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battlestar-royco · 5 years ago

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here is part 2 of my sci fi recs masterlist! again, i could’ve gone on with even more recs but i decided to draw the line here. this set for the most part errs on the darker side, thematically, visually, conceptually etc. i personally find it super thought-provoking and intriguing but that’s just me. i highly recommend reading the tw under the cut if you’re thinking of watching, especially the matrix and space gothic slides. please view at your discretion <3

part 1/2

If you like WLW (um idk why I only made this slide based on identity; it just kinda happened lmao but I think it works):

Siren: (tw: parent loss, grief, thalassophobia) a mermaid surfaces in a cove town looking for her lost sister. Polyamorous relationship between a man, a black/indigenous woman, and the mermaid!!!! Environmentalism! As a person who has thalassophobia, I didn’t find this too hard to watch. There aren’t that many underwater scenes, thankfully.

Black Mirror: San Junipero: (tw: grief, but otherwise none that I recall; it’s pretty lighthearted) two women meet in a beach resort in the 80s and fall in love. Interracial wlw!

Orphan Black: (tw: suicide, infertility, rape implication, VB, language, drug use) a woman realizes she is one of several clones and uncovers an elaborate corporate conspiracy. This is one of my personal favorites with great rep of complex women of all ages and bodily autonomy. Several central queer characters and a black male secondary character!

Starfish: (tw: grief, a few jump scares and brief monstrous imagery, blood) after the death of her best friend, a young woman breaks into the deceased’s apartment and discovers a chain of music tapes that could save the world. Weird, subtle, and experimental. Not to sound like a surfer but you kinda have to allow yourself to be in the vibe. The main character and her friend were definitely a thing imo.

Annihilation: (tw: body horror, VB, disturbing imagery) a team of women scientists explore an anomaly that rapidly mutates genes. There are canonical and coded wlw and multiple (light-skinned) POC in this but the rep is short-lived. I put it on because although it should’ve been more ambitious with the casting, I think it breaks *some* ground for Hollywood sci fi with the all-woman team and more than one WOC. Wack ending though.

Mad Max: Fury Road: (tw: rape implication, violence) I think everyone knows about this one but: in the apocalypse, a woman breaks 4 younger women out of a harem. A badass car chase across the desert ensues. A bit light on plot/worldbuilding, but sooooo cool-looking and very thematic!!!!

If you liked STRANGER THINGS:

It: (tw: VB) don’t actually watch this lmao I’m serious. It’s really stupid, and not in a funny way. But I do think Stranger Things was inspired by this story overall. The modern It films are better but they’re also really kjslsklskls stupid? Stephen King in general is obsolete imo.

The Thing: (tw: VB) an alien that can take the form of others wreaks havoc on a scientific facility in Antarctica. It’s dark and vibey, but I feel like it’s just Alien in Antarctica with truly terrible special effects tbh?? Others feel differently. It’s also classified as sci fi/horror, so stay away if you’re easily scared! Not too good on representation.

Super 8: (tw: some language) a group of preteens witnesses an alien-caused train crash as they’re filming a home movie. Not diverse but I definitely think it inspired a lot of sci fi for the 2010s, ESPECIALLY Stranger Things. Not too scary either!

ET: (tw: it’s been a really long time since I watched so I don’t remember but it’s rated PG) I think everyone knows what this is about!

Alien: (tw: VB) truckers in space discover a deadly evolving alien. One of my favorite movies of all time! I love the aesthetic and the mood and worldbuilding so much. Ellen Ripley is one of the first Final Girls in the horror genre. I personally found this more of a sci fi than a horror movie but I’d say stay away if you’re nervous!!

Terminator: (tw: VB) a deadly android is sent to kill a woman who’s destined to birth the man who saves the world. Terminator 2 is way better imo because it centers on Sarah rather than the dudes saving her and trying to kill her. But it’s still worth a watch, you know, for the culture.

If you liked CONTAGION:

War of the Worlds: (tw: blood) pretty straightforward aliens come to Earth to take over. Sorry to rec another T*m Cruise movie but I really like the alien design and the apocalypsey feel of this one. Baby Dakota Fanning is in it too!

Falling Skies: (tw: VB, body horror, rape) alien invasion yada yada but the alien lore gets more interesting as it goes on. It’s kind of cheesy and yeah maybe I did discover it by looking up the iCarly boyfriend (and what about it??) but it’s nice to have on in the downtime. An Asian woman co-stars.

Knowing: (tw: blood) school students unearth a time capsule that contains a sheet from a girl who predicted all the tragic world events between 1959-2009. This is NOT a good movie but it’s SO hilarious to me because of the acting and contrivances. Fun to group-watch!!!!

10 Cloverfield Lane: (tw: VB, emotional abuse) a woman wakes up in a bunker to a captor who tells her that the world has fallen to alien apocalypse. I think this movie elevates the original Cloverfield in pretty much every way. Again, super tense and moody. The conflict revolves around whether or not the captor is being truthful.

Train to Busan: (tw: extreme VB and disturbing imagery) a man and his daughter are on a train when a zombie hops on at the last minute. It’s Korean with an all-Asian cast; Choi Woo-shik co-stars. I definitely wouldn’t watch if you’re scared of blood and gore. It’s very gross and violent.

12 Monkeys: (tw: ableism, violence) a man from the 2030s is sent back to the 1990s to prevent the plague that will end the world. I think the aesthetics of this are really cool but otherwise it’s not a favorite. But I think it appeals to people who like apocalypse and time travel stuff!

If you liked THE MATRIX:

Strange Days: (tw: rape, sex, nudity, VB, racism, police brutality) memories can be saved to hard-drives and sold on the black market for exorbitant prices. Very problematic and triggering presentation of rape, but young Angela Basset stars and there’s a condemnation of police brutality that’s still relevant 20+ years after its release.

Upgrade: (tw: ableism, VB, fridging) a disabled man installs an AI in his spine to help him move and investigate the murder of his wife. The premise is glaringly ableist and I feel weird even recommending it tbh but it’s got great visuals and a few good twists.

Altered Carbon: (tw: VB, weird interracial body switching, uhhh I haven’t finished this one IDK) in a society where human bodies are interchangeable, a man wakes up in a new body after 300 years of his mind being dormant. A Latina woman co-stars, two Asian characters in a subplot, a few other POC here and there as well. I think season 2 stars a black man.

eXistenZ: (tw: VB, anti-Asian racism, general weirdness? IDK it’s hard to describe. There are guns made out of bones and weirdly sexual visuals.) after someone tries to assassinate her, a video game designer and her bodyguard must play through her virtual reality game in order to save the only copy of the game.

Minority Report: (tw: VB, eye removal/insertion) all crimes are predicted and criminals reported before they are committed. The main character is preemptively accused of murder. This one is really white but it was one of the first movies that got me into sci fi. Early 2000s Colin Farrell <3.

If you liked WESTWORLD:

Humans: (tw: uncanny valley, objectification) androids are household helpers and public assistants throughout Britain until one day they start developing consciences. It hits a lot of the themes of Westworld without all the unnecessary pretentiousness, “edginess,” and “grittiness,” and it stars Gemma Chan and Colin Morgan!!

Blade Runner 2049: (^) an android is ordered to find and kill a human/android hybrid. It’s not without its issues but it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, right up there with Alien. So beautiful, so thematic, so thought-provoking (to me, anyway. I know a lot of people thought it was way too slow).

Ex Machina: (^) a man is invited to a private estate to help test the intelligence of an android. It’s kind of predictable imo but you know Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno are in it so we have to stan, and so is Domhnall Gleeson, for the SW fans! I like how isolated and quiet it feels.

I Am Mother: (tw: blood, gaslighting) after an extinction event, a young woman is raised by a lone android in a human repopulation facility until one day a woman knocks. It starts off slow and a bit generic, but I’m obsessed with the 2nd and 3rd acts of this movie---good acting, dialogue, and fantastic visuals. It has that same isolated feel as Ex Machina with only three characters, all of which are women/woman-coded!!!

If you liked ALIEN (space gothic):

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008 reboot): (tw: genocide, war, colonization, VB, uncanny valley, rape, infidelity) space opera that follows humanity as it fights the ever-evolving and powerful enemy of their own creation: androids named Cylons. Um? I L O V E THIS SHOW SO MUCH and I truly do think it’s everything sci fi should be. There is a really unfortunate Miss Saigon-esque romance plot in season 1 and a lazily-written love triangle involving a black woman in season 3, but otherwise it’s one of my all-time favorites and I highly recommend. It’ll spin your mind and tug your heartstrings for years.

Black Mirror: Men Against Fire: (tw: genocide, war, nudity) soldiers in the near future protect citizens from mutant zombies, but one soldier starts experiencing strange hallucinations in the field. This is such an underrated Black Mirror episode starring a black man. There’s brief objectification of a black woman but it’s very anti-military and it has an interesting sterile aesthetic that reminds me of Alien.

High Life: (tw: rape, black holes/space anxiety, very disturbing) prisoners are given the option to join a space expedition and serve as experimental subjects en route to a black hole. Please please stay away if you are triggered by sexual violence of any kind. There’s almost no physical violence in this movie but it’s psychologically haunting imo.

The Faculty: (tw; VB, drug use) high schoolers discover their teachers are being possessed by an invading alien race. I LOVE THIS MOVIE LMFAOOOO. The cast is SO wild---Elijah Wood, John Oliver, Usher, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett??? And I’m probably forgetting more. The combination of the cast, the terrible dialogue, and shitty special effects is PEAK comedy imo. But bear in mind it’s bloody!!

Prometheus: (tw: body horror, VB, uncanny valley) a crew of scientists heads on a deep space mission to find the aliens who created the human race. A prequel to Alien, but I kind of view it as its own thing. Despite the plot holes, I love this movie too! It was one of my sci fi gateways and the visuals are stunning. It’s pretty gory though so if that’s not your thing stay away.

Life: (tw: extreme VB) a lesser Alien, but it provides all the space gothic tropes (jokey crew, shots of space, really pretty spaceship, everyone dies, creepy alien) with a well-known cast---Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, etc.

The X Files: (tw: a few episodes contain 90s racism, sexism, queerphobia etc but you can skip them) a lot of people have watched this so I barely have to explain, but it’s one of my favorites. Two FBI agents investigate multiple aliens and get involved in government conspiracies along the way. A good gateway!

A Quiet Place: (tw: child loss, VB, tension) I think most people know what this is about too. Alien apocalypse with aliens that hunt by sound. The daughter in the family is deaf, and so is the actress who portrays her. The representation of deafness was critically acclaimed.

#maxine talks sci fi #movie recs #maxine did you read/watch

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blaster-aichi · 4 years ago

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Cardfight!! Vanguard Extra Story IF 14 things

links lead to images posted on discord because this post is already far too absurdly long, have too many thoughts, what a rollercoaster ride this was

Shuka’s opening a gateway into the past beneath herself and Emi indicted Link Joker Gate flashbacks because of its appearance

If it wasn’t demonstrated prior to this episode, it’s apparent how Aichi is far more malicious than any incarnation of past (i.e. his soldiers ready to maim or straight up murder Emi and Shuka , having Kai-kun abducted; whether either was 100% intended to occur the way they did is anyone’s guess)

Miwa as a Sanctuary Knight: there’s two points to this — it’s an astonishing turn as he was part of the Mates during Legion Mate — the season which many people have acknowledged the parallels to — but working beneath Aichi turns that on its head as well as the implication that Aichi’s force was concentrated around the Miyaji Cardfight Club, as well as giving a fifth member to his faction in similar vein to Kourin of Legion Mate. — it splits up the Kai/Miwa/Ibuki trio down the same lines as Ultra Rare; Suiko and Ibuki being firmly aligned with Emi while Kourin and Miwa fall under Aichi’s command. Rekka and Kai-kun would serve as unaccounted for, though it’s more clear-cut in his case, as Rekka made her appearance and her allegiance known at the same time as Kourin entered the fray, as well as already fighting on the side of restoring the timeline to its proper state before Suiko was pulled into activity. — and it was foreshadowed right before our eyes when they announced IF 14 would be centred around Kai-kun.

"Whenever I hear the name "Toshiki Kai”, for some reason, I get chills”. It’s a strange statement with his behaviour later in the episode, seeming to recognize and feign friendliness with Ibuki and Kai-kun. The only possibility can think of for this line is Miwa, like Aichi and Emi (and the rest of the Sanctuary Knights), is his Outside World self pulled into IF World and his memories tampered with, he might be privy enough to his relationship with the other two for the sake of his act when meeting with them.

Kai-kun hugging Ibuki with no restraint. Rena down. Fuck that’s so soft.

9 years of being dead or arseholes who abandoned their child, we get Mama and Papa and the whole family is adorable! Mama Kai and Shizuka would get along so well, they’re two peas in a pod aaaaa — Toshi also pointed how out the Kai family love of curry persists to this day and god bless.

me last night on call with Courtney: “There has to be a reason why Aichi hates Vanguard specifically just because of not meeting Kai-kun. It wouldn’t be any more significant than literally anything else. Hey, Aichi, why not hate rock music instead or something?” Kai-kun’s room: this kid loves rock, how dare you

Said room also makes it feel like the show is saying Vanguard/Aichi ruined Kai-kun’s life as opposed to, you know, his parents abandoning him. Bushi no—

It took just his name. That was it.

The static within the audio around Aichi is a neat touch when there feels to be a theme of glitching in the ED and it isn’t as though either reality is “wrong”, just distorted.

Just how they go about instilling memories of Aichi in comparison to Legion Mate is fascinating. In Legion Mate, the Mates were able to cleanly remember as their fights progressed and able to accept that Aichi existed prior to the season; we don’t know the extent of the changes to their lives as a result of his disappearance, but here is a different story. Kai-kun’s entire life has been altered as a result of the distortion and he isn’t able to simply see Aichi in his memories and realize that someone is missing from his past, and it takes a toll on him for these conflicting memories from another life to present themselves to him.

One has to wonder what Shizuka is going through in regards to Aichi vanishing, but also what Kai-kun’s parents must think if they were to investigate the commotion coming from his room suddenly to see him and everyone else gone and the disarray left from just how they left.

IF being the seemingly most lighthearted season with the darkest cliffhanger (topping even Link Joker and Legion Mate, because nothing comes to mind that could honestly match this), even if we know they would never dare kill off Kai-kun but the insinuation for the characters that he could be dead is chilling, particularly when they consist of his childhood friends, young girls and the root being a boy seeking him out, whose intentions around it we don't know and whom we've seen destablize (albeit in another continuity) when it comes to Kai-kun, so imagine the ramification and what it could do to his state of mind (or Ibuki, Miwa, Emi and Shuka’s, for that matter) if they really did play with the idea of killing him off.

Horizontal Oath

God bless this ED, it’s so good

There’s a lot in here about the clashing realities around Kai-kun and it’s nice to know the season isn’t overlooking the incredibly weighted implications of putting him in this position.

The fire spurning to life, while a nice nod to his usual choice of Kagero an its absence in his current life, could also be representative that, while he has many hobbies in his IF life, Vanguard is where his passion truly lies above all, as he grips it and contemplates the people who should be around him.

Emi, Ibuki and Miwa occupying the same spots in the frames they exist in is a neat choice.

Kai rushing towards the light/Blaster Blade only for the card to vanish as his fingers nears it screams of midpoint Legion Mate where the Mates finally got a glimpse of Aichi, to hear his own request that they give up. As the preview shows them in the same location, it’s possible 15 will serve as the first, failed attempt to bring Aichi back to his senses and force the group to pick themselves up and try again in the same way the Leon episodes served in Legion Mate, signified by the repeated animation usage when Kai-kun runs towards Blaster Blade a second time.

The price Kai-kun is going to pay is not being overlooked. To restore the timeline, it’s apparent that he’ll have to sacrifice his IF life and parents, inflicting unto him the anguish of his original Manga/Reboot continuity life and the hardships that came with it The darkness that emanates from his younger self and the glimpses of that original life as he kneels demonstrates that, while he might accept that outcome, it’s not about to be an easy task, understandable. — Initially had suspected from the preview for 14 that this issue might be raised with him and he would reject erasing everything he knows and have to be brought around to the idea, but the ED actually refutes this, as he faces everything head-on. — In doing so, it speaks to his character and the strength to allow this incredibly high price, as by relinquishing everything he knows, he’s able to regain the friends he made through Vanguard even with the knowledge of the pain and strife that he’ll endure and allow Emi to have her family back, even at the cost of his own. — Additionally, as the shot closes in on him and he yells/roars, it appears he could be in pain from having to surrender this version of himself and his life; but ultimately does so as he fades while Dragonic Overlord becomes the more dominant face, signifying his reclaiming his Vanguard and his original life.

This resolve to allow the timeline to be returned to its rightful state also comes through beneath the starry sky that corrects itself, with Kai-kun standing at the back of Emi’s group, the only one of them fated to disappear by setting things right. Though the camera continues on past him, towards the light that grows brighter and consumes everything — perhaps a symbol of the corrected timeline taking hold — he doesn’t so much as glance back, but looks ahead to the sky, even with the reality that he and his world will be no more.

[2012 Fanguard voice] Bench-chan lives on.

Numerous people in YouTube comments remarked that Horizontal Oath amplifies the Legion Mate atmosphere and its emphasis on Kai-kun whilst doing so is notable. As that was his journey to bring Aichi back and the current is Emi’s, the shift in tone with this new ED and new arc incorporating him heavily is a nice reflection of that when the OP remains the same. — There is an implication, though, that Emi might start to fall back from the protagonist role, as she appears far more passive in the ED while Kai-kun stands front and centre. When the two of them and Shuka are standing in a field, Emi’s feet are surrounded by shade, and when looking to the sun, she stands on the edge of the formation, seeming far more distant. At the same time, Shuka is on the other side, both of the group as a whole and Kai-kun specifically, with her back to the others. Her guilt has been an enormous factor since the truth of her actions came to light and how they weigh on her, but this feels as though her attention shifting away from Emi and towards Kai-kun as a means of atoning for her mistake. — Going to be hopeful that they can balance what Aichi means to Emi and Kai-kun in similar vein to Kai-kun and Naoki of Legion Mate, so that they both share an equal part in the fight going forward.

IF 15

Thank goodness, we’re getting answers about Aichi, Takuto and the Sanctuary Knights, let’s go.

Aichi pointing a sword at Ibuki and (Kourin) opening up a fissure beneath the both of them — and right in front of Kai-kun — is a stark contrast to the Aichi(s) we’ve known until now, as how he was seen by Kai-kun was something of great importance to him, but depending on the context of the scene, it’s apparent that this version of him gives no fucks about anything of the sort.

Something that’s been on my mind within the last week is that, aside from the scene in the forest when he was acting seemingly normal, Aichi’s right eye is never detailed beneath his visor, or even when he overrode Majesty Lord (typically, his hair doesn’t completely conceal his eye while in a unit). The theories that came to mind were heterochromia, like Voidkuto, a permanent Psyqualia glow or it’s completely blank in typical possession/brainwashed fashion (or some sort of visual cue pertaining to the fact that a great deal is off about him) but by putting on the airs of normality, he was able to mask it as a normal eye when meeting with Shuka.

#Cardfight!! Vanguard #Cardfight!! Vanguard IF #cfv spoilers #long post #jokes about this being an essay then spends well over an hour writing good job me

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currentlyreadingmanga · 5 years ago

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Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: Chapter 10 - The Young Exorcist (Part 2)

Previously: we had a mostly Kou centric episode! We learned more about his family, in particular about his kinda scary brother Teru. Kou made it his mission to find evidence that proves that Hanako is not a bad supernatural, which lead to some very cute bonding moments between the two boys. Kou decided that he wouldn’t exorcise Hanako because he considered him a good guy, but Hanako doesn’t take this change of heart well since he clearly doesn’t think that killing someone can be justified in any way. He goes overboard, though, and threatens Kou with his knife and it’s at that precise moment that Teru arrives and zaps Hanako with his own exorcist weapon and I was left with very high levels of stress

Now onto the next chapter!

Okay I really like this cover page, because it while it can be seen as the two exorcist keeping the aparition at bay, since they’re the ones that can (and have to) do it, you can also see other nice details. There’s also the contrast between both of their expressions while holding Hanako back: how calm and collected Teru looks while Kou looks uncomfortable. And how Kou’s weapon not only is keeping Hanako in check, but is also holding Teru’s sword back so that it doesn’t touch Hanako.

Anyway, yes, it’s a very good drawing that conveys this arc very well.

Okay so Kou is remember all those times he would sneak out to watch his brother fighting against supernaturals and how cool he looked while doing so. Teru always greeted his brother with a kind smile and Kou had assumed that that was the expression he wore into battle but

Yeah, can’t say I’m surprised, those are the main expressions we have seen on his face when it comes to Hanako and apparitions. Still, Kou’s face is honestly heartbreaking, he must feel so helpless

I feel like I need to reiterate: his calm smile in moments like this kinda scares me, Like, I get it, I understand why he’s acting this way (he found Hanako pointing a knife at his baby brother, what’s he gonna do? let him go just like that? no, that would be stupid) but still, it’s slightly unnerving

But in spite of what his brother says, Kou stands his ground defending Hanako but Tery reaches for his bead bracelet and oh. it’s a capture weapon. fantastic, this just keeps getting better and better

Hmm, idk if I’m reaching, but it kinda feels like Teru is babying his brother a little too much. I don’t know their full family situation, and while yes, Kou is clearly inexperienced in dealing with supernaturals, I feel like Teru shouldn’t dismissed what he had to say so fast although, again, the knife pointed towards Kou really doesn’t help the situation

Hanako calls out to Haku-Joudai but holy fuck Teru really is much more powerful than Kou since he can create a lightning cage so he can’t summon his tsueshiro.

This is real bad. Things really aren’t looking good for my ghost child here

That’s interesting. Does that mean that Teru is just THAT much more powerful that his spiritual energy can control the lightning like that even if his weapon is mainly used for attacking? Also, does that mean that Kou’s weapon is better for controlling said lightning?

It looks like Hanako is gonna tried to defend himself with his knife but Teru just tells him that “no matter how you try to cover it up, in the end, you can never hide what you truly are” with his scary face TM. And Hanoko looked angry before but after that he looks honestly shocked

It’s really something how he can looked so small and terrified while holding that knife. It conveys a very hopeless feeling, idk maybe I’m reaching

Oh wow

Now this is some beautiful and haunting imagery.

I mentioned during my last recap that while there’s a real underlying danger that we can see in Hanako, but again, he doesn’t seem like a genuinly bad or vengeful person. So this description is suspicious to me. It could be true, but after everything we’ve seen so far, it could very well be a case of rumors twisting the original story of him murdering someone and blowing it our of proportion

Okay so they start fighting and I’m too scared to scroll down because so far Teru has clearly proven that he’s not someone you want to mess with ahhhh

ヽ(ﾟДﾟ;)ﾉ!!

━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━ OH MY GOD NO NOPE NO

Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;)// Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;)// Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;)// IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE NOOO BABY that looks so painful ahhhhhhh

I don’t want to keep scrolling but hnnnnng I must know if my child will be okay (and I know that he most likely will be but still jfc this is so painful to look at)

Kou explains how Teru usually fights against supernatural and ngl it’s kinda horrifying and yes, it looks like it’s best to stay out of range but Hanako is trapped there with no way out

And ahhhhh now Kou is second guessing himself, thinking maybe his brother was right and that Hanako should be exorcised but nooo baby you should listen to your instincts if they tell you something is not quite right here

Ohhhh. Okay, so we’re dealing with a layer of self-confidence issues too. I didn’t consider it, since it just seemed like he admired his brother a whole lot, but it isn’t just that. And it makes sense, since from what we saw last chapter, Teru seems to be some kind of prodigy, and it’s not rare that Kou started to compare himself to him (not only thinking that he wants to be like him, but also seeing what he’s lacking since Teru seems to be so “perfect”). So yeah, to him, his brother “knows what’s best”, because that’s the way it’s always been

Teru says that Hanako has been near the shore for a long time and that it’s time for him to face his punishment, but Hanako seems to have something to say about that and

oh. oH no. he’s crying oh nO he looks so sad oh god ಥ_ಥ

So to Hanako, being exorcised wouldn’t be a fair way to pay for his crimes. He’s telling Teru that if he expels him right now, then nothing would be gained from it since he would just be released from the mortal plane without actually doing something to atone. And “atone” is a fitting way to put it, since from what we’ve seen, he doesn’t want (or expects) to be forgiven, he just wants to do things right, to find a way to repent for what he has done. It’s is also in line with what he told Kou before, about how he cannot let himself be exorcised yet because he has a task he has to acomplish.

And Kou is thinking back to all the ways in which Hanako has been helpful and the times when he protected both him and Yashiro. And he makes a fair point, he (and us readers too) has no way of knowing if Hanako is telling the true, he could be lying. But still, Hanako’s actions are out there on the table, and Kou needs to make his decision based on what he believes is the right thing to do.

( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

Σ(ﾟДﾟ；≡；ﾟдﾟ) !!!!! FUCKING HELL WHAT OH GO D

KOU YOU’RE A PRECIOUS ANGEL THAT DESERVES THE WORLD BLESS YOU

Hanako and Teru look so shocked but Kou isn’t backing down, no sir, he’s here on a mission and he’s not gonna let his new friend/tolerated acquaintance be exorcised. Also holy fuck he body slammed his brother into the ground wow he’s really not playing around and

This is good. He needs to let this out or it’s gonna eat him up. And yeah, it seems like I was right on the money with the too much babying before. Kou makes some very valid points here: yes, he’s not his brother, he’s nowhere near Teru’s level of experience and he should have been more catious when dealing with Hanako, but he has also seen things his brother hasn’t. He’s seen how Hanako behaves around him and Yashiro, and how he tries to protect all the students in the school, so he’s not gonna be blinded by the “all supernaturals are bad” speech because he knows it’s not true.

He admits that he needs to get stronger and he’s confident that he wiil, And then he will decide if Hanako needs to be exorcised or not, that’s a responsability he’s willing to take. I’m really proud of him, for sticking to what he believes it’s right, even against his brother’s wishes.

And thankfully, Teru relents and decides to let Kou handle things on the forefront because he doesn’t want his baby brother to hate him. They’ve reach a solid middle ground, the only thing Teru asks is for Kou to remember what he’s said all that and to be conscious that this is Hanako’s last chance if anything happens. Next time he won’t be so kind.

Now Kou and Hanako are left alone, and Kou tells Hanako to behave properly since he doesn’t trust him fully yet and that at the moment he starts acting suspicious, he’ll exorcise him

...................okay, no, I call bullshit on that. There’s no way Hanako had time to apply the eyedrops during his fight with Teru. Even if he had them handy for something, there’s no way. He has to be doing it to lighten the heavy atmosphere because he’s a little shit like that.

Ohhhhhhhhh okay we’re cutting to back to Yashiro in the library. Hopefully this will be more lighthearted, I feel like the previous confrontation was too much for my heart

She’s researching the seven mysteries but it seems like she’s not having much luck since everything she finds is about the girl Hanako-san.

Hello there, suspicious green haired girl that’s shown to spread the rumors in the anime and that was with that suspicous guy that sent a spirit orb to spy on my babies. How nice of you to appear...........I’m sure only good things will come out of this

Oh, looks like there’s a preview of scenes from the next volume of the manga

.......It certainly looks like we have quite the ride ahead of us, doesn’t it. Also!! That white haired guy from the anime intro is finally here! Since he was right next to Yako in the intro, I’m guessing he must be one of the mysteries we’ll deal with, possible number five since Aoi mentions it right there.

Awwwww they have a little sister! She looks so cute! It looks like Teru isn’t a morning person and judging from the apron Kou is wearing, it looks like he takes care of the cooking? or some kind of housework? I wonder if this means that their parents are out of the picture

#toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #jshk spoilers #tbhk #jshk #live blogging

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kpopotd2 · 5 years ago

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September Wrap Up

Wow, guys. It’s September. And that means the Fall comeback rush! We hope all your favorite groups are making comebacks soon, and if not, keep hope because there are still a few months left in 2019!

We’ve been going strong, getting things ready for my next announcement-- WE ARE STARTING A PODCAST! The first episode will be up on October 6 with a second episode following shortly (release dates for subsequent episodes will be announced soon). The three of us have been talking about this since at least March, and we are happy to report that we are getting closer to the release!

Our aim is to release two episodes a month, the first episode will follow a looser format where we talk about a lighthearted topic, while the second episode will be more informative. In this first episode we will talk about the different ways the three of us got into KPOP! We will be on SoundCloud and eventually Spotify and iTunes. More information and links will be posted soon!

In lesser but still exciting news, we now have a Spotify! We will be putting up personally curated playlists on there so please check it out and follow us there as well!

We hope you guys will enjoy it, and if you have any topics you want us to cover let us know!

Happy Fall!

~JR, Min, and Onyx

NEWS:

September 28, 2009: President Lee Myung Bak replaces Prime Minister Han Seung-soo with Chung Un-chan.

September 2, 2010: Typhoon Kompasu starts moving towards South Korea. September 25, 2010: During the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, South Korea won their first FIFA World Cup title. September 29, 2010: Kim Jong-il’s son, Kim Jong-un, is revealed to the world, made a general, and appointed to head of the Worker’s Party.

September 15, 2011: A blackout engulfs the all of South Korea. September 10-17, 2012: Typhoon Sanba makes landfall in South Korea after hitting Okinawa, Japan.

September 3, 2014: On their way back from Daegu, the Ladies’ Code members were involved in a car accident which lead to the deaths of members Eunbi and eventually RiSe.

September 19, 2014: The Asian Games begin in Incheon, South Korea.

September 6, 2015: The Dolgorae, a submarine, sinks near Chuja Island with 10 people dead, eight missing, and three surviving.

Gaon Album Chart - Album of the Month 2010-2015:

2010: To Anyone by 2NE1

2011: In Heaven by JYJ

2012: One of A Kind by G-Dragon

2013: Coup d’Etat by G-Dragon

2014: Mamacita by Super Junior

2015: Magic by Super Junior

DRAMAS:

September 2009: High Kick Through the Roof (This 126 episode long family drama (which is also the second in the High Kick trilogy) boasted countless cameos and popular OSTs. It starred Choi Daniel, Hwang Jung Eum, Yoon Si Yoon, and Shin Se Kyung. It also won various awards at multiple awards shows.) September 2009: Smile, You (This show stars Lee Min Jung and Jung Kyung Ho-- this was the first lead roles for both actors. This was the first K-drama to be remade in India, as well as eventually receiving a remake in Turkey.)

September 2010: The Fugitive: Plan B (This action drama stars Rain and Lee Na Young. It averaged over 10% viewership ratings.) September 2010: Playful Kiss (This rom-com stars Jung So Min and SS501 member Kim Hyun Joong. This is the first Korean adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name. Following the show’s conclusion, a mini web-series was released chronicling the main characters’ married life.)

September 2011: Poseidon (This action drama stars Super Junior’s Choi Siwon and actress Lee Si Young. Originally, Shinhwa’s Eric Mun and actress Kim Ok Bin were slotted to be the leads, but following a military accident they left the project and it was moved from SBS to KBS.) September 2011: High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged (This is the third season in the High Kick trilogy, and stars former g.o.d. Member Yoon Kye Sang, Lee Jong Suk, f(x) member Krystal, and Kim Ji Won among many others.)

September 2012: The Third Hospital (This medical drama stars Kim Seung Woo, Oh Ji Ho, Kim Min Jung and Girl’s Generation member Choi Soo Young. It was broadcast internationally in Algeria, Malaysia, and the Philippines.) September 2013: Secret Love (This medical drama stars Hwang Jung Eum, Ji Sung, and Lee Da Hee. The viewership ratings averaged over 10%, and it won multiple awards and was broadcast internationally in three other countries.)

September 2014: My Spring Days (This drama stars Kam Woo Sung and Girl’s Generation member Choi Soo Young. It beat out the two dramas that aired on the same day, SBS’s My Lovely Girl and KBS2′s Iron Man, with viewership ratings of about 10%.) September 2014: My Lovely Girl/She’s So Lovable (This show stars Rain, f(x) member Krystal, and INFINITE member L (with former INFINITE member Hoya in a supporting role). The OSTs boast Loco, Mamamoo, Krystal, Fiestar, and more.)

September 2015: She Was Pretty (This rom-com stars Park Seo Joon, Hwang Jung Eun, Goo Joon Hee, and Super Junior member Choi Siwon. It reunites Park Seo Joon and Hwang Jung Eum from the early 2015 drama Kill Me, Heal Me. It averaged over 10% viewership ratings, and its OST’s featured Kihyun of Monsta X, Soyou formerly of Sistar, Siwon, and Park Seo Joon. It earned multiple awards at various award shows, and eventually received four remakes, including one in Turkey.) September 2015: D-Day (This disaster drama stars Kim Young Kwang, Jung So Min, Ha Seok Jin, and INFINITE member Sungyeol. It was broadcast in four other countries.)

FILMS:

September 9, 2009: The Case of Itaewon Homicide (This movie was based on the true story of the Itaewon Murder Case in which a Korean college student was found murdered. It stars Jung Jin Young and Jang Geun Suk. Following the movie release, interest in the case was reignited and an appeal to the courts was made. The film had over 500,000 cinema admissions.) September 16, 2010: Cyrano Agency (This witty comedy stars Uhm Tae Woong and Park Shin Hye. The movie was twenty years in the making before finally going into production under Myung Films. Despite it’s low budget it made a slow rise to over 2.5 million admissions. In 2013, a drama spin off called Dating Agency: Cyrano aired.) September 16, 2010: A Better Tomorrow (This film is a remake of the ‘86 Hong Kong movie of the same name. It brought in over 1.5 million admissions, making over $10 million.)

September 8, 2011: The Day He Arrives (This indie film is fully black and white, and stars singer Yoo Jun Sang. It gained over 40,000 admissions and made around $300,000 at the box office.) September 22, 2011: The Crucible/Silenced (This film, starring Gong Yoo, is based on a true story regarding the continuous sexual assault on the students at a school for the hearing impaired. There was a public outcry following the movie’s release because the perpetrators got away without punishment.)

September 13, 2012: Masquerade (This film stars Lee Byung Hun, Ryu Seung Ryong, and Han Hyo Joo. It brought in over 12 million admissions, making it the ninth highest grossing movie in Korean cinema history. It did incredibly well with critics and won many awards at multiple award shows.) September 11, 2013: The Face Reader (This period movie stars Song Kang Ho, Lee Jong Suk, and Jo Jung Suk. It won a handful of awards at various award shows.) September 3, 2014: My Brilliant Life (This movie stars Song Hye Kyo and Gang Dong Won. It is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by author Kim Ae Ran. It did very well at the box office with over 1.5 million admissions and made about $10 million.)

September 16, 2015: The Throne (This period film stars Song Kang Ho, Yoo Ah In, and Moon Geun Young. It is based on the true story of the life of Crown Prince Sado, his life and relationship with his father King Yeongjo. It won a handful of awards at various award shows.) September 24, 2015: Right Now, Wrong Then (This movie stars Jung Jae Young and Kim Min Hee. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score 93% and 81 out of 100 on Metacritic. It won various awards including the Golden Leopard from 68th Locarno International Film Festival.)

SAD STUFF:

September 1, 2009: Actress Jang Jin-young passes away from stomach cancer.

September 3, 2014: Ladies’ Code member Go Eun-bi, 21, passes away immediately following a car accident. September 7, 2014: Ladies’ Code member Kwon Rise, 23, passes away after multiple surgeries due to injuries from the same car accident.

TOP POST OF THE MONTH:

Jonghyun with End of a Day

-A Tribute To EunBi and RiSe-

EunBi and RiSe debuted in Ladies’ Code as a part of the original five-member lineup in 2013. EunBi was known for her sweet personality and sense of humor. RiSe was a humble beauty queen with a heart of gold. Together, these two were known for their close friendship. After EunBi and RiSe’s passing, the fans and remaining members of the group examined Ladies’ Code’s discography under a different lens, and the remaining members came to earn quite a bit of respect for how they handled their loss. EunBi and RiSe are greatly missed by fans who still celebrate their birthdays every year.

#kpopotd #kpop of the day #september #2ne1 #jyj #g-dragon #super junior #ladies code #jonghyun #rain #jang jin young #song hye kyo #infinite sungyeol #choi soo young #krystal #ss501 #kim hyun joong

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rin-the-shadow · 6 years ago

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Need to ramble about episode 22

And when I say ramble, I do mean with little side tangents here and there. Spoilers below the cut.

So as you might have figured out from previous posts, reblogs, and questionable parodies, I have very aggressively mixed feelings about episode 22 of Dororo, with a variety of different things bugging me about it.

One is how fast things deteriorated post-episode 19. The way things had been going up until that point, and up until Dororo’s near-drowning, it’s hard for me to buy that they would have gotten to the point they were in episode 22 that fast. I can buy the freakout at the end of episode 20 because it’s in the moment, but the area that makes it harder to swallow is the aura suddenly going completely red around the heart without so much as a warning beforehand from Biwamaru, who has, for the most part, been fairly consistent with commenting on it before.

Still, we’ve got the explanation that something is happening with the last demon, which could potentially explain it, if now that it’s not being held back by the Goddess of Mercy, it’s able to exercise a degree of influence. Sure, why not.

But aside from the way the pacing feels like it suddenly realized it had four episodes left and floored the accelerator, it also feels like the writers are trying really hard to sell this “oh no he might become a demon” plot point, but with less and less communication about it from Dororo--who, to be fair, is only eight--ten-ish, but has also had no problem point-blank saying “if you do that, you’re acting like a demon” before. I can understand him struggling to articulate, but at the same time, it also feels a little like the writers are slamming a clamp down on communication in areas that it would be kind of important.

The main issue I’m having is the sudden shift to “stab anything in my path while riding a flaming demon horse” mode. Hyakkimaru has been established with a capacity towards ruthless pragmatism before. He’s been established as reacting strongly emotionally in the moment, but he’s been able to work back from it relatively quickly once the moment’s passed. Even when he slaughters the samurai who murdered Mio and the kids in episode 6, it’s still a pretty fast turnaround once Dororo interferes, and it isn’t like any of them weren’t directly involved or like he goes hunting other samurai after the fact.

This most recent thing felt like senseless carnage extended over a majority of the episode. And frankly, it feels like it’s the writers trying to push “oh noes he’s going to become a demon, maybe he should have just sat back and happily let the demons eat him before.” Which, I will be pissed if that’s what it ends up saying. As Dark_FalconZ had stated in their post about it, it feels excessively cruel for Hyakkimaru’s character. And again, with what I spent a majority of series episodes watching of him, it feels like a really sudden swerve.

There’s a very large part of me that hopes the following episodes have a damn good explanation for it, because at this point, I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it as anything other than writers desperately feeling that they need angst and stakes and whatever.

At the same time, I also have to remind myself that at this point in Princess Tutu, which features a ballerina helping a prince restore the pieces of his fragmented heart and started off comparatively lighthearted before getting dark, the prince was a demon bird actively trying to feed people to the raven, because the raven’s blood was tainting one of his heart shards, and it wasn’t like that didn’t get better. (It also had a similarly lighthearted and silly episode 19 before everything went to crap and he started molting feathers before becoming a demon bird, so there’s that.) Like, it’s not the same show, but a part of me wants to hold on to the similar tone things in hopes that we might get some relief.

As for things I have aggressively mixed feelings on, I’d like to mention Tahomaru’s reaction when Mutsu tried to sacrifice herself. On one hand, sure, you don’t want your friend to do that, understandable. On the other, sacrificing one person for the good of the many sure doesn’t sound so great when it’s someone who actually matters to you, now, does it? And with Mutsu being a willing sacrifice as well, the situation was a little different.

Like, I don’t want them to die. I’m actually opposed to character death except when it is in some way fulfilling to their character arc, with a prime example, for me at least, actually being Tahomaru’s arc in the game Blood Will Tell, where his loyalty to his father drives him to fight Hyakkimaru initially, but then (ironically because he doesn’t have the information about the deal) backs off once he realizes he’s hunting demons, with the warning to stay out of his way. His loyalty drives him to stop his father from killing an unconscious Hyakkimaru inside a temple, recognizing that Daigo isn’t acting like himself. He comes to the conclusion that the demons influencing his father are what’s making him not himself, and resolves to help Hyakkimaru and Dororo with the hope of purging his father of their influence, ultimately throwing himself between Dororo and the disembodied demons in order to prevent their corrupting him.

And ultimately, his becoming a Fiend and being cut down in Dororo’s place is what allows Daigo to shake off the remainder of the Fiends’ influence, meaning his death accomplishes what he had set out to do. If he’d been killed off right after his own boss fight, even during the Kyubi boss fight? Not so much.

So I don’t want them to die, especially in a pointless shock death or an “oooooh, look how far Hyakki and Taho have fallen!” moment, but I do have a hard time not raising a brow a little bit that we were all “needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one, but only if the one isn’t someone who matters to me.”

That said, I actually wish the whole “We can’t sacrifice one person if it’s actually someone who matters to me!” had been touched on earlier. Episode 22 is a bit too late to bring that up and actually have it go anywhere, and if it had happened sooner, it’s something that could have given the character (and the writers) opportunity to explore and see where it leads. And I’m kind of interested in seeing that. But it’s not going to happen because there’s fricking two episodes left in the series.

At the same time, I’m also aware that I’m a little prickly about the plot right now because of how things were handled in Avengers: Endgame, and Infinity War before it, and Madoka Magica: Rebellion before that, and so there is a part of me that worries this will be the same. On the other hand, I have a hard time thinking they’ll go that route, based on previous adaptations (particularly the movie and the game). Turning your protagonist into a monster on the 50th anniversary of the series strikes me as a bit in poor taste, but at the same time, I’ve read enough comics to know that writers don’t always think about that sort of thing. But I’m still hoping that it’s just me being prickly and overreacting, and that they won’t do the thing I’m dreading on their own fricking 50th anniversary.

I would like to remain...dubiously optimistic about the conclusion (and hey, maybe Jukai and Biwa carry aglaophotis somewhere), and I would like to think the writers are simply setting us up to expect worse than we’ll get. The fact that I haven’t been able to find any episode preview for 23 does raise a brow, but then that could also go either way. I would like to remain optimistic. But I also think I needed to ramble a bit in order to do so.

If you’ve somehow managed to read through to the end of this with my rambly nervy writing, then thank you for that. I have a tendency to overexplain while adding a bunch of extra metaphors/comparisons, and then overexplain those, and it gets worse when I get nervous. With these already being a bunch of relatively disorganized thoughts about the latest episode....

Again, thank you if you’ve somehow made it to the end of this with any part of it making any sense. If you’ve got your own two cents, I’d be interested to hear them.

#spoiler warning #dororo #dororo 2019 #episode 22 spoilers #blood will tell spoilers #princess tutu spoilers #though mostly dororo spoilers #rin rambles #rin overanalyzes stuff #rin's aggressively mixed feelings and bitchiness

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deadcactuswalking · 3 years ago

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Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2000

The year 2000. Y2K. I’m a little too young to have any overt specific memories of this year, so let’s see how the year 2000 started. So, let’s see here... January 2000: the UN sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years in prison for killing of more than 100 Muslims. Okay, well, at least justice was served. What else happened in 2000? Oh, Dr. Harold Shipman, the UK’s most prolific serial killer believed to have killed 215 people, was found guilty of only 15 murders? Second Chechen War? A leaking petroleum pipeline in Nigeria explodes and kills at least 250? DeviantART is launched? Thanks, Wikipedia, now let’s talk about the Backstreet Boys or something.

The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2000

This is a weird US Billboard Hot 100 year-end list. Before listening to it, I had no idea what the #1 even sounded like. It’s “Breathe” by Faith Hill – it didn’t go to #1 on the weekly chart and it’s not near the best or worst of this year. There are many reasons for this, of course, the rise of Napster and peer-to-peer filesharing being the most obvious as what the kids were listening to wasn’t necessarily represented through CD sales and radio plays. As a result, these songs fell into around two categories: I either had no idea what they sounded like until this year or they’re some of my favourite songs ever. Honestly, it’s a pretty damn good list of songs too – I’m sure it’s missing many a hit or iconic song from the turn of the millennium in favour of country radio schlock but as we’ll find out, even some of that stuff is good. Despite the mish-mash of genres, it also just felt very consistent sonically, it was a calm bed to rest in more often than not and whilst it could get boring, I was pretty happy to do a 10-song session every couple weeks and gather my thoughts. A good fifth of this list I found to be great songs, and half of that fifth will be talked about in length. I also can’t bring myself not to honourably mention some of the great songs that just missed out and were really tough cuts, like “My Love is Your Love” by the late Whitney Houston, “It Feels So Good” by Sonique, “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child, “Try Again” by the late Aaliyah, “It’s Gonna Be Me” by (the late) *NSYNC, “Only God Knows Why” by Kid Rock of all people, “Hot Boyz” by Missy Elliott featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip, “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The (then-Dixie) Chicks, and finally, just not cracking my top 10, “Party Up (Up in Here)” by the late DMX. We don’t stray too far away from that kind of song with our first entry, however.

#10

“Party Up (Up in Here)” is an alarming banger for the ages, with aggressive bars from DMX barked in needless fashion and some of Swizz Beatz’s most rumbling productions. That’s why it’s great, but equally the reason why it’s not on this list. See, the year 2000 was at its best when it mellowed out a tad, and whilst I’m not going to say this next song doesn’t have energy, because it’s full of it, I wanted to ease you in with something a bit less cacophonous than DMX’s best tracks. See, this list may end up slightly depressing in terms of the topics we talk about, considering we’ve got vengeful post-breakup tracks, desperate loneliness, suicidal ideation and God forbid, thongs, coming up, so let’s start off this list with something more lighthearted: prostitution.

#10 – “Big Pimpin’” – JAY-Z featuring UGK

Peak: #18 | Year-End: #60

Okay, to be fair to UGK, only JAY-Z really raps about actually “big pimping” in the first verse, and it’s mostly reserved to a casual misogyny that gets ridiculously blunt to the point where even though I know JAY-Z is not joking, I kind of hope he was. I question if Beyoncé has heard this verse. Regardless, even though he sets himself up as this heartless Casanova, he still ends off the verse goofily singing “let’s ride”, so clearly fun is being had. Barely any of that fun would be present without one of Timbaland’s career-greatest beats, as he chops up this Egyptian percussive loop alongside the soaring flute that twists in and out of each measure like a snake. It barely changes throughout the whole song, and I don’t think it needs to, since it has enough bounce to make JAY-Z sound like he can flow competently... which is rarer than fans will admit.

The difference between JAY-Z and his Texan guest stars is that JAY-Z treats this as any other lackadaisical beat that he can mosey over, whilst the Underground Kingz know full well that Timbaland’s production a bit more attack. The late Pimp C brings his signature drawl to a verse that feels breezy and effortless, as he compares his white accountants that pay him at the record label to the white that used to pay him, if you get my gist. That’s all fine and good, but even with Pimp C, this song would not be here without Bun B’s killer verse, where even through an intricate rhyme scheme and content that really is just flexing but delivered with enough charisma to really sell it, he still feels like he’s kind of playing word association. It’s such an observational, casual-sounding verse with its comical asides, brags and put-downs, but delivered with conviction that just lawnmowers through the beat. In the middle of the verse, he tells an “illiterate son of a bitch” to read a book and “step up his vocab”, seemingly out of nowhere, and it just continues on that stream of hunger that deservedly gave Bun the reputation of being the guy from the South who carried JAY-Z, who felt so bad about it that he added a second verse in the video version... and it’s still not better than Bun’s. This is a bonafide rap classic, far from the last that any three of these guys would make, and even with the intimidating and inconsistent discographies overall, this shines right through as a smash hit.

Recently, I’ve had to mourn the loss of my music taste, particularly the fact that I actually kind of like pop-country to an embarrassing extent. Sam Hunt and Jon Pardi have got slappers, it’s time for people to finally admit this. One of the important stepping stones in me finding out that my taste in country is despicable was this 2000 list, which had a lot of really decent if dated country tracks. I’ve already mentioned the despondent power ballad “Only God Knows Why”, but I also appreciated the compelling songwriting from George Strait’s “The Best Day”, the immense power and catharsis of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” and the hilariously bad Auto-Tune of the honest-to-God bop that is Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me”. The song on this list is probably not as effective a composition or as resonant lyrically, but remember how I said I liked Sam Hunt? Well, I may have just figured out where his general lyrical tone came from.

#9 – “How Do You Like Me Now?!” – Toby Keith

Peak: #31 | Year-End: #82

As far as I’m aware, Toby Keith is basically a punchline now thanks to his biggest hit, “Red Solo Cup”, but this was far away from the bro-country pipeline... not that it’s going to stop me from making connections. A song like Sam Hunt’s “Hard to Forget” is whiny and disjointed, expressing the bitter post-breakup in way of clunky trap beat and Hunt’s pestilent vocals. Now, don’t get me wrong: I like the song a lot, but it’s a messy track, one that doesn’t always feel fully formed. Toby Keith has the same bitter post-breakup track but takes a really different spin on it. Sure, they derive from the same premise of remembering an ex, but “How Do You Like Me Now?!” takes it a step further, with Keith “reminiscing” on how desperate he was to be with the valedictorian of his high school. The valedictorian was too pre-occupied with her other partners and made fun of him for playing his guitar “too loud”. That’s all the reasoning we get for this song, and it’s decent enough detail, sure, but it doesn’t prepare for the freaking vicious attack of the second verse, where he goes on an unwarranted rant about how her husband tore her dreams apart, never comes home and leaves her to cry whilst her children hear. It could play off as kind of a sappy, “you could have been with me” track, but given how cruel and unnecessary this second verse, I don’t think Toby Keith wants anything to do with the woman other than point and make fun of her for her terrible living situation whilst he plays on the radio as she cries herself to sleep.

This should be a terrible, hateful song, right? Well, no, that misses the point: a song can very much be hateful and deliver its hateful message in an uninteresting or silly way that doesn’t work. Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?!” delivers it with a scathing punch, starting with that retro-sounding guitar riff that already scratches through the mix before the more traditional country instrumentation comes in for the “flashback” in the first verse. It almost tricks you into thinking there’s a happy ending, but the real happy ending is that Toby Keith is a country star and this woman now has a terrible life with a potentially abusive husband. Yet no, given the deep-voiced rasp of Keith’s yell in those choruses, the sing-songy mock of the guitar in the outro and the quick, one-and-done solo, it’s just a catastrophically pissy song... and I’m not going to lie, sometimes we can do with that. This is technically not the only country song on this list, but it’s the only time you’ll see Nashville proper and there’s no better way to represent the industry other than with unwarranted cruelty and injustice. #1 country song of the year 2000, everyone.

This one might be a bit harder to explain. Daniel Jones and Darren Hayes had just finished writing for their second album after an incredibly successful debut, but they realised – or more accurately, the label came knocking to tell them – that they had no love ballad on the scale of, say, a “Truly Madly Deeply” to pull at the heartstrings. I never liked that song, and I think it’s because it comes off as too genuine. Its sickly-sweet platitudes never appealed to me because they come off as almost too longing and sincere for what is a really bargain-bin production and composition. By 1999, “Truly Madly Deeply” could not be replicated.

#8 – “I Knew I Loved You” – Savage Garden

Peak: #1 for four weeks | Year-End: #7 | Decade-End: #54

In 1997, Darren Hayes was for the first time away from his family and then-wife, and “Truly Madly Deeply” is longing and desperate. By 1998, Hayes was separated and by the year 2000, he’d divorced, and started coming out to his friends as gay. Now, of course, this does not look good for a pop duo who make the middle-aged white ladies swoon, and the album this stems from, Affirmation, whilst immensely successful, was their last. Hayes himself says he felt “wounded by love” in the process of writing and recording that second album so he wrote a love song in 40 minutes to spite his label... and God, you can tell. The instrumental is similarly sickly, but in a more deactivated way this time, with a downtempo drum scuffle and lazy yet well-produced acoustic guitars providing a foundation for Darren Hayes to sell his worst and most meaningless lyrics with as much conviction as possible... and it sounds like it hurts.

I’ve never liked Hayes as a singer but here, he plays up the boy-band inflections in a way that sounds a tad forced, from the beginning hums and riffs in the intro to how he’s drenched in harmonies that render his performance emotionless. What he’s singing about is also complete nonsense, as you can’t know that you love someone before you meet them, at least not in the days of dial-up Internet in 1999 unless you’re a stalker, which isn’t really an angle I can discuss this song at. There aren’t many leads towards that; I’d argue that it’s more clearly about just... completing the song, getting the album done with. The second verse is essentially him voicing his process of writing the song, and there’s this frustration throughout the whole thing as he slightly restrains himself from really singing his heart out. He just wants to end his limelight career, get on with what matters in his life: he had an estranged wife, he was closeted in an industry that was really not open to accepting an openly queer singer in adult contemporary – and given Sam Smith, I don’t think they are now. A contemporary critic – of a Christian fundamentalist organisation no less, which should explain some of Hayes’ strife here – said that this is how it feels to be “hopelessly in love”, but by the time the key change hits, I just think this is how it feels to be hopeless. This is a beautiful song, in all the ways it did not intend to be. I hope it doesn’t get lost and derided with the rest of the slow AC tracks that came out during this time, because it’s something special.

As I said earlier, and as proven by the last two songs, a lot of these tracks will be more sensitive, emotionally resonant and have deep reasons behind me enjoying them. A lot of them also will not. This one is just here because it’s a bop. There’s technically a narrative to this one, but I just don’t care. It goes, that’s all I can say.

#7 – “Then the Morning Comes” – Smash Mouth

Peak: #11 | Year-End: #48

“All Star” is not good, and neither is “Walkin’ on the Sun”. Don’t even get me started on their cover of “I’m a Believer”. In my opinion, Smash Mouth struck gold with the similarly basic “Then the Morning Comes” which gets here essentially entirely because it sounds cool. The song is essentially about a hangover, and the consequences of living life recklessly when “the morning” coming is a looming threat, and they’ll regret everything afterwards and man, this song sure sounds like careless living and simultaneously the regret that comes with it. Steve Harwell’s lyrics are just as admiring as they are condescending, and the main guitar riff is lackadaisical but fuzzed out to Hell and back in this compressed mix that takes a traditional lounge swing and shuffling drum pattern, only to plaster on cryptic sound effects in the intro, robotic backing vocals and beeping in the pre-chorus, and a complete cacophony of buzzing synths in that infectious chorus. This is probably on the song that I find the hardest to really explain what’s so good about it, but it does really come down to how needlessly catchy every part of this song is, whilst it stays as weird as possible.

Smash Mouth tended to like blending genres, but this feels pretty singular in how it mixes the then-current Cocktail Nation trend with cheap synth-strings, a wiry guitar solo and the cluster of synth and guitar work that just gets shoved into a pretty sizeable groove that could have worked well in a more minimal mix that kept the lounge-influenced instrumentation... but it just wouldn’t have fit a song about regret, with the nonsense of it all essentially being the alarms that wake up this character and make them realise the consequences of all the garbage they got up to the last night. Sadly, Steve Harwell himself does not seem to heed this song’s warning, as he’s yet to fully understand the consequences of a drunken Nazi salute or defiance of COVID-19 regulations... but he’s the Smash Mouth guy. I don’t expect moral righteousness from any famous musicians, but if you do, a standout exception has got to be the Smash Mouth guy. We’re continuing a string of Summer pop-rock bangers with our next entry.

This spicy early 2000s Latin rock jam was a #1 hit... in the Winter of 1999. Listen, if you thought that once the clock struck twelve, technology will crumble, society would panic and humanity as we know may cease functioning, this is probably the best song to celebrate all of those Summers you’d end up missing, because it’s a hot one.

#6 – “Smooth” – Santana featuring Rob Thomas

I mean, what better introduction can I give than that? It’s the third biggest song of all time in the United States, and I think what that really comes down to is something that all humans can appreciate in music, especially the kind of popular music that gets played in public and on the radio. Whilst intimacy is just as respectful and has just the appeal – and really, this song tries to be about intimacy – there’s nothing secret or just between you, the listener, and Rob Thomas in the song. It’s all-out honesty, delivered in the most brazenly earnest way possible. Rob Thomas is not really that good a fit for this song on paper but I simply cannot imagine another guy on it. From the opening lines, you can tell that his post-grunge croon, barely filtered in the sensual verses, doesn’t have any right to be on this jazzy Latin groove, with the iconic brass riff and the virtuoso guitar from the legendary Carlos Santana. Three decades into his career, he’d mastered Latin jazz-rock, so running the risk with Rob Thomas seems almost silly... but then the pre-chorus comes in. He’d already been coyly ridiculous when calling this woman the “Spanish Mona Lisa” who melted everyone by speaking, but stripping the filters off gives Thomas’ overly-pronounced rhythm a new sense of liveliness. A song with so much technical expertise is now immediately accessible to sing along to, as Thomas harmonises with himself about how he feels the same as the ocean under the Moon when he’s making love with this unnamed Spanish woman... and does she need to be named? It would almost cheapen the raw emotion here, and the immense breakdown after each chorus that however long feels just as cathartic as it does sexy.

“Smooth” and its success, alongside “Maria Maria” the same year, could have – and probably has had – books written about it. I’m not going to try to explain any of Santana’s career up to this point, God forbid if I’m going to listen to Matchbox Twenty, and I couldn’t care less about the music theory behind what makes this song tick. All I care about is hearing Santana shred on one of the most iconic guitar solos of all time, the little intricacies in the drum fills, and Thomas sing his heart out as if this unnamed Spanish woman is a Goddess. It’s almost profound and makes the point towards enjoying this song when he says “give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it” – the song stenches of people, and pure human enjoyment. Looking at it from a 2022 perspective, where that feels inaccessible, this is always a joy to come back and I’ll never get sick of it. It’s the third biggest song of all time for some damn good reasons, and the purity of how “Smooth” works on a basic level is commendable on all fronts. If I were more objective or ranking with consideration to legacy, this would be up there, but I’m not Rolling Stone and I don’t care how iconic “Smooth” is. The “Thong Song” is just that much better.

Remember when I said that there would technically be a second country song on this list? Well...

#5 – “Country Grammar (Hot Shit)” – Nelly

Peak: #7 | Year-End: #29

“Ride wit Me” is one of the best rap songs of all time. It is on the 2001 year-end only, and hence is not eligible for this list. In a year with “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys, “Ms. Jackson” by OutKast, “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott and “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias... the song absolutely would have topped my list, with little hesitation. I just wanted to get that out there before I say I’m absolutely not settling for this Nelly track in place of an unfortunate omission, because “Country Grammar” kicks just as if not even more ass as the general public’s introduction to Nelly.

Much like “Then the Morning Comes”, this is here purely because of how much I enjoy listening to it. “Country Grammar” is a banger, plain and simple, and it’s largely not because of the beat. It’s far from bad, and is actually pretty great, with Jay E adding the knocking and chanting in the intro, as well as the twinkling synths behind that bumping drum beat that has equal amounts bounce and grit. This would be a good beat with anyone on it, but with Nelly on it, it’s a great beat. Much of his time is spent flexing in typical pop-rapper mode, smoking weed, chatting up women and threatening to shoot people whilst bragging about how cool is car is and how much money he has, with pop culture references and brand names that really emulate the modern word-association form of pop-rap flexing. The difference here is that Nelly sells all of this as if it were his life story, with an effortless charisma covering up the effort and craft put into managing the highly melodious and technically manic flows for his time, with slick rhyme schemes and chanting ad-libs that act as his own posse hyping him up. Oh, and Nelly says that whilst he hangs with Hannibal Lecter, he would rather hang with the elite as he pleads Bill Gates and Donald Trump to “let him in” to the exclusive club. He also compares his spending sprees to how MC Hammer ruined his fortunes, compares himself to a Jehovah’s Witness, and disses his own producer because he sold this same beat to another group that did nothing with it. Once Nelly stops rapping, the track would almost feel empty if not for that sharper piercing synth and alarm that comes in to grab your attention during the last few measures of the instrumental outro. It’s a song full of character, to the point of some non-sequiturs that feel aptly of the year 2000, that absolutely goes off in pretty much any setting... though seriously, “Ride wit Me” is even more of an all-timer. 2001 has the less interesting year-end list overall, sadly.

I’ll admit; until we get higher – like Creed at #11 on this year-end list – this list is kind of a sausage fest. You can see in the honourable mentions that songs by iconic women of the era just barely got knocked off and I’m not going to try and mix what I see as “necessary inclusions” to my genuine taste, though I could have absolutely swapped out some tracks lower down the list for, say, “It Feels So Good” or “Try Again”. I’m saying all this because the next song is one I’ve teased this all list – you knew it was coming and it’s basically the musical representation of an erection. It’s only the Goddamn “Thong Song”.

#4 – “Thong Song” – Sisqó

Peak: #3 | Year-End: #14

It’s pretty well-known by now but it still amazes me that “Incomplete” was the Sisqó single that hit #1 instead of this classic. Hate it or love it, “Thong Song” is more immediately recognisable than the painfully forgettable “Incomplete”, which hit #1 largely as a result of both radio and the fact that its B-side was, you guessed it, “Thong Song”. It’s actually lower than its B-side on the year-end list, landing itself at #25 and really, I can understand why because the difference is night and day. Sisqó sounds similar on both songs, both in how he actually performs the songs and how he tackles the instrumentation, which either shows you how not varied he is as a singer or shows that he’s a comedic genius for treating his ass anthem with as much sincerity as his love ballad. The thing is, though, it’s not even really an ass anthem. It’s a thong anthem.

The song is about how he first discovered a thong when his partner was getting undressed and how flabbergasted he was at this new article of underwear. He was so surprised that he ran home, told his friends and a couple days later, one of them announced to him in joy that the girl he’d been with was wearing a thong. So naturally, this needs a string section, right? In terms of songwriting, this is a minimal track, with basically no verse and just a constant chorus, with much of the writing in the later choruses being additional vocal riffs and ad-libs because, well, what else is there to write about? It’s a damn flimsy song concept and he absolutely does the most with it, making the discovery of a thong sound as triumphant as possible. To be clear, he doesn’t talk about this narrative in the track, and much of the song is actually just his surprise at how the girl let him see that thong – not her butt, but her thong. He mentions the butt, and the thighs, and the “dumps like a truck”, but only in reference to the thong and the scandalous dress. Oh, my God, the guy is just pouring his heart out at this sexy revelation. It’s just great “shut your brain off” music, a theme that runs through a lot of these year-end hits. It helps that it has UK garage-influenced percussion that keeps shuffling and emulating the stuttering of the chorus, to make the song feel oddly tense. It’s just a ridiculous song overall that I can’t help listening to for the grin it always provides me with. “Your thighs, your knees, your breasts, your feet!” Lennon-McCartney wouldn’t dare. As a side note, there was a music video made for this song that promoted Nutty Professor II: The Klumps starring Eddie Murphy and Janet Jackson. This is not the last time that the film will appear in this list.

This next entry is not nearly as fun, but I should maybe have a disclaimer here. I’m going to put aside everything about the Red Hot Chili Peppers that is not this song, including all of my gripes. They have an inconsistent at best discography, all of the band members have icky pasts regarding their sexual interactions, especially Anthony Kiedis, and I hope that my praise of this song is no way taken as an endorsement. Whilst this should be inherent and IS inherent for all of the people featured here on this list, since this song involves a more serious topic, I feel like I should preface the song with that note and also that this section will feature discussion of drug addiction and suicidal ideation. If any of that is something you don’t want to hear, I recommend you skip reading to #2. With all of that said, the next entry is “Otherside”.

#3 – “Otherside” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Peak: #14 | Year-End: #59

I’m kind of surprised this even charted, considering that whilst it’s very much an accessible song, it’s not really within the same sphere of pop music that most of 2000 was in, which felt like an extension of the sunshine-pop late 90s, with just as much random experimentation in EDM and R&B, fluke hits, manufactured boy-bands and pop rock not yet on its dying breaths. To have a song like this sticks out on the year-end list, but it’s for good reason as the way it tackles its topics is as nuanced as it could be from someone who has been on both sides of the “otherside” and ultimately came out clean.

The song’s writing is relatively cryptic in the way that all RHCP songs are as mysterious as they are straight-forward, and it’s never clear what “otherside” refers to but I’ve always seen it as the drawing line between sobriety and addiction, with either playing as the “otherside” depending on what side you’re on. Kiedis said about former band member Hillel Slovak that his addiction had robbed him of “life force”, and that prior to his overdose, which Kiedis largely believes was suicidal, he had essentially been dead and was just coasting off his addiction and denial, hence the chorus. Kiedis goes out of his way to diminish the societal myth that drug addiction makes someone an inherently bad person whilst never ignoring its truly harmful impacts, going into pretty stark detail regarding the metaphor of heroin as a false “soul mate” who starts as a “starlet”. The first few verses are introspective from Kiedis’ perspective, essentially introducing the narrative wherein he takes upon the perspective of his late friend recognising, denying and attempting to fight the addiction and the mental anguish that comes with it. Sure, the bridge could be on-the-nose but through the soaring instrumental break that follows and the distorted catharsis of Kiedis’ yelling over Chad Smith’s chamber of drums, it feels like an almost cinematic moment, and the ability to turn something so intimate and introspective into a theatricality mirrors the facade that rockstars like Slovak and Kiedis have to keep on throughout the most difficult and weakest times in their lives. You can see this same unwillingness to truly elaborate on how addiction affects him in One Hot Minute, which truly sounds like a deathbed album and is probably my favourite from the group.

This is all beautifully performed, of course, with John Frusciante and Flea at their primes with the iconic acoustic guitar riff being twisted into the eeriness of the verses, and set free within the melancholy of the choruses. Kiedis sounds freaking devastated here, and the little touches like having the surrounding voices – represented by Frusciante’s backing vocals – as well as the bass take higher prominence in the mix as the song goes on is just a brilliant touch. This is one of the band’s best songs, and a really stark look at addiction that I don’t think they’ve topped since. By the end of the song, either Slovak, Kiedis or both have just come to the acceptance that it doesn’t even fill them with grief anymore. If it’s the easier way out than living a lie and fighting the undefeated, then it may as well be the best route for everyone. This is the bleakest hit on this year-end, and I will reassure you that from here, it gets happier.

For whatever reason, only the first Nutty Professor movie is on Netflix. I could have just watched the sequel THROUGH TOTALLY LEGAL MEANS for research for this list, but I remember watching the first one at silly o’clock and being utterly confused for just about every second of it... so I imagine I’d just be having a similar if not worse experience watching the second one. Honestly, looking at the plot of the second one, I may have also watched the second one in the same late-night fever. For whatever reason, this bargain-bin sequel – although a big-budget comedy at the time – had a soundtrack album with songs by JAY-Z and Eminem, and the uncensored version of the “Thong Song”. Oh, and it also produced a #1 hit out of Goddamn nowhere. Until the Super Bowl, there really was no stopping this woman.

#2 – “Doesn’t Really Matter” – Janet Jackson

Peak: #1 for 3 weeks | Year-End: #18

This song is a mess. Disregarding its connection to an Eddie Murphy sequel that critics called “obnoxious”, its release and composition as a whole is all over the place. It was leaked to radio stations unmastered, so the mix was a rush job to push it out to release. The lyrics are from a poem that Janet found and sporadically altered and added to whilst recording, the song has two choruses written by both Janet and Jimmy Jam, both of which end up on the final track, it was initially conceived as a slow, lounge song but on a whim, Jimmy Jam decided to both increase the tempo and record the song mostly live on tape, and it’s a stark contrast to the sparse R&B that Janet had mastered on The Velvet Rope. By all measures, it should not work, and to tell the truth, I hadn’t heard of this song until looking through this year-end list... but I quickly fell in love.

This is such a unique hit with so much going on, so the fact that a lot of it wasn’t sequenced should actually show you the talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as, of course, Janet Jackson, who spends most of the song in her impeccable higher register, as she coos breathily in a tone that once probably felt intimate at a slower tempo but at this speed feels unrecognisably tense and confident, especially when placed upon the stuffy snares, random squelching percussive noises, and the writing that is so wordy and unfitting, yet also mind-numbingly repetitive, that it creates constant little mantras and earworms through each little crevice of the track. Somehow, through the five minutes, the song never really loses steam, mostly because of the constant hooks and refrains, including the chorus which kind of just feels like a restart of itself every time. It turns the squelching percussion to 11, has Janet double-track every vocal, before it breaks down into a sea of harmonies that took me aback on first listen since it’s just gorgeous.

This manic, broken production honestly really fits the content which is about unconditional love – the writing is clunky as all Hell and I think that’s kind of the point: regardless of any conditions, including what her friends believe, what the situation is – sometimes mentioned to be economic trouble, which would definitely lead to the kind of stress that fuels a song like this – she will love Eddie Murphy in a fat suit forever. It represents this bubbling desire to just be with a person forever in such a uniquely messy way... because love and relationships are messy, especially if you’re married and the finances end up going into the same household and there’s a family dynamic. This couldn’t have been a ballad because a long-term relationship is not just simple, traditional and moving. Janet even tries to go for a half-time ballad in the bridge but even then it’s overwhelmed by the bass and instantly kicked into gear once again. She’s “in love with the inner being”, and the “nutty” image that their relationship gives off is really just a front for how they’ll love each other unconditionally. If everything is perfect, the only place to go is downhill.

Oh, and she does indeed profess her love for the Nutty Professor by the end of the track, before her infectious ad-libs and laugher that’s always a pleasure to the ears come in to decorate an already busy track with as many layers of personality as possible. This song is just pure joy, and for me has been on constant repeat since I discovered it on this year-end list. It’s a bonkers song, but crazy in the name of love, which is a niche emotion that really found its home in pop music.

Something I’ve been thinking about for really the past couple months is why electronic music to me has been so much more resonant in forming a human, emotional response. Any good music will stimulate the brain or create some kind of gut feeling, whether it be visceral hatred, indifference or admiration, and deeper in those categories are two factors: how the song makes you feel and what the song is trying to make you feel. Now, in say, a classic rock song, maybe a Beatles track, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, the band is trying to make you feel happy. The preferred response is naturally, to be convinced by Paul McCartney’s love-struck performance and infectious chorus, and you feel happy. You could also find the song annoying because of its repetition and lack of self-awareness, but you can’t really debate that the song is trying to make you happy. Electronic music, especially dance music, is where the line becomes harder to distinguish, and the goals of the artist are separate. I could use a more nuanced, narrative-driven folk song to make my point instead of a classic, basic Beatles tune, but electronic dance music, especially the type that hits the pop charts, will also use infectious hooks, one-note performances and repetitive beats and melodic patterns, just like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. However, the human component is distanced in an EDM song, and whilst the Fab Four aren’t as intimate as a singer-songwriter, they’re using guitars, they’re singing pretty clearly: the humans are available, and you can resonate with the human emotion that a human has written, rehearsed and performed. When the human component is a DJ who hasn’t as much sat down to write the song as much as he has crafted it from samples, programmed beats and synths, that “human component” becomes more fragmented. Whilst there may not be anything as nuanced as a human, what comes close is a human’s thoughts and emotions pushed through a technological lens, which is what to me makes the emotions in electronic music hit harder and deeper.

I did not know this song was on the year-end list until I had nearly finished it and I heard it, seemingly out of nowhere, amidst forgotten R&B and middle-of-the-road country music. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but I quickly remembered why I loved it so much.

#1 – “Better Off Alone” – Alice Deejay

Peak: #27 | Year-End: #88

Sebastiaan Molijin of Alice Deejay says that he wrote the signature lyric of this trance classic about the love of his life, whom he had separated from. She left him, they never spoke again and he never told her that the big hit stemmed from that heartache. Once again, the human component proves its limitations: he couldn’t cough up the aching question of “Do you think you’re better off alone?” to her face, but he can through song, and better yet, through Edith Pronk, a female vocalist. Molijin uses a vocalist closer to his ex-partner’s tones to him to echo those thoughts back. It becomes mutual and confused rather than the basic, simple and aching question, which considering the loaded nature of said refrain, was only ever basic in melody and verbiage. None of that matters though, because by the end of the song and by the time that the one question has been asked repeatedly, that question gains as much gravitas as possible... and remains answered.

The only other in the lyric in the song is the desperate, longing refrain of “Talk to me”, which doesn’t answer the question as much as it echoes the devastated heartache of Molijin, but through Pronk’s voice, it emulates what Molijin wants to hear as much as it does what he wants to say. This lyrical simplicity of course would be an entrapment if not for the ethereal instrumental, which is instantly recognisable and constantly re-interpreted. It starts squeakily, with blaring, dated synths and a plodding four-on-the-floor beat before the synth riff we all know and love comes in... but isn’t complete. It takes until the beat comes to a stop for the synth riff to complete itself in a cloud of cheap but universal synth strings – it’s the closest I’ve really heard music try and replicate the feeling of sudden rain.

Yet, the beat kicks in once again and could get the dancefloor going, kicking in harder than ever, and that’s where a lot of the dissonance comes in. It’s a desperate, depressive track but also just bumps, with an aptly stiff groove but a present one that feels absolutely club-ready. That’s why it’s such a shock to the system when the vocals first come in – Pronk’s a good singer, but it’s a hardly-trained vocal, not Auto-Tuned and just layered over the ethereal synths and a counter-melody that comes beeping in to take over the track for sheer urgency’s sake. It’s imperfect and clashes... and that’s the human component creeping right back in from where it first emerged with the singular lyric. It’s almost a cycle, but Pronk never really stops asking that question. She never stops pleading, even when her only accompaniment is a ribbiting frog of a Eurodance bass tone, and refuses to leave the question unanswered even when showered in a cloudy mist of synth and four-on-the-floor beats that make the whole ordeal seem worthless. She can beg, “Talk to me”, all she wants, but life keeps on going as quickly as possible around her – or him – and even if she can put a stop to it in moments of dreamy bliss, where the synth strings blossom and the percussion takes a backstage role, these moments won’t be forever, and reliving it kind of seems fruitless. Yet reliving is exactly what us humans want to do, and that’s why the song ends with Pronk singing, unaccompanied, a final “Talk to me”. It’s universal.

There’s a reason this song has been constantly interpolated, remixed and sampled by any artist, genre or scene under the sun – it’s purely universal. It asks of two things that we as humans all need: communication and closure, and does so through the most visceral and basic of words yet holds so much nuance and complexity in said words, not to mention the detailed and perfected production choices. When someone samples “Better Off Alone” or even listens to it, they’re definitely the electronics, the synth tones, the entirely digitally-programmed mix, because that’s the only way for the human component to truly resonate and be understood. A dance track with this much energy, melodrama and feverish emotion can really make a song based off two, universally human lyrics work, because it’s taking the human component and layering it on top of what may be more human than any emotional resonance: feeling the beat.

Thank you for reading. I’m not sure if another one of these is in order at any time, since this did take a while to prepare for and listen, even if it didn’t take very long to actually write. These are all great songs, so much so that I feel they could have much more justice done for them than my rambling so I hope I got some of the messages across that I was trying to convey, or that I just convinced you that these are great songs, though really, listening to the songs should prove that in itself. Again, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you on Friday for

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timona-lisa · 7 years ago

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since i’ve been getting a lot of questions about them (and by a lot, i mean four), i decided to compile a list of my old muppet fics that i’m really embarrassed over now.

note: pretty much all these fics were written when i was in high school and have since been deleted but i think you can still find the breakfast club one through the wayback machine.

so without further ado, here’s ai’s greatest cheesiest hits:

don’t you forget about me: so this one was made back in 2008 and it was essentially a parody (eh) of the breakfast club. originally the cast was going to be kermit as bender (i know, so fitting), piggy as claire, gonzo as andrew, camilla as allison, and fozzie as brian but then i noticed there weren’t too many fics starring the band so i changed it to floyd, janice, teeth, zoot, and scooter who, now that i think about it, was a probably a better choice for brian.

there’s not too much to say about this one, other than it was a basic script fic with some changes from the original movie to make it more pg and piggy who would show up now and then ‘cause she was furious over not getting the part of claire. (yeah, my handling of piggy’s character was pretty awful but that was before i grew to appreciate her and realize there was more to her than being a diva.) also sam was the principal which was the only casting i can still say i’m proud of.

long way to the top: also written in 2008, basically my since abandoned oc aurie (short for aurora, i think?), a tambourine player and obvious fangirl, auditions for the band and catches the eye of all the dudes (except floyd) and…i’m kinda blanking on this one? i know it was pretty much your standard cheesy wish fulfillment fic and i think she got kidnapped near the end and the crew had to go out and save her from some evil record producer guy. yeah. i don’t have too much else to say about it.

all sewn up: also 2008, so this one actually kinda brings back good memories, it was a journal fic written from zoot’s perspective with some random observations and behind the scenes antics and it was set during the first season of the muppet show. i remember literally watching the joel grey episode on youtube while working on the fic and trying to capture what zoot’s voice was like back then. there were a couple entries about his relationship with janice and he probably sounded more like a dorky teenager than a burned out sax player but aside from that, it was pretty in-character but short-lived, about five or six entries.

coming of the roads: the first of the giant “epic” fics, set during modern times (modern being 2009), and centers on the band going on a tour around the states and they end up in a town that’s half stepford, half the slums. while there, they find an abandoned baby and take her in and name her melody (yes, i was that unoriginal). eventually, they go to the town hall and try to explain the situation but they get dismissed because it’s run by assholes and it’s in the stepford part of town so they call the rest of the muppet gang to help them and fix up the place through shows and montages and all that good stuff.

on the surface, the story seemed to have a lot going for it but unfortunately, it was weighed down by a lot of soap opera drama and corny moments. like, there was one subplot where janice was struggling between her feelings for floyd and teeth (bear in mind, this was long before the series was a thing) and there was a super ooc scene where janice and teeth shared a kiss after a show and floyd got all pissed and stormed off stage. (spoilers: it was just a heat of the moment thing and it got resolved within a couple chapters.)

there was another subplot where lips was struggling to figure out his own feelings for zoot and every time he tried to ask what their relationship status was, zoot would be like “i dunno, man” until near the end where they got attacked by stepford people for trying to change things and they spent the night bandaging each other up and zoot was all: “yeah, um, i like you.” if i remember right, i was going to have lips kiss zoot on the cheek but i got told off by an admin that it wasn’t “appropriate” so it ended with a “just bros being bros” hug. :/

the last subplot was about teeth and his father-daughter relationship with melody and there were some flashbacks to his childhood and how he spent time between various foster homes and the streets and was able to rise up and become a rock legend. then there was a subplot within that subplot that focused on his relationship with another old oc joelle, who was pretty much a fusion of tiana and esmeralda, and made her living as a street performer. basically, they were childhood sweethearts but lost track of each other for some reason or another and they reunited near the end of the second act. looking back, jo wasn’t as poorly written as aurie but then again, she didn’t have a whole lot to do besides fill the long-lost girlfriend role, hang out with janice, and occasionally make snarky comments. also i love how lips kissing zoot on the cheek was considered “inappropriate” but a heavily implied sex scene with her and teeth didn’t raise any eyebrows.

honestly, besides the elements i already addressed, i think the part where i really missed the mark was the ending. literally everything was resolved by way of plot conveniences. the town got a new mayor. jo became the new tambourine player. melody was adopted by the band but also by jenny and ronnie from mtm. yeah, remember them? they were part of the fic too. i’m not sure why but i guess the story needed human characters? i have no idea what i was on back then.

hit the lights: oh boy, this one’s a doozy. so it takes place almost immediately after coming of the roads (early 2010) and the band are being stalked by this tmz-esque journalist because...yeah, because. let’s go with that. after cornering zoot, asking a bunch of super personal questions, and failing to get any answers, tmz dude starts to trash him in reviews and such and makes a big deal over his shyness. in short, tmz dude is pretty much the worst and he winds up getting murdered in the second chapter. since zoot was the target of his criticism and was close to the scene of the crime, he ends up being the primary suspect. much of the fic is focused on the gang trying to clear his name as well as flashbacks to his childhood, his relationship/s with the band, etc.

so yeah, there’s a few elements that were recycled from the previous fic, such as the flashbacks, zoot’s relationship with his family, another long-lost girlfriend (only she was the victim of an unsolved murder as well) and a reunion between him and their daughter near the end. again, the biggest problem with the fic was it was played really straight and soap opera-ish and there was little room for muppety antics. there were like, paragraphs upon paragraphs of zoot lamenting about the past and it got to be draining after a while. i love exploring lesser-known characters and it wasn’t the first time i tackled zoot but unlike the journal fic, which was pretty lighthearted and didn’t take itself too seriously, this was like an avalanche of angst. also clover (his daughter) was probably the least embarrassing of my ocs but she didn’t have much of presence in the fic until the end.

i’m trying to think of something else to say other than, “it tried way too hard to be sad and ended up being corny and exhausting.” i did try to incorporate more of zoot and lips’ relationship but again, because of the forum’s weak ass policy, they could only hug or hold hands and the fluff took a backseat to the drama. i was going through some personal stuff at the time and i think a lot of that was evident in my writing and i even based tmz dude after somebody who was bullying me and when i reflect on it nowadays, it’s pretty painful. i think i went through a three year gap when i kinda forgot about the fic and then one day, just reread the whole thing in one sitting and was like, “yeeeah, this needs to go...”

so there you have it, ai’s mupfics of yore.

#fanfics #mupfics #long post

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mantra4ia · 8 years ago

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Lucifer Season 3 and Beyond

Desires, Needs, Speculations (and questions):

Is Lucifer with wings a flashback to his fall from heaven, which I asked for last summer hiatus (it couldn’t be when he climbed out of hell to LA, because clearly that’s a desert not a beach) OR did he get dragged through the void into another world-universe?

It seems like each season our world and ensemble expands a little. Season 1 we examined the consequences of the devil making a playground, and eventual home, of Los Angeles. Season 2 we got a brief, but much more detailed window into hell. I feel like we just got a glimpse into the architecture, it’s landscape and personal suites - so what is next? I deeper look into hell, a peek at silver city, or something teased in 2x18 only as “the void” where other universes are made?

If we were going to step through that door into not just one world but the possibility of any number of them, how would we do it? Both eyes open, both eyes closed launching into the unknown? Are we ready to bridge the gap from the concrete world to the vast comic landscape, and to what extent?

Who knocked Lucifer out? Was it Azrael? Will we finally meet Lucifer’s sister, Angel of Death (and has she dealt with the heavenly patriarchy better than her mom has)? This was also a season one speculation slowly coming true, A+ fan service.

What did Maze do to Linda’s license investigative reviewer off screen near the end of s2? Will it come back to bite her in s3?

Ella’s family played an understated role in season 2, but there was a missed call from Ella’s brother in 2x17 that piqued my interest. Will her character, particularly family backstory, be more consequential in s3?

I really would like a father Frank reprisal, and can we make it a really good plot twist- thanks.

Now that Linda seems to have lost her credentials as I psychiatrist, where will Lucifer and Maze get their therapy from?

Will she get her license back, and what would that process entail? Will Lucifer muck about?

Or will Linda get resort to a job from her past, which we have yet to fully uncover? Will s3 dig into that? Her character has longevity priority, I need answers.

If she remains a counselor to some extent, can we please get Amenadiel on the couch next? Luifer and Maze has a good run. He’s been having an identity / purpose crisis last season, an unlike Maze who’s had the benefit of Linda’s help, Amenadiel has struggled, partly because he lacks the human anchors that Maze stumbled on. Can we get the Linda-Amenadiel dynamic back?

Dandielion (Dan and Amenadiel) are a great BroTP that I think Amenadiel could really use. Keep building that please.

Speaking of, Lucifer hinted at this near the end of season 2: has Amenadiel and Maze’s relationship got a spark left in s3, or has it cooled completely as they’ve both had to do a lot of work finding their own place on Earth?

So Mum has gone into the void to be her own independent goddess, and define herself within a universe of her own making. Will all that happen off camera (aka - is mum’s story completely finished for s3)? It would kind of be a shame if it does considering she only recently realized that she still, in some capacity loves her ex-husband and Lucifer has only recently realized (or rather Linda on Lucifer’s behalf) that as much as he enjoys the idea of his parents fighting to the death - minus the consequences to humanity - he is also fond of seeing them together. Not to mention Dad probably has his own opinion on the subject and it would be some kind of awesome to see them together. Is there an opening for mum’s return next season, family related or for her favorite human?

Speaking of, it seems that human Charlotte Richards survived celestial occupation, but sans recent memory. Will she still be a supporting figure in the lives of our central ensemble - particularly for Dan?

Dan is on the freaking precipice of discovering the secret of Lucifer’s family, particularly now that he had such a strange and intimate relationship with Charlotte, which she does not remember. Will he be the next to know and buy in? Will Linda need to catch him up?

Are there going to be any consequences to Dan and Maze’s team up from prior to the first s2 hiatus, when they exacted punishment on Chloe’s behalf on the corrupt warden involved with her father’s murder case?

Linda was the last person, presumably, to see Lucifer before that wicked cliffhanger. Also, he left a message for Chloe, but he’s ‘vanished’ on her before. Will Chloe be worried and search for leads on Lucifer as a night job, or will Linda need to steer the ship and guide her into seeking him out?

Will Lucifer be separated from the central characters for an extended period of time?

Going back to Charlotte a quick sec, there seems to be a parallel between her and God Johnson. As soon as mum’s celestial soul left Charlotte she emerged with no memory. The same happened with Earl Johnson. At the time, we attributed it to the celestial piece of the sword in his belt, but this new evidence begs the question - what if Lucifer was really talking to his Dad and the artifact was a conduit?

Also, what if God was one of us?

Lucifer with no shirt, no shoes, and wings in the desert. There’s an Heroes flying man reference in there somewhere. *fingers crossed*

Near the end of 2x18, Lucifer seemed to throw the first two pieces of the flaming sword into the void after Mum, without the key, thus ensuring a slim to none chance of her immediate return until she’s worked through some issues. Coincidentally in season 2, we also find that Lucifer, sick of either getting locked into or out of cars, has secretly copied the Detective’s keys. To a godly extent, does someone out in the universe have a copy of the key to the flaming sword and will that impact s3?

At some point in season 3, Trixie needs a pet, and Lucifer should be pivotal in that process, thus reaffirming the Trixstar dynamic. Since Lucifer does not like the idea of cats and litter boxes, I highly recommend a puppy be shared between them. Unless Chloe is allergic, which in itself could be an extra level of storytelling.

Also, after Trixie’s “wusses don’t get lollies” remark, I would pay a good many things to see Lucifer and Trixie duke it out in a thumb war. PLEASE.

Even though Maze pointed out that Trixie does a good job of cutting people with her words (as opposed to knives) will s3 present Trixie with an opportunity to kick butt with the rest of the #Tribe? Will she stand up to another mean girl or mean boy?

Trixie (Scarlett Espinoza) is a dream and has me heart. Is she going to continue to be the embodiment of goodness, or in season 3 and onward will we see any tween outbursts (possibly that Lucifer can relate to/ offer perspective on)?

On that note, I really would like to see more of pairings we don’t normally get. Dan and Ella, Trixie and “Uncle” Amenadiel, Amenadiel and Linda, Chloe and Amenadiel haven’t chatted in a while and they are quite fun, Trixie and Ella.

Oh, Ella as Trixie’s sitter, with a side order of territorial jealously from Maze. That’s a story.

Lucifer has become quite skilled at slight of hand and dodging about in two seasons, getting out of hand cuffs, cop cars, swiping keys. Is there anything that slight of hand will pay off for in season 3?

Chloe’s flashbacks to her dad and early days on the detective force were really some of the wonderful highlights in s2. Will we see more of her past in s3?

Will Lucifer serve Linda the (many) stiiiifff drinks that woman has earned?

So far, we’ve uncovered Malcolm’s corruption in the LAPD and corruption of a prison warden. Any deeper levels?

I really would like to see more episodes a) with Dan as a uniformed officer, and b) solving cases. Because Alejandro is just a cool dude, in the words of wonderful Ella Lopez.

I love Chloe, truly I do, but the more I see her goodness the more I want to see her on a bad day (aka - death by yoga mat part 2)

Season 1 and 2 walk an interesting line between comedy and tragedy/ dramatic, so I want to do some number crunching. Over the course of 13 episodes last season there seemed to be more onscreen dramatic and trauma related elements then over the course of 18 episodes in season 2, which still handled heavy issues but ultimately seemed lighter by a larger dose of humor. Will Lucifer season 3 tow a similar balance, be more lighthearted, or take on a darker tone? I am hoping a throwback to a more serious and mysterious tone.

Well, we didn’t see Lucifer sick with a cold and whining as though he was dying in season 2 like I was hoping, but we did get to see him beat up and Trixie calling him a wuss, which is somehow even better. But it kind of makes me think about Lucifer injured and I’m curious. Given Lucifer’s growth, in season 3 would he cut off his nose to spite his face? That is in manner of speaking - given the opportunity to sever his wings again would he? Or do they mean something different to him now than they once did?

We’ve been speculating on and off since s1e1 that Amenadiel’s necklace had greater significance, along with Luci’s ring. One hypothesis paid off, will the other? I think it does has significance, but not in an imbued with power sense, more about sentimentality. After all, he gave away his wedding ring sans blinking, but this one he never goes without. I’m thinking perhaps it was a gift from a sibling - but that’s utter guesswork.

More to come surely…

#lucifer season 3 #questions #speculations #desires #lucifer on fox #azrael #lucifer's mum #will chloe discover lucifer's truth?#will dan discover the truth from amenadiel

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buffster · 8 years ago

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Graduation Day Part 1 (BTVS 3.21)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

I always fly through the last two episodes of season three. The battle scene is one of my favorites and I always get excited to re watch it. But first, Part 1. Side note: why do season finales always get so recap-y? I always feel like I’m mostly just noting events down for later in the end.

I enjoyed the realistic vibe in the air as everyone prepares to graduate Sunnydale High. Cordelia dislikes the color they chose for gowns (of course) and everyone is discussing the big day. Despite years of torment Harmony is suddenly nice to Willow, who feels affectionate in return. Willow says she even misses gym. I detested high school but even now get that nostalgic vibe. Like Buffy, my SO doesn’t get it.

Faith is sent on a mission to kill an innocent professor. She doesn’t even care to ask why “the boss” wants him dead. The Mayor picks her out a flowery, girly dress for Ascension Day which just so looks like something he would want his women in. Faith expresses doubts it’s her.

The Mayor: “Not you”. Let me tell you something. Nobody knows what you are. Not even you, little miss seen-it-all. The Ascension isn’t just my day, it’s yours too. Your day to blossom, to show the world what a powerful girl you are. I think of what you’ve done, what I know you will do…No father could be prouder.

Faith: I hope I don’t let you down.

The Mayor: Impossible. Come on. Change back into your street clothes and I’ll buy you an icee.

This relationship is just so weird. He gives her all this fatherly approval and affection she so deeply craves no matter if he’s asking her to murder everyone in the next sentence. She doesn’t comprehend what a good father is so anyone will do. I think the fact that he never wanted her sexually was a huge reason she trusted him so quickly, though.

With Anya’s help the Scoobies are putting together clues for the Ascension. They learn that they’ve never seen a pure demon, only tainted ones. Anya decides to split but asks Xander to go with her because she feels sick at the idea of him being hurt. But she leaves alone.

Buffy knows Faith killed the professor and decides to check it out. Giles is worried about her confronting Faith because Faith will be fighting to the death and Buffy won’t kill her.

Buffy: I can’t kill her… fun though it sounds… I don’t have that in me. I can make her cry uncle, though, and I mean to.

But she does have it in her. Contrary to her own and Willow’s opinion.

The plot demands that the Mayor prefer to simply threaten the gang rather than attack them. They’d be pretty much hopeless if he decided to go ahead and kill them. It’s strange, character-wise, that he doesn’t. Faith would have warned him they’d have a plan to take him down.

Angel tries to help Buffy on a mission but they’re in an awkward place. They’re just waiting around for the Mayor to ascend so he can leave and end them for good.

Angel: Are you mad at me for being around too much or for not being around enough?

Buffy: Duh – yes.

Angel: Which?

Buffy: What?

Angel: I don’t get you.

Buffy: No, you don’t. Not anymore.

Angel: Are you just making this harder to make it easier on yourself?

Buffy: Could we stop with the brainteasers? I’m just… I wish it was over. Done.

Angel doesn’t get Buffy, which is kind of strange because sometimes he’s really good at reading people. But my predication was that these two would have communication problems before I remembered this conversation. They’re both used to internalizing things and being alone. Of course, the fact that neither of them really knows what they want or should do here is a big factor as well. He says she’s acting like a brat, and she kind of is…she’s blaming him for the pain and disappointment she feels over not being able to be with him. She’s not thinking about how hard it is for him, too. They’re in the middle of this fight when Faith shoots him. The look on Buffy’s face here was so intense…you could see that moment where she wonders if Angel is about to disappear into dust in front of her very eyes. Hazards of dating a vampire: death would be sudden. One second they’re there and the next you’ll never look at their face again.

The Council refuses to help Angel by telling them the toxin in the arrow.

Buffy: Go and tell them that until the next Slayer shows up they can close up shop. I’m not working for them anymore.

Wesley: Don’t you see what’s happening? Faith poisoned Angel to distract you, to keep you out of the Mayor’s way. And it’s working. We need a strategy to–

Buffy: I have a strategy. You’re not in it.

Wesley: This is mutiny.

Buffy: I like to think of it as graduation.

Once again, why would the Mayor shoot Angel? Why not just kill Buffy? Willow eventually finds the toxin anyway and they learn they need a slayer’s blood. And, as always, when it comes to someone else being in danger Buffy is willing to do what she has to. She decides to kill Faith. Xander is the only one to say anything, though Willow looks a little unsure. He’s worried he’ll lose Buffy and not in the death sense.

Back at the Mayor’s office Faith is feeling anxious. Ascension Day is tomorrow and she’s wired. She becomes reflective and says her mom called her firecracker when she was little. Apparently she’s always been wild. She tells a story about a quarry a few miles outside of Boston. Kids used to jump off the rocks, but she’s the only one who would jump from the tallest one. All the other kids were scared but it was easy for her. The Mayor looks at her with pride and reassures her he will “always” need her.

Faith returns to her apartment and Buffy soon arrives. Music is playing and she has the opportunity to sneak up on Faith but doesn’t take it. Hesitation, perhaps?

Buffy: As justice goes, it’s not unpoetic. Don’t you think?

Faith: You come here to get me? Gonna feed me to Angel? You know you’re not gonna take me alive.

Buffy: That’s not a problem.

Faith: Well, look at you, all dressed up in big sister’s clothes.

Buffy: You told me I was just like you, Faith. That I was only holding it in.

Faith: You ready to cut loose?

Buffy: Try me.

Faith: Okay then. Give us a kiss.

Their fight is pretty epic. Buffy knows Faith well enough to know if it gets too dicey she’ll run, so she handcuffs her. Faith is afraid to die. They near the edge of the building and Faith nearly throws her off. It’s pretty much win or die now, so Buffy stabs her. Faith looks at her with a sort of pride.

Faith: You did it. You killed me.

But, being Faith, she’s gotta be spiteful and throw herself off the building anyway. Buffy has a moment where she could have (potentially) stopped her but she’s still trying to process that she actually did it.

Character Notes:

Anya Jenkins: She has witnessed an Ascension before. “About eight hundred years ago, in the Koskov Valley, above the Urals. There was a sorcerer there who achieved Ascension. Became the embodiment of the demon Lohesh. I was there cursing a shepherd who had been unfaithful, his wife wished that all his sheep would lie with –. Lohesh was… it decimated the village. Within hours. Maybe three people got out.”

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Wesley. He tries so hard to lead and no one follows. His urge to prove himself is obvious.

Principal Snyder: He’s delighted the Mayor is giving him props for keeping some order within the chaos of Sunnydale High.

Rupert Giles: Despite knowing how unwise it is to attack the invincible Mayor, Giles stabs him in a fit of rage when he threatens Buffy.

Joyce Summers: Buffy kicks her mom out of town so she doesn’t have to worry about her. I’m torn on this. On the one hand she’s forced to leave her daughter to possible death because she knows there’s nothing she can do to help, which would be terrible. But on the other, does she even want to? It’s not as if she ever attempts to learn how to defend herself or anything.

Amy Madison: The gang is still full of jokes and lighthearted comments about Amy. Strangely callous?

Willow Rosenberg: She has sex for the first time with Oz and says she feels different.

Daniel Osbourne: He sleeps with Willow and agrees things are different.

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tinyrosemarysparrows · 8 years ago

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My current opinion of Death Parade now that I’m half way through it and will probably binge watch the rest of it once I get home is that I do not understand what tone they want to go for and the pacing is weird as hell. There are some really messed up moments and some really happy moments and you never know which is which until the end of the episode which keeps you on edge the entire time. There was an episode that was really cute and lighthearted, but I was waiting for one of the people to brutally murder the other so there was a sense of dread to every laugh.

Love the concept. Love the art. So far, I’m really into these characters and the story, as vague as it is. I don’t know who the protagonist or antagonist are supposed to be and that’s a pretty big pro. It’s all morally gray and that it totally down my alley. It’s very fun to watch and it’s been a while since I watched a series where I was engaged the entire time. I had originally bought the entire season with the intent to just play it in the background while I painted bones and studied (hence why I got the dub because I didn’t want to have to actively read subtitles).

It’s nowhere near as dark or gory as I thought it would be, which is kind of a relief. I enjoy horror series, but they usually end in “shocking” deaths and bloodbaths and I’m really not interested in the scare factor relying on gore (forever going to be upset with how Another ended). I was hoping that it would be like the Suffering Game arc from TAZ, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

All in all, unless it hecks up majorly at the end with some bullshit romance or bloodbath, I think this might be one of my new favorites.

#personal junk #sparrow watches #thats the new tag for me watching things and blogging about them #because im not going to force people to read about me watching anime lolol #srs tho the opening made me hope it was going to be like wonderland #the wonderland elves are my absolute favorites and i adore the idea of wonderland itself #but so far its been pretty chill and subtle #the story is more of a subplot and the focus of judgement and right and wrong is really nice #very refreshing #although there have been a couple of episodes that ended really unsatisfyingly #looking at you awkward romance episode #the twist at the end was shit and they should feel bad about it

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powerliftingpinay-blog · 7 years ago

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That 10 Best Anime Series on Netflix

Beyond the typical movie and TV offerings on Netflix, the streaming product also has an array of Anime ranging with mainstream staples enjoy Naruto to primary series like Neo Yokio. But with shows featuring patio furniture from ninjas and icon robots to sentient gear, superheroes, and murderous high-school scholars, how can an individual choose which to look at first? In order to resolve your streaming doubts and woes, Vulture provides this guide to help Netflix’s Anime selection, featuring ten of the greatest shows available to stream today.

Attack on Titan

In some of our current age with terrifying dystopian facts, it’s hard to identify a dystopian show with something novices at deliver — nevertheless here it is usually. In the environment of Attack on Titan, humans are now living communities enclosed inside giant, concentric rooms. Outside the rooms, giant humanoid pests called “titans” wander. Oh, and they also have an appetite with regard to humans. When smart, larger titans using new abilities demonstrate themselves and break in the barriers, the military ought to figure out ways to defeat them and fortify metropolis. Oppressively sad inside particular way just dystopian shows may be, Attack on Titan follows three friends as they simply join the military and tend to be immediately thrown in the fray of some sort of titan attack. Not a single thing sacred in the following show, which options beloved characters possessing mercifully crushed, chomped, together with smashed in just about every episode. Still, that writers know interest, building a world and then a story with many layers that, as soon as you dig in, you can’t help but dont stop learning .. Season one on Netflix.

Death Note

Virtually no, not Netflix’s abominable live-action version. I’m talking regarding the original series, which stands among the greatest Animes out of them all. Such hefty approval is well-deserved just by this show, which builds relating to the classic cat-and-mouse investigation company drama and branches out in the realm of that supernatural, in which passing gods and magical notebooks are definitely the norm. When Light Yagami, a bright (but everything needed sociopathic) student gets his mitts a notebook so that him to anonymously stop whomever’s name he writes within it, he begins some sort of campaign to cleanse the modern world of its criminals — consequently, all those which oppose him. Nevertheless first, he must ward off the equally smart and eccentric detective determined to give up him. Beyond it's deft twists together with turns, Death Note additionally addresses questions approximately morality, justice, together with capital punishment. Almost the entire package, plus beautiful animation and well-written discussion and plot, makes Death Note the cream in the animated crop.

Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works]

If you value your Anime which includes a coat of shine, you’ll like the following series, which has cartoon so shiny it seems like they ran the illustrations via the power wax in the car wash. A gaming turned manga directed Anime, Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] comes after Shirou Emiya, an idealistic high school graduation student who gets dragged to a secret life-or-death miraculous tournament fought just by magicians and their own servants, the summoned mood of mythological together with historical heroes. For any surviving victor waits the legendary Ultimate goal, which has the strength to grant the superior magician any wish the affected individual desires. Although there’s truly great history of matches being successfully adapted into other styles of media (ahem, Silent Hill along with the Resident Evil franchise), Fate/Stay Night will work. The real treats are definitely the battles and that servants, who comprise such mythological greats since Medea, Cuchulain, together with King Arthur, and both of whom has an exceptional ability or gun.

Kill la Kill

File this in the position of “lovably, comically foolish. ” Kill la Kill comes after the journey on the schoolgirl named Ryuko as she quest for her father’s monster. Wielding one share of a giant couple of magical red scissors since her weapon of preference, Ryuko enrolls within a high school that the students fight thanks to uniforms that allow them to have superhuman abilities. When Ryuko learns a sentient consistent that bestows her with her very own set of specialized abilities, she has to help fight her way in the school’s hierarchy with uniformed super-fighters to uncover the answers your lady desires. Two few more episodes of 100 % pure, unadulterated camp, Kill la Kill shamelessly benefits gold in regards to racy humor together with packs every minute with action, going with almost manic pace through its block, which plays out being a drug-fueled fantasy. Almost the entire package is grounded just by Ryuko, the the majority determined, streetwise miraculous girl you’ll truly meet.

Naruto

Among the most popular Anime number of the past 2 full decades, Naruto has done considerably to bring Anime in the mainstream. Naruto, a little ninja with latent abilities and then a heart of your old watches, goes on missions together with his team and tries to figure his way in the direction of becoming the Hokage, a- of the whole village. Full of underdog fights and sunny self-assurances, Naruto takes on most of the tropes of that shōnen Anime sort. But if you’re in need of subtlety and succinct storytelling, look in another place: With hundreds with episodes, Naruto is long-winded to speak about the least. Nevertheless, it’s not a major international sensation for virtually no reason; it’s a great action-packed show using comedy, drama, and positive messaging regarding the power of labor, determination, and neighborhood. Seasons one through three on Netflix.

One-Punch Man

Without a doubt, it’s not probably the most exciting concept: a bored superhero with the unbeatable one-punch breach tries (and repeatedly fails) to uncover someone to test him. Who wishes to watch a robust, near-unstoppable hero consistently win? But One-Punch Man is not even close to the typical superhero exhibit. Our hero, Saitama, loaded in uncool, hand crafted superhero duds, seems interested in getting deals in the supermarket than establishing himself as being the great savior in the city. Drawing with tropes from well-known shōnen and witty books, One-Punch Man provides comically exaggerated villains, idiotic together with incompetent heroes, and an unconsciously powerful protagonist in whose thriftiness and deadpan laughs make him — and this also show — truly extraordinary. Season one on Netflix.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

A tackle the popular sort of magical-girl Anime, Madoka Magica isn’t that fluff-and-puff series it is very much. When a middle-school person named Madoka together with her friend Sayaka face a catlike miraculous creature who assures to grant these any wish once they agree to struggle witches, it appears like everything’s going to remain flowers and natural light and cute clothing. But when Madoka together with Sayaka meet many other magical girls and the fine print on their magical-girl agreement, there’s not really much flowers and sunshine as there does exist death and give up hope. (However, there are a good amount of cute outfits. ) Madoka Magica riffs away from the expectations of magical-girl Anime to develop something darker, without a doubt, but also even more ultimately fulfilling. Quite possibly the animation, some sort of surprising 2-D collection of patterns together with colors, is trippy together with jarring, but in best wishes ways.

Rurouni Kenshin

Don’t skip this golden oldie, among the list of oldest Anime series on the market to stream on Netflix. Rurouni Kenshin comes about during the Meiji period of time in Japan, where an assassin formerly termed Hitokiri Battousai (“Battousai that Manslayer”) now moves the name Himura Kenshin and lives for a friendly, wandering samurai who vows never to take another lifetime. As a warning sign of his reformed options, he travels which includes a sword with some sort of backward blade. However the show has it's lighthearted moments, it’s not flippant considering how it handles it's themes of atonement together with justice. And even though it’s got a few filler episodes, the action views are memorable and Kenshin can be a worthy protagonist. For new fans to your series, there can be a few questions: How come the main dynamics talk like Yoda? The amount of times can the term Battousai be said within a episode? Is a sword which includes a backwards blade a good thing? Why is a villain a mummy? It’s acceptable, you can just pick it.

Sword Art Online

And for that reason it was claimed: Blessed are that gamers, for they shall inherit the globe … or at the least some really fascinating gear. This series comes after a talented teen gamer named Kirito since he tries the brand new in interactive playing games: Sword Art Online. He and innumerable others quickly identify that they’re trapped contained in the game, and once they die in that virtual world, they die in true to life. The only way to avoid, of course, may be to defeat the gameplay. Kirito teams up which includes a fellow kick-ass online gamer, Asuna, to face that game’s bosses and various human threats, and work out how to live their lives from this virtual world. The action from this show is a giant draw, but the true pull is precisely how it depicts the best way its characters react inside circumstances. The connection between Kirito together with Asuna, which evolves with a partnership between two teenagers looking to survive to an adult, supportive romance between a family who had to quickly become older in a distressing situation, is so well-done that will you’ll be rooting for your kids more than you would probably Romeo and whatshername.

Your Lie in April

Undoubtedly just about the most beautiful works with animation on Netflix today, what Your Lie in April delivers visually should be matched by precisely what it delivers sentimentally. In this passionate drama, strait-laced piano natural born player Kousei Arima undergoes a mental breakdown for a piano recital together with becomes deaf to your sound of his well-known piano-playing. But as soon as Arima meets Kaori Miyazono, a modern young violinist which plays with wildness together with passion, he starts out to re-evaluate precisely what he understands approximately music and themself. Your Lie in April certainly doesn’t cover where it’s advancing: We’ve got a great emotionally damaged boy and a manic pixie wish girl, and we realize from the beginning that there’s a superb chance this entire thing could join the express train to your Land of Crying. Still, you can’t allow but get used by the account of Arima, in whose joys, fears, and anxieties are sent to life through verdant, synesthetic animations that move along with the music. That alone makes this worth watching.

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