Jormungand

Based on the manga by Takahashi Keitarou, “ヨルムンガンド” is an action series following the tale of arms dealer Koko, her crew and their latest recruit, child soldier Jonah.

Considering the criminal underworld theme about arms dealers and the no holds barred action in each episode where bullets fly by the hundreds and blood splatters around, it’s only natural to think this show is similar to “Black Lagoon”.

So far, in many positive ways it actually is. Although some action is over the top, “Jormungand” doesn’t hesitate to get down into the gritty dirt and bring solid plots built around psychologically intricate or disturbed characters involved in shady arms deals and other morally conflicting events.

Throw in fast paced action and some stellar voice cast performances to boot. Especially Itou Shizuka as the seemingly bubbly but actually ruthless Koko is striking, quite a different role compared to her work as Haruka in “Amagami SS” or Kozue in “Working!!”.

If you liked “Black Lagoon” or want to watch a nice action series with plenty of gunfights, then I definitely recommend you give “Jormungand” a try.

Aasaa’s: where anime illustrations meet photography and become art

Was simply awestruck upon spotting this illustration by Mubouou Aasaa (Pixiv) earlier today, this artist seems to use angles, composition and framing principles more often seen in photography.

Though 無謀王ああさあ has a varied art style, drawing original characters across different themes or render known characters from various franchises, am mostly enamored by his creations in this specific style.

The simplicity of the school girl sailor uniform with its recognizable styling helps shift focus to the more alternative composition and refreshing framing used in this illustration.

Cutting off parts of the subject’s body using tighter framing is tricky, but Mubouou Aasaa masters it well, creating an intriguing image that tells the viewer a story and remains full of mystery by hiding the girl’s face.

Carefree Shizuko

Just a few photos made of Shizuko wearing a training set with hooded sweater. Didn’t experiment with other poses as shot these while wrapping an afternoon of Dollfie Dream photography, after which the memory cards were full & camera battery empty.

Got this black training with a recent order at Dollmore, picked it up considering its leisurely look and affordable price.

Actually got it for Tsukiko as her white skin body type should contrast nicely with the black cloth. Even though my experience with black cloth Dollmore outfits is terrific in terms of staining, wasn’t keen on trying it on Tsukiko right away so trying it first on Shizuko.

Viola after the rain

A few photos of some Viola (violets) covered in water drops as if they had just been drenched by a refreshing spring rain shower.

Must confess the rain effect is artificial tough, the water drops were created by spraying water mist on the flowers using a basic spray bottle, a nice trick had read about on a photography blog once.

These violets were actually part of a flower arrangement, the green foliage and white petals on the flowers helped to calculate the exposure as well as obtain a good color balance for the purple petals, as my Canon 450D usually seems to have trouble correctly rendering purple hues.

K-ON! manga to end. Is the magic gone?

This past week read the news on several sites (Moetron, ANN) that the “K-ON!” sequel manga following the college arc is scheduled to end next month! While surprising, must say it is not such a shock considering I personally felt that the appeal of the original “K-ON!” story lacked in this sequel.

The original run of the “けいおん!” manga by Kakifly concluded at the same time as the anime adaptation, wrapping up the story of the high school light music club with the graduation of Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi.

No doubt due to the success of the franchise, Kakifly resumed “K-ON!” with two separate manga story arcs, one following Azusa’s life in high school and another following Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi’s adventures in college.

While the story arc following Azusa in high school is apparently continuing, the one following Yui and the others in college will end. Followed both story arcs, so can fathom the high school arc is more popular even though it only has Azusa from the former lead characters along with Ui and Jun.

Hyouka

気になります! “Hyouka” is a new spring season anime series that only recently started to air, later than many other shows, decided to watch it as I was interested in sampling this series.

Based on the first volume of the light novel series “古典部“ byYonezawa Honobu, “Hyouka” is primarily advertised as a mystery show centered around the four members of a high school classic literature club.

“Hyouka” impresses from the first scene on with stunning visuals by Kyoto Animation, which proves again this studio can excel in creating an enchanting visual canvas with lush backgrounds, great lighting and even bokeh effects. Seems they set out again to redefine the standard of moe by making Chitanda irresistibly cute.

Loved the first two episodes although am unsure yet what direction the series will take. Even when considering the basic plot and advertised mystery genre, these episodes still leave the core genre and plot rather wide open.

Portraits of Tsukiko

Time for some Dollfie Dream photography after the onslaught of preview posts for the spring season’s new anime series. Had gradually uploaded these photos of DD Tsukiko to Flickr the past weeks, now collecting them in one post to share with you.

Gathering various shoots that were spread over several hours or days, these photos hence include different lighting conditions, some having soft, indirect lighting while others have stark contrasting light & shadows.

Starting off with a series of photos with soft lighting that creates an excellent atmosphere which really brings out the terrific appeal of Tsukiko, a Saber Alter 2nd ver Dollfie Dream.

Although but a plain outfit compared to a kimono or the default Saber Alter dress, this off the shoulder sweater look suits Tsukiko well, creating a terrific mix of a more daring vibe yet still elegant. The black off course contrasting nicely against the white skin body.