Because it's not DeviantART. That's why.
To elaborate, here's what theO has that DA doesn't:
- A tightly knit, friendly community
- The chance to be noticed
- The fact that all members have a common interest of anime and manga
- Submission categories based on fandoms instead of a whole bunch of different variables
- Fan work dedications
- Challenges
- Worlds (and lots of 'em)
- User input for site design/features
- A tagging system that doesn't involve mushingallkindsofwordstogether
- An admin team that isn't made of jerks
- Uncensored... things
Could theO be better? Sure. Lots of improvements could be made. But as things stand now, it sure is better than DA.
For those of you who have seen me on DA, I won't be uploading anything there in the foreseeable future. I'll pop in now and again, but I'll be sticking to theO for all my artwork-posting needs. Except cosplay. I need to find a site where I can post pictures of that.
I'm kind of irritated for a few reasons which I shall list below. Don't worry; they're all otaku-related, making things a bit more interesting.
Reason One
I have artist's block AND writer's block. Yesterday, I came on theO to find FUNi's amazing art of my OCs. It filled me up with so much creative energy that I wanted to do something productive right then and there. But I couldn't. I had to go to work.
After a messed up day at my new job, I came home drained. I haven't wanted to create anything since. Not fan art. Not original art. Not those requests that I owe people. Not my stories. Not even that long overdue ACen thing that I sated a month ago.
I have a tiny backlog of drawings, but they're kind of spoilerific for one of the stories I'm writing. Not sure if I wanna post those.
Speaking of my stories, I'm really out of practice writing them. I've even reached a dead end in Survival Instincts, and with my beta maybe-resigning, I don't know if I'll ever get anywhere with it. I have a clearer vision for my other stories, but I don't feel like writing either of them.
I'm forcing myself to work on the Challenge prizes. I don't believe that my art is at its best when it's forced, but I'm trying to do it anyway.
Reason Two
ART THIEVES ARE TAKING OVER THEO! I'd rant on and on about how bad of an effect this is having on theO's community, but you probably know all the reasons why art theft is bad already.
Reason Three
I wrote a long post about the fairly new (at least to the US) manga, The Seven Deadly Sins a few weeks ago. In the last paragraph I mentioned my excitement for the anime premiere.
Well, I waited for Crunchyroll to pick it up. And I waited. And waited. And on the date of the premiere, I was still waiting. Heck, the second episode aired earlier today and I'm STILL waiting for a simulcast.
Rumor has it that Netflix snapped up the series. Too bad for me because (a) Netflix ain't free and (b) Netflix ain't simulcastin'. Then again, this isn't a solid fact (though people are treating it as such). But if it IS true, then I won't be able to see the series until after it's aired in its entirety.
I am stressing over this WAAAAAAAY too much, but knowing that I'm making a big deal over an anime isn't helping me any.
Reason Four
I have to watch, like, 60 episodes of anime this week. While that in and of itself isn't a bad thing, I don't know when I'm going to find the time.
I checked four DVDs out of the library, and I got a notice that one of them had come in. I wasn't able to get to the library until a few days later, and when I picked up the DVD, I saw that two more had come in just then. I kind of hoped that I wouldn't have to check all three out at the same time, but that's exactly what happened. I'll have them for two weeks, but week one is almost over. I don't know if I can renew any of them.
Well, I know what I'll be doing on my day off tomorrow.
As many of you know, today is FMA Day. If you don't know why October 3rd has been designated FMA Day, you need to watch/read the series.
It's true that the manga and both anime have long since ended. The fandom is starting to wane. We won't be getting any new releases. Unless...
See this? This is a little treat for Fullmetal Alchemist nerds. Note how it says "Volume 1". After some research, I learned that there are actually FOUR of such books, although only one has been translated into English.
Being a nerd who sponges up information about everything I obsess over, but not knowing Japanese, I am at a disadvantage. I'm sure that many of you are in this very same boat. Whether it be interviews, character bios, timelines, or cute little comics, I'm sure we've craved this at one point or another.
I'd love to email Viz, the publisher of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga to make the other three guides available in English, but it seems that they don't have one for this sort of inquiry. Heck, they don't have any publicly displayed emails at all. But I clicked their "Contact" page to find that they have a P.O. Box. LET US BOMBARD THEM WITH SNAIL MAIL!
Now who's with me?
Coincidentally, I won a Premium on theO on this very day last year, and I have renewed it. That's how much I love this site.
Since it's that time of year, I have a confession to make. If you haven't noticed my most recent drawing as of this post, I'm reading a manga called The Seven Deadly Sins. Yeah, after many anime riffs, they now have their own manga.
I may not be Catholic, but I feel a bit guilty about reading it anyway. Why? Because I think it's gonna be one of those crazy long shounen manga. And we all know the stigma that comes with that.
The reason I picked it up in the first place is because of an article I read on a Tumblr blog called "Manga Therapy" (not linking it doe to spoilers). The first word in the post's title was "Greed" and I instantly thought "FMA!!!!!" Then I read a bit and thought, "Wait. THIS ISN'T FMA!!!!!!!!!!"
After a bit of research on the series, I learned that the Sins each have a marking of an animal on their body, one of which looks suspiciously like an ouroboros. My first impression was, "What a knockoff!" But then I signed up for a free trial of Crunchyroll's All-Access Membership just so I could read it.
Turns out the similarities to Fullmetal Alchemist are only superficial. The story is set in medieval times and is based on Arthurian legend. There are knights, princesses, fairies, and giants. Magic is heavily involved. And the story, so far, is no FMA.
Here's a brief synopsis: Ten years prior to the story's beginning, the king's royal guard, the Seven Deadly Sins, were framed for a crime that they didn't commit, and were exiled by an elite group known as the Holy Knights. In the present, the Holy Knights have staged a coup d'etat and overthrown the kingdom. The king's youngest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, believes the only ones who can save the kingdom from the corrupted Holy Knights are the Seven Deadly Sins. She escapes the kingdom on a quest to find them, but with the Sins dispersed and in hiding, it won't be easy.
That was the lamest synopsis I ever wrote.
I'd get to the characters, but I'm in a time crunch. I'll update that later.
Update: Here are the characters. I'm only really writing about the protagonists that appear early on-- I don't want to get into spoilers.
Meliodas (Dragon Sin of Wrath): Although he appears to be a boy (which he assures he isn't), he is the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins. He runs a tavern called the Boar's Hat, even though he couldn't cook to save his life. Despite his title as "Dragon Sin of Wrath", he is actually very laid back. He has a strange attachment to a broken sword that he carries with him at all times.
Elizabeth: She is one of the princesses of the kingdom of Liones, and the king's youngest daughter. When she begins traveling with Meliodas, he employs her as a waitress. Being a princess, she knows nothing of combat, but is willing to put herself in danger for the sake of her people.
Hawk: He is a talking pig and friend of Meliodas. His main job is to eat the leftovers of Meliodas's lousy cooking.
Diane (Serpent Sin of Envy): She is a sweet, though sometimes airheaded, giant girl. Due to her size, she can't fit in houses or even go into cities. She has a crush on Meliodas, and is initially suspicious of Elizabeth when she sees them together. However, she and Elizabeth become friends fairly quickly.
Ban (Fox Sin of Greed): He is a human turned immortal, and can instantly heal from most damage, save for one scar across his cheek, neck, and shoulder. Living most of his life as a thief, most people-- including himself-- don't think very highly of him. The first person to ever see the good in him was a love that he lost long ago.
King (Grizzly Sin of Sloth): "King" is not his name, but his title, since he is king of the fairies. Though he looks like a child, he sometimes takes the form of a stout man so as not to draw attention to himself. He is physically weak, and appears quite harmless, but he carries a dangerous, shape-shifting weapon.
Now, a little review:
The good: Many of the protagonists are based on sins, which are essentially really bad flaws. They're ashamed of their pasts, so much so that they won't even talk about them with each other. This makes for an excellent group of mysterious yet relateable characters.
The bad: There are too many instances of groping and panty-snatching in the name of humor. Guess what? It's not funny!
Told ya it would be a little review.
I'm not sure exactly what I think of the manga, but my thoughts are more positive than negative. Maybe I'm reading it because of my feeling that the fandom will soon explode, and I can say that I'm one of the "first" fans abroad (even though the manga has been out in the USA since March and I started the series in September). Maybe I'm reading it because I don't want spoilers-- I just read the most recent chapter last night. Whatever the reason, I hope the story doesn't go sour by the end.
Just an FYI, the anime premiers October 5th. Coincidentally, that's the day after the Jewish Day of Atonement. I hope Cruchyroll snaps it up. I want to hear what the characters sound like and see them in action.
