I need to make a correction here - i claimed in this rant that i created Ping before Chobits was published (the point being, there is no way chobits could have influenced the creation of ping because it wasn't out yet) - I should have checked first, but it seems that Chobits actually printed in japan before Ping first appeared. ^^;; I appologize for the error! :)

AND, i just found out why people have been whacking me around about it. I never realized that Chii also wanted to download data on how to take a bath. DOH. FSKING DOH.

That's what happens when you don't finish watching an anime series. I would never have done such a directly similar thing had i known about it. damnit to hell, what a fubar. ^^;;

I'll have to go back and change the start of Chapter 4 as a result of this new info :P I'll be trashing #8 and #9 and rewriting a few things, but it's salvageable. I do appologize for the goof up ^^;; I just got back from Chicago and i'll need to do some planning to fix this fubar. It's tweakable (i'll keep the old versions availible somewhere so people can see the past history stuffs for MT, and since most of those drawings won't work for whatever I replace the comics with) :)

Still not sure if this is indeed what I will do. I have to think about it, there may be ways to move forward, make some adjustments that play with what i see now is a very direct parody, and acnowledge it in the comic somehow. #8 and #9 are ok comics, in some ways i hate to loose them... more thinking on this tomorrow.

- piro

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Ok, a few quick updates...

First off, the router problem is NOT fixed yet - there were some problems with the hardware and a replacement is arriving monday. We did some work arounds that should keep things humming till we get back from Anime Central. The Forums are back up and running - hopefully it wont overload things.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish all the drawings for friday's comic, and I wont be able to before I leave for Acen. Ah well, why fight it - it happens every time I go to one of these cons ^^;; The next MT comic will be Wednesday of next week. I've got a really nice DPD sitting here that's a little different than what I usually do, i'll post that friday.

Thanks for your patience :) - piro

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I'm still scrambling to get ready for my trip to Chicago tomorrow, but I have to make some quick comments about the current storyline.

If i get another email bashing me around about how I am being unoriginal and stealing a storyline from Chobits with the current 'ping and her interest in finding data on how to use a public' bath story thread, i'm gonna scream. I don't like having to come out and tell people what i'm up to (because you are all smart boys and girls and its more fun to figure it out yourselves) but let me make a few quick points.

First off, I am making fun of the whole concept - 'public bath' scenes are as common in anime as the need for a 'cute girl' character. It has been done and overdone ad nauseam in both anime and manga. There are a lot of apartments in Tokyo that do not have bathing facilities (hasn't anyone here ever read Maison Ikkoku? Jeeze) and public baths are where people can go to clean up. In most anime and manga, bath scenes are used as a vehicle for fanservice. Even the most innocent anime will often use it to show the main girls in towels.

Secondly, there is a reason for all this setup. There are a lot of things that will feed off the current direction of the story and branch out as Chapter 4 rolls along. Yes, I hear there is a similar scene in Chobits (hence the emails). Chobits is great stuff, but lets face it, the fanservice level is huge. Ping and Chii, even though there are a some similarities on the surface, are VERY DIFFERENT. Just like the Love Hina comparison's i get all the time - Megatokyo is different, even if it walks some of the same paths other stories do here and there. It's not like most of these paths haven't been walked a zillion times already.

The roll that Ping plays in Megatokyo is far different that Chii's in Chobits. VERY different. Chii doesn't have the privacy setup that ping does. Ping doesn't suffer from having to learn everything because she came with no programing. Embarrassing situations in chobits lead to a lot of sexual humor and innuendo (more than usual even for CLAMP) Does anyone really think that this is gonna lead to some big fanservicy bath house scene? Would I even do that?

Fanservice has it's place. I'm more than willing to use it if it is appropriate. Who says they really will end up at a public bath? Maybe the smell will settle in Ping's hair by the end of the chapter and she'll be obsessed with the horrible smell in her hair and cut it all off, going for the cute-short haired girl look. Maybe she'll want a service check to get her hair replaced. Please don't bash me for what is happening next if it hasn't happened yet. You don't know what's gonna happen. Let me finish.

For the record, i developed Ping long before Chobits came along. Ping pre-dates chii. I swear, i need a FAQ so bad...

I've faced the problem before - people jumping to conclusions because it's 'obvious' where things are going. This happens because the comic is released one page at a time. Y'know, you can ponder away at things all you want, in fact, i encourage it. But please don't jump on my case about 'ripping off' things until you see where the story thread is going. Emulation of certain things in anime is exactly how you poke fun at things. It's just a comic, ok? it's part of the fun.

There. Jeeze. Can't even toss in the potential for a good bathhouse scene if you have a robot girl character without being accused of ripping someone else's work. Fine. I'll do that bath scene, but i'm gonna let Dom draw it.

(echoes of evil laughter)

Ok, felt good to get that off my chest. Now, for the rest of today's business.

I discussed at length in my last rant all the stuff that's going on at Anime Central this weekend. Seraphim and I are leaving tomorrow for Chicago, and oddly enough I think i'm in OK shape. Remember, if you want to come to the Naze Nani Megatokyo LIVE! 2.0 show on Saturday, it starts at 12:00 noon in the main programming hall. There should be plenty of room for everyone, but there almost never is, so be sure to get there a little early. We aren't planning an overflow/latenight panel this time because we are in hopes that the room is big enough to take care of everyone. I won't give away what we are planning on doing, but lets just say it's not like an ordinary panel - it's an attempt to try to do things that give more opportunities for things to go wrong - with lights and sounds and stage props too :)

I won't be bringing any merchandise with me to Acen, but books should be available at the IC entertainment booth. As for me, they are giving me a table in the Dealers Room where i will spend a lot of my time doing drawings and stuff for people. I'm gonna try to organize things better this time so that i can take care of everyone without having people waiting in line for hours then me having to run off to do something. Something pretty cool arrived in the mail today that should make it easy for people to find us in the Dealers room :) I'll try to post a schedule here before I go, but best thing to do is check out the table itself - i'll have a schedule there that should say when and where i'll be most of the con.

Oh, as for merchandise, there are the Acen Got Soap t-shirts that I did featuring Piroko with a SoapChunker 2000... Got Soap shirts tend to sell out fast, so be sure to try to pick one up early if you want one. They should have them with the rest of the official Acen 2003 tshirts being sold by the con.

Comic schedule is a little iffy at the moment. I had hoped to have Fridays and Monday's comic done by this afternoon, but i am so behind that i'm worried about getting Friday's comic done before I leave. Worst case, i'll have Friday's up, but Monday's comic might be late or skipped all together. I'll post an update when i get back.

I almost forgot to mention that the piece of work i am putting up in the Charity Auction is the pencil trace i made for this colored drawing on fredart. Please note that it is NOT THE ORIGINAL SKETCH, but the trace/cleanup i did over it. A nice piece, and all proceeds from this go to charity (i forget which one it is - my brain is going, but its a known one, not 'dom needs pants fund' or something ^^;;)

Ok, that should do it. Oh, one last thing - the gals over at Sequential Tart are having a SDCC Booth and Outreach Program so that they can raise funds to get a booth at the San Diego Comic Con in July. Having got one myself (with Greg Dean's help), i know that it's not cheap (^^;;) If you are a ST reader, here's your chance to help get them there.

If you are gonna be at Acen, see ya there. If not, we'll have a full report (with pictures) next week. Should be fun.