For the Laicion nation (aka, me and three other people)

I had this illustration commissioned (a big thank you to @lunehowls) for my werewolf AU Laicion fic (still a WIP).

The general pitch is as follows :

AU in which Laios never got to meet his sister again, putting his life on a whole other path, a more desperate one. A military deserter with barely a coin to his name, Laios hitches a ride on a boat to one of the elven continents, where he learns about magical tattoos that binds one’s soul to a wolf’s, effectively making them artificial werewolves. Illegal magic be damned, this feels like the answer to… everything.

In the process, he learns about the existence of an illegal fighting ring in one of the elven cities, where beastmen gladiators gather. Freshly tattooed and without anywhere else to go to, Laios decides to head there, where he meets Lycion, an elf and artificial werewolf gladiator. If they first bond over a simple shared meal, by spending time together (sharing the same room in the barracks, maybe the same bed? gasp) they find that they have a lot in common, notably a shared distaste for the body they were born in, a dysphoria partially remedied by becoming a werewolf.

They bond :)

I think I have to vent a bit. I have rewatched the new episode twice, yet I'm very displeased with how Garou looks. He just doesn't feel like how Murata draws him. It's like they gave him wrinkles, his smiles make him look like the Grinch, his muscles look like jaggedly animated squares, his movements are so stiff and he seems way too buff and all of that just makes me so so very sad. I KNOW I'm the minority, but I rly want to enjoy the anime with everyone else yet I don't like what I'm seeing.

*pats* Hey man, it’s cool! :’) It’s fine to vent and voiceyour feelings, as long as it never gets to the point of attacking other peoplewho’re just trying to have a good time. And really, the anime is stillsomething separate and supplemental to the manga/webcomic anyway (it can’t ever touch or replace it), so as long asyou can release the mindset that’s otherwise holding it to the same impossible standardsas before (s1), then it’s possible to just relax and enjoy it as its ownthing instead. At least, that’s what I’m doing. I can’t speak for the otherfans here, but as long as you’re secure and realistic about your expectations,then the fanwank echo chambers (avoid the subreddit) can’t affect how you choose to enjoy it. :O It’s been years and there’s content I’ve wanted to see voiced and adapted for ages, so even I’ve got a mental checklist on what I want to see delivered most, even if I know it can’t possibly be perfect.

Anyway, I will concede though, that in the opening scene with him, they really jacked up the BEEF where it made it hard to gauge exactly how old he is, ahaha. :P (After credits scene was very manga faithful tho.) And yes, the art for his face was inconsistent at times (I’m reading up there were a bunch of animation directors for this ep, as opposed to just one person who’d have a stronger consistent say), but if it’s any solace, in those same intro chapters with him, even Murata varied his face a lot too before he gradually and comfortably settled into the Garou we all know and love. Take a look at all those beginning faces of him (ch40/41/45): 

Where he was a lot more slender and younger manic looking, for sure. Plus he had a strong striking resemblance to Hiruma (from Murata’s previous work, es21) back then too. Also note the dark shadow lining around his eyes which isn’t as prominent on him anymore either.

Compare to how Murata draws him later (ch86-91), and he looks more like this:

A lot more clean-cut (aside from the blood) and chiseled/angular around the jawline. Oh no he’s hot. He doesn’t quite feel the same way as Murata initially used to draw him either. I would say Murata’s settled his design into his own a lot more now (does not resemble Hiruma anymore; Garou now looks like Garou). Which is a neat character + art evolution dual progression I’ve taken notice. :D

So now what I’m seeing in the anime is an attempt to draw him more like Murata’s current design (instead of how he used to look), and we end up with shots like these: 

Which honestly feel pretty faithful! :O (That last one especially.) Like they’re going for more blended proportions (between past and present Murata designs) for consistency’s sake, rather than ripping straight from all those early panels. (Heck, getting these shots, I even noticed the canines show up more prominently later in the manga too.) So it really comes as no surprise to me if the animators had difficulty nailing down his intro faces here (which varied quite wildly even in those old panels from Murata)…when the main reference they’re going for is probably something more closely designed/matched to his later appearance instead. So if there’s a vibe/disconnect in there that feels ‘off model’ about the art, that’s probably the biggest reason for it.

I even remember the fan confusion for Midorikawa’s casting for him, because people felt the deep voice matched ‘later’ Garou better…and welp, now with the visuals similarly like that too, I can understand the direction for that! :D Definitely looking forward to what else Midorikawa has to offer this season! And especially when the eps start showing more of his sympathetic sides.