As I mentioned before, Angel Beats! is one of those old shows that I watched but never did get into it much. However I have friends who love the series to bits and here is another book from their Angel Beats! loot this summer holiday~
This is a collection of art, featuring character art and backgrounds but I find that the proportion is tilted toward more of the latter than the former. If you are a fan of Angel Beats! background art, this would most likely be a book you don't want to miss!
Here's the front (image above) and back (image below) of the book. As usual, I will not be reviewing every single page of the book and just a few pages in each section to make sure I briefly cover a general idea of what the book contains. I love to know what kind of stuff each book has before purchasing it so I figured that others might want to know as well. If you have the same mindset as myself, I hope that this review would be of some help to you!
As mentioned, the first part consists of character art and information. As any other book with this section, you see a front and back pose as well as several facial expressions. This also includes several different poses of the character featured, such as the sitting Otonashi-kun.
The next section onward are mostly on backgrounds but we see a whole part dedicated solely to background art based in the school. As the school plays such an important role in the whole storyline, it is reasonable to focus and expand on this. We even get to see the school buildings at different times of the day and if I may add on, I love how the lighting looks in Angle Beats!
There are also some background art that's more focused on the environment rather than the school buildings itself. This increases my love for the background art as the lighting of the sky and clouds make the images look so pretty~
The last section has lineart of the buildings and we are thrown back to the production times of Angel Beats! Looking at all of these make it seem like I'm involved in the production (and not just consumption) somehow! I love lineart works and this is no different :D
Enjoyment is nearly at 8/10 even for someone who isn't in the fandom. I can definitely appreciate this book and all the effort put into the drawings! Now, let me return to flipping through this gorgeous book!
Well, let’s see… day two started out with a very nice surprise. Friend and I had gotten there early and we met a very kind stormtrooper (the irony?) and his buddy handing out some snacks. What a nice start to the day.
Stormtrooper and snack buddy?
I checked out the exhibits that they had going on outside of the hall. And there was this beautiful wall with hand drawn cards of original characters that fit with the theme of elements! Original characters in different elemental groups!
Original characters in different elemental groups!
By the time we entered the hall, stage performances were already on the way, and who else was performing but Rociel! If the name sounds familiar, it’s cause it’s the same person that I bought art from on the first day~
Rociel rocking the stage and that Levi cosplay ><!
Check out her actual performance here!
Following that was the finals of AniManGaki idol!
Here's a shot of one of the contestants!
While that was going on, I saw something that I missed on the first day! A really cute doodle booth, by artist Kendrick Ng a.k.a. Kendylife. He showed us a project that he was doing at the convention which was a collage of the doodles of various doujin artists right here at AniManGaki.
Here's Kendy and the doodle collage... sorry for the shaky cam...><
I loved his doodles so much that I immediately bought his chibi pocket edition of his works, he draws things based off his personal experiences and stories. I loved his horoscope collection too! He often gives talks about doodles both here in Singapore and in Malaysia, and accepts stories from anyone to add to his doodle collection. Send him your stories!
The chibi pocket edition and an exclusive zine too! Yay!
We went back to May to get even more commissions from her! This time a genderblend of herself and a drawing of the main characters of a Korean manhwa ‘Super Secret’!
Day two commissions!
Both versions of May! They are both so cute ><
I also saw Xanseviera, whom I met at AniManGaki 2016, again! She still remembered drawing a sailor moon version of me! And this time I got her to draw a bunny version of my dear friend!
Here's the result!!
I also passed by an amigurumi shop that took custom orders. So, my friend and I designed a cute watermelon piece, which I had her custom make and mailed all the way from Penang to Singapore!
Looking at yourself .___.
The artist (shiro_kuma007) also takes custom orders online on her Etsy store and she ships worldwide!
Everything from day two!
In closing, though I kinda missed the anime screening room they had the last time, I still love this particular convention for simply the vibe that they always have going year after year. The quality of doujins never disappoint me. I’ll be sure to be back again next year!
Anime fans may be confused by the plethora of otaku activities happening in the next one week. As STGCC and Chara Expo 2017 are happening on the same days (9-10 September 2017), do take note of the different venues. While STGCC will be taking place in Marina Bay Sands, Chara Expo will take centre stage in Suntec City. I would say the Western toys lovers like Marvel, DC Comics may prefer STGCC and fans of Japanese subculture may like Chara Expo more. Either way, the momentum for the Singapore anime scene will be building up to a climatic outburst next week.
Here are some of the things you can expect for Chara Expo 2017.
Situated in the hall is an indomitable presence!
The Eren Titan from the popular animation, Attack on Titan towers above the rest.
Remember to look out for it!
PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTIVITY TO RECEIVE A SPECIAL ITEM!!
STEP 1: Take a photo with Eren Titan!
STEP 2: Upload to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with #charaexpo and #attackontitan
STEP 3: Show it to Chara Expo staff to get special Attack on Titan promo item!
The Singapore leg of the Bushiroad Championship Series 2017 Autumn Circuit will be held at Chara Expo 2017.
Winners of the Cardfight!! Vanguard and Future Card Buddyfight tournament will receive a paid invitation to pit their skills with the strongest opponents, in the World Finals taking place in Tokyo, Japan early next year.
We will see you in Chara Expo 2017. Cosplayers, please do an item's checklist so that you will not miss out any accessories when you rush out on the event day. ^^
Welcome back to my travels! We left the last blog off at arriving at Ujitei, the artist airbnb house in the middle of the Japanese countryside. We arrived in the dark and met the Uji family. Taeka, our host's mother, welcomed us when we were looking for the place in the dark. We were quite tired, because we rode such a long distance that day. So many impressions too! Something about traveling we have noticed, is that you don't really have time to process all the impressions so usually for me after coming back home and settling down, I start to process it and relive the amazing moments.
Ujitei day 1: First day in Tsuyama
The day we arrived we went grocery shopping in Tsuyama city on our way to Ujitei, because we weren't sure there would be an opportunity to buy food near Ujitei as it was a half an hour drive from the city. Fortunately we could cook ourselves at Ujitei because they have a very nice kitchen there with all the utensils as well as appliances (fridge, oven, etc.). As the toll-fares are really high in Japan, which I mentioned in my previous posts, we needed a little breather and cook ourselves. I enjoy cooking a lot, and using Japanese ingredients is also something I like. After Taeka found us wandering outside trying to find Ujitei in the dark (lol) we got inside and got the introduction of the house and explanation from Yuka. My first impression of this place was that it was exactly what I expected it to be: an artist house. It was the perfect combination of modern, artsy, and Japanese style. I can honestly say it's my dream house! Also, our first impression of our hosts was that they were very welcoming. We had an instant connection, I felt right at home. After the grand tour we ate our store bought sushi and went to sleep. It is SO quiet out there, I really loved it. We slept on futons on the first night and it was cold and quiet which means a good night's sleep. It was a bit too cold actually so we had gas heaters in the room we stayed in.
Now, I have to do a shout-out to Yuka and her family, they were the most amazing hosts. It was like arriving at my own family's place, such warm and generous people. The house is an artist house: all of the family members are artists. Toshi, Yuka's father, has paintings and works a lot with wood. A lot of his work is displayed in the house. Yuka's work is there as well. You can really feel the spirit of the artists and their creativity in this house. The house was featured in House Hunters International, an American TV-show about looking for property in another country. The last house they visited was Ujitei, they give a nice introduction of the house.
Also, for those who want to practice their Japanese listening skills, there is a shorter video of Ujitei. Ganbare~
Some of our impressions of the place:
Ujitei from the outside
The genkan, or entrance hall. Here is where you take off your shoes which is a custom in Japan. The word 'agaru', or going up, means going inside the house. As you can see you literally go up in order to enter the house.
A Panorama from the living room
Panorama of the living room
We decided to check out Kakuzan park and the Tsuyama castle, we didn't see many cherry blossoms so we already knew there was probably nothing blooming yet at the park. But the drive there was already worth it, we got to see the mountainous areas, little creeks, lots of green, so different from the bigger cities!
Arriving at Kakuzan park, I was unfortunately right about the cherry blossoms. I got my hopes up, but I also heard from Yuka and her family that this winter was especially cold so the cherry blossoms were quite late this year. It is supposed to be a good place for cherry blossom spotting. Nothing was blooming yet except for a few other types of trees. We saw the people already setting up for the cherry blossom festival that was going to start a couple of days later. After a short climb we had some nice views from the castle grounds. There wasn't actually a 'real' castle left, just a quite new building in which you could see the 'castle life' that they used to have.
Even though it wasn't in full bloom yet, it looked beautiful. I might actually prefer it this way.
Kind of sad, really.
Entrance road to the castle grounds
Panorama view of the castle grounds
The view was worth it, we ate some of the sushi we got the day before while viewing this, bliss!
After this we went back to the Ujitei and stopped on the way there for some groceries. We were really tired from all that traveling so staying in the countryside and taking it easy was definitely something we needed. We got some meat and yakiniku (bbq) sauce with some other stuff and cooked ourselves back at the house.
That evening we met Toshi, Yuka's father, who stopped by and showed us his art and the meaning behind it. I showed him and Yuka my art and my dad's, as my dad is an artist too. Toshi felt like my dad and he were alike, and I agreed with this. He was like the Japanese version of my father! It was really special realising that. Toshi showed us how to use the heater and where to get firewood. He put it on for us and it was so nice and cozy! Looking into the fire is also mesmerising.
Ujitei day 2: biking, surroundings, and onsen
We woke up and the skies were blue and the sun was shining! Finally, we had some really nice weather. We had bikes at our disposal so we decided to take them out for a ride. First of all we made ourselves some breakfast.
I love all the cute little bowls and cups. Especially the one on the right had become my favourite one. I used it all the time to pour my tea out of into a tiny little cute cup.
Isn't she a beauty?? I haven't found one like this yet.. :(
After breakfast it was time to get on the bikes! We rode around the neighbourhood and went up to the little house Toshi had built. Behind it there was a mountain with steep paths leading into a forest. We also saw Yuka, Taeka and Yuka's babygirl An-chan (cuteness overload) on the way, they were talking to one of the neighbours, a 90+ year old lady. We noticed in the countryside a lot of older people still working in the fields and in their gardens. I was quite impressed by this, they still had energy and health to do this.
The weather was quite warm, a t-shirt was enough
The inaka, or countryside, I love the houses here
Rice fields
After coming home Toshi told us to visit the 900 year old gingko tree, there was a hand-drawn map and I kind of guessed where it was on google maps. Which meant, that we got lost.. Navidevi failed! We couldn't find the old tree, so we stopped at a little local shop and asked the old lady who was working there where the 'old tree' was. She was really sweet and even gave me a folder. They spoke in the local dialect which sounded like a mixture of kansai-dialect and Hakata-dialect to me. The folder really helped, we had a clear map and we went on our way to the tree. Navidevi back on track!
This is a map of the location of the tree, it's in Nagi town Okayama prefecture
While we got lost we already had fun just driving around, but on our way to the old tree we didn't have high expectations. Boy were we surprised by the marvellous views from the mountain! It was really amazing.
The higher up we went, the more amazing (and cold) it became. At one point we even saw snow on the side of the streets. Finally arriving at the old tree we didn't have much daylight time left. Again, reality far exceeded my expectations. It was a beautiful, and very old tree.
Because it was march, it wasn't blooming yet. I think it would be worth coming up here in the fall
The trees branches were supported
There were even trees growing on top of the trees!
Snow in front of the temple
Whileit was getting dark we drove back and cooked ourselves again. After a long and satisfying day driving around the neighbourhood it was time to rest and prepare for another day. This was halfway our 3-week road trip, so the perfect moment to take it easy and do little road trips around the place. Ujitei is the perfect place to do that, the peace and quiet combined with beautiful mountains and the slow countryside life is very relaxing. And it was only day 2 out of the week we stayed here! So stay tuned for more countryside adventures.
