Project Mejika

[Doe Johnson]

Meetings on Mondays at 9:00 EST!

Hey all! I made this thread for the conversation started in the Christian Anime series? thread about starting an anime project. Assuming most of you don’t know what mejika means, it’s supposed to mean doe, although I’ve never personally seen it used and for all I know could have bad connotations (meh, I’ve always wanted to title a project that). It does have a kanji spelling for it though!

So, anyways, I’m going to update this post with information about the project, who is working on it, and what they are doing. Most of the facts are subject to change at this point since we haven’t discussed it in detail - hence the reason for this thread.

Project Mejika
Aim:
To create a short anime-style Christian animation. (at least for starters)
Target audience:
Teenagers - high school level
Basic Storyline:
A group of three aliens are visiting earth and attending an elite high school through an interplanetary exchange program. The main character, a girl named Corean, is surprised to discover that they believe in the Christian God.
Director:
uc pseudonym
Writers:
ChristianRonin
Katrina
Naga Kisaki
Rjdreamer
uc pseudonym
ishy
Character design:
chibiphonebooth
ChristianRonin
Rjdreamer
Warrior 4 Jesus
For more information regarding Project Mejika go HERE

An older post for starting Christian anime that died:
http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=15679


I really want this project to go through and not die out like some others! So participate people!

[Rjdreamer]

Awesome! I'm in. I would like to be behind some character design and story plot. I can also write some. Since I have a mom who is a writer, with a published book, we have a free editor.

Long-haired bishounen-angst fests with random Christian messages makes good entertainment not.

This is from the thread we got off from, and I love it. Strangely, most my boy characters don't have long hair, nor do they angst a lot.

[starwarsboy90]

Wow, your project sounds interesting! I am doing something like it, but I'd be interested in helping out, even voice acting for some of your characters. I'm a voice actor as well as a Producer/ Publisher Author and Poet,lol. So if you need a voice actor, just let me know!

[hawaiishirtguy]

Awesome, it would be great to see a christian anime get off the ground. I have no clue how I can help seeing as I have no artistic talent, but keep me updated, if nothing else I can brainstorm.

[Katrina]

I recently wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo that might have some usable plot elements to it. The basic premise was that a group of three aliens were visiting earth and attending high school through an interplanetary exchange program. The main character, a girl named Haruna, is suprised to discover that they believe in the Christain God, moreover each of them has a power that reflects one of the three persons of the Trinity. (One of them gives birth to new life, the other can speak any language and allows others to understand any language, and the third, if ever dealt a fatal blow, would revive their planet after any destruction or attack.)

I can also write (no mass market publishing as of yet, though I do have several online awards to my name) and do *some* animation. I call attention to some because I've only used Adobe Premiere, and I am trying to learn Flash. If I were to work on this project, I would need some serious help from people who are more experienced in this field.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Katrina, you're story sounds like a blast! I think Flash would be a good one to use. It's not easy but for those who know how it's not so hard.
I could do some character design and possibly voice acting if you need. I'll see how it goes.

[Soukoru]

I'd like to join into this project, but I think I lack skills for this type of job. I'm learning how to draw manga right now and was thinking about creating a small 4 panel webmanga of the happenings that go on in church within a college group.

[uc pseudonym]

While I can't claim to be an expert, I'll contribute in a relaxed sense and participate seriously if this goes anywhere. My skills would be in the writing/directing department, for those of you who have seen none of my work.

This is from the thread we got off from, and I love it. Strangely, most my boy characters don't have long hair, nor do they angst a lot.

I hate to say this, but I hope you realize that Alberto Impact was being sarcastic (hence the "not"). In addition, I agree with him. If we are serious about creating a flash with Christian values, we need to pick our story very carefully. There is a lot of flash out there, and if our only distinction is being Christian we won't do terribly well.

[chibiphonebooth]

i would LOVE to do character design.. if you need a character designer.

that would make me quite happy.

and i could do voice acting too. :p

i have flash.. but i jsut got it- so im still learning. :/

but once i get it down.. maybe i could help otu and whatnot.

[Rjdreamer]

I hate to say this, but I hope you realize that Alberto Impact was being sarcastic (hence the "not"). In addition, I agree with him. If we are serious about creating a flash with Christian values, we need to pick our story very carefully. There is a lot of flash out there, and if our only distinction is being Christian we won't do terribly well.

I know he was being sarcastic, that's why I love it. ^_~ I'm actually making an Anime version of Monopoly, and one of the cards say "You have helped a Bishy deal with their angsty past, collect 50 yen." Me love poking fun at cliche's
For the storyline, I was leaning more towards fantasy. Posting intro now!

Ten years ago, a land was discovered by satellite. Many have gone to this land, roughly the size of Great Britan and Japan combined, but once in no contact has been reached, and none have come out. Since cities have been spotted from airplane, as well as people, one can only suppose the natives have killed the ones who have entered. But despite all the dangers a group of missionaries have decided to go and spread God's word. They will discover a land full of what has been thought myth. Unicorns, Gryffons, and dragons. Will they be able to spread The Word to these people who only believe in magic, and their own power?

So, what do you think? I got the Idea recently, after finishing 'The Savage My Kinsman' by Elizabeth Elliot.

[Katrina]

I agree - Flash works well with the anime style because of the distinct lines. And it seems like most people who are familiar with animation who have spoken up so far are mentioning that program.

If people are serious about this project, I say let's go with it! I've been wanting to start and/or get involved with a larger-scale animation project, and doing one with a Christain theme to it does give a little more motivation.

I think we should start very small first, a five minute production at most, probably aimed at introducing the characters. For example, if we're going with the aforementioned plotline of the Christain aliens, the short could center on first day of school type thing or maybe a short focus on two characters interacting. (Just throwing out ideas - we can always play around with them later.)

Who is actually going to be in charge of each "department"? You can have multiple writers, but it seems like you still need one person to make the call on what the final version of something will be. (This coming from someone who's never organized a project like this just pretending to know what she's talking about. ^_^) Obviously, we should all have some sort of agreement on the plot or aim of the series.

EDIT: Gomen, Rjdreamer, I wasn't ignoring your post. I just left my computer with my post half written and came back to it later. My one concern with that idea is that it sounds very close to "End of the Spear." But that's only my two cents. I haven't actually seen the movie to compare.

I personally like the idea of having an anime that doesn't go over the top preachy or act like Christains are the only audience. I think we should devise a series that has Christian themes and can be enjoyed by a larger audience. If we have a main character who is not Christian or not a strong Christian at the start of the story and watch them grow towards God, it's easier for a general audience to attach to. Anime in and of itself is usually more subtle in its themes.

[starwarsboy90]

"If we have a main character who is not Christian or not a strong Christian at the start of the story and watch them grow towards God, it's easier for a general audience to attach to. Anime in and of itself is usually more subtle in its themes." - Katrina

I agree( I did that with Aldean Chronicles and am still doing that with other Anime afilliated projects. When Aldean Chronicles first started, it was an Anime Short Story Series. Now it has evolved into an Anime Audio Drama. What is next is an actual Anime of it, but before I can even start thinking about doing that, I actually need to get experiance in working with Animation. Working on a project like this and using the Anime itself as a Ministry somewhat would be a grand idea!). It's best not to be extremely preachy in the themes, and yet having them subtly there isnt' a bad idea either.

[uc pseudonym]

Katrina's post has some important points in it that I urge everyone to consider. That having been said, at the moment we are randomly throwing ideas around. If we really just want to brainstorm that is fine, but we will eventually have to make decisions. In that regard...

Think carefully about what already exists. If we are to produce an animation, it should be something that isn't terribly similar to everything that has gone on before. It must also be something that can move fairly quickly, because our theoretical audience is not at all committed.

[Rjdreamer]

EDIT: Gomen, Rjdreamer, I wasn't ignoring your post. I just left my computer with my post half written and came back to it later. My one concern with that idea is that it sounds very close to "End of the Spear." But that's only my two cents. I haven't actually seen the movie to compare.

Actually, the book I got the idea from is written by Elizabeth Elliot. The wife of one of the missionaries who was killed by the Auca indians in 'End of the Spear'. I was her story about how she went and lived among them for a year, with her young daughter. I havn't seen 'End of the Spear' yet, but it seems like they took too many liberties with the true story. This book was written over forty years ago, and is a true picture of missionary life.

Besides, it's more about the stories of all missionaries, and their struggles among a culture not their own. It will be telling the story of the biggest heroes among the Christian world. With a group of people, we can give them all varying degrees of faith, so everyone can find someone to relate to. And for people without faith they can relate to the peaceful tribe on the island, that the missionaries will be staying with.

However, I am open to any other storylines. I just feel wary about the alien one since they have similar powers to God.

moreover each of them has a power that reflects one of the three persons of the Trinity. (One of them gives birth to new life, the other can speak any language and allows others to understand any language, and the third, if ever dealt a fatal blow, would revive their planet after any destruction or attack.)

I think we need to be careful when giving out such God like powers, since it seems to blur the lines of man and Divinity.

Katrina's post has some important points in it that I urge everyone to consider. That having been said, at the moment we are randomly throwing ideas around. If we really just want to brainstorm that is fine, but we will eventually have to make decisions. In that regard...

Think carefully about what already exists. If we are to produce an animation, it should be something that isn't terribly similar to everything that has gone on before. It must also be something that can move fairly quickly, because our theoretical audience is not at all committed.

Should we go for a short story then? It will get us all used to making it and will introduce people to our work. Also, I think we should consider making a small manga. It will advertise our abilities and it will be easier to find and get together manga artists than a whole anime set, an will give people a thirst for the anime. Just an Idea!

[uc pseudonym]

I'll stay out of the plot discussion for the time being, but I did want to make this note.

Should we go for a short story then? It will get us all used to making it and will introduce people to our work. Also, I think we should consider making a small manga. It will advertise our abilities and it will be easier to find and get together manga artists than a whole anime set, an will give people a thirst for the anime. Just an Idea!

CAA actually has a manga project, a modern adaptation of John Bunyan's Pilgrims's Progress. We've inked about 30 pages and there are a number of people working on it, so it has a good deal more in place than other potential projects. The idea is that one set of artists will do each issue.

[chibiphonebooth]

ill do character designs!!! XD

[Doe Johnson]

If any of you are wondering why I haven't been posting...it's because I'm not really too strong in the story building or artistic field. I mean...I can use things like photoshop and maybe get a web page to look great if I put major work into it (I made the library section for my high school's web site shaped like an open book with the buttons on the right of the book on the next pages, it is AWESOME looking! the library section on my personal website is an extremly simplified version of it) but when it comes to character/story design and development...I kind go blank. So I'm just trying to let you guys talk it out a bit first. I'll definately try and get all of the story ideas together though.

Anywho, I too was thinking of a short episode first to just sort of introduce the characters and to gauge the artistic abilities of all of those working on it, figure out what we need to work on and such.


So, what overall themes would you like to see in it?
relationships? romance? comedy? action (spiritual warfare! - hehe - I think that might be a little hard to get away with at this point, but maybe I'm wrong)? angsty bish..*coughs*...I mean something else?

[starwarsboy90]

Action, relationships and Spiritual Warefare is a definite!

The Aliens who worship and serve The Most High God is an interesting idea( which I have already done in my series, but they were Elves though), but true aliens for that matter taking on human form is an interesting idea. Spiritual Warefare between them and Demons or any other forces of darkness for that matter is an interesting idea, as long as the series doesn't step over the thin line and still be scriptually based, it could definitly work and be an interesting series.

[Doe Johnson]

I updated the thread. If you want your name added/removed on a list, just PM me - also if you notice that I left something out. I'm not quite sure who should be heading the different sections right now, but if you really want to head one up, let me know.

When are good times for most of you to come online? We will probably be able to decide more easily what the general story will be if we are able to chat openly with each other. That way we can get past some of the small disagreements and misunderstandings quickly and start producing a storyboard.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I think its sounds good so far. Not like a sermon, but also not watering down the Christian theme - sort of like the Narnia books.
Doe, I'm still fine to do voice acting but I don't have the best quality microphone, I hope that's not a problem.

[Katrina]

I think we need to be careful when giving out such God like powers, since it seems to blur the lines of man and Divinity.

I can see how that would be an issue and I agree we need to think carefully about what powers the characters have, if any. The way I wrote it, the aliens believe their abilties are a gift from God and represent only a small portion of what He can do, but anyone who worships the three of them as if they were deities commits a serious crime. (One of them explains this to the main character in a conversation.) This was just my spin on it.

On the audience attention-span issue, if the first episode works out well and people want to continue, we can always create multiple episodes and release them one at a time. Right now we're just seeing if it's possible to come together and do this, so the audience isn't the biggest concern, although it should be considered as we're developing the story. Spiritual warefare can work, but I think it needs to build up to that point.

If we're going to move forward, I guess the next logical step would be for the story developers to go into a chat room and decide conclusively what this anime is going to be about. From there, they can pass on to the character designers and writers, ect.

btw, if we need some ad-free webspace for this, we can use some of mine.

[uc pseudonym]

Well, if the opening post decrees I am the director I should at least make an effort to be at the brainstorming meeting.

Regarding the story: I don't think we should mix our ideas. Aliens are one thing, but I don't think they would work well with spiritual warfare. Similarly, I don't see a reason to make the aliens' powers be aligned with the Trinity or even be spiritual at all. That's walking on theological ice, so to speak, and we can just call them generic alien powers and avoid that altogether.

[rocklobster]

I have some great ideas for titles for your stories. The first one could be called Trinity. As for the second, I think calling it Interplanet Mission would work. I also considered Brave New World, but don't be afraid to use this title. After all, it's plots that are copyrighted, not titles.

[starwarsboy90]

I can be a Assistant Producer. I have experiance as a Producer, video wise and other, and have some resources at my disposal. I'm also willing to help as a Voice Actor as well.

UC Pseudonym does have a point though, especially in Theology. However, it doesn't mean that it's a bad idea. Just try not to pass the Theological thin line between Christianization and something that could be mistaken or appear wordly minded.

[Katrina]

That works too I suppose. Just let me know when we're going to chat. I prefer Satuday mornings or Sunday afternoons, but that's me.

[Doe Johnson]

Well, if the opening post decrees I am the director I should at least make an effort to be at the brainstorming meeting.

Regarding the story: I don't think we should mix our ideas. Aliens are one thing, but I don't think they would work well with spiritual warfare. Similarly, I don't see a reason to make the aliens' powers be aligned with the Trinity or even be spiritual at all. That's walking on theological ice, so to speak, and we can just call them generic alien powers and avoid that altogether.

Hehehe! I was wondering what you would think when I put your name up there for the director. That's actually the main reason I said people should PM me to change where their names went. You were the only one who said you'd help out in directing, so...yeah...congratulations !

I saw Doe's message on AA. I have not been a member here before but when I saw this, I thought that I would mention it. I am a video editor and I have an associates degree in multimedia. I know Flash pretty well, but I also know Adobe After Effects /really/ well. In fact, I am tutoring th After Effects class at a local college. I have already storyboarded a music video in which I am going to experiment in anime animation. Hopefully it will go well. I honestly can't say that I am free, I have two jobs right now and the tutoring. I am also now the new Mangazine editor at AA, so I am quite busy, but I can really try to help you if you need animators.

That's awesome! When we get to the animation stage, I'll definately contact you to see if you are available!


Now as to when I'm available for chat:
(Central Time, aka Chicago/Mexico City)
Basically any time on Saturday. On Sundays it would have to be after 6 since I have lots of things to do on those days. For normal weekdays I am at school or work(I work at the school) from 8 - 4:30, but if most of you are available at some time during work I can try and get on then.

[rocklobster]

How about an anime similar to Touched By an Angel, but with the Angels being able to do more "holy stuff". Think "Angelic magical girls." What do you think?

[starwarsboy90]

I'm basically available on the weekends(when I'm not producing), since I'm busy with college, jobs and Production during the weekdays. Project Majika does seem a pretty interesting series idea, the ideas haven't really been tackled in fan series or Anime Short Story Series for that matter,lol.

[Rjdreamer]

I'm able to be on most of the time, since I am homeschooled.

Another plot idea...

An angel has just appeared int the dreams of a new christian, and now the person finds themselves in an alternate dimension trying to protect their alternate self! This alternate self is what would have happened if they had not become a christian, and if their parents had gotten their dream jobs. Now the main character must find a way to not only get back into their own life, but to keep their other self from making a serious mistake.

Sorry for bad spelling, grammer, of unability to be understood. My coffee is leaving me for deep sleep.

[ChristianKitsune]

I would also love to be a character designer/writer/possibly voice actor.. IF I am needed ^_^.

I love to draw.. A LOT and I will try my best, and work with the other designers as well. In fact it would be my honor to do so! Chibi, W4J, and RJ, you guys are great artists! ^_^

EDIT: on the chat Sched. I work thursday-saturday nights....from 5 CST til 10CST (Central Standard time, like Doe-san)