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Manga comics about aviation: behind the scene with Avianista creator

8/10/2017

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Manga Big Bang! has released a  one-shot manga comics by a special guest titled Avianista on 25th July 2017 via our Patreon site. Avianista follows the daily life of an Indonesian flight attendant Adinda, a fictional character created by writer Gerry Soejatman. This charming comic with art and story telling style similar to seinen genre in Japanese manga is sometimes comical, and at times, mellow. Manga Big Bang! editor Tiffany has interviewed the artist behind it, Rimanti Nurdarina Baga.
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Welcome to Manga Big Bang, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hello Manga Big Bang!, glad that I can be part of this exciting project with you.
I'm Rimanti Nurdarina Baga, or Rima. Jakarta, Indonesia is where I live and also the setting place I usually use in my daily life themed comic books.
In my free time, I spend my lone time going around anywhere, observing anything. Sometimes there's always unexpected new insight that I can put into my works.
I love listening to chill indie or lo-fi musics, also some movie soundtracks. I can crouch in my bed with the lights off, concentrating on the musics by my earphones for hours just to imagine the plot of my comic characters as if they were in some epic film reel in cinema. It helps me writing the stories as close as possible to its sentimental point. Watching films definitely inspires me.
Last but not least, obviously, I put my soul in aviation, mostly the commercial industry. Nothing beats the thrill of listening airplane engines roar near me and the crazy idea of flying tons of steels to the sky.
I can talk about aviation for hours and days with anyone, sharing my passion on it, through illustrations and comic books. Oh God sorry it's no longer 'a bit' anymore isn't it hahah.


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Adinda from Avianista
Tell us about the upcoming debut in MBB with the story Avianista: 

It's about an aviation geek and how the said aviation world reacts to him, in a very small scale, humorous banter.
Avianista is a one-shot comic book with open ending so I just leave the opportunity of continuation there.
I don't know if I would in near future though because right now I'm putting my concentration on newer works, about aviation too, definitely.
Avianista had been published by myself two years ago during a convention, people were looking forward to my works, and now to have a chance partnering with MBB, setting Avianista off to international readers is giving me back that excitement. I feel honored to be chosen as a partner here. Let's do our best together.


We are also very excited to be working with you Rimanti :-) How did you and your team came up with the idea of writing a story like Avianista?

First I need to explain about 'Airdrama'. It's an alias  name I made as my works are usually within helps or participation of others. I can't take the whole credit alone. Airdrama revolves only in aviation theme, and we focus on the authenticity, the accuracy of our works. This is to fill our educational mission as well. We have to be believable.

For this Avianista project by Airdrama team, I worked with Gerry Soejatman as writer and Fadjar Nugroho as producer. Gerry is a renowned aviation consultant that often gets invited by media, while Fadjar is a captain at Qatar Airways and he owns an educational website about commercial aviation. Avianista was intended to be a mini experimental project to test the water, on the target audience's interest for niche genre like what Airdrama aims. The idea came straight from Gerry himself, a full fledged aviation geek. I supervised him throughout the story building. Fadjar helped on the publication for a major pop culture convention at Jakarta.
We printed Avianista for only about 125 copies and it was sold so fast like a hot cake, we could barely sell anything by the 2nd day over 3 days long convention. We totally didn't expect that. Even after the convention ends, people were still demanding for reprints but we never had a plan, put aside the cost itself. A year after, we decided to make it free for read through our Facebook page. People shared it like crazy and we recognized that our target audiences are totally there.
Now, with MBB, we'd like to see how our Avianista flies in the 'international airspace'. We definitely hope for a smooth flight ahead.


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Which places would you like to visit/ have visited?

UK, London. Then to Brooklands Museum, meeting Concorde. The.Most.Beautiful.Airplane.Ever.Period. Would love to have a chance attending the events.
There's also one in Manchester at Duxford Museum. Not to forget meeting the MBB team hahahah.
Toulouse, France, for Airbus and Seattle, USA, for Boeing. For leisure, I'm dreaming about Santorini, Greece. I love all those white and blue combinations.
Honestly I've never been to many countries but I could frequently visit Singapore for a good, long walk around, feeling the city vibes.
I wish I can travel more to various places.


Any word for your fans and new readers?

If you are a fellow aviation geek, you'll enjoy this comic, and if you are an airline crew, you'll know the feeling of being weirded out by an obnoxious pax.
Even if you are totally not having a single clue about flying tins, you can still follow the drama while 'subliminally' being taught about aviation hahahah.
Avianista is not a long series but we'll keep working on some much more exciting new stories about aviation for everyone. Meanwhile, please enjoy the curious adventure of 'avgeek'.


Thanks and welcome to Manga Big Bang! 

You're welcome!

To read Avianista 1, ​click on the image below and follow the instructions to be our Patron! *Avianista 1's download link will expire on 25th August 2017.
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Manga Big Bang!'s Avatara manga artist Andrés Zerpa did it again! Winning entry for Silent Manga Audition

8/9/2017

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Andrés Zerpa, the artist of Manga Big Bang!'s comic Avatara has won the Editors Award this time in the prestigious yearly manga competition, Silent Manga Audition 2017 held by Coamix corp in Japan. He had previously won the Excellence Award in Silent Manga Audition 2016 along with his co-creator, the story writer of Avatara, David Thomas. What is the driving force that keeps Andrés' performing at high level? Manga Big Bang! editor Tiffany had interviewed him to get a glimpse into the life of this emerging star.

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Grace Flowers from Avatara
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Andrés' winning entry at Silent Manga Audition 2017
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Hello Andrés Zerpa, you’re already part of the team of MBB but can you please tell us a bit about yourself for those new readers?

I am 22 years old, I live in a city called Mérida in Venezuela, and I am 100% Christian. I decided that this is what I would do for life, so I started getting serious about drawing Manga since 2012. There have been ups and downs along the way (many more downs than ups) but I have continued giving my best despite all the circumstances. I see myself drawing for ever, with wife and kids, maybe in my country or in Japan drawing for one of those big and prestigious magazines, well... unless The Lord has other plans for me.

Could you tell us about the implications of being an artist in your country? 

Being an artist in my country is like riding a bike... but through burning lava. In Venezuela the situation is really delicate, in the economic aspect having the current highest inflation in the whole planet; in terms of security one of the most dangerous countries and not having a good leader to try to fix things up, really limits an artist work because almost nobody is interested in buying art, but staple foods, medicines and basic items. But thanks to The Lord and because I did not give up and continued straining, I am currently hovering over the lava, working for Manga Big Bang, winning SMA contests and designing characters for someone overseas I have been able to live of my drawings.

We know you’re a manga artist, but are you planning to write your own stories in a future? if so, what would you like to write about and why?

Oh yes definitely!  I would like to write a "shonen" story like Saint Seiya wich is my favourite series. A story where the hero continues to fight up against really powerful enemies, that may look impossible to defeat in order to save the earth, but by the power of the will and the support of brave friends he can overcome all and defeat them in the most wonderful way. That! is the type of story I would like to draw.

Tell us about the process of being the manga artist for Avatara

​It has been wonderful working in the Avatara project, thanks to the stories of my friend David Thomas who portrays the scenes in the script in such way that manga panels in my mind just start to flow like a river! Also with the advices of a pro Mangaka such as Miss Vivian (Dr. Vee), my brother in Christ and editor Ricky Hardjono and the help of my very talented assistant Alcula. I have to say it is hard to draw an action story with few people, but with them its not impossible.

On 2016 you won along with David Thomas the Excellence Award from Silent Manga Audition, with the title “Clowning Around” and this year 2017 you won for the second time the same award with the title “Boogy Boogy”; talk to us about this contest, award and the experience of competing with other artists around the world. 

Winning a Silent Manga Audition award was my dream since 2012, its one of the most prestigious world wide contests on the planet with very talented judges. This been said, obviously the competition is hard, there are exceedingly talented Manga artists in the most unthinkable places. Despite the "easy" guidelines for the silent manga, it is difficuld to portray the story without words but it is the essence of Manga; the text is suplementary, Manga should be like a silent movie on paper, to be able to entertain the reader with performance is the heart of Manga, what makes it unique from the other type of comics. This contest has taught me all of that, I am not saying that I am an expert or a proffesional in the field of Manga, but I will continue to work hard in order to fulfil my dream.

Impressive enough, Alcula, assistant to Andrés Zerpa, also got a nomination this year in SMA with the title “Spicy Love”. Alcula also happen to be a member of Dr.Vee Mangaka Club, online manga mentoring program founded by Dr.Vee the chief editor of Manga Big Bang! and is currently studying at level 7. We have included a brief interview with Alcula below.

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From Alcula's nominated entry, Spicy Love


​MBB would like to know how did you met your teacher; what did you gain from the experience and your future plans in this amazing industry. 

I met Andrés sensei about 2 years ago. I don't know what the exact story at that time but apparently he need an assistant to help him draw (mostly) background for Avatara. So my teacher Dr. Vee sensei introduced us and then we started working together. 

I was never drawing via digital media before and he taught me really patiently.

And then there is Silent Manga Audition. I joined it twice and I got much more than an improvement in my skills. The first time I joined SMA, I got my mental and mind blown because creating a "good" manga is not as easy as I thought. It's different from when I was an assistant because no one guided me in the process of making manga. Becoming an assistant is easier because you just need to draw what the mangaka (*manga creator) tells you. I remembered that I almost gave up and I also remembered that I cried with a so-not-manly-tears when I finished the silent manga.

The reason for my tears is because: first I finished the manga and second is because I know that no one in the right mind want to read this (sorry for my language) f*cking piece of sh*t. Even so I still submit it to the audition knowing that I will not get any award because I felt something special in it. It's like a mark in my life which I can't never forget. It teach me to have a mindset of grit, perseverance and not giving up because I believe that failure is not a permanent condition.

Sorry if I talk to much because I don't think that the reader will understand if I only say that "I got a slap from reality and learn to become more perseverance" from my first experience in SMA.

In the second time I joined SMA, I used my experience from my first audition and somehow got an "award candidate". It's an improvement although I felt there is not much I gain other than improvement in skills and a bit of joy.

For future plan, maybe I'll join the next SMA round and I considering to go publish via web comic. But still, I really want to try to publish my work in Japan so I need to learn Japanese first, mainly kanji.

Thank you very much Alcula for sharing your experience frankly. It is inspiring and insightful, and we hope that it will be a source of learning for budding creators out there.

Links to read Andrés Zerpa and Alcula's winning entries at SMA 2017:

Boogy-Boogy
Spicy Love
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Manga Big Bang! goes to Comic Con Tunisia 2017!

7/10/2017

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Dr. Vee, The editor in Chief of Manga Big Bang!, the creator of MBB's manga series The Rose of Buckingham Palace along with co-author and musician GA for Little Rigatoni and the Revolution of the New Food Pyramid was invited as special guests to the second Tunisia Comic Con on 7th-9th July 2017.  
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Dr. Vee as Special Guest of Comic Con Tunisia 2017  

​What not many people know about Tunisia, a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert, is that it is a melting pot of different cultures and is far from the conservative image that is sometimes portrayed in outdated travel websites. Another interesting fact is Tunisia has 12 locations where George Lucas' Star Wars film was shot, as well as Indiana Jones film sites. The most iconic one being the Lars homestead featuring the home where Luke Skywalker grew up in and the landscape of planet Tatooine. 
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Lars homestead is a distance away from Tunis. Star Wars Tunisia is organising guided tours to visit the sites. Dr.Vee and GA selfie-ing at Star Wars Tunisia exhibition booth.
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Concert was held by local Tunisian band along with mass singalong of anisongs

​Comic Con Tunisia was held for the first time in 2016 and it is the first comic con ever held in North Africa. The founders, Mariem and Abdul Oueslati belong to the Star Wars Tunisia organisation, a group of Star Wars fans who restored the abandoned Star Wars film shooting sites, organize tours and campaign for its awareness and preservation. The idea of comic con started from there, and they started running smaller pop-culture events, discovered that there is a huge interest on everything related to comics, manga, cosplay, games, and films that eventually snowballed into a big convention.


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New Manga Big Bang! merchandises were created for the event.
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On the second day Dr.Vee presented by MC Karim spoke about the importance of staying faithful to one's dream while introducing Dr.Vee Mangaka Club, the manga mentoring program or manga school that she founded in 2012 as well as Manga Big Bang!, English language manga magazine based in UK. There she spoke about the need for the world to learn the high techniques in comics creation employed as artists in Japan, where the industry is matured while communicating their own cultural identity to show different perspectives. Manga Big Bang! is aiming to unite the world in using the world's lingua franca, the English language to tell stories by creators from all over the world to audiences from any background.

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MC Karim, a renowned Tunisian TV Presenter/rap musician and Dr.Vee
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Manga Hela, Tunisian concept artist who is known for drawing manga inspired wall murals
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Dr. Vee were also featured as a judge for cosplay competition where the contestants dresses up in their own chosen character from comics, manga,  game, animation, or film. There are two other juries who are cosplayers themselves and the contestants are judged based on the physical likeness to the character, quality of the costume and the acting, which needs to portray the character while captivating the audience. There are many powerful performances e.g. spiderman crawling around the stage to exquisite costumes with fantasy animal prop. The performances were both entertaining and impressive for the audience.

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First prize goes to Aymen Maghraoui as Sunwell Hunter, blood elf from World of Warcraft, second prize to Anouar Bouzrati as Reinhard Overwatch and third prize to Hichem Korbosli as Optimus Prime Transformers.
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​Other special guests include David Mack, an American comic book artist and writer, known for his creator-owned series 
Kabuki and for co-creating with Joe Quesada the deaf Marvel Comics superhero Echo, Amr Hussein, the CEO of Koshk Comics, an Egyptian mobile phone app to read comics,  Chakib Daoud and Seif Eddine Nechi, Tunisian comic artists and evangelists. On the third day comic book talk was held as discussion panel between guests from different fields on where the future of comic book lies and the importance it plays today in spreading ideas and uniting the world. 
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Image reference: https://www.facebook.com/Comic-Con-Tunisia-315855438757558/
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Left to right: MC Karim, Seif Eddine Nechi, ​David Mack, ​Amr Hussein, Chakib Daoud, Dr.Vee

Comic Con Tunisia have succeeded in planting the seeds of opportunity for the creative talents of Tunisia and we are looking forward to see the movement spread throughout north Africa.
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6 Obscure Anime Series Lost in Time

6/5/2017

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The current anime streaming market-to-home-video format means North American audiences have quick and easy access to almost every show, every season. In days of yore, this was far from standard and many series went under the radar, never to resurface. This week's list looks at one series from each staple genre with a few qualifying points: it aired on television in Japan, it was never fully released legally in English, fansubs are not readily available, and it ran at least one cour (often much, much more).
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6. Hana no Ko Lunlun (Magical Girl) Anime Sols has had moderate success bringing lesser known or older magical girl series to the forefront. Others, like Hana no Ko Lunlun are still wallowing in obscurity. The story follows French orphan girl Lunlun who teams up with a talking dog and cat to help them find a magical flower. The late 70s series got very limited exposure stateside under the title Angel by ZIV International who produced two episodes cut from multiple Japanese episodes.
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5. Pro Golfer Saru (Sports) The comedic sports series has an impressive pedigree. The original manga was helmed by Motoo Abiko a.k.a. Doraemon'sFujiko Fujio A. Saru, who like his namesake is reminiscent of a monkey, has honed his golf skills by practicing in the countryside with a homemade club. He takes on a mysterious Mr. X to prove his self-proclaimed status as a "pro golfer." The story never came stateside which could be credited to the U.S.'s tepid reception to golf. The 1970s series is still popular enough in Japan though, and got a DVD release in 2010 and a Wii video game.
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4. Pachislo Kizoku Gin (Shonen) Around the time Nobuyuki Fukumotointroduced the world to gambling manga Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji, Kengo Asaipenned Pachislo Kizoku Gin about pachinko journalist (is that a thing?) and college student Ginya Otonashi who discovers he's actually really, really good at Pachinko. The series ran for 23 episodes and followed Ginya as he meets new people during his run as a "Pachiko Aristocrat."
3. Pygmalio (Fantasy) Pygmalio is a mix of Greek mythology and traditional fantasy settings. Nippon Animation produced the 39-episode series in 1990 and it would have been right at home on U.S. TV as a younger version ofConan the Adventurer, He-Man, or The Pirates of Dark Water. The story follows the quest of super-strong Prince Kurt to return his mother back to normal after she's turned into a statue by Medusa.
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2. Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (Shojo/Romance) The title of this anime might ring a bell for you or anyone else familiar with American Folk music. The semi-biographical anime series is named after the well-known tune by Stephen Foster, otherwise regarded as "the father of American Music." The titular "Jeanie" in the series is named for Foster's wife Jane Denny McDowell and followers their lives as young children in Pennsylvania in 1838. Was historical fiction considered unpalatable for U.S. kids because it didn't stopLittle House on the Prairie from taking off.
1. Zenderman (Sci-Fi) Zenderman is sandwiched between its better known predecessor Yatterman and Rescueman from Tatsunoko Productions' "Time Bokan Series." The series follows Tetsu, Sakura, and Amattan as they literally race through time to discover the Elixir of Life before their evil pursuers.Yatterman proved unsuccessful among fans when it was up for funding onAnime Sols so prospects are likely lower for the even less well known Zenderman.
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Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-list/2014-06-07/.75251

​Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. 
​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Beginner's Guide to Gundam

6/3/2017

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An introductory course to everything Mobile Suit Gundam

I sometimes wonder what a newbie thinks about when they hear the word Gundam, and knows nothing about it. Do they envision the iconic RX-78 Gundam, a group of teenage pretty boys, Gunpla (*Gundam plastic model), those people who dress like Nazis at anime conventions (*the uniform of fictional Autonomous Republic of Zeon which is modeled after Nazis uniform), or do they just get confused? Most convince themselves that there are a trillion Gundam series out there in anime land, so there is no point starting now. Back in the day I felt the same way; but do not fret, I’m here to help. Let us start with the basics first. What is Gundam? ​​
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The word Gundam actually means exactly what it sounds like, gun and dam. It is supposed to signify a unit that is so powerful that it can hold back wave after wave of enemy fighters, much like a dam you would put in a river. Of course the unit has to fight back, and it does that with a gun. Before
 Tomino came up with that idea, he first played around with the name Gundom, a mixture between the word gun and freedom. And before that was Freedom Fighter Gunboy, which sounds ridiculous. 
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Gun + Dam... !??

Mobile Suit Gundam is an anime franchise that started way back in the late seventies, (1979), and has since spawned 28 different anime television shows, OVAs, and movies. This is the wall that most people see when they want to start watching Gundam, I feel the same way when I think about Star Trek. Do you have to watch them all in order understand the story? Absolutely not! 
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Gundam has two different categories that all of its anime fall into, shows that follow the original storyline that was created during the first show called the Universal Century, and shows that take place in separate universes, like Gundam Wing for example. Shows that take place in the Universal Century should be watched in order (whether it be the order it aired in, or timeline order, it doesn’t matter). However, shows that do not fall into the Universal Century can be watched in any order, besides Gundam Destiny (and you shouldn’t be watching that anyway.) 
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Why watch Gundam?
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Because it was the first to break away from the over-the-top silliness that mecha anime of that time was known for. Instead, the robots in Gundam were just another tool used during war, like a tank or airplane. It was an attempt to make a realistic robot anime, using science as their bricks and motor instead of hot blood. Though 30 years later part of this concept has been lost, but we will get to that at another time. In conclusion, Gundam was the first real robot show. ​

Ok, so you want to watch Gundam now, but don’t know where to start? From the beginning of course.

Reference:
http://www.animevice.com/news/beginners-guide-to-gundam/4450/

MBB editorial note


​MBB recommend looking for the animated series Gundam the Origin and the same title for its manga adaptation which is storyboarded and drawn by the director of the original series Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. The art is amazingly beautiful with traditional penmanship. Watch out for Fraw Bow's thighs! *cough*

The war in Gundam the Origin is based on World War 2 and the characters' behavior are so true to life that you will find it hard not to sympathize with the children forced into war, being orphaned and having to look after one another, growing up fast, and romantic relations forming amid the chaos and stress of war. Though it is basically a serious story you might find yourself chuckling at the funny awkward moments when characters with complex backgrounds interact with one another. 

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. 
​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Beginner's Guide to Neon Genesis Evangelion

6/2/2017

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The complex saga broken down

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION has been over for more than a decade, but time hasn’t diminished its popular nor it's controversy. Having recently entered the world of “EVA” as a beginner, myself, I can attest that this show is worthwhile viewing to anyone looking to get into anime. As I've said many times in my column, few stories have captured my imagination so totally as EVANGELION and I'd already rank it as an all-time favorite in any medium - - comics, movies, novels, video games, and so on. It's really that good and I encourage you to watch it now.
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The Story
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In the “far-away future” of 2015, the world of EVANGELION is suffering from the ramifications of the Second Impact, a mysterious global catastrophe. The official story is that a meteor crashed into the Arctic and melted the polar ice-caps in 2000, but that really isn't the truth. Even though half of Earth’s population is dead and some major cities are now underwater, daily life’s more or less going on as it has, barring the occasional angel attack.
You read that right - - angel attack.  These things that are attacking are called “angels” but they definitely aren’t beautiful winged cherubs who dress in white robes and play harps. These angels are giant alien monsters who come in progressively more bizarre forms. When it becomes obvious that these beasts can’t be taken out with .50 caliber fire or heavy-duty rockets, the shadowy organization NERV slides in with a solution. It’s got a line of equally-strange giant machines called Evas which can take these monsters on, mano-a-mano.

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 Asuka and Unit-02

​Who better to pilot these walking weapons of mass destruction than some maladjusted teenagers, right? The story starts when young master Shinji Ikari is summoned to a rebuilt Tokyo-3 to save the city from Sachiel, the third of eighteen rampaging angels. It just happens that Shinji’s father, Gendo, is the head of NERV. It also just happens that Shinji’s the only one who can pilot the powerful “ Unit-01” Eva (and the reasons for that proved to be very… icky, by the series’ end.)
Shinji’s life of adventure begins thusly, as he’s joined by Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley-Soryu, two teen pilots who are just as troubled as he is. Since his mother’s long dead and his father's keeping him at arm's length, NERV’s captain Misato Katsuragi takes it upon herself to look after him as he balances the typical angst of attending high school and having to save the world every week.  It's kind of like he's a freshman on the varsity basketball team.

Characters

The story goes that EVANGELION’s creator came up with this show after a four-year-long bout of depression, so that ought to give you an idea as to where these characters are coming from. Everyone's got some kind of emotional problem, and some fans have actually taken the characters to represent specific psychological disorders. ​
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Shinji Ikari

1.
 Shinji Ikari 

The whiniest, wimpiest world-saving hero you'll likely ever encounter - - and that's what makes him so interesting. A shy teenager, Shinji questions himself and his motivations so much, he makes Hamlet look decisive by comparison.  Somehow, though, he frequently manages to save the day. Somehow.
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2. Misato Katsuragi

2. Misato Katsuragi 
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A captain of NERV who's simultaneously a red-blooded ass kicker and a bubbly RA.  Not surprisingly, she has significant trauma in her past and some heavy "daddy issues." She adopts Shinji when no one else cares about him and they form a familial relationship that occasionally gets inappropriate.
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Rei Ayanami

3. Rei Ayanami 
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The mysterious "first child" of NERV's program and pilot of the prototype Unit-00 Eva. Don't be fooled by her cute blue hair and big doey eyes; Rei's a big downer. She's reticent and unemotional to point of seeming autistic, and her true origins are messed on levels psychological, biological and, well, spiritual. 
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Asuka Langley-Soryu

4.
 Asuka Langley-Soryu 

A feisty German fraulein, Asuka (pronounced "AHS-KAH) is the "second child" and pilot of Unit-02, an Eva with red coating to match her fiery hair. Outgoing and enthusiastic, she seems like the only normal Eva pilot, but when her fellows start doing better than her, she loses her self-esteem in the worst way.  
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Gendo Ikari

5. Gendo Ikari 

Shinji's father and the commander of NERV, Gendo's a world class mastermind and also a world class jerk who's inhumanely cold and distant in relation to his own son. Surprisingly, he's quite the ladies man (though it's actually kind of gross.) Give him points for making white opera gloves work, though.
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What Can This Be Compared To?

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The dream team

​Calling EVANGELION just another giant robot anime is like calling WATCHMEN just another superhero comic. Much like that seminal graphic novel did, this show deconstructs the tropes of its genre and fills its cast with three-dimensional characters whose damaged personalities are a far cry from the straightforward heroes you’ll usually find in escapist fiction. If you enjoyed LOST for its complex storyline and long-standing mysteries, then you’ll love this show.  It rewards you for paying attention and many later revelations will change your perception of earlier episodes if you watch them again. At times, the storytelling recalls the work of Stanley Kubrick, particularly 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, in that many key plot points are never stated outright and you’ve really got to use your brain to peace together the puzzle and decipher the heady ideas. That being said, it’s still a very accessible show, and you can enjoy it without fully comprehending all the deeper meanings. However, if you desperately need answers when you get to the end - - WHAT HAPPENED TO SHINJI'S MOTHER?!?! WHERE DO THESE EVAS COME FROM?! WHAT'S THE LANCE OF LONGINUS?! WHAT DID I JUST WATCH ?!!? - - I recommend checking out fan site ReVolution of Evangelion for an extensive exploration of the series' mysteries.
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What You Need to Know

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The true finale

EVANGELION is the brainchild of
 Hideaki Anno, one of the co-founders of the animation studio, Gainax. The 26 episode-long series ran on Japanese TV from fall ’95 to spring ’96, and it was followed by two movies, DEATH & REBIRTH and THE END OF EVANGELION, in ’97. There have been several mangas that spin off threads from the story into different directions, but the show is always the original. It's not an adaptation. Currently, Gainax is putting out REBUILD OF EVANGELION, a series of feature-length remakes of the show, with animation updated to modern standards. You can think of these as big screen adaptations of the show, more or less, with altered characters and a streamlined story.
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What Should You Watch?

Due to budget problems and censorship threats Gainax suffered while producing the series, the studio hasn’t always gotten to properly execute its original intention.  As such, they’ve gone back and re-done parts a few times, creating a number of different versions. For clarity, you should get the Platinum Collection DVD box set instead of the Perfect Collection, as it includes “director’s cut” versions of key episodes with additional scenes and key alterations that really are necessary to understanding the show as a whole. You can skip DEATH & REBIRTH, as it’s just a condensed series recap, but you need to watch END OF EVANGELION. That isn’t negotiable. You are absolutely going to hate this series as whole if you stop watching with the last TV episode. Gainax ran out of money by the time they got around to making that finale, so it's an entire episode about the characters talking about their feelings and psychological hang-ups that leaves major points of the series unresolved. Think of END OF EVANGELION as the deluxe-sized final episode and be sure to check it out.  ​
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The kids and their ghoulish Evas


​BUYER'S GUIDE

Once again, you ought to get the Platinum Collection, not the Perfect Collection, and then order END OF EVANGELION as well. 
There you have it, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION broken down for the beginner. I can't recommend this series enough. A true tour du force, it'll warped your mind and maybe even change your life.

Reference:

http://www.animevice.com/news/beginners-guide-to-neon-genesis-evangelion/4495/

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
​

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Dr. Vee's Story: 'How I Became a Professional Manga Artist'

5/31/2017

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As a lot of you might have already seen, recently we chatted with the gaijin mangaka Dr. Vee about the best ways to become a professional manga artist if you live outside of Japan. After she took us through the necessary processes involved in becoming a professional, we got talking about her journey and her experiences in the medium. What it is that she did to reach her goal, and what it is she did once it had been reached - the good times, bad times and in between times.
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​Image taken from Ai Mai Mi

​Dr. Vee tells us that for as long as she can remember she wanted to be a mangaka. Raised on anime and in particularly on Doraemon, it was natural to her that she grew to idealize the creators, Fujiko Fujio, and from there she knew that she wanted - or was meant to be - a cartoon creator of some description. When asked about her first journey into the medium we found out that it was as she entered primary school that she began to draw with the use of speech bubbles and other such things. Having seen her ability and dedication, a classmate took the initiative and teamed up with Dr. Vee to form what was possibly the youngest (and probably most adorable) team in the industry. Her friend would write the stories and Dr. Vee would draw them - this bond continued for as long as they were in the same class and when that time drew to an end and they were seperated, Dr. Vee began to both write and illustrate her own manga. You could say it was at this point she became a professional - in time classmates and friends began trading possessions for her art. As her primary-school empire grew, so too did the fondness of her fans and in time a friend began paying her regularly for a long running series. This miniature scale empire continued to grow to the point that the teachers could no longer miss it - the whole operation was closed down.
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​Image taken from Ai Mai Mi

​As she grew older and reached middle school, the ‘real world’ was starting to take control. As most parents would do, Dr. Vee was pressured into academics and safer, more by-the-book pursuits of a career. Becoming a mangaka is a risky game and can often take the form of an all-or-nothing pursuit. After a countless number of arguments with her family, Dr. Vee eventually decided to go with the flow. At the age of 15, Dr. Vee was sent to the USA and UK to attend prep schools in hopes of getting into a med school.

“There was an air of 'academic achievement rules', and I felt great pressure for getting a place in medical school. At the time it felt as if I would be a complete failure if I didn’t reach that status. I struggled with my lifelong goal, and with all the stressful events going on around me, I chose to give in and go through med school instead of fighting for my dream.”

Working as a medical doctor for two years, Dr. Vee was drained of energy and in part enthusiasm.

“I had good salary that allowed me to get a car, live in nice neighborhood, buy designer labels. One day I reflected upon my choice and admitted that I was miserable despite the material success, and wondered what life would have been like if I had the courage to pursue my dreams.”

Following this train of thought Dr. Vee left her surgical job and once again began her search for an opening in the industry. After considering the possibility of moving back to the US to attend an art university Dr. Vee discovered a certain manga creator who ran classes for the medium in Jakarta, Indonesia.  
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“I felt that realistically at age 27 it was practically impossible to start learning the trade and make a success as manga creator in the competitive industry, but apparently I was wrong.”

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Image taken from Mangirl

​8 months after enrolling Dr. Vee succeeded in publishing her first work, PramBanana, in Indonesia. It was received very well and gained her a fandom of loyal readers. One and a half years following its publication Dr. Vee found herself on a plane to Tokyo to study manga in a designers school. Fueled on ignorance and completely unaware of how high the standards were in the industry, Dr. Vee made a beeline directly to the Shonen Jump office as soon as her plane had reached Japan. 

“I arranged an interview for a job as Masashi Kishimoto (creator of Naruto)'s assistant with my PramBanana comic pages in hand, done on low-quality A4 copy paper, full of outdated techniques.”

In the end things didn’t work out with Shonen Jump but as is often the case with life every failure brings with it some success. Though in the end nothing came of this particular endeavour Dr. Vee left the office after a short period of dealings knowing more about the industry and how it worked. 

Because of how the Japanese view trust and work ethics, it is often frowned upon to deal with more than one company at a time - especially if they're rivals. Though Dr. Vee was dealing with multiple publishers, she knew that she had to take a chance and ally herself to one of the many. In the end it was Shonen Sunday that she found herself working under and it was here that she managed to make her professional debut as a mangaka.
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Image taken from Mangirl

At times, we were told, the journey was of particular difficulty for Dr. Vee and although these times often felt like they could last forever, Dr. Vee never failed to continue looking in hope that someone would notice her own abilities.

“All the editors who previously showed much interest in my work suddenly stop doing so almost at the same time, after more than a year of working together.”

This slump was short lived, however and it was when a job opening for the assistant of Kenjiro Hata, the creator of Hayate the Combat Butler, opened up that Dr. Vee found her escape. It was at the hands of Kenjiro Hata that Dr. Vee was able to get a lot of her works into the limelight.

“One of my mentors, Mr. Hironobu Kaneko, who had been the head editor at Tezuka Production said that a mangaka should form a fully transparent relationship with his/her editor and be able tell everything to them like to a best friend”

Though many of her editors were helpful and offered key advice that lead her to becoming a professional, many would be very fickle about certain things and pay little to no heed to her efforts. We were told that certain editors would spare little time for her work, demand certain changes and then months later decide against the whole project. These times were obviously very stressful for Dr. Vee but through speaking to her we got the idea that even these times she deemed incredibly valuable to her journey.

We were informed about a particular friend who had had her work discarded as ‘rubbish’ by one editor and published by another. One thing that we found out from listening to Dr. Vee is that editors are individuals - being told one thing by one does not mean that you will be told the same thing by another.
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Image taken from Usagi Drop

After working very closely with Kenjiro Hata, the previously mentioned creator of Hayate the Combat Butler, for almost 2 years, Dr. Vee found her way to Shonen Sunday, where we already know she debuted. Her journey to Shonen Sunday was by no means an easy one and probably couldn’t have been done without the help of many others throughout her life. Through talking to Dr. Vee though we discovered that one thing above all else made it a possibility for her and that was her ability to keep looking forward and keep that passion that she had had since a child.

Inspired perhaps by the difficulties in her own journeys, or perhaps by those who had helped her, Dr. Vee offers manga classes for all ages and abilities. In her classes Dr. Vee offers so much more than drawing techniques alone and actually offers guidance into the industry itself. Growing now from a physical class to an online one, Dr. Vee’s Mangaka Club is open to everyone regardless of age, location or ability. Classes are held on a one to one basis and are certainly something we feel you should all at least take a closer look at. You can find all the information you might need here.
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Image taken from Mangirl

“Every step I have taken towards becoming a professional has been a valuable lesson, even the failures. One thing I wish I realized earlier is that dreams do come true. The universe will move in your favor when you focus on your goal, no matter how much seems to be against it. Age, financial circumstances, the language barrier and talent are not reasons not to achieve the goal, and it is never too late to start. I have seen many who thrived despite their adversities - the key is never to give up and to think outside of the box when all roads seem to be blocked.”
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Image taken from Mangirl

Reference:
http://media.goboiano.com/read-more-news.php?id=1322

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Inspirational speech by doctor turned manga creator

5/30/2017

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Dr. Vee, editor in chief of Manga Big Bang!®

​Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Middle East embraces Japanese culture through manga

5/29/2017

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Cheers to Japan: At the annual Doha International Book Fair at Qatar last year, Meitantei Conan (Case Closed) was among the popular series that was sold out

Middle Eastern girls embrace Japanese culture through manga

EACH year, the annual Doha International Book Fair picks a country as a special featured guest. For 2012, that honour went to Japan.
At the event, which was held from Dec 12 to 22 in the Qatar capital, I produced a runway show by “kawaii” fashion brands, a panel featuring voice actors and a cosplay (short for costume play) show. The runway show and panel were the first ever held in the Middle East, while the cosplay show was the first in the region to be held at a public arena.
Right next to the event space was a booth for Kinokuniya’s Dubai store.
More than 4,200 manga and character products were on display at the fair, and more than 3,500 were sold. Among the 2,500 manga on display – all of which were translated into English – 2,300 were sold. Popular series, such as One Piece andMeitantei Conan (Case Closed) were sold out.
There is a strong demand for manga in the Middle East. According to Kinokuniya’s Dubai store, the most popular vendor at the fair, at least 500 copies of English-language manga are sold each week.
“We selected manga that sold well at an earlier Dubai comic convention,” said Kinokuniya Dubai’s Tomoshi Uramoto, who manned the booth for the entire fair. “But we didn’t realise that young Qataris already had many manga.”
Uramoto said he prepared the first 10 volumes of Naruto to target new manga fans. However, he had to shelve the first and second volumes of the series as many fans already owned them. “We should’ve increased selections for hard-core manga fans,” he said.
Meanwhile, box sets of completed series also sold well. Sets of Death Note andVampire Knight sold out on the third day of the event, he said.
Shojo manga, or girl’s manga, dominated the shelves at the Dubai fair.
“In the Muslim world, public pastimes for women are still limited. As a result, there’s strong demand for home entertainment. Manga-loving girls constantly check the Internet and are more aware of the latest manga than boys,” Uramoto said.
“Series featuring school life are particularly popular because there aren’t coed schools here, and these girls are also interested in cultures they aren’t familiar with.”
Kimi ni Todoke, an international best-selling shojo manga, is popular in the Middle East.
At the Dubai comic convention, Uramoto sold a Japanese-language manga to a young female customer because the English version was sold out. She told Uramoto: “It’s OK. I’ll study Japanese (using this manga).”
According to a Japan Foundation survey, the number of people studying Japanese around the world was 2.1 million in 1998. The number increased to 2.35 million in 2003, to three million in 2006 and to 3.65 million in 2009. However, these figures do not include self-taught Japanese speakers, many of whom learn the language through radio or TV, private tutors or textbooks. Many of my Twitter followers fall into this category.
Despite the weakened brand power of Japanese home electronics and cars, more people are eager to study the language. This must be due to the rising popularity of manga and anime, which have become the most powerful ambassadors of Japanese culture. The lifestyles and environments depicted in manga have sparked interest in modern Japanese culture among Middle Eastern women.
At the Kinokuniya Dubai store, books and magazines featuring crafts, hairstyles and nail art are popular, Uramoto said.
“Manga and anime have become a gateway for people’s interest in Japan, and play a crucial role for women, especially in the Middle East,” Uramoto added.
Uramoto said he was overwhelmed by the widespread popularity of manga and anime in Qatar.
“Since it’s hard to obtain information, people here do a lot of research in advance before travelling all the way from Qatar to visit our Dubai store,” he said. “I’d like to open booths at book fairs in other Middle Eastern countries to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese manga.” – The Daily Yomiuri/Asia News Network

Reference:
http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?file=%2f2013%2f1%2f25%2flifeliving%2f12598460&sec=lifeliving

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Amazing Artwork By Chinese Manga Fan

5/27/2017

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Gaikuo-Captain, A Student At Beijing Chemical Engineering University, Originally Just Wanted To Make A Profile Photo For Himself And Somehow Ended Up With Stuff Like:
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Reference: http://dailyartcocktail.com/amazing-artwork-by-chinese-manga-fan
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Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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