Nana MarfoA student with a passion for game development and all things Japan. Archives
September 2020
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Hey all! So the course I wanted to do at university originally was unsubscribed, so I ended up going an animation course instead at the same university. This is more helpful to me, as while I do have both artistic and programming skills, I find that I know more about the programming side, and that the programming is a bit easier for me to learn. However, changing to this course required me to use a program called Autodesk Maya, the indestury standard for 3D modelling and animation.
I will say straight off the bat that Maya is a lot more stable than blender, and I recommend that you start using Blender for 3 reasons:
Blender being free is the big upside to me here. Because of this, I find that Blender is more accessible to younger people, who have little to no money. It's also not helpful that Maya and 3D Max cost about £1,700 a year, which a lot of small studios don't have.
As for the Maya experience? Well, I still think Blender is better, because a lot of the stuff is more logically laid out to me, plus the rendering engines (Arnold and Redshift) for me don't really feel as quick and easy as Cycles or Eevee. I will say that I like that Redshift auto lights your scene for you if you have no Lighting. Also you have to pay more money Redshift, which is just great, isn't it?
Here I have 2 scenes that I made, the Blender one is on the left, the Maya one is on the right. I admit that this isn't a super fair comparison, but I wanted to talk more about the modelling experience rather than everything else, since I don't know how to make procedural textures in Maya yet.
Here's I observed: I found that model overall was easier to make in Blender. I think that Maya is very powerful, in fact I can say that the scene felt easier to make, because it felt like the scene it came together better, as well as the fact that Maya uses On screen Gizmos, making things idiot proof, especially if you have used 3D software before this. However, I felt that the model was easier to make in Blender. I admit this partly because I'm more use to using the tools there, but I also felt that Maya gave me less control, since I am getting used to Maya pretty quickly. I can see why Maya would be useful for businesses, as does have a lot of powerful tools that I haven't used fully yet admittedly, and I think that it is easier to learn... if you are studying with the software at a specialised school or University. I feel like besides that though, there is no point in using Maya, because Blender is getting to a point of getting a point where it's easier to learn and can do everything Maya can do and more. Plus it's FREE, which makes my choice by default Before I end off, I also need to say this: Unity Chan Dash has had to restart development. The files that had with Unity broke during a transfer between versions of the engine, and the files corrupted. This is fine however, as there a LOT of things in the game need to be fixed, and I have started working on a new character controller.
That's it for now! Thank you to GoddessReanne for supporting me with one-off coffees. If you would like support me, you can do via the orange button below!
But for now, thanks for reading, and I will see you guys next time! Written By Nana Marfo Blender 2.8(C)Blender Corporation Autodesk Maya 2018(C)Autodesk.Inc
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The Devil is a Part Timer:First Impressions22/10/2019
More anime! So before we start finishing more anime, we need to start some more because priories. This is something which I heard about a lot, but never got around to. However, the anime society at my university has started to watch this, so I figured I should review it.
Rules: 1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here. 2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. 3. I am watching the subbed version. This is my first impression of The Devil is a Part-Timer. In the ocean, Ignora, lies a conspicuously large landform. It surrounded by 4 lslands in the shape of a cross. This is the land protected by Gods, Ente Isla.
So we begin with a war breaking out in Ente Isla, and Satan with 3 of his servents are leading the charge. After 2 of them are killed, and a hero invades his main hideout he retreats with Alsiel, and swears to take over Ente Isla when he returns.
We then cut to several 1000 years in the future, when Satan and Alsiel are now human, meaning that they are no longer able to use magic. Because there is no record of who they are, they are taken to the police station and questioned. I'll be honestly, I do like that there was some stakes here, as it sets it's self out from other comedy series.
After questioning, they learn more about how the world of Earth works, getting new names, oping a bank account and getting a house thanks to the landlord of Shiba Miki, who wants to take on people from unknown backgrounds. They seem to be settling in well, and I will says that the transltion was pretty fast, but I like it, gets things rolling and at a good pace.
After a trip to the hospital, where Satan gets an IV drip, he realises that he needs to take on a part time job, because the IV costs about the same as a month of rent. As such, he gets part time job at MgRonald's, named that because copyright laws, while Astral find a way to get their magic back. We also meet Satan's coworkers, who call him Maou in the work place. Is that short for Waga Maou? The link has the reference for those that don't know, and for those that do know some how anime has given the chance to make a Kamen Rider reference for the 2nd week in a row.
Ok I'm getting off topic. We meet Chiho Saskiai, Maou's co-worker and Kizaki, his boss. Maou is currently working setting a record on how many Black Pepper Fries that he can sell in a week, to beat the MgRonald's in the district, but the deep frier breaks, and he's unable to finish his shift well, but despite that, he becomes a full time employee. Nice, though the title makes no sense now.
However, in one last twist, it's revealed that The Hero who stopped Satan all those years ago survived, and she turns out to be a girl name Emilia, who he ending up helping earlier because she didn't have an umbrella. I'll save my comments on the ending theme for my full review. I do like the twist at the end, and I'm interested to see what hijinks come from it, especially if Emilia tries to go to work at McDon- I mean MgRonalds. I also wouldn't be surprised if Japan ends up being Ente Isla. The anime looks good for the most part, and I link the contrast of the medieval battle at the beginning, contrasted with the standard anime style of the rest of the episode. Overall I enjoyed this episode, and I'm glad I got to start this anime, as it feels like a good slice of life that will turn a LOT of concepts on it's head.
Well this was fun to watch! Thanks to the anime society at my uni for introducing me to this anime. I won't say what uni I go to just yet, but if you know me, you probably already know hehe.
Anyways, that's it! Thanks for reading, and I will catch you guys next time. Written by Nana Marfo The Devil is A Part Timer(C)White Fox
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My Hero Academia Season 3: Review15/10/2019
Ok, so full transparency, this took way longer that I wanted it to, but I managed to get it done! Right around the time the new season is starting.
Eh. Anyways, we continue our journey into the life Izuku Midoriya and UA High school. But it seems there is an even bigger threat on the Horizon. Rules as always: 1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here. 2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. 3. I am watching the subbed version. Time to go full hero mode! This is my review of My Hero Academia Season 3.
Let's jump to the end of Season 2 for a second. During the last episode, Tomura met up with Himiko Toga, a girl who has caused multiple murders and Dabi, a dude who honestly doesn't make that much of a first impression besides the fact that he looks like a patchwork quilt. This was the beginning of something we will see as a constant theme in this season, the growth of Shigaraki Tomura's cause.
So Class 1-A and 1-B end up going on a summer training camp. Training them is the Wild Wild Pussycats, a 4 person hero agency, who send Class 1-A on a wilderness hike to destroy monsters. Watching them is Kota, a kid that hates the idea of the Super-Human society obsessed with heroes. During a nightime training exercise. Both Classes get attacked by the Vanguard League of Villains, a group that is an extension of Tomura's original league of villains. They are looking for Bakugo, but Deku ends up saving Kota from Muscular, a dude that just want to be able to fight for the sake of fighting. He killed Kota's parents(hence why he was with the Pussycats), and Deku learns that they are after Bakugo. After taking on Muscular, is what a is a VERY well animated fight, Deku joins up with Todoroki and Bakugo are trying to stop both Moonfish, a convicted murder on death row(JESUS CHRIST) and Tokoyami, who quirk Dark Shadow is out of control because it is nightime, and that is when his quirk becomes harder to control.
They defeat Moonfish in part thanks to Tokoyami's quirk, and the Group meets up with Uraraka and Tsuyu who have been fighting Himiko Toga. She's a yandere, but I'll get into this fight when I analyse Uraraka's arc for this season. Bakugo and Tokoyami are taken by the Vanguard League of Villains, and despite a spirted effort by Deku, Todoroki and Shoji(He had been with the group since the Moonfish incident), they end up losing Bakugo to the League of Villeins. Deku ends up injured thanks to his effort against Muscular and all of Class 1-A go to visit him, with Kirishima and Todoroki having a plan in order to go a save Bakugo. Momo made a tracking device that she gave to the police and All Might to track Tomura's movements, and using a copy of that tracker, Deku, Kirishima, Todoroki, Momo and an uneasy Iida head out to save Bakugo. However the heroes end up going to the hideout, but the 5 students end up going to the Nomu factory where artificial Nomus are made.
The pro heroes and Police invade both the League of Villans hideout and the Nomu Factory, however their plans are stopped when Nomus start warping into the city, and Bakugo and the Villeins are warped to the Nomu factory by All for One, who presence ends up giving the now hiding students "hallucinations of Death". All Might arrives and soon afterwards, Bakugo is saved and Tomura and his gang of villains are sent away. All for One and All Might have their final battle which involves a lot of mind f**kery from All for One.
So early when Tomura was asked where All for One was, he had a flashback to his past, and we learn that his name was originally Tenko Shimura, and All for One tells us that he's the Grandson of Nana Shimura. This breaks All Might, but he manages to take out One for All with what I call the Godsend Punch, despite it costing him what remains of All for One.
After that, UA end up implementing the Dorms System, and while there was some pushback from Enko, Deku's mother, all of the 1-A students enter the dorms as part of Training to get their hero licences and this where the story once again stops for a bit to look more into how individual characters can improve themselves as heroes. An example of this is Kaminari, where he ends up adding a shooting disk drive that allows to concentrate electric shocks better in one spot. This ends up them taking an exam with all the other hero academics that ends up with everyone but Bakugo and Todoroki passing.
Bakugo after this calls out Deku to a fight, have figured out that Deku's power is passed down from All Might, with Bakugo feeling partially responsible for the end of All Might. The two fight with Bakugo winning through, however due to this they are put on house arrest. After that, Deku ends up meeting the Big Three of UA. Mirio Togata challenges Class 1-A to a fight... and they get their asses handed to them. And that's the story. I honestly found a lot better than season 2 character focused story, not that season 2 was bad, but there a lot more done to flesh out the bigger picture here. There is one new villain that I am skimming over, but he doesn't really do anything here.
The villains are a mix bag this season. While I like the expanded league of villains, Spinner and Magne don't really stick out, Magne especially, he honestly feels like an afterthought. I'm fine with Moonfish being a one off villain because he's a convict so like Muscular, he may have just wanted to kill people. Twice has the same problem, but his backstory is that he cloned himself and nearly got killed, and Dabi is pretty interesting. I wouldn't be surmised if he was one of Endeavour's failed experiments.
What do you want me to say about Toga? She's a Yandere. Yandere's are scary, though that does make me wanna watch Mirai Nikki, but that's besides the point. She can also clone people. She doesn't really use in any meaningful way beside using it to flirt with Deku. That was a thing. All for One is the best villain of the season hands-down, and I want to say the series so far. His motivation is the same as Tomura's, the idea that society is twisted against certain people, but his power is insane! I need to see the first fight between All Might and All for One, just to get a scope of how powerful this guy can get. On top of that, he ends working his way into All Might's brain, bringing up Nana Shimura just to taunt him. For those wondering, Nana Shimura is the former One for All holder. The way he is presented as villain is just amazing, and I really hope he comes back in some shape or form.
In terms of character arcs, there is a lot less to talk about this season, as most of the character development was pushed to Ochako, Bakugo and Deku. Aoyama get's a small hint of story, talking about wanting to be equal, though it's not expanded on.
Ochako's arc involves her feelings towards Deku, which involves her trying to put her feeling aside after realising Deku is not letting anything distract him. Her fight with Toga involves her confronting those feelings head on because Toga figures out what's going on with her. It's small, but I like Ochako's smaller developments. It's honestly refreshing to see. Bakugo Arc is the big one for the entire season, and it's focused on him coming to terms with the fact that Deku, who was behind him for a lot of his life, is now as strong as him, and the one that All Might chose, as well as the fact that he feels if he was stronger, he could have helped All Might, and he would have to give up his power. The thing is, Bakugo is kinda of a prick. If it wasn't for Mineta he would probably be my least favorate character, because the way he acts is no where near what a hero should act like. This development made him better a character and maybe he'll get better later, but for me? I don't see what makes him so great. I do admitly like him a little bit more now, but he's still not that great to me.
Deku's arc this season is learning 2 things, the first being to surpass his limitations, which allows to use One for All:Full Cowl Shoot Style, where he uses the powers of the rider kick and DID NO ONE MAKE THAT JOKE YET?
The second is him now coming to terms that All Might is gone, and very soon the fate of the world and the shape of his dream is now in his hands alone. I found myself heavily invested in Deku's arc this season because it felt like was closer to becoming a true hero. In fact let me say this right now, I think is the best all-around hero of the 1st years, it's just that his power levels are inconsistent is all.
The animation levels have been turned up to 11, as all of the fight scenes a bring a spectacular energy to them. Make my Story by Lenny Code Fiction is a great opening theme, which I feel fits the theme of passing the torch. The use of Long Hope Philla as the ending theme is probably more for movie promotion than anything else, but I love the acoustic mix that is used here. And it's sung by Phillp from Kamen Rider W, so that's makes like it by default.
If I were to rank the seasons of MHA so far, I would put season 3 just above season 2, and far above season 1. I think that this season does a better job of expanding the overall story given to us, and I can't wait to see what's next.
This took me WAY to long, and I apologise for that! Now that this out of this is out of the way, we can get other anime's! I won't be watching season 4 as it is airing because I am MHA'ed out. However there are some other anime's that I want to look at, including Fairy Tail! Look forward to it!
Before I go, I want to take a moment to plug the Animator Dormitory Project. This was brought to my attention by Uniquenameosaurus, and they are a team looking to improve how young animators are treated in Japan. They have so far made 4 animator dormitories, and have housed 11 animators. As someone who is wildly against how corporations treat people, I think that this is a great inshitive, and that you should support it! Help young people! We want to shape our own futures! And that's it! Thank you all so much for reading, and I will catch you guys later! PLUS ULTRA! Written By Nana Marfo My Hero Academia(C)Toho Animation/Horikoshi
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In Review:September 20194/10/2019
The most stressful month of the year at times, September! A month of a LOT of new starts, but we will get to it.
Writing this month I sadly only wrote one thing this month, but I'm fine with that because I'm getting used to Uni life, and a lot of other things happened. I also wrote a few things for Game Savvy this month. Website posts I wrote this month Top 5 Characters I want for Smash Bros. Ultimate Game Savvy Posts this month Indivisable Demo Review Favourite Art posts this month
Awesome things I saw/read/did
-MoeGamer wrote a great article about differing tastes! He's also currently featuring Senran Kagura, so go check it out. -Kenshi Yonezu put out an AMAZING video for his new Song, Uma to Shika. I urge to please check it out if you can. -Harmonia has been working on her own Kingdom Hearts based Project! Go check it out, I can't wait to see it. -Tokyo Game Show brought us Trailers for both Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind and Final Fantasy VII Remake! -We also got a lot of info about The Last of Us Part 2, which I'm going to use an excuse to shout out my friend,SydneySushiChef! -Nintendo also announced that Terry Bogard is coming to Smash! -We also FINALLY got the announcement of Tokyo Mirage Sessions coming to Switch! -Some gameplay of May from Guilty Gear 2020 also caught my eye, and we also got all of the characters announced in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle 2.0! The first Reiwa Kamen Rider, Zero-One, began airing this month and it's pretty good so far! Games Played this month So my controller broke at the end of this month, which put a damper on my progress with Hyperdimention Neptunia. I am loving this game so much!
I also ended up playing a lot of Maplestory 2! The game is really fun to play, I'll probably play it more with my friendPrincessUsagi! Also congrats on your TwitchCon Trip Cece, I can tell you enjoyed it, and you deserved it!
Merch bought this month
WHERE IS THE FAIRY GOING?? I bought a Fairy Tail wallscroll! My first wallscroll as well, which is awesome!
Final Thoughts
September was a stressful month, as my course had to be changed at the last minunit, so I'm now doing Animation. My parents pushed against it, but I managed to get what I wanted. However, uni has been pretty awesome so far, however no pressure has come on to me yet, so that might have something to do with it. Shoutouts to my flatmates(sorry I'm so boring) and the people I met at the student's with disabilities mixer. October will probably be the month I forget to do some stuff,so bare with me on that regard, but I should hopefully have something out Tuesday. Also I hope I can finish MHA and review that finally. With that being said, thank you guys for reading, and I will catch you guys next time. Written By Nana Marfo |