Detarame Sketches 2012 Calendar

Well, here’s a funny idea! A Calendar for 2012 including all of the cool colour sketches I made over the course of 2011.

It also includes 3 sketches that I have never uploaded here (exclusive content!) and of course, they’re all at their full original size in glossy colour, rather than resized or shopped for wallpaper usage. Of course, this entire little thing is for my own usage, but if, for whatever reason, you’re still strapped for a 2012 calendar and would like my artwork adorning your wall, then this thing is available for public purchase below.

It is almost entirely populated by Anime and Game females. Check out the ‘Artworks’ category or ‘Sketches’ Tag to your right for some idea as to what this entails. There’s some fanservice, as always, so the calendar would probably be rated PG-13 for minor nudity. Or something. You have been warned.

By and the by, I make a “vast” £1 from each one, so much like Aniventure I’m not exactly making a song or trying to fleece you. Of course, I realise that at this time of year, calendars start to become cheaper for stock clearance in any case, but oh well, sadly there’s not alot I can do about that. For a 20% discount until the 3rd February: CHERUBUK305
This applies not only to my calendars, but also Aniventure, and indeed anything up to the value of £200 from Lulu.

To visit the purchase page, CLICK HERE.

To view a preview version (all 12 months); click the small “Preview” link available in the above purchase page on Lulu’s website, or alternatively you can click here to view a local pdf copy. The local version is BIG (17mb) so prepare for your net browser to be raped.

This above preview PDF is actually the final version; so theoretically, if you have access to an A3 colour laser printer, 140 GSM gloss paper, and ringbinding ability, you could make your own version. I’m not going to stop you; heck, if you have that kind of hardware, all the power to ya! But if you do and you like it, please leave a comment or something so I know its worth doing this type of thing in the future.

Anyway, I last made myself a calendar for 2008. It was a cool little thing I made in Photoshop and MS Publisher with some of my favourite images from moe.imouto (now oreno.imouto.org). Of course, it made my poor old inkjet die on me. Good times. Naturally, since then I’ve never bothered due to resources, and this is still the case; I’m reluctant to abuse my laser’s toners due their obscene replacement costs; so I suddenly thought, ‘hey, I already have a relationship with Lulu, so why not get them to print me something instead!?’. Its the ‘well duh…’ moment of the year, since they’ve always offered calendar services. Sometimes I can be a bit dense, lol.

Anyhow, cya in the new year. I might <SHOCKHORROR!> actually put up a preview this season; but given the work one of those takes, it might be reduced in size or something. No promises, of course.

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Type-Moon Special

Yikes, I’ve been gone again for a little while, eh? I’ve been meaning to crank out a post for nearly a week, but well, it has been busy in real-life due to me starting a new job and having to get used to that.

Anyway, the big news for me recently (though I’m late on the bandwagon) is that there will shortly be a brand new TYPE MOON game being released, Mahou Tsukai no Yoru (Witch on the Holy Night):

It may not be immediately obvious, but the above is everyone’s favourite Beam Spamming, Suitcase wielding, ‘Sugoi’ Sensei, Aoko.

The game is actually therefore covering a pseudo backstory effort for Tsukihime, showing her in her magic academy (aka. Teenager) days, and specifically, it seems, showing her interactions with another pair of characters, Soichiro and Alice.

Apparently, its also before she got the blazing red hair, but given what else happens in the Nasuverse, hair colour changes due to magic seem to be fairly reasonable (see Sakura from FSN, and Akiha from Tsukihime).

Our male protagonist, Soichiro.

Though part of me, upon first hearing about an Aoko based game, wondered whether or not they would have her as a protagonist (like Rin was in the prologue of Fate), another part laughs at the silliness of such an idea since it would likely give little variety for choice in a good visual novel, eh? (If you don’t get it, this would be due the fact that a sample choice for Aoko would be: You see a door, what do you do? A) Beam Spam B) Kick the door down and Beam Spam C) Beam Spam the wall and step through the hole.)

Our other Heroine, Alice

It interests me that she appears to wearing a Burial Agency dress similar to Ciel’s in this image. Though I could be over-analysing that. All that we do know about this Alice is that she is from a long magical line, and will obviously play a big part in the story. There are some thoughts floating around that Soichiro and Alice is already a canon coupling, but since this is a game about an Aoko primarily, I doubt its quite as straight and easy as that.

And a uniformed Aoko

Though I could be wrong, Aoko’s uniform also kind of resembles Rin’s, though with sleeves rather than a waistcoat affair, and the skirt seems to be more beige than black, though this could be the lighting?

What will be most interesting, in my opinion, is that we should perhaps get to see some of the reasons for the enmity between the Aozaki sisters. Given that the Kara No Kyokai movies have now completed and we’ve seen alot of Touko’s modern day appearance, it’ll be nice to see what the background there is and what caused Aoko and Touko to come to literal blows, and also perhaps how Aoko gained the name of ‘Blue’, besides the easy colour of eyes (and lasers?) theory.

And there are of course plenty of oppertunities for Aoko to be cute, I suppose, as above.

Though we have been informed as a certainty that this game is finally non-H. Given Nasu’s hilarious writing in the porno scenes, this is probably a great choice on TYPE-MOON’s part (no really, if you’ve read the translations, you’ll never be able to view meat and mollusks in the same way again… the man seriously cannot write an erotic sentence. So much so that you end up with visual dissonance given how amazingly awesome and hot the CG by Takeuchi’s team is…)

We also know for sure that this one is a bit shorter than the epic-hueg Tsukihime and rather-huge FSN, as there are no multiple routes to speak of, just the one. But then, I guess this is to be expected, since we’re talking mainly a backstory effort that can’t really conflict with the various facts already established in Kara no Kyoukai and Tsukihime.

Anyway, for many true TYPE MOON fanatics, I suppose I’m merely regurgitating information, but oh well, its still an interesting time as we’ve not seen an actual VN from them since Fate/Hollow Ataraxia.

I mean, we’ve seen a few games in general (including many FSN spinoffs of various degrees like Fate/Extra, Fate/Unlimited Codes etc), the Fate/Zero prequel novels, and of course the fairly recent Kara no Kyoukai movies (I never got around to posting about Movies 1-3, 5 and 7, but I did definately watch them), but not actually a Visual Novel. So yeah.

Onto other matters, Comiket 78 is coming to a close, so I guess we can also expect a huge upsurge in new doujin and other stuff.

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And finally, also Type Moon related, there’s also a new wallpaper for you all:

As always, click the above to see full size. (Maybe NSFW)

Yep, its everyone’s favourite scandinavian wrestling thaumaturgist, Luviagelita Edelfelt.

It started out as me trying to vector one of my favourite images of her from a calendar (original here, if you want to make comparisons), but then I realised that it wasn’t really possible to do a proper vector of her due to the, ahem, semi-transluscent nature of her nightwear. So yeah, some normal use of the line tool and photoshop layers galore were required and I imagine it isn’t truly upsizable to any resolution. Nevertheless, it looks bloody amazing if I may say so myself.

I took a few liberties in the conversion of the image, but I prefer this expression and suchlike, so yeah, I think it was a good selection.

The actual wall itself isn’t much of a work compared the five hours or so that went into the pseudo-vector, but sometimes a simple run of the fibre filter is effective too.

Anyway, that’s all for today, methinks. I might get around to a midseason anime post shortly. Stay tuned.

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Code Fabulous: Lelouch of the Rebellion

To start with, I hold no responsibility for mental damages incurred by this post.

Ahem. Today there is a new wallpaper for everyone. It is, without a doubt, the most fabulous thing I have ever created:

And if you really want to, you can click on it to see it full size!

Oh dear… see sometimes I have these crazy moments and…well… I apologise if you can’t un-see it and want to.

I should also point out that I am definately straight…

Still, its marginally funny, you have to admit, right? I almost decided I had to make it after recently re-watching Code Geass and having a discussion with one of my friends about how fabulous Lelouch can be. What sealed the deal was finding the picture of Edgeworth on the Robot Unicorn. It then became an exercise of how much Fabulous I could stick into the thought bubble. The traps came obviously into the equation afterwards. Ruiko is the odd female out in the bubble (all the rest are male), but that rainbow hair and horn? … well…it  just seemed right.

Err…hello? Anyone?  Yep. Thought so…

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Spot the Difference: The Second Sortie

Yeah, I know, its a day late. Busy, busy, etc.

Well, I haven’t got a specific anime this time like I had with the K-ON spot the difference. So this is really a miscellaneous bunch of spot the difference exercises, mainly showcasing ridiculous things that have been found in the anime and games world recently. Its also hopefully funny and perhaps even marginally educational. (LIES!)

Exercise 1: A Loli wearing nothing but a copy of Zelda: Twilight Princess?

Yup, The IGN guys even somehow managed to find their way into Bakemonogatari!

I had to rewind to see this again because I burst out laughing too hard.

The exercise here is to guess which part is causing the reaction. The Loli or the game?

I guess this meme has taken a life of its own. I believe they are known as bakagaijin on 2channel. Which is amusing.

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Exercise 2: And behind magic curtain number 2, is… <drumroll>:

Its like that daft game of chance in Mario Party, where you just choose doors until you die. Except with curtains. And, uh, more lingeries.

Despite a ridiculously rushed and rather contrived ending, Gendai Yokou Mahou had its moments like this. It amazed me to see the curtains opening simultaneously apparently by Kaho’s telekinesis. She’s so hardcore, she doesn’t even have to look to know its going to be an unfair deity moment.

Speaking of mystery curtains, why aren’t there any cheesy gameshows on television anymore? Everybody loves the Price is Right and Strike It Lucky. Or am I just showing my age? (or perhaps my disgust at so called ‘reality television’, which is drivel in my opinion).

And I just see Yumiko being that obligatory girl modelling on the top prize sports car. LOL.

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Exercise 3: Testing your Trap Detection capabilities

Yessiree, you have 5 seconds to decide which of the above is male, and which is female.

…

Times up! Answers on a postcard to the comment box.

Gotta Love Maria+Holic. Easily one of my favourite shows of the season it was in. Mainly because it was just innately WRONG, I suppose. And no, the above is not a trick question at all, which you will understand if you have actually watched the anime. One of the above is Maria, and one of the above is Shizu. One is a trap, the other is a reverse trap.

See, reading blogs is not a waste of time. This is actually developing survival skills! (well, survival skills for watching anime, anyway)

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Exercise 4: Learning to play the pure/vile maiden guitar?

With you powers combined, I…AM…Captain Gibson!

Which do you think makes a better riff, Mio’s Panties or Matsurika’s Bloomers? Both are instruments of the finest caliber? Its hard to say, isn’t it? I guess some of these exercises are a bit mean. Sorry.

LOL, this combines the old and the new. That is to say, I managed to stuff some K-ON in here again, and double the Maria+Holic for double the fun.

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Exercise 5: King of Heroes and Queen of Gaps: A match made in hell?

Yukari vs. Gilgamesh. Gap of Gensyoko vs. Gate of Babylon.

Holy cow, I’d pay good money to see that fight. But I don’t have to, as it is happening right above as I speak.

In before causing a storm of excrement, who wins? I imagine its a standstill. Depends on how many Flandres can be pulled out and their effectiveness against the blast of Ea. Are the roadsigns epic artefacts in same realm as noble phantasms? I’m sure Yukari thinks so.

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Exercise 6: And we’ll be right back after this…

Lets go full circle to finish and close up with another comment from our new friends, the IGN bakagaijin guys!

Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na’s anime adaption was one of those that makes you lose your faith in humanity. I mean, everyone can tolerate some animation cuts, but the animation in this was…sheer eye cancer. The above shot of the Anime Feena is actually a pretty good shot as far as some of them go. The anime is legendary for the slanting eyes of doom and the never ending lettuce of death. So much so, it became known as Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na: Cabbage Love among more cynical 2channel viewers.

And of course, considering how amazing the ingame art is, many fans of everyones favourite lunar princess died a little inside that day.

Its also one of the reasons that I am VERY wary of most dating game adaptations these days. They can be done right, like with Akane Iro Somaru Saka. But more often than not, they can be done wrong. Very wrong, like the above. And VERY, very wrong, like the soul crushing travesty that is Da Capo Second Season.

Anyway, thats all for now. I’ve exhausted all the spot exercises I could think of! Enjoy!

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Heroes and Heroines of Fate

Just a pretty quick post today.

For starters, I was inspired to make a new wallpaper! Check it out:

As always, click the above to see it full size.

As you might imagine, I decided to start playing through Fate Stay Night again. Much to my shock and amazement, its actually been nearly a year since I finished Heavens Feel for the first time and unlocked everything, but its been far longer since I played the Fate route. And of course, I’ve had a HD wipe and PC change since then as well.

So, a couple of days back, I finally got around to reading the second novel of Fate/Zero, the prequel, which is now fully translated on Baka Tsuki. Shortly after that, I was sorting through some stuff and found the disc, apparently through some strange chance (its always the way, eh?).

Despite the fact that it was late, I decided to slam it in (not literally, of course!) and relive what is still probably my favourite Visual Novel. I know alot of TYPE MOON affectionados would probably say ‘but Tsukihime is better!‘ I still maintain that whilst Tsukihime does indeed have a marginally superior story, Fate is a better package as a whole, as a visual novel.

As of the moment, I am currently up to Day 10 of the replay of the Fate Route, and I’m still rather enjoying myself. Of course, this has put play of Touhoumon temporarily on hold, but ah well…

Anyhow, this wallpaper manages to combine nearly all the main heroes and heroines! (and villians!). Though it looks a simple job, it actually wasn’t since each set of characters came in three’s and in order to get them all in there, I had to split them and redraw several missing parts. Avenger and Illya were especially a pain to place correctly and needed a fair bit of work. I gave Kirei some Black Keys as well for no real reason apart from the fact that I find them cool. The Melons, Excalibur and the crying Taiga by the text was a last second thought, but I think ended up a nice touch, especially since theres no image of Taiga in this style to use. I also decided to make Irisviel and Kiritsugu ghostly, for obvious reasons.

Well, thats all. See ya again soon!

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Kara no Kyoukai, Garden of Sinners: Movie 6

Eh, actually, I think I forgot to blog the previous Kara no Kyokai, didn’t I? Yeah…oh well…

This is the sixth one in the chain and is a bit shorter than Paradox Spiral (5), being only an hour long.

As I noted before, they call these episodes, but when each one lasts 50 to 120 minutes, I think they’re more like individual movies (they were shown in Japanese cinemas anyway).

This one includes 100% more Azaka for your enjoyment, as she is paired with Shiki on an assignment in her own magic school to catch a rogue magus who has killed someone with fairies (well, more accurately, made someone to kill themselves). Of course, Shiki is sent here by Touko because apparently her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allow her to see the fairies they are tracking, which apparently, Azaka cannot. Strangely enough, however, Azaka seems to see the fairies (and block them with her mages fire) several times in the film, so I have to wonder whether this was a serious continuity error Nasu forgot about or whether it was intentional, and Touko actually just used this as an excuse to see what would happen if Shiki and Azaka, eternal rivals for Kokutou, were paired together. This would suit her personality, I guess, but then, Azaka also misses some fairies at times, so whatever…

I’d also say this one is a bit less grusome than the prior couple. Fewer rotting corpses, slightly more lighthearted plot and all that. Though we do get an exposure to all of Azaka’s incestuous feelings toward her brother, so I guess its just a different form of poison.

What did amuse me though is that Azaka’s thought that Shiki is a rival for Kokutou’s love actually seems to be false. Shiki riles her up about it alot, but never actually seems to be bothered about it. I guess that kills all the obvious evidence for Kokutou x Shiki. I can almost hear the shippers screaming. Though the sexual tension of Strawberry Hagen-Daaz incident is still there from the first movie, I suppose.

Azaka gets to play the Kawaii card a hell of a lot here as well. But then, I guess she is the episode focus, so whatever.

I did like the Gods Word guy. That’s a fun magic concept, making anything you say become true. Saying ‘You cannot See Me!’ and suddenly, they can’t. Logromancy, I suppose. It completely foils Shiki’s usually infalliable eyes and makes her rather inneffective this episode, which is quite a rarity.

I also lol’ed that Seo, from Kagetsu Tohya, showed up. Though she may well be in the actual novels and it was actually Kagetsu that stole her from here, I don’t know…

Araya also shows up again to be deliberately creepy, witnessing a cannibalism thing at the end.

Anyway, here’s some shots:

Well, you should be!! Jeez, woman…its like Sister Princess all over again.

Wow, that looks dodgy. Azakas little speech about loving forbidden things is really true! LOL.

Prototype Rin! (in case it isn’t obvious, Azaka was the template for Rin from Fate Stay Night. Especially the delicious Tsundere aspects. She was also probably a bit of an influence on Akiha with the brother love tendancies.)

Nothing. Nothing at all. As a side note, do you prefer ‘Shiki-sama no Miteru’ or ‘Maria-sama no Kyoukai’? This episode certainly seems to steer in that direction from time to time, ROFL.

For some reason, I noticed that Azaka crashing onto her bed was really well animated. There was bounceback and flailing of limbs and all that, as there should be. Most animated sequences of this regard seem to percieve beds as being made of concrete.

Gwaaaahhhhh! Definately an Akiha vibe going on there, with the vermillion hair as she pours mage fire everywhere.

And suddenly, Kawaii!

This guy just ate somebody (no really!).

Hmm, well that was a fun episode. I look forward to more Kara no Kyokai, as always.

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