Time for the third installment of the Looking Back series, where I take a moment to review events of the past year. Also when I throw out a few stats regarding how my little site has done over the past year. So like always I’ll start by getting that stuff out of the way:
Again like to thank all of you who visit my humble little site. This site has always been about sharing things that interests me and certainly honored by those that support what I try to do here m(_ _)m
2011 was the Year of the Rabbit. So it was only fitting that King Kazma kicked off 2011′s posts.
In 2011 more wonderful Dollfie Dream were announced and released. The first Dolpa of the year featured the lovely Beatrice from Umineko no Naku Koro ni.
The Dollfie Dream Compilation was also released. Consider it volume 1 of everything Dollfie Dream. It contains a catalog of every Dollfie Dream released up to I think the Touhou girls. I say “volume 1″ because later on this year the Dollfie Dream Official Fan Book was also released, which expanded the catalog to include lovely DD girls released after the Compilation was printed.. Follow the links above to purchase either book from Volks USA! Highly recommended if you are a fan of Dollfie Dreams.
Added a new piece of equipment to my image armory. Was looking at this lens for quite a while but finally decided to pull the trigger and pick it up. Actually got it when Amazon had it a good deal on it, so I was very happy for that.
So my current arsenal. Not sure what the next piece of equipment will be, only time will tell.
I shared some of the old wallpapers I created back in the day from my old site Studiotaku. I also let that domain go this year. While it held sentimental value to me being my first domain and site, paying to just park the domain seemed like a waste. Studiotaku was a good run, but it was time to let it go. There are other projects I would much rather focus on now.
Yoko showed us that even when she is not a red head she is still stunning.
I was able to summon the most outstanding Dollfie Dream…
Dollfie Dream Saber Lily arrived (with her loyal knight Sir Gaowain)
Saber Lily for me was the realization of a goal. DD Saber was the original reason I got into the hobby of Dollfie Dreams, but every opportunity I had to adopt her ended in failure. Thus she earned the title of “Unicorn” because she always slipped away. So Saber Lily was blessing to me. She may not have had the “Original” Saber mold, but she is still gorgeous and I am happy I was able to get her. Of course little did I know a miracle would happen later this year that would change everything…but I’ll get to that later ^^
Yoko made me ask the question, can she be this sexy…I mean cute?
I got Freezing fever…bad…I think it was because Satellizer is such an interesting character to me. I mean kickbutt tsundere character with a troubled past, what’s not to love about that? Plus I love her name. Very unique. Actually started reading the manga because of the anime and have to say manga certainly more in depth (obviously). Also started reading the spin off “Freezing: First Chronicle” detailing another of my favorite Freezing characters – Chiffon Fairchild. I hope Freezing gets picked up for another season.
The “Sisters of Fate” – Rin and Sakura paired off for a photo session.
Yoko wanted some more solo time. She also pulled out the big gun…
The lovely Lily bloomed in the garden of Sabers, but her attention to a certain lion drew the attention of the others.
Yoko modeled more outfits…
Rin claimed Saber as her Servant
Celebrated Saber’s unofficial birthday. Some of the photos in this post fooled a few people. Gave the illusion as they were taken outdoors XD
One of my goals for 2012 is take girls out more for photos.
Rin x Saber did a “Master x Servant” omake
Helped Gordon in his hunt for droids in Singapore.
High School of the Dead was released on DVD and Blu-ray here in the states. The dub is so ridiculous its entertaining. But I have to say that I was disappointed that my favorite Busujima Saeko line was dubbed. You know which one I mean.
For a brief period I got a rapid surge in traffic from the search “Saber Lily” and so I investigated and found I was ranking 1 in searches. My site is pretty small but I get a lot of traffic from Google in relation to Fate / Stay Night searches. Never was my intention for this site to be such a Type-Moon fansite, but I really like Type-Moon’s work – especially the Fate / franchise.
Saber Lily wished Lightningsabre a happy birthday. I mean, he is a fan and being a king she wants to make her subjects happy XD
Sakura started to feel left out with all the idle time she had while others got attention. This also entailed the wrath of Sakura fans out there, like my comrade Altsune…
…but it wasn’t enough. Her frustration with me caused Dark Sakura to emerge ^^;
July was when the year started to go downhill. While on the way home from running an errand, some jerk ran through the red light hitting me in the passenger side. The force of the collision caused my vehicle to hit another vehicle that was traveling in the opposite direction. The car that hit me sped off in the aftermath. Thus this became a hit and run. My sister was in the car with me and hit her head on the window during impact. Luckily neither her or I, nor the people in the car I hit were seriously hurt. But my vehicle suffered extensive damage to the framework and had to be totaled. Furthermore, the police never found the car that hit me.
I was angry when this happened. Angry because the driver that caused the accident ran. Angry that my car was totaled when it was so close to being paid off. But I was grateful no one was seriously injured or killed. Plus I like to think that things in this world happen for a reason.
The comedy anthology Carnival Phantasm was released in Japan. Very funny show.
Yoko’s hair style changed again.
Got a few more goodies from Gordon
The PSP game Fate / Extra is getting a sequel!! Saber Extra (Nero) pushes the envelop yet again with her attire. In this new game she will be losing the transparent skirt for what is best described by many as a bondage bridal suit XD
Just remember if Nero was to become your bride, she is letting you marry her.
In 2011, Type Moon celebrating their 10 year anniversary. A well deserved celebration as popularity for their work continues to sky rocket. The biggest news of the year for me was Volks teaming up with Type Moon to release two very special Dollfie Dreams via web project preorders: Saber Extra and Saber Alter V2. Talk about showing appreciation to your fans on Volks and Type-Moon’s parts.
What made this even more speculator is that Saber Extra would be a using the original Saber mold! Of course Saber Alter using the original mold as well, but will feature a newly designed outfit. This was the miracle I mentioned earlier! This meant that folks like myself who failed to get the original Saber or Saber Alter were given a second chance! Of course Saber Extra is a different character, but she is still the original Saber mold which is what counts to me. So I took the plunge and preordered both Nero and Alter Arturia ^o^
My wallet weeps but my soul cries with joy XD
The Fate / Zero anime began airing worldwide!! Fate / Zero recounts the story of the 4th Holy Grail War and sets up events for Fate / Stay Night. 2011 really has been a stellar year for Type-Moon fans.
Saber Lily showed us her Nadeshiko side. She is so gorgeous ^o^
I FINALLY upgraded my original iPhone to the iPhone 4S. Original iPhone was state of the art for its time, but when I got the 4S it was like getting an iPhone for first time again. The iPhone’s virtual assistant Siri and the amazing camera were two features that sold me on the 4S.
Even shot a short video at night to test the image quality. The iPhone 4S takes impressive video considering its on a phone.
Been spending a lot of time at hospitals since September. My mother had emergency surgery and there have been a lot of complications…well more like setbacks…in her recovery. Been really rough on her these last few months and I try to be by her side often for support. Family is very important to me, so much so that it is always my first priority. So updates to the site have been few and far between as as result. She is still recovering but hoping the worst is behind her now and she’ll get well soon.
A new girl has joined the cast of my DD troupe. I haven’t had time to give her a proper introduction so for know her true identity has to remain secret. Only hint I can give you is her code name is “Golden Dawn”. But don’t worry, she will make her official debut very soon.
Fate / Extra was released in the US! This is one of the titles I was glad to hear Aksys Games was releasing and was even happier when I learned they were doing a limited edition. If you bought the LE then you got everything that was included with the Japanese limited edition except figma Saber Extra.
Shared many an iPhone home screens with you. Some of them are not for innocent eyes ^^;;; (That means some are NSFW)
My current iPhone home screen features this lovely Fate / Zero Saber image that Joel shared with me
Rin ended the year as both a brunette and red head.
Facebook mobile app updated its interface. So I updated my Facebook profile. Timelines are cool. Cover image is cooler. Rin is cold…or hot…depending on her mood. She is tsundere after all =P
Saber Lily and Sir Gaowain wished everyone a happy holiday season.
Six of my photos managed to get Explore on Flickr. And I didn’t have to use secondary accounts to do it like some people ^^
And finally…gonna end this article same way started it, with a photo of a bare Saber Lily. These were the first photo shoot of 2012 and have a symbolic meaning as it relates to the new year. At face value most think its just some ecchi Dollfie Dream photos. When it comes to DD photos, I try to tread lightly when it comes to doll nudity and give serious thought to composition when doing them. Its easy to think that showing a lot of skin (even the vinyl kind) equals sexy. But there is a thin line and sometimes using nudity is just the easy way out.
As I said, these photos were meant to have a certain artistic meaning to them. But it seems that meaning is hard to see so allow me to explain:
The Lunar New Year is on January 23rd, 2012. Some New Years celebrations typically fall on or around this, one of which is the Chinese New Year. If you follow the Chinese zodiac then you know the next animal in the cycle is the dragon. Saber (Arturia Pendragon) is the incarnation of a dragon, so Saber is suppose to represent the dragon of 2012
In art, nudity isn’t always about sex and eroticism. Nudity can represent many things: beauty, frailty, shame, divinity, and even power. For example, Ancient Greek vases often depicted their greatest heroes on them nude. The Saber class is regarded as the best and often the most powerful of the Servants. Also the dragon is regarded as the most powerful sign by some, and its only natural their power would be greater in a year they rules over. So Saber’s nudity represents her power as a dragon. And of course people always find beauty in female form.
I also put a lot of thought into other elements of the photo. I also chose a blanket which contained colors associated with Arturia: Blue and White. For me Lily also represents Arturia’s femininity, the side of her she had to seal away in order to rule. So I included Gaowain in one of the photos to show her playful innocence as a young girl. And I shorten my depth of field as much as I could to soft the focus and draw more attention to Saber’s face and less to face she is nude.
Hopefully that “artist’s commentary” helps give the photos a little added meaning. But if after reading that you still just see a naked doll then that is fine also. Interpretation a matter of perspective and not everyone will share the same perspective. Plus my perspective will be different because I am the one that composed the image.
Anyway, that is pretty much it for the 2011 recap. Had some good times and a few rough patches. New year means new beginnings. Like to thank my readers for all your support and take this opportunity to say welcome to any new readers. I will continue to share my passions with you and hope that you all find some value in the things I share.
Thank you all again for reading!
Nice post, man. Enjoyed reading. Ah that Makise Kurisu with the Iphone *_*
Appreciate your support!
Here’s to a new year, Ultima~! ^-^
(More Sakura! More Sakura!)
There will be more Sakura in 2012….as well as Rin, Yoko, Saber, and mystery girl
Nice to see the different photos from the sets you made throughout 2011. ^^
The nude Saber Lily photos are quite nice, even though they’re not my personal favorites in your oeuvre seen on this page or on Flickr. But say, is that a DDS/DDIII body on her?
Thank you for feedback. I know they don’t appeal to everyone. I wanted to try something different and see how it worked out. Didn’t go like I thought but I still stand behind the photos and will learn from them =)
Body wise, yes Lily is using DDS body. I actually got that for a project that will be revealed later but needed to test a few things out first.