#audio arc review

[whimsicaldragonette]

Audio ARC Review: Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch

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Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Synopsis:

Michael Blumley, Duke of Loriton (age 28), is viewed as an eccentric by his peers in the ton. He does his duty, of course, but his interest—and talent—lies in the science of electricity. He has no interest in what the frivolities of Society. When his favorite aunt, Mary, Lady Harris, leaves her precious, well-behaved black poodle, Lancelot in his care while she travels his life takes an interesting turn. Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering (age 19), third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Peter Cordray, one of Bitsy’s most insistent beaux and a particular victim of Galahad’s bad manners and sharp teeth, has hired a petty thief (Jimmy Bly) to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit. When the two dogs and their “people” meet in the park, chaos ensues and unknowingly results in a dog swap. Which means Lancelot is kidnapped instead of Galahad! But when both dogs go missing in an ever thickening dognapping plot, Michael and Elizabeth end up coming together to scour London, recover Lancelot and Galahad all while falling in love.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review below the cut.

My Review:

This was utterly adorable. I really liked the way the POV switched between our upper-class main couple and the lower-class secondary couple. I haven't run across that in a romance novel and it was a lot of fun. I love that it's a lighthearted romp that doesn't take itself too seriously, too. And all of the characters were really wonderful and fun to get to know.

I'm not usually a dog person, but the dogs in this book were super cute and really added to the story. I also really liked how much the characters cared for the dogs. It was a good way to show who was a kind person and who was not.

I also liked getting to see all sides of the dognapping. We have Michael's side of the story, and Elizabeth's, and most authors would stop there, but Suzanne Enoch gives us both the villain's side and the unwilling henchman Jimmy's side, and his sweetheart's side as well. It gave a much broader and more complete picture of the world the characters are inhabiting.

The investigations Michael and Elizabeth undertook were great fun, especially when it gave them an excuse to banter. I love a competent hero and heroine, and we definitely get that here. I love how each is competent in their own way and both are useful to investigation - and both of them appreciate the other's competence. Michael is a brilliant scientist and great with details, and Elizabeth is clever and outgoing and great with people. They make a wonderful team.

I did find the ending to be a bit saccharine for my taste, and the declarations of love did drag on rather too long, but that's a minor quibble and I think I'm in the minority in liking books to end with only a suggestion of a happy-ever after. Restrained. Think Mr. Darcy. Not effusive drawn-out declarations like this. They're not bad exactly, they just aren't my preference. But the rest of the book more than made up for it.

The audiobook was performed beautifully and I really enjoyed listening to it. The character voices were excellent and the narrator really brought all of the characters to life.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing an early audio copy for review.

[the-return-of-the-wolf]

(via Daughter of the Bone Forest by Jasmine Skye)

4.75 stars

Wow. This was fantastic. Now I want book two immediately. This will be a hard wait.  Highly recommend this book. Also, recommend the audiobook because it’s narrated wonderfully. 

Rosy is a bone familiar who saves Princess Shaw’s life in the Bone Forest. Shaw offers Rosy a chance to study at Witch Hall in return. Rosy accepts, hoping to find a cure for her grandmother’s illness. At Witch Hall, Rosy gets caught up in political games she doesn’t understand. Shaw wants Rosy for her entourage to lead the upcoming war, but Rosy wants to graduate and save her grandmother. Rosy must choose to either give in to her destiny or return home to the Bone Forest.

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Team up with Fatboi Sharif on Brooding and Nihilistic "Dead Men Tell No Lies"

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Team up with Fatboi Sharif on Brooding and Nihilistic "Dead Men Tell No Lies" @ANGRYBLACKMEN_ @deathbombarc @pitchperfect @fatboyprospect

Chicago-based hip-hop duo Angry Blackmen — Quentin Branch and Brian Warren — features members, who individually spent their time stretching their creative arms and tapping into different sounds for a couple of years, before Warren suggested that they collaborate together as a duo towards the end of 2016.  Branch and Warren exploded into the underground and experimental hip-hop scenes with their…

[bargainsleuthbooks]

The Other Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria's Goddaughter by Denny S. Bryce #ARCReview #BookReview #NewBooks #WilliamMorrow #NetGalley

"A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in #QueenVictoria’s court and adapting to life in #VictorianEngland". Excellent #historicalfiction book! #TheOtherPrincess #DennySBryce #bookreview #ARCReview #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow #NewBooks

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta. With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria…

[ssshwearereading]

Mrs. Kennedy: The Missing History of the Kennedy Years by Barbara Leaming

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Leaming answers the question: What was it like to be Mrs. John F. Kennedy during the dramatic thousand days of the Kennedy presidency? Here for the first time is the full story of the extravagant interplay of sex and politics that constitutes one of modern history’s most spectacular dramas. Drawing from recently declassified top-secret material, as well…

[mermaidsirennikita]

balancing last minute Christmas reads with January ARCs... a struggle

[kkecreads]

My Daughter’s Boyfriend by Daniel Hurst (Audiobook)

Bookouture Audible Release: June 3, 2023 Listening Length: 6 hours 41 minutes Narrators: Harrie Donny & Tamsin Kennard Genre: Thriller KKECReads Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ KKECReads Rating for Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ KKECReads Rating for Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I received a copy of this audiobook for free, and I leave my review voluntarily. Daniel Hurst is the author of several bestselling…

[kuwdora]

A Vidding Primer

A guide written for @wren-of-the-woods who asked for advice about how to start vidding! This is far from comprehensive and I tried not to make it too dense because it's a big subject. I still wanted to share a variety of topics about getting into vidding because it's a hobby and art that is near and dear to my heart.

First Piece of Advice

watch a lot of vids and rewatch vids multiple times. Seek out vids on YouTube, AO3, Watch the TikTok and Twitter/X vids that show up on tumblr or wherever you’re browsing. They all have distinct styles and tools/techniques they use to make their vids and edits. Rewatch the vids and ask yourself what you like or dislike about them. The song, the editing, the source. That can give you a good starting point about how you might want to approach making your own fanvids. The TikTok style of 30 and 40 second edits are very different what you find on YouTube. YouTube editors tend to use a full song and a lot more effects and a lot more overlapping dialogue. Whereas the fanvids - Vids - from people who came into vidding in the mid 2000s/2010s have their own culture, different ways they approach song choice, clip choices and narrative. I also suggest watching vids for shows/films you’re not familiar with as well as your fandom favorites. You can learn a lot about how vidders try to tell a story even when you might not grasp the context behind certain scenes but you can still follow along with the emotional arc of the vid.

Second Piece of Advice

Have fun and enjoy yourself. Everyone starts a new hobby as a newbie. It can be a lot of effort to make 30 seconds or a 3 minute vid, but it’s such a unique type of fanwork that is fun to watch and fun to make. It can also be migraine inducing because of all the learning and technical issues along the way. But!! omg when you make a clip fall on the perfect beat with your blorbo crying that perfect tear or you find an idea and sources for the bestest perfect lyrics of the song, it’s a magnificent high. It can make you feel like a god. At least that’s how I feel a lot of times!

There are about 10 steps* to creating** a fanvid/edit:

• select your platform and software (phone/computer video editors) • gather your video and audio files • create a new project in your video editor • import audio into the editor • import the video into the software and mute audio tracks that contain your video’s audio • review, label and cut up the video into shorter clips - this step is known as ‘clipping’ in vidding parlance, but it’s also optional. Some people pull in movies and scrub through the whole film and just pull it directly onto the timeline • move the various video clips around on the timeline to match the audio track you’ve chosen for your project, add video effects and additional dialogue if you like • export the finished timeline • upload the video to a streaming platform and/or downloadable service • share your project!!! posting to ao3 and/or social media or share on discord, etc * there are a lot more steps involved with each of these steps. What what software to use, where to find video, how to deal with copyright blocks on Youtube, etc. Some of that will be covered in the links below but is not comprehensive. That would require separate posts and links and I don’t want to drop an encyclopedia on you right now! I’m happy to provide more resources that I can curate if you want more direction and pointers to resources and amazing vidders.

** like any hobby, there can and will be a learning curve and frustrations. Blank page for a writer, blank timeline for a vidder. Is anything you put down is any good, self esteem and confusion about what actually makes sense is part and parcel for any creative work. Once you're in the vidding process and committed, as long as you're enjoying yourself you gotta just keep going to get it done.

Getting Started Vidding

My knowledge and background and learning how to vid from people on livejournal and dreamwidth from 2007. I don’t have any experience in editing with a phone but if that’s something you’re interested in, YouTube will be a place for you to start finding tutorials for various apps and tools. Probably discord communities, too. Vidding Workshop - a great how-to/guide when you're starting out. This is on dreamwidth from the WisCon vidparty in 2014. Some of the tech discussions might be a little outdated but there’s a ton of relevant information. It covers technical subjects as well as developing vid ideas and actually getting started. If you have any questions about what you’re reading you can leave an anonymous comment and ask - some of these vidders responding inthe threads are still active. You can find them on AO3/YouTube, tumblr, discord and actually leave them questions about their vids. Many vidders are more than thrilled to talk about their vids and answer questions. Vexcercises - this is a dreamwidth community for short-form vid excercises. This is a very structured way of introducing vid concepts and constraints so that you can produce a vidlet. I highly recommend you check this out and participate! There’s even an AO3 collection so you can check out how people have done the different exercises, too.

The Process of Vidding

Watch Me Edit - @limblogs put together a fantastic playlist of YouTube editors who will show you beginning to end how they made their vid. A lot of these editors appear to be using Sony Vegas but the general process of vidding end-to-end will be similar with other nonlinear editors like DaVinci Resolve, Premiere, etc. It’s a great way to actually see the vid come together if you don’t know what that even looks like. Every vidder will develop their own workflow and approach (which might even change from vid to vid), but it’s useful to see in video how people actually DO the thing. @limblogs also created a handy YouTube playlist some vidders from Bradcpu’s Vidder Profiles (Fanlore page). These profiles are basically like a director’s DVD commentary on their vidding process, featuring the vidders talking over their own vids! So cool. Phenomnal insights from these vidders about how they choose song, use effects, think about their narratives.

Self Rec: I recently did a vidding textpost series called: do it for the process - a naked vid draft: What (Yennefer of Vengerberg). How I Edit by @vimesbootstheory is another textpost about their vidding process. Self rec: Here’s my text interview: Vidder Profile - Kuwdora 2011. I talk about my process with a lot of specific examples from my previous work and lots of screenshots. This profile is over a decade old but a lot of this still holds true for me today! videlicet - this is an incredible vidding zine that @limblogs put togegther with a lot of amazing contributors. These articles and discuss about specific vids and aspects of vidding. It’s really detailed and a fantastic piece of vidding culture. I highly reading recommend the Demystifying Vidding article by lim and the A History of Vidding by @meeedeee and…pretty much every article in the zine!

Doing the vidding!

I recommend joining exchanges and watching vids that come out of exchanges and checking out fannish cons that have vidshows and discords to get more exposure to vidders and vids. Many people have joined @festivids (AO3 collection here) and made their very first vid, it's a very fun and great way to get into vidding. It’s not quite festivids season right now but time flies and it will be time to nominate sources and do sign-ups in the blink of an eye. Follow @festivids and check out the AO3 collection and see what people are making. Join the Vexcercises community and make some short vids and share them on your tumblr or on discord or somewhere and bask in the thrill of making your first fanvids. Check out who reblogged the vidder ask game - go and read other vidders responses and ask some new-to-you vidders questions. Everyone has their own take on process and tech and everything. It's great to hear and see what a lot people are doing and making.

Final Advice - talking about vids and doing the vidding

• watch vids • rewatch vids • leave a comment and ask a question about something you saw in their vid! • Again: find someone’s AO3 page of fanvids and ask them something about their vid in a comment or send them asks on tumblr (people usually have the same alias or link to their tumblr or dreamwidth pages somewhere.) • YouTube can be a valuable resource for tutorials so if you don't know something, there is likely someone who has made a tutorial about how to use a cross dissolve transition or anything else you might want to replicate in a video that you've seen in a vid. • start making a vid, scream and cry, ask for help, and keep going until you get it done. Celebrate and bask in your completed vid and share it with everyone! • Follow vidders on tumblr that you find from the vidder ask game • Check out the vidding discord for community and questions and vid recs and news about vidding exchanges and cons. • Have fun!

Hope this helps you get started! Thank you so much for the ask! Let me know if you have more questions and I can help you out or send you to cool vidders who have great advice and suggestions. And please send me your vid if you make one!

[yurimother]

'I'm in Love with the Villainess' Anime - Episode 1 Review

An astounding and hilarious first outing for the series with the power to revolutionize Yuri

We are finally here, the long-awaited and much anticipated first episode of Platinum Vision’s I’m in Love with the Villainess anime aired on Tokyo MX and is streaming everywhere outside of Asia with a plethora of dubbing options, including English, on day one on Crunchyroll.

The first outing covers most of the events of the light novel’s first chapter, or the first three chapters of the manga, at a rapid but steady and not overwhelming pace. At this rate, the anime should be able to cover much of the series’ first arc, or the first two out of five books, in a single cour. Perhaps a bit less, depending on which of the story’s various adventures it elects to include. This is an exciting possibility, to be sure, as the story is a character-driven, socially mindful, and expertly written and, despite its fantasy setting, an exceptionally relevant tale of romance, socio-economic inequality, and of course, queerness.

While the first arc of Villainess is a triumph, it would be a shame not to see at least some of the developments from the extra chapters that lead into the second story, like (spoilers for the end of volume 2) Rae and Claire’s wedding and their adopted twin daughters May and Aleah. If we are lucky, perhaps they will appear in the final episode or, dare to dream, a second season (end of spoilers).

Now, onto the show itself. For those who, for whatever reason, have not read Inori’s masterpiece, I’m in Love with the Villainess follows Rae Taylor. A salary worker who dies and is reincarnated as the protagonist of her favorite otome game, Revolution. However, Rae has no interest in any of the game world’s three eligible royal bachelors and has eyes only for the game villainess Claire François. Armed with exceptionally magical ability, Rae sets out determined to secure a happy ending for her beloved Claire against the coming revolution and perhaps win her heart in the process.

Now, the opening of I’m in Love with the Villainess is the series' weakest moment in all mediums, which, considering episode one’s outstanding quality, only highlights just how superb the Yuri masterpiece is as a whole. Even with its need to establish the setting, characters, and premise of the series, the premiere managed to be an excellent introduction and set the bar high with lots of laughs, entertainment, and service between our two leads.

I watched the Japanese audio, and Yu Serizawa and Karin Nanami are fantastic in these roles, with Serizawa playing up Rae’s teasing adoration and borderline masochism at full blast, and Nanami explicitly giving voice to Claire’s arrogance and frustration. She even manages to deliver a perfect Ojou-style laugh to seal the character’s elite status and lean into the show’s use of otome tropes. And having the leads sing the excellent opening and ending themes is just icing on the cake.

Speaking of tropes, while Ironi’s original work is a genre-defying masterpiece that broke the Yuri mold, it is never afraid to play with the genre’s iconography and its otome game setting. Every other scene had another allusion, including to the book’s cover. As always, I am likely overeager to see connections, however intentional they may be, but the academy’s halls harken to otome staples, the bells and strings of the first scene's soundtrack conjured blistering memories of Strawberry Panic (perhaps a sacrilegious comparison to make but I digress), and even an areal shot of the campus was another check mark on my “Scenic Yuri” theory.

Now, as mentioned, I’m in Love with the Villainess has to establish the groundwork here, and narratively, these are the weakest moments, often direct exposition, with a few exceptions like Rae’s conversation with her roommate Mash about maintaining Claire’s attention. The narration is at least accompanied by relevant and creative, if perhaps limited, animation. But to their credit, these moments are succinct, existing only as long as they have to in order to provide the necessary information and get out of the way for what matters most: the characters.

Rae and Claire are front and center from the very get-go, and there is little time wasted in showcasing Rae’s intense bottom energy or establishing Claire’s elitism and bewildered anger towards Rae’s excitement in the face of Claire’s carefully calculated cruelty. It is a montage of silly and fun competitions between the two that had me laughing and smiling all the way through, as the Yuri was present in full force, and gives glimpses at the mutual obsession the women have for each other that will soon blossom into a wonderful romance.

These early story beats have a light tone and focus on the bullying, teasing, and rivalry between Rae and Claire, a dynamic that previously and understandably made a subset of readers somewhat uncomfortable. However, assuming the anime unfolds in a similar manner to the manga and light novels, the narrative will explore meatier, heavier subject matter and a far deeper lesbian romance, all without losing its sense of fun and adventure. The next episode or two will be incredibly telling - as the source material is perhaps the most profound and forthright depictions of LGBTQ identity in Yuri, and that all starts with a pivotal conversation that, if it is included, will be coming up shortly.

Overall, I am incredibly excited for this series. The first episode is everything I had hoped for out of an adaptation of one of my favorite works of all time, save the animation, which is average at best. While there is a lot more to see, and we will have to wait to know if I’m in Love with the Villainess lives up to its incredible potential and source material, I am extremely hopeful. We have one of the funniest, most thoughtful, and queerest works of Yuri transformed into a stunning anime project unlike anything that has come before and offers the chance at not just a new Yuri “gateway” but to continue the work of its source material in revolutionizing the genre.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 10 Art – 5 LGBTQ – We shall see… Sexual Content – 3 Final – 8

I'm in Love with the Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll with English sub/dub.

Review made possible by Avery Riehl and the rest of the YuriMother Patrons. Support YuriMother on Patreon for early access, exclusive article, and more: patreon.com/yurimother

[karasukarei]

Wind Breaker Exhibition Kyoto - Full review with audio guides

I went for WinBre Ex two weeks ago! It was STUNNING and AMAZING 🤩 Here’s a rundown of what went down (with plenty of simping from yours truly)! I also bought the audio guide, so I’ll also be summarising the audio guide at the points where it’ll be played. The guide features the first year trio.

Disclaimer: Photos are allowed for most sections of the exhibition. As many of the exhibits are manga panels, I was more selective in the photos I've shown here, to focus more on interesting ways the panels were shown, or on exhIbition-exclusive displays. (moots, feel free to DM me if you want more photos!) Where there are no photos in my post, photography was not allowed. I did not take photos of every single exhibit on display, only the panels or art works that I found especially interesting (or those with Umemiya cos I'm his simp).

Entrance

You’ll be given a QR code to scan to get the audio guide when entering, if you bought it! There are 9 tracks in total. 

The bonuses you’ll get when entering are a random sticker (I got the omurice one with Sakura and Umemiya!!!) and a physical ticket. You can also purchase the ticket with a pass case and photo card, but I didn’t find it very cost-effective so I bought just the ticket ^^;

At the entrance there’s a huge poster of the key visual of the exhibition art, as well as the noticeboard at the entrance to Makochi!

Section 1: Character intros

The first section has cutouts of the first years! Manga panels of the first chapter and a few other general key visuals, such as art by Nii-sensei for the anime airing, are here too.

They also have Sakura’s real uniform on display!! The detail on the embroidery is sooo intricate.

Audio guide 1: The scene starts with Nirei dropping his notebook. Suo (if i remember correctly)picks it up and returns it to him, and Sakura tells Nirei to take better care of it. Nirei tells Sakura about how he wants to use the notebook to help Sakura reach the top, since Nirei himself can’t fight, and he hopes to help using the information on people inside it. They go through Sakura’s profile (stuff like his height, weight, likes and dislikes etc.). Suo tells Sakura that he’s really loved, and Sakura gets all blushy and tsun (SO CUTE).

Section 2: Meeting Boufuurin

This section is in the same area as the first, and starts with a photo spot!

They have two uniform jackets for you to try on for photos (Sakura’s and Sugi’s) and the size difference is real lmao. The one in front is Sakura’s, and it’s considerably shorter than Sugi’s. I also took some dumb photos here www (available on request by DM, moots only)

The rest of Boufuurin is introduced here too!! But um. As you can see I kind of. Only had eyes for one person. Oop.

Audio guide 2: The trio are discussing how their class is full of interesting people, and they give a quick profile of Tsugeura, Kiryuu, and Sugi. When Nirei says that standing next to Sakura and Suo gets him all excited, Suo mentions that Sakura is all red, and Sakura gets really flustered. Sakura demands Nirei to hand him the notebook so he can search for Suo’s weak point, but the only information he found is whatever was in Suo’s character profile (specifically his love for Chinese-style fashion and tea). They also discuss the embroidery on their uniform, and how long Sugi’s uniform is because of his height.

Section 3: Shishitoren arc

This section summarises the Shishitoren arc, and includes panels from the manga, as well as keyframes from the anime!

Note: For the Tokyo exhibition, the Shishitoren tunnel was there, but from what I remember the Kyoto one didn’t have the tunnel (I might have missed it in my excitement to see Umemiya x_x)

Audio guide 3: The trio see a cat, and they discuss the Shishitoren members. According to Nirei’s notebook, Choji claims to understand cats, and there’s also some discussion about how Hiiragi and Sako had a past together, and they also talked about Togame and Sakura’s fight. Sakura comments that the fight he had this time felt different from those he had in the past, and Suo tells Sakura that he has climbed the staircase to adulthood while petting his head. Sakura gets all pissy (like a cat) and tells Suo to stop petting him like a cat. (LMAO)

Section 4: Pothos

There’s a recreation of the bar counter at Pothos here! (I also have a photo with myself here, request by DMs from moots only) You can sit here for photos, and they even recreated the omurice and coffee!!!

Audio guide 4: This takes place at Pothos. The trio have come to get some food, but Kotoha is out for now. Nirei quizzes the other two about what Kotoha likes, and the answer is that she likes taking care of plants. Kotoha returns, and the audio guide ends.

Section 5: Umemiya and the Shitenou

This section introduces you to the four kings! The scroll with the Boufuurin structure is super cool www.

It’s also super nice that they have the panel with Umemiya and the four kings in life-size!!! It’s almost like Umemiya is speaking straight to you ;-:

Audio guide 5: The trio discuss facts about Umemiya and Hiiragi. They warn you not to follow Hiiragi’s way of spamming Gascon 10, and discuss a bit about the role of grade captain. In a throwback to Sakura wanting to become the top (Teppen), they called the role of being the grad captain the Teppen of their class too. (SO CUTEEEE ;-; SAKURA IS SO LOVED)

Section 6: KEEL

This is the keel arc, and there’s this super cool wall with the Keel logo. The whole area was also decorated to look like the warehouse where the fight took place! You can see how the walls were made to look like the sheet metal in the warehouse.

They also have the panel of Kaji-paisen coming to the rescue in a life-sized board!!!

But I think the coolest panel is the first years in mid-fight!

Audio guide 6: Nirei is almost run over by a car!!! Nirei and Suo warn Sakura about watching out for Keel, and they discuss the traits of Keel. There’s also a bit of discussion about Kaji-paisen; the headphones seem to be a gift from someone important to him ^_^

Extra: Special video

No photos or recordings are allowed for this section, but it’s a video compilation voiced by Sakura about the growth he experienced up till the Keel arc ;-; it starts with how he was alone, and gains many dependable friends in Boufuurin, and how he’s no longer alone ;-; it is very beautifully thought out and created, and I really loved how poignant and moving the piano soundtrack was ;-;

Section 7: Roppo-Ichiza

This entire section looks like a night club, with all the blue lighting and use of metal grilles. There’s profiles of Tsubaki-chan, Kanji (forgot to take a pic of his oops) and Suzuri here (this one’s for you @/kafkaoftherubble!!!)

Audio guide 7: The trio start by talking about Gravel and the nature of the group. They also talk about Roppo-Ichiza, and mention that Umemiya and Nakamura (Kanji, not Yuuichiro www) know each other personally. When Nirei and Suo comment that Tsubaki-chan could be meeting someone she likes in the Roppo Ichiza area, Sakura starts stammering and blushing. (YOU CAN HEAR THE BLUSH SO MUCH)

Section 8: Umemiya’s past 

THIS IS MY FAVE SECTION BTW I TOOK SO MANY PICS HERE.

A small note that the notebook with “8” on it marks the points where there is an audio guide track! The audio guide specifically describes this section with the two scrolls:

Audio guide 8: Nirei starts the ball rolling on the past of the current Boufuurin. For the first part, he reads the text in the two scrolls in a super exaggerated and old-fashioned (think Kabuki-style without the elongated syllables!) manner. Suo observes that Nirei really likes the town, and Sakura says that he will protect the town.

ALSO THIS IS HANDS DOWN ONE OF MY FAVOURITE ILLUSTRATION BOARDS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EXHIBITION

ALSO THIS. PLEASE LOOK AT THIS.

Section 9: FRANK

At the time of the exhibition, this arc was still ongoing! Only the first part where Boufuurin is prepping for the fight is featured.

I also LOVE this cover art, I’m so glad they have a big version of it here!!

They also reproduced the briefing by Mizuki about the plan to protect the town! The projector will also show a QR code that you can scan which takes you to a web page that replicates the LINE group chat created by Mizuki for Boufuurin. (Available by request by DMs, moots only)

(edit 22 October 2024) I tried scanning the QR code here^, it brings you to the first chapter of Wind Breaker on Magazine Pocket lmao.

Some of the manga panels and art featuring the start of the fights is also featured here!

Audio guide 9: Note that this is actually an epilogue to the exhibition that does not touch on this arc. The trio say the Boufuurin motto. The cat from audio guide 3 gets ahold of Nirei’s notebook, and Sakura chases after it!

Extra: Anime-related content

For this section, photos are not allowed. The OP and ED videos are showed, and there’s a wall of 16 shikishi (signature boards) from the voice actors, production staff, and even natori and Young Keel! The shikishi which really stood out to me was Suzuki Ryouta’s (Hiiragi’s seiyuu), he wrote “Gascon Ten?” (HELP I’M CRYING) (t/n: This is a very dumb pun. In Japanese, the Wind Breaker Exhibition is called “WinBreTen” for short, as 展＝てん＝pronounced as “ten” = exhibition.)

Merch haul

I bought an aggressive amount of merch from the exhibition, and surprisingly my favourite piece isn’t anything Umemiya related, but it’s Nirei’s notebook. It’s super cute that it’s marked as Nirei’s own notebook, and even includes all the character profiles until Tsubaki-chan!!! 

Also the finger puppets were available starting from the Kyoto exhibition, I’m SO GLAD I managed to get one.

Other significant stuff I bought of note: Yakiniku Teishoku t-shirt (I am wearing it as I type this lmao), WinBre10 candies (IT’S THAT PUN AGAIN HELPPPP). There’s a couple other things I got but these are the more interesting ones www

And that’s it! Thank you for sticking through with my very long post with an aggressive amount of simping for Umemiya. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and managed to get a glimpse of what it was like! I rate it Gascon10/Winbre10, will go again (I’ve been infected by Suzuki Ryouta).

[silviakundera]

Dramas I watched in 2023

[Chinese Dramas]

My Journey to You - Wuxia. Spy games, badass ladies, subtextually homoerotic cousins. Gentle & sweet ML who melts the cold & calculated heart of FL assassin. Gorgeous setting and cinematography. Left me with a burning desire to see Zhang Ling He play more gentle babygirl MLs and Esther Yu to play more anti-heroes. Absolutely perfect to me.., if we just pretend the director didn't add a pointless cliffhanger in the last 5 min. Which is how I choose to live my life.

Story of Kunning Palace - 'rebirth' costume drama that I waited to air for like 2 years or something and then it... actually didn't disappoint? And was almost everything I wanted? 😳😲 This is THE couple for that post about the pair that need to be stuck in a neverending monogamous relationship with each other as a quarantine measure to protect everyone else.

A Journey to Love - wuxia perfection. The stand-out drama that I wasn't expecting. Murder mommy & murder daddy became an otp for the ages and all of the supporting characters were interesting and dynamic. I cared about so many more characters than I expected and never fast fowarded. Just immensely satisfying.

The Ingenious One - wuxia with a weak, scheming scholar protagonist on a revenge quest (yes, we've all heard that before!) who puts together a group to execute his cons, Leverage style. I love me a martial artist x weak scholar couple 👌. Some exciting twists & turns in this one. Both A Journey to Love and The Ingenious One are best enjoyed coming in with little to no information. Hell, skip the trailers and simply dive in!

Hidden Love - Modern drama. Top tier romance-novel-on-screen writing and acting. It felt honest and real. The coming of age arc for the FL was well done. Great brother & sister relationship that feels authentic. The ML's backstory was so heart breaking because it was never overplayed for melodramatics. Just a quiet pain, a distance and a burden he carried with him.

Road Home - Modern. "Do you remember who I am?" / "Yes. If I were to turn to ashes, I would still remember you." I am very weak for the "reunited exes", "second time around" trope when the actors are capable and the breakup wasn't a narratively convenient 'misunderstanding'. As a career woman who works very long hours, I also tend to appreciate modern drama relationships where the couple manages to stay functional & supportive while not having a lot of free time for each other. That's my version of wish fulfillment 😂. I felt like this narrative made me fully understand why they couldn't make a long distance relationship work as young adults but now they're ready and have experienced enough of the world to know that they are happier with their lives joined together than apart.

Love You Seven Times - xanxia. I wrote a whole review post (love letter) on this one, since it seems rather underrated. I feel like this one may actually end up one of my fav examples of the genre. I just sincerely bought into the couple and their mutual devotion.

The Last Immortal - xanxia. Terrible trailer but turns out to be a decent show. I'm a fan of the genre, so I'm enjoying it. (I think you do need to be, to enjoy it - it doesn't transcend or really subvert..just a solid representation of xanxia) I like both lead actors and they do a good job with the material. It's working better for me than Ancient Love Poetry and Ashes of Love. After being eager for Song of the Moon in 2022 but then being let down (I dropped that one quick), I'm very happy 2023 brought me 2 xanxia I liked.

Three Body - modern sci-fi. Book 1 of my fav sci-fi trilogy of recent years. As a novel fan first, I was pleased to see it on screen with talented actors. Eager for book 2.

Love Me, Love My Voice - modern drama with an unusual couple (2 introverts) and dubbing fandom hyper fixation. A laid back relaxation drama, to de-stress with. Minimal plot, no conflict. Just sweet slow burn relationship building, singing & audio performances. Supportive friendships.

Here We Meet Again - modern drama that suffered from sloppy editing. I mean almost incoherent editing in a couple places, like when they are counting down the days until getting married and then.. It's not mentioned again? 🙃 But I very much enjoyed the couple's chemistry. I can't say it was objectively good but it sure was compulsively watchable for some reason.

Royal Rumors - Costume drama that was so aggressively mediocre that I don't have any real explanation for not dropping it. Except I find the lead actress unspeakably alluring. Blame my hormones.

Dropped

Back to the Brink - xanxia. Great concepts but the execution didn't work for me. I'm not a fan of slapstick and wacky humor within serious subject matter. (It's the reason kdramas can be very hit or miss with me.) The amount of humor layered into AJourney to Love is basically my limit for tragicomedies. (Note: I did go read the book and it was very entertaining - the tone was much more to my taste.)

My Lethal Man - modern. Embarassing english name, but they had me in the first half, not gonna lie. Then after her identity was exposed, I wasn't feeling it idk. Sometimes it's just not that complicated.

Destined/Chang Feng Du - costume drama. idk really why I dropped. I watched about a 3rd of it and then was distracted by other shiny objects. I plan to come back to this one in 2024 and finish.

Romance of the Twin Flower - costume drama; unholy abomination of a great novel. I hope somehow, someday, the culprits pay for their crime. Need I say more?

[Korean Dramas]

Perfect Revenge Marriage - a modern rebirth tale. For the 90% of it, I was high on the love of a drama that is just what you didn't know you wanted. The camp, the dedication, the scenery chewing, the glorious evil step mother. It was magical. And then the last 2 episodes I found underwhelming. I can't really explain it, the climax just didn't hit for me. But that's very much a personal taste issue and I'd definitely recommend to all drama lovers who enjoy the genre. Seriously, the performance of evil step mommy was a master class.

King the Land - modern workplace romance. I've heard complaints that there wasn't much of plot. But tbh that was fine with me, because some dramas are simply character pieces. This was all about the personal growth of the FL and ML. I ended up invested and rooting for the ML to become a decent guy who isn't a gross classist like his dad.

Destined with You - modern reincarnation drama. I blame my lingering kdrama good feelings about King the Land for convincing me to keep powering thru this one. Such a strong start but then half-way in I began to realize it simply wasn't going to go into the direction I wanted it to. I still have no idea what they intended to communicate with that love potion subplot.

Vincenzo - modern crime drama. I was late to the party on this one. But after I got around to watching the delightful Kinnporsche, this was rec'd to me as another drama that embraced the bigger than life unreality of Fantasy Mafia™ and provides a rollicking good time. Absolutely ridiculous and compulsively watchable. 10/10.

[American]

House of the Dragon - Awful people doing awful things to each other, as a 1st act before everything goes straight to hell. Plus freaky dragon-riding fantasy incest. What's there not to like?

Fall of the House of Usher (YES i DO watch every horror drama by Mike Flanagan thx) - Was it as good as the first 3..? No. Did I still breathlessly binge it in 2 days? Yes. Awful things happening to awful people, poetically. 👌 👌

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

Order

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Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Synopsis:

When their now famous ex-boyfriend asks them to participate in a teen reality show, two eighteen year old girls—one bent on revenge, the other open to rekindling romance—get tangled up in an unexpected twist when they fall for each other instead in Never Ever Getting Back Together by nationally and internationally-bestselling and Indie Next Pick author Sophie Gonzales. It’s been two years since Maya's ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart. Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling. When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion—along with four more of Jordy’s exes— to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review below the cut.

My Review:

This was super cute. It's funny - I don't watch reality TV, but I've really enjoyed a number of books that center around reality TV shows in the past few years. This one hit all the right notes for me.

I love love loved that it was two girls supposedly competing for a past boyfriend's heart who really try to take him down and fall in love along the way. They were great together. Their frank 'yes i dated this guy and this girl and this guy' coming out to one another was enjoyable because it was very much a "yes, I'm bi, what are you going to do about it?" and very matter-of-fact.

Jordy was the sleaziest sleazeball ever and his part was painful to watch but bearable because you just know that he'll get his comeuppance in the end. The 'enemies to lovers' thing was done well and believable. Maya and Skye were enjoyable and while it was frustrating to watch them at odds with each other over a misunderstanding created by sleazeball Jordy, it was very satisfying when they finally worked things out.

The other girls were very much not in focus for most of the book, so I don't feel like I have a very good sense of them beyond the barest sketch of personality, but they worked as background characters to better show Maya, Skye, and Jordy.

The way the show played out, and the way we could see Jordy manipulating everyone and pulling them all along was fascinating and kept my interest riveted. I listened to the audio and ended up finishing it in two sittings because I just couldn't stop listening.

The audiobook narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life. They made Maya and Skye sympathetic, though not without flaws, and made Jordy truly insufferable. They also did a good job making the other characters waver between sympathetic and self-interested.

I loved the way things played out. The misunderstandings and conflict and moment of realization and grand gesture. Not Jordy's "grand gesture" - his sucked. Maya's, though, was great. Also the ending was sooooo satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

[ranchthoughts]

moments of ephemerality/permanence/YOLO/photography/control/hypocrisy etc. etc. in Only Friends ep. 4

There was a LOT of talk about various themes over the past three weeks, and last week especially, in this corner of Tumblr.

A quick review of where we've been so far:

Post Episode 1

Post Ep. 1 thoughts on ephemerality (@waitmyturtles)

Post Episode 2

Thoughts on ephemerality, permanence, YOLO, and photography post Ep. 2 (original by @ranchthoughts, additions on photography by @chickenstrangers and @lurkingshan)

Thoughts on control (@elizabethsebestianhedgehog)

Post Episode 3

Post Ep. 3 thoughts on plum wine, hypocrisy, and the demise of ships (@waitmyturtles)

Where we are headed post Ep. 3 (original by @ranchthoughts, additions on surveillance and voyeurism by @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, and @slayerkitty)

Photography and audio/visual in the series as of Ep. 3 (added in a reblog by @ranchthoughts)

Moments of ephemerality/YOLO/permanence in Ep. 3 (original by @ranchthoughts, additions on Yo, voyeurism, and permanence by @lurkingshan , @waitmyturtles, @twig-tea, and @imminentinertia)

Post Ep. 3 thoughts on control, consequences, and shipping (original by @waitmyturtles, addition on the ephemerality of control by @ranchthoughts)

Let's talk about trust and control (original by @slayerkitty, with additions by @lurkingshan and @distant-screaming)

Boston as photographer and voyeur (@lurkingshan)

Visual effects in the MV and BTS footage (original by @slayerkitty, additions on costuming by @distant-screaming)

Now I will dive into my various thoughts and musings based on episode 4 of Only Friends.

but first - something from another ep (I am not sure which one):

Spotted by @khaotunq! (screenshot courtesy of them too):

Ray's jacket says "Is your life worth something?" An especially poignant sentiment given the beginning of today's episode, where we saw how deep Ray's feelings of being a burden run. This ties into the themes we've been exploring around ephemerality (life is short), and YOLO (you only live once, so live wildly and completely) and the associated lack of forethought and consequences. This gang of characters live fast and hard, without thinking about how their actions affect themselves or others. Due to their wealth (and youth) they haven't really had to confront the consequences of their actions yet or take accountability for them - @waitmyturtles wondered if this was a theme the show would look into. Living so recklessly, as if their life doesn't matter... believing they are a burden on others and therefore worth less... treating others as disposable/playthings in their quest for control and satisfaction... "is your [their/our] life worth something?" is a recurring question on this show.

ok now to dive into episode 4 proper:

photography and permanence tied together again: Top set up a photobooth in his [family's] hotel, thus ensuring the logo will stick in their houses for a long time as people don't throw out photos. Photos are souvenirs, they are memories, they are important, we don't throw them out, they are physical objects we keep.

We've already seen a case of someone not throwing out photobooth photos, and the consequences of that with Nick finding some of Boston and Top's photobooth photos and that kickstarting his unhinged P.I. arc. Second time taking photos in a photobooth comes up in this show (and once again it's Top involved - ?).

Sand once again wearing his You Only Live Once bag (I mean, we can expect to see it a lot. Sand is poor. He's only got the one bag.). In this scene he is (reluctantly) giving Ray another chance after he left him in the car the night before. Sand can see the red flags and almost inevitable end of his mixing with Ray... but those puppy dog eyes draw him in every time. Ah well. You only live once, right?

Control and Boundaries

I have been thinking more and more about control and specifically boundaries this week (in no small part due to @respectthepetty's post about Boston and boundaries). Boundaries can be permanent and steadfast and impermeable, or temporary and malleable and weak (here we go with ephemerality or lack there of yet again).

Setting boundaries this week:

Mew telling Ray they can't continue to be friends if Ray continues harbouring feelings for him

Top telling Boston to stay away from him

Nick telling Top to stay away from Boston

Mew saying he will have sex with Top if he quits drugs, Mew making it clear there will be no penetrative sex

Sand asserting to Ray he doesn't appreciate having everything paid for all the time

Mew asking for complete honesty from Top and promising complete honesty in return (sharing the details of his relationship with Ray)

Boston doesn't want intimate photos taken of himself

Crossing boundaries this week:

Ray continually texting and then eventually going to find Sand (and interrupting his rideshare) when he doesn't answer, Ray generally not taking Sand's no for an answer, Ray constantly trying to pay for things for Sand (paying the driver, offering to pay for the guitar)

Ray kissing Mew when he is asleep

Boston pushing into the elevator to corner Top

Mew conceding ground on his no sex rule with Top, Top demanding a (sexual) reward in exchange for giving up drugs

further fall out from Nick recording Boston and Top having sex in the car (he's now showing the recording to Sand)

Mew asking for complete honesty from Top, but Top not telling Mew about sleeping with Boston

Further assorted thoughts

Boston, voyeurism, photography, control, permanency/records

Boston refused to have a photo taken of himself. He can document others in vulnerable situations, and actively seeks out photos of these moments as (physical) souvenirs to keep, but no one can document him in these situations (unequal balance of power there). We have seen Boston use these permanently recorded moments to get his way (showing Top the photo of Mew and Ray kissing to sow doubt in his mind and get Top to sleep with him), and who knows how else he has used/will use the photos in his collection to serve his own ends.

Boston doesn't want intimate photos circulating because his dad is running to be a political representative and that could harm his campaign ... anyone else getting the sense that the existence/creation of intimate photos of Boston is going to become real relevant real soon? We've already seen the physicality and permanence of photographs (the photobooth photos of Top and Boston, the phone photos of Ray and Mew) come back to advance the plot and cause emotional strife...

Boston has already lost control of this situation/had this boundary crossed, though he doesn't know it yet, because Nick recorded Boston having sex with Top in the car. Based on what we've seen in the trailers and teasers around Nick and Boston, I think it is fair to expect further recording of Boston (and probably without his consent), and this time with visuals. Boston the voyeur, the documenter is having it turned around on himself.

Losing control

I mused last week about the ephemerality of control, and wondered if control would become more permanent/stable as we bring more permanent "evidence" into the mix (e.g., Boston's photos of Ray and Mew, Nick's recording of Boston and Top). This episode we got mostly an erosion of control again, though I remain interested to see where permanence of "evidence" = permanence of control or perhaps a permanence of consequences (especially given the above Chekhov's gun of a sort re: Boston not wanting intimate photos of himself - what permanent/serious consequences will this have for Boston and his father's campaign?).

Mew conceding his no sex rule with Top -> Mew has been trying to control Top through access to sex, trying to see how long he can hold his attention while dangling the promise of "sex eventually" like a carrot on a string. We saw that control slipping last episode and now this episode, Top asks for a reward for quitting drugs, clearly angling for something sexual, and Mew concedes. This is not to say that I think Mew was coerced or forced to have sex with Top, he chose to offer that, but I think it shows how much Mew's control is slipping and how he feels that. He feels like he needs to give something up, a concession, to keep Top around (to "win" this competition), so he offers sex and bends his previous rule.

Nick confronting Top and Top immediately gaining upper hand -> Nick calls Top to his apartment to warn him off Boston, but Nick doesn't realize that Top thoroughly does not want Boston and also immediately reveals his hand of how desperate he is for Boston's attention and care. Top asks Nick if this is blackmail (for money) and Nick says he doesn't want money, he wants Top to stay away from Boston. Top immediately understands the situation and reads Nick for it. Nick has lost control of the conversation; now it is Top who is lecturing Nick on staying away from Boston and Nick protesting he knows what he is doing.

Top rejecting Boston again, this time more firmly -> last week Boston showed Top the photo he took of Mew and Ray kissing and that seeded enough uncertainty in Top's mind he slept with Boston. This episode, Boston tries to leverage that control over Top again to get another repeat and Top firmly shuts him down. Boston is losing/has lost control over Top.

Public vs. private

Something else I've been noting is the continual presence of public, private, and public vs. private. @wen-kexing-apologist wrote about how the character of Boston hearkens back to the queer history of public sex and cruising. Other people noted characters hooking up in cars (Ray and Sand, Boston and Top), and in a photobooth (Boston and Top) - both public spaces. Other instances of intimacy have happened behind closed doors, in private (Boston and Boston's Hookup aka Drake [though was that a camera in Drake's room?], Boston and Nick, Ray and Sand, Mew and Top.

However, some moments the participants thought were private (or, as private as sex in a car parked outside can be) were not - Nick recorded Top and Boston having sex, Boston recorded Ray and Mew kissing. Boston's sexy photos of himself on his own phone were used by Nick as masturbation material. The private became public. This fits with the conversations we've been having around surveillance (cameras at the party, everyone having a phone in their pocket nowadays, etc.) and the lack of privacy in our digital age.

Next week, Boston and Nick walk in on Sand and Ray hooking up - they interrupt a private moment. Boston took photos of a private moment with Nick to keep - but will these photos remain private? With the Chekhov's gun of "Boston doesn't want intimate photos of himself" looming, will Boston's sex life remain private, or will photos and recording of him go public?

Comparisons

I've been thinking a lot over the last 4 weeks about comparisons, and how much this group compare themselves to each other. I don't really have any coherent thoughts more that that but I thought I would point it out. Boston compares himself often to Mew (always holding himself and his way of doing things as superior), especially when talking to Top; Boston compares Nick to Top (one is "cute" and "lovely" and the other is "hot" and "top tier"); Mew compares himself to Boston (more subtly - but there is definitely something "contra-Boston" there in how Mew thinks of sex, his relationship to sex, and how to wield sex as power); Ray compares himself to the others in the friend group (he is a "burden"); Ray compares himself to Top (Top is the first one to make Mew's heart flutter, Top is the one Mew has chosen); Nick compares himself to Top (lamenting that he feels like "nothing" compared to Top).

something about control (placing other people into boxes/making assumptions/limiting them to who you think they are)? something about instability of the self/self-esteem (comparing yourself to others constantly, perhaps as a side effect of being young, social media, etc.)?

There's an unformed thought here too about Ray and his crushes on people who "save" him (thinking of this post by @thatgirl4815). The idea of Ray being more into the saving/the kindness than the person themselves, of projecting his own ideas of who they are (saviour, hero, etc.) and what their actions mean (romantic declarations, etc.) vs. seeing them as a complete person in their own right...

tagging the ephemerality squad in (so pleased this list grows every time): @chickenstrangers, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming, @lurkingshan, @slayerkitty, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Share Woozy "Sabotage"

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Share Woozy"Sabotage" @ANGRYBLACKMEN_ @deathbombarc @pitchperfect

Chicago-based hip-hop duo Angry Blackmen — Quentin Branch and Brian Warren — features members, who individually spent their time stretching their creative arms and tapping into different sounds for a couple of years, before Warren suggested that they collaborate together as a duo towards the end of 2016.  Branch and Warren exploded into the underground and experimental hip-hop scenes with their…

[bargainsleuthbooks]

The Wonderful World of James Herriot #ARCReview #AudiobookReview #AllGreaturesGreatandSmall #NicholasRalph #AnnaMadeley #NetGalley

#TheWonderfulWorldofJamesHerriot is a new collection of much-loved stories. Fans of #PBSMasterpiece #AllCreaturesGreatandSmall won't want to miss this book! Get the #audiobook, narrated by #nicholasralph. #netgalley #arcreview #bookreview #annamadeley

The perfect gift for fans of All Creatures Great and Small , this is a charming collection of classic stories from James Herriot’s much-loved books with insights into his life and work from his children Rosie and Jim. With astute observations and boundless humour, country vet Herriot captures the spirit of the Yorkshire Dales and of rural communities on the cusp of change, before tractors and…

[valtharr]

So. Which Ultraman series would you recommend for starters? Also would Shin Ultraman be a good starting point if you have never seen anything Ultraman related?

Honestly, those are both kinda tough questions 😅

Let's start with the Shin Ultraman one:

Shin Ultraman is a great movie, probably my favorite kaiju movie (sorry Pacific Rim and Final Wars), and you need no prior knowledge of Ultraman, mainly because the movie is basically an abridged version of the original 1966 series. So, as a movie, I recommend it, but I'm not sure about it as an introduction to Ultraman. Mainly because - just like Sentai and Rider - Ultraman is primarily a kids show, while Shin is aimed at a more mature audience, which is why I don't consider a great representation of the franchise as a whole. Don't get me wrong, it totally gets the themes and everything right, but the vibes are just different. So, I recommend watching it, but not necessarily as an introduction to the main franchise.

As for which actual series I recommend for a newcomer... well, I should preface this by saying that I've only really seen New Generation series (late Heisei and Reiwa era). The main reason for that is honestly that those seasons are shorter (about 25 episodes instead of the Showa and Heisei 50). But yeah, my recs are gonna be New Gen only.

I think the safest bet in my eyes would be Ultraman X. It doesn't really call back to any previous seasons, and it's pretty "vanilla" in its setup: The Ultra and his host are distinct characters from each other, the host works for an anti-kaiju defense force, etc. It sticks to the "formula" pretty closely, closer than any of the other New Gen shows I've seen... with the exception of one:

Ultraman Z is also pretty by the numbers, and has the distinct advantage of being fully legally available one Youtube, both subbed and dubbed. The main reason I recommend X over Z is that Z leans a bit more into the greater universe of the franchise, with appearances from old characters, one of which actually ends up playing a major role. That said, it was the first Ultra season I watched in full, and it wasn't like I was totally lost, but I would recommend watching Orb and Geed before jumping into Z. Speaking of which...

Ultraman Orb is actually the most recent season I fully watched, and I really like it. The main character is just really cool, and while the supporting cast starts off as kinda annoying, but they grew on me a bit over the course of the show. It's also pretty serialized, with some mysteries that slowly get revealed throughout the story.

Ultraman Geed, like Ultraman Orb, is a bit of a fan favorite. Now, technically, the main villain of the show is a major villain in the greater Ultraman lore, which at first might seem like this would be a bad entry point, but the show provides you with enough context that you can just treat as backstory. I also like that it kinda gives you a bit of "best of both worlds" when it comes to Ultras: The main character is actually an Ultra in human form, but there's also a secondary Ultra who does the more classic "bond with a human host" thing, so you get both common flavors of Ultraman in one series. Also, for what it's worth, I once commissioned a Youtuber who knew basically nothing about tokusatsu, let alone Ultraman, to review Geed, and he ended up liking it.

Finally, I'm gonna shout out Blazar and Arc, the most recent seasons, with Arc's second episode having just aired the same day I'm writing this. Blazar has some Ultraman staples, like the defense team and the human and Ultra being separate entities, but also does some new stuff with those tropes, like the Ultra not being able to properly talk, and the host actually being the head of the show's main defense team. Obviously, I can't say much about Arc yet, but it seems to go in a bit more traditional direction. Both are also available on Youtube, with Blazar having two audio tracks (Japanese and English) that you can switch between, and Arc having separate uploads for its sub and dub

Also, I should mention: Every Ultraman season prior to 2020 is available on BluRay via Mill Creek Entertainment, and from what I can tell, they seem to be region free. At least I had no problems watching them on my German PS4.