Run

Okay, so I've already written about this book, but as well as being a reference, it is also my fiction piece for this project. It is an amazingly written book, but I've already illustrated my opinion previously, so I'll just do a quick summary.

John Hammond, a capitalist with too much time on his hands, has built a dinosaur-themed park by genetically recreating the animals through DNA extraction. As a precaution, he is advised by his lawyers to have sort of a test run, by bringing real people and experts in ahead of time to make sure the park is "up to par". Enter Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, and Donald Gennaro, as well as two kids Lexi and Tim. These people are brought onto the island where the park was built, and are given the VIP treatment: a grand tour, explanations of how everything works, special previews of future exhibits, the works. Unfortunately, the guests are not impressed. Malcolm insists that the park will backfire, and Grant is fascinated but skeptical of the ethical questions raised by the recreation process. Nonetheless, all their fears are realized when Dennis Nedry screws things up. Working on an undercover deal for a rival genetics company, he shuts off the main power to get some embryos off of the island. When Nedry doesn't return, this raises problems in the fact that the dinosaurs can now escape, and no one else knows how to work the systems.

Web Content #3

This last video I found is by an artist I follow from France, who goes by the username Diabolumberto. He colors drawings using Photoshop and a drawing tablet. This just shows an example of what can be done digitally rather than traditionally. Digital coloring is certainly more convenient, and easier to fix if mistakes are made, but there's a certain respect that comes with doing some fantastic coloring traditionally. This ties into the narrow end of my topic funnel, and is a good example of modern techniques in creating manga.

Web Content #2

This second piece gets down to the techniques the pros use. Obviously this video is from Japan, and it shows, as the style is very apparent in the examples. What is shown is some various techniques for coloring, as well as the entire process of making a drawing or page. After the sketch, one inks the whole page, and then fills in all the black areas. Then, if desired, one can color using special markers (Copics are by far the best, but also the most expensive, costing about 5$ per pen.), or by using a drawing tablet and ones favorite drawing software (My preference is a Wacom tablet with PaintToolSAI). This also directly ties into my narrowed topic.

Web Content #1

This content fits very well with my narrowed topic, which is simply creating manga, and the techniques and methods used. This video shows one of the most important steps (and one of the hardest in my opinion): inking. Inking is difficult because one has to be very steady-handed and careful to not smudge any of the parts already inked. This is solely a demonstrative piece, and techniques can be learned just by watching.

Air Trecks: The New Craze That's Sweeping the Nation!

Roller blades that make you fly? Sure, why not! Another brilliant idea from Japan, the land of tentacles, godzilla, and robots. That was actually not sarcasm; said roller blades are very cool. They're called Air Trecks, and they are the main tool of the trade in the manga Air Gear. It's a colorful if not somewhat vulgar series, and has brought me lots of laughs thus far.

The main character, Itsuki "Ikki" Minami, and his strange crow.
[Source]

Ikki Minami is your average middle school student, except for the fact that he protects the school from a vicious gang. The series opens as he is outnumbered and embarrassingly defeated. When he returns home to his adoptive sisters Ringo, Shiraume, Mikan, and Rika Noyamano, he is reminded of how helpless he was. Then he discovers something interesting. He sees a girl flying above him on what look like roller blades. He asks his sisters about them but they offer him little information. So he goes and looks for himself. Finding out they're called Air Trecks, he makes it his mission to purchase some. Unsuccessfully, he returns home, only to find Ringo with a pair ready for him. He's out to assemble an Air Treck team and rise to the top.

I can't speculate too much on this one because I'm only a third of the way through it, but the characters are interesting, the art is gorgeous, and the story is engaging. There's a LOT of humor throughout the series, although it's usually vulgar (in the form of foul language or nudity for example), so it's not for everybody. The story is relatively easy to follow, and each character has something interesting about them. Overall, so far, I'm satisfied with this series.

Ogure, Ito. Air Gear. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Kodansha. Print.

Becoming a Ninja



The series' protagonists (From top, Clockwise): Yanagi Sakoshita, Kaoru Koganei, Tokiya Mikagami, Fuko Kirisawa, Domon Ishijima, Recca Hanabishi (Center)
[Source]

 Flame of Recca, a series that is now a bit old, is not as well known as it perhaps should be. It stars hothead troublemaker Recca Hanabishi, a high school kid with a skill in making fireworks, thanks to his father. He gets into a lot of trouble, usually fighting with another crazy student, Domon Ishijima. Recca has a strange dream; he wishes to become a ninja. He's been fascinated with the Hokage clan, and has researched them his entire life. When one day he meets a girl named Yanagi, he vows to protect her as his hime, or princess. From there he finds himself in a twisted mess of villains who are after Yanagi for her ability to heal, and at the top is a rather ugly man by the name of Koran Mori, as well as Recca's brother Kurei. Recca teams up with his friends (as well as a few rivals) to protect Yanagi and to stop Koran Mori.

Flame of Recca is a beautifully written series, chock-full of humor, action, and gore. An odd combination to be sure, but the art is spectacular, and allows for a much wider range of emotions to be shown. A short anime was released, spanning only the first part of the story, the Ura-butou Satsujin, a tournament put together by Mori yearly to appease his sadistic side, in which competitors are chosen and are pitted against each other until one opponent is dead. The anime was accurate but cannot do justice to the manga. At over 300 chapters, it goes far beyond the tournament, into some serious and action-packed... action. It was an absolute joy to read, and I encourage all of you to give it a shot!

Anzai, Nobuyuki. Flame of Recca. Tokyo: Shueisha, 1995. Print

Planetary Radiation

Phendrana Drifts in Metroid Prime. The most beautiful game world I've ever seen.
[Source]

Metroid Prime is a trilogy of games developed by Nintendo. The player controls Samus Aran, a very well known bounty hunter employed by the Galactic Federation. During a routine mission, she encounters a distress signal and lands at its coordinates: a derelict space station. In flames and abandoned, the place is definitely in need of help. She encounters some dead and dying space pirates, who futilly shoot at her. Deeper in the ship, she encounters a beast called the Parasite Queen, who offers a bit more of a challenge but nothing she can't handle. After the beast is slain, the ship begins a critical meltdown, and Samus makes her escape, damaging her equipment on the way. She lands on a nearby planet after seeing her nemesis Ridley land there. The planet, Tallon IV, is a beautiful planet plagued by strange radiation after a large object collided on its surface. Throughout her journey she encounters areas both volcanic and frozen, the ruins of an ancient tribe, and mines created by the space pirates to harvest the radiation known as Phazon. At the end of her journey on Tallon IV, she encounters a fearsome monster and destroys it, inside the large comet.

The second game extends the story of Phazon, but on a different planet known as Aether. Samus crash-lands there and encounters the last of a race known as the Luminoth. The leader, U-mos, tells the story of dark warriors called Ing who have taken over the strange planet, which has both a dark dimension and a light dimension. The Ing inhabit the dark side due to another strange comet colliding. Through the use of portals, one can travel to either side of the planet. U-mos requests Samus's help in restoring the planet, so once again she is forced to wait. She encounters many more locations, on both sides of the planet, and learns much more about the Phazon radiation. She also encounters a new nemesis, Dark Samus, who was born from the remains of the creature she defeated on Tallon IV. After defeating the Ing and their leader, she once again heads off into space to continue her journey.

The third game begins with Samus's return to the Galactic Federation. She is examined and then called into a meeting with the Commander and the ship's "brain" known as an Aurora Unit. The AU explains to her and three other bounty hunters, Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda, that they have learned more about Phazon and its origins. It stems from large comets called Leviathans, which are able to generate wormholes to travel to distant planets. These are the same comets from the previous two games. Samus is sent to several planets to destroy the leviathans, but once again Dark Samus gets in the way. Samus is corrupted heavily with Phazon and must have a new suit developed to deal with the radiation. It also allows her to enter a state called Hypermode, which allows her to use the Phazon in her body as a weapon. Dark Samus corrupts the other three bounty hunters during the journey and Samus is forced to end their lives. At long last they discover the space pirates have gained control of a leviathan and they can use it to get to its originating planet Phaaze. Samus travels to Phaaze and defeats Dark Samus and destroys the planet once and for all.


These are my favorite games of all time. With the exception of the third game, there is no dialogue used, and Samus never says anything. It's up to the player to learn the story based solely on experiences and the little informational bits included when scanning the local objects, creatures, and logs of the space pirates and luminoth. It's almost essential to play each game several times to get the whole story (which I have,) and once you do you realize how deep it actually is. I could write pages upon pages of this, but I chose to shorten them for convenience sake. On top of that, the worlds are incredibly beautiful, the music is gorgeous and ambient, and the creatures are unique. Overall the games are incredibly well made and have a lot of replay value. I encourage all of you to check them out!


Metroid Prime Trilogy. Redmond, WA: Nintendo of America, 2009. Computer software


Too lazy to site all three games separately....

To the Grand Line

Okay, picture this: a scrawny 17 year old rubber kid, a three-sword wielding powerhouse, a sexy, greedy navigator, a lying and cowardly marksman, a perverted chef whose life is food, a talking reindeer doctor, a lady with a lot of hands, a muscular cyborg, and a musical skeleton with an afro. What could all these things have in common? Well, as a matter of fact, they have at least two things in common. Firstly, they all belong to the same pirate crew, and secondly, they all come from the dementedly creative mind of Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the manga One Piece.

The Straw Hat Pirates, minus Brooke, the skeleton. (From left to right): Usopp, Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Franky (Top), Tony Tony Chopper (Bottom), and Nico Robin.
[Source]

The story focuses on Monkey D. Luffy, a kid who aspires to be a pirate like his mentor and father figure, known as "Red-Haired Shanks". He sets off at the tender age of 17, with nothing but a small boat and his straw hat, his most prized possession and a gift from Shanks. Soon he arrives on a port where he meets the notorious pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro, who is arrested and being tortured at the time. Luffy rescues him on the condition that he joins his pirate crew. From there they travel the seas in search of the great treasure known as One Piece, left by the pirate king, Gol D. Roger. They meet Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brooke along the way, each crew member with a valuable talent or specialty essential to the crew's well-being. Through a government war on the pirates and many other hardships, Luffy plans to ascend to the top and become the Pirate King.

This series is one of my favorites, although I've been neglecting it as of late. It's incredibly creative, each new person met is one that's never forgotten. Oda has quite the imagination, and uses it to his extreme advantage. It's a very colorful and hilarious series, especially since Luffy never quite takes things seriously. At over 663 chapters spanning 65 volumes, and over 540 episodes, it is amazingly long, and thus difficult for me to catch up on.

Oda, Eiichiro. One Piece. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Shueisha, 1997. Print.

Believe it! Or Something...



Some of the Series' Protagonists, as well as Madara, the main antagonist, in the background.
Colored By Diabolumberto, a very talented French artist, go check his stuff out.
[Source]

 Okay, I know, Naruto. Just about everyone knows this now. It's terrible what America has done to a decent series. It is by far one of the most overcensored series I've ever seen. Of course, it's not all bad. Toned down, it is a good series for younger kids and preteens. In any case, this is by far the most popular manga series in the world. In my opinion it is a good series, and even though it has a few rough patches (What story doesn't?) it is a well written and visually interesting series.

The main character, Naruto Uzumaki, has always been shunned as a child. His parents died at a young age, and then there's the whole thing about the nine-tailed demon fox in his belly. That'll ruin your weekend. Anyway, by tradition and the time period, he is currently a ninja in training. He keeps failing and failing, but eventually graduates from the academy. From there he is put into a team, and his journey begins. They all suck badly but get better and stronger at their teamwork as the series progresses. Till Sasuke, the other main character, decides to turn emo and leaves. He's out for revenge against his brother Itachi, for killing his entire clan. After a three year timeskip, Naruto returns from training harshly and the remaining members of the team reform. Later in the series it becomes clear that the main Antagonist is a masked man named Madara, who is leader of the infamous organization Akatsuki (In my opinion, these guys are some of the greatest villains ever spawned by the human mind.). Everything up till the current spot in the series propels them into a full scale worldwide ninja war against Madara.

Kishimoto, Masashi. Naruto. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Shueisha. Print.

This is My Pride



The series' protagonists (From left to right): Hayato Gokudera, Tsuna Sawada, Reborn, Kyoya Hibari, Takeshi Yamamoto, Mukuro Rokudo, Ryohei Sasagawa, Lal Mirch.
[Source]

 Katekyō Hitman Reborn! is yet another Japanese manga series, written and illustrated by the very talented Akira Amano. What's interesting about the author is that it's a woman. While not unheard of, it is not very often that a woman writes such a successful Shonen (boy's) manga. Another notable example would be Rumiko Takahashi, author of the world famous Inuyasha series.

Anyway, Reborn! (as it is more commonly known) is a series about a mafia hitman named Reborn, who has been cursed and turned into an Arcobaleno (Rainbow in Italian) and now has the appearance of a baby and also immortality. Reborn is an important member of the Vongola family in Italy, and has come to Japan to seek out and to train the next mafia boss. This person is Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada. He is a hopeless boy who is afraid of most everything. When Reborn shows up at his doorstep, he naturally is incredibly shocked, and denies the ridiculous notion. Reborn doesn't take no for an answer, and gradually trains him and gathers his "Family" together, so he can become the 10th Vongola boss.

This series is very appealing to me because it involves Italian, a language and culture that has always fascinated me, even more so than Japan. It is beautifully written and the art is unique and shows signs of extreme effort. A very inspirational title indeed.

Amano, Akira. Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Vol. 1. Tokyo: Shueisha, 2004. Print.

This Mystery is Already on the Tip of My Tongue

The next series I will be citing is a bit lesser known. It was never published in America unfortunately, but people (who should be considered for sainthood) have translated all of it's 202 chapters into english. It was also turned into a 26 episode anime series, which was also very good. It's title: Majin Tantei Nōgami Neuro, Demon Detective Neuro Nōgami. The title is pretty much the premise of the story. There's a Detective named Neuro Nōgami, and he's a demon.

The series' protagonists: Neuro Nogami (Left) and Yako Katsuragi (Right)
[Source]

The series follows high school glutton student Yako Katsuragi, who is plagued by the mystery surrounding her father's death. One day she meets a strange man who stands upside down in midair (Trust me, that's fairly normal) who offers to solve her mystery. You see the man, Neuro, is actually a Demon. He literally lives off of mysteries, and when a mystery has a "puzzle" to it (like a complicated plan, usually to a murder), the mystery gives off a stronger scent, and becomes more nourishing. Yako agrees, and for the rest of the series, Neuro pretends to be a normal human to get closer to these mysteries, and he has Yako pretend to be his master, and the real detective behind solving all the cases. They develop quite a reputation, and meet many interesting people along the way (allies and criminals alike). The violent and tortuous antics Neuro pulls on Yako are an ongoing joke, as well as all the strange qualities the Demon has. A very fun read indeed.

This is another of my personal favorites, as it is a mystery comedy, much like some of my favorite TV shows (Psych and Monk to name a couple). The hilarity of Neuro attempting to appear human, while forcing Yako to do his bidding (often through hilarious but serious threats) makes this series a nonstop laugh riot.

Matsui, Yūsei. Majin Tantei Nōgami Neuro. Vol. 1. Tōkyō: Shūeisha, 2006. Print.

Japanese Clorox

Well, now that I am getting into the more specific area of my topic, I'm going to have to get to some lesser and lesser known sources. The broad topic of mine is Fiction as a whole, and the very specific topic I'm learning about is the creation of comics/manga. I am an aspiring manga artist, and I thought it would be good to learn a little more about the process. So, starting at the beginning of the project, I get to compare and contrast different examples of literature and texts. Thus, the manga sources are starting here.

Bleach's protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, showing the trail he's blazed through the series.
[Source]

Bleach is a story about a fifteen year old boy named Ichigo Kurosaki. For as long as he can remember, he as had the ability to see ghosts. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't care. He just did his part to help out. One day a Shinigami (Death God in Japanese (They're the good guys. No, really.)) named Rukia Kuchiki entered his home nonchalantly (Shinigami cannot be seen by humans), and Ichigo caught her. She immediately restrained him, and suddenly a roar was heard outside. A monster called a Hollow had begun to attack, and it is the Shinigami's duty to kill these creatures, thus Rukia's presence. Due to Ichigo's recklessness, Rukia becomes injured, and offers Ichigo half of her power to defeat the Hollow and save his family. He agrees, and during the transfer, Rukia accidentally hands off all of her power. Now Ichigo has these powers and must protect others from Hollows (And many other dangers and hardships).

This is my favorite series, and my one true "obsession". It's wonderfully written, the art is intriguing and inspiring, and the characters are amusing and unique. It is considered to be the second most popular manga series in the world, and has spawned an impressive anime series, which has recently "ended" at an astonishing 366 episodes (There is much speculation as to wether or not the series has truly ended). The series itself cannot be put into a single genre, but I'd have to say it's more of an action-comedy. Like any great story, it invokes every emotion imaginable, but it probably fits best here. Even in some of the more heated battles there are little things that make you chuckle. A very impressive series nonetheless, and it's still ongoing, after 54 volumes and over 400 chapters.

Kubo, Tite. "Bleach." Comic strip. Bleach. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Shueisha, 2001. Print

The Vault is Real



The game's protagonists (left to right): Mordecai, Lilith, Brick, and Roland

Borderlands is a video game released by Gearbox. I'm a little reluctant to use it as a source for my project, but it does tie in quite decently. It can be seen as science fiction, as it is usually seen, but I can also see it as a Dystopian setting, although it takes place on a planet other than Earth, known as Pandora.

Pandora has basically gone to hell. Legends of a mystical location filled with unimaginable treasures known simply as the Vault pollute the air along with people's opinions of wether or not it's real. You as the player star as one of four characters, each with distinct personalities and abilities. Using your assets you travel Pandora, helping some of the citizens and defending yourself from the evil Bandits (who hold most of what you need to get to the vault).

I see it as Sci-Fi for the obvious: otherworldy planet, strange creatures (Rakks and Skags to name a couple), alien weapons, etc. However, the state that Pandora is in can easily be seen as a Dystopian Earth. The bandits have taken control of the planet in terms of sheer number, and have made life difficult for the common citizens. People are forced to carry guns and to ask mercenaries (such as yourself) for assistance with even the simplest of issues. The "government" in the game is called the Crimson Lance, and they generally like to throw a wrench into things as well. They're also looking for the vault, and it's pretty obvious they're in control, even above the bandits, as in just about every structure with a wall there is a poster adorned with the Lance's symbol, as a constant reminder to who's in charge. As you progress through the game and gain a reputation, the Lance begins to target you, and you're left to take out an entire army single-handedly (or with the help of up to three other players.)

Borderlands. Novato, CA: 2K Games, 2009. Computer software.

Invasion of the Capstones

The day of reckoning is upon us. The time has now come for us to start our own version of the capstone project. This project will in a sense, summarize the last 12 years of our English lives into one convenient (although rather large) assignment. The first step is to gather ten sources from which we can present information regarding our topic. My topic however, is not an issue like most of the class's. It's not something I can present information about two sides and show debate and persuasion and whatnot, it's simply something to inform. Therefore my sources are going to be examples of text, from literature to film to graphic pieces. We are required to do a post for each source so I'm going to make this first post about the novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

If you haven't read it, then go pick it up right now. No joke. Do it.

Jurassic Park is a cornerstone in the genre of Sci-Fi, and in my opinion will always remain a classic. Although only a mere 23 years old, it has gathered an impressive number of followers and dedicated fans. Most of Crichton's works are science fiction, and this is possibly his most popular example (others including the hit sequel The Lost World and the jungle thriller Congo, both of which have also been made into blockbuster movies). Jurassic Park broke barriers by applying an impressive combination of real and implied science. Most of the information in the book is taken as gospel even though not everything was proven at the time.

I personally have read this book 16 times (soon to be 17) and each time I am taken aback by how powerfully it's written. It still makes my stomach churn as I vividly imagine everything that I'm reading. A very good read, I highly recommend it to any of you, as long as you don't have a weak stomach and can take reading a few deaths.

~AP~

Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park: A Novel. New York: Knopf, 1990. Print.