Mt-Maigetsu: Issue No 6
This month's banners by kuroimisa
CONTENTS
Wassup in this issue?
A/ i/Recently in Minitokyo:
New stuff we've introduced or are going to introduce
A/ ii/Ask a Mod Mai-chan's Mail bag!
All your questions have been answered :3
B/ The Adventures of Popular-chan
Uh oh! It's PoP-Pop-PoPuLaR-chan in the house!
C/ Anime Spotlight
One anime we think you should know about and possibly grow to love
D/ Play that Funky Music!
Review of a music album!
E/ Tip of the month
Do you know how to save your artworks properly? No, really, do you?
F/ Get to Know Your MT Staff!
Saikusa's long awaited interview - can't miss that ^_~
G/ Featured Member
Got the artistic flow~
H/ Featured Group
The busy writing society of Mt
I/ Staff Picks
Artwork that could do with more love - or even more love :3
J/ Competitions and Projects
Are you missing out on the fun? Join in :D
K/ Group Ads
Looking for a new group to join, or to make new friends?
L/ Have your say!
Mai-chan wub wub wubbbles PMs <3
M/ The Usual Stuff
Crunchy links you can't live without!
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A/ i/RECENTLY IN MINITOKYO...
This section was brought to you by she's baccckkk XD unless specified otherwise :3
***Recent gold letters and italics
Yes, that's right! We have another gallery moderator, the lovely MapleRose! She will be a great addition to the team, so congratulations to a well deserved promotion :D
Also, gaara-no-shukaku and kayurachan have been promoted to elite members. Well done!
***The Minitokyo Mascot Contest
Written by fireflywishes
banner by kuroimisa
Remember the Mascot contest, and how you were supposed to be able to buy T-shirts, mugs and other Minitokyo Merchandise? Well, here it is!
http://www.cafepress.com/minitokyo_net
So go buy stuff and support MT! :D
***Where did the LEVELS and TAGS go?
Well, here we are. The artistic and participation levels (and tags!) on each member's userpage are now gone.
The levels were not really indicative of anything: they were more ratios of this over that, depending on how active you were in the galleries or posting. It never really said anything about the quality of posts or submitted items, so the levels were inaccurate and most importantly, somewhat faulty. The same goes for those tags. There was no way of ensuring that the tags were a real reflection of the member.
So we've now removed them ;)
*MTM Housekeeping
The MTM is back back back! Well, obviously, but you'll notice some changes.
***Cult Classic is now the Anime Spotlight
Our wonderful writer UV who has been kindly and enthusiastically writing the Cult Classic series has moved and will be too busy to write for the MTM. Fans of the Cult Classic and Mai-chan will definitely miss UV's explorations of anime "and beyond". So, I would like to give her a mighty thanks, a standing ovation and gratitude for her time and efforts to writing the section. *claps*
Despite this, we have introduced the Anime Spotlight which will, like the section UV wrote previously, talk about an anime in particular. However, we may choose to feature manga, anime, a studio or even a game, as the title suggests it can possibly cover a range of different media.
We hope you enjoy Anime Spotlight!
***Album Reviews, Tutorials and Selected Gallery items
As you have noticed, we have introduced 3 other sections. The titles are self evident and the sections will have their own little introductions. Just so you all know, we're not confused! These are new sections, and most likely, sections that are here to stay :D
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A/ ii/MAI-CHAN'S MAILBAG
Only 2 questions? Mai-chan feels sad :( She'd greatly appreciate ANYTHING from asking her what colour her socks are, to
how she does her hair. Really T_T
But thanks for Anjhurin and gaara-no-shukaku for sending in their questions/ suggestions :D <3
Quote by AnjhurinYou mentionned something about any "winter vacation / Christmas related" topic, so I wondered if it could be possible to have some kind of special MT mascot relooking (like, in a winter environment), or maybe a skin contest... well, something like that ^_^'
Anyway, thanks for the hard job, it's really splendid !
Phew! Hey Anj! Well, we've taken the suggestion into consideration and decided that we probably will hold something, but unfortunately due to late planning and having to juggle around several things, we'll announce the project next issue :D
So yes guys! Keep your eyes glued to the next issue! While the competition or project won't be just purely on Christmas, it will reach out into snowflakes, ice and ohhh all sorts of wintery things and it can conclude late February :)
Quote by gaara-no-shukakuI'd like to suggest to have a section to feature top 5(maybe less or more) wallers(or generally artists) and wallpapers(or doujins/vectors) based on rating by moderators/elite or maybe based on popularity(amount of faves) for every month. I noticed this system at AP, it might be great to bring it to MT(and MTM). =)
Well, we've all decided that artworks based on statistics or on highly subjective grounds could be a little chaotic, but we're now including the Staff Picks section of the MTM :D Great suggestion - we've always needed something like that :) Everyone, check it out! XD
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B/ THE ADVENTURES OF POPULAR-CHAN
What Not to Do in MT
Disclaimer: This was written purely for entertainment purposes, no offense is intended in any way. This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to real actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Part VI: Review Time!
When you log back on to MT the next day, you're delighted to see that some of the people you've added to your friendlist have added you back! You check on your main page and see that their names are proudly displayed under "Mutual friends". Yay! Look how popular you are; you haven't been here for long, yet you've got 25 friends already!
Hmm, 25 isn't bad.. but you need more! And right now, all of your friends are just members like you. You need to have some golden names up on your mutual friends list. After all, if people think you are friends with moderators, they'll be sure to respect you!
But wait, how are you going to find random people? The forum is a good place to start. You go there, and click on random people's names. Along the way, you find some golden names as well (the Deletion forum was a good place to find those). In their guestbooks, you spam with the same message: "Can I be your friend?", before adding them to your friendlist.
Phew, that was a lot of work. You decide to take a bit of a rest from spamming people's guestbooks. Since you're still not quite confident enough to make wallpapers yet, you decide to explore more of MT. Hmm... "Reviews".. you haven't been there yet. You click on it, and up comes a list of reviews for various series. You click on a random one for Naruto and skim over the text. Boring. It's just an analysis of the series, she didn't even mention how hot Sasuke looks when he's fighting! And look how low the score she gave, only 7/10! That can't be right, it needs to be 10/10 for everything, because after all, Sasuke is in it!
Hmph, you can write much better than that! Hey, why not just write a review yourself? But... you can't find how to do it. So you start a thread asking how. While you wait for an answer, you open MS Word and start writing your opinions of Sasuke, or rather, ranting about it. Excited, you type at lightning speed, not caring about the typos or bothering to type whole words out and make it readable. Once you've finished that, you decide to rant about some of your other favourite anime, manga, and games.
You check back to your thread, and hey, you got an answer! You immediately go to that person's page and spam her guestbook and add her to your friendlist.
You follow her advice, by finding the Naruto page on MT, and click on the "Submit Review" button on the left menu. Oh, you need to split your review into sections... You're too lazy to do that, so you approximately divide your literary masterpiece into 4 sections and copy and paste into the appropriate (or not) places. At the end for presentation, you tack on "I LUV THIS SERIES! EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT!". You select a 10 for every rating, and submit the review. Yay now all of MT will know how great this series is!
So you go ahead and submit all of those rants you made. But wait, what do you put under "Sound" for your manga review? Instead of reading A Reviewer's Guide to Minitokyo Reviews to find your answer, you simply put "there's no sound in manga" and give it a rating of 10.
Hey, why just write reviews for your favourite series? Why not write for those series you hate as well, that way, people would know to avoid those. So you wrote a series of rants for all those series you disliked, and how much they sucked. There. Now you'd be known as a reviewer as well, and you're one more step towards being known in MT.
Wow, you glance at the clock, it's waaay past your bedtime, so you log off for the day. Soon, you're sure, you'll be the most popular member of MT, with all those people on your friendlist, including all the moderators!
To be continued...
Article written by MapleRose
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C/ ANIME SPOTLIGHT
Well, as you all know this is the new section! We have 2 Anime Spotlights this month by saikusa and fireflywishes respectively. Double anime? Double the fun!
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This month MTM is going to try out a new idea. You can suggest a new anime, and one of the moderators here at MiniTokyo will watch the first episode and give you their honest review of it.
If you want to suggest an anime for a moderator to watch then PM the details to Mai-Chan. Just give the name of the anime, and include a couple of reasons why you think we should review it (is it funny, beautiful, gritty?). Simple enough, ne!
This month Saikusa and fireflywishes have agreed to act as Guinea Pigs by experimenting with anime they have never seen before:
Gankutsuou: The
Count of Monte Cristo
Produced by GONZO. Written & directed by Mahiro Maeda.
Thoughts Approaching The Episode:
This is an anime that has always intrigued me, purely on an aesthetic level. The wallpapers & Scans here at MiniTokyo have always been captivating with an unusual exotic luxury, and I always wondered how this translated from these beautiful still into an animated series. Shamefully I'll admit that I have never read, nor know the plot of the Count of Monte Cristo, and therefore decided to remain blissfully ignorant in order to appreciate the anime on its own merits.
Animation:
Aesthetically speaking, I was not disappointed. The Opening sequence with the antiqued painted sepia look was beautiful, but slow. It really didn't give me much sense of what to expect from the actual story. With such a dreamy opening sequence I wasn't expecting the sheer bombardment of colour, movement & noise that was to follow in the opening seconds of the episode! It was a full 180 degrees in contrast to the dull pallette of the previous 2 minutes and left me even more puzzled! I genuinely had no idea what to expect!
The use of computer generated textures that carefully move with the characters is not only attractive, but extremely clever. However, it is captivating to the point that I was often distracted by the beautiful patterns of the hair & clothes that I completely lost track of what the characters were discussing. This was a big draw back considering that this was a very slow moving episode, leaving the emphasis on establishing the characters and plot.
Characters:
The personalities were clear from the start. A hero (Viscount Albert de Morcerf) who was still fairly inexperienced to the world & did not seem to fit the rich background that his title indicates, his equally wealthy friend (Baron Franz d' Epinay) who was not afraid to speak out when the moment called for it, and of course the eponymous Count of Monte Cristo who looked as if he had come straight from an Anne Rice novel.
I found myself disinterested by Albert, the hero, as he was easilly influenced by everyone around him Ye this proved to be the main hinge for the plot; how he played straight into the schemes of the tall, dark & mysterious Count. Franz was only there as a support to Albert, and often felt like he was dead weight to the plot by objecting to everything befor, during and after it happened. Then there is the Count himself. The mystery surrounding him has a slight addictive feel that hooks into the back of my brain. He is obviously built up as a some sort of villain, but I can't shake the feeling that I've done him an injustice to label him so quickly.
Story:
As for the plot, not a great deal of action actually happened. It was a slow build up to the point where Albert & Franz finally meet the Count and exchange minor pleasantries over dinner. The real dramatic climax came late in the second half of the episode where the Count gives Albert the chance to parden one of three condemned men by the morally dubious means of turning over a card. Two of the three men beg for their lives, while the third glories in the mass murders he has committed, and Albert has no idea which card relates to which prisoner. The outcome of which was dreadfully obvious that I was bored & annoyed at having to sit through all the phony suspense.
It almost seems that the luxurious eye-catching textures are there not only to reflect the opulent lives of these rich & spoilt characters, but serve to as a lively distraction for the lack of action. My impression of the first half of the episode is the sheer barrage of colour & movement. It was magnificent eye-candy, but when I think back, not a lot actually happened. Perhaps there is a lot more happening than I realise, and that I need to make my way to through the entire series to apprciate the finer complexities? Or perhaps I'm looking for substance where there isn't any?
Recommendation:
This is a lot slower and a lot more intense than the usual sort of anime that I choose to watch. Normally I prefer to watch something faster paced, usually romantic comedies like Ouran High School Host Club or action like Trigun. Yet this appeals to me for a different reason. It's smarter. More polished. There is a greater push for me to use what's left of my brain.
With virtually no prior knowledge to the plot, or that of Alexandre Dumas' original novel, this has slyly caught my attention. At the time I wasn't that bothered by the plot, but it is something that has slowly been eating gnawing away at me. Therefore I will slowly admit that I would would like to see through to the end... If only to satisfy my curiousity of the Count's true intentions.
Links:
Gankutsuou on MiniTokyo
Wikipedia
Fan- Subbed episode Saikusa watched on
YouTube
Screen-cap gallery on Axonesis
Article written by saikusa
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fireflywishes has
an anime spotlight, too!
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Moyashimon- Tales of Agriculture
Produced by: Shirogumi Inc. Based on the manga by: Masayuki Ishikawa
To start us off this month, I will be giving my opinion on the new anime Moyashimon- Tales of Agriculture. The main premise of this series may not be as exciting to most, but for science geeks (like me!), it almost screams "Watch me!". The opening song "Curriculum" by Sarasa Ifu is very catchy and the animation set to it is super cute! (3-D microbes dancing around? YES!)
A definite MUST WATCH.
As for the characters and plot, the main character Tadayasu Sawaki has been able to see and communicate with microbes since he was very young. He and his friend Kei Yuuki are first year students at an agricultural university. Sawaki is the son of yeast suppliers and Kei is the son of sake brewers. They are both studying under Professor Itsuki (your typical crazy old man), who also happens to be acquaintances with Sawaki's grandfather, and his Grad Student Hasegawa (your hot female-- I mean, who wears bondage gear in a lab anyways? ;)). Of course, when the two of them hear of Sawaki's abilities they must test him. This actually results in some of the cuter and more comical moments in the episode as we get to see Sawaki's interaction with the different microbes.
One of the highlights of the episode was the initial test that Professor Itsuki gives Sawaki. It is at this point that we are introduced to aspergillus oryzae, known playfully as "Oryzae". The "character design" is not unlike a sun, and they're just so cute... how can you NOT instantly fall in love with them?
By far the microbes steal any scene that they are in, and the "Microbe Theater" at the end of each episode is just the icing on the cake. It is also interesting to learn different facts about the particular microbe, such as the common name and where it is found/what it is used in. I definitely like the fact that each microbe has it's own tone of voice (high pitch/low pitch) and that the character designs are easily distinguishable.
As for the human characters, they just don't seem all that interesting to me. Sawaki doesn't seem all that energetic and especially doesn't seem very enthusiastic about the fact that he has this unique ability... one almost wonders why he even decided to go to an agricultural college with that kind of attitude. As for the professor, he seems like your typical eccentric type with a penchant for fermented delicacies. (Google "Kiviak" and you'll see what I mean).
All in all, I don't see a whole lot of room for a running storyline.... to me it seems like the storyline will follow something like a "microbe of the week" type deal. I will stave off recommending this series to everyone, because honestly, whether you'll like it or not is really based upon your tolerance for cute things/geeky agricultural science stuff. ;) I plan on continuing to follow this series purely out of curiosity as to where the storyline will go and the cuteness of the microbes. Whether it will have been worth my time at the end of the show, we'll wait and see.
For more information:
Official Site (In Japanese)
English
Wikipedia Entry
Fansubbed episode firefly watched on Veoh
MUST WATCH
OP!
Article written by fireflywishes
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D/ PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC!
Variety by Tokyo Jihen
Before even listening to the album, I had pretty high hopes. Being a Shiina Ringo fan for quite some time (who is also the lead singer of Tokyo Jihen,) I was thinking I would be getting into many rock and ballad type songs that have a lot purpose and meaning behind them. Well, in this case, I couldn't have been any more wrong. Variety fails to live up to its title, by giving the listeners, instead of 13 multi-genre songs, 13 pop-esque songs that in a most cases fail to please. People who haven't heard of Tokyo Jihen before, and are in to other bands such as L'Arc-en-ciel will most likely find the album to sound very promising. However, if you are one that is in to mainly rock based music, like myself, you should probably stay away.
Immediately when listening to the opener, "Ramp," the first thing I thought was that it is pretty cliche, and that it doesn't stand out at all. Other songs that are similar to this include "Mirrorball," which takes too long to build up, and, when it finally does, I am left thinking that more should have been done with it.
One song I do like a lot is "Kingyo no Hako," which, unlike the first two songs, really does accomplish the poppy sound without going over the top. "Shiseikatsu" is a ballad-type song that lacks originality- mainly because it sounds extremely similar to Tokyo Jihen's previous song "Superstar," and, to some extent, I think it sounds a little watered-down. On a lighter note, Shiina does hit a particularly good note during the climax of the song, which is something we don't see often with her. "OSCA" is a good song, but I don't understand why they chose it for their first single- it doesn't seem like a song everyone would be able to relate to or even enjoy. It does manage to be unique, which is one thing I do like about it. However, Shiina Ringo doesn't really sing, but more or less talks through the song, and makes a sound that can be compared to a dying animal. Nonetheless, as much as it doesn't sound like it, I really do appreciate her voice, and don't find it too incredibly hard to listen to. (Note: if you've never actually heard Ringo sing, then you might have a hard time adjusting to her voice on the first couple of listens. Over time, though, it should be pretty bearable.)
The fast paced "Kronekodow" is an improvement from the pop disasters at the starting of the album, and the background vocals sound really nice against Shiina Ringo's voice. I like that it speeds up in the last minute or so, and makes the tone of it very chaotic and messy, but still enjoyable. "Fukushu" is a great song for all of the hard rock fans- I don't think that many hard rock fans will be listening to this album in the first place, though, so it comes off as out of place. "Botomin" and "SSAW" are both in the same category, and, unfortunately, I don't feel much of anything after listening to them. They are love songs that should be endings to an anime or something of the sort, but nothing more. When first hearing "Tsukigime Hime," I thought that it sounded similar to "Kingyo no Hako," but after a few more listens to both of the songs, it ended up that they weren't all too similar at all. "Tsukigime Hime" is another one of those pop songs on the album that manages to work, and the chorus is one that you just can't get out of your head after listening to it enough. "Sake to Geko" is the first song that I really LOVE on the album: I don't know what it is about it in particular, but Shiina's voice just really went with everything. The jazzy climax is amazing, and the disorganization actually makes the song better (and also goes with the meaning a lot more. The song is about sake, and as the song goes on, it seems to get more and more inebriated. Well, that's my view of it, at least. ^_^' ) Maybe the reason why I like "Sako to Geko" so much is because I was able to get some meaning out it, but who knows.
"Killer Tune" is anything BUT a killer tune. It's a bit hard on the ears, especially for people who have never listened to Ringo before. She goes completely over the top, by practically screaming along to the music. While the singing is particularly bad, the actual music isn't that awful, and the song ends up being pretty catchy if you can stand the screeching. The final song on the album is "Metro," which is similar to some 80's pop. It works out very well as the last song, and in turn is one of my favorites.
As a conclusion to this review, I would say that the album is worth downloading, but not actually buying, unless you're a die-hard fan of Tokyo Jihen. If you are new to Ringo, I would suggest checking out her solo albums first, and then gradually moving into Tokyo Jihen. "Tsumi to Batsu" is one of the greatest Japanese songs of all time, so regardless of who you are, go check it out, it's pure ear sex. XD
Here is the Killer Tune PV and the OSCA PV so you guys can decide whether or not you agree with my review. And also, if you want to write your own music review, then feel free to send one in to Mai-chan, I'm sure she'd love it!
Article written by bromithia
E/ TIP OF THE MONTH
For the first tip ever in Maigetsu, we'll be learning how to cut large files sizes' in half or more, while keeping the
image quality the same! Click below to be enlightened! ;)
As for a reason why I picked this to be the first tip, well, I just felt waiting 10 minutes to download a 2MB file wasn't fair on anyone. For those of you complaining about Minitokyo's speed all the time, this can help! It may not seem like a big deal, but it really does help, and the leechers will appreciate your efforts, whether that is a good or bad thing. :) This tip works especially well with heavily textured wallpapers, as those are the ones that seem to be bigger in the first place. Remember, if you have any good tips you would like to suggest, feel free to send them to Mai-chan's mailbag!
Tip created by bromithia
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F/ GET TO KNOW YOUR MT STAFF!
Hi minna-san! It's time to get to know yet another of our Moderators here at MT. This month, we try a different format
and get to know more about our other Scan Mod, Saikusa!
[firefly note: Due to time zone differences, this month's interview was conducted via
PM]
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+What is the origin of your username?
I wanted something in connection to my lilies tattoo, but the Japanese for lily is either Saiyuki (and I've only read a couple of volumes of that, so I'm not keen to be associated with a series I don't know much about) or Yuri (and I'm definitely not into Yuri lovin'). Saikusa is an old fashioned name for the beautiful Lilium Japonicum. Saikusa Matsuri is the annual festival in Isagawa in which four young maidens dance with the lilies in honour of Isuzu no hime... Its a little OTT, but fun.
+As one of the Mods who pushed for the Monochrome Scan gallery, what makes a good monochrome scan?
Yay monochrome!
Basically, all the stuff you get away with in colour, you can't in monochrome. No speech bubbles, no multiple panels, don't over blur, no grainy print quality, no blurry spine-creases or gaps, no jagged lines.
Even I don't post everything I have in monochrome. Some Tukiji Nao stuff is printed in dots instead of lines. The art has too many dots that the lines become obscured or blobby in places.
+What is one of the biggest mistakes new members make when submitting scans?
Ooooh, that's a tough one. It's hard to decide between duplicates, or wrong categories. The biggest misconception is that Couple Scans means that the characters are dating. Its just a reflection on the gender of the two characters.
But I think that newbies duplicate scans more than they mix up their classifications. I've only recently realised that a lot of people still think that (for example) Bleach has nearly 150 pages to search through! Its no wonder they get lazy with that many pages to contend with! I've slowly been teaching people that they can use the drop-down boxes on the left-hand side of their screen to filter their viewing options. It is such a handy little tool, and makes my life that little bit easier.
+What is your favorite thing(s) to do at MT?
Post my own scans. When I was a newbie I desperately searched for anything to scan, and now I've got hundreds of
beautiful pages waiting to be scanned or cleaned up. I just love it when someone takes one of my scans and makes
something new, amazing & beautiful with them.
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Random Question Time!
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+Top 5 movies of all time:
Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Spirited Away, New Police Story, Holes... That's hard limiting it to 5!
+Last good book that you read:
You mean 'proper' book, right? Lately I've enjoyed pitting my brain against Miss Marple to see who solves the case first. The old biddy usually wins. Of course I read Deathly Hallows when that came out, but I want Castle in the Air.
+What's on your holiday wishlist this year?
I haven't been on holiday for a very very long time. I would dearly love to visit Marissa over in the US, and maybe
Revan too if Mexico doesn't scare me too much.
+If you could go back in time, where would you go and why?
I'd visit me, when I was still in Infants or Junior school and tell myself to drop out of school at 16, buy winning lottery tickets and invest in Apple, Nokia & Weta Digital.
+Who is your anime crush?
Only one? That's not fair! Well, if it is only one then it has to be Bado from Dogs... even though that's a manga not an anime, but it has a drama CD and that tends to be a good first step to anime. Other than that, Bleach is always good for eye candy, but I'll not say who!
+And as always, do you have any last words before we end the interview?
If you see something that you think is bad quality, or you've found a duplicate scan, porn, or a ripped wallpaper, or a flame war then report it! Don't think 'someone else will do it', because chances are everyone else is thinking that. We do our best to keep MiniTokyo a clean environment for everyone, and sometimes we need your help to keep it that way.
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That concludes this month's "Get to Know Your MT Staff!" Thanks to all of the
members who requested Saikusa for this month's interview! Remember, if you have a Mod that you'd like to know more
about, or would like to submit a question you'd like me to ask a Mod, send it to me (fireflywishes) via PM.
Article by fireflywishes
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G/ FEATURED MEMBER
The Minitokyo staff would like to recognize kawaii-chicken as MTM's Featured Member for December 2007. A member for almost three and a half years, her just-awesome-to-look-at gallery stands out for creativity, high quality and inspiration. Not afraid to use colors (whether harmonic or with contrast), her style differs from vectoring to painting to brush work, to fantastic use of textures, patterns and text, and it all looks good!
Besides being active in MT, she's also a frequenter of LJ, working with other graphics such as icons and signatures. When she's not walling, in school, or partying with a purple dinosaur named Pablo, she's listening to music, drawing and "couch potato-ing it up".
We all hope to continue seeing K-C and her works here at MT =D
Article written by Chloe-chan
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H/ FEATURED GROUP
Minitokyo-Review is a group devoted to the progress of the most neglected section on Minitokyo: The Reviews section.
With only 11 members, one wonders how it is even slightly successful. Well, sometimes, the amount of members in a group doesn't exactly make it successful- rather, it depends on whether the group has a good focus and a dedicated staff. Minitokyo-Review certainly has both of these. Of course, a reason for the lack of members probably has to do with the rule that one must have at least one review before being able to join, and we all know how much of a small percentage of members on Minitokyo have ever submitted reviews before, right?
If constantly delivering nearly perfect reviews isn't good enough already, the layout is well designed and relates to the topic of the group just right. After seeing this group, you should all have writing a review and joining the group on your mind! If not, well, you should at least support Minitokyo-Review for its efforts. If you're interested in learning more about reviews on Minitokyo, check out shinsengumi's A Reviewer's Guide to Minitokyo Reviews thread!
Article written by bromithia
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I/ STAFF PICKS
Goodbye by Piccolobear: "Such a strong feeling of emotion flowing from this
wallpaper. The blood looks amazing, and the vector is smooth as ever. This is definitely a keeper. ;)" chosen by bromithia
I'm not dead yet by Otchpotch: "This piece can easily be mistaken for
official art. First of all, the coloring and the lineart are so clean-- very professional looking. Also, the shading and
contrast between the background and foreground really make Luppi stand out from the canvas. An excellent, high-quality
piece." chosen by fireflywishes
Molly's... by xangel0: "Such a neat mix of painting and vectoring, bold and
classic colors and a simple background make this some real eye-candy. You hardly recognize the original scan, yet xangel0 managed to stay true to Shunpei's style.
The idea behind it is also awesome~" chosen by Chloe-chan
Kobato by Arya3087: "Great use of warm colours that simply put this into a
fantastic autumnal wallpaper. Wonderful atmosphere that surely fits the beautiful girl." chosen by gaara-no-shukaku
Crystal by Okuzim: "Flowy lines, intricate designs, coupled with a playful
expression that makes the girl come alive, this work of art is simple but beautiful. Full-view is a must to appreciate
the delicate details." chosen by MapleRose
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J/ COMPETITIONS AND PROJECTS
(in alphabetical order)
Anime Alphabet Project
Project for Paint-o-Rama: The Anime Alphabet project is still going
on. Make painted wallpapers from series/artists/studios that begin from letters of the English alphabet (as categorized
by MT) and have the entries of the project featured on the group page in rainbowy colours.
Announcement thread: Anime Alphabet
Poetry Contest
Poetry-Corner is hosting a poetry contest, the
theme is emotions or feelings, and every piece needs to somehow incorporate that in. How the author chooses to do that
is completely up to them, as is the form and style of poetry they use. Deadline is December 31st. Any MT member can participate. Entries will be voted on after the dealine by any who
participated. There is no prize other than sharing your work and knowing others liked it.
Announcement thread: Contest Details
The Minimalist Inspiration Project
Simple-ism's project, with minimalism as the theme.
The challenge is to bring life to a wallpaper with less while expressing a clear strong concept - in other words, what
you think minimalist simple-ism should be. Anyone can enter.
Announcement: Full Guidelines (offsite)
UA's the "ONE" Challenge
Project for TheUnderappreciated: There are 4
categories available: one colour, one technique, one color+ technique, one shape. Simply create a wallpaper focusing on
just the one element. There is no deadline- project ends when there are at least 5 entries per category.
Announcement thread: UA: The "ONE" Challenge.
Vexel Revolution Project
Vectory is hosting its first project. The aim of the
project is to change the perceptions on vexels and to put it at a higher level than before; and also to provide info and
tutorials on vexels and vector arts. This project is open to non-members as well, and for the time being, the project is
on-going and has no set deadline.
Announcement thread: Explanation of 'vexel' and other guidelines
Remember if you don't tell us it's on, we can't tell everyone else. ;)
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K/ GROUP ADS
- Don't be afraid to show your true self!
- Fans of Darker than Black unite!
- Because painting is fun!
-
The pen tool rules!
- Doujinshi
needs more love!
- A place for Gundam SEED and GSD fans!
- Where fan of
Shinshi Doumei CROSS gather
- Kamichama Karin love
- For the fans of Sola
- A base for Galaxy Angel fans
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L/ HAVE YOUR SAY!
Want to see your group advertised, we now request you send in your group as well as a short summary of it's purpose or current highlights. This will of course become far more useful that an icon alone. Also if you feel there is a group or a member worthy of nomination in the MTM again please PM it. Questions, comments, whatever, simply PM the MTM with the subject MYVOICE.
Remember the MTM is determined by you! ^^
Below are banners: featured member, featured group, a MTM writer and I <3 MTM banner (free for use by everyone).
Feel free to use these banners anywhere you want- signature, group page, userpage or even personal blog/ site! Please
click them to get the hosting link.
Looking forward to your company next month (and keep sending me PMs T.T)
From botchii, with love
Call me Mai-chan <3
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M/ THE USUAL STUFF
All
about the Mt-Maigetsu: requests, ads and features --> To know how to advertise and nominate your group or member
you would like to see on the MTM!
The Policy --> A must read!
The Userguide
--> For day to day living!
Forum
guidelines --> Keeping it clean!
Common problems and
their solutions --> Got you covered!
Visit HeadQuarters for more juicy goodness or contact your nearest friendly moderator.
Links compiled by LittleJonny100
==--== ==--==
(c) Mt-Maigetsu 2007; any part of the Mt-Maigetsu or in its entirety cannot be reproduced in other publications without prior permission from the author(s). If you wish to share the Mt-Maigetsu, simply share the url- thank you.
