Well, i finally had a chance to watch the first three episodes of the Melancholy of Sizumiya Haruhi. Very amusing, and very interesting (never mind the really top notch animation by Kyoto Animation.) There are so many levels of interesting things going on in this series…. I don’t tend to like stuff just because everyone else does, and Haruhi was certainly a series that i was just waiting to not grab me the way it did my friends, but… I do wonder if there is something about the series that i like that is different than what others seem to be going nuts over. There’s something really sad about Haruhi herself, and i can’t quite put my finger on it. The dance scene at the end, Haruhi’s rather amazing indifference to exposing herself (while at the same time having a solid understanding of it’s effect on people), the exploitation of Mikuru’s assets and youthful face… Good stuff, but this is not what interests me the most.

Of course, maybe it has to do with the fact that i twitch whenever any long haired characer cuts her hair short. I always find this… upsetting for some reason. I don’t know why.

The translations of the book Haruhi is based on is also worth a read (note that these books have been selling out fast in japan). I feel like there area lot of Japanese novels where, much like it used to be for manga, there are a huge number of excellent stories that it would be great to experience. It’s been a long time since i’ve seen an animated series come from out of nowhere and go cult status as fast as Haruhi did. She’d be proud, if you think about it.

So don’t forget your required membership in SOS-dan and practice your dance steps. You never know when you may be called upon to do them.

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Posted by fredrin on April 28th, 2006 :: Filed under Daily Blogging

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In getting back into chapter 7 one thing i can’t help but notice is that while the chapter isn’t near as bad as Chapter 5 was (it has a lot of good sequences) the way it all goes together is not quite as solid as it should be. It’s really kinda sad how when i have big things going on (like moving to a new publisher, pulling together my fourth book) my writing suffers. It does, it just does. I’m not dealing with a disastrous chapter here, but i am looking at one that could have been done better.

In January, i had set a goal to simply produce 3 comics per week, and to produce them on schedule. I actually made a pretty decent effort at this in January. In February, things just started to get overwhelming and the comic itself almost seemed to take a back burner to everything else i had to deal with. March was rough, but April… it was an unfair month for MT readers, and unfair to the story. It’s been well over a month since MT had any kind of momentum.

I’ll get it back, i’m fairly sure of that, but what i hate is how this happens no matter how hard i try to prevent it. I don’t think its a problem with my other projects – its a problem with my methods for doing comics. Just because i produce a halfway decent comic and have been for six years doesn’t mean i have systems and methods that are what you would call effective. In fact, if anything, i honestly think the only reason MT exists at all is because i take a brute force approach to doing it. There’s no good reason why one of these comics should take 14-20 hrs to produce. I was able to produce almost two pages of Circuity art in one day, and yet todays comic took 14 hrs. The difference is startling, and is a strong reflection on the difference between being ‘in mode’ and not.

I’m trying, yet again, to adjust my approach to things, once again refine how i work. I rely way too much on things just coming together as i do them, and never give myself enough buffer to actually have the time to mull over the final result. Sure, MT is readable, but it could be better. I know i could.

Anyways, it is nice to finally have the book stuff behind me. It was way too much for one person to do, but i did it, and MT is one of many things that were sacrificed in the process. I’ve lost readers, i know i have, but over time many will come back if the comic achieves that regularity that a web based project really needs to have in order to thrive. I can actually do this, and have in recent years, just the last two months were… ugh.

One thing i also need to do is get ready for Anime Central (Acen) in Chicago the weekend after next. Lots to do for that, but honestly, that prep comes second to the comic. My goal for the week of acen is to not miss any comics as a result of that trip. We’ll see if i can achieve that far less audacious goals.

In more silly news, this finally shipped. One of these days i really want to make MT figures like this. Sometime in the near future, i hope…

- pirotunes: Peter Savage – The Passion Of Learning -

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Posted by fredrin on April 26th, 2006 :: Filed under Daily Blogging

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