Raina

[COLOR=Blue] I'm not really sure what to believe... I mean, if everything were to happen for a reason, why do we have free will? If everything is predestined, are the choices we make already been made for us? If so, what is the point of individualism? If you could see the future in your dreams, wouldn't that be a boring life? Or maybe even a perfect life? Or because you see the future, you don't make any mistakes in life, and you do live a perfect life, wouldn't that be boring as well? But doesn't some things occur that make you want to believe in faith or destiny? I guess what I'm trying to say is, there may be somethings that are faith, destiny or predestined, but may be those are just there to give us a nodge. To give us the courage to follow our dreams, live our lives... [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I cry a lot, and I don't know why. I cry once, then read the same part again, then cry again... :animecry: I cried in Pokemon's first movie. I cried at the end of Sailor Moon's series. I cried at the end of Yu-Gi-Oh! series. I cried at the end of Dragon Ball GT series. I cry reading the monthly comic book magazine Nakayosi. I'm about to cry now remembering all those memorable moments... :animecry: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] I like to do a little research before buying any manga. Mainly because I'll probably buy the whole series even though it's crap. That's the kind of person I am. But that would be a waste of money, money I could be spending on other manga. I usually read about it on the net, watch an episode of it on TV or ask my friends about it. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I'm terrified of [B]Blue Bottles[/B]. Those living in Australia would know what I'm talking about. [B]Blue Bottles[/B] are a type of jelly fish. The body bit looks like glass, and the tentacle is blue. Tiny little creature, yet get stung a little and it hurts like hell!!!!! I swam into one (since I can't wear my glasses when I'm swimming). That bl***y thing stung me everywhere from the waist up! Stomach, back, arms, hands, neck, face, it really hurt!!!!! [B]I thought I was going to die![/B] I had scars from it for a month! I still can't go into the ocean. I'm getting scared just remembering that day, Boxing Day (the day after Christmas: 26th of Dec) in the year 2000. I cried and stated to shivver the other day when they showed a Blue Bottle on TV. That's how terrified I am!!!!![/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Ikillion][COLOR=#af992f][SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS] You call it summoning?! I call it slavery! I mean think about it. You have these peaceful species, going around, minding its own business, mating, eating whatever it is that pokemon do in their freetime. Then they have some human come over, beat them till they are to weak to fend for themselvs and capture them in the confinds of a small ball with who knows what happens in there?! [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR=Blue]I won't call the whole thing slavery. I mean, Ash and them become friends with Pokemon and ask them if they want to come. If the world was an anime, and there were those like Team Rocket useing Pokemon as slaves, I would rather stay in this real world. Mainly because I don't think the human race is ready for huge powers we see in the anime world. Think about it for a second. Polititians with super powers or super powered slaves? That would be scary. If everyone in the world were people who could be trusted with powers, I wouldn't mind living in an anime world, and go on a journey... [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] I'm Japanese, and I don't care who reappropriates my culture. Actually, I welcome it. Japanese watch American films, and the Americans watch Japanese films. So what's the big deal? It's globalisation and we otakus are the pioneers! So what if some people don't like the films made on Japan in America! There are crappy American films made in Japan too. That Jenn has her own opinion, and we have ours! We otakus make friends from around the world, regardless of their culture. Isn't that what it's all about? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] The theory of uniqueness of the Japanese. It?s one of my subjects at uni. Some of the topics in the class are: ? Lack of Individuality ? The Difficulty of Moving to a Different Country ? How Japanese Economical Growth is Seen Overseas ? How Japanese Like to be Criticized ? Japanese Educational System ? Japanese Society Structure I found that what I?m learning about is quite similar to things said on Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex. Then I thought that I would like to hear what you think of the Japanese. Whether it?s what you think, what you heard from someone, read somewhere, or seen it on TV, I would like to know. You could also write where you got it from. I will also like to write about what I?m learning, so that you could write about that too. It would be my own translations from the Japanese texts, so if you would like to see the original Japanese as well, please tell me. So, where did I get the idea for this thread? Well, we read so many Japanese comic books, watch a lot of Japanese anime, but how much do we really know about the people who makes them? I?m not sure whether this thread is interesting for everyone? But anyway, here it is. :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] Since everyone is having fun, I think this thread should stay. Good bye lee123. I never knew you, but I'm sure that you would be missed. :animecry: Anyway, my feet are quite small. Size 5 in Australia. So what does that make in USA? Size 4 or something? It's about 22cm, if that would help... I'm a uni student by the way. A student with very small feet. :animeswea Well, I have a hard time finding my size, because not many people have small feet. Let's say that a shoe store would get 50 pairs of shoes. Only 1 pair of those would be my size. And they would sell very quickly, because someone out there has the same shoe size as me... :animeangr So, what I do is go buy shoes from the kids section. :p They usually have my size there. At the momoent, I'm wearing leather sport shoes from the kids section. It's quite comfortable. No one notices that it's kids shoes. :animesmil And it was cheap because I bought it during the Back to School Sale. :D [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] I don't think that there would be anyone who plays worse than me. I don't think my score has ever gone above 100 points... :animecry: It's not like I don't know how to play, I actually learned it at school a few times. The problem's my arm. I think I'm throwing the ball straight, but because my arm bends outward a bit more than normal people, the ball goes into the gutter. People told me to use the kids ball, so that I could play properly. One problem, the finger holes are too tight, even for my tiny hand, and the ball gets stuck... So I use the adults ball, but the holes are too big this time. I once threw the ball backwards. Actually, I think I did that twice... :animeswea [/COLOR]

[quote name='DeathBug]Actually, Yu-Gi-Oh! R [i]is[/i'] written by Takahashi, and is more of an "untold story" [/quote] [COLOR=Blue]Actually no. The original story of Yu-Gi-Oh! is written by Kazuki Takahashi. But Yu-Gi-Oh! R is written and drawn by [B]Akira Itou[/B]. Only the supervising/consulting are done by Takahashi. I don't think I'm wrong, because I'm looking at the original Japanese comic book right now. It also says in the inside of the cover, that Itou is the assistant of Takahashi, but Yu-Gi-Oh! R is done by Itou alone. R also means [B]'Reverse'[/B], according to Itou. It should mean [B]Reversed chronological order[/B]. Maybe Itou had some help from the Time Wizard? :animesmil But [B]"untold story"[/B] is more comprehendable. I was worried that maybe this Yu-Gi-Oh! R would ruin the perfect ending of Yu-Gi-Oh! (I cried my eyes out :animecry: ) at first, but I quit like it. I haven't seen Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, so I'm worried again... [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] I've actually never graduated from 6th grade. :animesmil You see, The beginning of the year starts in September, right? So I started then, of course. Then my family was going to move to Australia, but their school year starts in January. That's only half way through my original school year. So I was given a choice: 1. Move to Australia and start from 7th grade in January, without finishing 6th grade. [B]or[/B] 2. Move to Australia and start from the 6th grade in January, (in other words, repeat it) then start 7th grade the following year. Of course, me not wanting to repeat half a year's worth of study, I chose option 1. :D Therefore, I never finished elementary school. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] Hmmm... Guilty pleasures. That's a hard one, especially because I love all anime... :catgirl: But here's one: [B]Cutie Honey Flash[/B]. I [U]HATE[/U] this anime. :mad: I was living in Japan when it first came on (1999). It replaced Sailor Moon's time slot after the series ended. For me, a huge Sailor Moon fan, it felt as if Sailor Moon ended to let Cutie Honey Flash go on the air. The story line was so stupid. I think it was a remake of the original series from when my dad was young (1970s?). I think this remake was a huge failure. I can't remember any of the details now, not even the story line, but I remember that it had a lot of plot holes. I found it quite boring so that's probably why I've forgotten it. I used to watch it until I moved to Australia, just so that I could see its stupidity and laugh at it. But I guess I enjoyed it a little... Maybe a touch... :p That is a guilty pleasure I could never forgive myself for... :animeangr [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] Glad to help. And it's good to hear that you've got patterns to work with. :D But about the silk... It may be good to hold the shape, but the original costume of the Mikos wouldn't be made out of silk. Silk was expensive in their time too. And because they lived in a temple, leading a monk's life, they wouldn't have bought expensive silk. Especially because they are material goods, things monks try to stay away from. Silk would look really nice. But don't feel pressured to buy it, because you don't have to. Also, the Simplicity patterns are for women kimonos. Try to find male kimono patterns for your costume. Yeah, Kikyou is a girl, but what she's wearing is for men. Compare it with... lets say... Kenshin's kimono. It should look pretty much the same. Good luck with your Cosply. Have fun! :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I totally agree with indifference. You should use a hard cotton material, because it's cheap and it would hold its shape. You might also want to use interfacing along the hem lines to keep them stiff. Don't forget that it's a costume, so the stitching doesn't have to be perfect. :catgirl: Also, Kimonos are in layers, so make sure that you can see more than 1 collar for that authentic look. But here's a short cut: just attach collars to the inside so that it looks like there are a lot of layers. :p That's what I did when I made my Japanese dolls. ;) As for the pattern, it doesn't have to be your size. Just adjust it when you wear it. Hope your costume turns out great!!!!! :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]My answer would be no. Seriously, would your loved one want to caome back? Especially at the cost of losing your body part? If I died, I wouldn't want come back. It doesn't matter if I want to see that person again, but I wouldn't want to see that person missing a body part. Every time I look at that person, I would be reminded of the sacrifice and the pain. That is something I would not be able to bear. However, if this world with alchemy had cyber-technology like in Ghost in The Shell, where the taken body part could be replaced, I would think about it. On the other hand, a prostetic body part would be expencive... [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I had a really weird anime dream once. I still can't believe that my sub-conscious could make up such a dream... Anyway, here it is: I was Pikachu, and Ash went missing, so I had to find him with Conan. We found him at Team Rocket's hide-out. Then Team Rocket started to attack us with a Gundam (I think it was Gundam Wing). So I had to get into my Gundam (I think it was Freedom), but the cocpit (is that how you spell it? :animeswea ) was up too high. So I had to fly like they do in Dragon Ball. But I couldn't fly properly, so I ended up swimming through the air. I got into the Gundam, then I tried to fire a Kamehame Ha Wave at Team Rocket, but the Gundam wouldn't respond. So I got out and tried to fire a Thunderbolt at them. That didn't work either... :animedepr So I jumped towards Team Rocket with Iron Tail... Then my mother woke me up. So I don't know how this dream ends... :( In my dreams, Ash is still captured by Team Rocket... Poor Ash... :animecry: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue] Just like Blase and AnimeHeroX said, there usually is a manga predecessor. But I have 1 good example of an exception: Pokemon. Pokemon was first a GameBoy game. But because it was so popular, they decided to make manga[B][I]s[/I][/B] and an anime. Yes, manga[B][I]s[/I][/B]. There are actually a lot of Pokemon mangas. I can't list them all for you, since I don't know them all. Sorry. :animeswea [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I would definately have to say manga. Reading mange is the best! Looking at all the detail, reading the comments from the artist... And, you could take it anywhere you want. Yeah, there are portable DVD players, but reading manga doesn't cost you anything once you've bought it. Also, manga is the original. I like to watch anime and read the same thing on manga at the same time. And I always think that the original manga has a better flow to the story. Manga beats anime any day! Well, that's what I think. What can I say? I'm a book worm! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I would definately go to the anime world. Being a girl, I think it's harder to go on an adventure here in the real world. It's much too dangerous. :animedepr But in the anime world, it seems to be a different story. But still... I would hesitate before going. I'll miss all my friends and family. :animecry: Not only that, I want to finish reading the book I'm reading now, and all of the comic book series which haven't finished yet (like One Piece). :animeswea If time didn't move forward in the real world... Then I wouldn't hesitate at all!!!!! :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I think that Pokemon would win, not only because I'm a Poke fan more than Digimon, but for 1 good reason :catgirl: : Pokemon have the ability to learn various attacks and defences. Let's take Pikachu vs Agumon for instance. Pikachu could attack with Tackle, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Iron Tail, etc... But Agumon only has Pepper Breath and maybe he could scratch with his nails (as far as I know :animeswea )... Therefore, Pikachu would be able to launch quite a lot of surprise attacks. :animestun But Agumon would only have 2 predictable moves. :animeswea Even if Agumon Digivolves, I still think that Pikachu would have the upper hand. This is because Pikachu would be able to do combination attacks. You see, power isn't everything. Being smart is very important too. :animeknow [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]Seiryuu 青龍, Byakko 白虎, Suzaku 朱雀, and Genbu 玄武 are called the Shijin 四神(Four Gods). They also appear in Beyblade, Yume Yume Yuu Yuu, Ramen Man and Tantei Gakuen Q. They originated in ancient China, to protect the four quadrants of the earth (kind of like the four King Kais in Dragon Ball Z). Seiryuu is the blue dragon of the east and spring. Byakko is the white tiger of the west and autumn. Suzaku is the red phoenix of the south and summer. Genbu is the black turtle of the north and winter. (Some animes uses green for Genbu.) Also, in Ancient China, they had the concept of five elements (in Japanese, it?s called the Gogyou Shisou 五行思想 ) : wood, fire, earth, gold and water. Seiryuu is wood; Suzaku is fire; Byakko is gold; Genbu is water. The final element, earth, is in the middle, tying all together, and the God is Kouryuu 黄龍 the yellow dragon of season change. There also those who categorizes these Gods into Light and Dark, but I?m not sure which God goes where? :animeswea One more thing, these Gods doesn?t appear to have an actual story. They are quite similar to the Gods of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, in my opinion. Where they are here to protect the earth, and created all the animals and humans (in other words, their origins are unknown to humans). But in the case of the Shijin, they were created by the humans to the protecting? I think? :animesmil Well, this is all I?ve been able to find out so far? I?ll let you know if I find anything more. :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]Here are my top three authors that I would like to recommend: 1. [B]Stephen Donaldson[/B]. He writes fictions novels which includes magic. He explores the human psyche of despair. It sounds dark, but his books are good and makes you think. You would need a good dictionary to fully understand some of the words he uses; but he writes in a way that you would understand the things he writes about without one. I was 15 when I first picked up his book. I started with [B][I]The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever[/I][/B] (a trilogy). Then went on to [B][I]The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant[/I][/B] (also a trilogy). I am currently reading [B][I]The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant[/I][/B] (another trilogy, but I think only the first book is published so far). These series are about the fight of Thomas Covenant, a leper, against Lord Foul in a place called the Land. Lord Foul wants to escape his prison (Time) and Covenant must stop him using Wild Magic. The only problem is, Covenant doesn't believe in magic. Be warned: each book of these series is at least 600 pages long. 2. [B]Kazuo Ishiguro[/B]. He is a Japanese who lives in England and writes in English. [B][I]When We Were Orphans [/I][/B] is a good book to read if you are tired of the usual detective stories. Christopher Banks is a detective trying to find his parents in Shanghai in the 1930s. The only clues he has at first are his memories. 3. [B]Yoshimoto Banana[/B]. She is also a Japanese author. Her books have been translated into English, but I do recommend the original Japanese versions more. I read the book [B][I]Tsugumi [/I][/B] (the English title is [B][I]Goodbye Tsugumi[/I][/B]) in my last year of high school in my Japanese class. It's about a girl who visits her family in the town she grew up in. The book is about Japanese family values, so it would be a good book to read if you want to know about Japanese culture. I hope you have fun reading. :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I have learned a lot from anime and manga. [COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]1.[/COLOR] I learned that people learn Japanese very quickly from watching anime (I didn't because I already am Japanese and speak the language). :catgirl: [COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]2. [/COLOR] The writers/drawers of manga have a nervous break down at some point in their career; which results to unfinished or hastily finished stories. :animedepr [COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]3. [/COLOR] The importance of having a cat (even if I am allergic to them :animeswea ) [COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]4. [/COLOR] That I get over exited at good anime/manga and can't get to sleep that night. Then I doze off during something important the next day. *Mental note to myself: no good anime/manga the day before an important exam* :sleep: [COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]5. [/COLOR] I have learned that I have learned a lot from anime and manga. :p[/COLOR]

[quote name='indifference][COLOR=Sienna']They sound far more natural in the original language anyway. [/COLOR][/quote] [COLOR=Blue]I totally agree. It sounds more natural in Japanese. Especially because the movements of the mouths fit to what they are saying. I'm not sure if anyone remembers this, but in one of the really early Pokemon episodes (when Misty was hypnotised and all the kids gathered in the park and acted like Pokemon), there is this one scene where Ash's mouth is moving, but there is no sound. Did someone forget to say something? Or was it intentional??[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]I agree when everyone says the original Japanese honorifics should be left in. But I don't think that it should be left in all the time. If it's Pokemon, lets say, the kids may not understand the Japanese honorifics. You could have a note on the DVD, but what do you do when your just watching it on TV? I think that the Japanese honorifics should be left when the anime is about Japan, like Samurai Champloo. Then it doesn't seem unnatural, and the people who watch it would know why the honorifics are left in, and what they mean. My favorite dub would have to be when Al calls Ed (Full Metal Alchemist) as "big brother". Even if no one would call their older brother "big brother" in English, it doesn't seem unnatural. Unlike other animes that tried, but failed (I forget which animes...).[/COLOR]