#5-ish pseudo singularities

[hopeled]

i just find it so funny that after what happened in lb 7 ritsuka's sense of self-preservation and danger is just fucked. it's gone. snapped in half. you die twice in one lostbelt and fight ORT and now everything is just ' yeah sure cool why not'

setanta out here saying demonic beasts have a better sense of it while tiamat is calling them a delinquent because they don't want to go back just yet because why not! why shouldn't they help a beast regain their authority?? what's the worst that could happen ?? human order is already blocking them out the counter force going after ritsuka is just a little icing on the cake. a little pizazz. a little flavor to keep going through the seven singularities of arcade spicy. nothing like being hunted by demon pillars again and beung cut-off frrom chaldea it's like the good old days!!

[curtpires]

Favorite Films of 2019

1: The Irishman / Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 

Both films that look backwards in time. Both films that feel meditative on the nature of temporality, and the work of the filmmakers themselves. OUATIH feels like QT’s most emotionally charged film - a meditation on male friendship, but doesn’t pull any punches either -with a final thirty minutes so obscene that only he would dare to attempt. 

IRISHMAN - feels like the third in a trilogy that started with Goodfellas and continued with Casino. Also feels like Scorsese and Deniro meditating on the nature of mortality, and the way time grinds us down. Beautiful. Pesci is restrained and genius in his role. 

2.Marriage Story 

Again another film that feels like a sequel to a filmmakers earlier work. In this case it’s sort of a mirror to the excellent The Squid And The Whale.  I like this film because it’s not interested in taking sides, but rather painting a picture of the emotional distress divorce causes, on not just the divorcees but those on the periphery. Lots of talk about how good Driver is, and he is great, but was really impressed with the nuance of Scar Jo’s performance. 

FORD V FERRARI 

Brilliant performances by Bale and Damon. Maybe the most exciting and immaculately photographed racing scenes I’ve ever seen - Mangold and DP Phedon Papamichael capture the essense of speed in a truly visceral and exciting way. 

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER 

The most divisive film of the year, but I loved  it. It’s swashbuckling, hopeful and emotional in a way that the other films in the recent trilogy have been missing. That kiss scene is weird as hell, but beyond that I think it works.  

The King

A return to form for Michod whose earlier works Animal Kingdom and The Rover were both excellent. Epic and sweeping adaptation of the Shakespeare work with memorable performances from Chalamet, Pattinson and Edgerton who also co-writes. Battle sequence near end is incredible, as well. 

Too Old To Die Young 

Basically a 10 hour nihilistic grindhouse meets arthouse film. One of the most singular and unforgettable experiences of the year. Episodes 4 and 5 are particularly resonant. The chase set to Barry Manilow’s Mandy is the sort of deprived poetry that makes Refn so exciting to me. 

Death Stranding 

Like Too Old To Die Young this isn’t technically a “film” but it feels like one. The story that plays out across the 40-ish hour game is one of the more interesting narratives I’ve encountered in a while. Kojima’s commitment to building something that connects us - builds instead of tears down, is inspiring. And the last cut scene sequence that reveals the true story of Mads Michelson’s Clifford Unger is truly beautiful and inspiring. 

AD ASTRA 

James Grey has been one of my favorite filmmakers for a while so naturally I was excited for this long gestating film to release. It’s a beautiful and existential meditation on family and the nature of men set against the backdrop of a space-mission. Bonus points for casting Liv Tyler and making this a weird pseudo-sequel to Armageddon. 

Honorable Mentions: The Lighthouse. Joker. Booksmart. 

Haven’t seen: Uncut Gems. 1917. A Hidden Life. 

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 11/3/21

SEAN: November is approaching, and the manga are falling like leaves.

Airship has three debuts in print. There’s I’m the Evil Lord of an intergalactic Empire!, Planet of the Orcs, and A Tale of the Secret Saint.

Also out in print is Berserk of Gluttony 4.

Digitally we see an early release of Vol. 2 of Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!.

Dark Horse has a 4th Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition.

ASH: I’m very happily upgrading my collection of the series to these beautiful volumes.

SEAN: Ghost Ship debuts Ero Ninja Scrolls (Ara Kusa Ninpo Cho), a Hakusensha title from their magazine Harem. (Yes, that is a real magazine by the same company that publishes Hana to Yume.) It’s ninjas and smut.

ASH: That doesn’t seem to be too uncommon of a combination.

SEAN: They also have a 2nd volume of Does a Hot Elf Girl Live Next Door to You? and a 2nd volume of Sundome!! Milky Way.

J-Novel Club has some digital releases. We see Altina the Sword Princess 11, Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! 7, The Great Cleric 5, Marginal Operation’s 10th manga volume, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 7, and Perry Rhodan NEO 4.

Some print for Kodansha. We see the 6th Attack on Titan Colossal Edition and the 5th and final box set of Fairy Tail. There’s also Battle Angel Alita 3, Peach Boy Riverside 3 and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 6.

ASH: I’m still vaguely interested in Peach Boy Riverside, but haven’t actually gotten around to reading it…

SEAN: Digitally we get a new Cells At Work spinoff, Neo Bacteria! This is from the same author as the main Bacteria spinoff, and also ran in Nakayoshi. It’s done in one, and features the cells trying to help a girl confess to the one she likes. What even is this franchise anymore?

Also digitally, we get Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo-Singularity III: The Stage of Carnage, Shimousa – Seven Duels of Swordmasters 4, Girlfriend, Girlfriend 6, Love After World Domination 2, My Dearest Self with Malice Aforethought 10, and With the Sheikh in His Harem 7.

KUMA has a new BL title, You Are My Happiness (Kimiarite Kouhuku), a Comic Marginal title about a food stall vendor and his tailed, winged customer.

MELINDA: Maybe interesting?

SEAN: Seven Seas has three debuts. No Matter What You Say, Furi-san Is Scary! (Tonari no Furi-san ga Tonikaku Kowai) is an Ichijinsha title from the awkwardly named magazine Manga 4-koma Kings Palette. Girl looks and sounds like a delinquent… but she’s really a cute innocent girl in love with our hero.

ASH: I’m intrigued! This sounds like it could be fun.

MELINDA: It does.

ANNA: I enjoy delinquent manga.

SEAN: Reborn As a Barrier Master (Kekkaishi e no Tensei) comes from Gentosha’s Denshi Birz, and features a recently isekai’s salaryman who’s in the body of a 6-year-old. Almost sold into slavery, almost killed, he’s actually taken in by a local lord. Time to train his awesome power!

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games (Tai Ari Deshita. ~Ojou-sama wa Kakutou Game Nante Shinai~) is a yuri-ish title from Media Factory’s Comic Flapper. Imagine Maria-sama Ga Miteru if Sachiko were a hardcore gamer and you come close to what this is.

Seven Seas also has CALL TO ADVENTURE! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board 2, A Centaur’s Life 20, Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 2, Dance in the Vampire Bund: Age of Scarlet Order 4, Machimaho: I Messed Up and Made the Wrong Person Into a Magical Girl! 8, Made in Abyss Official Anthology – Layer 3: White Whistle Melancholy, Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary 13, and Pompo: The Cinéphile 2.

Tentai Books has a new light novel out digitally, with print to follow. Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer (Tonari no Seki ni Natta Bishoujo ga Horesaseyou to Karakattekuru ga Itsunomanika Kaeriuchi ni Shiteita), a high school romcom about a nebbish guy who ends up next to the seemingly untouchable girl.

No debuts for Viz, but we do see My Hero Academia: Ultra Analysis—The Official Character Guide, nearly 300 pages of facts, trivia, hero analysis, and interviews.

We also get Black Clover 27, Dr. STONE 19, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5–Golden Wind 2, Love Me Love Me Not 11, Mashle: Magic & Muscles 3, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 11, Snow White with the Red Hair 16, The King’s Beast 4, and Undead Unluck 4.

MICHELLE: I vow to get caught up with these three Shojo Beat titles! And MHA: Vigilantes, as well.

ASH: Shojo Beat’s on my radar, too! As is the latest JoJo.

ANNA: I need to get caught up too!

SEAN: Yen On has two titles, as we get High School DxD 5 and Spice & Wolf 22.

Lastly, Yen Press has Bestia 3 and Uncle from Another World 3.

Stay gold, manga lovers. What are you picking up?

By: Sean Gaffney