Metal seinen

The Metal Seinen Logo

Metal seinen which translates to 'metal youth' is a youth based Pakistani group which propagates creative and professional progression though mutual efforts of the members.^[1][2]

The members have mostly come together by means of untraditional interests such as anime, gaming, digital art, music and even performance racing. The group is owned by the one and only member Zeeshan Shah who is a student associated with information technology and currently works as a SAP Technical Consultant at SIEMENS PAKISTAN ENGINEERING CO LTD.^[3]

The group is maintained by means of an online community as many members are scattered in different cities in Pakistan and abroad as well.^[4]

Group aim

They say the following about their aims:^[5]

A platform for realizing ones dreams Metal Seinen is all about communities, bringing together youth for fun, creativity, mutual benefit and profit. Since we aim to act as a platform. We are looking for anyone reaching out for support for their a)Ideas b)Hobbies c)Financial ventures. It is bound to attract people from all groups. Seeing a particular group interact does not mean you are not welcome or not part of the collaborative scene.

Zeeshan personally describes the functioning of Metal Seinen as:

Think of MS as just a room with an office attached. You go into the room through the office, where all you have to do is tell your name and skill. You then go into the room where everyone immediately knows you. You communicate with those guys, see what projects are on or start your own. Once you have a team or you’re in one, and you have some preliminary material, you just come back to the office and talk to MS which will give you a platform through its events or contacts.

Although Zeeshan's personal insight portrays the community to be more profession headed, it is still a place where many individuals enjoy discussing aspects of common interest.

Projects

There are numerous projects that have been completed and some still ongoing at the hands of Metal Seinen. The more notable ones include the manga 'Eidolon' that some of their members are working on, a band called 'Reckoning Storm' and some smaller projects such as 'SnP' which stands for Speed & Performance. Their other activities include a) COTC ( Convention of the Creative)^[6] b) podcasts c) community meetups.

Eidolon

Eidolon began as the brainchild of Babrus Khan, who previously worked as a storyboard and concept artist at ‘Post Amazers’. Babrus Khan is the lead artist on the Eidolon team with script writers Usama Ahmed and Asmara Ahmed along with art consultant Amena Rehman

The producers claim that Eidolon as a manga remains true to the core aspects of a traditional Japanese ‘manga’ but forges some of its own unique elements as well, thus making it an inimitable piece of work.

As of 30 July 2008 the Manga has been licensed by a Dubai based firm 'Illusio Pvt Ltd' and no longer has affiliation with Metal Seinen, however it still serves as an example of a successful project that was passed through the hands of the group. The promotion and support provided to the creator served as the basis of the project being licensed.

Conventions

So far Metal Seinen has been responsible from two anime conventions, both held in Karachi, Pakistan in the auditorium of SZABIST. The first anime convention was held on May 20, 2006.^[7] The second anime convention, which was held on January 13, 2007, was more distinguished as its details were also published^[8] on an international standard newspaper as well as being covered by WCCFTECH.^[9]

With Metal Seinen's increasing popularity however, their plans for the next convention changed drastically. Rather than having a simple anime orientated convention, the convention (which was named as COTC; Convention of the creatives) was of a much broader spectrum as the convention not only dealt with current anime affairs but also concerned local music, gaming and avid artists.

Their fourth event was a simple seminar, held on November 7, 2008 at SZABIST, where the aspects of their organization was put forward to the attendees, after which they had a gaming session which included next-generation gaming consoles.

Reckoning Storm

A band supported by Metal Seinen. It consists of Saad Akhter and Nabeel Imam. Their music is set to be used in the sound track Eidolon as well as stand alone. It has gained enough popularity to be aired on a local radio channel ' City Fm89'.^[10] Their tracks follow the genre of progressive metal instrumentals and are available for download from their website ^[11]. The tracks are also available from the Metal Seinen website

Other than downloading tracks, their website offers classes for playing the guitar.^[12]

SnP

SnP stands for Speed and performance. A generic name taken for the start-up which will deal in automotive consulting. What kind? The racing kind.

Illegal street racing got a big boost after movies like fast and furious etc. People started grafting vinyls on their cars, adding spoilers to their civics and what not. What happened was the entry of many people who were only there for the thrill and had money, motor-heads were always present, just not accepted.

Enter Salman Ghani: An innovative motor-head without money. The aim of SnP is to provide low-budget performance cars. It strives to the stress the fact that you do not need a lot of money to have a fast car. With custom redesigns and mods to cheaper second-hand engines and chassis, SnP can provide a mobile which can satisfy the beginner and purist alike.

SnP also provides consulting on tune-ups & other modifications as well. The difference from all the other modders? The result on a low budget.

MS always looks out for such creative and dedicated talent, therefore have taken this project. The aim is to publicize SnP, its services and activities. It is supposed to serve as an automotive testing ground for people looking for a mechanical project (automotive).

References

1. ^ Understanding MS at Metal Seinen Blog
2. ^ Communities Directory: Metal Seinen
3. ^ Zeeshan Shah - LinkedIn
4. ^ The Metal Seinen Forums - Unreal Portal
5. ^ Metal Seinen: A platform for creativity in Pakistan. - Home
6. ^ [1]
7. ^ Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
8. ^ Blood, gore ... and a purpose -DAWN Images; January 28, 2007
9. ^ Event: Pakistan Anime Convention 2 - WCCFtech.com
10. ^ Espiridon on FM89 - The Metal Seinen Forums
11. ^ [2]
12. ^ Metal Seinen Presents : A Course In Contemporary Guitar & Sound Production