#just saw this for the first time and the cinematography is incredible

[s0mewhy]

Night of the Hunter (1955)

[smytherines]

I didn't really have the ability to take screenshots, but my partner and I just rewatched npmd for the first time in a little while, and it feels like we don't give Curt Mega enough credit for being the filming day director for that show.

In high energy, plot-propelling numbers like High School Is Killing Me and Hatchet Town the camera pretty much never stops moving, accelerating the pacing and escalating the tension, and then when we get to The Summoning it's frenetically swirling side to side and up and down like a tilt-a-whirl. It's done subtly enough that it doesn't make you sick, but it's still a distinct nightmare circus sort of vibe that works so well for the song. There's a genuine menace in how it is staged and lit and shot that is very very cool.

The first time my partner and I saw The Summoning we had to immediately go back and watch it again, because the entire first time we were talking about how fucking cool it looked, how intense it is, how cinematic it is. It's a massive moment in the Hatchetfield series, and the way its shot lives up to that moment.

Speaking of, my partner wandered into the kitchen while on his phone, and I asked him what words he would use to describe the cinematography of npmd. He paused for a second and then started reading out a list of thesaurus entries for the word "dynamic," which feels like a cliche but yeah- dynamic is a pretty good word for it.

Curt Mega and Nick Lang did the editing, Nick Lang directed the show, the scene and lighting direction is pitch perfect, every aspect of the technical design works really cohesively. It is definitely the most visually ambitious taping of a Starkid show.

It's just really incredibly cool to have a group of people creating and acting and writing and directing and filming unique shows with unique songs, and they put them up on youtube FOR FREE. For anyone to watch.

(That's also why you should help fund tinlightenment if you can. Independent theater only exists if we fund it)

[jedisupernova]

brief thoughts on sinners + plus size rep (i feel reborn)

i just saw sinners. this film is so fucking important for an endless amount of reasons. the symbolism enriching its already gorgeous story, the delectable writing, GORGEOUS fucking cinematography, PERFORMANCES THAT ARE OUTRAGEOUS, a score so incredible i’m still in a trance thinking about it, and its multi-layered themes can be subject of not only a dissertation but also overall study of its contribution to filmmaking as an art form for generations to come. holy shit.

one thing i want to highlight specifically, as a plus sized woman of color who writes plus size fem reader fics, this film was the first time i’ve ever seen a plus sized woman be so unapologetically loved. it was so beautiful it nearly brought me to tears. it was also really fucking hot. to see annie be listened to, respected, her intelligence valued, and bring a fine ass man to his knees at the simple bat of her eyelashes. now that’s what i’m fucking talking about. i’m an annie and smoke girl forever. and the pussy eating advocacy in this film goes crazy—that’s what i like to see!!

if you are plus sized and also a follower of mine, please know that i see you and i understand. i will never stop writing about rolls, cellulite, stretch marks, double chins, etc. so much of media revolves around thinness—but on this blog, it doesn’t. i welcome anyone of any body type to read my fics, but on this blog, your only possible storyline isn’t tied to your body. that’s not to say body image issues aren’t valid. it’s the unfortunate common thread that ties us all together, but bigger women need to just be able to exist. to be loved. to be hot as fuck. to be fucked. to be made love to. to be fought for. to be valued. to know our worth, even in a societal culture that wants us to think we’re unlovable. kiss my fat fucking ass and go see sinners

[pyromance]

PLEASE share ur saw color theories. if u don't mind 😁

OH OF COURSE they're not perfectly thought out and how intentional these choices are is up for debate. but! beyond just looking fun and creating a great contrast to the very barren and downtrodden world of saw, in my the use of a small group of specific colors communicates quite a bit about themes, motivations, and story throughout the entirety of the saw franchise.

my qualifications are several years of middle and high school lighting for theatre and being a big nerd.

the two most recognizable colors in saw are bathroom blue and saw green. in concert with eachother, they paint the beautiful state of new jersey in garish and eye-catching beauty. the moment in which the meanings of these two colors is solidified is shown in two scenes in saw 4. both of these scenes feature a character getting their scalp ripped off (yeouch). the first example of this, during john kramer's autopsy, is washed in cool toned lights. the room is sterile, painfully white fluorescents bask the scene in a shade of bathroom blue. the next time we see someone get scalped in this movie is in rigg's apartment during the see what i see trap. while the light coming from the tv screen and the trap itself are white, the environment of the trap is another shade of saw green (though less hauntingly beautiful than the first go around). more contrasts can be made with the score, the cinematography, the movements of the actors, these two scenes are clearly supposed to be put into contrast with eachother.

so, the use of color in both of these scenes provides a key for what both of these scenes have to say about violence. specifically, when violence is acceptable and when it's not! within my viewpoint, bathroom blue is for socially acceptable, everyday cruelty that follows the rules, whereas saw green is for times in which violence is no longer a normal fact of life and is instead a sign of a rotten core.

once you pick up on this, you start seeing it everywhere. the titular bathroom that shade gets is hue from is bathed in blue, which is not only a good contrast of lawrence's previous medical uncaring cruelty being brought into focus, but also shows the emphasis john is allegedly putting on rules. however, the moment his own rules are broken and his cruelty leaves the realm of acceptability even built within his own rule book, the bathroom becuase awash in saw green. look, i could go on.

however! there's more to saw's use of color than green and blue! the two slightly less recognized but still ubiquitous colors in saw is yellow and red. i've personally coined these tumor yellow and autocrat red. tumor yellow is first introduced in john kramer's hospital bed in saw 3. it could be merely read as another, slightly diffrent shade of saw green, but i disagree. tumor yellow speaks to the inner sickness growing inside of john kramer, and doesn't quite fit the mold of rules and violence set up by the green shade. yellow lighting of this shade makes the skin look weird, and is just cool enough to remove any warmth created by the amber undertones. tumor yellow is, to be frank, just kind of gross! but by using unappealing lighting of subjects, the movie is trying to speak to their inner rot. the other best example of tumor yellow being used is actually in spiral, during schenk's whole villain monologue. he's talking to zeke about the inner cruelty within the system he works in, so it's only natural that such an unnatural color is used. (times like this is when i wish tumblr had footnotes, but i do think it's important to note how schenk is cast in shadow for a lot of it. ooo, very menacing.)

autocrat red is mostly present in just one movie, saw 6, but it's so incredibly pervasive in it and goes with scenes with similar ideas that i think it's noticeable. this vibrant, consuming shade of red is present in scenes in which the power structures certain characters have come to thrive in are violated or perverted. hoffman abuses his strength and power as a police officer to LITERALLY hinder justice, and william is suddenly brought face to face with the power of death he has been using AND, perhaps, the somewhat explorative nature inherent to his position as a CEO in relation to his employees. (there's also some tumor yellow in here, which also tracks with the metaphor in that color). once again, this color is only used heavily in saw 6, but i do think it is present in the others ones AND it's clearly intentional.

so, in conclusion, here's a guide to what i think the colors in saw "mean".

BATHROOM BLUE: socially acceptable violence, or cruelty we can wave off.

SAW GREEN: unacceptable and needless violence

TUMOR YELLOW: used when systems or people are brought to their knees and exposed as rotten

AUTOCRAT RED: power in crisis

i'm not claim this is the end-all-be-all of saw color analysis, or that i'm objectively correct on these. i'd love to start a conversation! but, i do think my ideas are fairly well supported by evidence in the text.

[booksandabeer]

Catch up tag

Thank you so much for tagging me @somanywords! <333

Favorite color: Always & forever: International Klein Blue. In general, I gravitate towards rich, strong colors.

Last song: I think it was this one:

Last book: Oh, a German novel, actually! Die Unverhofften by Christoph Nußbaumeder. A 700-page history of a fictional Bavarian family spanning the entire 20th century. I'm enjoying it a lot. Peculiar prose, but not necessarily in a bad way, and at times a little didactic, but I will freely admit that I've mostly read these kinds of multi-generational novels (which I love) told from an East German perspective, so I don't really mind all that much.

Last movie: In my annual panicked sprint towards the Oscars deadline, I gorged myself on so many movies in February that I got completely burned out, and I haven't actually seen any since the beginning of March. I think? Also, so. many. tv shows. So I think the last one I saw was A Complete Unknown. A competently made movie, Timmy Chardonnay does an ok job as Dylan, but honestly, I found every single other character more interesting than the one it was actually about. (Monica Barbaro is magnificent as Joan Baez, and Scoot McNairy and Edward Norton as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger are incredibly moving. They kind of stole the movie out from under the anointed Prince of Hollywood.)

Last TV show: God so many.

Still slooowly making my way through Succession. Watched episode 4x08 ("America Decides") just last night, which must have hit hard in 2023 already, but watching it in 2025...fucking bleak. Absolutely bone-chilling.

The White Lotus, which is the first show that made me understand the concept of "background watching." It's essentially a very silly, very glossy soap opera with great actors portraying terrible people doing and saying terrible and often ridiculous things in beautiful locations. The season finale was...not great. If I were more invested or took this show seriously in any way, I guess I would've been pretty bummed out by it, but as things are, I merely shrugged. See you next year in the Maldives, I guess. Or wherever Mike White wants to play dolls next.

Adolescence. As technically impressive as it is emotionally devastating. Writing, directing, acting, cinematography--it's all breathtakingly well done. Aside from one minor misstep at the very end--and it is a minor one, but it gives in to a more sentimental and therefore more manipulative mode of storytelling that the show so bravely, so impressively resisted up until then--this is as close to perfection as you can get in telling such a difficult story within the format of a four-episode limited series.

The Studio. I love this show and am enjoying the hell out of it every week, but I'm also wondering who it is for? Don't get me wrong, the intersection of art/business/gossip in Hollywood is absolute catnip to me, but how many "normal" people actually get more than half of the jokes on this very inside baseball show? Then again, this is on Apple tv+ and broad appeal or profitability (of their streaming service at least) doesn't really seem to be a concern for them.

The Pitt. As an old ER head this just hits the spot for me. Full of good, competent characters trying their very best in a fucked-up system. It's not a very subtle show and occasionally it gets VERY clunky when it wants to impart a lesson or send a message, but honestly? Maybe that's what this world needs right now. It's very well-made tv that is also unashamedly sincere. I can't hate on that.

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: All three, please.

Relationship status: I have my person.

Last thing I googled: "How to get rid of mealybugs," which have apparently infected the small pine tree on my little roof terrace… :(

Looking forward to: I will be traveling to Macedonia next month for a wedding and then spending a week there afterwards. Very exciting!

Current obsessions: Oh, you know. The usual. Steve. Bucky. SteveandBucky.

I don't want to be a coward, so I'm tagging: @vuesfluides, @dharmasharks, @burninblood, @maplefiasco, @ethicalhorseslaughter, @burberrycanary, @village-skeptic, but PLEASE if anyone else sees this and feels like doing it, I would love to read your answers! I'm always so late with these things and I don't want to annoy anyone, but I'm really very interested in what other people are reading/watching/listening to!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Family Matters

Sinners is the best f*cking movie I've seen in years. The hype is mad real. Coogler did a fantastic job telling this story and, as a film, it's goddamn brilliant. Everything you've heard about his joint, is true. The direction, the performances, the cinematography, and the music! F*ck, the music! You feel this film through those notes. This is more than movie made for Black people. It IS that, but it's also so much more. It's for the culture and it hits so hard because of that music. Be it Blues, Rock, Rap, or RnB. Be it Country, Disco, or Funk, music is intrinsic to the Black experience. It's in our bones. It's in our soul. It's in our roots. Music is the salve for our pain, and we have suffered so much of that sh*t. It's the soundtrack to our triumphs and the dirge for our trauma. You need that sh*t to tell our stories right. Sinners did just that. It's a masterpiece of a film and it is Black as f*ck. Unapologetically. When i said this is a Blackity-Black film, made by a Black person, starring Black people, about Black people, doing Black things, i meant it. Not just because of the music, but because of how goddamn genuine it is in telling that story.

It's the little things. The comment about being play cousins or that Mary is family. That's that sh*t i know. That's that sh*t i live. I got a White little sister and a Desi one, too. My best friend in grade school was Asian and the love of my life is Mexican. The only woman I'll ever recognize as my aunt, was a red-headed, tequila-swigging, punch-first-ask-questions-never, Ginger who would go to war for me in a second, no questions asked. I have dozens of cousins with nicknames like Pooka and Spunky. These are grown as people and we still call them by those nicknames. My cousin Pooka is half-Japanese and is my mom's favorite. Her mom, Aunty Sadako, used to tempura-fry Chitlins. She came over after the war with Uncle Ralph, after her family disowned her for shacking up with a Black GI. Well, she was brought into ours with open arms. Black people make their families, always have, and this movie is all about that. That's the energy on display in this film more than anything else. It's not a horror movie or some Woke Trojan Horse, it's just a story about how Black people make their own. Family. It's about finding your family and i felt that sh*t in MY soul.

Family in Sinners ain't about that superficial sh*t you see in the Fast franchise. It's not a catchphrase or a theme. It's more than that. It's the point. It's about actual bonds. I know all the film geeks are going to talk about the whole cultural appropriation angle and the symbolism of the Irish Vampire trying to steal Sammie's song, but that's the big picture. That's what Coogler wanted the audience to see. But, as a Black person, that family energy is what i felt. Cornbread saw Mary and lit up because, even though she's been away for years, she's always going to be Little Mary. Ma ain't blood related, ain't even really all that Black, but she family. Bo and Grace are Chinese, but they still in the kitchen with Annie, frying them chicken wings. My grandpa is from Alabama. My Ma has told me stories about how the Klan came after them on road trips back to the South to see her pop's kin. She remembers how she went back east to Chicago, saw the White and Black only stores directly across the street from each other. This sh*t is my reality. It's where i come from. Everything in this film, my family has experienced. Minus the Dhampir, of course. This movie is a reunion. It's a homecoming. That's that energy I'm talking about. That's what i mean when i say this sh*t feels like my history. Even Remmick, for all of his blood-sucking bullsh*t, just wanted to see his people again. That's what this movie is really about. And it makes sure you know that by the time those credits role.

I cannot stress to you how f*cking incredible Sinners is. Watch that sh*t over and over. Buy it on VOD and Blu-Ray. Go see it in theaters again. In this age of franchise sequels, Cinematic Universes, and Remakes, Coogler gave us a gift. We need to relish the f*ck out of it.

[brucebocchi]

Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 4: #5-1

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.

The list is complete! This took a lot of work but I'm over the moon to get this out there. Please consider leaving a tip if you've enjoyed reading.

Here goes, my top five anime of 2023:

5. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Zom 100’s debut hit like a freight train, especially coming from a brand new studio. It had everything: Visceral satire of Japanese work culture, incredible animation, vibrant colors in unexpected places, clever cinematography, wish fulfillment for everyone who’s ever wanted to Stone Cold their boss, and most importantly: Zombie titties.

The premise is magnetic: When your job makes you feel like a zombie, an actual zombie apocalypse means certain freedom from the grind. Akira Tendo realizes that he can finally use the vacation time he amassed while being exploited and overworked at a legally dodgy black company, so he writes a bucket list of everything he’s ever wanted to do, with all intention of checking off every single line item before succumbing to a zombie bite. He manages to rescue his hunky fuckboy bestie from college, and they embark on a road trip across Japan to finish out the list, along with a beautiful, risk-averse tsundere and a big-tiddy German weeb. 

It's a perfectly fine elevator pitch, and a welcome break from the guns-and-grit quagmire the zombie genre has been stuck in for the past two decades, but what makes any good zombie-flecked media resonate is the human element, which Zom 100 delivers expertly. You’re quickly given reason to care for all the characters, their motivations are clear and relatable, and you want to see them survive and live out their dreams. But more importantly, you just want to hang out with them through their hijinks. It even delves into more serious matters, like what we owe our parents as adults, the ways isolation and bitterness can drive people to act out in their worst moments, and even the factors that push abuse victims to stay with and even return to their abusers. 

Above all, though, it’s a powerful (if extreme) story of finding joy in the direst circumstances. Akira, Kencho, and Shizuka are all kindhearted, well-meaning people whose situations kept them from what they truly wanted to do with their lives, and there’s something kinda beautiful to be found in them finding a new opportunity during the possible end of the world (Beatrix is a sweetie too, but aside from the whole zombie thing, she’s already exactly where she wants to be). The final arc of the season, in particular, looks you dead in the eye and asks you: If you were suddenly faced with the ultimate freedom, would you use the opportunity to better yourself, improve the lives of others, or do whatever the fuck you want at everyone else’s expense? You may not like the answer at first if you’re honest with yourself, and that’s okay. The world isn’t over, and there’s still time for you to be your best self.

Zom 100, unfortunately, fell prey to a cruel irony in the form of production issues. Bug Films is a new studio made up of a former team from OLM that was responsible for similarly gorgeous projects such as Komi Can’t Communicate and Summer Time Rendering. They clearly saw so much of themselves in Akira's workplace exploitation that they had to swing for the fences here. The firm he works for is named “ZLM” in this adaptation, for fuck’s sake, and he fully destroys his zombie boss in the first episode. But new studio or old, the anime industry is a grind, and Bug had trouble keeping up; animation quality did take a bit of a dip after the stunning first episode, and episodes were frequently delayed as the summer broadcast season wore on and ended without the entire seasonal run making airwaves. Hell, it was impossible to watch the final three episodes until just a few days before I could write this sentence.

For what Bug were able to pull off, though, Zom 100 is outstanding. The paintball-colored blood splatters everywhere are an instantly-iconic look that strike the balance between horror and spectacle. Everything and everyone looks gorgeously faithful to Kotaro Takata’s art, and delivers an appropriately cinematic look that the manga always deserved. I almost don’t know what else to tell you but that this show is a fucking blast.

There’s also a zombie shark. What more could you want?

4. Oshi no Ko

I spent a good chunk of 2023 just assuming Oshi no Ko was going to be a layup for anime of the year. Shortly after moving on from Kaguya-sama, I rushed to binge Aka Akasaka's subsequent manga in time for the anime's feature-length debut. I was taken in by OnK's bonkers premise and sudden dark turn and quickly fell in love with the characters, and my anticipation only grew. I had high expectations for the screen adaptation, but nothing could have prepared me for just how lovingly it all came together. This is as close to a perfect adaptation as you can find, and the same can be said about both the preceding and following entries on this list.

Oshi no Ko is an audiovisual feast. Doga Kobo cleaned up Mengo Yokoyari’s character designs just a smidge, but put just the right flourishes on them to make every single cast member instantly iconic. One look at Kana Arima’s eyes will tell you everything you need to know about the level of care put into the visual design of this anime. The performances are on point as well; though many of the main cast members are relative newcomers to the world of seiyuu, you can tell they truly came to understand the characters before they even recorded one line. I’ve already gushed about Rie Takahashi in earlier entries, but her turn as Ai Hoshino is easily one of the best voice performances all year. Takahashi makes a meal out of every single second Ai spends on screen and gives you every reason to care about her as a character.

Showbiz manga in general is obviously missing an audio element, and when an adaptation can expand on that aspect well, it can help turn even middling source material into something transcendent (see also: Rock!, Bocchi the). Music is central to Oshi no Ko, and the OP/ED combination is already iconic; YOASOBI’s “Idol” has had the best worldwide chart performance of any Japanese song ever, and the prolonged intro to Queen Bee’s “Mephisto” became a meme in Japan in the same vein as JJBA’s iconic use of “Roundabout.” Rather than taking manga characters’ word for it that someone is a terrible actor, we actually get to cringe along to an amateur actor’s hammy emoting. We get to see and hear what turned a fictional idol group into a national phenomenon rather than just see cute girls posing on the page. All of this is to say that while Oshi no Ko is an excellent manga, it needed a screen adaptation, and especially one of this quality.

Oshi no Ko deserves every shred of its success. I've never seen an anime make a splash this enormous with just its debut episode, even if it’s kind of cheating to say so because the first episode is almost literally a movie, and if I were to give an award for the best single episode of anime this year, it would be that one, hands down. Adapting the entire first volume into a feature-length debut was the correct move (mostly because it’s a tonal rollercoaster, and the Big Event that defines the entire story wouldn’t have happened until the fourth episode otherwise), and the investment paid dividends. The hype naturally died down a bit as the season wore on and settled into a more consistent tone and rhythm, but it remains an essential anime to 2023.

You may have noticed that I have said very little of what this show is actually about, and that’s by design: If you still don’t know the plot of Oshi no Ko’s first episode by now, I refuse to tell you: you need to go in blind. All I will say is that it is an idol anime that glorifies nothing. If you've read this far and still trust what I have to say about anime, I beg you to just take my word for it. It's an incredibly rewarding experience.

3. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

There's just something so wonderful about taking in an adaptation of a work you’re already familiar with and knowing, almost instantaneously, that every single person working on it genuinely loved the source material and relished the opportunity to bring it to life. Nearly every single member of the original cast is in the dub (including the ones who went on to be MCU mainstays), Edgar Wright is back on as executive producer, Anamanaguchi reprise their soundtracking duties from the video game, and even Bryan Lee O’Malley himself helped co-write everything.

That last detail is probably the most important thing about this entire production: It’s not exactly a secret that the original Scott Pilgrim comics are very imperfect portrayals of a very imperfect young man. I knew reading them at the time that the comic did not have a great grasp on relationships and the dynamics between men and women, and that was at a time in my life when I myself was pretty terrible with and to women. O'Malley has said that he would only revisit Scott Pilgrim if it was “the right thing” and that he was leery of a straight retelling of a work he has since outgrown.

So instead, we have the Rebuild of Scott Pilgrim, to put it simply. Takes Off is a completely new story that reexamines the Scott Pilgrim comics, movie, and even game without undermining what came before it. This series is not a repudiation of Scott Pilgrim (the character or the franchise)’s flaws, nor is it purely fanservice; it splits the difference perfectly. It’s both more mature and completely self-indulgent. This show so easily could’ve marched to the familiar discourse drumbeat of “Scott isn’t the hero here” or “he’s actually not a good dude,” but it instead focuses on what should always be the second half of that sentence: “But Ramona still sees something in him.”

Yes, Ramona Flowers is effectively the protagonist of a new work that doesn’t even have her name on it, and it tackles some surprisingly necessary questions: What was her responsibility in creating seven evil exes in the first place? What made them evil? Are they even that evil? This series opens up entire worlds of possibilities within the extended cast and gleefully dives into them. Though Takes Off may not flesh out every single character, it does take its time with several of the ones who really did need a little more meat on their narrative bones, and even gives some characters new roles just because it would be fun to see them in new situations.

I still cannot believe they got Science Saru to make this show. “They made a Scott Pilgrim anime” and “They brought back the movie cast” are already good enough fodder for that Vince McMahon meme, but “It’s produced by the motherfuckers who made Devilman Crybaby” had me��falling out of my chair. The animation maintains O'Malley's chunky, cartoony character designs and works wonders with line weights and simulated camera effects to give everything a tactile, weighty feel, like it’s somehow (and very appropriately) splitting the difference between a comic, a film, and even a video game. There’s a wide array of visual effects that helps to place all of Scott Pilgrim’s influences further on its sleeve: Dynamic action scenes, camera depth and chromatic aberration, and our beloved pixel art inserts. It looks like every Scott Pilgrim, everywhere, all at once.

The live action film’s cast did a (mostly) great job reprising their roles for animation, and there are some wildly unexpected cameos in there. Voice acting is not quite the same as stage or film acting, but everyone pulls their weight, and dialogue feels far more naturalistic than your average anime dub. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and, surprisingly, Chris Evans are outstanding in their respective roles. I’m gonna have to watch this again in Japanese, though. Fairouz Ai as Ramona, Aoi Koga as Knives, and Yuichi Nakamura as Lucas Lee? Sign me the fuck up.

This is not an apology or revision of Scott Pilgrim the character or work, it is a celebration that still acknowledges and improves on the flaws. If you’re a Scott Pilgrim fan who’d been clamoring for a proper cartoon adaptation, Takes Off may not exactly be what you’ve wanted, but it may be what you needed.  Chances are pretty good that you’ve grown since the first time since you read, watched, or even played something with Scott Pilgrim’s name on it, and it’s a blessing to say that while the character may not have grown, Scott Pilgrim the franchise finally has. 

2. Jujutsu Kaisen, season 2

I’m so glad I picked up JJK this year, if only because I would’ve otherwise been caught in a mudslide of memes I didn’t understand.

Season 2 follows in lockstep with the manga from where season 1 left off, beginning in extended flashback with the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death arc, covering Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto’s high school life and the events that would eventually create the rift between them that came to shape Jujutsu Kaisen’s story. We see very different versions of Gojo and Geto here, much younger and more naive, but only marginally less powerful as they’re sent on an escort mission with the future of the jujutsu world in the balance. Because this is Jujutsu Kaisen, and because Jujutsu Kaisen is for masochists, nothing happens as planned.

We unfortunately do not get the precious slice-of-life hijinks the OP suggests, but if you watched season 1, you should know better by now than to trust an OP. While the initial arc does have its quieter and goofier moments (and some delicious homoerotic subtext), it wastes little time in declaring that this is a new version of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime: Lines are thinner, character models are looser, and action is buckwild. Two of the best fakeouts in the series happen in the span of five minutes. Those unfamiliar with the source material may have wondered for a bit why there needed to be a five-episode prequel arc to start the season, but the pieces would soon fall into place.

And then came Shibuya.

The Shibuya Incident arc was what made Jujutsu Kaisen a must-read in every new issue of Shonen Jump. It reset the status quo for the story and shaped it into something far beyond another “teenagers with special powers go to a school for teenagers with special powers” battle shonen. Needless to say, the hype for its anime adaptation was astronomical.

The Shibuya arc sets the stakes early: Nobody is safe and there may be no happy ending. Triumph is short-lived, and every threat is existential. Everyone who has been in the series up to this point plays a role, and you’re not going to like a lot of what’s needed of them. This arc punches you in the gut, repeatedly, and in between each blow is some of the most intense and innovative action you’ve ever seen. It will hurt, and you will beg for more.

I liked this arc a good amount in the manga, but by the end I was ready for it to be over. I didn’t get the hype around Toji, thought the deaths were cheap, and was so. FUCKING. sick of Mahito. Seeing it in fluid motion onscreen, though, everything just clicked for me and I couldn’t get enough. I fully get now why the girlies have been wetting themselves over Toji; the character modelers were HORNY horny this season. I see now how even the most unceremonious deaths fit into the narrative, or at least one will make perfect sense to me once Gege Akutami and I have a little chat :). And holy hell do I understand now that Mahito is one of the best shonen villains in the history of the medium, that sick bastard. Season 2 was my Rosetta stone for Jujutsu Kaisen; I see it all now. My sixth eye has been opened. Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the literate one.

JJK’s second season has a markedly different feel from the first from a presentation standpoint, and I feel it’s for the better. Every aspect of the presentation is on point, and I want to call attention to the audio element: The production music, with a heavy focus on jazz piano, is wonderfully unique for the genre, and the voice acting remains top notch. These are banner performances from the likes of Yuichi Nakamura, Kenjiro Tsuda, Takahiro Sakurai, Asami Seto, and Nobunaga Shimazaki, but the performance that defines the Shibuya arc (and by extension the entire season) is Junya Enoki as Yuji Itadori. 

Enoki’s been great this year in lead roles in goofy works like KamiKatsu and Girlfriend Girlfriend (not to mention minor roles in Skip and Loafer and the vending machine isekai), so it’s no surprise that he continues to crush it as JJK’s protagonist; Yuji Itadori is a goofy dude. But the Shibuya arc, for as much ground and as many characters as it covers, is ultimately Yuji’s story as he is forced, time and again, to endure the cycle of the “suffering builds character” meme. His peers and mentors in the first season told him repeatedly that the life of a jujutsu sorcerer is a short and unhappy one, and he now has to shoulder that burden for everyone. Enoki nails every single part of a wide spectrum of emotions Yuji is forced to endure over the course of the Shibuya arc, be it determination, naive confusion, or just pure unbridled trauma. If this isn’t the best voice performance of the year, it’s top five at worst.

Like every major battle shonen release in the age of social media, this season has had its detractors. Reviewers at Anime News Network kinda hated the story, but that’s something you take up with Gege Akutami (and get in line behind the manga readers). I've seen people complain about the animation. Which, like. If you don’t like the new visual style, sure, fine, that’s up to personal taste. But if you think this season isn’t well-animated, you just plain don’t know ball. It may not have a cohesive look, but that was the draw for me: Season 1 was good, but at times I felt like it looked a little too rigid, a little too shiny, a little too samey. Season 2, especially the Shibuya arc, looks like everything. Sometimes it looks like an action film, sometimes it looks like Mob Psycho 100, and at points it looks, most crucially, like Akutami’s most iconic panels brought to life, stroke for stroke.

The varying styles weren’t an accident: Nearly each episode had its own director, and those resumes cover top-tier animations like Mob Psycho, Devilman Crybaby, Kill la Kill, Heavenly Delusion, Oshi no Ko, FLCL, even Akira and goddamn Golden Boy. While the episodes don’t look entirely consistent from one to the next, the variance is less jarring and more “holy fuck, what am I going to see next?”. The looser style of animation is what Jujutsu Kaisen always needed; Akutami’s art is very loose and dynamic, and his action panels are borderline inscrutable at times. Season 2 nails the feel of JJK to a degree that its adaptation always needed and lets its directors, storyboarders, and animators run wild. At times, characters will look like they leapt right off the page; others, they will look like something you have never seen before in your life.

It is unfortunately impossible to talk about this season without also bringing up MAPPA’s working conditions, and how animators were frequently overworked against nigh-impossible deadlines. It was an open secret last year as Chainsaw Man aired that MAPPA’s animation schedule was a meat grinder, but that came bubbling to the surface quickly as JJK’s second season aired. Word got out midseason that MAPPA had its animators sign NDAs about their work conditions, but complaints still broke containment and several staffers took to social media to apologize for their work looking incomplete, and some even publicly announced that they are leaving the studio. It is stunning that the finished product looks the way it does under such conditions, and I respect the animators for putting in such incredible work, but something has to give. Several major series suffered from major delays this year, some of which I gave significant praise, but MAPPA is lucky that all of JJK came out on time. I wish I knew what could push them to treat their workers with the dignity and respect (and pay) they deserve, but that’s a conversation that covers much wider ground than just anime.

MAPPA has already announced that the series will continue through the next major arc. While there is quite a bit of it that I would love to see on screen, I can only hope that the animators get to rest. For now, though, we can be proud of what they made under duress, even if some will forever wonder what it would look like if the staff were treated like something a notch above cattle.

1. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Fucking hell. This is why I watch anime.

I was curious about this one because a couple major anitubers I watch had reviewed the manga and were effusive in their praise. I knew the anime adaptation was on the way, so I decided to hold off on reading and see what the anime would be like, and with Keiichiro Saito (director of Bocchi the Rock! and key animator for Oshi no Ko’s instantly-iconic OP) at the helm, my excitement was piqued. That guy turned a B-minus 4-koma into an innovative hit comedy, so what can he do with a beloved source material and the backing of a legacy studio like Madhouse?

I've had so much to say about Frieren since the premiere, and I still have so much to say now, but to talk about what I love about this show is to talk about everything about this show. When the first four episodes dropped, I described it as “Mushoku Tensei without the baggage,” and I stand by that. There were multiple points throughout Frieren’s first cour where I'd nearly forgotten that I wasn't watching Mushoku Tensei. Every single element is on point: The animation is fluid and expressive, backdrops are consistently gorgeous, voice performances are quickly memorable, and the music is evocative and instantly iconic. This is, plainly, one of the most beautiful pieces of television I have ever seen on nearly every level, be it visually, sonically, or thematically.

The initial four-episode debut was a masterclass in establishing the setting, building emotional investment into the characters, and slowly but deliberately laying out the premise of the season to come. The titular Frieren is an elf mage who, for a very brief decade of her millennium-long life, lent her skills to an adventuring party to slay the Demon King. Though she helped save the world, she was never one for stuff like adulation or socializing, so she breaks away from the group to continue her hobby of collecting various spells and arcana. She regroups with them after 50 years, having kept in contact with none of them, only to find them older and frailer. The party’s leader, the hero Himmel, passes away shortly thereafter, and Frieren breaks down at his funeral, having realized exactly too late how important he was to her and that she’d never really bothered to get to know him as a person.

Some time later, she’s called by the surviving human member of the party, Heiter, under the guise of translating an old text, but soon realizes that he duped her into helping train the young orphan girl he adopted, Fern, as a mage. Upon Heiter’s death, Frieren and Fern head out together, carrying out odd jobs and retracing Frieren’s steps from the journey that changed her more than she realized. They soon learn from the other surviving member of the party, Eisen, that (ooh) heaven is, in fact, a place on earth, and that Frieren may be able to properly pay Himmel his final respects in person. In order to do so, they must make a trip to the north, past the Demon King’s castle. The story of Beyond Journey’s End is, quite literally, a nostalgia trip.

Frieren's story is one of grief and regret, but also how we can use those emotions as a way of moving forward rather than looking backward. Her history is a long one and her memories seemingly everlasting, but she uses them to pave the road ahead of her rather than let them shackle her to the past. This is best exemplified by Fern herself, as well as the other companion they pick up along the way in Eisen’s former trainee, Stark. Frieren can carry on the legacies of Heiter and Eisen by helping their young wards grow into the capable young adults they’re meant to be, while Himmel’s legacy lives on in the memories of the towns and villages he helped save along Frieren’s new path, and most importantly, in Frieren herself.

The degree to which Himmel truly mattered to Frieren becomes more apparent to her as the story goes on, and it becomes more evident in her actions. Himmel was a gentle, selfless (if self-aggrandizing) man who was every last bit the hero the modern world believes him to be. With every statue of him she cleans, every flower she plants in his name, every core memory that returns to her, we are watching Frieren become more and more like him in real time. You would expect a thousand-year-old woman to be pretty set in her ways, but we see her holding off on old, bad behaviors because of how Himmel would react to them back then. As Fern and Stark grow into young adults, we see her beginning to treat them the same way Himmel treated her. Frieren doesn’t realize it until later in the season, but it’s apparent to us early on that Himmel well and truly loved her, and I feel that it’s dawning on her that she loved him too and didn’t recognize it. That is tragic in and of itself (this show absolutely is a tearjerker at times and I will cop to getting misty-eyed as I write this), but there is something beautiful, well beyond my grasp, in being able to honor the memory and carry out the legacy of a loved one in how you treat those around you. I don’t think anything could have made Himmel prouder.

Frieren herself is a really goddamn good character too (and expertly voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki, best known for voicing Anya Forger in Spy x Family). Though she is portrayed as quiet and uncaring for the early part of the story, it’s been really delightful to watch her open up, and above all, inadvertently reveal that she’s actually just Really Fucking Weird. For as self-assured and put together as she always seems on the surface, it was great to learn that she’s just an enormous slob (she just like me fr), and any outward expressions of smugness or her offbeat sense of humor are always a joy. “Deeply weird person trying to act normal” is always fun, and there’s just something so consistently delightful about seeing someone so typically calm and intelligent get caught in a mimic chest every single time.

I still can’t get over how fucking good this show looks. Beyond Journey’s End features some of the most intricate, loving animation I’ve seen for stuff as simple as someone putting on a jacket. Action scenes are few and far between, but not a single frame is wasted when shit pops off. Not everyone is as detailed as possible at all times, and they don’t need to be, but everyone looks incredible when they do need to. It’s well above my pay grade to accurately say so, but this show could be a lesson in proper animation budgeting. I could go on and on and on, but I’ve written nearly eighteen thousand words about anime, so I’ll wrap it up. 

The debut season of Frieren will continue into 2024, and if the quality remains a constant, it could very well be one of the best anime of next year too. It has remained as MyAnimeList’s top-rated anime ever for its entire run, warding off the legion of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood fans. Frieren deserves it. I say with no hyperbole that this is one of the most perfectly realized things I’ve ever seen on television. This is an essential watch for anyone who likes fantasy anime, anime in general, or fantasy in general.

[shehungthemoon]

Just dumping my Ina Paha thoughts here. 🙃

First of all I did NOT know it was the 100th episode going into this, so i was very confused watching the montage at the end lol

I also had to click out and make sure I didn't click the wrong episode when the Pilot started playing at the beginning. When I heard Danny's voice on the phone instead of Hesse's I swear I got whiplash

It's filmed so well (bar where they reshot the pilot where Steve gets Danny on the phone instead of a dead dad, in which they literally forgot to put the same filter over the scene to make the stitching coherent) and I absolutely love the camera work they did with the white-room and the video projections. It felt very much a level above normal network television cinematography, especially the parts where Steve's going in and out of the hallucinations.

Steve finally FINALLY killing Wo-Fat was so cathartic, it should have happened ages ago but I'm willing to look past all the dumb ways he survived just to allow this incredible ending to his story.

Ina Paha gave me Kono doing... this. I owe Grace Park my whole life. Pls costuming department put her in hot pink again 💗

yes, it was a Steve episode. but Danny REALLY shone, first as the only resident Actual Detective figuring out what happened to Steve by the tire-tracks, rampaging through the compound steadily and efficiently and knocking people off without a pause, and then in Steve's mind shooting Hesse's kneecaps off?!?!?! That was CRAZY and probably not suppose to be as hot as it was and definitely made me want an ex-mobster AU immediately. Basically I have a competency kink and really like badass!danny shit 😊

Seeing Chin's long hair again made me swoon

My jaw dropped when I saw Jenna! I think it's really interesting that Steve still thinks of her so much, and I was surprised that she showed up in both the actual dreams and the montage. I definitely underestimated how much she impacted Steve's life, it seems, and I hate that we'll never hear him address that and we'll only know about it inadvertently like this.

(hand over the heart for how lori got like. one team shot. poor girlie.)

⭐I took the montage at the end as being flashbacks and memories that Steve was having as he left the compound. Looking at it through that lens certainly makes one unwell.

Obligatory squeal for Adam appearing just to save the day :))) look below to see the love of my life! :)))))) ⬇⬇⬇

Of course, the obligatory mcdanno bullet(s). It writes itself! The way Danny said Steve's name so small and broken when he found him. The way they look at each other on the ground, the pain their faces. I need an official apology statement from Scott and Alex for it. Can we talk about what flashes by during the montage at the end? (IMO it being Steve's memories.) So much Danny.

The first thing is Danny and Steve's first meeting. Jfc. The showrunners milk it SO MUCH and who's complaining

The big, rocking hug. The hands clasping underground. Gracie of course. And then Danny collapsing from the bioweapon, which to be honest I was NOT expecting to see at all--it felt like a genuinely strange choice to include in there and it really ONLY makes sense if you go along with all that being what Steve's remembering. Even then, I was surprised to see it, so basically this is Hawaii Five-Oh making mcdanno gayer than even I was wanting them to be. Steve still thinks about that? From so long ago? Even with so many other close calls in between then and now? Good fucking lord ok then loverboy that's WILD. Canon accepted ig this show is just pure whump.

Danny goes through all of this just days after losing his brother and killing Reyes. JFC can we please address that. I need a 30k introspection fic to let me into this man's mind rn.

The Wo Fat v.s. Steve fight at the end was INCREDIBLE. I would love to give the choreographer's hand a shake, it's some of the best work I've seen on television in a long time. It was impressive for a procedural like this. It was long and physical and you truly didn't know what the outcome was going to be; it everything that their built-up relationship deserved for a conclusion. It also happening with a Steve coming off of hours of torture and drugging was crazy (guess we finally know who would win a PVP if they were both at full strength!). That being said I was really impressed with Wo Fat's capabilities and physical prowess, I was not expecting it to be so even and close to the line. I actually jumped when Steve LIFTED him up into the lighting fixture. We do not talk about Steve's (Alex's???) raw upper-body strength enough.

Anyway. Electricity in the water play. The physicality hell that this gif below is ⬇. Fire extinguishers and loaded needles. Crazy martial arts. Chair and buckets (holy shit did y'all see the force with which Wo Fat SHOT that bucket?????) flying. All's fair. I loved it.

The shot going right through the forehead, clean. I don't know how to put into words why that's so monumental to me but it is.

The mystery bad lady was SO intriguing, I wish we got more from her... How does she know Wo Fat? Why was she entrusted with all that information on him and Steve and especially Doris? Absolutely where did she come from, what was her name? Why did I have a huge huge hot crush on her? All important questions. (Goes to show that h50 CAN give us some more genuine badass, not just there to date someone women characters, just explicitly choose not to. I'm holding out for Ellie to remain platonic so hard right now.)

Almost forgot Danny in that black Hawaiian shirt. Will be whimpering over that image forever. The whole episode I was trying to focus on the underlining betrayal mystery they were laying out but every time my brain started working too hard Scott with his stupid waist and those flower patterns just started flashing into my head

Again, are you seeing this:

I'm unwell and so so happy.

H50 you're a gem when you want to be.

[starcrossed591]

CDrama Year in Review 2023

I'm still very much a CDrama beginner--I just started watching them in the summer of 2022--but since this is the first year I got into them in earnest, I figured I might as well do a year in review a la @dangermousie (whose lists I have found incredibly helpful in deciding which CDramas I really, really need to go back and watch as part of my CDrama education--so thank you!). So, without further adieu, here is my ranking of 2023 CDramas, in order of least enjoyed to most enjoyed*.

(See also: KDrama Year in Review 2023)

*Disclaimer: *not* a measure of objective quality

10. Royal Rumours: This drama was not great? Meng Zi Yi and Jeremy Tsui were fun, but the story started out messy and got messier. For some reason I still finished it, I think because I had a lingering cold and it was all my brain could handle at the time *shrug*

9. Gone with the Rain: I actually really enjoyed this one! The pacing was inconsistent, but Zhang Nan was fun as the irreverent Mo Xi, and we love a grizzled general. Special shout to the teacher who was not actually evil, just a sad lesbian whose gf disappeared on her

8. Love You Seven Times: Intriguing concept, not a strong enough FL to carry it through. The reincarnation stuff really worked for me at first, especially in their first mortal tribulation (as people, not CGI animals), but I got tired of it pretty quickly. I admit, the gifs of Ding Yu Xi as a sexy cat demon *did* pull me back in, but not enough for me to actually finish the thing, alas

7. Destined/Chang Feng Du: Started out really strong, and then stalled out on me. I think I only got up to about episode 22 or so, after their epic desert crossing and new start in a new state--they lost all narrative momentum for me there. I stopped watching and then just...didn't start again. I do, however, remain a big Bai Jing Ting fan, and will be keeping on eye out for whatever he does next

6. Hidden Love: (Contemporary) Age gap romances are hit or miss for me, but Zhao Lu Si absolutely stole/carried the show for me in this one. Although more fun imo when the main couple are in the the will-they-won't-they phase than in the family melodrama after they get together, still the only contemporary CDrama to get me to give it a go this year--and I'm glad I did

5. My Journey to You: Featuring my favorite murder girlies Esther Yu as Yun Wei Shan and Lu Yu Xiao as Shanguan Qian! Gorgeous costumes and sets, sweeping cinematography, and plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Full disclosure, I have not actually watched the last two episodes because I got busy and then saw weird chatter about them, so I have no comment on the allegedly weird ending

4. Till the End of the Moon: Look, I know the ending wasn't ideal, but for the majority of its run, this drama owned my entire soul. It also introduced me to Bai Lu as Li Su Su, who inspired my first actual tumblr post (that wasn't a reblog) because I was so obsessed with her. And everyone knows that Tantai Jin is the CDrama ML of the year. 10/10, no regrets at letting it take over my life (and the OST my Spotify) from April to May of this year

3. The Story of Kunning Palace: More Bai Lu is always a good thing, and she's extra fun here as the transmigrated former evil empress and totally-over-your-nonsense Xiang Xue Ning here. The reverse haremness of it all totally shows why Bai Lu is the chemistry queen, especially with the princess (Liu Xie Ning) and cranky, morally grey, would-fail-gym-class strategist Xie Wie (Zhang Ling He). So glad this drama made it out of the CDrama vault and didn't languish indefinitely in censorship hell

2. A Journey to Love: Finished this one two days ago as of this writing and am still not normal about it. Ren Ruyi (Liu Shi Shi) and Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) lead an exceptionally strong ensemble cast in this wuxia that explores the complicated relationships between love, duty, loyalty, loneliness, and companionship. Ruyi and Yuan Zhou are far and away one of my fave OTPs of the year, but just as compelling are the relationships between friends/brothers/fellow assassins Yu Shisan, Yuan Lu (ugh my heart), Qian Zhou, and Sun Lang. This drama definitely has one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year. And the character growth of Yang Ying from little princess abandoned in the cold palace to who she becomes by the end will stick with me for a long time. Plus another 10/10 OST!

1. Lost You Forever S1: I'm not normally a reverse harem girl, but the longing, loss, and hard resolve portrayed to perfection by Yang Zi as Xiao Yao really did it for me here. This whole drama struck an emotional chord for me, and where TTEOTM consumed my soul, LYF took over my heart. Xiao Yao's relationships with her power hungry, overprotective cousin Cang Xuan; hot snake demon Xiang Liu/playboy archery shufu Feng Feng Bei; and perfectly devoted Tushan Jing are all equally compelling to me, and while I may know who she ends up with in the end, who I *think* she should be with changes based on who's on screen at any given time. And A'Nian, my favorite bratty princess who really just needs some strong parenting, holds a special place in my heart. I know we may never get S2, and even if we do, censorship means it probably won't be what the drama makers are capable of, but I'm so glad for this little piece of absolute perfection. And, again, a top notch OST!

Fave Drama: Lost You Forever, by just a hair over A Journey to Love. See above.

Least Fave Drama: Royal Rumours--truly why did I finish this, what was past me thinking

Biggest Disappointment: 2023 is also the year I read Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, my very first CNovel! But then I didn't even bother checking out its adaptation, Romance of a Twin Flower, because it got rid of everything that made the novel such an addicting read, including a brilliant, strategic, ice cold FL and an ML who actually kind of sucked at the beginning, only to grow on you very, very slowly over time. I'm grateful that the chatter around the drama is what brought the novel to my attention, but other than that, hard pass.

Favorite Male Character: Lots of good ones this year, but I'm gonna go with Cang Xuan (Zhang Wan Yi) from Lost You Forever. The conflict he faces between getting enough power to protect the people he loves the most and that power making him incompatible with those loved ones is so compelling, and his yearning for Xiao Yao even when she's right in front of him is wrenching. Full disclosure, I also just really love the sound of his voice

Favorite Female Character: This could easily have gone to Li Susu (TTEOTM), Xiao Yao (LYF), or Ren Ruyi (AJTL), but I'm gonna go with Bai Lu's Xiang Xue Ning in The Story of Kunning Palace. Something I really loved about this character was just how jaded Xue Ning really was, even in her second go round at life. Yeah, she wants to make amends for the harm done in her previous rise to power, but that has hardly turned her into a good--or even pleasant--person. Instead, she's incredibly skeptical and still plays most things ice cold, especially with her family. As a bonus, we got plenty of Bai Lu's fantastic side eye as she basically had to do high school all over again when she gets called into the palace despite her very best efforts not to be.

Favorite Ship: Ren Ruyi and Yuan Zhao from A Journey to Love have got to be it. They balance each other out so well, and over the course of the drama, learn to communicate effectively with each other whenever they have a problem. They also recognize that not all problems can be solved by ~love~, which makes their relationship even more compelling when they decide to prioritize each other in a way that respects what the other wants from life.

Favorite Secondary Ship: Little princess Yang Ying and Yuan Lu absolutely broke stole my heart in A Journey to Love. Doomed love even more than the main OTP, these two's youthful romance was such much fun to watch, especially as they egged their respective mentors on in their own romance. Yang Ying's recognition that her first love did not have to be her only love is also something I always love to see, even as it broke my heart that (spoiler) she and Yuan Lu never really had a chance at an HEA. Their relationship really exemplified a key theme of this drama: that you should love the people you love while they're still with you because tomorrow is never promised.

Non-2023 Dramas that I Watched: Two non-2023 dramas I watched that deserve a special shout out are Love and Redemption and The Sword and the Brocade. Love and Redemption prepared me to really appreciate the big swings that Till the End of the Moon took, and The Sword and the Brocade went a little way to filling the Story of Ming Lan shaped hole in my heart. The Sword and the Brocade also had absolutely searing critique of the concubine system, even as it featured one of the most genuinely good-hearted FLs I've seen. Would recommend both!

Most Looking Forward To: Yes, I'm a sucker and the censors (not to mention the characters) will probably break my heart, but I'm still crossing my fingers that Lost You Forever S2 will live up to the promise of part one. See above: still a CDrama beginner, have not yet had all the optimism knocked out of me. Sue me.

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

Severance: Can 'Weird' and 'Popular' Coexist?

I’m thrilled to report a resounding yes. If you know me, you know I love nothing more than a weird drama. This love has been a bit of a lonely experience; the best weird shows are either ‘cult classics’ (The Leftovers, Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, Sense8) or started out mainstream but ended up with a legacy that I could only describe as infamous (…Lost…). Today’s streaming era has only exacerbated this lonesome road: with so much to choose from and no appointment viewing, it feels like catching lightning in a bottle to find someone in my life watching the same thing at the same time as me. That is, until Severance.

I don’t need to unpack this season or that finale, but I’ll tell you I loved every second of it. The truth is, I couldn’t do as good a job as all my friends and family members who dissected it with me every week- not to mention the countless people online who managed to make a compelling case for every theory from the Board being a collective consciousness of the Eagan lineage living in Jame’s brain (I’m buying into this one) to Ricken being a goat (this one not so much).

Y’all have shown up for this show in a way that has honestly filled my heart to the brim. I don’t have any light that hasn’t already been shed on the brilliance of the plot, characters, performances, or cinematography. So instead, I’m here to talk about the cultural moment I feel I’ve just witnessed… and make a pitch to bring back standing weekly TV appointments.

I think I had every viewing experience possible with Severance. I actually am pretty late to the game- I watched all of season 1 for the first time in a single day back in December. Needless to say, it was incredible, and from then on, I waited with bated breath for season 2 like the rest of the world. When I first pulled up Apple TV+ on release day and saw only one episode, my initial reaction was “Jesus, all the lead up to this day and we only get one?”. I’ve since done a complete 180.

The time to digest the developments of each new episode, to theorize, to reflect, to discuss, is what allowed it to become as big as it has over the last ten weeks. It’s also what allowed it to build community. Severance is so good that when a new episode did drop, rather than watching it whenever was convenient, everyone was watching as soon as they possibly could. It’s not the only show releasing weekly of late, but it’s the closest thing to synchronized viewing I’ve ever seen in the streaming era.

I was able to attend the Severance event at PaleyFest this past Friday, the release date of the season 2 finale. The event included a screening of the episode followed by a panel with the cast, director Ben Stiller, and creator Dan Erickson, moderated by Ben Schwartz. Despite technically being the same day the episode came out, I was so antsy all day waiting to watch it. I felt behind- all my Severance buddies were checking in, having already seen it, their world rocked. I was checking Reddit to be super sure they were, in fact, showing the full episode at the event, and everyone online shared my anxieties and eagerness to see it.

I’m not quite ready to call “Cold Harbor” the best episode of TV I’ve ever seen (it might be- I’m mulling it over), but I am ready to say that it was the best time I’ve ever had watching an episode of TV. And I generally have a pretty good time watching TV.

Seeing it on a big screen in a room full of fans truly confirmed the quality and community I’ve felt throughout this season. I was gripped. Innie and outie Mark’s camcorder conversation was impressively compelling. Their simultaneous conflict and cooperation had me on the edge of my seat, hand over my mouth. Mark’s reunion with Gemma was tear-jerkingly beautiful. And I simply had the time of my life watching Milchick groove to a marching band under colored fluorescent lighting. I didn’t want the episode to end. But the best part was that I could really tell that the rest of the sold-out theater felt the same way. Everyone cheered, laughed, and clapped in all the right places.

I was concerned as this season progressed that the audience would start to turn on it. Shows like this, which in their early days have weirdness bubbling just beneath the surface, at some point have to take a turn. What, in season 1, were one-off moments, will eventually have to take center stage. A glimpse of a breathing tube and shrine to Kier in Cobel’s apartment will become an entire episode. A tour of the Perpetuity Wing can, in the moment, be nothing more than fuel for the theories of die-hard fans- but soon the whole story will hinge on the seeds planted there. Stumbling upon a room full of goats can be written off as a ‘kinda weird part’ of an otherwise straightforward episode, but it can’t have happened for no reason.

Season 2 spent much more time in the weird, and in doing so turned a hugely popular show with an outwardly simple premise into something incredibly specific, strange, and unique. In the cable era, this would have absolutely been an HBO series, a network whose entire business model is based around the assumption that its shows will have a small audience.

So while I found myself smiling from ear to ear, thinking “this show is so wonderfully strange”, I was also holding my breath for it. But I could feel that entire audience eating it up just as much as me. Laughing at the way Patricia Arquette says “Mark”, clapping along with the marching band. I exhaled in relief and joy. There’s just something so heartwarming to me about so many people getting on the same wavelength with something so thoroughly unique. And something so exhilarating about the successful telling of a detailed, bizarre, yet ultimately very human story.

It makes me feel that as people, we really can understand each other. We’re capable of getting in tune with one another’s nuance. We can perceive the layered, emotional, and murky nature of situations and think about them critically. In fact, we love to. And we’re good at it. That’s what storytelling means to me and what makes me an optimist in this world.

I really think we’ve just watched Severance cement itself in TV history. And if this earnest reflection hasn’t convinced you to give up binge watching… you don’t have to. A weekly release doesn’t prevent anyone from waiting 10 weeks and wolfing it all down at once. But it does create the opportunity for human connection and shared experiences. And that simply has to be what it’s all about.

[morsesnotes]

Does anyone else sometimes wonder why Endeavour wasn't a bigger deal? I'm not really complaining because if it was at Sherlock levels that would be too much, but I just think about the first time I saw it. My parents were watching Pylon on Masterpiece Mystery, and it blew my mind. The beautiful cinematography, the music, the characters, the story, and yes even with the stache I could tell Shaun was attractive under there, lol. I kept thinking "How...have I never heard of this before?? This is incredible???"

And that was S6! The consistency it had was seriously impressive for how long it went on, the length of each film, and only having one writer.

Something about it is different from any detective show I've seen before. You can feel the amount of love which went into every part of it, and it often does the opposite of what you'd typically expect.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I feel like it deserves more appreciation than it gets, and I hope people will keep discovering it now there won't be any new seasons coming out. I think there's a lot of people who'd love it but have no idea it exists.

[unreal-unearth-undead]

I just rewatched Monkey Man for the first time since I saw it in theaters and HOLY SHIT I can’t believe I forgot how fucking good this movie is.

Incredible cinematography and fight choreography. It doesn’t just have killer action scenes, it has real heart and pathos and a strong political message and theme. It has an incredible score (something I, as a music nerd, thinks makes or breaks a movie).

It has Dev Patel looking almost too hot to be believed, bloody and grimy and constant sad wet dog eyes. (Is there any man who can look that good grimy bloody and beaten from a fight AND that handsome in a nice suit?)

It has a funny and heartfelt interlude for a training montage at a hijra temple + hijra warriors kicking ass.

Dev patel love of my life for writing directing and starring in it.

(Anyway be prepared for the onslaught of dev patel and monkey man posting when my queued catches up lol)

[08skyguy80]

SEASON 7 OF PUPPET HISTORY IS OUT!!

If you haven’t watched it yet, you should go watch it. It’s a super funny and interesting episode, plus we get huge lore drops that I’m going to dive into below!

This next part is just going to be my analysis rant for the episode because there’s so much I noticed that I want to share my thoughts on.

‼️Warning for spoilers‼️

TW for mentions of drugs, memory loss, god and death/murder.

I just want to start by saying that this episode was literally a cinematic masterpiece. Even with the silly bits of dialogue, the actual lore writing was so good and so was the acting. Plus the actual cinematography? The pan from the Phorgedytol billboard? The lighting and sets? Masterfully done. You can tell so much love and skill go into the making of this show and it’s so amazing to see!

Onto the actual analysis…

I’m in love with how much the lore is being built up and all the new concepts we were introduced to in this episode. Even from the beginning, we can see that something is off with the professor and when we get to the end things start to begin making sense. Starting even at 1:28, we see him losing his memories. I’m going to list some of the example timestamps here, they might not all be true, it might just be me looking into things for some of these but still. Him forgetting the details of the C-Dogs joke at 7:30, him going into how fuzzy the details are at 36:50, and his slip up on what season it is at 43:30. I assume the memory loss is caused by the Phorgedytol (I mean it is quite literally pronounced like forget it all). I tried to find out if the chemical structure we saw on the front of the bottle meant anything, but I wasn’t able to find a match or anything super similar unfortunately (though in fair warning, chemistry has never been my strong suit).

We see a Phorgedytol billboard during the flashback sequence which has a few pieces of possible symbolism I wanted to point out. For one, the image of the horse which could be in reference to horse tranquilizers which usually depict horses in the branding. The two people covering each other's eyes could be seen as symbolism for not facing something, a reason people might choose to take the pills, or as ignorance, people being blind to the truth behind Phorgedytol. This is definitely me hyper analyzing little details, but the actual pill bottle itself has a purple lid which is a trait commonly featured with melatonin bottles. This could possibly refer to the idea that the drug could have sedative-like qualities or a reference to the fact that sedatives have a risk of causing memory loss. Or it was just an aesthetic choice which is the most likely reason but still.

The introduction of Phorgedytol as the Coveted Capsules is also really interesting. The Professor says they’re a corporate sponsor but why would a pharmaceutical company sponsor a history show? Why are they trying to, as the professor says, “flood the public” (36:20). The ending with both Ryan and the Professor taking the pills is also super interesting to me. It would be so cool if them taking the pills makes them forget that they ever took the pills causing a cycle to form of them taking it “for the first time”.

I want to commemorate Shane’s acting, and character design, in his “clandestine meeting” with the professor. He’s so incredibly talented and in this scene specifically it’s crazy to think that the two characters, The fedora-clad mobster looking ex-producer and the fuzzy blue professor, are actually the same person in real life with how unique the two are. Along with that the lighting in this scene was really cool, with the professor being lit from above, which gave the scene an almost interrogation-like feel, and Shane being lit from behind shrouding his character in shadow.

I think it’s really interesting that Shane repetitively calls the professor Connie, which is the same thing he called the hologram version of the professor in season 5 during The Bloody Life of England’s Fastest Surgeon, despite the fact that he’s, supposedly, talking to the real professor. The professor also never corrects him or comments on the name which maybe just means that Concupiscence is his real name, as he is aware that Shane did meet the evil hologram version of himself (40:45). However, at 41:48 we see in the background a banner saying “six nasty seasons”. Maybe “nasty” is a reference to Concupiscence McNasty, the evil hologram, rather than just an adjective. Maybe this means that the evil hologram will be coming back this season? Or possibly already is back???

When flashing back to the present, we see a skull overlay Elmer Walter Williams and the professor for a split second at 42:11, with the skull lining up directly with the professor's eyes. Regardless of which of the two it was meant for, I think it’s an interesting little detail to point out. As he’s returning to reality, the scene flips back and forth from the professor to Elmer distortedly laughing. That on its own might not mean anything but it paired with how he gave the professor and Ryan Phorgedytol, saying it has “no side effects, just operating on a higher plane” (42:33), how he is the one taking care of brand relations (38:40), and how he was “suspiciously eager for work” (38:35-38:56) makes me suspicious of him. Also his specific wording “operating on a higher plane” and “God willing” makes me wonder if maybe God will be coming back? Plus, there was an image of a prism on the retirement door which some say symbolizes a connection to the divine. Then again, prisms also are known to represent a transformation or life, so who’s to say? Below the prism we see the letters ES, which I think could possibly stand for the name of whatever company is running the “retirement” program.

Speaking of, we are introduced to a new character this episode, Dr. Sprat who introduced himself in the flashback scene as someone from the Department of Puppet Safety. At the very end of the episode, we see him taking the triangle through an office-like building, saying he’s here to assist with the other’s retirement (43:50). We quickly find that retirement doesn’t mean there’s an old puppet nursing home, but rather something much more sinister. The triangle saying that “time, space, and the entire universe come unraveled by my volatile existence” (43:59 references back to The Puppet History Holiday Spectacular where God told the puppets that “the professor was inadvertently creating you abominations” and that they had to be killed but their souls had to go somewhere, which happens to be the Wondrium Arena, or purgatory. I really want to see more of a deep dive into E.S. or whatever the “retirement” company is as it’s clearly quite processed with a whole facility and a Retirement Machine that kills puppets with lasers and sends them to purgatory (44:08-44:35). Also the reintroduction of purgatory supports my idea that we’re going to get another God episode or possibly another episode with the devil.

If you made it all the way here thank you for reading!! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode and I hope you have an amazing day/night!! ⭐️

Also I’m thinking of adding seasons 3-7 onto the Puppet History Fandom Wiki as it currently only has the first two seasons. Puppet History is digging its furry little paws into me, I can’t escape the jellybeans.

[caelinx]

: Hidden Love :

More information : Hidden Love

Where to watch : Netflix

My rating : 8.5/10 ⭐

I accidentally stumbled upon a Twitter discussion about C-dramas, and everyone was raving about Hidden Love. When I found out it was written by the same author as When I Fly Towards You, I didn’t think twice—I had to watch it.

The moment I saw Sang Zhi’s story, I thought, yep, this is exactly how I imagined crushing on a senior would be. But in reality? I graduated without my senior even knowing I existed. LOL.

Hidden Love tells the story of Sang Zhi, a girl who secretly hides feelings for Duan Jiaxu, her brother’s friend who often visits their house. But circumstances pull them apart, and barely keep in touch—until fate brings them back together when Sang Zhi enters university. What starts as a childhood crush gradually blossoms into something deeper, making their journey both heartwarming and captivating.

At first, I wasn’t completely hooked. The plot felt slow and pretty ordinary—understandable since there wasn’t a major conflict to keep me on edge. I even dropped it and switched to another drama. But then, as often happens, I gave it another shot, and by episode seven, I was completely drawn in.

In the early episodes, one of the things I really liked was how well the drama captured Sang Zhi’s secret crush on Duan Jiaxu. It felt so relatable—who hasn’t had a silent crush at some point? Watching her navigate those awkward yet heart-fluttering moments was both nostalgic and endearing. And I have to give a huge shout-out to Zhao Lusi. She truly brought Sang Zhi to life, portraying her shyness, nervousness, and quiet admiration in such a natural way. She was the perfect choice for this role.

Now, let’s talk about Duan Jiaxu, played by the incredibly talented Chen Zhe Yuan. At first, I didn’t really get why so many people were obsessed with him. But once I reached the university arc, everything clicked. He’s the definition of a green flag—kind, considerate, and, let’s be honest, ridiculously handsome. And once he realized his feelings for Sang Zhi? He completely dropped the whole gentle older brother act and started going all in.

Every teasing remark, every lingering stare, every chance to be close to her—it was game over. Meanwhile, Sang Zhi, who was used to keeping her feelings hidden, found herself completely overwhelmed by his sudden boldness. Watching their dynamic shift was easily one of the most exciting parts of the drama.

But Hidden Love isn’t just about romance. One of the things I really love about this drama is the sibling dynamic between Sang Zhi and her older brother, Sang Yan. Their scenes perfectly capture the classic love-hate sibling relationship. They bicker constantly, but at the end of the day, Sang Yan genuinely cares for his little sister. He acts annoyed, but when it really matters, he’s always there for her. Victor Ma, who plays Sang Yan, absolutely nailed this role. Watching them made me wonder what it would be like to have an older brother of my own.

The cinematography was alright—nothing groundbreaking, but it did its job well. However, the OST was a different story. While not every track stood out, there was one that instantly became my favorite. It perfectly captured the emotions between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu, making certain moments feel even more special. Every time I hear it, I’m right back in their world.

As for the ending… I guess it was fine. Sweet, heartwarming—just like the rest of the drama. But somehow, I felt like there could’ve been more. Maybe I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these characters.

Final thoughts? Hidden Love is the kind of drama that sneaks up on you. It may start slow, but once it grips you, it doesn’t let go. It’s not just about romance but also about family, friendship, and growing up. Watching this drama felt like revisiting those innocent, heart-fluttering moments of first love. If you’ve ever had a silent crush, this drama will hit right in the feels.

"Our story began when he was 22 years old. I once buried my feelings towards him worried that someone else might found out. I worked hard tp become a better person to match his pace. And when I finally caught him, that's when I knew that I wasn't the only one running. He was running towards me too. In these five whole years, I healed his trauma. He gave me my bittersweet first love a happy ending. Our story began when he was 22 years old. And it came to end when I was 22 years old." - Sang Zhi

[distracted-milkshake]

Alright chucklefucks so I finally, FINALLY saw Brave New World. Let’s do this shit.

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK EAT YOUR GODDAMN WORDS DAD

This movie looks so, so good, the cinematography and lighting, God the naturalistic lighting I was so excited seeing non plasticy green screen ass environments, nearly this whole film looks like it’s actual footage in the real world and not a lifeless fluorescent soundstage and in some shots it’s nearly breathtaking. I’m sure having a big tv helps, but genuinely, this film looks amazing.

The dialogue and acting was a little more mixed, some was really good, some was dogwater, and sometimes they were in the same sentence. I can literally see where someone stepped in and said OK let’s shorten this scene he’s talking too long, which I appreciate as much as I find very poor production. A lot of the banter and humor was candid and quite fun, especially between Sam Wilson and Bradley. Mackie has great chemistry with almost everyone.

Plot was muddy, stuck to the characters well but introduced and got through things and assumed the audience knew what was happening two too many times. The adamantium sample, for one, was absolutely unclear to have belonged to Japan until the absolute moment it was crucial to know. The whole concept brought into play of mind control is brushed off WAY too fast. Also plothole as to why Sterns having full access to a desperate dying man would not have mind controlled him to hulk out whenever he wanted? Maybe there’s an explanation I missed while my sister had her elbow to my gut as I was trying to keep her from dumping the peanuts on the floor, but either way, sloppy.

Very glad to see the Celestial brought back (Eternals is something I’ll get you at some point, I actually rewatched it recently on a bet and it wasn’t as bad as the first time) but disappointed that adamantium is some other thing than vibranium??? I don’t like the direction they’re taking some of the lore and such makes me very uneasy. Also the fact that still waiting to see anything really about it, because it was kind of just backdrop amongst many story pieces. Too many story pieces, honestly.

I still don’t like Torres in fact I think he sucks major ass and I don’t wanna see him again. In fact I don’t really wanna see any characters from this movie again other than Wilson, Bradley and Sterns. I felt next to no sympathy for Ross and found every bit of his dialogue to be milk soaked white bread left in the sun. Toward the end of the film, we’re told all the stuff that would have actually redeemed him of all the stuff he did with a different face in Civil War and Incredible Hulk for me happened off screen. Unbelievably ridiculous choice. Hate, hate, hate it. Fumbled almost completely, the whole character. I felt nothing when he got to see his daughter again because we didn’t see anything of her before that, despite her being an emotional center of the Hulk movie, she’s just a pawn for Ross’ feelings and barely that, and yeah, unimpressed. Unimpressed with all the female characters, actually, Taylor and Bat-Seraph very bland and uninteresting and for the love of god will Marvel hire bigger women ever for anything I swear they go down lists for the tiniest human beings alive for every female character they have to cast I don’t think it’s funny.

The action was exceptional, easily on par with the other Captain America movies, it was so refreshing to feel tense in a fight and see characters actually get hit DOWN and stabbed and for their violence to affect harshly each opponent. The fight between Voelker and and Wilson where he blows up his car? Almost as good as the fight in Winter Soldier. Almost. It wasn’t, but it came damn close.

Then of course there was what I got spoiled the SAME FUCKING DAY THIS MOVIE CAME OUT though I had avoided every damn social media, a goddamn article on Bucky Barnes’ fandom page said spoilers which was enough. Good to see him, wouldn’t really be a Captain America film without Bucky. I have no idea what is with the congressman thing or if they make it make any sense in Thunderbolts.

It was even less critical of the United States and the military (same thing) than TFATWS, which honestly should not have but surprised me. Unhappy all around how pro america in a non Captain America way that all was, disgusted in fact, and as boss as lots of parts were that looms pretty shitty behind it all.

Overall, a very solid 8/10. It was so epic to see Sam Wilson kick ass, I really enjoyed Brainiac, Red Hulk, the action and the much better looking sets and film. Much better than so much recent Marvel. Commendable on those fronts, but could have been better.

[morose-marble]

oh my god I just rewatched the last three episodes of Hannibal season 2 in sequence for the first time in years and... I can't believe that despite seeing it many times, enough to have lost count, it still leaves me on a high so potent, it is verbally indescribable

Perfectly paced dramatic escalation of Will and Hannibal's relationship throughout the three episodes, pitch-perfect handling of Will's ambiguous loyalty culminating in genuinely shocking carnage

and like, i remember when Mizumono aired. I remember where I was when I saw it. It was utterly transformative. The precision with which the show articulates the pathos within the sweeping melodrama of the kitchen scene is incredible on every level from the cinematography to the writing and acting

I genuinely don't know what to do with myself, I am beside myself with excitement despite having known every beat

man, i fucking love television