#HOWEVER its so nice to see how some things adapted and translated to screen

[yrsonpurpose]

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023) book → screen (x)

[tarokro]

I finished watching the Yakuza Amazon Prime series. I'm really interested in hearing all of your thoughts now that the series is fully out.

for those curious, here is my review:

I wanted to like this series. I am a lover of a corny, well-intended but poorly-made media and clumsy adaptations. But I'm really not a fan. All the positive reviews citing negative reviews being from "angry gamers" fail to take into account the sheer number of people who aren't familiar with the games and still disliked this series, because it manages a feat which should be impossible for something of the yakuza genre: it is really, really fucking boring.

you have so many plot threads and characters introduced rapid-fire in a way that don't let you connect with anyone or anything in a series this short. Interesting moments aren't lingered on at all, with stiff, almost insultingly dull fight choreography and stilted, inauthentic one-on-one character moments. Boring plot threads like a road trip to find someone's sister and the Florist's backstory take up far, far too much screen time. The inclusion of the satanists is as entertaining as the violence in this series gets, and yet anyone familiar with the wider yakuza film genre that forms the foundation of this series' source material and serves as its inspiration just ends up bewildered as to why that's the main connecting thread throughout the whole thing. The camerawork and editing, especially in the final episode's giant brawl, is poor. Nothing is dynamic. Lighting and sound design could also be a lot better. Especially the sound design, the squelching stabs in the final episode are very funny. And I cannot stress enough how disappointed I am in the fight choreography in this show. For the yakuza genre it is breathtakingly boring.

Other minor details leave you baffled. They keep calling Kiryu oyagoroshi, which means patriarch killer, but never translate it or tell you what it means. You keep reading it in the subtitles and hearing it, but you're just meant to infer its meaning. The romantic conflict is just as shoehorned in as it is in the game. Kiryu and Miho's platonic interactions had more on-screen chemistry than anyone else shown. Saejima and his horrible wig are allowed to pop up for a few minutes before he dies-not-dies in a comically short gunfight. That the satanists are given more screen- and general punch-time than anyone else depicted is a baffling choice for a show like this and does nothing to generate interest in who the Satanists are beyond "why are they in this show?"

the invention of Aiko to serve as an older sister to Yumi and a mother to Haruka is baffling. A friend said it seems like she really was just created to load all the possible bad traits any of their group to have onto one person. I don't understand her purpose. To someone unfamiliar with the source material, she comes across as the friend group's load-bearing asshole.

Kento Kaku's performance as Nishiki, for what they've given him, is stellar. However convoluted the plot behind it was and how clumsily it was revealed, it was nice to see Nishiki's younger sister Miho given screen time and a personality so that you can experience some amount of connection to the grief felt by those she leaves behind.

I'm also really confused by the end. I assume that, if the second season they seem to be anticipating comes to fruition, they're going to drag the cult details forward. but my friends reminded me: if Nishiki has known about Kazama being the guy who killed their parents for this long and has been running around like a glorified El Tigre slashing and stabbing people for years, why is Kazama still alive? Surely he would have killed him?

I don't feel any need to be super positive about this series. as someone who's a fan of jank and clunky creativity, none of this series really comes across like it was made by someone having fun with it, and I think that's what makes me really disappointed in the whole thing.

@draayder I told myself I wouldn't check this blog again until I got the chance to watch the next batch of episodes, so sorry for my lack of reply! I hope you can forgive me. this sums up my thoughts.

[mihai-florescu]

(..i ended up talking A Lot so please sleep and take however much time you need before looking at this since i know it’s pretty late for you..anyway!)

you mentioned earlier (and thank you for answering!!) that you had never seen a production of sweeney todd in which case i wish you couldve seen the production i went to in the summer it was really good…..i do have..some issues with the way it was adapted into a movie by tim burton, as is kind of the case unfortunately with sondheim musicals when they get adapted into movies, they tend to kind of be stripped of their charm and comedy and played almost completely straight (the into the woods movie…i wont start cause ill never shut up but its….euuuu……)

and though i think as a movie musical the burton version of sweeney todd is actually a rather good adaptation, the way the story is presented in the medium it was written for will always be the better version to me, since not all elements of theatre translate very well into film….one thing kind of apparent especially if you compare the 1982 version (which is my favourite) and the burton movie, the actors on screen have to compensate for the fact that the camera is capturing their every movement up close, so their performances have to be very restrained, and Burton focuses much more on atmosphere rather than crazy movements and gestures and facial expressions - which i think was a good decision, though it does kinda lose a bit of its i guess. original charm, since sweeney todd is Supposed to be a dark comedy, like, the theatre version is really really funny…..

uhh. I didn’t quite know where I was going with this but yeah the original ST musical is supposed to be more of a dark comedy than just. plainly dark like the burton film (though it does still keep some of comedy beats which is nice) and well some bits of the musical are supposed to be..i guess critique? or satire? one of the two of yknow the typical love story with Johanna in the role of the typical ingenue except she’s kind of lost it a bit so she’s not as “pure” as they’re supposed to be and only really “falls in love” with Anthony and decides to go off with him since it’s the only way she can see to get away from her creepy “father” who wants to marry her at 16..

anyway anyway what i meant to say was as a really really good example of epiphany and the whole 4th wall breaking, I think George Hearn is probably the best sweeney at this in my opinion since he really does just pull of the role of the cynical kind of deranged man super well (angela lansbury is great as ms lovett too she’s so funny & it’s kind of unfair to compare bonham carter to her when it’s well. Angela Lansbury…) ..there’s a recording on yt taken from the dvd version of the 1982 production which i recommend!!

uhhh… sorry for rambling so much i have a lot of thoughts about a lot things…….have a good night and sleep well!!!

Dont apologize, this was very lovely to read! Im a casual sweeney todd fan so i didnt know about the 1982 production on youtube, thank you for telling me about it! And the analysis of adapting the stage show for the screens, i love how passionate you are. I hope this doesnt sound fake, i do mean it honestly

[ragnarssons]

Hello, nice to see a natla fan who isn't having a meltdown like the rest of the internet 👋

I wanted to vent about how recently i've been annoyed seeing fans talk about how they NEED to film s2 and s3 back to back to avoid timeskips.

Personally i believe it's unnecessary and first and foremost i think fans forget these are real people making this show who also need to rest. do they really want to subject gordon to basically having no life for however long it would take to film back to back just so they can have their precious age-accurate aang vs ozai fight? like Really?? That's what is most important to you???

Hi! Always a pleasure! I have no intention of giving in to some kind of "fearmongering" going around fandoms in general every time there's new stuff. 🙄 I feel like people, if they can't just take entertainment for what it is, something you can live without if you don't like it, they just should take a stepback and chill, really. If they don't like this adaptation, the off button on their tv is still there, and worst case scenario, they can use their netflix subscription to watch something else idk. simple as that. 🤷‍♀️ As for the whole thing about timeframe and filming, I do agree that it doesn't have to be an important issue if they really face the issue head-on early on in the show. I do think it'll be important to avoid being like "Sozin's comet is coming... 10 years from now..." but the one year frame from the cartoon would've always been impossible to translate in live action, with actors, esp children, like they hit puberty and everything goes fast from there and is really obvious on screen (hum hum, the Stranger Things kids). Now I am skeptical about this idea of a timejump between book 1 and 2. While unavoidable (and COVID, and the writers strike etc), I still would have preferred in an ideal world to have the timejump more between book 2 and 3, skipping a time during which Aang would just try and heal from Azula's attack for example. But it's the way it is, it was always meant to be like this. I do hope that they don't go off being like "well three years happened" between book 1 and book 2. But at least, saying some months passed, can stil work within the story, and it could be explained by Aang spent x amount of time learning waterbending idk. Of course people can argue "well then they shouldn't make a live action adaptation"... well, they are doing it. So like, ofc the people who work on it, thought about all these options. And just because some fans are open-minded about it, expect(ed) these restrictions to be incorporated to the story, doesn't mean we're "dickriding" or "delusionals". I just want to give the show its fair chance, because I love the ATLA universe, and we'll see what happens! 💁‍♀️

[potteresque-ire]

🏳️‍🌈 Rec post!! A queer film + a queer TV series from Hong Kong ~

1) Twilight’s Kiss (叔·叔) (Dir. Ray Yeung 楊曜愷; 2019)

Twilight’s Kiss offers a very realistic depiction of two elderly, in-the-closet gays in Hong Kong, who have dedicated their lives building a conventional family before unexpectedly falling in love with each other. It is a quiet film, and the romance is told in the same subtle manner as love is expressed (and not expressed) in their generation. The actors were phenomenal at playing regular Hong Kong men of their age (Pak mentioned he “came to Hong Kong”, ie, he was a refugee from Mao’s China, as the vast majority of his demographics was), which added to the resonance of the story ~ they could’ve been anyone, and anyone could’ve been them. 

The director of the film, Ray Yeung, is an openly gay man.

(Long review: Hollywood Reporter) Streaming link to film (with English subtitles; pls ignore and close the pop-up window)

2) Ossan’s Love (大叔的愛) (2021)

The unlikely (and hilarious) love triangle between Muk (Left), Tin (Center) and KK (Right) in Ossan’s Love.

For those who found the name familiar, it’s because the series is a (faithful) remake of the popular 2018 Japanese series of the same name. The Hong Kong version is longer (15 episodes; ~ 40 min each) compared to the Japanese original, and its mood is cheerier, sweeter, and also ... more BL, with the lead characters Tin (Haruta in the original) and Muk (Maki in the original) played by two idols, Edan Lui 呂爵安 and Anson Lo 盧瀚霆, from the very popular local boy band MIRROR.

(Being idols didn’t prevent them from kissing. Not in Hong Kong, 2021.) (Yes, they kissed, and hugged and fought and bantered...)

Ossan’s Love is culturally significant in that it became the first gay drama to be aired primetime in Hong Kong, and by extension, in China. Beloved by the locals, it was also very much discussed—hk-queers expressed their (surprised) joy that finally, they got to see a respectful, dignified presentation of who they are and how they love. More importantly, they got to see HKers, older generations included, glued to the TV for their kind of love story, rooting for the lead male characters to get together. 

This signifies a broader acceptance of LGBT+ in the city than previously assumed; this is very important and comforting to the community in June, 2021, when the future of LGBT+ rights in the city is very uncertain. After the 2019 protests, pro-democracy leaders have been arrested and jailed in large numbers; newspaper that advocated for freedom has been shut down. Meanwhile, during the airing of Ossan’s Love , the (in)famous pro-Beijing politician, Junius Ho, claimed the series to have violated the city’s much feared, much abused National Security Law—the law that officially aims to catch “traitors”, but has been used as a “catch-all” excuse to arrest political dissidents and suppress the freedoms of the city. Ho was of sufficient prominence that his words could draw the attention of officials who have been sent from across the mainland-HK border to do Beijing’s bidding.

Also, Ossan’s Love was produced not by the powerful, once popular TVB (local TV station), which, with Chinese investors becoming its major shareholders like many other HK press and media companies, has become very pro-Beijing and conservative. The series was produced by ViuTV, a much smaller station preferred by young, pro-democracy Hong Kongers ... which means the future of the series, of its stars (MIRROR’s members are once-contestants of a ViuTV talent show), of even the station itself is also uncertain.

Hence, I’m recommending Ossan’s Love now ... even if the official version doesn’t have the best English subtitles. The full series is on Youtube (links below); the soundtrack is in Cantonese and (Traditional) Chinese subtitles are available, but English is only available via Youtube’s built-in Auto-Translate function. 

For those who would like to catch a short scene of two cute HK boys in love, the last 5 minutes of Ep 11 would be a nice place to watch. You can see how comfortable these two bandmates were with each other—Edan (Tin) had played two supporting roles before this series, while Anson (Muk) had never acted before. Edan and Anson have claimed that being close friends in RL meant their intimate scenes were easy to film (BTW, Anson is gay, Edan isn’t).

Edan Lui (Left) & Anson Lo (Right), Harper's Bazaar HK, May 2021. Edan was a uni student before joining hk-ent. Anson was a dance instructor.

(You can also see why, when I watched the Gg + Dd Happy Camp episode very, very early on in my turtlehood, I assumed Gg and Dd would have ample opportunities to work together again, to play and be happy in front of the camera ... just like how I remembered on-screen couples from my days in HK—the couples, the CPs of the time, would collaborate repeatedly after having demonstrated chemistry and become commercial success—in film and TV projects, in variety shows, in awards ceremonies as presenting guests etc etc. This multi-project collaboration was, and still is, viewed as a Very Good Thing, and not only for commercial reasons. The inter-personal fate (緣份) to play on-screen couples repeatedly, per the tradition of HK-ent, is something of a blessing, talked about as a small-scale version of having the destiny, the luck to be together across multiple lives, multiple incarnations. Actors treasure this kind of collaboration and the HK audience celebrates it, regardless of the marital status of the actors in RL. Entertainment news dedicate articles about it.) (There’s actually an example of that in Ossan’s Love: Kenny Wong 黃德斌, the actor who played the titular Ossan, KK, and Rachel Kan 簡慕華, who played his wife Francesca, had already played husband and wife three times before. Rachel had retired from acting in 2017 and moved to Canada; she told reporters that she returned to shoot Ossan’s Love primarily so that she could play Kenny’s wife again).

* Below is a small warning for Ossan’s Love ~ *

The humour of Ossan’s Love is often wild and zany, especially where it adapts from the Japanese original. Some of it, i-fandomers may find uncomfortable. Notably, the titular Ossan (Japanese, meaning “Older Man”) was Tin and Muk’s boss; and he and Darren, another superior of Tin and Muk, were also part of the romantic story line.

One can argue, therefore, that Ossan’s Love contains a *very* “Me Too” situation; however, this is also why I find Ossan’s Love interesting beyond being a Chinese-speaking gay drama—it is clear that the production team of this series meant no disrespect, and from the series’ reception, it’s also clear that hk-queers and other more progressive members among the audience didn’t see disrespect in the product. This series therefore offers a glimpse to the answers of some questions I’ve had: how does Hong Kong of 2021 translate respect for queers (as well as for older men and women) into day-to-day words and actions? How do these culturally-specific habits in speech and behaviour compare to the norms in, for example, the United States (that I’m familiar with)?

“Political incorrectness” was also found in some of Tin’s internal monologue. However, I thought, perhaps, that was why the series has proven to be disarming to the general audience both in HK and Japan, places with a tradition of homophobia stemming often not from malice, but from ignorance, from sex being considered taboo for so much of the places’ history. Tin, as someone who haven’t seemed to have spared a thought about homosexuality before the story had taken place, spoke the minds of the audiences who aren’t familiar with homosexuality. Muk, meanwhile, presented the perspective of someone who already understood what being gay was and wasn’t about. Tin, therefore, led the audience towards Muk and his views step by step, all the while without being judgemental—how could he be? He was one of them too during his journey. He was the student, and he was also the protagonist who everyone—and I mean everyone—loved (in a rather funny manner :D). 🌈

(Long review: BLwatcher)

Links to Ossan’s Love, official version uploaded by ViuTV: EP 1 EP 2 EP 3 EP 4 EP 5 EP 6 EP 7 EP 8 EP 9 EP 10 EP 11 EP 12 EP 13 EP 14 EP 15

ETA 2021/09/16: Streaming with English subtitles is available here.

[wherestoriescomefrom]

since like one (1) of u asked.

the thing is that typically - historically - romance is written by women. i mean it, even when you go all the way back to the nineteenth century, the modern form of the romance novel was very much being codified by women. 20th century america is considered the peak of the romance novel, and it was practically all women. the historical romance genre is dominated by women. even the early 2000s trend of really weird erotica was mostly women.

this doesn't happen in india. famous romance novelists in india have been men for some reason - you have your chetan bhagat, ravinder singh, durjoy datta - the whole lot, yk? like you might have the occasional preeti shinoy or whatever, but on the whole the really cheap paperbacks are always going to be male writers. and if you ever sit around and wonder "ok but why is romance writing in india mostly men???? that's really weird it doesn't usually happen like that" the answer is the same for practically all of the issues you run into with writing in india. caste.

in this case, the answer is also really fucking bizarre. the reason why romance writing in india is dominated by upper caste men is because typically, women who have access and leisure to english writing publishing are upper caste, and they cannot be allowed to write romance. romance has too many connotations of titillation, cheapness and being available for the lowest common denominator, and you cannot allow the purity of upper caste women to be associated with that sort of thing.

that's really the bottom line of it. at least, that's what my diagnosis of the problem is. there's this really great essay by rachel dwyer on the indian on screen kiss - i think it's in a book edited by francesca orsini - and she comes to a similar sort of conclusion about why kisses cannot be permitted on screen in india. that upper caste actresses wouldn't want lower caste male audiences to see them like that. similarly, no one wants upper caste indian women to write romance that can be read by practically anyone - thats why when you have women in the indian publishing world writing romance, the marketing is really different! compare an anuja chauhan book to a chetan bhagat - she's an upper caste woman, the cover art for her book has those markets. it's typically priced higher, too - an anuja chauhan is going to cost you rs 350 to chetan bhagat's rs 150. there's more female writers in the market now, but i'm usually sus.

its really hard to make lists of good romance writing in india because of all these factors. i have no problems with durjoy datta and all (i think my sister loves his books) but i genuinely find it hard to get into romance written by men. HOWEVER, all of that being said, here's some of the books i've really liked:

1. Keep the Change by Nirupama Subramaniam: ok so like i read this when i was fourteen, so take this recommendation with a pinch of salt. it is painfully upper caste and tam-brahm, but i also remember it being a genuinely really funny book. also, this is a sort of one of the first examples of what is going to become a popular romance form in india - the corporate romance: cosmopolitan, sexy, urban. it's funny and all that, but it's also like a telling example of what's about to come. it's strangely like sex and city, and it is an interesting book in its own right just because of that.

2. Stupid Cupid by Mamang Dai: this is less like a tradition romance book but i,,,, love mamang dai. she's a writer from arunachal pradesh, and some of her other books are just..... *chefs kiss*. this one is lovely because it has two of the things i love: delhi and romance. a woman runs a boarding house where people come and fall in love, and it's just about delhi and it's emotions.

3. Those Pricey Thakur Girls/The House that BJ Built by Anuja Chauhan: i know i spent some time critiquing the politics behind chauhan's writing, but these two books are genuinely so funny, so well written and so cute!! especially the second one, i love that book in particular. chauhan also seems more clued in to the caste politics that back her up, but she's still on thin ice because she loves her rajput heritage. the first book is set during the emergency and has a pride and prejudice vibe, of four unmarried daughters. the second one is modern day and its more unbelievably but way romancey-er for me.

4. Gulab by Annie Zaidi: i was wondering whether i should put this book in or not, because it is less of a romance and more of a ghost story. it is a mental mind fuck, for what its worth, and really lovingly written about a man's first love. genuinely a bit creepy in parts tho, as ghost stories often are.

5. Umera Ahmed's writing: she's pretty central to the Pakistani tv drama, and a lot of her books were adapted for pakistani television. the most famous example of this is probably Zindagi Gulzar Hai, but my favourite would probably be Daam. ahmed's writing was read in translation by me, as my written urdu is really bad. these cannot exactly be classified as romance, but she does deal with love and what it means for women. one thing to be careful of when reading her writing: she is anti ahmaddiya. i won't pretend to know much about pakistani social politics, but i know that that community is very severely discriminated against.

6. Prem Kabootar by Manav Kaul: this book is in hindi, and it's a short story collection. there's an english translation callesd A Night in the Hills, but i cannot vouch for the veracity of the translation. i did love the hindi tho, the titular story is really cute! it is a lot about love and romance in different forms and times while growing up. i even had a chance to watch the play version of that story back in the before times.

Books That Aren't Good, Per Say, But Interesting To Read Category:

7. Once Upon a Curfew by Srishti Chaudhry: ok so like this book is another one set in the emergency but its really bad. its slow paced and the character growth doesnt happen naturally. the romantic hero is quite nice but the lead just doesn't make herself likeable. it's also got some veiled allusions to upper caste delhi university college cultures, and like in a celebratory way?? but on the whole its interesting to read because the emergency only just became an acceptable thing to write about, and it is interesting to see how writers are dealing with it, if you know what i mean??

8. Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal: ok so this wasn't good, like i feel like it fundamentally misread a lot of what pride and prejudice was about BUT it was interesting because there seems to be a rise of pakistani authors who look at austen. even Austenistaan by Laleen Sukhera is an example of that. i didn't have fun reading this but it's definitely interesting to read. it's nowhere close to my favourite south asian adaptation of austen, but that's a story for another time.

and that's really all i have because thats just how romance genre is in india. i will say this, though: you will find more interesting romantic story telling in hindi writing - even if it is by men. i have a copy of October Junction by Divya Prakash Dubey i was going to get at during the midterm break, and i will report on that in detail whenever i do finish it. in the meanwhile, this is genuinely all i have. on the whole, i really think you can also find far, FAR more interesting ideas of romance in cinema from india. and i don't mean bollywood (although some movies are pretty good!), i mean regional indian cinema!! some marathi movies have such lovely romances, and there's a few malyali ones that are really nice too!! once again though, thats a conversation for another time.

[gamewise]

Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou Review

(Author’s warning: the following game contains racially insensitive stereotypes. They are not present in these screencaps, and are not the effect of the game’s relatively low score. The game is a product of its time not just on a technical level, but on a cultural level. If you choose to read this review, massive spoiler alert: this is just not a good game, no matter how you slice it.)

In Japan, the Mega Drive debuted in October of 1988 with a whopping two titles available at launch; Space Harrier 2, and Super Thunder Blade. It wouldn’t take long for the humble 16-bit console to get its third title, a licensed game based on the Osomatsu-Kun manga which was about to get a new anime adaptation thanks to its popularity coming back. So you’re probably thinking this is a cheap cash-in title designed to promote the new anime, and I would like to say you’re right, but... actually, no, you’re right. Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou (Little Osomatsu: Nonsensical Theater) is a cheap cash-in that does more harm than good for the Mega Drive.

Before we dive into this game, let’s talk about Osomatsu-Kun itself. Osomatsu-Kun was a hugely popular manga about a group of trouble making sextuplets, who just so happen to all look the same. The manga ran for a whopping seven years back in the 60′s, receiving an anime adaptation at the peak of its popularity in 1966. In 1988, Studio Pierrot would bring forth a new anime adaptation that would see the sextuplets as side characters, with characters Iyami and Chibita, and their misadventures becoming more of the main focus. So seeing the side characters get thrust into the spotlight because they become popular is definitely nothing new, especially when the original manga did the same! So now that we have a new anime adaptation on the way, what are we getting for our video game cash in?

Well... just look at it. I know Japan is notorious for making some pretty surreal stuff, but Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou takes the fucking cake. You play as the oldest of the six brothers, and go on a quest to... uh, you know, I don’t think this game really has much of a story to it. You go through three different stages trying to get from point A to point B while you, armed with a slingshot, take out enemies based on other characters in Osomatsu-Kun, a lot of them being Chibita. And yes, you heard right, this game is only 3 stages long, so it should be quick and easy, right? Well... sit down, this game pads itself out in the worst possible way, and it managed to piss me off.

As you progress through a level, you may think it’s as simple as reaching the end of a stage... it’s not. Remember the infamous maze level in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, or the one in Transformers Comvoy no Nazo? Well, there is a specific route you’re expected to take in this game, and it’s not clear. You’ll play this game going from point A to point B, but once you reach a certain point, the screen will just stop allowing you to move forward. You’ll see yourself before a pit, and think it’s instant death. In this game, it’s not death, it just leads you to a different part of the level. However, the path you need to take is cryptic as hell, and you’ll never know if you’re going the right way. The only way to find out is to take out the correct sub boss. When you do, you’ll see an intermission bumper like you would for anime, and you’ll ask yourself “Wait, am I just going through the first level again?” The answer is partially yes, because remember that point where the screen wouldn’t let you advance? Well, now you will see a platform show up that can take you to a new part of the level, but now you need to find a new path to get to point B. All of this is designed to pad the game’s extraordinarily short length. By short, I mean that if you know your way through all three levels, you can finish this game in about 15 minutes.

(Thank you to the person who put this shit together)

I’d be able to forgive the maze-like structure if the game was any fun to play, but as it stands, this is a painfully generic floaty platformer. By floaty I mean Osomatsu himself defies gravity by being able to float in the air for an extended period of time with his jump. It’s nice to be able to control his jump mid-air, but the weightlessness will more than likely mess up your precision platforming, or you’ll get interrupted by the mere touch of your enemies. Yes, when you take damage, you get stun-locked, and instead of just falling to the ground, you are stun locked mid-air. I could forgive it, but this game is once again, a 30 frames per second game, and almost feels like it’s been slowed-down intentionally. Another issue I take with this game is the difficulty, it’s way too easy. All enemy projectiles can be destroyed with your slingshot, and there’s enough distance between you and the enemy to have a pattern figured out easily. I guess the idea was because your slingshot has such a short range of attack, it would balance things out, but it really doesn’t. You’ll have plenty of lives and health to go up against the boss and sub boss as the game gets fairly generous with health powerups. There are also shops where you can buy some items to guide you with the ribbons you’re collecting along the way, but before you can access that you get the option of playing mini-games to gamble them away. I’d just skip these and go straight to the shop, it’s not like you need these power-ups that much anyway, you can beat this game without them.

On the visual side... this was the worst the Mega Drive had in 1988. Sure, it’s colorful, and the sprites evoke the spirit of the original manga, but this looks like a hold over from the Master System/Mark III, it just doesn’t impress me. Aesthetically, the game is fine for the most part, but eventually you’ll run into a few racial stereotypes for your enemies, and boy are they horribly insensitive. Even knowing this, I pressed on with the game, because I wanted to see if I could take something positive out of it and look past those enemy sprites, and about the only thing I find entertaining is Iyami being all the bosses. So aside from a few bad sprites, I find the graphics were more focused on aesthetics and functionality than pushing technical limitations early. Audio wise this game is just plain awful. There’s an old saying among video game music fans that only Japan could use the Mega Drive’s unique sound setup correctly, but if that’s the case, they’ve never listened to this game’s music. It’s obnoxiously loud, the sound effects are super scratchy, it feels too much like an assault on my ears compared to the sound effects on something like Curse, or even Taz-Mania. Nothing against the compositions themselves, I found two songs to be catchy, but otherwise, nothing stood out for the right reasons. Definitely not a keeper.

At the end of the day, Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou is shovelware of the highest honor. Even if you can endure the game’s painfully easy difficulty, and frustrating level layouts, you are left with a feeling of emptiness by the time you reach the end. This game will not so much break you, but it will leave you feeling empty and depressed as you say to yourself, “that’s it?” I certainly felt empty after playing this. Like I just lost about 20 minutes of my life, and I’ll never get it back. Is there much worse on the Mega Drive? Yes, but considering it was 1988, the console had nowhere to go from here but UP. I wouldn’t even think of recommending this today, even as a curiosity. This is one of those cases where I can say avoid at all costs

Positives

+ Aesthetics mimic the source material perfectly

+ Controls respond

+ The game’s translated subtitle “Nonsensical Theater” perfectly describes everything

Negatives

- Unnecessarily pads its length thanks to a cryptic maze structure

- Unacceptably short

- Insults your skill by being piss easy

- Racial stereotyping may be enough to turn you away

- Designed to cash in on Osomatsu-Kun’s returning popularity in the 80′s

- The game’s translated subtitle “Nonsensical theater” perfectly describes everything

- Audio will hurt your ears

- Unless you need to complete an actual Mega Drive collection... skip it.

- While taking screenshots, I somehow managed to unlock the game’s framerate, indicating that this game was deliberately programmed in assembly to play at 30 frames per second. The floaty mechanics actually handled better under 60 fps, no fucking joke. Do you believe this shit? 

Overall: 2/10

[scarytheory]

James Bond conquers Czechoslovakia (or not?)

In the sixties, James Bond was everywhere. But even though it was a big worldwide phenomenon, it was hardly accessible to everyone. Czechoslovakia was a socialist country with a strict regulation system for film industry, so it is not surprising that James Bond films were not screened until the end of communist regime in the early nineties. But somehow James Bond had a notable presence in Czechoslovakia. It was a name known to average film fans. They heard about Sean Connery, Bond girls, and some of them could describe a detailed plot of the movies. How is it possible? This article discusses media discourse about James Bond, and how it created a basis for a familiarization with the James Bond film franchise.

The Czechoslovak film industry was centralized in the state-controlled institution between 1945 and 1990. Every imported film was approved by the state. Very broadly speaking, genre cinema from the Western countries wasn't ideologically desirable. Only around 5–10 British films were screened every year in Czechoslovakia in the '60s and '70s . Mostly they were kitchen sink dramas (A Taste of Honey or Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) or literary adaptations (Tom Jones, Far from The Madding Crowd). The action adventure genre was presented by French comedies (super popular Fan-Fan the Tulip and similar films) and by French art films (Breathless, Pierrot le fou). Important were leftist qualities of these movies. Approved were also some James Bond knock-offs, for example West German movies about FBI agent Jerry Cotton. Some people would say that James Bond and similar films could not be shown because of censorship, but that is not true. These films were not screened, because they just were not bought into the Czechoslovak distribution. There were, of course, reasons for that.    

So what exactly was problematic in James Bond films? First, it was simply a country of origin. It was not just that Bond was British (= Western country). In Czech press were Bond movies often described as American, which is at least partly true: distribution rights were owned by the American company United Artist. Also values presented by the films were values that were in Czechoslovakia identified with capitalist countries, especially with the United States. But mostly, Bond wasn't a preferred type of a hero for a socialist audience. He was rich, obsessed with expensive cars and clothes, violent and sexual. He was not nice. He was not a socialist hero. A Polish film historian Jerzy Toeplitz wrote about a bad influence of James Bond books and films, and the article was translated for Panoráma zahraničního filmového tisku in 1966. He wrote that James Bond books are meant for a Western reader who is “succumbed to the amuck of accumulating consumer goods.” That is related to the fact that the film series itself was perceived as existing just with a goal of gaining money. A lot of articles were stating (and mocking) the way the films were used for merchandise.

James Bond was a perfect picture of a capitalist country: cruel, brutal, too erotic, sadistic and racist. Which are all fair points, but they weren't said with an aim to open any kind of discussion. The goal was purely ideological. “We must build a hero – either a man or a woman of our time who upholds our humane socialist morale – and pose him or her against this mythical hero who can do anything, nothing is a nuisance to him, who overcomes everything smoothly and –  like James Bond, for example – has the right to commit senseless murders. This represents an ideological conflict with the bourgeoisie, one that is essential and without compromise.” (Film a doba, 5, p. 243).

Perhaps the most interesting aspects were constant mentions about racism. However a language that was used to describe racism in James Bond films was very racist itself. That is actually not surprising because Czechoslovak people had – and still have – lots of racist issues. Lubomír Oliva, one of prominent Czechoslovak film critics, described James Bond this way: “James Bond embodies a new type of Superman. He is coldy cruel and dismissive of the weak. He kills without remorse, because that is his job. Multiple scenes from the trilogy show racism, which is subconscious, automatic, and therefore more insidious. Is he the Tarzan among nuclear weapons? Or perhaps he is a  different but more dangerous type of a primitive: a close relative of the Nazi Übermensch.” (Kino, 1965/11, p. 13). It is also very telling to look closely at the photos used in that article – Bond shoots, Bond fights, Bond smiles like a crazy lunatic while he kills people. The writing itself is very suggestive, evocative and even vulgar. Oliva loves to mention every specific and cruel thing Bond does in the films in details. One has to ask – what if the effect of listing all the bad things was quite opposite? Was not public more curious to watch it?

Maybe the screenwriter of many amazing Czech genre films (Adela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet, Lemonade Joe) Jiří Brdečka was a little bit fond of Bond, right? Well – not really. The most problematic part of Bond films, according to Brdečka, was their anti-communist aspect. A majority of the villains were communists and often from USSR, which was not acceptable. In Brdečka's article in Divadelní a filmové noviny he compared people of color to communists. James Bond films are full of prejudice against both, and that is simply bad. He also wrote: “This hero is deeply engaged and his engagement compels him to eat communists and colored people for breakfast – both at the same time if possible. This tells us that James Bond may not find fertile soil around these parts.” But Brdečka at least acknowledged that the films were really well made. And concluded with: “[The films] are excellent crap, with an emphasis on crap.” (Divadelní a filmové noviny, 1965/9-10, p. 10). Galina Kopaněva (another a very prominent and very popular film critic) took one step further. Not only the films themself are bad and stupid, the loving audience from Western countries is stupid as well: “[young people] devour the elegant Bond and his precise punches to the stomach. They loosen their ties a la Bond when they see the closeups of  of Bond girls’ super-breasts, they bray with enthusiasm when there is an especially well done murder, they clench their fists as they watch crazy car chases on serpentine mountain roads, and they succumb to the pleasant shivers caused by torture scenes.” (Film a doba 1965/6, p. 323). The infantilization of audience was sometimes used while describing popular culture but was not broadly used for describing James Bond.    

So, now we know that James Bond was bad for Czechoslovak people. Or at least according to the prominent film critics and state-run film industry. But how is possible that James Bond became a well known phenomenon in communist Czechoslovakia? It was not allowed to show James Bond in the cinemas but somehow people knew who James Bond is. There were also special namings for James Bond films – bondovky (that is used still today) and bondiády. People were obsessed with them, even though they did not have an option to watch them.

The most obvious answer for James Bond popularity is that he was a constant presence in the Czechoslovak film press. He was – in his invisibility – totally visible. Bond films were often mentioned (and sometimes analyzed) in the press targeted towards film professionals (Interpressfilm) or “smart” film fans (Film a doba, Divadelní a filmové noviny) and in popular film magazines (Kino). Almost every Czechoslovak film critic had an opportunity to see a James Bond movie at some international film festival or in a cinema abroad. That means that they wrote reviews for Czechoslovak magazines. But the reviews were not only about qualities of the films. More often the critics retold the plot with every possible detail (including the ending of the film). The magazines also published spreads about James Bond phenomenon in general (including lots of photos), interviews with actors or directors, short notes about upcoming films or about changing of the actors. The articles were a weird mixture of positive and negative. For example, you would have a long text about Sean Connery, and in this article author would write about how wonderful actor Connery is. But they would also mention that Connery deserves better than Bond. Or you would have a big spread about a James Bond movie premiere, and author would mention that film is spectacular and fun to watch, but also that it is still a low and decadent film. 

Another way to get familiar with James Bond were the books by Ian Fleming. Three of them were published in Czechoslovakia: Dr No (Doktor NO, 1968; both Czech and Slovak version), View to a Kill (collections of short stories Ve jménu zákona, 1969) and Goldfinger (Zlatý fantóm, 1970, with a film cover and a lot of photos inside the book). The rest of the stories was published after 1990.

Of course in Czechoslovakia were some people that managed to see a James Bond film in other countries (travelling was complicated but not absolutely impossible). Ivan Soeldner said that people used to visit strip clubs while abroad, but suddenly it was a necessity to go see a James Bond film instead. He also stated that Bond (and strip clubs) are highly overrated (Kulturní tvorba, 1965/33, p. 14). But Bond films became word of mouth sensation – not just because they were entertainment films but because what they meant. Bond films were in a way similar to popular American music or Coca-cola. People heard so much about it that it became its own animal. The efforts to minimize and ridicule Bond in press actually created by mistake an unique mythos of James Bond – almost a symbol of anti-sovietism and anti-communism, something like a forbidden fruit. 

James Bond obsession calmed down a little bit with a departure of Sean Connery. Some articles were still occasionally written but not with so much passion as it used to be in the '60s. But a new opportunity to see James Bond films arrived to a Czechoslovak audience in the '80s. Videorecorders became more affordable and in 1985 there were around 80 000 of them. For Czechoslovakia was a very important phenomenon an unofficial “pirate” dubbing. So suddenly, for some people was a possibility to borrow VHS with some movies that were unavailable before (including Bond films). 

The communist regime ended in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and Czechoslovak film industry started to transform. The process was slow and messy. But finally, a first James Bond film was shown in Czech and Slovak cinemas: The Living Daylights in 1992 (in English original with Czech or Slovak subtitles). This film also had a special bonus for the viewers – it took place in Bratislava, Slovakia (but it was actually filmed in Austria). A lot of older Bond films also appeared in official VHS market, and the “black pirate market” was still quite proficient during the nineties.

The aim of this short overview was to show the ways James Bond appeared in the Czechoslovakia for the first time. It was probably very similar in other socialist countries (Poland, USSR,…). I think that it is important to ask questions about what Bond actually meant for a different types of audiences, and how it changed over time. The answers are still relatively vague (and maybe even banal), more answers could bring complex research in daily press or oral history. 

My sources: I did a quick research using a lot of articles from the '60s till early '90s. Big thanks to National Film Archive that has everything scanned in the digital library. 

Periodicals: Divadelní a filmové noviny, Film a doba, Filmové aktuality, Filmové informace, Filmový přehled, Interpressfilm, Kino, Kinorevue, Kulturní tvorba, Panoráma, Panoráma zahraničního filmového tisku, Záběr

I also used my own knowledge of Czechoslovak film industry (so you need to trust me that it is all true). I tried to put all this together, and the conclusions are my own. Hopefully, it all makes sense (I didn’t went too much into details because well, this is not some kind of complex research, it is just something I did for fun)

And thank you to amazing @slippingintostockings​ who helped me with the translation of Czech reviews from the sixties. 

[fangirlinglikeabus]

every target novelisation....2!

planet of giants by terrance dicks ok so i think that the reason that this is...good, and an unearthly child was...not good, is because this was written 9 years later when like. other, non-terrance dicks people were also novelising stories and he wasn’t just grinding them out on an industrial level. planet of giants isn’t one of the greats of doctor who but this is a competent adaptation - it doesn’t add much but it does flesh out what’s already there, giving us some backstory elements and making the appearance of giant insects and bodies seem a bit more dramatic than they could manage in 1964. unfortunately it also alters my favourite line from the story (‘i don't know how you know, you're supposed to know!’) and the doctor is weirdly hostile at the beginning (he’s looking forward to ditching ian and barbara, he responds to barbara’s observation ‘drily’ like he’s being a bit sarcastic over her, um, *checks notes* noticing important details). also, dicks describes this in the opening as ‘the doctor’s most grotesque and terrifying adventure’ and i’m like...planet of giants? really??

doctor who and the dalek invasion of earth by terrance dicks ok this one legitimately doesn’t change much at all. it cuts down on some things (including the doctor’s end speech being shorter - i’m assuming that’s a space thing), fleshes out on pov bits as you can in prose, gets rid of the smacked bottom line. bizarrely there are a few times that susan calls her grandfather the doctor which...i’m pretty sure wasn’t there originally. aside from all those small details, yeah it’s basically the same, but it’s well adapted for prose (i genuinely think it stands as a novel in its own right), and depending on your reading speed it might actually be a nice, shorter alternative to the television version - it was around 45 minutes less time for me. some general things i wanted to comment on: the resistance is explicitly shown as kinda gender segregated (exclusively women are preparing food when we first see it) which irritated me; the description of parliament as a symbol of ‘human progress and tradition’ reminded me of blood harvest having the lords/commons system as the Ideal Form Of Government, in terms of how terrance dicks thinks (this may only interest me? idk i very probably spend too much time thinking about the political views of this particular dead dr who script editor); there’s a use of holocaust here that’s technically accurate to what the word literally means but it felt weird to me to use it.

the rescue by ian marter oh man i’ve been busy and this took me aages to read. it kinda...diverges increasingly from the original story as it goes on. we’ve got some scenes with the seeker crew (incidentally one of them says ‘ass’ and i was like???hello???you’re allowed to do that in a dr who book from 1987???), and then most of the expanded stuff is in the climax. dr who and bennett have a full on brawl! ian, barbara and vicki visit a destroyed didoi city on their way back to the tardis! mysterious silver figures! a giant worm encounter! incidentally, this does have way more of a downer ending than the original because it’s strongly implied that the last two of the didoi were killed by seeker crewmembers who fired in a panic, after which the report that forms the epilogue ends with “goodwill to all persons” to give us a taste of bitter irony. so that’s kinda grim. um...there’s actually a lot of little changes and minor expansions to this one as well so off the top of my head: we learn more about why vicki left earth (global warming :/), sandy is a lot more threatening-looking than on screen, the crashed ship gets its name changed to astra-nine, ian and barbara hold hands briefly, barbara’s fall really leaves her beaten up. i like the seeker crew comparing the tardis briefly passing them to various non-police box objects from the future (although the link to china is a bit eastern world=alien association for my tastes), dr who telling vicki ‘give that pretty face a wipe’ is clearly him attempting to cheer her up and it’s not meant to be weird but i found it weird. finally, i’ve gotta say i appreciate ian marter’s commitment to ‘mildly unsettling’ in his descriptions of tardis materialisations. this was the last novelisation he wrote before his death (the book’s dedicated to him) and mild criticisms aside, i do think he’s a good writer and he brings an interestingly different angle to the series. 

the romans by donald cotton oh my god. how do i even start this. i’m not even going to try cataloguing all the changes because this isn’t even close to a straight adaptation. it’s told in the form of various documents collected by tacitus - the doctor’s diary, ian’s journal that he keeps to prove to the headmaster at coal hill that he and barbara haven’t just eloped (i’m not joking, this is the textual reason for it), an assassin’s letters home to his mum, nero’s scribblings, and various other little details. vicki and barbara get less attention than on screen because we don’t see much from their perspective (vicki unfortunately doesn’t even get to chase the assassin out, she just screams in this), and the nero assassination plot is exclusively confined to being mentioned in the epilogue. it’s also a lot broader, or at least consistently broader, which means that ian’s side of things is treated a lot more lightly (which i was personally fine with) but also that we still get nero’s predatory behaviour being played for laughs. there’s also a few comments about women early on that i was unhappy with, and use of fat as an insult. generally, though, i thought this was great! there were a lot of things that i don’t have space or time to include here but i really liked. i guess i’d consider this as a companion piece to the tv version rather than a replacement, which some of these do basically serve as. they tell the same basic story, but they’re so different in a lot of ways that i think it’s worth looking at both. i just checked my notes and remembered this so content warning: poppea sabina’s first section references suicide.

doctor who and the zarbi by bill strutton ok so i think the web planet is boring. i don’t know completely why, i don’t think it’s any one thing, it has some interesting ideas, but it is! it’s fucking boring! anyway, we have a bit more casual sexism in the novel, we’re missing that fun convo about aspirin between vicki and barbara, but really i don’t think it adds or changes much - like even the chapters correspond pretty much exactly to the tv cliffhangers. i guess it’s competently written prose-wise, but i genuinely can’t get over my conviction that this story is boring. am i being unfair? maybe! i like some of the early atmosphere, though, and i appreciate a book which refers to ‘the ship tardis’ (lowercase) and ‘doctor who’ throughout the entire thing. oh yeah, and i encourage you all to look up the illustrations for this. i don’t know who that woman is but she’s definitely not vicki.

doctor who and the crusaders by david whitaker ah yes, the infamous ‘susan married david cameron’ novelisation. tbh i don’t like the crusades and this has the same problems - i don’t care about the english, el akir is every orientalist stereotype whitaker could possibly cram into one man, and That’s Not How A Harem Works. do i think it’s the most egregiously racist doctor who story of all time? probably not! it certainly has sympathetic arabic characters too. but i prefer most other historicals, at least. however, if that isn’t you, i’m sure you’ll get something out of this. there aren’t any particularly extreme changes to the plot structure, although it’s missing some later scenes at the english court, but it’s well written and probably if you like the original you’ll enjoy it more than i did. there’s some dated language surrounding black characters, though, i’m not a fan of the whole ‘we aren’t so different’ speech ian has (because it rests on ‘we all believe in a higher power’ which uh. i don’t. guess that means i’m not ‘civilised’. also generally i don’t like the argument that we should respect each other because of what we have in common - you should respect other people whatever!), and the prologue at the beginning where they muse on history and destiny assumes that the english invaders and the arabs are both equally right in their own ways (the doctor outright says this!)

the space museum by glyn jones so, i really like the space museum. mainly for vicki’s revolutionary fervour, but there are other reasons too. however, i don’t think that this really adds enough to be of interest - although we do get some information about the two alien species’ biology, and a bonus explanation of why everyone speaks english (the moroks briefly considered invading earth so programmed some earth languages into their translation system). there’s a bit more wandering around the museum, some minor tweaks and expansions in other areas, an underground tunnel scene where we learn a bit of the planet’s backstory...ian and the doctor are very snippy to each other in this, which i find funny. oh yeah, and there’s a bizarrely meta bit where ian comments on poor dialogue? basically, this is a book i enjoyed, but really it just makes me want to watch the space museum instead of reading it. just a heads up, there’s a character who briefly considers suicide to get out of his bosses being angry with him. 

the chase by john peel ok before i get started i need to establish that the cover for this one slaps. anyway, i don’t respect john peel at all but this was...alright? doesn’t expand much plotwise (although i suspect both the sand monsters at the beginning and the plants at the end have slightly more to do) but we get a fair bit of pov stuff. unfortunately lacking ian’s dad dancing and hi-fi the panda, the marie celeste bit is no longer played for comedy (barbara angsts over it) and even though the two paragraphs dragging morton dill are kinda funny i’m not sure how i feel about him being committed for claiming he saw daleks. ian and barbara’s departure plays out a little differently. steven is blond for some reason. we learn as well that daleks are charged by solar panels (at least they’re pro-green energy??)

the time meddler by nigel robinson pretty competent, straight down the middle novelisation, although that is tempered by inserting some weird sexist bits for steven and also lowkey being nostalgic for 11th century england at a few points? it’s also a bit more violent than we see on tv, and if anything the rape is more loudly implied, so heads up. other than that, there are a few minor embellishments (we’re explicitly told the dr and monk recognise each other, vicki tells steven that the tardis is important to her because it’s her home, a few differences between the monk’s tardis and the doctor’s are described, vicki views steven following her as a triumphant victory in their power struggle which i personally find funny), and there’s a prologue (recapping steven’s arrival in the tardis) and an epilogue (which delays the monk’s discovery of the broken tardis because he walks to hastings first to try and get involved there). i had fun, but it’s not a must read. 

[kaye-scheidsblogs]

Ascendance of a Bookworm Review

  Ascendance of a Bookworm is an isekai light novel written by Miya Kazuki and illustrated by Yu Shiina. It follows Urano Motosu, or rather Myne as she is known in her new world, as she pursues her one true passion: books. In her past life, Myne had just graduated college and was set to start her dream job as a librarian until an earthquake hit while she was in her book-filled bedroom and she was crushed to death by her massive book collection. As her consciousness fades, she wakes up as the 5 year old sickly Myne in a world where paper is made of parchment too expensive for anyone but nobles to buy and use.

  It's anime adaptation has two 14 episode seasons. The first season aired in Fall of 2019 with the second closely following up in Spring of this year. Both the anime and light novels are incredibly enjoyable, but I will actually be focusing this review on the light novel series as I found that I prefer it over the anime. That's not to say that the anime is bad. The light novels simply offer a lot more detail and depth to the already detailed world building that appears in the anime.

    As you can see, the anime adaptation’s animation and art style is not much to look at. It certainly is not a sakuga filled series, but it does have its charm. Personally, it reminds me a lot of late 2000s series and fills me with a sense of nostalgia whenever I watch it. The art style is quite cute and simple. The light novel’s illustrations are similar, but have a bit more detail and shine to them. As is also true for the characters, world-building, and writing in general. 

    Given how detailed and intricate everything about Bookworm’s writing is, you may be surprised to know that the series is heavily character-driven rather than plot-driven. With a world as detailed as this, one might expect it to be filled with political intrigue and plot-driven drama. However, our main character, Myne, is so incredibly defined by her straightforward desire to have and read as many books as possible that there’s simply no time for the writing to expand on plot-driven story beats. As proven by when some volumes add more plot-driven story beats and end up being longer than usual.

    With all that said, Ascendance of a Bookworm is very slow paced. In a series about making books, the anime doesn’t even give Myne paper until episode seven and proper books aren’t produced until later in the second season! That may make some people turn away. If you like your fantasies to be action packed, then Bookworm may not be for you. Even so, I implore all of you to give this series a shot. The slow-pacing does have its pros for readers looking for that sweet sweet cathartic feeling. Miya Kazuki has a talent for knowing the exact time and place for when certain things about her world should be revealed. And as such, she has developed a writing technique that reaps all the benefits of an isekai story while also not making it jarring for the reader.

    By that, I am referring to exposition. Isekai stories have protagonists that know nothing about the fantasy worlds they live in, but with all the knowledge of their previous world. This gives authors the excuse to have the main character ask questions that the world’s inhabitants know as common sense, but still have things explained to the audience. If authors aren’t careful, these exposition dumps can be boring at best and immersion-breaking at worse. But Miya Kazuki has created characters and a world that creates perfect circumstances for seamless exposition.

    First, we have Myne or Urano Motosu. A bookworm among bookworms. With a one-track and somewhat forgetful mind, all she knows and loves is books. She is an absolute delight of a character and while her development is just as slow as the story’s pacing, it is a wonderful experience to read it all unfold. Her desire for books leaves her selfish and uninterested in everything else, which does her no favors. Myne is a low-class peasant. Born the daughter of a soldier and seamstress, she already shouldn’t know much about the world outside her lot in life. But to make things worse, Myne’s body is very sickly. Racked by a mysterious fever that has forced her to practically spend all her time inside and thus, doesn’t even have the knowledge of most kids in the same class. 

    Her first real source of knowledge about the world she’s been reborn into is Lutz. A neighbor and youngest son of four, whose perpetual hunger and desire to eat the tasty food that Myne makes leads to him becoming close friends with Myne. Lutz is with Myne throughout her entire journey and learns just as much as she does about the world they live in. Afterall, Lutz is also just the kid of a low-income family. The life Myne was born into not only serves as a fantastic way to immerse the reader into world-building, but also ends being a great vehicle for exploring the issues of a heavily class-based society. Even in this world completely separate from our own, somehow Miya Kazuki manages to make some pretty bold commentary on class-based society as a whole.

    Most light novels use fairly simple language, but even knowing that I think Miya Kazuki's writing style is even on the simple side of that. I don't blame her for that though, since her world and characters are so incredibly detailed that if she used flowery prose, her series would probably be the biggest and longest light novel series ever made. Some may not like how her style leans more toward "tell don't show" but it is still an incredibly well-written story with very compelling characters. Not to mention that this simpler writing style lends itself to some really great comedy.

That being said, Miya Kazuki’s writing often does that weird thing that happens in anime where something happens on screen and then the characters say out loud what just happened, except in written form. Which sounds terrible, but actually works a lot better in practice. It allows character interactions to flow a lot more freely and the simplistic writing allows for a lot more detail to be added. And due to Miya Kazuki writing the characters the way she does, there’s no boring or immersion-breaking exposition. 

    This writing style is not a product of the translation either. I have had the absolute pleasure of picking up (searching up) the web novel and experiencing Bookworm in Japanese as well. And as a side note; if any of you are upper-intermediate Japanese learners and are looking for Japanese reading material that’s simple enough for you to understand most of it (not mention fun to read), but also offers a bit of a challenge then check out Ascendance of a Bookworm’s web novel here: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4830bu/. Bonus tip: Download the yomichan and/or rikaikun extensions on your browser for optimal reading time. Anyway, I can assure you that the translator behind Ascendance of a Bookworm is not muddling the writing style or the reading experience in the slightest. Miya Kazuki’s story and writing style comes through very nicely in the official releases.

    Ascendance of a Bookworm is one of the most thoroughly realized stories I have had the pleasure of reading and watching. The anime is, of course, quite good, but I also highly recommend the light novel series even if you’ve seen the anime three times over. Miya Kazuki is an amazing writer and the official translations are quite good. If you’re like me though and like to binge series as quickly as possible, you might find yourself waiting aimlessly for more when you finish the anime and current English light novels. If you’re of intermediate or higher Japanese level, you can always read ahead in the Japanese web novels. Or you could seek out similar series. I recommend everything written by Nahoko Uehashi. Her novels are similarly well-realized fantasy stories with anime adaptations. Or, more obscurely, check out the fantasy series, Saiunkoku Monogatari. Its animation and art style gives me a similar sense of nostalgia and also has a great story with compelling characters. Anyway, I hope this review helped to convince you to give Ascendance of a Bookworm a shot, whether that be the anime or light novels. 

[tazzmanien]

The Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official’s Blessing) Review

Okay I’m doing it finally. Sorry if it ended up way too long, but in my defense the novel itself was huge so…

First of all I will not be comparing this novel with any of the other MXTX novels, but I just want to tell you this is definitely my new favorite for several reasons, but mostly its love story. If you want to know more write me I will gladly talk more about this.

I read in many posts everywhere that Hualian invented love. Well you know what, there is really no lie there. Theirs is one of the most beautiful love stories out there.

So, before I go into the details, please just go and read the novel!!! NOW! 

The good:

Usually I would like to say a few words about the writing style and quality, but as I’ve only read a translation of the novel I don’t think I can tell you much about it. The translation was very easy to read, so I’m guessing the novel can’t be too extravagant or bad either. BTW thank you everyone who is doing translations for FREE. You all are angels!

The novel was quite long, but the moment you step into the world you would wish it was longer. Every character has their own story and they needs time to evolve, so I really liked its length, but also not so much. Check out the bad for more information.

I liked how the story took place in three realms and different times. I know some get confused by such switches, but I tend to enjoy them very much. I think the heaven and the ghost city were so diverse, that I can’t wait to see them play out in whatever visual adaptation. I feel like this time around MXTX finally explained the actual world with more detail, which made it easier for me to imagine myself strolling through the ghost city market buying sum forbidden rubbish, or watching the moon up close while seated in a garden in heaven. I could see, smell, feel, hear and sometimes unfortunately even taste many things and that is what I think good writing should be about. The things that weren’t described in detail made it even more fun, as one could work with their own imagination (this might be a bad thing for visual adaptations, just saying). And some of you might remember I complained before that if one has no prior knowledge about the whole cultivation, eastern religion and xianxia stuff, then you might have issues reading MXTX books, well this did not change, but I guess I’m starting to appreciate it, as my own imagination created a whole new version of what this whole thing was meant to be. Still, I should have probably listed this in the bad part as well.

The main plot was very interesting and at times even slightly surprising. Mostly it was quite predictable, but I think writing does not have to invent itself every time again, but it has to give some sort of satisfaction at the end. If a story is predictable deep down to every little detail, this is not a huge issues if the story has other strengths. And this one had a nice mix of both.

It did have some parts which appalled me, but you know what, this was actually a good thing. Like I felt a lot of things, even though I really didn’t want to. The things that were disgusting, really actually disgusted me. The things that were supposed to make you angry, made me go nuts. The things that should have made you happy, made my grin like a maniac. But worst of all, were the things that existed to hurt you, they ripped out my heart and shredded it in front of me while I was still conscious. So all in all, yeah even the bad parts about the plot served a purpose. If you are good at keeping track on the main plot while diving into hundreds of subplots, then I would say it was easy to follow. I think this was okay, but the other way around (remembering the subplots) I would argue differently (more in the bad). Nevertheless, some of the subplots were so beautiful that I think they might have deserved their own novel, but isn’t that the case with all good stories?

On a side note, I don’t know if that was intended or if I just saw things that weren’t there, but was the hidden plot actually about how wrong idolizing people is and how it feels to go through post traumatic stress? I might write some more on this in a separate post, I just wanted to get it off my chest here.

Now my favorite part of any MXTX novel: the characters. Honestly, I can’t remember many stories where I loved every character. But MXTX did it again, I loved all of them, even the ones I hated. Once again the way the side characters were introduced, involved in the main story and the main guys, had their own very individual nature and lifes and fought with their own challenges was beautiful. Every character had their own aura (for the lack of a better word). Yeah I like to make fun of this but it’s true nevertheless: most of them had sad histories or were living their nightmares while the plot evolved, however, this was good as it made me appreciate the few sunreys that were able to shine through the clouds even more. As I said, I hated quite a few of them, but either they had their moment one had to love them for or they served another purpose, like propelling other characters to become what they were meant to be or drive the overall plot. And none of this felt forced. So to make it short wow!

And last but no least, the main characters and their love story. 

Xie Lian, our protagonist, my angel my only god the life of my love (yeah I used this one already, sue me), is an adorkable martial arts badass/nerd with the worst luck and cooking skills and spiderman reflexes. He is a true neutral, treats everyone with the same respect, just the way a god should be. He is so genuine in every aspect of his being. He is fully aware of all his shortcomings and all the wrongs he has done, but he still hasn’t lost the good in him and the will to act righteously. He is just so so human, that each of us could learn a little from him. I mean he even warns the freaking demon king to not think too highly of him, because he might disappoint him. And what does Hua Cheng do? He calls him his hope! So XL gives the cruelest of all the demons hope. This shows how perfectly imperfect and inspirational XL is. The world does not deserve him, yet still treats him the worst it can. He lost everything, EVERYTHING! Still he somehow came out to be this beautiful being. The only consolation we get is that at least he gets to have Hua Cheng in his life.

And Hua Cheng, he is the only man out there! Towards Xie Lian he is gentle, loving, understanding, supportive, patient, strong, funny and all sorts of beautiful things. With everyone else he is everything you would expect of a demon king to be and none of it a the same time. He is unpredictable in all things that are not Xie Lian. He does so many good deeds that one would forget that he is a demon king, but he hates, is cruel, intimidating, has killed and is mischievous through and through. Even though we don’t get to see everything about him (see the bad), we know him to be the perfect grey character. Also he proves to be the realest of them all, he stands by everything he says and does and I respect that a lot. He shows his anger and love equally and acts upon both equally. And is so freaking intelligent, handsome, sensual, seductive and cute, that I am actually fearing of being in love with a fictional character. The butterflies are a nice touch btw.

Yes, you are right, we all tend to praise almost every main couple, when the love story is good, but please hear me out. Both of them individually are just perfect in their own imperfect way and together they are the definition of true love. Their first encounter was magical to say the least. Without having any prior knowledge about the overall story or how their love would come to be, I was bewitched from the first moment they both shared the “screen”. I could feel the air stilling, just so I could give my full attention to them falling in love (yeah I know one was already head over heels before that meeting, but that is beside the point). And boy, the way they were falling. It was so realistic and yet hopelessly romantic, that I will use them as the perfect example to show people what it feels like to fall and be in love. 

The bad:

The length and some subplots… Yes well it was quite strenuous to follow the happenings, as every character had their own huge side story. While I loved to know every single bit of their stories, sometimes it took me a while to get back on track in the main story and many many times I totally forgot about some subplots later in the novel and was like “where is the other character now? why don’t we see them anymore?”. Despite its length, some characters stories were either only told from the view of the protagonist and lost a lot of what was going on deep down, or some characters stories had huge gaps even. Sure, it was not their story and we can be happy we even got something, but at some point I was kinda disappointed to be teased about a character and never get to find out what happened or how they felt. So I would have enjoyed an even longer book even if the one now was too long. Do you get what I mean? At the end of the day I can actually forget and forgive all except the fact that we never got to see some sides of Hua Cheng and had to read between the lines to understand his motives and feelings a little better. I need a whole book about him only to be honest. 

So my next bad thing, might actually be inaccurate if I’d knew more about Hua Cheng. This part is probably highly subjective, but I feel like Hua Cheng was not demonic enough. You know, in my head I pictured him to be a real demon, including the looks and what he is doing. How else would he become a demon king? I mean the looks were pretty much on point, I just feel like all the other characters either ignored it or didn’t care and the fandom just makes him look more like a human being. And yes he treats many badly, but in my opinion not bad enough. It feels like all his good deeds got more screen time and his bad deeds were either justified by something good or not really shown.

Not sure if it was only my short attention span or if that was the case, but I felt like the living world was not described as good as the heaven and ghost city. 

Conclusion:

I would recommend this novel to everyone who wants to feel love, but is not afraid to hurt a LOT. If you are searching for a story with some human or heavenly goodness, good friendships, good families, just decent people, then this is not a book for you. Xie Lian is the only exception of course and he is worth every tear you are 100% going to shed.

Just go and read the book! Please. And come back to me and talk about it with me :)

[esonetwork]

The Goldfinch Paints a Haunting Image of Grief

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-goldfinch-paints-a-haunting-image-of-grief/

The Goldfinch Paints a Haunting Image of Grief

The Goldfinch Starring: Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Nicole Kidman, Finn Wolfhard Directed by: John Crowley Rated: R

How can one navigate their way through grief after a life altering trauma upends everything they’ve ever known? Based on the novel by Donna Tart, The Goldfinch looks to explore this topic through the life of Theodore Decker. Theo is 13-years-old when he visits an art museum with his mother on a seemingly average day. Tragedy strikes when the museum is bombed by a terrorist. His mother is tragically killed and Theo survives. He escapes the bombing and takes a famous painting, The Goldfinch. Theo spends the next several years making his way through life caged in by the trauma, wandering aimlessly in hopes that one day he’ll be free from the grief of his traumatic loss.

Adapting The Goldfinch to the big screen was never going to be easy. It’s 800 pages of intricately detailed character drama, driven by different stages of Theo’s life. As a huge fan of the book, I’ve been very excited to see this film. However, I was also apprehensive when the first wave of critical reviews hit and completely trashed the film. The critics are being ridiculous with their negativity towards The Goldfinch. If you’re a fan of the book, don’t worry. You will be pleased to see the novel come to life on the big screen. Just seeing Theo’s story brought to the screen is meaningful.

Director John Crowley takes a different approach with the structure of the film. Instead of telling the story chronologically, like in the novel, the events unfold through flashbacks. In some scenes, this works quite well on an artistic level. Yet in others, the nonlinear narrative structure hinders the emotional impact of Theo’s story. The film begins with Theo as an adult, then flashes back to the tragic event that shapes his story. Then it moves between his past and present frequently, picking certain plot lines from the book that will serve the film best. This creates a jumble of timelines that could easily confuse anyone who hasn’t read the book. In the novel, every moment of Theo’s life builds upon the next after the events of the bombing. It’s all connected. Yet, the film is structured in fragmented pieces, so his issues seem unrelated. Unfortunately, by telling the story in this manner, the big picture of Theo’s story could get lost in translation

In terms of acting, there are several stars bringing the novel characters to life including Nicole Kidman as the kind hearted Mrs. Barbour who takes Theo in after the tragedy, Jeffrey Wright as the wise antique dealer Hobie, and Luke Wilson as Theo’s unpredictable father. Despite the stars mentioned above, it’s Oakes Fegley who is the standout of the film as young Theo.  He portrays a raw sense of loss and heartbreak after his mother’s shocking death, constantly grappling with the circumstances of that day. Theo wonders if he could’ve done something to change the circumstances surrounding her death. He holds on to The Goldfinch painting tightly as it symbolizes the memory of his mother. Fegley is able to showcase a wide range of emotions in a short amount of time that is very realistic to someone who is grieving.

Helping young Theo move through his grief is the European vagabond, Boris, played by Finn Wolfhard in quite a memorable performance. He brings a sense of comic relief to a point of the film that needs it. However, Boris is a mystery and his reckless antics aren’t always for the best.

Ansel Elgort brings adult Theo to life in a tragic way. He struggles with PTSD, drug addiction, and some shady antique dealings that may not be legal. He reflects on the events of his life with a sense of sorrow, unsure if he will ever move on from the ghosts of his past. The only thing keeping him afloat is the hope that his childhood love, Pippa (Ashleigh Cummings) may feel the same about him. Elgort is genuinely moving here, making the audience feel sympathy for a character who has weaved a tangled web of mistakes.

Theo’s life may be quite messy, but at least it looks incredibly polished. The cinematography is one of the best aspects of The Goldfinch. For a film about a painting, it’s nice that every shot looks like art. Roger Deakins is truly a master in cinematography. Every shot is wonderfully lit, with emphasis on warm tones. There’s a sense of emotion to each and every moment thanks to the images on screen. Whether the characters are in the middle of the Las Vegas desert or stuck in the rubble of an explosion, Deakins is sure to make each shot flow with vision, emotion, and creativity. The musical choices also add a lot to the film. Trevor Gureckis score is hauntingly beautiful. It’s one of the best scores that I’ve heard this year. The track “Beautiful Things” fits the story perfectly. Other song additions by Radiohead, New Order, and Them fit into the film at just the right moments.

While the non-linear plot structure keeps The Goldfinch from being as strong as its novel counterpart, there is still plenty to admire in this adaption. The cinematography, acting, and music bring the story to life in quite an impressive way. The Goldfinch is a compelling coming-of-age tale that paints a haunting image of grief.

[whiteroseisendgame]

Here’s the Bumbleby Social Link of my Persona/RWBY crossover! For those of you that prefer, the full thing is below the cut of this post as well, Tumblr has been eating tags as of late so idk if this’ll even post, but whatever.

13/09 Yang asked me to hang out with her after school. It felt a little like she had something more to say to me, but we ended up going to a café and just… Enjoying each other’s company. Asked if I was enjoying my time at Beacon, unconscious teammate notwithstanding. Told her it was fun, partly because I enjoy seeing her face light up, though on some level I think it’s the truth. There’s this, passion, she carries with her wherever she goes, and it’s hard not to get caught up in it, to start enjoying life just that tiny bit more when she’s around. Even just sitting on a terrace and drinking tea, listening to her puns. In a way, it’s hard to picture this girl as the same one whose hair and eyes catch fire when she’s rushing down Shadows in the Dark Hour. But the smirk is the same, regardless of the situation. Ever-present. Encouraging. A spark that motivates the rest of us to do our best.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast formed a bond with the free spirit, an embodiment of power. We bestow upon you the gifts of the Strength Arcana. Strength Rank 1-Follow-Up Attack: Chance to follow-up should an attack trigger a One More

20/09 Got a text asking if I wanted to spend the Saturday with “my favourite teammate,” so she took me to the manufacturing district like some sort of twisted field trip. Not a single fiction book in sight. Plenty of manuals on what looked like ancient technology to leaf through, though. Strangely, when we’d stopped for lunch, she turned beet red before admitting she was the one who built her weapons. Apparently, most people who talk to her only do so for the looks, not expecting the brain that comes with them. Not that it was something I would have expected either. I reassured her it was nothing to be ashamed of; after all, we could use that expertise to make our equipment better. A conclusion she came to herself, offering to enhance anything we found in Beacon provided I also brought her the parts needed to do so.

Strength Rank 2- Start with a Yang: Yang is now capable of basic upgrades to your weapons.                                Back Talk: Chance to step in if Shadow negotiation fails.

22/09 Decided to spend my free time with Yang. On a whim, she offered to take me for a ride on Bumblebee. Honestly? I could get used to living life like this. Spontaneous, energetic, free. It’s like the antithesis to life with Adam, he had to control every. Little. Thing he could. Plus, she stopped at a flower store and ended up buying a bouquet of Deadly Nightshade, talking about how it should be my codename for missions. When she asked what flower I thought of when I pictured her, I answered honestly; Chrysanthemums, after all, I read somewhere that they symbolised optimism, and that’s what Yang is to me. On the other hand, it might’ve just been because they remind me of her hair. If she ever asks, I’m going with the first one. After all that, it felt like she wanted to say what she’d originally intended to on our first outing, but she stopped herself again, mumbling that it wasn’t the right time. Whenever she’s ready to tell me, I’ll listen.

Strength Rank 3- Baton Pass: Allows Yang to set up an enemy for a killing blow from a teammate.

29/09 Xiao-Long finally worked up the courage to talk to me about what was on her mind. Huh, calling her by her surname doesn’t work as well as when she does it to me. Having “Belladonna” shouted across the hallway certainly gets my attention every time! Before I knew it, I was being pulled into an empty classroom and listening, watching as Yang drew her uncle’s insignia on the board. She opened up to me about Raven (her mother), and her desperate attempt to find her when she was younger. Apparently, even Ozpin doesn’t know what happened first-hand, just Qrow’s last report, which he turned in before refusing to do any more work. I finally cracked and told her. About Adam, what the White Fang were doing, how they had access to the Dark Hour. How I couldn’t sleep because I was scared he’d find out where I ran off to. Strangely, she simply offered to stand guard in the hallway every night until I felt safe. Her own way of lightening the mood, and the insanity of the suggestion certainly did just that. After a comfortably long hug, long enough that we were both smiling by the end of it, she reiterated that she meant it. Something tells me I might actually be sleeping comfortably tonight.

Strength Rank 4- Intimidating Stance: Yang’s imposing stature means enemies may ask for less during a negotiation.

12/10 After taking out the train of White Fang, Yang stopped me at lunch to ask how I was doing. I didn’t even say anything, but I could feel my pulse start racing. Apparently, she could tell as well, insisting I spend time with her after school. Part of me considered ditching her; I didn’t want to talk about it. Not so soon after putting everyone in danger. Instead, we found a nice little ramen shop where Yang seemingly knew the owner. After a few whispered words, he returned with a huge bowl of tuna! Only noticed I was drooling when she reached to dab it off my chin with a napkin, embarrassingly, but the food was really good. She still ate way more than me, insisting it was her treat after the ordeal, and ignoring the fact I was holding all our funds from Shadow fighting. Granted, I’m sure people would be asking questions if I casually spent hundreds of thousands of Lien like it was nothing. I think it had its intended effect, though. Everyone had been handling me like I’d break if breathed on. We finally talked as friends again. Not as teammates, or in deference to me as field leader. On the way back to the dorm, she admitted to practicing more with weapon upgrades in her free time, saying she might have found a way to increase the firepower of our guns.

Strength Rank 5- Continue with a Yang: Firearm upgrades now available                                Harisen Recovery: Yang can now cure status ailments inflicted on party members

14/12 I agreed to see a film with Yang during our Christmas break. Her pick. She wouldn’t admit it, but I have a suspicion she based this choice on what she thought I’d enjoy. Action, but with a message. And a helpful dollop of mushy romance. Thankfully it wasn’t an adaptation of one of my books, I’m not sure anyone could properly translate them onto the big screen. What keeps going through my mind isn’t the film, however. At some point, I felt her hand gently graze mine, before gripping it more affirmatively. Caringly. Not that I was going to protest. Almost instinctively, my hand curled around hers in response, urging her not to let go without saying a word. For the rest of our time out, she did her best to avoid eye contact, like locking eyes would turn her to stone, or something. I couldn’t tell you what it meant, but I wasn’t opposed to most of the conclusions I reached. There was definitely something between us. While she’s probably embarrassed about it, as most people would be, I got to see a different side to her once again. For once, it felt like she let her guard down, stopped putting on airs and just… Enjoyed being herself, briefly. The girl I went out with today wasn’t Ruby’s sister or my second-in-command, but Yang herself. I’m not sure I can really put the sensation into words besides those, but it’s like we were dragged much closer than we’ve ever been before.

Strength Rank 6- Smooth Technique: Chance to step in during negotiation and steer discussion

03/01 I messed up. Seeing her in that hospital bed just drives it home. I can only imagine this is what I looked like to her as Adam towered over me. All motivation, just… gone. Resignation. I thought going alone would make it easier, and less like we were there to look after her. That I was coming to see her as a friend, like she’d done for me after the train. No amount of ramen could mend this. I did my best to make jokes like she did, but even that wasn’t working. When I finally got her to turn around, she was fixated on the bandages around my waist. My own reminder of the encounter. She asked me to take my jacket off, to let her see it. It was probably only a few seconds, half a minute at most, but it definitely felt like an eternity in uncomfortable silence. “Don’t go.” The last thing I expected Yang to say. Her smile was definitely forced, lacking in its assuredness. But I could see in her eyes that there was still determination, pleading, screaming for me not to go, that in that very moment she wouldn’t be able to bear it. Not after almost losing me once two nights ago. So I stayed. Held her remaining hand in both of mine. Watched it shake as she finally let all of her rage and despair boil over. “I’m not leaving.” Any other time, that line would be as cliché as they come, but not tonight. Tonight, it was the truth. And the weird thing? Afterwards, that was the first time I’d seen her smile properly since losing her arm. If it weren’t for the missing limb, you could’ve easily convinced me nothing happened that night.

Strength Rank 7- Endure: Chance to withstand a fatal attack with 1 HP remaining

01/02 Exactly a month. That was how little time it took Yang Xiao-Long to start training again. Admittedly, I jumped a little when I heard her ringtone after class, and it was hard not to blush when I found her leaning against the school gates, like a cool anime character, prosthetic sprayed yellow-and-black to match her aesthetic. On the surface, she was better. Laughing, joking, insisting firing her arm at Shadows was a viable combat tactic. But those cool amethyst eyes gave everything away. I didn’t press her on it; no matter how much I wanted to, trying to force her to open up would have the inverse effect, and I knew that. For today, we focused on getting her back in the field. What really stuck out to me was how quickly she’d come to accept the substitute as the real deal. In fact, were it not for the brightly coloured paintjob, you could be lulled into thinking it had always been there. Apparently, the weapon wasn’t in there when Weiss left the box outside her room, she referred to it as a “Yang special,” a shotgun hidden in the wrist. When we were done, she explained that, thanks to making her modifications, she might be able to tweak our weapons further before we next head into Beacon.

Strength Rank 8- Finish with a Yang- Upgrades to weapon critical hit chance are now available.

05/02 Even though I was the one who asked Yang to hang out with me, she still insisted on choosing where we go. Of all places, I didn’t expect to be back at the flower shop again. And she had a request. Pick out a flower that I thought represented her now, and she’d do the same for me. Even before doing it, the whole thing felt like a strange test, almost wanting to make sure my opinion hadn’t changed because of what happened. Or, at the very least, hadn’t changed to something she disliked. I don’t think it surprised her when we both picked something different to our first choices. She handed me a light purple rose, explaining that it meant love at first sight, and adding that she thought purple things complemented my eyes well. My choice was slightly less romantic. A black tulip, an association I’d formed with her after finding out that specific colour represents strength. No one else could possibly understand how strong Yang was to me. No other people were there when she saved me from Adam. When she stood up to the one person, I thought was unbeatable. And stood back up again when he tried to destroy her. The bear hug was unexpected though. She was practically in tears the moment I explained. We both knew there was more between us now. You just don’t do what Yang’s done for me on friendship alone. Love. It’d always been there, I think. Especially since she thinks of me as being a love at first sight. The hand-holding, wanting me to stay despite telling everyone else to leave, all of it was shoved into focus now I had a glimpse of her perspective. Even opening up about personal things, things she couldn’t tell anyone else. Our trust was more than that of good friends, of teammates. Somehow, we’d fallen right into each other’s laps. And I was all the happier for that.

Strength Rank 9- Protect: Chance for Yang to take a fatal blow for Blake. It would seem your relationship with Yang is getting intimate.

10/02 Yang finally let me pick where we go on a date. Feels weird calling it that. A good weird, though, like it’s what we should’ve been calling these outings the whole time. Something tells me she knew I’d just want to ride somewhere on Bumblebee, already knowing “just the place” after I suggested it. A small piece of nature, untouched by the sprawling metropolis below. Even the road we’d stopped on was a fair walk away. Almost too many types of flower to count. And a small clearing just on the edge of the cliff. The romantic in me wants to say it was just big enough for two people, though that’s probably an exaggeration. She grabbed my hand again, without hesitation this time, and promised we’d do everything together, even when we’re done with school and the Dark Hour. I believed her, too. Especially when she leaned in for a kiss. Had to stop myself blurting out “finally!” But it was worth it. I never want to be apart from her again. From the sounds of it, I’ll never have to be, either. My Yang was back. The one who stood by me when my worst nightmare came true, and had the balls to fight it. The Yang that opened up to me because she saw me as an equal, not as someone to be protected. We’ve both grown so much from when we started, and we’ve still got a ways to go, but now we can do it together.

Strength Rank 10- BumbleBY: When Blake and Yang are in a party together, both are immune to status effects.

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Who Watches The…oh never mind

by Wardog

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Wardog opens a can of worms very very carefully indeed.~

As my comments in the playpen may recently have indicated, I was not entirely impressed by Watchmen. It doesn't help that people, however vaguely, connected to it are going around saying things like this and it also doesn't help that I read Watchmen for the first time three days ago. I understand that Watchmen is something that the sort of people who are inclined to be passionate about comics are passionate about; perhaps if I had been less busy being an embryo in the 80s when it first came out I might have felt the same way. But Watchmen is dated dated dated. I'm not saying it's not interesting and that it doesn't have merit, but reading it is rather like reading those 18th century novels that are completely consumed by the terror of the incipient collapse of Civilisation As We Know It because of the French Revolution. I'm not saying those novels aren't interesting or don't have merit either ... but you do read them with one eyebrow slightly cocked and think to yourself as you go "oh how quaint."

Quaint may seem an odd term to use in connection to a comic renowned for being gritty and real and, like, totally Dystopian and literary man; but I felt the same about V for Vendetta. Watchmen'spreoccupations, as far as I see it, are Cold War anxiety and Wanking About The Nature and Form of the Comic Genre. I'm not dismissing the impact of Watchmen, nor its power to have shaped (and to some extent validated, insofar as books with pictures in them can be validated) the genre, but the point is the Cold War is over and the genre has been shaped. There are, of course, wider themes to engage us - "about the nature of man, or vigilante justice" if you absolutely insist but bear in mind you can get those better done elsewhere - but Watchmen is so utterly bound up in itself, so defined by the form it takes, that ultimately it's little more than an extended navel-gaze about comics, albeit a moderately interesting one.

The movie, of course, is such a slavish adaptation that it barely merits the term adaption; watching it, therefore, is like watching somebody gaze at somebody else gazing at their navel. In bullet-time. Being now at a noticeably remove from the navel, this is quite dull.

To force myself to give credit where it is due, there is a lot to like about the Watchmen movie. It is stylishly and lovingly done. Everybody looks and sounds exactly like you'd want them to look and sound. The level of detail is mind boggling and the special effects, right down to Dr Manhattan's flapping blue dong, are fabulous. The changes they've made are spot on: I'm really glad they took out the giant squishy squid aliens. Because they are made of stupid. I loved the opening credits where they distill the ponderous backstory into a succession of imaginative and striking images. When the film was engaging critically with the Watchmen comic, it had real potential. Unfortunately, critical engagement gave way to abject drooling adoration about 2 seconds after the credits ended ... and the rest of the film is little more than a panel-by-panel, word-for-word recreation of the comic, bar a few subtle alterations to the way characters are perceived, which I shall talk about presently.

I suppose this is where we get into "what is an adaptation anyway" territory. For me the clue is in "adapt" - I think a process of adaptation is an act of transformation and interpretation. You stay true to the spirit of the original but you accept the fact that what works in one medium does not work in another. The Harry Potter movies are splendid examples of failed adaptations: they're little more than monorail tours of the main attractions of the books. They don't stand up on their own, they have no merit on their own, they are, in fact, shit and pointless. But you can also see this kind of failure going on in a more low key way when people throw plays at the screen and end up with peculiarly static, oddly awkward films (Closer, The History Boys, An Ideal Husband, The Libertine). Again, to be fair, the Watchmen film does almost stand on its own: they've managed to enforce some coherence on a notoriously fragmentary text. But this is mainly because it's identical to the text, right down to the cringe-inducingly stilted dialogue and voice-overs that read beautifully but sound terrible. And as far as I'm concerned if something is identical to the original, right down to the dialogue and the visuals, you might as well just read the original and be done with it. Alan Moore himself apparently said: "My book is a comic book. Not a movie. It's been made in a certain way, and designed to be read in a certain way: in an armchair, nice and cosy next to a fire, with a steaming cup of coffee."

The other problem with such a rigid approach to the text is that it leaves no space for acting to be anything other than simulacra. When you go and see a performance of Richard III, you don't stare at the actor playing Richard and think to yourself: "Wow, that's awesome,

he looks totally like him

." But the only scale for judging the actors in Watchmen is how far they resemble the characters they're playing - the answer to this is, for the most part, "lots." But it's still a really shallow way to engage with a performance.

Now this is when I'm going to play dirty. I know I've just leveled the criticism that the film brings nothing new to the table, being merely a moving version of the comic book. And now I'm going to complain that it also missed the point, or at least a point. I know you might think this is a direct contradiction and that I can't say the film is not enough of an adaptation for me and then whine about a possible misinterpretation but ... hey, look over there,

a fluffy kitten, being cute

. Seriously though, for what it's worth, I don't actually consider this a misinterpretation as such - the film was too fanboyishly clingy a parasite to have anything as measured or sensible as an interpretation - I think it was more an act of mis-translation, in that everyone was so concerned with bringing every fucking element of the comic lovingly into motion (apparently

there's going to be a DVD

of Tales of the Black Freighter - no thanks) that nobody ever bothered to pay attention to what they were doing.

If I had to sum up Watchmen in a glib and pretentious way (why would anyone ask me to do that?), I'd fall back, as I'm sure others have done before me, on quoting Yeats: "the best lack all conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity." Now, perhaps I got the wrong end of the stick and I know the friend I saw the film with disagrees with me, but I thought the film valorized Dan (and to a lesser extent Laurie) in a way that reduced the impact of the story. In the comic, Dan is anti-heroic: he is middle-aged, impotent, flabby and passive. He is "the boy next door" in the worst possible sense. His niceness, like his Nite Owl costume, is a mask for his essential weakness of character. Despite being in love with Laurie, he makes no attempt to forge a relationship with her, not because he is "just too nice" but because he is "just too pathetic"; he wins her, if wins it can be called, simply by being around to pick up the pieces after her relationship with Jon falls apart horribly. Laurie, of course, is equally broken but has the virtue of being hot - just as all of Dan's behaviour is controlled and limited by compromise, her decision to be with him is a compromise as well, the rejection of the strange and the challenging, youthful dreams and romanticism, for the safety of the everyday and a man whose abject inferiority makes you feel good about yourself. In the comic, their relationship is very much the cleaving of the desperate and worthless: that they go out and do minor heroic things (like saving some people from a fire and springing Rorschach from a prison he is already escaping) after they shag for the first time is an indictment of their behaviour. They seek, and find, validation with each other, yet the validation is based on their joint illusions i.e. that they are people even remotely capable of changing the world. The movie portrays their civilian-saving / prison-breaking exploits as a return to their true heroic selves; the comic uses scenes of stereotypical heroism to reveal Laurie and Dan as the self-deluding, play-acting fools they really are.

Similarly, in the comic, when they are confronted by what Ozymandias has done, Dan and Laurie slink off to a corner of his ruined facility and shag. Dr Manhattan finds them asleep on Nite Owl's winter cloak, looks at them with mingled pity and affection and goes off to confront Ozymandias with the futility of the atrocity he has committed ("nothing ever ends"). Again, this is hardly a celebration of the human spirit in the face of calamity. Confronted by their own profound impotence and the destruction of their carefully constructed charades, they take refuge in the mundane, fleeting affirmation offered by physical pleasure. In the movie, this scene is gone and, instead, Dr Manhattan's final act is to kiss Laurie goodbye - as if he, too, is asserting the value of human relationships as an antidote to Armageddon. (Personally, I'm with Rorschach on this one). In the aftermath of Ozymandias's destruction, the movie gives Dan a line about how he's been tinkering with Archimedes and it'll soon be ready to go, the implication, I think, being that he and Laurie will resume their super-hero lifestyle.

One of the more interesting aspects of the comic is the intersection between public and private identity. One of the questions it asks is why anyone even on polite nodding terms with sanity would "dress as an owl and fight crime." The answer, of course, if its five heroes are anything to go by, is: "they wouldn't." Rorschach is clearly batshit nuts - and for him, Walter Kovacs is the disguise he wears. I've always liked the way that when he confronts Dr Manhattan, it is Walter who dies, not Rorschach. Dr Manhattan has no choice but to be a super-hero but then he is barely human, or anything like it, any more. The Comedian is a fucking psychopath who uses the flamboyance offered by a costume to give outward form to his moral dysfunctionality. Ozymandias also belongs to the Special Club. And Dan and Laurie both use it as a way to escape the disappointments and failures of being merely themselves. Unfortunately the movie inadvertently engineers a reversal of this: Laurie and Dan end up re-discovering their true super-hero selves, whereas in the comic they are ruthlessly forced to confront their inadequacies as human beings. If I was feeling uncharitable I would say this symptomatic of the typical geek fallacies - Watchmen is constructed as a super-hero comic without heroes, attemping to make Dan heroic undermines both the force and interest of the story.

The overall effect of which is that you get a film that is at once a tediously faithful rendering of the comic while somehow contriving to miss the point entirely.

Grats guys.Themes:

TV & Movies

,

Sci-fi / Fantasy

,

Comics

,

Watchmen

~

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Arthur B

at 14:59 on 2009-03-12Playing devil's advocate: while I agree that Dan and Laurie are given an easy ride by the film (perhaps because they're the characters the audience is most likely to identify with), I don't think it completely derails their characterisation to have them go back to vigilantism. I don't have my copy of the comic with me, but I seem to remember mild hints in their final conversation with Sally that they might be getting into some action whilst they spend their time on the run in Ozy's new order. Like I said in the comments on Dan's review, I read the armageddon plotline as an indictment of the passivity of superheroes; crimefighters are essentially reactive, fighting society's symptoms without trying for a cure. (The grotesque scale of Ozymandias's crimes is, of course, the flip side of the argument: a cure might be more harmful than the disease itself.) In the movie, I saw their return to crimefighting as a retreat; there's no suggestion that they're seriously trying to expose Ozymandias, they're just dicking around beating people up to capture their rapidly-fading youth.

But that said I do agree that it's problematic that we are expected to identify with those specific characters in the first place; Dan and Laurie's capitulation and passivity are meant to be character flaws that are just as serious as Rorschach's fanaticism, or Dr Manhattan's nigh-autistic detachment, or Ozymandias's fatal combination of the two.

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Guy

at 15:44 on 2009-03-12I think I like the comic more than you do, Kyra, but I am very impressed by your elucidation of its themes... and it does seem likely that I should go into the film with low expectations. I would like to say I would refrain from seeing the film at all, especially now that I've read Hayter's idiotic letter... but maybe if I go see it in the third week or something I can feel that I've spited (?) him in some way.

I think I read the meaning of the Dan and Laurie characters a bit differently than you do, though. To me, they are essentially sympathetic characters, and a big part of that is their realisation in the end that, actually they're not all that important or powerful, and whether or not they're OK with that, they have to live with it, the way that millions of ordinary men and women do. This in contrast with Rorshcach, who has a kind of absolutist integrity that won't allow him to refrain from doing what he believes is right (even when it's totally futile, or worse, seriously destructive) - a quality he shares with heroes from all kinds of stories - but that "integrity" also makes him, as you say, a psychopath.

I think my favourite moment in the comic is the bit where Ozymandias tells Dan to grow up. It does raise a question for me about what counts as "growing up". Ozymandias thinks that he is the grown up, because he is the one prepared to make hard choices, cross moral boundaries in service to the greater good, &c &c... and that Dan is still a child playing at super hero, making oversized toys and not really doing anything... which is basically accurate. There's a reason that remark cuts Dan. But I think... there's something interesting, something a bit complex, about the question of what actually growing up means. The way you put it above where you say that Dan and Laurie are ruthlessly forced to confront their failings and inadequacies as human beings... I guess to me it seems that that is part of what being a grown up is: a person who has confronted their failings and accepted them. Which then, in a funny kind of way, ties in to the whole Ozymandias crazy plan, which in a sense is about forcing humanity as whole to grow up in spite of itself. Which... yeah, I don't know, for me that theme doesn't date, because we are to a large extent living in a world run by men (arguably, madmen) who act as they do because they believe they are being grown-up on behalf of the rest of us, because ordinary people don't really understand what the world is like and need them to make our hard choices for us. And of course I hate the idea of someone else making my hard choices for me, but it doesn't take long to find examples of people who you genuinely feel glad are not being held totally responsible for themselves... but I think at this stage I may be less responding to your review than I am just rambling. ;)

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Wardog

at 16:06 on 2009-03-12I feel like I'm validating Wankstain Hayter by saying this but I like the comic more retrospectively for some of its concepts. I didn't actually enjoy reading it all that much (not, though, because it is Out Of My Comfort Zone, man, and much of it, as I said, strikes me quaint and alien. And, again, at the risk of saying anything that could in any way chime with anything That Moron has ever said - Watchmen does inspire some interesting disccussion.

In the movie, I saw their return to crimefighting as a retreat"

Because the crime-fighting they do in the film is so massively glamorised - the bit where they kick-ass their way into the prison for example - I personally didn't get this vibe. But I think it's an arguable point.

But that said I do agree that it's problematic that we are expected to identify with those specific characters in the first place

Yeah me too - they obviously thought they were most normal of the bunch. Sigh. As Guy says below, I think perhaps they are the easiest to identify with because they are flawed in a lowkey very human way (i.e. they are rubbish and self-deluding) but identifying with them is an uncomfortable process because I'm sure we'd all rather be Dr Manhattans than Dans. (Although secretly I'm convinced we all want to be Rorschach - there's something utterly compelling about fanatics).

Thanks for your comment, Guy, I didn't find it rambling at all, I found it fascinating. I think my reading of Dan and Laurie is perhaps unnecessarily (and perhaps even unsupportedly) harsh. The thing is, although I said something about them having to face up their failings ... I don't think there's ever really a point they accept them or learn to operate with them ... which, as you say, is what most grown ups do. To be fair, I don't think I have accepted my failings or learned to operate with them *either* but I don't dress up as an owl and fight crime... =P Dan and Laurie seem to constantly be engaged in processes of retreat, compromise and distraction: for them sex serves exactly the same purpose as super-hero costuming. It's a cheap way to use someone else to make you feel better about yourself. They don't *deal* with what Ozymandias has done, and what it has shown them about themselves, they run away from it and bonk.

Which reminds me - sex is such an unfailingly negative force in Watchmen.

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Arthur B

at 16:17 on 2009-03-12

Because the crime-fighting they do in the film is so massively glamorised - the bit where they kick-ass their way into the prison for example - I personally didn't get this vibe. But I think it's an arguable point.

I think it's glamorised

at that point

because before the big reveal Dan and Laurie are convinced that they are Making A Difference, and the audience is meant to believe the same; we haven't had Ozymandias hit them (and the audience) with the revelation that they're not actually achieving anything beyond putting Rorschach back on the streets for one last round of psychosis before he goes to the Antarctic to explode.

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Arthur B

at 10:21 on 2009-03-13There's a very interesting article about the film's financial prospects

here

. I'm wondering whether this isn't the precise article that Hayter was responding to with his open letter.

Short version: There is a very real possibility that just about everyone who was interested in seeing

Watchmen

went to see it in the first week it was out, and ticket sales will slump by the second or third week. There's a growing consensus that the film was too faithful to the comic, which hurt it, and that this is one of those rare situations where there was

too little

studio involvement in the production process.

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Andy G

at 11:33 on 2009-03-13I haven't seen the film, but I did read the comic over the weeked. I had quite a negative reaction to Dan in the comic - his angsty, hand-wringing inadequacy doesn't really excuse the very dubious things he does or condones. I think he appears more sympathetic perhaps because he is the character who it is easiest to identify with for the average reader.

The guy who wrote the Stan Lee version of the comic made the plausible prediction that the film would unironically wallow in the violence as something cool, and rather the miss the point. Does that happen?

I wasn't sure about it having dated though. I mean, even in terms of the Cold War stuff, there are still nuclear weapons and stupid human beings. Though it's perhaps not exactly the story you'd choose to tell now 20 years on. I kind of felt the same about Frost/Nixon.

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Dan H

at 11:35 on 2009-03-13God the comments on that post are full of wank.

I really wish people would accept that "this movie is too long" is actually a valid criticism.

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Gina Dhawa

at 17:32 on 2009-03-13I'm not so worried about

Watchmen

feeling dated because, it addresses old concerns in a fairly familiar way. It's still set in the eighties after all. We're not worried about the same things anymore, but I'm pretty sure we can appreciate the fear of The Other, which is something that I think the film does very well with choosing to frame Dr Manhattan instead of having the original ending.

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Robinson L

at 20:30 on 2009-08-15*deep breath*

Funny, I never got the impression that I was reading/watching something particularly dated either from

V for Vendetta

or

Watchmen

. True, the cold war is over, but the threat of nuclear war hasn't exactly gone away, and the various nations are being just as much jerks to each other as they were back in the 80s.

I loved the opening credits where they distill the ponderous backstory into a succession of imaginative and striking images. When the film was engaging critically with the

Watchmen

comic, it had real potential.

Really? I loved the opening credits, too, but I didn't consciously get the feeling that they were engaging critically with the comic. Would you care to expound a little more on

how

you felt they were critically engaging with it?

I thought the film valorized Dan (and to a lesser extent Laurie) in a way that reduced the impact of the story.

Interesting argument. I admit I handed considered this interpretation of Dan and Laurie from the comic book, although it makes perfect sense.

Thing is, I find that even if it does muddy up the discourse, the story is

improved

by the movie's presentation of Laurie and especially Dan.

My reason? Because in the comic, both Dan and Laurie were dull, dull

dull

. I didn't love them, I didn't hate them, I was apathetic towards them. In the movie, at least, I felt there was something there to engage with emotionally.

And even if it was a deviation in character, I found Dan actually coming out and

telling

Adrian “You haven't idealized mankind but you've... you've deformed it! You mutilated it. That's your legacy. That's the real practical joke” very cathartic.

I also didn't get the same "massive anti-climax" feeling from the movie as the graphic novel.

Although secretly I'm convinced we all want to be Rorschach - there's something utterly compelling about fanatics

Oh god. I'd almost rather be the mass-murdering ego maniac or the spiritually incompetent big blue guy than that monster. I've got the fanatic part down just fine, it's just that I find the "kills, tortures and abuses people" and general misanthropy just a liiiitle bit repulsive.

As a matter of fact, I don't think I particularly identify with

anyone

in

Watchmen

... maybe because the only characters in it who have any sort of strength to their convictions have such a misanthropic, nihilistic view of humanity. I certainly wouldn't want to

be

any of them.

Which reminds me - sex is such an unfailingly negative force in Watchmen.

Interesting point.

I really wish people would accept that "this movie is too long" is actually a valid criticism.

Totally, although for myself, I find if I say "this movie is too long" what I mean is "this movie already annoys the hell out of me and will it please get to the end already." If a movie manages to keep me engaged/entertained (as

Watchmen

did) I'm prepared to go along with it for much longer than 2.5 hours.

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Arthur B

at 20:56 on 2009-08-15

True, the cold war is over, but the threat of nuclear war hasn't exactly gone away, and the various nations are being just as much jerks to each other as they were back in the 80s.

I think nuclear conflict is still a danger, but the

kind

of nuclear conflict presented in

Watchmen

has become almost impossible. Which isn't to say it won't become a possibility again, but it's definitely on the back burner. Limited exchanges between recent entrants to the nuclear club seem more likely than large-scale human extinction events.

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Alasdair Czyrnyj

at 17:06 on 2010-03-10Necromancy ho!

@the issue of datedness and the nuclear arms race

After reading through the article again, I kinda get what you were saying, Kyra. The theme didn't really date the comic for me, partly because I've always got one foot stuck in nuclear war fiction, and partly because I found it easy enough to read the nuclear symbolism as a symbol of an unstoppable force of annihilation that none of the characters are capable of understanding, something that can be applied to many eras and contexts.

Still, it does date the movie. IIRC, Paul Greengrass was attached to the project for a while, and he was making noises about moving it to a contemporary War on Terror setting, which I don't think you could really do without totally rebuilding the story, simply because, while we may be as scared in 2010 as we were in 1985, our fears are coming from different places and take different forms. In the '80s, we assumed that the silos would open and all humanity would die screaming. Nowandays we just assume that life is going to continue getting shittier and shittier and mor and more incomprehensible, with extinction as a vague possibility we suspect may be denied to us.

Did what I just write make any sense?

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https://profiles.google.com/elzairthesorcerer/about

at 20:09 on 2011-05-17This is kind of off-topic, but what are the names of some of those 18th century novels you mentioned? I would like to read one.

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Wardog

at 20:38 on 2011-05-17There aren't specific texts that deal *explicitly* with it - I just meant that you can infer a background level of social anxiety and uncertainty, even in books that seem to be about entirely other things. I guess that isn't very helpful. Also it occurs to me I meant 19th century novels. I hate that thing, I always get my centuries confused. Novels written after 1800 are 19th century novels. It makes no sense! But I mean, it's there in Persuasion, or Daniel Deronda, for example. Middlemarch. Vanity Fair.

[summerb4jc]

A Review (With Spoilers™)!

I read The Bad Beginning for the first time in third grade.

Well, technically my third grade teacher served as my reader, a term which here means “an adult who read The Bad Beginning aloud to the class and then refused to read the second book so that any interested third graders would be forced to seek out the next chapter of the Baudelaire’s unfortunate history on our own.” 

Which I did. 

The End, Book the 13th, came out on Friday the 13th the year I was thirteen, and I’ve read the series through almost every year for the past thirteen years. So while the erroneous story of Veronica, Klyde, and Susie put forth by the Daily Punctilio does not interest me, the plight of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire certainly does.

There are those of you who might recall the dark days of this series, in which a well cast, well costumed, and well filmed adaptation of the first three books was released. (Jim Carry as Olaf! Jude Law as the shadowy silhouette of Lemony Snicket! MERYL STREEP as Aunt Josephine!) An adaptation that, despite its strengths, somehow managed to get the story so very wrong that even unsophisticated, 11 year old me could recognize it as a spectacular disappointment.  (You can read my thoughts and feelings on that here.) 

The final season of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events premiered on New Year’s Day, and I finished it long before sunset. Now that all the books have been adapted, I am here to lend my thoughts. They are as follows:

Bangin.

This show is bangin.

This whole series has blown me away. This adaptation respects the source material while simultaneously elevating the story as a whole, tying together all the threads that were left somewhat loose in the book. Tiny details and easter eggs are sprinkled throughout that weave the episodes together. Changes were, of course, made to translate the story to screen, but the majority of those changes only strengthened the narrative. This is due in large part to Daniel Handler, the man behind the pen name Lemony Snicket, who actually wrote several episodes. This showed that the series wasn’t just an interpretation of the books, but an expanding of the story.

Some examples: The side plots and flashbacks of VFD to help the audience better understand the shadowy organization and the schism itself, the Hook-Handed Man’s bond with the youngest Baudelaire (making him a more sympathetic character and better explaining his eventual defection from Count Olaf), the introduction of Olivia Caliban, who improved and deepened the character of Madame Lulu, the inclusion of some elements from The Beatrice Letters (Lemony’s speech to Beatrice, the letter from his niece), and the fact that we got to see the events that transpired at the opera La Forza del Destino and that those events were essentially what kicked off the schism. We were also, finally, told what the sugar bowl contained.

We were also given a peek into how and why Lemony Snicket came to investigate the sad case of the Baudelaire orphans, how close he came to intervening at a crucial moment, and how much time has passed since the Baudelaire orphans tale had come to an end. The story looped back around on itself. Lemony Snicket, after many lonely years in many miserable hotels wherein his only companion was his trusty typewriter, no longer has to be alone. After so much time spent searching for the children of the woman he loved he finds another Beatrice, his neice, and has a root beer float with his last remaining family member.

Only one change slightly altered the spirit of the story, and this is the moral quandary the Baudelaire’s find themselves in during the later books starting with their first act of true deception in The Hostile Hospital, stealing Hal’s keys. This is followed by their setting Madam Lulu’s tent on fire in The Carnivorous Carnival, the trapping of Esme Squalor in The Slippery Slope,  Count Olaf getting his hands on the Medusoid Mycelium in The Grim Grotto, the burning of the Hotel Denouement in The Penultimate Peril, and finally, not telling Ishmael about the Medusoid Mycelium in The End.

“Now, Summer,” I hear you thinking, “All those things happened in the show as well.”

And, my astute observer, you are not incorrect. These things do happen in the show, but with less moral responsibility for the Baudelaires.

The stealing of Hal’s keys plays out much the same in both the books and movies, but the true deviation begins with The Carnivorous Carnival. In both, Count Olaf takes Sunny before informing a disguised Violet and Klaus that they must burn down Madame Lulu’s tent if they want to come with him to the Mortmain Mountains.

In the show, they weigh their options, the rights and wrongs, before Count Olaf reenters the tent, lights the torch for them, and literally guides their hands down to ignite The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations.

In the book, however, Violet and Klaus are left with an already lit torch. They deliberate, but when they hear Sunny crying somewhere through the smoke, they toss the torch behind them and leave without looking back. They aren’t guided, they decide. They choose to throw the torch.

Similarly, in The Slippery Slope, the Violet, Klaus, and Quigley spend an entire night digging the ditch in which they plan to trap Esme Squalor, but change their minds and do the noble thing by warning her at the last second. In the show, she falls into a hot tub, and they tie her up? Maybe? She got out very easily, so I couldn’t really tell who had fallen into who’s clutches. In the books, Sunny gives Count Olaf the Medusoid Mycelium, in the show it is Fiona. In the books, Violet gives Carmelita Spats the harpoon gun without knowing if it is the right thing to do. In the show, Frank Denouement assures her that all is well,VFD knows the plan for the harpoon and has taken it into account. In the book, Sunny suggests burning down the hotel, and then they themselves throw the match onto the copy of Odious Lusting After Finance (finance, not fortunes, in the book. I never did pick up on that being O.L.A.F. until the show though). In the show, Olaf takes Sunny’s idea and lights the fire himself.

In the show, the Baudelaires are almost entirely without fault. In the books, the Baudelaires, however justified, perform some morally ambiguous acts. They never want to, and sometimes it seems to be the only choice, but it makes the “people are like chef’s salads” line and the Baudelaire’s guilt at Dewey’s death that much more poignant, because, no matter how justified or how accidental, they did have a hand in villainy. It’s one of the ways the books grow in complexity as the characters and readers themselves grow.

That was my only complaint for the show, in the end. AND I THINK that’s about as coherent I’d like to be about this subject, so enjoy a list of elements I thought were really neat that I don’t want to put in paragraph form.

Jacqueline, who played a rather crucial role in the show but doesn’t show up in the books at all, is revealed to be the Duchess of Winnipeg, who is mentioned quite a few times in several books.

In the second episode of The Penultimate Peril, Violet wears a dark purple dress with a white collar, which is very reminiscent of the dress she wears in the book art.

Ishmael was revealed to be the man who started VFD in the first place, which was neat and made Count Olaf’s mysterious vendetta against him (more or less unexplained in the books) make much more sense.

We get to see the Quagmires reunited

We get to see Fiona and the Hook-Handed Man find their stepfather (Aye!)

The Beatrice Letters came with a poster that showed a shipwrecked sailboat (the Beatrice), implying a dark fate for the Baudelaire’s. HOWEVER, at the very end of the show we hear Beatrice Baudelaire (Snicket’s niece) say that before the Baudelaire’s third trip to Briny Beach, they were accosted by female Finnish pirates. This proves that ONE: they do eventually make it safely to shore, and TWO: Female finnish pirates invented the Devil’s tongue knot, the knot Violet uses to created her grappling hook in the first book, another nice tie-in.

The series captures the feel of the books, the quirky, literary feel of the world Lemony Snicket creates. I am so, so very satisfied with how lovingly these books were adapted for the screen.

[icharchivist]

Ok so i will need to leave my nostalgia aside and try to watch Tangled (the movie) in English one day bc i was watching some extracts on youtube and y e the French version took some liberties with some scenes and I need to compare for sure.

I’m listening more closely to the English songs too as well and-

okay disclamer: the work of translation is a hard work, especially in those medium where not only you must translate the tone, the theme, the meaning, but also watch out for the lip movements and the flow of the sentence. Even if I can have some cringe here and there I respect this work a damn lot, and it’s only when I feel a translation really missed the point (like the translation of the Treasure Planet Song) that i get annoyed.

Tangled has a great translation and a good dub work, and with this approach i am not trying to bring that work down, as i think it did a good job. I just need to check some things.

(one of the scenes that is ticking me of changes slightly the characterization of Eugene in that scene imo so i need to check it in context to see how much it feels as such).

However, there’s something i love with Translation is when some things can be... even more spot on than it needed to be.

And i’ll put it under cut rn bc i have a little translation geeking out to do about the song When Will My Life Begin?

Most of the chore and activities Rapunzel does that day are translated about word for word (since after all we see those activities on screen). Some of the little details that changed are say, the “Sew a dress!” translated by “And Pascal brings me awe” which still fits what’s on screen.

The major difference between the two songs is that “When will my life begin?” is translated depending on which chorus “I wonder where is the Real Life” and “I wonder where the Real Life is Hidden”. Imo this may be one of the choices i’m a bit unsure about since it loses the aspect of how much she wants her own life to start and not just a hidden world, but it does show her longing for escape and fits the global theme.

But while also digging i realized some of my favorite lines in the French version aren’t in the English version and i just want to congratulate the French version.

I’ll do a quick translation with English on the left and French (in English) on the Right to point them out 

Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean / Fast, I take the broom, the house needs to be shiny

> A minor one but an interesting one nevertheless: an idea of urgency, of /needing/ to do the chores.

I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery / I add some colors that only pleases me

(...)

I'll paint the walls some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere /I add more color, there’s [colors] missing, i’m sure of it

> This is such a particular choice of adaptation that instead of going for “the painting in the Gallery” and the physical room of the paint, it goes instead with the emotional aspect of what it’s trying to remplace: a life on its own. And don’t get me wrong the idea is there in English, but the idea is more that: those walls are covered because she’s been here for too long, she doesn’t feel like there’s room for her anymore in that place. The French though goes with an idea of whatever she has isn’t enough and that she feels this lack inside her but she doesn’t know what it is exactly.

>I especially love the “colors that only pleases me” part that kinda echos why i translated that idea of urgency on that other line: it directly seems to allude to Gothel. At this point of the story we don’t know how abusive and controling she can be, but i love the little touch in French to say that while Gothel endures Rapunzel’s passion, she doesn’t like it and had made sure to make Rapunzel knows that she doesn’t like it. Which is in character and adds to the abuse present in their relationship. (which personally adds a level of relatable to that line sadly) The “Fast” line then seems even more that she “needs” to do the chores for another person.

Which also brings me to this:

Stuck in the same place I've always been / In this prison where I grew up

> On one hand i wonder if the Translators hadn’t been too bold to really enphasis how much Rapunzel feels out of place there, but i take it- it’s thematically relevent to her struggle in the movie (and honestly considering others Disney’s translation trackrecord, i’m impressed). 

And I'll reread the books If I have time to spare / And I re-read my books, I dream of adventures

>Again instead of just talking about sparing time, it’s about escaping.

I love the English version and it’s great: i feel like it’s more a showcase of her daily life and how boring it is that it repeats itself. Another nuance too is before the question of the song, in english it goes “Basically just wonder when will my life begin” but the french is “Sometimes i wonder where is the real life” - And it brings me to my overinterpretation but it feels like the English version is constantly longing for her life to start, while the French version feels something is lacking and that sometimes it hits her more than others.

Some more details that are not relevent to my points but in the end is slightly different as it goes:

What is it like out there where they glow? / What does this summer night look like? Now that I'm older, Mother might just let me go/ I am older, I must be able to go there

> First, I really, really need to know if it’s confirmed anywhere else than the movie happens in summer because it seems to be French only. It’s a neat idea though considering she’s litteraly a ray of sunshine ahah, but still i need to know.

>I don’t know how i feel about not mentioning “Mother” there (but at the same time “Mother Knows Best” is translated “Listen Only To Me” so not emphasing on this point can come from here) but also there it’s.. a little tricky to translate because in French we don’t have as strong comparaison for Might/May/Will/Must in this sort of context and it can truly depends, and here it may as well be might than must - but i love the focus on her, saying she should be able to go, trying to take her own life in her hands rather than just listen to her mother.

So look - i’ve been overanalysing texts all my life (Litterature/Cinema/Art/Translation student baby) so I’m obviously overreading it and it’s not important. 

And I’ll never say the French version is an “improvement”, i’m pointing out some adaptation chocies that had been taken for the flow of the song at first.

But I’m really baffled by how all those choices that are much more different from the english conterpart put a lot of emphasis on the Emotional lack she has and hints at the Abusive Household a little more clearly. Whenever it’s too much or not is up to anyone’s interpretation, but personally i know the French songs makes my heart cluntches a bit.

As I was mentioning i ticked because my fav lines weren’t there in English and said line are the ones about the paintings- because I think i personally feel even more for a Lack I can’t Identify than feeling just Locked up.  But now that I say it that way, the English does focus more on the factual thing that she is locked up and that it is what restrains her from being able to express her creativity, more than just that lack. (then the “prison” line does also emphasis on this, so it’s up to anyone’s interpretation)

Anyway point is the Translation of this movie isn’t half as bad as some others movies (Frozen’s translation had me grumble multiple times for lack of understanding of themes, so i’m a bit surprised this song at least hammers down much more the themes than the meaning). 

I also now will have to check myself with the English version but in French Eugene does call Gothel “an abusive mother” right away when Rapunzel is crying, and I admit i don’t even know anymore if i can trust the translation until i see the movie myself, but i find it nice and bold to point it out strongly like that.

If other translations jump out to me i’ll probably post about it even if I’m the only one to care about it ahah, but i love themes and i love when adaptation works find a way to work through it even when they can be 100% faithful to it. 

Cheers!