The Root Effect Strip
I have a temporary fix for my computer, this allowed me to actually access my email for the first time in a few weeks, and allows me to functionally use my usual art programs and such. This is opportune, since it seems my laptop is dying (thus no Monday strip). The flip side of this was that the strip was intentionally drawn this time to be black and white, so I left it as such to complete the “experiment”. It didn’t turn out so bad, and kind of stuck to the feeling I was trying to get across.
During my “downtime”, with no functioning gaming platform, I watch a lot of movies, specifically some old anime that really touched on some of the root influences of Aikida.
People often asked me if Aikida (the character), is inspired by anyone, but she really isn’t. She is an amalgam of a bunch of prominent female characters, including Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo, Akane from Ranma 1/2, Naru Narusegawa and Motoko from Love Hina, Ginko from Metal Fighter Miku, Rally Vincent from Gunsmith Cats, and more.
Today’s strip somewhat expressed my desire to get back to those anime/manga roots. Thus the black and white, the pacing, the speedlines (my first real attempt at them and they seemed to turn out alright),and the standard “anime punch” (or as I like to call it, the Naru-Punch).
I think this may be something I want to stick with, though I am not sure about the black and white. I like the idea of blending my anime/manga inspirations with the Aikida style we’re used to.
We’ll see how it goes.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am
oh crap! i’m guessing he never called her? not good.
and for that to officially be a Naru-punch, he must go flying high up into the air. sorry. thems the rules. :P
January 14th, 2009 at 10:40 am
nothing says “I love you” like a good throat-punching
January 14th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I thought she was just saying “hello”
January 14th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
THROAT PUNCH’d.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Don’t let it get too anime. I want to keep liking Aikida. :|
January 14th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Nice. Black and white looks really sharp.
January 14th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Ow… right in the larnyx
January 14th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
OOOH DAMN!!
So, Uh…been awhile since~ THROAT PUNCH!!
That is a nasty place to get punched, he must have done something very very bad ;)
January 14th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Also like to add that the Akane influence you mentioned shines through in that punch ;)
Long live the Otaku! LOL
January 14th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Actually it looks like she hit him in the jaw already.
Cause you know.. I don’t think anyone willingly exposes their neck to an incoming punch. And jaws make cracking noises; throats make meatier thuds.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Nicely draw! This look very cool!
January 15th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I’m really starting to hate this comic because of the constant story line changes and constant reboots
and Fenris disappearing all the frigging time.
The only thing that stays the same is “i drew nekkid tits, pls gimme 30 bucks for sum jpegs”
I really liked to read Aikida back in the day, but now.. every time he posts a new comic i cringe and wonder if he’s either going
to say : “I decided to end Aikida forever, see you all in 4 months when i decide that i actually don’t wanna quit” or :
“the previous storyline wasn’t working, so i decided to reboot again and start fresh, in the mean time here’s a new nude so gimme 10 bucks!”
Fenris you’re a hack and you’ll never be successful in the web comic industry as long as you keep pulling this crap,
I really doubt this message will even reach the comments section, you probably think people like this crap because of the few positive comments that are in there.
But not everybody likes it, so make up your mind what you wanna do and for once in your life stick with it.
if you really want to make money with Aikida give the people a stable comic, at least then the nudes mean something.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:25 am
*throat punch Khan*
January 15th, 2009 at 9:28 am
The storyline hasn’t changed since August, 2006.
Other than that, simply typing, “I don’t like this comic, goodbye.” would have saved you much more time.
Also, I have to admit slight amusement at a tantrum of this level on the day I complete the strip that gives me a two comic buffer.
Such is life.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I still wonder what happened in that room between Aikida and Wade…?
Suffice to say, violence rocks!
January 15th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Such is the life of an internet tough guy I suppose. I love Pepper’s face in the last panel, it still makes me smile.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Aw, Aikida was THAT disappointed by his performance?!
January 15th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
See, I kind of know what Khan means… I mean, Josh doesn’t owe us anything, he’s giving us this entertainment for free, no-one’s forcing us to read, but… it is frustrating when reboots happen. Although I’m sure it’s even more frustrating for an author to have all these ideas and not be able to give them life properly. I will always wonder about the mail order bride…
January 15th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
TMOB is a good example. Just like the Risia or Demonhunter storylines… :(
January 16th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Pepper is cuter this week:D. Ths strip wets my appetite for the answer of what happened in that room?…>.>
January 16th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Gonna go ahead and guess that, you know, sex happened. And Wade didn’t call.
Derp.
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