RJ Writing Ink

Looking for Writers for the D&A Anime Blog

Hello, everyone, it’s me, RJ Writing Ink, with a special blog post for today. Now, I’ve been writing on my own blog for several years now, but in that time, I’ve also started to write for other blogs. I write opinion pieces and do reviews for shows and movies for them. It serves as a good way to establish myself as a reliable freelance writer. However, right now, one of the blog’s that I write for, D&A Anime Blog, is in trouble, and they need help.

D&A Anime Blog is the brainchild of two cool guys named Donte and Aaron. Conceived of in December 2015 and debuting in January 2016, the blog served as a medium for them to share cosplay photo’s with audiences around the world, as well as cover anime conventions and fandom in general. Since then, though, the blog’s grown, with them forging connections with some of the big anime distributors in North America, like Viz Media, Aniplex, Sentai Filmworks, and Crunchyroll.

As a side note, they also recently launched their own merchandise shop, which I have linked here. 

So, the D&A Anime Blog has something good going, so what could be the problem? The answer is simple: they need more writers.

D&A Anime Needs Writers

About a year or two ago, they first put out a call for people to help contribute to their blog, and I was one of the people who answered. Since then, I’ve been writing reviews and other pieces for them on things ranging from reviews of shows like Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer to stuff about One Piece to even an interview with one of my favorite fanfic writers. As I’ve been busy writing for them, though, they have fallen on some hard times. I can’t fully explain what’s happening, but they’ve got a lot of stuff going on in their personal lives that’s been keeping them from writing. At the time I’m posting this, I’m the primary reason that the blog remains active every week by posting stuff. 

The fact of the matter is, D&A Anime Blog is suffering from a severe shortage of writers, and they do not want to be dealing with this. And I hate seeing something that these people put so much heart and energy into being neglected like this, but there’s only so much that I can do. And then it hit me: several of the people who follow my blog also write for their own blogs.

And that brings me to the point of this post: I am reaching out to you, my followers, asking for your help in making D&A Anime Blog the success that it has the potential to meet. If you’re a writer with your own anime blog, or if you just want to share your thoughts and feelings about anime, then I urge you to contact the D&A Anime Blog. By helping them, you could end up being a part of something great. And if they become successful enough, they may be able to do this full-time and pay people to write for them! But they can’t do it with the way things are right now. So please, if you’re a writer and love anime, or you know someone with expreience writing and reviewing anime, then help them out.

Click Here to Contact them

Edens Zero Chapter 96 Review/Recap

Well, of all the events that I expected to happen in the fight against Drakken Joe, I don’t think that this was one of them. Also, I’m sorry that I didn’t post this sooner, but I’ve been busy with a lot of stuff. So let’s do this thing!

Recap

More than 60 years ago, on Norma, Weisz’s mom passed away when he was young. The doctor’s had no clue what was wrong with her; all they knew that her, and many others, were suddenly dying. As though their life force was being sapped. After she died, he learned how to use Ether Gear from an old machine he bought. And when he thought Sibir stole his Mom’s pendant, the two had a massive falling out, and Sibir kicked him out of their gang.

In the present-day, Weisz tries to take Joe down in a blind rage. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

Before Joe can finish him off, though, Shiki steps in to save Weisz, saying that a friend gives help without asking. Finally coming to his senses, Weisz and Shiki stand back to back, ready to take the terror of the Sakura Cosmos down for good.

However, before the fight can continue, Hermit finishes hacking into that life-stealing machine, and reverses the flow of energy from it. As a result, it returns all the life that Joe stole from Belial Gore. However, while it does weaken him, Joe begins to mutate into this giant, Akira blob monster.

WHAT THE HECK?!?!

Recap

Well, I’m officially stumped as to what’s happening to Joe. My current theory is that the loss of all that life force was too much for his body to bear. As a result, he’s lost control of his Ether Gear, and it’s turned him into this hideous abomination. Beyond that, I have no clue as to what’s going with Joe. All that I know is that it can’t be good for anyone.

Disturbing reference to Akira aside, I think that this chapter did answer the questions we had about Weisz. I mean, I knew that Joe killed someone close to Weisz, but at least now we know who it was. If it wasn’t a family member, it was his girlfriend. Hopefully, next week we’ll see Shiki and Granbell waste the monster formerly known as Drakken Joe.

I Give “A Young Man’s Memories” a 3/5

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It’s summertime, and that means a great many things. It’s the time of the year for family trips, relaxing, and just having fun in general. If you’re a geek like me, though, then Summer’s also the leak do Convention season. From San Diego to DC, people are gearing up for these glorious gatherings that celebrate pop culture.

As a veteran of more than half a dozen conventions, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to survive them. Since D&A Anime Blog did their own guide, I feel like I should do one of my own. So here it is: Jay’s Declassified Convention Survival Guide. If you recognize where I got the title, you’re a fan of Nickelodeon.

Convention tip 1: Make yourself a budget

Conventions, while fun, are designed around the premise of getting people to spend money. Lot of money. depending on what convention you’re going to, tickets can cost close to a hundred dollars, maybe more.

That’s just to get in. If you’re the kind of person who can’t resist all the vendors selling cool stuff at a convention, you will burn a hole in your wallet. After that, you have to consider the price of autographs. Then food, and if you’re traveling overnight, hotel rooms.

My advice is to draw up a budget months in advance, and start putting aside money for it. I usually put aside a couple hundred dollars to spend on things I want. Most of it goes to autographs or cool stuff from vendors.

As for hotel expenses, I have never had to worry about that. Which I will explain in my next tip

Convention tip 2- Where you’ll stay

In my experience, I have never had to travel overnight for a convention. All the ones that I have gone to have been close enough for me to drive to. If you’re within driving distance, then I recommend avoiding getting a hotel room. It will save you money

Otherwise, I recommend checking the convention website to see if they have any deals on hotels nearby. It could save you money and time. Don’t forget to book a room months in advance. They will disappear quickly.

Convention Tip 3- Bring A Backpack

If you’re going to be at a convention for several hours, you’ll need something to carry the stuff you get. Especially if you’re not staying in a hotel room. Bring a comfortable backpack that’s big enough to hold everything you want. Make sure not to bend any photographs or autographs you may get.

Additionally, you can use your backpack to carry some supplies. Conventions are long, and you’ll want to be prepared. So bring essentials like chargers for mobile devices, extra socks or shoes, and more. It will be worth to have a charger to save your phone.

Convention Tip 4- Pack Food

Food can get expensive at conventions, And that can eat up your money. I know I’m not the first person to do this, but it’s a neat convention hack to use. I always pack a lunch or dinner in advance that I bring with me. It helps save me a lot of money and time from standing in line. Otherwise, budget accordingly.

Convention Tip 5- Getting Autographs

This is a big reason why people go to conventions. They want to see their favorite celebrities and get a selfie or autograph with them. The problem is, you and a hundred others want the same thing, which makes the process slow and frustrating. Don’t despair; I have you covered.

First, check the website to see if you can buy an autograph ticket in advance. This will save your butt if the line reaches its cutoff point.

Second, show up in advance. They start forming lines an hour before signings, maybe more. So, get there half an hour before the line start forming. That way, you can get as close a spot to the front as possible.

Third, don’t spend the entire time your at the convention waiting in line. I know that seems contradictory, but if you do that, a lot of the fun will be sucked out of it.

Convention Tip 6- Don’t Try to Do Everything

No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to do everything you want at a convention. So don’t try to do that. That will create unnecessary stress and will ruin your ability to have fun. Having fun is the whole point to a convention.

My advice: just pick a few big events, and then plan everything around them. Make sure you have plenty of free time in between. Do that, and all will be well.

Convention Conclusion

Conventions are some of the most fun things you can do. They’re a chance to meet like-minded people and enjoy the benefits of being a geek in a culture where we run everything. Whether you’re a newcomer ready to dive in, or a seasoned veteran, these tips are important. What’s more important, though, is that you have fun and get some sweet souvenirs out of the trip. I know I have!

Amphibia Episode 1 Review/Recap

It’s been a month since Star vs. The Forces of Evil ended , and with DuckTales on vacation, Disney is without a flagship cartoon. That ends this week with the premiere of what will (hopefully) be its next big cartoon, Amphibia. Starring Brenda Song, this western Isekai follows a young girl who’s transported from our world to a world of frog people.

Considering how I like cartoons, Disney, and Brenda Song, this show peaked my interest. I ended up watching it on the DisneyNow app last Friday, and I liked what I saw. Now, get ready to hop into the adventure with me in the first episode of Amphibia.

Anne or Beast?

The premiere episode introduces us to the world of Amphibia, home to talking frogs and toads. It’s a peaceful place until one morning when one of the townsfolk starts yelling about some sort of beast lurking in the woods nearby. This catches the interest of a young and adventurous frog named Sprig Plantar, who decides that catching this beast will prove how responsible he is to his family. It turns out, though, that that ‘beast’ is actually a normal human girl named Anne Boonchuy.

Despite a rough start, Anne and Sprig are quick to befriend each other as Anne explains that she somehow came from another world and just wants to get home. Even though the townsfolk first see her as a threat, Anne proves she’s trustworthy by helping to defeat a giant Pray Mantis. In gratitude, Sprig’s Grandpa Hop Pop and sister Polly let her stay at their place while she looks for a way home. Since the mountains around region are too dangerous to travel at the moment, though, Anne’s stuck for now.

Best Fronds

The second half of the episode reveals how Anne ended up in Amphibia in the first place. Back on Earth, her friends talked her into stealing a treasure box from a thrift store, and when she opened it, it magically transported her to Amphibia. Seeing how homesick she is, Sprig tries cheering her up by taking her to the local lake, but end up doing things that Sprig isn’t comfortable with. First, when Hop Pop tries keeping Anne locked in the house for her safety, she talks Sprig into stealing the key. Then when they find a “Don’t Swim” sign at the lake, Anne talks him into going in, despite his worries.

Sprig’s right to worry, though: there’s a giant, killer snake in the lake that almost kills them. It’s only thanks to his cleverness (and death peppers) that he and Anne get away. They get home before Hop Pop can suspect a thing. As for Anne, she learned a valuable lesson from the days events.

Review

Disney did a good job using the first episode to set up the world of Amphibia. The first half of the episode gave us the main characters, the setting, driving plot, and set up threads for future stories. The real hook, though, was the second half, as it tells us more about Anne.

Everyone is thinking it, so I’m only writing it: Anne’s two friends are a bad influence on her. In fact, I hesitate to even call Sasha and Marcie her friends, altogether. We saw that they pressured Anne into stealing the box that sent them to Amphibia. Judging by what Anne’s ideas of friendship, this wasn’t the first time they did this. They pressure her into doing things by using the fear of ending their friendship with her.

Anne was right when she said that friends help each other out. A true friend, though, will try and stop them from doing something they’ll regret or could get them hurt. So I have to give praise for how they had Sprig, someone known for being irressponsible, be the sensible one. It shows character development.

Disney gives us a Greater Mystery

I think that that box sent Anne to Amphibia for a reason. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going with the “make her a better person” theory. It seems like something Disney would do. Speaking of which, the final scene reveals a major plot point: Sasha and Marcie were also sent to Amphibia. Right now, Sasha’s held prisoner in a dark castle by an unknown frog, who’s aware that there are other humans in their world.

Matt Braly learned much from Gravity Falls. He just gave us an overarching mystery, a major plot point for the season, and the possible villain, all in one episode. I’m looking forward to seeing where Disney takes Amphibia this summer.

I Give “Anne or Beast?” and “Best Fronds” a 4/5. Jump on in with Disney.

Click here to see the first episode on Disney’s YouTube Channel!

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Amphibia Series Overview

When Gravity Falls ended in 2016, fans had to go looking for a Disney cartoon good enough to be its successor. Many people think they found it in the form of Star vs. The Forces of Evil, but now that show has also come to an end. They won’t have to wait long for a successor to it, though. As of this week, Disney’s airing the cartoon that looks to be a hybrid of Gravity Falls and Star vs., Amphibia. It also has shades of the “Isekai” genre that’s controlling anime lately.

The show’s created by Matt Braly, who worked as a storyboard artist on Gravity Falls. If he was good enough to work on Gravity Falls, then I have faith in his abilities. The show follows Anne Boonchuy, a normal, somewhat self-centered 13-year-old girl who gets magically transported to Amphibia, a world populated by sentient frogs. She soon befriends a young, adventurous frog named Sprig, who helps her adjust to life in her new world. With Sprig’s sister and grandpa by their side, the two set out to find a way to get Anne home while also becoming the first real friends they’ve ever had.

There’s a lot of good things that I can say about this show, but for now, I will limit it to three main things.

The Inspiration

A lot of the inspiration for this show comes from Matt Braly’s childhood. Like Anne, he’s Thai-American, and he would spend part of his summers as a kid with relatives in Bangkok, Thailand. Like Anne, he felt out of place in such a strange place but would grow to love it and all it had to offer. Now he wants to bring that love to western audiences. Face it: while efforts are being made, cultural diversity is still underrepresented in cartoons. If Amphibia ends up doing as well as it promises to do, it could change that. Even a small step is always a step forward!

A Hybrid of Past Successes

Ever since I learned about it, I’ve seen people on social media drawing comparisons between Amphibia and the successes of Disney’s recent past. Out of all the comparisons made, two of the biggest have been to Gravity Falls and Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Given that Braly was a storyboard artist on Gravity Falls, the resemblance is unmistakable. The art style and the character’s appearance is a lot like the show. Some even speculate that they take place in a shared universe! While that remains to be seen, Amphibia does carry on Gravity Falls‘ love of mysteries, given that the need for Anne finding a way home being a driving force behind its plot.

On the magic front, it’s more like SvTFOE. Both shows have a female lead sent to another world, albeit Anne has no way back as of now while Star could travel as she wished. It does nail down the magical adventure aspect that SvTFOE had, though. You get that feeling by looking at the weird creatures that inhabit Amphibia. Heck, Buff Frog and his kids look like they would fit right in! Plus when I went on YouTube, a lot of the comments were about how it was like Star or Gravity Falls.

Brenda Song’s Return to Disney

One of the major selling points of this show is that Anne’s voiced by Brenda Song. If you grew watching Disney Channel in the 2000s, then you’ll best remember Brenda for her role as wealthy heiress London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. For the longest time, she was one of Disney’s biggest stars, but after Suite Life ended, they parted ways. Amphibia will mark the first time in almost eight years that she’s worked with Disney.

As someone who grew up watching The Suite Life, I am a big fan of Brenda Song both in an outside her roles. She’s been a good role model for kids, even though her character is not known for her brains. As a bonus, Brenda’s also Thai-American, so this gives her a chance to show off her family’s culture.

My Verdict: Jump On In It

Do I think this show could be the next Gravity Falls? Given the person who’s making it, I’d say it has the potential. Could it fill the hole in the hearts of fans of SvTFOE? It just might. Or am I and other fans holding up to too high a standard because we can’t get over the fact that these cartoons are over? I… won’t deny that.

Legacy or no legacy, though, I won’t deny that Amphibia looks like it could be a fun show. I reserve my judgment until we see more of it, but right now, I find a lot of promise in it. Whether you’re a fan of Gravity Falls in search of your next fix or just looking for a good time, then Amphibia is one show you may want to watch.

But if I see people trying to start shipping wars over this show, I’m going to be disappointed. Not every show has to have couples in it!

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