Sunday, January 22, 2006

   I know it looks long, but I think it's about time you all learn about Immortal Rain...
Hey everybody, how's your Sunday going?

The big game is going on right now (I mean Football, but the way), and the Panthers are going up against the Seahawks. As some of you may already know, that means my parents are glued to the TV (while trying to multi-task things like laundry and such), and screaming like idiots. -_-' My mom does that during every Football game, and this time my Dad is even doing it! It's annoying when every 50 seconds they scare me half to death by screaming at the top of their lungs like a burglar just came in through the window. Man, I wish they'd shut up!
Speaking of this most important game, please root for the Panthers if you don't mind! ^_^ As some of you may remember, I mentioned a while ago that I'm a Carolina boy. I love it here. ^///^ So, please root for those Panthers!
Ya' know, it's weird hearing myself say that, because usually I couldn't care less about Football. I know that that's kinda' weird for a 16-year-old guy, but I honestly don't have 2 and 1/2 hours to sit down and watch a ball go back and forth. I'd rather just catch the last 10 minutes, and that's if I watch it at all. If I even want to know, I just ask someone "who won?" the day after the game. Does that make me weird?

Oh boy, I can hear my parents fighting now. -_-' Don't get me wrong, my parents don't ever fight the way most parents do. They argue over the issue, not call each other names or anything (and they never ever even come close to physically fighting). But still, it's nerve-wracking to hear them fight. *sigh*

Anyway, I need to ask you guys something. Is anyone else having trouble getting The Otaku to work recently? For the past 2 or 3 days, it's taken about 20 minutes and countless "Refresh" clicks to get a My Otaku page to load, especially my own page. Is anyone else experiencing this?
At first I thought it was 'Safe Eyes' screwing-up (like every blocking-program arbitrarily does *rolls eyes*), but I heard from Rosa the other night she was experiencing something similar. Is The Otaku being finicky for any of you as well?

I have another quick question for ya'. Did nobody see yesterday's post?
It's OK if you didn't, I just wanted to make sure that the glitches around here aren't screwing-up your comments as well. I wanna' know because I spent a fair amount of time on that post (like every post *rolls eyes again*). If you didn't see it yesterday, I'd appreciate you at least skimming yesterday's post, since part of it is about me actually buying my manga for once (yes, I know, "*gasp!*").

Well, as for my day today, I went on a solo manga-run today from about 2:30 to 5:30. I went to Barne's & Noble's this time, because my Dad couldn't drop me off at Boarders.
Surprisingly enough, they had a new manga for me to read. An FYI to all who are interested, the 2nd volume of the Kingdom Hearts manga is now available. I read that after spending nearly an hour doodling on the paper I brought with me (Nothing good came of it, just a zombie-doodle with incorrectly drawn clothing-folds).

After that, I re-skimmed my favorite volumes of Immortal Rain.
Let me tell ya', 'Immortal Rain' is probably the most underrated manga on the planet. I love that series! The art is positively spectacular, using lines that are thin but still smooth rather then angular. The characters are INCREDIBLY well-crafted, many of which look like something out of Kill Bill (one of my favorite movies!). The romance doesn't quite feel as natural as the tender moments between Keitaro & Naru for example, but they're still beautiful and incredibly heart-warming.
But what I like best about Immortal Rain is that it covers nearly all bases, yet still feels natural. Some parts will have you laughing out loud, while others will make your skin crawl. A good example of this is the artwork the artist separates the chapters with. Some will have Rain and Machika (the two main characters) in Feudal China or Military-wear, making you chuckle to yourself the same way the art in Fullmetal Panic does. Other times the pictures will be unsettlingly creepy, one of which had the main bad-guy (I won't tell you who it is yet, 'cause I want you to read it XP) giving a demented blank-stare towards the viewer, with his back to a wrecked city that was just went through a nuclear holocaust.
Even better examples of how Immortal Rain is varied yet still focused can be found in its main style. The story reminds me of an epic fairy-tale, one with a totally original plot and premise (no 'damsel in distress' that needs to be rescued, no evil sorcerers trying to take over the kingdom, none of those clichés). Yet, the story is told with the complexity and substance of a heavy Sci-Fi series. Though it feels like a fairy-tale, the story's elements are realer and more relatable (and for me, more enjoyable) since they deal with interesting ideas we're familiar with, rather then hiding behind the flimsy "It's magic!" excuse. Though there are some great animes using epic magical formulas, I personally enjoy the gun-fights, bio-mutants and speeding 18-wheelers being launched into an overpass much more, and having it structured like a classic 'Lord of the Rings'-style epic makes it even better. The Sci-Fi element also brings with it a lot of the fear and uneasiness contained in the manga, which can get pretty extreme in some parts. It's almost like a Resident Evil style Sci-Fi, but presented with an ominous Silent Hill-style of creepiness. This is particularly evident in the main bad-guy's plan for Rain and himself, which is a particularly clever plot-twist by the author that feels akin to the Twilight Zone (I won't tell you what that is either, but you'll find out when you read vol. 3!).
And the themes and ideas presented by the manga are deep! They may not be a match for the psychological, religious and political symbolism in the Evangellion series that seem to be derived from "The Lord Of the Flies", but it still delves into heavy issues we as humans deal with, such as war, God, personal loss, guilt, love, fear, murder, friendship, view-point, meaning, reality, introspection and much, much more. I want to get a couple volumes of the series not only for artistic reference, but also because I want to be able to give you some of the inspirational and frightening quotes from the manga word-for-word.

In closing, I'd like to thank ElvesAteMyRamen for introducing me to this jewel of a series. I read volumes 1 through 6 back in July, and I'm still in awe (though I don't say it enough). This is what, the 5th thing Elvzy suggested to me that I ended up loving? ^_^' Needless to say, I respect Lindsey-chan's opinion.

I honor of both Immortal Rain and the woman who introduced it to me, I'll leave you today with one of my favorite pieces by EAMR; "Machika and Rain":

I find this piece positively beautiful.
If I remember correctly, Lindsey used the manga (I believe volume 2) as a reference for the facial-expressions. However, the character-models referenced were in 2 separate frames, making the actual poses and positioning as a whole in this piece completely original. In addition, the very thing she referenced (the facial-expressions I mean) has been altered from what's in the actual manga, meaning Lindsey used less reference on this piece then I do on a lot of mine (and believe me, I sick at using references so I rarely use it).
Some of you may remember when I reviewed this piece about a year ago when it was submitted. Remember, I talked about how the background color and texture had "multiple interpretations"? Anyway, that can still be seen here. But, I'd like to hear what you think I mean by that. ~_' It's time to do some artistic thinking, people! Let's see whatcha' got!
Comments (4)