If I’m getting a reputation for angry rantage, then I wouldn’t be surprised. Today’s subject of my ire: The Rightstuf, International. The ‘International’ part being a joke if you actually buy from them internationally. I’ve purchased stuff from them five or six times now, always large packages with a pile of stuff in them. They charge absolutely insane prices for shipping - roughly double what my usual retailer does - so I usually only bother when they’re having clearance sales.
So, what does that super-expensive shipping get you? Well, what generally happens is that they fuck around with your order for two weeks or so, then finally ship it. About ten days later you’ll get an invoice in the mail. 2-3 weeks down the track you get your box of goodies. Despite TRSI being based in Iowa or something, the box will be postmarked Malmo, Sweden. And the box will be really, really badly damaged. I don’t know what’s going on, but every box I’ve gotten from TRSI has been in an extremely poor state. The corners bashed in, the cardboard ripped… But usually they have structural integrity so I don’t really care (except for the fact I’m paying double the price for shipping that takes twice as long and apparently has handlers that play rugby with my packages).
Continue reading ‘TRSI: Fix your fucking shipping’
I was going to write a series of impressions on the new shows this season, much like I did last season, but to be honest the sense of mediocrity which pervades the bulk of the season with its putrid stench has made me rethink the whole idea. To be blunt, everything new this season that’s not a sequel, to borrow a phrase from my esteemed colleague, is made of shit-flavoured ass biscuits.
Continue reading ‘This Season Sucks’
1920×1200 | ai
Part two of (hopefully) four. Got the two easiest ones out of the way first. Coincidentally my two favourite characters, though I like them all. Should have the last two done by the end of the week. Since Hiro’s hair is so complicated I imagine she’ll be the hardest so expect Sae next.
I’ve got a defective copy of Eureka 7 vol 11. Despite the fact that Bandai has made a rather public mea culpa over the fact that their replicators suck shit and have recalled a pile of stuff from their January releases, apparently I am somehow unworthy of having my broken copy replaced, because I’m not in the USA or Canada.
I’ve been a long-time supporter of the idea of paying for anime series I’ve pirated (read: watched fansubbed) and subsequently enjoyed enough that I feel that they’re worth my money. For an industry that’s struggling to find any semblance of meaning in our post-internet world, they sure like to screw us. A lot of people have laughed at my tendency to buy anime DVDs, and perhaps they were right all along. This is absolutely the last straw for me. I intend to complete buying Eureka 7 - only one volume left - and then I will never buy another Bandai DVD, ever, unless they smarten up and realise that if they want us to pay money for the shit they spew out, then it needs to be somehow superior to the fansubs I watched for free two years ago. And also that the world changed while they were asleep and they need to stop being so fucking insular. Where I live should have no bearing on whether I can get a product I’ve paid for replaced in a recall like this.
Fuck you, Bandai. I hope I’m around to dance on your company’s fucking grave when you go bankrupt.
1920×1200 | ai
I noticed earlier that Spoon released a sub of the Hidamari Sketch specials and that jogged my memory. Back about six or so weeks ago when I finally finished this wonderful show, I had taken some screen grabs of the four Hidamari Sketch girls with the intention to trace them, since the art style of the four was quite appealing. Basically, this is the first. I’ve tried to replicate the halftone-esque pattern that they used to colour everything as best I could, and I think it turned out nicely. I may do a lines-only version at some stage too, because the linework on its own actually looks pretty good. 1920×1200 only, sorry. A 4:3 crop would end up losing most of the image.
I’ve promised to do Miyako next. And before someone asks, sorry, Yoshinoya-sensei wasn’t included in the same style. I’m happy to do a trace of her if someone has a good image, though.
First trace (and first blog post) of 2008, yay.
