klawzie

From what I understand about Sherlock (and I may have misunderstood when reading) there are only three writers for Sherlock and they each take an episode a season. (Mind, they probably collaborate to edit for consistency after the lead writer on an episode is happy with it.) Pretty sure that there's more people involved with Dr. Who (though this is just based entirely on assumption and I've never looked at the credits). I'm reading a book now on scriptwriting, because I thought I'd learn something about writing in general (and specifically about episodic/serial storytelling). Haven't especially learned anything yet that I didn't know on an intuitive level about writing, but sure as heck am learning a ton about the way scriptwriters work (as I ought, as it's a coursebook for many scriptwriting classes, apparently). But I'd have to think that based on what I'm learning, Dr. Who is likely to have at least a higher number of outside writers submitting scripts for the show and a larger team. As an aside - I really liked series 3 of Sherlock. Two was flashier, of course, but three seemed to be interesting more on an emotional level. I feel like they were very clever and careful with the introduction of the new series character and think that it was handled in a way that most fans would accept. I'm interested in what happens with her in series four.

I don't have one of just my favorites, but I do have one of most of my collection. Terrible photo, but it's what I have right now. I can point out my favorites, though! To the lower right, there are the set of spooky pale green dice. That was the "complete set" that came with my pound of dice. They're speckled and do not glow in the dark, even though they look like they ought. Of all the random sets I could have got, I'm not sure I could have done any better if I'd chosen them specially. I love them. Then next to those are the opalescent garnet red d10s. I got those specially for my Exalted Sidereal, Lion of the Heavens. His hair was meant to be the same color. In the photo, the dice look a deep red, but they're really the sort that catch the light in different ways, sometimes bordering pink. They are so beautiful. I need to buy a complete set that way. At the very very top, there's a transparent/opalescent tangerine d12. I especially love that it has green numbering. It makes me think even more of a citrus. The color combination is one of my odd favorites, plus it has shiny. What's not to love? There's a similar yellow d6 in the bottom left-ish, next to the Exalted brand d10s, next to two tiny yellow d6s. I can't see any of my other favorites. Either they're not in the photo, or I don't recognize them without them showing their true colors/textures. None of them have stories, really. I've rarely used them since most of my gaming has been done digitally. I can say that it's a good thing Lion only used his d10 set a few times. Any time I was playing around and rolling for him, he'd do astoundingly well. But whenever I rolled something for real, he'd just barely manage to scrape by, if he succeeded at all (which he generally didn't).

Ha - Darsc. Just today (well, yesterday - it's after midnight now) I log on and see the new message. SO glad I turned off notifications on that project. As nice as Larry Elmore seems to be as a person, it's really turning me off to anything his name is attached to, just because I don't want to be spammed.

For those of you getting fed up with winter... Check your local laws first.

Phrasing, Lana.

I feel like since I'm the next one to post after Buggy, I ought to comment on the post. But I genuinely have no words. Perhaps a quiet amusement flavored with confusion? There. Those are my words. I doubt this will make you feel any better, Pingo, but I have a Pokemon named after you. This one, in fact. Not because it specifically reminded me of you, but because I wanted to name it "Pinga" after my thunderbird character I played in a oneshot Heroine game, but apparently the game thinks Pinga is a bad word (I'm not looking it up to double-check - it's a perfectly nice Inuit name if my quick Google search for Inuit names was correct). Pingo therefore became the logical choice. Unfortunately, I think the very next Pokemon I ran across was this one. I would have named that one Pingo if I'd had to do it over again. Its name is "Paints" instead.

Did someone here recommend Yowapeda/Yowamushi Pedal? I'd never have given an anime about competitive cycling a second thought and the first few episodes have been a delight. So - if it was someone here, thank you! EDIT: I forgot to comment on CCS. I was only delivered the boxed set of books 4-6 because Amazon was out of stock of 1-3. So I read those and was very disappointed, cancelling my order for the other boxed set. I'd have to see if I kept the manga and re-read it to see if I could give concrete examples, but I stand pretty firm on the idea that the anime is better. Of course, the anime takes 12 volumes of manga and turns them into 70 or so episodes, plus two movies. And that's not all extra minutes of lingering gazes, extended giggling, and hair and sakura blossoms in the wind.

Yeah.... I got my hands on some of the early issues of Sailor Moon and sat down all excited to go for it... and was so underwhelmed I just got rid of the beginning collection. Still have to properly see all of the anime (I've only caught episodes here and there), but I know I like it better as anime vs manga. It might get better towards the end, of course, but... Same thing happened to me with Card Captor Sakura, only moreso. Really enjoyed the first few episodes I caught of "Cardcaptors" (the American remix show of the series), so when I realized that the original CCS was different from CC, I ended up devouring the series as it was meant to be seen. Then I set about buying the boxed set of the manga and was like, "....there is no substance here. Scenes that impacted me greatly in the anime are watery at best in the manga. This is the turning point in the character's arc and it comes and go with barely a panel...."

Backing up the recommendation on Ayakashi: Classic Japanese Horror. Also, if you liked the last few episodes in the series, there was a spin-off called Mononoke featuring the Medicine Seller hero. Not to be confused with Princess Mononoke, which I haven't seen, but as you see is recommended. I really enjoyed Samurai Champloo (the episodes I've seen, anyway), so check that out if you can find it. Like the Saiyuki anime, it's a bit anarchistic iirc, but fun. I've only seen the first episode, but Katanagatari might be one to check out. I sort of think of it as what might happen if Ōkami had a kid with Pokemon. I mean, I hear that the series gets really dark and tragic, but it's basically about collecting ALL THE SWORDS. Which possess people and turn them into monsters? I'm not really clear on that. I love the animation style, though. And in spite of its very anime-ness, it's probably the most L5R-like of what I have to recommend. (Well, aside from a few episodes of Ayakashi, that is.) Folktales From Japan might give sort of a general culture insight, as well as insight into sort of perhaps a children's eye view of the period. The first few episodes I've watched were pretty great. Episode one has the stories "The Man Who Bought Dreams" and "The Rat Sutra" which really genuinely are two of my favorite fairytales now. Utakoi is actually set earlier than the feudal-style that you'll probably be playing with, but probably gives the most interesting insights into the culture. It's basically a series that looks at the love stories behind the hanafuda (the traditional Japanese poetry card game) and hits sort of the highlights of the rise and fall of the loves. (Very few of the love stories have happy endings. Saying this now.) It is interspersed with sort of "OOC" goofiness where the poets interact with each other and pretend to be on game shows...? It's very difficult to explain, but it does provide comic relief to the sometimes heart-wrenching love stories. I also recommend watching Utakoi before starting on Chihayafuru - which has nothing to do with L5R style gaming (it's set in the modern era and not about sword battling at all), but is all about hanafuda as a sport and, well, it's one of my favorite animes and it's related, so there. But, yes, very highly recommending Utakoi just in general and also for sort of human interaction background. I'm sure I'm missing some obvious suggestions, but I don't really maintain a very good database of anime I've watched. >_>; When in doubt, it probably wouldn't hurt to browse through Crunchyroll's "Historical" category. http://www.crunchyroll.com/videos/anime/genres/historical I know that there are a few series there I'm very interested in watching, but I can't recommend something I haven't seen at least a little of.

re: Mayo - I put mayo on only three things: - hamburgers (sometimes) - BLTs/tomato sammies (always) - cold turkey sandwiches (the sort you make from leftover roast turkey) ((clearly always or how else do you eat them? like a barbarian???)) Obviously, some foods have mayo in them - for example, summer salad - but I do not apply mayo to anything else. That way lies madness. re: Firefly - Haven't watched it yet. I keep meaning to and then just when I've got my queue clear and am looking to start a new series, someone has to come along and talk it up again. So I bump it down and put it off for fear of going in with expectations too high (either mine for the series, or other people with that eager expectancy of wanting to know what I thought). Same thing happens with Dr. Who and goodness knows what other series. Granted, fan glee can work for a series. I sort of wrote off Buffy for a few years until the popularity peaked. ....I mean, it did take me something like ten years after it went off air (not sure if I'm exaggerating - just guessing) to watch it, but I eventually did. I am very heartily glad that someone just mentioned Sherlock off hand as something they enjoyed and I was able to ( ::puts on hipster glasses now:: ) watch the series before it reached critical mass of fans and was everywhere. [On the subject, the latest episode is burning a hole in my HD. But I'm being good and waiting to watch it with my parents since I got them hooked on the series too.] There was some other topic I was going to comment on, but I got a lap full of niece-monster who wanted to watch kitties. Then regained control of the computer only to be handed a squirming baby-monster. Then there was breakfast. And all I can remember is mayo and Firefly. You're welcome.

I'm not aware of one, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. A quick Google search doesn't show any. (Nor do I think it... likely.) But I'm sure we could cobble together a list of anime that might scratch the itch, if you were interested? (Never played L5R myself, but I've read into the books off and on through the years because I think it's interesting.)

Happy belated! (Haven't logged in for a few days. >_>; )

Finally was able to make up the season finale of our Monster of the Week game. Apparently my character is a spawn of evil (fair enough). She is still paralyzed from the waist down partly because the few weeks off made the others forget they were on a mission to collect something to use in a spell to fix her and partly because, oh, I dunno, my character did Big Magic and teleported herself and someone else to the unknown location of someone else... (She has been making very terrible decisions since she started trying to run the team through group consensus rather than thinking things through logically and moving the team around like chess pieces.) And I forgot to ask the GM if our Luck reset because I'm down to only two Luck left. They're on the run from the SCP and currently in the hands of a group known as the "Monsterhearts" (because the GM is merging several of his Apocalypse World based games into one storyline... so far Monsterhearts and Monster of the Week have officially merged, but there's still tremulus and one or two others). I don't want to run through a whole season with only two Luck, you guys. Especially when I can't run away. D: I don't think the Monsterhearts group is going to give her a Professor X chair. They killed the guy she teleported with because he worked for the SCP and I think once they figure out she's part of a monster hunting group, she's next. >___>; I didn't realize until writing this all out how dire it could get. Goodness.

Well... I'm interested, depending on what sort of deal we're talking about here. xD

Funnily enough, seeing the last few posts has actually interested me in it. I know that Japanese rpgers have discovered the Mythos and are -chan-ifying it and I am curious as to the type of anime that serves to cater to this niche interest. Of course, I expect to hate it, but I sometimes seek out train wrecks intentionally.