Sunday, August 6, 2006

I feel obligated to provide an explanation as to why there have been no updates as of late. On top of the general lack of activity during the past few weeks, in a recent post, Adam announced that the Articles section of theOtaku will be closing in the near future. However, he has offered to make an Articles function on myO as a replacement, and until these plans are fully revealed, we cannot honestly say what will become of SOAP. We are tentatively planning to move SOAP elsewhere, most likely to LiveJournal, and transform it into an articles site of its own. In any case, regular updates are on hold at least until everything is sorted out, and I apologize for this extremely late notice.

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Sunday, July 16, 2006

Latest Articles --Two of Sangome Wilder's articles have been posted: first, "In Defense Of Hohenheim (revised)," and second, an Elfen Lied fic titled, "Let’s Talk About Mariko." Works in Progress Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She will soon start up her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" article again. --Also, a new series that introduces Elfen Lied characters to new fans. First up is Lucy/Nyuu. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children article have all been put on hold indefinitely. Taltos's works in progress: --She has submitted an article on Wild Adapter, so look out for it in the coming days! --She has made some progress on her Chrono Crusade articles about religion and the symbolism of time. --She is also writing a Saiyuki article on contrast/duality. --A Wolf's Rain article on the topic of tragedy. --And a .hack//SIGN article about death. bellpickle's works in progress: --She is planning to write a quick humor fic that will be set up as a fake lesson on how to write bad fanfiction. --Other than that, she is putting her articles on hold in order to work on other non-article writings, partly in preparation of her half-analysis, half-fanfiction L article. --However, she is still planning to write her guide to BJDs once her first BJD arrives in the mail a couple weeks from now. Fasteriskhead's works in progress: --He has made some progress on his Black Lagoon piece, an investigation of the relationship between Rock and Revy (which will include references to Marx). He has tweaked the introduction, gotten through the sections of the article centered on episodes 5 and 6, and has done some editing. Collaborations --The debate collab, where SOAPers discuss various topics in anime. This has been put on hold until more members are available to participate. --Also, a series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Until next week!

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Sunday, July 9, 2006

Latest Articles --The first and second articles of the Debate! collab have been posted. The first is "Anime vs. Manga" and the second is "Subs vs. Dubs." --bellpickle's "The Pillows: My Foot Tour Concert Report" was also posted. Works in Progress Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She will begin writing an analysis of her favorite character from Elfen Lied, Mariko. --She will soon finish writing her revised defense article of Hohenheim from FMA fame. --She is putting her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" article on hold until her other articles are completed. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children article have all been put on hold indefinitely. Taltos's works in progress: --She has made some progress on her Chrono Crusade articles about religion and the symbolism of time. --She is also writing a Saiyuki article on contrast/duality. --A Wolf's Rain article on the topic of tragedy. --And a .hack//SIGN article about death. bellpickle's works in progress: --She is putting her articles on hold in order to work on other non-article writings, partly in preparation of her half-analysis, half-fanfiction L article. --However, she is still planning to write her guide to BJDs once her first BJD arrives in the mail a couple weeks from now. Katana's works in progress: --She is facing writer's block on the quiz-'n-article project, and has put it on hold. --Also, her report on the famous Missingno glitch in the good ol' Pokemon GameBoy cartridge games has been delayed due to computer problems. --Lastly, she is thinking of writing a con guide for newbies. Fasteriskhead's works in progress: --He has made some progress on his Black Lagoon piece, an investigation of the relationship between Rock and Revy (which may or may not include references to Marx). He has tweaked the introduction and gotten through the sections of the article centered on episodes 5 and 6. Collaborations --The debate collab, where SOAPers discuss various topics in anime. This has been put on hold until more members are available to participate. --Also, a series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Until next week!

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Sunday, July 2, 2006

We've added Fasteriskhead to our members list, and we expect to begin posting updates for him next week. Works in Progress Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She is putting her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" article on hold until her other articles are completed. --She will begin writing an analysis of her favorite character from Elfen Lied, Mariko. --She will soon finish writing her revised defense article of Hohenheim from FMA fame. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children article have all been put on hold. Taltos's works in progress: --She is steadily progressing on a Saiyuki article on contrast/duality. --She is also writing a Wolf's Rain article on the topic of tragedy. --She is also planning a .hack//SIGN article about death. --A Chrono Crusade article about the symbolism of time. --And she is thinking of writing an article on Myst, a series of puzzle-based games. bellpickle's works in progress: --She finished writing her report on a recent concert of The Pillows, and expects to submit it some time this week. --She is considering writing an article on Loveless, possibly an analysis of the recurring symbols throughout the series. --She will write a beginner's guide to BJDs (Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls), but does not expect to work on this until she receives her first BJD in the mail a few weeks from now. Collaborations --The debate collab, where SOAPers discuss various topics in anime. The first two articles of this series were submitted. --Also, a series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Thank you for reading!

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Sunday, June 25, 2006

Works in Progress The Mask is kinda busy in his adventure as a novice in the world of Ragnarok... err... I mean... College!!! So he won't guarantee any updates in the upcoming weeks. However, here are some of The Mask's plans for his next articles: --A sequel to his very first theOtaku.com article, "Anime Tourist Spots" --A revised version of his previous Detective Conan article, "Secret Behind the Names". He plans to do a revised edition of this because it lacks some more detail, plus he can't stand the fact that he made a lot of mistakes in that article and that leaving the article as it is will let fans be misled with wrong information. --He is also thinking up of making a Detective Conan analysis about a certain thing privileged DC fans do and relating it to the plot and message of DC. --Oh, and since he has received reports that "Top Ten" articles will always be rejected, he won't submit any Top Ten lists until the report can ultimately be verified. Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She expects to put the finishing touches on her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" very soon, so be looking for it to be posted in the near future. --She is planning to write an analysis of her favorite character from Elfen Lied, Mariko. --A few secret surprise articles, including a sequel to one of her most popular articles. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children article have all been put on hold. Taltos's works in progress: --She started on a Saiyuki article on contrast/duality. --She also started on a Wolf's Rain article on the topic of tragedy. --She is also planning a .hack//SIGN article about death. --And a Chrono Crusade article about the symbolism of time. bellpickle's works in progress: --She finished writing her report on a recent concert of The Pillows, and expects to submit it some time this week. --Sadly, she decided to discontinue her work on the Play! concert report in order to focus on other writings. -She is considering writing an analysis of the recurring symbols throughout Loveless, though she does not expect to start on this until after the debate collab is complete. Collaborations --Again, the most progress this week has been made on the debate collab, where SOAPers discuss various topics in anime. The first article of this series was already submitted, and the second one will be submitted either today or tomorrow. --Also, a series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Thank you for reading!

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Sunday, June 18, 2006

We've added a new member to SOAP. Everyone say hello to The Mask, who we will begin posting updates for next week. Latest Articles --Taltos' article titled "Innocence Lost: Youth And Gundam Wing" explores how the age of the main characters affects their role in the series. Works in Progress Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She expects to put the finishing touches on her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" very soon, so be looking for it to be posted in the near future. --She is also planning a few secret, surprise articles. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children article have all been put on hold. Taltos's works in progress: --A .hack//SIGN article about death. --And a Chrono Crusade article about the symbolism of time. Kastom --He's made some progress on his massive article that he has code named “Genders.” It should be posted in a couple of weeks so we’ll just have to wait until then to see what this hush-hush article is about! --He has yet another underdog series in the works about “Whispers of the Heart.” --Lastly, he is planning on writing another video game article, this one directed more towards old-school gamers. bellpickle's works in progress: --She is planning to begin writing the Play! concert report some time this week. --Since she is attending the Pillows concert on Tuesday, she will write a concert report for that as well. SunfallE’s works in progress: --Her 2nd wallpaper themed collaboration with her friend, Mariskah, is coming along. --She's also planning a Howl's Moving Castle article that looks at the idea that when Howl gained Calcifer he lost the ability to grow up. --Also, she plans to see if she can take the idea of how nothing is evil and only becomes that way through a series of choices and apply that to Princess Mononoke. Collaborations --The most progress this week has been made on the debate collab, where SOAPers discuss various topics in anime. Currently, two topics have been thoroughly discussed, and they will be submitted as two seperate articles some time this week. --Also, a series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Thank you for reading!

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Sunday, June 11, 2006

Latest Articles --In our first article of the week, Sangome Wilder brings us “The ‘Deadly Sins’ of Elfen Lied”. In it, she discusses how many of the main characters of this series each represent a certain sin. --Next, taltos brings us an analysis of the effect of Saiyuki Reload's numberless and huge manga chapter, the "Burial" arc in her article entitled ”Act XX: Burial” --Rounding out the week, we have the unstoppable Kastom with the latest in his Underdog series: ”Underdog: Whistle!” Works in Progress Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She expects to put the finishing touches on her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" very soon, so be looking for it to be posted in the near future. --She is planning a humor article for Father’s Day but its topic is a surprise (aren’t SOAPer’s super secretive?!). --She is also planning a few other surprise articles as well. --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children have all been put on hold for a while. Taltos's works in progress: --A Gundam Wing article on the effect of youth that's due up early next week. --A .hack//SIGN article about death [lovely] --And finally, a Chrono Crusade article about the symbolism of time Kastom --His massive article that he has code named “Genders” is making excellent progress. It should be posted in a couple of weeks so we’ll just have to wait until then to see what this hush-hush article is about! --He has yet another underdog series in the works about “Whispers of the Heart”. Bellpickle's works in progress: --Bell’s submissions may taper off over the next two weeks due to finals but our reward will be her report from the Play! Video Game concert and maybe this two weeks will be the time she needs for the inspiration to finish her L article. Katana's works in progress: --She is facing writer's block on the quiz-'n-article article section but she promises that it is still coming along. - She is about halfway finished with a report and explanation on the famous Missingno glitch in the good ol' Pokemon GameBoy cartridge games. SunfallE’s works in progress: SunfallE has had a computer problem and lost all of her work so her articles will be coming slowly but surely. Here’s a recap of what she is working on (read: having to rewrite!): -- Her 2nd wallpaper themed collaboration with her friend, Mariskah, is coming along. --She's also planning a Howl's Moving Castle article that looks at the idea that when Howl gained Calcifer he lost the ability to grow up. - Also, she plans to see if she can take the idea of how nothing is evil and only becomes that way through a series of choices and apply that to Princess Monoke Collaborations in progress Collabs have slowed in progress due to the busy life (finals are a drag) of SOAPers, but here is a recap of what we are working on: --The debate collab where SOAPers will discuss various topics in anime. --A series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. See you next week!

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Sunday, June 4, 2006

Latest Articles --Ryu and Katana have started a series called “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” in which they hold discussions on different fan works around the O. This week they have posted two: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, For Articles and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Quizzes --SunFallE has overcome a computer crash to bring us ”The Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Style”. This article is a brief look at how (and if) the different sword techniques used in the Ruroken series would work in real life. --Taltos has finished yet another collab and FFVII article with Neoterik this week. “A Basic Freudian Analysis Of The Remnants” analyzes the villains of FFVII and Advent Children in the context of a Freudian assessment of the psyche. --Kastom defends the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker game in his latest article “The Wind Waker: It Never Really Awoke”. --Kastom has finished another T.W.I.T. article as well: ”T.W.I.T. – Nintendo And Sony”. --Lastly, bellpickle's Princess Tutu article was posted this week. "The False Knight And His Swan Princess" is an analysis of the relationship between the characters Fakir and Ahiru. Works in Progress Taltos's works in progress: --She is putting the finishing touches on her SaiYuki article analyzing the Burial Arc. --She is having some trouble with her article about the Saiyuki's main characters' names, but let’s hope she is able to muddle through it and bring us more Saiyuki goodness! Kastom --His massive article that he has code named “Genders” is making excellent progress. It should be posted in a couple of weeks so we’ll just have to wait until then to see what this hush-hush article is about! --He has two ideas for articles in his Underdog series. --His Naruto article is still in the works as well. Bellpickle's works in progress: --Bell’s submissions may taper off over the next two weeks due to finals but our reward will be her report from the Play! Video Game concert and maybe this two weeks will be the time she needs for the inspiration to finish her L article. Katana's works in progress: -- The quiz-'n-article stage 2 part should start making progress now that summer break is here. --She and Ryu are planning a great collab where they will watch a video together and have a recorder going during the movie for conversation. The working title is TRT (Tape Recorder Talk). This is on hold until they can decide on and acquire a movie or series to discuss. Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --She is having a having a bit of writers block so her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia, her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa , and her Advent Children have all been put on hold for a while. -- Her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" is almost finished and is expected to be posted sometime this week. --She is also planning a few surprise articles as well (a possible article about Elfin Lied for one), so be on the look out for those! SunfallE’s works in progress: SunfallE has had a computer problem and lost all of her work so her articles will be coming slowly but surely. Here’s a recap of what she is working on (read: having to rewrite!): -- Her 2nd wallpaper themed collaboration with her friend, Mariskah, is coming along. --She's also planning a Howl's Moving Castle article that looks at the idea that when Howl gained Calcifer he lost the ability to grow up. - Also, she plans to see if she can take the idea of how nothing is evil and only becomes that way through a series of choices and apply that to Princess Monoke Collaborations in progress Collabs have slowed in progress due to the busy life of SOAPers, but here is a recap of what we are working on: --The debate collab where SOAPers will discuss various topics in anime. --A series highlighting underdog anime and manga. --An ACEN 2006 report --An "If It Were Anime" article. Thanks for reading!

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Sunday, May 28, 2006

Latest Articles --Taltos has submitted an analysis of the effect of Yuki Kajiura's score on .hack//SIGN as a whole called .hack ~ Reprise: Yuki Kajiura And Her O S T. Works in Progress Ryu-chan's works in progress: --Ryu-chan is back in action and is currently working on an article critiquing manga art styles. Taltos's works in progress: --Her second collab with Neoterik is nearly finished and is expected to be posted tomorrow. --She’s about to start work on an article about the literal meanings of Saiyuki's main characters' names. (Yes! Another SY Article!!). Kastom --Our favorite new kitty is well on on his way to completing an article on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and how it is a very underrated game. --He has two ideas for articles in his Underdog series. --He is also writing an article on a very large, and very broad topic that will probably end up being a massive editorial. It is such a large article, he expects it to take a week or two to complete. He won’t give much info for fear of running the surprise, but he gives us the hint that it is largely based around genders. --His Naruto article is still in the works. --He is also planning another T.W.I.T. article with Backlash regarding the eternal debate of Nintendo and Playstation. Kastom assures us it won’t be the tired old debate about which is better, but he is keeping the actual topic under wraps. Bellpickle's works in progress: -- Her top-secret analysis on the series Princess Tutu is complete and will be submitted for approval at the O in the next couple of days. --Her report from the Play! Video Game concert is on the “to do” list. Katana's works in progress: --The quiz-'n-article stage 2 part on hold until summer break, which is in one week. --She and Ryu are planning a great collab where they will watch a video together and have a recorder going during the movie for conversation. The working title is TRT (Tape Recorder Talk). --While she is putting off another Fruits Basket article until she receives some inspiration, she has decided to do an article comparing FMA to D.Gray-man. Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --Her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia has been delayed but she is still working on it. --She is expecting to finish both her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa and her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" sometime this week. --She also expects to start on an Advent Children article soon though she hasn’t picked out a topic yet. --She will also be doing an article defending characters that aren’t so well liked. --She is also planning a few surprise articles as well, so be on the look out for those! SunfallE’s works in progress: SunfallE has had a computer problem and lost all of her work so her articles will be coming slowly but surely. Here’s a recap of what she is working on (read: having to rewrite!): --Her article detailing the sword techniques used in theRurouni Kenshin is closest to being rewritten. She hopes to have it finished by next week or so. -- Her 2nd wallpaper themed collaboration with her friend, Mariskah. --She's also planning a Howl's Moving Castle article that looks at the idea that when Howl gained Calcifer he lost the ability to grow up. - Also, she plans to see if she can take the idea of how nothing is evil and only becomes that way through a series of choices and apply that to Princess Monoke Collaborations in progress --Bellpickle has already written her part of the ACEN 2006 report collab and Katana will be adding her part soon, so this collab should be apearing in the near future. --The debate collab is coming along nicely. Members have come up with some great subjects to discuss and will be meeting online to get it started very soon. -- Kastom’s idea for highlighting underdog series is up and running. --ryu6fw has started a collab idea based off Katana's "If It Were Anime" aricle. See you next time (same SOAP time, same SOAP channel).

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Sunday, May 21, 2006

Latest Articles --Katsom has finished his first article about lesser-known anime/manga that looks as if it will be turning into a series and possibly even some SOAP collabs. The first installment is entitled Underdogs: The Kindaichi Files and it introduces us to the little known manga of the same name. --Katsom also posted a debate type collab: T.W.I.T.-Mecha Vs. Story. This is a free talk debate with Baclkash Wave pondering what people watch Gundam Seed for (the mechas or the story). --Think the twelve animals (that we know and love in Furuba) are all there is to the Chinese zodiac? Of course not! Katana tells us all about the other elements in her latest piece: Zodiac Elemental Nature. --Taltos has submitted The Rhetoric of FFVII and Advent Children for your reading pleasure. This article is really in-depth and collaborative effort with Neoterik that analyzes the respective structures and merits of both FFVII and Advent Children. Finally, we have another SOAP collab with tips and advise on article writing conveniently called SOAP’s Guide to Article Writing Works in Progress Taltos's works in progress: --Her analysis of the impact of .hack//SIGN's original soundtrack on the anime is complete and has been submitted so expect to see it in the next couple of days. --She’s about to start work on an article about the literal meanings of Saiyuki's main characters' names. (Yes! Another SY Article!!). --Another collab with Neoterik is also in the works. Katsom --His Naruto article is still being researched but is coming along nicely. --He is also planning another T.W.I.T. article with Backlash regarding the eternal debate of Nintendo and Playstation. Katsom assures us it won’t be the tired old debate about which is better, but he is keeping the actual topic under wraps. Bellpickle's works in progress: --Her top secret analysis on the series Princess Tutu is taking longer than expected, but should be finished by sometime next week. --Bell has put her ACEN con report on hold to finish up her Princess Tutu article but she expects to resume it next week as well. --Her report from the Play! Video Game concert is on the “to do” list. --Her L article is on hold indefinitely or until she gets some inspiration. Katana's works in progress: -- The quiz-'n-article stage 2 part on hold until summer break, which is in two weeks. -- Though she has submitted a Fruits Basket article, she is already planning another one. --She and Ryu are planning a great collab where they will watch a video together and have a recorder going during the movie for conversation. The working title is TRT (Tape Recorder Talk). Sangome Wilder’s works in progress: --Her article defending Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia has been delayed but she is still working on it. --She is expecting to finish both her analysis of Evangelion's Kaworu Nagisa and her "Differences Between the Hagane Anime and Manga" sometime this week. --She also expects to start on an Advent Children article soon though she hasn’t picked out a topic yet. --She will also be doing an article defending characters that aren’t so well liked. SunfallE’s works in progress: SunfallE has had a computer problem and lost all of her work so her articles will be coming slowly but surely. Here’s a recap of what she is working on. --Her 2nd wallpaper themed collaboration with her friend, Mariskah. --Her article detailing the sword techniques used in theRurouni Kenshin. --She's also planning a Howl's Moving Castle article that looks at the idea that when Howl gained Calcifer he lost the ability to grow up. - Also, she plans to see if she can take the idea of how nothing is evil and only becomes that way through a series of choices and apply that to Princess Monoke Shinkiro's works in progress: --She plans to finish her article about anime galleries online sometime in the near future. --She would like to start on a couple of more of her articles ideas but with school, article production for Shinkiro will probably be slowing down. Collaborations in progress --The debate collab is coming along nicely. Members have come up with some great subjects to discuss and will be meeting online to get it started very soon. -- Katsom’s idea for highlighting underdog series will probably be getting started soon. --Bellpickle and Katana should be starting their ACEN report as soon as they sort through all their goodies! --ryu6fw has started a collab idea based off Katana's "If It Were Anime" aricle. This has been put on hold because ryu-san is having computer problems. See you all next week

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