Gunpla 101: A tutorial, an interview, and more

Figures and Toys

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Gunpla 101 is such a weird business. It makes money even though I don’t technically sell any products. That’s because I use a system called affiliate marketing, which sounds a lot sleazier than how it works for me—it ensures my job is to write meaningful, interesting posts and leave the salesmanship to my affiliate partner, Amazon. This is the most independent means I’ve found for making money as a writer.

I wanted to share my latest update here since it’s an accurate cross section about how a business like that works, in case you’re interested in doing something similar.

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Dry Transfer Decals 101

Whenever I paint my nails, John knows I’m getting ready to photograph a new tutorial. This one is on applying rub-on decals, but I am especially happy with how the macro photography turned out.

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A Q&A With Ashe Blitzen, Gunpla Modeler Extraordinaire

Even before I knew who Ashe Blitzen was, I’d seen her custom models all over Tumblr. In this interview, we talk about her design and build process, her favorite Gundam characters, and more.

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Gunpla Pre-orders and New Releases for January 2015

This is the most “affiliate market-y” of the bunch, but I’m trying to put reader benefit first. “It’s only an ad if it’s useless” and all that. Either way, this one backfired because I spent as much money buying products from the list as I’ll probably earn.

Another thing I’m doing to take this business more seriously: putting up a Facebook page and Twitter account for it. Feel free to follow if that’s your kind of thing.

As I’ve said before, I am really interested in sharing advice about income streams for bloggers and writers, and what I’ve learned about them from my Gunpla blog. If you have a question, leave a comment or visit my Ask.fm.

Otaku Links: Winds of change

Otaku Links

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  • Patrick Macias teamed up with artist Hiroyuki Takahashi to create Crunchyroll’s first exclusive original webcomic, HYPERSONIC music club. The art is stunning and I’m glad this will be free for all users, not just premium members.
  • Got 30 minutes? Use it to learn 200 popular phrases in anime and manga. This slideshow includes both hiragana and romanji so you’re set no matter what level of Japanese mastery you’re at.

Illustration by Viktor Titov for Wizards of the Coast

Want to write a helpful anime review? Answer these 7 questions first.

Anime, Writing

It’s been six months since I became a regular weekly streaming reviewer at Anime News Network. Since August, I’ve written three episode reviews nearly every week, or about 70 episode reviews total!

Since I’m reviewing shows the day they come out, I don’t have a lot of time to evaluate the episode. Instead, I’ve come up with shortcuts to the kind of critical thinking necessary for reviewing media. Before I sit down to write, I ask myself questions that I think leads to the most useful reviews that people actually want to read.

These are the questions I use, and that I hope you’ll find helpful, too:

1. If you had to assign a grade to this show, what would it be?

Usually this is the first step I take in the review process. I go with my gut, and then try to explain all the reasons I felt compelled to give it that grade. You don’t have to put the grade on your review at the end, but it helps to keep it in mind while you’re writing.

2. What is the overarching theme?

Think of it this way: how would you describe what this show is about in one sentence? This is your opinion, and it will be the thesis statement of your entire review. For example, the thesis of my Mononoke review was that people are more terrifying than monsters.

3. Does it have a compelling story? Why or why not?

Did this show keep your attention? How did it accomplish this (or not)? Quick (or slow) pacing, relatable (or wooden) characters, and an interesting (or boring) plot may have contributed. Be careful that when you’re discussing the story, you don’t give the whole thing away!

4. How does this show use animation?

What was the cinematography like? Does it look computer animated or hand drawn? Were there any quirks of the camera angle or movement? For example, did it focus on one character’s perspective, zoom in or out, or jump cut from scene to scene?

5. How does this show use sound?

Was there a heavy musical score, or were there frequent silent spaces behind the dialogue? How did the music set the tone? Did any of the voice actors stand out as having an unusual vocal pattern, or a powerful emotional delivery?

6. Does this show remind you of another show?

The human brain is wired to make connections. I think it’s helpful to say, “You might like this if you liked X or Y because…” and then explain what they have in common.

7. How did this show make you feel and why?

When the credits rolled, were you left with a lingering feeling of happiness or sadness? Were you anxious due to a cliffhanger? Frustrated by an unanswered question? Some critics say emotions are unhelpful, but it’s really “I feel” statements that are unhelpful. In reality, emotions lend power to reviews when you can back them up with evidence from the show.

Interested in seeing some real life examples of how I use these questions? Check out my latest Anime News Network reviews:

Background photo by Daniel

Mononoke shows us who the real monsters are

Anime

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Did you see that 2007 horror anime Mononoke is now on Crunchyroll? In spite of (or perhaps because of) work being crazy, I re-watched it all in a week.

Aesthetically gorgeous and deliciously creepy, Mononoke stars the unnamed Medicine Seller, a mysterious traveler who hunts mononoke, ghost-demon hybrids that come about because of powerful human emotions. To exorcise a spirit, the Medicine Seller must first find its shape, truth (what it wants), and reason (why it appeared).

The show purports to be about vengeful spirits and their exorcisms, but in the process reveals the the most frightening monsters are people themselves.

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Mononoke is twelve episodes long, but it’s better to think of it as four arcs—two two-episode tales and two three-episode ones. The tangle of human relationships that the Medicine Seller must unravel to discover the mononoke’s shape, truth, and reason are always far too complex for one episode. Each terrifying tale is set against a dizzying kaleidoscope backdrop of wild colors, elaborate Edo-period composition, and parchment paper texture.

In each arc, the Medicine Seller must become acquainted with several strangers who are all brought together by chance and all of whom have something to hide. Dialogue is sparing, since everyone has a secret. Traditional Japanese music accompanies frequent jump cuts, and artfully arranged settings give the backdrop the artful theatricality of a Kabuki play. Extreme closeups on people’s faces, hands, and objects around the set keep the viewer on their guard, aware that everything shown could be a significant clue to solving the mystery. There is always an element of tension, that something dangerous is lurking just out of focus.

Of course, it’s never the spirit that we should be afraid of. It’s one or more of the people who are being terrorized by it. The mononoke gets its power from a human emotion, and it’s always one of the humans in the arc who incited its vengeful grudge. Side by side against humans who lie and betray and murder in cold blood, the mononoke are simply bizarre nightmares, not unlike the witches in Madoka Magica. They are more manifestations of ill will than they are cognizant deliverers.

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The lesson of Mononoke is that if you have a clean conscience, then you have nothing to fear from a vengeful spirit. The Medicine Seller’s search for the shape, truth, and reason of the mononoke has the double purpose of a trial, a coming clean for everyone involved in inciting the emotional trauma that birthed a ghostly monster. Like in another show about otherworldly presences, Mushi-shi, the discoveries characters make in Mononoke are always about themselves, and more often than not they reveal something buried under the psyche that even the character has long been unaware of.

It’s rare for an anime to merge visual artistry with storytelling strength so well as Mononoke does. If you like Japanese mythology, supernatural plotlines and darker themes, there’s no reason this shouldn’t make your top 10 shows of all time.

Mononoke is streaming on Crunchyroll, but you can also buy it on DVD.

See also: ‘Mononoke’: To Extreme Sickness, Extreme Remedies. As usual, Serdar is right on target with his review over at Ganriki.

Otaku Links: Your friend, Naruto

Otaku Links

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  • The third episode of Assassination Classroom has been delayed due to the situation going on with ISIS and its Japanese hostages. Earlier this week Japanese Twitter users launched a Photoshop battle against ISIS to indicate that it wouldn’t be cowed by threats. Delaying a show about assassination attempts is likely a gesture of respect to the victims’ families.
  • If you like my blog but think all this talk of currently airing anime is exhausting, why not take a nostalgia break with the Anibaes? My friend Amber of Femsplain and her best friend David are re-watching Card Captor Sakura on their show.
  • Speaking of my friends, Nathan Meunier has published his latest book all about writing and selling your own non-fiction Kindle book from start to finish. These are the techniques I used to bring Otaku Journalism into the world, only more polished. Also, it’s just $0.99.
  • I started an advice column on my Gunpla site. Check it out and feel free to ask us your most pressing Gundam franchise questions!

Screenshot via nintendette