#i think it's the fact it's a short 6 ep series

[morzowo]

i know it's not where they're going with the show and it's just second to last episode drama and break up but oh how i wish this little unassuming show about baking would invert our expectations and actually let the couple stay separated but on the good terms giving the message that sometimes love and care isn't enough but is a good starting point and even though relationship didn't end up working out it wasn't unimportant bc it pushed one person to at least begin the change for the better in their life and the other to reevaluate how they interact with others and start to respect themselves more idk idk

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's Wild Out There but the Kisses are Good

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

NOV 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 11 of 12 - I’m really enjoying this show. But I will be glad when it ends next week. I’m ready. The motorcycle rescue in the middle of the kidnapping sequence was so absurdly bad I actually laughed. Meanwhile, in the hospital room did you notice Q’s dad used chan/nai with Min? I actually gasped out “oh, mad respect “ when he did. Papang it’s so damn hot, could he PLEASE get the lead in a BL? Please GMMTV.  

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 9 of 15 - I like Earn’s sincerity and open admission in the new version, and I like how genuine and delicate Noh is coping with someone crushing on him. Probably because he knows how painful it is from the other side. The conversation between Phun and Aim was much better and more kind in the new version, too. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Every You Every Me (Mon Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I like this couple a lot, and not just because of all the sex positivity. I just enjoy their dynamic of artist and musician, introvert extrovert. Anybody wondering about that “up against the window blurring thing” with the shirt off the shoulder? That’s a very very old yaoi trope (mostly office yaoi from the early 2000s) that I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it in Thai BL…… wild. 

Meanwhile, let the weird interweaving of the filming crew begin. The show within a show that we all suspected was due is now happening. I’m not sure about that. (I worry it will be some clumsy commentary on pair branding.) But how hot does Fiat look these days? 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 7 of 16 - I really don’t like the second storyline. It find it unpleasant. I also don’t think the chemistry between Maxky and Bas is good. In fact I begin to suspect Star Hunter should cut Bas lose. Yes I said it.

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 1-2 of 10 - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped in a boys school and a panther falls in love with him. How does a penguin know how to read? OK I’m not gonna try to figure out the logic of this show. There is none. Do I like it? Not sure. I’m not mad about the dynamic or the setting but the main foundational conceit is…… odd. It’s not uncommon in BL, the “my cat boyfriend” thing has been done for many years now. So I know what to expect. It’s not that. Or is it? I do like how the actor playing Junior looks a bit like a bird. I also like how the actor playing Sun really does behave like a cat in his social interactions, it’s funny. I think…… I’m not wild about this so far, but I like it better than I thought I would. Love seeing Jaonine & Nokia in any form. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 3 of 24 - I just don’t like Arc and Arm. Sorry not sorry. However, I do like the sides and future couples. So I’m sticking with this one. 

Jack & Joker (Mon IQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - Because I heard this episode was really rough and the world is a mess I gave this one a miss this week. We’ll see if I’m up for it next week.

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - (starts tomorrow) A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) ep 7 end - Ooooo counter lift!!! And caught in the act. Very nice. It was a really good final episode and an absolutely fantastic kiss.

In summation: 

Two men work their last few days together at a failing company. I like this but I’m not sure I should like it. This is a classic office romance, short even for Korea, with more than usual workplace harassment (even for BL) in the guise of aggressive pursuit from older boss to younger employee. (The optics are NOT good.) It reminded me of Jun and Jun only shorter, colder, and with more dub con. Now, I happen to be one of the few who truly loved Jun and Jun, it’s very much my style of KBL. I think that’s part of why I liked this one so much. But I suspect that might have given this show too much shine by association. Still, eminently rewatchable and it’s nice to have Korean IP drop on YouTube. 8/10 

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 2 of 11 - Another one that is about abuse, but for some reason I don’t mind it as much as I did Let Free the Curse. Maybe it’s Japan? Maybe it’s the disinterested nature of the director’s lens? This show is examining the inclination of teenagers towards spectatorhood out of fear, while simultaneously giving us a contrived spectator’s perspective with its style of the filming. For example: there is a lot of shots in alleyways and looking in and out of apertures (like doorways and windows) at Hirukawa. He’s often seen from a distance, because Minase thinks of him as distant and somewhat like a specimen. It’s very clever and what I expect from Japan. But it also makes me feel distanced from the characters and their story (intentionally, I believe) which means it’s less raw than Curse, and a lot easier for me to watch. In other words, I am observing this BL, not living it. But that’s the point. And because of that, I’m also liking it. But I’m extremely wary. Japan never drops a kiss early on in a series without some serious trauma to follow.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 13 - I love them all very much. Carry on.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 12 - So far as I can gather it was episode five that got this one censored and kicked off the air in China. So now we are in unchartered (and presumably only lightly censored) territory. Honestly? I have no idea how they get away with what they get away with these days. Onto the actual meet of the show. I don’t think the teacher should be flirting with the kid if he’s gonna blow hot and cold like that. He is ostensibly the mature one in the relationship. Although if he’s flirting with a child, that is clearly not the case. I get the conflict of the main characters a bit more. Because it’s all about class and the risks that you can take with your identity depending on how much autonomy you have in society. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 8 of ? - Basically this is just a narrative about bullying. And I’d like to get onto the revenge portion of the program, and that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. I do love that Dat asked for permission to kiss. Consent is very sexy. Also it was a good tentative careful cautious timid first kiss. The actors are older but it felt high school. (Although apparently Bach entirely kissed away Dat’s injury.) 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 9 of 12 eps - Gosh I really do like this couple. And I like the legal proceedings. But I’m worried about whether this show is going to end well. 

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Frankly I didn’t want LITA the original, so I’m pretty sure I don’t want the Japanese cliffs notes version of LITA. It’s somehow softer, which I wasn’t expecting from Japan. But I don’t mind. The brevity and softness are improving matters, IMHO. I continue to unequivocally loathe the wardrobe department. I’m offended on the actors’ behalf. 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 11-12 end - An odd and somewhat lackluster piece about two college friends, one Thai and one Korean, who get together and become boyfriends while investigating murderer - each speaking in their own language. Neither the BL component nor the murder component was well executed or engaging. It’s not terrible, but that’s no ringing endorsement. "Odd yet still somehow forgettable" is probably how I would put it. 6/10

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Secret Love (Sat YT) 10 eps - Another take on my beloved stepbrothers trope. Adopted into a rich family, boy falls in love. But when he is made the heir instead, everything goes wrong and he leaves. Now enemies the two boys reunite in uni.

DAMN IT! This is airing but in two minute increments on a proprietary app that’s mostly for Android, and it’s already up to episode 11. I’m not wild about this style of distribution, so I’m not gonna bother unless somebody cuts it together as a full piece. Although I do adore the premise.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

November BL still to come:

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds Gaga) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Apparently I have feels about wardrobe departments this week, because, to use an old fashioned term, this look on him absolutely slaps. (Love Sick)

It's rare for Thai BL to beat out JBL in the fashion department.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[skywxikers]

tua s4 spoilers ‼️

there’s my two cents on the five x lila subplot (as always this is my opinion, feel free to disagree)

the season itself is short, 6 episodes compared to the usual 10. that doesn’t give much time to develop characters or plots, and the fact that the subway subplot was thrown in episode 5 feels extremely rushed.

this will be long so everything’s below the cut

do i like the idea of five x lila? absolutely not. was this arc ok in terms of characterization? also no. but, there is a little merit to it (emphasis, little). lila and five are stuck together for 6 years with what seems like no way to get out. they only have themselves BUT this is where the disagreements start; they should’ve and could’ve stayed platonic. btw, i think both five and lila are at fault. lila has diego and her 3 kids, while five knows all this. they both made the (wrong) decision to get together. but also at the same time like. why get with the man who killed ur parents ?

ben and jennifer causing the cleanse is the main idea of the season, yet the ep right before the series finale turns into a whole new idea. if the writers wanted five to discover the deli with different fives, that easily could’ve been in a shorter timeframe. if the writers wanted some angst with lila and diego’s relationship, that also could’ve been done much much differently. lila is an assassin and diego a child forced to be a hero, the whole rift in their marriage is because neither of them are used to domesticity. yet when lila gets lost with five, she seems to be fine settling on a strawberry farm, being fluffy with five, and taking a break from trying to get home. fives character, on the other hand, has always been about how he’s simultaneously too old (mentally) and too young (physically) for love, which is why he had closure with delores, and half the time he’s too busy with apocalypses to care for love with a real person. i feel like most of that got thrown out the window. and it’s basically pedo like in both directions 😭

not to mention, all the aftermath when diego finds out is pointless compared to what’s coming, the cleanse. literally everyone dies, and the whole situation got unresolved as a result. even the argument at christmas dinner in front of both diego’s and lila’s family was not it, it lowk gave me cheesy rom com vibes.

imo, a better way to keep angst in their marriage without cheating is to have more interaction with diego and lila. the whole time she kept on avoiding him. they could’ve resolved the rough patch right at the end, like when diego said “i finally see u” and then the cleanse happens so they never get their happy ending together. in the actual finale, five got jealous and diego was upset and it was very messy.

not to mention that at the time of filming, aidan was 19 and barely a legal adult while ritu was almost 35 ish. the acting industry is so messed up.

i probably left some stuff out (i’ll edit this later) but thanks for listening to my ted talk

[thepringlesofblood]

bonus content for those who read the taz: the 11th hour graphic novel and haven’t listened to the podcast arc

disclaimer: so. I lost my book about 1/4 of the way into this post. so the rest of it is just from memory (I did finish reading it several times, I just no longer have it to refer to). I wanted to post this before the next one comes out though, so here we are. If I find my book, I will attempt to finish up the details for the rest of the book. I cover some basic big things from memory, but nowhere near as detailed as the stuff I wrote down when I had the book to refer to. but in the meantime...let’s go!

by god they’ve done it again. 11th hr is a Lot and definitely the most plot-heavy book so far, PLUS they had to include the first lunar interlude where the boys had individual scenes. the result is frankly beautiful. we’re really hitting critical mass now.

as a result a lot more stuff got compressed, cut, changed, or skipped. i’m going to try to at least point out each difference, though there’s no way I could summarize EVERYTHING that got cut in one post. I’m going to be linking relevant episodes (& transcripts thank u tazscripts) instead, for things that are Just Too Much to include.

as always, this post is intended to be Fun and Cool Bonus Content for people who haven’t listened to the podcast, not a manifesto of stuff they “should have” included or a list of flaws. they had 11+ hours of content to squish into one graphic novel, that happened over a period of months. of course stuff got cut. and it’s stuff that was recorded in 2016. that’s eight years ago. of course some things are going to change.

tl;dr - I liked the dang book. you can be sad something wasn’t in the novel while still understanding why it isn’t. here is a list of the stuff that was changed, skipped, compressed, or cut, presented as cool facts & extra info for gn fans who haven’t listened to the podcast.

spoilers ahoy for the 11th hour, but I’ll try to keep spoilers for the rest of the series to a minimum or at least mark them clearly. At the very end I’m going to put a section of series-spoiler theories and observations, very clearly marked

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, there are a few MAJOR changes from the podcast I want to get out of the way first. This list also includes “stuff I remember but don’t have the book to refer back to on”

Several characters and a whole section of the map were cut.

I think this is the first time that any named, plot-relevant characters have been completely cut. The closest we’ve come so far was the bugbears, but they at least had a cameo in the photo in Lucas’ quarters. Luca, Redmond, and Stonefruit Farms fully don’t exist in the GN series.

the boys meet Redmond in ep 46, pt 6 of the 11th hr arc, having met his brother Luca at the end of the previous episode.

long story short, Redmond was the leader of the purple-kerchiefed ruffians and the brains behind the bank robbery, which The Boys had to go through with so that Redmond would help his lowkey-estranged brother Luca raise the temple of Istus from its decrepit state, as they were both devout priests of Istus. The whole key being in the vault thing is GN-only.

Also, Luca is a skeleton bc he was in the temple when it got rapidly old-ified, but dw he’s fine he’s just a skeleton. he gets better.

Redmond’s motivation for robbing the bank is that as a priest of Istus, lady of fate, he follows his gut feelings and intuition, and he had a strong feeling that whatever was in the vault would be the key to taking down the bubble.

they basically took all of the plot-necessary elements from Luca & Redmond and gave them to Ren. In the podcast, Ren actually blasts some of the purple-kerchiefed ruffians out of her bar after they get too rowdy. She isn’t involved with the robbery in the slightest.

Merle’s Temporal Chalice scene

in the podcast, it’s his arm being chopped off. or more specifically, grabbing a crystal that exploded and made him have to get his arm chopped off. 

Him running out on his kids is played kind of for laughs at first in the podcast. Merle is a heel for a lot longer there, bc the funniest improv is usually not the most ethical improv. They do talk about his life and the fact that he has a family, but the offer made by the chalice is for him to have his arm back

frankly, I think they made the right move in the GN. We get very little of Hecuba in the podcast, and I really liked seeing more of that conflict.

Roswell, my beloved

so, in 2016 when they did the podcast, the McElroys were at, let’s say a different place in their journey of learning about the queer community. which is to say that in the podcast Roswell’s pronouns were wildly inconsistent, in part due to them being a clay construct, in part due to them not being introduced with any pronoun in particular [though Griffin clarifies that he intends for Roswell to use they/them a little later on in the arc], and in part bc the boys just weren’t really familiar with the singular they. they tended vacillate between they/them, it/its, and he/him. we all learn and grow. 

in the book, thankfully, Roswell is 100% they/them. fuck yeah. related. The Boys are significantly worse people to Roswell in the podcast. like, significantly. we’ll get into it as it comes up more, I just want to signpost it here. 

e.g. Taako giving Roswell control of themselves and their command word is a GN original, in the podcast The Boys kind of “junebug” them around for large swaths of the last few episodes. also, a significant number of earlier loops involve them basically negging Roswell into believing that Isaak hired outside help (The Boys) with security bc they weren’t cutting it anymore (rude). I much prefer the geologists gambit they go with in the GN.

Diamonds

Paloma’s prophecies cost money in the podcast, so a lot of The Boys’ shenanigans (and a significant number of loops) are in pursuit of getting cash. which, in Refuge, is diamonds. Some examples: 

Before figuring out that you can’t take objects with you, the boys do straight up take some diamonds from the bank post-robbery. 

Taako gets Ren and a patron of her bar, Ash, to sign up and pay for a seminar/magic lesson he’ll be giving tomorrow (one of my all-time fav scenes). This leads to a touching scene at the end when the bubble finally comes down where Taako gives Ren a little certificate that says “first graduate of Taako’s Amazing School of Magic.”

Magnus tries to armwrestle a guy for cash (Merle’s idea), and though he rolls a 27 Strength check, the Goliath barbarian he’s rolling against gets a 28.

Paloma offers 1 diamond for a small prophecy, 10 for a big one. in the GN they aren’t differentiated, and one small prophecy just doesn’t show up as it’s not needed.

the taz fandom wiki has a handy list of all the prophecies she gives in the podcast

ok! let’s go!

Prologue (the bit before ch 1)

this isn’t in the 11th hour podcast.

the information we get about The Visitor in the 11th hour (from The Boys asking various Refuge residents) is that

Jack and June brought them to Refuge

or, they brought Jack and June to Refuge. We hear both things at different times.

they’re depicted in the statue as having a Red Robe and being kinda broad-shouldered.

Roswell never met them. At first they refer to The Visitor with he/him pronouns, but then mention “I say ‘he’, I didn’t know them”

they tended to keep their face hidden (maybe?)

that’s pretty much it

we learn about this interaction much much much much much later in the podcast, not as a scene that is played out, but abstractly as an event that happened, after we find out who The Visitor is. 

that said, I LOVE this scene’s inclusion and expansion. it makes total sense to me.

Jack is never described as having a sketchbook or being an artist. this will come back later. 

the final scene of the arc in the podcast is instead June giving Magnus some previous designs for the statue of Jack, June, & a Red Robe/The Visitor in the middle of town, with a version where the hood of the robe is down and the face of the Red Robe/The Visitor is visible.

Ch. 1

this is where the podcast starts at episode 1 of the 11th hr. 

boyland’s funeral is very accurate. his comically large family of 400 sons (mentioned in CK podcast) is why the Voidfish lights up like that.

the only real differences I could find were:

in the podcast what is erased is basically boyland’s personnel file. like, a report or write-up of who he is and his work for the BoB. johann writing songs about boyland’s life is new.

the only pronouns ever used for the voidfish in the podcast are they/them, it/its, and occasionally he/him. past taz graphic novels have used they/them. on pg 13 of 11th hr, both Johann and Merle use she/her for the voidfish.

I do not like this, but I have a suspicion as to why, and I don’t like that either. see spoiler-y observations at the end for more.

they merged this scene with a scene from the skipped lunar interlude before CK, where The Boys take cpt. cpt. bane’s “file” to the voidfish to be eaten.

 I described this in my other posts, but the two things relevant here are Magnus putting his hand up on the glass and vibing w the voidfish, and this exhange b/w Johann and The Boys:

Johann: When I, um, can I ask you guys a question?

Magnus: Sure.

Taako: Of course, Johann.

Johann: Are you guys really okay with, with this part of the deal?

Magnus: That we get forgot?

Taako: Which part?

Johann: Yeah, are you cool with like, if you beef it down there, the world just forgets about you?

Magnus: Well, I’m not planning on ever dying.

in the podcast, bc Avi isn’t there, Angus operates the cannons (Avi showed him how before he left). he is extremely nervous about it and about killing them on accident. once they’re in the orb taako casts stoneskin on himself “just in case”, but everything works out totally fine, though avi mentions when The Boys land that the stoneskin should’ve thrown off the trajectory.

the gn keeps the spirit of taako trusting no one without the angus psychological damage by having him just cast a better version of the spell angus cast, and I am a fan.

the leveling up stats aren’t right in the book, as I’m sure every dnd 5e nerd has already tweeted about.

they’re all level 10, so magnus should be a level 8 fighter and a level 2 rogue bc 2+8=10, while the other two boys are still just a level 10 cleric and a level 10 wizard bc they didn’t multiclass.

fantasy costco-wise: aside from the stuff they have in the book (all things they do own in the podcast, though hole-thrower and the feather-weight cuirass were from the fantasy gachapon), merle picks up matthias the living grimoire, magnus gets the magnetic charge and the tarantula bracelet, and taako gets the arcane trickster’s glove (no wiki page rip it just gives you some arcane trickster powers) and mockingbird gum.

they beat up the baby worms more before letting them go, it’s a full battle

Ch. 2

in the podcast, when they go through the barrier, they find themselves in an empty white space where they see an old woman holding the cup. she says “It’s you!” with recognition upon seeing them, and then says “find me” before they wake up.

important: every time the boys die in the podcast, they go back to this space briefly before waking up.

sometimes the woman gives a cryptic message, sometimes not, and in their later loops, the woman collapses, breathing heavily.

we find out in the end that this woman is June - she has a whole extended de-aging sequence later that they probably cut so poor Carey didn’t have to do a bajillion character models for June at different ages just for a few panels of dramatic effect.

pg 36 - to head off any dnd 5e nitpickers, Magnus does not have proficiency in rustic hospitality, since that’s not a skill. Magnus does have a character feat called “Rustic Hospitality” that he chose at level 1.

claiming to have proficiency in things you can’t possibly have proficiency in is a longstanding goof both in taz and among people who play dnd 5e in general, because it’s funny.

in the book, they intercut each loop with a scene from lunar interlude 3, and it works really really well. we’ll get to those scenes as they come up.

Is this the first time someone uses he/him for The Red Robe in the gn series? (Roswell says ‘his’)

in the podcast Roswell mentions having never met the visitor, and comments “I say “he”, but I don’t know.”

in the GN, when The Boys tell the director about The Red Robe in CK they use they/them pronouns and so does the director, but after this, even @ the end of the book after Taako guesses that The Red Robe they’ve been talking to isn’t the same Red Robe from Refuge, he and the other boys continue to use he/him for The Red Robe.

“Mystic Analysis”

he just did an arcana check in the podcast, I don’t think Taako had Identify as a spell, which is what the DND equivalent would be. 

they also don’t figure out that Roswell has a command word until much later, during the Diary Of Sheriff Isaak scene.

Griffin basically says “[they’re] an earth elemental, with a bird on [them], and earth elementals don’t generally have birds on them, so maybe it was just nearby when the spell was cast and got caught up in it”

Cassidy

in the podcast, she’s in jail for blowing up the temple of Istus, which she didn’t do.

GN Ren mentions later on that the temple got “un-built” which references how in the podcast the temple suddenly aged a matter of centuries in seconds, so from the outside it looked kind of explode-y. and cassidy is known for blowing shit up, so she was blamed. she also theorizes that it might be racism due to her half-orc heritage.

in the GN, cassidy’s arrested for trespassing on the closed mines, which she absolutely has done. it makes more sense, and eliminates a major plot point they cut from the book

she is otherwise pretty much the same, I love her very much

Paloma pretty much stays in her cottage in the podcast rather than sneaking around.

the fantastic exchange of “you guys have been here 45 minutes, what the fuck did you bring with you?!” “you should see what we can do in an hour!” is 100% verbatim from the podcast.

in the podcast, Ren is dead the first bank fire (and in most subsequent bank fires). she also wasn’t one of the bandits, or involved with the bank robbery at all

in fact, in the loop where The Boys were doing the bank robbery, she unexpectedly came in, recognized Taako, and almost blew their cover.

With so little time left on the clock, Taako cast Banishment on her to keep her safe and out of the way, but she made her saving throw - so it didn’t work, but she knew Taako tried to cast some spell on her, and there was a somber moment of her falling backwards trying to get away from him, tears in her eyes.

look it’s a good lil character moment

I can’t emphasize enough how brutal the first description of the bank fire and subsequent world-ending is. Griffin pulled 0 punches.

Magnus rushes in and he describes the scene like “you see a guy, who looks like this. they’re dead. you see two guards. they’re dead. you see a woman holding a tray of diamonds. she’s dead. you see this person, also dead. you see a dwarven bank teller. she might be alive, but it’s hard to tell, and if she was she is on the brink of death”

I think the boys, brogden, and maybe one of the purple-kerchief ruffians (which is how they are described in the podcast) survived the first one, and everyone else died in that bank. it felt so brutal listening to it the first time because you (and the boys) didn’t know about the loop yet, so it was just. horrifying.

I love how they pulled in off in the GN!!! the clock hands are just *chef kiss*

just before Griffin describes the destruction of Refuge, Travis interjects, “Ditto, did you base this on Majora’s Mask?”

while Griffin does not respond in the moment, he later confirms that Travis is correct.

Griffin’s description of the fiery deaths of The Boys: “And you’re being crushed by the shattered earth as it compresses down into the ground. And you hear an anguished scream come from something massive and furious, and all three of you have died…And there’s something about the dying that feels familiar.”

“and then you wake up.” hardcut to end of episode music. v epic.

Ch. 3 (i s2g they’re not all going to be this detailed the major plot differences are mostly out of the way now)

as mentioned, the scenes between each loop in the gn happen in Lunar Interlude III (transcript) (episode) - each of The Boys got to choose a scene to have in between arcs and Justin chose to have Taako give Angus magic lessons.

they’re all more abstract in the eps (Taako establishes a recurring time and place to give Angus lessons, and we get scenes from earlier vs later lessons, various shenanigans, etc.) but the major points are actually pretty much the same, just condensed into one scene in the book.

also taako giving magic lessons in his quarters makes 100% sense, but in the podcast they did it in the cafeteria, and that’s where the LUP is burned into the wall. significant? potentially.

in the podcast angus had made some macarons for taako but forgot to flavor them (he nailed the texture though which is hard to do in a macaron) so he asked taako to prestidigitate them better and then scorching ray happened and blasted em to shreds.

LUP. dude. I thought it was an acronym when I first heard it, bc in the podcast, Griffin says “So your staff, you lost control of it and you blasted the letters “L-U-P” into the wall.” Seeing it in cursive, all gorgeous and capitalized like a proper noun? knocked me the fuck out.

another dnd 5e tiny detail: in the gn, the description for Angus’ first wand says “wonderful stocking stuffer for the young sorcerer in your life”

i could have a whole conspiracy board about this.

skip this if you’re not super into dnd 5e mechanics

the difference (in dnd 5e) b/w a wizard, a warlock, and a sorcerer is:

wizard: gets magic from study and practice - taako is a wizard bc he studied spellcraft and learned how to do it.

warlock: gets magic from making a deal with something/someone far more magical than themselves - garfield is a warlock, so his magic stems from a deal he made with something (the devil??)

sorcerer: has innate magic within them.

this could come from a myriad of places, but usually from heritage or bloodline - maybe your great-grandfather was a god or a dragon or a demon or a djinn or something, or maybe your mom touched a weird rock as a kid and got magic powers that she passed onto you when she had you.

in the podcast, angus is only ever referred to as a wizard. makes sense - regular boy + magic training from taako = wizard boy.

but if he’s a sorcerer, the magic really was in him all along. is taako teaching him to channel it? does he know?

this also fits with a weirdly popular headcanon the taz community had for a while about angus secretly being a silver dragon (in dnd, color = different abilities, diff personality, etc, and silver ones like to shapeshift and pretend to be humans sometimes).

“draconic bloodline” is one of the most common sorcerer backgrounds - it basically just means ‘a dragon got involved at some point in this family tree, so now you can cast ray of frost’.

hmmmmmmm

end conspiracy theory

It is at this point that I lost my damn book. so. I’m just gonna post this bc the next graphic novel is coming out soon and I want to post it before then. If i find my book I’ll finish it up. If you have post-chapter 3 differences you noticed that aren’t already covered, feel free to reply/reblog with them!

Spoiler-y Observations Below!

CAUTION: contains spoilers for the rest of taz balance!

*voidfish speculation: my suspicion is that they’re using ‘she’ for the voidfish to foreshadow that they have a baby, so that makes them a “mother”? i call bullshit, but i’ve heard it used before as a justification for misgendering an enby who gives birth. obvs the voidfish is not a human being, people can have multiple pronouns, it’s not a 1:1 comparison, but i for one (as an enby myself) really liked the voidfish using they/them and feel oddly betrayed at them suddenly changing the pronouns. fingers crossed that there’s a different reason.

"what am statue” is low-key foreshadowing since magnus says it

merle knowing what relativistic time dilation is

LUP was burnt into the wall in the cafeteria in the podcast - lucretia would’ve seen it for sure. so they put it in taako’s room this time...

aw no ‘sorry about the cookies little man’

In 5 or however many years when gn series ends, someone should do a poll of people who only read the graphic novels and see if any of them pronounce “Lup” weird since they’ve only ever seen it written down.

hero wreathed in flames 0.0 I hope Joaquin is still there in the finale but I like the duality here

BATTLEAXEPROFICIENCYEASTEREGG

SNEAK PEEK AT THE HUNGER SNEAK PEEK AT THE STARBLASTER AAAAAAAA

257 - ‘I know him better than you could ever imagine’ because he created you? Oof ouch ow my bones. also....the magnus that made the cup was a very different person from magnus now. it’s not what Julia would want - the cup never met julia, obvs, and does not know the ways she changed him for the better.

Bottom of 327 - sweet Angus boy are you drawing something on that orb?

Istus is like you’ve been serving me your whole lives without knowing it in the podcast - maybe a bit too much foreshadowing for the GN

[storiesofsvu]

Can you tell me about Elizabeth's role in homeland and house of cards?

okay, there are two slightly yet also VERY different answers to your question lol.

First: the short, sweet, imdb/wikipedia/netflix summary answer for you.

Homeland: Elizabeth Keane; -We meet Keane in season 6 as the President Elect of the United States (aka, this is the time between her winning the election her inauguration) and follow her journey to becoming the president at the end of the season and her slight downfall the next. We see her connecting (and making enemies) with the people on her team as she tries to navigate presidency. Personal facts we know: she's divorced, and we learn that her son was killed in combat in the middle east. -Homeland as a show itself: political drama, a LOT of political talk, the pacing is a bit slower and I have only watched the episodes Beth is in and even some of those I skimmed through lol. it's just not for me and some days i do find it boring.

House of Cards: Heather Dunbar: -Dunbar starts out as the solicitor general for government. She's previously taken the last president to trial and got him impeached because of it (im paraphrasing, don't come for me if that detail is wrong). President knows shes powerful and wants to get her on the supreme justice bench so she's not a threat in the upcoming election. She plays the reverse uno card and ends up running for president. Her eps/scenes are more scattered throughout 2-3(?) seasons and we eventually do see her downfall as the president fucks her over. Personal canon facts: she's married, has 2 kids, has been working the legal and political field for years, super experienced, also rich AF. -House of cards as a show: political *thriller*, I MUCH prefer it, the pacing is higher, there's a lot of darkness, double crossing, scandal, murder, sex and everything else going on. I think i've watched s2 to the series finale. It's also just an INCREDIBLE show from an analyzing perspective, costuming, hair and make up, cinematography, direction, acting, writing, ugh. it's so good.

the rest is going under a cut so this isn't five pages long. But here come the headcanons, the fanon lore and how myself and besties have perceived these characters/how we write them

Keane: -is a bad ass, has worked in the political field for years, she opposes the war (esp now that she's lost her son to it). We like to think that the divorce was brought on by their son's death, especially since she was not on speaking terms with him when it happened. -In DESPERATE need of therapy -After saying that, can go one of two ways; no therapy, we're gonna see the total isolation and internal turmoil and mental breakdown that lead to her nearly losing the presidency and thus stepping down. Our girl goes through a LOT of trauma in canon and it's never dealt with, she loses the one person on her staff who she truly trusted and is left surrounded by a team of people who are constantly stabbing knives in each others backs and she unfortunately chose to trust some of the wrong ones, resulting in even more isolation and downward spiral -With therapy, she'd be a little better at being able to read this kinda stuff and go about things in a better way -She can be super cold, standoffish, when things are professional, they are professional and there is a *strict* and very hard line between professional and personal relationships. She doesn't care how harsh or cruel something sounds in the oval, it needs to be said. if she's got to make it up/make it make sense to you when you're home, so be it. -Is low on patience, doesn't have time for bullshit -that being said, she can also be the absolute softest little beth-bear once she's in a diff environment and secure with your relationship -More masculine presenting -Also she is daddy -Can get kinky in the bedroom, but it is not always going to be kinky -Is *very* much about control unless she's absolutely 200% comfortable with you and is willing to be vulnerable -If she's had a bad day, she will absolutely be coming home to absolutely destroy you Heather: -Absolute bad ass bitch who is not afraid of going after what she wants, nearly to the point of not caring what takes to get it. (but normally does have her morals and ethics take over and she realizes that's not right). -Can get very power hungry and when she gets it, it's very easy for it to sneak under her skin and she starts to abuse it, that, linked with how much money she has, can lead to some bad decisions. -Lbr, she's kept grounded by her husband in like, all of these situations. -Grew up super rich, old money, family money, not snooty about it, but is also in the "it's one banana, how much could it cost?" circle. She invests, she knows how to be financially conscious so that that wealth doesn't deplete -Was on the fence about kids/a family, but did it because that was "what was right"/expected/knew that having a family behind her was the right image that she wanted to project when she got where she wanted politically/career wise. Thus, lots of house staff, kids had nannies and were sent to boarding school. She did not bond with them very well, esp at the school age and likely feels like she doesn't really know them until they're adults -Can be cruel and vindictive and toxic, all depends on like, literally one singular life choice that she made. (See, the power hungry up above). once she loses herself to that, there's no going back -Is Mommy. -Is also the kinkiest, dirtiest, hardcore bitch that we know -Enjoys a large variety of kinks, but is *always* the dom, sometimes not even letting her partners touch her. She uses the mommy title and expects it to be used back, if it's in private, she expects it outside of the bedroom too -Loves mess, loves teasing, resident brat tamer, her punishments are always extreme and sometimes can last days if not weeks or longer -Don't fuck with her -Obviously, sex is *always* kinky with her, there are no plain vanilla nights

Okay, so i don't really know what direction you were wanting me to go with that, but that's what you got LOL. feel free to check out either of their masterlists or hit up the inbox for more thoughts! <3

[gothicbarbie]

BL'S I'm Watching (August 2023)

In order of my enjoyment!

1. Only Friends - Breath of fresh air! It's messy, it's sexy, it's entertaining... it's got a lot of pairings I love seeing together. I like that it's just a more mature BL. Yes, the high heat is great, but it's about these characters feeling comfortable with their sexuality. I want more!

2. My Personal Weatherman - Always enjoy JBL's and high heat ones are even better because imo they always feel more realistic. The plot of this is a bit strange but the chemistry is great and I want to see where it all goes.

3. Hidden Agenda - Joongdunk are just so adorable. Besides the fact that they are just the most attractive pairing to look at, they have clearly gotten even more comfortable around one another. I like that the plot is going in a different direction than I expected. It's not the most amazing BL I've ever seen but I'm enjoying it.

4. Love Class 2 - I was busy last week so I am behind on episodes but I did enjoy the start of the show. A tad confusing on first watch but it made sense in the rewatch. An interesting plot with 3 different pairings to root for, so it's a fun watch. There are a few elements I don't care for but it's not too bad.

5. Dangerous Romance - A bit of a sketchy start and I can't stand bullies, but I am happy that Chimon and Perth get a chance to shine and I wanted more of them. Let's see where it goes.

6. Minato's Laundry 2 - Still a great show. Lots of cute moments. I think season 1 was better and Minato is irritating me quite a bit with his insecurities and pulling away. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally but I still like the show and will finish it out.

7. Stay By My Side - Not Taiwan's best, and the main pairing is a bit awkward in their kissing imo but I still the show is very fun and they are cute.

8. Laws of Attraction - Interesting-ish plot. A few pairings to root for. There is def. some boring parts and issues I have with the show but I am still liking it.

9. Be Mine Superstar - I find the plot of this one pretty boring TBH but I freaking love JaFirst. It's not their best series and I find Ja's character pretty awkward. But it's watchable.

10. The Wedding Plan - This plot is weird. Don't get the fake marriage or why the main guy can't be honest. I think the chemistry is alright but not overwhelming. I am not fully invested but its a short series and I wanna see how it goes.

11. Jun and Jun - ehhhh idk about this one guys. I can't get into it. I wanted to, but office romances aren't for me, and I think this one is especially boring. I like the chemistry between the main two but I find a lot of their moments a bit uncomfortable and there is a lack of consent in a lot of areas. Not Korea's best.

12. Stay Still- Not even sure what I am watching but its so short so I'm just kinda skimming.

On Hold:

1. I Feel You Linger in the Air

2. Lost in Translation

Tried the pilots of these and they felt very slow so I had to put them on hold for now and may come back to them later or if I hear good things about them.

Recently Finished:

1. Stay With Me - For anyone with doubts, this is definitely a BL. Some sweet kisses (though not on the lips) and lots of flirting and innuendo. A terrible ending but it'll apparently get a season 2, so I'll hold out. I genuinely loved this series!

2. Sing My Crush - Not big on musical plots and I found the storyline here a bit boring and like I'd seen it before, but it was okay. The main couple was very cute. Didn't love it as much as everyone else, but it was still good and worth the watch

EXTRAS:

Advance Bravely - Not currently airing. It's also I think technically a bromance but there are def. suggestive moments and scenes and I find the chemistry really good an entertaining so I'm enjoying it.

Catch Me Baby - Not currently airing. Only watched 1 ep and had to skim it, I found it very weird. I'm only really watching for Net/James.

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 13

And after 6 and half months, I’m ready to continue TMM couple relationship analysis! This episode is full of things, so it will be a looong post.

Let's start with the opening. Masaya and Ichigo have a single scene, but what a scene! Cat Ichigo is running away from the fat cat and finds safeness in Masaya's arms, with a kiss she returns to normal, with a nice elegant dress on, and while he holds her in his arms like a bride they exchange a happy expression (I suppose it’s a metaphor for Masaya who saves her and protects her from danger). It is the first time in New that I see Masaya so happy. I'm sure S2 will give us a lot of stuff!

The very first scene depicts Ichigo crying. But be careful, not that she just cries, it seems to be a very specific scene, only that being blurred you don't understand what it represents. It’s obviously one of the nightmares that Masaya is beginning to have. In the manga they started much later and didn’t herald a specific scene, instead they heralded that he would be the cause of her suffering. Obviously at this point Masaya can't know it, and I think this is one of the various reasons that trigger his transformation into the Blue Knight.

This is the face I had the morning after episode 13, after not sleeping a wink from brooding all night. 🤣

Masaya dear... never ever wonder what Ichigo is doing, trust me, lol

Yes, we understand that they insert foreshadowing all the time, I’m sure this recalls the fact that Masaya from lover will become the enemy and he and Ichigo will have to fight each other.

So, the first part of the episode focuses about ichisaya relationship, one week after their confession. This is only the point of start, it’ll surely evolve from here throught the series. Here is a nice change that we already see in Masaya: contrary to what happened in S1, he is no longer ashamed to confirm his bond with Ichigo, and goes straight to her friends to make them understand the news (indiscretions say that in the next episode he will even with the other girls). Sure he's still shy, they've been together for a very short time. But I'm sure he'll unlock as the series progresses. Masaya is a character who has no leaps in characterization, but proceeds slowly and steadily. This, of course, unlike the old series, where this poor man was treated only as a plot twist, and not as a real character. In that series, he and Ichigo remained quite distant, sometimes they didn't even seem engaged, while I have the impression that with New things will be very different.

Girls... even in ep 7 he called her by name in front of you. Have you forgotten?

And here is a scene that overturns, in a certain sense, the first episode of the series, although I will be cautious in this part of the analysis, because a report from a Japanese fan seems to confirm that this part will be explained better in the next episode. So what does Masaya say here? As with S1, watch out for subtitles! When there is any doubt about the actual characterization of a character, the first thing is not to trust the subtitles. And in fact… even here they are wrong! Masaya here doesn't say at all that he fell in love with her on that occasion. First he says she's been on his mind since he first saw her, because he'd seen her "smiling so happy." Then he says "mitore chattanda", which means "I was fascinated". Fascinated, but he absolutely didn't fall in love, in the truest sense of the word, that time. And even the fact that he is impressed by Ichigo's character does not lead to an infatuation like Ichigo's when he saw him. Masaya is only slightly blushed, certainly not like Ichigo. So we understand that he was just captured by a detail of Ichigo, the first that he noticed, and this has remained impressed in his mind. So from this flashback we understand a few things.

First, ep1 was NOT Ichigo's first day of school, but she had started high school for at least a few days. Second, he noticed her even before she noticed him. Third, both have a parallel and a contrast. Both are captured by something about each other the first time they see each other. Except that Ichigo, who is a normal person, is fascinated by his appearance and by his "winning genes", to put it in reproductive terms. Masaya is not captured by her appearance, but by a trait of her personality that strikes him, as it is something that he lacks at that point in the story, her cheerfulness and her happiness. This is a very different flashback from a similar scene in episode 39 of the old series, where he said, superficially, the same thing. There he said that he simply noticed her, and that's not good for Masaya's character. He is captured for the first time by something emotional, which must be specified. Without specification one might think that the first thing he noticed was that she was pretty, and this would go against his character. He first notices and is impressed by personality and character, then, if these "pass the test", by the appearance, which comes later. Obviously he couldn't know then that he was captured by her, he only understands it later, when he realizes he loves her and is able to reconstruct in retrospect how he started to like her.

It must be said that, when in episode 1 the two of them collide and talk, it doesn't actually seem that Masaya has ever seen her before. But let's remember that it is Masaya we are talking about. When he first saw her, he probably didn't even mentally realize that he was fascinated by her. So, partly because of this, partly because he is used to behaving in a kind and detached way with everyone, he went back to behaving as usual even with her, until he… saw the ticket. This is a scene that can be re-interpreted. Without episode 13, one might think he was just happy with the subject matter of the show. But by episode 13, his thought, obviously unconscious, may have been this: "The girl that fascinated me has the same interests as me!" And in fact it is only at this point that he, in the first episode, lets himself go a little more with her, and he seems really interested in her, as well as in the exhibition itself. I'd say it all adds up. And also, maybe in the next episode we will know something more about it…

Just excuse me...

...they’re gourgeous! Notice how in this episode, now they stay together (yeah, I say that because in my language we say “stay together” to mean two people are boyfriend and girlfriend 😁) they have often the same expressions. It’s another hint or their deep bond.

How cute in this scene, walking side by side to get home, clearly happy but still embarrassed and still not bold enough to holding hands. They are still awkward, like two real fifteen year olds in their first (and only, in their case) love experience.

Here we can see that when Masaya talks to her about volunteering at the aquarium, she is fascinated by it. I've already said it: in my opinion these two will end up working together on these issues.

He’s adorable, period. Like her, he’s ashamed to say she's his girlfriend. However, unlike episode 9, he easily manages to invite her this time. It's even little things like this that show his progression. And besides of that, I don’t think the employees asked him first to bring his girlfriend. I mean, how could they know he has a girlfriend only a week after their “getting together”? To me, it’s clear that Masaya asked them first if he could bring his girlfriend, and they answered yes. He’s only too embarassed to admit it 💙

And here THE SCENE starts: poor Masaya, his faces clearly show he’s thinking to be ended in a house full of crazy people!

Here he’s thinking “that time, when Ichigo invited me to the museum, I should have invented another commitment”. 🤣

However I really like that after his initial shock, he quickly recovered and introduced to her father, holding his gaze, and Shintarou accepts him almost immediately. Basically they represented in a few minutes scene a concept that in the old series took a whole episode!

Here Masaya has just realized that Sunday lunches, from here until his death, he will have to spend with them. Amazing how he has to hold back not to laugh. How can you not laugh in such a situation? 🤣

More mirroring expressions 💙💖

Later, it’s so good to see them doing normal teenage couple things: the little goodnight chat! Of course, for Masaya it must be unusual to see such an spontaneous family, when his is practically absent.

Oh, and Ichigo was fast to buy a new cellphone, huh?

Another mirroring expression. They’re adorable.

So, here we have a scene where he gets through his 2 different sides: his happiness, because he’s with his girl, in a place he loves, doing with her a thing they both love and they’re passionate about, but then he becomes sad, like in ep1, and says this.

I must admit that this scene is not very clear to me. Is it Deep Blue speaking through him? Or rather, does Masaya's personality come into contact with his and says between the lines that the planet belongs to aliens and not to man? On the other hand, it is a sentence in accordance with what Quiche will say later. I'd love to read the opinions of other fans!

And here something happens that I really wanted to see again: the concept of the first episode is resumed, in which Ichigo wonders why Masaya sometimes seems so sad. It is actually a theme that had not been touched upon since the first episode, it had to be resumed. Probably, clumsy as she is still with him, she is ashamed to ask him. She doesn't even have the courage to hold his hand, she certainly can't go and ask him something so intimate and personal. But over time she will understand for herself the reason for these occasional moods.

At this point, the plot arrives to bother, Masaya and Ichigo get separated, and Masaya begins to go into severe stress over losing her.

Ehm, she WAS having a fun time, before you arrived 😂

And here Ichigo does something he should never have done. Something for which I had written a post praising her, precisely because she had kept silent so far. But now… she clearly tells Quiche her boyfriend's name. Girl, have you lost your mind?? You are dealing with a dangerous madman, psychopath, armed and obsessed with you. And you, instead of keeping quiet, are you going to tell him that you're in love with someone else, a normal guy who can't defend himself? Now you think Quiche won't go looking for him? Congratulations for being so clever… And in fact…

...dear Ichigo, what did you hope to obtain by telling him so? (btw, wrong subtitles again. Quiche just says he gets in the way).

However, I really appreciated that Ichigo decides to transform when Quiche threatens Masaya, and, despite her being the first to be in danger, always thinks of him, and when the Mew Mews arrive, the first thing she does is ask them about him.

I adored this scene, it’s another introspection that wasn’t in the manga. Masaya really gets frustrated because he wants to find Ichigo, but he can't because he is blocked by the crowd. The Mew Mews arrive and, having superpowers, jump over the crowd and reach her, while he is forced to stand there, powerless. It is precisely the last straw, which triggers the transformation.

We arrive to the Blue Knight scene, which has been changed a bit from the manga, as usual for the better.

1. Ichigo manages to defeat the monster by herself, it is the recoil that makes her fall from the building; however I don't understand why falling from a height would be a problem for her… can't she just turn around and land on her feet?

2. The BK has long pants, and a pink ribbon clearly placed there to call Ichigo; as a hint to his true identity there is also the structure of his hair; the tufts on his head and forehead are exactly those of Masaya, no other character has those particular tufts;

3. The BK doesn't kiss Ichigo on her chest, so Ichigo doesn't feel that he is cold, and he doesn't tell her that stupid sentence that Ryo had told her, which had nothing to do with BK and Masaya’s personality;

4. And there's a reason for that: viewers immediately learn that the BK isn't Ryo, or even Kei, although tant doesn’t mean Ichigo won't suspect it. Actually the series, by showing us the previous scene of Masaya (which Ichigo didn't see) and not showing him during the BK scene, immediately makes it clear to the viewers that he is the BK. Whether or not the characters will have this dilemma remains to be seen;

5. The BK doesn't put Ichigo down before attacking Quiche, but hits him with her in his arms, thus with a weight that slows him down and having to do without a hand. What a great warrior! And speaking of that, is the BK so skilled with a sword because Masaya is skilled at kendo, or is Masaya so skilled at kendo precisely because he was created by a god who uses a sword as a weapon? Hmmm…

6. While Quiche loses his mind, the BK, very imperturbable, doesn't even turn his head, but casts his eye backwards just as if to say "you're really nothing". He really took his revenge from episode 9!

7. Thank God (actually, to the authors) there is no scene where Ichigo looks at the point where Quiche disappears saying his name, and the BK hugs her from behind to get her attention. In New Ichigo absolutely doesn't care about Quiche, her attentions are instead all for the BK, as it should be.

8. Did you notice this? In ep 3, he says to her, basically, “you’re mine”. 10 episodes later, “I’m yours”. 💙

9. The kiss he gives her on her forehead is so sweet! It's really a transformation dragged by his feelings. Even in his unconscious, Masaya can't help but show his love for her, always in a delicate and respectful way. It's a very different forehead kiss than the one Quiche gave her last episode.

Masaya, sweetheart, who never stops looking for her. Of course, because contrary to episode 9 in which he only waited for her calmly, having seen that the monsters had been killed and therefore she was safe, here he has no confirmation even if he saw the other Mew Mews arriving, therefore he continues his research until he has confirmation that Ichigo is okay.

What a beautiful hug they give each other, him keeping his chin on her head as a sign of protection and care. I love how they are so spontaneous in their interactions, even though they are still shy. In the manga, when they found each other it was only him who embraced her, here instead they literally rush into each other's arms.

But isn't something missing? Well, the whole manga scene where Masaya interacts with Mew Ichigo. But I noticed that in the anime they redistributing the various events to not rush everything, so I'm sure this scene will be reinserted later, in a different context.

And that was ONLY ep 13. Ichisaya fans, be prepared, because we’ll get fat, very fat, with this season!

[destinyc1020]

TCR Reviews: Episodes 5 & 6

I missed posting my review for Ep 5 last week, so I'll just combine it with my review for Ep 6.

*****WARNING: SPOILERS!!!!

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Ep 5 Review:

Overall, I felt like this episode was really good! I was glad that we as the viewers were able to get a little more insight into Danny's childhood. This episode was very sad to me though. 😔 And some scenes could have possibly been very triggering for some watching because is deals with the topic of child sexual abuse. 😔

To me, it's just utterly DISGUSTING how a grown adult would take full advantage of a CHILD and abuse them in this vile way, and basically rob them of their innocence like this. 😡 Those actions have awful consequences for the child victim, and many times they struggle with the abuse even into adulthood, and it basically ruins their adult life forever...especially if they don't receive any assistance/therapy. 😔

I kept praying that they weren't going to show us too much of the abuse in this episode, because that would have just been super sad. 😭 Thankfully, the show stopped just short of showing too much (thank goodness). I feel like Ep 4 started making it more and more apparent that Danny is dealing with DID and doesn't even realize it himself (but others around him can tell something is wrong with him), whereas I feel like Ep 5 kind of showed us why Danny is the way he is, and some of the reasons behind his mind split. The interesting thing though is that his mind seems to have split even before the abuse of the stepfather, so it makes me wonder if maybe he had some other possible childhood trauma in his history? 🤔

Anyway, by the end of Ep 5 I just felt SO SAD for Danny, and I keep wondering..."When is his life going to change for the better??" 😭 His life is just so sad and depressing. 😩 My heart goes out to him. With that said, I like how this show isn't making Danny into some kind of "monster", but is more so showing how we should have sympathy for his character and his mental struggles. I know a LOT of fans were worried that the series would focus on the murders and rapes, and were afraid it was going to cast people with DID in a bad light, and some were worried about seeing Tom in a controversial role like that, but so far, it's clear to see that a LOT of fan worries and anxieties (and assumptions) were waaay off base.

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Ep 6 Review:

I really loved this episode! 😃 I LOVED getting to know more about Rya and seeing more into her life. Now things are starting to come together. The pieces are all starting to fit.

Idk why critics claimed that the series is difficult to follow in the timeline. The timeline isn't difficult to follow imo at all. In fact, I actually LOVE when shows/films go back and forth from the past to the present. I like trying to connect the dots lol. Maybe they didn't add the "5 weeks after the Rockefeller shooting" taglines on the episode scenes at the time the critics saw the show?? Anyway.... Tom's acting! He did awesome in Ep6. 👏🏾😃I can't wait for more! I feel like we will get even MORE of his great acting in the latter episodes. He did the transitions so well too. You could see him switch from Jack to Danny so effortlessly. Even the way he holds his eyes... It's very subtle, but it's noticeable. His scenes in this episode remind me so much of James McAvoy's performance in the film "Split" and his therapist scenes. The switch btwn characters is just amazing. I'm glad they added those elements in this series as well.

After what I've already seen so far, I definitely think Tom deserves at least an Emmy NOD. I can only imagine we get more of his fine acting in latter episodes.

This series reminds me so MUCH of "Primal Fear" with Edward Norton. GREAT movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! I saw it years ago, so when Tom said this series was going to be a lot like "Primal Fear", I already knew what type of ride we would be in for lol. 😅🤣

I honestly don't know why critics slammed this series so much. It has been a "slow burn" (sure), but definitely not anything horrible at all! I'm almost wondering if they even saw all 10 episodes?? 👀 I also love how the series isn't making Danny out to be a monster. I know a lot of fans were worried about that, but I had faith that they weren't going to go that route when I kept hearing about how the series was being described. I like how it's moreso focusing on his mental health. I love it. It's been very good so far. It's VERY much like the film "Primal Fear" imo.

Can't wait for Ep7!!! 😁👏🏾

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

6 Takeaways from Only Friends the Series Ep 6 (spoilers!)

1.) the fact that I started this series thinking “haha wow Ray really is the crazy one around here in this friend group what a mess” and he definitely is for sure, but I didn’t CONSIDER THAT THIS IS MORE OF A BIRDS OF A FEATHER SCENARIO

2.) Mew has finally done it. He’s evolved into the Poor Little Mew Mew we all knew he could be and I am just *wipes tear* so proud. The gloves are off, Hello Kitty’s got his claws out, I cannot wait for next weekend

3.) *exhales* that screaming match and horrible moment in the parking lot…Ray, honey. I get that you are hurting and confused right now, you think that hey, I’ve lost my friends, and Sand is distancing himself after I ruined things again so I might as well blow it all up right now, push him away too, self-destruct completely? NO, my sweet trainwreck child. The best thing that ever happened to you is Right There and guess what? He’s a crazy mess too, just better at responsible time management, and he is down bad for you, he is coming after you to look after you despite that bullshit you just pulled so it’s high time you just 🎶 turn around, bright eyes 🎶 Thank fuck for next week’s trailer.

4.) Can report as a lesbian that this is 100% a perfect representation of how lesbian relationship drama arises: the indie short film.

5.) Boston. Just….Boston. Oh, kid. *eyes the next trailer with glee and trepidation*

6.) These bitches need their next group hangout to be group therapy.

[ask-grandamiral-thrawn]

[OoC, contains !spoilers! for Ahsoka ep. 6]

Sadly, the Ahsoka Show did the one thing I feared: it ruined Thrawn as a character. While many discuss his bodily features and presentation, I really don't have an issue with that. There can be numerous reasons outside of the control of the crew why they had it to do and as many in-universe explanations. Yes, it contrasts Thrawns philosophy of training body and mind to keep in shape, but he is an old man by now who lived 30 years or so in exile.

The thing is:

I would've wished they had talked about that in the series too. Perfect moment for a witty comment by Sabine, something like "You've changed...". A short reply like "I am aware. The time I spent here has taken its toll" and I would've been satisfied. But I'm getting carried away as, again, this isn't my main issue. The whole introduction is.

Thrawns character was often a bit ambiguous. But when I took one thing from the new books, then it is the fact that he despises to stage a great show. The whole introduction sequence felt weird. His man love him, yes. And surely after this long time, they would've developed traditions that make it look like a cult. But Thrawn would've never wanted that. And he wouldn't have used it like that for no reason.

But the worst thing is, that now...he is basically a generic villain. Filoni has done that in Rebels already, yes. But it was a show targeted at kids and teens, so it's understandable that he wanted to have a villain the audience really can hate. Thrawn must be able to hurt the main characters, that's his job.

In Ahsoka tho, I hoped for a complex, layered depiction. And now, not only does he seem to despise Jedi in general, which doesn't even make sense regarding his history, he then pulls the classic "I'm not gonna break my promises, when I never promised to let them live in the first place". That's the same person who got out of their way to talk to a rebel leader he hunted for YEARS. And after the massacre on the planet he tried to avoid the whole time, he proceeded to low-key threatening his only ally in the political system with consequences for that because he hated losing lifes senselessly.

They better come up with an explanation why he has changed. But I fear it won't happen on screen, since it would have obliged to happen in the introduction scene. People being introduced to the character now will wonder why everyone was so hyped about this very generic villain. And I think this presentation of Thrawn, the fact that people will probably not be interested in "yet another Moff Gideon", that's the big crime Ahsoka did...

[namtanlovesfilm]

omg I saw your post about the jungle and I have to rant because I’m so conflicted! On the one hand it has some of my favs in it and so I want to adore it, but on the other hand the whole thing is just MESSY. And from what I’ve heard of the source material, they’ve stuck to it super closely including dedicating a chapter/episode to each character and I think it’s that (plus the really underwhelming production values) that’s bothering me the most. As far as I’m aware there’s no overarching storyline and so it comes across as a series of short stories set in the same place. I also do recognise though that the actor schedules were also apparently really difficult to work around, and that’s probably affected the series in regards to scenes with the full or most of the cast.

Having said all that, I’ve definitely seen A LOT worse from gmmtv even in recent years and I keep reminding myself that at least it’s messy in a fun, sexy way rather than completely bland (apart from leemook which broke my heart because I was looking forward to seeing them together again). For example if I go by series this year, UMG looked beautiful and was acted well but was horrifically boring, double savage almost tried to market itself as a pseudo bl with perth and ohm and was tedious to get through, I couldn’t get past the first episode of loneliness society and I wasn’t enamoured with 10yt except for view and off. And that’s not me even touching on some of the underwhelming bls.

Also I am trying to keep the faith and have hope because I feel there’s been a drastic improvement from episode 1 to episode 6 and that scene with the twins fighting each other in the parking lot in particular was so good and such an amazing performance from Nanon who apparently worked for 6 hours shooting it and I commend him going so hard for something as unserious as this

okay so first of all I agree with mostly everything you said in this post! I didn't even know the show was adapted from an original material, now the one episode per character makes much more sense! but yeah the lack of overarching material IS an issue, but on top of that the writing is so bad?? from the shows you've mentioned I've only seen 10yt & loneliness society, which I both liked enough & personally I think the writing for these shows is MILES better than for the jungle. I agree that ep 6 was the best episode so far, and it's down to nanon's AMAZING performance & also his great chemistry with mild, but all of that could not cover how SHIT the writing was this ep. nithan is DISAPPOINTED that naannam does a no show to her engagement ceremony EVEN THOUGH she now believes him to be a cheater and a MURDERER??? then he shows up & SHE'S HAPPY???? then the real naannam arrives & professes his love without clearing the air once & telling her the truth AND SHE STILL ACCEPTS TO BE WITH HIM?????? the twins make up OUT OF NOWHERE??? and say they love each other OUT OF NOWHERE???? in fact, I was so confused as to which twin was who until I watched this latest ep, and believe we shouldn't have known of naanfah existence at all until the reveal to punpun's character so WE'D BE SHOCKED TOO!!! yes that would've been a cliche plot twist, but at least there would have BEEN a plot twist! I just cannot, tbh. it's giving the three gentlebros level of writing but with even less screen time & I actually liked t3gb bc it was a silly surface level romcom whereas this does not want to be one but most absolutely is. the dichotomy is killing me I fucking hate it here 😭

xxx

[suckishima]

i wasn’t joking i need to do math

okay so we’ve seen two of what i consider to be the major matches of the series animated so far, season 3 vs shiratorizawa and the second half of season 4 with inarizaki

shiratorizawa is ~39 chapters and we got ten episodes at about 22 minutes each to make for about 3hr40m of content

inarizaki is ~44 chapters (if we include the jump to nekoma vs sarukawa between the first and second sets), and that was 12 episodes also at about 22 minutes each to make about 4hr20m of content

(if we take out the nekoma/sarukawa bits then inarizaki basically matches shiratorizawa to be ~40 chapters, 10 episodes, and about 3hr40m)

so both matches end up translating to be roughly 5m30s per chapter

(and all these numbers are rough bc there’s disagreements about where matches really start and end, as well as content often being repeated to recap at the beginning of episodes, plus i didn’t account for the lost time of the opening theme, credits, and teasers - so there’s a fair amount of leeway)

NOW, let’s apply it to the nekoma match which is ~33 chapters. at 5m30s per chapter that would be 3hr05m ish, which realistically is way longer than we’d ever get for an anime movie lol

BUT like i said there’s a lot of padding with the numbers and i think if we’re lucky enough to get a two hour movie (which i know i know that’s still high hopes), I actually don’t think toooo much is gonna be cut??

i mean i personally have always said id want a shorter 10 ish ep season 5 and then a full 25 ish ep season 6 to pace out the rest of the story, and a movie instead of a short season (when it’s 7 chapters shorter than the basis of season 3 was) is not a TERRIBLE second option..

however i still continue to mourn the fact that this means the rest of the 77 chapters will apparently be thrown into another single movie rip

[thespoonisvictory]

Another reason why trw feels weird with what it tries to fit into its runtime (and also just generally falls short of its potential) to me is that, by its nature, I can't help but compare it to both acoc AND exuc. And neither of those comparisons put it in the best light. Comparing trw to its in-universe counterpart of acoc makes trw look so much less dark and so much more clunky with its attempts to show complex political machinations. But then you also can't help but see Matt Mercer open with "Water" and remember Brennan's "Fire" and. Suddenly, you're holding up this story that feels like it's sprinting to cover multiple years, shoving aside characters and plot beats that would've been cool to really hone in on because for some reason we have to go go go! You're holding that up against what is to me a genuine masterclass in storytelling that delves as deep as it possibly can into The Worst Single Day Ever. And yeah. Of course in these contexts, trw is going to come out feeling even more janky to me. It's got so many good bits to it, but when held up against acoc (its universe partner) and exuc (the Big Dark Prequel Short Series DMed by Another Guy Covering A Major Event in History)... Its whole vibes feel out of place.

intentional comparisons to both properties by both matt and brennan have been made, so I think it's fair game with the caveat that obviously it isn't a 1:1 at all.

I agree completely with this! It feels like the rushing is also compounded by the fact that trw has a bit of an identity crisis over whether it wants to be an acoc in terms of being an in-depth political fantasy with Big Consequences and Realistic Stakes, or exu calamity in terms of being about antiheroes getting up to shit who are hit with a potentially world ending or changing event, real grand fantasy stuff.

The issue with that is that on top of the rushed timeline, you're also trying to shove two radically different stories and tones in. the first half of the season, we're largely focused on the source of the blackmail, the political aspects of the FDA, and the killing of Pamela Rocks. Then in the back half (particularly eps 5 and 6) we take a wild shift into underground mushroom society that never really... shifts back to finish the political stuff. for sake of brevity, I'll just say that both storylines suffer from having to share space. the political aspects are left unfinished or unexplored after setting up some really cool stuff: the cheddars are left untouched, amangeaux's child is never brought into the plot, we barely get to know karna's deal. the fantasy aspects feel a little out of left field and underdeveloped, with no pcs except raphaniel feeling a well tethered connection to it.

in a longer campaign, I'd love both of these stories! at this length, it really probably should have been just one.

matt is a really talented storyteller, but it doesn't get to shine here because so much of trw feels spread thin. I love what we got! it just needed more clarity and focus, and a lot of elements simplified.

for tying back to the ask, exu:calamity made the very smart choice to start with 6 pcs who already knew each other, in one city, in the course of less than 24 hours. the political aspects are thrown out the window bc nothing will matter in the apocalypse, which clears the way for brennan to really narrow in on the aspects he wants, namely go crazy with the religious and scientific plots

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

do you feel like black clover is ending too soon? or is it just me 🥹 i know the manga has been running for a while but the series still feels very short 😭 i honestly wish it had atleast 400 anime eps 😭

It probably could get up to 400 episodes eventually. It's just that the anime isn't, by far, caught up with the manga. But I also think that the fact that people are talking about this being the final arc, and the conclusion, that makes it feel like it's ending right now. When in reality there's, probably, at least 2-3 years before we have reached the actual conclusion. (Maybe more around 2, since the arc has been going on for about 6 months).

So, it's not ending yet. Not really anyways. We still have a lot to see and a lot of questions to be answered. And I'd be disappointed in Tabs, our foreshadowing master, if he failed to deliver.

Plus, I tend to evaluate the show's "ending too soon/not soon enough" based on how the story was told. Because there are shows that are drawn on and on and on and it never seems to go anywhere. I hope that Black Clover won't be one of them. I hope that the story will reach a good, satisfying conclusion eventually.

So, I haven't gotten to the state of mind of "IT'S ENDING" because the story isn't over yet. It might be the final arc, but there's still a long way to go

[fizzingwizard]

Hoooo boy okay... Lupin zero episode 5.... wow (spoilers, and kinda convoluted bc... yeah wow)

To be honest I am a little lost about what to say with this one! I'll summarize first: I liked it, but it tried to do too much, tried to induce emotions it hadn't spent enough time developing, and makes me a little concerned about episode 6. It's not bad but episode 4 was much more cohesive. This is a bit of a mess.

The trouble with this series is it's trying to do way too much for just six episodes. I'd say it needed at least eight. Ep 5 once again just has so many Important Things all going down at a lightning fast pace. The whole short series is like one of those timed challenges they liked to do on cooking game shows, where you'd have to make like a souffle or something in only 30 min. The assumption was that most of the contestants would make errors because of the limited time. In that situation, there's the thrill of the unknown in finding out which souffles still turn out decent by luck more than technique... but I don't want my TV shows half-baked!

Story wise I don't have any issues. The plot's not very inventive but it's fine, Lupin "becoming Lupin" is the real plot anyway. Of course I knew there were gonna be stolen nukes. It's a Japanese anime, what else would it be? Plus I'm a Digimon Adventure fan hurrhurrhurr

I'm mildly surprised by Lupin II's role here, but anticipating that more may come to light in episode 6, for better or worse. It was nice to finally see Shinobu in action. I did expect her to be more two-faced type - and yeah ep 6 is still there, but I doubt there's time to make her more interesting. And if they do, it's probably a waste of time, because the show's already over.

I am wrestling so much with Jigen this episode. After episode 4, it just doesn't make any sense why he's suddenly pushing Lupin away. I feels like there was a scene missing where something happens to make him scared. Tbh, if they had just juggled things a little and put the scene with Jigen getting hired to infiltrate the Lupin estate before him advising Lupin to stay away, it might have worked for me. Or a scene of someone (Shinobu?) telling him he's hurting Lupin by always coming by. Because just "announcing!" it on the rooftop was like. Totally out of nowhere. Until now no one did much to try to prevent these two from hanging out. Shinobu only herded Lupin on home usually after he finished having fun with his bad boy friend, and advise Lupin to avoid danger in a way that was related to Jigen, yes - but it's just one line and Lupin cuts her off! It's so, so hard to feel any tension here. Also, even if Lupin knew that Shinobu was serious about wanting them apart, Jigen seems to have no way of knowing?? Getting side-eyed by Shinobu is not enough my dude. Yet he's the one who tries to push Lupin away seemingly for no reason than he just woke up like "Gee what I have been doing with this kid?"

I do get that the initial scene at the drive-in was more or less supposed to do what I just whined about. With Lupin saying "life's not like the movies" and just the framing of them performing and getting chased off. I like the idea but no I don't think it made the cut. They're trying to tell me I feel emotions for these two that I have not, in fact, been feeling, or feel in only a vague way. Same with Lupin getting beat up - ok, it's meant to scare Jigen away? But I feel nothing.

And the scene on the roof. Let's talk about that. It's so important, but so awkward! They are on the ROOF. Yes, I know they're expert roof-walkers! But the YAKUZA ARE RIGHT DOWN BELOW. Even if Shinobu's not worried about it because she knows Daddy Lupin's down taking care of them, Jigen and Lupin don't! And just the optics of Lupin whirling around between Shinobu and Jigen with their guns out... was so silly. XP

Lupin himself is okay. What took me by surprise is, earlier I was always complaining that Lupin didn't seem child-like enough. But this episode he seemed just a little too childish, I guess? I think it was mostly his monologue on the roof. The reasons for it were great, and fitting for a young Lupin IMO, but. Monologues on rooftops. With yakuza. Are just. Rarely a good idea. Lmao.

Aaaand here we go, the heartbeat bit... I honestly thought Lupin was gonna reach out an snag Jigen's hat with a cheery "Catch me if you want it back!" x'D I absolutely did not expect this... thing we got. I think what I didn't expect was for Lupin to be so, Idk, direct and honest? Maybe I'd have felt differently if the plot elements which led up to this scene had been better developed. I knew we'd get Lupin's decision eventually, and I fully expected some sort of break down of his and Jigen's friendship was coming too.. but it didn't pull off right. Just too fast. Slow down my dears, Rome and good anime aren't built in a day. As one of the very last scenes in the show, maybe it would be fine. And maybe the reason they did it now is because of something else that has to happen later on. Either way. I'm appreciative of what I got, believe me I am. I just wish I felt the story justified it.

Cannot decide how cheesy the heartbeat thing is. Is it cheesy? It's cheesy. I don't hate it lol. Food for the fan girls xP

Ep 6 is next and my hope is that it will be more than a "wrapping things up" type episode, although I'm not really expecting it will be. I would like to think there's something hidden from us still, but it very well may be simply "Lupin and Jigen save Tokyo from nukes as their first heist, Lupin discovers brave and rebellious women like Youko are totally his type, and Lupin tells his dad to fuck out of his life then drives off into the sunset with Jigen in their ridiculous teeny tiny car."

My hopes are that there will be more interaction between Lupin and Daddy Lupin than just that. Honestly wondering if Lupin II will die over this Lupin empire thing? Hard to explain otherwise why he's never around, but since this is its own canon we don't really need to adjust for that. And sort of hoping there's some part of Youko's story we haven't seen yet.

I do think developments with Jigen are more or less done... The only thing I can think of for him is we have never actually seen his dad. Until this episode I didn't think it was necessary to see him, but now, knowing he purposely sent Jigen to the Lupin estate in his stead, I feel like we need to know who he is. Wouldn't it be funny if he turns out to be Lupin II and Jigen and Lupin are actually biological half brothers? Hahaha. Kidding!! It doesn't make sense that Lupin II would be living a double life by hanging out on a houseboat with baby Jigen and going off to shoot people in various wars. I'm just trying to express how VERY CONVENIENT it seems that Daddy Jigen sent Baby Jigen to the Lupin estate right at that moment. But does it need cleaning up? Not more than many other elements, so this is just me spouting off randomly.

Another thought I had for this series was that rather than end with Lupin and Jigen riding off into the sunset, something would happen just when they seemed like that's something they might do which would throw a wrench in their plans. Maybe something that would explain why Lupin partners with Albert for a while. But once again: different canon, no need to adjust for it. The inclusion of Albert just seems weird if he's not really useful for anything, though.

There's still one more episode so I guess I won't have any more questions next week! Although this episode was back and forth for me, I'm still enjoying the series and happier that it was made than I thought I would be. Fingers crossed for the finale.

[halfseoulco]

#GeniusLabListens 2022 Top Spins

Published Sunday, December 25th, 2022 —  As 2022 comes to an end, I want to remember all the amazing music that came out this year. With the KPOP industry growing more and more competitive as months go by, we saw 2022 give birth to a multitude of notable full-length albums and EPs; and some artists even released more than one record this year. Being a multi-stan, I end up listening to a long list of releases every year and it was a little difficult to narrow it down*—but here we are.

Merry Christmas everyone. This is Genius Lab USA and here are the #GeniusLabListens 2022 Top Spins.**

1. DISHARMONY : FIND OUT — P1Harmony (EP)

Release Date: January 3, 2022

P1Harmony has this quirky tendency to make an entire EP full of bangers—except for the last track, which is a ballad. I can’t pick a favorite song, so I’m not going to, although I will say that of the six, I listen to “Before The Dawn” the least.

2. THE SECOND STEP : CHAPTER ONE — TREASURE (EP)

Release Date: February 15, 2022

Short and sweet. “DARARI” was used in a lot of Instagram Reels and TikToks around the time of release, but “JIKJIN” will always be the star of this EP to me—and rightfully so.

3. YOUNG-LUV.COM — STAYC (EP)

Release Date: February 21, 2022

STAYC have been huge favorites for me this year, not just among girl groups but in the general KPOP soundscape. “YOUNG LUV” makes me cry ugly tears every time and “RUN2U” deserved better than what the general public gave her.

4. Love Pt.1 : First Love — WEi (EP)

Release Date: March 16, 2022

WEi is another group who I personally think got paid dust this year and I would really love it if more people appreciated them because they are going places. “Too Bad” may be a song about confessing to someone you like but it got me through a lot of stressful times since the EP’s release, since I chose to interpret the chorus in a different way.

5. ODDINARY — Stray Kids (ALBUM)

Release Date: March 18, 2022

The album itself is a little odd in its experimental nature—hence the name ODDINARY—but I enjoyed the overall flow from song to song and the group’s willingness to play around with their sound. Favorite tracks are “MANIAC” and “FREEZE”.

6. Glitch Mode - The 2nd Album — NCT DREAM (ALBUM)

Release Date: March 28, 2022

NCT DREAM being the most active sub-unit was one of the biggest surprises of 2022 and I really enjoyed this album a lot. Big winners for me are “Fire Alarm” and “Saturday Drip”.

7. memeM — PURPLE KISS (EP)

Release Date: March 29, 2022

No one’s doing it like PURPLE KISS, in my opinion, because no one else has Swan in their group. This EP was delightfully eerie and I found joy in “Pretty Psycho” and “memeM”. Honorable mention: “Hate me, Hurt me, Love me”.

8. SERIES 'O' [ROUND 3 : WHOLE] — VERIVERY (ALBUM)

Release Date: April 25, 2022

I still have mixed feelings about this particular album because of the fact that “Childhood” sounds like a carbon copy of ATEEZ’s “Dancing Like Butterfly Wings”—but it has a lot of good songs on it. Favorite tracks are “Wish U were here”, “O”, and “Fine”.

9. FLASHBACK — IKON (EP)

Release Date: May 3, 2022

I did not see this EP coming but I’m so thankful because “BUT YOU” hurts so good. That’s all I have to say about it—that’s all I need to say about it. I hear “I’m in love again” and my emotions are toast.

10. minisode 2: Thursday's Child — TOMORROW X TOGETHER (EP)

Release Date: May 9, 2022

The best birthday present HYBE has ever given me. The entire EP is perfection, cohesive and artistic perfection. “Good Boy Gone Bad” is what I would consider an outlier amongst the other songs, but she still serves and keeps serving. I love “Opening Sequence” with all of my heart.

11. Drive to the Starry Road — ASTRO (ALBUM)

Release Date: May 16, 2022

This album is very true to ASTRO’s established sound and style, but the solo songs were a nice touch. “Candy Sugar Pop” is a fun, light summer bop but my picks are “Something Something”, “Light the sky”, and “Like stars”, plus Sanha’s solo track “24 Hours”. It was also the last album MJ participated in before enlisting.

12. TRICKSTER — ONEUS (EP)

Release Date: May 27, 2022

Listen, ONEUS have never released a bad record. That’s the truth and more people need to recognize that. This EP is pretty kooky but it’s great. Good things come in pairs, as with “Intro : Who Got the Joker?” and “Bring it on”.

13. GOT7 — GOT7 (EP)

Release Date: May 23, 2022

The single most beautiful thing to have happened to the KPOP industry this year if only because GOT7 look so happy to be making the music they want and out of reach of JYP’s claws. I love the entire vibe of the EP but my queen is “Drive Me To The Moon”.

14. The Story — KANGDANIEL (ALBUM)

Release Date: May 24, 2022

I wasn’t too crazy about him prior to this year, but I think that KANGDANIEL really understands vibes. Favorite tracks are “Don’t Tell (feat. Jessi)”, “How We Live (feat. sokodomo)”, and “Mad (feat. Chancellor)”.

15. 4th Album 'Face the Sun' — SEVENTEEN (ALBUM)

Release Date: May 27, 2022

Need I say anything? It’s a perfect album from start to finish and I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite song because I love them all, although “Darl+ing” and “’bout you” have joined the ranks of SEVENTEEN favorites. I hope they’re very proud of this album because I’m proud of them.

16. Story Written in Music — OMEGA X (ALBUM)

Release Date: May 31, 2022

What happened to them this year was really unfortunate and infuriating, but in spite of what SPIRE ENTERTAINMENT put them through, OMEGA X really put out a fantastic summer album. They have fun, party music but also sweet romantic songs, of which “DANCE WITH U” and “LOVE” are my absolute favorites.

17. DOUBLAST — Kep1er (EP)

Release Date: June 20, 2022

I know they put out another EP after this, but for me, this one hit me in more of the right places and the line distribution (I think) was the best it’s been so far. Released during the peak of summer comeback season, it has a wonderful dreamy feel to it. Favorite track is “LE VOYA9E”.

18. MANIFESTO : DAY 1 — ENHYPEN (EP)

Release Date: July 4, 2022

I haven’t forgotten about the recurring bullying incidents within this I-LAND disaster group but I have to admit that ENHYPEN knows how to keep people’s attention. This EP packs a powerful punch and “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)” is a top-tier hype song.

19. HOLIDAY — WINNER (EP)

Release Date: July 5, 2022

Like IKON’s EP, I didn’t see this one coming either but “I LOVE U” has me by the throat. I mean, do you hear those high notes? Crisp, clear, stable. Check, check, and check. “10 MIN”, “HOLIDAY”, and “FAMILY” are also bops.

20. THE EARTH : SECRET MISSION Chapter.2 — MCND (EP)*

Release Date: July 7, 2022

Arguably one of the most fun releases of the summer—and this year, quite honestly—this EP proves that no one should be sleeping on MCND. I love every single song but I especially thrive off of “W.A.T.1″. It’s just so good.

21. THE WAVE OF9 — SF9 (EP)

Release Date: July 13, 2022

I’m not sure what they put in this EP but it’s definitely something. Every track is so completely addictive and perfect for the summer mood they were trying to set. My top track for this release, however, is “OK OK”.

22. CHECKMATE — ITZY (ALBUM)

Release Date: July 15, 2022

I know it’s their title track but I like every other song on this album except “Sneakers” and personally, I think it would’ve been a perfect album without it. Cringe-y TikTok song aside, this record is pretty solid and not as bad as people were making it out to be. Top tracks for me are “RACER” and “365″.

23. 4th Album Repackage 'SECTOR 17' — SEVENTEEN (ALBUM)

Release Date: July 18, 2022

Ah, here we are again. Not counting the songs from the original release, this album is still perfect. “Circles”? Tears. “_WORLD”? Cute and catchy. “Fallin’ Flower (Korean Ver.)”? Gorgeous. But the winner that takes all is the SEVENTEEN Leaders unit song “CHEERS” because it’s playing all day everyday like rent is due.

24.  Geekyland — PURPLE KISS (EP)

Release Date: July 19, 2022

This EP feels like a continuation of “memeM”—in a good way, of course—and again, no one else is doing it like them. It’s a shame they haven’t done anything to promote it but the stand out of this record for me is “FireFlower” with an honorable mention for “Love Is Dead”.

25.WE NEED LOVE — STAYC (SINGLE)***

Release Date: July 25, 2022

STAYC stays destroying my emotions and the difference between “BEAUTIFUL MONSTER” and “I LIKE IT” gives me whiplash but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Also, “BEAUTIFUL MONSTER” is up there with “YOUNG LUV” in making me shed tears.

26. Grown Ass Kid — ZICO (EP)

Release Date: July 27, 2022

I may still be channeling my love for BLOCK B through ZICO but this EP was really something special. Experimental, edgy, and expressive, I love all the different styles he explored in just five songs. Standout song for me is “OMZ freestyle”.

27. THE WORLD EP.1 : MOVEMENT — ATEEZ (ALBUM)

Release Date: July 29, 2022

Holy hell. If you read my very in-depth analysis of this album when it first came out, you’ll know that I spent a lot of time ruminating over the themes and messages; and if you’re an ATINY, you know that there is an entire universe contained in ATEEZ’s discography. The dystopian evil government takeover they were describing in this album was brought to life so flawlessly, I could almost believe that they’re really fighting for something. I am a “Sector 1″, “Cyberpunk”, and “The Ring” enthusiast.

28. 7TH MINI ALBUM [BE AWARE] — THE BOYZ (EP)

Release Date: August 16, 2022

I think THE BOYZ always put out fun records but that people usually miss out on the more poignant or softer tracks because of the ones they choose to promote instead. I really like “C.O.D.E” and “Timeless” but “Survive The Night” is my dearly beloved of beloveds.

29. 5th EP Album 'OK' Episode 1 : OK Not — CIX (EP)

Release Date: August 22, 2022

This EP only has four songs but they’re all great. CIX has been going in the direction of softer, more R&B-style songs recently, which I’m all here for, especially since Bae Jinyoung’s voice is very suited for that genre. I really, really, really love “Without You”.

30. BETWEEN 1&2 — TWICE (ALBUM)

Release Date: August 26, 2022

I would say that I’m someone who generally likes everything TWICE puts out but obviously there will be albums I like more. Conceptually, BETWEEN 1&2 is more mature, which is indicative of the girls getting older, and I think that’s a great thing. I am a superfan of “Queen of Hearts” and “When We Were Kids", although I also really like “Gone”.

31. MALUS — ONEUS (EP)

Release Date: September 5, 2022

This release had me by the throat throughout the entire fall season. In fact, it still has me by the throat. I can’t even tell you how often I listened to “Same Scent” and I definitely watched every single time they performed it. I also have a very special place in my heart for “Gravitation” and “STUPID LOVE”. This EP is also very bittersweet to me because it’s the last Korean release RAVN worked on before he left RBW and I can definitely say that their future records will not sound the same without him.

32. THE SECOND STEP : CHAPTER TWO — TREASURE (EP)

Release Date: October 4, 2022

The timing of this EP happened to coincide with Yedam and Mashiho leaving YG, which is still quite sad to me—but on the plus side, the songs are very catchy, moreso overall than their previous release. I really enjoyed the unit songs, namely the rap line’s “VolKno”, but “HELLO”—like “JIKJIN”—was the star.

33. MAXIDENT — Stray Kids (ALBUM)

Release Date: October 7, 2022

MAXIDENT is really everything I wanted in a Stray Kids album. For one thing, they gave me the Korean version of “CIRCUS”, which I had been begging for. For another, it has “CASE 143″, “CHILL”, “3RACHA”, and “TASTE” on it. But nothing—I repeat, nothing—beats the “nyaooooom”s in “SUPER BOARD” because it’s so unserious.

34. ANTIFRAGILE — LE SSERAFIM (EP)

Release Date: October 17, 2022

If you had told me that in 2022, a KPOP group would be releasing a genuinely authentic reggaetón song, I probably would’ve laughed at you but here we are. I will probably never get over “ANTIFRAGILE”. Ever. And “No Celestial”? Oh my God, someone give those girls a raise.

35. YOUTH — KIHYUN (EP)

Release Date: October 24, 2022

This EP only reinforced what I already thought about Kihyun: that he’s really a KPOP vocalist by day, indie rock singer by night. I love that for you, sweetie. You do you, Kihyun. Song I fell in love with the hardest is “STARDUST”.

36. Choice — VICTON (EP)

Release Date: November 15, 2022

VICTON had a release earlier this year that also has a lot of songs that made it onto my personal playlists but I did very much prefer this one, especially since it has “Time Chaser” because “Time Chaser” is such a beautiful song. So beautiful. Please love it.

37. 'The ReVe Festival 2022 - Birthday' — Red Velvet (EP)

Release Date: November 28, 2022

I don’t know what people’s issue with this EP is but it’s definitely my favorite out of Red Velvet’s more recent releases. Personally, I haven’t liked a release so much since their “Red Flavor” era. Top pick from this EP is “ZOOM”.

38. HARMONY : SET IN — P1Harmony (EP)

Release Date: November 30, 2022

Twice in one year, P1Harmony made an EP full of winning hype tracks and one ballad—but “Back Down” is on an entirely different level from the rest of the record. It’s so hard-hitting and powerful, the kind of song you’d play in your car with the windows down so that the cops might think about pulling you over for disturbing the peace.

39. Indigo — RM (ALBUM)

Release Date: December 2, 2022

This album is a vibe. A vibe! If you want to know more of my thoughts on this particular release, please read my review. My favorite songs are “All Day (with Tablo)”, “Closer (with Paul Blanco, Mahalia)”, “Hectic (with Colde)”, and “Wild Flower (with youjeen)”, which is inevitably the song that made me sob like my heart was shattering. Anyway, stream Indigo.

40. SKZ-REPLAY — STRAY KIDS (ALBUM)

Release Date: December 21, 2022

I didn’t think we were going to get anything else this late in the year but Merry Christmas and happy holidays to Stays from Stray Kids with this two-side record consisting of 25 tracks that include solo songs, sub-unit songs, and songs performed by the group. Top picks are “Fam”, “Limbo”, “Deep End”, and “#LoveStay”.

Feel free to share some of your favorite releases from this year! Did some of them make it onto this list?

*Releases were chosen based on how many songs from each release are currently on my personal playlists.

**Please note that this list is in order of release and does not include singles or anthology albums.

***WE NEED LOVE by STAYC is categorized as a single by Spotify but since there are three songs that are not remixes on it, I’ve chosen to include it on this list.