Anime Analysis: Sarazanmai

While other 29-year olds of the world spent their weekends reading Important Adult Books, doing Important Adult Things and Taking Relaxing Adult Breaks, I, on the other hand, found out about Sarazanmai and watched the whole thing over the weekend.

I named this post Anime Analysis so I can match it with my other post, "Anime Analysis: Yuri on Ice", but this isn't so much of an analysis as it is an... impression. Why?

Because I don't know if I have the brainpower, cultural knowledge, or the sanity to properly analyze whatever the hell was going on in this series.

I will now proceed to just kind of ramble about this anime for a while.


Synopsis: (from MyAnimelist)

Kazuki Yasaka, an 8th grader living in Asakusa, is turned into a Kappa along with his classmates Toi and Enta by a mysterious creature named Keppi, after they break inadvertently a statue of a Kappa, the guardian god of the city. They are then ordered by Keppi, who claims to be the first heir to the throne of Kappa Kingdom, to fight against the Kapa-zombies, bioarms created by his enemies, if they want to return to their human form.

In order to kill them, they have to make a specific sound called "Sarazanmai" which is produced only when the three of them are united, but the three boys cannot connect at first. In addition, one of their secrets is revealed to each other every time they emit the sound! They finally accept to take risks to collect the "Plates of Hope," given by Keppi when they defeat the Kapa-zombies, and which can make their wishes come true.

However, some trouble occurs over the plates...! Along the course of the fights against the Kapa-zombies, their fierce past and inner conflicts keep getting revealed. This is the sarcastic fantasy of three boys who don't feel connected to their important ones, getting to realize the real meaning of bonds.


TL;DR review summary: IT'S REALLY FUCKING WEIRD BUT IT GETS GOOD I SWEAR TO GOD.

1. I cannot stress enough how fucking weird and bizarre the series is. The entire reason I post this on my now dead blog instead of like, anywhere else is because I want to talk about this a lot but I just... can't. The below image kind of explains everything.

2. The series has a lot of butts and butt imagery and it's... honestly hard to stomach it but apparently it's all part of some Japanese folklore involving the Kappa. I dunno man, Japan is fucking weird sometimes.

3. Whoever is reading this, don't run away and keep reading because, BECAUSE, BECAUSE, in spite of all the distressing anal imagery, this show has heart. It has genuine heart and tells the story of three troubled middle-schoolers trying to cope with their lives and connect with those dear to them.

4. I started watching Sarazanmai in the first place after the show ended in Japan due to the sheer volume of Korean otaku screaming about how good of a show this was: it's really weird but it's so good, they said, you have to watch it to understand, they said.

5. At first I was hesitant to watch it because it seemed like it would be some coming of age story about three middle school boys and I honestly wasn't interested in some barely pubescent children tackle issues about growing up.

But you know what? The show made me care about these boys.

And it's not because these boys are troubled (the boys as a whole are way more troubled than any average 14-year-old has the right to). As the story progressed, you learn about the boy's lives and secrets and traumas, and juxtaposed with how young and vulnerable and full of heart they are, you just get to root for them. You want these boys to be happy. You want these boys to have better lives. And you finally understand why you just gotta keep watching in spite of all the weird Japanese Butt Stuff.

6. I also liked that the show wasn't afraid to pull its punches. In my post on Yuri on Ice, I complained that the characters' actions did not have any consequences and whatever they did did not matter at the end.

In Sarazanmai, actions definitely have consequences. Lies are exposed, secrets are leaked out, crimes are answered for, and only honesty and genuine communication save any of the characters and get them their desired consequences. I liked that.

7. You know what else Sarazanmai did right? Being unambiguously and unapologetically gay. One of the protagonists, Enta, has a non-ambiguous, actual and literal gay crush on his childhood friend Kazuki.

I'm sorry for constantly comparing this with Yuri on Ice and dissing the former show but THIS is how you handle gay stuff, Yuri on Ice! Not with homoerotic fan service and ambiguous are-they-or-aren't-they relationships, but with actual, clear statements about how gay your gay characters are! Fuck you, Yuri on Ice!

8. Now that I've said enough about the boys and the show's plot, I shall now ramble on about my personal favorite part of the show: the antagonists, The Hot Otter Cops.

What finally got me convinced to watch Sarazanmai were google image results of these pretty boys and the fact that they exist. Middle school boys tackle growing up? Ehh... THESE pretty boys are also in the show? Sign me the fuck up!

I love how extra they are, and their song-and-dance sequence is just the Fucking Most.

And if you thought these Hot Otter Cops seem a bit homoerotic, it's because... well, spoilers, they're also unambiguously gay. The Hot Otter Cops antagonize the three boys throughout the story because they got their own desires and purposes to fulfill, which involves the fact that they are lovers who lost something important to them.

I did wish the show focused on their backstory a little bit more because their story arc seemed a little bit rushed compared to the middle school boys' stories, but I enjoyed every screentime they got all the same.

9. So... once I got used to the SHEER FUCKING WEIRDNESS and all the anal imagery, I enjoyed watching this series very much. I would recommend it to people if not for the fact that the initial premise is an insanely hard sell. 

But trust me, it gets good, it gets better. You won't regret having watched it. It's also only 11 episodes long so it's an easy series to breeze through.

You should probably watch it alone or with a very trusting companion, though.

Doodle Diaries: Foray into Instagram

I made an art account on instagram!

Link to account: https://www.instagram.com/baekho_draw/

There aren't a lot of posts yet and I have literally zero followers at the moment, but hey.

I'll mostly be posting on my account now instead of this blog, which only has like, 2-3 actual readers at most.

Doodle Diaries: Digital drawings, H1 2018

All digital drawings from January - June 2018.

I drew a lot in the beginning of the year, then depression got the better of me towards mid-late spring and then I hardly drew anything.

Anyway, here they are.

2018/01/08
I like using my high school as backgrounds. The colors came out nice in this one.

2018/01/14
YJS's quest to use every pattern provided by Clip Studio Paint as backgrounds continues.

2018/01/21
First time using 3D models as backgrounds!

2018/02/05
Everyone came out looking kind of chunky. More experimentation using patterns and backgrounds.

2018/02/07
I still like how this one came out. Starting to solidify how to line and color.

2018/03/04
Tried a bunch of experiments on this, such as 3D model posing, different pens, different brushes.
I don't like how it came out, decided to stick with the way I usually line and color.

2018/03/04
Used a photo reference for the go-cart and photo for road background.
I like that I was able to convey a sense of action in this one.

2018/03/27
Used photo references for poses. I think I'm starting to get the hang of how to shade.
It was fun designing clothes for them.

2018/04/16
Spring fashion, part 2. Also used photo reference for poses.

2018/04/21
My school makes for excellent backgrounds.
It was fun adding backlight on them to match the background.

2018/06/28
The first drawing I did after a long bout of not drawing anything digitally.
Relieved to find that I haven't lost any skills during the absence.

Doodle Diaries: I drew another 3-page thing again

(Link to look at my older, shittier attempt at a 3-page comic thing from last year.)

I attempted a 3-page comic again. This time I thumbnailed the panel layout before drawing but didn't work on writing, so the dialogue came after I drew things out.

Once again, there isn't much going on in terms of story. I just wanted to see how I would do drawing in comic format now that my coloring sucks a little less.

Page 1 (Finished March 23)

This was my first time using the comic format in Clip Studio Paint so this page took forever.

I tried to add more variety into the background compared to my old comic, where I just filled the panels with lockers. I could have put more effort, but this was the most effort I could give before being completely bored by it.

I used a thinner line and a G-pen to make it look less outline-y, which I think I half-succeeded. I'm getting closer to the type of look I want my digital art to have, but I need to figure out a few more things.

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Page 2 (Finished March 25)

I liked the interaction between Ran and Marie. Their body languages are distinct and adds to the scene.

I should probably use a different font next time.

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Page 3 (Finished April 2)

I know this page is kind of empty. Kind of a layout fail on my part. I could have used more dynamic body language or different face expressions to liven things up.

You can also see that I stopped giving a shit about backgrounds.

I added gradients on the clothes this time, which seemed to add more dimension, but it's still not quite the look that I am aiming for when drawing.

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Better-looking than last year, but still VERY amateurish. I don't know if it's the coloring or composition or what. The flat backgrounds probably didn't help.

Some day, YJS. Some day.

Doodle Diaries: Doodles, two years

Been two years since I started to draw regularly again.

I made a post last year comparing 2016 and 2017 doodles, so I thought it was natural that I update my comparison.

Let's start off with people being lovey-dovey.

From left to right: 2016, 2017, 2018
I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO DRAW THIS PROPERLY.
It's called "Use a reference, you idiot".
Now they finally look like they're interacting with each other.
I don't know why I didn't think to do that earlier.

From left to right: 2016, 2017, 2018.
I turned her around, haha.
It took two years for me to actually put a miffed face expression on her like I intended.

From left to right: 2016, 2017, 2018
I feel like he's getting longer and skinnier. And pointier.
I like how he's the only one who's essentially remained the same.

From left to right: 2016, 2017, 2018
I totally forgot that that is how I first drew him.
Somehow I feel like the 2017 picture is better than the 2018 one...?
I don't know why I made him hold a juice box.

There isn't a huge jump in skills between 2017 and 2018 compared to 2016 and 2017, but something does look slightly different.

Whoo, comparison posts.

YJS, on the brink of turning 28

I'm going to be 28 years old on Saturday.

I am already 29 in Korean age, but Korean age is bullshit and I refuse to live 1-2 years older than everyone else in the world, so 27 going on 28 I am.

And I don't really know who I am asides from that.

I'm not talking about my upbringing - I'm a culturally confused Third Culture Kid and that is okay and I've made peace with that. I mean that I don't know who I AM.

What is my key personality? What am I best known for? Do I have expertise in anything?

I feel like I don't have an answer for any of those questions.

Since I was young, I rather disliked the notion of being known for one thing, whatever it may be. For me, it was usually drawing; I was the Kid Who Draws.

And that felt suffocating. I have other interests and thoughts and feelings other than drawing, I thought. I am me! I refuse to be pigeonholed into just the Kid Who Draws!

Perhaps it was because of this attitude, but I never managed to delve really deep into anything all my life.

I read a lot as a child. I read fiction. But I never challenged myself to read nonfiction nor did I have any favorite authors whose books I obsessively tracked down. I liked stories, not the people or the craft behind it. And eventually I began to read less for leisure.

I like writing. But I don't have anyone whose writing style I love, nor do I have any writing mentors. I only know that I like writing simply and concisely, getting the message across as efficiently as possible, artistic value be damned.

I am doing journalism. But I don't have any favorite reporters whose stories I obsessively follow, nor am I subscribed to a million newspapers (I just read/watch the news like a regular person does). I don't have any grand aspirations of winning a Pulitzer or reporting a challenging story. I don't have some burning drive of Searching For Journalistic Truth.

And drawing. Oh, drawing. I never went to art school - I felt like I would be wasting my writing opportunities if I went to art school. Also, I hated doing what others told me to and only wanted to draw what I wanted, which I reckoned was the wrong attitude to have anyway if I wanted to do art for a living. I also balked at the price of drawing tablets and didn't buy one until I was 26, while most people start drawing digitally at 13 or so. As a result, I know how to draw, but I can and will never draw as well as professional artists, even though it is one of my greatest passions.

I never delved deeply into other long-term hobbies like I should have. Obsessing over things that wasn't school stuff or job stuff felt like a waste of time. I never cared to learn about the kendo spirit or analyze moves beyond the basics. I never practiced my violin in my spare time, and I never poured in my heart and soul when playing, resulting in a soulless, mechanical screech that sounded more like dying chickens than actual music. I never gave 100% when playing tennis, resulting in my skills never improving.

I didn't study deeply into anything I ever did because I wanted spare time. Spare time to do... nothing, essentially; just kill time and sleep and watch cat videos or whatever. I never cared because I didn't want to be known for That One Thing and got lazy with life,  and now I'm here, unable to do a good job of anything.

Maybe I SHOULD have cared more about all the things I did. Maybe then I'd be good at at least one thing by now, or at least have an identity that others can recognize me by. Right now I'm just... me. A lazy, pessimistic, antisocial person who isn't an expert at anything and easily crumbles under the slightest stress. A rather uninteresting and useless person.

It's probably too late to do anything about it by now since I'm nearing 30 and officially getting Too Old for Things.

Doodle Diaries: I don't know what is wrong with my drawings plz help, part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

TL;DR summary: I am really, really bad at lining and coloring my drawings on the computer, despite doing everything that I should be doing. My drawings look okay enough as pencil sketches, but look flat and amateurish once I line and color them.

(Exhibit A: my drawing from July, and a quick replication done by pencil on Dec 31)

After the whole series of critiques from last time, I watched a bunch of lining and coloring tutorials and speedpaint videos on YouTube, just like I did when I first began drawing digitally.

I haven't missed anything; I already do all the things that the videos do. But everyone else's art looks great while mine does not. I do not understand this fuckery.

I was starting to reach the conclusion that my drawings "just suck". Hear me out, I have actual reasons for saying this:

1) My lines just don't look nice and I have trouble with making some parts thick and some parts thin, which adds dimension to drawings.

2) I suck at picking nice colors. Color combos have not been my strong point since childhood.

3) I still suck at details such as clothes folds and clothes wrinkles and skin folds and hair parts.

If this is really the reason that my drawings don't look nice, there isn't much I can do other than draw more until things come out right.

So I tried another test drawing. My goal this time was to do the usual things I do, but 1) be super meticulous with colors, and 2) be better about details like hair and clothes.

Process summary below.

Lineart

Flat colors

Shadows and highlights

Colored the lines instead of having them black

Huh.

Wait.

The end result... doesn't look terrible?

I created layers upon layers for this drawing, constantly adjusting color levels until it looked "right". Was color choice my problem all along?!

I need to try another drawing.

I used an old, old doodle I did on scrap paper in 2016 as reference. 

Lined, colored, background, colored lines.

The drawing looks less refined since I used an old doodle for reference, but this also looks okay...?

So color choice and details are indeed a few of my problems.

Next I tried to work a bit on lines: I used a vector layer to line my next drawing instead of a regular layer, and tried to adjust line thickness.

Yes, I am absolutely going to use every pattern on CSP as backgrounds.
I also forgot to highlight their hair but I spent too much time on this so I'm moving on.

The left looks fine with the black lines; I needed to color the lines on the right for it to look the way I wanted it to.

So lines may also be a factor I need to pay attention to as well.

...

I guess the primary problem with my drawings was that they indeed "sucked" and I need to be more meticulous when I draw.

Okay then.

Whoever said "Drawing digitally makes your drawings look less crappy because you can color them in which hides flaws" needs to have a word with me.