Theory of a Deadman

Theory of a Deadman – they are a Canadian rock band that makes country, acoustic, as well as alternative rock music. They produce rock music which I really love listening to, as well as how funny the lyrics are at times. Their song, “I Hate my Life”, is my most wanted song from them because it literally depicts someone who hates his life, and the song’s lyrics are not just funny, but can actually be real, such as how he hates his boss, how come nice guys always lose, and how he hates everyone to the bitter end. Not just I find myself laughing on the floor because of the lyrics, but putting the video with makes it so funny to the point that I’m in tears and won’t be possible to work due to that. However listening to their music actually makes one better, because of how lively they are, and not just a band who writes lyrics that make no sense just so it can be called music. Another song of theirs, “Lowlife”, is also top-notch; just like the first song, this is also funny yet so true. It’s so charming that I’m so addicted to their music, and always gives me a ‘thumbs up’ like feeling that gets me going. Images: http://www.mtv.com/bands/t/theory_of_a_deadman/flipbook_05_05/01_H.jpg

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – this is a popular light novel in the series made by Nagaru Tanigawa. This novel, let alone the series, became so popular that it sold more than 4.5 million of its copies when in was published. It’s so great that it had been adapted to different media like animation and movie, as well as coming to the west being licensed by Little, Brown. This is one of my favourite books along with Mike Gayle’s My Legendary Girlfriend, and I openly tell everyone to read it whenever those everyone talks about books. It is a comedic science fiction story, whereas it develops a certain romance to the main protagonists. I really like how the story is told from a male’s point of view, since most books nowadays have female protagonist who somehow are serious all the time. In this book, however, because of the nature of the main character, named as ‘Kyon’, he keeps inserting comments every time another character say something or about the situation he is in. He is also the narrator of the story, which is both fascinating and funny as he uses sarcastic remarks at everything. This book also influenced me to like comedy to the point that I’d become a comedy writer in my own stories. Image: http://www.ultimateotaku.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/The-Melancholy-of-Haruhi-Suzumiya-Episode-01.jpg

Mike Gayle

Mike Gayle – he is a novel author and a freelance journalist who writes in different magazines. I had been a big fan of him when I first read his novel, my favourite book of all time, ‘My Legendary Girlfriend’. Gayle is the kind of author who advances in a subgenre of novels call romantic comedy, and I absolutely enjoy reading almost every book he wrote except for the new ones. I can say that every second I feel the effects of the book and how it made me smile every time. For most books that he creates, they are somewhat realistic since roughly every book the protagonist will be a man with a confrontation of love and life and the rest would be funny according to the situations he is in. I'm keen on writing stories on my own because of him, and as he is my influence I tend to include comedic effects or play on words in my pieces. It managed me to read more of his books, learn more about him like the books he like himself, and his life, about how he wasn’t just a brilliant author, but also how he gets his book published with meeting different kinds of terrible. Image: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Technology/Pix/pictures/2008/01/30/MikeGayle460x276.jpg

Touhou Project

Touhou Project – this is actually a series of multiple games, often shooting games. The graphics, programmes and the music are all made by a single guy named ZUN and he is responsible for the popularity of these games. There are loads of distinctive characters that were made by him, and each of the characters alone, not to mention the characters, have their own huge fan base not only in Japan but also in the west. While I only have two of these games, I’m not in particular addicted to them. The music in these games is my absolute favourite of all background music in every game I played. The characters have their own theme, and the music varies on each character depending on their nature, which can range from a calm, piano piece to rock. I really love the different background music, especially the “Septette for the Dead Princess”, which has been covered by many fans however it still has the feeling of being lonely yet fierce, and angry but appearing calm. The music gives me a boost whenever I’m falling asleep from doing any work, and at times, I would be awake until I’m calm since there are some frightening themes as well which are really good. Image: http://news.pcrdist.com/files/2010/06/touhounew.jpg

One Piece

One Piece – a popular Japanese comic that has started since 1997 – I have been following the series ever since I was kid and it’s still going strong. For every media, be it a movie, comic, or a cartoon, the story and the plot is needed, and One Piece takes it to the top with the rich story considering the main characters, especially their backgrounds and the adventure unfolding before them. One of the key points that got me hooked is the characters – they’re not just distinct, but they have their own charm which makes it easy to remember them. The designs of the characters are somewhat weird and kind of childish however that is the selling point of One Piece. There are characters which have tons of different design, but few will also have a simple design like the main character which has a t-shirt for the whole arc of the story. Whenever I draw an original character, it will look more or less like a character from the comic. Not only the characters are beautiful, but also everything in the comic is a pleasure to the eye, like how the panels are placed, the backgrounds stand out, and just about everything. Image: http://im.glogster.com/media/6/47/4/73/47047323.jpg