childofaura

[childofaura]

I know you’re not back just yet but I’m just wondering how you are doing and such?

That’s ok.

Tired is all I can really say right now.

Lots of personal real life stuff happened. It’s tiring. I’ll be ok though.

#Guess I just flipped my shit a little seeing Zeno’s post #had to get it off my chest before dipping back out

[childofaura]

Didn't he die Mar1? That was a week ago, just recently announced (probably to give the family private time to grieve, very understandable). Still fucked up what was said.

Ah, that was my mistake then. I’ll own up to that and edit my post.

To give full context to Zeno’s post though, it was in response to a guy saying “Toriyama gave us the best and worst black characters in anime”, with Zeno saying “Mr Popo to the world’s strongest threat reincarnated into a young POC.”

Like… dude, why do you even feel the NEED to bring that up? It’s so underhanded, it’s falsified praise.

[childofaura]

… Not me seeing Zeno Robinson underhandedly smearing Akira Toriyama barely a day after the man died.

“Man, RIP Akira Toriyama but wasn’t it crazy how racist he used to be?”

Actually fuck off dude, his body isn’t even cold yet and you’re trying to slander him while pretending like you’re mourning him. You’re a two-faced pile of shit.

Edit: I was just informed that Toriyama passed away Mar. 1st, and the news was delayed to the outside world (makes sense). My point still stands though, the news has barely broken for a few hours and you wanna drag him through the mud with false reverence.

Edit edit: For context, because I don’t want people accusing me of trying to attack Zeno, this was the exchange:

How fucking fake do you have to be to pretend like you’re praising him while you’re really just trying to draw attention to the decades-old shit that clearly isn’t relevant anymore?

#discourse #breaking my ‘break’ because holy shit this actively pissed me off to see #Zeno’s become such a prick recently; he’s still a great VA but damn he’s got such a nasty attitude #But then again that’s MOST Western VAs

[childofaura]

The localization/censorship debate and why people need to do their damn job

… I know I’ve been making too many posts for someone who’s supposed to be on break. I may have to modify it to “I won’t be engaging with anyone right now and I may just pop in once in a while to talk about issues going on”.

Because right now, this issue is pretty important and as you all know, I hate censorship or dishonest localizations. That was my big issue with Fire Emblem Engage, and you can find my post with the video from Censored Gaming here: https://childofaura.tumblr.com/post/711372254663131136/so-as-ive-been-playing-engage-with-the-japanese

ANYWHO, there has been a MASSIVE shitstorm in the anime/localization community happening the past week or two. This has actually been brewing over several years but it’s now been gaining traction. And right now I’m here to divulge it to Tumblr so people understand what’s going on. Putting a Read More because this could get lengthy.

So as far as I can reach back to see where this recent maelstrom of drama has started, it began with this recent announcement:

(Sorry, had to post the IMDB article, the official tweet doesn’t mention AI)

Now personally, I still stand firm by my AI stance, but I don’t defend official localizers. If I can make the decision, I’d go with fansubs; I’ve watched Ginga Densetsu Weed and currently am watching the OG Urusei Yatsura anime with fansubs (fansubs are charming and I appreciate the context they provide with translator notes. Yeah we all clown on the “According to keikaku” meme but it’s harmless to the overall sub).

Personal note aside, this has caused many localizers to start flipping their shit on Twitter, and somehow infamous “localizer” Jamie Marchi, the one who was responsible for the cringy and insecure “pesky patriarchal societal demands” and the infamous rewrite from “But we’re girls” to “But I don’t like girls” (which from general consensus comes off as a homophobic rewrite), catches wind of this. And she goes apeshit over people calling out her horrible line rewrites:

Constantly ignoring better suggestions, the story’s own canon, and just generally throwing a huge hissy fit over the fact that people (like me) don’t fucking like their product being tampered with.

All of this was sent to a Youtuber named Asmongold TV. I don’t know who he is, I’m not familiar with him, but apparently he’s got a pretty big following, and a big Japanese following too. Thus, this video was made:

And this caused a HUGE outreach; even people in Japan are taking notice and this is spreading like wildfire:

So now it looks like people are REALLY taking notice of this issue that’s been underlying the anime/manga community.

My thoughts on it:

This is why people who inject Western culture, slang, or politics into subtitles should have just stuck to their fucking jobs. This isn’t a general statement to all localizers because I know there’s probably a few who actually care about preserving the context of the original media, but this is what happens. You have shitty players in this game who not only ruined it for themselves, but for EVERYONE. This was self-inflicted. And I’m glad that it’s starting to spread like wildfire, because accurate translations should be expected and the norm. We shouldn’t even be here in the first place.

#discourse #localization #anime #manga #Again I’ve made it extremely clear in the past how much I hate censorship or line changes #So this issue hits really close and that’s why I felt the need to come back and make this post #Not to mention Marchi is a horrible person who constantly antagonizes people #And she’s part of the root cause of this problem and the people who willingly enable her by allowing her to continue ‘localizing’ #This issue doesn’t just stop at Fire Emblem for me; it applies to ALL anime and manga; even the stuff I don’t consume #I feel for DragonMaid fans who dealt with this and were essentially told to shut up

[childofaura]

I'm still not officially back yet, but I wanted to drop this off for the ending of Book 7. Depending on who's on the latest banner this week, I MAY come back. We'll see.

Again, the virgin Seidr vs the chad Loki. Somehow, the character who teases you in a flirty way and wipes out entire squadrons for your attention, was less creepy and obsessive than Seidr.

(This isn't meant to be like a horny drawing or anything, I just wanted to draw the Kevin Hart meme)

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #my art #SERIOUSLY HOW DO YOU MAKE LOKI SO MUCH BETTER BY COMPARISON #Not that I ever hated Loki; I actually liked her character

[childofaura]

Ok again I’m not back completely on Tumblr yet but

Since we finally got to the ending of this stupid, horrible book, I can say this:

“I don’t care HOW much creepy, obsessive and violating ‘romantic’ dialogue you give Gullveig/Seidr, I am NOT mourning her death!”

So with the end of this book, we literally still have the plotholes of:

With the Summoner never having explicitly agreed to making a child with Seidr, WHO was the child supposed to be and why even include that in the story? Because clearly it wasn’t Heidr since she wasn’t born in the light of Vanaheimr.

Why does Seidr not remember her time as Kvasir? And no, putting in a “Oh you’ll have to explain it to us!” out of story isn’t cute, it’s lazy and shitty writing.

And plus that “final battle” was SOOOOO anti-climactic. And it felt like there was NO stakes since Seidr just magically pulls Kvasir and Gullveig out of death and into the convenient magical realm outside of time.

This book sucked ass and I’m glad Kvasir and Gullveig are dead. I’m glad this book is over. I just hope the next book isn’t also just some overly smutty-designed characters and low grade writing.

(Ok now I’m back to my Tumblr break, won’t respond or answer any asks sorry!)

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #Book 7 #The virgin Seidr vs the Chad Loki #Like seriously fucking LOKI the character who loves nothing more than teasing people #Is way more respectful of your boundaries than Seidr is! #Also Gullveig pulling that ‘Oh I’ve had feelings for you Summoner!’ BITCH I AM GETTING A RESTRAINING ORDER!!!

[childofaura]

Ok I’m not coming back yet officially, but I’m wondering if there’s anyone out there good at removing vocals to create instrumentals. I’ll pay you, it’s gonna be for a future unit showcase.

This is the song:

Unfortunately the only instrumental on Youtube has some kind of horrible buzzing in the background. Reach out to me if you’re interested!

#Youtube

[childofaura]

Think I’m gonna take a break from Tumblr for a bit

And no I promise it’s not from one specific thing. There’s just a LOT, and I mean A LOT, of stuff going on… stuff going on in real life, stuff going on online, stuff going on with work and Halloween approaching, etc.

Also big reason why I wanna take a break is because I wanna work on my art again. I’ve been working on my art this whole time but if I take a break, I can focus on it more. Especially the Sonic Forces and Team Dark comic.

Just know I’ll still be out there reacting to the FEH banners, screaming somewhere lmao.

[childofaura]

I’m still not officially saying anything about the Wendee Lee situation, but I’m hearing that there’s more news coming out that is suggesting there’s a lot more going on than initially reported on, so as always I’m just keeping my ears open and waiting for the full answer.

[childofaura]

Yeah the only thing I WILL say is that Wendee is acting very poorly right now. I can agree on that.

Ok I hate to break this kind of news but apparently during the recent Bleach adaptation, Anairis Quinones took over Wendee Lee as Yoruichi (a character from Bleach), Yoruichi is a black woman but was originally played by Wendee Lee but then all of a sudden as soon as Anairis just did a few lines for Yoruichi in the scenes the latter is in, she’s no longer the voice for Yoruichi and went back to the original instead.

Worse, when serveral VA's such as Kayli Mills, Faye Mata and Xander Mobus and many more were comforting her, Wendee just…attacked all of them. (Her reply to Faye even gave off role entitlement)

Worse, the studio behind the recent Bleach dub didn’t do anything to address this!

At least Jamieson Price is already aware that he’s no longer playing Chad, another POC in Bleach and chose to step down gracefully and let the new VA take over one of his iconic role.

I’m sorry, but I’m probably not gonna be touching this one. I’m not part of the Bleach fandom but all I see are debates on the races Chad and Yoruichi (the former being confirmed Japanese and Mexican and the latter being considered to be Indian). And frankly I don’t wanna get into that nor into casting. This whole thing just seems like a mess so since I don’t watch Bleach, I’m just gonna keep my distance.

[childofaura]

Ok I hate to break this kind of news but apparently during the recent Bleach adaptation, Anairis Quinones took over Wendee Lee as Yoruichi (a character from Bleach), Yoruichi is a black woman but was originally played by Wendee Lee but then all of a sudden as soon as Anairis just did a few lines for Yoruichi in the scenes the latter is in, she’s no longer the voice for Yoruichi and went back to the original instead.

Worse, when serveral VA's such as Kayli Mills, Faye Mata and Xander Mobus and many more were comforting her, Wendee just…attacked all of them. (Her reply to Faye even gave off role entitlement)

Worse, the studio behind the recent Bleach dub didn’t do anything to address this!

At least Jamieson Price is already aware that he’s no longer playing Chad, another POC in Bleach and chose to step down gracefully and let the new VA take over one of his iconic role.

I’m sorry, but I’m probably not gonna be touching this one. I’m not part of the Bleach fandom but all I see are debates on the races Chad and Yoruichi (the former being confirmed Japanese and Mexican and the latter being considered to be Indian). And frankly I don’t wanna get into that nor into casting. This whole thing just seems like a mess so since I don’t watch Bleach, I’m just gonna keep my distance.

[childofaura]

Unpopular opinion: Is it ok to say that I actually like ichikawa halu's take on Triandra much more than Yoshiku? I mean Yoshiku may’be been her character designer since the start of Book IV but something about ichikawa's art of Triandra made it almost look like Yoshiku but with a much more clearer and crisp look to it.

Not to mention the dress she got looks super pretty!

I personally don't think it's controversial, it's reasonable for people to like Halu's artwork more.

The problem I'm starting to see with Yoshiku's art is that it's falling into the same problem that Sencha has, which is expression. They both have a gorgeous coloring style that is soft and detailed, but for some reason that style sacrifices expressiveness. Base Peony and Seidr don't have much in the way of a noticeable expression change compared to Maeshima Shigeki or Kozaki Yusuke. Though I will say Attuned Peony looks much more alive than base Peony does, so there was visible improvement.

Also the other thing we're looking at is that Attuned Triandra has come out three years after base Triandra, so there's definitely a huge visible quality difference in art. It's only natural people are gonna be more drawn to Halu's piece rather than Yoshiku's outdated piece.

#All this means is PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY LET A NEW ARTIST BESIDES KOZAKI YUSUKE OR YOSHIKU OR MAESHIMA SHIGEKI DO BOOK 8 #I actually think Ichikawa Halu could do a really good book but I'm thinking mainly of other artists #Kaya8 or Kita Senri or Daisuke Izuka or Nishiku Areku

[childofaura]

So with Chapter 13 rolling around the corner and all that, I’m going to predict that Awakening is going to be one of the main focus of New Heroes banner. (Well, it’s manifestation but oh well)

Although, something tells me that Archanea is going to be the main focus again. Or maybe Fates, or another Engage banner but this time featuring the Elusia characters.

I don’t know but this book has been a wild ride and despite the recent New Heroes not being a New Heroes banner, I’m at least holding out hope that they at least don’t deny the New Heroes with that many Rearmed or Ascended alts.

Still think it was shitty decision to include Attuned Peony and Attuned Triandra together.

I feel like we're gonna be getting Fates in November, since it's been a while since we had the Fates release. And since the last release was the kids, this time I'm hoping they'll focus on the Corrinsexuals; Fuga's out because I doubt they're gonna add base Fuga after he just got an alt. Which leaves Yukimura (I bet they'll make him an extremely broken cavalry unit), Shura, Izana (Whom I bet will be a re-armed Colorless tome), Scarlet, and Reina. And something tells me we'll get Ascended Camilla or something... Then again, we might also get Mozu instead (which I won't complain).

If it's NOT Fates and it's Awakening (since Awakening was last year in November; I remember this because the banner came out when I was at the Lightbox convention), the only units we really have left are Kellam, Vaike, Laurent (fucking PLEASE IS, stop leaving that kid behind), and Noire. Plus everyone's been waiting forever for Validar. Though personally I wouldn't mind if they added Pheros as a GHB.

(Also yes with Triandra and Plumeria, but I understand why they did it. They're trying to stretch out the Valentia banners as long as they can, but it'd be better if they just gave Valentia a damn spotlight seasonal).

[childofaura]

What are your thoughts on Sara Cravens? She did Sanaki, Rinkah and Arete. For the former two, she replaced the original VA’s respectively.

Sorry for all these taking so long, I've been working on a side project for my work.

Ok for Sanaki... I don't think she was the best fit. However she does a HELL of a job for Rinkah, she sounds almost exactly like Stephanie Lemelin.

But I won't spoil how I feel just yet, so I'll just review.

I think her performance as Rinkah, Arete (And you cannot convince me that "Ar-Ah-Tay" is the correct pronunciation, it will forever be "Ah-Reh-Tee" to me), and even Sanaki are all good. Her Rinkah voice is very assertive and aggressive, but I like that her line about sticking together has the casual tones that Lemelin's performance had in the Room lines. And you can only tell she was having even more fun playing Rinkah in the Flame Tribe banner, with all the growls and fluctuations in her voice. As Sanaki, I think she has a good emotional performance, and even if I don't think the voice really fits, she does get that little bossy tone down well when she's surprised by Altina hugging her (And we SERIOUSLY need more Duos of those two). But it's also nice to hear the insecurity she gives Sanaki about not being able to hear the goddess's voice, and feeling like she's not worthy of being Altina's descendent. Finally, Arete is also fantastic, but I HATE the disconnect between her voice and her art (which isn't Sara's fault at all). Arete's voice is mature and nice, but also you hear the love in her voice when she talks about Azura. It just bugs me that they made her art look sinister. Hopefully someday we get a Duo Azura/Arete alt where she's drawn to look nice.

Sara was a perfect, flawless fit for Rinkah; probably the best voice replacement of the Fates actors who got replaced (Because I can't say Kaze fared better). For Sanaki, I feel like she wasn't a good fit simply because she doesn't sound young enough; but I also felt like her original VA wasn't a great fit either. Sanaki should have gone to someone like Lizzie Freeman, Heather Hogan, or Lisa Reimold. But she made do with what she has and I think that's enough. And for Arete, she is also a good fit and a good replacement; apparently Kris Zimmerman-Salter was her original VA in Fates, so while there's a pretty noticeable difference, it was still a good cast as well.

I think there's a bit of range between Sanaki and Rinkah, though I wouldn't say there's much range between Rinkah and Arete. She does well enough differentiating with performance though, like a lot of other actors. Just nothing crazy or outstanding.

So I think overall, I'd give her an 8.5/10. For what it's worth, she's doing a fine job in Heroes.

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #ask game #While I want a Duo Arete/Azura what I REALLY want is a Duo Arete/Mikoto unit #Because even though it's briefly mentioned in the DLC #Apparently the English localization of Fates tries to dance around the fact that Mikoto and Arete are sisters #Probably because of how you can marry Azura but still I'd rather they not change it #Especially since y'know it doesn't concern me because I'm not marrying Azura

[childofaura]

I feel like, for all my bitching of the Book 7 character designs, I need to establish something:

I’m very thankful that FEH doesn’t seem as subject to the hardcore censorship that the mainline games suffer from in localization.

I’m very thankful that IS is willing to stick by a character design and not change it for the English audience.

I’d rather have a design show up as is, that allows me to voice my distaste for it. Because as much as I may loathe a design, I never want them to change it.

I’d rather have the weird-ass dialogue kept in than changed for the comfort of a few. The freedom to complain is the beauty of it.

So honestly, just know that regardless of all my complaining of Book 7 or of certain artists or whatever, I never want it to be changed. I’m mature enough that I can handle it.

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #tagging this as FEH because I feel like it’s an important view to express #That we are capable of steering clear of what we don’t like after expressing our general opinion of it #Because I’ve thought a lot about the censorship of the main games #Specifically what the anon told me about poor Rhajat’s support being butchered #And all the shit with Engage #And then thinking back to some Awakening censorship too #And like while some of that carries over to FEH (Like Effie’s personality or Rhajat or probably Goldmary when she gets added) #At least a good chunk of the alts and book designs we get are what everyone else gets too

[childofaura]

I don’t know if anyone asks you this yet but have you done an art review on Chiko yet?

So far they’ve drawn Galzus, Kinshi Hinoka, Ballroom!Ishtar, Malice, Micaiah's base alt, Festival Dancer Olivia, Panne and her NY alt, Resplendent Rhajat, Plegian Tharja, Flame Tribe Rinkah, F!Grima (refuse to acknowledge it as a Robin alt) and Silvia.

A huge list of character so far but they’ve drawn mostly women and only one rugged guy.

Fun fact, I tried answering this ask TWICE while I was on my phone yesterday.

And twice Tumblr wiped my in-progress post simply because I switched to a different window while I was trying to get the images.

>:(

ANYWAYS

I like Chiko's artwork overall, but I have some issues with individual pieces rather than an overall issue. It's a weird inconsistency sometimes.

But going over the positives first, I think they're great at drawing poses, or using clothing to flow. And their expressions are pretty good too:

They seem to be able to draw a diverse set of body types. And I appreciate that they kept Rinkah's muscles. (also shown with Rinkah I think their crit effects are pretty cool too).

Also I appreciate that Malice kept her muscles:

They've got good colorwork going too, and most of the time their lighting and shading is good.

But again, I have a few issues with individual characters, rather than an arcing overall problem.

First one I'll address is Panne. Here's base Panne:

And here's New Year's Panne:

New Year's Panne has this very weird lighting on the bridge of her face. It's distracting to me and it looks like she was drawn by a totally different artist. I really wish they didn't put the lighting there, because this otherwise would have been a perfect piece. It's still good though, just distracting.

The second is Silvia's left hand in her attack portrait:

Why is her palm facing outward like that? It's not an implausible pose, but it looks off for some reason. Seems like it looks uncomfortable.

And finally, Malice's other art portraits. I like her neutral portrait and I know I said I appreciate the muscle addition, but she gets really weird torpedo tits in her other portraits. Look:

(Whyyyyy do they look so stiff)

This one is weird because I can't remember if Malice came before or after Plegian Festival Tharja, but they seem to fix that chest issue with Tharja and Rhajat at least.

Still though, Chiko's not a bad artist at all; far from it. I think I can put them at an 8/10, I just wish their work was a little more consistent sometimes. But they're growing, as all artists do, and I appreciate that.

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #ask game #I think Chiko oughta draw a Malice alt #I'm not too fond of Malice for how poorly she treated Balthus but I do like her design #And it'll be interesting when her dad gets added to FEH

[childofaura]

Poll because it’s unfortunately that wretched time again

And plus I’m curious if anyone sucks at Summoner Duels as much as I do.

#Fire Emblem Heroes #FEH #Today I got zero #I barely have any units that can keep up with the meta #So I usually get zero anyways #Personally I feel like Summoner Duels is the worst game mode because it’s not about having good builds #It’s about how much money you have to spend #And whether the computer decides to let you start a turn first or not