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Everything posted by Chernaudi
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My Guyver and Twilight Saga crossover fic that I've hinted at
Chernaudi replied to Chernaudi's topic in LET'S CREATING!
I had this idea since I became a fan of the Twilight novels and films in 2009. I had my first exposure to Bio-Booster Armor Guyver though the OVA cartoons after Manga Entertainment got the rights to them from US Renditions when I was around 10 years old. But knowing what I knew about Guyver and what I learned about Twilight, I wondered who would do better in a fight. Also, in Twilight, I think that someone needed to feared by the Volturi, aside from my OC's from the fan fic I've been working on, one of which is sort of a tribute to some Guyver characters. So I imagined a world where Chronos was defeated, and the Volturi was put in their place. But there's still an evil force out there that the Guyver and Twilight characters would be best equipped to deal with. I also wanted to write something kinda funny for light reading and also for those who wanted a Twilight story that was different. Well, Guyver is certainly different. And I also wanted to give the girls of Guyver some time to shine in the spotlight, especially Shizu and Natsuki. Hell, Shizu, Natsuki and Mizuki probably wouldn't be out of place reading Twilight, and I also added a sci-fi touch with there being something going on that's weird. I also had my own idea of how to prolong Shizu's life and give her the ability to do some stuff that she'd probably like to do if she survives her and Agito's battle with Chronos. Though with as much as a lot of know about Shizu, a lot of that stuff isn't too far out of scope for her, aside from what she becomes and how it effects her powers. You'd probably find more interesting stuff by reading the intro post, but I assume that you already did that. No matter, there's a lot more stuff here : http://www.japan-legend.com/forum/index.php/topic/7435-twilight-creatures-vs-guyver-creatures-and-my-idea-for-the-ultimate-battle-creature/ And less connected but still important to the background of the story: http://www.japan-legend.com/forum/index.php/topic/7642-women-in-guyver/ I hope that this helps out, though it's a bit breif (I have a few things to work on before I have some dinner), but feel free to ask more questions if you want to ask about something else, because I already get the feeling that this may raise more questions than answers -
My Guyver and Twilight Saga crossover fic that I've hinted at
Chernaudi replied to Chernaudi's topic in LET'S CREATING!
Hi again everyone. I haven't worked on my fan fic in over a month in a half, and I'm thinking of starting up again. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas or things that they'd like to talk about or questions that I could ponder while I get ready to get started again? -
<p>It seems that the Instagram video I posted yesterday was of the 2013 R18 at the same test as the new car, so this is for sure the new R18:</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://instagram.com/p/kAY5PhD5kb/#">http://instagram.com/p/kAY5PhD5kb/#</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Longer video:</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
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Recently retired Audi Le Mans driver--and 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans winner--Allan McNish commentating a lap from practice for the '13 LM24: And a video of the new Audi R18 testing: http://instagram.com/p/j8rPluA7Vn/#
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It's the same as my forum name, but to be honest it's sort of a waste of time to try and connect with me that way, since I'm not a big gamer. I don't mind, but I'm not on Steam a ton, especially now that I'm out of the house until possibly the end of this week, and I don't play online anyways. You and anyone else who's interested can message me there if you'd like, but I'm hardly ever on Steam.
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Not much of a gamer, but I do still have a PS2 and play some of the old Medal of Honor games and GT4 on it. I also have Steam so I can play Postal 2, though I haven't played it in a while.
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Some of my contributions. For the sounds: And for the slow motion footage (and some noise at about a minute in):
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OK now, I have a proposition that may be sort of fun. It requires equal portions of logic and imagination, and this is something that I've worked out with Twilight Saga characters. Once things in the world of Guyver get settled, and they survive (and there's a way to enable Shizu to become immortal or at least live out a normal span human life), or even if the events of Guyver never happened, what kind of jobs/career prospects could the female protagonist have? IE, what would they do for work? When the story began, Mizuki was a 16 year old high school student, Natsuki was an 18 year old high school senior, and Shizu was 18 and apparently (obviously would probably fit better here) home schooled. I've also been thinking of this because of my fan fic that I've been trying to work on, and here's my view on this subject. I'd imagine Shizu being a nurse or doctor, or possibly a teacher or even a librarian. The nursing/doctor stuff is obvious from observations in the manga--in fact, that's an important role she has in Zeus' Thunderbolt. I could also see her being a teacher because she's intelligent and has almost a motherly presence to her, and as far as a librarian, Shizu does strike me as being a bit reserved a lot of the time. Of course, that does all, to one degree or another, tie in to her compassionate/caring side. Natsuki is also fairly easy to nail down as far as her dream job. She's a sci-fi nut and also probably into history, and is very intelligent herself, let alone creative. So I can imagine her being an author or an editor/writer for a sci-fi magazine or writing Sci-fi/historical fiction. I can also imagine her being a traveler to indulge her curious side, and it'd be a big bonus if she got paid for it! Mizuki is a bit hard to nail down, because she seems to be a housewife type. Of course, she might at least want a part-time job to get some supplemental income and for something to do. Office receptionist? Office worker? Work at home? And if she works at home, what would be a good fit, given her personality, which is bright and outgoing, provided that there's not Zoanoids around or something else to scare the living piss out of her? That's where, IMO, she's a bit like Bella, or, to a degree, Esme from Twilight, both of whom are basically housewives who for sure don't have full-time jobs, or any actual job as far as I can remember. Based on what we know about them, what could these women conceivably do as far as work, if Chonos is defeated or if the whole Guyver episode never happened?
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Host personality? That's been the speculation on why each individual Guyver armor had a different color and some appearance differences. Sho's basic armor is a bluish color/appears least threatening because of his usually anti-violence personality. Lisker was stuck up and cocky, hence his armor color was gold, and his face had asymmetrical features because of the control medal being damaged, and how his cockiness and vanity would be his undoing. Agito has a dark personality and rarely if ever holds back in fights, hence his armor is dark in color (almost black) and more menacing/intimidating in appearance (spikes on head alongside the "antenna", two sonic blades per arm vs one, he also activated his Guyver unit on purpose). As for the gigantic armors, again, Agito's gigantic armor is dark in color and more menacing in appearance because of his personality, and Sho's gigantic armor is gold because of his desire to battle evil. I can't tell you why Val's armor is violet in color and why Gigantic Exceed is red, but I suspect it's because of Val having a similar personality to Lisker (purple has royal/regal connotations), and red might symbolize the true might of the Guyver units' potential power as far as Sho has conjured up, and why now Chronos has every right to fear for their lives if they dare commit evil and Sho is in a position to confront them. Hope that this might help, but I'm not 100% sure if this is fully the case.
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Some motorsport news from Audi: 2013 World Endurance Champion, three time American Le Mans Series Champion, and three time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Allan McNish has decided to retire from full-time racing, the announcement being made today. Aside from testing, the only Scottish World Drivers Champion title holder will not race for Audi next year, though he's expected to continue with the team in an advisory and ambassador role. The Le Mans grid won't be the same without him, even if he's serving as a TV commentator--a likely future career for Allan--or if he's in the Audi paddock area, though not slated to drive. Also for Audi, they've been releasing a promo trailer a day for the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro. It's like they expect us to have the patience of Griselda to wait until tomorrow for the public launch. And by Griselda I mean the Griselda from folklore, or Shizu from Guyver, well, you can have your pick--I think that they both apply to the phrase "patience of Griselda".
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Sorry for reviving this basically dead topic, but since winning the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship--including the 24 Hours of Le Mans--Audi has been flooding the internet with teasers of its 2014 R18 e-tron quattro, including this reminder of the car's official launch on Dec 18th, and I'm pretty sure that Audi chose that date for obvious reasons... And I wonder why all the hub-bub from Audi on this? The R8, R10, and the original R18 e-tron quattro didn't this much press before public unveiling. There, you have the most successful sports racing car, first diesel-powered Le Mans and major championship winner, and first hybrid Le Mans winner and championship winner respectively. They've released a teaser video, and press photos, all before launch, and all within the past week or so.
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I don't really believe in god, either--I'm religiously agnostic. But I don't deny the possibility of a god or gods existing. I think that it's also possible that aliens may exist. But because there's not proof to show that any of this stuff exists yet, I'll reserve judgement until the evidence starts to mount. Also, I do feel that sometimes people underestimate what ancient man may've been capable of as well. It's possible that god or gods exist, it's possible that aliens exist, and it's IMO even possible that ancient man was capable of more than we often give credit for. This all does go to show that there's a lot to learn from history, and that we must continue to try and unravel the mysteries of ancient times. If we want to learn where we came from, that's what me must do, and treat such study as a moving target. We have a long way to go to find the true origins of life, whatever it may be.
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Guyver was Takaya's first true non-hentai or non-erotic romance manga, and pretty much his only one to date. It's also been Takaya-san's only shonen manga aimed at a mostly non-adult audience. Granted, Guyver's main target is the teen/YA demographic that the Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games targets, but Guyver is going for the male faction, Twilight the female faction, and THG targets both, and most Guyver fans are adults. Just as often, shonen manga is read in Japan by adults--including very old adults--as by kids, teens, and the YA age group, because shonen manga makes good light reading and the grown ups grew up with a lot of the more popular titles. Guyver has been published since 1985 on a more or less continuous basis, so it's easy to say that plenty of people grew up with it and that's what has kept it popular, certainly in Japan. But back to the women. Again, my point is that at least the girls usually aren't glorified sex objects just put there to be easy on the eyes and give us a break from the violence and action in Guyver. Don't get me wrong, they do give us a break, but not in "that way". By seeing/reading what they're thinking and feeling, they add depth to the story and give alternate POVs to examine and think about. And each woman adds something. Mizuki going spazz and freaking out did add to the horror/suspense aspect, but also added some humor at times as well as what it's like to stand by your man. Natsuki is more overtly funny and she contributes comic relief as well as her thoughts and theories about what's going on around her. Shizu provides insight on Agito and trying to be faithful to those that she loves, as well as what its like to be lonely and trying to do the most good for the loved ones she has left, as well as the traits of fidelity and bravery, and you don't have to be huge or intimidating, or even a man, to show bravery and courage. As I said, there's some aspects of physical beauty to all these women. The all kinda look like dream girls in a way, and also act like them. Some would call that a bit Mary Sue-ish, But I believe that they're templates for what young women probably should aspire to be like, and that beauty isn't only skin deep. I mean, I find all these girls attractive, but to me, a hallow shell is pretty useless unless there's something in there beyond the exterior. For instance, the last time Shizu appeared. Yes, I'm a sucker for long hair, feminine dressing and even women who wear flip flops (I consider it a sign of ease, confidence, and practicality--weather permitting, of course), but the emotion that Shizu showed was something way, way, beyond that as far as impact. She's inherently nice, gentle, considerate and thoughtful. Her being with Agito is something that I question a bit, because personality-wise, they're polar opposites on a lot of things, but she grew up with him, saw him suffer, and he's about all she has left as far as people really close to her. Same stuff applies to differing degrees to Natsuki. She's a sci-fi nut--possibly a female equivalent to Yoshiki Takaya IMO--highly intelligent, and a very quick thinker. She also shows that you can be all those things and not give up her femininity; sort of what I pointed out about Shizu and her leadership of men. I'd bet that Natsuki likes jewelery, clothes, make up, shopping, and other "girly" things that other women her age do. She may be tomboyish in her tastes as far as what she does in her free time, but it's helped her and her friends--namely Sho and Tetsuro--out on more than one occasion. And her hairstyle? Well, maybe Natsuki (in canon) decided that long hair was an inconvenience, and lopped it off into a peppy, but feminine, bob cut. Probably nothing to do with her being a tomboy, which IMO it's debatable if she is or not. And for Mizuki, she symbolizes the human element. I'd bet that if any of use ran into mutated human-alien hybrid monsters like the Zoanoids are, we'd probably freak out, too. But she also symbolizes what it's like to be up against things bigger and more powerful than you are, and feeling powerless to do something about it yourself. But she also shows that you can make a huge impact by helping to cheer on those who can fight evil and give a reason for them to fight. Like I said earlier, even small, simple actions and items can make a big impact in the bigger picture when aligned with one's will to battle evil and the desire to triumph over evil. I do have to admit that I find Shizu to be especially pretty physically, and I find Natsuki and Mizuki to be cute. But for a character, pretty and cute doesn't really cut it for me. There has to be additional substance to them. They have to have a "brain" and emotions. They have to think and feel, and voice what they think and feel. They have to have depth beyond what's on the outside. They're not inanimate objects or simple air-heads, they're human beings, and I'm glad to see them treated and presented that way. It they aren't who they are as people, what would we have left?
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Well, maybe Takaya doesn't want to see women getting massacred like men often are? Could be a guess. The nudity of Shizu and Mizuki isn't gratuitous--there's a reason for it, and it's not like we see them naked all the time. It's actually very rare--once (twice if we count the nip-slip after she and Sho made love in Volume 26) for Mizuki and maybe three times for Shizu, all of which were in a processing tank, where her wearing clothing, since a lot of the time she spends in there she starts out in her battle form, even a swim suit wouldn't be practical. For Val, it could be a reference to her being evil, and/or being a reference to her origins in the Out of Control OVA. Also, all three main females do have a temper, but it's not out of line or over the top. We've seen Shizu, Mizuki and Natsuki get pissed at someone, but there was a logical reason for it, and we've seen Mizuki and even Shizu express frustration and self-doubt over their role in things. Shizu even does it when the people whom she's leading have supreme confidence in her. She might not mind too much about killing people out of self defense or defending others, especially if she's killing enemies. But if innocent people get involved or those that she has loyalty to get involved, that's a hot button for her. But none of them are outright bitchy, mean, overly annoying (at least in my opinion), which are common tropes in teen/YA fiction here in the West--and where guys are just as bad about it as women in their own ways. In someways, Guyver is a good example on how to write heroes in a realistic yet idealistic fashion. All the women in Guyver play their parts in a way that's not overly dramatic nor sexualized way. Hell, the last time we saw her, I'd have to say that Shizu was being sexy without being sexy IMO. Even the way that she was dressed was a bit of a turn on because she wasn't showing much skin and was just being herself. Also, her showing honest emotions was a strong point. Later, even when Natsuki was showing some skin in that tight T-shirt and cut off jean shorts, it wasn't over the top--how many women her age wear that stuff in the summer? Not out of the ordinary, and we know that Natsuki isn't a slut And even though Mizuki is in a romantic relationship with Sho, what happens in the bedroom, pretty much stays there. Leaving things of a sexual nature up to the reader's imagination is probably the best way to go. The female protagonist aren't one dimensional sex kittens who are just the pretty window dressing for the bloody violence within. Takaya can write a whole stand alone story around each of their lives and it'd be interesting in itself. Hell, if you or anyone else have the Guyver: The Bio-Boosted Armor TV series info books, you'll notice how in book three he talks about how Shizu and Mizuki kinda leaned on each other in their difficult periods of doubting things about Sho and Agito and their livelihoods. He admitted that the writers of those episodes did as good a or even better of a job than he did in the manga, and that's something he's done with both male and female characters is focused a lot on the camaraderie and support they lend each other. Many of the characters are relate-able, and, at least in my opinion, the women are relate-able, too.
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As I said, there's a reason for them to be naked when they are (which is rare), considering Takaya's dabbling in hentai and erotic romance manga and that Guyver is a shonen manga aimed mostly at teenage boys. Things could be a whole lot worse, and at the very least Takaya decided to make the three main girls into intriguing characters with their own personalities and traits, and not into window dressing. Not that I don't think that Shizu, Natsuki and Mizuki aren't beautiful women, but there's a lot more to them than just that as characters. As far as personality, you have Mizuki, who is portrayed as weak, scared, and frightened. But in her situation, what normal person--male or female--wouldn't be. It's not like she's Sho who has bionic battle armor to save his ass and help him kick ass, or Agito, who's pissed at the world, also has his own bionic battle armor, and is just short of being purely demonic a lot of the time. And, by the way, seeing what she sees and learning what she comes to know, it does become a bit harder to scare her than in the earliest days of the manga. It also helps Mizuki when she becomes one of the things that Sho's fighting for--and she does come to symbolize why Sho fights against Chronos, period (protecting the human race from evil). Then we have Natsuki, who's a bit of a bad ass book worm. She's not intimidated by Zoanoids and such, and can even venture educated guesses as to what Zoaform they may be. She's a normal human at the core of it all, but she sort of makes up for it by being extremely intelligent, using logic, being careful with her actions in certain situations (and advising others to do the same), being reasonable, and being the cheerleader. I also like how Takaya did sort of make her the peppy cheerleader type, and also made her appearance modern and "with the times". As I've mentioned, I don't get how that makes her "tomboyish". Her hairstyle is feminine, she dresses femininely (when she wants to), and she uses her smarts and logic to figure stuff out--what I consider a feminine trait. And we have Shizu, who's sort of a bad ass book worm, as well as just being simply bad ass in her own right. Though I doubt that it had much to do with her future Zoaforming, but she educated herself on things that no teenage girl would normally be though of knowing by the age of 18 when she appeared in the manga. This probably means knowing college level academics, but above all else, for sure things like nursing/medical stuff, survival skills, and other such items. Considering, from what I can tell, that Shizu was essentially home schooled, that's quite an accomplishment, though that's probably what gave her the flexibility to learn that stuff. She's also the most serious of the females. She does sort of start out peppy and happy and is a source of encouragement, but after her grandfather dies, she becomes more overtly serious, though, especially in the TV series, we do get to see shades of that already with how she feels about Agito and what happened to his parents. Also, Shizu, it seems, grew up not knowing her biological parents--it's never mentioned (at least yet) what happened to them, but in the TV series, it was hinted that they died when she was very young, presumably from an untimely but otherwise mundane cause (like Sho's mother). However, she does make up for her being pretty dead serious at times with her acts of bad-assery. Standing up to Neo ZX-Tole when he wanted to kill Agito, not being easily intimidated (even as a normal human) by Zoanoids, becoming Griselda (a mixture IMO of being a bad ass, being angry/upset about the death of her grandpa and wanting to avenge it herself, and wanting to fulfill her wishes to aid Agito), and fighting Valkryia and Guyot to protect Mizuki, Natsuki and Tetsuro as much (or potentially more) out of her wanting to protect them as to help Agito, knowing that she could die, and that she could very well die just by becoming Griselda (her life span is supposedly significantly shortened unless she becomes a full Zoalord or some other means is found to make her immortal). Whether or not that's Shizu being a bad ass or a bit insane, or both, I can't tell you, because we can't always tell 100% exactly what she's thinking because of her desire to aid Agito and the fact that, unlike the TV series, we haven't yet gotten any major peeks into Shizu's mind, and we probably won't until Shizu gets her own chapter of the manga like Mr. Hayami did before he died. But that alone makes her a complex character, in some ways more complex than Agito or Aptom. And just trying to consider her a hero, anti-hero, or anti-villain (the latter two are though association with Agito, and depend on how one feels about Agito) is a complex ideal, too. I do agree that Guyver is a bit of a sausage fest, but then again, when we think of fighting, we do think of men. But there was a quote by Kristen Stewart that I like that she said when someone asked her if she'd ever act in a role as a superhero's love interest. She basically said to hell with that, I wanna be the hero. Maybe more women should be held up as hero figures. I mean, there's more women than men in this world, they're the ones who give birth to babies, and being a mother is as at least as hard as being a father, isn't it? And it doesn't take a big act to make a big impact. Mizuki is Sho's love interest. Not big in the scope of the world, but a big reason why Sho fights. Natsuki is a smart girl and offers emotional support. The former isn't significant in and of itself, and the latter is expected of a friend, but she inspires those around her and her intellect does provide a useful aid to Sho and Tetsuro. Shizu is intelligent, gutsy, and loyal. Again, things that on the surface don't count for much, but in the grand scheme, does make a big difference. Stuff that she knows helps out her allies, her fortitude is inspiring, and her loyalty to Sho's friends did help save their lives, even if she kinda ended up on the short end of the stick. Oh, and one last point on tomboy vs girly girl on Shizu before I forget: she shows that a woman can lead and inspire men without relying on her sexuality, or sinking to stereotypical male levels. She doesn't have to act like a slut to get men to do what she asks them to do. She also doesn't act crude, profane, nasty or bitchy to get what she wants out of them, either. She's sort of the polar opposite of Genzo Makishima or Richard Guyot in that way. The latter two use fear and intimidation to get what they want and to command those below them. Shizu, instead, inspires loyalty and intelligence though positive leadership skills. Her psychic powers help, but without those good leadership abilities as a base, she wouldn't be a good leader, no matter how she may think of herself in that role at times.
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I wonder how many of you have seen the Ancient Aliens TV series on History 2? I watch it mostly just to watch something on TV. First off, I don't really believe in aliens, but with the origins of live, I do believe that anything is possible until we find out why we're actually here as we are, be it aliens, divine intervention, or simple evolution. But what is most striking to me is how similar a lot of the Ancient Alien theory stuff is to certain plot elements of Bio-Booster Armor Guyver. If it wasn't for coincidence (how many of these guys have heard of Guyver anyways?), I'd swear that a lot of the stuff that they reference seem to have many similarities to the plot lines of Guyver. But it can also be supposed and asked how many similarities that certain elements of Guyver have to the Erich von Däniken book Chariots of the Gods? , the book that started the Ancient Alien theory as a mainstream thought on the possibility of how ancient life began. Again, probably coincidence. I posted this here because I wasn't really sure of where it would fit. I do have this advice: If this becomes a discussion mostly about how Guyver is similar to the Ancient Alien theory, it can be moved to the Guyver section. If it's a general discussion about the TV show, it can stay here or go to the entertainment section if it fits there, or if it becomes a discussion about the Ancient Astronaut theory, it can be placed in science and philosophy. Not sure where this topic fits, nor where the discussion will take us, but we do have to get there first, so discuss away, and the mods/admins can then see where best this fits.
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First off, I don't know if this fits better here or in the actual Guyver section, so for now I'll put it here. If a mod or admin thinks it'll be better suited or served in the main Guyver section, feel free to move it. Secondly, I'll be basing this partly off canon, partly off my fan fic work, and off my own thoughts and observations which form the basis of how I'll portray such characters in my fan fic and how I see them in the canon of the manga. Now for the actual topic. I'll be touching upon several things and how they apply to the major female characters in Guyver, especially the protagonist. I believe that about everyone on here who've seen certain of my discussions will know that I'm a big fan of both Shizu and Natsuki. And I also love discussing female characters, and I have my own views on what's feminine and otherwise. The biggest thing that I like about the female protagonist in Guyver is that they're more than window dressing or sex toys. I know that Japanese manga and anime and other stuff like that, where such things are criticized for treating women badly and portraying them as sex objects. Though most of the women in Guyver are very attractive, the don't just run around naked, at least not without reason. It's not like Mizuki wanted to have Aptom cut her clothes off when he was threatening to kill her. And Shizu in the processing tank? Well, kinda inconvenient to wear clothing in there, and in her battle form, she sheds her clothes anyways--kinda hard to have clothes that fit a 5'5"-5'6" tall girl that weights 110-115 pounds fit something that becomes 7 feet tall and weighs over 260 lbs. And, we haven't seen Natsuki naked, at least yet, in any context. So even though Yoshiki Takaya was a hentai/erotic manga artist before he created Guyver, that argument doesn't hold water--there's a reason why chicks are naked, well, except for a degree for Valkyria, but she had her origins in the Out of Control OVA, and we all know what happened there... Also, especially with Shizu and Natsuki, there's a bit of a tomboy/girly girl complex going on. Me, personally, I think that Natsuki is pretty feminine. Just because of her hairstyle, love of sci-fi stuff and occasionally how she dresses, doesn't mean that she's not a femme. And with Shizu, she's overtly feminine, but she also has an aggressiveness when she's pissed that's not conventionally feminine (Natsuki and even Mizuki also have a temper), and she knows more than how to clean house (conventional sense) and other "womanly" duties. These are points to start discussions and some examples of my views on the subject. I know that a lot of these things are subjective because everyone has a different view on these things. I'd be happy to discuss more if this takes off. So, discuss away on your views of women in Guyver
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You guys should check out some of her newer works, such as her fan fic characters and her character color panel illustrations.
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That's something that I like about the manga and the TV series, though to be fair, the TV series had more material to work with than the OVAs did at the time, and had 26x25 minute episodes, vs 12x25-30 minute episodes. The OVA was mostly action oriented. The TV series had more plot and character development. I liked how near the end of the TV series how the writers gave Shizu and Natsuki more character development, even if they went a bit above and beyond the manga for that area of the storyline (TV series was coming to it's end, after all). We have to remember up until then that Natsuki was basically a throwaway character that only made occasional appearances in the first couple of chapters in the manga. Completely in contrast to the major role that she'd play from the time of her re-introduction. And Shizu was known as being Agito's largely unrequited lover, so she seemed until about that point to be sort of one or two dimensional until she started to get more emotionally involved, and in the TV series, had her heart to hearts with a distressed Mizuki and sort of played big sis to her for a while, which Natsuki does that with Sho, Mizuki and Tetsuro now. And, both the manga and the later TV episodes do treat the female characters as being a lot more than fancy/sexy window dressing, which in a shonen manga, I do appreciate. You can't accuse Guyver characters of not being interesting or complex to say the least. Even Agito or Aptom on the surface may be passed off as a H'wood anti-hero, but there's lot beyond that just below the surface.
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And I think that we can look at Shizu and Agito, and how Shizu is sort of like an intermediate between Sho and Agito as far as emotional/mental stability and qualities. Yes, Shizu is a more "willing" killer than Sho, as far as killing enemies and foes, and she's generally more aggressive than Sho is most of the time. However, compared to Agito, while she has no problem killing members of Chronos and she's driven by what happened to Agito and to her grandpa at Chronos' hands, she does see people as people, unlike Agito, where, with some exceptions (Shizu seemingly being the most notable), Agito sees people as pawns or, more appropriately in my opinion, as tools and potential instruments of destruction that he can use and wield. Be it the Libertus that volunteer to be processed and fight or knowing that he can count on Shizu to do things for him, often without even asking her to, to manipulating Sho and his friends. That's the big difference. It can be said, that though she was changed and shaped to a degree by tragedy and she's acting out on it, that Shizu hasn't totally lost her humanity, not the same way that Agito has. Agito seems reluctant to form many emotional bonds with people, partly so he can use them in his plans, and partly because of what happened to his parents. Of course, that means that Shizu's love for Agito is often unrequited beyond him seeing her as one of his few friends left. Of course, we know that Shizu does see herself as Agito's soul mate, and though he returns the affection at times, he doesn't love her on the same level--quite different to see someone as a soul mate vs seeing one as being "just a friend". However, Agito having Yohei's grave and those of the deceased Libertus transferred to Zeus' Thunderbolt's HQ and him seemingly showing some regret over some of the things that had happened could be him waking up to some of the things that he shut himself off from. Maybe Shizu nearly getting killed and the fact that if something's not done soon that she'll most likely die woke him up, as well as the stuff that he saw from the control medallions that he and Shizu captured from the AZ HQ. Maybe he knows now that he needs friends, and that he needs them more than ever now if he wants to get any of his goals achieved, and hopefully some of those priorities have shifted for the better too. But only time will tell. Also, if anyone's a fan of the Pink Floyd album and film The Wall, you can probably draw some comparisons between the character Pink and Agito as well. Agito and Pink both built metaphorical walls up around them to shield them from the world because of personal tragedy, and the pros and cons of that, the good and bad consequences of such a mental/emotional action. So, we have Sho, the conventional hero who does the conventional hero bit, Agito, the extreme anti-hero who cares/cared little about what he felt had to be done as long as the ends justify the means, and Shizu, who's sort of between the two. She's fighting with Agito, which can make her an anti-hero/anti-villain by proxy(depending on POV, or even both depending on line of thought), but she's much more emotionally sensitive than Agito, overtly cares more about people, and though she'll willingly kill enemies, she's not very willing at all to sacrifice her allies, even when they ask for it. That's one of the more interesting things about Guyver as far as the storyline--all the characters are complex and interesting to study why they are the way that they are, and discuss those personality facets.
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Hi everyone. This is now my first night away from work. I decided to take a leave of absence away from work until I start my new job there. I was tired of trying to stick it out at the front desk as a receptionist and my new position constantly getting pushed back as far as start date. First November, then December, and now possibly not until January. So I'm taking time away from work, and hopefully when I go back I'll be in a better mood and will be doing some stuff to help with my anxiety issues. Other than that, I haven't really been up to too much. But it feels good to have some time to myself, but bittersweet that I won't be seeing my friends at work for a while.
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Sorry to bump this thread, but this is an observation that I had at work today during my last day there for a while (I'm taking leave until I start my new job). Sho and Agito are examples of the extremes of what I like to call the Postal 2 complex or Postal 3 complex. For those of you who don't know, the second and third Postal PC games have the option for the player to decide what path they want to go down and how to play the games, based entirely on how amoral and violent the player wants to be. In P2, you can either go throughout the game without harming anyone, or you can try and lay waste to the town of Paradise and all points in between. In P3, you chose to be the hero, the villain/extreme anti-hero, or a "regular" anti-hero, with the appropriate "good", "evil" and "normal" endings. If you go for the good ending, you become a police officer, arrest foes using less than lethal force unless necessary, and eventually become President of the United States. The bad ending has Postal Dude joining with his cult leader Uncle and the town's corrupt mayor. The "normal" ending is an alternative to the good ending, and just has Dude escaping the town unharmed. Obviously, we all know where this is going. Sho is the hero, who doesn't want to commit harm to anyone, though he's now willing to do whatever it takes to take down the villains as long as he can do it while minimizing collateral damage. Agito is the anti-hero, one who fights against the big bad, but at times has used such questionable and amoral means that one does have to on occasion wonder if he's really a whole helluva a lot better than the big bad. Agito may be becoming the Postal Dude-like "only sane man" (phrase used loosely--I think that we can all see that Shizu is the sane one in that relationship, and Sho is certainly sane compared to Agito for damn sure), but he'll never really be a pure hero like Sho is. Sho's had a lot of crap happen to him, but he's still got his head on his shoulders straight. Shizu has been though a lot and also been witness to the stuff that happened to Agito and his family, and she's killed for him and out of revenge for her own feelings over what happened and the death of the grandfather at Chrono's hands, but she regrets it when she feels that she's wasting the Libertus' lives or when innocent people (when she knows about it) get involved. I hope everyone understands what I mean by my observations.
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My Guyver and Twilight Saga crossover fic that I've hinted at
Chernaudi replied to Chernaudi's topic in LET'S CREATING!
OK everyone, a question: a near the conclusion of this chapter, Shizu will attack someone. For future reference, how often should I have transform into Griselda? She already has once, but I don't want to over use it, or her new powers she has as a vampire hybrid. Any suggestions? -
I actually don't really check out stuff as far as Guyver goes. I think that I know enough about the characters to gauge what their reaction to a particular situation is. Same with Twilight characters. Usually, I listen to music or You Tube videos--usually things like humorous game reviews and let's plays of some games (usually Postal 2) because the videos are long and I can listen to them while writing. Usually, I end up checking on stuff about the technical stuff that I'm writing about for factual accuracy, namely World War II or other weaponry or cars and such that are featured in my stories. Mostly, listening to those videos keeps me from getting bored while writing, because I don't feel like sitting in the living room while writing to watch TV and I need something going on in the background to keep my from being distracted by silence.
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Oh, and I do have to say as a fic writer, that losing the internet sucks. My internet--and phone, too--were out until sometime before I got home from work today. I wanted to finish my chapter up last night, but now it'll probably be during the weekend that I finish it up. The thing that sucks about writing and losing the internet is that I like to listen to stuff on You Tube while I write, and it's also easier to look stuff up as far as factual/canonical info. So that sucks when that happens.