A to Z Reflections

Well, I already posted this, but it seems I should say something else. Well, one thing I’ve learned is that a lack of a theme can make it harder when having to choose my favorite of my own posts.

I want to call attention to one of the several blogs that I discovered thanks to this challenge. Because of the “A to Z of LGBT+ Comics Characters” list over at Things Matter, I learned about some characters I hadn’t heard of, and was reminded of a few favorites.

And I want to give a big thanks to Overlord-G for reblogging “Y is for Yuri“, which accounts for about half the views in what’s been my second-best week ever.

#AtoZChallenge After Party!

Think you might have missed some great posts during the a to z challenge?
Check out the after party, with lots of links in the comments.

A to Z Challenge review/summary

I didn’t find the A to Z challenge tiring at all. I did it without sticking to a particular theme, but while the categories might be fuzzy on some I think I’d break down what I did as this:

Writing, story themes, or my writing: 10

Anime: 7

Science or other facts: 6

Miscellaneous: 3

(Index below the fold.)

Z is for Zero Wing

Zero Wing was a game for the Mega Drive, the system known as the Genesis in America. It was pretty obscure for a while, and now it’s mostly known for this:

 

 

Y is for Yuri

Yuri is literally Japanese for lily, but it’s come to be associated with the portrayal of lesbian relationships in Japanese media. The etymology is actually a lot more straightforward than that of the male counterpart term yaoi; an influential magazine referred to gay men as the rose tribe and lesbians as the lily tribe.

X is for Xabungle

Combat Mecha Xabungle is an anime series from the 1980’s. It was directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, most famous for Mobile Suit Gundam, and to a lesser extent Brave Raideen and Space Runaway Ideon, but Xabungle is a lot lighter and more comedic than those, or most of Tomino’s other work.

W is for Writing

Obviously, I’m writing this, and I think I’ve mentioned enough times that I’m also writing novels.

I find it a lot easier to express myself in written form than in speech. I like to have time to decide what I’m saying, to look at the whole thing and make corrections before anyone sees any of it, and to make little asides (like this one) without sidetracking the whole conversation

And I have stories I want to tell. That, more than self-promotion, is the reason I’m finding it harder and harder to keep from mentioning my novel. I still haven’t decided for certain on my publishing route, but I’m determined to be published in some form, because I want people to read this story.

V is for Villain

Most stories need an antagonist of some sort, and for a lot of genres, that means a villain; someone who, whether they see it that way or not (realistic ones usually don’t), is doing something that is indisputably wrong.

U is for Underdog

No, not this guy.

 

People always root for the underdog. Even though it’s predictable in itself, people like to see heroes defeat villains stronger than they are, or else small groups win against larger ones. And when there’s not even a “right” and “wrong” side to begin with, the weaker team is always the one that people sympathize with.

I wrote a scene that failed pretty badly due to the plot not really allowing for the antagonist to be a match for the protagonist at that point in the story; the result, while making sense, was simply too anticlimactic for that point in the story and it’s probably the biggest rewrite I have left.

T is for Tekkaman Blade

Tekkaman is a sci-fi/superhero anime from the 1970’s, and Tekkaman Blade is it’s reimagining/reboot from the 1990’s. It’s also one of those cases where the reboot has probably surpassed the original in long-term popularity. The major similarities are that in both, a human transforms into a biomechanical superhero form, his transformation is connected to a robot named Pegas, and he is part of a group called the Space Knights; aside from that the plot and characters are unrelated.

This is the song that plays during the final battle between Tekkaman Blade and Tekkaman Evil, Masquerade by Kosaka Yumiko.