Shion and Mokuren

7/7/15-  Small updates to an old favorite, and as always, trying to plug a series that's one of my all time favorites!   If you haven't already, CHECK IT OUT! And also, see the companion piece here: 

----------------

Hello everyone ^_^

How are you? Are you doing well? I sure hope that you are! Well, here it is! ^_^ The last piece that I'm able to complete before the Otakon anime convention at the end of the week. Phew! I wasn't sure I was going to make it there for a moment! @_@ I hope that you all like it! I worked very hard on it; not to mention trying to work at a quicker pace than usual! ><

Well what can I say about this piece? Firstly, this is the completed version of the sketch that posted recently as seen here:



And as I've mentioned a few times now in my latest journals, I've recently been revisting a old favorite of mine, the anime/manga title, "Please Save My Earth!" ^_^ It was one of the first anime titles (one that I actually knew was "anime," at least) that I was introduced to, back in the mid 90s or so. Truly its one that's nearest and dearest to my heart! And I mean EVER!!! And it seems that I'm not the only one! Apparently this series was a great influence on other manga artists too! Most notably, Bisco Hatori, the creator of Ouran Host Club, and of course Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon! Given the concepts of reincarnation, the themes involving the moon, and especially the looks of the main characters, Shion and Mokuren (as seen above in my image), perhaps it's most apparent seeing how Ms. Takeuchi was influenced by the work.

Speaking of manga artists, as I've also mentioned, recently the creator of Please Save My Earth, Mis. Saki Hiwatari has begun a continuation of the story titled, "Boku o Tsutsumu Tsuki no Hikari," or "The Moonlight that Surrounds Me;" a series that I'm most eager to get translated in the US! >< AH!!!  (Write Viz Communications about doing so, as they still have the rights to the original series!)  Though, unofficially, you can check it out here:

www.mangahere.co/manga/boku_wo…


Also, here's a nice anime music video that features clips of the anime, which sadly only spanned six episodes:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH-OU7…

Thank you everyone!!!!

As for the piece itself, here I'm depicting the characters of Shion and Mokuren, those of which the series focuses on, in part...... I suppose you could call them the "main characters" in a manner of speaking, but given that this series revolves around the notion of reincarnation, it is actually more accurate to say that their counterparts are the ones the story describes in more detail.



SPOILERS BELOW

------------------------------------------------------------



For those unfamilar with the tale, "Please Save My Earth," in essence, is the story of 7 scientists, originally from another planet and solar system, very much like our own! And yet, their civilization and technology were far more advanced than that of Earth..... These scientists (which included Mokuren and Shion) were then sent to our moon, in order to observe and protect the planet Earth; possibly for the sake colonization, and due to their fondness for Earth's simplicity....

However, due to the errors of their civilzation, their original planet, as well as all the planetary bodies within their solar system were all destroyed in an intersteller war!! The 7 scientists were the last of their race....

Making matters worse, an epidemic erupted within the moon base, and one by one they were striken with disease and death until only Mokuren and Shion were left! Finally, when the two of them eventually perished, (Mokuren first, and then Shion.....) each of seven were then reborn on Earth; the memories of their previous existance slowly returning to them in their dreams......

In the present Mokuren is now a young girl named Alice Sakaguchi, and Shion..... a child named Rin Kobayashi..... But their story, even, is one too intricate to get into here! I suggest you read the manga yourself to find out more! ^_^ To do so, try this link:

www.mangahere.com/manga/please…

Anyways, getting back to my image...... Mokuren and Shion, as a couple, were of course one of the primary focuses of the "Please Save My Earth" story. However as strong as their connection was, and as much as they truly loved each other in the end, there's no denying that there was much anguish and torment in their relationship; which, in a way, taints the romance, depending on your point of view....

Without giving too much away (for anyone who may be interested) though I do believe that the love that the two of them shared was genuine and transcending even, I must admit that I find myself leaning more towards their reincarnated counterparts, more so than this couple themselves.... As for the reasons why, that too is a very long story that you'll just have to discover on your own!!

As for the techinical aspects of the work, I thoroughly enjoyed painting Shion and Mokuren, as I've been wanting to for *quite* a while now! I always thought that they were rather attractive as people, individually, and of course as a good looking couple as well. I must say that I even crushed on Shion for a bit, given that he was tall, dark, and handsome, and very mysterious to boot! I thought that Mokuren's character design was quite stunning as well! Especially that mountain of blond hair that she has! Phew! It took a while to paint all of that!

Another notable element about "Please Save My Earth" is the recurring theme of nature and plants. In fact the kanji or chinese characters in the names Shion and Mokuren are that of specific flowers; namely Lily Magnolias (for Mokuren) and Asters (for Shion); both of which I included in my painting.

For anyone who may be more knowlegeable of flowers, I'm fairly certain that I did not paint the flowers accurately in terms of size, but I tried to stay true to the flowers and their unique designs for the sake of the image and the border that I chose to create.

As always, the piece was painted by hand using opague water paints! ^_^ Thanks for looking and please help support the translation of the sequel everyone!!!!! Thanks again!

Love,
yamigirl21