As it turns out, today was the date set for something called MikuFES’09. And amongst the humble list of artists who will be present, the last name on the list surprised me. MOSAIC.WAV, known for their creation of the ‘new’ music genre “Akiba-Pop”, have jumped on the bandwagon and will be releasing a ‘collaboration’ CD with Hatsune Miku. Now the only part of all this that bothers me… Is that MOSAIC.WAV already has a high-pitched vocalist who gives me headaches. If you add in Miku to that garbage, just how awful will it become?

On the other hand, MOSAIC.WAV haven’t exactly been the talk of the town after Sumomo mo Momomo, Potemayo, and Kyouran Kazoku Nikki; so perhaps this is their chance to worm their way back into the afterthoughts of nerdy otaku socialites.

What a long wait...

This news isn’t new in the slightest, I believe it was announced nearly two weeks before Comic Market 76. However, my lack of enthusiasm for websurfing cost me dearly in this regard. That makes me sound like I actually care. Hah, nevermind that. I know I won’t be buying this.

A dark and dreary world full of noir emphasis. I see...

Oh lordy, why am I always ten steps behind the times? A Black Rock Shooter anime project has been announced, with all reason for me to be excited. I’ll admit, I’m not that infatuated in Vocaloid software or its music. But when Studio Ordet and ryo (supercell) is involved, how can I contain myself? Unfortunately Yutaka Yamamoto will not be directing this, so things are really up in the air as to how it’ll go. more…

Art not made officially by staff of a manga or animation would be the best way to describe fan art. That’s much different than saying art made by people or fans since staff or authors also make their own not so official art. What would you consider that since not all of their illustrations and works may be from series they worked on? They are more than a simple fan and some images they share may also be official ones.

The fact is many people believe it’s fine to take an image off of another blog that was taken from Anime News Network that got it from an official site or announcement to post on a discussion forum. It takes money and effort to get a digital camera and scanner to produce images from real life objects not previously added to the net. This brings me to a good supporting point of how the Internet is. If you make anything creative and share it publicly on the net, what do you expect everyone to do? Not saying it’s okay to be a jerk, but not everyone using fan art has a malicious intent and the uploader should know the possibility of others using their work without permission.

Human beings like recognition and linking to their image account or site shows you support them, however, don’t assume all artists are upset when they see their work used without permission. They may simply enjoy knowing someone liked their art enough to use. This being said, not all sites have field or detail areas when uploading a image and other sites may not be focused on comments and image details. Then what?

The best the artist can do is add a watermark or sign their name and put a notice where images are displayed that you wish to be linked to or asked before having an image used. The best blogger, graphic creator, or web disigner can do is link back, ask, or ask around for the source if unknown. One thing you can learn to do is add the artist or source name when saving an image so you can remember and so that some image hosts may keep that file name in the url or details page. Or just don’t upload at all…any of you.

Besides, people like to be able to find more. On a semi-related note, this community does have a link directory for anime and manga illustration and our gallery does have a copyright area.

No, this isn't the reason I'm broke. Though I wish it was.

Oh geez, I never thought it would happen to me, but it’s finally happened. I’m broke. My mother needed a large sum of money to pay off her debt and ensure that my two older sisters survive the next month without dying of starvation or alcohol poisoning. So I, being the generous son, gave her the entirety of my savings account. And as if preordained by the cosmos, my car chose this morning to decide to stop running as I made plans to go to the nearest Walmart and stock up on instant ramen for the next six months. So now it’s sitting in the parking lot as a $7,000USD paper weight and I’m stuck without a car for at least a good solid month until my next paycheck. What really bothers me though, is that I was planning on buying a WA-6SE for my meager headphone collection before all this went down. The stark reality that faces me now destroys all hope and optimism that I once held for this world.

As most of you already know, nearly 50% of my paycheck goes towards purchasing anime or manga; but now I will not be able to support the industry from the shadows like I have been doing. No more Kira Kira, no more imported manga, still no game consoles and all I come away with is a broken heart. And thus is the life of a messiah, I presume. Call me paranoid, but I believe this is karma for all the badmouthing I’ve done of Kyo-Ani.

For those of you who have not kept up with the fighting genre, you would be forgiven for having no clue what Blazblue is. It was created by Arc System of the famed Guilty Gear series and released last month for PS3 and 360. It has gotten nearly all positive reviews and I have yet to come across a bad one and after playing it about a week I can see why. So this is my overview/review of it.

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I can honestly say Saki is the only thing keeping me alive after Haruhi repeatedly stabs me in the face every week. Episode 15 was good for two reasons: One, the fukushou matches ended. Two, the taishou matches started. I guess the fact Momoko is so adorable could be a possible third reason, but I’d rather not bring my sexual drive into this since my opinion tends to get awfully skewed in the presence of charming ladies. That may be why I’m still single. more…