#Joshua Waters

[rookie-critic]

Rookie-Critic's Top 25 Films of 2022: #21: Inu-Oh (dir. Masaaki Yuasa)

Japanese anime director Masaaki Yuasa is the mind behind some of the most highly regarded anime films & shows of the last decade, with TV credits like Ping Pong: The Animation, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, and Netflix's Devilman: Crybaby, and film credits including Lu Over the Wall, Ride Your Wave, and The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. He has a style that is unmistakably his own and his stories are as engaging as they are visually arresting. Yuasa said that Inu-Oh would possibly be his last project for awhile, so how does he send the golden era of his career off? Why, with a rock opera set in Feudal Japan, of course! The story of two friends fighting back against the authority that seeks to keep them from doing what they love, Inu-Oh takes its time with its forward momentum, and doesn't mind halting everything every now and then for a series of musical numbers that mix more traditional Japanese instruments (the biwa, mainly) with more modern songwriting styles to create some truly unique and inspiring sequences, not to mention the animation is truly beautiful. That alone is enough to give Inu-Oh all the points it needed to make the list, the rest is just a wonderful bonus. (Also, just an aside, I do generally watch the English dub of anime, but for this one in particular I would HIGHLY recommend watching it in the original Japanese. The performances are stellar and fit much better with the songs.) Currently streaming on Hulu. Read my full review of Inu-Oh here

[neophytepagan]

When you feel the fire is gone I'll pour some gasoline on (it)

[jeonwon-wonwoo]

some of my fave shua moments (feat. dk and hannie)

951230: Happy Joshua Day!

[aestum]

(by Joshua Rawson-Harris)

[jackchampioncumpit]

Bradley Constant, Jack Champion and Joshua Murillo

[toasterfroggy]

is it bad that the tony's made me want to switch my career plan entirely and go back to dance?

HAHAHAH maybe

[inkyclive]

Joshua supremacy 😭😭😭 I’m so soft for him. Just let me be his little princess. He can make all the rules idc

omg he’s so gorgeous and like the thing about him—at least in my opinion/my own personal interpretation—is that while he is genuinely so sweet (almost sickly so at times!) and so kindhearted and so so tender, he is also so used to being served and so used to being the Boss, the undying’s precious phoenix prince, the king of everything, and it comes out in these tiny little wisps and hints in certain interactions; a vaguely bratty comment, a gentle yet vehement assertion, a soft chuckle beneath a gloved hand……..

all of this is to say, i think he’d fucking love to have a partner who lives to serve him and be his precious lil doll (to the point where he may even feel guilty about how much he loves it, because he knows it isn’t necessarily right, but he just can’t help but feel this way about you <3). he wouldn’t push it on you, and he wouldn’t hold you back from doing things you wanted to, either, if he deems them good or beneficial for you—he’d definitely encourage you to do things if they were things you wanted to do/made you happy—but oh, to have a baby who’s syrupy sweet and devotedly doting and hangs on his every word; to have a precious lil princess who gazes up at him as if he’s painted the entire night sky by hand, speckled the stars across the atmosphere and carved out the moon himself; to have a soft sweetheart who clings to him in every way possible, hands curled around his fingers or wrists or biceps when he takes you for a walk in the gardens or when you sit down for a meal (always beside him, never across from him, protocol be damned), who snuggles in his lap or straddles his thighs and nuzzles their sugar-sweet lips against his neck or collarbone or jaw, who obediently never leaves his side unless it is absolutely necessary <33333 that sounds like a perfect dream, a paradise, to him <3

[holdingup-fallingsky]

Thinking about him

[nearlydark]

Pool textures

[honeylemonbutte]

New Fernweh Saga (@lacunafiction) MC: Joshua Wei ("Bugs" is a nickname he gained in college)

(I have used my original MC, January Cohen, for every playthru - making different choices, different personalities, from max to least resistance and every romance option. All of the sudden, January sees James as family (her cousin/her brother) and cannot romance him.)

As soon as Joshua learned what a crush was, and realized the difference between liking someone and like-liking someone, he knew he had a crush on Jane Corvin. He never said anything, not believing that Jane would like him back - a weird kid with big ears who was obsessed with insects. (The best way to impress your crush is to show her the best caterpillars and stick bugs... right...?) He did throw away the matching necklace in an effort to put those feelings behind him and to forget about Fernweh.

Joshua did well in school and his parents encouraged him to pursue the musical instrument of his choice. He doesn't know why but he attracted the attention of Reese Verner. The "rivalry" mainly annoyed kid-Joshua, he was a shy kid and wished Reese would not be so intense and competitive. Returning Visitor Joshua is in denial that there could be an attraction there. (Joshua also outgrew most of his shyness and is more willing to quip back at Reese.)

Joshua met Beckett Warrick in college, they were randomly assigned the same dormitory and met at an introductory event for incoming freshmen. They found out they had similar tastes in TV and bonded over a shared love of watching the Great British Bake-Off and Anthony Bourdain shows.

While growing up, Joshua always got along with Sofia Dorran, but he often didn't know what to say in social situations. Thankfully, Sofia didn't seem to mind that Joshua's quiet personality. They spent many afternoons together, Sofia reading and Joshua pouring over bug encyclopedias. Joshua always hoped for a deeper and less shallow friendship.

There is something about the diner's waiter/waitress that makes Joshua uneasy and makes him feel like a nervous child again. He remains polite but not too friendly, making him just another customer.

[antichrister]

before and after the first water!

[rookie-critic]

Inu-Oh (2022, dir. Masaaki Yuasa) - review by Rookie-Critic

Inu-Oh is the newest (and possibly last) project from acclaimed anime director Masaaki Yuasa. The story revolves around two cursed children (one blind, one incredibly disfigured) who meet and decide to start recanting the stories of the lost souls of soldiers that one of them (the titular Inu-Oh) can see. Since the blind child can play the biwa (a traditional Japanese string instrument) and the other can dance, and they both can sing, they decide to do this through song... in a crazy mix of traditional Japanese biwa music and rock & roll! That's right, this is a rock opera.

We see them grow up and become more popular as they fight pushback from the oppressive regime of the time. Oh yeah, the wildest part? It's all taking place in 14th Century Feudal-Era Japan, and is (very loosely) based on the lives of 2 (I think) real Japanese historical figures. In true Yuasa fashion, this is an absolutely buckwild cinematic experience: with jaw-droppingly wonderful animation and kick-ass 10-minute-long musical numbers, as well as stellar performances from both real-life Japanese dancer Mirai Moriyama and real-life Japanese rockstar Avu-chan as the dual leads (fun fact: the dancer voices the biwa player and the rockstar voices the dancer). The beginning had me wondering where it would go, but somewhere around the 2nd big concert scene something clicked in my brain and I became fully bought in. I feel this is a movie that will heavily benefit from a rewatch. I can't say much more without giving too much away, so just go see it for yourself. This movie is a marvel of modern anime filmmaking and I think anyone who is a fan of the artform owes it to themselves to seek this one out.

Score: 9/10

Currently available to rent or purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on DVD & Blu-ray through GKIDS.

[neophytepagan]

the faces without the meme

[asense0fnothing]

www.joshsoskin.com

[yinjiyang]

Candle on the Water

Closed starter for @carrotsaversion 

       The destruction of each mothercrystal had disturbed his slumber well enough, causing the Eikon of the Sea to rise from the depths, to stretch and roll with the tides as wakefulness returned, the haze created by centuries of sleep fading as clarity gradually returned.  For a while, Leviathan wandered--days, perhaps weeks--listening, trying to gather information on what was happening, discovering that even Bahamut's presence was but a flicker.  

       He had slept too long...it would seem...

       Eventually, he felt it.  Their presence...multiple...multiple Eikons gathered in one place...and perhaps at that moment, Leviathan feared the worst, that it was too late.  Yet...they were on the water, he sensed.  A battle on the sea.  Two ships, both fast...and Odin, oh, he recognized Odin <immediately>, the rage swirling inside him and echoed with a gathering tempest...and yet, no...Shiva.  Shiva, too.  Leviathan couldn't in good faith harm her...but what...was she doing with Odin?  The confusion only deepened with the rapid approach of others.  Titan?  Garuda?  Ramuh?  Bahamut?  Phoenix?  Even Ifrit?  But how?  Fighting, so much fighting--and a trench created by Odin's blade...Leviathan watched from beyond a wall of waves, watched as Dominants fought each other on the sea floor.  Was that...Mythos?  

        Yet...Phoenix's presence was...divided; there were traces of the Fire Eikon with the man fighting Odin on the ocean floor and yet...a stronger Phoenix presence on a ship that had narrowly avoided falling into the trench.

        They were still separate.  It wasn't too late...

        Perhaps the Eikon remaining on the Enterprise would feel it, an ancient presence of frightening power approaching rapidly--a presence never before felt by the Dominant, but perhaps recognized by his Eikon...an opposite, but not a threat.  The waters surrounding the ship became calm, the wind more helpful in guiding their sails.  And Yin, aware of the toll Dominants must bear with releasing their Eikons, hoped the Phoenix would remain still, just this once.  The crew of the Enterprise might have caught a glimpse, the silhouette in the water, the massive serpentine body just below the surface--and just as it sank beneath the ship...it did not appear on the other side.  Perhaps the crew was afraid, afraid the colossal beast would rise and capsize their vessel as monsters were want for destruction and yet...it did not appear again.  No.  Perhaps the crew was distracted by looking in the water for the creature or rushing to safety to brace for impact--perhaps none noticed a wave rising at the stern...

       ...nor the figure it deposited at the rail.  There, silent, stood a tall and svelte young man dressed in ancient robes of gradient ocean blues and white, once flowing fabrics and long hair of night drenched and dripping onto the deck at his feet and around him, his only movement that of slow and controlled deep breaths as lungs drank the air they had not tasted for centuries.  And his eyes, once empty pools of darkness now reflected the emotions he kept locked within himself, melancholy blending with a hope once thought lost...and relief as his gaze settled upon the presence that had drawn him to this vessel.  Pale lips parted as though to speak, though only departed another slow and controlled exhale as he knew not what to say.  Yin could only stare.

[amcdrawnon]

I think it'd be really cute if Shiki and Eri took Joshua shopping

(he buys a bunny parka?)

They both fuss over him because he'd suit so many cute clothes

Eh close enough