Sunday, July 24, 2005

   A Note on the Cast List of Bleachness

Hello, my dears! I have returned from the vacation of goodness, and it was much fun. Anyway, my order of business today, is the Cast List for the Bleach Fandub Project. (BFP is a fun acronym, by the way. BFP. Try saying it aloud. Whee. Or just.... "bfffp." That's even more fun.) I got off-topic. XD Starting over. I think we need confirmation from all of the cast members, so we know for certain those who we've cast are okay with their roles and will be able to participate. Duo and I need to know what roles, if any, we will have to re-cast, and we would like to know as soon as possible. Please send me a PM, e-mail, or instant message stating whether or not you can play the role(s) we have cast you in. If you have any complaints or questions, feel free to do the same. If I don't get a confirmation or denial within two weeks, I will contact you directly, and if I get no reply, outside of extenuating circumstances (vacations, et cetera), we will re-cast your role. Just to refresh your memory, here is the cast list, one more time. And THIS time, it's alphabetized by character. Abarai Renji - Enin Aizen Sousuke - Shanny Arisawa Tatsuki - Red Tigress Don Kanonji - Flint Hinamori Momo - Duo Hitsugaya Toushirou - Red Honsho Chizuru - Evil Ichimaru Gin - Demonboy Inoue Orihime - NightBeck Ishida Uryuu - Duo Kon - Red Tigress Kuchiki Rukia - Aurus Kurosaki Ichigo - SomeGuy Kurosaki Isshin - Flint Kurosaki Karin - Duo Kurosaki Yuzu - Fallen Kusajishi Yachiru - Fallen Madarame Ikkaku - Evil Shiba Ganju - Red Shiba Kuukaku - Evil Tsumugi Ururu - NightBeck Urahara Kisuke - Aurus Yamada Hanatarou - NightBeck Yasutora Chad - Evil Yoruichi - Shanny If you don't recognize your character right away, here is an excellent resource for brief character descriptions. It is divided into three pages, according to which story arc each character appears in, so keep in mind that some characters (especially shinigami) may be found on the second page. There are some spoilers of what happens in the manga (the anime hasn't gotten there yet), so please bear that in mind. ... The next order of business in terms of the casting - I would like a little voice sample from everyone who will be participating. Don't be frightened! XD If Duo and I have cast you already, you really can't jeopardize that. However, for the sake of my work on the script, I would like to have a brief voice sample for each character that you will be voicing. This will be very simple and very quick; I don't particularly care about the sound quality, I just need to get an idea of how you'll play your characters. Here is what I need. Please include each of these, in the given order, in your recording. Send your recording to me via e-mail or MSN file transfer as soon as you can. 1. State your name (or the name you go by online). 2. State the name of the character you are reading for. 3. Introduce yourself as your character. Be as creative as you like with this, but stay true to how you will characterize him/her. You can say as much or as little as you like. 4. Say, as your character, the following, as exactly as possible: "I'd like a number six with a side of fries, a large diet 7-up, and two scoops of licorice ice cream." If you have more than one character (and most of you do, I believe), please make a separate recording for each character. If we announce that we are re-casting some roles and you wish to audition, please make this recording for the characters you are auditioning for. ... I will eventually put together a website with all the information I have, to make it all easier to access. I would also like to have the e-mail addresses of all participants, so if you know I don't have yours already, please drop me a PM. Lastly, to those who I have sent copies of the working script for the first episode, I'd like to have it back with your character's lines synchronized as soon as you can get it to me. I still have plenty of people to send it to. ^_^; Thanks very much! My e-mail, for those who don't know it, is webmiss(AT)cucurbitalane(DOT)net and my MSN messenger handle is cucurbitatracy(AT)hotmail(DOT)com Thank you all for your time, my dears, and I hope to be hearing from you soon!

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Wednesday, July 13, 2005

   THREE orders of business! Whoo!

NUMBER ONE. XD *cues the theme music* Irasshai! Hello and welcome back to Aurus-kun's Periodical Anime Recommendations! For those of you not familiar with APAR, this is a (roughly) monthly column in which I bring your attention to any little-known or un-licensed anime or manga that I am currently watching or reading. I know I promised I'd have more than one, but what with a full-time job on my hands, I really haven't had a chance to watch much. Between Bleach, Loveless, and Trinity Blood... my time is stretched thin. But, anyway, this month's feature is... Trinity Blood Medium: anime (based on a manga, as far as I can tell - don't know the author) Availability: fansub # Episodes: 8? released, 26? total Genre: Vampires/action Plot summary: Abel Nightroad is a Catholic priest, in a post-apocalyptic Earth where vampires and humans clash and space-age technology is available to those with the right connections. Nightroad-sama seems an unusual beacon in the dark world with his sweet and lighthearted nature, but as the vampire organization, Rozenkreuz, begins to work against the Vatican and a young human girl gets involved in the conflict, he slowly reveals more terrifying powers... Why Aurus-kun likes it: It's so freaking BADASS! Think the best aspects of Trigun and Hellsing, put together - Vash's cute, bishounen lightheartedness combined with Alucard's ultimately awesome powers. There's even a (creepy) Integra-wannabe. The Pope is also younger than I am, and the biggest wuss I've ever seen. But all that aside, it is truly badass. Lots of action, nifty animation, and some very kickass fight scenes. It may seem a lot like a cheap Hellsing rip at first, and there are a lot of parallels, but I think that's forgivable - the technical greatness and Nightroad's cuteness/badass makes up for it. Other notes of interest: Seth's seiyuu, Matsuoka Yuki, voiced Inoue Orihime in BLEACH, and Tres's seiyuu, Nakai Kazuya, did Mugen in Samurai Champloo. Also, William Wordsworth was voiced by Ookawa Tooru, who was the seiyuu for Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist. The rest of the cast is actually less than notorious, but don't let that turn you away - the voices are great, and the series, overall, is a lot of fun. Hellsing fans, once they get over the similarities, should enjoy the series - I know I am! That's all that I've got for now, but I'll try to do another before the month is out, to make up for June's lack of stuff. If you have any suggestions for anime/manga that I have not featured and you think ought to be shared with your fellow otaku, please feel free to PM me and let me know! Arigatou gozaimashita! ... NI-BAN! XDD I believe we have settled on an excellent way to do recording for the Bleach project. Skype is something like a phone service, except downloading and using it to talk to others through it is totally free. It requires a microphone and speakers, but I think it's well-worth the investment. I'm planning to go out and get a decent mic of my own as soon as I can. You can download it from their website, and it's very easy to use. Anyone in the Bleach fandub project who does not have my SN, please PM me for it. I won't be online with it until I get a mic, but I may as well spread my SN around for future reference, ne? I hope to be talking to some of you soon! ... NUMERO TRES! XDDD I will be traveling for the next week or so. I'll be bringing my laptop, Benihime, with me, but internet access is questionable. I'll update when I can, and I'm also bringing my camera, so there'll be lots of photography fun up in my DeviantArt account when I get home. See you all in a week, if not before! LOVE AND PEACE!

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Tuesday, July 12, 2005

HOLD UP JUST ONE MINUTE HERE O_O;

... ... ... I just watched Bleach episode 39. ... I need someone to tell me that what I think just happened didn't really happen. ... I mean, it can't have, right? I'm just terribly, horribly insecure. ... If what I think happened DID actually happen, my life no longer has any meaning and my soul has been crushed into the darkest depths of the blackest void of interstellar nothingness. ... Which would hurt, a lot, might I add. ... Help aurus... her brain is dying... ... *weeps silently*

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Monday, July 11, 2005

   The curtain opens! XD

Some of you have already heard the news of greatness, but since I know there are many who we have not contacted over MSN about this, I am honored to present to you... Duo's and my summer project. Fear it well. We are planning to do, at the very least, the audio portion of an English fandub for Bleach. It is possible that I can get ahold of technology that will allow me to stick the audio tracks with the animation, so keep your fingers crossed, but know that at the very least, we will be releasing some snippets of English dialogue between the characters we have cast. I have not decided yet what scenes we will do - since we certainly won't be doing all of it, just some selections - but I have in mind a few. People who are involved in them will probably hear from me as soon as Duo and I make our final decisions, but the rest of you may not hear until we begin the recording process. Please bear with us, as this will be a very complicated and difficult experiment, but I personally think it will be tremendous fun, and a very good experience. Everyone who participates will get copies of everything we do, and unless I discover a copyright law that forbids it, I will recommend that those interested in voice acting keep the files for potential use in a resume reel. I know I plan on it. ^_^; Without further ado... we have The Cast List! Characters are listed in what I hope is close to an order of appearance. Please forgive me if it's difficult, I really have no inclination to make it easier. XDD I'm just that mean. Kurosaki Ichigo - SomeGuy Kuchiki Rukia - Aurus Inoue Orihime - NightBeck Yasutora Sado/Chad - Evil Urahara Kisuke - Aurus Ishida Uryuu - Duo Yoruichi - Shanny Kurosaki Isshin - Flint Kurosaki Yuzu - Fallen Kurosaki Karin - Duo Arisawa Tatsuki - Red Tigress Tsumugi Ururu - NightBeck Kon - Red Tigress Kon Kanonji - Flint Abarai Renji - Enin Ichimaru Gin - Demonboy Shiba Ganju - Red Shiba Kuukaku - Evil Aizen Sousuke - Shanny Hinamori Momo - Duo Yamada Hanatarou - NightBeck Hitsugaya Toushirou - Red Kusajishi Yachiru - Fallen Honsho Chizuru - Evil Madarame Ikkaku - Evil If there are any characters that you don't see listed and would like to voice, please drop either Duo or I a PM. If you notice that we have you voicing a character that you would rather not, or are unable to, let either of us know and we'll remove you from the list. If you need clarification on who your character is and where he or she appears, likewise. Basically, if you've any questions/concerns/comments, drop us a line. How did we decide the cast, you may be asking? Well, it was a bit of a combination of who we knew people liked, and who we thought could do a good job based on how we know them. Yes, some people have more than others, and yes, there are a LOT of female actors for male characters. The fact is that neither of us know too many guys around here well enough to make a casting decision we could be secure with, and we welcome any suggestions from you gentlemen. How will we go about recording these sessions? We are not one hundred percent sure yet, but I am taking a look at several options. It is possible that we could record audio conversations over MSN, AIM, or other messenger services. If anyone has any ideas about the mechanics of recording such a project, PLEASE let me know! I would love some suggestions. How will the scripts be done? I have been writing out English scripts according to a combination of Lunar Fansubs' translations and the currently released Shounen Jump manga. Writing the scripts themselves is fairly easy, but believe it or not, synchronizing the dialogue to the characters' mouths in the animation is a very painstaking and difficult process. So far, I have been doing it for my own characters, but for the most part, not for any others. My idea on this is that once I have finished the script for the scenes we want to do, I will pass the file on to each character in the scene so that they can synchronize their own dialogue. This is not only to reduce my own workload, but to give each actor some freedom over how they play their characters. As long as the meanings of the lines remain the same, we welcome each actor's ideas about their characters' personalities. That's all I have for you for now. Stay tuned for any more information, and direct any questions to me or Duo via PM. Thanks! Love and peace!

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Sunday, July 10, 2005

   *yaaaaawn*

I've been having some trouble falling asleep, but that's not important. XD What is important is that I have Monday and Tuesday off, a karate class on Tuesday, a voice lesson on Monday, and on Wednesday I'm leaving for a week-long trip to New York and visiting certain dear friends in Florida! I love vacations. I love them good. XD The only real problem is that I need to take my camera and my laptop, but I can't take two carry-on things on the plane, and I can't check either of them... I need a something big enough to carry the laptop AND the camera, with the latter in a very padded and protected space. I'm also a little worried that the X-ray machine things might do something to the camera... I know I have to remove the film first, but could anything else happen to it? It's ancient. Canon EOS 650, from 1989, manual focus and everything... That be all for now. Working a loooong shift today, must leave in half an hour. Love and peace, and aku soku zan! (It has occurred to me that I have failed miserably and did not post Aurus-kun's Periodical Anime Reviews for the month of June. I will get one up tomorrow, and try to do another by the end of July. We shall see.) (Also, Duo and I have a little project in the making that some of you already know about - I will elaborate tomorrow, and release.... *dun dun DUN* The Cast List...)

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005

   Whee.

Day off today! Yaaaay. XD Not only that, but... I've got kittens! ^___^; Since the shelter is closed on Monday and Tuesday, we don't want to keep the younger kittens in cages if there won't be customers looking at them, so I've taken three of them home with me until Wednesday when we re-open. They are ADORABLE. Photographs of cuteness. Go, see, love. *squee* Now if you'll excuse me, I need to run out and buy more kitty litter.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

   Cha-ching?...

Everyone, thank you SO much for your wishes on Sunday. I did get the job, and I officially started yesteday (Monday). It's a full-time position, but fortunately I have an afternoon shift - from noon until nine at night - which is much easier than a nine-to-five job would be, so I'm thankful for that. (... I'm actually working closer to fifty hours this week, since I don't get a break until Monday, but it's okay. I get paid overtime. XDD ) Anyway, I probably won't be able to comment very much until Monday, but thankyou to those who've been visiting. ^_^; Love and peace!

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Sunday, June 26, 2005

   Long time, no see (again)!

Not much is going on, but I figured I should just drop by and apologize for not commenting and generally playing dead for a while... My WashPIRG job kind of fell through, and I've applied for a paying position at the animal shelter I volunteer at. I'm supposed to find out this afternoon whether or not I got it. Needless to say, I'm pretty anxious. It'll be close to full-time, but hey, that's more money for me, right?... If I do get it, I'll be pretty busy , so I may not be around much... and if I don't get it, I'll be filling out my application to... *sigh*... Office Depot... I REALLY hope I get the job... Love and peace!

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Monday, June 20, 2005

Whee!

Quick! I need a PC computer game recommendation, something very cool and very fun, with fighting and action and stuff, preferrably involving fantasy/dragons/et cetera... ... any ideas? (The computer has massive RAM and the best video card possible, so don't be concerned with that. Just recommend. XDD )

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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Oooooh.

First order of business: Laptops CAN be sexy. Second order of business: ... pretty much, nothing else is going on. Ceremony tonight... Aaah, I forgot to feed the rabbit I'm house-sitting this morning... but I can go and do it as soon as our guests leave, so no worries. That's one hell of a healthy rabbit, anyway.

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