FAQs

The FAQs, or Frequently Asked Questions, are meant to address some of the more common or recurrent questions that Neon Sakura receives. Please use the contact form for any questions that have not been answered below.

Site Related

Photography Related

Content Related

About the Owner

Site Related

Why did you change from Nephrus to Neon Sakura?

I originally started out Nephrus as place to share my photos and experiences and that included my love for anime and video games. Now it’s taken off in a direction that needed a better fitting name: Neon Sakura.

Where do you get the pictures in your header from?

The photographs used in the header are pictures taken by me over the years. They range from a selection of scenery from places I’ve travelled to and events. A selection of previous header images can be found here.

Why does the site colour change?

Neon Sakura was designed so that the theme could change easily and to emulate an actual neon sign. The default colour is magenta, but is updated for national events, such as orange for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or grey to honour the passing of a noted individual.

Can I view the site on a mobile device?

Yes, Neon Sakura is compatible on mobile devices. Our new theme adjusts based on screen size of the device: mobile phone or tablet.

There are no plans for any advertising options in the conceivable future. Please do not contact me regarding your company’s ability to boost my search engine ranking — it’s quite annoying.

How do I post a comment?

Comments can be posted by anyone, however they are moderated before appearing on the web site. The best way to make sure your comment appears is to put a little thought into it — don’t use profanity, antagonize or attack anyone, and don’t advertise anything! Your e-mail address is required, but will not be made available to anyone who views your comment, nor will it be used to solicit services or other unwanted messages. See our privacy policy.

Comments on all posts close automatically 60 days after their initial publish date to minimize spam.

Why don’t I see my comment?

Not all comments will appear on the site – it might have been caught by the spam filter, there was a technical issue, or it was removed for violating the site policies.

Is that your logo on an itasha?

If you’re in the south-eastern United States, you may have passed a My Hero Academia-themed car and noticed a Nephrus logo on the front bumper. Yes, that is accurate as I do sponsor my partner’s vehicle by covering some of the cost of the wrap, insurance other expenses. It’s his way of saying thank you to me. You can follow the vehicle on Instagram under @toyota_deku.

Photography Related

Gallery is a collection photos taken by myself (see below) that I have organized based on location or event. There’s no registration required to view the photos.

Why don’t you use Flickr?

Free accounts on Flickr are limited to 200 of the most recently uploaded photos unless a professional account is purchased. In an effort to consolidate expenditures, all photos are displayed on Gallery which has relatively unlimited resources and control. This is not to say that I don’t like Flickr, but that their service does not suit my requirements at this time.

Who takes all of your photos?

For the most part, the majority of the photos posted on the site (and all photos on Gallery) have been taken by me with my equipment (although I may ask a friend to take the shot if I’m posing in it). It’s always nice to see a different angle.

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a 24 MP Nikon D610 which replaced the 12.3 MP Nikon D5000 digital SLR camera, a 10 MP Canon Powershot A640 camera, and originally, a 4.0 MP Olympus D-580 camera. For a full listing of all my camera gear, visit the Photography page.

I’m in one of your photos!

If you had your picture taken by me at one of the various anime conventions I attend, you’re more than welcome to use the picture (see below) or request the original copy.

Do you edit your photos?

Aside from contrast and colour correction, cropping and rotation, I do not alter the photograph any further. I do not airbrush, touch-up or modify any images — each image uploaded is as close to the original subject as possible. I also use Google’s powerful Nik Collection to help improve colour and impact.

Can I use your photos?

You may use the photos, so long as you’re not recreating an album (either partially or in its entirety), claiming it as your own work, modification (including obstructing or removing the watermark) of the photo or directly linking to the image file on my web site. If you do want to use a picture or two, I would appreciate a link back to Neon Sakura. If you want to link to a photo, use the full address of the page it is on, rather than to the image itself. Modifying or altering any photo for use in a commercial publication, another web site’s design or for any commercial purpose is not permitted unless you have written permission from myself.

Why are some of your photos missing titles?

For most of the photos that were taken at anime conventions, many of them are missing titles, or are defaulted to IMG_xxxx or DSC_xxxx (with x being some random number). With the sheer number of pictures I take, it’s not possible for me to label everything, because sometimes I don’t know what characters/series people are masquerading as, and because it’s time consuming to look up and validate all these names and characters. Nothing is more embarrassing than incorrectly labelling someone’s cosplay.

Your photos cut off someone’s head!

I can certainly assure you I haven’t decapitated anyone, but it may appear that way based on the thumbnails in Gallery. Recently, I had changed the type of thumbnails from a scaled down size of the original image to that of a more uniform square shape. As its not practical to manually create thumbnails for dozens and dozens images, the result looks like the person’s head is missing or cut in half. If you click on the thumbnail, you’ll be able to see the full image, head and all.

Can you photograph my event/family/etc?

I am not accepting requests to photograph weddings, family or corporate events, personal portraits and so forth at this time. Thank you for your consideration and understanding.

Can you remove a picture that you’ve taken of me?

If I have taken a picture of you and you would like it removed from Gallery, please copy the image URL into the contact form to request its removal. Requests will be reviewed to ensure legitimacy before being actioned upon.

Do you sell NFT’s of your photos?

No. If you have purchased an NFT of any photographs I’ve taken, you have been scammed.

Content Related

Do you have anime downloads?

Nephrus does not offer downloads at this time. I prefer to obtain my anime and manga through legitimate channels, so any scanlations or subtitled episodes, including any resources to download or find them, will not be offered. I’m not trying to be a self-righteous or pompous prick by saying this, but it’s something I believe in. You can always watch anime legitimately through sites like Crunchyroll or HIDIVE.

How come some words like “center” are misspelled?

Being Canadian, I use the Canadian English spelling of words as opposed to American English. However, if the proper name (town, street, product, etc) is written in American English, I will maintain the correct spelling. Other than that, you will see colour, centre, favourite, and so on throughout the site. However, if you do notice a spelling mistake, please let me know.

How do you capture your screen shots?

Some of the articles feature screen captures taken from games which appear vastly different than officially released images. These captures were obtained using an older model ATI TV Wonder tuner card and taken a few years back. Unfortunately, these images aren’t of great quality since they were connected via RF or S-Video cables.

Most modern consoles include a built-in capture function to save screenshots and videos.

What happened to Zelda Planet?

Running a single topic web site for ten years gets a little boring and repetitive after a while. In the early years when there was an overabundance of Zelda news, it was easy to post daily updates. However, since Zelda is waning with the series drawing on larger gaps between games, it’s hard to keep motivated. That and no-one had answered the repeated call of assisting me with running the site, so I’m not going to keep running a site where there isn’t much interest left. The site will still remain available online though and news releases will still be posted whenever possible.

About the Owner

Why choose Nephrus?

Not 100% sure, but since I used to be deep into Egyptian history when I was younger, it seemed to make sense. The name has been kicking around since at least late 2000 and sounds far better than ZeLdA_FrEaK. It’s in no way related to the character from Marvel Comics (I actually discovered this about maybe three years back).

How can I contact you?

You can use the contact form or direct message @nephrus on Twitter to get in touch with me. You can also find me on Instagram.

How long have you been doing this for?

I’ve been running web sites for over ten years now, with Zelda Planet since July 1999, and Nephrus since October of 2004.

Why do you attend so many conventions?

I try and attend three to four anime conventions a year. The “Big Three” for me used to be Sakura-con, in Seattle, Washington, Anime Central, in Rosemont, Illinois, and Anime Evolution, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Depending on time, money or availability, I may alter my schedule. Anything more is usually too expensive, unfortunately.

Are you a Narutard?

Fail Naruto
Fail Naruto

Yes I am, dattebayo! I do read the manga, watch the anime, have the shirts, plushes, and cosplay as Naruto (I’m not perfect). With that said, I’m not one to run around screaming “OMG SASKAY!!11” and try to shove the series down the throats of others. Some people think cosplaying (in general) Naruto is stupid, but whatever; these people hide far worse things from the public than me so let’s leave it at that.