#and somehow this season has delivered that message time and time again in every ep what an actual gift 💖

[mobius-m-mobius]

Loki + searching for Mobius moments after disaster

[showerthoughtsreviews]

As the year ends, I’ll start a tradition of sharing my 15 favorite projects

As 2019 ends, I’m able to reflect on my top 15 projects delivered this year, and I’ll do it every year from now on. Here they go.

#15 Romance by Camila Cabello

Even considering Camila’s sophomore album had questionable moments, I do think Romance brings something that 2019 was all about: experimenting sounds, blends and conventional approaches. To me, this is a project that might be able to grow as it has a lot of aspects that are pleasing, but as a whole it did lacked cohesion.

#14 Love + Fear by Marina

Love + Fear was Marina’s solo debut, as previously known as Marina and The Diamonds, and to me this project deserves to be included on the top list starting from the state of mind the singer is at this moment. The messages brought here were beautiful and her vocals are simply incredible, and a lot of tracks here end up growing on you a lot than you actually expect them to.

#13 Blood Harmony by Finneas

Finneas opened himself up to us this year with his debut EP and it did seemed like he brought some nostalgia on how good music can be; how mesmerizing lyrics can really be and grab you and also how simple production can still make the most out of a project.

#12  Cuz I Love You by Lizzo 

Lizzo’s work this year was, definetly, a breath of freash air in such a good and happy mood. This project can be liked for a lot of different people because of her approach, vocal ability and whole concept of the album. Its uplifting flavor can really grow on you.

#11 III by Banks

Banks really got to take us into such a beautiful journey with III. It is amazing how much it feels she challenges the conventional in music but it still sounds so nostalgic and homely at the same time. This is a very good piece of work.

#10 Charli by Charli XCX

With her self-titled project, Charli XCX brought once again amazing flavour in what comes to the futuristic pop approach, creating very interesting bridges between production and vocals into her tracks. It does seem like a grower as well, and a introduction, per say, to a new way of music making.

#9 K-12 by Melanie Martinez

K-12 secured his belt in this listing not because of its production, even though amazing but lost at times, but yes for the lyrical content on it. Melanie is not the most talented song writer out there, but the amount of messages K-12 transmits to you, so softly directed but not too harshly given to you is the main reason you might fall in love with this project.

#8 Cheap Queen by King Princess

This was one of the best debut albums we got this year. King Princess delivered such a cohesive, amazing and beautiful body of work, full of relatable moments and surprises. This is a very interesting direction for the singer, as its proved already lyrics are excelent and production finds its way of working really good with it.

#7 WWAFAWDWG? by Billie Eilish

Speaking of debuts, Billie really created the hype for her’s, and she didn’t disappointed at all. The challenge of approaches and how these can be blended into artistry were very explored by Billie and mostly sucessfull in my opinion. This project does make you think about what music can really be in upcoming years.

#6 Truth Is by Sabrina Claudio

Truth Is is the most cohesive body of work the singer has presented yet to us. Sabrina Claudio found an amazing way of keeping a concept of an album described from start to finish, without going way too overboard on it.

#5 Turn Off The Light by Kim Petras

Turn Off The Light also secures a belt for how much it challenges musicality itself: this is a halloween themed project, and it is so beautifully arranged that you don’t need to listen to it only in halloween season. Kim braced herself and delivered amazing harmonies, runs and electro-pop sounds, not so predictable as you may think they are.

#4 Lover by Taylor Swift

In 2019 Taylor not only told us she was deeply in love, she invited us to experience it in almost every way possible. Lover brings a lot of nostalgia of how the singer used to approach music before, but also brings new elements that show she is somehow evolving; it’s blending the best of both worlds in a way. Lover is a wild ride of emotions and amazing stories, because Taylor does that in a beautifully divine way.

#3 thank u, next by Ariana Grande

Ariana brought something most of us weren’t fully expecting: incredibly personal and raw body of work. This project shaped a lot the view of music in 2019, as Ariana delivered a very r&b blended with pop sound, but in a fresher way than before, ans also her peak as an artist and as how her artistry really can shape her work.

#2 Madgalene by FKA Twigs

Magdalene is one of 2019′s gems. The way FKA created this world for us to dive in, so full of surprises and unexpected moments but also how deeply we can fall in love with her art with this project; all the constructions are non-conventional, all the approaches are made in order for you to exit wherever you are and enter this beautifully sad world.

#1 Norman F*****g Rockwell by Lana Del Rey

2019 brought Lana’s return in a bomb-like way that no one was really prepared for. Norman F*****g Rockwell comes with such perfect cohesion, lyrics, harmonies, vocal ranges, transitions, and a whole amazing vibe and state of spirit. This is without a doubt an amazing peak and an amazing body of work that is almost untouchable.

[wits-writing]

Riverdale Reviews: Season 2 Ep 5 “When a Stranger Calls”

[My other Riverdale Reviews here]

On this episode of Riverdale, the Black Hood makes his next move as he works to isolate Betty from everyone in her life. Meanwhile, Jughead decides to join the Serpents for good and Veronica catches up with an old friend from her past.

[Full review under the cut]

“When a Stranger Calls” picks up right where last episode left off as Betty receives a call from the Black Hood. He’s immediately able to get at her by saying he knows exactly where Polly’s hiding. If she doesn’t do exactly what he says, he will go there to kill her. The first thing he asks is that she doesn’t tell anyone he called her, especially Jughead, and to await further instructions. How Betty reacts to these calls and what it does to the relationships in her life are the central catalyst for drama this episode. She tries to work her way around the mad killer’s demands to make sure no one gets hurt because of her actions. Every new demand puts her through the ringer as she tries to figure something out while confiding in Archie, assuming the fact that they’re neighbors will make her discussing stuff with her less suspicious if anyone happens to be watching.

During this Alice publishes another piece decrying the immorality of the Southside, particularly the Serpents. This sparks the first task the Hood wants Betty to take on for him, he e-mails her an old headshot of Alice from an arrest during her old Serpent days, asking that she publish it in the Blue & Gold. Betty doesn’t want to do anything to her mom. Examples of Alice’s hypocrisy towards the people in the Southside, including Jughead, keep piling up on top of her belief that the letter and cipher from last week were something Betty faked to get attention. A belief that’s seemingly corroborated when a handwriting analyst says there’s no match between the letter sent to the Register and the one sent to Betty.

Fed up with her mother throwing stones at everyone else, Betty publishes the headshot on the front page of the school paper and that’s only the start of her giving into the Hood’s demands. This first one is the easiest to justify something Betty might do anyway if she somehow got the headshot on her own, but as the episode goes on what the Hood demands of her in his threats works to dismantle every connection she relies on to get through the darkness of Riverdale. She has to cut her friends from Riverdale High out of her life, which she accomplishes by making a scene at a party where she gives a speech to demean everything about her friendship with Veronica. She lists off how Veronica is only friends with them by coincidence, only uses them because of what she can get from them and that she’s exactly like her father. Betty’s cheerful ringtone, “Lollipop” by Ronald & Ruby, becomes more sinister as the episode goes on with every call from the hood pushing Betty away from the people she loves. This eventually leads to a call where the Hood tells her to break up with Jughead.

Jug is dealing with plenty of drama of his own this episode starting with learning the details of the fight between the Serpents and the Bull Dogs last episode. Sweet Pea decides to retaliate against the Riverdale Register for Alice’s anti-Southside streak and the Northside in general for how Archie didn’t face any consequences for his part in the fight. Jughead tries to talk Sweet Pea’s group down from this by saying he can talk things out with Archie. He gets insulted for constantly trying to be on both sides of this conflict, Sweet Pea calling him “half a Serpent.”

While racking his brain to find a solution, Toni tells him that it was always FP that kept the wilder members of the Serpents in line, so conflicts never escalated too far out of control. Realizing that she’s right, Jughead decides to make the commitment to go through the trials necessary to become a full-fledged Southside Serpent. These trials include; looking after their pet, Hot Dog, memorizing/reciting the Serpents’ code of honor and retrieving a knife from a tank with a live rattlesnake inside. Before the final phases of these rituals can be completed, Toni warns him that if he does go through with this then he’ll likely lose all his old friends in the process. Jug meets up with Betty at Pop’s before the final trial and they confide in each other about how they wish they could just leave Riverdale and all its troubles behind them.

After Betty’s is told to break up with him, she tells Archie to tell Jug for her. He’s not comfortable with the idea, until he sees Jughead with Sweet Pea and delivers the message for Betty. He tells Jughead that Betty doesn’t want to see him anymore because the Southside has taken ahold of him and he’s already too far gone. It’s unclear how much of this is acting for the sake of the lie and how much is Archie letting genuine anger out on Jughead for the apparent betrayal. The couple’s parallel journey’s into being isolated from the people closest to them forms the backbone of the episode.

Between these two parallel stories is a separate narrative about Veronica helping her parents prepare for an open house at the construction site for the sake of investors. Her ears perk up when she hears that their old family friends, the St. Clair family, will be in town for the event. She’s especially excited to see her old friend Nick St. Clair. There’s one problem in this situation and it’s the fact that Nick is The Worst. He exudes a slimy smugness beneath a shallow veneer of sophistication from the moment he appears on screen, but Ronnie doesn’t notice at first and she’s under Hiram’s instructions to keep him entertained so he can help guarantee the St. Clair family’s investment in the project. Nick’s condescending about Riverdale in general through his constant smirking, flirting with every girl he meets and he’s doing all of this before he starts pushing the people around him into drug use, which does include jingle jangle. This occurs while he’s holding a party for Veronica and her friends in his hotel suite, a party that serves as the backdrop for Betty’s harsh speech to Veronica. Once the party is over, Nick starts trying to kiss Veronica even after she explains she’s with Archie and after he tries again she slaps him.

Many of these plots come to their climax this episode during the Lodge’s open house to celebrate the gentrification restoration of the Southside. Nick gives Veronica a sob story about how he’s been in and out of rehab recently to excuse his behavior, that might’ve worked if not for his later detestable actions. Hal Cooper tells Hiram that Alice was planning to come to the event before her old headshot was made public, right before Alice makes the scene in a flashy outfit featuring a snake-shaped necklace. As frustrating a character as Alice can be, making an entrance like that after having her image publicly tarnished is great. Another small thing at the party worth mentioning is Hermione congratulating Fred on returning to work on the site before insisting he join them up on stage during Hiram’s speech.

After the speech, Veronica performs on stage with Josie and the Pussycats (a cover of “Out Tonight” from RENT) and notices Cheryl passing out in Nick’s arms as they dance. Nick had been flirting with Cheryl throughout the episode and ends up drugging her drink at the party, so he can drag her back to his hotel room and rape her. Ronnie and the Pussycats pick up on this and act to stop him before it’s too late. The beat down they give him for what he tried to do is the most satisfying thing in the episode and one of the best moments in Riverdale yet, but I also wish the show didn’t have to reduce Cheryl to being Nick’s victim for the sake of leading to it.

During the open house, Betty and Jughead’s respective stories this episode also come to their conclusions. Jughead goes through “The Gauntlet”, taking an beatdown of his own at the hands of the Serpents to definitively prove his dedication. The way Jug takes these hits one after the other is informed by how he feels like he’s lost everything there was for him in the Northside after Archie’s message from Betty. After he fully earns the jacket and gets his Serpent tattoo, he confides in Toni about how Betty broke up with him and she kisses him.

Meanwhile, the Black Hood tells Betty to go to an abandoned house on the edge of the forest to get information about who his identity. While she’s there, the Hood’s voice on the phone leads her to a box in the house containing a black hood and he tells her to look in the mirror wearing it. He tells her that he knows they’re the same and she just needs to realize it. On her way home from this encounter, Archie calls to tell her about what Nick did to Cheryl and she goes to help comfort her, listening to Cheryl talk about how she hopes Nick suffers for what he did. When she’s back home in her room, the Hood calls to tell Betty that he’s known she’s been telling Archie about their conversations the whole time and give her an ultimatum; name his next target or everyone she loves dies, starting with Polly. She ends up naming Nick and the Black Hood laughs, saying he was right about her.

“When a Stranger Calls” is an episode dedicated to breaking down and breaking up the characters of Betty and Jughead as they’re put against some of the worst stuff the town has to offer. Their paralleling stories provide a steady basis for everything in the episode. Even with Riverdale being a show dedicated to exposing the dark things people are capable of, Nick is a special kind of terrible and seeing him get him comeuppance at the hands of Veronica was fantastic. Whatever happens next thanks to Betty naming him to the Hood, it’s bound to cause more shifts in the dynamic between characters next episode in “Death Proof.”

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Ghost

2016: 

The WORST YEAR IN RECENT RECORDED HUMAN HISTORY- The End

....

Okay, that’s a little unfair to you guys, let’s start over..

2016:

Ultraman Orb aired, concluded and is available on Crunchyroll.

Ultraman turns 50, having begun back in 1966.

Kamen Rider Amazons, a modern reimagining of the 1975 show Kamen Rider Amazon, premieres on Amazon Prime Japan two days before the date of Kamen Rider’s 45th Anniversary on April 1st. It is considered one of the darkest entries of the Kamen Rider franchise and is the first online exclusive Kamen Rider show.

The Magical Girl Genre, of which Sailor Moon, Cutie Honey, Pretty Cure and so many other super heroines are a part of, is now 50 years old thanks to Sally the Witch who was created way back in 1966 by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.

Go! Princess Pretty Cure ends and Mahou Girls PreCure! debuts.

Super Sentai reaches its 40th Season and 2,000th Episode with Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger! Anthropomorphic Animal Rangers fight to defend the Earth, with the help of a human zoologist. Also, we get a new version of Super Sentai Hero Getter and the Gokaigers make a guest appearance!

Anno, get in the chair! Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame takes control of the Godzilla franchise as Toho decides to start making Godzilla movies and media again locally with Shin Godzilla. This creates an interesting cinematic paradox where both Japan and America are making Godzilla simultaneously and both are successful and will have follow ups in the future.

Garo gets animated in 2015 and comes to America for the first time in 2016 on DVD courtesy of Funimation. (Thanks guys!)

Garo also gets an omnibus series in Garo: Makai Retsuden, collecting tales of supporting characters in the Garo franchise rather than focus solely on the Golden Knight (though a few bearers of the armor do appear in a few bits including Kouga!).

Toei declares the anniversaries of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai to be a “Super Hero Year” and dedicates the year doing projects to celebrate the occasion, including bringing back Hiroshi Fujioka as Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1 in a crossover movie with a brand new look!

On April 3, 2016, a staple of Japanese pop culture turned 45 years old. Then again, 2016 was a red letter date for anniversaries as so many things we loved hit a milestone number.

Given that, Toei decided to set a theme of “History” and the “Wonders of being alive” for the next series. So they chose a dead guy for their next hero...wait what? The overall theme was famous figures from history (and one fictional one) giving their powers to the heroes. So think Kid Eternity meets Danny Phantom. 

Ghost did have interesting designs, courtesy of Kamen Rider and Ishinomori super-fan and manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto and his studio Big Bang Productions as well as Blend Master (though from what I could gather they got shafted when it came time for Mugen form). The Rider Ghosts all wear hoodie jackets and their method of transformation is a variation on Gaim where the “ghost parka” floats around the user before descending onto the armor.

Yes, but see, Ghost is the first series I kind of...stopped watching. It had promise and a likable hero, but fell flat in the last third as it meandered its plot around. As it turns out, we have our old “pal” Shinichiro Shirakura to thank for that, as he let go of the writers halfway into the show and had them replaced (Ep. 24 is where things started to change). You would think he would learn to leave well enough alone, but because Toei was running two Rider Shows at once, cuts apparently needed to be made. 

A noticeable cut was the dropping of motorcycle helmet manufacturer Shoei as a sponsor, as Toei went with its competitor Arai. This was a bit shocking given that Shoei has supported the series since the late Showa Era by providing safety equipment.

Also not helping was that Bandai kinda went nuts on the shilling of merchandise and didn’t give this series much room to breathe, making some of the forms or devices the Riders used feel tacked on or just filler after being seen just once. 

Still the show had its good moments, the messages about life, how an individual’s life impacts others and living it are inspiring. I have even heard whispers of some who thought of committing suicide saying that this series inspired them to keep on living and not give up. 

One especially touching story of the power of Takeru Tenkuji was written in the Asahi Shimbun about a sick toddler who was afraid to take his medicine. However, seeing Kamen Rider Ghost face danger head on and a special message from Shun Nishime inspired the adorable tyke to take his medicine. It showcases the kind of impact this “silly superhero show” as some deride it as has had on generations of Japanese citizens as a franchise. Being a super hero in acting sometimes rubs off and makes the person playing them aspire to live up to that symbol or be better people.

It should be noted that this series also has a few winks and nods to the Kamen Rider Series. The mailman who delivers packages is named Mr. Onodera (the birth name of Shotaro Ishinomori), a computer in the wall of the basement of Tenkuji Temple is a prop used for Shocker bases, a continuity nod to the preceding series is shown in a flashback and one company in the world of the series is the Sengoku Corporation.

But let’s move on...

LIFE! BURN BRIGHT!

DAI KAIGAN! FILE OMEGA DRIVE!

(The late Mr. Tenkuji, circa 2016)

Real Name: Takeru Tenkuji (I love Marvel Style alliterative names, so amusing.)

As the opening narration every episode informs viewers:

“My Name is Takeru Tenkuji, on my 18th birthday I was killed by a Gamma and I became Kamen Rider Ghost.” 

Takeru Tenkuji is the son of a famous Ghost Hunter, Ryu Tenkuji, and during one of his hunts, Ryu is killed by a ghost. This leaves Takeru an orphan and is taken in by a disciple of Ryu’s temple, the monk Onari (who has taken a vow of Ham instead of silence or singing). Takeru also grows up with Akari, his childhood friend, whom grows into more of a scientist with a skeptical view on ghosts.

Takeru is trained by Onari to be a Ghost Hunter and on his 18th birthday receives a strange package from Mr. Onodera, a gift from his late father that contained an eyeball-like orb. He has no time to investigate, as something invisible begins attacking them: The Gamma, evil spirits from another dimension.

Takeru manages to fend off these monsters for a bit to protect Akari and Onari, but the Katana Gamma slices Takeru up and he dies.

But death is not the end of our hero as a mysterious figure and a talkative snarky spook appear and the old man offers the boy a chance to live again. Sennin, as he calls himself, bestows Takeru with a belt like device and says he can return to life for 99 days as a ghost and regain his life permanently by finding the 15 Heroic Eyecons of famous people and can become a Kamen Rider to stop the Ganma from getting their hands on them. If Takeru fails, he dies for good.

He is sent back and defeats the Gammas,using his own soul as a source of power in an Eyecon for the Ghost Driver to become Kamen Rider Ghost. Yurusen tells him the rules of being a ghost and eventually lets Onari and Akari in on what is going on. They help him find the heroic Eyecons, with Onai setting up a paranormal investigation and elimination agency (No, not that one, though we do get Akari acting kinda Egon-ish at times.). Akari creates ghost-busting equipment to defeat the weaker grunts of the Gamma or hold them off until Takeru arrives, though she is still skeptical on the supernatural and believes that Ghosts can be explained scientifically . Together they fight the Gamma, collect the Eyecons, meet new allies and enemies! 

During one event, Kamen Rider Drive was in his final battle and had a near death experience. Somehow entering the realm of the dead, Ghost told Shinnosuke not to go into the afterlife (resembling a black void). Drive’s old foes come out of the void and Ghost fends their “ghosts” off (why do androids have ghosts? Meh, Comics.) while Shinnouske goes toward the light, which wakes him up. He later encounters Ghost again during a case and this directly ties into the series as it involves the Newton Eyecon (though canonicity is a bit wobbly).

Despite my “meh” attitude on the series now in its later end, looking back Takeru is the most likable Rider as he goes above and beyond what it means to be a hero, selflessly giving to save others even at the risk of his own soul when he himself has so much he could lose. He perfectly encapsulates what a Kamen Rider is at times.

Powers:

Like any classic ghost of standard media, Takeru can walk through walls, disappear and fly (well, more like floating and super agility until Mugen form). Takeru can also read a person’s soul/mind and see their memories by touching them or their soul if it is removed from the body. He also has a sorta “Rider Sense”, as he can sense some powerful evil spirits.  Since he is already dead (*insert Fist of the North Star Joke here*), Takeru cannot be severely harmed in any way and is near invulnerable, but not invincible. Spirit mediumship allows him to talk to ghosts.

Takeru can become solid like a human being if his emotional state is positive and he can create powerful barriers when he is in an emotional state where he does not want to be bothered by anyone.

Eyecon Powers:

Musashi: Skilled Swordsmanship

Edison: Electricity Generation/Absorption and elemental weapon augmentation. Enhanced thinking ability via electrical stimuli

Robin Hood: Expert Marksmanship, barrier shield, Energy Arrows, Cloning ability.

Issac Newton: Gravity manipulation pulses on a very powerful scale, as it can levitate heavy landmasses. Able to attract or repel objects and deliver powerful blows or immobilize targets.

Beethoven: Sound and music manipulation, literally as it creates constructs of music notes made of pure sound. Sonic blasts.

Billy the Kid: Expert Gun marksmanship, More Dakka, sniping abliity.

Benkei: Super strength, weapon mastery, energy constructs, concussive hit, localized seismic generation, Stop, Hammer Time!.

Toucon Boost: Kill it with Fire (generation powers)

Goemon: Super speed.

Ryoma: ???

Himiko: Magic abilities

Ikkyu: Levitating, able to summon stuffed Tigers from paintings to bite Gamma. 

Mugen: High defense, flight via rainbow wings and maximum attack power

He can utilize his emotions as weapons in Mugen form, feeling a specific emotion will allow him to execute a certain attack. 

Weaknesses:

Ghost still can die if time on his life extension runs out or his Ore Eyecon is destroyed as that contains his soul. 

Despite being immune to most damage, Takeru can still feel pain as spirit and the overwhelming sensation of intense pain could cause him to pass out. He also suffered from a bit of self-confidence issues at first but later improves. If the Heroic Spirits refuse to work with him, this could weaken him or render his powers in Grateful form unbalanced at best or to shut down at worst. The Eyecons can be swiped and used by other Ghost Drivers, even making the spirit inside the Eyecon act against their will in some cases. 

Ghost is also not immune to electricity in certain forms such as Musashi, as he becomes a walking lightning rod. Though Edison negates this due to its powers. If a mystical barrier is up, Takeru cannot phase though an object. 

His ability to talk to the dead is a bit problematic, as nobody but him can see them and as a result he looks beaucoup cuckoo to muggles as it looks like he’s talking to himself. (Though Akari comes up with a way for normal humans to see ghosts and whomever is mortal that holds a Ghost Eyecon can see them as well)

Now that he can use his powers as a living person, he can die again using any of the conventional means.

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Ghost_Driver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Ghost_Eyecons

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Ghost_Gadgets

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Gan_Gun_Saber

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Newton_Damashii_Gloves

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Machine_Ghostriker

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Ghost

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Iguana_Ghostriker - Don’t ask me what Ghosts have to do with Iguanas, it is what it is.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Eyecon_Driver_G

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Sunglasseslasher

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Slasher

Enemy:

The Gamma

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Gamma

The Gamma are a race extra-dimensional beings that are like ghosts. They have several objectives, one is to find Eyecons to grant themselves greater power. If they cannot find one, they try to create one by corrupting a human until they go mad and extract their soul to create an Eyecon. 

The last one is to turn the human world into another Gamma World so that a “Deathless utopia” can come...by killing the original world’s inhabitants or converting them into Gamma. Gamma are actually humans who wanted to escape death, but their plans didn’t work out.