Anime styles

[Primula Baggins]

I am really enjoying the discussion and the gorgeous art! Clearly there's a whole world I know nothing about. I never took much time to investigate it—that section of the bookstore is full of so much utterly unfamiliar stuff and I had no guide to what might be interesting.

I am really enjoying all the gorgeous art you're posting, Wilma.

Anyway, I will try to come back and post properly tonight if I can. Too much work today, alas!

[Hachimitsu]

Thanks fir the compliment. Some of the art I posted isn't stuff I like but I posted it for the benefit of comparison.
Claymore art makes me ill , Naruto repels me for some reason and RG Veda I have to get used to (although their colour choices for RG Veda I really like). RG Veda is very geometric but not geometric like islamic art which is far more pleasing to me.

[Primula Baggins]

That xxxHolic art is especially striking. Very stylized and quite lovely.

[Pippin4242]

I was looking for clips from the anime, and I turned up this fan-made anime music video. I thought you might like to see what the animators made of CLAMP's style when it came to simplifying things enough to have them move.

*~Pips~*

[Hachimitsu]

For Pips: Yes, Watanuki is the mitten maker.

EDIT: I should add that upon re-reading Fruits basket it ties for my fav series with xxxHolic. The art is extremely shoujoy, but the writing is top notch. I now understand why it's so popular and won awards.The writing is extremely mature and complex. On the first read it's one type of story and on the second read it's a different type of story. It's quite fascinating.

[Crucifer]

Clamp has to be my favourite (group of) manga artist(s). Their style is really beautiful, and their plots are excellent too.

Except maybe Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles... I've only just begun, but it doesn't seem as good as xxxholic or cardcaptors.

[Hachimitsu]

I am leaving for Anime north in about half an hour. See you guys later!!.[/quote]

[Primula Baggins]

Have fun, Wilma! Bring us some nice souvenirs!

[Hachimitsu]

OK I have a couple of things to mention now that I have come back from anime north but I need some time to construct a post (like a couple of hours). Also I need to figure out how to hook up my camera to the computer. I have some lovely costuming examples to show. Also I asked a couple of questions in some panels based some of the stuff I have read on HOF.

I have discovered that the North American dub of Cardcaptor sakura (the anime) was masacared. Do not watch it!!! I have heard there is negotiations to re-dub it since it was so terrible.

If other people would like to comment on what has already been posted I would really appreciate it. I was hoping Impy and some others would post after Pips and I gave some answers. ( I just wanna know if anyone has read the thread since I posted all my explanations to stuff.)

[Primula Baggins]

Traffic's been low the past week or so. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure people will be in here.

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

I think that the discussion that has started here is quite good, and some of the art is quite intriguing for things like xxxholic that I haven’t seen before.

I wanted to touch on a few ideas in particular, based on certain themes that I have run across.

My first exposure to anime was so long ago that I can barely remember; I remember stuff like G-force and Star Blazers in particular, but I only started getting back into anime in recent years after being introduced to Studio Ghibli. I've watched a fair variety of things since then, both for enjoyment and to study the field (in the same way that I would look at Tolkien, for example). I've also had an interest in Japanese cinema, such as Kurosawa.

I am particularly interested in presenting some things that I think are not as well known in the mainstream, though they would probably be known to people who are interested in anime, especially people who are aware that anime goes beyond kids stuff like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, and even beyond things like the common shounen fare like Bleach and Naruto, and even beyond Studio Ghibli.

I am more interested in looking at work that is made for an adult demographic, particularly seinen and josei (though sometimes these overlap in appeal to shounen and shoujo). In these works, the emphasis on story is often greater, and the art is often more sophisticated (even when appearing simple on the surface).

It is not uncommon in anime directed at these demographics that the integration of music becomes a key element; an element that complements the art and the mood of the piece, often setting the pace for the flow of motion on the screen, and in such cases, difficult to separate from the visual image. (Obviously, this is not possible in manga. In manga, such things as the shapes and positions of panels, word balloons and other visual effects would play an analogous role.)

One can see the importance of music in Studio Ghibli's work. In my opinion, Joe Hisashi and Yuji Nomi are two of the best movie composers around, and their contributions to the respective films that they have worked on is considerable. (Likewise, Yoko Konno's jazz work on Cowboy Bebop is highly regarded.)

I am also interested in work that stretches the boundaries of the artistic conventions, and I will try to give a few examples.

One work that I found interesting is a little known series called Haibane Renmei, and it is very different aesthetically and thematically from most other anime.

Haibane Renmei started as a doujin, or fan made magazine, and was picked up and made into a full-fledged anime.

The series treats of many themes that are also found in Tolkien, so it may serve as an interesting introduction for people who are Tolkien fans.

The Haibane are creatures with an angelic appearance, with halos and wings. The creator of Haibane Renmei, Yoshitoshi ABe claims that the decision to give the Haibane such an appearance was a purely aesthetic decision, but this is difficult to accept without reservation because of the thematic material, which integrates ideas from Buddhism and Christianity in an interesting way and to which the angelic appearance seems appropriate.

The Haibane live in a place called Glie, which is in many ways like the Shire and Bree combined.

Like the Shire, the town of Glie appears as a strange anachronism, with hints of modern things in a setting that seems older. Also, like the Shire, Glie is set off from the outside world; In fact, Glie is surrounded by a wall, through which none of the inhabitants may leave, and nothing is really known of the outside world.

However, beneath the pastoral beauty of Glie, there is a darker side. The Haibane live alongside humans, but they have a special status. They may not possess money, or own anything new. They are not born into the world as humans are, but emerge from cocoons at various apparent ages of development (though most in the story appear youthful and there are some who appear as children). They are not born with wings or halos. The wings grow (quite painfully) shortly after emergence and the halo is provided and becomes bound to them.

After a time, a Haibane may achieve the "Day of Flight", which is analogous to going to the Grey Havens, although unlike the Elves who know of Valinor, no one knows what lies beyond. The Haibane merely leave the Circles of the World, one could say.

Because of the imagery and because of some of the thematic material, it is common to interpret Glie as a kind of bucolic purgatory, in the vein of Niggle's Parish in Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle". In this interpretation the Haibane represent the dead who must achieve a certain state of moral certitude before achieving the Day of Flight, as Niggle did before setting out for the mountains. Those who do not achieve this status, and remain sin-bound, lose their wings and halos and never leave. Frequently, this struggle has to do with the feeling that many Haibane have that they had issues with their prior life that they cannot remember. Their only memory is of a dream that they have while in the cocoon from which they are birthed, and from this dream they are given a name.

The story of Haibane Renmei is the story of a newly hatched Haibane, Rakka ("falling"--in her dream she was falling from the sky). Rakka must adjust to life as a Haibane, the feelings of memory and loss, her adjustment to a new-found friend achieving the Day of Flight, her own condition as sin-bound, and her need to help her friend, Reki, who did so much for her when she came into the world of Glie.

One reviewer on Amazon put it this way:

When you watch the first episode or two, you might think that you are in store for a light-hearted comedy like Azumanga Daioh... all the usual cute anime kids are there. But this is not a comedy. It gets deeper and darker, and you'll probably find yourself crying by the end. Although the AnimeNfo description makes it sound like some kind of a Matrix-style science fiction mystery, it really isn't. There's no Shyamalan-esque twist at the end with some dime-store revelation. It is much more of a spiritual and emotional journey that artfully plays on timeless themes of salvation, meaning, purpose, love, loss, and trust. In many ways it is a metaphor for our own experience: We come into this world from some unknown place, and try to figure out why we're here. Along the way, we have to say goodbye to people we love, knowing not where they are going, but certain that soon enough we ourselves will be following them, and having never really understood what anything was all about. And yet, we somehow find a meaning in all the confusion and sadness. I think that's what this series is about. And it's both saddening and uplifting, because that's what life is like.

One of the tragedies of art and commerce is that a series like this can end up in limbo, and that has in fact happened. Haibane Renmei, along with a number of other anime series, was caught up in the shuttering of Geneon entertainment, so it is no longer licensed and no longer available in the US.

With regard to the style of art, the angles are soft, and the palette is subdued in Haibane Renmei:

Several Haibane watch over a newly found cocoon, waiting for it to hatch:



The countryside of Glie, with the mixture of Shire-like bucolic fields and modern telephone poles:



The town of Glie, and a section of the Wall:



Several Haibane and some non-Haibane townfolk:



Rakka at the Library:



Reki on a bridge over the river in downtown Glie:



Rakka and Reki in the Window:



The following are best with sound on.

Haibane Renmei Opening

A Haibane AMV with some good examples of images:

AMV-Haibane Renmei-The Answer Lies Within

Rakka and Nemu (an older Haibane) create a book for a human inhabitant of Glie, with a fanciful and beautiful creation myth, which is recited in the following segment.

A Haibane Creation Myth

A segment discussing the idea of the Circle of Sin:

The Circle of Sin

I heartily recommend the series, if you can find it. Some people think that it starts slow, but I fell into it right away, and the early expository episodes are critical in setting things up for the more dramatic later episodes.

An excellent source for info on the series: Sekai no Hajimari -- A Haibane Renmei fan page

Haibane Renmei at Animeinfo

However, if you do wish to see it, do not spoil it by learning too much. I would also recommended seeing it subbed, rather than dubbed. The original Japanese voice actors do an excellent job in imparting the emotion that seems to be lacking in the English dub.

In later posts, I’d like to look at some other series of interest.

BrianIs AtYou

Bonus, as a contrast to the above:

The following jazz inflected opening of Cowboy Bebop is a prime example of how music and image mate to make for the whole experience. No set of static images would suffice.

Cowboy Bebop

Another important thing in anime culture is fan participation, which may be through doujins (fan made magazines), MADs or AMVs. This is not unlike the phenomenon in Tolkien fandom, with fan-fiction, music, poetry etc,

The following is a popular Cowboy Bebop parody in this vein, Cosby Bebop:

Cosby Bebop

[Jnyusa]

This is all really fascinating, you guys. I've had so little exposure to anime that I can't offer any comments at all, but I'm drinking it all in.

One of the things that strikes me about the links and pics posted so far is the way names and themes from Western mythology are used sort of willy-nilly, without any reference to their origin or contextual meaning. It sounds very odd to me, for example, to hear that the nemisis is named Sephiroth. But I also realize that we have been cannibalizing Eastern cultures that way here in the West for decades. We grab ahold of the flying kung fu masters without any clue about the discipline or philosophy or symbolic meaning of the narratives, and throw them into TV shows, video games, etc. The Akashic Record becomes your point score in an online game, and you collect bodhisattva powers on trading cards.

It will be interesting to see what this culture soup will produce in the end.

[Hachimitsu]

I realized when I did research for the art of xxxHolic, was that art nouveau was inspired by the Japanese woodblock style so things have kind of come full circle.

Fascinating post Brian and thanks for the references to Cowboy Bebop. I definitely want to find a way to see Haibane Renmei. I would like to ask why you feel Geneon went out of business, but I think that is for the anime thread.

Jny: You do have a good point about that. The series Oh My Goddess uses Norse Mythology and Claymore is called Claymore after the large Scottish sword. (I missed the western mythology in anime panel or I would have more to say.)

[Crucifer]

Wilma, the NA dub of Cardcaptors is indeed terrible. It was aimed at viewers of around 9, I think, so it was totally dumbed down and the very few references to anything at all of a sexual nature were obliterated. (What's anime without sexual references!?)

Brian, that looks like a very interesting anime, to say the least. I'll watch it myself someday. Thanks for sharing.

I've recently gotten really into Ghost in the Shell, a sort of generic futuristic anime, spawned from the film duet and the bestselling manga of the same name. I saw bits here and there a good while ago, and thought it was just shouneny rubbish (why is so much shounen terrible), but last week I sat down and watched a full episode, and it's actually got quite strong undercurrents of politics and so on in it, as well as the usual moral and philosophical bits. It's also drawn in a very different style to a lot of anime I've seen. More like a sort of fusion of western cartoon styles and anime than simply the Japanese-style.

I haven't seen enough yet to write at length on it, but watch this space!

[Hachimitsu]

Alright taking a cue from Brian I decided to link some opening themes for some different series so people could see the difference in the music between the different catergories for Anime.

Also I wanted to point out a lot of Manga (comics) gets turned into anime. (Sort of like how X-men was a comic and then they did a cartoon series of it).

Also you may notice that in some of the vids they have the english translation at the bottom and then some words at the top using the roman alphabet. That is the Japanese words to the song written in the roman alphabet so non Japanese can sing along. That form of writing is called Romaji. All you need to know is a little bit about pronounciation and a viewer can sing along (but I have never done it nooo j/k )

Shounen
Bleach opening theme

This was considered a very cool and innovative opening theme for a shounen. It's a very different take from your average shounen fair.

Shoujo
Ouran High school host club opening theme
How girly can you get? The person with the big eyes and the mop top hair is the girl in the series.

Fruits Basket opening theme
Angsty (this is the english version of the song)

Fruits Basket Ending theme
Oh so cute and so girly. I can see myself waltzing to it. (english version of the song)

Seinen

Mushi shi opening theme.

Yes the lyrics are in english this is how it was Aired in Japan. It's an english song called The Sore Feet song (possible because there is a lot of travel by foot in this series). Also as you can see there is actually no scenes form the anime in the opening. That was on purpose to make people curious about the show in case they are flipping channels and actually come across it. It'a actually a very beautiful anime. You can get a idea of it from here.

xxxHolic opening theme

xxxHolic end theme

(Yukko's assistants doing air guitar it's so cute)


Josei
Nana (opening theme)

Although I haven't seen much of Nana I love this song!! Totally reflects the punk rock nature of one of the main characters.

Also most songs that are used for Aniem television are rock songs that already exist and are done by established artists. getting a song chosen for an anime is good boost for the persons career.

Imagine Alicia Keys' or Feist's songs getting chosen as theme music for a TV show. That is what it is like.

Most of these vids are less then 2 minutes long, but don't feel obligated to watch all of them.

[MithLuin]

I know I am late to this party, but that's never stopped me before

The only anime/manga I know is Fullmetal Alchemist, and I love it to pieces. I might try to read some other series from my library, but I doubt I'll like them as much.

To comment on the characterization of women - in this manga, the female characters tend to be fairly strong, without crossing over into becoming super-heroes. They have jobs, they have pets, they stand up for their men, and they seldom devolve into damsels-in-distress (there are a couple of cases in the anime). Most (but not all) of the outfits are decent and could be worn in public by normal people. Two babies are born. There are undercurrents of relationships, but none of the main characters are dating. Mainly, because the main characters are an almost-16 year old boy who is on a mission to get his brother's body back. The 14 year old brother is a soul trapped in a suit of armor. So, yeah, they're not really worried about high school or dating at the moment. They do have a childhood friend who started wearing really short skirts when she got to be 15, but she's a mechanic who beats them up by throwing wrenches at them. The manga-ka is a woman, and I think she appreciates slightly off-color humor as much as teenage guys . The guys discuss women Page 2


Izumi Curtis, the woman who taught the boys alchemy. She's very scary, and beats people up all the time. When people ask who or what she is, she answers, "a housewife." She is sick, so she tends to vomit blood in the middle of her fights. Her husband is a huge muscle-man of few words who runs a butcher's shop. As you can see, she does have cleavage, but nothing gravity-defying is going on.
Meeting Izumi


Winry Rockbell, mechanic-in-a-tubetop. She is very excitable, laughing or crying often. She was raised by her grandmother (see below) because her parents died as doctors in the war. So, she's grown up hardworking and dedicated to helping others, but very strong in her opinions.
Girl-talk between Riza and Winry, and Roy flirting with Winry


Pinako Rockbell, Winry's grandmother. She's one of the few characters who is shorter than Ed, but she still teases him about his height just to rile him up. She taught Winry automail. There's also some anit- fanservice of her in a bikini at the end of one of the mangas

There are two military women who appear in both the manga and the anime.

Riza Hawkeye is Roy Mustang's right-hand...man. And she is a sniper/sharpshooter. When she's not wearing the uniform, she tends to wear a long skirt and shirt with a high collar. But usually she's in uniform. They make it very clear that they care about each other, mostly by getting angry if the other person put their life in danger. But, they aren't dating. Roy is busy dating everything in a skirt, though none of that happens on screen.
Riza tripping Roy Next Page, Next Page
Phone Conversation
She yells at him, He tells her why
Do not mess with Lieutenant Hawkeye Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8


Lieutenant Maria Ross (far left) acts as a bodyguard for the brothers, but does have a bit of a maternal instinct. She yells at them for not trusting adults when they need to.


Trisha Elric, the boys' mother. Elric is her maiden name, so their father never married her. He left when the boys were young, though it is at least implied that he had some reason for doing so. She raised the two boys on her own, but then died while they were still young.
Mother


Rose is very much a victim in the anime. She is taken advantage of in a multitude of different ways by a wide variety of characters. In the manga, she is duped once, but becomes strong later.
Rose bounces back


Paninya is an orphan girl pickpocket who lost her legs in a train accident. She eventually finds work fixing roofs. She and Winry get along well.
Paninya selling her stolen goods
Winry really likes automail

And of course...there's a character named Lust

Lust enjoys inflicting pain on people

Which goes into the next part, which is western ideas/ names. The Seven Deadly Sins make an appearance here, but there are also countries named Amestris and Xerxes. The first one didn't strike any bells for me, but she was one of Xerxes' wives, apparently. Most of the names are Western, to some extent. So, there's not always a good match up between nationalities. The main characters are named Edward and Alphonse - good, traditional English/German names that everyone shortens to Ed and Al. Their mom's name is Trisha. I'd have no problem accepting that as her nickname, but it is also written on her tombstone. Someone who gives her sons those names woul be more likely to be named Patricia, I would think. Riza is also possibly a nickname for Elizabeth.

But in general, the world is pretty consistent, internally. The country to the north (Drachma) is rather Soviet-Union-esque, the one far to the East (Xing) is basically China, the desert area to the south (Ishbal) is an area of religious unrest where the people look different and believe in only one God. And the main country is ruled by a Nazi-like military (hence the unrest).

I find the ideas to be involved and well-handled, moreso in the manga than the anime. All of the characters have checkered pasts, and are trying to deal with their guilt/atonement/redemption in some way. No one lets one mistake ruin their lives, even if that mistake amounts to genocide. And no one takes their crimes lightly. Choices are not presented as an either/or, but a whole myriad of possibilities are open. The depth of the story and the interesting characters are what keep me hooked, though there's plenty of action for teens as well.



So Wilma, how was AnimeNorth?

[Hachimitsu]

Oh there was something else I wanted to add about Seinen and Josei. In general they don't have much in terms of crazy hair styles and colours like Shounen and Shojo do. Also they don't have as many face faults (well xxxHolic does) and onomatopoeia. They go more for the natural look. For example in Mushi shi there have been 2 characters who have had "different" hair colours and there are reasons for it dealt with in the series. I have seen the bulgy vein icon only twice!!



The main character Ginko has white hair, green eyes and wears western clothes although this is set in Japan at least some time before the 1850. Everyone wears kimonos and lives the traditional Japanese lifestyle. A big part of the the lead characters appearance is a mystery (why doesn't he look and dress like everyone else?) and I don't wanna spoil it.


Mith I did not know you watched FMA!! I have slowly started to get into it. I will probably make the rest of my comments on FMA in the anime thread. I will say Mith I am sure there will be other manga's or anime's that you will like you just have to try them. As I explained in the anime thread. I thought I would only stick with Bleach (after watching it as a joke) but then after a few people made some recomendations to me I found I liked a lot of stuff. Now after those excerpts I wanna read FMA manga.

Ah about Anime North I was going to do a seperate post about it but I might as well start since a lot of people in RL has asked me what happens at an Anime con. First I wanted to mention costuming. Cosplay (costume play) is a huge thing in Japan. Dressing up as characters from various anime and manga. Most costumes are based on drawings from manga and Anime and most people make them from scratch since alot of those clothes don't actually exist (it's made up form the manga-ka's mind). At Anime North I think about 50% of people are in some sort of cosplay. Since this convention is the biggest Anime con in Canada, the masqurade contest is so big they actually have to seperate it into 3 parts. This year it was estimated 15 000 people attended.

I will post 2 examples of costumes made based on pics from manga

Yuuko-san from xxxHolic



This girl won for best actualization in her catergory. All of the beads were individually sewn and it was her first time making a full costume. She is even wearing a wig. She had to modify a vogue evening dress pattern and actually showed me a couple of cheats she had done to make the dress look the way it does. It looks like a halter top dress but it isn't made that way.

Sakura-Hime from Tsubasa reservoir chronicles





This costume took 3 months to make and cost $300 dollars in materials. the girl in the picture had to figure out how to make the kimono flares out since they usually don't. She did all the beading of the hair jewels herself by taking apart cheap jewelery at accessory stores. She bought very expensive fabric paint and painted all those flames herself and had to bake it in the oven. Sakura-Hime is a character by CLAMP as you can see they like to draw pretty kimonos. One of the CLAMP members even released a book on Kimonos.

As you can see a good cosplay takes a lot of work.

[MithLuin]

Hehe, yes Wilma, though only since Nov. I've now seen all the anime and read all the manga that's out (including online scanlations for the unpublished chapters). I'm well and truly hooked.

I might try other series, though. I am at least curious. Part of me doubts I'd hit my favorite with the first one I've tried, but then...I know what kind of stories I like, and this one is perfect for me .

I went to a smallish anime convention near me, and wore a Trisha Elric cosplay (very easy to make ). I was completely floored by some of the costumes. Just amazing work. One girl had a very good Witch-king outfit on, randomly - it was really dress-up-as-whatever-you-want. Even though most people were anime or video game characters, there were also Capt. Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka look-alikes running around.

[Hachimitsu]

OK I think I will continue my post about Anime North here since I sort of started here. I was kind of avoiding talking about since the start of it was not very good.


CON REPORT part 1
The con started on Friday but since it such a big event they have early registration on Thursday. So my roomies and I decided to get the hotel room for Thursday. I don't want to go into too many details but when I finally got to the hotel my roomies had been waiting over 5 hours and then the hotel charged us $600 when it was agreed over the phone that the charge would be $389. Someone does not know how to do math. Since we all wanted to really get in the room we all just gave them all our money so we could sit down and relax. This resulted in us being really demoralized to say the least. Eventually after 3 days of complaining I got the rate that was agreed on but the hotel was utterly horrible and I will never stay there again. So that is how my first day started. I felt really down. I got registration and just worked on getting settled in. Also we had to take a care of a friend of my roomies who got themselves in a bad situation. But we got it worked out. So yeah the start of the con was pretty bad although the con hadn't started yet. I will say the registration people were really nice albeit a little disorganized. I am so glad they have early registration and that took a whole load off of us.
Day 2 will be in my next post.

[Hachimitsu]

OK yes I know that was a negative start to the con. Also I forgot some of late Friday night before we had to friend rescue.

CON REPORT part 2

We all decided to stay in and just get some sleep and we ended up waiting until at least 1 am for when a particular website releases it's fan translations where we check out the latest chapters of Bleach and Naruto (which would be good since we all were involved in either Bleach or Naruto panels and it's good to be up to date)

Now this was the first time I had seen a group fans read a new manga together. It was so much fun, I got to see people squee, I got to see them get a bit sad, I got to see them telling me all excited what happened (I am not into Naruto but apparently it was a heart breaker chapter). Also when I read the latest Bleach chapter with my one roomie who was a fan, that was fun too, We were like "Oh no! Whoa!!! Poor person X. Who slashed him? Oh My goodness! Doh' it's a cliffhanger!! Whoa those hollow designs look cool!!" I have to say that was a ton of fun.

After the latest chapter releases I told them my feelings on Death Note and they read some of Book 13 to me (it's a book about death note the story ends at volume 12), they were reading the interviews and telling me that the Manga writer and Manga artist had never met each other, they only communicated through a correspondence!! The Artist was adding religious hints to the art that wasn't actually intended by the writer. The apple one of the "demon "type characters loves has no religious significance or symbolism. The writer just thought it would look cool having an apple in that characters huge mouth. The artist was actually surprised. The more obvious religious hinting in the imagery was unintentional of the writer and were added by the artist since they felt that the subject matter required it. Considering the storyline I think the artist was right. Here issomeexamples of the cover artwork and you cansee the religious hinting.

Death Note is about a guy who can kill people by writing their names in a note book. It's s very well done series and I only haven't completed the series because the lead character is so smart and so well written I hate him too much!!! It's a very high stakes game of who can out think outplay, outlast (sorry for the survivor joke) type of story. Things get very very serious and the second anime opener really really really really fits the internal craziness and internal struggle of the characters who seem very very calm on the outside. Warning music may not be to viewers taste (Screamo Death metal, much harder then Blind Guardian, and swear words), but it totally fits this series. Linky
(Please don't hate me )

After that the rest of the night I talked Bleach with my roomie who was into it. It was nice talking about Bleach with a person in RL.

So yeah although the day started out pretty bad it ended pretty OK. (I felt good helping out a person in a jam )

I am probably gonna edit this post but right now I took an hour to post it. Here goes.

EDIT: fixed spelling

EDIT again: if anyone wants me to post the images rather then links please let me know.