SLOO0OOW LIFE

Forgot a word in Spanish, while speaking Spanish to me, but remembered it in English. Became weirdly quiet as they seemed to lose their entire sense of identity.

Used a literal translation of a Russian idiomatic expression while speaking English. He actually does this quite regularly, because he somehow genuinely forgets which idioms belong to which language. It usually takes a minute of everyone staring at him in confused silence before he says “….Ah….. that must be a Russian one then….”

Had to count backwards for something. Could not count backwards in English. Counted backwards in French under her breath until she got to the number she needed, and then translated it into English.

Meant to inform her (French) parents that bread in America is baked with a lot of preservatives. Her brain was still halfway in English Mode so she used the word “préservatifes.” Ended up shocking her parents with the knowledge that apparently, bread in America is full of condoms.

Defined a slang term for me……. with another slang term. In the same language. Which I do not speak.

Was talking to both me and his mother in English when his mother had to revert to Russian to ask him a question about a word. He said “I don’t know” and turned to me and asked “Is there an English equivalent for Нумизматический?” and it took him a solid minute to realize there was no way I would be able to answer that. Meanwhile his mom quietly chuckled behind his back.

Said an expression in English but with Spanish grammar, which turned “How stressful!” into “What stressing!”

Straight from Toei’s blog. I’ll let this translated text speak for itself: 

The one true god has returned!!

The man who rescued every life on Earth, including mankind as a whole, and left the planet to go to the ends of the universe. In last year’s Heisei Generations, he was transformed when he appeared to help Wizard, Drive, Ghost and Ex-Aid - now he returns home with a familiar human form!!

That’s right - Kamen Rider Gaim / Kota Kazuraba!

Seven Steps to the Perfect Story

Computer displays, Neon Genesis Evangelion. 

NIGHT IN THE WOODS was released this week!  Most of the visuals in the game were made by Scott Benson, but i was lucky enough to animate some fx, character idles, and other random animations.  Above are some birds that didn’t make it in the game, a possum Scott designed and I animated, and some other dust/stick/water effects. Character animations were designed and animated in after effects. Dust, water, stick and fire effects were animated in Flash.

The game is great! You can get it now on PC/Mac/Linux & PS4!

Free Fonts Monday

Chuck Noon 2 by Twicolabs

The Kabel Font by Mathias Nösel

Uni Neue Free by FontFabric

Zappat Display by Bogdan Casota

As (half) requested by anon. :)

(The actual request was for the arrancar speaking only Spanish *and* the Quincy speaking only German but, well, that turned out to be way too much for a single list. So I’m just doing the arrancar - forgive me! )

The arrancar may be based in Spanish motifs and the Quincy in German, but in actual practice everybody in Bleach speaks the same language. It’s simpler that way. But what if the arrancar actually spoke nothing but Spanish? How would Bleach be different then?

And a BIG, BIG THANK-YOU to quierosernauha, who helped this non-Spanish speaking blogger craft some actual Spanish for this list! Forgive me if there are still errors - I tried to incorporate all of her advice, but as a layman myself, I probably still managed to mess it up!

1. Ichigo would be way more confused when the espada first showed up.

The espada first showed up during a - difficult time in Ichigo’s life. He’d just come back from Soul Society. He was having inner hollow problems. He was turning super emo. And then Ulquiorra and Yammy showed up and Ichigo did not know how to deal with giant monsters who were hollow but carried zanpakuto. This confusion and despair would only be multiplied if they also spoke some strange language he did not understand.

Ulquiorra: Hola, yo soy Ulquiorra y este es Yammy. Ichigo: S-since when do the bad guys speak French?? Chad (weakly, from the ground): Actually, Ichigo… Ulquiorra: Basura.

2. Chad would be the only one who could communicate.

Chad went to Mexico at a young age, and was partially raised by his grandfather. It seems highly likely that Chad at least can speak Spanish. 

Chad: Ichigo! I can help fight! Ichigo: Chad, no! You’re still injured from the last time! You should go home and - Ichigo: Actually wait can you come and tell me what the hell these arrancar guys are saying? Chad: You want me to be your…translator? Ichigo: Have I made it weird?

3. Ulquiorra’s ultimatum speech would fall flat.

Because it’s hard to threaten and intimidate the woman you’re trying to kidnap if she cannot, in fact, understand that you are giving her an ultimatum.

Ulquiorra: No haga ninguna pregunta, no tiene ningún derecho. Lo que tiene en sus manos es la cuerda que sostiene guillotina sobre el cuello de sus amigos, nada más. Comprenda mujer. Esta no es una negociación, es una orden. Orihime: Um….can you use pictures or gestures or something? Ulquiorra: … Ulquiorra: Definitivamente le voy a enseñar español.

4. Ulquiorra would teach Orihime Spanish.

Because not being able to ask her all of his nagging heart questions and/or psychologically torment her would just drive him nuts.

Ulquiorra (points at his head): La cabeza. Orihime: La cabeza. Ulquiorra (holds up his hand): La mano. Orihime: La mano. Ulquiorra (throws up hands in existential despair): El corazón????? Orihime: Um…..you lost me there. Ulquiorra: Ya sé, ¿no?

5. Aizen would speak Spanish; Tosen and Gin less so.

Aizen, of course, would want to communicate with his employees. So he would speak perfect Spanish. Gin would learn only as much Spanish as it took to speak brokenly with Luppi. Tosen, on the third (?) hand…

Tosen: I believe that justice is the universal language. Tosen: Watch as I use justice to communicate. Tosen: [cuts off Grimmjow’s arm and burns it in front of him] Grimmjow: ¡Te destruiré! Tosen: I believe he understands.

6. Nel and Ichigo would still travel together.

I like to think that, despite Nel and Ichigo not being able to communicate very well, that she would still decide that he’s awesome and travel with him. And he, although confused, would naturally choose to protect the tiny hollow child that has fallen into his life.

Ichigo: Guys! Guys! The tiny French-speaking hollow kid is following us! Chad: … Chad: Ichigo, seriously.

7. Ulquiorra’s final speech.

Would, at the very least, be understood by Orihime, who has since learned at least some Spanish. Ichigo and Ishida, though, would remain confused.

Ulquiorra: Entiendo. Ulquiorra: El corazón está aquí, en mi mano. Orihime: … Ichigo: Why was he looking at his hand? Did he lose a contact lens? Ichigo: I just never know what’s going on here!

8. Nobody would understand what the espada represent.

A lot of the fake Karakura Town fight was taken up with shinigam and espada chatting - at least in canon Bleach. The espada made threats, introduced themselves, and of course explained the aspects of death they represented. That would all be lost due to translation difficulties.

Barragan: No entiendes, cada uno de Los Esapda representa un aspecto de la muerte. Omaeda: What is he saying, Captain?? Is he threatening us???? Soi Fon: What does it matter? We are here to kill him, no matter what he says. Aizen: … Aizen: All my hard work assigning each espada an aspect of death. Wasted.

9. Except for Kyoraku.

I don’t exactly know why, but I like to think Kyoraku would be the one guy in the Gotei-13 who knows Spanish. Mainly because he’s surprising that way.

Starrk: Es solitario pelear con alguien que no habla español. Kyoraku: ¿Ah, si? ¿Prefieres hablar que pelear? Starrk: … Starrk: Usted es un hombre sorprendente.

10. Fights would involve a lot of body language.

Sure nobody but Chad and Kyoraku (and Orihime, post lessons) would be able to actually understand what the arrancar were saying, so Ichigo and the others would have to go solely by body language. Which, for the most case, would not make fights all that different.

For my friends on tumblr, in case you guys want something to watch, here’s a quick list of anime series/movies with unusual/unique art styles that you may or may not know.

Kaiba

With an artstyle reminiscent of the original Astro Boy, Kaiba has a very simplistic (yet stylized) and fluid style of animation and art. The story revolves around the titular character, who wakes up with a hole in his chest with no idea of who he is. I enjoyed this a lot for the art, music and characters, who all have realistic motivations and ideals, as well as the themes handled in it; such as what defines “being human” when bodies and memories are as disposable as plastic. Genre: Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama

Redline

In terms of sheer action and excitement I got from watching a movie, I’ve got to say that Redline is one of the best ever in those departments. With a highly stylized comic-book-esque art style with a high influence from Western comics like Dick Tracy (with the emphasis on black shadows on solid colours and thick black outlines), this show is extremely fluidly animated, the movie is said to consist of 120 000 hand-drawn frames, taking seven years to complete. The movie follows the story of racer JP (aka “Sweet” JP, because of his refusal to use weaponry while racing) trying to win (and survive) the titular Redline, a race consisting of multiple racers from multiple different galaxies and planets. Genre: Racing, Sci-Fi, Action

Mononoke

Every frame of this anime could be screencapped and slapped onto someone’s dashboard for their aesthetic. That is how distinct the art style and character design of this show is. The show uses a form of “plaid animation”, where something will be animated over a still color or object as it moves, creating most of the time a jarring effect that is usually the sign of a lazy animator, however in Mononoke, the show utilizes the art to create a sense of a surreal, dream-like environment, intentionally focusing on the jarring effect. The art and design of the environment is also extremely ornate and beautiful. The show focuses on the story of the unknown Medicine Seller and his travels through Japan (in an unknown time period), killing spirits and creatures known as Mononoke. However, he cannot do so until he learns their Form, Truth and Reasoning/Regret, which leads to some very interesting lessons at the end of each story. Genre: Mystery, Horror

Dead Leaves

Another comic-influenced movie, and just barely under an hour too; Dead Leaves is an extremely fun, hyper-action-packed movie with amazing character design (almost EVERY good character in this movie has a unique design, barring the civilains and generic bad guy cannon fodder), driven by slapstick, humor (usually of the sexual kind) and more pop culture references than you can digest within the time span they’re thrown at you. The story focuses on criminals Retro and Pandy; Retro having a TV instead of a head, and Pandy having a panda-like marking on her eye, who, shortly after waking up on the moon and causing havoc on a nearby planet, are imprisoned in a super-jail. Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Kuuchuu Buranko / Welcome to Irabu’s Office

Combining rotoscoped 3D, 2D animation and live action elements, Kuuchuu Buranko is an extremely surreal look into the world of psychiatry. The art and designs were created by the lead artist of Mononoke, Kenji Nakamura. But whereas Mononoke had some subtlety/ to its art, this show is bright, colourful and neon as all hell. The show focuses on Dr. Ichiro Irabu and how he helps his patients with their problems, who are all connected in some way or the other. Genre: Comedy, Psychological Drama

The Tatami Galaxy

With a bright visual style that also manages to be subtle at the same time, The Tatami Galaxy also utilizes not just its art as a device for story telling, but the form of the show itself to convey its messages. I can’t spoil too much about the show, but I can give you this: if you enjoy the first episode, please watch it to completion, as this show basically requires the viewer to watch the show in its entirety. The story focuses on an unnamed protagonist, commonly referred to as Watashi by the show’s fans, who tries to attain the “rose-tinted” college life style he has desired for his whole life, as well as all the challenges he faces on the way. With fast-paced dialogue, a lot of humor, interesting character and background designs, as well as the various forms of “characterization”, and also the themes tackled by this show, I’d say it’s one of my favorite shows of all time. Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama, Psychological, Sci-Fi

I plan to add more to this list once I get around to them.

Mind Game

Mind Game. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (also the director behind The Tatami Galaxy, Kaiba and Ping-Pong). I don’t think words can do this movie justice, but I’ll try. Imagine a combination of 3D-morphing-into-2D, sketches, animated photo images of (presumably) the voice actor’s for talking, extremely smooth and fluid movement, plus an insane amount of exaggeration,all coupled with a huge range of bright and dark colours and you’ve got Mind Game’s animation style down somewhat. Go look up more GIFs, they’ll help you understand the range of styles this surreal (and extremely fun) movie goes through. The plot follows Nishi, a down-on-his-luck, 20-years-old manga writer, running into his childhood crush Myon. He discovers she’s getting married soon while they’re talking inside her father’s restaurant. After that (plus another key event), the craziness in the movie begins; Nishi having a new-found desire to live life. Genre: Comedy, Surrealism, 

Tekkonkinkreet

Tekkonkinkreet, although similar in appearance to some Masaaki Yuasa works, was not made by the man himself (although, it was made by the company, Studio 4°C, that helped produce Mind Game). This movie has incredibly detailed backgrounds, similar to a Studio Ghibli film, with amazing usage of lighting, camera shots and motion blur as well as a wide variety of colours and shades. The story follows Black and White, two street orphans who call themselves “The Cats”, trying to keep control of their town from dangerous enemies. Although vastly different in personalities, they support each other emotionally, mentally and physically very well. Genre: Action, Drama, Adventure

The Diary of Tortov Riddle

Assassin’s Creed + wolfpupy tweets

English is not an easy language to master. But don’t give up! 💪

To improve your spoken English, read and bookmark 🔖 this excellent article by British English Coach.

It’s long, but it is extremely helpful.

Here is a snapshot of what you can expect to find in the post:

Be sure to read the entire article at the above link.

Good luck! 👍

We’ve also written our own article with just three tips to improve your English-speaking skills. Check it out.