For my records and reflection!
films
Blue Giant (2023)
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A story about a young person moving to Tokyo, ready to become the 'world's best jazz player' through sheer dedication and will. Alliences and friendships form, life keeps happening.
This came out last year while I was in Japan, but I completely missed it. In early January a cinema in Shinjuku was doing revival screenings of a bunch of films and I managed to catch it as part of that programme. It was a special sound set-up (ライブ音響上映) to make the soundscape particularly 'living' and impactful, which deliver so well in the music scenes. I was really touched by the story, I quite love intense and straight (?まっすぐ）characters like Dai; and the music had a huge impact on me, and I'm not even a particular lover of jazz even. Talking about the film with my partner after, he mentioned how entertained he was with the experimentalness of the music scenes, ie. trying to visually depict the intensity of the music beyond the sound itself, and conversely I said I kind of wish those bits were more experimental and wilder. I added the soundtrack to my music library.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
This came out last year while I was in Japan, but I completely missed it. In early January a cinema in Shinjuku was doing revival screenings of a bunch of films and I managed to catch it as part of that programme. It was a special sound set-up (ライブ音響上映) to make the soundscape particularly 'living' and impactful, which deliver so well in the music scenes. I was really touched by the story, I quite love intense and straight (?まっすぐ）characters like Dai; and the music had a huge impact on me, and I'm not even a particular lover of jazz even. Talking about the film with my partner after, he mentioned how entertained he was with the experimentalness of the music scenes, ie. trying to visually depict the intensity of the music beyond the sound itself, and conversely I said I kind of wish those bits were more experimental and wilder. I added the soundtrack to my music library.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
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You see I quite like The Hunger Games, I read the books many times with great enthusiasm, and I think the film adaptations of the original trilogy was actually rather successful. I have not read the book that's the basis for this because I don't particularly care for Coriolanus Snow, but a film is way lower effort so I went for it, and there was way more singing than I expected. ??? My ultimate review is that I think they should have been braver and made it into an full-blown ridiculous musical, then the songs could've had actual impact instead of feeling a bit cringé. (But as we know akinek nem crinege ne vegye magára, so who am I to say.) Also, in his Peacekeeper era outfits Snow just looked like some lad you would come across in JD Sports, which was jarring. Confusion. Some rowdy teens in the cinema screening were taking photos of the screen when he showed up, with the flash on.
時をかける少女/ The girl who leapt through time (2006)
時をかける少女/ The girl who leapt through time (2006)
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High school girl accidentally gains the power to time travel by leaping forward.
It's kind of shameful that I'm so late to the party, but I obviously really liked this. I loved how low-stakes the time travel was, which kept the story within a very graspable scope, and the bonds between the characters felt real. Also, in terms of resolution, I love a good timeline discrepancy. The relative simplicity of the backgrounds and the flatness of the character art created a nice atmosphere. I actually watched this from a DVD set I found for 1000yen in BookOff earlier in the month, and it came with a booklet of some background paintings + two DVDs with extra content such as storyboards and behind the scenes footage. The bit where you can see the character literally fly through time - this is sort of a tangent, but obviously time itself, especially when outside of linear time, is something that is one of those ungraspable things and I always find it interesting how people choose to represent it. It's a similar undertaking and wanting to depict cyberspace while retaining a sense of ALL of its possible iterations. The director Hosoda Mamoru seems to attempt to do something of this sort in all of his films - it being Time here, then Cyberspace in Summer Wars and Belle, or the Dreamspace in Mirai no mirai. Two thoughts here: 1. I always find it interesting that Hosoda depicts these on a white or generally light surface. So much media defaults to black to exemplify vastness, but the white literally lightens the mood, but also, it's the absolute presence of all colours, right? So it can tie in well with the positive approach that Hosoda takes to collaborative creativity in relation to these spaces. 2. I kind of find that these stories fall apart the more you try to accurately represent the ungraspable that is at the core of them. Like I haven't seen this done in a way that felt satisfying, and because Hosoda doesn't really add in perceptual ruptures to these spaces they kind of deflate amidst that smoothness. But also, I find it lovely that he challenges this same core with most of his films (though I didn't like Belle in particular). I'm looking forward to watching the background material DVDs.
It's kind of shameful that I'm so late to the party, but I obviously really liked this. I loved how low-stakes the time travel was, which kept the story within a very graspable scope, and the bonds between the characters felt real. Also, in terms of resolution, I love a good timeline discrepancy. The relative simplicity of the backgrounds and the flatness of the character art created a nice atmosphere. I actually watched this from a DVD set I found for 1000yen in BookOff earlier in the month, and it came with a booklet of some background paintings + two DVDs with extra content such as storyboards and behind the scenes footage. The bit where you can see the character literally fly through time - this is sort of a tangent, but obviously time itself, especially when outside of linear time, is something that is one of those ungraspable things and I always find it interesting how people choose to represent it. It's a similar undertaking and wanting to depict cyberspace while retaining a sense of ALL of its possible iterations. The director Hosoda Mamoru seems to attempt to do something of this sort in all of his films - it being Time here, then Cyberspace in Summer Wars and Belle, or the Dreamspace in Mirai no mirai. Two thoughts here: 1. I always find it interesting that Hosoda depicts these on a white or generally light surface. So much media defaults to black to exemplify vastness, but the white literally lightens the mood, but also, it's the absolute presence of all colours, right? So it can tie in well with the positive approach that Hosoda takes to collaborative creativity in relation to these spaces. 2. I kind of find that these stories fall apart the more you try to accurately represent the ungraspable that is at the core of them. Like I haven't seen this done in a way that felt satisfying, and because Hosoda doesn't really add in perceptual ruptures to these spaces they kind of deflate amidst that smoothness. But also, I find it lovely that he challenges this same core with most of his films (though I didn't like Belle in particular). I'm looking forward to watching the background material DVDs.
anime and Tv shows
I don't really watch live action TV shows these days but shockingly this month I did!
消えた初恋 Kieta hatsukoi/ Vanishing my first love (2021)
消えた初恋 Kieta hatsukoi/ Vanishing my first love (2021)
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Because of the heavy involvement of a borrowed eraser and the confusion that brings about, an unlikely crush forms between certain people. I'm not sure how to sum it up better. Love in unexpected directions, and working through the details of that through high school life?
Maybe this is my first time ever watching a Japanese dorama?! I binge-watched it on a whim, after rereading the original manga it's based on for the third time, and reading a bunch of fanfiction and still not getting enough of a hit. Sometimes the yearning just comes upon one.......
Great fun! Over the top! I was discussing Kieta hatsukoi on my ~secret~ fandom twitter account with an online pal, and we talked about how it's a pity there's no anime adaptation of this, because the source material would lend itself particularly well for the pacing and distortion anime allows for. The dorama is neat, and Michieda Shunsuke conveyed Aoki's ridiculous faces pretty well I think. (Upon googling to confirm his name, the automatic Hungarian translation of his wikipedia page showed 'idol group' translated as 'bálványcsoport'?なんか微妙) Ida's casting was a bit too cool, but when smiling he had the same sense of mischief as the character. Actually I though Aida was super well cast. Learning that the lead actors are in Johnny's groups made me feel a bit 🥴 in the light of recent news. HOWEVER, I just discovered that they're doing a thai drama remake of this?! Cannae wait !! I wonder if Ida will continue to have a shibainu or if they will localise the setting?! I urge everyone who likes school rom-com to read the manga btw.
ダンジョン飯 Dungeon Meshi/ Delicious in Dungeon (2024 ongoing)
Maybe this is my first time ever watching a Japanese dorama?! I binge-watched it on a whim, after rereading the original manga it's based on for the third time, and reading a bunch of fanfiction and still not getting enough of a hit. Sometimes the yearning just comes upon one.......
Great fun! Over the top! I was discussing Kieta hatsukoi on my ~secret~ fandom twitter account with an online pal, and we talked about how it's a pity there's no anime adaptation of this, because the source material would lend itself particularly well for the pacing and distortion anime allows for. The dorama is neat, and Michieda Shunsuke conveyed Aoki's ridiculous faces pretty well I think. (Upon googling to confirm his name, the automatic Hungarian translation of his wikipedia page showed 'idol group' translated as 'bálványcsoport'?なんか微妙) Ida's casting was a bit too cool, but when smiling he had the same sense of mischief as the character. Actually I though Aida was super well cast. Learning that the lead actors are in Johnny's groups made me feel a bit 🥴 in the light of recent news. HOWEVER, I just discovered that they're doing a thai drama remake of this?! Cannae wait !! I wonder if Ida will continue to have a shibainu or if they will localise the setting?! I urge everyone who likes school rom-com to read the manga btw.
ダンジョン飯 Dungeon Meshi/ Delicious in Dungeon (2024 ongoing)
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They are eating things in a dungeon. I love the idea of a world descending downwards......... I love the range of characters. Would die for Senshi. I suspect I will keep watching this, and/or read the original manga.
30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい/ Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (2024 ongoing)
30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい/ Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (2024 ongoing)
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Your average awkward salaryman Adachi turns 30, and discovers that the urban legend of doing that while still a virgin grants one magical powers is indeed true. He becomes able to hear people's thoughts upon touch - and soon enough discovers that the extremely handsome seemingly perfect Kurosawa in his office has a wild crush on him. Hilarity ensues. Love is real.
I had a friend invite me to the 応援上映 of the recent film instalment of this series last year, and in preparation I thought "sure yes I will read a volume of two of the manga it's based on", which ended up with me binge-reading the first 9 volumes or w/e over a weekend, and I've been following the story since. It's hilarious! It's great! The author actively talks about real gay people's lives in Japan (as opposed to the majority of BL authors who don't). Kurosawa is such a good mix of ikemen and cringé that it's abolsute chef's kiss. I think about his internal poetry and the line 'take a picture及びtake a video' a lot. It's exciting for this to get an anime adaptation! So far it's great fun, though they all have very intense eyelashes. On a sidenote, I find the opening super interesting, and the choice to have Adachi disintegrating into birds has such strong early 00s vibes, as well as the limited the colour palette and the music as well. I wonder what sort of decisions led to that. PS: the side character Tsuge in the early days looks exactly, and I mean EXACTLY like my partner. It's hilarious to see him animated because even the colour of the jeans and the turtleneck matches perfectly. It's a pity that later on Tsuge get a more fashionable haircut and moves away from his turtleneck life!! Smh.
葬送のフリーレン/Frieren: beyond journey's end (2023 ongoing)
I had a friend invite me to the 応援上映 of the recent film instalment of this series last year, and in preparation I thought "sure yes I will read a volume of two of the manga it's based on", which ended up with me binge-reading the first 9 volumes or w/e over a weekend, and I've been following the story since. It's hilarious! It's great! The author actively talks about real gay people's lives in Japan (as opposed to the majority of BL authors who don't). Kurosawa is such a good mix of ikemen and cringé that it's abolsute chef's kiss. I think about his internal poetry and the line 'take a picture及びtake a video' a lot. It's exciting for this to get an anime adaptation! So far it's great fun, though they all have very intense eyelashes. On a sidenote, I find the opening super interesting, and the choice to have Adachi disintegrating into birds has such strong early 00s vibes, as well as the limited the colour palette and the music as well. I wonder what sort of decisions led to that. PS: the side character Tsuge in the early days looks exactly, and I mean EXACTLY like my partner. It's hilarious to see him animated because even the colour of the jeans and the turtleneck matches perfectly. It's a pity that later on Tsuge get a more fashionable haircut and moves away from his turtleneck life!! Smh.
葬送のフリーレン/Frieren: beyond journey's end (2023 ongoing)
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I've only watched the first episode of this, but really enjoyed the premise. The story starts as a party of adventurers return after defeating Evil or something like that, and eventually part ways. Through having different paces of lives and lifespans, the elf member of the group Frieren starts getting a sense of just how short human lives are after witnessing his human friends age and die. She decided that she will work towards making stronger connections with humans.
I mean I don't have a lot to say other than it looking interesting, the soundscapes being beautiful, and the sheer shock I experienced when the end credits rolled and the whole format was a fucking Angel Beats! reference. !!!!!!???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow??????????!!!!!!!!! What else can I do but place exclamation marks???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please watch Angel Beats! everyone.
16bit sensation - another layer (2023)
I mean I don't have a lot to say other than it looking interesting, the soundscapes being beautiful, and the sheer shock I experienced when the end credits rolled and the whole format was a fucking Angel Beats! reference. !!!!!!???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow??????????!!!!!!!!! What else can I do but place exclamation marks???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please watch Angel Beats! everyone.
16bit sensation - another layer (2023)
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Bishoujo otaku game artist longs for the old golden days - she ends up accidentally timetraveling by opening up game boxes. I started watching it last year, and wrapped it up early January (only 13 episodes).
I started watching this because I love meta-stories, then stayed partially out of obligation + a love for Abe Atsushi, the voice actor for the male lead, THEN I stayed because of the sekai-kei twist from ep8 onwards. I have more thoughts about this but I'm tired of writing this blog post and want to stop. One thing I considered for quite a while is the role of deus ex machina in resolving sekai-kei world setups, and I thought that it was used quite satisfyingly here, and generally that contributed to the bishoujo game atmosphere being retained well throughout. It made me want to play more of the old classics. I also loved the alternate reality in which the bishoujo-boom was TOO intense and got swept up by America and the visuals became like extreme American comics vibes?! It was so funny. Despite coming a bit short in some regards for me, it was obviously filled with love for an era and I loved seeing that.
I started watching this because I love meta-stories, then stayed partially out of obligation + a love for Abe Atsushi, the voice actor for the male lead, THEN I stayed because of the sekai-kei twist from ep8 onwards. I have more thoughts about this but I'm tired of writing this blog post and want to stop. One thing I considered for quite a while is the role of deus ex machina in resolving sekai-kei world setups, and I thought that it was used quite satisfyingly here, and generally that contributed to the bishoujo game atmosphere being retained well throughout. It made me want to play more of the old classics. I also loved the alternate reality in which the bishoujo-boom was TOO intense and got swept up by America and the visuals became like extreme American comics vibes?! It was so funny. Despite coming a bit short in some regards for me, it was obviously filled with love for an era and I loved seeing that.
MISC
Idolish7 Good 4 You tour, Makuhari daytime + evening performances (2023-2024)
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They did livestreams of the last two performances of the G4Y (yes) hologram live tour, so I obviously watched those as they were happening. I loved seeing the 2023 Black or White event songs with their stage choreos, and also it was nice to think back to the phenomenal time I had seeing the tour live when they were starting out in Tokyo in August. (I actually saw it twice in a row, on the same day, within 24 hours of landing in Japan. What a way to overcome jetlag !!! I had such a good time I cried.)
I love everyone, but Re:vale are unbeatable. The choreo for Hoshikuzu magic was really beautifully done. This is not the time and space to talk about the Idolish7 franchise, but I generally beg everyone to give it a chance. It's beyond brilliant, and has such depth and darkness lol.
I love everyone, but Re:vale are unbeatable. The choreo for Hoshikuzu magic was really beautifully done. This is not the time and space to talk about the Idolish7 franchise, but I generally beg everyone to give it a chance. It's beyond brilliant, and has such depth and darkness lol.
Games
I'm getting tired now so I'm going to write arbitrary lists down here and maybe expand on them later.
This month I played:
This month I played:
- a lot of Dragon Quest XI on the plane from Japan to the UK, but I kind of got dispirited at the big midway (?) twist so I haven't returned to it since. I will though bc I hate leaving things unfinished.
- played/read the Idolish7 Jinrou/werewolf special story in the visual novel segment of the game
- I kept on top of daily quests and rewards in both Idolish7 and Heaven Burns Red
- I restarted playing Ghost of Tsushima, and I'm having a great time with it! progressing well with it, and taking lots of notes on places to film in there later
things i've read
- I'm pretty sure my reread of Kieta hatsukoi was this month
- new volume of Cherry Maho
- accidental binge read of Sahara-sensei and Toki-kun (don't come at me for this)
- I finished reading Slam Dunk which was PHENOMENAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- I'm reading ある男 from Hirano Keiichirou. I'm having a good time with it - v curious how they adapted this to film bc so much of it is just Kido sitting in a room and thinking.
- I read a number of essays from Mechademia
- new volume of Minatoshouji Coin Laundry (is the english title of this REALLY "Wash my heart"?)
- new volume of Dai dark (from the author of Dorohedoro)
- still continueing my Dorohedoro reread
- vol1 of Dogs Red/Dogsled (??? how is it romanised), the new ice-hockey manga from the author of Golden Kamuy
- update chapters for Sasaki to Miyano
- update chapter for Hirano to Kagiura (spinoff of the above), which was only 8 pages, the last update was in august, and the next one is in april............ I am simply going to die
This is me outing myself as a lover of romance.
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