Sorry for the dead spell of posting! Midterms just finished up on Wednesday, and I was busy studying for them (and watching Gundam Build Fighters). I think I’m also just a little bit burned out from posting—between writing a lot for classes this year and the absolutely (for me) torrid pace at which I was putting out content starting in the middle of last month, my brain’s just a little bit fried. So, it was nice to take a weeklong break to just watch some fun stuff, not do any heavy blogging, and not fail my classes. Again, sorry for the delay! I’m on midterm break now and I’m hoping to come back refreshed and ready to write.

By way of an apology, I’ll also let y’all know that submitted a informal proposal to write an academic paper on Revolutionary Girl Utena for a final paper for a class. I haven’t seen Utena before, but if the proposal goes through I’ll have the opportunity to watch it, research it, and write about it in detail. And, of course, I’ll definitely get that piece up here when it’s complete. Something to look forward to in like…December…heh.

On to the pictures! They’re back in full numbers this week!

by しじみ (Source)

Of course I had to start off with Gundam Build Fighters, as it was my constant companion through midterms week. I really came to love the show, which boasts a plethora of really likable and sympathetic characters—it’s not Chihayafuru, but it certainly does a better job than the majority of shounen sports/battlers. As for the picture, I really like the transparent effect some of their clothes have, as well as the geometric shapes floating around. Reiji and Sei are a great team, and I was a little bummed when I heard they weren’t returning for Gundam Build Fighters Try in main roles.

by 壬ＲＹＵＺＩＮ (Source)

Is this how anyone else sees León right now? As a cute angsty kid waving a sword around in circles? For those of you who don’t recognize him, León is from the currently airing Garo the Animation, which Funimation is currently streaming in the US. I’m actually kind of surprised that I ended up like Garo as much as did—usually Funi has few shows I’m interested in, but they’ve got a much larger number of anime I like this season than ever before. Anyways, I really like Leon’s character design, and he’s just as cute in chibi form as I imagined. ^_^

by 阡 (Source)

I’ve been watching Chihayafuru with a couple of non-anime fandom friends this semester and we finished up the first season last weekend and started Chihayafuru 2 on Tuesday. Guardian Enzo over at Lost in Anime christened the first season’s airing day as “Taichi Tuesdays,” and in that venerable tradition we have named our own watching day the same thing. Of course, the second season aired on a Friday, but shhhhh. Again, back to the picture—the show itself is very fond of sakura petals and this picture captures that fascination well. There’s a lot of wind here, too, and I really like that a strong gust is being portrayed here, rather than a gentle breeze. Seems to describe this relationship well.

by NA蔵 (Source)

Pixiv loooves Jo-san a lot more than it love Sugune, unsurprisingly. Dark and disillusioned versus young and idealistic? Give me the hot troubled guy, duh! Of course, Jo was a big influence on Sugune so it’s fascinating to see how their respective attitudes towards being a Gatchaman diverged. Jo’s also got a darker sense of style than Sugune—can’t say I’m a fan of the tracksuit and biker gloves combination, especially in comparison to Sugune’s preppy striped shirts and capris. Of course, I’m glossing over the most important thing, which is the fact that Sugune has a gift in hand. Who’s he giving it to? Shippers, prepare yourselves!

by 落影 (Source)

The reason I first got into Pixiv was, specifically, to look for pictures of Hanekawa with her two-tone hair. Google images was failing me. Hanekawa before the Tsubasa Tiger arc always made me really nervous and I honestly didn’t really like her. But, after her transformation and reemergence as a person able to hold her own against Kaiki, my appreciation of her grew. If you want to see my thoughts on her in detail, take a look at the first part of my reflection on Monogatari Series: Second Season, but otherwise just know that self-actualized Hanekawa my very well be my favorite character in the franchise. It’s always dangerous looking for Monogatari pics on Pixiv due to the great inspiration artists seem to draw from all the fanservice in the show, but being able to find a great picture like this makes it worth it.

by _LM&_ (Source)

I found this picture in my feed, bookmarked by one of the growing number of artists I follow. I think it’s an original, although the girl reminds me a bit of Miku…which reminds me that I haven’t had an Vocaloid fanart on here yet. Anyways, as I’ve said before, I don’t know a lot about visual art techniques, but I know the rule of thirds is a thing, and even a dummy like me can tell that this picture has it. I don’t know the terms to describe it technically, but there’s also some pretty incredible work with light in here. I don’t know enough to say anything else. Just enjoy.

by シノアサ (Source)

Fate/ fanart was dominating the daily rankings on October 15, so I had to go all the way down to this piece at #59 (right behind Swablu Kotori) to find something I really liked. This cute redhed is an original character from the looks of the album that follows it, but she looks like a cross between some sort of modern princess and an idol. Is the rose actually a microphone? You can never underestimate the creativity and craziness (and pervertedness ^_^”) of Pixiv artists.

by koflif (Source)

There’s a metric ton of Haruhi fanart under the franchise’s general tag (to the tune of 27k+ images, many of them quite racy), but I don’t think you can really do any better than long-hair alternate timeline Haruhi from Disappearance—although Kyon x Koizumi pics are a close second. I personally would have liked to see more of long hair Haruhi, but at least I have a great gif of her putting her hair into a ponytail.

And that’s all for this week! Again, sorry for the break in posting and for the small numbers of pictures in the past two Anime Artwork Adventures. I didn’t realize these posts would take as long to put together as they do, but it’s a fun thing to do every Friday. Hope you’re all enjoying them!