Hello and welcome to Keba's Anime and Manga Place (KAAMP for short)! Here at KAAMP, I write about anime and manga that I have seen/read as well as my views on them. I'll also post about my original stories from time to time.

Just beware that some of my posts contain spoilers. I'll put them in spoiler tags just in case.

KAAMP's history: KAAMP was created in July 2002 by yours truly. It was a sloppy-looking website on Yahoo's now defunct Geocities. I posted my anime fan art on that site. Also, for a time, I posted my thoughts on the few anime series that I had seen. Now that I look back on it, my thoughts were rather ill-informed (is that even a word?) because I had only seen bits and pieces of anime dubs. Now that I've seen more series, I think that my commentary on various anime will be a little better than before.

So, come on in and stay awhile! KAAMP is now in session.

Showing Off

Here's some artwork of my OCs that other people drew. I just wanted to show my appreciation to the artists. Conus vs. Pikachu by kita mikichi ...

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Lots of Thoughts (theO Ideas)

I had a bunch of thoughts regarding both theO and my art. This post is basically me spilling ideas.

Regarding theO:

1. OC Popularity Polls. We'd vote for each others' characters and the 10 that receive the most votes get a countdown comic.

2. Otaku Manga/Anime Fan Guides. Basically it'll be a ring of fan sites using Worlds. Each person would have a fan World collecting data about their chosen series (character bios, world guide, et cetera). If we don't know everything about a certain series, we can have guest posters and commenters fill in the gaps. Also, instead of using official artwork, we'd make our own (or post artwork from other users).

3. Something secret that I plan to do this summer. No art skills are required. You just have to know how to link YouTube videos.

Yes, I know the Sketch Marathon is still going and I haven't posted anything yet. This is just a future reference thing, just in case I forget.

Regarding my art:

1. Business ideas. I mentioned opening a Society6, but I have absolutely no idea what to draw to submit to it. Anything you guys wanna see from me? I'm also thinking about other ways to market my art, but I don't have anything completely solid.

2. A new Challenge. Hopefully, I'll make it within the week.

I've got some other stuff in the pipeline, but I want those to be a surprise.

So, what of these ideas interests you?

All Over the Place

Click and scroll down. Does one of these things look familiar? I'm famous! Almost.

In other news, I'm actually keeping up with my end of the Sketch Marathon. I just haven't scanned or posted anything. I'm almost at the halfway point with the first anime series that I'm sketching characters from. I'm still trying to decide which series to do next. (Note: I'm adding spoiler tags in case anyone wants to be surprised as to what I pick.) Basically, my next pick is between Death Note and Gurren Lagann.

I'm thinking that when I get each series done, I might make a series group picture. That's going to be separate from the Sketch Marathon. I'd just import the sketches into Manga Studio and mess around with them. Just a thought.

Oh! And I'm almost done with my Secret Santa. I just need to add another layer or two of color and it'll be ready to scan. Way to go, Keba. You're two weeks late. But at least it's turning out pretty nice. That is, except for the bottom of the page where it's a bit wrinkled. It was really hot in my apartment last night, and the sweat from my palms was getting on the paper. Hope that wasn't too much information.

There's also this Challenge I want to enter. Even if I don't make it in time, I still want to draw my idea. ♪

On a completely different subject, I got a trial subscription to Hulu Plus. Big deal. They still have commercials. I'm canceling once my trial period runs out.

Speaking of anime, I haven't started anything new. I'm aiming to wrap up a series or three before I pick up a new one. Believe me, I need to. I have eight different series that I'm in the middle of watching. And that's not counting the ones that I've put on hold. (No, I'm not watching them on eight different screens. That would require more multitasking than I can manage... plus seven more screens than I actually have.)

Ahem. Moving on...

Some KAAMP topics I want to write about in the coming year:

  • Guilty pleasures and feeling shame
  • Series that I want to like more than I actually do
  • Series that I've avoided and why
  • How obscure can you get?
  • Opinions on specific series (any requests?)

I was also kicking around the idea of posting my thoughts on slash and the like, but that could open a big can of worms. And by big, I mean that I could be criticized by both sides of the political aisle.

I'm also thinking about putting up my "help wanted" World mid-month. The question is, what do I call it? I want a catchy name. I was thinking "Artist 2 Artist", "theO's Most Wanted", or something involving the words "bulletin" or "collaboration". Maybe it could be a combination of any of those things. Any thoughts on the matter?

Drawing Dysfunction

All of my Challenge prize sketches are done! There's just one problem: I can't scan them.

Let me explain. I injured my back really badly last week. I had a muscle spasm that I still haven't quite recovered from, so I'm afraid to lift heavy things. Like my laptop. And as you know, I use my parents' scanner, but I currently can't transport my laptop to their house.

Winners, I'm sorry that I'm making you wait so long. I will get your prizes done. I'm just having a little setback right now.

On a side note, I feel like I have ideas and half-finished drawings all over the place. I want to enter all the Challenges I'm interested in, finish those prizes, and complete some stuff that I've had in the works for years. That's at least 12 drawings right there. I hope I get 'em all done in time.

The Idea Post

I was thinking about all kinds of ideas for characters, drawings, and World posts. I want to get them all down before I forget. Warning: This could get long, so I'm breaking it up into a bunch of pages. Character/story ideas...

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