Quiz
What kind of mythological creature are you?
Interview with mangaka shonen
Page 4-7
Page 4-7
Interviews with Scanlators
Manga and anime reviews
Novels Original stories Page 4-7
Manga
horoscope Page 4-7
Editorial Note To all Easy Going Life mangazine and manga readers out there~ We hope you enjoyed reading the 1st issue of Easy Going Life and that you will equally enjoy our 2nd issue. Easy Going Life is a free, seasonal online magazine focusing on manga, manhwa, manhua and webtoons promotion. With the hope of nurturing a sustainable manga community, we intend to involve all sorts of manga lovers in this publication, be they mangaka, manga publishers, scanlators or even independent manga fans who just want to be heard! In this second issue of Easy Going Life, we are pleased to present a wide variety of art and articles, keeping up the standards we set ourselves in our first issue. It is always a pleasure for us to work with inspired young
www.eglmagazine.com
writers and promising new artists in our publication, and this time we were blessed with some great contributors. In this issue, you will find an interview with Shonen, mangaka of BB Project and Omega Complex and come across articles and stories by collaborators like Shinigami, Malamber, Pocky, Fathom and Sachula who have been very enthusiastic contributors to this magazine! If you have any interest in contributing, whether it's an article an idea or feedback, or even if you are an artist that you would like your manga /webtoon etc to be promoted in our magazine, then please contact us at easygoinglifemagazine@gmail.com or use the contact form on our website. Let’s all welcome spring with great expectations and enthusiasm! Easy Going Life team.
Flower design by Baratha marjohram.deviantart.com
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Easy Going Life magazine team and contributors:
1 2-3 4-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21
> Cover Cover art by weixwei > Editorial Note
Editors: Tallrice, Claudia, Toady, Henchum Art Director: Claudia Graphic Designers: eSper, Extraho Cover art by: Weixwei > weixwei.deviantart.com Featured writers on this issue: Fathom, Malamber, Pocky, Shinigamilist, MacKnight, Sachula, do_or_die Featured artists on this issue: Lyhony > lihony.deviantart.com Chibi-girl > chibigirl21.deviantart.com Camille > forest-warrior.deviantart.com Josser > sweet-poison4869.deviantart.com ileranerak > ileranerak.deviantart.com Spirafall > spirafall.deviantart.com Tetisheri> moontessa.deviantart.com Baratha > marjohram.deviantart.com Perkyz > perkyz.deviantart.com Nobody-san > Paper art artist Weixwei > weixwei.deviantart.com Pocky
If you are an artist or writer or journalist and you would like to contribute your work or promote your work through our magazine you can contact us at: easygoinglifemagazine@gmail.com
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22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 36-37 38-39 40-41
Index
> Interview with mangaka Shonen > Novel Rose Tiger > Interviews with scanlators Gapan EGS
> Manga rewritten Crepuscule > Manga Reviews Lost in London > Manga rewritten ID > Manga Reviews Hell’s Kitchen > Quiz: What kind of mythological creature are you
> Manga Reviews Dark Mage > Interviews with scanlators Toady EGS
> Anime review Devil May Cry > Interviews with scanlators Kayit EGS
> Game Reviews
> Interviews with scanlators Caeri EGS
> Learn Japanese
> Manga Reviews Under Prin > Craft Art / Best manga lines
> Manga Horoscope
You are not allowed to copy, publish or distribute any or part of the articles and art published in this magazine withough the consent of its copyright owners. Š Copyright Easy Going Life Magazine all right reserved.
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ka a s ng w e Ma i v r ith e t In w
with Shonen
EGL: Could you tell our readers about a few of your manga? BB Project was your 1st published work, right? Then came Omega Complex? How about “Outlaw Players”?
Shonen: BB Project was indeed my first published work and was supposed to be some practice to me but I have to admit, I ended up really enjoying drawing it. I took this project to such a personal level. It is just sad that it was cancelled. My second work for the same publisher, Omega Complex, was an interesting experience in which I took part in only the drawings but it’s not something I’d really like people to remember me for... Right now, I'm working on a manga for another publisher only for professional purposes while I'm thinking about a way to get BB Project back on the scene (there is a small chance). Otherwise, you're right, I'm working on a reboot of Outlaw Players, which remains my personal work, and I intend to make it a webcomic again if no publisher is interested in it at all. EGL: How long have you been drawing manga and what got you into the manga drawing industry? Shonen: I have been drawing for nearly 13 years. I mean, seriously practicing in order to get better and better. Before getting in the manga drawing industry, I really wanted to be a character designer and be a part of the process in a videogame’s creation until I received an offer from a publisher in 2006. That's how BB Project got its debut. Now that I think about it, the reason why I accepted the job wasn't because I wished to be a mangaka at all but because I sucked at inking. Yes, I took this opportunity as a challenge to test myself and if I wasn't worthy, it would be a great opportunity to work harder to improve myself... EGL: What do you enjoy drawing more, colored or black and white art? And how long does it take to draw a page in black and white, compared to colored? Shonen: Colored and black and white art are two interesting aspects of drawing. I like them both, really, though I admit I spend most of my time drawing in black and white. Indeed, except the fact I do this for a living, I find it much easier to just pick up a sheet of paper to draw some rough and add inking traditionally than relying on my drawing skills on the combo Photoshop + Wacom tablet. I take some hours to draw a manga page (more like 5-10 hours since I'm alone) but it feels more natural to me. Of course, I would like to spend more time on CGs but I guess I'm still uncomfortable with this tool and there is still so much I can learn about it. Until
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Interview Chair
It is a great joy for us to be hosting an interview with the mangaka of “BB Project” and “Omega Complex” Shonen. Read about his likes /dislikes and future plans!
now, I have hardly finished any colored illustration because I get bored or despaired by my lack of knowledge but I hope to get better.
EGL: Do you draw every day? What do you do when you aren't drawing? Shonen : That's right and now that I think of it, my daily life is dictated by my work as a mangaka... Sounds like I've become some sort of slave or something and it's a bit scary. Otherwise, I eat, sleep, watch animes and read manga if I have some time to spare. I also like to have a walk, without a goal, just the need to think about something else and sometimes I hang around with friends. EGL: If you have time to read manga, watch anime or play games, which ones do you currently like most or thinking of reading/watching? Shonen: I didn't take the time to read manga recently so I guess I'll pass on that one but as for anime, I really enjoyed Nisemonogatari, Steins; Gate and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I absolutely have no clue about what I might watch next though... Maybe Fate Zero…? EGL: Is there any mangaka or other artist who has been particularly inspirational to you? Shonen: Hah, It’s not difficult to say who is the manga artist I get inspired by the most. Indeed, when it comes to manga, my favorite mangaka is, without a doubt, Ito Ogure (Oh!Great). I also admire mangaka such as Kentaro Miura (Berserk), Kenji Oiwa (Project NHK) or Yûsuke Kozaki (Kyôko Karasuma)... Otherwise, I really like artists like Craig Mullins, Akihito Tsukushi (I recently met him at the last Comicket in Japan and he was such a nice person), Hyung Tae Kim, Takamichi... Just too many to list them all. EGL: How would you advise aspiring artists working towards becoming mangaka? Would you give them any warnings? Can you tell them what they should look forward to the most? Shonen: Actually, I don't think I'm the right person to give advice because it wasn't the reason why I worked so hard to begin with. But, if I had to say something, I’d say there are actually at least 3 things that a person needs in order to get into the manga industry: practice, patience and... luck. Practice and patience seem pretty obvious but they really form the basis of your growth in terms of technique and style. It takes some time to master something and to find your own path. It’s not an easy task, I admit, but if it were too
easy, what’d be the point of doing it? As for the “luck” part, it isn’t really something you can work on. Being “at the right place, at the right time" is essential. Creating a name for yourself can help make things go a little more easily, though. Other than that, I’d like to add that people who really want to become mangaka should give it a try no matter what. There is nothing to regret so far for having working so hard for and for those who have experienced failures, there is no need to feel ashamed, they still have to believe... And if they think it was a waste of time and energy, in that case I would say this : "simply stop for a moment and take a look back at the path you have created along your experiences. Even if you don't realize it now, you may have achieved something even greater..." Oh, I just realized that everything I said earlier was from the point of view of an artist but I guess it stands true for all aspects of being a mangaka. EGL: Do you prefer modern tablets and photoshop applications or stick to traditional pencils and crayons? What do you suggest? Shonen: Hmm... It seems I have already answered to this question previously but it doesn't matter. Since I spend most of my time drawing black and white pages for manga, I would say I'm more familiar with this medium but I really want to practice my skills on my tablet since colored illustration is one of my weak points. I guess I suffer from what plagues every drawer/artist who looks for improvements: the "lack of time". EGL: What are your plans for the future? Are there any plans for any new manga? Do you hope to continue old ones? BB Project for example. You know there are a lot of people who would love to see that~ Shonen: I'm already working on a new manga project although there is nothing personal to it, so don't expect my usual touch (well, if there were any...) and I'm trying to get BB Project back. There is no publisher interested in this manga so far but there may be a chance to see it again... though I can't promise anything. I know that some people used to read BB Project since a scanlation team translated it in english, but it actually surprises me when you say there are a lot of people who would love to see what's coming next in the series. I usually try to stay away from critics and discussions about BB Project in order to keep focus on my work but in the end, I'm glad about fans' reactions. It may even motivate me to work harder to bring the manga back.
EGL: Do you think that the manga industry is suffering from the recent global economic troubles? What might we, as readers, do to sustain it? Shonen: Heh, I’m not sure if I can comment on that. I'm not an economic analyst after all... Even if I'm perfectly aware something like global economic troubles can impact the manga industry, on the other hand, I can't help but think that during this kind of crisis people would like to temporarily escape from reality. Therefore, they might play video games or even read manga... There is no special advice I can give to the readers, except to stay true to themselves and if they really enjoy reading something, then they can simply buy it. EGL: Do you feel that scanlation helps manga artists or otherwise? Can you see a future with scanlators working more closely with artists for manga translation and distribution? Do you have any suggestions for scanlators to find a way to work more closely and along the wishes of mangaka? Shonen: That is a difficult question. Scanlation can basically make some totally unknown gems in manga open to the public, but it is said it can also ruin other international titles because people prefer to read scanlations instead of buying them. At my level of fame (I don't know if it exists actually), scanlation can be no harm to someone like me since I'm mostly unknown. BB Project, for example, was intended for the French readers and with nothing else in mind. I was perfectly fine with that but then it was translated into English and spread over the internet... At first, I was embarrassed to know people from all over the world would have the "potential" to see my works because I thought, at that time, this manga shouldn't deserve that much attention. But in the end, I have received some nice comments from foreign readers and I even sent my cheers to the scanlation team since I admire their works. So, in my case, scanlation doesn't ruin my work, on the contrary, it helps manga like BB Project to be read by a far larger audience, while it was originally aimed for France only (I have heard it is published in Bulgaria as well). That said, I'm not sure if it would be the same for any internationally famous mangaka. Having scanlators working more closely with artists can be a great idea. They are not professionals but passionate and even their translations seem more "accurate" than the published ones sometimes. Now that I think of it, I actually may work with a scanlation team when I work back on the reboot of Outlaw Players because I will submit it in French in the first time. And since my english is quite "awful", I will need some help... If people want to see it translated, of course ! Well, the best way to get to work closely to a
mangaka would be to make an offer directly but since most of them are Japanese or don't show their e-mail address, the only option left is... abduction... But I don't think this is a good idea at all. EGL: What do you think about manga aggregator sites like mangafox and mangareader? Shonen: Honestly, I like the fact that we can read all our favorite manga in one place. Instead of checking each scanlation team for new releases, all we have to do is to check the main page of sites like mangafox and mangareader, as you mentioned. Moreover, it often allows us to discover new series we never would have heard of and thus, expands our knowledge about manga culture. However, I recently heard about some of those sites making money off of the hard work of the translators. The complaints I’ve heard from translators seem legitamate. I know it costs money to run a server and to stock all those files but the scanlation teams translate manga in order to share their passion with everybody… and they do it for free! So, even if I like the idea of a website where all the scanlations are gathered, I wouldn't say it’s a good enough reason to make money on fans' work, because it sounds more like some kind of business then and it creates an ethical problem.
cards while hanging around in Akiba. For instance, you could get a special illustration if you gather 9 different cards... I was obviously excited by this idea and since I had no inspiration at that time, I really wanted to give it a try. In the end, I think it could have been even better but my friends were very pleased with the gift and that’s what matters most.
EGL: What's your favorite food/drink? Would our guess of Pepsi Max be far off? Shonen: Well, simply put: "I love Kentucky Fried Chicken" !! Now that this is said, I also love fish based dishes... But the truth is as long as something is edible, I can eat it. Otherwise, my favorite drink is Pepsi Max obviously. EGL: Could you share one of your most inspirational moments with us? What did it feel like? How did it happen? Shonen: Haha... To tell you the truth, I can’t remember any of those precious moments... Maybe I am getting too used to this job or maybe there are too many to tell. After giving it some thought, there may be moment I can tell you about. I recently did an illustration for two friends of mine to celebrate the new year while we were in Japan. The drawing itself was in an A3 format (42cm by 29.7cm) but the trick is you can split it into 2 parts. I got the idea from anime trading
View this artwork in full double page spread in the following pages.
EGL: Please tell us a bit about yourself! Married? Children? Dogs? Cats? Music? Shonen: Hah, no. I've always been single and I guess this is better this way. I'm just your average guy, no real ambition, not really interesting to talk with but I do listen to music: mainly Original Soundtracks from various games and animations. I guess this is how I get some inspiration after all. EGL: Is there anything else you would like to convey to the readers of Easy Going Life? Shonen: Please, don't make the same mistake I did! Get some sleep whenever you can!! There is no dream for a dead body...
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Artwork by Shonen http://shonensan.deviantart.com
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7 Artwork by Shonen http://shonensan.deviantart.com
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l e v o N
RoseTiger by Malamber
Behold! The novel that won 1st place in the 3rd EGS Writing Contest!
Chapter 1 Pulling his hood a little farther down over his forehead, he glances to the right to check that the person he is following is still behind him. The reflection from a car’s side mirror assures him the guy hasn’t doubled back. Ha, as if I need my eyes to tell me where he is! Why is his scent so damn strong, anyway?
Glancing around to assure himself that no one saw his little spectacle, he walks to the edge of the roof that overlooks the door where the potent scent stopped. Pulling back his hood, he reveals penetrating golden, amber colored eyes, and short hair, a strange shade of orange with horizontal black streaks. Standing at 6ft 2in and weighing around 220lbs, he carries himself with a grace that is fluid.
Pulling in a deep breath through his nose and Squatting down, he begins to look through the letting it out through his mouth, he continues to windows in the building, after checking its roof follow the slightly less potent scent that he can just in case someone was on watch there. Hm, tell is the same, but has faded with time. He no curtains over the windows, that’s a surprise. laughs under his breath at the guy’s attempts But very helpful. Now why would people that to look behind him to make sure he isn’t being are up to no good choose this as a meeting place? Catching followed. He wonders what movement it would look like to somethrough one of one watching this from the the windows, he side: maybe they would “I don’t like it Tom. This place is focuses his eyes think that he was the one and sees the just so damn exposed; this whole being followed. man he ‘folthing freaks me out. What’s up lowed’ here. A few strides later, he
“
with that cage anyway?”
notices the scent travels off into a doorway to his left. Stopping, he moves to the edge of the sidewalk. Then, with a glance both ways, under the guise of checking for traffic, he checks again that his mark is still coming towards him. He proceeds to cross the street, heading towards an alleyway that is conveniently parallel to the building where he lost the strange scent.
Travelling about 20 yards down the alley, he stops and checks his shoes’ traction. Don’t want to end up draped over a dumpster again because I have mud on my shoes. As soon as his check is done, he leaps to the side placing his right foot squarely on the wall. Then he shoves away with just his right leg and shoots to the wall on the left side of the alley. Placing his left foot on the wall, he shoves against it again, propelling him back to the right side, about ten feet higher than where he started. Using this method of jumping back and forth, he reaches the top of the building that makes the left side of the alley.
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”
Unable to hear from across the street, he watches as his mark talks to another guy who must have already been in the building. He frowns when he sees two more walking towards his mark. That makes four that I can see, what was it that that book said? Take the number you can see and multiply it by the same number then assume that is the least amount of people in the room. Going by that logic I’d say at least sixteen people in there; those odds suck! Frowning to himself, he sighs audibly, and then mutters under his breath, “Maybe I should warn them that I’m here and that they need to call some friends.” Deciding that the mystery of the strange scent should be a priority over his entertainment, he walks back to the side of the building that overlooks the alley and steps off the roof, landing on the balls of his feet and absorbing the impact by a slight bend at the knees. He starts off for the door the person he named Mark went through.
Walking through the door as if he owned the place, he stops in the entryway and looks to the stairs that lead up to the second floor. “No one here to greet me? Ah… crooks these days, they act like it’s too much work to set up a lookout.” Calmly taking off his jacket he continues. “Let’s leave the jacket here just in case it gets hairy up there. After all, I like this one. Wow I really need to stop with the whole talking to myself thing, someone is going to overhear me and think I’m nuts.” Walking up the stairs, he wonders about the scent that triggered his hunting instinct so fully that he couldn’t even think about ignoring it. Not that he wants to; after all, it was the whole reason he went out today. It just galls him to think he has no choice but to be jerked around by his peculiar nature. Stopping at the door his nose led him to, his hearing picks up a conversation taking place on the other side. Deciding that he is in no rush, he pauses to hear them out. “And you’re sure that’s what the boss said?” “I’m getting fed up with repeating myself. He said to wait here and someone would come to relieve us of the package very soon.” “I don’t like it Tom. This place is just so damn exposed; this whole thing freaks me out. What’s up with that cage anyway?” “Don’t ask me, I’m more weirded out by how thick the bars are. I mean, come on, that’s a bit overboard isn’t it?” When the three voices quiet down, he decides to get the fun started. Grabbing the door handle, he opens the door and puts a smile on his face. “Ah! There you are Mark! You’re early. I wasn’t supposed to show you the building for another hour.” Calmly walking toward the group of five guys standing in the middle of the room, he continues talking. “Wow, you said you were bringing friends to help with the decision, but I didn’t think you would bring this many.”
The guy he addresses gets over his surprise and says “Who are you calling Mark? My name is Tom, and what the hell are you talking about anyway?” As four more guys begin to approach him from the left, he puts a puzzled look on his face. “Tom huh? Wow I had you figured for a Mark! Anyway I’m Raizel from the property management office. As you can see this loft space is rather large, and you have a separate room for sleeping as well as a private bathroom. Isn’t it everything I promised you over the phone?” Positioning himself so he can watch the two doors he just pointed out, Raizel stops talking and sets his feet shoulder length apart, ready to push off into whatever direction he wants to, when the time comes.
“
vent themselves from tripping over the guy Raizel sent their way. Stopped, they just stared blankly, trying to come to terms with what just happened in front of them before they could take twelve steps. One guy yells “We need help in here.” Then the second group brace themselves as Raizel starts to charge at them.
ing at his throat. A guy she has never seen before, Wow he is cute! jumps back and starts to swear, but is cut short as his whole body is wracked with tremors. Then, so fast that she would have missed it if she had blinked, his clothes explode, and suddenly there is a huge tiger standing in his place.
This is just no fun. Come on guys, this is boring. Ducking under a hastily thrown punch, he sees one of the doors open. Looking closely to see if those coming from the other room have any weapons drawn, Raizel spots something that stops his time.
To be continued in the next issue...
The fact that it was a woman who opened the door has no real effect on him, but looking past her, he catches a glimpse of what appears to be a cage with a girl in it. Not “Mister, I don’t know, or care who able to see much from you are. But you have five secs angle, Raizel can only tell that she is in a onds to get out of here and forget fetal position, eyes you ever saw us.” closed and face pointed his way.
The guy named Tom just shakes his head and looks to the ceiling, Tom pulls one side of his jacket open to reveal a shoulder holster with a 9milli in it. “Or things are going to go the wrong way for you.” One of the guys in the second group interrupts, “It’s too late for that Tom, he’s seen us. He goes nowhere; at least not alive anyway. No reason to take any chances.”
Deciding he doesn’t want the second group to get too much closer, Raizel leaps forward and throws a fast jab at Toms adam’s apple. Feeling Tom’s throat collapse, he follows up with an elbow to the temple of the guy standing to the right of Tom and crushes his skull.
“
”
Suddenly his body feels like it has been doused with ice water. He jumps back away from the group and tenses his whole body. The only thought going through his head for the split second he can still think clearly is, This is going to hurt. The only thing he is able to say, “OH SHI—,” then, his body explodes in pain, robbing him of breath. This amount of pain he has felt often, but never from an injury. He would take getting shot, and thank the one who shot him. If only he didn’t have to feel the level of pain just starting to wrack his body.
As the second guy starts to collapse, Raizel spins and sends him flying toward the feet of Opening the door after hearthe second group to slow their progress. Of the three guys remaining within reach, two are staring at Tom in shock as he Raizel spins and sends him tries to get some air through his flying toward the feet of the ravaged throat. The third is trysecond group to slow their ing to pull his gun out, but in his haste, he is having trouble with progress. the thong that keeps it in place. Using the momentum from the spin he used to throw the second guy, Raizel delivers a heel kick to the back ing someof the third guy’s head, snapping his neck one yell for help, before he can get the gun out. Mary is As soon as his foot hits the ground, Raizel s t u n n e d what jumps, extending his right foot out straight to at deliverer a kick to the face of the fourth guy that she sees. Five memsends him sprawling ten to fifteen feet away. bers of the are When Raizel recovers from the kick, he thun- group ders a one-two combination into the face of the sprawled out on final group member that was with Tom that the ground with shoves his nose into his brain. Raizel watches movement only from calmly as the guy falls in place, like a puppet coming one who is with its strings cut. clutching In the second group, they had to pause to pre- and tear-
Raizel Illustrated by Lyhony > lihony.deviantart.com
”
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s w e i v r e t In
rs be m e pm u Gro
n tio cans a l an S Sc oing
Interview Chair
with Gapan th G wi Easy
Meet the elusive Gapan~ A technology wizard and admin with Easy Going Scans who keeps everything running smoothly so the other members can focus on other parts of the scanlation process. Not only does he manage a daunting amount of technological architecture, but Gapan is also one of our french>english translators and an old member of EGS!
Profile
First name: Baptiste Age: 21 From: France Hobbies: Manga/anime, tech stuff, movies, books (Fantasy/SF)
So let’s get started! Can you tell me your name, where you live, a bit about yourself and hobbies? Baptiste. I'm from Angers but I'm currently studying informatics in Nantes. I'm in my 4th year and 21 years old. I also work part time for a developing company. As for my hobbies, well, of course, I love mangas and animes. I love tech stuff in general too and I have done Judo for 13 years. Judo! And for 13 years! Do you practice judo competitively? Well, not now. But maybe later. I stopped for 3 years but started again when I missed sports. So I have to catch up for those 3 years. France~ Now I'm thinking of food and of palaces. Any recommendations for those of us who want to go to your country? Well there's a lot to see here. I'm from Angers, so I'll do publicity for my region, I guess. Pays de la Loire is a nice place to visit :) a lot of castles to see. What about for you? Where do you most like to be? Hum, a lot of places come to mind… If I say in front of my computer, will that
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sound too geeky? Or in some bar with friends, that’s usually what I enjoy the most. ;) When and why did you join EGS? Was there a project you liked? Was it to work with tech stuff? I joined in august 2010. I ended up talking to Claudia in IRC, and she just asked me if I was interested in working for the team as a French to English translator, so I joined. I don't even remember the reason I went on the IRC channel. I first worked on Rainbow and I'm currently translating TriPeace. Are you able to use your informatics skills, here, at egs? Tell me about some of your responsibilities as the web master. Yeah I'm able to use my informatics skills at egs, it's the main reason I'm an admin, since most of my duties are related to the server/website. As an admin, I participate in making decisions for the team. I have to check the server status regularly to make sure that everything is in order and to fix it when there's a problem. Sadly, a lot of things can go wrong with the server. If the server is overloaded for instance, I have to act. I have to make sure there's back up for everything too, in case some files are removed by mistakes, or just in case the server goes down. For the reader, some problems can come up sometimes too. I am sometimes asked to add some feature or another that often
involve scripting. Y ou have backup for all of EGSs releases? That must take up a lot of space! Yep, several back ups actually, just in case. Doesn't take that much space though: I have a 1 Tb disk dedicated to it and I also use my own server. Recently EGS just got a major website update. Everything has changed! Can you tell us a bit about that process and your role in it? Yes, well, I was working on our website template. I worked on the design for the website and on making sure everything was in order. Figjam helped me with that too. Most of the time I don't have to script much. For the reader though, I had to add some little features, nothing big. The EGS reader is pretty unique; How was that accomplished? The basic script was pre-made, we downloaded it and after that, we added some features to it to adapt it to our needs. There was the display mode (webtoon or normal), the javascript script to load the pages faster, without reloading the webpage, the zoom feature, so that when a page is too big, it is minimized a bit. By clicking on the page you put it back to its original state. Some other stuff too, that the reader doesn't necessary see. At the moment I’m working on an even better version for the online reader which I hope we will introduce soon!
Questions by: Jliu and Tallrice Chair design by: Perkyz perkyz.deviantart.com
And the forums? Are you involved there too? Yes, I work on the forum, less than the other admins though. I upgrade it when upgrades are available, fix bugs when they appear. I also take care of the IRC bot. Can you describe IRC for our readers? Many might not be familiar with it. IRC is a discussion protocol: simply speaking, it allows people to chat in many channels. We use it to meet on the internet. So it's really useful for the team. The IRC bot is a robot that allows people to download releases. People just have to "ask" the bot for a "pack" (Which is a chapter/volume of a project) and then the bot sends it to the user. It has a web interface so that readers know the pack number of a project. I invite you to check out our forum's guides section, under announcements, to find out how IRC works, it is a really useful tool :) So all this sounds phenomenally technical and specialist to me. Did you have any difficulties learning all this site maintenance, design, scripting etc that you use at EGS? A lot of thing have presented problems, yeah ;p In informatics, there's a lot of different areas and I am more of a developer. This means I script and develop programs: software, websites, etc... System configuration, however is not my thing at all, so I had to spend a lot of time with tutorials when we switched from our host to a dedicated server. So that was one of the many
problems I had. When you administrate a server you often end up with problems you have a hard time understanding. Another problem was our cache problem a couple months ago, when a few users had trouble loading the new posts on the homepage. Most of the other users had no problem at all though. Fixing this kind of problem is really annoying, especially when there could be so many reasons, and it doesn't always have to do with our server. Before you go, can I ask what your favourite project scanlated by EGS is? Favourite character? Ehm... I read a lot of our projects, and like most of them. I'm really fond of Magician. There’s also Gangsta, Geukji High, and I could continue with a lot of projects here. Hum, a favorite character; I never thought about it. I like Frankestein from Noblesse a lot. But there are too many characters to think about u_u So what about when you’re not reading manga/scanlating... What makes you think of EGS? In class, when we discover new stuff, I often get the thought: “It could be nice to try this for EGScans”. Sadly, I don’t have enough time to implement most of it :( So let's say all this internet expertise and Judo power leads to world domination. What would be your first command
Kneel... Maybe Noblesse…
I
be after you were successful? read too much
So my final question for you is on the recent issues relating to SOPA/PIPA and later megaupload being pulled down. Has this been something that has affected you? What do you think about it? This is a big subject. There is a lot to tell. Too much actually. But I'm a partisan of the free internet. PIPA, SOPA and ACTA are very dangerous laws, in my opinion. Everything on the internet would be monitored, controlled, if they go through… Anything that might be violating copyrights, however tenuously, could be blacklisted from internet. It is against the freedom of speech. I think the internet should stay neutral.About the recent events with megaupload, it shows just how much power some lobbies have. Although most of it was not legit, it was wrong to handle it that way. One thing that concerns me is that there were a lot of users who were legit and they won’t be able to access their files anymore. Thank you so much for your time, Gapan! It was really interesting to hear what you do! You're welcome :)
11 EGLife
n e a t t i g r nRew a M
Crepuscule Rewritten Part 2
Original story by Author/Artist: Yamchi/Mirchi Writer: Tallrice Proofreader: Toady
A
portrait of a noble lady,
The blond haired youth had reddened
Then, after spending much time in that
pink hair garbed in a
eyes. Part of that was just the natural
dazed journey, the swaying motion
frilled hood, a red stone
colour of his irises but the lady could tell
lurched to a stop with a cushioned fall.
hanging from her neck,
he had been crying earlier that day as
The swaying, however, was soon replaced
was the only guardian of the place
well.
with tense voices that leaked argument
between worlds. It seems ridiculous to sug-
“Setz,” The blond haired boy said, “what is
into his dreams.
gest that after years, decades or even cen-
this place? What will happen if I fall off the
“How could you?! He is...”, the thunder
turies of neglect, the painting might be
stairs?!”
spoke to Lark, stranded in that black land-
perfectly preserved but for a cobweb deck-
“You’ll die.”
scape.
ing its frame...
“Iyaah!” Lark screamed, “I don’t want to
“But... red... friend” the torrents of rain were
die! I don’t
just as fierce, but somehow Lark felt pro-
want to be
tected by them.
here!”
He needed to go there, get out of the wet
But so it was, for this space was like no other within the realms of reality. A
maze
of
Escheresque staircases and multi-hued light, this place remained outside reality and its
“
Tears of panic burst from his widened eyes and Lark scrambled to get away.
”
reason. Yet despite the painted
12 EGLife
Even if I can
darkness. He needed to reach that small
stay
with
parting in the clouds. That place where
Setz
this
light ruled.
way, it’s too
“Can’t... The Other side.... No...” The lighting
much! I have
flashed down at him again, only to be
to go back. I
hastily covered by the scrambling shad-
have to get
ows. But the lighting pressed it’s attack,
lady’s secretive smile and the suspended
away from here! I don’t want to die yet!
“Anyway... Have to... Return...Navarus...”
bulbs of light that gave this place its surre-
Despite his efforts, a solid whack against
Perhaps it was just in his dream, but the
al atmosphere, this was not a place of
his shins caused him to topple over. Lark’s
last thunder boomed a sad rumble. A
happiness. Memories, like an oppressive
heart skipped a beat in terror as he real-
growl that was more pitying than angry.
atmosphere, weighed down on its visitors.
ized he might fall of the edge into that
The rain strengthened for a moment in
Marks of the past could almost be seen,
bright abyss, but a knock to his head
that black dream Lark saw, and then it
etched into the pristine staircases.
robbed him of his senses immediately.
disappeared with one last phrase. “I will
Through this maze, a race in exile, on the
…
come back for him.”
point of extinction had crossed into a new
…
Lark knew somehow that he was half
world.
...
awake, perhaps thanks to that glimmer in
However, instead of refugees shaking in
Up and down. Up and down. Up and up.
the distance through which he could
fear, the only visitors who now graced this
Down and down.
vaguely see a foreign wood ceiling. But no
sanctuary were two newly befriended
A strange sense of motion, similar to that
matter how he struggled, however quickly
youths, clasping hands across the bound-
of sitting in a carriage or on a pony trav-
he ran through his dream, the glimmer
ary of worlds. Perhaps that is why the
elling down a bumpy road banged into
would grow no larger.
lady in the portrait smiled.
Lark’s stomach.
And once the rain abandoned him, he felt
“Lark... are you sure this is fine? I mean, I
To and fro. To and fro. To and fro. To and
himself surrender to slumber.
should do the dishes at least... or cleaning.”
fro.
And then, moments later, or perhaps
hours later, for Lark could not count the min-
the cliff after striking his knee, once again,
utes in his sleep, he awoke.
on a stone.
With a startled jump!
“Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”
Awooo! A sound chased him from deep in the
…
forest, a wolf, or perhaps some monster.
...
A bitter smell pricked his nose. Where was this
“Lark,” The thunder called. “Lark, are
place?
you awake. Can you hear me?”
It was a big room, white walls covered in posh
Alarmed, Lark sprung upright
mirrors and books filling the many shelves.
and sent the red bean paste flying. …
The work desk was a mess, covered in half
“What was that?!” Bean paste?
open books and splotches of ink; even a half
Although Lark got the first attack in, the
finished pot of tea was sitting on a tray
bean paste monster didn’t retreat! In fact,
towards the edge.
it seemed to get a power up, since it started
“
It smells of the ointments that the granny in the
dancing!
village used to sell Aunt or Uncle to put on
“Uwaah!” Lark backed away, “Save me!!”
stingy scrapes and bruises. The wolf howled again, his sound shaking the window in its frame. It was a long howl, far too long for any living pair of lungs, and it was lonely and cold. “Setz...” He murmured into the
“Pfft,”
Setz had lied to him. Setz had stolen him away to a strange place and then abandoned him.
”
sheets as a growing sense of dread wrapped around him.
the
t h u n d e r laughed. “Are you
awake
now, kid?” She had long red hair, tied in
a
loop
behind
her
head, and the
“Where are you? Where am I?”
mature features of an adult.
“I don’t like this.” He stated. “I don’t want to be
“Yamuleunia doesn’t bite.” She told him, mov-
here.”
ing to stand beside his bed.
I have to do something, Lark resolved. I have
“Yamuleunia,” Lark bites his lower lip for a
to get away, go back. It’s just a dream after all.
moment, “you mean the bean paste?”
Setz had lied to him. Setz had stolen him away
“Uwauuu~” Yamuleunia responded with
to a strange place and then abandoned him.
another dance.
Teeth chattering, he stepped out from under
However, the lady did not give him time to be
the covers and hurriedly dressed himself in the
disconcerted by the strange being’s antics.
only set of clothing there, his blue shorts and
“Don’t mind him. How’s your body, kid?”
white turtleneck.
“Um...” Lark looked back to the lady, finally
He shuffled to the door, holding a hand to his
realizing that this person had been caring for
stomach that was aching from the cold and
him. Who was she? Why had she been so kind
anxiety.
to him?
The wolf won’t eat me, will it? He thought as he
“It’s fine,” he responded hesitantly. Even more
pushed the door open.
importantly, was she going to discard him
But what awaited him was a different surprise.
too? Would she be no different from Aunt and
“It’s red!”
Uncle?
And it was. The sky was the colour of sunset,
“So... What say you I give you a little beating?”
the colour of blood and of Lark’s eyes. It was a
“Eh?” Lark had evidently misheard something,
red sky such as he had never seen before.
so he pulled the cover closer around him and
“What is this place?!” He shouted as he began
asked her, “what?”
to run. “I have to get away!”
“You little brat!”
“Haa, haa, haa” He panted, watching the
The woman became angry so suddenly that
green shrubs and trees move so very slowly
Lark had no idea what was going on.
around him. There was a place in front of him
She’s going to kill me! It’s my eyes. Because
where the treeline finished. He would head that
they’re red.
way, maybe there was a way back there. He
He felt a slap and then a punch in his stomach.
didn’t know, but anything was worth a try.
“Why did you have to go running off, eh?
But when he arrived, he didn’t have time to
Trying to get yourself killed?!”
check anything. He flipped right off the edge of
And then he burst out in an excruciating laugh
a s s h e tickled him
under
his arms. “Because you had to go jumping off cliffs like some fool, you gave me a really hard time taking care of you! I even had to use precious herbs from my experimental reserves that are not meant for healing brats!” Lark opened his eyes just long enough to see the woman’s white teeth flash in a smile. But soon he was cringing to suppress his laughter again as the woman continued to tickle him. “But still,” she finally said, lessening her attack, “You will have to take care of yourself from now on. Setz brought you, didn’t he? From the other side...”
13 EGLife
z i u Q
mythological creature are you? What kind of By Claudia
Answer 10 questions below and find out what mythological creature you are! 1 - What is your favorite food?
A- Food is not important B- Steak raw C- Blueberries D- Hay E- Vegetables F- Human Brain
3- Where do you like to relax? A- In a coffin B- In a whole beneath the ground C- Sitting on top of flower D- In a green field E- In the palace F- In graveyard
A- For years B- Only a few hours C- 10 hours at least! D- 6-8 hours E- I do not sleep at all F- Until someone ressurects me
2- What is your favorite drink? 4- What do you dislike? A- Bloody Mary B- Beer C- Nectar D- Rain water E- Mineral water F- Human brain Juice
A- Garlic B- Silverware C- Lepricons D- Impure creatures E- Dwarfs F- Humans with guns
7- Who is your best friend?
5- What is your favorite time of the day? A- The Night B- The Dawn C- Sunset D- Afternoon E- Midday F- Dinner time
14 EGLife
2
A- Bats B- Wolfs C- Imaginary friends D- Elfs E- High Elfs F- Werewolves
4
3
1
6- How long do you like to sleep?
5
8- What is your hobby? A- Hunting… B- Howling at Night… C- Smelling flowers D- Running wild E- Horse riding F- Walking around aimlessly
9- What is your favorite manga/manhua/manhwa? A- Noblesse B- Crepuscule C- A thousand years Ninetails D- Moon-Ah E- ID F- Wake up Deadman
10- What is your favorite movie?
A- Twilight B- Underworld C- Fairytales D- The Unicorn E- The Lord of the rings F- Zombie (1979)
Artwork Credits: 1: Elf by Lyhony
2: Werewolf by Camille
http://lihony.deviantart.com
http://forest-warrior.deviantart.com 3: Zombie by KIM Yong-Hwan
4: Fairy by Josser http://sweet-poison4869.deviantart.com 5: Elf by ileranerak http://ileranerak.deviantart.com 6: Fairy by Spirafall http://spirafall.deviantart.com 7: Vampire by Lyhony http://lihony.deviantart.com/ 8: Unicorn by Tetisheri http://moontessa.deviantart.com (author and artist of “Wake up Deadman”)
A- You are a Vampire!
You are a creature of the night. Hunting for blood each day is your curse, immortality is your blessing. Be sure to stay away from garlic and day light. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B- You are a Werewolf!
Cursed to transform into half man, half wolf during every full moon but blessed with immense power. Vampires are your sworn enemies and you hope that someday you will eradicate them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C- You are a Fairy!
Delicate and sweet with a wand and magical powers, you can achieve anything you put your little mind to, and you are always playing tricks on humans, hiding their little possessions. Collecting young kids tooth. You hate lepricons cause they are messing with your work! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D- You are a Unicorn!
A pure, noble and just creature. You like to relax and run wild in a green field withought any worries. You have no enemies and a lot of friends. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
E- You are an Elf!
A noble and immortal creature. You rarely leave the palace as you dislike crossing paths with dwarfs and humans. You speak your own language and live a healthy life. ------------------------------------------------------
7
F- You are a Zombie
You are a brainless and lifeless individual who is lies dead in your coffin until someone resurrects you. Then you start wandering off aimlessly trying to find humans to eat theirbrains and replace your lack of one! You dislike humans with guns and usually only hang around with other zombies. Your favourite song is Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”..
6
8
15 EGLife
aiews g nRev a M
Lost in London By Author/Artist: Lee Eun Young Review by Sachula http://anime-manic.tumblr.com/ http://jdwrites.com
Summary: Mysterious murders have been taking place in town lately and everyone is uneasy. Anne may look like an ordinary teenage girl to a plain human’s eyes but she has something unique and exotic that attracts vampires. Maybe it’s her blood type or even something in her skin that makes vampires so attracted to her? No one knows... However, one thing is for sure. Vampires keep coming to the city she lives in and even to her school! Luckily for her, she has her brother to protect her and also one mysterious new guy...
Country of Origin: Korea Year of Release: 2011/ Ongoing Genres: Historical, Romance, Shoujo, and Supernatural Reading order: Left to Right!
Plot:
Don’t be fooled by the title, this piece is set in Korea. I’ll leave it to you to figure out what, or who, London is. The first chapter hooks you right into Anne’s life. You get to see her relationship with her brother, and the lack of one with their father. You’re also introduced to her friends who play a large role as far as side characters go. Vampires start gravitating towards Anne by the end of that first chapter and the series is on a roll. Events awaken memories in Anne that hint that maybe there’s more to her than meets the eye - a dark, traumatic past, and wait, what’s this? A vampire-comic heroine that’s afraid of blood? XD Overall, the plot of this piece is a nice mix of supernatural action and romance with the twist of a love triangle. What would you do if, not one but two vampires fell in love with you?
16 EGLife
Character Development:
This is reasonably paced in this comic. Of course, you’re always left wanting for more, but the artist does deliver! One of the ‘little’ things that I really like are the chibi fights between Sen and Woo Jun. They not only show how close they are that they can bicker like that, but it adds a little comic relief to some otherwise tense situations.
Artwork:
I love the artwork of this series. It’s originally what drew me to the piece. It’s the characters that really stand out. Noah has the dark thick line hair that makes him look the part of a vampire. Sen, on the other hand, is drawn with white hair on the covers. Odd for a vampire, I think, but the length makes up for the unusual color. And Anne? She’s the type of girl that thinks her looks are okay when really, she’s drop dead gorgeous. Really, they all look amazing, and the other characters aren’t half bad either!
Value:
If you enjoyed comics like Vampire Knight, Black Bird, or Blood+, you would probably also like Lost in London. The story is a great read, and re-read, so feel free to go back a skim over your favorite scenes again and again.
17 EGLife
n e a t t i g r nRew a M ID
Rewritten Part 2
Original story by Author/Artist: Kenny A.T. And Kim Daewoo Writer: Tallrice
“Hael, here, is a priestess of Illian.” However, after enduring Reindalf and Grey’s jeers, Grey introduced his childhood friend, who was handIrlina flushed a deep scarlet. ing them bowls of stew that Reindelf was stirring on “Th-that’s not- I don’t have a lover!” she decried. top of the fire. “Actually, the reason I’m travelling in Her response surprised Chun Hwa. It’s true that high the first place is to keep her safe on her pilgrimage!” elves are an impeccably elegant race, far from com“A priestess, really?” Chun Hwa asked Hael. fortable with the vulgar humour of humans, but they Although Chun Hwa was aware, through Greydrone’s were hardly innocent creatures prone to blushing and memories, that a priestess here was very different bashfulness. Particularly when younger, elves were from priestesses in the Middle Kingdom, the sacred just as interested in the more sensual facets of life as role of priestesses at the temple in Gomyo gave him humans, and with their long lives and low chance of great respect towards their office. conception, few of them were strangers to love. Id looked up, into the forest canopy above them. This But this one puffed her rubicund cheeks and was was, without a doubt, a very different world. The thin even so perturbed as to divulge her true reasons for trickle of twilight was throttled in shadows cast by the travelling. towering trees. The fire was the only constant source “I’m going to meet the Gold Dragon!” of light tonight. As well as the knife that Irlan slid through his well “Come on Grey...” Hael complained, waving a pewter boiled potato, Irlina’s words cut through Reindalf’s spoon at him, “I’m not a priestess yet, just an initiate. guffaws. I still have a long journey ahead of me before I can Chun Hwa held his silence while he observed the become one of Illian’s priestesses.” dwarf’s features darken. Despite her modest protests, “Now look here, however, Hael was smiling coyly, lass,” he rumbled evidently pleased to be acknowlin his deep voice, edged as a priestess. “You’d better stop Grey didn’t let up though. “You with that plan. No Dragons are proud and vicious. should give us a grace before we one should ever start eating! It’s been a while have to see a Even though they are wise, they since you said one.” dragon.” are unreasonable creatures that Flustered, she said, “you already Reindalf’s r still took a big spoonful! How can we echoing, Irlan will quickly dispatch lesser say grace after we started eatadded his own beings. ing? Stop being silly. And it’s not comment. for my sake that we are travel“I’m afraid ling to the temple anyway. We Reindelf is right, were originally heading North to Irlina. Dragons the Great Magic Tourney in Kelvin where Irlan is going are proud and vicious. Even though they are wise, to compete! But when I heard we were going to pass they are unreasonable creatures that will quickly disby Kelvin, I just wanted to go to Illian’s Temple while patch lesser beings.” we were there.” Irlan’s face brightened at the mention Chun Hwa’s attention was not on Irlan, however, but of the Magic Tourney, but Hael continued, “and there’s on Reindalf, who seemed to be equally engrossed in Irlina too—” his comments as in his food. “Yeah!” Grey jumped in. “Where are you so desperate “Aye!” Reindalf took over between slurps of stew, “tryto go anyway? It’s a good thing we met you back then, ing to reason with one of those beasts is completely when you were about to enter the Cursed Forest of out of the question! Want to see a dragon, indeed! Scion all alone!” That’s no laughing matter, girl.” No one seemed interested in Irlan’s tourney. Chun Chun Hwa could see that Reindalf was genuinely disHwa could see his lips curled in a slight pout as he pleased. He wondered what kind of trauma Reindalf sullenly took a mouthful of potato. might have experienced with dragons before to make Irlina, who had been sitting quietly looking at the fire, him as angry as he was. blinked, surprised at being addressed. Her elven Grey, hesitating for once, spoke pensively instead of eyes, twinkling in the light cast by the dancing flames, with his usual frankness, “what about those, you turned on Chun Hwa and the others. know, high elves or whoever they are? If it was a high “Well,” she said delicately, “I am on a journey to meet elf, they could meet with dragons.” someone.” “The high elves are rare and wondrous beings, beings “To meet someone?” Hael repeated, curious. rumoured for their great beauty and purity of soul. “Guwahahaha!” The dwarf guffawed loudly, “the elven Even the self-righteous Dragons would deign to meet lass be havin’ a lover!” with them,” Irlan explained. “There are only a handful And with that, he guffawed again, and Grey joined of high elves in the world...” him. “In that case, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?” They’re a crude group, aren’t they, Lamia comId said, putting his empty bowl aside. plained. I think we should go our own way after we Chun Hwa had thought to diffuse the tension but instead he received an onslaught of puzzled attention. leave this forest, don’t you? “Irlina might be an elf, lad, but just that is not enough! Let’s wait a bit longer, Chun Hwa communicated to Do you truly think a dragon is some sort of pet to play her. That temple might be interesting. Perhaps I could with?” find out more about this world and a way to return to “Irlina being a high elf and all...” Chun Hwa mumbled Gomyo. in response to Reindalf’s lecture. Chun Hwa actually had another reason; the crude “Are you even listening to me?!!” The angular features sense of humour gave him a strange urge to smile. Of of the dwarf exploded at Chun Hwa! “... Wait, what?” course, he didn’t tell Lamia! Reindalf joined the hushed silence. Even Irlina was Chun Hwa took a spoonful and was pleasantly surstaring at Chun Hwa as if he had said he had come prised at the taste of the white meat from the creature from another world or some other ridiculous thing. they had killed earlier. Reindalf had also added some “I mean, you can see her ears, right? Their length, the salt to give the stew more flavour. delicate curvature, the—” At any rate, Chun Hwa communicated, I wouldn’t be Id! Lamia interrupted. Speaking so intimately of an surprised to learn Irlina had a lover somewhere. As a elf’s sensitive features is uncouth. high elf, the fact that she appeared to be in her twen“Ahem!” Chun Hwa avoided Irlina’s eyes. ties would mean that she was already considerably “Is that true?!” Grey shouted, recovering from his older than Chun Hwa.
“
18 EGLife
”
shock and lunging to stand in front of the elf, second helping of stew forgotten. “You’re a high elf, Irlina?! Really?!” “Laillo Sidgar, Chief of Gold Dragons, is an acquaintance of my village...” Irlina responded timidly, evading the question. It appears none of them had realized she was a high elf, Lamia commented, while Grey and the others of the party began to exclaim and wonder at the high elf they had travelled with for many a moon. “Well, I had just guessed...” Chun Hwa said, in hope to calm them. “Since she was so set on seeing a dragon, that was the only good explanation right? But it appears it was to do with her village’s special relationship to this dragon...” Needless to say, Chun Hwa had never seen a high elf before Irlina either, or any elf, for that matter. If it wasn’t for Greydrone’s repository, he would never have discerned her race. It was a strange thing having lifetimes and lifetimes of memories that were intertwined with and yet distinct from one’s own. Although he had managed to make the dwarf and Grey lose interest, Irlan gave him and Irlina a few more puzzled looks that evening and Irlina’s gaze did not leave Chun Hwa for a long time. Then, as he was about to go to sleep, she said “but how did you know that? You are a mystery, Id.” *** Chun Hwa closed the door to the small room he would stay in this night. It was still only noon, but Id was going to change into the new clothes he had just bought. The edge of the forest had been just a few kilometres beyond where they had slept the night before in the Cursed Forest, so only a few hours after awaking, they arrived in the village of Sulan. Chun Hwa unfolded the new outfit and laid it on the bed. It was an outfit very foreign to him, cut to fit tightly around the body, perhaps, not unlike a martial arts uniform from back home. That was not the reason Chun Hwa chose it though. As long as he could maintain his freedom of movement, he wouldn’t mind any type of clothing. Fwish. Chun Hwa first pulled off the silk belt on the robes he had worn until now. Rustle. He slid his arms slowly out of the robe. Creak. He swivelled as he heard the door... And clutched his robe fast against his chest. “Hey! Who’s there?!” “Geh-” Id knew the post-pubescent voice. It was Grey. “Quiet, ya’ fool,” a deeper voice whispered, a bit too audibly. “You be quiet! Midget!” Grey responded, no longer in a whisper. … “I can hear you...” After a moment of silence, Grey barged through the door, eyes locking onto Chun Hwa’s still clothed body. “You mean us? What a coincidence, we were just walking by, right Reindalf?” “Idiot! Don’t just show yourself!” The dwarf responded to the swordsman. “Just so you know, Id, this was all Grey’s idea.” “What did you say?!” Grey shouted. “Don’t pin the blame on me! You were the one who said ‘what if’ Id was a girl!” “Aye! I made a speculation! That’s all! T’was you who dragged me up the stairs!” “You shitty little midget! You come this far and now you deny you wanted to see? Eh?!” Chun Hwa sighed as he watched the two of them become progressively more violent, raising their fists and voices at each other.
“Old dwarf! You came this far and now you deny you to them, “Talking about dragons again? Blubbering wanted to see for yourself? Eh?!” buffons! Ya’ don’t know what you’re dealing with! I More and more, they became absorbed in their shoutkeep telling ya’ but ya’ don’t listen, do ya’!” ing match until Chun Hwa was quite certain they didThe dwarf didn’t shout this time, embarrassed, pern’t even notice him anymore. haps, by his earlier venture, but Chun Hwa could feel “Take this, you shitty dwarf! that his anger wasn’t personal. He was just worried Thump that Irlina and he would find themselves flung into a So what if I change now, while they aren’t looking...? dragon’s maw. That might be risky, Id... Grey was quick to notice other things though. Says you, who sees everything anyway... “Look, midget! It’s all you can eat! Everything’s on Id! It’s different, I’m not a pervert like them. Hey waitress, get me five plates of that pork haunch!” “Oaf!” “Five?!” “Shitty shatty!” “Get going then, don’t just stand there!” Oh really? Anyway, this is too much. I’m just going to “No more of this dragon nonsense. I have better change here quickly. things to do than argue with fools.” Thwack! Clump! Smack! Wrestle! Slam! And thus, the competition began. Chun Hwa slammed the door behind him as he Chun Hwa was emerged from the hostel room, now dressed in his happy enough to brand new set of clothes. Tidying up the straps and offer the coins he the belt on his new outfit, Chun Hwa walked down the received that narrow hallway. Just as he got to the tavern stairs, he morning as tapped his small leather purse to make sure the change for the shiny jewels were still on him. value of the ruby As he shuffled down the creaky wooden stairs, he in order to pay for could smell the scent of stale wine mixed with hot the meal. This dishes wafting from the common room below. contest, however, “Oh! Id,” Hael called him over from the table they were gave him a differsaving. “Do you know where Grey went, by any ent reason for chance?” anxiety. “You know, you should keep a better eye on that guy. “Hael...?” A good pinch to his ear now and then might be wise.” “Yes, Id?” “Oh...” “How do they... how do they do that...?” First they think I’m a girl, now they go try to peep on “I know right?” me! The nerve of them! “Come on,” Grey insisted, “We’re men! We eat!” Irlan didn’t seem to notice Chun Hwa’s temper Id, Lamia interrupted Chun Hwa’s thoughts. I know. though. “Say, Id... Those jewels you used to buy all the clothes “You two are like twins. You even eat the same way.” earlier; you didn’t happen to get those from that cave Chun Hwa said, but his attention was now on the in the cursed forest, did you?” thugs sitting at the table behind Irlan. Chun Hwa had used one of the large rubies that he “You say I’m like this monkey?” The dwarf protested, had picked up from the stash of treasure in the gob“Good gracious, you slander me!” lins’ cave. When Reindalf, who had been offering to “I need to use the loo,” Chun Hwa said, leaving the two pay for clothes, had realized he didn’t have much of them to fall back into argument. money left, Chun Hwa offered the ruby instead. As it Grey, however, didn’t let him go quite so fast, turned out, it was more than enough to buy clothes for “You’d better poop quickly or else there won’t the whole party, with more left over. be any food left!” It had been just before they found the inn, so it must “Ugh... Do you have to say that Grey?” have been a question fresh in Irlan’s mind. Hael smacked his shoulder in exasper“Oh, yes. It was just before you all appeared. Why do ation. “Now I don’t feel like eating you ask?” anymore. I’m going to bed. Irlan seemed a serious type, always thinking deeply. Irlina?” “Well, that cave was guarded by very powerful protecChun Hwa hear the two tion magics, and those hybrid goblins were very sturgirls leave for the night as dy. If it wasn’t for our advantage in terrain, they would he made his own way have made quick work of us all.” across the common room. “Yes...” Chun Hwa confirmed. “But your Furies of He could hear the thugs Heaven spell was really powerful! I’m really lucky you thumping around as they showed up.” made to follow him, but If Irlan hadn’t cast that spell, Chun Hwa might have Chun Hwa just walked been fighting orcs until after dinner time, which would calmly between the travhave been a complete nuisance, really. ellers and drunks until he “Yes,” Irlina made a rare statement, “You’re lucky to reached the rest room. be alive, let You show alone to get out them, Id! of there without Lamia encoura single aged him just scratch...” before the group What did you say?!” Grey shoutI don’t like that of bandits turned elf, Lamia around the corner ed. “Don't pin the blame on me! and began to draw opined. You were the one who said 'what their short blades. Come on, Lamia, “Bitch!” A blond haired she’s not that if' Id was a girl! man who looked a bit bad... well, bulkier than the others maybe a bit too insulted, “You betinquisitive... ter hand over She’s always your jewels quietly or you’ll staring at you! It’s creepy! live to regret it!” “Id? Who are you talking to?” “Oh yes?” Id “Eh?! Hehehe,” Chun Hwa laughed nervously, “more responded, importantly, I’ve been thinking I should travel with you unimto see that dragon!” “Laillo Sidgar?” Irlina exclaimed, “Why, all of a sudden?” Irlan had more to say, however. “Id, it’s already stretching things that Irlina is going to see this dragon, but her village has a link to him at least. But a mere human? I’m afraid I have to agree with Reindalf. The dragon will swallow you before you can open your mouth to shout mercy. You can’t go there.” And with impeccable timing, Reindalf walked right up
“
pressed. “Well how about you go back to where you came from. I don’t like being disturbed. “Feisty bitch! You asked for it!” A shorter man sniggered. All of these idiots calling him a girl! Chin Hwa was fed up with this! Just as he was about to punch one in the face, however, the blond haired one crumpled to the ground. “Bastards.” Grey shouted. “Hey Id, you alright?” “Yes...” “I knew something was strange, but did you really think I wouldn’t notice? You should have picked an easier target! And anyway, it’s not as if I don’t understand, Id has a really pretty face and all, but the truth is that Id is a man! So don’t think you’ll be able to do any shaba shaba or un un with him!” “A man?” One of the bandits mumbled, before Reindalf kicked him in the back. “Ya’ thought to leave me out of this one, eh? Well don’t count me out yet!” Chun Hwa wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Weren’t these the same guys who were peeking on him in his room a few moments ago? “Well, we have an early morning tomorrow, so we better catch some shut eye before the wee hours of the morning.” “Yes,” Grey responded, and followed up with a belch. “Now that these bastards are taken care of, we should go get ready for the trek to Kelvin tomorrow.” “G’night, lad,” Reindalf bid Chun Hwa before waddling off towards the rooms. No one told me that fighting off thugs was an everyday occurrence here, and, of all things, why do they have to call me a girl! Chun Hwa raged, half to himself and half to his sword companion. You don’t have anything to worry about anyway, Id, so get over your complex and get some sleep too. Chun Hwa dragged his heavy feet to the stairs but despite being vexed by the evening’s events and still hearing voices and laughter from the common room through the walls, he fell asleep quickly, exhausted by the new experiences of a different world.
More importantly, I've been thinking I should travel with you to see that dragon!
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”
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To be continued in the next issue.
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Hell’s Kitchen By Author/Artist: Nishimura Mitsuru & Amashi Gumi Review by Sachula http://anime-manic.tumblr.com/ http://jdwrites.com
Summary: Dogma, the Earl of Poor eating comes to train high school student Satoru into the perfect chef. But what awaits Satoru at the end of his training is only death. His teacher is not an ordinary noble but a demon from hell who promises to eat his soul, spiced with a lifetime of cooking expertise. Will Satoru abandon his normal life to become the puppet of this demonic earl? How will he cope with his life’s expiry tag? Let’s have a taste of this Heresy Gourmet!
Country of Origin: Japan Year of Release: 2010/ Ongoing Genres: Comedy, Shounen, Supernatural Reading Order: Right to Left!
Plot:
With only four chapters out, it’s hard to gauge where this is going. Right now, even though each chapter has its own little plot, it is still very enjoyable. The story seems to be in the process of gathering a cast of characters, and building up to a new and longer story arc.
Character Development:
Artwork:
I find the artwork of this piece typical to the Shounen style. Care is taken to include the backgrounds, effects, and lots of comedic elements are added in. There’s a lot of action packed scenes that will keep you hooked.
Value:
If you’re interested in comics or anime like Yakitate Japan, Soul Eater, and Bakuman, then I’d recommend giving Hell’s Kitchen a read!
Already in the few chapters released, we can start to see a difference in Satoru’s character. He changes from an average middle schooler without any dreams or goals, to someone who decides to go after his dream. Makes me wonder how much farther his character is going to grow in this series.
Artwork from the manga Hell’s Kitchen colored by ileranerak http://ileranerak.deviantart.com
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z i u Q
What’s your shinobi rank in manga/anime ? By Easy Going team members
1) In what manga/anime can we find a Ninetails trapped inside a human body?
A- Naruto B- Monster C- Hell teacher Nube
2) In what manga/anime do the main characters use the word 'bankai' to power up their weapons? A- One Piece B- A fairytale for the demon Lord C- Bleach
3) In what manga/anime do we come across the fighting cry Kamehamehaaaaa? A- Akagi B- Black Bird C- Dragon Ball
9) In which manga/anime are monsters captured inside balls? A- Doraemon B- Pokemon C- Dragon Ball
10) In which manga/anime are cards with monsters used to fight your opponents trying to win millennium pieces? A- Yu-Gi-Oh B- Fairy Tale C- The Breaker
11) In which manga does a thug carry a baby on his back?
A- Naruto B- ID C- The Legend of Tyr
A- Beelzebub B- Pokemon C- Rainbow
5) In what manga does the main hero have a metal arm?
12) In which manga does the devil have blue flames?
A- Noblesse B- Uber Blat C- Full metal Alchemist
A- Devil may cry B- Ao no exorcist C- One Piece
A- One Piece B- Magician C- Gangsta.
7) In which manga are all the heroes divided into Magic Guilds? A- Naruto B- Beelzebub C- Fairy Tale
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A- Strongest Disciple Kenichi B- Hunter x Hunter C- Sun Ken Rock
4) In what manga does the main character have a talking sword called “Lamia”?
6) In what manga do people get special powers from eating the 'Devil’s Fruit'?
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8) In which manga does the hero have to carry stone statues on his back?
13) In which manga is there a special fighting unit that consists of 6 people who are called “The Six”? A- City of Darkness B- Bleach C- The God of Highschool
14) In which manga does the main protagonist wear a cross earring and use mind control to make his opponents Kneel? A- Rainbow B- Noblesse
C- Mahou Sensei Negima!
15) In which manga/anime does one of the main characters like to eat sweets and is called L? A- Bakuman B- Death Note C- Usogui
16) In which manga/anime is the main character trying to become an actor and while at it finds her childhood love by accident? A- The bride of the water god B- Skip Beat C- Bleach
17) In which manga is the main character’s little sister addicted to eroge? A- My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute B- Monk C- Dark Mage
18) In which manga/anime does the story focus on the life of 6 Juvenile prison inmates? A- Crepuscule B- Layers C- Rainbow
19) Which manga/anime has an academy separated into Day and Night class students where the Day students guard the night ones? A- Vampire Knight B- My boyfriend is a vampire C- Dance in the Vampire Bund
20) In which manga/anime does the main character have a cursed left eye? A- Feng Shen Ji B- D-Grey Man C- Dark Air
Results
5-8 Correct questions= Genin Genin are the lowest level of ninja/shinobi. Come on... you could only find this much? Shame on you! We could also give you the title of a casual reader. There are so many new and interesting manga out there to explore! You need to read more!
9-14 Correct questions= Chuunin Chuunin are ninja who are qualified to watch over and guide other ninja. Not bad ~ you have the basics but you’re still not quite there! You have explored plenty of series but there is still a huge gap on your reading titles. If we could give you a title it would be an average reader. Google and mangaupdates are your friends! Use them ^_^
15-18 Correct questions= Jounin Jounin are generally highly-experienced ninja with great individual skill who serve as military captains. Wohoooo you’re almost there my friend! You answered most of the questions correctly! Not long now and you will be able to call yourself a true manga/anime otaku but for now I would just name you a proud leecher!
19-22 Correct questions= Kage Those who have achieved the title of Kage are the leaders of the five most powerful Hidden Villages and generally the most powerful ninja in their respective villages. You da' man/woman! A true manga/anime otaku is (remove word sure) a title that sure befits you! Your passion for manga and anime (remove word is) overflows and affects everything around you. You have earned the right to be called Hokage!
21) Which manga revolves around the species called “Diclonii” A- Lost in London B- Geukji High C- elfen lied
22) Which of these manga is most like a Dating Sim Game? A- The World God only knows B- In full Bloom C- A thousand years Ninetails , 5C, 6A, 7C, 8A, 9B, Answers: 1A, 2C, 3C, 4B 15B, 16B, 17A, 18C, , 14B 10A, 11A, 12B, 13C, 19A, 20B, 21C, 22A
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Dark Mage By Author/Artist: KIM Jung Ryul Review by Fathom
Summary: Once... Humans and Orcs peacefully co-existed, but at some point humans got greedy and started a war claiming the Orcs’ territory. The deity-Lord who created all, got angry with the humans’ greed and decided to punish them with 3 catastrophes. One of them was the “Dragons”, divine creatures blessed with magic capable of doing almost anything. Now the Orcs, with a “Dragon” by their side, seem to have the upper hand. Will humans just sit back and see their land get destroyed? They are too devious for that... Their only good plan at that point is to abduct a “Dragon” to even things up. But how are they going to manage the capture of a being with so much power? Country of Origin: Korea Volumes out: 6 Genres: Action, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Seinen Reading Order: Right to Left! Type: Manhwa “Dark Mage” is about a hunch backed hero (the first time I’ve seen a hero with such a physical attribute in a series), who at 2 years old watched his father killed for being a Zoastrian High Priest. His ki ends up being sealed and then he gets taken in by a kindly (or not?) monk leader that swears never to teach him martial arts. In any case, the orphan kid grows up bullied and hated by everyone. One day, a stranger gives him a secret book, thereby teaching a hidden secret demon martial art that will eventually lead him into the life as a the high priest of the Zoastrians. Unfortunately, similar to his father, he gets betrayed and hunted down by all the other factions. On the verge of death, while he’s taking out massive amounts of the enemy w/ him, a rag tag bunch of foreign strangers save him and bring him to a different dimension and world. Similar to “ID” in a way; however, there is little comedy in this series. In this brand new world, the Orcs & Dragons are in a genocidal war against humans and the new savior was supposed to be Damon. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned, and the supposed savior of the human race is completely powerless. Stranded in a new world, reviled because of his ugly appearance
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and foreign ways, and unable to muster neither power nor political clout to return to his own world; the true journey of this stranger in a strange land begins. Eventually, his tireless efforts at survival will guide him to an unexpected meeting with a mysterious man who may just be as feared and hated as Damon. The action at the beginning of the series is extremely detailed on how Damon takes out elite warriors left and right. But the series lulls a bit in the following chapters with a lot of info dumping in the first 9 chapters to explain Damon’s life, all the factions after him, and then the history of Truvia’s war. After these initial chapters, the series action picks up once again and focuses on Damon beating the odds of survival by the smallest margin and ready to meet the next obstacle head-on. To be honest, I don’t blame the Dragons for wanting human genocide after stupid humans started killing their hatchlings. Nor would I blame Damon for not wanting to help the country even if he did have powers. All the rulers of the country are the stereotypical politicians that do not believe in any of their wrong doing, which makes the reader more sympathetic to the opposing faction. Plot wise, there’s not much original in the plot: the history of a strange hero coming from another dimension; Orcs, Ysaydrll, Wyvrn, and all sort of “Lord of the Ring” species trying to wipe out human kind; a new hero who isn’t on par w/ the old legend; and religious and Political inter-fighting and etc. However, the character potential is pretty good, and I’m curious if and how our hunch backed hero will
overcome his ki being sealed and save the day even though the politicians are rotten bastards. One of the admirable character traits of Damon as a main character is that despite his suffering, he is able to triumph without the stereotypical power ups. His success is attributed to his pure determination to survive just another day. Damon’s strength in character is truly amazing in that he is neither arrogant nor someone who whines at the depressing fate that has been handed to him. Instead, with an almost inhuman determination, he confronts his enemies honestly and is willing to swallow his pride & prostrate himself to get what he wants. Pride and cursing at fate will never accomplish Damon’s goals; however, sheer determination is a sign of his maturity and strength; and yet, he is not bogged down by sympathy, justice, and morals. Damon’s emotional travail truly reach into the reader’s heart, and root for him to reach his goals and find happiness at least once in his life. If you like fantasies, this is a great series I’d highly recommend. I really loved the fact that the hero is hunch backed, angsting, loveable, and yet a ruthless man at the same time. The art is also a great feature that draws in the readers. “Dark Mage” is a truly awe inspiring story of beating the odds despite appearances, status, age, and power.
s w e i v r e t In
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Interview Chair
with Toady th G wi Easy
Meet Toady, Easy Going Scans’ newest mascot— ahem, I mean administrator! Toady is a master of words, as he has often displayed in the word unscrambling games in our IRC channel. He even works on proofreading some of our magazine articles and has CLing skills, which he puts to use in his QCing of EGS releases!
Profile First name: Alex? Age: 22 From: Canada Role: Proofreader, QC Hobbies: Reading, composing, guitar, volleyball, video games Toady! What is your other name? Definitely not Alex. Seriously, who would name their son Alex? It’s completely asexual, no definition, no style, and it’s definitely not my name! Very well then Ale- ahem, I mean toady, so, where do you come from? Canada, southwestern ontario more specifically. About as far south as you can get in this country Oh, so you’ve been to niagra falls? And drink copious quantities of Canadian icewine? (ahem... no references to other interviews intended...) I have been several times but not for the icewine... Though I imagine it’s wonderful. I’m not much of a drinker. Very wise, I’m sure. We should all follow your example. No. Definitely not. I’m not exactly a role model. I just don’t drink :) How old are you, Toady? And when did you join EGS? 22 and loving it. I joined in September, about 5 months ago. What inspired you to do that? There was a particular project you wanted to work on? And did you work with any groups before EGS? No prior groups, no. As for inspiration... it wasn’t that. I’d always been a proofreader at heart, be it essays, stories, poems, you name it, so when
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one of my favourite groups posted that they had an opening available, I said ‘why not’ and jumped at the opportunity. How was the application to EGS? Was it difficult? I thought it went quite well, though there were definitely some issues to overcome within the proofreader test. But I enjoyed that, it gave me a sense of exactly what was expected. Anything you would have done differently in retrospect? In retrospect, I don’t think I would have waited as long. There’s a lot of fulfilment that I get from this. As for tips, I’d tell any new proofreaders to be bold but not cocky. Don’t be afraid to make a change you feel is right, but don’t make a change that you’re unable to defend. And always, always read aloud, it’s an absolute lifesaver. There’s no better way to capture the flow and cadence of the script. I do it quite often, as part of my routine. What is your “routine”? Please elaborate. Every proofer will develop their own proofing procedure. Mine involves some pretty simple steps. 1. Read through the script while looking at the RAW images. This is when I check for missing translations and get a feel for the chapter. 2. Go through the script again, making changes and restructuring sentences where required. 3. Read the script out loud, going over any troublesome parts and repairing them. 4. Finalize and ship the PRed script. Also go find the TL and bug them for additional blanks or lines that weren’t completely clear. Even when the script doesn’t need it, I always seek out translator feedback. It’s the best way to make sure a script is what it should be. Do you spend a lot of time discussing with translators?
Well, I spend what seems like an inordinate amount of time chatting with one TL in particular, but that’s to the script and the chapter’s benefit, so I’m always up for that. Even so, a lot of my proofs go through without a hitch, and there’s a lot of independence involved on the part of the proofer. Do you also help with quality checking some series? is that job related to PRing? Even when I’m not a designated QC, I certainly do. The job is similar to proofreading, but broader in scope, and attention to detail is, if anything, even more necessary. I like to look through typeset chapters of my projects as it’s always easier to spot a small mistake when it’s typeset rather than in the text files. I can see you evidently like pring, but, what about the flipside? Have you had any bad experiences or stress during scanlation? Any projects you wanted to leave or times you wanted to quit? Honestly, I’ve never had personal issues with a single staff member. There is always a certain degree of stress involved, and little things will always swell up and roll into your way, but I’d like to think that I’ve always kept a level head. That being said, I’m fiercely loyal to my fellow PRs, and if I ever see one of them being unduly punished or mistreated, I’m not afraid to step in. … that’s not happened yet though, so I’ve had no major altercations with anybody. So... ‘Unduly punished’? ‘Mistreated’? That’s some strong language! This happens in scanlation...? Not really. But conflict with translators, issues with consistency and work output, and general bad blood can really poison a proofreader’s relationship with his team. I like that our group isn’t like that, we have our little issues like everywhere else, but there’s usually a way to resolve it properly.
Questions by: Jliu, Tallrice, Mithras151 Chair design by: Perkyz perkyz.deviantart.com So you have worked in another group after all? Sounds like an experience outside of EGS? No, but I’ve been a member on a team’s forum when the team was in the process of splintering apart. Well, this all sounds like politics to me~ Tell me about one of your favourite projects that you are involved in. Hmmm... My favourite project right now is called Moon-Ah. What I like about it first and foremost is that the art is wonderful. Very detailed and vibrant, and the characters are expressive and lively. As for the story... It would be hard to classify it as a typical shoujo or shounen. It’s free flowing, and it doesn’t seem to have a set target audience, which I appreciate. Also, it deals with mental illness issues, which is territory that manga/manwha are generally afraid or reluctant to tread. That sounds heavy though... As the story unfolds, it’s really got a way of drawing you in. It’s quite light as of yet, but the issues are treated seriously and with dignity, with a nice fantasy/historical setting. Do you also watch anime? Was there any anime that particularly caught your eye? On occasion. I’m much more of a manga reader. I really enjoyed Ergo Proxy, and I’m not saying that to sound pretentious. :P What was your first manga? How many years ago did you read it and how did you get interested in it? Don’t laugh. Hahahahahahaha A friend told me to read Naruto so we could chat about it, so I did, though the first paper volume I read was hellsing. It was two or three years ago. Do you have any other hobbies? Quite a few, actually. Playing and writing music holds a big spot in my heart. I play in a few bands, keyboards and guitar/bass, and yes, I do a little bit of composing. Nothing crazy though. The best thing I’ve written is my ringtone :P As for other hobbies, volleyball, video games and browsing the internet are all things I do to pass the time. But the big one is reading, definitely. There were periods when I’d read a novel a day, though those days are behind me, for now. A “novel a day”! You must read quickly... Do you read like Oscar Wilde? I have read some Wilde, yes, but honestly, the author that I’ve read the most of is Stephen King. Ah wait! I don’t mean read Wilde but rather read *like* Wilde. He would just flip pages, one after the other and get an idea of a book by, basically, imprinting it. I read fast, but not that fast, no. I figure a book is for enjoying, for reading every word. I try not to skip or skim. So now a political question for you! I was wondering what you know of Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan and manga fan. In fact, my first exposure to him was a Cracked article about... well let’s not go there right now. He seems to have been a career politician who
served in the Japanese house of representatives for about 30 years... He was the 92nd prime minister of Japan from September 2008-2009, and minister of foreign affairs for a few years before that. It seems he has his own list of ‘Bushisms’. Do you sympathize with his fandom of manga? and do you think it was a good quality in a Japanese leader? Any friend of manga is a friend of mine. Moreover, the steps he took towards popularizing and recognizing manga from all over the world really speak to a feeling of wanting to create unity. Also, as an unrepentant otaku, the very fact of him being the prime minister led to rising share values for manga publishers :) As for whether he was a good leader... Do his efforts to promote manga abroad speak to you as an international manga fan? Of course. Establishing the International Manga Award was a step forward for the promotion of non-Japanese manga, and it helped create and expand manga markets in different locales. And again, unity. Establishing pathways between different artistic communities in different countries can only have a positive effect. Do you hope to see more such efforts? How do you think scanlators can contribute to this unity? By finding those gems, by bringing lesser known or overshadowed works to a broader audience, and by letting their readers discover and lose themselves in the worlds these artists create. Through our efforts, it’s possible to popularize a series to the point that localization might be considered. What do you think about groups or sites that translate or scanlate licensed series? Is this fair to the authors? Well, we will never make a profit from this endeavour. There are arguments to be made that the availability of scanlations might bring more readers to a series and increase sales, but in the end, if it’s available in your area, in your language, buy it. Supporting the artist is the only way to guarantee their continued practice. What about EGS? Even if we remove series from our site when they are licensed, are we not in part responsible for the copies made, even though it’s without are permission and hsoted on other sites? As for other hosts... While nobody could hold a scanlator fully responsible for what another host
may do with their work... It genuinely is a problem, and we’re not wholly irresponsible either. And that speaks to the broader issue of fragmentation within this community, and the disconnect between scanlators and aggregators, and that whole mess.
And now, a couple questions from our EGS sports trainer Mithras! Mithras151: What do you generally do to exercise and keep in shape? Toady: Volleyball is my thing, though I’m a jogger too. Mithras151: Do you play often? Toady: I’ve never had any issue building muscle, but i’ve never really wanted to buff up Toady: as often as i can Mithras151: Lucky -_- I have a hard time building muscle Toady: Though my league is once a week Mithras151: How does your team generally do in the league? Toady: Quite good Toady: It’s not an ultracompetitive league but we enjoy ourselves. Mithras151: That’s what matters :D Toady: Always. Toady: I come home with a smile on my face, drenched in sweat Mithras151: Does your other half usually enjoy the benefits of an endorphin high? ;) *Toady* is currently single Mithras151: Pity Mithras151: What do you usually look for in a partner? Toady: Sincerity
Thanks for your time Toady!!
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Devil May Cry Review by: Shinigamilist
http://shinigamilist.com/
Description: Devil May Cry follows the adventures of the demon hunter Dante who himself is half demon and half human. Dante is hired through his own business named "Devil May Cry". The characters are based off of the popular capcom playstation 2 games.
Devil May Cry A Strawberry Sundae for the Daemon Lord, Please!
Episodes: 12 Completed | Year: 2007
“
Originally, Devil May Cry was planned
to
sequel
be to
C a p c o m ’ s Resident However,
Evil. being
different and as unique, the hack and slash game
writing here, is a shorter and less slashing story about the main character of the franchise - Dante. He is a daemon and a daemon killer at the same time. With his two guns and incredible superhuman abilities, Dante fights the evil that has come to the human dimension to cause chaos
One thing I need to point out about Dante is that he has a fascinating attachment to a specific bar where he loves to eat... no, not steak and beer but strawberry sundae.
was turned into itsown franchise. Later, based on this game, we came to have the Devil May Cry television anime series. A seriesall otaku who enjoy a good action or daemon story have watched and enjoyed (or would be pleased to watch if they still haven’t).
The anime, about which I will be
”
and, of course, g a i n something for itself. This job,
he carries out withhis Devil May Cry devil-hunting business. From time to time, the protagonist gets fairly odd jobs to do - killing a monster is not only something people cannot imagine, but also something they cannot see. You can only think about how silly poor, charming Mr. Dante looks while
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“
Mind you, what makes this show a really nice experience is not the story and plot, or lack thereof, it is the graphics, the charm of the main characters and the really well played motives of the entire ‘crew’.
”
swinging his extremely large, double-edged and quirky-
shaped sword in the middle of the street. He is handsome, yes. He is also a good friend to the young Miss Patty Lowell - an orphaned girl he saves in the very first episode of the series.
One thing I need to point out about Dante is that he has a fascinating attachment to a specific bar where he loves to eat... no, not steak and beer but strawberry sundae. Well, as silly as it may seem, the imperfection of his manliness is exactly what makes him so appealing and coherent to us, the viewers. Being quite a short anime of 12 episodes, Devil May Cry doesn’t manage to prove itself as something really incredible or unique. Based on such a franchise, the show, which came out in 2007, was able to capture the hearts of action-loving otaku all over the world, even without much of a story. All we get to know is that he was born to one of, if not the world’s strongest daemon, but is not living in the same world as his kin. Instead, he prefers to cut their heads off. Good for him! Mind you, what makes this show a really nice experience is not the story and plot, or lack thereof, it is the graphics, the charm of the main characters and the really well played motives of the entire ‘crew’. In the short time that this series continues, we manage to witness the development of its characters. Naturally, this is thanks to the plot having been told in novel and manga as well as game forms before the television animated series, but still, it is a unique drink for trained and knowledgeable tasters. It is also a show that will capture the hearts of the female audience if only because our daemon Dante is a really great looking man. As a whole, I have enjoyed this show, but the lack of continuity made it quite flat. Nonetheless, it will still be in my list of action anime I would love to see developed and will definitely watch if it gets a remake of some sort. Mind you, what makes this show a really nice experience is not the story and plot, or lack thereof, it is the graphics, the charm of the main characters and the really well played motives of the entire ‘crew’.
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Interview Chair
with Kayit th G wi Easy
Kayit is the princess of EGS. Stunningly pretty in her frilled gowns and imaginary tiara, she is one of EGS’s talented Editors, the masters of photoshop. Not only is she a cleaner extraordinary but she is also proficient in the arts of typesetting and a fine Quality Checker.
Profile First name: Kora Age: 18 From: Germany Role: Editor / QCer Hobbies: Wine, karate, singing, reading Let’s start with the important questions! Let’s say you daydream of world domination, what would be the first command you issue, when you are successful? I don’t dream of world domination, I plan it. So be prepared! In December 2012, the world won’t end but I will rise to power. And my first law will be... a chocolate pudding for every meal. The other laws will then come naturally. And where is the place you are most happy to be in? On some tree surrounded by nature. Being up in a tree just gives me a feeling of security and it is soo lovely to be able to listen to the singing of birds. So how about you introduce yourself, Kayit, tree and chocolate lover? What’s your real name? My real name is Kora. With a K people with a K. Everyone wants to always write my name with a C, even if I spell it to them. Don’t ask me why they always just ignore my spelling correction attempts... And where are you from, “C”ayit? I am from Germany, but 2 years ago I’ve decided to go and study in England. And here I am still. :D Do you regret it? I know you must pity the poor selection of beers and the endless rain, am I incorrect? It is not that rainy here to be honest. It is actually more windy than rainy, hence even if you have an umbrella with you, you can never actually use it if you live in the north of England or near the sea. And beer... sorry to all the other German readers who love their beer, I am not really a fan of beer. I prefer wine.
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Wine! Do you like sweet wines or red wines? Sauternes? Green wines? Sparkling wines? Oooh interesting question. It really depends on my mood. Sometimes I like sweet wines, sometimes dry. Although I think I am more the sweet type of wine person.
about karate? How long have you practised that? Karate, I’ve done it a few year...ehm... 10 actively. Right now I am slacking off a bit and getting lazy but I should definitely get my ass to the dojo again.
So maybe you like German icewines? Then you still count as a good patriot! Yes. German icewine isn’t bad at all. As for being a patriot, you have to be one, if you are living in a foreign country. It is just a normal development. Even the people who leave their country because they “hate” it will always defend it in a foreign country.
Maybe a couple chapters of karate/action oriented manga would get you motivated. Do you read any manga related to these hobbies of yours: singing, karate, wine? I usually don’t choose mangas after my hobbies. Obviously I read shounen mangas, but not necessarily karate ones. I read a few about singing, like ^Beck^ (which was amazing) and another Korean one. And wine.... never heard of any just about wine, but I think ^Bartender^ gets close enough to it.
So you consider your German sentiments and associations to have become stronger after moving? Definitely, I mean I often sit here at breakfast wishing I could get German bread and salami or milka chocolate. When you are living abroad you realise what you can only get at home. Have you travelled to Asia before or other nonEuropean cultural realms? Not at all. sadly enough. The farthest I have been away was Mexico, but they are kind of American, so kind of English, and hence kind of German by extension. Besides wine tasting, what other hobbies do you have? Obviously editing but also reading, karate and singing, although, sadly, I am not that great at it... Do you sing in a choir? I just sing for myself. I was in my school choir but then I graduated and now I just sing wherever I think no one can hear me. So what’s your next big ticket purchase? Going to see a concert? My next big ticket purchase is a train ticket to Coventry to visit my guardian. Sad life I know... I really wanted to buy a ticket for a concert of Panic at the Disco! but I was just too poor. The life of a student... But let’s move on: How
Actually there is a manga all about wine that I was thinking of. TELL ME :O Called ^Drops of God^ and it’s on the shelves under Vertical. Anyway, is your favourite demographic shounen, would you say? Not necessarily. I started with shounen, but I prefer seinen. The storylines are more diverse and, thus, more interesting for me. Ah, so is that the type of project you work on in EGS? Which project led you to join? Do you work on some of these? Hmm the projects that led me to EGS. There were various: Chess Isle, GOH, Superior Day and Noblesse (like most of us). I am still working on Superior Day as a Quality Checker, I helped out as cleaner when I still had time on Mondays and I think I typesetted one or 2 occasional chapters of Chess Isle but not worth mentioning really. Apart from that I am the TS of TAL and LeftRight and the QC of Verdant Lord. When I first started I also TSed Crazy Coffee Cat, Paladin and Layers. Wow, that’s a lot of series! When did you join? And did you work for any other groups besides EGS? I was a workaholic at that time! I joined in may 2011, so I have been in our ‘little’ family for
Questions by: Jliu and Tallrice Chair design by: Perkyz perkyz.deviantart.com roughly eight months now. And yes, for one other, Eclipse Scans. They taught me editing. I left them as they were mainly shoujo (and I am a more sadistic kind of person) and I also disliked the rate at which they released series, 2 chapters a months or so. Actually, that leads me to a second question about all these series you do: don’t you think it slows down the release rates if you need to do so much? What if we dropped a bunch of series and prioritized speed? Not really. I mean, most of our series are released weekly in their countries of origin and if we caught up, our pace would slow down anyway. Additionally, if we just drop series many reader will be disappointed as we might have just dropped a series that will next be released by a low quality group or has to wait a year until someone else even picks it up. I also think our team members wouldn’t like it, we love our series and as we are a big group many different series accumulate and with our numbers we handle them. Would you say that typesetting is the easiest of the roles in scanlating? I mean, seriously, you just copy and paste text into bubbles, right? And Qcing... that’s just like reading ahead, right? Not as if you do anything. Hahah, say that again and you might not survive this interview. Typesetting might seem easy but it is really not. There are so many different things you need to focus on. For example, if you just paste the text in randomly it would be horrendous! You need to centre it, split it over lines in a diamond-like shape, decide on the size and even the type of font. Many people fail doing that. Cleaning can be sometimes easy but as soon as you have to do redraws and that is nearly always the case it becomes the art itself. And in quality checking, it depends who the people were who worked in the stages before. You can be *extremely* lucky and really just be reading through, or, more likely, you have to redo bits. So when you say you actually redraw the art sometimes, don’t you think you could be a mangaka yourself? Hve you ever considered drawing a comic? No never. I am just not creative enough. Storywise? or artwise? Couldn’t you get someone else to co-author it and tell you what to draw then? Artwise. I could make up some decent stories to be honest but as soon as we get to character creation, I would simply fail. All my stories are creepy ;) How do you like EGS, as a group? You said you worked in another scanlation group before, so it must be different in some ways? I found it very different, EGS is very social whereas my old one wasn’t at all. I didn’t even know the people who I was working with. EGS is also much more organised to be honest. Which means you do know the people in EGS? Have you met team members in person? Or do you communicate using communication software? I did use Skype to communicate, by text, with some members and we also had a mumble
meeting once which gave me the opportunity to hear some of the others’ lovely voices. I haven’t met anyone in person yet but I think it would be a nice idea to do that once. So all of you guys must live in the UK or US, since this is an English group, right? Would it be easy to meet up? Not at all. I have the feeling there are more Germans then English people in the group. And we are not really an English group, more an international one. So why aren’t there German releases? Because most of our readers aren’t really German, and most Germans can speak/read English well. So why should we bother putting another step into the scanlation progress when we can just release it in English. So far, we have heard a bunch of good things about EGS, but working in a big, international group like this, surely you have experienced some friction, no? Only once when I was working with a very picky translator who just couldn’t get over it that the PR and the QC changed his translations. But that is something you have to learn working in a group, you have to trust your team mates that they will change it to the better and don’t do it because of evil intentions. Apart from that, obviously there are sometimes some problems between 2 individuals as the chemistry is just not right but we are a big group so you could come to an agreement with that person not to work together. Let me change the subject a bit. Not too long ago we had a row about SOPA/PIPA, do you think that Wikipedia’s blackout strategy was good? Do you think they were taking an unnecessary political stance? I think the blackout strategy was very effective as most people only got to know about SOPA/PIPA through it (Because wikipedia was gone for 24 hours, I nearly died lol). I don’t mind Wikipedia taking a political stance as this is a matter of its survival. The internet will definitely face more and more problems related to copyright issues but I really can’t believe how arrogant the US is to try to control of the internet. They talk about freedom of speech but then they try to limit it. Do you not think that piracy is a big obstacle facing artists and publishers right now? Is it not important to make sure that people who are creative and make things people want to see are funded to continue? If you think like this then every scanlation of a manga is piracy, let alone what is Mangafox is doing. But I always think that the more people who try
t o *redo* something, the more famous it gets. Just like in youtube, a few people with great voices cover a song and soon the original song will have another 100000 clicks more. Obviously, the original should be indicated, else it’s plagiarism and you definitely don’t try to sell these things. They are fan made. What about sites like Mangafox? I don’t think manga reading sites are a bad thing per say, because they give people the possibility to browse mangas from a single web source, but they should respect the scanlators wait for the set waiting period, don’t watermark things that they have only uploaded and they should definitely NOT delete the credits from other scanlators. How do you think scanlation will be affected? I think future view on scanlators won’t be affected that much as scanlators make unpaid fan releases. Some scanlators might have the problem that publishers license their mangas or sometimes that artists simply don’t want their releases to be scanlated. Of course, a recent example of this is VIZ media telling mangastream not to release JUMP mangas anymore. I hope that artists realise that scanlation doesn’t steal their fans, on the contrary, it increases their fan base. EGS makes sure to put the links to the original webtoon sites on its releases for good reason. Thank you so much for your time Kayit~ I enjoyed interviewing you! My pleasure.
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s w e ie v m e a R G Deus Ex Human Revolution
Review by MacKnight
Rating 8/10 Well, start of the game IS confusing. You start as a normal guy (Ok, not 100% normal, you’re a ‘Bad Ass’ head of security on one of the largest cybernetic companies in the world). You see a horrible parody of an angel. A guy with a cyber-implant on his head. (Well, what good that did him, the idiot is smoking). Hell, everything is YELLOW! (Always thought we have green or blue-screen of death colors in the future.:)) You walk around, planning for some meeting in Washington DC, go elevator with what you see as your girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. Talk with the big man, and then all hell breaks loose. You go into a private elevator. (Typing code, WOHO) And magically gets a massive assault rifle out of nowhere, and kill the invading enemies’ troops with eaaase. Then some hyper cybernetic commando comes out of nowhere, throw you though a 10 CM thick reinforced glass as if it was paper and gets stuck in a metal wall. You are bloody, but still find strength to lift your 44. Magnum to fire back, get owned and gets a head shoot by the commando. That’s the start of the game, you wonder, wtf, I’m dead already? Hell NO, you get Cybernated by your boss with legal and Illegal Cybernetic implants that’s makes you Rambo + Terminator. (As a Bonus, you get awesome sun glasses that comes out of the side of
your head). Let the PAYBACK BEGIN! The game is a one-of-a-kind when it comes to the feeling you get when you play it, everything is massive, you sense chaos everywhere, and at every turn you see someone who has some sort of cybernetics. The world itself is as you expect from a game where Square Enix had a hand in it. Mind blowing and original. (Though I was surprised we didn’t see any chocobos running around). Graphic and art of the game was awesome, but they had some downsides, like everything is freaking yellowish. What the hell? And the combat system was not as practical as many would maybe have wanted. Some like stealth, the ultimate infiltrator. Or go superman and maw everything down like a bulldozer. But you can’t really do as you want, since you need ‘energy’ to do it, and it doesn’t recharge itself more than the first bar and to get more, you need to eat cybernetic power bars, which is in a VERY limited supply in the game... (BOOORING). Because of that, the game gets 8 out of 10. (Come-on Square Enix, you can do better then this!)
The Last Remnant Review by MacKnight
Rating 7/10 You run in a forest, screaming a name, looking around, and somehow find yourself watching over a massive battle field, with 2 armies ready to fight each other’s. You see someone who resembles your sister in the middle of it. You don’t think twice, you run straight into it. (What an idiot...) Turn out, it isn’t your sister, it’s a female warrior. At the same time the Army the warrior belong to deploy its capital weapon; Gae Bolg a massive cannon looking ‘Remnant’ that is capable of enormous destruction. You and the warrior by luck fall down into a cave in the explosion after it fired. You wake up later, having to work with the warrior maid (Might add she’s arrogant like all hell), to fight your way out of the cave, filled with monsters who also escaped the blast. When you battle a massive rhino looking monster, the talisman your mother gave you starts to shine, and you suddenly start flying around the beast, kicking and punching it with devastating effect. The Monster is defeated. Beside that the main character one of the most pussy like characters I’ve
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ever seen (I’m including female characters here as well...). The Gameplay itself reminds a lot of the system used in Final Fantasy 7, which is great for me, love that system. :) The art of the game is very good, the architecture of the cities and such are on a scale and type of its own, as is the people of the game, mixture of many sorts. Cat eared guys with 4 arms, giant fish looking thing walking on 2 legs and a goblin looking thing... (What is that..?) Story of the game is good if you exclude the main character (my opinion), gameplay is as good as it gets, but as typical of games who are good, it’s a little short if you don’t do all the side quests in the game.
Mass Effect 3
Review by MacKnight
Rating 9/10 The game, as far as I could tell, was everything and more than I expected, the action, the firefights, massive hololitic sword on your arm for close fighting, the story, friends you see from the previous games. PERFECT! You see your character read a file on a small handheld computer, some, someone enter your chamber. A massive guy who looks like Macho-Man without the hat, glasses in an army outfit. He Salute you and say ‘Commander’. You reply that he shall not call you that anymore. He reply: ‘I am not supposed to salute you either.’ (Oooh, good one). You follow him out; everyone looks to be in a hurry, what’s going on? (If you played the previous 2 games, you can PROBLY guess pretty much what is going on). You meet the guy who you probably gave the job as Citadel councilor. You ask what’s going on, he say you know, and you guess. Which is probably correct? You speak with political Idiots that demand you have all the answers and solution to everything. (Which you don’t, since it’s too late now, they had over half a year to get ready, they didn’t, just denied it, and now when the problem is here, they ask you to be the savior...) Someone report that you lost contact with the base on the moon
(Hell, they are there already!?) Next thing, you hear massive noise outside and you see the massive ship form of a reaper, blowing the shit out of everything. Including the room you are in. You survive, fight your way to your ship and, under protest, lift off to leave earth to get help. (Damn you Anderson! I wanted to beat a reaper with my bare hands this time!) The art and graphic that put into ME3 remind of ME2, a little more refined then the ‘2’ but still just as good. They did good with the Weapon system this time, love it like all hell. (Rapid fire! AHAHAHAH!) The Only possible Downside of the entire game, not to spoil it for anyone, but I say I was disappointed with the way they ended this game series. Still, it was worth the time to play it. :)
Warhamer 40.000 Space Marine Review by MacKnight
Rating 8/10 For those who know Warhammer 40.000, you know how grim the dark future of the 40th Millennium is for the Imperium of Man. We are attacked from all sides. Outside by aliens and Mutants. Beyond by the daemons of the Warp. Within by renegades and Heretics. The Might of the Imperium is barely holding the enemies of mankind back. The Last line of defense for mankind, the Post-Human super soldiers of the Adeptus Astartes, commonly known as the Space Marines. Incased in Massive power armor (which weight about 500-600 KG on its own, thank the emperor for the artificial muscle system in the armor), bolters who fire self-propelled mini rockets that explode when entering the enemies body and a biology that makes you over 2.5 meters high when in armor, a stomach able to eat just about anything. Rocks, wood, oil, poison, you name it. Breathe in Water and toxic atmospheres. Spit acid and many other things. An imperial forge world is attacked by the galaxies own cockroach. The greenskin horde, the orks. On the Planet is forges capable of repairing and building the massive war machines of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Titans. The Strategic value of titans are Absolute, you most recover them no matter the cost. (In case you wonder why, the titan you shall take is a Warlord Class
titan, takes about 70-100 YEARS to build one...) You approach the planet in your gunship, finding ship wrecks and bodies floating in space. Your ship cannot approach the planet all the way. Go back? Hell no, grab a jump pack and JUMP OUT into an orbital battle and fly the rest of the way to the planet. An Ork’s ship blocking your path. Sucks to be them. You land on the ship and start shooting and cutting everything within reach, fight your way to the ships crude cannon and turn it around with brute force so it starts shooting the ship. Ship go down crashing, with YOU still on it. You see the ship crash and a pile of rubble, and you just get up from the rubble, dust yourself off, kick some crap that is in your way and stand proudly at your handiwork. The graphic of the game itself, might look a little cheap, but it capture the essence of Warhammer. Same with the architecture of the buildings and many other things. Blood and gore when you fight and endless tide of orks to kill is a bonus anytime when it’s Warhammer 40k. :) The downside of the game is that the story is weak.
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Interview Chair
with Caeri
Caeri has been with Easy Going Scans almost from the beginning. An exceptional Korean>English translator, she has translated a number of series, including Magician that many of you surely know.
Profile First name: Eunae Age: N/A From: Korea Role: Korean Translator Hobbies: Sleeping! Could you introduce yourself? Tell me your name, where you live, what you study, your hobbies~ My real real name is Eunae, a Korean name. I just came back to Korea but I study in a university in the US, where I major in operations research. A lot of people might be saying “what?” when they see that but all I’m going to say is that it’s inside the engineering school here and it’s related to a lot of numbers! I like to play instruments. Well, I don’t play anything ‘soulful’ but I can play a lot of different ones. I play clarinet in our school marching band, some piano and I can play a few chords on the guitar. What was your first instrument? When did you come to love music? Like a lot of other Asian parents, my mom forced me to play the piano when I was little. But I hated it, and quit as soon as i got the chance XD But you know, even though i hated it, I’ll probably force my kids to play something too XD I appreciated it in the end hehe Mainly i just like to play for myself XD I don’t really know when but somehow music seemed a lot more fun when it wasn’t being forced on you. Starting the clarinet was my choice and I had to beg my parents for a
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month to get it and then i couldn’t give up so easily, could I? lol Have you seen Nodame Cantabile? I don’t remember the number and opus... but they had a symphony for solo clarinet in there, I think. Do you play that song, by any chance? Nodame is one of my favorites! I did learn a lot about classical music from it haha. Hmm, I can’t remember the piece... I remember there being an oboe concerto >.> But i don’t play intense classical pieces anyway haha Maybe I’m confused? Those wind sections always confused me... I always think of bassoon when I hear about oboes, clarinets, the rest... I’m sure for you strings we all look the same :P They’re more similar than other instruments I guess. Anyway, well then, I will cut that embarrassing part out of the final draft, whistle Hahaha What inspired you to join EGS? Were you in any other group before that? Don’t you read your manwha in Korean? Why the scanlation? EGS was my first group and I’ve been here for more than a year now! I can’t believe it’s been so long! Haha Yeah i usually read raws for korean manwhas and webtoons and, honestly, I didn’t understand people who did scanlations, at first. I mean, I still read Japanese manga, so I was thankful that they existed, but i didn’t see why people would put in their per-
sonal energy to make them. But in college, I had a roommate and I was always reading webtoons and cracking up and she wanted to know what it was all about, so I started explaining what was going on for a few of them. It was really fun to share it with her and laugh together so she suggested, as a joke, I should start scanlating them and then I actually did! So does your friend continue to follow your releases? (Hello to Caeri-friend~ Thank you for sending Caeri to us!) Yep. We were roommates for 1 and a half years. Haha well, she was probably more of a manga fan than I was from the beginning. The ones I translated for her were the untranslated webtoons that weren’t available to her, but about other manga, she knew more than I did, my advantage was only in webtoons. So what are your thoughts on scanlating now, compared to 2 years ago? I think as long as people doing it are having fun, and people reading are having fun, it’s a very worthwhile thing to do. It’s a great feeling to know that thousands of people are reading and enjoying what you work on and love. Do you ever have misgivings about scanlation? Problems with quality or translation? Quality wise, as a reader, it can be really frustrating trying to read poor quality scans but at the same time, if the only people who are willing to invest time and energy into it only go that far, then I’m thankful for what
Questions by: Jliu and Tallrice Chair design by: Perkyz perkyz.deviantart.com
they can give As a scanlator though, I definitely have pride in producing quality. So how do you like to read series? DDL? IRC? Online reader? Any particular softwares to read them? I’m a hoarder, so I like to download any series that I really like. do you use any particular software to read manga? I just use the default windows viewer but for casual reading, online readers are nice too. If it’s a webtoon, I read directly from the source Do you find tling fairly simple, being completely fluent in both English and Korean? What dictionaries or reference books do you use? Tling really depends on the project. For example, with Magician, it’s mostly easy dialogue, so I can just read and type. I do get slowed on some words though and then I use a dictionary or a thesaurus. For the dictionary, I like using the Naver Korean English one because it’s easily accessible. What projects do you work with in Easy Going Scans? Magician especially feels like my baby since I’ve been working on it for so long. I’ve been working on it since chapter 6. It was the first project I took on when I joined EGS. I’m also working on Piano no Mori, and Geukji High. Magician! That’s a series that Easy Going Scans used to release on a daily basis. What was it like to work as a part of that? Does it disrupt other activities of yours? It’s really intense to work for a daily release. Instead of just doing a chapter a week on schedule, you have to churn out chapters whenever you can. It cuts into my tv watching time, but oh well~ TV? Do you watch anime mainly or others? I prefer manga over anime, but recently i’ve been watching Persona 4, other than that, I like a lot of american dramas. As for Persona 4, I started watching because of the influence of my friends who played the game. Since I didn’t want to play it, I watched the anime instead. Recently EGS had a poll about manga aggregators... Do you have any opinions
on these sites that scanlators all seem to detest? They’re a good way for readers to find manga. One manga was how I got introduced to the scanlation world, but I don’t like that some of them are profiting off of work that other people are doing and also that some lower the quality of the original work. When it comes to the original authors, I think the original publishers will find them disrespectful but they will find us disrespectful too. From what I’ve heard from some webtoon authors, while they are excited that their works are being shown internationally, they are kind of sad that it can’t be through their own hands, which is totally understandable. Do you think there is any resolution to that? Any way for publishers like naver to turn scanlation to their advantage? I definitely think so. Without scanlations, most people wouldn’t even know about these great webtoons. Ideally, I think we can work together for everyone’s gain. If Naver had an English site, with translated webtoons, scanlators could help do the work! There would, of course, be more regulations and quality control of course, but it would benefit everybody. I’m not sure whether there are legal obstacles, but I really think they should get on this. You mentioned you had heard about some authors feelings, does this means you have communicated with some of the authors before? I like to visit some of their blogs. It’s interesting to see what they post about their work or their personal lives. The authors of Layers like to post their art on their blog, which I think people will enjoy http://blog.naver.com/higesega/50133611494
S
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one f i n a l question: If you were to dream of world domination, what would be your first command after you were successful? Haha, hmmm... Well, maybe this is because we’ve been talking about manga for an hour, but the first thing that popped into my head was: “pay those poor webtoon authors more money!!” because recently there’s been a lot of heat about that in the daum webtoon forums. People talking about how little they are getting paid and how it gets in the way of their creativity, actually korean manhwa market as a whole Do manwha authors accept donations? No but that was one of the solutions that people suggested. For now the best thing to do is visit the raw sites and up their stats haha. I hope there will be better ways to support them soon though Btw this is Be Heun artist’s blog art http://blog.naver.com/ssallll Thank you for the interview Caeri~ Phew, hope I did alright, haha
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se e n a ap J n r Lea th wi
Learn Japanese
ie r_d o _ do
Hiragana
Lesson 1- by do_or_die
Japanese is written in a combination of three scripts: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Kanji represent ideas or objects, hiragana express the grammatical relationships between them. Katakana is used for words of foreign origin. Like romaji, both hiragana and katakana characters represent one syllable and have no meaning other than the representation of sound. Though Japanese is usually written in a combination of three scripts, Japanese sentences can be written in either hiragana or katakana only. I think learning hiragana is a good start for Japanese writing and we will start our first lesson with that.
1.INTRODUCTIONS In japanese, we use the following sentence to introduce ourself to a person we meet for the first time:
Hajimemashite.
Nikorasu
desu.
Yoroshiku
onegaishimasu
Which means: Greetings. My name is Colin. Nice to meet you.
2.NATIONALITY We tell “I am from Greece” as following
Girisha
kara
kimashita.
If we analyze this sentence literally, it means “I came from Greece”. But this is a common expression that you can safely use during introductions.
There is one other way to express your nationality, and is as common. I think most of you are familiar with “desu” suffix. And yes, we use this suffix in statements. For example, let's say “I am American”:
Amerikajin
desu.
Or “I am Italian”:
Itariajin
desu.
When stating nationality, we add “jin” suffix to the name of a nation. And you may be wondering where this suffix comes from: Usually it is written using the kanji of “person (hito)”.
So, here are a couple of other country names, Use them to tell your nationality (Doitsu) (Indo) (Furansu) (Suisu) (Indoneshia) (Chuugoku) (Nihon)
Germany India France Switzerland Indonesia China Japan
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Chibi art by Chibi-girl chibigirl21.deviantart.com
3. OCCUPATION You may want to tell your occupation during introductions. Just like expressing your nationality, we use “desu” suffix. Here's an example
Gakusei
4.COMBINING THESE DETAILS DURING INTRODUCTION Now we know how to tell them separately, so it's time to combine them. The formula is, filling everything between “your name” and “nice to meet you” part. For example:
desu.
Which means: I am a student. You may use the following to tell your occupation, if you are one: kenkyuusha sensei kaishain keisatsu daigakusei yakuza
Hiragana: A
researcher teacher company employee police College Student japanese mafia (lol)
This line means: Greetings. My name is Nicolas. I am from Japan. I am an assassin. Nice to meet you I hope you liked this short course. Stay tuned xD
How to write Hiragana Hiragana: Chi
Hiragana: Fu
Hiragana: Ha
Hiragana: He
Hiragana: Hi
Hiragana: Ho
Hiragana: Ka
Hiragana: Ma
Hiragana: Me
Hiragana: Mi
Hiragana: Mo
Hiragana: Mu
Hiragana: N
Hiragana: Na
Hiragana: Ne
Hiragana: Ni
Hiragana: No
Hiragana: Nu
Hiragana: Ra
Hiragana: Re
Hiragana: Ri
Hiragana: Ro
Hiragana: Ru
Hiragana: Sa
Hiragana: Se
Hiragana: Shi
Hiragana: So
Hiragana: Su
Hiragana: Ta
Hiragana: Te
Hiragana: To
Hiragana: Tsu
Hiragana: Wa
Hiragana: Wo
Hiragana: Ya
Hiragana: Yo
Hiragana: Yu
Source: http://japanese.about.com
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aiews g nRev a M
Under Prin By Author/Artist: SMBRYMS Review by Pocky
Summary: Under Prin is about a not-so-average family whose life is turned upside-down when a strange person appears. The catalyst is Rantain’s arrival, which sets off the main events of the story. It was really fortunate that she showed up when she did! Author: SMBRYMS Country of Origin: Korea Year of Release: 2008 / Ongoing Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen, Slice of Life, Supernatural Reading order: Left to Right! Type: Manhwa / webtoon It might seem to be a humorous fantasy at first glance, spiced with some action and a little bit of romance, when in fact family relations (and drama!) also play a big role. Demons, succubi and angels appear while father and son try to carry on their everyday life in human society.
Plot:
After a short introduction, the plot starts off immediately and sets an enjoyable pace. Thankfully, there isn’t any huge info dump in the beginning, which can usually confuse the readers and cause them to lose track of the threads of the story early on. Instead,
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you can find crumbs of information, like pieces of a puzzle that will make sense later on and that don’t disrupt the flow of the story nor prevent the reader from becoming immersed in the author’s world. Right now only a couple of side-stories can be found, However, the world built by the author has the potential to accommodate much more of them: a whole new world is still undiscovered for us, not to mention, quite a few unanswered questions and mysteries that remain. Thus, the story is complex, but enjoyable. Character Development: The same is true for character introductions. We get a feel for each main character early on and I’ve never once thought them shallow or two-dimensional (if I may say so about webtoon characters), and as time goes on, we can look beyond the first layer of their personality and realize just how complex they are. Like how we would get to know someone in real life. The interactions between characters are
natural, so that’s also a plus point in making it a good read.
Artwork:
When it comes to the art, I would make special note of the character designs, which I really like. The art is clear and the drawing style isn’t messy in the least. Moreover, the characters fit the narration well. The only negative point I can find is one near the beginning. Some confusion might be an issue because of how similar Mi-Ryu looks to his father, but quickly, this problem disappears.
Value:
If you like urban fantasy, drama and action with some humour, along with romance and supernatural beings in the mix (breath), then you should definitely check out this webtoon!
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t an r s A dy t o f a ob r N C by Crafting art By Nobody-san
She made the characters from a fabric called Gogh and for the eyes she used imitation leather.
Fashion News! Adam from the manga Choujin Gakuen
Introducing En Vie a free online fashion magazine!
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En Vie is a pioneering magazine currently published in 4 languages (English, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese), bursting with all that is fascinating and dynamic about fashion. The latest fashion, photography and need-to-know news from the wardrobe of the world. In short, En Vie is a radical idea - a free, international high quality fashion magazine, accessible from anywhere in the world. Fast-forward to the fashion future. You can check it out today also on App Store. http://www.en-vie-fashion.com
From the manga TriPeace
Best Manga / Anime lines!
"Im not interested in what people say, I'm interested in what they do!" Usogui ch 45:
Submited by Claudia
“I don't know if i will be able to get it up with this hangover...” Paladin ch23:
Submited by Dawn
“Weakness is a sin” Claymore ep22:
Submited by Tallrice
"KNEEL"
Noblesse (Cadis Etrama Di Raizel): Submited by SevenSeven
“If that's what it means to be wise... then I'd be happier living as a fool” Naruto ch 237:
Submited by Keizer
“As long as we keep moving forward for what we believe in, it will be all right! We'll all end up smiling in the end! “ D.gray-man:
Submited by Keizer
“All you idiots have been going on this entire time saying I came alone. Are you guys blind? I did not come alone. The one that's fighting you right now, is your king. Get that through your thick skulls. “ Beelzebub:
Submited by DarkDooM
“Do they choose TALs based on how retarted they are?” Tal ch24:
Submited by Pocky
“Instead of leaving behind a friend, I'd rather die right here" The Breaker, New Waves: Submited by angelicbounder
''The past will not return. Time which has begun moving cannot be stopped. before long the dream will melt into Nothingness''. The Breaker, New Waves:
Submited by Nobody-san
More to come in the next issue!
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e ! m e i p n o c A s / oro a g H n a M Aries March 21 - April 19
Taurus
You typically enjoy reading fantasy, martial arts, and adventure manga. You like to see variety in backgrounds and you prefer emotional or dramatic manga. You rarely stick to one manga series and generally like to keep exploring. You are extremely impatient and are often irritated by the week-long wait between each next release. You like manga characters that are strong and quick-witted. You are passionate about many different things but you can also be self-centered and impulsive… not to mention a little lazy at times, too. Your ideal character would be Frankenstein from Noblesse or Tobi from Naruto. -by manga_addict-
You typically read fantasy, seinen and romance manga. You resent weak male characters. You like dark blue or black colored hair both for males and for females. You like to some cuteness and some ecchi in manga but not too much of it. If you could be any manga or anime character, you’d be Li Shengshun of Darker than Black or Kai of Noblesse. If you were forced to choose between anime and manga you would choose manga. You enjoy gazing at stars in the night sky. You usually like reading longer works and you hate waiting a week for a new chapter. When you watch anime movies, you prefer to see unique ideas. Your perfect manga or anime tags are: horror, drama, and fantasy. - by Black Legacy -
April 20 - May 20
Gemini
As a Gemini, you are naturally duplicitous in several ways: You often find yourself holding two opposing opinions on a single subject. Sometimes you can even simultaneously feel love and hate. Just like Moka from "Rosario+vampire" you seem to have multiple personalities. As such, you are very sociable. Conversations with you are always very pleasant and interesting. You have a great memory for almost useless things that you are eager to share. As a Gemini, you're as unpredictable as the weather. You would be absolutely intolerable if you were not so charming. You can rarely concentrate on one thing at a time. When you do, it isn’t for long. If you had to choose between anime and manga you would always choose manga because of your impatience. You hold beauty and art in high regard so you usually choose anime or manga based on the quality of the art and on the style. If you could be any manga/anime character, you would be Akito(Agito) from Air Gear or Hei from Darker than Black. - by esper -
Cancer
May 21 - June 20
June 21 -July 22
Aesthetics mean a lot to you. For you to even consider starting a new anime or manga, the artistic style has to be just right. From elaborate backdrops to the tiniest detail on the lapel of your favorite character, you enjoy everything in the big picture. You prefer male characters that are dark and mysterious… and female characters that are strong and confident leaders. Even though you like characters with depth, you are always grateful for some comic relief, like that provided by Kon in Bleach. As a Cancer, you are very emotionally attached to your memories. This attachment applies to your choices of anime and manga. When you find a series that’s special to you, you can enjoy it repeatedly… each time with the same emotions it instilled in you that very first watch. Cancers, being of a creative star-sign, are willing to try any manga at least once. As a result, you strongly prefer fantasy and science-fiction anime, both of which rely on the viewer’s imagination to really submerge the audience in the story, the characters, and the dramatic art styles that go with them. You might come across as tough because you enjoy fast-paced, exciting, dramatic manga, so people tend to forget that you also enjoy even the mushiest of love stories. - by Yossarianlives -
Virgo
August 23 - September 22
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Leo
July 23 - August 22
Art plays a very important role when it comes to choosing your mangas or animes Even if the plot is amazing, you’ll pass ove manga with subpar artwork. You usually avoid reading unfinished mang anime series because waiting for releases is a pain (especially when it c hangers). You love to spend long hours reading manga and watching ani within healthy limits. You prefer Action, Mecha, Fantasy, and Comedy ani you don't generally place very much emphasis on genre. Seinen or Shou you. So long as the anime or manga attracts you, you'll give it a try. You te yourself with Harem or Yaoi but you would never try Yuri or those cute, s series. You are naturally attracted to characters with strong personalitie lains. You despise weak/idiotic characters, usually heroes/main charac such, you are a big supporter of the dark side. - by ferlynn -
Anime and manga weigh the same in your heart. You choose the ones with masterpiece storylines and quality art. The ages of animated films and series don’t bother you so long as the story is great and the artwork is tolerable. When you enjoy a certain title, you read it as a manga and watch it as an anime… mainly to see which of the two is better. When it comes to manga, the quality of the artwork is very important to you. You feel that if a page is not colored, the drawing should look perfect. Seinen and Shounen have a special spot in your heart, but you can still enjoy shoujo and josei if they have exceptional plots… something memorable that makes you glad you took the time to read it. You enjoy anime and manga that feature romance but not those that revolve around it. You like characters that just give off hints of romance but never confess, like in shounen manga. You would rather see couples like Deunan and Briareos of Appleseed who don’t have to be all over each other to remind you that they’re dating. You prefer mean, nonchalant, badass characters with cool demeanors. It doesn’t matter to you if they are villains or not, as long as they can satisfy your cravings for the dark side. Silent-but-deadly characters also attract you. You tend to dislike noisy, idiotic, weak characters unless they are extremely funny. You feel that DIDs or demoiselles in distress are useless and annoying except when drawn in a way that makes your jaw drop.- by alracajoir -
Libra
You are usually rather indecisive. You will often read a manga until almost the end before giving up in the last few pages because you don't want to see something you like come to an end. Consequently, your list of unfinished reads is almost as long as your actual reading list. Since you are also very original you tend to make unusual find and your taste are rather original or some might say eccentric. But your favorite gender is probably Comedy-like since it goes well with your light personality. You'd rather laugh than cry..especially since you are rather emotive and tears are flowing easily. For you, quality art in a manga is nice but it’s the plot that counts for the most, in your eyes. You could follow a manga with poor art if the story is worth it.You typically like elegant characters like Dogma from Hell's Kitchen. -by Dawn-
September 23 - October 22
Scorpio
You only have two requirements when it comes to choosing a manga: a great story and amazing art. You tend to be rather picky and you rarely have the patience to read more than one chapter (or one page) of a manga that is less than perfect. You especially despise overdone clichés, poorly used tropes (Mary Sues/Gary Stues, damsels in distress, moronic protagonists who you want to bludgeon to death, overpowered characters, etc.), unnecessary drama, flowery backgrounds, sparkling eyes and nausea-inducing declarations of love. You read works from every genre but you tend to keep away from shoujo, harem, and lolicon/shotacon. When you manage to find a manga you like, you’re more likely to wait until it is completed and read it in one go rather than wait weeks for an update. Your ideal manga has not only an amazing story but also gorgeous artwork…and really, is that so much to ask? -by csnrain-
October 23 - November 21
You don't care about manga genres and don't really have a favorite manga. As long as it's interesting and well-drawn, you like it. You think that the greatest value of any manga is its core concept. If it's not interesting, the whole series is pointless to read. But, if the characters, story and art are in harmony then it's right for you. You like when the author and artist present a lot of fantasy in their works. You enjoy feeling tension when you read, excited by the mysteries and little surprises from unexpected turn of events. You just hate stories with simple lines, when everything is predictable and repetative. You also pay a lot of attention to the details. Pictures should be not just skillfully drawn, but also contain interesting elements among clothing, figures, and environments to catch your interest. You feel that characters should be complicated, balanced, and have their own particular features that make them unique. The secondary plots have to be well thought-out in order to not conflict with the main storyline. Your characters are those who are strong-willed and make difficult decisions like Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist or Catherina Sforza from Trinity Blood. -by Tetisheri-
Sagittarius November 22 - December 21
You like manga which is worth spending your time on. When you choose manga, you place emphasis on the overall quality of the manga: the meaningful story, art, and characters. You like dark, level-headed, intriguing characters. You prefer the long-running series in which the plot is well-developed. As the name “Capricorn” is the origin of the word “capricious”, you also enjoy simple comedic manga. In fact, you are a romantic at heart. You would enjoy romance manga. The manga characters you like would be described as 'kakoi' (cool) and reliable, like those in Capricorn by Eiichiro Oda. -by Akatsubaki-
er a ga and comes to cliff ime but you keep me and manga, but, ujo don’t really affect end to challenge sweet, lovey dovey s, usually the vilcters. As
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
You tend to like dynamic manga and anime: from dark to comedic themes (anything but slice of life which bores you to tears). Well thought-out plot twists give you thrills, so your favorite characters are generally the ones with a twist as well; something about their personality has to add dimension. You also like intricate relationships and cool secondary plots. You always have a somewhat sad feeling when you finish a manga or reach the end of a series. You are constantly pursuing new and better artwork and stories. You like to be current only on your preferred series; as soon as a new chapter or episode is out, you at least skim through it to know what it is about. There is a long list of series you want to go through eventually, and you will... if your interest is piqued. -by Aniiki-
You like fantasy and psychological anime/manga because you are quite the daydreamer and you get lost in your thoughts a lot. You like light-hearted and fun genres as well but nothing that gets too frilly. A good drama with an intricate plot is really what you are after. Strong male or female leads cause your imagination to go into overdrive. Girls, you want the bad boy to come to your rescue. Guys, you want the sexy, hot, and scantily clad woman to be by your side. Slice of life series allow your brain cells to dwell in reality but you don’t read very many. You are like the cute little brother or sister that everyone loves but doesn't ever take too seriously. Because of your keen ability to understand others, deep and mysterious people flock to you. You prefer to read manga because you like to be alone with your thoughts and daydream for hours after you finish reading. If it’s an anime series or a movie, you would rather it be something that is complex and makes you think as you don't like to be bothered with mindless simple stories. -by LilyMace-
Aquarius January 20 - February 18
Pisces February 19 -March 20
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