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omophagic-beast · 1 year

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TELL ME ABOUT THOSE PODCASTS!!! TELL ME WHY YOU LOVE IT AND WHY IT STUCK OUT!!!!!!!!! I LOVE PODCASTS!!!!!!!!

my friend, you have activated my trap card in such a major way, this is the special interest that has me writing a dissertation in one of my friends discords, they had to quarantine me in a thread because of how much I love Archive 81. I'll be quarantining myself below a read more so I dont clog up dashes.

Archive 81 is a podcast about ritual, stories, and sound. It's also a REALLY, REALLY BAD NETFLIX SHOW. DO NOT WATCH THE NETFLIX "ADAPTATION", PLEASE. (this is whats in the discord thread, by the way, a currently ongoing compare and contrast of the podcast and the show where im breaking down why the show is so truly fucking terrible)

There are currently three seasons to A81, and two miniseries that exist between the second and third season, and after the third season. All are equally important and I sincerely recommend listening to each season in order, and not skipping the miniseries. However, each season is very different from the last, so I will pretty much be focusing only on season one to avoid spoilers.

Archive 81 season one is about Daniel Powell, a capital G Guy who has just taken a job with the Housing Historical Committee of New York State to digitize some old tapes. If you've listened to The Magnus Archives, this premise may sound familiar to you, and I promise if you enjoyed that podcast you'll like A81 as well.

I think that the first episode of A81 is a masterclass in setup, and really I can talk about it forever but you should just go listen to it, it's only 16 minutes long and seriously sets everything up so, so well. But I'll go over the basic premise here, partially because I really do just like talking about it.

First episode Dan gets set up by his boss, a condescending man named Davenport, in his new temporary home: a concrete bunker in the middle of nowhere with no internet and limited cell service. Sounds super normal and not sketchy At All! Oh, also the stocked food consists of mainly canned peaches, there's no sheets on the bed, and the power goes out intermittently. Again, just ideal living conditions.

And there's one more thing! Dan has to be recorded, constantly. 24/7.

So he's set up and immediately set to work, Davenport leaves and Dan slots in the first tape.

This is where we meet Melody Pendras, a journalist working for the Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State and god, don't these departments and committees just sound so official?

All of Melody's tapes take place in the mid-90s and contain a series of interviews that she conducted in the Visser Apartments in New York. See, the apartments are kinda... weird. To put it mildly. There's voices that disappear when you turn the corner, music that comes from nowhere, and a cult run by someone named Samuel.

See, this is where I have to geek out a bit about the first episode in particular. Its, *insert hand flaps here* its so good.

The first tape that Dan puts is Melody's first time going in to Visser. She introduces herself, the apartment, and gives us the beginning of her story. The second tape Dan puts in is Melody's last time going in to Visser. She's panicked, talking about Samuel and how hes evil and a boiler room and how shes got a plan and -

the tape cuts off, damaged, warped, something.

This is how the story hooks Dan, showing him it's beginning and almost-end. Leaving him to figure out it's middle and the mystery of what actually happened to Melody.

At the end of the first episode, we meet Mark. Mark informs us that what we just listened to was a tape sent to him by Dan, before Dan went missing. He's not sure what to do, but is hoping that, by putting these tapes out here, someone who knows something will come forward.

This is how the story hooks us, showing us it's beginning and almost-end. Leaving us to figure out it's middle and the mystery of what actually happened to Dan.

And that's the first season. We, the audience, parallel Dan the whole way through. Its just, so good, for reasons I, again, don't want to spoil. But this parallel becomes important in The Golden Age, the miniseries between the second and third season.

Speaking of the second season, this is why I think the switch was so jarring to a lot of listeners. The first season gets us to relate to Dan so closely because we are him in a way, and the second season breaks that parallel. Well, this and the uhh. cough. there's a community created content warning document for the show, and the second season required a breakdown of body horror into four different types. so. yeah. If you're not a fan of Bad Meat Noises, it... may not be for you, sadly (season 2 is my favorite season).

The third season I will talk a bit about because it again turns a 180 to the point where a brief summary is not much of a spoiler. This is partially because Dan is not our main character! Instead we get to meet Nicholas and Christine, half-siblings who are attempting to preform a ritual left by their horrible occultist father.

When I say season two is my favorite it is by the smallest margin. I adore this whole entire show so, so much. Including the miniseries. The third season is fucking excellent, and if you find yourself turned off by the second season then honestly go ahead and scooch up to the third, with a stop at The Golden Age on the way. You'll be a bit confused, but ok.

There are also transcripts of the show available (the lovely unofficial ones which are fantastic but not finished, and the official ones) if you don't want to listen to the Bad Meat Noises but don't mind reading them, however I really strongly recommend against this. Sound is a huge part of the show (rituals, stories, and sound, remember?) and the sound design is really good.

Again I can talk about A81 all day, and when I finish my lecture on the podcast versus the show (evil, terrible) I'll clean it up and post it on here, because I'm actually rather proud of it so far and I'm not even halfway through my talking points.

Hopefully this has convinced you to give A81 a try! Seriously, the whole first season is 10 15-18 minute episodes, you can chomp through the whole thing in an afternoon.

Thanks for giving me a space to talk about it :3 <3

#corvid caws #a81 #archive 81 #a81 podcast #its so good and the things it has to say about stories are very important to me #seriously i love it so much #like #so so much

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volumehypeplay · 1 year

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Favorite songs of 2023

With the speechless list already out, I want to close out my end of year lists with my favorite songs of 2022. Some expected artists pop-up (with unexpected songs?) and some wild cards thrown in for good measure. So rather than wasting your time, get started below.

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Ms. Mural

When Lupe Fiasco announced he would write and record an album in 24 hours, even as a huge fan of his work, I wasn't exactly expecting much. What felt like years later, we had a name 'Drill Music in Zion' (goat album name?) then a few months later a single 'AUTOBOTO'. A good track, but nothing out of the ordinary for Lupe; a song he could make in autopilot, yet still lyrically dropping gems 'What's an infrared dot to a whole dot gov?'.

What really had me excited though was finding out DMIZ would house the next in the Mural series, this time Ms. Mural was taking center stage. It does not dissapoint. Hearing Lupe rap over some classic Soundtrakk production, while narrating the song from the perspective of a painter and his patron (as well as the painting itself?); is the kind of mind-blowing goodness I anticipate from the Chicago emcee. The are bars, on bars in this song that I could point out, but from;

Man does not become superior 'cause you connect him to a cape, Nor does become inferior because you connect him to a ape,

we get a masterclass in subject switching (gender roles, ethics etc) while tying it into the artistic narrative of a song. Like every Fiasco song, this one will take months to unpack, so why not join me and help me understand?

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Sistanem

J.I.D, for years has been on the verge of achieving his final form. Clearly, incredibly talented, with easily the most interesting flow in the game, ferociously adaptable and having an innate ability to find THE pocket in any beat. The thing that was missing was always the album that would focus his potential, the ability to cohesively tell a story while standing out like the always does. In 'The Forever Story', he thankfully delivered on his years of promise. in a short, dense 12 track album.

J.I.D spent a chunks of the album doing what he was already excellent at (Surround Sound, Raydar, Lauder too) but better, as well as introducing us to sides of him that were not as obvious. I couldn't decide between Crack Sandwich, Kody Blu 31 or Sistanem for a long time as the highlight of the album, but the latter seemingly mixes what the former do fantastically but in one 6-minute track.

Produced by James Blake, Sistanem is the perfect amount dark and brooding as it is comforting and melodic. The drums are quiet, delicate and subdued, perfectly complimented by J.I.D's more graceful than usual delivery.

His sing-songy delivery of:

Back on the road, gone with the wind blows Packin' the shows, hoes and the nymphos, platinum and gold You know how this shit go when family's gone You don't know what you here for, uh

is the soundbite of the song.

Blake, cleverly adds instruments as the story of the family / sisterly squables evolve (adding to the animosity) - as J.I.D experctly adds tired inflections to his voice, helping sell the ongoing turmoil being re-told.

If you have any interest in modern hip-hop I would definetly give this song and the album a listen.

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Survivors Guilt

It's been a long, long time since a Joey Bada$$ song hit me the way Survivors Guilt has. The death of Capital STEEZ has been hanging on Pro Era and Bada$$ for years now, never entirely being addressed (definetly not like this). On Survivors Guilt, Bada$$ pulls back the curtain and burns it down; revealing a much more vulnerable side to him, I wasn't aware he was willing to put on record. With the final verse from Joey and the outro from Ab-Soul (especially after HERBERT) closing the song at an incredibly emotional crescendo.

This is the best Joey Bada$$ has sounded to me in years and I hope what he managed to achieve with this track, specifically on this 1999 leaning production that Rahki produced — we'll be seeing more of this Joey, more often.

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Drugstore

London born, US based IDK has been growing on me these past few years. With tracks like Just Like Martin, Once Upon A Time and Black Sheep / White Dover; I've been seeing a much more confident artist taking form, constantly diversifying his features, production and delivery.

When I heard IDK was partnering with the incredible KAYTRANADA on an EP, I had a feeling it could be special. Spoiler alert, I was not dissapointed. KAYTRANADA wild' out on every song, creating the sort of grooves I would have just loved to see Smino over, but thankfully IDK took on the challenge and delivered such a good collection of songs, I couldn't imagine anyone else rapping over these beats so well. Drugstore is the EPs standout; over a bouncy, ever-evolving beat IDK delivers a tour-de-force, that when the song ends you'll be pressing the replay button without even realising. Would love to know what others think of this one.

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Please Do Not Lean

It's been so over half a decade since the release of the timeless Freudian. Since then he's been much quieter than I had hoped, with odd loosies here and there, but thankfully 2022 delivered a song worthy of his name. Produced by the ever-great BBNG, Daniel spends the next 3 minutes (or so) letting us in on his confession — the unstable and trying relationship of his with his bride to be.

Singing:

Just how long will you stand next to me? For we both know, it's more than a load For you to bear / It'd break my heart, but I'd understand if you'd Leave me for another man with a little Less on his mind, less on his plate Less in his brain,"

The intimate nature of the lyrics is only magnified by the stripped back, acoustic production pieced together. Supposedly Please Do Not Lean is the introduction to his next album, which hopefully arrives sooner rather than later.

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An Interlude 'Circus'

I was unfortunately whelmed by Saba's most recent album A Few Good Things. The fault lied with me, expecting Saba to keep his incredible streak going after the excellent CARE FOR ME; but it wasn't to be. That's not to say everything is doom and gloom with this LP providing another few outstanding tracks in the chicago born rappers repetoir.

An Interlude 'Circus' commited the cardinal sin, of a fantastic song being simply way too short. Clocking in at little over 60seconds, Circus is a beautiful, perfect for a summers day, quiet storm musical concotion, that only Saba could deliver with that unique cadance of his. I really hope eventually we get a longer version of Circus, but for now at least I can appreciate the fact I can run this track 3 times before your typical Abba song finishes.

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Dark Hearted

I've always had a love / hate relationship with Freddie Gibbs. More often than not, his particular brand of modern gangsta rap rubs me the wrong way; skewing too far to the right for me to really appreciate. Yet, once every while, Gibbs delivers a song so good I can't help but pay attention; that's where Dark Hearted comes in.

Found on his latest album $oul $old $eparately, this is a level above anything Gibbs has come with i the past. Thanks to the once again ridiculous work behind the boards of James Blake, Gibbs has the dark and forebodding tapestry his carefully slick lyrics demand.

A relentless display by Gibbs, completely contrasting the moody production in the background running through his troubles moving from the streets to stardom. With the song really being tied together by Gibbs delivery; his innate ability to combine his dark lyricism with a much more accessible melodic delivery over this kind of beat results in a stand out song of 2022.

Hoping for more of this from Freddie Gibbs in 2023.

#music #end of the year list #lupe fiasco #jid #freddie gibbs #james blake #saba #idk #daniel ceasar #joey bada$$

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spoilertv · 14 days

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#SpoilerTV

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smokeybrandreviews · 1 year

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Stuffed

It’s been a while since I've done something like this but, considering this year has been gangbusters for anime, i needed to go ahead give my nod towards that ex excellence. Anime in 2022 is an embarrassment of riches and every season had at least one killer app. Obviously, there are some that mean more to me than others but, overall, these are the ten (or so) which left me wanting more. Now, before we get into the actual list, i need to recognize both BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War and Overlord IV. Both of these shows are continuations of long established franchises. Both of these shows are, arguably, the best of said franchises. Both of these shows are on my all-time list and o shill hard for them. Both of these shows would sit comfortably at the top of this list but i refuse to put them on here. They are absolutely serving on that top spot, don’t misunderstand, but it feels like a cheat to place something so established, something I'm on the record to shill so hard for, when here are brand new franchises getting their clout out there. BLEACH and Overlord are masterclasses in how to adapt anime and deserve to share the top spot on my list. They do. Go watch them because they are pure excellence. That aside, let’s get into my top ten of the year!

10. Skeleton Knight in Another World

This is the first Overlord clone to make this list. Obviously, it’s here because it IS an Overlord clone and i love Ainz so very, very, much. I think i made that exceptionally clear above. That said, Skeleton Knight pales in comparison to not only Overlord, but it’s derivative cousins who will make an appearance further down on this list. Disclaimers and criticism aside, i had a lot of fun with this show. The manga is much more fun, mostly because i enjoy the art, but this adaption is rather faithful, giving the anime a very familiar energy. If I'm being honest, Skeleton Knight is the weakest entry on this list and there are probably more deserving shows out there, but i just think Skeleton Knight in Another World is neat.

9. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

I genuinely enjoy Gundam but i can’t say I'm a hardcore fan. I can best be described as interested but not enthusiastic. I've enjoyed certain entries more than others, Unicorn and Iron-Blooded Orphans come to mind, but, for me, it’s Gundam Wing. I have never enjoyed a Gundam narrative as much as W, until i saw Mercury. Now, when i say that out loud, i know how ridiculous that sounds. With of Mercury has very little in common with Wing yet, i adore this show. I can’t say it’s the strongest of the franchise, it definitely isn’t, but i loved my time with this world. Also, Aerial has a pretty dope design.

8. Lycoris Recoil

I’ve been a fan of the “Schoolgirl Hitgirl” sub-genre for years. My chick got me into with Gunslinger Girl way back when. Recoil wasn’t initially on radar but i picked it up midway through it’s run after dropping another show. I was happy with that decision because, holy sh*t, this show is awesome Never mind the high production values and the absolutely enchanting characters, Recoil is basically John Wick in a sailor outfit and i am here for all of that. I’m not just talking action, but the world building, too. There is just SO much content here, so many avenues to explore, and it just happens to be focus on two of the cutest protagonists this season. Come for the clandestine assassin wetwork, stay for the charming ass personal interactions between Chisato and Takina.

7. Spy x Family

I slept on the Forger family until the last two episodes and had to binge the entire series at once. I’m glad i did because this show is AMAZING! It has a throwback feel to it, kind of a Lupin III-esque vibe, but does it’s own thing with it. On paper, this narrative comes across as some of the most chaotic, out of place, shenanigans ever conceived and yet, everything works. It all fits. I adored every second of this show and feel bad i waited so long to partake, strictly because of my own stubbornness. I ate when shows are over-hyped and Spy x Family definitely was. Its absolutely deserving but people talk about this show like it’s Naruto or Demon Slayer or Attack on Titan; All of which are aggressively disappointing, Not Spy x Family. That sh*t lived up to the hype and more.

6. Uncle From Another World

This one was a real treat. It’s an absolute send-up of the Isekai genre and a complete breath of fresh air. As a kid who grew up in the Nineties, i remember fondly the old timey Console Wars. I, too, was a Sega shill so seeing Uncle have his many, many, meltdowns about the absolute sate of the company, was hilarious. I mean, the fantasy stuff was dope, too, don’t get me wrong (Sui is best girl) but the strength of this show, for me, is the out-of-place naivety of Uncle. Dude doesn’t fit in in either world and that sh*t makes for top tier comedy. It’s a little rough to watch at time, can’t even deny that, but the writing is more than strong enough to overcome those sus ass production values.

5. Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man at number five? Blasphemy! It’s the most expensive anime, ever! It’s based on top tier kino! Muh Makima! Listen, i enjoyed Chainsaw Man. I thought the adaption was fine. I don’t hate Mappa for their weirdly floaty, computer generated-to-rotoscoping, animation style. That’s fine. Chainsaw Man, to me, was kind of a disappointment. It’s solid as f*ck if you are kind of a casual, but for a guy like me who has consuming anime and manga for probably thirty-five years, this ain’t special. It’s odd because i thought this adaption was going to f*ck up the fandom like Onepunch Man did all those years ago, but nope. That sucks because Fujimoto’s manga is f*cking exceptional. There’s so much heart there and i think that’s what is missing from the anime and there is no Pochita to take it’s place. Power is dope, though. As long as you watch the Japanese version. Power in the dub is horrible.

4. The Eminence in Shadow

I like Overlord. I like Albedo. Shadow is basically Overlord if Ainz made all of his Floor Guardians Albedo. That’s it. That’s the show. This is the second Overlord clone to make this list, which is wild to me. I never expected that The Nazarick Chronicles would become a sub-genre of Isekai but here we are. That said, Shadow is f*cking excellent. It might be derivative of Overlord in tone and scope but it is definitely it’s own thing. The world on display here definitely gives Ainz’s New World a run for it’s money in terms of depth and i am here for all of that. Plus, the MC, Shadow, is one of the most complete, overpowered, protagonists in the genre. I love this chunibyo so much. Also, the production values. Like, holy sh*t, does this show LOOK great! That whole “I Am Atomic” scene lives rent free in my head!

3a. Call of the Night

Yo, if you’d have tole me that another adaption of Kotoyama’s work would f*ck around and make it into the top five of my year end list, I'd have called you a liar. I couldn’t stand Dagashi Kashi but i saw potential in dude’s work. When Yofukashi no Uta released, i understood the hype. I was hooked by the time chapter one closed, couldn’t wait to see the adaption whenever it released, and absolutely did not disappoint. Call of the Night is a very solid narrative, shepherded by amazing character work, bu it’s the overall style of presentation that does it for me. This thing uses color like nothing I've seen in anime for years! I am so sincere when i say that this show is an absolute feast for the eyes. Also, that soundtrack is easily the best of the season. I mean, it’s tied with Edgerunners in that regard but it’s definitely up there. f*ck it, it’s tied with Edgerunners, period. I like this show that much!

3b. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

This one surprised me. I didn’t expect one of the most beautiful, one of the most grounded and emotionally resonate, anime of the year to come out of f*cking Trigger. I did not believe they had the maturity to write something so goddamn tragic and do the entire Cyberpunk franchise justice like Edgerunners. I thought their animation style and use of color would clash with the rather drab and neon tinted dystopia from the game. Wrong again. Edgerunners is one of the best anime I've ever seen in my entire life. It’s and incredibly and emotionally debilitating watch. I felt every emotion on the spectrum witnessing these character struggle against the overwhelming content that is Night City. Edgerunners is so f*cking food, man, and the only reason it’s not number one on this list is because is because i genuinely love the top two more. That’s it. On the merits, alone, it’s hard not to say Cyberpunk: Edgerunners isn’t the best anime of the year.

2. My Dress-Up Darling

In a year where Chainsawman, Spy x Family, and Sabikui Bisco get released, how does a slice of life, romcom, snatch up that number two spot? Because it f*cking deserved it! My Dress-Up Darling is f*cking brilliant and you’re crazy if you think any other anime stands a chance against this thing. If I'm being honest, bias aside, this one should take the top spot based strictly off the character work. The core relationship between Gojo and Marin is everything but all of the character presented are strong as f*ck. They feel real. Those interactions feel organic. Everything about My Dress-Up Darling is quality as f*ck and really tugs at the heart strings. If you’ve ever crushed on a person back in high school, this sh*t rings true. The ONLY reason this isn’t my number one is because of how much i love the Reincarnated as a Sword narrative, overall. That said, Marin Kitagawa is best girl of the season, fight me!

1. Reincarnated as a Sword

I loved this show, man. It deserves all of the shine it’s gotten to date. Admittedly, i was a fan long before the adaption was announced. I gushed about the manga months ago, you can search that up in this blog by punching in Murder Mittens, so my adoration for Fran’s misadventures was already at a fever pitch. When her show dropped and still felt faithful to the narrative on the page, i was hooked. Reincarnated as a Sword has no right to be as good as it is. The character work is strong as f*ck. The world-building is rich and very deep. The systems developed in order to explain the abilities of these fantastical characters, are detailed and make sense. Reincarnated as a Sword is a goddamn masterpiece and deserves all of the shine it’s got thus far. Read the light novel. Read the manga. Watch the anime. Buy the merch. Fran and Sensei deserves all of that.

Honorable Mentions: In the Land of Leadale, Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Sabikui Bisco, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, Black Summoner, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs, I'm Quitting Heroing, Love After World Domination, Summer Time Rendering, Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World (yes, even though i dropped it, sh*t is still worth a watch. Even with all of the uncomfortable and problematic sex.), Danmachi IV, Fuuto Pi, Mob Psycho 100 III, Urusei Yatsura, Bastard!! -Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy-

#manga

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smokeybrand · 1 year

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Stuffed

10. Skeleton Knight in Another World

9. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

8. Lycoris Recoil

7. Spy x Family

6. Uncle From Another World

5. Chainsaw Man

4. The Eminence in Shadow

3a. Call of the Night

3b. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

2. My Dress-Up Darling

1. Reincarnated as a Sword

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ksfoxwald · 1 year

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I just find my current fascination with the Babysitter's Club fascinating on a meta level because I would have absolutely hated these books as a proto-queer dragon-loving child (I would have gone absolutely feral over Wings of Fire, even more so than I am now).

But as an adult I'm like, these are a masterclass in character building and episodic storytelling (HP killed the chapter book, but that's it's own post). And the graphic novels are a masterclass in adapting media to other formats. And even though I can't relate to the actual story events - babysitting, crushes, engaging in girl culture - I can relate to the feelings. Being embarrassed, getting carried away, trying to fit it - those are pretty universal.

Actually, besides the clothes, not many details had to be updated from the 80s. Pretty much every book has at least one passage that goes "So-and-so is sooo fashionable; for example today she was wearing [the most bonkers 80s outfit you can imagine]"

A few other things that got adjusted:

When Kristy's mom is getting married it's a plot point that "oh no, we sold the house earlier than expected so now we have to hold the wedding earlier than expected, because we can't move in with each other before we're married!" The GN throws in a line about the stepdad's family being religious.

When Logan Bruno, the "boy babysitter" joins the club as an associate member, in the books he decides not to come to meetings because it throws off the vibe; they can't talk about girl things like bras if a boy is present (funnily enough, the only time anyone ever mentions a bra at a club meeting is when Logan is present). But now it's supposedly less weird for girls and boys to hang out in mixed gender groups, so they had to give him a schedule conflict.

Which! Is really interesting, actually, that writers would think a lone boy in a group of female friends wouldn't be weird. I know kids gender less now than they used to, but they still gender quite a bit. We still live in a heteronormative society, just one where kids know that gay people exist, and that means that interactions across gender are weird, especially among tweens. But kidlit keeps pushing for less gender. Every book (particularly fantasy) must have a Boy and a Girl protagonist, and they are each allowed a maximum of 1 line to express feelings about gender.

It might feel counterintuitive for a nonbinary/agender person to be arguing for more gender in kidlit, but I'm frustrated. Kidlit is trying to present a washed out image of gender, and for me, gender is and has always been painfully sharp. It is jarring to read books where Boy and Girl friendship pairings are the default while living in a world where single-gender friend groups are the norm. People not acknowledging gender actually does make it harder for me to be nonbinary, because they're still doing gender even if they're not talking about it, and then you have to be the one to bring it up, and then it's "why is everything about gender with you?" Ugh. Gender.

Groups vs. Pairs is another issue. I suppose it's simpler, particularly in fantasy, to have a pair of protagonists rather than keeping track of a large group. (Animorphs did it, though. Just sayin') BSC showcases some very intricate group dynamics, how some members are closer than others and some have recurring personality conflicts and how various circumstances change their relationships.

Gender, though. Strangely enough, that is part of why I'm so fixated on this series. Because these books are full of gender. These are girls being loudly and unabashedly girly, experimenting with ways to express that and navigating society's expectations of it. It's like cis people nowadays are afraid to talk about gender, because gender belongs to the transes, and they miss the deep, deep irony that they are the ones who make the most gender. Just. I don't know. I'm running out of brainpower here. Something something letting cis people gender hard actually frees trans people to gender hard as well?

Or maybe it's just the validation that girls were exactly as girly and alienating as I remember. I am out of brain. But between BSC and my Animorphs re-read, there's going to be a lot of retro kidlit on this blog for a while.

#fox reads #bsc

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the-celluloid-correspondent · 2 years

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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of Gollum, the divided fellowship makes its stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his new army from Isengard.

There seems to be a curse with film series that the sequels in the series take a heavy dip in terms of quality. This is primarily due to producers and corporate boards taking over the creative process of the film away from the creators. Thankfully the entire trilogy was filmed back to back, so corporate boards had no chance in taking over the film trilogy because the Two Towers keeps up with the same quality as the Fellowship of the Ring. Again the cast and crew put their entire creative hearts into this film and have created another masterpiece.

They again pull off the impossible by masterfully adapting the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike so many other middle installments, the Two Towers does now feel like filler and the story actually progresses in this film. The stakes ever continue to increase as the story progresses as the filmmakers bring forth one of the best sieges in cinematic history. All of the action pieces are spectacular, grounded, and the stakes are felt throughout all of them. Again for the film being over three hours long, it does not feel like it. It is masterfully pace and they never sacrifice the story in order to keep the pacing tight. The writing is again elevated and intelligent, which still feels like a breath of fresh air to the fantasy genre. The crew truly deserved every award they won for this film.

Again in The Two Towers, all of the actors give it they're all in this film and show that they were perfectly casted in their respective roles. All of the returning actors again give Oscar-worthy performances as their characters. Furthermore, all of the new cast members add to this impressive cast ensemble. Newcomers Miranda Otto, Carl Urban, and Bernard Hill bring forth life into the beautiful country of Rohan. All of them play their respective roles at a masterclass level. David Wenham enters the mix as the honorable Faramir. Even though the writing was not quite like book Faramir, Wenham gave it his all and truly showed how honorable Faramir is. However, the real show-stealer in this film is Andy Serkis as Gollum. It still amazes me that he was not nominated for an academy award for his performances because he truly gives the most iconic performances within this trilogy and gave motion capture/voice actors the respect that they deserve.

Again the creative team continues with the masterclass of visuals in this film. The cinematography is again outstanding. Howard Shore's score is again impeccable and is a masterclass of film scoring. The visual effects again have aged marvelously and still look better than the majority of films today. The production and costume design are again immersive in every aspect. They truly brought the world of Middle Earth to life and the Helms Deep set is still one of the most impressive that I've seen in the film.

Again I really don't have any complaints about this film besides me not agreeing with some changes from the books. However, with many of these changes, I can still understand because some of these would not have adapted well in a visual medium.

Again, the entire cast and crew pull off the impossible in the Two Towers. Not only do they pull off a masterful adaptation of the novels but also bring forth a cinematic masterpiece that stands the test of time.

I am giving The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, an A+.

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absolutebl · 3 years

Text

This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 1 - living up to its name since it looks to be a series of redemption arcs. Launched with a college confession and a broken friendship, then a flash back to them as seniors in high school. Pairings include friends to lovers, nerd/jock, and maybe cafe boss/employee. There’s a lot going on, but it’s still... quiet and sweet. The script is pretty pat but it’s still WAY more watchable than Cupid Coach or Brothers and most of the acting is solid. Ep 1 tropes included: he’s in engineering, wound tending, fast & bicurious. This could turn into what I wanted My Gear & Your Gown to be. Fingers crossed.

Love Poison 2 Ep 1 & 2 turns out I did watch and report on season 1 (8 eps), season 2 seems equally unmemorable. Thai countryside setting, strong dialect, incomprehensible plot, camp side characters, and ghastly singing.

Y-Destiny Ep 1 (eng subs?) - opened with the sports romance enemies to lovers (they aren’t going in the teaser order). When the couple got over fighting, the flirting was v cute, but the flipping SPONGE BATH trope had to rear its ugly head. Still, this series is shaping up to be less coy and more frank than most BL, better than expected. It feels, I don’t know, gay-er or something? *** Sources were correct that each couple is getting (at least) 2 eps, and MDL has been updated to say this is a 15 episode series (not 7).

Cupid Coach 12 fin - The new Nite was great and should have been a main all along. It felt like we got a tiny nugget of what could have been in about 10 minutes worth of this last ep. It was way too slow with terrible editing and a criminally bad script, but at least it ended happy. Mostly, like Friend Forever, I’m just disappointed that these two actors were done dirty by the series. Bad Cupid Coach, no screen caps for you.

Lovely Writer Ep 6 - breaking news, there’s a het couple I like: toppy bi femme + soft boi = such a good pairing! I know, but this NEVER happens. Meanwhile, Sib’s secret is out, Gene is a bit of a drama queen, and the plot thickens. We half way through.

Brothers Ep 9 - Kaow had a serious moment of advice giving that was truly lovely. Lots of family dama made this a superior episode to... well... any of the others in this series. Which isn’t saying much.

1000 Stars Ep 10 fin - at the start this series didn’t grab me the way GMMTV’s last BL, Tonhon Chonlatee, did. But boy did it end 1000x better. Might have given us 2021′s best forehead kiss. I enjoyed the ultra romantic cliff-top reunion kiss, and I LOVED the stinger flirting scene. That was an absolute gift we had no right to expect. This drama is a poster child for finishing on a high note (always focus on that dessert course). Final thoughts? This was FAR more a classic romance than it was BL. There were some BL tropes used but not many and most of them originated in the romance genre not yaoi. A picture perfect ending bumped 1000 Stars much higher up my best-of list than expected. Not sure how often I’ll rewatch it as a whole, but this last episode? I’m probably rewatching it right now.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 3 fin - I guess that’s it? Okaaaaay

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 3 (AKA Ep 5-6) - we got actual legit gay culture not just BL (always appreciated) from XingSi. I’m starting to find LiCheng’s “show them we fucking” hijinks hilarious rather than annoying (not sure why, maybe I just love a rubber chicken, or maybe it was the STUFFED CORN WITH THE TASSEL that did it).

-- H4 Moment of RANT --

Tropes included beach trip, there’s only one bed, cook for him, baby is a floppy drunk, carry baby to bed, and.... drunk non-con. Whoopdedoo. Here we go again. Did TharnType teach us NOTHING? (Apparently it taught us if the chemistry is good enough, I have no morals at all.) At least H4 seems to be taking us out of cheese into serious when it comes to assault. Or is it?

I take back what I said last week about XingSi & YongJie being codependency + salvation trope, that only works if YongJie is the uke. He’s NOT. So we got us an obsessive predatory villain with a possible redemption arc. That’s more common in crime dramas, mafia romance, and epic fantasy than BL. It’s real hard to redeem a sexual predator in a reality-grounded universe like contemporary romance (See Kla in LBC1&2).

Next week is gonna be a test of the whole damn franchise. Imma remind both me a you that this was ep 3 of 10 so we got a ways to go yet... but ooof, what have we wrought, BL? (I ended up doing a whole post about the stepbrother trope because of this sub plot.) Taiwan is killing me.

-- RANT ended --

Word of Honor (China) Ep 19-21 - over half way point so we got ALL the back story (in a classic 4 act story structure midway reveal). Now we know who WKX really is and his lineage. We also got some cute hugs and hand holds. Moving along at a nice clip despite being 36 eps total. Still gayest thing to come out of we-not-gay China since Advance Bravely.

Most Peaceful Place (Vietnam) Ep 2 - takes them a while to get eng subs together and ep 2 didn’t drop until late. So I’m putting this in a Thurs time slot going forward. Miscommunication already cleared up and a 2nd couple has been introduced. The pacing on these Vietnamese BLs is always a bit... off. But it’s still better than most of its ilk, enjoyable. I’m thinking it’s a 6 ep arc.

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 5 - after the initial drama DRAMA of ep 2, the current external crisis at work is much quieter, giving this whole season a top heavy feel. Taken along side the first season, I think it’s fitting nicely into a 4 act structure, but that might be my bias. I hope I’m not wrong, we’ll find out next week. Shi De puttering about being domestic with Shu Yi on his back was the best execution of the piggyback trope EVER. Meanwhile, our little D/s side couple of codependency, salvation trope + mental illness is becoming weirdly appealing. I don’t know. H4 done mess with my head.

Stand Alones

Absolute BL AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko (Japan) Ep 1-4 mini series. Found subs under A Man Who Defies The World of BL. IT’S HILARIOUS. It’s Japan making fun of us, but also itself for having started this whole BL nonsense - from yaoi roots to present day. It’s parody goddamn gold. Utterly cheeky unto the very last line. We are not worthy.

Apparently the most powerful tropes of all time are: baby is a floppy drunk and the piggyback fo nobility. Oh and chocolate. {Full review here.}

Honestly, this show may have been made with only @heretherebedork and I in mind. I don’t know if you’d even understand half of it if you don’t have a history with the manga source genre and an obsessive interest in underlying narrative devices. I haven’t seen much chatter in the blog’o’sphere on this one because, in the end, it’s not a romance at all, it’s social commentary.

The ending line was a masterclass in lampooning a genre. I’m going to rewatch the whole thing just to catch all the digs I missed first time around. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Thank you Japan. I forgive you all your hair-styling sins of the last decade.

Breaking News

Spring Line Up:

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) April 15th

Close Friend the series (Thai trailer) April 22.

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) April 22 to Thai theaters.

Nitiman (Thai) May 7 on One31.

I Told Sunset About You 2 (Thai) May 27 on LineTV

Ossan’s Love (Hong Kong) June to Viu

Gossip

Bad Buddies released its first promo op via Arm Share, which means GMMTV is at least *thinking* about filming it.

Fun behind the scenes gossip sesh with eng subs for Tell the World I Love You (that Perth Bas movie we are maybe getting someday but will likely be sad).

New Thai BL Bite Me (adapted from novel Grab a Bite) dropped a teaser. It stars Mark Siwat (Kla in LBC) as uke character Ake, a delivery boy with special foodie powers, and chef Eua (seme played by Zung Kidakorn) who discovers him. It’s from the same author as Manner of Death so we might even get some actual plot. Since it’s an established BL actor who I happen LOVE, a known author, and a plot about FOOD, I could not me more excited for this one.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons. Some are dropping multiples at a time but just started so I’m not sure on numbering.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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yukinojou · 3 years

Text

I already squeed quite a bit on Twitter, but turns out my Shadow and Bone thoughts demand longform. So that was a 40+ tweet thread or using my Tumblr for an original post for once.

I was wary about the Shadow and Bone adaptation the way I'm usually wary about good books being adapted onscreen. It was amplified because my actual favourites are the Six of Crows books, and because the American-based movie complex has a bad track record of doing anything based on Eastern Europe. 8 episodes in 3 days should tell you how much I loved it - the moment I finished, I wanted more.

First, the technical praise:

Damn but the plotting is tight. It took me a while to realised it's based on heist movie bones, where every little thing (The Freaking Bullet!) is important. The story fulfills its promises and manages not to bore at the same time - it delights by the way they're fulfilled. I called out a few plot developments moments before they happened, and I was happy about it. Such a joy after so many series where "not doing what viewers expect" led to plot holes and lack of sense. It might be an upside to the streaming model after all.

From a dramatic point of view I can tell all the reasons for all the changes, especially providing additional outsider points of view on Ravka (Crows) and letting viewers see Mal for themselves the way he only comes across in later books.

Speaking of which, this is a masterclass in rewriting a story draft. SaB was Bardugo's first, and having read later books you can really see where she didn't quite dare to break the YA rules yet, especially Single POV that necessitated a tight focus on Alina's often negative feelings rather than the big picture and a triangle that felt a bit forced. The world in the series is so much bigger, the way Bardugo could finally paint it when SaB success gave her more creative freedom, and some structural choices feel familiar too. It's a combination of various choices by crew and cast, but the end result meshes together so tightly and naturally.

Visuals! Especially the war parts because Every Soviet Movie Ever, but also the clothes (I would kill for Nina's blouse in the bar), the jewelry, the interiors. The stag was so very beautiful. And a deep commitment to a coherent aesthetic for each character and setting.

Look, you can do a serious fantasy series with colours! Both skin colours and bright sets and clothing! And all scenes were well lit enough to know what's going on, even in the Fold!

Representation (aka I Am Emotion)

To start with: I was born behind the Iron Curtain, in the last years of the Cold War. The Curtain was always permeable to some extent, and we have always been aware that while we have talented artists of our own, we never had the budgets and polish of the Anglosphere Entertainment Machine. So we watched a hell of a lot of American visual storytelling especially because yeah, you can tell we don't have the budgets. 90s and 2000s especially, it's getting better now.

In American stories, the BEST case scenario for Eastern European representation is the Big Dumb Pole, the ethnic stereotype Americans don't even notice they use, where the punchline is that his English is bad or that he grew up outside Anglo culture. Other than that, it's criminals, beggars, sex trafficking victims, refugees. Sure, we may look similar (except we really really don't, not if you're raised here and see the distinct lack of all those long-jawed Anglo faces), but we are not and have never been the West, never mind America. It's probably better for younger people now, but I was raised under rationing and passport bans. Star Trek and Beverly Hills 90210 were exactly as foreign to me.

The first ever character I really identified with was Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5 (written by J. Michael Straczynski, yay behind-camera representation). This was a Russian Jewish woman very much in charge, in the way of strong women I know so well, not taking any bullshit, not repressing her feminity. I recognised her bones, she could be my cousin. The sheer relief of it. There have been few such occasions since.

The reason I picked up Shadow and Bone in the first place was recommendations from other Polish people. I've had no problems finding representation in Eastern European books because wow our scene is strong in SFF especially, but it's always a treat to find a book in English that gets it. And Leigh gets it, the bones of our culture, and I could even look past the grammar issue (dear gods and Americans, Starkova for a woman, Morozov for a guy) that really irked me because of the love for the setting and the characters, the weaving in of religion/mysticism (we never laicisized the same way as the West, natch), the understanding of how deep are the scars left in a nation at war for centuries. The books are precious to me, they and Arden's Winternight and Novik's Spinning Silver.

To sum up: Shadow and Bone the Netflix series gets it. You can tell just how much they've immersed themselves in Eastern European culture and media, it comes across so well in visuals and writing and characters. Not just the obvious bits (though the WWII propaganda posters gave me a giggle), but the palaces, the additional plotlines and characters, the costumes, the attitudes. About the only thing missing in the soldier scenes was someone singing and/or quoting poetry.

I will blame the Apparat's lack of beard on filming in a non-Orthodox country. Poland's Catholic too, but I very much imagined him as an Orthodox patriarch, possibly because I read the books shortly after a visit to Pecherska Lavra in Kiev and the labyrinthine holy catacombs there. Small quibble, not my religion, not my place to speak.

(I've seen discussion on the issues with biracial representation in the show, which is visceral and apparently based on bad experiences of one of the show writers in a way that's caused pain to other Asian and biracial people. I'm not qualified to speak on those parts, other that Eastern Europe is... yeah. Racist in subtly different ways. If anything, the treatment of the Suli as explained in Six of Crows always read so very true of the way Roma are treated, and even sanitised.)

And now for the spoiler-filled bits:

Kaz and Inej. I mean... just THEM. So many props to the actors, the writers, the bloody goat.

I adore the fact the only people who get to have sex in the show are Jesper and a very lucky stablehand.

Ben Barnes needs either an award or a kick. The man's acting choices and puppy eyes are as epic as his hair.

So Much Love for Alina initiating the kiss. Her book characterisation makes sense, she's so trapped in her own head because she has no time to process everything that's happening, but grabbing life by the lapels is a much more active choice. Still not making the relationship equal, but closer to it.

Speaking of, Kaz's constant awareness of how unequal his relationship with Inej is, and attempts to give her agency. I'm really curious how his touch issues come across to someone who doesn't know the backstory there.

Feodor and his actor. He looks exactly like the pre-war heartthrob Adolf Dymsza, a specific upper-class Polish ethnic type that's much rarer now that, well, Nazis killed millions of Polish intellectuals in their attempt to reduce us to unskilled labour only. The faces he makes are the Best.

Nina!! Nina is perfect, those cheekbones, that cheek, I was giggling myself silly half the time. I cannot wait to see Danielle Galligan take on the challenge of Nina's plotline in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, she'll kill us dead.

I already mentioned that the writers fixed Mal's absence from the first book, but Mal in general! The haircut gives him a kind of rugby charm, and Archie Renaux is outstanding at emoting without talking. Honestly, all the casting in this series is inspired, but him in particular.

Extra bonus: Howard Charles and Luke Pasqualino playing so very much against the type of the swaggering Musketeers I saw them play last. Arken dropping the mask at the end... Howard Charles is love.

I can't believe not only was Milo's bullet a plot point, but the fact Alina was wearing a particularly sparkly hair ornament in a long series of beautiful hair ornaments was a plot point.

In conclusion: so much love, and next three season NOW please. Okay, give me a week to reread the books, and an extra day because new Murderbot drops tomorrow...

#shadow and bone #six of crows #shadow and bone meta

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itistimeforusalltodecidewhoweare · 2 years

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what are your top 5 TV series bestie?

suddenly, i don't remember a single tv show i've ever watched ever. okay, let's try.

new girl

this is the sitcom for me. i don't often actually rewatch shows, i usually just talk about it or i will get someone else to watch with. this i'm on my third rewatch with. it's very quoteable and the characters are so much fun. is one of the reasons i love it so much because nick miller has "bucky in a different font" energy i don't know moving on

the good place

if you don't know anything about this show, do not look it up. the less you know about it, the better. i love when a show knows that it's reached its peak and then stops. it doesn't happen a lot. it usually happens after four seasons. and then it's often close to perfect.

black sails

guess how many seasons this has. long-time followers of mine will tell you i fell for black sails HARD this time last year. it's a prequel to treasure island, which my dumb ass didn't even realize until i was a season in, and it's a masterclass about storytelling. seriously. it's brilliant. and barely anyone i know has seen it.

crazy ex-girlfriend

hey. hey. this is a funny game. guess how many seasons this has. this is a musical show about mental illness that uses its genre like nothing else i've seen (and i do love galavant which did a similar thing but with knights). the music in this is EXCELLENT, and the characters are all beautifully flawed.

that fifth one was hard because there are a lot of shows i watch and like but favourite seems special. you know what, i'll go with my first instinct.

elementary

imo, this is the best sherlock holmes adaptation out there. bbc can suck it. granted, it fell victim to the "went on for slightly to long", but this show was just so enjoyable. i love the dynamic between holmes and watson (which, hallelujah, was never romantic even though it portrays *gasp* a friendship between a man and a woman) and i will love moriarty in every single iteration.

honourable mentions because of course

wandavision

the falcon and the winter soldier

fleabag

downton abbey

buffy the vampire slayer

good omens

castle

firefly

the first, like, 3 seasons of once upon a time

shadow and bone

skam

gilmore girls (no one saw that i added this later right?)

#stef 💖#nika's answers #this is probably a lot longer than you wanted but this is how i am #and i just know i'm forgetting something and will be kicking myself later

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tribow · 3 years

Text

So I watched Blade of the Immortal

Specifically the 2019 ONA release of this story by LIDENFILMS. This anime probably flew under literally everyone's radar because this anime was on Amazon of all places. I haven't read the original series or watched the original anime, but I have heard of its legacy. People seem to hold up Blade of the Immortal to high regards.

The 2019 adaption of Blade of the Immortal is certainly good. I wouldn't call it masterclass storytelling, but the anime can become very compelling to watch. Multiple characters go through some really cool development, especially for the main character, Rin. The actual immortal in the story plays a supporting role in the narrative most of the time, which was surprising.

Speaking of which, this story does some really unique stuff with the immortality trope that I haven't seen anywhere else. The animation is also really detailed. The advantage of animating an ONA is that you don't really need to adhere to the schedule of a television broadcast. There's some real complicated character designs that need to be animated here and it looks great.

HOWEVER, this is not an anime I can easily recommend despite how good it is. There's some hurdles you will need to be able to get over to watch this anime and it warns you at that start of each episode. For a little bit of context, this anime takes place in medievil Japan. I know enough about japanese history to know that being a woman in that era was not a good time.

There's plenty of rape and sexual assault in this anime. The good news is that this anime does not glorify it and is condemning it more than anything. It's used as a narrative tool and to shock you into understanding that medievil Japan is fucked up. This isn't like other anime/hentai where the offender just gets away with it and the women get treated like an object and it doesn't have an effect on the characters or narrative. I can praise this anime for not glorifying sexual assault like so much japanese media does, (Side note: This is a SERIOUS problem with Japan) but it is going to make you uncomfortable. In fact, it wants you to be uncomfortable, the anime clearly communicates that rape and sexual assault is terrible and you need to be okay with watching characters experience these horrifying scenarios.

The second hurdle is the gore in this anime. It's not just blood spraying everywhere, there's some very detailed depictions of very severe injuries. The brutality is used as a narrative tool of course, but I mean it when I say it's detailed. The animation really sells the impact of what's happening. I'd compare it to how Mortal Kombat depicts its violence, just without the bones shattering.

The third hurdle is whether or not you have epilepsy. The animation is great, but the animation direction has some red and white flashing going on. It's not super frequent, but it's enough to make me concerned about it.

If you can get past these hurdles then I'd recommend this anime for sure, however, this isn't a masterpiece. The biggest issue the anime has is the lightning fast pacing. You need to memorize the names and faces of characters because they will change their appearance without warning. Many characters have 0 introduction and will absolutely be relevant later on. The anime is not going to make sure you understand what's happening, so you might have to pause and take a minute to digest what is going on at times.

Also, the first 3 episodes actually suck. The 1st one is edgy as hell and the 2nd episode has very awkwardly timed comedy that does not contrast well with the 1st episode. (Side note: The comedy is usually timed well to break up the terrible shit the characters have to go through and some characters are clearly just trying to cope). 3rd episode brings back the edge, but the rest of the anime picks itself up and does great without stumbling too hard.

Sitting through it is worth it, the anime ends off on a really good note that wraps up everything very nicely. It's really cool to see an anime that actually has an ending that doesn't ruin anything. Seriously, the final episode has some incredible shit in it. Many characters have amazing developement as well (a couple dont, but they dont drag the story down at all). There's a lot of great things I can say about the characters that I won't elaborate on because this post is long enough already.

I do need to talk about Manji a little bit though. This anime isn't some kind of power fantasy, Manji is not overpowered in the slightest despite being immortal. My guy gets his ass kicked several times even if he ends up winning. I love that he isn't written to be the most powerful like most immortals would be. It's really interesting to see an immortal go through a lot of physical struggles instead of asserting their immortal dominance on the rest of the cast.

This is a real good anime and it's worth the watch, just, be aware of what you're getting into. Blade of the Immortal won't pull its punches and it's not going to be a casual watch. It gives you a lot to think about over its runtime. This anime will be in my head for a while.

#text #anime #review #Blade of the Immortal #Mugen no Juunin: Immortal #Great stuff #Rin's character is so good despite how weak she is #gosh there's so much more I could say #Good anime #maybe I should watch more ONAs

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jostenneil · 3 years

Note

do you have shounen recs too? other than naruto and fma lol

naruto and fma are like decade long infections that have refused to leave me djdbkdn but yes, i do! i’ll apply the same logic here as i did in the other post where i include some seinen too bc ultimately the distinction is just an age demographic

sket dance (manga) - this is one of my favorite manga of all time! it centers on a group of three friends—bossun, himeko, and switch—who start a student support group at their high school for anyone to come to with their everyday problems. the clientele and their problems are varied in a pretty humorous way, and in the beginning it almost feels like the series is set up to be purely comedic, but as you get further into the series you learn just why the main characters started the club, which is the winning point for me. these characters are so fleshed out and so much of their individual trauma gives insight as to why they’re intent to help and befriend others, especially on bossun’s part. he is probably one of my favorite shounen protagonists period. his character propagates a really wonderful message of how people don’t need to be fixed in order to solve their problems, just listened to and supported, and i adore the series for its exploration of that concept. the mangaka was also an assistant to sorachi on gintama, so i think fans of gintama will rly enjoy it in the sense that both series share similar values, messages, and humor! there’s a few crossovers between the two, iirc. also! i don’t particularly mind the anime and it has a banger soundtrack but just imo the emotional beats hit harder in the manga

silver spoon (anime/manga) - this is the series hiromu arakawa wrote after finishing fma, and i would actually argue that it’s her better work of the two! it centers on a boy named hachiken, who spontaneously decides to enroll at an agricultural high school to get away from his stressful family life in the city, and obviously, it’s a huge reality check for him. he’s dropped into this school where every other student has farming-related ambitions in the long run, while he has no ambitions at all and simply used enrollment as an excuse to get away from his problems. the series is a masterclass in learning about the worth in hard work, camaraderie, and why thinking about your future and what you want to do matters, not just from a practical aspect but also in terms of self fulfillment. as expected of arakawa, it boasts endearing humor, a wonderful array of distinct characters, and a really fleshed out portrayal of farm life, made even more enjoyable and genuine by the fact that she’s writing in her element, as she grew up on a farm herself

tsubasa reservoir chronicle (manga) - this is a cult classic within clamp circles, but outside of that fandom it’s more known as the intimidating clamp series most ppl wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. and i get that! the fact that it crosses over with some other clamp series makes it pretty confusing to parse through at times. but i also think that’s the series’ greatest strength, bc when you understand the nature of that crossover, the depth of the storytelling is truly brilliant! at its most basic, trc follows a pair of childhood friends, syaoran and sakura, who live in a desert-like “clow country”. sakura walks into some ruins one day and is spontaneously robbed of all of her memories, which syaoran must then journey across multiple dimensions to recapture, as her memories have been scattered in the form of feathers. the pair also have three traveling companions—kurogane, fai, and mokona—and altogether the group visits multiple dimensions that are loosely inspired by clamp’s other series and characters. obv, as the plot progresses, we discover there’s more to the group’s mission than meets the eye, and it ventures into pretty dark, existential territory, as is the norm for clamp. it also may be unpopular of me to say this, but i actually think it’s a great introduction to clamp (it was mine lol), given there’s so many cameos from their previous series and the series sets up such interesting lore. just be warned that you do have to think while reading this series, as the lore is intense! also, do not watch the anime. at all. it’s the worst adaptation ever

ookiku furikabutte (anime/manga) - popularly called oofuri, this series is in my opinion one of the best sports manga published in the last two decades. it follows a boy named mihashi, a baseball pitcher who refuses to give up the mound and essentially alienates himself from his middle school teammates in the process bc they don’t know how to actually utilize his pitches. he enters high school as a total nervous wreck with little to no confidence in himself bc of this experience, until the catcher, abe, recognizes that he’s actually a really unique pitcher unrecognized for his talents by his old teammates. abe and mihashi basically latch onto each other, with abe believing he can mold mihashi into the best pitcher there is, and mihashi believing abe is the one person capable of making him into a good pitcher. it’s a fascinating take on codependency and building up your self esteem, and i would argue that higuchi asa’s sports psychology background lends itself splendidly to the messages oofuri sends about how to build healthy sportsmanship among teenage boys. overall i think it’s a great series to read if you’re looking for catharsis and comfort, as well as baseball lore!

gangsta. (manga) - this series is the most dark and complicated of the works in this list, just as an advisory. there’s prostitution, gang violence, gore, etc etc. but for the presence of all of that, gangsta. is probably one of the most well rounded series i have read in the last few years. it starts with alex benedetto, a prostitute who ends up as the sole survivor of a mass gang murder propagated by two thugs for hire, worick and nic. the two men take her under their wing as a friend and someone who answers their phone, and the three of them form a unique but really loving partnership with each other. the plot eventually extends into a turf war that plagues the town they live in, ergastulum, on account of a drug trade that allows for the breeding of “twilights”, who are essentially drug enhanced superhumans. it’s hard to explain much more without giving away spoilers, but the series has an incredibly diverse cast, in terms of race, disability, and sexuality, and it manages to tackle really dark subject matter without coming off as too edgy or tragedy porn-seque. the artwork is also absolutely gorgeous and the relationships among various characters are portrayed with such amazing nuance, that i can’t even complain when plot points make me sad beyond belief

this is what i have for now but i may add onto it later! do let me know if you enjoy any of these ❤️

#sket dance #gin no saji #tsubasa reservoir chronicle #oofuri #gangsta.#these are fun to do! i also feel like i rambled so much more here omg #mine:recs

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expshared · 4 years

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hello! do you have any yuri manga recommendations? im trying to read more of it but i get overwhelmed with how there are simultaneous so many and so few

Aaaah dude I hear you. I was voracious for a time and went dumpster diving into mangadex’s yuri tag and consumed the entire thing a while back and there are a lot of bad takes. a lot. I’m overwhelmed thinking about the mountain of trash i had to climb to stand here but i would absolutely love to share some works that stuck with me!!

I think Kase-san and Morning Glories is a great place to start, and I consider it to be a hallmark gl series for a lot of reasons. It’s an easy way in-- the stakes are low, the drama is minor, both characters are charming and wholesome but not Class S Chaste. But there’s lots of gl manga that take place at a high school and are about two girls falling in love, so if you’ve already covered Kase-san, check out Hana ni Arashi or Hana to Hoshi. I will always make a case for A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, even though it gets flak for not being Yuri Enough or whatever because i think it is nice to look at and sweet to read

Bloom Into You is as fantastic as everyone says, and although I personally think it’s a better character piece than it is a romance, it’s still well worth the read. BiY is concerned with many lesbian experiences and really tries to showcase that. Not exclusively gl, but Shimanami Tasogare is a very nice read that addresses and looks at a number of LGBT experiences and features a lesbian couple as part of the main cast and should definitely be considered part of the queer canon.

Speaking of the queer canon, please consider reading My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, which is not a manga so much as it is a manifesto. There is no easy way to read My Lesbian Experience, every pass at it is affecting, and it hurts to read about hurt but if you’re reading gl work, i think it’s important to read this one real lesbian’s take alongside it.

if I had a nickel for every gl that was about a girl getting into a relationship with a girl while already being in a relationship, i’d have a couple of nickels. which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happens so often. please note that these feature cheating pretty prominently. Run Away With Me Girl is a soaring, magical manic middle finger to compulsory heterosexuality and the idea that marriage and children is for men and women only. Even Though We’re Adults plays out much the same way, except it is more about the Guilt of realizing you’re Gay but in a relationship with a Man. (Takako Shimura has a couple of gl works, so if this one doesn’t call out to you, try Sweet Blue Flowers, which is high school slow burn. Her work is often about messy people with messy emotions and can be divisive, but I admire her hauntingly sparse layouts and very human characters.) After Hours is a little different, a little more hip, a little more about girls who meet girls at clubs and then stumble into being DJs and then perform with their new gfs at a club after they break up with their bfs.

Lesbians who fuck up, so much! So Do You Wanna Go Out Or is a masterclass in disaster lesbians but it’s also really smart about how it presents sex-- frank and fun and kind of mortifying. Still Sick is a meta manga about messy lesbians who create doujin and manga.

Some recommendations for gl that aren’t strictly manga: Her Shim Cheong, a historical Korean revenge thriller webcomic about the role class, religion, and tradition take in oppressing women and women who love women. Mage and Demon Queen is good self-aware genre schlock full of lamp-shading and is about what happens to all those little girls who grow up with crushes on Disney villans. Roadqueen: Eternal Roadtrip to Love is giddy manic goodtimes that almost borders on parody, but like, with a pure heart.

As a rule, yuri is a niche genre, so if you find a work you enjoy, try seeing if the author has done more because quite often they have. Morinaga Milk and Akiko Morishima are big names and have quite a few works, so definitely try something by them because odds are there’s something you’re going to like! Also, basically anything Sexy Akiba Detectives scanlates is good shit bc they’re good taste gang

There are more titles I’d recommend, but then it starts getting into the weeds of preference. Stuff like Cheerful Amnesia, My Wish is to Fall in Love Until You Die, Pieta, or Just Let Your Future Burn, which I like well enough but would have difficulty selling. There are dozens and dozens of high school romances as mentioned, so I could rattle off more of those, too, haha.

looking forward, we’ve got Otherside Picnic and Adachi and Shimamura getting anime adaptations soon, so consider checking those out!

#Anonymous #chitchat paddywhack #animoose and mango #long post /#the picture at the end is so bad bc it only exists in my physical copy of still sick i'm sorry

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translationandbetrayals · 3 years

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“I Just Think That Women—”: Fullmetal Alchemist and Female Characters in Shonen

“Women… They have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for” is one of the most impactful quotes from Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women, and I can’t help but remember it every time I revisit Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist, both the original manga and its 2009 anime adaptation.

A lot can be said of Hiromu Arakawa’s most popular work: the manga brings up discussions about genocide, corruption and the value of life with ease and a nuanced view. However, one of its strongest points when compared to other anime and manga of the same demographic is the way Fullmetal handles its female characters.

Women in shonen are often seen as supporting characters, or as mere love interests for the male protagonists. Many popular shonen are not exactly known for having strong female characters either. And by strong, I don’t mean physically gifted, but characters with solid backstories and motivations that go beyond the men around them (I’m looking at you, Kishimoto. #JusticeForSakura2k21). People have the misconception that being physically strong is the same as being a great female character.

One popular example of a very “strong” female character is Mikasa Ackerman from Shingeki no Kyojin by Hajime Isayama. At first sight, she is not a damsel in distress and is, in fact, one of the strongest soldiers in humanity. But Mikasa’s motivations are always focused on Eren Jaeger, and her development fails to elaborate beyond her devotion for him. While Mikasa is not a bad character, and not a terrible shonen heroine, her potential was wasted by Isayama.

This is where Fullmetal Alchemist gives us a great example on how a female character doesn't need to be physically strong in order to be great. The women of Fullmetal Alchemist are very diverse: each have a unique personality and often, clashing motivations. Characters like Winry Rockbell, Mei Chang, Olivier Armstrong and Riza Hawkeye are very different, and they are strong in their own way. Winry is not a soldier like Olivier, but she is strong willed and passionate about her job. Mei is a sweet girl who kicks asses left and right. Olivier is your more “traditional” strong female character, but she never looks down on other women for having different interests or goals: she admires them, actually. And lastly, my personal favorite: Riza Hawkeye. It’s easy to compare her with a character like SnK's Mikasa: both are loyal followers of a male character (In Riza’s case, Roy Mustang) and his cause, and will go to extreme lengths to protect them. But while Mikasa is all about Eren, Hawkeye has her own reasons to follow Mustang, reasons that have more to do with herself than the Colonel’s interests. And even if Hawkeye’s backstory is deeply tied to Mustang, Riza’s story is just as developed as Roy’s, who is arguably one of the most popular characters of the series.

Women in Fullmetal Alchemist all feel very real, and even if at first glance they may seem dependent on the male characters of the story, it doesn’t take much to find out they are their own characters, with their own stories, strengths and flaws. They are not there just to support a man; they stand on equal ground. Hiromu Arakawa’s work serves as a masterclass on how to write women in shonen (or in anything, really). She knows that women have minds, and ambitions and talent, as well as souls and beauty, all at the same time.

By Florencia Lucero.

#Anime #Manga #submission

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