#??? no one in this group is normal i fear. also i think murder fills gem with joy and whimsy

[legally-allowed-to-slime]

you guys should all watch joel’s new episode i laughed so hard during the podcast and fight club bits

[metalandmagi]

Fall 2019 Anime Worth Watching

Wondering what anime to watch now that the jam packed summer season is over? Never fear, we’re into the fall, and there’s even more great shows this season! It’s my last rec list of the year so we’re in the home stretch now!

Full disclaimer, this season is packed with great shows, but a lot of these are not available on Crunchyroll...so here’s a link to a list of where you can watch everything legally on streaming! And I’ll but an (*) by everything that IS on Crunchyroll.

And here’s my recs for every season this year:

Summer 2019

Spring 2019

Winter 2019

And here’s my master list for 2020

New shows!

Chuubyou Gekihatsu-Boy (Outburst Dreamer Boy): A comedy in which a normal girl just wants a peaceful high school life, but finds herself surrounded by a group of ridiculous, overly dramatic boys who are all part of the “hero club” who try to make her school life better by helping her make friends. This is all well and good, but all the boys are delusional in one way or another. For example, one thinks he and his friends are basically Power Rangers, and another is obsessed with fabricating dramatic fake anime backstories for himself. It’s Ouran High School Host Club without the hosting. It’s absolutely hilarious, but it’s really flying under the radar because it’s not on Crunchyroll.

Kabukichou Sherlock: A surprisingly comedic modern version of Sherlock Holmes that takes place in the seedier portions of Japan in which a bunch of the city’s quirky detectives try and hunt down Jack the Ripper. I was not expecting this to be nearly as good as it was. The characters are great, Mrs. Hudson is a transvestite cabaret singer, the soundtrack is bomb, it’s an original anime by Production I.G. AND SHERLOCK EXPLAINS HIS DETECTIVE PROCESS THROUGH MYSTERY SOLVING RAKUGO!!!! 

Babylon: NO, NOT FATE BABYLONIA! This is a mystery/thriller involving a case of illegal clinical research for a pharmaceutical company that leads down a rabbit hole full of murder, suicide, and political intrigue. IT’S LIKE DEATH NOTE AND MONSTER HAD A BABY AND IT’S FREAKING AMAZING! I haven’t been this interested in a mystery/crime anime since Erased. The first episode will definitely leave you...hanging…. The only problem is it’s not on Crunchyroll, so I have a feeling most people won’t know about it because it’s on freaking Amazon Prime!

Hoshiai no Sora (Stars Align): A coming of age sports anime in which a boys soft tennis team sucks so bad that the school will disband them if they don’t win a tournament. And the team captain is so desperate for serious members, he literally pays his childhood friend who recently moved back into town to play on the team. And said childhood friend has an incredibly interesting backstory and struggling family life that ropes you in right away. How is soft tennis different from regular tennis? No clue, but this show is awesome! You can tell by the first episode it is going to be a great coming of age story, with more mature themes of abuse and class difference.

And it’s not the only sports anime with Sora in the title...

*Ahiru no Sora (Sora the Duck): Another sports anime, in which a short, spikey haired boy wants to play basketball (yeah yeah very original) but discovers that his high school basketball team is full of punks! It’s basically what would happen if Izuku Midoriya wanted to be a basketball player. The first few minutes are basically every sports anime you’ve ever seen, BUT it really lives up to its potential by the end of the first episode. It has a likable protagonist, good animation, and the female characters all wear realistic clothes to play basketball in! If you’re a piece of sports anime trash like me, this is definitely the show for you!

No Gun Life: In a detective noir world where everyone has basically become a cyborg, a guy with a gun for a head works to uncover the plans of an evil organization.  That’s it, that’s the whole thing. It’s made by Madhouse AND IT’S A CYBORG WITH A GUN FOR A HEAD! What else do you need?!

Beastars: IT’S JUST ANIME ZOOTOPIA! I’m not even kidding. It’s a school based mystery involving anthropomorphic animals who are faced with the murder of one of their classmates and the disruption of the peaceful coexistence of all types of animals in the school. It involves the whole predator vs prey dynamic and how appearances are deceiving, all with a jarringly serious tone considering everyone’s an animal. The only thing that doesn’t sit right with me is the use of 3D animation...which I notoriously despise no matter how great the show is. But even I am willing to put aside my hatred to keep watching this anime. The characters are interesting, it’s shot really creatively, and I love how ridiculously seriously it takes itself. Apparently it’s going to be on Netflix at some point.

*Shin Chuuka Ichiban (True Cooking Master Boy): It’s Food Wars’ less porny sibling that takes place in 19th century China, where a young boy named Mao is a master chef who travels around spreading his love for cooking! This is a reboot/continuation of an anime based on a manga from the 90s so there’s a really fun retro art style that’s nice to see updated. Apparently it picks up in the middle of the original story, but I haven’t felt like it’s necessary to see the source material to enjoy it or understand it. Also the soundtrack is bomb! It’s a great shounen to watch if you want more cross-cultural cooking anime that’s not straight up porn in your life, and it will definitely make you hungry!

Next seasons and Continuations!

 And don’t forget the summer leftovers, and some shows are getting continuations!

*Chihayafuru season 3: This is an incredibly fantastic underrated sports/club anime about a girl named Chihaya who struggles to find members for her karuta club after her best friend who made her fall in love with the game moves away. Never heard of “karuta”? It’s a physically and mentally challenging traditional Japanese game involving 100 poems written on cards that the players must memorize and locate before their opponent….it makes more sense when you see it I promise. This show is goddamn amazing, with incredibly realistic characters, an amazing game that most people don’t know about, gorgeous animation. It’s hilarious, it’s dramatic, it’s sad, and it’s uplifting all at once. 

This doesn’t premier until October 23, (so you’ve got time to binge the first 2 seasons!) but this is by far my most anticipated show of the season and quite possibly the entire year! I’VE BEEN WAITING SO MANY YEARS FOR ANOTHER SEASON, AND I’M SO PSYCHED!

Kono Oto Tomare (Stop this Sound) season 2: Speaking of club related anime, in case you missed the first season earlier this year, this is an anime about a boy who tries to recruit members for his high school koto club after all his senpais graduate. What’s a koto club you ask? It’s a large Japanese string instrument that no one cares about or plays anymore of course! Their club is endearingly terrible, with literally only one competent person on the team, but they’re aiming for nationals anyway, because...of course they are. This show seems pretty textbook at first, but it really grows on you the further you get. There are great character dynamics, it’s fun, it’s sweet, and there’s cool music that people don’t hear a lot of! If you like sports or club focused anime, give this one a chance!

*Dr. Stone: An action adventure in which all of humanity is mysteriously turned to stone one day. When a genius high school boy named Senku and his….not so genius friend Taiju awaken 3,700 years in the future, the two must rebuild civilization and turn the world back to normal with the power of science! I know pretty much everyone is watching this already, but I just want to reiterate how amazing it is. It is mysterious, educational, hilarious, and it really makes you think about civilization as we know it today. It was one of the best (if not the best) new show of the summer, and I’m so glad it’s getting a full run!

Vinland Saga: THE VIKING ANIME IS GETTING A FULL RUN!!!!!!!! In case you missed this gem in the summer, it’s a historical drama about a young boy named Thorfinn and his journey to avenge his father’s death and become a great warrior. And it’s all while traveling with his enemies through Northern Europe. It’s a fantastic dark, realistic story in a historical setting that filled the void left by Dororo. Plus it’s animated by Wit, so it looks beautiful. The music is great, the characters are intriguing, the story is interesting, AND IT HAS AN AMAZING ANTAGONIST! It has hype written all over it, so I’m pumped for the rest of the season! Unfortunately, you can only find it legally on Amazon Prime, so that’s why no one’s watching it.

*Fire Force: The (unfortunately timed) action/drama where fire fighters with super powers must protect Tokyo from people who are spontaneously combusting and uncover the evil rooted within their own organization. It’s made by the same person who created Soul Eater, and it definitely shows. The animation is high flying and out of this world. It’s worth watching for the action alone. But be warned, the plot and characters are it’s biggest weakness. It will jump between gratuitous fanservice and hijinks and then rocket into moral dilemmas and disturbing situations with no warning. BUT I still like watching it for the action, and in these later episodes the plot has steered itself back on track a lot more, and I’m way more interested in where the story is going now. I’m hoping that means the second half will give us a better sense of the characters. It also has a top tier muscular waifu! 

*My Hero Academia season 4: I’m sure everyone’s already going to be watching MHA, but I guess I’d have my anime fan badge revoked if I didn’t at least mention this one. I may not read the manga, but I know this arc is going to be a good one! I firmly believe this will be a modern classic, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s really worth watching.

And that’s it for this season. I’ll probably do a list at the end of the year of my top shows of 2019, but otherwise, see you in the winter of 2020!

[creativity-is-rebellion]

Top 10 Favourite TV Shows I Have Seen (So Far)

I’ve done a few of these lists for film and music now, so I thought I would turn my attention to the small screen. The funny thing about these lists is that they may not represent an entirely accurate picture of what they intend to illuminate upon, but rather what comes to one’s mind when they are being compiled. In saying that, all of the below TV series definitely stand somewhere on my lengthy favourites list. So, here we go:

True Detective, Season One (2014)

It’s been said by others before me, but Season One of True Detective is without a doubt a near-perfect blend of narrative, dialogue, and cinematography, arguably the best in the last 20 years or so of crime shows. The Southern Gothic and Cosmic horror elements are present in the decay of the surroundings, the extravagantly decorated victims, and the sinister antagonists. This is juxtaposed with the world-weary detective trope, which switches between present-day interviews with the show’s two protagonists and flashbacks to where the narrative of the season began back in 1995, with the discovery of a body that has been placed in some kind of ritual tableau. Both Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey do a fine job playing the protagonist detectives on the case, but the complexity of McConaughey’s Rustin Cohle definitely steals the show, so much so that his performance re-launched his career (known at the time as the McConaissance). It’s a lot more terrifying than your typical detective series, borrowing a lot of concepts from philosophers, such as Nietzsche, and has an overall depressing and nihilistic vibe. But these elements, in my opinion, just add to its ingenuity and watchability. 10/10.

Dead Like Me (2003-2004)

Ok, so this show is now a cult classic, but at the time it didn’t get enough viewers, so there were only two seasons. I was one of the people who didn’t watch it until many years after its initial run. The renewed interest in the series even spawned a movie version in 2009, six years after the series came out. The premise is simple enough; a young, sardonic girl dies in an accident, and now she, along with a few other wrongfully-dead individuals, need to help a certain amount of people cross-over before being allowed to finally go through the pearly gates themselves. But the series approaches the plot in a unique manner, adding heart to the characters, and being appropriately funny, deep, and interesting when it needs to be. There is a reason it is now a cult classic. 10/10. 

Mindhunter (2017-2019)

Ah, the show that tells the story of how profiling at the FBI began, without naming any real-life FBI agents, but portraying hauntingly accurate versions of the serial killers that helped shape the system. I preferred the first season, even if Holden Ford, the main character, at times, appeared just as creepy as the monsters he was interviewing. The freaky-deaky sex scenes in the first season were kinda unnecessary, in my opinion, and took away from the main plot. It was enough to hear about the sexually-deviant acts of the sadistic killers being retold during interviews, and, even though it was meant to show the effects these stories were having on Holden, it still wasn’t needed. I also hated his bitch of a girlfriend. But other than that, the plot moves along at an interesting pace, with an adequate amount of foreboding that should be there when you fill up your days interviewing homicidal psychopaths. The second season took to long to appear in the world of Netflix, where audiences have the attention span of goldfishes, and was over-ambitious in its introduction of more serial killers than its predecessor, and jumping ahead too much in the timeline. I think that, since the first season, it has been interesting the way they start some of their episodes with the exploits of then-uncaught Dennis Rader, or the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) Killer, but, because there will be no more seasons, we will not see the ending of this plot. Also, in the second season, the plot about Bill Tench’s boy, and Dr. Wendy Carr’s love-life also took away from the plot. It seems that every time they delve into any of the main characters’ personal lives, they veer wildly off-track. They also could have found a more interesting serial killer to track than the Atlanta Child Murderer Wayne Williams, or could have done it differently. The audience agrees with this, obviously, because there will be no third season. Boy, it sounds like I was super-negative in this review, but I swear, I am a fan, if only for the interesting premise, excellent character portrayals, and creepy atmosphere. 8/10.

Dexter (2006-2013)

Fellow Dexter fans, repeat after me: We choose to ignore the ending. We choose to ignore the ending. We choose to ignore the ending. Sigh. Feel better? Good. Moving on. Dexter, the premise of a serial killer who only kills bad guys, as sketched out originally in Jeff Lindsay’s books (the novels for which the TV series was based upon), was, in 2006, a delightfully refreshing addition to Showtime’s prime-time slot set. In spite of what others thought, my favourite character besides Dexter was his sister Deb, played marvellously by Jennifer Carpenter. After Rita’s sadly horrific death at the end of Season 5 at the hands of the Trinity Killer (the best antagonist of the entire series), the quality of the show tumbled steeply downhill, but not enough for me to stop watching. 8/10.

American Horror Story (2011-Current)

I’ve enjoyed all nine seasons of American Horror Story, for its scares, and even for, at times, the sheer ludicrousness and campy acting. The best seasons, of course, include Jessica Lange, and no season to date has eclipsed the first two, but I like how there is a connected universe with each addition to the anthology. I am a person that enjoys a side-helping of Easter eggs and foreshadowing in my TV series, and AHS provides just that. Season 1 will always be the best for being the one that started it all, and Season 2 is a masterpiece. After that, my rankings are 5, 3, 4, 8, 6, 9 and 7. The latter seasons tend to follow a trend of peaking midway through, before skulking toward lukewarm endings. But the sheer existence of this show pleases the horror buff in me, so I will never tire of it. I can’t wait until October to see what they have in store for Season 10. 8/10.

Freaks and Geeks (1999)

Judd Apatow’s foray into the politics of high school in the early-1980s only lasted one season, but what a season it was. Freaks and Geeks introduced 16-year-old Lindsay Weir, who, after her grandmother’s death, is sick of being the brainy kid and wants to hang out with the freaks and finally be cool, sometimes with hilarious or heartwarming results. There is also her geeky freshman brother, Sam, and his equally awkward friends who run along as side-plots and occasionally provide the moral foil to the overarching plot of an episode. With a stellar cast, most of whom went on to even greater things, such as Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, and James Franco, Freaks and Geeks is more real than most teen dramas, and has rightfully developed a cult following in the years since the show’s cancellation. 9/10.

Twin Peaks (1990-1991, then again in 2017)

Ahead of its time, a pioneer 

American Gothic (1995-1996)

This is a forgotten horror gem of the mid-90s that kick-started Sarah Paulson’s career long before AHS, and Gary Cole was electric as crooked cop Sheriff Buck exerting evil supernatural influence over a small god-fearing town in the South. I first saw this show when I was 10, and it scared the crap out of me. The senseless murder of Merlyn Temple at the hands of Cole’s aforementioned sheriff haunted me years afterward.

Community (2009-2015)

In the first few seasons, Dan Harmon’s hilarious comedy, Community, starts off normally enough, centring around a lawyer (Joel McHale’s Jeff Winger) who is exposed as having a fake degree, and is required to attend community college to obtain the proper credentials to be re-admitted into the bar. When he forms a study group, initially with the goal to convince the girl he has a crush on (Britta Perry, played by Gillian Jacobs), to go out with him, they all become fast friends and partake in many crazy exploits while studying at Greendale, including a dark parallel universe, which has evil versions of each character. With a stellar ensemble cast, including Donald Glover of Childish Gambino fame, and Chevy Chase, who is still hilarious in his seventies, this show is must-see television. Stream it today. 10/10.

The Good Place (2016-2019)

The ending made me sad. 

[sneakymalarkey-blog]

Top 10 Good Horror Movies to Binge-watch this Halloween

‘Tis the season for haunted dreams and loud screams! If you’re like me, who looks forward to Halloween every year, well congratulations to us. It has been a tradition to surround ourselves with things that would make our skin crawl and make us look behind us more than twice, and of course having a horror movie marathon is almost a tradition. However, most film producers seem to think that the ultimate horror movie formula is Generic Plot + Jump Scare and to be honest it’s already getting old and boring. This was what led me to explore more of the horror genre to find movies that would exceed expectations and break this chain of bad horror movies. Let me share with you these gems I found and truly treasure. (This list does not follow any particular order).

1. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Jacob’s Ladder is a horror/psychological thriller starring Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer. This is a story about a Vietnam war veteran and his struggles to return to a normal life while being plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks. Being unable to distinguish what’s real and what’s not, Jacob might be close to descending into madness. 

This movie made me feel like I was also losing my mind, and I actually had to pause the movie at times just to take a breather. The visuals, music, and atmosphere really did a good job on engaging all of my senses to the point where I had a nightmare the same night I finished it. 

This is not your typical horror movie, but still worth checking out for a brand new experience. 

2. Sinister (2012)

Sinister follows the story of Ellison Oswald (played by Ethan Hawke), a true-crime writer struggling to produce a new best-seller. An unsolved case that continues to baffle the authorities is his new target for his comeback, even moving his own family to the house where the murders happened.  Watching the video tapes of the actual murders, he slowly realizes that the murders might be involved with a supernatural force and that moving his family to that house was a fatal move. 

I just happened to see this movie on TV one night and to be honest I didn’t really have any expectations that it will be good. This movie really surprised me with how good the atmosphere and the mystery built over time. Yes, it has a couple of jump scares, but what makes it acceptable is because they did not rely on that heavily. For these reasons, Sinister will always be a standout for me and will always be a part of my horror movie recommendations. 

3. The Ring (2002)

Urban legends are nothing but some silly hearsay, right? Rachel Keller (played by Naomi Watts) thought that a videotape filled with nightmarish and unsettling clips was nothing but a circulating rumor, that is until she encounters a case about a group of teenagers dying after watching the said tape after a week. She later watches the tape to unravel its mystery with only a week to save her own life. 

The Ring is actually an American adaptation of a Japanese horror movie called “Ringu”. These kinds of adaptations are usually done wrong, but again this movie will surprise you on how it managed to still grasp what made the original scary. This is a good movie to watch with friends, so that you can all get a weird fear of televisions at the same time. 

4. Orphan (2009)

After losing their unborn child, a couple decides to go for adoption. Esther is just the perfect kid for them, having formed a special bond with them upon first meeting. However, welcoming her home seems like they also welcomed a series of unfortunate events. Is it just a coincidence or is there something wrong with Esther? 

First of all, they did a good job on casting Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther. For me it was her performance that really added to the wonder of the movie. This is not the first movie to have an adopted child as the center of the spookiness, but this is the first one to...well i’ll just let you see it for yourself. 

5. It (2017)

Who hasn’t seen this most-awaited remake of a classic Stephen King novel? It has been the talk of the town for months and there’s a good reason for that. 

It follows the story of bullied children who are terrorized by an evil shape-shifting clown. It does not only shape-shift just for the heck of it, but it actually takes the form of your deepest fears. 

This might seem like a really simple plot, but the execution of the scenes, the acting, the musical scores, and the story really add up so masterfully resulting to this great remake. It really did the 1990 TV series and the novel great justice. Shout-out to Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of Pennywise the Clown, which really made the movie float up to number one. 

6. Halloween (1978)

What’s a more perfect way to celebrate the Halloween than to watch a movie named after the holiday? 

Halloween is about Michael Myers, a masked man who managed to escape Smith Grove’s Sanitarium to bring forth some terror on a Halloween night. He was sentenced  fifteen years for the brutal murder of his very own sister when he was just six years old. 

This movie is considered as one of the classics that will never get old, also making Michael Myers as one of the most iconic movie serial killers. Halloween was originally planned to be a series of different horror stories; however, due to Michael Myers’ popularity they decided to make the series his own. If you want to experience the thrill of being chased by a relentless masked maniac, then you should check this movie out.

7. Alien (1979)

Alien is about the crew of the commercial starship “Nostromo” and their story after waking up from cryo-sleep. On their journey home, they receive a distress call from an unknown vessel. Deciding to check out what is happening, they pay a short visit only to discover something they shouldn’t have seen or touched. 

This movie is also considered a classic and even resulted to multiple sequels. I was not a big fan of this genre and just decided to let this one slide off but boy am I glad that I did give it a shot. As if being alone in a distant space wasn’t creepy enough, the movie decides to throw in something that seems to be inescapable. Worst part is that you can’t just call the police or scream for help. 

8. Sigaw (The Echo) - (2004)

Sigaw is a Filipino horror movie that follows the story of Marvin (played by Richard Gutierrez) and his newfound freedom after moving in to an apartment of his own. At first, everything was a bliss as he enjoyed living alone; however, his neighbors’ screamy fights will start to affect him...even after moving out from the apartment building. 

To be honest, watching this movie made me uneasy because it actually did a good job on building this atmosphere where the mystery would start to engulf you. There’s a good reason why it was the official selection for a horror film festival, even earning an American adaptation entitled “The Echo”. 

9. Shutter (2004)

Shutter is a Thai movie about a vengeful ghost haunting a photographer and his girlfriend. This happened after they accidentally hit a young woman with their car, and the girlfriend thought it would be a good idea to discover more about the young woman and hopefully put an end to their hell. However, will she be ready to uncover a secret that would shake everything she believed? 

At first glance, one might say that this is your typical horror movie: ghosts, haunting, haunted pictures, etc. What makes this one stand out is the story behind the ghosts and the haunting, along with the characters’ personal issues. This is a must-watch if you want to make your friends scream and cover their eyes while enjoying a well-written horror movie.

10. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Last but not the least, we have Shaun of the Dead. This is a horror/comedy British film starring Simon Pegg as Shaun. After their town suddenly becomes overrun with zombies, Shaun struggles to save both his mother and ex-girlfriend with the ultimate plan of safety. 

Shaun of the Dead did a wonderful job on harmonizing horror and comedy into one beautiful melody. I decided to end the list with this in order to give a lighter tune to everything while still being scary. What’s in it for you when you watch this movie: great characters, good humor, suspense, zombies, and Cornetto ice cream.

___________

Despite the bad horror movies that rule the box office, there are still some really good ones that deserve so much more love than they’re currently getting. This gives me hope for the horror genre, and I’m hoping for more great horror movies to add to my collection.

Enjoy the Halloween!