Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, back with another piece of my PPG AU fan art set in the Edo period of Japan. As promised, here they are. The Celestial Rulers, The Prince and Princess of the Heavens, The Steadfast Lord and his Lovingly Jovial Lady, Boomer-ouji-sama and Bubbles-hime-sama. Joining this lawfully wedded couple are their children, aka my fan-babies, the twins, Bailey and Barley, the middle daughter, Brittany, and the youngest daughter, Birdie. Man, I have been wanting to draw fanart of my most favorite of the RRBxPPG pairings, Boomer/Bubbles or Boomubbles, because of how not only plausible they are as a couple but also for how adorable they are together. Plus, the Blues seem to have the best chemistry, especially where fanon is concerned. While I do find the mixed pairings occurring with the Blues like Blossoomer to be cute, Boomercup to be kind of funny, and Brickubbles and Butchubbles to be sort of endearing in a platonic big guy protects little lady fashion, there is no denying that I really, really love Boomer and Bubbles together. In this AU, I wanted to heighten the feudal fairy tale aspect of this story by having Boomer and Bubbles as the celestial prince and princess as well as respectively being the high-ranking yokai lord and lady. Boomer is an amalgamation of Tsukuyomi the Shinto moon god, the Emperor and the Five Princes from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and Zushonosuke from Tenshu Monogatari or Goddess of the Dark Tower from the anime anthology series, Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales. In Bubbles’ case, she is an amalgamation of Amaterasu the Shinto sun goddess, Princess Kaguya also from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and Tomihime also from Goddess of the Dark Tower. In addition to that, I can see these two being the first of their respective siblings to marry and have children, in spite of the fact that they are the youngest. Eventually, the Reds and the Greens follow suit with a double wedding. Seeing as these two lovebirds are the youngest that means that their older siblings have to be not only their guardians but to also ensure their overall safety, as they maintain the natural balance of the heavens and of the earth. With that said, let’s talk about this couple individually as well as their darling children. Prince Boomer or Boomer-ouji-sama in Japanese, also known as the Lunar Prince, is the noble, peace-loving, kind-hearted, and emphatic male celestial ruler, who appears to be a young man between 25 to 26 years old. With his charming face, dashing features, and overall dignity as a nobleman, he radiates with a positive aura that makes his older brothers, his sisters-in-law, his wife, his children, and every person, deity, and creature cherish and love him. His main abilities are shooting lightning from his hands to his fingertips, levitation, super speed, and heightened combat skills. One should not be fooled by his infectiously sweet nature, as he will fight back using all of his might if ever anyone not only hurts him but also his wife, Bubbles, his sisters-in-law, Blossom and Buttercup, and/or his older brothers, Brick and Butch. Prior to obtaining the title of the Celestial Prince, Boomer was not always the person he was today, especially in his younger years. As the youngest brother, he was always on Brick’s and Butch’s shadows, as he did what they told him to do and were more warlike in everything they did. Boomer always knew deep down that he was not as much of a warrior compared to Brick’s choleric nature and Butch’s brute strength. As a matter of fact, he loathed the destruction his brothers were making not only in the heavens and in the earth, but also towards each other. Every waking day, he had to witness his older brothers tormenting each other over a disagreement and there were times that Brick and Butch almost fatally injured each other with their incessant beatdowns. Finally growing a backbone, Boomer decided that he wanted nothing more to do with their petty animosity and left them for a while to search for inner peace. One day in a quiet forest, as Boomer was becoming one with nature through meditation, he encountered a lovely, young maiden he knew ever since he was a child named Princess Bubbles. He always admired her not only for her beauty with her youthful and petite features, her infectiously radiant smile, and her overall positive aura but also for her kindness, her warmth, and her quickness to forgive. As he saw her combing her long blonde hair near a river, he shyly approached her and greeted her. Bubbles turned around to see Boomer right behind her and she easily recognized him, as she embraced him. To Boomer, his feelings for the young princess grew and he very much knew that he was destined for her. After meeting each other again, Bubbles re-introduced Boomer to her older sisters, Blossom and Buttercup, as the boy who was nice to her and sisters, unlike Brick and Butch. Blossom and Buttercup welcomed him with open arms and finally, Boomer did the nearly unthinkable by asking Bubbles’ hand in marriage. Bubbles was initially shocked, but Boomer assured her that he will be the most faithful husband ever. To prove his fidelity, he has to fulfill laborious tasks in order to marry Bubbles. Full of determination, he set off to travel to India to obtain the stone bowl of Buddha, to Horai Island to obtain the jeweled sprig, to China to obtain the robe of the fire rat, and to other parts of Japan to obtain the jewel from the dragon’s neck and the swallows’ cowrie shell. Despite the fact that the labors were tough, Boomer was able to accomplish each of them, as he gave the items to Bubbles. He also gave her one very special item that neither Heaven nor Earth can have and that was his kiss of…
April 2018
Hello, once again. Antoni, here, and this is what happens when you are a fan of not only anime like Inuyasha and YuYu Hakusho and cartoons like The Powerpuff Girls but also of Asian folklore. Such as the case of the Four Holy Beasts, known in Japanese as Shishin, Shiju, Shishou or Shirei and in Chinese as Si Shou consisting of the dragon, the tiger, the turtle, and the phoenix. So, when I combined my fascination of the Four Holy Beasts and of Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup being turned into yokai, an idea for an AU or Alternate Universe retelling was born. From left to right we have Seiryu Brick, Byakko Butch, Genbu Blossom, and Suzaku Buttercup. Yes, I know the color coding is a lot more different for the Holy Beasts like Seiryu is blue, Byakko is white, Genbu is black, and Suzaku reddish-yellow but I decided to focus more on the traits which are appropriate for Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup, as I will explain when I talk about them individually. It should be no surprise that I am completely fascinated by the supernatural, especially when legends like this are adapted into anime or other creative works. I have encountered the Four Holy Beasts in anime like Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, and Fushigi Yugi, and each of these adaptations has something special to give to the table. For that, my fascination grew to the point where I was completely invested in knowing more about them. Going into my AU, I envision Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup in the Edo Period of Japan as the loyal and protective warrior guardians to their respective youngest siblings, who in turn are the Celestial Rulers, Prince Boomer on the guys’ side and Princess Bubbles on the girls’ side. Do not fret, for I will definitely take care of what Boomer-oujisama and Bubbles-himesama are going to look like. Even more so, they are all married, Brick is with Blossom, Butch is with Buttercup, and, obviously, Boomer is with Bubbles. Though, since the four main protagonists of this AU are yokai, they will end up switching partners from time to time like having Brick with Buttercup and Butch with Blossom, and on a more platonic tough love between siblings level Blossom with Buttercup and Brick with Butch. These four will go out of their to not only ensure their rulers’ safety but to also have each others’ backs when it comes to fighting demons or any other mortal who dares to be an intruder to the Celestial Realm. Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup work together as one team to combine their insurmountable powers for good and to maintain the natural balance of the world. With that said, let’s get on to the characters themselves. Seiryu Brick, also known as the Crimson Dragon, is the undisputed and choleric leader of this quartet of yokai warriors. He rules this group with an iron fist and more often than not has the final say in decision-making. As the overall eldest yokai, appearing to be about 26 years old, he ensures that his teammates not only do what he says but he also makes sure that they are safe from harm. His unparalleled skills in hand-to-hand combat, as well as his expertise in war, have certainly made Brick an ideal leader, as he can pinpoint his opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, thus using those facets to his advantage. Despite being a strong leader to his group, he is extremely prone to anger and runs the risk of being too demanding, especially when failure comes knocking at their door or when someone hurts any of his comrades. He is also prone to having clashes with his teammates from his younger brother, Butch, to his wife, Blossom, to his sister-in-law, Buttercup, when it comes to a disagreement in a plan or when power struggles occur between the four. In spite of some moments of strife, Brick deeply cares for his three comrades and he always has their backs. Brick’s main abilities are pyrokinesis, superstrength, especially when it comes to his lethal Fire Fist which can disintegrate any opponent with the drop of a hat and using his claws, which are sharp enough to slice through steel. Brick is definitely ideal for being a dragon yokai mostly because of his fiery temper, choleric nature, large-and-in-charge, and overall manly personality. I also figure that his personality and mannerisms are akin to a warlord or general who ensures order and will not take no for an answer. He also seems to be the guy who is harsh towards his enemies and rather tender to his friends, even though he does not always show it. In terms of his outfit, I let him have a dragon tattoo on the chest to the shoulder area and I also gave him something that is also akin to a big, strong warlord. His gauntlets and shoulder pads are made of dragon scales, which also serve as his armor. Even more so, his cape is a great addition, as it makes him a proud and noble warrior who leads with not only his fists but with loads of respect. Byakko Butch, also known as the Virescent Tiger, is the muscle of the group. He is also the savage one, as nothing can seem to tame him, unless his older brother, Brick, gives him a knock on the head, his sister-in-law, Blossom, admonishes him or his wife, Buttercup, soothes him in her own special way. As the second oldest in this group, also appearing to be about 26 years old, he also has a duty to share with Brick in ensuring that his comrades stay out of trouble. While Brick is the more analytical one in battle, Butch is the type of guy who just goes head-on without a second thought. His brute strength is what makes him both famous and infamous. Famous because he uses it to save lives and do the general…
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, and I present to you all yet another piece of fanart I did with Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup aka The Reds and The Greens aka my four most favorite characters ever aka My Four Favorite Bruisers of All Time. What better way for these two couples, who happen to black belts in karate, judo, and several other martial arts, to start their day than with getting themselves into their gis, spar with each other, and culminate everything with a grand dragon flying kick to the dawn-hued heavens. In this pic, Brick and Butch are 25 going on 26, and Blossom and Buttercup are 25. Before getting myself to draw this, I had to be very specific on how the famous dragon flying kick looked like, as in where the arm and feet positions are. Plus, it’s one martial arts move that has fascinated me, whether I see this done in video games, anime, movies, or even see stunt people do this. In terms of positioning my dear friends, Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup, I had to make sure that each of them was seen. I originally intended their positioning to be in a sort of diagonal line. However, that would’ve been tough to accomplish. So, as a solution to fill up the sketchpad, I had the Reds be positioned on the left and the Greens positioned on the right, and the results were more than satisfactory. Plus, their gis and general attire were mainly inspired by the likes of Ryu and Ken Masters from the Street Fighter franchise because I happen to be a huge Street Fighter fan as well. I would also like to dedicate this picture to Blossom’s voice actress, Catherine Cavadini, who is celebrating her birthday today, as well as Buttercup’s, Butch’s, and Brick’s voice actors, Elizabeth Daily, Roger L. Jackson, and Rob Paulsen, as they all did amazing jobs portraying these characters from my childhood so wonderfully. I hope you all enjoy this piece of fanart I did. It took time but I ultimately enjoyed making this. Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls belong to Craig McCracken.
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, and guess what. I’m on DeviantArt. For the longest time, I have mainly visited this site when I was a lad of fourteen and I have been getting a lot of creative inspiration from a lot of the fanart I saw. Even more so, I was initially hesitant to join DeviantArt because of certain dumb insecurities I had as an artist, in spite of the fact that I love to draw, especially fanart of my most favorite animated characters. Plus, I was still rather young, as taking criticism well was still in the development department, I only saw making visual art in terms of drawing as a hobby, and I thought that my drawing skills were very much not on par with those people who draw fanart on such a good to an exceptional level. However, as time went on, I kind of toyed with the idea of being on here because I have some really good reviewer and artist friends and some relatives who have an account on DeviantArt and are very passionate about what they do and what they love. For that, I say more power to them and everything they do. Yes, there is also some fetish art that I found usually involving characters getting abnormally fat or generally growing in size. Those are the art types I try to avoid, as they seem to promise empty creativity. I always strive to be inspired by fanart or original work which is not only creatively appealing but also enhancing and can cater to my love of animation. Thus, I finally made the decision to become a DeviantArtist not only to support the artists who have inspired me but to also bring my art pieces and passion to the table. Would I want to make my drawing of fanart a regular thing aside from the YouTube reviews and blog posts I write on Manic Expression, TeamNightSaturn, and Steemit? Probably, because on the one hand, I have a lot of ideas going on in my crazy yet creative mind that I see why not. I have always had an innate desire to draw my favorite character pairings or OTPs, BroTPs and the like from my favorite cartoons, anime, and video games because I have always seen the plausibility in terms of the character chemistry in these pieces of media. On the other hand, it might not be done so regularly because of the time I have to commit to making my fanart come to fruition in terms of not making my illustrations sloppy nor unfinished but polished and well-detailed. Even more so, I have other priorities to accomplish not only as a reviewer, artist, and performer but also as a student. In other words, it might as well be done in my free time, if ever I feel like it or if ever I feel inspired to just do something. With the fanart that I have so far as well as other ideas swimming on in my brain just wanting to be released, I thought it would be a great idea to be on DeviantArt to not only show my work as an artist who does drawing fanart as a hobby but to also make something of good quality. Moreover, I think it is actually therapeutic to be on here, as I do feel a sense of joy, relief, and gratitude whenever I draw something that I really love and I don’t have to bottle it up. So, I hope you can follow me on DeviantArt, as I do have some interesting things to present. So far, I am really enjoying my time here, as I am really happy getting to know other artists and the work they have done as of late. As for new drawing-related projects, I intend to do something yet again with my four favorite bruisers in all of animated series history, Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls. Can you tell why I really like these four? Seriously, I am itching to draw more fanart with them as the main subject. Oh and don’t worry, I will definitely put in my Number 1 RRBxPPG OTP, Boomer/Bubbles or Boomubbles, in the works as well, as I have something really interesting for these two. Until then, this is Antoni wishing you a lovely and warm spring. AntoniMatteoGarcia on DeviantArt
So here they are from left to right. Rin and Shippou, Kagome Higurashi, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Ayame, and my InuAya fan children, Kenta and Keita. I mainly aged up Rin to be seventeen, Shippou to be fifteen, Kagome to be twenty-four, Sesshoumaru to be twenty-eight, Inuyasha to be twenty-six, and Ayame to be twenty-three. This was something I did back when I was a seventeen-year-old third-year high school student before I transitioned to senior year back in the spring of 2010. I did this as my final project in computer class, but when looking back at this, I realized I should have outlined, hence that’s why it appeared like this. Nowadays, I know better. Okay, enough beating myself up about it let’s get on to the picture itself. As you can tell, I am not only a hardcore Inuyasha x Ayame shipper but I also ship Sesshoumaru and Kagome all the way. Even more so, I decided to bulk up both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to make them appear more warlike and badass. For Sesshoumaru and Kagome, I can certainly see them adopting Rin and Shippou to be their own children. Eventually, Sesshoumaru and Kagome would end up having hanyou children of their own to add to their happy family. The family dynamics would work with Sesshoumaru being the stern, strong, and calm father, Kagome being the spirited and doting mother, Rin being the fun-loving and sweet older sister, and Shippou being the adorable younger brother. There’s no doubt I love to ship Inuyasha and Ayame until the ends of the earth. They seem destined for each other. I also gave them their children, namely Kenta who is four and Keita who is three in this picture. I can envision Inuyasha as the manly, strict, brave, and tough dad and Ayame as the equally strong and loving mother. Moreover, I can see Inuyasha training his sons to be a great fighter like him. So, yes, this was something I kind of enjoyed doing when I was in my teens and it still has some sentimentality behind it. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Two years ago in the marvelous city of Budapest, Hungary, I caught this production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore set in the 20th century with the melodrama amped up to eleven. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
I take myself back two years ago where I caught the concert version of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi, known in English as The Capulets and The Montagues, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin starring Joyce DiDonato, Venera Gimadieva, and Celso Albelo. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
I take myself back four years ago in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where I caught Christof Loy’s production of Richard Strauss’s Arabella starring Jacquelyn Wagner in the title role and Agneta Eichenholz as Zdenka. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
A Rienzi production which makes you feel like you’re watching a film from the olden days. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well. This review may have been released two years ago, but I still feel happy that I was able to talk about this Wagner rarity.
At last, a biographical drama film that is so well-written and so intense that I feel like my brain cells are coming back at such a fast rate yet has made me kind of depressed but still have the courage to live life to the fullest. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well. And yes, I still consider Dallas Buyers Club to be not only a brilliant movie but also a great antidote to the now boring Tarzan 2013 or Tarzan 3D.