Mt-Maigetsu: Issue No 10
This month's banner by bromithia
CONTENTS
Mai-chan, what's going on this time?
A/ i/What's New in Minitokyo:
Get updated on all the latest happenings!
B/ ii/Ask a Mod Mai-chan's Mail bag!
Mai-chan is unloved ;_;
C/ The Adventures of Popular-chan
Pop-chan learns Photoshop?!
D/ Anime Spotlight
How about some Code Geass?
E/ Play that Funky Music!
Piano lovers unite!
F/ Get to Know Your MT Staff!
The eternal enigma...
G/ Featured Members
A chubby kitty?
H/ Featured Group
What community projects do we have planned?
I/ Staff Picks
This month, we pay a special tribute Mai-chan! :D
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
The enlightening links to Minitokyo Zen-dom...
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A/ i/RECENTLY IN MINITOKYO...
This section was brought to you by MapleRose XD unless specified otherwise :3
Changing of the MT Staff
There is good news and bad news. T_T I suppose I'll start with the bad, so I can just get it over with! Saikusa and
Euna, both long time moderators of Minitokyo, have retired from their positions, and will not be kicking anymore of your
butts. Hopefully Saikusa will continue to post her amazingly high quality scans, as well as Euna and her high quality
wallpapers. If not, then thank you guys for your contributions to the website and good luck with whatever you decide to
do with your future! :)
Here is the good news: we now have a new Elite member! Woo hoo! Lady-Lotus will be contributing even more to the website now! If you remember correctly, she was also the Featured Member of last month's issue! So this girl is a roll. :D Go leave her a comment saying congrats!
Wintry Wonderland
Continue to keep your eyes peeled! :)
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B/ ii/MAI-CHAN'S MAILBAG
Mai-chan received NO mail this month T___T She feels so so so so so so SO unloved!
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C/ 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 X: Try Try Again
Yes, it's good to be back! Wow, you really missed being able to download high quality anime images.
You decide to check on how your friends are doing by messaging them in their guestbooks and your groups' guestbooks. You bet that they missed you. After all, MT wouldn't be the same without you, right?
Phew, that took a while. But now that's out of the way, you can focus on your next goal: submitting wallpapers that have a million faves! You look at some of the wallpapers in the gallery, jealous how they received so many faves; you can do that no sweat! You've learned from previous experience (and with some advice from other members) that collaging and using screencaps are no good. That's okay, because in the time that you were away, you worked on your Photoshop skills; you learned how to extract scans and how to download and import brushes. Yes that's right, you are no longer a Photoshop n00b!
Time to show MT what you're made of and submit an impressive wallpaper! You go into Photoshop and open this scan of a pretty anime girl in a long fancy dress (you're not quite sure which series she's from, but she's pretty). Using the magic wand tool, you get rid of the background. There are a couple of spots where it's a bit uneven, but meh, you'll just blur it a bit and use some filters to cover it up, nobody will notice. Aww, there's a bit of text covering her arm. Oh well, you'll just use some brushes and filters to cover it up, nobody will notice.
Now onto the background! Hmm, planets and stars. Yes, you'll make a nice starry sky. First you fill the background with black, then you brush on some white stars. Time to play with filters! Wheeee, it's so much fun! The cloud generator is awesome. Distort things here, add some glow there, and as a final touch, you add a bit of lens flare, since lens flares are awesome.
For the planet, you go to Google Images and find some photos of moons and planets and bring them into Photoshop. Hmm, they're a bit small.. No problem, just need to stretch it a bit and filter some more, nobody will notice any difference.
Hmm, looks a bit empty. It needs something more to make it fancier. Oh right, brushes! Some butterfly brushes would work, because butterflies are pretty. Maybe some sparkle brushes to make it shinier and prettier. Finally, you throw some random petals and flowers. There.
Almost done, just need to put the title of the wallpaper on there. What should you call it? Something elegant but original. Oooh, what about something Japanese? Those flower brushes look kind of like cherry blossoms. So you decide to call it "Sakura no Hime", and you type that out in the fanciest, prettiest font that you can find.
There, it's a masterpiece!
Excitedly, you submit your new wallpaper to MT. Since you have no idea what series this is from, so you put it into "Unknown". For the title, you put "~*~&Sakura * no * Hime&~*~", ignoring the instruction which told you not to use so many extra decorative characters, because after all, they make your title look prettier. For the description, you're too lazy to type too much, you want to submit this thing already! So you just put "My first wallpaper, kawaii!"
Time to sit back and enjoy the praises and faves!
You refresh the page, seeing if anyone has commented or added it to your faves yet. Nope, nothing. You refresh again, nope, nothing. Getting bored after doing that a few times and still receiving nothing, you decide to go get some food, since making that wallpaper took a lot of energy...
When you come back, you decide to check the status of your wallpaper. Heart pounding with excitement at the potential attention your wallpaper is getting, you open up the browser to go to your wallpaper from the browser history.
"Quarantaine"?! But, but, that was your masterpiece! How could they? How many faves did you get? Maybe it's because your piece got too popular, and they were jealous, so they deleted it. But when you check your message, you didn't get a single notification about comments or faves to your wallpaper, just that one annoying botchii message telling you that your wallpaper was deleted. No, that can't be it, it must be because deleting the wallpaper deletes your notifs too. (What you didn't remember was that when your scan was deleted, the notifications were still there)
Why? It wasn't a collection of screencaps, you did make a background, and you did put lots of effort into it.
Fine, you'll just have to try again and again until your wallpaper gets accepted then. You look through the gallery to see what kinds of things get accepted, and you discover that lots of wallpapers say that the walls are "vectored". Hmm, you decide to ask around to see what that's all about. Maybe then your wallpaper would get accepted.
To be continued...
Article written by MapleRose
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D/ ANIME SPOTLIGHT
The show we will be discussing today is called Code Geass! :D A few of you have probably heard of it already, I'm sure. It's a Clamp Series, so one can expect extra thin characters and awesome story lines. This, however, is no Chobits. The first episode has enough explosions and killing that it may be almost unbearable for some of the younger viewers out there. So yeah, this show is definitely not for the petite ones out there.
The story takes place sometime in the not so distant future, and it's about Japan- or, according to the anime, Area 11. Japan was renamed this when it lost its freedom, and this is what the anime seems like it will be about from the first episode on. Anyways, there are two different types of people in the anime, the "Elevens," (or those who are forced to survive in the ghettos) and the Britannians, who are the fancy first class people. The main character, Lelouch (also Lulu) is a Britannian who gets tangled up in the whole mess on one of his days to class, and finds himself trying to purge the world of Britannia in general.
I tried to condense the plot as much as possible if some of you can't tell, but that's the gist of it. If you aren't into robot-related animes, or even ones that are high tech, then this show is definitely not for you. Surprisingly enough for me, I enjoyed the first episode quite a bit, and want to finish the series hopefully pretty soon. I can't tell you about character development, or how good it is in the long run. However, there is a second season out (I think?) so it must have had an above average level of success with its viewers. Oh, and I think it's also on Adult Swim for those who can't watch anime online. :) I recommend checking this one out- even if just the first episode. Who knows, you might like it?
For more in depth reviews, I suggest checking out the review section. There is about three in there (all of which are most likely better than mine :o )
Official English Website
Code Geass on Wikipedia
Code Geass on
ANN
Article written by bromithia
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E/ PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC!
Album: Negau/To Wish
Artist: Yorico/Yoriko
What can I say? I'm a sucker for talented pianists, and Yorico is arguably one of the best. One of the main reasons that I also admire her is that despite being diagnosed with throat cancer as a child, she was able to overcome that and pursue her dream of singing and composing music. As soon as I saw that this one has been released I knew I had to have it. She is probably best known for her singles "Daia no Hana" (Black Cat OP) and "Break the Cocoon" (Speed Grapher ED), though they really don't showcase her musical strengths.
Yorico's fourth album Negau consists of 11 tracks, starting off with the playful "Yume no Kajitsu/Dream Fruit" (whose title makes me think of One Piece for some reason ;)). In my opinion, it's a nice opening song to the album, but it's easy to bypass because of the strength of the next two tracks, "Kokoro no Kagi/Key of My Heart" and "Okubyou na Lion/Cowardly Lion". These two tracks really show how much Yorico's vocals have matured. In contrast to some of the slightly off-key notes and definite straining in "Break the Cocoon", these two tracks are a pleasure to listen to because of the nice, clean vocals and lovely piano accompaniment. The string accompaniment towards the end of "Kokoro no Kagi" is especially lovely.
Smack dab in the middle of the album is one of my favorite tracks "Moshi mo Hitotsu Dake Negai ga Kanau Nara/If Just One Wish Came True". While the title may seem a bit of a mouthful, it really is a beautiful track. This is a great song to sing while driving. I want to say it has a slight R&B beat to it (for lack of a better word to describe it...) similar to "Hikari" (Daia no Hana/HIKARI) The part that really made me love this song was the bridge.
"Tenohira/Palm" and "Yasashii Uta/Nice Song" are usual Yorico fare-- heavily piano driven. "Tenohira" is slightly more upbeat and relaxing to listen to. "Yasashii Uta" is one of the acoustic tracks on the album. It is always nice to hear Yorico stripped, though I do admit that for those unfamiliar with her style, it can take some getting used to.
The album ends with "Hoshi ni Negai wo/When You Wish upon a Star". As "Yume no Kajitsu" was a good beginning, this seems to me a very fitting end. However, when compared with the strength of the other tracks it does not really register as one of the standout tracks on the album.
Overall "Negau" is a wonderful album full of beautiful melodies both piano and vocal. It's not really breaking any new ground for Yorico, but I like hearing how much her vocals have matured and become stronger. It is definitely more cohesive than her other albums, which is a plus in my book. I suppose I might be somewhat biased to like an album with a theme of dreams and wishes, but I would definitely recommend this album to fans of Angela Aki, Kokia, Sarah McLachlan or Vienna Teng.
Yorico's Official
Website
Yorico on
wiki.theppn
"Kokoro no
Kagi PV"
Article written by fireflywishes
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F/ GET TO KNOW YOUR MT STAFF!
This month we get to know a little bit more about our resident Enigma Mod himself...
EternalParadox!
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fireflywishes (F): What is your favorite thing about being a Mod?
EternalParadox (EP): Um... The power to provide a strategic direction to the
future growth of MT. And that is the most BS answer ever. And it's a lie too.
F: Lol, well then...what is your least favorite thing to do as a Mod?
EP: Dealing with people who ask stupid questions because they're too retarded to
go read the rules.
F: As the Mod for vectors, sections in the forum, and the policy... which of the
three is your favorite?
EP: Vectors. It's harder for people to be retarded via an image. Though it gets
dull when all the vectors are the same and no one tries new techniques or subject matters.
F: How did you become a Vector Mod?
EP: I don't remember. Because no one else wanted to do it? Hey I've been a mod
for what, 2+ years now? I don't remember stuff from that long ago.
F: Well, what makes a vector "good"?
EP: You need the basics of clean linework, etc, etc. But I like vectors that
don't just retrace a scan. That gets redundant when everybody does it. I like it when someone creates something new from
scratch (like Cup of Art by chubbykitty ) or
when they explore new techniques, like gaara's vexeling. (firefly note: gaara being gaara-no-shukaku)
F: What are some new things/changes that you'd like to see at MT some day?
EP: First, more than one person in charge of the site's technical development, so
that good ideas are implemented rather than left to die. Also, a restricted download system that actually works,
limiting the freedom of leechers but actually encourages members to participate meaningfully. And fewer retarded people
in the world.
F: Okay... we'll move on to random questions now. :D If you could meet any Mod(s)
in person, who would you want to meet?
EP: Whichever girl Mod is the hottest.
F: What is the best anime of all time?
EP: I don't know about all time, but I really liked Escaflowne. It started me on
anime.
F: What about it really hooked you?
EP: Not too fluffy, not too bloody. It's about war, but doesn't overwhelm you
with death and destruction; it has romance, but doesn't disgust you with it.
F:What do you do in your spare time?
EP: What's spare time?
F: Teehee... Okay, then what do you do when you aren't on MT?
EP: Work, sleep, work, any of the above.
F: What came first... the chicken or the egg?
EP: Who cares if it tastes good?
F: What fictional character would you enjoy inflicting bodily harm upon?
EP: Can't think of any right now, but anyone that's annoying and
retarded.
F: If your life were made into a movie, what would it be called?
EP: I Hate Stupid People
F: Lol, I think I see a trend here...
EP: You could say I'm a little elitist.
F: What are the top 5 songs you just can't get enough of right now?
EP: "Umbrella" by Rihanna, because a coworker had it as a ringtone and
didn't pick up the phone... I don't really like that song but it's kinda stuck in my head. Other than that, anything
that comes up on shoutcast jpop or mandarin stations
F: One novel that everyone should read at some point in their lives?
EP: Dickens's David Copperfield.
One of the few times I have an actual answer for you.
F: And lastly... do you have any final words before we end the interview?
EP: Last word: Read the damn rules.
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That concludes this month's "Get to Know Your MT Staff!" 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.
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G/ FEATURED MEMBER
As a contributing member to the community for over three years now- Chubbykitty is a great person to feature. Not only for her amazing vectors and wallpapers, but also her unique doujinshi's, which are always a treat to see. More so, she also submitted her own version of Mai-chan to Mt-Maigetsu! I definitely recommend checking it out!
If all of that isn't enough, she is also an Administrator in the Doujinshi-Support-Club, as well as a member to several others. She has definitely proven that she knows her way around this place, that's for sure. :D If she doesn't deserve this, then I don't know who goes. Anyways, mozy on over to her userpage and leave a note saying congrats!
Article written by bromithia
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H/ FEATURED GROUP
The Planning Board is a group started by flyindreams and crapmonster 2 years ago as a place to plan and host community-wide projects and contests that anyone can participate (ie projects are not restricted to members). The group has encouraged creativity and inspired many artists and wallers with projects like the HOWLing Project: "Butcher The Song", the 2006 Wallpaper & Art Revolution (WAR) Competition,and 5 rounds of which?waller: the Minitokyo Guessing Game
Currently, the group is hosting which?waller round 6 and Moar Plz! The Walls Request Project. If you want to get involved in these projects, or have ideas for future projects, check out the group page and drop a line in the group guestbook.
Article written by MapleRose
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I/ STAFF PICKS
This month we are going to be honoring a special group of MiniTokyo's doujinshi artists and featuring their tributes to Mai-chan. Each of the members seen here was nominated by one of the Mods and received a PM inviting them to participate in the future of the MiniTokyo layout. Their mission was to the draw the mascot (who shall be henceforth known as "Mai-chan") in any style or pose that they desired. The only requirement was that she be recognizable as the mascot. The quality and number of submissions that I received back amazed me to no end. I hope that you'll all join me in congratulating these talented artists for a job well done!
By Amy166
By KOKUJINDESU
By kykyopj
By akachan
By cremia
By windyroller
By shinshinovi
By Danielly
By chubbykitty
By Wapy
Intro by fireflywishes, formatting by bromithia
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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. There are only 2 letters
left!
Announcement thread: Anime Alphabet
Moar Plz!
Want to see more walls featuring your fave characters or done in your fave style? Hosted by The Planning Board, this is a project that lets you request whatever
walls you may fancy. The catch is - you have to wall someone else's request first before you can make your own request.
View current
requests
Announcement thread:
New Project - Moar
Plz!
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
Welcome to... ANIWOOD!
Vector Wallers's current contest is all about
Hollywood. Choose any real movie and make an anime version of it! Or, pick your favorite scene from your favorite movie
and wall it!
Regulations
- Minimum size: 1280x960
- Either the character or background (or both) must be vectored.
- 1 wallpaper per waller
- No collaborations for this contest
- Be as creative as you can!
Due May 25th. Visit the announcement threads for clarifications and details
Announcement thread:
Welcome to...
ANIWOOD!
What would YOU do for your summer vacation?
What are you planning to do (or would like to do) during summer vacation? Are you going camping, travelling, or tanning
on the beach? Why not capture it in a wallpaper or vector and participate in Celestial Luminesse's contest!
Requirements:
1. You can submit both wallpapers and vectors
2. You can submit as many as you want
3. All work must feature vacation-themed artwork
4. SOMEWHERE ON YOUR WORK MUST BE A LITTLE ESSAY ABOUT WHAT YOU DID ON YOUR SUMMER
VACATION!
Entries are due Aug 31st, plenty of time to enter. For details and examples, visit the announcement thread.
Announcement thread:
Hey CL: What would
YOU do for your summer vacation?
Which?Waller Round 6
Announcement thread: which?waller round 6 begins!
Remember if you don't tell us it's on, we can't tell everyone else. ;)
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K/ GROUP ADS
-- Do you draw
with pen, pencil, crayons, tablet or other media? Do you want to improve your skills or share your own talents with
other people? Or do you just plain love doujinshi? Then this group is for you!
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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.
Can't wait to get mail from you guys!
From Mai-chan, with love <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 2007-2008; 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.
