AMVs

If you like anime (which you probably do, if you're reading my blog) then unless you're relatively new in the community, you most likely know at least what an AMV is. If you do, then just hang in there while I explain to everyone else.

An AMV (or anime music video) is basically clips from an anime rearranged and put to music. You don't need any special software for it, and it can be quite fun, so if you haven't already, I would give it a try. There a lot of tutorials on the internet - I'm sure you'll be able to find one explaining the basics.

Anyways, I decided to try my hand at making an AMV! I made a Madoka Magica one. Here it is for you all to enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ9rhH_TYGM
Note - this link is unavailable on some devices due to copyright claims. If you can't view it, try another device.

I'm only new to this, but I'm quite proud of the end result. If anyone has any tips for me, please tell me.

Anyways, that's all I really had to say for this post. Bye :)

Otaku Monthly Favourites: October - January

It's been a while - but I'm back now. And welcome to Otaku Monthly Favourites! I think we need a new name though... anyone with a better idea, comment it please.
These two months have been lumped together because I can't really remember when I got most of these things. I also didn't want to make two posts. So I now bestow upon you: two months' worth of anime crap to waste your money on!

For an explanation of what Otaku Monthly Favourites is, see this post

Puella Magi Madoka Magica
I'm pretty sure I mentioned this in my very first post, but I only talked about the manga, and very briefly (the post is here). I couldn't watch it on Crunchyroll due to regional limitations, but my sister bought me the DVD for Christmas. It was wonderful.
This anime is the most innocent thing you could ever see - until you take a closer look. In fact, it has some very dark themes, unlike pretty much all other magical girl animes. The story is about the bleak truth behind the life of a magical girl. I won't tell you much more than that so I don't ruin the story for you.
I actually watched this in English dub rather than sub, and I have to say, they did a very good job with the dubbing. The (English) voice acting was actually pretty good, which is rare in anime.

This Homura T-shirt
I went a bit Madoka-crazy after watching the anime. However, this T-shirt is really a very good find. RedBubble products are extremely good quality, and this artist really did well with the design.

Assassination Classroom (anime)
I only finished this recently, and I have to say, this anime is very well done. It was originally a manga (which I may talk about more in depth in a separate post), and the story has definitely stayed true to the original source, and the emotions and personalities of the different characters were portrayed with so many layers. But be warned - there are feels at the end.

No Game No Life Collectors Edition (this link goes to the British version)
I talked about No Game No Life in my first ever Otaku Monthly Favourites, but now I've found the collector's edition! Admittedly, this version isn't as good as the American one (missing posters, stickers etc) but it is a lot cheaper. But it's great. I love it. It's wonderful. And I just~
Anyway, back to NGNL. The version I bought includes Blu-Ray and DVD of the anime, and the soundtrack and art prints as well. The prints are great, with some done in the art style of the anime, and some in a more detailed design. If you were looking for a review of the anime itself, you can see one here.

Wolf Children
This is a beautiful anime film. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of philosophical meaning in it as well, but I'm not really good at that kind of thing so I'll just leave it open. It was by the same director (?) as Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, so if you enjoyed those then you should like this, too.
Description from Amazon: Hana is a 19-year-old student who falls in a fairy-tale like love with a wolf man. Over the course of the 13-year story Hana gives birth to two children - older sister Yuki, and younger brother Ame, or 'Snow and Rain'. At first the family quietly lives in the city trying to hide their wolf heritage, but when the "wolf man" suddenly dies Hana makes the decision to move to a rural town, far from their previous city life.

The animation is beautiful, and the story is very well thought out.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Although this does have a few plot holes, I think that this is more about a teenager struggling with her emotions rather than a girl actually gaining the power to go back in time. It was directed (?) by the same person as Summer Wars and Wolf Children (see above), and with art direction being handled by Studio Ghibli, how could this be anything other than a masterpiece? You do have to watch it a couple of times to understand some of the really deep stuff, but that's what I love about anime.

Is there anything here you've tried or that, on second thoughts, actually might be worth a try? Or if there's something in particular you want me to mention, just tell me! And if you can think of a better name for Otaku Monthly Favourites, I swear I will love you forever.

Lazy Otaku Halloween Costumes

Hiya :) have you missed me?
I'm currently working on the Otaku Monthly Favourites (October) and I'm trying to be more active etc....

Anyways, jumping right in, I am a very lazy otaku, and I'm pretty sure there are many others out there who are dreading Halloween costume-wise. How do you dress up uniquely, while incorporating your love of Japan and anime, while still being at least slightly recognisably? It took me a very long time browsing through the internet (ah, the wonderful internet) before realising that all the costume ideas I found were either completely pointless or required spending a lot of money.
So I took it upon myself to write a (hopefully) useful blog post with easy Halloween costumes.

1. Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service)
There are many times I've dressed up as Kiki (and just as many I've been mistaken for a normal witch) but that's alright really. As long as you and any other Otakus who have braved the outside world on Halloween know who you are, there isn't a lot more you can ask for. All you need is a navy or dark purple dress, a brooms, and a huge red bow. And if you want to go crazy, you could even get a black cat teddy thing to stick to the broom. A pink shoulder bag would be useful too.



2. Plusle and Minun (Pokemon)
Who doesn't like Plusle and Minun? There are also so many gijinka (see this post and scroll down for more info https://otaku--on.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/pokemon-gijinka.html ) to choose to cosplay from. All that's really compulsory is the ears, the tail and the cheeks. Grab a friend, brother, sister, anyone, force them into an (almost) identical outfit, and you're done! This requires a bit more cosplay experience - I would have been working on it if it was easier - but I'm sure someone out there will have enough commitment to do this one.



3. No Face (Spirited Away)
This is my personal favourite, and what I will be on Halloween. No Face is just so cute! All you have to wear is all black, a black hoodie, and a mask (which, granted, could be hard to get your hands on). Even if you're not in the anime community, most people have seen the masterpiece Spirited Away, or at least heard of it. Before I'd seen it, I knew that No Face was phenomenally cute. You don't even need to talk if you're No Face, and that's a relief for introverted people like me. All you have to say is 'ah, ah'.


4. Ditto (Pokemon)
I think this is possibly the easiest costume on here. Just put a sticky note on your forehead saying 'Ditto' - anime fans should get it.



So that's all I've got for now! Hopefully this gave you some inspiration for a Halloween costume that you can wear without putting too much effort into. See you next post!

Otaku Monthly Favourites: September

Why hello
Have you missed me? Well I suppose I haven't been gone THAT long.
Anyway. if you're new around here (though I doubt it), and you don't know how this works, basically I introduce you to 3 - 5 otaku things that I enjoyed and would like to share with you.
Anyways, lets be getting on with things. Please note that there will be spoilers.

1. RE:Zero
This is a very dark anime, but I loved it. It's basically about a guy (Natsuki Subaru) who is transported to another dimension, where demi-humans and -elves etcetera are commonplace. He finds out that when he dies in this universe, he can 'Return by Death' to a 'checkpoint' that he got to in his last life. Just to let you know, my favourite character is Crusch-sama.

2. Mystic Messenger
This otome game (aimed at people of the female animal kingdom) is just amazing. It's my first ever otome game, and I was scared to play it at first, but now I think it could be the best app out there. In the game, you download a messenger app, and then you basically have to try and go out with one of the people in the game. Unfortunately, so far I haven't been able to get a good end (with 3 bad ends) but I'm still going! You also have to play it in real time, which can be a setback for people who go to classes, work, sleep and basically live as a normal human being. One more thing on the subject: the free period is ending soon, so if you want to download it for free, I recommend doing it soon.

3. This Umaru Chan hoodie
I don't actually own one of these yet, but I really wish I did. It's so unique, and the fabric looks very high quality. I also bought an Umaru Chan backpack from the same people making these, and I was very happy with it - you can see my description and review below!

4. This Umaru Chan bag
Those who read my description above will know that this is from the same company who made the Umaru Chan hoodie. I bought this bag for the coming school year, and so far I am very happy with it. It has a lot  of pockets, and is like the tardis - bigger on the inside than the outside, which I like. It also came with what looked like two trading cards of Ebina and Kirie as magical girls, which was a great bonus. I think this is definitely worth the price it's going for. Oh, and one more thing, Umaru's hair is white on the actual bag. It doesn't make a huge difference, but if you're picky about these things you might be annoyed.

Well, that's all from me for this month. I'll try to post again before the end of October, but I can't guarantee it. Also, if you could think of a new name for these posts instead of 'Otaku Monthly Favourites', please comment it down below! I'd really appreciate it, because I really don't think this name is very catchy.

See ya!

How to be Otaku (even in the hardest circumstances)

Hello...
Well, now that the academic year has begun yet again (at least it has in Britain) and you're all settled back in to whatever job or school you may or may not be going to, you're probably wondering how on earth you're going to stay true to your otaku self with all those biased and judgemental people around you.
Well, never fear - I am here! And I (the wonderful lifesaving otaku so-and-so you all know and love) have compiled a list of things that you can do to stay up to date with the otaku community - without coming across as a weeaboo.
I now present... THE LIST!

1. Keep up to date with GoBoiano. 
It's great for staying up to date with almost everything anime, and you can post stuff yourself. Not only that, but there's an app you can download for on the go!

2. Download the Crunchyroll app. 
Obviously you can see if there's an app for whatever streaming site you use, but I can't guarantee that there will be one, or that it'll be any good. I'd just stick to Crunchyroll if I were you. With this app, you can watch anime anywhere (well, provided that there's internet).

3. Try your hand at drawing manga. 
Even if you're not much of an artist, there are plenty of tutorials out there. Who knows? Maybe you'll eventually become an internet art sensation. But even you're only tracing, things like that are bound to get noticed by other otakus and anime fans.

4. Browse through the many manga artists on social media. 
There are loads of people on Instagram, DeviantArt (well duh) and Facebook that draw manga. My personal favourite is Otakupup.

5. Play Neko Atsume. 
Do I really need to explain this one?

Well, there you have it. The list of ideas to stay otaku for the coming year.
Until next time,
Stay otaku.

Pokemon Gijinka

Hi, hello, yes I know I've been gone for a while, but I'm back now, yada yada yada. Today I'm talking about a little thing called Pokemon gijinka.

Well, we all know what Pokemon are - and if you don't then I guess you'd better update yourself. The other term we might not be familiar with is gijinka. Now, if you didn't bother clicking the link I just put in, then you won't know that gijinka are extremely cute. You will also be wondering why I don't just tell you what they are myself - which, to be honest, I am too.
So here it is, folks - gijinka 101.

Basically, a gijinka is a non-human thing drawn as a human. Therefore, Pokemon gijinka must be Pokemon drawn as human. And it's that simple.

I've tried my hand at gijinka. It's surprisingly addictive. See my DeviantArt profile to find my latest gijinka, and other manga art as well.

Now that I've inspired you on Otaku Online, go forth and be the gijinka drawing trainer you know you were always meant to be - even if you aren't the best at drawing. Send them to me via DevianArt, or link a drawing to me in the comments!

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