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Q: What does the title mean?
A: Basically, it means Omake Festival. An omake is an animation "extra" that accompanies anime episodes on video. Omake are usually found with OVA episodes (OVA = Original Video Animation--episodes that are released straight to video without being broadcast on TV or shown in movie theaters) and often, but not always, constitute a sort of parody of the series. Q: What made you decide on such a title? A: We're always thinking of anime parodies that would be worthy of omake sequences, and one of the purposes of the webmanga is to showcase some of them. We're also spoofing ourselves to some extent a la Otaku no Video. So we knew we wanted to have "omake" in the title. We also wanted the title to have a sort of alliterative quality. One of the early tentative titles was Oh My! Omake, but Becky didn't like it very much. So Kellee looked through our Japanese dictionary and found omatsuri, meaning "festival". We had a winner! Q: The main characters have the same names as you two. Are they supposed to be you? A: Yes. In fact, most of the non-anime characters and locales are based directly on reality. If you were to go to our apartment, it would look much as it does in the comic, except with more junk on the floor (and no gaping astral hole in the ceiling). Q: So is that what you really look like? A: More-or-less... only we're not quite that cute in real life. Our character designs for the webmanga are basically positive- accentuated versions of our real appearances--in real life, Kellee's chubbier than that and Becky has a Roman nose. We'll post photos someday if you promise not to laugh. Q: Close enough... will you go out with me? A: Thanks, but we'll pass. Q: So how much of the story is based on true events? A: Just about anything that is not blatant fantasy... and even some of that is in a grey area. No, we don't actually visit anime worlds (we should be so lucky). Yes, we really are such dedicated otaku that if the opportunity arose, we would probably wait until we were done watching the current video. Strips pertaining to the cat's behavior are almost always literal, although her reasons for doing so may not be exactly as we present them. Q: Is your cat really named Hellmaster Phibrizzo in real life? A: You better believe it. Becky wanted a kitty of her own ever since she was old enough to know what a kitty was. She actually picked out the name before she got the cat. In any event, it fits pretty well, given that the main difference between our Phibrizzo and the Phibrizzo from Slayers is that one of them is a vicious, omnidestructive incarnation of evil in the deceptive guise of heartwarming adorableness... and the other is just an anime character. Q: What's the deal with the cat, anyway? Is she really the reincarnation of Hellmaster Phibrizzo or does she only think she is? A: We don't know. It doesn't matter. In any case, you'll notice that she's only in her Hellmaster persona part of the time. Whether it's a delusion or a true past-life memory, it's intermittent. The rest of the time, she doesn't think of herself as anything other than a sweet little kitty who loves her Mommy and Auntie Pacifier very much. Q: Auntie Pacifier?! A: That's the name 'Brizzo has given Kellee--at least, we assume it is, based on her habit of sucking on Kellee's earlobe. Q: How do you guys come up with each strip? A: There are several steps involved:
Step 2: Kellee bangs out a script for the strip. Step 3: Becky proposes changes to the script in order to make it easier for her to draw. Step 4: Kellee explains that she wrote it that way for a reason, and any changes will occur over her dead body. Step 5: We have an argument. Step 6: We make up and come to a reasonable compromise. Step 7: Becky draws the comic in pencil according the revised script. Step 8: Kellee critiques the artwork and proposes changes in order to make it look better. Step 9: Becky explains that she drew it that way for a reason, and any changes will occur over her dead body. Step 10: We have an argument. Step 11: We make up and come to a reasonable compromise. Becky agrees to make a couple of minor changes, but grumbles that if Kellee wanted it that way specifically, she should have said so in the original script. Step 12: Kellee rolls her eyes. Step 13: Becky makes the trifling changes, inks the comic, scans it, and pretties it up (with or without color) and adds the word balloons in Adobe Photoshop. Step 14: Becky uploads the comic to Keenspace. Q: Were you inspired by any other webcomics? A: Not really, believe it or not. Ours has some strong similarities to some of the ones listed under our link banners, but similar minds think alike, and we came up with the idea for Omake Omatsuri independently of them. Q: I liked Pretty Fairy Angel Kumiko. Is she ever coming back? A: Probably not. Sorry. Q: Where can I get a KAWAII? Or better yet, one of those Holistic Etheric thingies? A: Um... we made those up. They don't really exist. So... nowhere. Q: Can I do a guest strip or fanart? A: Sure! Just e-mail it to Kellee or Becky. All we really ask is that it not be contrary to the spirit of OO--in particular, that means pornography, harsh profanity, or other obscenity will not be accepted. (This is, after all, a PG-rated strip!) Apart from these restrictions, we're pretty lenient, but do remember that we're not obligated to put anything up on the site, or if we do put it up, to do so immediately after receiving it. Nevertheless, most works that make it past the screening will wind up being posted. Fanart will go to the FanArt section (duh), while most guest strips will probably be posted as the new comic once we get to a break in the story line. (We're not about to interrupt a perfectly good story arc.) Of course, all guest works will receive proper credit. Q: Can I use your characters in my webcomic? A: Yes, you may. Just follow the restrictions listed above, being sure to give us proper credit, and adding that we don't want them used in a manner contrary to the spirit of our strip. And please, send us a copy or a way to link to it. Anyone who does this is likely to get a link banner on our site and/or a plug in our commentary. Q: Will you use my characters in a strip? A: E-mail us your idea and descriptions of the characters, and we'll discuss it. Q: Can I appear as a guest character in the strip? A: Only if we know you personally. Even then, you can't be a face character unless we've met you in person. Web-only friends are limited to appearing as chat windows. Remember, the aspects of Omake Omatsuri that pertain to our social lives are based heavily on reality. Q: Do you know how each story arc is going to go before you write it? A: We usually know what direction each segment is going to take before we start that arc, but we rarely know how it's going to go on a comic-to-comic basis. Q: In comic 16) ... Or Necessary, what are the genres that Kellee's getting a preview of? A: Martial arts, mecha, fantasy, in that order. |