Yup! As a retired jarhead, I can't agree too much with what you said. In fairness, I have to defend the artist, as it's not expected for a Japanese mangaka, drawing from a storyboard, to know the niceties of the military (as many people in Japan politely ignore the JSDF), especially if she doesn't live near an American base (even then, I remember some of the Air Force personnel at Yakota looking a bit shaggy). Also, Hollywood does its own bit screwing up the image of the military. I've seen countless television shows and some movies (both theater and made for TV) that have HUGE visual and plot faux pas, i.e. the usual Marines with long hair, Privates wearing dress blues with red stripes on trousers (reserved for NCO and above), and most often supposedly seasoned Marines (and Soldiers) in command looking and acting like hormone ridden, tantrum throwing, downright silly teenagers. Kind of in the spirit of Charlie Sheen as a Navy Seal (as professional as you can get in the US Military) as a juvenile, order-disobeying officer who gets people on his team killed. Elites may be psychopathic jerks (recent pardoned officer), but they aren't brats.
Sorry, kind of got off the subject there! As to his uniform, it looked like he should belong to the KISS Army (a real group) and showed up to court the princess after one of their concerts and a night of drunken and drug-induced debauchery, certainly no royal guard of any self-respecting nation.
Loved the link you gave to the Army's 3rd Division (Old Guard) at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They are pretty incredible, doing that solo. For the Marines, doing it as a unit, here's a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CueyX_LtHeo
If anyone's going to Washington DC, the parades, both at the Iwo Jima Memorial and at the Marine Barracks, 8th and I, are a must see.
Thanks for the input and perspective! I guess I can grant the artist a little slack, but honestly, not much. This isn't free scanlation here. This is someone PAID to render a novel into a graphic one. Paid implies professional artist implies getting it a semblance of right. Nowadays, with the internet, there is no excuse for 'winging it'. I'm just as critical (although not nearly as vehement ) of bridles, saddles, harness, farm equipment and other oddities (I'll roll my eyes and give some slack on the gaits of horses because most non-horse people don't even know they need to go looking, but static objects....). If, as an artist seeking to draw an existing object, you ever have even the slightest question of 'would this go here or there?' or 'where would it fasten?' or says to themselves, 'I saw that once, I think it goes like this...'. If they are not sure, even a little bit, it only takes 5, maybe 10 minutes to verify it. And if they don't have internet, and they are serious about getting it right, there is also the library. Less than that is, in my opinion, lazy. Yeah, I wouldn't nit pic so much about the striped pants or branch/rank insignias. Those are details you kinda need to know exist to go looking for, but basic uniform fit and appearance? And while they were looking that up, an artist probably would have picked up on the corresponding hair requirement as well.
Now, in this case, if the artist was living in a remote location, with no internet or library, and the only reference photo they had was one of the KISS Army, you are right. They nailed it! I really was thinking the drawing looked familiar for some reason. That might be it - .
And thanks for the link! The one that played after it was another really good one.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mqONRHVuZNA
It didn't focus as much on the individuals, but pulled back more often to show the precision of the whole and would follow the line sequences down the line. And it took place in one location instead of being clips from many. Because that location was enclosed by walls, it REALLY emphasized the precision as the sound echoed and you often couldn't tell if you were listening to one person or many!
The story was cute, but the artist need to brush up on the American military man. No member of any service would have hair like that while on active duty, and that uniform at the end was an utter disgrace. A shame, because it would seem the artist is not a bad one, just a lazy one. 1 hour's research on the internet would have let the artist do service to themselves and their subject instead of putting both to shame. For a taste of the dedication Marine's have for their uniforms and the service they represent, check out this preview of The Unknowns ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sToKMDso_E)- a look at the elite among the elite of the Marines - the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.