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Ghost at Twilight: "It has stopped..."
Apr. 5th, 2017 05:09 pmPosted and edited yesterday. The next update will be for "Encounter in Venice".
Posted and edited! This chapter robbed me of my sleep last night because I stayed up until 5 a.m. to write it. *resolves not to do this again
The next update will probably be for "Encounter in Venice" unless I finish the next "Ghost at Twilight" chapter first. :)
The next update will probably be for "Encounter in Venice" unless I finish the next "Ghost at Twilight" chapter first. :)
"Ghost at Twilight": "A kiss can..."
Mar. 12th, 2017 06:32 pmPosted and edited. The next update will probably for "Ghost at Twilight" again unless I finish the next chapter for "Encounter in Venice" first.
In other news, I've returned to Twitter as FidgetFidgets because a few people I want to follow are there although I won't use it very often.
In other news, I've returned to Twitter as FidgetFidgets because a few people I want to follow are there although I won't use it very often.
I actually managed to use "dices" instead of "dice" as the plural of "dice" in GaT without noticing. I seriously don't know why since I wouldn't ever get the idea to type "mices" instead of "mice".
What happened to LiveJournal?
Dec. 28th, 2016 01:12 amIt might be only LJ's crappy mobile site, but I can't find any of my friends on my profile page. Also, my friends feed are totally empty although SN has posted her Japan trip, an entry which I only found because I got the e-mail alert. What's wrong with the LJ page? I can't post friends-locked entries anymore!
Edit: It's not only the mobile site since I'm posting from the laptop. I must also admit I hate the new minimalist layout LJ forces on us.
Edit: It's not only the mobile site since I'm posting from the laptop. I must also admit I hate the new minimalist layout LJ forces on us.
Posted and edited. This will probably be my last update for this year. Although I keep writing on paper, I doubt that I'll have time to type the next chapter before January. I'm going to edit and merge the chapters I've written, though, and probably update the summary page for this fix since I've neglected it lately.
These days I scribble the chapters on paper, copy the finished paragraphs into my notebooks, and leave them there to edit them before I type them down. I love the laptop for emails and chats (and I'm ten times faster when I use the keyboard), but fics are so much easier to write when I write them on paper first. Paper is better for my eyes, it helps me to focus, I can carry it anywhere since it's lighter, and it slows me down a bit so that I don't make rash decisions. I'm less paranoid of losing my work. Also, the sound of the keyboard is also rather soporific. I always end up feeling sleepy whenever I type whereas seeing the words on paper gives me a sense of satisfaction.
These days I scribble the chapters on paper, copy the finished paragraphs into my notebooks, and leave them there to edit them before I type them down. I love the laptop for emails and chats (and I'm ten times faster when I use the keyboard), but fics are so much easier to write when I write them on paper first. Paper is better for my eyes, it helps me to focus, I can carry it anywhere since it's lighter, and it slows me down a bit so that I don't make rash decisions. I'm less paranoid of losing my work. Also, the sound of the keyboard is also rather soporific. I always end up feeling sleepy whenever I type whereas seeing the words on paper gives me a sense of satisfaction.
Posted and edited. :) The next update will most probably be for GaT again. Writing on paper and typing a scene during one single morning from time to time seems to work well for me whenever I'm busy. Writing on paper is so much more relaxing than on the phone or at the laptop. I can write whenever I get an idea and reread the sentences I've struck out and even the longer parts I've already trashed. It's also easier to edit on paper with arrows and marks instead of highlighting and deleting a sentence, writing the new sentence, changing it again, reverting to the old version, then trying to find the second version etc... It works if I'm deligently keeping the old versions in order, but I'm doomed to stay at one place during the whole editing process and getting a stiff neck while a paper notebook allows me to be more flexible.
The next updates for "Ghost at Twilight" and "Encounter in Venice" will have to wait until October or November (depending on whether I'm going to travel in October or not) since I'm buried under my pile of work. I scribble into my notebooks whenever I can find time to do it, but I don't really get to type much down these days since I need to use the time I can spend at the laptop to type my long overdue papers. Also, I seriously need to catch up on sleep. I'm looking forward to continuing the stories, though.
"Encounter in Venice" Chapter 40
Aug. 15th, 2016 11:27 pmPosted and edited. Sorry for the long break, but I was ill, holidaying, and busy. I've also been editing both multi-chapters of mine regularly since I discovered tons of grammar mistakes whenever I reread my writings. (I tend to break even the rules I know, which is most puzzling.)
"Encounter in Venice" Chapter 39
Jul. 12th, 2016 01:42 am(Part Four: "You looked much happier"). Posted and edited. :)
"Encounter in Venice" Chapters merged
Jul. 3rd, 2016 12:28 amWhile editing the story, I've merged the short chapters and the chapters I've split into longer chapters so that the fic has 37 chapters now. (Initially, I planned to write nine large parts, each of which consists of eleven chapters. But then the first part turned out shorter than planned while the others were much longer than expected.)
Sailor Moon Crystal Infinity arc
Jun. 23rd, 2016 03:14 pmAfter watching most of the snippets of the arc I could find on Youtube, here are my few cents:
Haruka's new voice... The longer I listen to it, the less I like it. It's not the voice in general which I dislike, but it's frustrating to hear it from Haruka's mouth since it absolutely doesn't fit the androgynous Haruka in SM Crystal. The Haruka in the old anime was usually dressed in "male" clothes whenever she didn't transform, but her voice was so pleasantly androgynous that it worked for both Uranus and Haruka. This new very male and rather rough voice doesn't manage to convey her feminine side, and it doesn't sound good when she screams but just hoarse and rough. It's a shame since Haruka's voice was one of my favourite voices in the old anime. Maybe the new one wouldn't bother me as much if the old one hadn't been so attractive.
I also miss Haruka's teal eyes. The greenish blue really suited her and brought out her blonde hair while the steel-grey eyes look rather nondescript on her face. The only thing which was well-done was her random switching between being feminine and masculine. It was less jarring than I thought as long as I don't hear her new voice.
The transformation music of the Outers is rather forgettable compared to the old tune. While the transformations are more or less the same, they simply don't make an impact with the new music. I like the lack of pale lipstick (that part always annoyed me in the old version), and the sparkles work well here since they are less overdone as in Sailor Moon's transformation, but the only transformation which looked really impressive was Saturn's.
I'm torn when it comes to the Usagi/Mamoru relationship. They are said to have a more mature and deeper relationship in the manga than in the anime. But while I find Mamoru in both versions rather boring in combination with Usagi, the Mamoru in the old anime, as bookish and nerdy as he could be sometimes, is still more real than the very gentlemanly, perfect Mamoru in Crystal. There are small endearing scenes whenever they sulk at each other, but whenever they make up, they are so extremely sappy and stupid together that I can't help but wish that they will sulk at each other again.
Haruka and Usagi, on the other hand, are rather interesting and look really good with each other, and I can't help but get the feeling that this version of Haruka and this version of Usagi would be a much more fascinating couple than the Mamoru-Usagi couple although Haruka/Michiru still wins.
The Crystal Tokyo and the Moon Kingdom in SM Crystal, which is true to the manga, is even more sterile than in the old anime. Not only Pluto has to guard the kingdom for an eternity at the Time Gate or on her planet but also Haruka and Michiru, who are supposed to be destined lovers. Since they only see each other when the world ends, when the grail appears and Saturn awakes, it's a curse which no one deserves, and they haven't done anything to be punished like that. (Since it always struck me as odd that they didn't rebel in the manga but seemed oddly content with their fate, I wrote the "Lover of no fixed abode" parody years ago, in which both Haruka and Michiru rebelled against destiny and were punished by the Queen.)
All in all, Saturn is the real winner of the new anime while Haruka and Michiru, who is rather forgettable in the new version (although I'm looking forward to her scene with Yaten and the trashy lipstick in Stars), totally lost to their alter egos in the old anime version. Hotaru is the only character who has gained depth and whose transformations and attacks have been improved in SM Crystal. Haruka and Michiru's marriage sans papers is also dwarfed by the emotional bond between Hotaru and Chibiusa at the end of the arc.
If Crystal continues with the Dream and Stars arc, we're going to get a more mysterious and darker Seiya Kou, who resembles the serious Star Fighter more than the cheery, talkative Seiya Kou in the original anime. I don't know how I feel about it since I liked how much Seiya brightened up whenever he forgot about "work". Sadly, Seiya's seiyuu has already died, and I really hope that they cast someone else who has a wide range of expression and can change their voice well instead of spoiling it like they did in Haruka's case.
The new version of Yaten will most probably be more talkative and also meaner than the anime version (picking on Michiru just because she tried out a lipstick he found ugly, for instance). Although it doesn't bother me, I hope that they get his and Taiki's seiyuu for the remake. And I'm looking forward to the Haruka-Seiya dynamic, which is rather interesting since Seiya admires her and obviously likes her in the beginning while she mistrusts him and dislikes him for stealing her limelight as the star athlete. I also hope that they keep the gender switching aspect of the old anime and the male version of the Three Lights since we already have Haruka as a crossdresser and I liked the gender switch transformation of the Starlights.
I also miss Haruka's teal eyes. The greenish blue really suited her and brought out her blonde hair while the steel-grey eyes look rather nondescript on her face. The only thing which was well-done was her random switching between being feminine and masculine. It was less jarring than I thought as long as I don't hear her new voice.
The transformation music of the Outers is rather forgettable compared to the old tune. While the transformations are more or less the same, they simply don't make an impact with the new music. I like the lack of pale lipstick (that part always annoyed me in the old version), and the sparkles work well here since they are less overdone as in Sailor Moon's transformation, but the only transformation which looked really impressive was Saturn's.
I'm torn when it comes to the Usagi/Mamoru relationship. They are said to have a more mature and deeper relationship in the manga than in the anime. But while I find Mamoru in both versions rather boring in combination with Usagi, the Mamoru in the old anime, as bookish and nerdy as he could be sometimes, is still more real than the very gentlemanly, perfect Mamoru in Crystal. There are small endearing scenes whenever they sulk at each other, but whenever they make up, they are so extremely sappy and stupid together that I can't help but wish that they will sulk at each other again.
Haruka and Usagi, on the other hand, are rather interesting and look really good with each other, and I can't help but get the feeling that this version of Haruka and this version of Usagi would be a much more fascinating couple than the Mamoru-Usagi couple although Haruka/Michiru still wins.
The Crystal Tokyo and the Moon Kingdom in SM Crystal, which is true to the manga, is even more sterile than in the old anime. Not only Pluto has to guard the kingdom for an eternity at the Time Gate or on her planet but also Haruka and Michiru, who are supposed to be destined lovers. Since they only see each other when the world ends, when the grail appears and Saturn awakes, it's a curse which no one deserves, and they haven't done anything to be punished like that. (Since it always struck me as odd that they didn't rebel in the manga but seemed oddly content with their fate, I wrote the "Lover of no fixed abode" parody years ago, in which both Haruka and Michiru rebelled against destiny and were punished by the Queen.)
All in all, Saturn is the real winner of the new anime while Haruka and Michiru, who is rather forgettable in the new version (although I'm looking forward to her scene with Yaten and the trashy lipstick in Stars), totally lost to their alter egos in the old anime version. Hotaru is the only character who has gained depth and whose transformations and attacks have been improved in SM Crystal. Haruka and Michiru's marriage sans papers is also dwarfed by the emotional bond between Hotaru and Chibiusa at the end of the arc.
If Crystal continues with the Dream and Stars arc, we're going to get a more mysterious and darker Seiya Kou, who resembles the serious Star Fighter more than the cheery, talkative Seiya Kou in the original anime. I don't know how I feel about it since I liked how much Seiya brightened up whenever he forgot about "work". Sadly, Seiya's seiyuu has already died, and I really hope that they cast someone else who has a wide range of expression and can change their voice well instead of spoiling it like they did in Haruka's case.
The new version of Yaten will most probably be more talkative and also meaner than the anime version (picking on Michiru just because she tried out a lipstick he found ugly, for instance). Although it doesn't bother me, I hope that they get his and Taiki's seiyuu for the remake. And I'm looking forward to the Haruka-Seiya dynamic, which is rather interesting since Seiya admires her and obviously likes her in the beginning while she mistrusts him and dislikes him for stealing her limelight as the star athlete. I also hope that they keep the gender switching aspect of the old anime and the male version of the Three Lights since we already have Haruka as a crossdresser and I liked the gender switch transformation of the Starlights.
Double birthday
Jun. 7th, 2016 11:20 amHAPPY BIRTHDAY DAG AND SN! You two should really meet up to celebrate your birthdays some day. XD FS sends both of you virtual hugs and cookies!
Since I didn't use it for years, my Intuos4 grip pen, which still worked perfectly, developed a gritty, sticky substance on the surface of the plastic. I don't seem to be the only who has experienced this, according to entries like this one, but I'm probably the only one who tried to clean it with an eco friendly kitchen cleaner after getting tired of wrapping it with paper tapes. The pen is clean now although it died during the rigorous cleaning session. With hindsight, I should really have taken it apart before wiping it. Stupidity needs to be punished.
After this experience, I rummaged for my old Bamboo Fun tablet and lo and behold: the Bamboo Fun grip pen has developped the same sticky substance. Since it's even older than my Intuos, I tossed the pen and don't even consider buying a new one. I did consider getting a new Intuos 4 grip pen but decided against it since I use the tablet too seldom and the iPad has made it redundant for people like me who can't really draw with a tablet.
Anyhow, I must admit I've never even learned to ink with the Intuos. As much as I love the Intuos 4 tablet since it feels so right to doodle with it, it's a pain to use it for drawing and inking when I can be ten times faster if I use a normal pencil or pen and paper. I once thought drawing digitally is cheaper, considering how expensive quality paints and markers can be (unfortunately, I have an exquisite taste when it comes to drawing and painting supplies), but when I look back at all the Corel Painter versions (which never worked as they should and always killed my drawings at some stage), the software updates and paid upgrades of apps which worked perfectly with the older versions before the newer, larger, and faster computer updates came and rendered the old apps unusable, I begin to suspect that drawing traditionally is not only more satisfying and faster but also cheaper in the long run. For photo editing and colouring experiments, the touchpad and smaller iPad apps like Sketchbook Pro and Procreate suffice.
RIP, Intuos 4. I'm going to miss you from time to time but we two weren't a good match although I loved to abuse the digital undo and zoom in options. I'll try to colour the fake-fanart with the touchpad now (since I only copied the artwork by Matsuri Hino and changed the heads, it doesn't feel right to give the picture the status of a real fanart). If this doesn't work, I'm going to colour the picture on the iPad although the resolution will be smaller. I'm not happy with their hair and am going to change it for the Copics version (since I doubt I have the stamina and motivation to copy it again for the watercolour version, I'm probably going do another fanart for that one).
I've stumbled over this artist by accident and find his paintings awesome. I'm usually not a fan of extremely realistic paintings because many of them look really lifeless, but the light in his paintings is so great and he seems to know exactly what to leave out and what to paint realistically, and the atmosphere is simply perfect.
In other news, I'm almost done with inking the Shinichi-Ai pic and am probably going to use it to test different mediums (digital, Copics, inks, watercolour). Here is the sketch, which I'm going to copy to manga paper, watercolour paper, and illustration paper. (I'll have to ink everything again afterwards but it's a nice way to practice using the dip pen). I've changed their looks a bit and think that they look both less pretty but more authentic now.
Reference: This original Vampire Knight artwork by Matsuri Hino. I'm only turning it into a Shinichi-Ai fanart to get back into drawing again after a long break.
In other news, I'm almost done with inking the Shinichi-Ai pic and am probably going to use it to test different mediums (digital, Copics, inks, watercolour). Here is the sketch, which I'm going to copy to manga paper, watercolour paper, and illustration paper. (I'll have to ink everything again afterwards but it's a nice way to practice using the dip pen). I've changed their looks a bit and think that they look both less pretty but more authentic now.
Reference: This original Vampire Knight artwork by Matsuri Hino. I'm only turning it into a Shinichi-Ai fanart to get back into drawing again after a long break.
I'm trying to turn this original Vampire Knight artwork by Matsuri Hino into a Shinichi-Ai piece for practice. XD (Still need to finish inking this, correct a few mistakes, and colour it this weekend.) Everything except the heads is half-traced, half copied from the original artwork by Matsuri Hino. (She has improved so much while drawing "Vampire Knight"!)
Sailor Moon Crystal: Infinity Arc 1
Apr. 5th, 2016 08:47 pm
So the first episode is out: I hope this video will stay online for a while before it gets deleted.
The fluffy short hair is so terrible to look at. It's like they have an extra brain in their giant head although this can't be what the animators intended. And Haruka's voice is actually easier to get accustomed to than her new blue-grey eyes. I miss the sea-green/deep peacock blue ones. They went so well with her hair!
Smart and mysterious Sailor Venus is gone, replaced by Minako-airhead, who teams up with Makoto to fangirl about Haruka. Actually, I like Minako's happy dizzy blonde side. It's just the white highlights and the pink cheeks and glossy plastic-like skin we get in Crystal already look terrible enough without her behaving like a dumb blonde. (Edit: Also, they all still look like dolls although it's a bit better than in the first Crystal seasons.)
Also, terrible transformation sequences and mutant limbs are there to stay, sadly. But I'll try to get used to them just as I got used to the dumb Sailor speeches. (The old anime mocked itself when the demons got bored in the meantime. XD) I like how the lines are fitted to their personalities, though.
Now to the good things: The Inners look better than they did in the beginning because they toned down the sparkly shoujo look a bit although we still have the glossy skin. We also get a bit of the old banter and their old dynamic back: Rei's taunts, Ami's unintentional blunders, Minako's poetic speeches, Makoto's directness. I don't mind the introduction to their characters at the beginning since it helps the people who have skipped the past seasons:
I don't mind the sparkles around Ami but these highlights on her skin are simply too much. O_o
Rei is still gorgeous but she is also mean again. (Thank God! I missed that side of hers.) It's great how Ami and she team up to ruffle Usagi's feathers:
This is the good stuff in Sailor Moon, which makes me overlook all the weaknesses of the show! :X I hope we see more of the Inners (and of course the Outers) now and less of the cheesy Usagi-Mamoru interactions. Speak of Usagi and Mamoru: I did like them in this episode, when we see Mamoru's serious side and Usagi's playful side and they even each other out so well. They are much easier to endure when they don't try to be romantic:
I love how she tops in the relationship by staying cheerful and how he fails to be angry at her. We have a dangerous love triangle, though:
It was creepy in the Black Moon arc but in this arc it's actually cute. Chibiusa is less annoying than she usually is, and angry Usagi is endearing.
I also love how Makoto and Minako team up to be the airheads in this season while Ami and Rei are the sensible ones.
Meanwhile, Ami and Rei don't seem very affected by Haruka's charm:
We get the silhouettes of the three Outers with their talismans at the beginning of the episode.
Michiru is gorgeous although I prefer her hair as it was in the old anime, now that I see her with her fluffy long hair. The old one was lighter and more elegant. Also, she has a rather large bust in this version, which she didn't have in the old one, in which she was slighter and more graceful whereas she is more majestic in this one. Either way, Michiru is great in both versions. It's harder for me to get used to Haruka, however.
Everything is off, the eyes, the voice, the hair. But Haruka looked odd in the first episode of the original anime, too, and in the manga, before her design changes. I miss androgynous Haruka since this one is simply too, er, male? Also, the hair looks weird although I can grow accustomed to the new voice.
Of course we get the Haruka-Usagi right from the start and the little jealousy game Michiru and Haruka play with each other, which is actually cute (although it's too much for me later on when Haruka pursues Usagi and longs for her when she is away).
Lol. Time to rethink your preferences, Usagi. (Well, she did crush on Rei and Makoto a bit when she first met them, but Haruka will be the first to ask her the question whether gender is really important.)
Have I already mentioned how much I hate the highlights?
Also, the art in the middle of the episode, which is used as a divider, has changed to Uranus and Neptune.
I wonder how many heterosexual females will turn bi or gay after watching this season. Lovely ending with Neptune&Uranus only:
*goes off to write the next chapter for "Encounter in Venice" before continuing "Ghost at Twilight"....
Anyhow, I'm going to watch this since I can't resist Uranus&Neptune. Until now I'm enjoying this although I still prefer the pair in the original anime series.
Pretty pics
Apr. 5th, 2016 02:30 amI've just discovered an awesome fanartist:
Pixiv Id 4948616
Look at these awesome Sailor Moon fanarts.
Venus/Minako:
Why have they changed her eye colour? Whatever, everything else looks great!
Seiya:
I wonder why they changed his eye colour (just like Minako's) into a cold blue but it does look good on him. The earring looks odd, though. (Seiya, I know you don't ever comb your hair but please do adjust your earring...)
Seiya/Usagi:
We all know that Usagi can't cook. I wonder what they're saying, though, since I can't understand anything with my elementary Japanese, which I really need to work on.
Serenity/Endymion:
Am not a fan of the pair in the manga because they are so maddeningly boring but look how lovely they look together here! Also, I like the colours.
Seiya/Usagi:
This depicts what they have in the anime well.
Everyone loves Haruka! :X
The only thing which bothers me is why all the different blue eyes have been turned into the same electric ice blue. Seiya and Ami look fine with it but it's distracting to see Haruka and Minako with those eyes.
Pixiv Id 4948616
Look at these awesome Sailor Moon fanarts.
Venus/Minako:
Why have they changed her eye colour? Whatever, everything else looks great!
Seiya:
I wonder why they changed his eye colour (just like Minako's) into a cold blue but it does look good on him. The earring looks odd, though. (Seiya, I know you don't ever comb your hair but please do adjust your earring...)
Seiya/Usagi:
We all know that Usagi can't cook. I wonder what they're saying, though, since I can't understand anything with my elementary Japanese, which I really need to work on.
Serenity/Endymion:
Am not a fan of the pair in the manga because they are so maddeningly boring but look how lovely they look together here! Also, I like the colours.
Seiya/Usagi:
This depicts what they have in the anime well.
Everyone loves Haruka! :X
The only thing which bothers me is why all the different blue eyes have been turned into the same electric ice blue. Seiya and Ami look fine with it but it's distracting to see Haruka and Minako with those eyes.
"Encounter in Venice" Chapter 49
Apr. 4th, 2016 12:07 amEdited again! Whenever a chapter gets too long, I'll have to struggle with all the typos and grammar mistakes and misleading expressions. I think I'll have to split a chapter after 3000 words to keep my sanity. That, and upload to AO3 first from now on and edit before posting the chapter on Fanfiction.net.
In other news, I'm fighting the urge to draw Haruka-Michiru fanart at the moment now that the Infinity arc is going to start...
In other news, I'm fighting the urge to draw Haruka-Michiru fanart at the moment now that the Infinity arc is going to start...
Haruka and Michiru in Sailor Moon Crystal
Apr. 2nd, 2016 02:04 pmAlright, the preview is out and I couldn't resist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DBdV2r9FDM&ebc=ANyPxKqPCa-U-ICnCFwp_NxiJ_fKqqn16CISA5uaUKB8KIhSJQHLyl87W59q2c9qOCBhx9ZsEF0S
Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiL05_gvRak (Hotaru-Chibiusa fans (Claude, I'm looking at you) will love this).
First Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu6m5mAe5CI (which is an ultimate tribute to the Haruka-Michiru couple. I like it although the music is nice but not very impressive.)
The designs of the Inner senshi are much, much better than in the previous seasons of Crystal although the sparkly transformations still hurt my eyes. (But I remember I hated the double-Usagi's transformations in the original anime as well. It seems that Sailor transformations are simply not my cup of tea although I loved Haruka's World Shaking attack.) I really dislike the new fluffy hair at the back of all the short-haired character's heads (Ami, Mamoru, Motoki) and, consequently, hate Haruka's hair as well. Her hair in the original anime was so nice to look at. Why didn't they keep that? Her present hair doesn't even look like the manga version. It has something very Utena-esque to it (just as the sharp angles of the faces), which I don't really mind but which looks overdone when the hair is fluffed out like that). Also, while I like the new seiyuu's voice, I desperately miss Megumi Ogata, Haruka's old voice. (I'm afraid I will feel the same in the fifth season if they really intend to remake Sailor Stars. Since Seiya's seiyuu has already died, I'll have to make do with the replacement, which will be difficult since Shiho Niiyama was so great at changing her tone of voice and I loved how Seiya's, Yaten's, and Taiki's voices sounded when they sang or talked at the same time. They were so distinctly different from each other and complemented each other so well. I also miss the music of the original series since nothing which I've heard in Crystal comes even close apart from the theme which appeared when Minako made her entrance. But I'm making an effort to watch the new version with an open mind).
Michiru is absolutely gorgeous, though (despite the emaciated look all the girls got since Crystal as if the original anime hadn't made them thin enough), and the new design suits her very much, just as her hair, which is longer than in the original anime. She is the perfect mix of gentleness and wickedness, and I like the detail in the ending when Uranus and Neptune look into each other's eyes and Michiru gazes directly into Haruka's eyes while Haruka gazes down to her but also slightly past her (or rather through her; also, Haruka doesn't blush). I don't know if it's intentional but it matches the couple's dynamic in the manga, in which Michiru is devoted to Haruka but Haruka--the elusive Wind--always stays unreachable, unhappy, and intensely attracted to Usagi's happy nature although she is possessive about Michiru, her supposedly "true love". Their relationship seems very open and slightly unbalanced although they are a very committed couple just like they are in the anime. (Seriously, who would ever get the idea to exchange Michiru for an airhead as Usagi? You only want her because you can't have her, Haruka...)
I dislike the frequent pink blush on the girls' cheeks whenever they flush, but I'm happy that the partnership between Michiru and Haruka has been kept intact. It would have been horrible if they had changed that.) Also, there is a slight Hotaru-Chibiusa which resembles their intense, almost romantic friendship in the manga and in the original anime. I also appreciate the fact that Haruka's height has been kept as well. In the original anime, her height changed all the time (fluctuating between Makoto's and Mamoru's, which is distracting). Edit: They have also changed Haruka's eye colour from the original anime's cold blue/turquoise/sea-green into a clear blue, which I don't mind although I liked her teal/turquoise eyes.
Anyhow, I'm watching this in the hope that it's not as bad as the previous Sailor Moon Crystal episodes. Plot-wise, it's very close to the manga again, and I don't know if it's a good thing since it's hard to feel anything for the characters if the plot moves so fast. But this time, I'm content with the look of the first episode of the Infinity Arc and hope that the plot won't be so bad that it's unwatchable like it was with the first seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Edit: I've forgotten to mention something I prefer in the new version of the anime: Haruka's Space Sword looks so much better now, not like the machete-like Space Sword she had in the old version.
Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiL05_gvRak (Hotaru-Chibiusa fans (Claude, I'm looking at you) will love this).
First Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu6m5mAe5CI (which is an ultimate tribute to the Haruka-Michiru couple. I like it although the music is nice but not very impressive.)
The designs of the Inner senshi are much, much better than in the previous seasons of Crystal although the sparkly transformations still hurt my eyes. (But I remember I hated the double-Usagi's transformations in the original anime as well. It seems that Sailor transformations are simply not my cup of tea although I loved Haruka's World Shaking attack.) I really dislike the new fluffy hair at the back of all the short-haired character's heads (Ami, Mamoru, Motoki) and, consequently, hate Haruka's hair as well. Her hair in the original anime was so nice to look at. Why didn't they keep that? Her present hair doesn't even look like the manga version. It has something very Utena-esque to it (just as the sharp angles of the faces), which I don't really mind but which looks overdone when the hair is fluffed out like that). Also, while I like the new seiyuu's voice, I desperately miss Megumi Ogata, Haruka's old voice. (I'm afraid I will feel the same in the fifth season if they really intend to remake Sailor Stars. Since Seiya's seiyuu has already died, I'll have to make do with the replacement, which will be difficult since Shiho Niiyama was so great at changing her tone of voice and I loved how Seiya's, Yaten's, and Taiki's voices sounded when they sang or talked at the same time. They were so distinctly different from each other and complemented each other so well. I also miss the music of the original series since nothing which I've heard in Crystal comes even close apart from the theme which appeared when Minako made her entrance. But I'm making an effort to watch the new version with an open mind).
Michiru is absolutely gorgeous, though (despite the emaciated look all the girls got since Crystal as if the original anime hadn't made them thin enough), and the new design suits her very much, just as her hair, which is longer than in the original anime. She is the perfect mix of gentleness and wickedness, and I like the detail in the ending when Uranus and Neptune look into each other's eyes and Michiru gazes directly into Haruka's eyes while Haruka gazes down to her but also slightly past her (or rather through her; also, Haruka doesn't blush). I don't know if it's intentional but it matches the couple's dynamic in the manga, in which Michiru is devoted to Haruka but Haruka--the elusive Wind--always stays unreachable, unhappy, and intensely attracted to Usagi's happy nature although she is possessive about Michiru, her supposedly "true love". Their relationship seems very open and slightly unbalanced although they are a very committed couple just like they are in the anime. (Seriously, who would ever get the idea to exchange Michiru for an airhead as Usagi? You only want her because you can't have her, Haruka...)
I dislike the frequent pink blush on the girls' cheeks whenever they flush, but I'm happy that the partnership between Michiru and Haruka has been kept intact. It would have been horrible if they had changed that.) Also, there is a slight Hotaru-Chibiusa which resembles their intense, almost romantic friendship in the manga and in the original anime. I also appreciate the fact that Haruka's height has been kept as well. In the original anime, her height changed all the time (fluctuating between Makoto's and Mamoru's, which is distracting). Edit: They have also changed Haruka's eye colour from the original anime's cold blue/turquoise/sea-green into a clear blue, which I don't mind although I liked her teal/turquoise eyes.
Anyhow, I'm watching this in the hope that it's not as bad as the previous Sailor Moon Crystal episodes. Plot-wise, it's very close to the manga again, and I don't know if it's a good thing since it's hard to feel anything for the characters if the plot moves so fast. But this time, I'm content with the look of the first episode of the Infinity Arc and hope that the plot won't be so bad that it's unwatchable like it was with the first seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Edit: I've forgotten to mention something I prefer in the new version of the anime: Haruka's Space Sword looks so much better now, not like the machete-like Space Sword she had in the old version.
