OK, so I was looking through the advertisements that come with the Sunday paper, and I found out that there's a program called Anime Studio that lets users create their own animations. Since I couldn't get much info from an itty-bitty picture of it (other than that it was on sale and that the character on the front looked more like something out of South Park than an anime character), I decided to drive to the store and see if I could get more information. When I finally found the product, I looked the box over to see what I could learn from it. Here's what I found out:
- It's for 2-D animation
- It has video tutorials included with the program
- It contains a bunch of stock images
- Users can import photos or artwork to animate
- Animations can be exported and the files can be posted on sites like YouTube
- It's "easy to use" (but all companies say that about their products!)
- It's from the makers of the program Manga Studio
Now, I own Manga Studio, even though I've never taken the time to actually sit down and learn it. But I do know that Manga Studio is a very professional-looking program. However, Anime Studio doesn't look very professional at all. It looks more like something a kid would have fun with. Pictures such as large photographed heads on tiny cartoon bodies gave my that impression.
Also, I get the feeling that one can do more with the stock characters than with their own art. Although the box said that Anime Studio can be used with programs that can make artwork (such as Photoshop), I think that images that aren't stock might be harder to deal with.
Despite all these negative assumptions, I was considering buying the product. Heck, it was on sale! Then I thought things over. I've dealt with hand-drawn animation, before. I thought I would like it, but animating turned out to be a royal pain in the butt. There were many times that I wanted to give up on my short animated sequence. What if I become frustrated with Anime Studio, too?
Then, there's the point I made about Manga Studio: I've never taken the time to teach it to myself. Would Anime Studio be any different?
The final thing that didn't make me buy the product on the spot were the system requirements. Even though it works for Windows XP (yes, my PC is about five years old and it still works), I figured that the program, as well as the files I would create, would take up a lot of space. And I'm sure that it requires more RAM than my computer can provide.
So, I set the box back on the shelf. Maybe I'd buy it another day when I get a more powerful computer. Maybe I'll never buy it at all. Maybe I should ask other people for their opinions.
Actually, I WILL ask other people for their opinions. So if you, yes you who is reading this, happen to have used Anime Studio, could you please tell me what the program is like? How easy/hard is it to use? What are you capable of doing with your original artwork in Anime Studio? Are any of my assumptions about the program correct or did I totally misjudge it? Please tell me anything you can about Anime Studio. Thanks!
I remember some time after I completed watching the Death Note anime, I came across this online, fan-made, Death Note poll. The question was "Who's your favorite Death Note character? The answers were mostly the usual suspects: Light, L, Ryuk, Misa, Rem, Mello, Near. Stuff like that. But at the bottom of the list was a name I didn't recognize: Matt. Keep in mind that this was AFTER I watched the WHOLE anime.
So, who is this Matt guy? I didn't remember him at all. While I didn't want to re-watch the whole anime, I had to find out. So, I did the next best thing. I read the manga.
After completing several volumes of the manga with no sign of Matt, I decided to take a break. It was around that time that I talked to a guy who had either seen or read the whole Death Note series (or maybe he both saw AND read the whole thing). We were discussing the genius detective characters when the guy brought up Matt. Of course I was like, "Who the eff is Matt?"
He gave me a weird answer. Matt's a bit-part character who only appears in somewhere between 11 and 13 panels in the manga. So what's the big deal about a very minor character?
"There's tons of dojinshi (spelling, please?) about him and Mello," the guy told me.
He then promptly began to fantasize about the two of them.
So, that's it? That's all Matt is? That can't be! I had to see for myself.
I finally found Matt in the 10th volume of the manga (out of 12 volumes) taking orders from Mello or something. I counted how many panels he appeared in. There were maybe seven or eight. That was the majority of the panels in which Matt appeared, according to the guy I talked to. Still, I learned nothing about the character besides the fact that he's Mello's underling of sorts.
When I got to the 11th volume, I checked the cast of characters that appears in the front of the book. There was no picture of Matt. He wasn't a major character. He wasn't even a supporting character. He was an afterthought as far as the creators of the Death Note manga were concerned.
Turns out, Matt didn't make an appearance until the VERY END of the 11th volume. His last appearance in the manga is in the very beginning of the 12th and final volume. (SPOILER!) Then, he is promptly killed. That's it. No background. No development. No reason for him to be someone's favorite character.
Then I decided to check out the bonus volume of Death Note which includes (but isn't limited to) creator interviews and character bios. I looked up Matt, who's bio, by the way, wasn't anywhere near those of the main and supporting cast. Turns out, he's supposed to be from the Wammy House where L, Mello, and Near were raised. In fact he's supposedly the fourth-smartest Wammy boy after L, Near, and Mello.
If it weren't for that bonus volume, most Death Note fans might not have given Matt a second thought. So, I guess that explains some of his popularity. That, and he's considered kind of hot to some, hence the Mello x Matt shipping. Still, that doesn't justify him to be a favorite character.
I'll try to put things in perspective. Let's talk Star Wars. Saying Matt's your favorite character is like saying that your favorite Star Wars character is Oola. Who the heck is Oola, anyway?
Well, according to the Star Wars no longer Essential Guide to Characters due to the fact that the prequels contradict it Oola is that dancer in Episode VI with green skin and two wormy things coming out of her head. Shortly after her screen time begins, she protests being a slave to Jabba the Hutt (in an alien language, of course). Jabba the Hutt then feeds her to a large monster.
But then, the Star Wars no longer Essential Guide to Characters due to the fact that the prequels contradict it gives her a whole freakin' back story about how before she meets Jabba, she thinks she's going to be a dancer in a prince's palace. Then, Luke Skywalker tries to rescue her from becoming Jabba's slave. She refuses, thinking that Jabba is a handsome prince. Turns out, he's a giant slug. The rest is history.
I'm sorry I couldn't elaborate on that back story. I sold the Star Wars no longer Essential Guide to Characters due to the fact that the prequels contradict it some years ago. Besides, it's not a back story worth elaborating. It's totally pointless. Kind of like the character of Oola, herself. But I'm sure that in spite of her green skin and wormy things coming out of her head, some people found her hot. And if Star Wars was an anime, I'm sure she'd be shipped with one of the main characters. Maybe she already is, even though Star Wars isn't an anime.
To me, Matt is no different. Sure he doesn't talk in an alien language (unless you count Japanese, but that's what subtitles are for), and his name is actually mentioned in the Death Note series itself, but that's about it.
Matt fans, I'm not trying to bash you, so try not to take my rant personally. Matt's just a fictional character, anyway. Still, I'm not quite sure why you like him so much. Here's your chance to defend yourselves, if you wish. Besides the whole "he's hot" or "he's #4 behind L, Near, and Mello" or the Mello x Matt shipping thing, I'd really like to know what your reasons for liking him are. Please discuss.
*Blows dust off.* Happy new year! In April. *Shot.*
OK, this has been bugging me for quite some time. I mean, a year or two. I know most people here have read all the available volumes of Naruto manga or seen the anime, but just in case you haven't met characters introduced in the beginning of the chuunin exam arc, you need to catch up desperately I'm putting this in spoiler tags.
So, when Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke meet Kakashi for the first time, Kakashi tells them that there are 27 academy students that had graduated. So if those 27 students are split up into teams of three, there are nine teams altogether. So, how can Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji be the tenth team?
Furthermore, Kakashi tells his new team that only three of those nine teams will be allowed to become ninja and the rest will be sent back to the academy. Those three teams will be determined by whether they pass a test (I don't know if the other teams did the bell test or something else). So, what happens if a fourth team passes the test? What if only one or two teams pass?
This leads me now to Gai's team. Were Neji, Lee, and Tenten the only ones to pass the test? Or did other academy students their age pass? If so, what happened to them? Did they die? It would be pretty sad if two teams died trying to complete D-rank missions. Most likely, they just aren't mentioned. Maybe they're purposely omitted to help the fans fabricate original characters. Yeah, that's probably it.
Boy, I asked a lot of questions. Then again, plotholes can make you do that. You, the reader, don't have to answer them. It's just something to think about.
Wow, I haven't updated this World, like, ever. I was thinking about kicking things off with an essay about "Sailor Moon" (the series that got me into anime), but I guess I'll leave that for another day.
What I want to write about now is how confused I get when I watch too many anime at once. I remember when I was watching "Death Note" and "Naruto" simultaneously. Every time I saw L with his thumb in his mouth, I half expected him to bite it, form the appropriate hand seals, and summon something. Really.
I told this to some people who are both familiar with "Naruto" and "Death Note". One of them laughed. Another one said, "You're special."
So, that's why it takes me so long to go through anime and manga. I only watch/read one at a time, now. Too bad the one anime I'm watching now is "Naruto Shippuden". That's gonna take forever.
Know what? It's the new year. I'm going to make a resolution to watch more anime and not get confused. I don't know how possible that's going to be, but it's worth a try.
Here's a list of the anime and manga series that I have watched or read. I will divide the list into various sub-categories.
MANGA
Manga that I am currently reading:
Death Note
Manga that I intend to read:
Fushigi Yugi
Fullmetal Alchemist
ANIME
Anime that I am currently watching:
Naruto Shipuden
Anime that I have finished watching:
Death Note
Naruto
FLCL
Anime that I started watching some time ago but intend to finish:
Azumanga Daioh
Inuyasha
Sailor Moon
Anime that I have seen bits and pieces of and intend to watch episodes in order:
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
Robotech
Tenchi Muyo
Yu Yu Hakusho
Ruroni Kenshin
Anime that I have seen bits and pieces of and don't intend to pursue anymore:
Dragonball
Dragonball Z
Cardcaptor Sakura (AKA Cardcaptors)
Pokemon
Hamtaro
Digimon
Voltron
Anime that I want to watch:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Inuyasha: The Final Act (I forgot what the Japanese title is.)
Hetalia
Trinity Blood
Wolf's Rain
One Piece
Samurai Champloo
(I know that there are more out there that I've seen an episode or two of and/or want to see, but I just can't remember the names.)
Movies that I have seen:
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Movies that I want to see:
Paprika
Metropolis
Looking over my list, I see how anime/manga-illiterate I am. Most of the series that I have seen and want to see are pretty mainstream. And of course, the ones I want to see outnumber the ones I have seen. Boy, I've got a lot of work to do.
