Witch Hunting Under the Cherry Blossoms

Matt Brown (Editor in Chief) — October 15th, 2003
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For the first part of this update, we figured we should showcase a bit of our readers' work! Our recent Witch Hunter Robin contest has come and gone, and eight brave souls entered the competition. The rules were simple: create a new character design for the show, or fill in the gaps on one of those ever-so-cryptic next episode previews. Here's the three entries we received for the character design contest. Some neat ideas were put into all three, and it was difficult to choose a winner.

Entry by: James Kelley

Cadmium, likes to blow stuff up.

Entry by: Katharine Jay

Tsuzuki Kagemotsu, shadow master.

Entry by: Jennifer Claudio

Tone Sullivan, master of electricity.

The writing contest brought in five excellent entries. The objective was to choose from five passages (more than one was allowed), and fill in the gaps as if you the writer were the hunter on that particular case. Below are the entries we received.

Entry by: Liz Barillas

Passage 1: Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. Witch. Awaken Power. Bounds of jurisdiction. Can not turn a blind eye on to those infatuated by unforgiven power.

The first case I was assigned when I transfered to STN-J. Hunting down a 12 year-old witch whose power has awakened and is causing havoc all over the area where she is located. I'm a sorcerer medium, a person who is able to confine witches and temporaily lessen their powers with chanting beads. I head out during the night to the spot where the sensors detected her.

While I drive along the route I see flashes of red light and from those flashes, sparks of fires start falling all over, setting fire to everything they touch. I quickly dodge the ones that try to hit me. After putting some distance, I head toward the location of the red flashes which had stopped. They had come from a camping ground. All tents, equipment, and people who were here have died. A red glow suddenly appears from the distance between two trees.

A child witch, pale skin and wide eyes, stares at me and raises her palm toward me firing red flashes. I dodge them and head into the thickest part of the forest. Hiding behind a rock I take out my tranquilizer gun in which I only get four shots. I confirm her location and shoot her twice at her chest. She is subdued and collapses to the ground. I use my beads to confine her since I distrust the tranquilizer's effectiveness. I call in headquarters to pick her up and take her to the strange place called Factory.

Passage 2: Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. Bugs fluttering in the dark. Life becomes mummified. Immortal. Cannot forgive the mind drained of emotion that seeks eternity.

I despise how witches treat others as prey to gain life force. Ten lives already lost. To prove my abilities are essential to STN-J I accept the case of capturing the witch who attacks during the night. The last location where she was seen was in the alley of the quiet part of the city. I don't wear the orbo, the very thing that is suppose to protect me from the witches' powers. I know the consequence of the wearing the orbo, ones own strength is weakened and I need all my strength to capture this witch.

The bugs fluttering rapidly in the alley sense the danger. The witch is near. At the end of the alley she stares at me grinning, while I freeze with fright. I fire the tranquilizer gun, but the barrier the witch creates deflects the shots toward me. I dodge them, but the witch rushes toward me and pins me to the wall ready to drain my life to supplement her own. I grab the beads from my pocket and place them on her head. She wrenches in pain as my beads take their affect and lessens her powers. I fire three tranquilizer shots to be certain she can't break free and attack me.

Entry by: Kimarlee Nguyen

Passage 3: Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. She, with the dark eyes who haunted my sleep, beauty in disguise, sinful pain, has fallen sway to the darkness within. Death torn apart my heart; her beauty means nothing to me. Pride and intolerance has pressed itself against her face, red like blood as the fragment of what she used to mean to me glimmers underneath. Silence rigorously kept her own world and I am the stranger now. Her frozen heart needs to be thawed, but I hold the key. I am the lover, forgotten and scorned.

Passage 4. Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark. A lost landscape beckons to me, crying for the removal of those who burned and scarred the purity from within. A scent of memory drifts upon the wind, as an oppressed heart shuns the light. I will open this door, even if I am hated for it. A wandering heart haunts the town clamoring for the past, and I will burn my fingers to reclaim this lost dream. I am no more of a hunter then you, for my blood runs with revenge and only that.

Entry by: Marc Mains

Encounter in the rain. Thousands of puppet strings. Fragments of malice. Passing hearts wrap the darkness in growing hatred. Rain poured that day, I found myself staring into the eyes of a man - no, not a man but a doll; a human puppet being controlled by a higher power. Hatred and a feeling of malice emanated from this living puppet. What was his purpose? What was his desire? Desire? No this puppet had no desires; it's only purpose is of its master, to kill the members of STN. The only words the puppet spoke were "Kill STN!" With that being said the puppet immediately caught ablaze and was incinerated. Was this Robin's doing, or was this a warning?

Entry by: Julia Linthicum

Three hundred years have passed since the coven sank in the dark.

But the witches have not disappeared. Witches still awaken power with wills forged by fire and strengthened by time. STN-J is duty bound to hunt them down.

STN-J tracked one such witch to a train station in Tokyo. Her capture fell within the bounds of jurisdiction. She did not come easily, fighting the entire way.

She was so young. Should she be blamed for being swayed by such temptations? Perhaps not, but STN-J cannot turn a blind eye on to those infatuated by unforgiven power.

No exceptions.

Entry by: Bruce Wallace

Three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank into the dark. Threw out the ages impure witches have sought power to dominate all that oppose them. When one lone witch who had found such a power unleashed her Awakened powers on an unsuspecting crowd of people, crushing them. I can not turn a blind eye on those infatuated by unforgiving power. So I went beyond the bounds of jurisdiction, captured her and called the factory.

The industry spotlight for this update is a visual showcase. Ai Yori Aoshi (literally meaning, "more blue than indigo") is a cute little show that just completed its release on DVD in America. It consists of roughly 30% shameless fanservice and 70% heart-warming romance. At its core, Ai Yori Aoshi is the love story of Kaoru Hanabishi and Aoi Sakuraba, who are children of well-to-do families and were to be joined in a marraige arranged by the families. All that changed, however, when Kaoru sought independence from the Hanabishi family. But even after he had left to attend college, Aoi hadn't given up on the idea of being his wife....

The appeal of Ai Yori Aoshi isn't just in the details of their romance; the show sports some beautiful character art. The chemistry between Kaoru and Aoi can be felt just by seeing them on a page - with no context or voice needed. This isn't to say the voices don't add to the experience, of course. Kaoru Hanabishi is voiced by Mr. Souichirou Hoshi. While you may have not heard his name, you've undoubtedly heard his voice as Kira Yamato in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Ryu Soma in Argentosoma, or Kazuma in s-CRY-ed. Perhaps you've also heard him voice Kei Kusanagi in Please Teacher or Son Goku in Saiyuki. You could say Hoshi is the best kind of voice actor - one whose voice you won't usually recognize without seeing his name in the credits.

Ms. Ayako Kawasumi (Aoi Sakuraba) is another such actor. Her meek and gentle tone expressed through Aoi is quite different from the unyielding and serious tone expressed through Lafiel in Crest of the Stars. A few of her other major roles are: Natsuki Mogi in Initial D, Mika Iwakura in Serial Experiments Lain, Mahoro in Mahoromatic, Melfina in Outlaw Star, and Koishi Herikawa in Please Teacher.

We have some artwork from Ai Yori Aoshi for your enjoyment. Be sure to visit the Ai Yori Aoshi web site for more information about the show, and this site has info on the show's soundtracks, as well as a solo album by its talented theme song vocalist, Ms. Yoko Ishida.

The artwork featured below is off of the Ai Yori Aoshi TV series art book, ISBN: 4-592-73204-9. The book can be found at Anime Nation and many other retailers, at home or abroad. This book is highly recommended for AiAo fans, and is a great bargain considering the large number of images offered within.

The book pulls you in right away with attractive cover art.

Aoi is the center of attention on a good number of pages (being that she is a veritable triumph in character design, this was to be expected). The supporting cast and their various quirks are hardly left out, though.

There are tons of nice character shots from the show, as each episode gets a couple of pages.



Also mixed in with the episode pages are profiles of each of the characters. From start to finish, the book is a real visual treat.

October 2003 Wallpapers

Nukunuku (Former Staff) — October 15th, 2003
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Love Hina wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Mahoromatic wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Please Teacher wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Please Teacher wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Please Teacher wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Please Teacher wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Soul Calibur wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Soul Calibur wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Soul Calibur wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Soul Calibur wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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To Heart wallpaper, by Nukunuku

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Ai Yori Aoshi Wallpaper - Aoi

Matt Brown (Editor in Chief) — October 15th, 2003
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Enjoy!

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