Kametsu Khronicle Issue #1

[† RazorDan]

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THE KAMETSU KHRONICLE!

Introducing the Kametsu Khronicle, the official newsletter of Kametsu Forums. We aim to inform, discuss and review all things Kametsu. This little introduction won't always be here, no, we'll usually have a main news headline, but being the first issue I thought I'd just tell you a bit about the background of Kametsu, it's origins and the brilliant people in it. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it and that this issue is just one of many more to come. I didn't do this alone and I'd like to take this chance to thank my wonderful team. So just read it, enjoy it and hopefully we'll be able to make it a permanent fixture of Kametsu Forums.

RazorDan- Head Editor

The Team

RazorDan- Head Editor

Iki- Vice Editor

Anras Rune- Literary Chief

Krogothwolf- Chief of Staff

xxIrish- GFX Chief

Feel free to contact any member of the team if you wish to make a recommendation or have a question about anything. Also there are another couple of users I have contacted so they may join the team.

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Page 1- The Main Story

The Creation of Kametsu

By RazorDan

The forums as we know them have been around since 2006. However this wasn't the actual beginning. In fact Kametsu has a long and complex past that ended with what it is now. From Yu Gi Oh to Final Fantasy, Koby has gone through many different forum merges and forum changes. He graciously accepted my invitation of an interview and it gave some interesting thoughts. Why not judge for yourself? Here is that very interview:

Hello Koby. Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

First question: Why did you create Kametsu?

Koby: Well it's actually rather a long story as to how Kametsu became what it is today. I'd have to start back years ago.

I remember years ago... after several various forum merges with friends, and various forums failed. I ended up making a Yu-Gi-Oh! forum called Yu-Gi-Oh! City. It was doing great for a while but eventually died down so I again, a couple friends and I decided to merge our forums and thus Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny was born. After a year it eventually died down and thus I created a general Anime forum called Anime Twilight which did excellent for a long time until I lost internet for several months and it couldn't survive without me.

A few months passed after I returned and a friend had purchased some paid hosting and offered to host me and let me run the host. I opened up a site called S2kclub at that time and offered free hosting for other forums etc.. and eventually created 'Kametsu Duelists'. A Yu-Gi-Oh! forum obviously.

I came up with the name one day while trying to think of a unique name/word to call a site. Anyways that forum ended up merging with Koga's dying forum called YGO Underground or something like that. Koga and I later decided that we had gone as far as we could with the YGO theme and we expanded out to a general Anime discussion board and at that time dropped the Duelist from the name.. thus becoming simply Kametsu.

Some idiot kept hacking/cracking into the forum and causing chaos I was constantly having to fix and it lead to the downfall of Kametsu. So Koga and I decided it was best to simply close down Kametsu at that time.

Fast forward again, Forgotten Memories Forums, started getting hacked/cracked by people just like Kametsu had.. and after restarting the forum a couple times it ended up dying because of it. I purchased a vBulletin license since it was the most secure forum software at the time and remade Forgotten Memories forums again in December of 2006.

A few months down the road I decided that Forgotten Memories forum had been played out and therefore I moved the forum over to the Kametsu domain and renamed the forum Kametsu Forums. The rest is all pretty much known history and we are now what has become from all that.

The forum has a long history.. and if you go all the way back to the beginning you could possibly say that the original forum I made back in 2001 lead me to eventually create Kametsu Forums.

Obviously, that isn't all of the interview, read the next page for more!

Page 2- News

Koby's Interview

2) which person, in all of kametsu's history, have you liked the most?

There have been many friends I have made throughout the history of Kametsu. Many of, if not most, I have lost contact with through the years. I cannot even remember most of their names.

If I had to choose one I was probably really good friends with it would possibly be Ray, but I haven't heard from him in ages. Emotional Outlet was also cool to chat with but again, while I can still contact her on facebook, I just don't really chat with her a whole lot. Cloud1414 has been around for ages and he saved Kametsu at one point in time. YugiKid aka Chip hosted us for years and was always there when I needed help. He might have been my best friend at one point of time and had been around with me since pretty much the beginning of my internet time. He was the first friend I made online but we just don't chat much anymore as we grew up and he rarely comes online anymore.

As far as now.. Ren would probably be the closest I am too now. I really do feel like he is more of a brother that I never had than a friend and he's always there to answer any questions I may have about anything and been there when I needed him usually.

3) name one thing that you love about kametsu and one thing that you hate. Explain why too!

Well I really love the community. Sure there are a few bad people here or there but for the most part this has been one of the more friendlier communities I've seen. Some of the other communities I visit, no one communicates with each other, the staff couldn't give a damn about anything, and overall the admin does nothing but troll the members.

What do I hate? Well I hate that we get so many members who want to do nothing but spam or simply never post at all. I also kind of dislike the way we staff have began to handle such members who are knew to forums in general. The staff, including myself, have began to develop a 'ban first, help later or never mentality. I believe we should work on that. Do something to be more friendlier to the new members, set up better guides that detail, with pictures, step by step what to do and what not to do so that those new to the forum can be directed to a single topic and learn the in's and outs of the forum. I wish more people would post more detailed posts that would help contribute and add to the topic at hand rather than simply answering the topic and nothing more.

For example.. your favorite anime thread? Some say something like 'black lagoon'. It would be excellent if they could go into detail as to why it's their favorite, what was it they liked about it so much.. and why others may want to check it out if they haven't. Stuff like that just helps overall and can really add to the discussion at hand.

I feel as it is now the actual activity of the boards discussions are diminishing which is the first sign of the board dying. Sure we get a lot of new members, but very few actually end up being regular members of the community and most that do.. only hang out in the CB which has little benefit to the actual community besides bringing the members closer together.

4) What do you think of the download section? With all the forum spamming and the load of members who just download, do you think it's more trouble than its worth?

I like it. Though honestly by the time the Anime hits our forum I usually already have the episodes. Especially when it comes to subtitled Anime as I get that directly from the fansub groups via their torrents. I've always wanted to help liven up the torrents section by getting people who can on a weekly basis update it with the newest fansub torrents of the on-going subs but I've never succeeded in getting that done although it's a simple copy/paste job.

Link's dying can be a pain in the ass, and it's one of the main reasons why I have cut back on the amount of series I try to upload and maintain. That and the fact that my upload speed is near crap compared to my download and I've been having problems with uploading files (the browser crashes in the middle of it on multiple hosts, unless it's quick and instant upload on MU lately).

Sure the majority of the people don't stick around or try to help out and therefore not worth the time it takes to help them either. However at the same time, for every 100 of those leachers we get, we may get 1 good member and that one good member is definitely worth it.

I just hope we can continue to provide what those kind of members are coming here for originally so that we may continue to thrive as a community.

5) How do you want kametsu to grow in the future?

Honestly besides the things I've already mentioned being unhappy about, the rest is pretty much fine. As long as the community as a whole continues to grow and people continue to contribute back to the community via keeping posts alive and uploading stuff for everyone to enjoy then I can see this place lasting for several years to come.

I'd kind of enjoy seeing our download section out grow all of our competitors though, we are a little over halfway to doing so at the moment. I'd also like to see more actual dvd/blu-ray rippers and encoders become an active part of this community. Along with more audio syncers in hopes of one day starting our own team and release our own top-notch releases to the public. I would have been doing this long ago myself but my crappy upload speed, and lack of time gets the better of this idea and someone always ends up releasing the series anyways.

6) How do you feel about the lack of activity in the RP section?

I'd like to see the RP section active but I can fully understand why it died again. I quit RPing this go around because mostly lack of time to keep up with it but there was other issues involved such as the majority of people GodModding and when you have issues like that... it just takes all the fun out of it. I'd rather play in a roleplay where everyones character sucks and get the living daylight knocked out of them time and time again then see one where everyone is immune to everything and invincible against everything.

7) OK, on Kametsu, the GFX section is pretty active and there are a lot of stories. so who is your fave gfx artist and why, and what is the best story you have read and why?

My favorite GFX artist here? I don't really have a favorite anymore. I use to but those people are long gone. The majority of the gfx designers here now are hit and miss. They'll make like 5 great sigs and then one terrible one for instance or all of their designs just kind of seem like the same work over and over. I like to see artist mix it up a little, try different techniques etc.. I've always loved the textured works but currently we have no one who experiments with it. I know I suck with it. I'd like to see GFX legends like WhiteNutz and Roxas return to the forum. They'd give everyone here a run for their money no doubt.

As for a favorite story? Honestly I quit reading all the stories around last September I think it was due to so many stories coming out and lack of time to read them.

If I remember correctly some of my favorites included Kametsu High and The Organization even if the writer of Kametsu High seemed like he was more or less trying to god-mod his own character into oblivion compared to his teammates *points to razor* lol. I was fine with it though, just giving you hell over it. I did enjoy some other stories as well but I've forgotten the names of them. I do remember BsE though, it was pretty sweet.

That was certainly interesting! What are your thoughts on Koby's answers? Post your views!

Page 3- Iki's Corner

Hottest Discussions :- This section will deal with the hottest discussions of the week from the Anime and/or Gaming forums. Biggest news, engaging discussions, all this will factor in deciding the hottest topic of the week!

ANIME

The Return of Rurouni Kenshin!

He's baack. The master of the Reversed Blade. Batusai the Slasher. The Man with the X ... I could go on and on about his nicknames but it'll end up filling the whole page.

The legendary Samurai X a.k.a. Ruroini Kenshin is set to return to the anime stage after after 13 years. Speculation of this originally arose when the PSP game “Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan Saisen” was recently released in Japan.

Mixed reactions of this news are expected. While some fans believe that this “new version” will tarnish the awesomeness of the original one, believing that nothing can surpass the “Kyoto Arc”, others are eagerly awaiting to see what changes will be made.

So far, no news has been received as to whether this new anime will simply be a remastered version like Dragon Ball Kai or whether it will follow the original manga like Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood. Only time will tell.

Otaku Fever :- The forums are filled with talented people who can create the most AMAZING fan art, AMV's, fanfic, etc. Every week, this section will be dedicated to a certain piece of work that has stood out!

“Ichigo From Bleach”

This fan art was created by one of the members on the forum and is truly a work of genius. The amount of detail that goes into this drawing is amazing, simply amazing. Even the fact that it was taken from a phone camera which resulted in it being darker than normal doesn't ruin it.

Hats off to Carley Jay.

Anime of the Week : Every week a new episode is released of a certain anime, but which show is staying on top? Which show is providing an engaging storyline at a steady pace and which show is lagging behind in extreme “filler mode”? In this section, we will provide insight into which anime rules the week.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN!

That's right, you read it correctly. For many weeks now, Naruto Shippuden (NS) has been losing it's appeal after going through an entire season full of flashback fillers, making many viewers feel like they were back in the time after Epsiode 135 of the original Naruto anime, when it spun into a 100+ episodes of pure, dry filler.

The new season is engaging and steady paced indeed, bringing back that certain “X factor” which forced people to watch it in the first place, which sky-rocketed it to Mainstream Anime.

If you had stopped watching this show due to it's fillers, start again, dear fans for the best is yet to come.

So yeah that's my weekly column. Any questions, anything you want to see in future editions, just message me or RazorDan. See you next time!

Page 4- Creative Center

Now Kametsu is a place full of super talented people. Both the GFX section and Art and Literature section is thriving with many excellent pieces of work. So this page is especially for that. Now being the first issue, the Literary and GFX Chiefs have interviewed a top writer and a member of the GFX team. Anras Rune and xxIrish have both done a great job and I thank FlutterShy and zZJoennZz for their time.

Anras Rune's interview with FlutterShy

Hello FlutterShy, (aka Shazi) tell us what made you start writing?

i'm not sure exactly what made me start writing, it was very young. but i know what makes me keep writing. knowing that people like my stories and are willing to listen.

True that people like your story, but what was NoLight's inspiration?

Nolight was inspired by a silly conversation in the chatbox about the hatred of twilight xD What made me keep going from the first log was how into it people got.

Have you ever thought about publishing it for real?

Publishing for real is something i would like to do, when i complete a story I'm proud enough to have people read, I think I will send it to a publisher. For the moment with the whole vampire book fad going on i don't think my work would get published.

Hahaha, well lets hope that blows over for all our sakes...

Agreed

Ever think about a sequel? For nolight?

Yes. It's a possibility but it won't be slaughting twilitians in a sequel, the sequel may have to wait untill the next huge thing comes along

Okay then, ever thought about doing another story?

Hmm, I often have more than one story going at a time I'm currently working on a novel called sketchbook girl and also on another one i call "Not time yet"

Of all your stories which is your fave?

It would have to be sketchbook girl. It started off as a fanfic because I couldn't think of character names and it slowly progressed into something much more. I skipped most of my year 11 math classes to write it. =P

Do you like any of the other kametsu writers work?

From what I've read, I really like their work. I have trouble reading large block of text online so I don't always read their work, but I try to because I really enjoy reading things that haven't gone through what a publisher thinks the public wants to read.

Okay then, last but not least, what's you favourite book in real life? And what's you favourite genre of writing?

Hmmmm let me think. My faourite books (cause it's a series) is called Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and my favourite genre to read is Sci-fi/Fantasy, it's also my favourite to write.

Well thanks shazi!

xxIrish's interview with zZJoenZz

When did you start doing GFX?

I started GFX when I talk to my classmate that he is editing some of the photographs, and he's using Photoshop so I'm inspired when I search in the google about the photoshop and I'm ended up making some GFXs.

What made you want to start being a GFX Artist?

Because I saw some good signature, that inspire me to make a signature and I improved and make more big things like web designs.

As everyone knows, when you first start doing GFX it isnt always the best. How did you get to where you are now?

I read some tutorials, listening some comments and criticism by others, so it made me better than the first.

Any advice to new comers trying to get better?

Don't stop learning new themes like reading some tutorials and follow some criticism to make your work better.

Brushes, Renders, C4D's?

I mixing these types, when using renders I used some brushes, and add some C4Ds for effects so I used them all.

Any Inspirations?

The works of others I seen that pretty awesome and that's it.

Any thing that you want to say?

I just say, don't stop believing to yourself and make yourself better than before.

Well thanks for your Time and keep up the good work!

Page 5- Info Center

Now, this is where I let Krogothwolf have his say. Everything here is from Kro himself. He'll tell you stats and his views. I guess he'll provide you with some comic relief, I mean it is Kro after all. However, being the first issue

Forumer of the Week:

Chaos92: The dude is an insane random fact machine of destruction: Reader beware the bizarre stuff he knows may fry your mind.

Quote of the Week:

Mute Point: Nobody but the psychotic fangirls likes the sparkly fairy from twilight

Got to be quoted for truth my friends, honestly! Who doesn't agree with this one.

Top CB Chatters:

Kekashi

→Speed←

Anras Rune

krogothwolf

Iki

Goldstandard90

NickthePwn3r

FlutterShy

poetictragedy

Mute point

Well, well I guess that's the end of the first ever issue of the Kametsu Khronicle, I hope you enjoy it, leave your posts below and I hope you'll look forward to the next one!

[† Shazi]

nice work on the first issue guys! glad i could help. i can't wait to see the next issue. such interesting stories =)

[Wake]

Nicely done everyone! Very muchly looking forward to more Issues!

[Chaos92]

Random facts yeahz!!!! Very nice guys keep it up, great stuff.

[flamedemon12]

great work, hope to see more!

[ウェンキ Leki]

Omg I like it.

Forgot me on the top Cb chatters btw.

If you need more GFX work done just pm me or CB me.

Ps. On a side note omg Im famous for my banner

[idl12]

Awesome work guys, wasn't expecting it to have interviews to, great idea, maybe you could hire Joker for a section on gaming and electronics as well.

[† ParasiteEve]

I love it!

Can't wait to read the next issue. xD How often are you guys gonna post these?

And I agree....Chaos and his facts are bizarre, I still remember some I wish I didn't. xD jk.

[Renzourin]

okay for all the new people i will close this thread if it becomes fodder for spammers so please dont spam

[xTyranityx]

I thought that was amazing, a delightful read and it showed some incite into everyone who participated Love it, can't wait for more!

[† RazorDan]

Awesome work guys, wasn't expecting it to have interviews to, great idea, maybe you could hire Joker for a section on gaming and electronics as well.

funny story, he was the first person, after iki and rune, that i asked, I've had no reply so I sent him a PM.

Thanks for all your replies! Glad you liked it. Work on the next issue has already started, expect it next Saturday 30th April.

[† ballard]

I agree with what Koby said about the ban first help later thing. From now on I'll definitely work on being more helpful instead of being so quick to ban the person. A few on occasion do deserve it though ...

Nice first issue Razor. I'll be waiting for the next one.

[big_teddy]

Excellent read guys!

I can't wait for the next issue.

[→Speed←]

First of all I'd love to say how much i like this khronicle!

Second of all, in question 3 for koby, "For example.. your favorite anime thread? Some say something like 'black lagoon'. It would be excellent if they could go into detail as to why it's their favorite, what was it they liked about it so much.. and why others may want to check it out if they haven't. Stuff like that just helps overall and can really add to the discussion at hand.

" I completely agree with this! They seem like they either don't really wanna say anything or just want a higher post count sadly.

I know one person who I believe was and still could be the best GFX artist I've known.. She ended up leaving the GFX team though and I'm sure she knows I'm talking about her since I've told her she is a "legend" on multiple occasions! This person is

ParasiteEve

I would link to her profile but she changed her name and idk if she'd want me to but at least you know she is LEGEND!

As for the Khronicle in general.. I was thinking it would be even better with more specific topics(not only interviews) which I'm sure has been thought about before. My example's would be: (under the "Info Center" section) Helpful Tips and Tricks or just Helpful Tips where anyone could contribute "tips" that are proven by the contributor with a few screen shot's or a short video(with voice) and possibly a Gaming section and a few sub-section's like News, Specific Game Update's, Rumors, etc. Hope you consider these

[Oblivia]

Wow, awesome work you guys! Good to know about complete history of Kametsu. You've gone a long way Koby, and we are all glad that you persisted till now. Agree about banning and being more helpful to the new members. Also would help if the regulars become more active in the seed hallway, welcoming other people. I really think it would make them feel more at ease, the first impression is very important after all. And yeah chi, Eve's work rocks!

Anyways, keep up the good work! Looking forward to read more. =)

[Dude888]

This is pretty good for a first issue.

There should definitely be a Gaming section since this is a "Anime and Gaming community".

I Recommended: Joker

There could also be a computer/electronics section to give tips on encoding and stuff.

I Recommended: L4ugh

Maybe putting some more colors and/or images will make it cooler

You can ask me to do the gaming section if you want.

(You shouldn't ask me... I'm lazy lol)

[Kinara Uzumaki]

Wow! this newsletter is AWESOME.....in one word. Reminds me a lot of my school days where I spent most of my free time writing all kinds of stuff. Can't wait to read the issues that will follow this one......Keep up the great work! This site owes you guys a lot!

[nekroniclol]

very nice keep it up