I'm not dead, I'm not dead!

Waah, how did time go by so quickly? The combination of starting a new job in the beginning of June (yay!), the semester project deadline stress toward mid July (nay!), endless stream of guests and G's birthday resulted in the longest hiatus in the history of Bring Me Bonsai -- nearly 3 months! I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark about my whereabouts and for the lack of updates...I should have at least posted that I'll be taking some time off! But yes, I'm doing well, G's doing well; if there's one thing we can brag about, it's our immune systems of steel.

At the moment, I'm not entirely sure where I want to go with this blog. I don't know if I will keep drawing the same kind of comics in the same style or try something entirely new, but I guess I'll keep my options open for now.
Anyway, as part of our semester project at uni I did an illustrated reportage about Japanese people working in Berlin. Here's a little peek at one of the illustrations for the booklet!

See you soon!
Nozomi

Ugh Summer

My legs haven't seen a razor in months...

Piece of Cake

To make up for my laziness on the comic front I've been trying to draw more, period. Here's a punny doodle from this morning.

Hoshi Coupe

As a part of my illustrated reportage project, I spent my Saturday afternoon sketching at Hoshi Coupe Berlin, a Japanese hair salon run by Mr Ohno. The salon was brimming with action, with the stylists hustling and customers constantly coming and going. Thanks for a fascinating drawing and interview session!

Such an Adult

One sweet day, I will overcome my irrational fear of making phone calls.

Radler Doesn't Count

Radler is a beer mixed with sparkling lemonade (50-50), so it doesn't reeaaaally count as alcohol, does it? Ahem. Anyway, this comic is old...because G and I have long since abandoned our alcohol-free-May challenge. So much for will power. The weather's been too nice to not sit outside for a nice, cold Bierchen.

Also, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm trying to draw myself a bit differently now. I've always worn glasses but I've been too lazy to draw them, and I'm also growing out my hair -- so yes, I'm trying something new!

Where Pigs Fly and Horses Puke

Hello!

Just a little update about an illustration project I did at the end of last semester (I blogged about it really briefly in February). The course was called "Wildes Berlin" (Wild Berlin) and we had to illustrate animals in some relation to Berlin. I'm kind of obsessed with languages, so I decided to work with animal-related sayings/idioms in Japanese, English, and German. I selected sayings with similar meanings and visually combined them -- which is kind of what goes on in my linguistically confused head! You can check out the entire book here!

Model of the day: B

Getting a bit of colored pencil practice with my roommate, B.

Japanese People in Berlin

As a part of my semester project, I'm doing an illustrated reportage about Japanese people who work in Berlin! I'm interested in people in all different fields and trades, people with various backgrounds and spectacular or not-so-spectacular stories, people who can give me an insight into life as a Japanese person in Berlin. Do you know anyone? Or are YOU a Japanese person working in Berlin? If you do/are -- drop me a line at horibe (at) gmail.com! I would appreciate any piece of info -- thanks!

Back from Japan and Tall People

I'm back! Japan (Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto) with G and his parents was awesome!

Hokkaido was still snowy when we got there

Even construction sites were cute in Japan

Hardcore cherry blossom viewing marathon in Tokyo

Cutest ancient terra cotta figures (haniwa) ever!

Nighttime cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto
(despite the deceptively serene-looking photo, there were about 64 billion people around us at the time)

Anyway, we're settling back into our normal life and I actually have a ton of things to draw about, so I will start catching up on comics and drawings...!

Nozomi Goes to the Gym

I kind of mentioned it in passing in the comic, but G, his parents and I are going to Japan for a few weeks (it's their first time)! I also kind of realized that working out now is kind of useless considering I'll be stuffing my face with Japanese food in just a few days, but hey. It's the thought that counts. Btw, the "round face" comic I'm referring to is this one: Asian Parents.

Weird Things Pilates Teachers Say

But I have to say they're pretty helpful!

Atheism

I hardly ever talk about religion, but this was a random little thought that crept into my mind during dinner today.

Weakness

Okay, my resolution for March is to 1) post more frequently and 2) stop drawing about butts and boobs.

Boob Hug

Elephant and Bull in a China Shop

Not a comic, but something I'm working on for school. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Command + S

0.3 seconds of derp.

Nur die Wurst hat zwei

Secrets

Did I mention we have a new roommate? We have a new roommate!

Nefertiti

Early Bird

The Process of Learning German - by Tze-Ting Chao!

I've had a ridiculously hectic month, so Tze -- the Dutch-Chinese author (living in Frankfurt) of the awesome Meh Blog -- is helping me out with a guest comic! Thanks Tze! She has also recently taken the brave step of leaving her 9-to-5 job to pursue comics, and you can support her on her Patreon website!

The hecticness is over so I'll resume comics tomorrow.

Flamingos and Pelicans

I'm also not so sure why I got so worked up over this.

Bastards

The German word for the typographical term widow (as in widows and orphans) is Hurenkind (bastard, or literally, child of a whore). Oh, German. 

January

Nice Portuguese

Happy New Year everyone!