#Quartet Japanese Drama

[kdramalands]

上り坂下り坂まさか

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 伪装者/The Disguiser.

The Disguiser is a 2015 spy drama set in Shanghai, 1940. It follows the adventures of four wealthy siblings, all of whom are to some degree engaging in coordinated espionage, subterfuge, and other general acts of sabotage against the brutal occupying Japanese force.

I need to mention the Nirvana in Fire connection up front, because yeah, if you've seen that, you've probably noticed some familiar faces already. And the comparison isn't unwarranted! The stories are completely different, but they're both character-driven, complex, subtly cheeky adventures that manage to keep that tense intrigue going throughout the narrative. Like Nirvana in Fire, the Disguiser's on the heftier side -- 48 episodes -- but they go by at an incredible clip, so that it never feels long.

I have done a rec post for this before, and I stand by everything I said there. However, I figured it deserved its own for-real rec post, so here we go with five specific reasons I think you should give it a try.

1. We're all comrades in horny jail

This is an intensely horny show, starting from -- but absolutely not stopping with -- the main quartet.

These are the four Ming siblings. Only the elder pair of them, Ming Jing and Ming Lou (both on the passenger side of the car), are blood-related to one another. Ming Tai (also in the back seat) got adopted into the family when he was young enough that Ming Jing's relationship to him is very maternal.

Meanwhile, Ah Cheng (driving) was somewhat less thoroughly adopted when he was around ten, meaning that he's always weirdly marginal when it comes to who actually counts as part of the Ming family. He's a brother, but also he's a servant. Sometimes he's in the family photos, and sometimes he's left out of them. His name is legally "Ming Cheng," but basically no one ever calls him that.

What this means is that you've got four incredibly attractive people who are all legally but mostly not genetically related to one another, keeping secrets both with and from one another, yelling at one another, running headlong into danger for one another, sleeping in one another's beds, and occasionally demanding some members of the family spank the others. Is it hot in here, or is it just them?

And it's not just that these are pretty people up in each other's business. Nearly every interpersonal interaction among all the main characters is at least background levels of horny, because of how high the stakes are. The tension running throughout the show is intense -- and of course it is, because these are spies in life-or-death situations, trying to keep their cool so they don't get killed. So many of the relationships are built on lies meant to charm and seduce their targets, which is of course going to be sexy. But when they're built on honesty, they're all the more intimate for that disclosure, because being open with someone about your real identity and allegiances is putting your entire life into their hands.

To be clear: When I say the show is horny, I don't mean that it's erotic or salacious, or that you're going to get a peep of anyone's naughty little comrade, or anything like that. This is the horniness of lingering glances and shouting matches and power imbalances and guns pointed at chests. It's a combo platter of smouldering Victorian yearning mixed with action-movie adrenaline. It's the delicious, redirected horniness you get when sex isn't on the (canonical) table, so all that fraught energy has to go somewhere.

Get to the part in Episode 6 where Ming Jing gets out the short whip. You'll be glad you did.

2. Bad, bad bitches

Some of the baddest bad guys in the show are ladies. In fact, I can't even tell you about all of them here because of spoiler reasons. There are two, however, who deserve special mention.

The first and most prominent is Wang Manchun, member of the Japanese-controlled government's intelligence service, who is one of the best antagonists I've seen in anything. Perfectly coiffed and devastatingly intelligent, she's a member of a powerful Chinese family who has chosen to work for the Japanese-controlled intelligence bureau. She can be genuinely warm and sweet, almost girlish even, when she's around someone she likes. She can also torture a dude to death without smudging her eyeliner.

Her fatal flaw is that she's so in love with Ming Lou -- and so mistakenly convinced that Ming Lou is in love with her -- that it makes her make some extremely bad decisions. When was the last time you saw the handsome gentleman be a honeypot?

I feel okay spoiling you about the fact that these two do not end up together. Ming Lou does not see the error of his ways and start returning her feelings -- which is what I was damn near certain was going to happen for almost two-thirds of the show. I was braced for the show to come in singing the praises of the redeeming power of heteronormativity! NOPE. She's crazy and she needs to go down.

(I do have some issues with how she goes down, but ... well, you'll understand when you get there.)

The other baddie, Nantian/Minamida, is a stark contrast to Wang Manchun. There is nothing delicate or femme about her. She gets given the worst hairstyle and the most unflattering outfits. The actor's features are already strong, and the way the show makes her up doesn't allow a single inch of softness to slip out. There is one point where she gets to dance with Ah Cheng, and she's painfully wooden. It'd be funny if she weren't so dangerous.

As the section chief of the Japanese forces in Shanghai, Minamida is a formidable foe. She's smart. She's mean. She's incredibly suspicious of all these smiling Chinese people who surround her, because she doesn't know which ones are legitimately sucking up to her and which are just waiting to drive a knife into her back. Just plain killing her would be easy. Killing her and getting away with it? That's what's going to need a plan.

The actor is also Japanese! In fact, they've gotten a fair number of Japanese actors to play the Japanese characters, but she's the only one who also speaks Mandarin competently and doesn't need to be overdubbed by a native speaker. She's scary and intense and kinda makes your skin crawl. It's great. She's great.

And while we're talking about bad girls, I'm also going to shout out Yu Manli in here, because while she's not a villain, she's absolutely a morally grey character -- and I love her to itty bitty bits. She's about three inches high and weighs about five pounds soaking wet, and she will murder the heck out of you. Baby girl.

3. It's queer in here

The original novel is not danmei. No boy-kissing has been censored, because there wasn't any in the first place. The author/screenwriter is a lady, but not one who dabbles in BL. This does not merit the "Censored Adaptation of a Same-Sex Work" tag on MyDramaList. Censorship didn't do anything to this one. It was never gay.

That said, the show is massively queer, in that it lauds textually the normative experience of getting married relatively young and having lots of children -- and then gives you so many characters, both heroes and villains, who don't do that.

I mean, we've got:

Adult unmarried siblings living together

A grown woman who has intentionally remained unmarried in order to manage her business and family interests

Two adult brothers, both bachelors, who basically live in one another's back pockets

In fact, plenty of people who seem to have forsaken marriage and children in favor of their various active patriotisms

"Life and death partners" who have to fake-date their way through a couple spy missions

A teenage girl sold into sex work who offers to marry the man who saves her and is politely turned down for her own good

The same teenage girl pulling a black-widow routine and using multiple other marriages as a pretense to murder dudes

A couple whose marriage is forbidden by their families, except they do not end up together

A guy who has to break up with his real girlfriend so he can pretend to be with the spy colleague he lives with

A single woman who adopts a child

Two orphaned young adult siblings who adopt two children not that much younger than they are

A heterosexual relationship between people who are functionally equals in their various underground organizations (which don't want their members having romantic relationships with anyone)

A note on that last one: There is a cishet normie love story that runs the length of the show. A lot of people dislike it; I think it's cute and fine! But no matter what you think of it, you have to note the sharp contrast between this prescriptive tale of young love and everything else that's going on around them. There's a lot of lip service paid to how their marriage and the children they will presumably have someday are the ideal, but it's certainly not the only way people live, or even live well. In fact, everybody else treats their romance a little bit like oh, thank goodness he's doing this so we don't have to.

Other aspects of heterosexuality are similarly praised in concept, but not really shown in the best light. There is a lot of filial devotion involved here, but overwhelmingly toward parents who are dead. Living parents, by and large, either are absentee or just plain fucking suck. The show even has very few married characters anywhere in its principal cast, and most marriages that even get so much as mentioned either are portrayed as scummy (because the husband sucks ass) or ended because one of the partners died. Even the very idea of marriage, while praised in theory, doesn't thrill most of the characters. At one point, when Ming Jing brings up the idea of Ah Cheng's getting married, Ah Cheng cannot extract himself from that conversation fast enough.

What this really does mean is, when it comes to heteronormative ideals, the show frequently says one thing and does another.

Do I think the show is queering things on purpose? Absolutely not. This is instead one of those situations where there's such an underlying assumption that heterosexual desire and family unit construction are universal constants ... that the show barely actually gets around to portraying those things as good.

What you get instead, then, are a lot of powerful interpersonal ties that cannot be satisfied by marriage. The most intense loyalties in the show are between people for whom heterosexual pair bonding is not a social or narrative option. Therefore, those intimacies form along different pathways, many of which fall way outside the socially acceptable parameters of marital respectability and reproductive obligation. People love one another fiercely in sometimes unconventional ways. It doesn't get much queerer than that.

I'm also going to put the phrase "the inherent eroticism of letting someone who loves you shoot you with a sniper rifle" right here and walk away. Perhaps it will intrigue you. Perhaps it will intrigue you extra to know this happens more than once.

4. Jin Dong in menswear

That's it, that's the selling point.

Okay, wait, I do have something to add: In a sea of strong performances, his is arguably the best. He absolutely nails this tone of quiet, competent exhaustion the whole way through, making his Ming Lou this perfect gentleman on the verge of collapse.

You learn (somewhat confusingly) in the very first episode that Ming Lou is an important minister for the economy under the new (Japanese-controlled) government in Shanghai -- except, no! He's actually secretly the captain (codename Viper) of the local KMT division, working to undermine the occupying Japanese forces -- except, no again! He's actually -- and this is the real one this time -- head of intel (codename Cobra) for the Shanghai CCP underground.

(I bring up the codenames because my first time through, I didn't fully realize that they were attached to his different identities, and I just thought the occasionally spotty translation couldn't agree on which English word to use for the same snake.)

Living this three-identities-deep life is taking its toll on Ming Lou, but you know what? He's also a damn professional. He comports himself in exactly the manner he's supposed to behave at all times. And Jin Dong sells it beautifully, this carefully restrained exterior that houses a passionate heart.

This to me is the reason his relationship with Ah Cheng is so precious: Ah Cheng is the only one who understands, because Ah Cheng is living the same life of nesting-doll secrets. It's easier on Ah Cheng, though, because he doesn't have to be the face of it all; he just gets to smile and do whatever his da ge tells him to. They are each tasked with taking care of the other in ways great and small. I'm not going to spoil its context, but one of the most powerful moments in the show is when Ah Cheng says matter-of-factly that he knows his life is worth less to Ming Lou than other people's are, and Ming Lou, to put it mildly, pointedly disagrees.

So yeah, this is The Ship.

If you consider their relationship entirely fraternal, theirs is an incredible dynamic of trust, dependence, vulnerability, and sacrifice. If you consider it fraternal and spicy, well, it's still all that, but also enjoy picturing them tenderly removing each other's really nice suits piece by expensive piece.

5. You gotta spy hard!

Imagine the spy media spectrum where at one end you've got James Bond and Mission: Impossible movies (sexy, glamorous, high-tech), and at the other end you've got the Rebel and John LeCarre novels (grueling, well-reserched, realistic). The Disguiser is well toward the latter end of that continuum. It's got a bit of a Hollywood gloss on the whole mechanics of spywork, but man, not much of one.

Despite what the title suggests, most of the spies in this show are exactly who they say they are. Ming Tai is the only one of the siblings who assumes temporary false identities as part of his spycraft, and even he really can't do that anymore once he's back in his native Shanghai, where he's the recognizable youngest son of a prominent family. They all have to be spies in plain sight, which is equal parts a hindrance and an asset. You've got to see Ming Jing do-you-know-who-I-am her way out of some shit. It's great.

There are some legitimately tense scenes and escapes, and I like that most of the threats are overcome by quick thinking and very good acting. The schemes that our heroes pull off work because our heroes understand what makes certain people tick, and other people can't pull that shit on our heroes because our heroes have one another. It's smart spywork that stops short of being grandiose. Even the big plans that involve several steps rely less on supernatural feats of timing, and more on just trusting human nature.

The show is definitely spinning a propaganda yarn about how the noble Communists saved the day during the '40s, and in doing so it takes some pretty entertaining liberties with history. Even so, the particulars of the political philosophies are absolutely secondary to the conflict. You're never going to get a scene where two guys excitedly detail just how much Mao rules. At best there's some blah-blah about freedom and love of country that could be transposed onto any nationalist ideology without a lot of work. If you asked me, based only on information provided by this show, to explain the difference between the KMT and the CCP, my main answer would be, one group uses a code name that's one kind of snake, while the other uses a code name that's a different kind of snake.

And honestly, it's kind of nice. All you really need to know is that the Communists are cool, the KMT are okay but definitely less cool, and the Japanese and anyone who works with them fucking suck. I can do that! I grew up in a sports-watching family. I'm used to being sat down in front of the television and told, we want the guys in the blue uniforms to beat the guys in the white uniforms. No sweat.

The plot does fall down more than a little bit in the final act, due to a combination of intentional obfuscation on the drama's part, a couple things that probably should have happened onscreen instead of off, and a sudden rash of stupid-ass decisions made by one character in particular. But by that point, you're invested enough that you might as well see it through to the end, right? The dismount's a bit shaky but ultimately satisfying, as the genre goes.

I'm going to say the same thing here I said in the Nirvana in Fire rec post: This show is not for everybody, but if this is the kind of thing you like, it is a fantastic example of that thing.

bonus: And speaking of Nirvana in Fire...

Here's the full set.

Basically, if you watched Nirvana in Fire, you owe it to yourself to see the Disguiser. It’s another smart, character-driven drama, and you get to see a lot of your favorite actors in radically different roles, costumes, and relationships. (And speaking of costumes, both shows apparently have the same costume designer? That's range.)

Going to give this one a shot?

It's unfortunately a little hard to find. In my region (i.e., the US), KissAsian and YouTube are as good as it gets, both of which have their drawbacks. Some others among you may be lucky enough to be in a region where Viki will show it to you (which is where the KissAsian subs come from in the first place). There's a horrible set of machine translations running around out there, so beware of those; you'll know immediately you've tripped over those when they don't translate any of the onscreen text crawl at the start.

And speaking of the subtitles: Both extant sets, to put it politely, leave something to be desired. You can generally tell what's going on, but there are times you'll have to work for it. This is definitely more annoying when you're trying to follow a smart spy drama than it is when you're breezing through a low-intensity fuzzy xianxia mess. You actually have to pay attention to this one.

As a bonus, pretty much the whole thing was filmed in Shanghai Film Park, so if you're missing Dragon City, well, here it is! This was in fact the first Republican-era show I saw after watching Guardian, and I spent a lot of time going, hey, I know that street! ...like a nerd.

You can feel the brotherly love.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x40 - The Four Heavenly Kings of the Mountain of Evil! Dark Masters / Enter the Dark Masters

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children discovered Vamdemon's ultimate weakness: Forceful, repeated nut shots. After wailing on his vulnerable point until he fell over and died, they bid farewell to their loved ones and fucked off via rainbow magic without explaining anything to most of their confused, scared parents.

It's cool, they'll be back in like a minute. Thanks, time dilation!

The Four Heavenly Kings are a quartet of Buddhist devas who preside over the cardinal directions. They're kind of a big deal in Buddhist mythology and they come up a lot in Japanese pop culture. Anime and video games love the Four Heavenly Kings.

They're the Kais and the Supreme Kais in Dragon Ball. They're the Saint Beasts in Yu Yu Hakusho. The Elite Four in Pokemon. The Four Giants that must be rescued in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. They're all over the place.

Notably, despite being called "kings", they are rarely the top of the hierarchy and typically serve a single master who stands above them all. The Heavenly Kings bend their knees to Taishakuten, supreme ruler over all devas. He governs from the peak of a great mountain at the center of all directions.

So where you find Four Heavenly Kings in media, you will often find a supreme lord of the center who sits above them. (Though not necessarily always; Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance, omitted that part.)

Digimon, too, has its Four Heavenly Kings. In fact, like Dragon Ball, it has multiple sets - with the penultimate villains of Adventure 01 being a corrupt and evil version of the concept, which is also not uncommon with Heavenly King portrayals.

They were not the first to come up with "Four Heavenly Kings BUT EVIL" and they will not be the last. Heavenly King references are a fun and easy way to fill in the top-dog super-elite enforcers for your primary bad guy.

So, without further adieu, we open this episode on the introduction of the titular Dark Masters, who govern four of the five traditional elements: Water, wood, metal, and slapstick comedy.

Spoiling their names a bit but I'm not gonna spend this whole scene calling them Clown Bro and Gatling Puppet. Piemon, pronounced "Pee-eh-mon" and not "Pie-mon", kicks us off. He's secretly monitoring the humans back in Japan, observing the Chosen Children preparing to return.

He's doing this through the truly ingenious method of pointing a giant-ass telescope at the reality tear in the sky and looking at Japan with his eyes.

Piemon: Those fools wear masks of fear, waiting in futility for peace to return. Such a wonderful sight to behold! MetalSeadramon: (bursts from the water) This is stupid! We should attack! Pinochimon: Their flow of time moves differently from ours. We should take our time and pick them off one by one. Like him! Mugendramon: (silent, but for heavy breathing)

The camera slowly pans up Mugendramon's metal body. I'm not 100% certain on what Pinochimon is suggesting here, but I think he wants to use Mugendramon's cannons to, like, shoot up into the sky rifts and snipe humans while they're frozen in the glacially-moving time of the other world.

A horrifying thought. We should probably close those rifts.

The dub understood the assignment with Piedmon.

Piedmon: Hahaha! Those bit players are frozen with stage fright! Hopelessly waiting for the moment they'll be saved! And yet, there's an unseen twist to the plot! MetalSeadramon: I say we cut to the punchline and go straight for the action! Puppetmon: Oh please, that would be boring! I want to play this drama to the hilt! Let's pull out all the stops and give 'em what they paid for.

Piedmon's voice is basically perfect. He's being performed as an overenthusiastic virtuoso. For Puppetmon, they go a different direction; Pinocchimon is voiced like a young boy, while Puppetmon has this scratchy sneering voice like a little weasel man.

Far from the bestial roar of the original, the dub's MetalSeadramon sounds like a twenty-something young man with a southern twang in his voice. Interesting choice. That could get annoying or be hilarious. We'll see where that goes.

Machinedramon does not get to breathe heavily into the mic because they cut the part of Pinocchimon's line that calls him out and puts attention on him. So now the camera pans over him for no apparent reason while Puppetmon is talking.

Depending on whether my understanding is right, I could see them changing his line because holy shit that's violent and dark or because they, like me, weren't exactly sure what he was saying. Might be censorship, might be "Huh?"

Piemon: The Chosen Children will return soon. Our boredom is at its end. Now! Let us leave the dressing room! The stage curtains are rising!

Spotlights shine on each of the Dark Masters to punctuate his words.

Piemon: The title is: The End of the Chosen Children!

In the dub, Piedmon continues off of Puppetmon's changed line.

Piedmon: I'm in complete agreement! A quick victory would be a letdown. The DigiDestined will be on Spiral Mountain soon; We must rehearse before they get here. It will be their FINAL PERFORMANCE!!!

As a silence-breaker, he introduces them each individually to the audience when the spotlights come in.

Piedmon: MetalSeadramon! Puppetmon! And Machinedramon! I present to you the downfall of the DigiDestined!

The dub's front-loading a lot of proper nouns, though they never have a chance to name Piedmon. They even name-drop Spiral Mountain early.

While the Dark Masters make their plans, the children arrive in the Digital World and take stock of their surroundings.

Taichi: Are we back? Mimi: I think so.... Koushiro: We should be. Takeru: Is it night-time? Yamato: Looks like.

Sora looks up and suddenly lets out a shriek.

Sora: EHHHHH!?!? EVERYONE, LOOK!!!

Looking up into the sky above, they can see the island of Hokkaido floating in the sky above, as if the blue sky were the ocean. Hokkaido is one of the biggest parts of Japan, so this is very much like looking up and seeing Texas distantly floating upside-down in the air.

Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Taichi: H-HOKKAIDO!?!? Yamato: IS THAT EARTH!?!? Koushiro: We're able to see Earth from here, the same way we could see the DIgimon World from Earth earlier.

Poor Koushiro having to explain the obvious to his shocked colleagues. Sitting there like, "Come on, guys. We already know this is happening."

As a small microaggression towards my kid, Taichi's uncertainty and Mimi's confirmation is flip-flopped in the dub so that Tai's certain and Mimi's confused.

Tai: Well, it looks like we're back. Mimi: Back where? in the Digital World? Izzy: That's affirmative. T.K.: It's dark. Matt: Yeah! It's kind of weird!

The resulting line doesn't make a lot of sense. Where do you think we went back to, Mimi? The McDonalds we bullied Joe at? Not to be outdone, however, Matt promptly forgets how night works to take the pressure off of Mimi's dumb question. XD

I think they all have cosmic jet-lag.

Sora does not shriek when she notices the sky.

Sora: HEY!!! LOOK UP THERE!!! Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Tai: Talk about weird! Matt: Could that be Earth!? Izzy: It's merely speculation but it seems to be a reasonable facsimile. We see Earth from here like we saw the Digital World from Earth.

They cut the regional reference to Hokkaido which I actually think was a bad call. Japanese kids could reasonably recognize that island in the sky but Americans have no idea what they're looking at. It just looks like an ink blot.

So when the kids are like, "IS THAT EARTH!?!?"

Like.

Is it? Doesn't look like Earth to me. That is a weird dark shape in the clouds, not a planet. This is a confusing moment in the dub.

This might have been a good time to have, say, Joe chime in with a line like "I recognize that island; It's one of the biggest islands in Japan!" That way, the kids watching would understand what they're supposed to be seeing, because it is not clear at a glance with zero comprehension of Japanese geography.

Suddenly, Jou hears something rustling around in the brush.

Jou: Hm? Gomamon? What are you doing down there, Gomamon?

He walks over to where the sound's coming from, sifting through the grass. Gomamon pops out of Jou's duffel bag nearby.

Gomamon: Jou! I'm over here! Jou: Eh? Then who's this--GYAAAAAGH!!!

Chuumon erupts from the grass, attacking Jou and clawing at his face while screaming in a panic. The ground shifts, opening up a chasm beneath Jou, and Chuumon leaps away to safety.

Gomamon: JOU!!!

Jou grabs onto the newly created cliffside for dear life.

In the dub:

Joe: Hm? Gomamon? Hey, where are you? (Joe follows the sound, but Gomamon pops out of Joe's duffel) Gomamon: Joe, I've been snoozing over here! Joe: Huh? Oh, well we'll just save the world without you then-- (Joe gets attacked, then falls off a cliff) Gomamon: JOE!!! Joe: Wh-whoa! ...I didn't need this.

Again, weird scripting choice here. They replace his last line with a snarky gag, but visually Joe returns his attention to the spot he was investigating (and gets attacked for it) without indicating why he's still poking around that patch of grass.

Joe's understated whine of a silence-breaker is fantastic, though. He's so used to peril at this point that his reaction to falling off a cliff is basically a stone-faced, "Really. Okay." XD

Koromon, Tsunomon, Mochimon, Tokomon, and Pyocomon all take Jou getting attacked as encouragement to evolve into their Child-stages, ending their recovery periods. Plotmon remains Plotmon and Palmon trips, falling on her face in a funny moment in the middle of the dramatic charge.

Agumon, Gabumon, Patamon, and Palmon all move in on the attacker in the grass, but Hikari calls out.

Hikari: STOP!!!

Approaching the grass, Hikari crouches down and gently, softly addresses the terrified Digimon hiding in it.

Hikari: Don't be scared. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. You can come out.

Trembling in fear, Chuumon slowly emerges from the grass, then collapses in front of the kids.

Palmon: It's Chuumon! Mimi: You're right! That's Chuumon from File Island! (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi-chan? Palmon?

We briefly flash back on better, or at least less despondent days, when Scumon and Chuumon met Mimi way back when.

Chuumon: I'm glad... you came back....

That's all Chuumon manages to get out before passing out.

In the dub:

Kari: HOLD ON!!! (Kari approaches the grass and crouches down) Kari: Come out! You're among friends. We won't hurt you. Don't be afraid. (Chuumon emerges) Palmon: Oh my goodness! It's Chuumon! Mimi: He looks terrible; What he needs is a complete makeover. (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi? Palmon? (Brief flashback of meeting Mimi) Mimi (V.O.): Something bad happened. Sukamon and Chuumon used to be inseparable! (Flashback ends) Chuumon: I'm so glad you came back to save us....

They remove the part where Mimi ID's Chuumon as specifically the one from File Island, which is kind of important because there was a separate Scumon and Chuumon among PicoDevimon's shitty recruits earlier. Then again, the dub might not know those are different Digimon, given the confusion they had about Kuwagamon "following us from File Island" during the Etemon arc.

It's fine, though, because the flashback that follows does the job anyway. Plus she still calls them out in her silence-breaking flashback narration, so nothing is lost by the replacement of this line with a signature Mimi Quip.

It's actually Kari's dialogue that I take issue with. Not for the lines she says but the tone of voice. Rather than the soft, gentle tones that the original uses, she talks to Chuumon in her normal speaking voice. It's a small thing but it dampens the emotional impact of the moment and its demonstration of Hikari's sensitive empathy.

It doesn't ruin the scene, though; It just means the tone of the moment isn't as strong as it would otherwise be.

Suddenly Jou calls out, reminding everyone that he's still dangling off a cliff.

Jou: HEEEEEY SOMEONE HELP!!! Gomamon: Oops, I forgot!

Gomamon bounds over to the edge of the cliff to help Jou, only to be stymied by his biological limitations.

Gomamon: Waugh!? Jou: Gomamon, give me your hand! I can't climb back up on my own! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Now, when you say to give you my 'hand'....

This is a callback to the Unimon episode way back on File Island; Jou's first spotlight episode. There, he'd ribbed Gomamon for offering to lend a "hand".

Taichi and Yamato arrive, looking at the ravine beyond Jou.

Taichi: This is...! Yamato: AH! Taichi: Jou, climb back up!

Jou briefly looks down, seeing that the ravine is deep beneath him, and shrieks. He scrambles to pull himself up, while Taichi and Yamato grab him and help pull him back onto the grass.

Jou: Help me! Yamato: Come on, hurry! Taichi: Grab on!

Once Jou's safely back on the ground, the three boys look into the deepening ravine, watching chunks of the landscape crumble and fall into it.

Yamato: What is happening here...?

In the dub:

Joe: Would somebody mind helping me!? Gomamon: Whoops, I forgot all about ya! (Gomamon runs over to Joe) Joe: You forgot. I'm hanging here by my elbows and you're off in la-la land! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Gee, I wonder what it's like to have elbows? (Tai and Matt arrive) Tai: Joe!? Figures. Matt: Huh!? Tai: Hey, quit fooling around! (Joe looks down and shrieks; The boys pull him up.) Joe: Just help me, will ya!? Matt: Work with us! (Matt looks at the collapsing landscape) Matt: What's happening!? Everything's gone wacko!

The "hand" bit is replaced with Gomamon getting distracted by a non sequitur. Tai's dialogue is rewritten to be mean to Joe.

While everyone's dealing with Jou and Chuumon, Koushiro tries to contact Gennai.

Tentomon: Have you found Gennai-han? Koushiro: No, I haven't been able to get through.

Meanwhile, Mimi cradles Chuumon in her lap while the group gathers around him.

Palmon: He looks a lot less scared after seeing your face, Mimi. Piyomon: He must have been running on pure adrenaline. Sora: The poor thing.

Chuumon wakes up in Mimi's lap.

Mimi: Chuumon? Chuumon: Mimi-chan? You're really Mimi-chan! Mimi: That's right. What happened to you? Chuumon: (silently flinches away from the question) Palmon: Where's your pal Scumon? Chuumon: He's... He's dead!

Making that admission, Chuumon starts bawling. We cut to a flashback of Scumon and Chuumon living carefree lives on File Island.

Chuumon (V.O.): After Mimi-chan and the others left File Island, we spent our days peacefully like usual. Then, one day out of nowhere....

A huge earthquake rips through the island. Scumon and Chuumon run for their lives, but Scumon falls into a massive chasm that opens up. Chuumon calls after him, but a wave of darkness ushers up from the chasm, blowing him away.

Chuumon (V.O.): The powers of darkness enveloped the world. Then, to make it easier for darkness to rule, they reshaped the entire world....

In media, it's generally agreed that if you don't see a body, the character's going to come back. Digimon don't leave bodies behind, however, so just take my assurance that there's no trick here.

Scumon is actually dead. We will not see him again until 02, after he's had a chance to reincarnate at Primary Village. He was one of probably many casualties unluckily caught up in the Dark Masters' upheaval of the landscape.

In the dub:

Tentomon: Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai? Izzy: Well, I'm not playing Solitaire! (Cut to the kids gathered around Chuumon in Mimi's lap) Palmon: Chuumon's a mess! I wonder what happened to him. Biyomon: Well, whatever it was, it wasn't very pretty! Sora: Poor thing! (Chuumon wakes up) Mimi: Ah! Chuumon! Chuumon: Mimi.... I wasn't dreaming; It's really you after all! Mimi: Poor thing. Why don't you tell Mimi all about it?

I had issues earlier with Kari's voice but Mimi's tone here is perfect. I love the way she uses her own name as an emotional prybar to get Chuumon to open up, having recognized the unique influence she has in this moment.

Palmon: What happened to your friend Sukamon? Chuumon: I-I... I'm afraid I lost him.... (Chuumon starts bawling and goes into flashback) Chuumon (V.O.): After you guys left File Island, Sukamon and I went on with life as usual. You know, eating, eating, and more eating! When suddenly.... (The chasm rips apart File Island and Sukamon falls into the darkness below) Chuumon: I never saw him again! A powerful evil force took over the land, causing all kinds of bad things to happen! Then it rebuilt the Digital World so it would be easier to conquer! I've been hiding ever since.

The dub doesn't directly state that Sukamon's dead, but they don't unwrite his death either. They leave Sukamon's fate up in the air.

The kids have some questions about that last thing Chuumon mentioned.

Taichi: They reshaped the world? Koushiro: Into what?

Cut to an ambiguous length of time later; The sun's risen, so they must have been traveling a while to get here. Still carried in Mimi's arms, Chuumon shows the kids to the base of a colossal, twisting landmass composed of various biomes streaked up from the earth below.

Chuumon: Some places here or there are ruins of what they used to be, but most of it has been twisted up into that mountain. It's called Spiral Mountain.

Like many proper nouns in the Digital World, the name "Spiral Mountain" is in English.

Yamato: Spiral Mountain? Joe: I can't believe the Digimon World has changed so much....

Yeah, the Dark Masters reshaped the world into their own literally twisted version of the compass center Shumisen; The great mountain at the center of the universe upon which sits the heaven of the devas.

In the dub:

Tai: You mean the Digital World is completely changed from what it was? Izzy: How is it different? (Chuumon shows them to Spiral Mountain) Chuumon: Everything's been discombobulated and taken apart! The Digital World has been relocated way up there! It's called Spiral Mountain! There's nothing left here of the old world except some ruins! Matt: So you're saying it's all up there. Huh. Joe: Color me cynical but nothing surprises me about this place.

"The Digital World has been relocated way up there" is an awkward way to explain this. The Digital World hasn't been relocated; It's been reshaped, with most of its geographic mass twisted up into Spiral Mountain.

We are, right now, standing in the Digital World. We're just in the scant non-mountain bits that were left over.

As an aside, I like Joe's parting quip at the end of this exchange. XD

Taichi has more questions for the traumatized Chuumon.

Taichi: What happened to the other Digimon? Like Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But I've heard that everyone who's gone against them has been destroyed.... Sora: Against who? Chuumon: (hushed whisper) ...the Dark Masters....

The phrase "Dark Masters" is also in English.

Taichi: So then we have to fight these Dark Masters. Chuumon: FIGHT!?!? YOU'LL NEVER WIN!!! NEVER EVER!!! Taichi: Hey, we brought down Vamdemon! Mimi: It will be okay! As long as all eight of the Chosen Children are together, we can save the world!

Mimi's trying so hard to reassure Chuumon, but the very thought of these kids trying to resist the Dark Masters chills him to his bones.

In the dub:

Tai: Where did all the other Digimon go? Are they up there too? Where's Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But from what I've been told, they'll destroy anything that tries to get in their way! Sora: Who will? Chuumon: Who? The Dark Masters! Tai: Well, they couldn't be too much tougher than anybody else we've wrestled with before. Chuumon: No way! They'll beat the pants right off of you! Tai: We got rid of Myotismon, so we can get rid of them too! Mimi: Don't worry about it. As long as the eight of us are together, we'll keep those big bullies away from you!

This whole exchange is semantically very different, particularly when Chuumon gets in a pissing contest with Tai about how tough the Dark Masters are rather than panicking and screaming. But it's all lateral changes, I think. Same ideas expressed differently, nothing objectionable or especially noteworthy.

Suddenly, a deep, bestial laugh fills the air around the kids.

MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CHOSEN CHILDREN!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!!!

The ground in front of them explodes into smoke and debris, then MetalSeadramon's titanic body erupts upwards from the smoke.

Chuumon: IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!!

Alright! Go ahead, Taichi. Go fight him. We'll wait here. :P

(In seriousness, Taichi's assessment was fair. The Dark Masters are each on the same level as VenomVamdemon. Chuumon has a different frame of reference because Ultimate-stage Digimon are so rare and mythical as to basically be unheard of.)

In any case, it's time for MetalSeadramon's rundown. He's an Ultimate-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon; The Data Ultimate for the Deep Savers evolution tree, evolved from MegaSeadramon.

Narrator: MetalSeadramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon whose entire body is covered in Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal. He boasts colossal power and tremendous speed.

"Chrome Digizoid" is English. Well, Digizoid is a made-up word, but "Chrome" is English and Digizoid is English-like.

The kids run for it. MetalSeadramon moves quickly, swooping through the woods and smashing through the group. Though he fails to get a solid hit on anyone, he sends the kids tumbling to the ground in his wake.

Yamato: (trying to get up; pained) How can he move so fast with a body that huge!?

Over in the dub:

MetalSeadramon: HEEEHEHEHAHAHA!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU, DIGIDESTINED!!! (MetalSeadramon erupts from the ground) Chuumon: OH NO, IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) This guy is one real hard nose! And I mean hard nose! Take my advice: This is one train that you would rather miss. (MetalSeadramon attacks, knocking the kids down) Matt: (trying to get up; pained) Okay, if that's the way you want it, we can play rough too!

Another instance of the dub swapping out dialogue to make the kids look stronger and more battle-hungry.

Chuumon's diegetic rundown sucks. The original rundown gives salient explanations for why MetalSeadramon is a force to be reckoned with. Dub Chuumon just says "He's really tough, trust me."

Getting up, the kids and their Partner Digimon prepare to fight back.

Taichi: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Got it! Yamato: Gabumon! Sora: I'm counting on you, Piyomon!

All eight Partner Digimon evolve to their Adult forms to throw down with MetalSeadramon.

It does not go well.

In fact, it goes tremendously unwell. Fighting him at -2 stages was a terrible idea.

Tailmon does manage to jerk aside before he can fucking eat her but they're still losing this fight badly. And embarrassing themselves in front of Chuumon who was already convinced the kids were screwed.

In the dub:

Tai: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Gotcha! Matt: Now it's our turn!

Sora's line gets snubbed. Rude.

Love the confidence on Matt, though. "Now it's OUR turn!" exclaimed while basically whipping out a switchblade to face down a gatling gun.

The dub makes minor edits to MetalSeadramon's brutal beatdown. The shot where his tail slams into Togemon is cut down; We see her go flying but we don't see the hit that threw her.

Dub Angemon inexplicably calls his Hand of Fate attack while getting bodied like the rest. They got to do their stock animation attacks and then get bodied, but he didn't get to do a stock animation attack first so I guess he got jealous.

Similarly, when Gatomon lunges at MetalSeadramon's face and immediately has regrets, she calls Lightning Paw in the dub. The original Tailmon was just... trying to tackle him in the face. Which is a terrible idea, so having her at least call an attack there makes sense.

Flying overhead, MegaSeadramon makes victory loopies in the sky.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!! Hikari: Tailmon.... MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHA!!! As if you could win against me! Mimi: Why is this happening!? It's eight against one! (Koushiro suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Koushiro: MetalSeadramon is an Ultimate-stage Digimon! Adult-stages can't win against him no matter how many there are! Taichi: He's Ultimate-stage!? Jou: Why does our first opponent have to be such a powerful one!? MetalSeadramon: You're finished. ULTIMATE STREAM!!!

MetalSeadramon's Ultimate Stream fires from the cannon on his nose, annihilating the landscape around the Chosen Children in a massive energy explosion. The eight Partner Digimon all wrap themselves around their partnered children to shield them from the blast.

Seriously, though, I said it for dub Matt earlier but I'll say it again here. You gotta love the sheer cockiness. Riding high on their victory against Vamdemon, they thought they could stroll in here, throw a few Meteor Wings and Mega Flames around, and the Dark Masters would roll over and die for them.

They thought VenomVamdemon was as bad as it gets. They were not prepared for more Ultimate Digimon.

In the dub:

T.K.: Angemon! Kari: Oh no! MetalSeadramon: (loopies) YOU SHOULD KNOW YOUR POWERS AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH!!! Mimi: How come he's beating us so badly!? (Izzy suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Izzy: Ah! It's because he's a Mega Digimon, and even eight Champions can't overtake one Mega! He's stronger than all of us combined! Tai: Then we're lost without more power! Joe: Ever notice we're always in the wrong place at just the wrong time? MetalSeadramon: Now it's time to take one nasty ride!

Dub MetalSeadramon does not call his attack.

We go to commercial following MetalSeadramon's attack and come back to the kids recovering in a dark place.

Angemon: (cradling Takeru) Takeru, are you hurt? Takeru: I'm okay. Thank you, Angemon.

Angemon nods, but then they hear a low, bestial growling. Angemon whips his head around. There's something out there in the mists that he can't make out. He sets down Takeru and picks up his Holy Rod.

Takeru: What is it? Angemon: There's something here. I'll go take a look.

In the dub:

Angemon: (cradling T.K.) T.K., are you alright? T.K.: I thought I was broken, but I guess I must be okay!

The dub frequently misses sound cues for plot points that are strictly auditory, but they do capture the bestial growling that sets off Angemon here. Points for that.

T.K.: What's the matter? Angemon: Wait. I'll be back.

Angemon takes to the air, trying to scout ahead. In the distance, a metallic whirring sound revs up, and two bolts of light begin to glow in the mist.

Then they fire.

Before he knows what hit him, Angemon's pummeled by twin cannon shots.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!!

Regressing into Patamon, he flops helplessly across the grass, landing in front of Takeru.

Takeru: Patamon! Patamon, hang in there!

Mugendramon wheels forward out of the mist. And I do mean wheels; He doesn't actually walk, but rolls forward motionlessly like his feet have roller skates under them or something.

He roars aggressively, saying nothing. Koushiro checks his laptop, bringing us into our second Dark Master rundown.

Mugendramon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Machine Digimon. The Virus Ultimate from Metal Empire, completing the set with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. His name is derived from the Japanese word mugen, meaning infinite, and of course dramon/dragon. Mugendramon is the Infinite Dragon.

Koushiro: (laptop) Ah! That's another Ultimate-stage Digimon! Narrator: Mugendramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon who wields unbelievable power. His special attack is Mugen Cannon.

Angemon took two shots from the Infinite Dragon's Infinite Cannon. It's a wonder he's even alive.

Over in the dub:

T.K.: ANGEMON!!! (Angemon reverts to Patamon and flops on the ground) T.K.: Oh no! Poor Patamon! (Machinedramon emerges) Izzy: (laptop) Ah! Be prepared for another Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) He's called Machinedramon. This metallic mutant can blow out a Digimon just like a birthday candle!

The original rundown for this wasn't exactly super explanatory. It just said "Fucker strong." Izzy says the same but in the weirdest way possible. He's trying to make a quip out of it but, sorry Izzy, they can't all be winners.

Everybody Super-Evolves to face Mugendramon, except Angemon who is still slacking. Once in their Perfect stages, they have a plan. The plan is "Get him".

Not a great plan. Taichi endorses it because of course he does.

Taichi: Get him! Beat him up! Hikari: But we can't win.... Taichi: Eh?

Rushing Mugendramon in a mob, the Digimon try in vain to close distance. Mugendramon kicks back, enjoys his firing position, and mows them all down in a barrage of Mugen Cannon fire. This was a terrible plan of attack.

In the dub:

Tai: Come on, guys! Show him what you're made of! Kari: Hope they're made of something strong enough! Tai: Huh!?

Kari seems more onboard with this plan than Hikari was, though still more realistic than Tai about their chances.

Mugendramon keeps up the assault. One of his shots hits Angewomon, knocking her out of the sky. Hikari tries to catch her but her tiny child body gets crushed under Angewomon's larger bulk.

Good effort, Hikari. Eyes were a little bigger than your arms, though.

Mugendramon's assault destroys the landscape beneath the kids, and they fall deeper into the dark place. Then they gradually drift to a stop, still floating in the air.

Koushiro: We stopped. Mimi: Where are we? What's going on?

Mimi's question goes unanswered as more pressing priorities emerge. WereGarurumon suddenly, out of nowhere, throws a punch at Garudamon and clocks her across the face. Garudamon recovers and comes back with a right hook.

Yamato: What are you doing, WereGarurumon!? Sora: Stop it, Garudamon! You're on the same side!

Garudamon and WereGarurumon continue fistfighting.

Garudamon: I'm not doing it on purpose! WereGarurumon: My body... It's moving by itself! Sora: (confused) Your body's moving by itself?

An unseen force suddenly jerks Sora's arms up into an odd pose. Cut to Jou, hanging from Zudomon's horn, who's jogging in place.

Jou: W-What's going on!?

In the dub, Mimi makes a salient point about their odd predicament.

Izzy: We stopped! Mimi: I can't complain. It's sure a lot better than falling on our heads. (Digimon start fighting) Matt: Hey, can't you two take a break for one minute!? Sora: Yeah, come on! We're all supposed to be on the same side! Garudamon: I can't control it! WereGarurumon: That's right! Our bodies are doing this all by themselves! Sora: (skeptically) All by themselves, huh? OH! (arm pose) Joe: (forced to jog in place) I've always hated any form of exercise; What's happening to me!?

Dub Sora straight-up doesn't believe them when they explain they're being controlled. XD

It's Koushiro who finally notices the thin strings connected to each of them.

Koushiro: Ah! There are strings attached to us! We're being controlled! Pinochimon: Hehehehe... You finally figured it out. Koushiro: Who are you!? Pinochimon: Why don't you use your special little computer to find out? Here.

Using Koushiro's strings, Pinochimon manipulates him into typing at his computer to pull up Pinochimon's profile. Pinochimon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Puppet Digimon. He's the Virus Ultimate from the Wind Guardians line, sharing space with Piyomon and Palmon's evolutionary paths. His name and design are obviously based on Pinocchio.

Koushiro: Ah! He's Ultimate-stage! Narrator: Pinochimon. An Ultimate Digimon who places Number One in awful personalities! His special attack is Bullet Hammer.

Number One with a bullet, you say? A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it?

Gotta love the gradual decline in the these rundowns.

MetalSeadramon - He's ultra fast and powerful not to mention gigantic! Plus his armor is made from the strongest metal in the Digital World! Mugendramon - He's unbelievably powerful. So powerful, you guys. Pinochimon - ...he's very mean.

At this point, Piemon's rundown will just be "Piemon. (long silence) What a dick!"

The dub changes Pinochimon's name to Puppetmon.

Izzy: We've become string puppets! And someone's operating us! Puppetmon: (mocking) Hah hahaha hah! Well, aren't we a little smarty pants!? Izzy: Who are you!? Puppetmon: Wanna know? How about if I help you look up my profile on your special computer? Watch! (Puppetmon manipulates Izzy into typing) Izzy: (gasp) He's also a Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) Puppetmon has a controlling personality and a rotten temper! Get him mad and he'll bop you with his hammer!

He'll probably shoot you with his hammer, actually, but the dub may be trying to avoid saying "Bullet Hammer". Though you can still clearly see that the head of his hammer is the cylinder of a revolver.

Snerk. Good, uh... good luck with that, dub team. I cannot wait 'til we get to his episode.

Upon meeting Pinochimon, Mimi wants to file a complaint.

Mimi: (furious) Again!? Why do these Ultimate-stage Digimon keep appearing one after another!? Lilimon: Mimi.... Pinochimon: Now, fly to the Last Stage!

Pinochimon yanks the kids' strings, sending them flying through the void. Then he addresses the Digimon left behind.

Pinochimon: You guys should hurry after them. BULLET HAMMER!!!

The revolver cylinder on his hammer fires off like a minigun, spraying the Partner Digimon and knocking them all out of their Perfect forms. Most regress to their baby forms, save for Agumon, Gabumon, and Tailmon as usual.

In the dub, Mimi's complaint to the management turns into her firing off a fantastic Mimi Quip.

Mimi: If you have to hit something, you should bop yourself for how you look in that stupid helmet! Lillymon: MIMI!?!?

Savage. Even Lillymon's shocked by Mimi's ferocity.

Puppetmon: I'm gonna have to let you go for now! (Puppetmon sends the kids away) Puppetmon: But I promise to destroy you! PUPPET PUMMEL!!!

Though they censor out the name of Pinochimon's Bullet Hammer, the footage of it firing remains unedited.

The children wake up at a Greco-Roman coliseum, groaning in pain. Based on the surrounding area, we seem to be in the desert from the Etemon arc, or what it's become in the reconfigured world.

A jovial clown balancing on a ball rolls out onto the stage.

Clown: Hello, good children! I'm here today to tell you all a funny story!

The clown holds up crudely-drawn crayon pictures to illustrate his story.

Clown: A long, long time ago, there were eight Chosen Children and their Digimon. The Eight Children and their Digimon were foolish enough to climb Spiral Mountain, where they all met a tragic fate at the hands of the Dark Masters. The end. Takeru: (angry) What was that!? That wasn't funny at all! Clown: I just told you what sort of destiny awaits you. You should be grateful. ^_^

Poor Takeru totally fumbled his Sense Motive check when the random clown arrived. XD He was actually expecting to be entertained. Did not catch the vibe of this conversation at all.

In the dub:

Clown: Well, hello there, boys and girls! And welcome! Today, I'm going to tell you an amazing story! (The clown holds out his crayon sketches) Clown: Once upon a time, there was eight DigiDestined. They went with their Digimon companions to try to save the world. The children and their Digimon discovered that in order for them to do it, they had to climb up to the top of Spiral Mountain. But to their dismay, the Dark Masters defeated them. So sad! T.K.: Hey, Clowny! Nobody's laughing at your story! Clown: Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Did I happen to mention the story is true? I wanted to give you a preview of the plot!

Pretty faithful, I'd say.

Suddenly, the clown's guise fades away and reveals him to be Piemon.

Piemon leaps to the top of a nearby column, laughing as he goes. From here, we go into our final rundown for the Dark Masters.

Piemon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Demon Person Digimon. Fittingly, he's the Virus Ultimate of the Nightmare Soldiers and the original Ultimate evolution for Vamdemon, as well as Phantomon.

Yes, over the course of this show the kids have had to fight their way through the entire Nightmare Soldiers evolution branch of Devimon -> Vamdemon -> Piemon while also taking a break to punch it out with Monkey Elvis.

As I mentioned before, Piemon's name is not "Pie-mon". It's pronounced Pee-eh-mon, because it's a reference to the comedic character Pierrot from traditional European pantomime performances.

His dub name Piedmon, however, is "Pied-mon", a reference to clowns being hit with pies. This is because the dub didn't trust American nine-year-olds to be familiar with Victorian-Era European Mime Lore. XD

Mimi: Wha--!? Chuumon: WAAAAAUGH!!! IT'S PIEMON!!! Narrator: Piemon. A phantasmal Ultimate-stage Digimon who comes and goes unexpectedly. His true nature is shrouded in mystery.

What a dick!

No, like MetalSeadramon, that is a pretty solid infodump. It tells us to expect Piemon to be a walking WTF.

To summarize what we've learned here: MetalSeadramon is huge, fast, and invulnerable. Mugendramon is unbelievably powerful. Pinochimon is unpleasant at parties. And Piemon has bizarre and esoteric abilities.

This all serves to set up the conflicts to come. Yes, even Pinochimon.

Over in the dub:

Piedmon: Hahahahahaha! Fools! Mimi: (gasp) Chuumon: AHHHHHHHHHH!!! IT'S PIEDMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) He's a Mega Phantom Digimon of the worst kind! You never know what he's going to look like next!

This is the closest a Dark Master rundown gets to relaying the original information. Good job, Chuumon.

Just once, can we run into a Phantom Digimon of the best kind? Where's Ghost of Christmas Presentmon? That guy seems like he'd be fun to hang out with.

Finally, Taichi and Yamato are at their wit's end with all these Ultimate Digimon and decide to match power with power.

Taichi: We won't lose to you guys! Agumon! Yamato: Gabumon, I'm counting on you!

Agumon and Gabumon Warp-Evolve to face Piemon Ultimate to Ultimate.

Taichi: Go, WarGreymon! Show him what we're made of! Yamato: MetalGarurumon! Take him down and save the world!

WarGreymon leads with Gaia Force. Piemon sidesteps the attack. MetalGarurumon follows up with Cocytus Breath, but Piemon breaks out one of his swords and slices through the slushie onslaught.

In the dub, Tai kicks us off with a retort to Piedmon's story earlier.

Tai: Well, I think your plot needs a few rewrites! Agumon! Matt: Gabumon, you can do it! (Warp evolutions) Tai: Yeah! Let him know we mean business, WarGreymon! Matt: MetalGarurumon! Teach that joker a lesson he'll never forget!

Pretty snappy comeback for Tai there, especially to a thespian like Pie(d)mon. It's one thing to call him a dick but shit-talking his craft is really throwing down the gauntlet.

Too bad about those whiffed attacks, though.

After maneuvering through the pair's offense, Piemon comes back with his own signature move: Trump Sword.

It's sword-throwing. He throws swords.

Direct hits on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon score instant KOs, reverting them back to Agumon and Gabumon.

Jou: I-It can't be! Sora: We can't win even with two Ultimates on our side? Mimi: He's just an Ultimate too, right? Piemon: Even though we are on the same level, you have only recently acquired your new power. You're mistaken if you think that is all it takes to win. Agumon: (pained) I'm sorry, Taichi....

Piemon was able to outfight WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon simultaneously, not because he's stronger than them but because he has much more experience in the Ultimate state. As a natural Ultimate who achieved this level the hard way, by rising through the ranks of Perfect and Ultimate evolution, he simply has them outmatched in skill and experience.

From there, Piemon goes on to give his team their formal introductions, despite Koushiro having already identified each of them. He's a showman; Let him have this moment.

Piemon: Permit me now to introduce the members that make up the Dark Masters. MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piemon: Mugendramon! (Mugendramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piemon: Pinochimon! (Pinochimon just sort of appears) Pinochimon: Personally, I wish I could have had some more fun with you. Piemon: And myself, Piemon. (Piemon remains a dick.) Piemon: Time flies in the blink of an eye when you're having fun. Now then. Who should die first?

In the dub:

Joe: This is bad news. Sora: Even two Mega Digimon couldn't put him down! That's really bad news! Mimi: Not to mention he's a fashion disaster! Piedmon: Your two Megas are newly Digivolved. How can you expect them to compete against an experienced and, might I boast, superior Digimon? Agumon: (pained) Tai... Sorry....

Mimi's question is replaced with a Mimi Quip. Fortunately, Piedmon still delivers the important information anyway and we get a Mimi Quip out of it so it's cool.

Piedmon: Please permit me to present my fellow actors in this captivating and charming comedy of errors! MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piedmon: Machinedramon! (Machinedramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piedmon: Puppetmon! (Puppetmon just sort of appears) Puppetmon: You thought you were through with me, but I wanted to have some more fun! Piedmon: And myself, Piedmon. (Such a dick.) Piedmon: We'd like to begin by asking for audience volunteers. Who would like to be the first to be destroyed? Oh come now, don't tell me you have stage fright!

No lie, I am loving the dub performance for Piedmon. They understood the assignment.

Piemon's eyes scan the group before falling on Mimi.

The moment she realizes he's looking at her, Mimi bursts out into tears, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs.

Mimi: No... NO!!! I'M JUST AN ORDINARY GRADE SCHOOL STUDENT!!! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO DIE HERE!?!? Sora: (gently) Mimi-chan.... Mimi: I WANTED TO DRESS UP IN FASHIONABLE CLOTHES AND EAT MORE YUMMY THINGS AND GO ON A TRIP ABROAD AND-- Piedmon: Your whining is starting to hurt my ears! I'm going to start with you.

Just like that, Piemon gets target lock.

Mimi melts down in both versions, but the dub's meltdown is a bit different.

Mimi: I didn't even want to go to camp in the first place! I just wanted to go to the mall! Can't somebody else save this silly world besides me!? Sora: (surprised) Mimi!? Mimi: I want to be a normal kid and not have any big responsibilities! I mean, come on, is that too much to ask!? It's not fair! Piedmon: Ack! Your incessant whining is getting on my nerves! You will be the first one to go!

Original Mimi's meltdown is about the unfairness of having to die at such a young age with so much of her life still ahead of her. Dub Mimi's meltdown is about how much she doesn't want to be a child soldier which is valid but contextually off.

It feels like the dub team is trying to fill in a Mimi meltdown from scratch to avoid going as dark as the original subject matter. They do a fair job; It doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. But lines like "Can't someone else save the world?" and "I don't want responsibilities!" still seem divorced from the specific grim predicament she's actually in right now.

Having made up his mind Piemon swiftly draws a hidden dagger from his sleeve and tosses it at Mimi.

Without hesitation, Chuumon leaps out of Mimi's arms, taking Piemon's knife to his chest. Chuumon falls prone on the ground, the knife disintegrating as quickly as it appeared. Weeping, Mimi scoops him back up in her arms.

Mimi: Chuumon! You have to hold on! Chuumon: Mimi-chan... When I reincarnate... Go on a date with me.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

With that utterly inappropriate yet entirely in-character bit of emotional blackmail, Chuumon disintegrates into pixels and joins his friend Scumon in death.

(So far as we know, she does not honor his last request, nor should she.)

The dub cuts the shot where the knife plunges into Chuumon, but keeps the shot of Chuumon falling to the ground with the knife stabbed into him.

Mimi: Chuumon! Speak to me, you poor thing! Chuumon: Mimi... It's time for me... to be deleted.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

His last request doesn't make it in; No surprise there. But they pull no punches about the fact that Chuumon definitely and without question died violently.

Someone, however, is not impressed by Chuumon's sacrifice.

Piemon: What a stupid Digimon. There's no reason to protect each other when you're all going to die here anyway. Taichi: We won't let you get away with this! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piemon: So, who's next?

Before he can pick his next target, another old friend suddenly cuts in.

Piccolomon's Pit Bomb does no damage whatsoever but flashbangs the Dark Masters, allowing him to make off with the Chosen Children. He carries them to safety within a cloaked invisibility sphere.

Takeru: Piccolomon! We were hoping to see you again! Piccolomon: So was I pi! Koushiro: You were able to reach us by creating a barrier that the enemy couldn't see? Piccolomon: That's right pi! Taichi: Piccolomon, we made it this way believing that as long as the eight of us were together, we could save both worlds. But-- Piccolomon: It's true that the eight of you are together pi but that alone isn't enough to win pi. Sora: What are we missing? Jou: Tell us! Piccolomon: (somberly) Unfortunately, we don't have time for that pi.

A wave of energy suddenly hits the barrier. What little time Piccolomon's trick bought them has run its course.

In the dub:

Piedmon: Chuumon was a fool!

The dub inserts a commercial break after Chuumon's death, then we return and watch him die again.

Mimi: T_T Oh, Chuumon! Piedmon: So, now that he's out of the way, who would like to be the next one to make their grand exit? Tai: Piedmon, you're gonna be washed up when we're through with you! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piedmon: Be my guest. Piximon: PIT BOMB!!! (Piximon takes the kids and bails) T.K.: Hey, Piximon! Perfect timing! Piximon: I missed ya! Izzy: Prodigious! You cleverly used a barrier to avoid detection. Piximon: I sure did! Tai: But you said it was possible to save the planet if the eight of us were all together! How come it's not happening, huh? What's up, Piximon!? Piximon: The truth is, being together is not enough. There's something else that you need to do to beat 'em. Sora: How are we going to find out if you won't help? Joe: Yeah, enough riddles! Piximon: This is something you will discover on your own.

The dub's gotten its wires crossed about the plot again. Piximon never said anything about the eight of them; His episode was well behind us when the Eighth Child plot point was introduced. Tai's beef should, as always, be with Gennai.

In the original, Piccolomon's like "Look you need more than just being physically present but I don't have time to explain because we are seconds away from getting murdered."

Piximon, on the other hand, is being cryptic for funsies.

Pursuing Piccolomon's invisibility shimmer, the Dark Masters gain ground. There is no escape.

MetalSeadramon: Found you. Piccolomon: I'm going to stop them pi! Make your way to Spiral Mountain while I hold them off pi! Yamato: You're going to stop them!? They're all Ultimate-stage! Piccolomon: I know that pi! Even if I can't win, I can still put up a fight pi! Taichi: I'll fight with you! Piccolomon: ARE YOU STUPID!? You're the last hope for the world pi!

MetalSeadramon hits Piccolomon's barrier with a direct shot from his Ultimate Stream. Piccolomon waits and lets the barrier absorb MetalSeadramon's shot, then emerges to fight the Dark Masters.

Piccolomon: I'm sure you can find pi what you're missing! When you do, you'll be unstoppable pi! Now go, Chosen Children!

Piccolomon smacks the barrier with his spear, sending it flying off much faster than before.

In the dub:

MetalSeadramon: Aha! Here you are! Eheheheheheha! Piximon: I'll try to stop them. Meanwhile, make a run for it and climb to the top of Spiral Mountain. But you better move it! Matt: You can't stop them! They're all Mega Digimon! Piximon: I know I can't win, but I should be able to distract them long enough for you to get away! Tai: I'll stay with you! Piximon: No way! Besides, we need you on Spiral Mountain; We're counting on you to beat 'em!

Though MetalSeadramon's nose beam went unnamed last time he used it, this time he calls the attack.

MetalSeadramon: RIVER OF POWER!!! (MetalSeadramon blasts the barrier bubble) Piximon: (emerges) Please go now. You have a very important task ahead of you. Once you succeed, no one will ever be able to stop you again. I know you will make me proud of you!

Strong parting words for what will be their final meeting.

As an aside, I love the name "River of Power". That is a fantastic "not-touching-you" name-like to Ultimate Stream. Well punned.

Sad that we lose Piccolomon calling Taichi a moron to his face. "I'm gonna sacrifice myself for you." "And I'll help you do--" "NO."

No sooner has Piccolomon sent the Children away than he hears Piemon call out to him.

Piemon: Piccolomon, is it? Do you honestly believe that you, a Perfect-stage, could win against us? Piccolomon: Say whatever you want pi!

From the barrier bubble, the children see a bright flash of light illuminate the coliseum once more.

Hikari: Piccolomon is dead. Narrator: After paying a heavy sacrifice, the children finally arrive at Spiral Mountain. But their fight with the Dark Masters has only just begun.

Boy, what a fun and joyous final adventure we've embarked on!

The dub changes things up here. They add some silence breakers as the bubble flies away.

Matt: He's stronger than he looks! Gabumon: He'll have to be!

Then they cut straight to the final shot of everyone watching from the barrier.

Kari: Do you think it's possible he can do it? Gabumon: I don't know, Kari! I hope so!

From there, we cut back to Piximon confronting the Dark Masters.

Piximon: Rrrgh! Piedmon: How can such a powerless Digimon even think about defeating us, hmm!? Piximon: Just call me a crazy little Digimon! Narrator: Will Piximon hold off the Dark Masters long enough for the DigiDestined to reach Spiral Mountain? Watch the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

The explosion that indicated Piximon's death has been cut, as has the shot of the kids' bubble arriving at Spiral Mountain. But don't worry, they're planning to remix the shit out of this last scene at the start of the next episode. We'll see what became of Piximon; You just got to wait a week with hope and anticipation in your heart before coming back to watch him brutally die.

Weird choice but okay.

Assessment: I remembered this arc being dark but I forgot how quickly it gets dark. Remember the "goofy" harassers from File Island THEY FUCKING DIED. But don't worry, the virtuous trainer who helped Taichi figure his shit out is here and he ALSO FUCKING DIED.

To set the tone, this episode is a bloodbath right out of the starting gate. They want you to know that nobody outside our core eight is safe anymore. This is war and people are going to die.

The dub keeps up and handles itself pretty well. It even manages to keep up with the darkening tone using euphemistic language but refraining from talking around the deaths happening onscreen. Yes, that includes Piximon's, even if they did kick it out to next episode.

Even down to the execution scene, there's none of that "Capture them, put them in a cage!" stuff that previous arcs would have employed. "Who would like to make their grand exit?" is flowery but unambiguous in its meaning, especially after explicitly killing someone onscreen.

We're in for a fucking ride.

[benkyoutobentou]

What I've Been Enjoying Lately - Japanese Media

This is way overdue! I've been consuming so much great media in Japanese, it's time to share the love and recommend some things for all of you lovely language learners

📚 Books:

旅猫リポート - 有川浩: This is a super adorable novel about a stray cat who is taken in by a young man. Five years later, the owner is suddenly unable to take care of this cat and the two embark on a road trip across Japan to find the perfect new owner. This one is definitely a tear jerker to any animal lover and will absolutely make you want to cuddle your own fluffy friends into oblivion.

キノの旅 - 時雨沢恵一: This is a light novel series that's extremely close to my heart! The 2003 anime adaption of this series also isn't just my favorite anime, but my favorite TV show ever. Because of the relatively simple vocabulary, I often see it recommended as a first read for Japanese learners just dipping their toes into novel reading, and I find myself agreeing. This series follows a teenager named Kino who travel from country to country with a motorrad named Hermes. There's not much of a continuous plot and very few recurring characters, making it even easier to follow if something confuses you. Despite the fluffy sounding description, this series has a good amount of content warnings accompanying it and can get pretty gory at times as well.

僕らの地球の歩き方 - ソライモネ: An adorable manga series in which two men travel the world together under the agreement that, upon returning to Japan, they'll get married. I feel like if someone looked into my brain to find what I like in a series in order to create a manga series perfectly suited to my tastes, it would be 僕らの地球の歩き方. It's gay, it's adorable, it's about traveling the world, it's about loving the people around you and human culture and delicious food, I'm already crying. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

薔薇王の葬列 - 菅野文: I went back and forth about putting this on my list, but it's not titled "What I've Been Enjoying Lately" for nothing and boy oh boy have I been enjoying this lately. Perhaps I've been enjoying it a bit too much. A while back, I actually banned myself from reading this series because I didn't have the full set and would instantly be put in an awful mood if I caught up with the volumes I had. This manga series follows Richard Plantagenet III, yes, that one, and his ascendance to the British throne. This series is chock full of treachery, murder, violence, and everything else nice. Due to the... everything about this series.... there's a lot of unusual vocabulary, but it has furigana on everything, which helps a lot for speedy look ups.

気になってる人が男じゃなかった - 新井すみこ: Bonus manga! Because this one is worth it, and also because everyone needs a little more GL on their shelves. This manga is so good that I've even been seeing people who don't speak Japanese buy this to have on their shelves. It follows a slightly awkward girl and a gyaru from her class as the two bond of their shared love of western rock music. Yeah, this is the manga that's doing a collab with Nirvana.

📺 Shows and Movies:

Old Fashion Cupcake - This is a BL office romance drama about a middle aged man and his subordinate who begin acting like teenage girls in an attempt to regain some of their youth. Through eating sweets together, taking selfies and food pictures, and talking "girls' talk," the two deepen their bond. I don't think I can say this enough, I love food romances. If their is food involved in a romance, I'm there, no need to tell me twice. This series is super sweet and a really enjoyable watch.

カルテット - Four musicians meet by chance and decide to form a quartet together. However, each one has secrets that they're hiding. Bonus points to Netflix for actually having a J-drama I like for once. This series has a warm and cozy found family vibe, while still managing to have some of the most wildest shenanigans imaginable. I also really appreciated that this series seems to take some stances that I've never seen before, especially regarding family and what you owe to your parents.

映像研には手を出すな！ - This anime follows three girls and their attempts to make anime. As an anime that is about the creation of anime, it's really no surprise that the art and animation is stand out in this series. I loved the ways that we as the viewer were able to see the imaginations of the characters. I also really enjoyed the characters, and the voice acting was phenomenal as well. This show is also home to one of the best intros ever.

赤髪の白雪姫 - This fantasy anime follows the titular character Shirayuki as she escapes from her home kingdom after being chosen as a royal concubine due to her unusual red hair. On her travels, she meets a prince from a neighboring kingdom and becomes a palace herbalist. It's not often that I watch or care about straight romances in media, but this romance is so adorable, and even beyond it, I truly love all the characters and their relationships in this series. Also, I think this is the only show I've watched where I found the soundtrack to actually be distracting- and not because I didn't like it, but because it was just that good.

🎤 Music:

オーガストの風 - THE BLACKBAND

夢伝説 - Stardust Revue

lemonade - Chili Beans.

Show - Ado

[sewmice]

Hai as a decently new utapri fan I wanted to ask your opinion on how new fans should get into utapri after finishing the anime. Should they play through the otomes games or maybe try listening to the Masterpiece shows instead?

Welcome to Utapri! I hope you're enjoying the ride so far! And as someone who has been here for 12 years, welcome to Utapri hell, this is your life now! (with love of course)

Since the Masterpiece shows are all alternate universes/acting, it doesn't technically matter? So the real question is, do you like the idol side or the romance side more? Idol side, go for the masterpiece shows. Romance go for the games. And honestly switch around as you please. Just get to SOME game knowledge at some point because that's where you really learn about the boys after all. Personally it's best to know at least a little from everything.

Also the next most important thing will be whether you know Japanese or not. Because currently the anime, movies, and Starish special are the only things available in English. So what you can enjoy is more limited. Shining Live was in English for it's lifespan, and has some archives out there. Live Emotion we can only hope will have an English version but we do not know currently.

Now my answer to assist gets real long so gonna put it under a cut for everyone's sanity.

If you know Japanese, absolutely go enjoy the otome games, all of which have updated ports on the Switch! The release order and thus suggested order would be Repeat, Amazing Aria and Sweet Serenade, Debut, All Star, and finally All Star After Secret. And one day we'll have Dolce Vita.

If you want Quartet Night, while you meet them in Debut, their routes start with All Star. Ringo and Ryuuya have routes in Sweet Serenade and All Star if you're looking for them. Mitsuo in Amazing Aria is well....you'll see.

If you don't know Japanese, I still suggest looking into the games, but your options are more limited. ShiningWonderland has a fantastic crew pushing out translations. They're working on Repeat for Starish and All Star for QN currently. Couple of the routes are finished for at least one ending and others seem to be nearing completion. But I can't speak for that team past that. They are all wonderful people though!

If you don't mind getting a shortened, not amazing experience. There are some old summaries floating around from Breadmasterlee. Those, plus some friends who could understand enough, were how I learned parts of the games back in the day. Not the preferred experience though.

You could also technically struggle your way through with like Google Lens translation? Definitely not recommended though.

As for the masterpiece shows, again if you know Japanese, just enjoy them. If you wanna know what order they released in, the sets were as follows: Masquerade Mirage, Tenka Muteki no Shinobimichi, and Joker Trap Bloody Shadows, Pirates of the Frontier, Every Buddy!, and Polaris Lost Alice, Trios, and The Forest of Lycoris Dreaming of OZ, Never Again Neverland, and Faust Last Cantata

I know that next to last set, the Shining Masterpiece Shows, have translations by Kanasmusings. You can also find translations for some other dramas there, and subtitles for a majority of the stage plays (you will need your own file or DVD/BD).

The most recent Dramatic Masterpiece Shows seem to be works in progress at the moment. I know utapri-translations-uuuu is working on Heavens! And the CDs can be found in my masterlist.

The older ones I don't know off the top of my head if translations exist at all.

There are also Discord servers amongst the community, some public and some private, with resources and amazing people. But I'm not sure on how appropriate it would be to post the public ones. They don't allow piracy so as much as I push buying legally, uh, understandably linking from my blog publicly feels wrong. You can very likely find said discords via the Twitter fandom. Or talk to me in DMs.

This is a lot of info I know. Trying to cover as many bases as I can off the top of my head! Enjoy Utapri!

[fudan-no-nijiiro]

New Audio Drama Announced: HE★VENS as the Shinsengumi!

We know all of nothing about the CD aside from the announcements on the website, which fortunately includes the casting! The Shinsengumi, who are actual historical figures that have showed up with different levels of prominence in many popular Japanese media franchises (such as One Piece, Touken Ranbu, and Golden Kamui, among others).

Personally, I'm mainly familiar with the Shinsengumi through a couple of more niche pieces of media that focus on them directly, and so I was immediately very excited to see this announcement. That said, my spotty knowledge of the Shinsengumi as well as the relatively little information we have so far means there's a lot I can only speculate about at the moment.

Some potentially spoilery speculation below the cut!

General thoughts

First, two things about the Shinsengumi as a whole that make them a great choice for the HE★VENS boys to play:

They have an inherent anti-villain vibe due to their original role as rivals to ST☆RISH. The Shinsengumi were similarly on the "wrong" side of history, being on the side of the military faction that opposed opening Japan's borders to the West…though ultimately, the political dynamics are more complex than that, which most good Shinsengumi adaptations play with to great effect. It's a fitting role for the team that was originally created as "antagonists" to Shining Agency that are nonetheless sympathetic in themselves.

The tragic element: Honestly, a group that is might be best known known for romantically, tragically (and often sexily) dying young is right in HE★VENS's more intense, melodramatic wheelhouse.

Relatedly: one key question is when in the Shinsengumi timeline the story will be set. I would guess from the chapter titles that this story is going to begin near the beginning of the Shinsengumi's founding and continue through the Ikedaya Incident, which is admittedly one of the Shinsengumi's most famous exploits. However, the subtitle (which scanned to me as something like "the path of the setting sun," not that I'm at all sure of that translation) hints at the Shinsengumi's ultimate fate: infighting, political betrayals, defeat, and ultimately dissolution, along with the tragic fates of several of its core members. Their tragic ending seems to have done a lot to cement the Shinsengumi them as sympathetic figures in Japanese popular culture more broadly, and I feel like HE★VENS would handle the pathos of it all beautifully, so I'm a little sad that it seems like it's only going to be hinted at. But still, there's theoretically hope for a second drama down the line if this one is successful, or fanworks if all else fails. (I feel positive that I'll see some excellent doujins coming out with this theme over the next several years, for instance.)

And in the meantime, there's also the video to be excited about! It'll be interesting to see if the video gets integrated into Live Emotion, and if so, when. (Possibly at the same time as analogous past ST☆RISH and QUARTET NIGHT projects, perhaps? 👀)

Cast List

Anyway, it's time for some near-baseless idol-by-idol analysis, based on my very limited Shinsengumi knowledge! Feel free to let me know what I've gotten wrong, because I'm truly just winging it for fun over here.

Van as Kondou Isami: This is a SUPER interesting choice, and how much I think Van stans will enjoy it depends largely on how much screen time Kondou actually gets. On the one hand, he's the leader, which is a fun change of pace, and since the story seems to start early in the Shinsengumi's history, there's a good chance he'll be playing a central role. I think it's a great role for Van, who's the oldest and has displayed a strong protective streak towards the other group members. Plus, since he's a bit of a jokester and usually tries to fade into the background, I think I'll enjoy seeing him playing an important role at the center of the group. That said, though, he's usually relatively absent in depictions of the Shinsengumi that I've seen, either because he traveled places separately or for, well…other, sadder reasons. Regardless, if he mainly shows up through flashbacks or something, there's a risk that he'll be severely underutilized.

Eiichi as Hijikata Toshizou: This one seems like an inevitable casting choice. Eiichi usually gets a lot of the spotlight as a passionate-yet-controlled leader who's a cut above the rest, and that fits Hijikata to a T. The most exciting part about this for me is going to be watching him play of Eiji's Okita, as their close (and literally fraternal) dynamic is definitely going to add some pathos to Hijikata's storyline.

Eiji as Okita Souji: THIS. THIS ONE. I was SO excited to see this casting!!! Okita's is an inevitably melodramatic, very dynamic, and ultimately tragic role with a wide variety of possible interpretations. It has the potential to really push Eiji's acting chops. (I don't know if we'll get behind-the-scenes depictions of the actors responding to their roles as a part of this drama, but sometimes it happens, and it'd be a treat to see Eiji's this time.) There will be more on Okita after this list, but basically, this is breakout role territory and I'm so hyped to see that Eiji's the one cast for it.

Kira as Nagakura Shinpachi: I'll admit, this character hasn't left much of an impression on me from the adaptations of Shinsengumi media that I've seen. Given both that and Nagakura's role as next in command under Hijikata, it looks a little bit to me like the role is going to be crafted to fit Kira rather than the other way around, or perhaps utilized mainly for plot convenience. I thought at first he was going to play Saitou instead and I was very excited about it, so I'll admit to some probably-unfair disappointment on that front. I think he's might play closely off Yamato's character, though, and if the plot includes any inner-party conflict, they're likely to be on the same side of it. That would be interesting to see.

Shion as Saitou Hajime: I'll be honest, I originally misread the names and thought that Kira had gotten this role, and I was very excited about it. I'm less excited for Shion to play him, partly for a silly reason: the cover art has him drawing his katana right-handed, and one of Saitou's prominent traits was being a left-handed swordsman. (Then again, maybe that will be a red herring, and Saitou revealing his true skills to the rest of the group will be part of the plot? Or perhaps they didn't do a lot of research for the cover art. It could go either way.) Still, it's usually fun to listen to Shion acting regardless of his role; I feel like I'm never sure what sort of performance we're going to get from him.

Nagi as Toudou Heisuke: At first, this seemed like a fairly straightforward choice, but then I looked into it a bit more and now I'm not so sure. (I've seen Heisuke depicted as one of the younger members of the Shinsengumi, but when I checked Wikipedia, he had the same birth year listed as several other core members.) Regardless, however, It'll be fun to hear Nagi play what will probably be a fairly openly violent and macho role, as opposed to his usual faux-superior brat facade (/affectionate). …And also, if I'm right and the climax of the story is at Ikedaya, then he's going to get a chance for some extra melodrama then as well.

Yamato as Harada Sannousuke: I mean, this role is fine, I guess? He's far enough from the "core" of the Shinsengumi as typically depicted that he gets regularly cut out from some adaptations, or at least lumped into the background with Nagakura. It's not a bad casting choice from the vibes I remember from elsewhere, in that it seems true to type. I just don't know enough about Harada to know what to get excited about. It's also possible that he'll be close with Toudou as well, so that could be fun.

Hang on, what do you know about the Shinsengumi anyway?

Despite the length of this post so far, truly not a lot! What I do know, I learned from Japanese media with a relatively low barrier of entry. In my experience, only devoted fans of either history or manga/anime know about the Shinsengumi, even in Japan, and it seems to me like their popular depictions are an important part of cultural impact. If you'd like to get a feel for those depictions and how these figures have been mythologized in popular culture, one good starting point might be the Hakuouki franchise, particularly the first game and/or anime.

Hakuouki is an old and VERY successful visual novel series. It bastardizes the Shinsengumi's actual history to hell and back (what if they were VAMPIRE-ZOMBIE BERSERKERS who were the victims of UNETHICAL MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION?!) for kitschy dating-sim purposes, but it's silly and melodramatic and fun, much like the original UtaPri VNs. Plus, the characters are caricatured in a way that makes them very distinct from one another, so it's quick and easy to get a feel for their personalities. (Better yet, if you play the visual novel version, it lets you focus on one character at a time and get a feel for the role you're most interested in…though Harada and Shinpachi are a bit of a package set, with only one route between them.)

To give you a sense for the impact of this series, I've been to a collab cafe for Hakuouki that was running at the actual real Ikeda-ya Inn, a place where a significant battle of the Shinsengumi's took place, within the past 5 years. The game first came out in 2008. And UtaPri, which launched in a similar format (PSP rather than PS2) 2 years later, is undoubtedly very aware of the Hakuouki franchise and its popular impact.

I found an emulator version of the first game something like 10 years ago to play on PC and Mac. I couldn't tell you where, since that was several hard drives ago, but it's almost certainly still kicking around someplace. And the anime should be even easier to find.

Overall, Hakuouki's characters seem matched in a decently intuitive way with the HE★VENS members cast in each role:

Kondou (though usually not on-screen much) is the benevolent leader who'd do anything for his men.

Hijikata is the leader on the ground.

Saitou's reticent and mysterious.

Toudou's the youngest.

Shinpachi and Harada were kind of off doing their own thing. (This one is a little off, notably)

And then there's one great big notable exception.

Hakuouki's Souji Okita is sardonic, critical, and at times outright aggressive, with a mean sense of humor and an intentional bad-boy vibe. This seems like a stretch for everyone's favorite cinnamon roll, especially playing against a Hijikata played by Eiichi. So instead, I'm going to guess the Okita we'll get will be a bit different. Perhaps something like this:

(Yep, that guy is based on the same historical figure!)

The shoujo manga Kaze Hikaru's Souji Okita is a light-hearted jokester with a sweet disposition, who plays the airhead to Hijikata's more serious attitude…unless he's in a fight, in which case he turns into a bit of an amoral killing machine. He's also the romantic lead of the series, which totals 45 volumes. (It seems as though the licensed volumes are still being released in English, and the manga's serialization only ended in 2020. Gotta respect a long-running franchise!)

What do both of these otherwise very disparate depictions have in common? Three things stand out to me:

their near-fanatical loyalty to Hijikata and Kondou,

their determination to never surrender, and

their refusal to give in to their impending fate. (I don't think said fate will show up in this particular drama—though I could be wrong!—but either way, I won't go into it for now. You can find out about it easily enough if you go looking.)

So yeah, I think you can see why I'm very interested to see how Eiji's Okita turns out! Whether it's closer to one or the other of these two, or its own thing entirely, I believe it'll be fascinating.

In conclusion, as someone who's enjoyed the Shinsengumi stories I've encountered in the past, I'm very excited to listen to the drama and watch the music video when they come out in October!

[weirdocat83]

Anyone who has seen sk8 the infinity should probably see MDZS because are you really going to look me in my eyes and tell me me that Renga is not eerily similar to Wangxian?? The constant theme of “I could never live without you in my life” and the pining are literally the same for both series. The only difference is wangxian has an angstier story because plot and Renga has a bit of angst because mental health issues.

Ideas for fic below the cut

Tbh I’d go feral for a wangxian reincarnated as renga fanfic. Because imagine Wwx and LWJ cultivating on their own since they got proper awareness and while they don’t have swords or cinnabar (because that is MURCURY which is POISONOUS to most people) they do make the best of their situation. Wwx picks up skateboarding because it vaguely reminds him of flying on a sword while LWJ does the same for snowboarding. 100% they’d both be way better at skateboarding than they are in canon (I wonder if they could make a metal skateboard and make it fly? Wwx could possibly experiment with that) They probably wouldn’t immediately notice each other being reincarnations but eventually they would and everyone else would be left in complete confusion. Not that they weren’t already confused by the two. 100% they have habits of treating matchablossom as kids because logistically they are much older (even if they look like teenagers). This Au would have to be very canon divergent because there is no way Wwx and LWJ wouldn’t just deck Adam in the face or just beat him and be done with it. Also just LWJ and Wwx staring at Joe and Cherry so they finally ask each other out. Because this feels a little too familiar to them.

Part of me thinks it’d be funny if Miya were just Jin Ling because people would wonder how Miya knows so many of Wwx and LWJ’s inside jokes and things considering they hadn’t known each other that long. Meanwhile the junior quartet is goofing off somewhere and joins them for occasional skateboarding and the jiangs are just Miya’s family who are happy with their own lives. Wwx and Jiang cheng might not talk still but Jin ling has parents and that means JYL exists again and oh god the drama.

I think that kind of au would be funny and really interesting to read. Especially as they get to find out each others’ identities which would probably just end up in the shared experience of “when I saw this [insert modern device] I was wondering what world I was dropped into” as well as learning Japanese.

[papaya2000s]

The History of Korean Male Groups – From Yeonhee Professional Singers’ Quartet to BTS -> Pt. 2/? (Rewrite)

Like the experiences of the 60s-80s in Korea (I previously discussed the film Emergency Act 19 (긴급조치 19호) in another post that talks about the censorship.), the Japanese Colonial Rule era saw significant music censorship that impacted Korean culture, especially its musical landscape. Japanese authorities imposed strict measures to suppress Korean national identity and promote Japanese interests, harming both traditional and popular music.

This censorship included regulating song content and performances, banning many Korean songs with nationalistic themes or critiques of the regime, while promoting Japanese music and songs aligned with their cultural goals.

Despite these oppressive measures, some Korean musicians skilfully incorporated traditional elements into their work, preserving their cultural heritage while navigating censorship challenges.

Western Music in Japan

It might seem a bit off in the context of the history of Korean music, but just like today’s K-pop acts, earlier Korean artists drew a lot of inspiration from Western music legends like The Beatles. This influence came about when Western culture started blending into Asia, especially since many Asian countries had been pretty isolated for a long time. If you check out historical Asian dramas or anime, you’ll notice a mix of Western and Asian architectural styles. Plus, if you ever visit or live in places like China, Japan, or Korea, you’ll spot plenty of Western-style buildings that have stood the test of time.

Zhongyang Street from south, Harbin, 1920s (哈尔滨中央大街). Formerly known as Kitayskaya ("Chinese") Street, Zhongyang Street (中央大街) was and still is the busiest street in today's Daoli District. In the distance, Songhua River and the railway bridge. Photo by Moravius on flickr An example of Western architectural style in China, which is still there and looks the same today.

Yonhui College and what it looked like in 1918 which is still used today. This college, which will be discussed later, plays a significant role in the history of Korean music.

In the early 20th century, Japan experienced a notable introduction of Western melodies, particularly during the Meiji era (1868-1912), which was characterized by the country's swift modernization and embrace of Western cultural influences. This period facilitated the creation of numerous songs that incorporated Western musical elements, reflecting a significant shift in Japan's musical landscape.

Prominent Western classical composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Edvard Grieg, and Claude Debussy gained popularity in Japan during this time. Their works were disseminated through performances by Western musicians, the efforts of music educators, and the establishment of institutions dedicated to Western music education, thereby enriching Japan's musical repertoire and fostering a deeper appreciation for Western classical music.

How Korean Male Groups evolved over time.

Male groups in Korean music history have undergone significant changes and developments over the years. These groups were typically formed in two distinct ways, with one focusing on vocal harmony and the other placing a strong emphasis on performance.

Prior to the 1970s, the majority of male ensembles (a group of musicians, actors, or dancers who perform together) prioritized harmony in their music. However, a shift occurred in the 1980s, leading to the emergence of groups that placed a greater emphasis on performance and showmanship. This shift was particularly evident in the dance music genre, and these groups can be considered as the precursors to the modern-day 'boy groups' that are prevalent in the industry today.

The evolution of male groups in Korean music history can be traced through various decades, starting from the period before liberation (1910 – 1945), through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s, and continuing into the mid-90s, 2000s, and up to the 2010s. Each era brought about its own unique changes and developments in the male group landscape, reflecting the evolving tastes and preferences of the audience as well as the broader cultural and societal shifts taking place in Korea. By examining the trajectory of male groups over these different time periods, we can gain a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped the history of Korean male groups and their significance in the music industry.

Before Liberation - 1900s:

The historical evolution of male musical ensembles in Korea before liberation lacks a definitive "first" group, with both the Yeonhee Professional Orchestra (연희전문사중창단) and the 'Youth Member' (청년회원) frequently cited as early contributors. These ensembles share significant similarities and play crucial roles in the history of male musical groups in Korea, regardless of their status as the inaugural ensemble. The available documentation for the Yeonhee Professional Orchestra is notably more extensive than that for the 'Youth Member,' which is often referenced in academic literature.

The Yeonhee Professional Orchestra is recognized as the first male ensemble in Korea to operate under an official name, predating the 'Youth Member' group. While the 'Youth Member' is thought to have emerged around 1923, there is a lack of substantial evidence, such as photographs or audio recordings, to substantiate its official recognition. Although this group is believed to have performed the <Hakdo Song> (학도가) in 1923, the complexities of its activities during the Japanese colonial period hinder the verification of its existence and influence on the musical scene of that time.

I did a bit more research and think I may have discovered the audio for <Hakdo Song> (학도가), though I could be mistaken. When translating the title from Korean to English, it could result in two different Romanized versions: Hakdog Song (학도가) and Hakdogga (학도가), but they are written the same way in Korean.

This is the video of the supposed song below and also the link to the lyrics to the song i found in the blog - Link

In contrast, the Yeonhee Professional Orchestra boasts more thorough documentation from the 1920s and 1930s. This male ensemble primarily consisted of students from Yeonhee College, which later evolved into Yonsei University.

The formal establishment of the Yeonhee Professional Orchestra as an official entity underscores its importance and acknowledgment within the music industry, distinguishing it from the less substantiated 'Youth Member.' The detailed records associated with the Yeonhee Professional Orchestra facilitate a clearer understanding of its contributions and significance during that historical period.

*Note - Yeonhee College/ University changed names and have had different spellings: Yonhui, Yeonhui, Yonhee and Yonsei.

‘Youth Member’(청년회원)

Given the scarcity of information, I will strive to provide clarity regarding the song they reportedly performed, known as "Hakdo Song" (학도가) from 1923. It is difficult to consider the ‘Youth Member’ specified in the album as a team name. The exact names of the members still can not be confirmed. I will also include links to the sources where I discovered this information, noting that their name has appeared frequently over the years, yet details remain limited.

The initial reference to 'Youth Member' within the historical context of Korean male groups occurs prior to liberation, specifically associated with the 'Yeonhui Professional Quartet.' The connection between these two entities arises from the possibility that 'Youth Member' may represent the earliest formation of a Korean male group. However, the lack of substantial information regarding this particular group limits our understanding, as the available records primarily focus on their musical contributions.

The mention of 'Youth Member' alongside the 'Yeonhui Professional Quartet' highlights a significant yet obscure aspect of Korean musical history. While 'Youth Member' is posited as potentially the first Korean male group, the scarcity of detailed documentation about its activities and influence restricts a comprehensive analysis. Consequently, the historical narrative surrounding these groups remains largely incomplete, with much of the focus directed towards their musical output rather than their broader cultural impact.

Album Photo Parents' Grace Song / Student Song. Official Song (Kwonhakga) Album Front, Collection of Lee Kyung-ho

The phonograph record in question is a Taegeukpyo release by the Nippon Gramophone Company, dating back to approximately 1923, and features three distinct musical pieces: "Parents' Grace Song," (부모의 은덕가) "Hakdoga," (학도가), and "Kwonhakga." (권학가).

This record has sparked discussions regarding the classification of changga (love song) as a form of popular music. Notably, "Hakdoga," the first changga featured on the album, holds significant historical value as it encapsulates the evolution of popular music during the Enlightenment Period, thereby serving as a crucial artifact for understanding the cultural dynamics of that era.

The first song confirmed on a record

Despite the existence of numerous records, the earliest confirmed song on a record is <Hakdoga>, attributed to 'Youth Member,' which is believed to be the first male group in Korea. This song was released by Nippon Gramophone Co., Ltd. (日本コロムビア株式会社) around 1921, catalogued as record number 6217.

The true identity of this album remains unverified. The only known version is a reissue from approximately 1923, which is exceedingly rare, with only one or two copies in existence. The recording features a choir format, and rather than listing a specific artist, it simply credits 'Youth Member.' The initial designation as 'Christian Youth Member' suggests that the performance was by a member of the YMCA rather than a professional vocalist. The introduction of the song invites listeners to "Let's sing a student song," mirroring the format used in Edison Records in the United States.

For some reason, finding the right company proved to be difficult, but I truly hope this is the one, particularly since it was the only option available when the song was released. Information about the company that the song was released by below.

Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd., established on October 1, 1910, in Kawasaki-cho, Kanagawa Prefecture, originally operated as the Japan Gramophone Trading Company, marking the inception of Japan's first online music service. From its founding, it maintained a partnership with the American Columbia Record Company, facilitating the import and export of both music and gramophone technology. The company underwent a transformation through Ichichu Kogyo and was rebranded as Japan Columbia in 1946.

'Student' (학도가) is a Japanese version of 'Railroad Window Song' (철도창가) with only the lyrics changed

The authorship of the lyrics for ‘학도가’ remains uncertain, with some attributing it to Choi Nam-seon (최남선) and others to Kim In-sik (김인식), recognized as the first Western musician. However, these claims lack definitive evidence, and there exists a considerable amount of misinformation regarding the composer. Notably, ‘학도가’ is essentially a reworked version of the Japanese song 'Railroad Window Song' (철도창가), which was released in 1900 during the Meiji era.

The lyrics of ‘학도가’ reflect themes of enlightenment, although there are variations from the contemporary rendition. The version performed by Myeong Guk-hwan (명국환) retains the original lyrics but condenses the content from six verses to four. In contrast, Go Woon-bong's (고운봉) interpretation incorporates Juja’s exhortation to learn (勸學文), derived from ‘Gwonhakga’ (권학가), further illustrating the evolution of the song's message over time.

Kim In-sik/ Kim In Hak (김인식)

Born in Pyongyang in 1885 and passed away in 1963, he is recognized as the inaugural Western music educator in the nation. I'll go more into detail about him in a future post.

Choi Nam-seon (최남선)

Choi Nam-seon was a prominent figure in the Japanese colonial era, recognized for his roles as a writer, journalist, historian, and pro-Japanese anti-nationalist. Born in 1890 and passing away in 1957, he pursued his studies in Japan, subsequently launching magazines and fostering a new cultural movement through his literary contributions. He was instrumental in the creation of a Korean dictionary and authored the "Declaration of Independence" during the March 1st Movement. Additionally, he was involved with the Gyemyeong Club, which focused on the study of Korean culture and history, and he served on the Joseon History Compilation Committee. From 1935 onward, he became increasingly active in pro-Japanese initiatives, promoting Japanese Shinto and supporting student soldiers while advocating the notion that Korea and Japan share a common cultural heritage through his "cultural mobilization theory." I'll go more into detail about him in a future post.

A scholar with an enlightened character

Gwonhakga serves as an enlightenment song that promotes the value of education. Unlike typical phonograph records that feature a single song on each side, this particular album stands out by presenting Gwonhakga alongside Hakdoga on the same side of the record.

The song's lyrics reference Juja's work, (勸學文), emphasizing the fleeting nature of youth and the challenges of learning, with the admonition that "young people are easy to grow old, but learning is difficult, so do not treat time lightly even for a moment." (少年易老學難成一寸光陰��可輕). This serves as a cautionary message to the youth regarding the importance of their studies, and these lines were subsequently echoed in Gounbong's ‘학도가’.

This is the video of the supposed song below and also the link to the lyrics to the song i found in the blog – Link Video - https://youtu.be/RrHfwmd1qU4 The song, which has been sung since the Japanese colonial period, also has the same melody as the ‘Student Song’ below.

What the ‘Student Song’ might mean - The 'Student Song' emphasizes the importance of youth and education, urging students to recognize their role in shaping history. It highlights a young boy's proficiency in mathematics and praises the remarkable Ilchon Gwangumdo. The imagery of jade hidden in lush mountains suggests that potential must be refined to reveal its brilliance, while the fallen tree symbolizes the necessity of sacrifice for growth. The song calls upon diligent students to remember their responsibilities, as the dawn moon sets and the bright Dongcheon Joil illuminates their path. Ultimately, it reiterates the significance of youth in the ongoing narrative of history.

‘Parents' Grace Song’ praising the grace of parents

The song titled "Parents' Grace Song" (부모의 은덕가) was initially released by Nippon Gramophone Co., Ltd. in approximately 1921, catalogued as record number 6216. The original recording has not survived, but historical documentation indicates that the title was originally inscribed in Chinese characters as "父母恩德 (Parents' Grace Song)," distinct from its reprinted version labelled as record number K200.

The lyrics of this song bear resemblance to contemporary songs performed on Parents' Day, emphasizing the virtues of parental kindness and the importance of expressing gratitude. Its emotional resonance remains significant today, and the fact that modern Parents' Day songs reference "Parents' Kindness Song" (부모의 은덕가) suggests that this piece has been preserved through oral tradition for many years.

[killerandhealerqueen]

Fic Author Interview

Thank you for the tag @hils79!

How many works do you have on AO3?

270 (as of right now)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

2,888,650 (as of right now)

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wait, We're Married?! (The Devil Judge, Kang Yohan/Kim Gaon) - 1,543 kudos

Succulents and an Overprotective Kang Yohan (The Devil Judge, Kang Yohan/Kim Gaon) 1,243 kudos

Kang Yohan's Relaxing Day Off (The Devil Judge, Kang Yohan/Kim Gaon) - 844 kudos

Protect You (The Devil Judge, Kang Yohan/Kim Gaon) - 817 kudos

Kim Gaon Is Mine (The Devil Judge, Kang Yohan/Kim Gaon) - 761 kudos

I'm honestly still kinda surprised my Devil Judge fics are doing well, considering that I don't write for the fandom anymore

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always do, unless they're rude, then they're just deleted. There's no point in fighting/arguing with someone who doesn't understand the story I'm trying to tell

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, my Chinese Paladin 4 fic Promise to Keep. It's one of my only fics that has Major Character Death, which is INCREDIBLY rare for me, but it's the only fic I've ever felt comfortable writing an MCD for because I was actually okay with the ending of the drama. But it won't ever happen again because I cried while writing this fic and I don't think I can go through it again

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

All of them but Promise to Keep

7. Do you write crossovers?

Yeah. I mainly do crossovers between Killer and Healer and S.C.I., but I've done crossovers with other dramas too

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I did, yeah, and made a whole fucking post about it because the person was really fucking rude and not only came for me, but for my readers and if you come for me, fine, I'll just delete the comment, but the moment you come for my readers I will fucking end you

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I did, back when I wrote for the Untamed. Someone had took my The Untamed Moments and started posting it, word for fucking word, in Spanish over on Wattpad. Thankfully a reader told me about it and I got it taken down but to my knowledge, none of my fics since then have been stolen

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Oh yeah, a few. It makes me really happy/honored

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Waaaay back on AsianFanFics...haven't since then

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

It's been almost 3 years and I'm still not normal about them

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I always finish my WIPs, for the most part. It's very rare that I don't

15. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and anything that has to do with describing crime scenes or forensics. Or anything mafia related

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Run ons, maybe. But sometimes, you just gotta

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I never write full dialogue in other languages, but I will use words, like "gege" or "hyung". Sometimes, I'll curse in another language, if I know what it is (mainly in Japanese)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

First proper fic was either for Dragonball or Black Butler

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I don't know, no new fandom/ship has like...caught me and made me want to write. If I watch a new show, I mainly just like...want to make an au out of it for my current ships

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written

My baby, my beloved, my Killer and Healer rewrite, right here: 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer.

It's a fic that I don't think I can ever top. The amount of time and effort and tears that I put into this fic...I just love it a lot. And I'm super proud of it. I mean, I love all my fics, don't get me wrong, but nothing can ever probably beat this fic

Tagging: @sunriseverse @clawbehavior @godotismissingx @fourth-quartet @ahhhnorealnamesallowed and any of my other writer friends who wants to play

[sakuracyanide]

pls know most my life i thought zoeisite was a woman & the lesbians were cousins b/c america is WEIRD but you bringing sailor moon on dash has unlocked precious core memories even if the english dub is.. a thing that happened [ legit their english names are cemented in my head to this day thanks to toonami. tell me their japanese names and i just cry confusion into my hands as a young fan who didn't know better b/c i was literally like 5-8 years old ]

softly go bleach your roots creep is like cemented in my brain the dub was so unhinged and i loved every fucked up second of it.

trust me trying to follow the changes between sailor moon adaptations is a nightmare. like classic & its og eng dub are basically different canons with totally different characters.

zoisite became zoycite, and now fandom forever spells zoisite (the actual rock) with a c and i'll die mad about it.

kunzite became malachite? for... reasons?? i don't think anyone has ever come out and said why.

and the manga is its own thing. like legit totally different vibe than the 90s anime - they were happening concurrently so the anime team was mostly just taking naoko's notes and then going feral??? like kunzite and zoisite are more or less an extended reference to patalliro. jadeite gets run over by a plane at one point. its fucking great. but like not that great if you want development for the main heroines. usagi does develop, but the rest of the girls stay very stagnant. the development in each season is given to whatever ragtag group of villains are being puppeted by the big bad. s1 had the shitennou, s2 had ali & an at the start bc the first season wrote itself into a corner by having usagi reset the timeline and they had to unfuck that before they could get started on the dark moon which you know what is a really upsetting plot i stan it. then it had the dark moon kingdom which ... if i remmeber right were people banished from the silver millennium for not wanting to be immortal and being concerned about all powerful monarchs? but they were corrupted. something something i would play saphir. s3 had the death busters and hotaru's hot dad. s4 had the amazon trio and the amazon quartet. and s5 had the sailor animates and i will die for lead crow & aluminium seiren's romance. so like if you care about the senshi as characters i don't really rec the 90s version on its own

and then there's sailor moon crystal which was supposed to be more faithful to the manga but was a ffffffffffucking mess. seriously i have never seen such ugly animation or bizarre animation choices for an ip that was lauded & is still upheld as having some of the most gorgeous backgrounds and animation in the genre. morimo clover z did the op and it slaps so like there's that but the rest of it is something else. it should be noted that the animation improves from season 3 onwards but they eventually just said fuck it and made movies out of the rest of it which is a bummer!

and then there's pretty guardian sailor moon (the live action drama which is THE BEST ADAPTATION I WILL GO TO WAR OVER THIS) which features all of the girls having an actual existential crisis over what it means to be reborn princesses from distant stars, it also gives them the spotlights they absolutely did not get in crystal or the og anime AND the shitennou get a lot of development.

and then theres the musicals.

i am happy to hold people at gunpoin - i mean, do a group watch of sailor moon! i really want to rewatch pgsm but i'm ngl its an early 00s live action jdrama so that........ that takes a strong mind to endure.

[kdramalands]

year-end drama recommendation

3. Quartet (2017)

10 eps, 45 min each

Quartet follows a story of four different people who share one passion, music. All four main characters are excellent at playing classical instruments so they form an amateur quartet under mysterious circumstances.

Maki Maki, Sebuki Suzume, Beppu Tsukasa, and Iemori Yutaka practice frequently to perfect their performance and, at some point, even decide to move in together during wintertime. The reasons for that all seem to centre at Maki due to some peculiar circumstances, that is, someone who wishes to know more about her.

The nature of this drama is more mystery than music so I would rather not spill all of our character's secrets here out in the open. All I can share is that eventually the scandalous truth comes out and all is explained.

I definitely recommend Quartet to people who like slow unravelling mystery, uncanny behaviours, and found family trope. At the beginning, Maki, Suzume, Tsukasa, and Yutaka don't feel that comfortable in their little group, considering they hide a lot of things from each other, but as the story progresses, they find themselves sharing more and more burdens with the rest of the quartet. This show is full of laughter, tears, and passion, and I enjoyed laughing and crying with the characters.

Obviously, I have to mention another great performance by Mitsushima Hikari — beautiful, moving, and ambitious. She never disappoints!

I can't believe another year passed so fast! I definitely didn't watch as many shows as I would like to, but life gets in the way sometimes. Nonetheless, I gave you my all, and I hope one of the positions on the list interested you a little bit. I can hear music getting louder and louder, so I'm off to my new year eve's party! This is all from me! With the last item of this year’s year-end recommendation project, I wish you all the best, less drama, and more dramas in 2024! Happy New Year 2024!

Part 1 || Part 2

[denimbex1986]

'How is the world different for queer people? Ask any gay man about their relationship with their parents and there will no easy way out. The wobbly, transient space for queer relationships out in the open, to be accepted by our dear ones, is still inaccessible to many. There's coming out and there's no going back from there. A gay man might just be different because he wasn't heard long enough, and so he has forgot what it feels like to be heard, or even seen for what they are. These are some questions that breath life into the new drama All Of Us Strangers.

A tricky tightrope of balance threatens to disrupt the beauty of Andrew Haigh's fifth feature: a film that refuses to be slotted into the frenzy of a genre. It is a ghost story embedded in a love story. In the hands of a lesser director, the thrill of the former would have overshadowed the vitality of the latter, but the British writer-director is somehow able to bring these two elements together with feather-weight skill and intensity. The more you think about it, the more All Of Us Strangers expands. You know immediately that this is a story that comes from someplace deep and personal.

A masterful adaptation

Haigh loosely adapts the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, which was earlier made into a Japanese film called The Discarnates. Here, the focus rests on Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonely gay man in his forties, who never got to come out to his parents. They had died in a car crash when he was just 11. Yet, one fine evening, Adam finds himself tracing back to the familiar corners of the suburbs, where he finds them again (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). Both mum and dad are living in the small house as it is. Time has stopped for them, they still reside somewhere in the 1980s.

The premise

Back in his solitary London building, a surprising connection blossoms up with the only person living there- the much younger and handsome Harry (Paul Mescal). At first, Adam doesn't want any sort of connection with him, but Harry charms his way into his apartment, and the two men share the softest of kisses, guiding each other along the way. Adam finds out that Harry is lonely too, having cut off connection with his family and living mostly by himself.

Adam is drawn repeatedly back to his parents house, even as his relationship with Harry takes shape along the way. In this journey that extends between the past and the present, Andrew Scott's presence acts as an anchor, grounding the circles around dreams and memories, reality and fantasy. Adam's trauma cuts deep, almost debilitating him to care less about himself. Haigh's deeply compassionate and tender direction in the scenes with Harry and his parents provide him space to finally come out to them and talk about his feelings. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch's lovely score undercuts many of these expressions of love and longing.

A superb cast

It all works largely because of the quartet of actors. Haigh assembles a triumphant cast to bring this wrenching story alive. Jamie Bell and Claire Foy are terrific together: a late scene by the Christmas tree is unforgettable in the way Foy masks complicated feelings through the humming of 'Always on my Mind'. As Harry, Paul Mescal is in scene-stealing form, rising to the occasion whenever Jamie Ramsay's tender camerawork inches towards his face. Yet so much of All Of Us Strangers works because of Andrew Scott- and the actor outdoes himself in a fiercely intelligent and receptive performance. How is he not locked in for a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars is beyond me.

The impossible begins to feel miraculously unique and necessary in the way All of Us Strangers weaves reality with the ghost story. Yes, there's predicament, but there's great skill with which Haigh asks the tough questions, eager to bridge the generational gap between parents and children. To love; to give in to all its questions and joys and agonies is perhaps the most vital sort of life force. Haigh's brave and beautiful ghost story rests on that question, and says that every inch of that emotion is worth the effort and pain.'

[idleminds]

Hello, I apologize for bothering you but, do you know any Japanese dramas/movies that take place in a snowy environment ? (Or some place where it rains a lot)

Dramas: Yukiguni, Theseus no Fune, Quartet. Movies: The Night I Swam, The Chef of South Polar, Petal Dance, Monsters Club.

[limowlee7389]

CURRENTLY WATCHING:  February.

KOREAN.

+ The Interest of Love (2022)(21 Dec-) ~ Airing. ★★★★☆ jTBC, Netflix

I really appreciate the unique perspective this drama takes. There is something a bit novel about this drama. It focuses a lot on class and how individuals from varied backgrounds and economic status interact and the unspoken pressures that each one faces.

It's sometimes very painful to watch our lead couple. I would term it almost a magnetic pull that pulls them together. It is unavoidable and inevitable. I really appreciate the flawed and imperfect depictions that our leads are portraying.

+ Crash Course in Romance (2023)(14 Jan-) ~ Airing. ★★★☆☆ tvN. Netflix

This is such a sweet light-hearted comedy. I was excited for a new tvN weekend drama. It feels like it's been forever since Jung Kyung Ho starred in a drama. I guess it only seems that way since he's been focusing on Hospital Playlist for the last few years.

So far this drama has been a lot of fun. The one thing is that this drama is trying to balance a number of genres. Time will tell how well they will handle the comedy, romance, school corruption, and suspense. Hopefully, the multiple plot points will not be too watered down.

+ Strangers Again (2023)(20 Jan-) ~ Airing.  ★★★☆☆

Enjoying the love, hate relationship between Kang So Ra and Jang Seung Jo's characters. I am starting to feel the symptoms of SLS creeping in. There's a bit too much law and courtroom for me, but I guess it's a natural fit with this premise.

+ Into the Ring (2020)(8 Jan-)

+ Six Flying Dragons (2015)(10 Nov-) SBS

JAPANESE.

+ Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san (2023)(29 Jan-) ★★★☆☆

Quite enjoying this drama. It's in true Koreeda Hirokazu style. I love all the scenes of food prep that is soooo uniquely Koreeda. I'm looking forward to continuing with this drama. I have such a soft spot for depictions of friendship.

+ Mare (2015)(8 Jan-)

Plan to Watch.

Our Blooming Youth (6 Feb)

Taxi Driver (17 Feb)(s2)

Unlocked (17 Feb)

The Island (24 Feb)

Completed

My Country:  The New Age (2019)(31 Dec-3 Jan)(8/10) ♥ 

Recipe for Farewell (2022)(9 Dec-5 Jan)(6/10) ~

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (2000)(16 Jan 22-5 Jan 23)(6/10)

Alchemy of Souls:  Light and Shadow (2022)(10 Dec-8 Jan)(8/10) ♥ ~ 

Ryusei no Kizuna (2008)(7 Jan-8 Jan)(8/10)

Single’s Inferno (2022)(s2)(17 Dec-10 Jan)(8/10) ♥ ~ 

The Island (2022)(3 Jan-14 Jan)(5/10)

Old Enough! (2023)(s2)(14 Jan-16 Jan)(5/10)

Quartet (2017)(21 Jan-23 Jan)(10/10) ♥ ↻

Western Things I Watched. 

Brown and Friends (2022)(22 Dec-4 Jan)(5/10)

The Recruit (2022)(s1)(22 Dec-7 Jan)(7/10)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)(13 Jan)(10/10) ♥ 

[amaezingblog]

🎼 𝒲𝑒𝑒𝓀 2

Principle Study 🎻

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ "𝒲𝒽𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓀𝑒𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃? 𝐼𝓉'𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹!" °∘❉∘° ───┘

This week, we did an exercise to familiarise ourselves with the concept of Advanced reharmonisation, and how to recognise them in existing pieces. The point was to think about how the chord progression are tonally-related to the previous key and the key after modulation. One thing I've realised is that while focusing on which modulation device was implied, it is easy to forget that ultimately, there should be some sort of cadence - secondary dominant chord to the new key. The gist of this concept - it is never random; it is designed carefully with intention. My approach to creating modulations will be focused on the structure and modulatory techniques.

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00:57 ─────[]─────── - 02:10

We had a recap of what advanced reharmonisation as it has been a while since we've touched on that. Not much thoughts on the recap, but it was a good refresher. I'm particularly hooked on the idea of using minor 11th chord shapes for angularity.

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02:35 ────────[]──── - 00:32

For my final year piece, I've decided to go for the concept of Festivals. I am interested in how different countries organise a festival and the type of music they use for their cultural dances, performances and even the types of games and food they offer. I intend to research on melodic and rhythmic aspects of several festive music while I incorporate compositional devices and techniques to move the narrative. This concept is related to my dissertation - creating a Singapore sound; a Singapore cultural (dance) music that unites every ethnicity living in Singapore, using only ethnic instruments. The only difference is that instrumentation for this final year piece would be a wind quintet and string quartet, and I would only be using that instrumentation, with a few more instruments that I may want to include.

This is the initial plan for the Festival concept:

Planning of the event (overwhelming ideas, etc)

2. Preparation (mix of frustration, tired, excitement, sadness, anger, but will solve)

3. Main event (Food, Dance, Games, Fireworks, Performances, Laughter, HAPPY)

4. End of the festival (mixed feelings, bittersweet memories, looking forward to the next festival, sad partings, going back with good memories etc)

Keywords: festive vibes, harmonious, together, celebrate, mood, emotions

I have another concept that I would love to try - the meanings of Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) leaves and tree bark after the Cherry Blossom season ends, after the pink petals fall completely. I was inspired by a Japanese drama - they explained the significant meaning behind Sakura leaves and why are they less popular compared to Sakura petals. To start, I would want to compose in an impressionistic approach. Specific colours (lush green, pastel pink and khaki brown) would be represent the leaves, petals and bark respectively. The main focus would be on the meaning behind all three parts.

However, Belinda encouraged to have a careful take on the usage of Japanese scales and the overall concept of Japanese culture. I understood that non-Japanese composers often do not fully understand the Japanese culture and is prone to get criticism or even backlash from Japanese. I am still in a dilemma whether to combine both concept or choose only one of them. Will think about it! Hopefully I don't take too long to decide :")

2nd pic! (goal to take a selfie during every lesson)

[thetulip84]