you’re feeling sleepy and relaxed.


If you are interested and have any queries, please send me a note ASAP!


Take care all!

EDIT:
Survey Baton - tagged by

Total Volume:
Hard drives, right? 62.72GB total. I have an old computer.

Last CD Bought:
Whoa, I had a whole batch of Giant Robo and 1 Tetsujin 28-gou OSTs send to me. So all those. XD;

Song Playing Right Now:
"Kioku No Kimi E" - Another Moon

Five Songs I Listen to A Lot, Or That Mean A Lot to Me:
"Skin" - B'z
"Deadline ~ Farewell Murasame Kenji" - Giant Robo VII OST
"Father's love" - Giant Robo V OST
"Manhattan Joke" - Lupin III
"Shoumen Shoutotsu" - Inaba Koshi

And this baton is passed on to the following 5 people:
~PikKurou
~hinan0
!XIV-Devil
*JezMM
~RATIOH

20 Things About Yourself - tagged by again. XD;

1. I'm a BBC (British Born Chinese, not the TV channels. XD; ).
2. My top 3 favorite animes are all retro classics.
3. Not only do I like J-rock, but I do love some good classical music (I'm a sucker for violins) and 1980s music.
4. I can be hyper and random at times. Like that time I laughed for half an hour over a game of Streets of Rage 2. XD;
5. I love looking at cute and aesthetically decorated cakes! *^o^* (Eating wise, I like mine with fresh cream and fruit)
6. I watch and enjoy Poirot. XD I find Captain Hastings charming!
7. I have a personal oekaki BBS and no one knows the whereabouts of it.
8. I have ganglion on my left hand. (It's a bump. None cancerous.)
9. I'm a sappy romantic.
10. I space out a lot. Even when I'm drawing. XD;
11. I'm a major worrywart. I worry so much that I can sometimes end up becoming nervous during a presentation, even if it is a small and intimate one, or end up having a sleepless night.
12. Ever since I discovered B'z I developed a thing for middle-aged men. @_@ Not that I don't notice guys in their 20s or anything.
13. I made a 3 minute long silent paper cut animation. No I'm not gonna show it to you. XD; I just watched it again recently and it's embarrassingly funny.
14. I always think there is a fine balance of good and bad in everything.
15. I witnessed someone die before my eyes. Experienced this abnormal feeling the moment I knew they went.
16. My blood glucose level is 6.4 (morning) XD; Well within the limit.
17. I love plain congee
18. Never been to an anime con.
19. I'm going to the London Expo this weekend.
20. I passed out on the underground train a week ago. First time it ever happened, and hopefully my last.

And now to curse-er... Tag others. XD I'm not sure who reads my journal entries so I'm trying to base it on those who replied last or regularly.