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kpoppernov-10 · 5 years ago

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Monsta X Concert Review

On Saturday 8/3/19, I went to the MONSTA X <WE ARE HERE> show at the Hulu Theater in NYC. After such a great concert last year, I was more than happy for my second Kpop concert to be at Monsta X’s next world tour. The fact that it was in NY instead of NJ made it even easier for me to attend. Plus, my brother joined me for this concert so it was nice to go to a Kpop event with someone. This year’s experience was a bit different from last year’s, but one thing that stayed consistent is that Monsta X put on a good show.

There’s a lot to discuss, so I’ve broken down the concert experience into parts.

Pre-Concert

Tickets

As I mentioned in a previous post, getting a ticket took more work this year. There seems to have been a technical problem with the Powerhouse website but I was still able to get decent tickets. I think I was technically closer to the stage than I was last year, but I was more to the left of it so I wasn’t able to watch Monsta X from the center like last time. Nevertheless, I was in the front row of my section, so I was able to see and enjoy everything fairly well.

Venue

Although it was easier to get to this venue, it was nowhere near as nice as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. For a place as famous as Madison Square Garden, the Hulu Theater is very basic with not much aesthetic at all—mostly just grey walls filled with (granted, comfy) seats. That’s not a big deal though since that aspect of the venue doesn’t really matter. But what does matter is the fact that the acoustics were lacking so the sound quality for this concert wasn’t as good as the rich, surround-sound-like experience of the NJPAC. It’s a shame that the venue had an unfortunate effect on the concert but oh well :/

Crowd

There was obviously a high percentage of young females but there seems to have been slightly more guys than before. There were very few older people attending this show and few Asian people in general, but I think the group was still diverse. The crowd waited patiently outside in the setting sun, and it was really nice to see two concertgoers dressed in Ongshimi Minhyuk outfits! The general check-in process was very organized but there was, understandably, much more security (metal detectors, bag x-rays and K-9 dogs) since this is NYC. Either way, everyone was seated and ready to go in no time thanks to all the helpful staff.

CONCERT

Although the concert was originally advertised to be at 8 PM, I found out only a few days earlier that it would actually be at 7 PM. But I guess most people got the memo because the place was pretty much full before the show started. There were some “false alarms” because a few things happened before everything officially began (e.g. the lights dimmed, a screen for the tour popped up and an Mnet ad appeared twice), but the show did start at approximately 7:10 PM.

Stage/Audio/Visual

The main stage wasn’t that big and it was only one level, but there were multiple big screens that displayed things from different angles and used different effects. The screens enhanced the overall concert experience since I could watch close ups on side screens and also enjoy background visuals on the main screen. Like I said, the audio was not very good and sounded a bit low for some reason. It also seemed like the audio was only coming from the stage area instead of sound filling up the entire theater. Either way, the lighting was good and there were points during performances where stage lights changed colors, steam blew from the stage and confetti rained over part of the audience.

Videos

The show started with a really cool opening video that introduced the group/members. The other concert videos were also good and I actually think that this year’s video content was better than last year’s. Instead of a Monsta X party, they had “MonTube” that showed each member doing funny YouTube-style video clips that related to their personalities and interests. The other videos showed more scenes and details from the Alligator/Shoot Out era and they did a good job explaining the whole 7 Deadly Sins concept that they’ve pretty much had since their Beautiful era. Although I definitely enjoyed the videos for The Connect Tour, I still don’t quite know what they were really about. So Monsta X did a much better job at making their videos entertaining yet understandable this year.

Talks

Monsta X talked throughout the concert in both English and Korean (with a translator), but they made a clear effort to speak more English this time. Although some members still struggle with English, you could hear how much other members improved (Kihyun’s English is now the second best in the group!) and most were able to speak more comfortably than last year. The most surprising part of the talks was when each member gave a little speech entirely in English at the end of the show. I honestly think they should’ve just let Shownu and Wonho speak Korean since it was so difficult for them to express themselves in a different language, but I appreciate the effort and I think their English will continue to improve with time.

Songs/Performances

Monsta X performed about 20 songs, plus they had special group acts and solos. There were more props for this concert which was a nice touch to their performances. As usual, everyone sounded good and the dancing was on point. I think their wardrobe was better than last year’s and their black and gold outfits were my favorite. They sang about half of the songs from each of their latest albums, some songs from The Connect mini album, but few (or even no) songs from the rest of their discography. I guess Monsta X is reaching a point in their career where their song collection has gotten so big that many great songs can’t be in their concerts simply due to time constraints. And the fact that they released two full length albums back-to-back made it even less likely that most of their older songs would be performed. Nevertheless, some of the missing songs were featured in the bgm of their videos and overall Monsta X picked a solid set list that included different styles, energies and moods for the concert.

I’m not a fan of the remix versions of Monsta X songs, but the 8-bit video screen for I’M’s part in Hero was really nice. They sang less title tracks but the new choreography for their non-title tracks was good (especially for Oh My). Minhyuk and Jooheon sang the Ongshimi chorus during one of the talks and it was funny when Jooheon sang and Wonho rapped another member’s part while performing. I was surprised that many of my favorite songs weren’t in the concert, but it was good seeing less/non-promoted songs live. The solo performances were a real treat since I enjoyed Jooheon's drum solo and Hyungwon’s DJ stage was one of the best parts of the show.

Conclusion

Overall, it was great to see Monsta X again. Unlike last year, I had to stand up most of the time so I could see, but thankfully I didn’t lose my voice or get dehydrated because I learned my lesson from my first concert :P. There was actually more humor in this show than last year so it was fun to enjoy music and laugh throughout the evening. I hope everyone had a wonderful time, and I’m glad that the rest of the world tour was a success. Monsta X, fighting!

For more details about the concert, keep reading :)

Intro video

Shoot Out, Hero (remix), Trespass (remix)

Intro talk

Kihyun screams hits a high note that makes him cough

It was really funny/cute when Minhyuk was like “Did you miss us? Did you miss ME?? Did you miss Wonho?”

Party Time, Play It Cool

Talk + Kihyun asks us to sing the chorus of Play It Cool’s English version

Mohae, Jealousy

MonTube video

Shownu - ASMR mukbang

Wonho - Fitness

Minhyuk - Makeup

Kihyun - Coffee

Hyungwon- Fashion

Jooheon - Cooking (makes a Honeyto burrito)

I.M. - English class

Group Performances

Kihyun, Minhyuk, & Hyungwon - Bazzi’s Myself

Jooheon & I.M hip hop song + Jooheon plays the drums

Wonho & Shownu - Mirror (made by Wonho)

Talk about songs

Jooheon & I.M messed up the bottle flip during their performance so they tried again but still failed :P Hyungwon was the one who was able to do it. (Note: They didn’t get around to talking about their song, but according to @KUnnies_on Twitter it’s called 삼박자)

Honestly, Noel Hada, Sweetheart

Talk

No Reason

7 Deadly Sins Movie

This was a very interesting video because it clearly showed which sin each member was portraying: wrath (Shownu), sloth (Wonho), agony (Minhyuk), loneliness (Kihyun), pride (Hyungwon), greed (Jooheon), and envy (I.M.). Even though I already knew/figured out most of this already, the reason why I wasn’t sure about some of them is because they replaced lust and gluttony with agony and loneliness, which are more emotions than actual sins.

It’s nice that the video officially clarified all this because I thought Minhyuk was lust since many of his scenes in MVs had roses in them and Kihyun was gluttony since all the formula-filled images related to him made it seem that he was a glutton for knowledge or something (or maybe Wonho was gluttony because he ate an apple in an MV?). Either way, their concept makes more sense now :)

Who Do You Love, Dramarama

Talk

Oh My, Special, Fallin’

Talk + them acting like this was the end of the show :P

Alligator, H.One’s DJ performance, Rodeo

Real Goodbye/Closing (mostly done in English)

By My Side

Group picture, Wonho’s shirt toss, final bows

Credits with behind the scenes footage

#Monsta X #world tour #NYC kpop #kpop #we are here

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mindwideopen · 4 years ago

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Money..... Oy. Money.... eep. Money.... sigh. All beliefs I currently hold about money. Money is a source of energy. It’s also a way to freedom in our society. Some people hold strong beliefs about money; both positively and negatively. My beliefs have held me back from achieving some of my desires in life.

Ok, I’m just gonna lay it out, I’m mad about money, and not in a good way. I don’t have enough of it, I’m aggravated by it, the lack of it hinders my freedom and creative progress. And I’m bitter about it. All energies I put on money. Doesn’t really leave a lot of room for change, or growth, and definitely doesn’t aid in getting to the solutions I need, to get more of it. I’ve been pretty resolute; money, is a pain, in my culo. Well, it has been, cause I believe it.

I’m currently unemployed. I worked in the entertainment industry professionally here in Chicago for about a solid 15 years, and before that I’ve basically done every minimum wage job under the sun. I started working at age 11, at my grandparents restaurant. I was taught to work. I didn’t want to. I was considered lazy by some, and an irresponsible kid by others. I was fired from a lot of my jobs for lack of good job performance and lack of interest before I was legal.

I worked at both jewel and osco (a combo grocery store and drugstore chain in the Midwest).I think I quit jewel, I worked there pushing carts in the parking lot and bagging when I was 15. I got a workers permit. I used to sit in the bins in the basement at osco. I would sing, and swing my legs. I was supposed to be bringing up supplies and refacing the merchandise on the shelves. I did it, sometimes. I got fired from there. They showed me the footage.

I was also fired from being an ice cream scooper at Petersen’s ice cream (well, it was like more laid off) but I think it was because I sampled all the ice cream every shift prior to work, plus I ate the extras, and my scoops for people were entirely too big, bordering on ridiculous. That was probably a good reason to be laid off. I didn’t think so, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise, because I had gained 16-20lbs working there (depending on what I decide when I tell this story...). They said I’d get sick of the ice cream after awhile. I never did. Dammit.

I went from job to job, place to place, trying to fit into society, and get paid in some honest capacity. I couldn’t afford to continue college (my parents were kind enough to pay for part of my associates degree, but I couldn’t afford the tuition of the 4 year I transfered to) so I quit school, started waiting tables, and eventually acting.

I liked acting. It’s something I had done since I was little. My ma’s side of the family called me, little Sarah Bernheart, after one of the first literal drama queens ever. I sang on the potty when I was really little. One of my favorite songs was the Busch beer commercial. 🎶if you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer!🎶 I was around 4 or 5, so I started my career early, of potty singing is a career. I got paid in love, and attention, and acceptance.

I used to dance at the moose lodge with my grandparents and entertain all of their friends. I didn’t come from an entertainment family. We were middle class people, both sides came from italian decent, with the exception of my grandpa on my dads side. He was adopted, so we’re not entirely sure. My grandparents were a huge part of my life, and they were models for me as far as money was concerned. Hard workers, regular joes, working as hard as they could to make ends meet. They stretched the dollar til it sang moon river, but we always had everything we needed.

My original parents are divorced. My dad graduated college, and worked. My dad remarried (to my other mom) who also worked. & my Ma, also worked. Work was all around me. Work, and earn and try and earn more money. It costs money to live. It costs money to get the stuff you want. That’s life, and how society is set up. You learn a trade, or you go to school and you study hard, and graduate and are eligible for the job. You have a bachelors, a masters, a PhD. NOW you can be something, because now you are certified to do so. This is how I view success, and money. Basically a glass ceiling, unobtainable goal. My bad, but I’m being honest. I didn’t quite fit into that mold.

I worked pretty solid for years, from gig to gig. I self studied. Lots of classes. Shakespeare, Pinter, acting, improv, voice lessons, dance, on-camera classes to get to know casting agents, headshots, etc. everything one should do if they’re serious about their craft. So, “it takes money to make money” and “you have to invest in yourself”, all of this, also my beliefs. I had a hard time with it. I did all of this, to be better, and to get more work, but I was breaking even sometimes. You have to work to join the unions, but in order to get union jobs, you have to book them. The life of an actor. Everyone who’s in the arts has experienced this. So, depending on your nest egg, your experiences and subsequent perception of the business can vary. I wasn’t a saver. I was a “paycheck to paycheck” kind of a gal. I also, didn’t book a ton. And my sense of self, got way too wrapped up in that fact. I quit, about 17 years later, to have a family.

I was pretty low and depressed when I quit acting. I had had some “not so fantastic but enlightening in retrospect” experiences with people in the industry, probably due in part to my attitude not being so great by the time I decided to be done. So I sat around a lot, Kinda like I’m doing now, and i thought about my supposed failures, and where to go next creatively.

I also loved design which was something I could do easily on my own time while I was a mom. I self studied a ton, read a lot of books, and redid our home, on the cheap, in a lot of the design styles I loved and was inspired by. My focus changed from performing to visual 3d interior design.

One evening I ended up going with my husband to a Kickstarter meet and greet. Kickstarter is an online, crowd funding platform. He had done a successful kickstarter campaign, and we decided to go to try and network with people, not either of our fortes truth be told. We stood there, staring at one another until I realized that we could do the same at home. So I said, “ok, the next person that walks through that door, we’re talking to, no matter what!” That person turned out to be a very cool visual artist/interior designer named Alyssa Miserendino, and she asked me to help her source furniture and other home accessories for her within the first 5 minutes of meeting her. She was, and probably still is, fantastic. I appreciate her taking a chance on me.

I worked with Alyssa for a few years, and she went off to go to graduate school in another state. But before she left, she gave me all of her clients. She put trust in me. She knew my background, but also knew that I had what it took to design, and to coordinate projects, and I was off and rolling. She is an extremely intuitive woman, and very cool. I was a nervous wreck.

My first client was excellent. It was a complete gut and rehab of the kitchen and bathroom rental condo. It looked gorgeous at the end, and I wanted custody so I could visit and enjoy how it turned out. I went on with other clients by word of mouth, some repeat customers, but I never knew how to advertise or continue.

All of these jobs were cool, but they didn’t exactly fulfill my complete creative itch. They were aspects of the whole of me. When I was acting people used to yell because I’d mess with the wigs, and my wardrobe, and be concerned about the look of the production as a whole. That should’ve been my first clue that acting wasn’t exactly completely cutting it. I went from thing to thing to thing... when I was designing I was designing for other people’s lives, and sensibilities. Still rewarding, but I like what I like too. I want to create from the ground up, according to what I appreciate and want.

I say all of this, because how I felt about myself... was that I was a fraud. I wasn’t, but I felt that way. I wasn’t ever formally trained. I didn’t have my 4 year degree. I had an associates in liberal arts, but I wasn’t afffiliared with anyone or any school, so I felt, alone. I carried that alone feeling, that feeling of being separate and not included throughout my entire career. I was a loner. Not a great thing to be when you rely on other people to book you for work. And I always wanted to be a success, independent, the bread winner for the family. The one that made good even when no one ever had done it in the arts in my family before. But I didn’t. I married. I tried to do it, but I didn’t achieve what I wanted to. And that’s how I felt about myself, and my beliefs about my ability to be independent and make money, all played a key role in where I’m at now.... I’m currently sitting on my chair, and writing honestly, about my past, about my feelings, and about how I felt like I have failed, me.

Writing is an escape for me. It is a blank canvas where anything is possible, and anything goes (not the musical, but myself). I can write about mountains and desert terrains, but I won’t probably, because I don’t know shit about that, but I do know where I’ve been, and where I want to go. And my self study all of these years whether I realized it or not, was me. I have finally decided to be ok, with not being something. I am writing, to gain clarity and to share my experiences in hopes that others are inspired. Or, I’m writing specifically for me, it changes from day to day. All I know, is I’m here, now, writing.

The passing of time is an interesting way to determine ones life. You were born, you did stuff, you knew people, you die. Not exactly the most uplifting way of looking at it, but the details are what makes it either good or bad, depending on your POV. And my point of view about my past, and my career to date, has been pretty dismal and not very fair to me.

I consider myself a creator. I have written, sang, danced, acted, modeled, designed, drawn, and painted. I have shared my talents with the world in only the way I can. I have written about my life, and others lives, and presented them in interesting and unique ways. I am a person worthy of love. So, I’ve proven it. But my bank account doesn’t reflect it.

What have I done wrong? Why am I not a success? Why am I not riding on a golden stallion on a beach with a tiara and jewels and a flowing gown with people throwing roses at my feet? Well, because, I’d be mortified if that was happening. I hate being the center of attention sometimes. So you see, the universe, in its infinite wisdom, gives what you want whether you know what you want or not, and there’s a reason why things you may think you want aren’t happening. Although the concept of all that horse grandeur and accolades and public acceptance is cool, in practice for me personally it’s a “no thank you”.

I’ve developed into quite the introvert over the years. And with my change, my needs and wants have changed with me. Truth is, I never wanted to ride down a beach on a horse, I don’t even know how to ride a horse, and open heights, not my thing, probably another reason that God made me 5’2. I kid, but the universe gives you what you believe. And I haven’t believed I was a success, so I made decisions in my career that supported those beliefs whether I knew it consciously or not.

Comfort is important to me. A cozy nest to call my own, a place to hide from humanity and be myself. I am pretty forthcoming online, but in person it’s not the case. I am a bit shy with people I don’t know, even though I come off bold sometimes. I am still trying to find where I belong in the world right now, and get past all of the thoughts and memories that have been hanging me out to dry over the years. So, instead I’m learning to appreciate, and be in the love, and satisfied with what I do have instead of looking at the lack. Cause crap! It’s a lot of good! And I want to try again with my career, but the truth is, I’m not quite sure what to go back to. But whatever it is, it definitely won’t be with the same energy that I did it with the first time. I am a more evolved me now. A me I’m more comfortable with being.

Love, is helping me get there. Life is not always what you planned when you were younger, but it has a way of putting you on the right path if you decide to follow its lead. I’m new to this path, but better late than never. I’m deciding to let love rule, as lenny kravitz so aptly put it when I saw his dreads bouncing on stage, cause I was waaaayyy in the back, no money for front row at the Aragon ballroom in Chicago, even though it was general admission, back in ‘94. Still a great concert, just happy to be included.

Love is how you view it. Love is money, if you view it that way. Love can envelope every subject, every person, every situation if you let it. So let it rule. ❤️

#Youtube #cabaret #money #career #self love #selfworth #self reflection #selfawareness #musings #self improvement #self healing #lawofattraction #changing my mindset #motivation #inspiration #mind wide open #kari keillor

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realtalk-princeton · 4 years ago

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Hey Faun, and anyone else majoring in Comp. Lit, what are the advantages of choosing Comp. Lit over English? How is it different? Also, what language did you learn for it?

Response from Faun:

Thanks for your question! I actually wrote a bit about my thoughts on the major in an earlier post way back when, so feel free to check that out too, but to summarize, the key aspects that drew me to comp lit included the smaller size of the department, the relative flexibility of course requirements, and the fit with my own academic interests (i.e. learning languages, world literature, translation, etc.). English and comp lit definitely share a lot of similarities, specifically in how they allow concentrators to deeply engage in close reading and literary analysis while gaining exposure to a myriad of different works, but they certainly differ as departments and fields in significant ways as well. To my understanding, comp lit centers itself on the study of literature and the humanities across boundaries of language, culture, history, and so forth—in other words, as the name suggests, in comparison. As such, it’s a super interdisciplinary subject, and ~comparatists~ (as people in the field are so dubbed) often work with material beyond what would be traditionally characterized as “literature”; many of my classmates and instructors have written about music, visual arts, film and media, and more for their research, and a big part of our discussions in the junior seminar have been about what even constitutes the definition of literature. And of course, proficiency in languages and translation is also a critical component of the major, which I think is the probably the most notable difference between comp lit and English.

I can’t speak too much to what the English major is like beyond my tangential familiarity with the program and a couple classes I’ve taken in the department, but I can share a little bit of why I ended up choosing comp lit over English when it came time to declare concentrations. Part of the reason, as I’ve already mentioned, had to do with department size; generally, comp lit is a fairly small department, averaging at ~20 upperclassmen at a time (versus ~70 in English). This fall, I’m taking COM 300 alongside all the other comp lit juniors, and I’ve got to say, there’s something quite neat about being in a class with everyone in your major and getting to know them all as cool individuals. :) Another plus of being in a rather ~intimate~ department is having a greater access to resources, whether that means more one-on-one interactions with professors or more funding for research and other projects. For me, what ended up kind of driving me away from English was how much more restrictive it was in terms of its distribution requirements; I also felt that the program as a whole tended toward a sort of Ameri-/Anglocentrism that I didn’t 100% vibe with. That being said, I still think it’s a wonderful department, and I have a lot of friends in the major who are happy with their choice. One unique benefit of English is that you have the option of picking a track within the program that allows you to hone in on a specific area of interest, such as theater and performance studies or creative writing, which is especially convenient if you’re looking to pair with certificates.

In terms of my comp lit languages, I’m currently working primarily with French and Chinese, but I’m also in the process of learning Japanese (modern and classical). For the department, you would need to know at least two languages, but you only need to be fluent in one language and demonstrate reading proficiency in the other. I was lucky enough to study French throughout middle and high school, so I was fortunate to have a pretty decent level of fluency in the language upon arriving at college. I’m a Mandarin-speaker by heritage, which means that my writing and reading comprehension are T R A S H, but so far I haven’t taken any classes that have required me to write in Chinese just yet, so here’s hoping I can brush up on those skills before I’m exposed for being a complete and utter fraud lol. Finally, I started Japanese at the 101 level as a freshman, completed the second-year sequence my rising soph summer at PII, and am now pulling a complete ~uno reverse~ by taking Intro to Classical Japanese as a junior before pivoting back to third-year modern my senior year. I’d love to talk about my experience with any of these languages both in and out of Princeton, so feel free to hit me up anytime.

I hope this has been helpful somewhat in providing you with a bit more insight into the comp lit program! Again, I’m always down to chat about all things related to literature and languages, so please reach out if you ever have any more questions on the topic. In the meantime, I’m wishing you nothing but the best.

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kihocrystal · 8 years ago

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Winter 2017 - Final Impressions

This is like a week late (again), but here are my thoughts about the animes I watched that finished this season! There’s 10 reviews under the cut, and they’re listed in alphabetical order for your convenience~

3-gatsu no Lion (March comes in like a Lion) - 9 / 10 ( A )

a super good character drama!!! I love how it focuses on themes of depression / loneliness as well!

the art / animation by Shaft is… well, very Shaft-like! (thanks Akiyuki Shinbo~)

good use of both muted / pastel colors and sharp / dark colors in different scenarios

hash lines were used on characters as well! gives it a sketch-like quality~

the animation itself was quite good too! mostly subdued, but had moments of really good fluidity

this shows itself the most in the more artistic sequences, for sure

and since this is Shaft, BOY did they pull out all the stops for those sequences!

…and yes, the infamous headtilts are also here :P

It was also good w/ the comedic animation (including w/ expressions!)

a note about *sound* for a sec: they always had voice-over to go w/ onscreen onomatopoeia!

plus they gave monologue voices to the kawamotos’ cats… interesting choice~

this show just *really* loves cats (even making shogi explanations using cats!)

there are A LOT of really good / memorable characters here; they help the show really shine!

(it IS a character-based drama, after all)

Rei Kiriyama!!! what a great (and relatable!) protag

seeing his mental struggles play out was very interesting to see (& also very complex, in a good way!)

he’s also very sympathetic, despite being a prodigy! he has to deal w/ lots of crap :(

we see him struggle & blame himself a lot, so it’s even better when he finds some happiness or revelation!

HE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY ;A; (…and he definitely makes progress by season’s end!)

there’s so many Good supporting characters that i’d be here all day if I went into detail about them ^^;

the Kawamoto’s are such a supporting family for Rei!!!

all 3 sisters are really good (and occasionally get some spotlight time… mostly Hinata though)

Nikaidou’s also a good guy… he’s kind of like Rei’s rival! (he’s kinda pushy but gives Rei good motivation & help!)

shout-out to Tatsuyuki-san; his personality was quite fun and also loves cats to death

Hayashida-sensei! He’s a bumbling guy, but really gives great advice once in a while :’)

he also is Rei’s main mentor on the school side of things, pulling some strings to help Rei move on to 2nd year ;~;

Shimada-san was a late addition, but HOT DAMN did he have a great impact on Rei + the show

I loved his backstory, i loved his personality, i loved his seiyuu’s performance… great character all around

Kyoko is VERY FAR from a Good character, but she shows more complexities as time goes on

on one hand, she’s VERY manipulative of Rei’s emotions; she also has feelings of jealously towards him + feelings for Gotou

speaking of Gotou, WHAT A FUCKING ASSHOLE

I don’t remember what his first appearance was, but that scene of him riling up Rei made me LIVID

at least he gets beaten by Shimada-san in the lion king tournament >:)

as far as story goes, it’s a character-focused drama; so it follows a year of Rei’s life going through high school and his pro shogi career

the drama comes from both character interactions & developments they go through; it’s executed REALLY WELL

the show pulls off both incredibly goofy and incredibly somber moments quite well!

Rei’s path of self-growth isn’t quite done yet, as the final episode shows him entering 2nd year and establishing a club!

the finale also has a look back on how his perceptions on life & loneliness have changed since he was a kid~

in any case, season 2 is confirmed and will be coming this fall season! \o/

Overall, I really enjoyed this artistic and introspective show! Definitely one of my (four?) picks for AOTS~

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu ka - 8.0 / 10 ( B )

This was probably the most chill & relaxed anime about bureaucracy and political coups / upheaval that I’ve ever seen xD

animation:

I really like what Madhouse did with the visuals! It’s quite a unique look~

The art style had elements of realism (w/ the characters, at least); however their hair looks fluffy & light! (& some funny facial features, so it’s not all realism :P)

not to mention the backgrounds are brightly colored & watercolor-esque~

the art in general is also kinda sketch-like with the outlines! it’s kind of a rough look but w/ a bunch of charm!

I also have to mention the FOOD in this show; there’s good attention to detail here, plus it’s drawn so nicely (+ even huge sometimes!)

the animation itself was also nice, in terms of subtle movements, like walking or hand/head movements!

super big shout-out to the *opening theme*!!! That was definitely my favorite OP of the season; it’s such a jam!!!

It’s also a nice contrast from the rest of the show’s tone (the song’s super upbeat, while the show itself is so chill :P)

characters:

The cast overall was interesting to watch; there’s a good mix of personalities here, but all of them contribute to the show’s laidback tone~

Jean Otus (the main protag) can sneaky when he wants to (but he’s mostly nonchalant)

he’s a nice guy, but doesn’t emote much… it can be hard to get a read of what he’s thinking, for sure

either way, he’s still quite caring (towards Nino & his sister Lotta, at least)

Nino’s great… he’s my favorite character in this show, for sure

he can be really sneaky sometimes, but is also a genuine friend to Jean & Lotta :’)

I also really liked seeing how tight Jean & Nino’s bond was~

it also helps that his seiyuu (Kenjiro Tsuda) had a great performance voicing him~

Lotta is a happy & cheerful girl who loves her food / bread! (she doesn’t contribute much to the overarching plot, though)

Rail (the policeman) gets dragged into some plot happenings from time to time, but proves to be a nice guy by the end

Prince Schwan, despite being the next-in-line for the throne, doesn’t seem to do much in the overarching plot (at least not until the finale?)?

in any case, any character voiced by Miyano Mamoru is still fun to watch regardless

Maggie (Schwan’s guard) keeps a good eye on him

plus he’s kinda a dork… in a deadpan way (& he sure loves his sandwich bread)

Lilium kinda blended in w/ the other ACCA chairmen in the beginning, but eventually showed his true (i.e. evil) intentions by ep. 10 or so

poor Grossular’s had it rough; first he had his country take responsibility for a major train accident, and now Lilium blackmailed / took advantage of him :(

he was a prime suspect to being the true identity of Nino’s main boss for a while, too! (it ended up being Oulu, the blond mustache guy xD)

Mauve was a good & strong female authority figure in ACCA too! She kinda acted like a private investigator at times :P

I was unsure where she stood most of the time, but I’m glad she proved to be the one to thwart Lilium’s plan in the end~

the other five chairman + other ACCA members were… just kinda there. That’s all I’m gonna say about them ^^;

story:

the basic premise involves Jean having to travel to each of the 13 districts within the country, while plans for a coup d’etat brew in the background!

no matter what wheeling & dealing was going on during the story, the tone always stayed calm & cool (w/ smooth jazz music to boot xD)

there’s quite a bit going on in the story at any given time, but I will admit it was hard for me to follow much of the time ^^;

many characters being really vague (I’m looking at you, five chairmen…) didn’t really help things in this regard either

of course, you could argue this adds to the mystery / intrigue, so… your mileage my vary

I was still interested in what was happening though! Especially when it involved the main players (& learning more about them!)

I liked the world-building!!! It was cool seeing how each district was different from each other~ (plus the different foods, of course)

episode 4 was particularly interesting, since it involved Suitsu & how it was kinda like a darker-tone mini-version of the overarching plot!

my favorite aspect of the story was learning about Jean’s (& Lotta’s) secret link to the royal family, along w/ Nino’s involvement w/ that!

the episode(s?) that were from Nino’s perspective as he grew up w/ his father (as they both watched the Otus kids) were definitely a highlight for me

the overall picture (or at least, where certain characters stood in the plot) grew clearer by the end, and by the climax, we knew for sure who the main antagonist was

the finale had the “coup” halted swiftly (and calmly, as is tradition in this show), plus we got to see a bit of epilogue too~

the climax itself was pretty short (& kinda underwhelming?), but then again, it makes sense considering how the rest of the show is, tone-wise

also, it’s worth noting that the anime as a whole covered the entirety of its source material! that’s a rarity nowadays!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with ACCA! It’s not the easiest show to follow plot-wise, but it has a cool sense of atmosphere & is just a very suave show in general xD

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Arc - 8.5 / 10 ( B+ )

This second season, that we finally got six-ish years later, was pretty good! I think I preferred S1 (or at least the 1st half) but I still like what we got here!

art / animation:

A-1 Pictures did a good job here for the most part!

the art style does have some subtle changes from S1 (like bloom effects and rounder/softer features on characters), but not too different otherwise

I liked how the color palette felt muted and bright at the same time! the backgrounds were also quite nice~

plus the special effects weren’t bad (i.e. fire, the Impure King’s spore-like body)

I did notice some episodes in the middle dipped in animation quality (mostly in character’s faces/heads), which kinda took me out of those episodes :/

other than that, the animation was above average and had some good action animation in there (though not *great*, per se)

characters:

it’s good to finally have these characters back after so long! admittedly, it was had to remember what state they were all in at the start (…six years is a long time, okay?)

Rin is still a good and lovable protag! I love how he has such a kind heart, despite acting rough on the outside xD

he had to win back the trust of his friends (and overcome his fear of losing control of his flames)… i’m glad he got to find his self-worth in the end ;A;

Yukio still takes his duties very seriously and scolds Rin a lot ^^;

he had some mind-games to overcome too, courtesy of Toudou (thoughts like: jealously towards Rin and hating having to watch over him all the time)

not to mention he awakened some demon powers for the first time (demon eyes)!

by the end though, he still has a way to go (as he acknowledges he still very self-hating)

Rin’s entourage of friends were hesitant / distrustful of him at the start (due to events from last season), but were won over one by one eventually~

it was kind of weird being brought back (after so long) to *that* particular point… it was a little jarring from what I remembered of them before

Shiemi felt like she wasn’t being of much help (especially since Nee got temporarily destroyed), but she gained back her resolve as well \o/

plus she helped Rin gain confidence w/ a hug & nice words in ep. 7 :’)

Ryuuji got some focus as well, as he had a rocky relationship w/ his dad (which struck a GREAT parallel as pointed out in ep. 4)

Tatsuma was seen as suspicious despite his cheerful / ditzy attitude, but learning about the secrets he had to hide made him more lovable~

In general, we got to learn more about where Ryuuji, Konekomaru, and Renzou grew up and learn about their family sects!

Shura is still a good mentor / ally to Rin (& his friends), while also keeping him in line~

Toudou (the human villain of this season) was a good manipulator / mind-game player… that’s about it ^^;

…and Shirou is still a great example of a dead character remaining relevant throughout the show~

he’s still a motivation for both Rin and Yukio, plus we learned of his history w/ Tatsuma & the Sect!

story:

This arc starts off on a weird place, since not only has it been six years since S1, this arc picks up from the *middle* of S1

of course, this is because this season’s arc is from the manga, while S1’s second half was anime original

that being said, the transition could’ve been smoother; some canon-versions of events are only shown in flashbacks, for example :/

in any case, this arc is all about the Impure King’s eventual revival in Kyoto, and the exorcists having to stop it!

while the main story of this arc wasn’t doing much *new*, necessarily, the execution overall was… pretty good!

there weren’t many moments that reached the emotional highs of S1’s best moments, but they were still good here too~

that being said, stuff like Rin being reassured by Shiemi in ep. 7, and Rin finally controlling his flames in ep. 11… still good moments there!

however, episode 4 was definitely my favorite episode; it brought up that father/son relationship parallel i mentioned earlier in a GREAT way~

it was definitely the best emotional high for me, especially since it made a connection to such a powerful moment in S1 ;~;

I also liked seeing more of Shirou’s past life (as told through Tatsuma), along w/ learning Rin’s sword was originally the Sect’s object of worship!

Seeing Yukio gets confronted w/ mind-games was interesting to see, along w/ him unlocking demon powers for the first time!

It’ll be interesting to see the implications of this later on, assuming we get a S3 ;A;

in this regard, I’ve seen people refer to this arc as a “setup arc”, and I can kinda see why. Progress was made, but there were hints thrown out as well

the finale was an epilogue of sorts, with Rin & friends recovering + seeing the sights, Rin & Yukio talking it out, and hints of Mephisto’s ulterior motives

the talk between brothers at the end definitely left things open-ended for a continuation

Overall, I had a good time with this sequel, and I’m glad I got to see more of this series in general, after so long! The transition from S1’s midpoint can be kinda rocky, but still check this out if you’re a shounen fan~

Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls) - 8.0 - 8.5 / 10 ( B )

A cute and fun slice-of-life show about a handful of monster girls in high school (plus their teacher)! It does a good job tackling some social issues as well!

art / animation:

A-1 Pictures did a good job with the visuals here! Very light and simple style~

The color palette is full of bright colors (w/ lower saturation), and the character art style has rounded features for girls (some moe influence, probably) & angular ones for boys

The animation itself is mostly standard fare, but has some above-average fluidity w/ some special effects (Yuki’s ice tears come to mind)

it does lend itself well to comedic moments & timing, which is good for this show ^^

characters:

I liked the cast overall! they had a good dynamic together (which is good, considering how they become close friends over time)

Takahashi-sensei was a good (& different) lead for the show! He’s caring and very knowledgable about monster lore~

for a harem-esque main group like this, it’s great to see a different take on the typical “male harem protag” like this!

he’s a good support system for the other demi girls, and helps them be more confident in themselves (& learn more about themselves)!

(he’s like this for even Satou-sensei, since he’s really good at covering up the aphrodisiac effects have on him)

Hikari is hyper and silly, and is a big contributor to this show’s comedic side~

she’s pretty different from vampires of lore, which is explored quite a bit during the show (& ties into the show’s themes too)

I also liked how she’s not afraid to stand up for her new friends (like how she confronted people gossiping about Yuki) :’)

Machi is sort of soft-spoken, but she also smart and willing to talk to others!

she’s the most physically different out of the three (since she’s a dullahan), which leads to interesting (& funny) scenarios w/ her head & body~

she (w/ help from Takahashi & co.) develops work-arounds for her problems, and helps others feel less awkward about talking to her!

her crushing on Takahashi-sensei is… weird (why do you do this, show)

Yuki is definitely the most shy of the three starting out, and has the most noticeable development during her arc

she was self-hating over her demi (snow woman) nature, but the main crew help her learn about her abilities and help her gain confidence!

she becomes more outgoing after her arc, and even is shown to secretly be into hardcore manga~

Satou-sensei is a succubus teacher! She doesn’t have an arc, necessarily, but she gets some character focus nonetheless

she adjusted her daily schedule a lot due to her aphrodisiac effects, and has a hard time trying to confess her feelings for Takahashi

she tends to sympathize w/ Machi’s (& sometimes the others’) feelings towards him… you’re a teacher, don’t condone this… :/

aside from that last point, she is another good occasional support system for the girls, since she’s both a teacher and a fellow demi~

even *she* has her own support(?) system, in the form of Ugaki!

story:

like most slice-of-life anime, this follows the lives of high school girls and show their experiences, both good and bad

however, this one focuses around *supernatural* students: a vampire, a dullahan, and a snow woman! (plus a succubus teacher)

I really liked how this show handled themes of what’s it’s like being different (not unlike people w/ disabilities!), and helping people overcome social stigmas too!

it included stuff ranging from Yuki’s insecurities about her snow woman nature + being gossiped about…

…to more lighthearted stuff, like how Machi wanted to poke fun at her own differences without her friends feeling awkward about it!

the show would also compare & contrast the Demis w/ their mythical counterparts, which ties into this theme well~

moments like Hikari standing up to Yuki’s gossip bullies & the video letter to Takahashi were some of this show’s best moments~

there’s also some fun comedy! (which was kinda hit or miss for me)

the comedy’s at its best when it plays w/ their personalities and/or unique aspects of their Demi natures!

stuff like Takahashi + Hikari’s dynamic, plus Yuki’s hidden “hardcore(?)” side are good examples of this

the show’s comedic timing in general is pretty good!

this also includes the romance stuff though; they code Takahashi-sensei + the Demi’s relationship as romantic sometimes and it’s just… no

thankfully it was only one-sided (since Takahashi explicitly says he wouldn’t have feelings for them), but it still kinda rubbed me the wrong way

the finale was mostly some fun comedy stuff (it was a pool episode), but it threw in some nice heartwarming stuff in the end~

Overall, this was a really enjoyable & laid-back anime that wasn’t afraid to be serious / heartwarming too! (w/ some good social commentary to boot!) In a season full of comedy slice-of-life shows, Demi-chan (& one other) is one of the season’s best~

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon - 8.5 / 10 ( B+ )

The *other* good SOL comedy this season! Really funny and really cute w/ that reliable KyoAni polish~

art / animation:

as per usual, Kyoto Animation did a great job w/ the visuals!

the style they used this time around is more cartoon-y than their usual style (so closer to Nichijou, rather than Hibike Euphonium)

very bright color palette and (kinda watercolor-like) backgrounds! Just a “simpler��-looking show all around (which is definitely NOT a bad thing!)

the animation itself is, of course, really great too! the fluidity is strong w/ this one~

whether it’s subtle movements or even an action scene or two, the animation has a great sense of movement & body language!

it also lent itself to comedic moments very well! (i.e. well-animated slapstick or good comedic expressions / backgrounds)

there is, also… some fanservice (not a *lot*, per se, but enough that it drove away some people on my twitter feed)

it’s mostly boob-centered, as a few characters have large boobs (w/ Lucoa having *huge* ones), so there’s… boob jiggle sometimes, among other things

the fanservice in this show specifically didn’t bother me *that* much, but your mileage may vary

characters:

the cast as a whole was really fun! they all played off each other well too!

Kobayashi & Tohru have a good dynamic together, and develop a good relationship together too! (let’s be real here… lesbians~)

both of them have pretty different personalities (stoic / brash vs. bright / bubbly), yet work together quite well!

Kanna is somehow stoic & happy at the same time! I like how she’s curious about everything & is just a good bean in general~

Lucoa has a nice “older-sister” dynamic w/ the others! She’s got good wisdom, but can also be a bit of an airhead ^^;

but please… someone tell her to give poor Shouta a break…

Fafnir starts out as wanting nothing but killing & destruction, but eventually bonds w/ Takiya-kun and gets addicted to video games ^^;

I liked seeing how he has his own ways of showing affection / appreciation for others~

(...and he’s voiced by Daisuke Ono, which is always a plus)

Elma didn’t even get introduced until episode 8 (& doesn’t even get a ton of screen time after that), but she’s enjoyable too

her revenge(?) against Kobayashi only lasted for 1 episode(?), and then just becomes an office worker (so she ends up being the most normal dragon, in a way :P)

story:

the premise involves an office worker lady who meets a dragon who decides to be her live-in house maid! (plus there’s other dragons!)

this is a slice-of-life comedy, so like most others, it goes through some daily life scenarios that are also humorous

this time around though, there’s DRAGONS! (so there’s supernatural stuff sometimes involved)

the comedy involved the dragons learning & adapting to aspects of human society, which was fun to watch

I liked seeing how they would react to different situations! (especially since each dragon would respond differently)

the characters bouncing off each other (i.e. dynamic) also led to some good comedic moments

kobayashi & tohru’s relationship was a big contributor to this as well

there were a couple reoccuring gags that got old after a while: Lucoa’s… boob antics w/ Shouta, and Riko’s overreaction to Kanna

the former is… basically rooted in fanservice (leave the poor boy alone! ;~; )

the latter I didn’t have as much issue w/ to start, but after seeing it pointed out on my twitter TL, I can see why people take issue w/ it (i.e. fetishization (i think?))

there were also some really nice heartwarming moments too! stuff like that helps elevate a comedy anime for me~

many of these were centered around the character’s relationships w/ each other (it was nice seeing them grow closer over time!)

the finale had a different, more serious tone than the rest of the show, but it was still really good!

seeing tohru (& eventually kobayashi) confront tohru’s dad really showed how much their relationship (& love for the human world) has grown!

Aside from a couple small issues, I really did have a great time w/ this show! If you’re looking for a fun comedy w/ supernatural elements plus some heartwarming stuff, this won’t let you down~

Kuzu no Honkai (Scum’s Wish) - 9 / 10 ( A )

A really well directed character drama about sexuality and unhealthy relationships… It’s definitely not for everybody, but it’s really well done!

art / animation:

Studio Lerche did a *really good* job with the visuals here! Definitely their best-looking anime yet!

the art style makes good use of muted colors and sketch-like outlines on characters; it makes everything look kind of like a watercolor painting!

they also do close-ups by overlaying a strip or square on top; sort of like a manga panel! (It’s definitely executed better here than in GATE :P )

the art direction in general is just really good… they know how to use lighting well, plus there’s good artistic / stylized scenes when characters are introspective~

as for animation, it’s nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done in the end~

they do sometimes use lower frame rates for artistic / stylistic effect though!

also shout-out to the awesome ED theme by Sayuri! I’d always want to sing along with it at the end of each episode (+ used really well as a transition!)

characters:

this cast is… quite the interesting bunch to say the least ^^;

the show’s english title is “Scum’s Wish”, so yeah, most of the main cast is pretty scummy in one way or another. The good news, though, is that it leads to really good *character development*! \o/

pretty much everybody got at least one focus episode, which is great!!! I love it when shows do that!!!

Hanabi is the main protagonist; she tends to keeps to herself, and is also snarky at times.

she goes through a pretty dark road over the course of the show, but comes to terms w/ herself and what she’s looking for by the end~

Mugi is kinda like Hanabi in some ways, but he can be quite forward at times, and also can get roped into bad situations.

he eventually comes to terms w/ his love situation as well, but it’s a bit of a rockier end for him :(

Akane… is definitely the “villain” of the show, and VERY easy to hate xD

she sleeps w/ guys all the time + plays mind-games w/ Hanabi + Mugi, but by the end, even she finds some happiness & change for the better through her new marriage~

Sanae is Hanabi’s best friend, and also a lesbian! Her personality is very headstrong and sassy at times.

she also starts going after Hanabi in her own way, in hopes of winning her heart… thankfully, the two eventually reconcile (even though it was messy by the end)

Noriko (aka Moca) is Mugi’s childhood friend, who still has feelings for him after so long…

she definitely has the least amount of screen time out of the main characters, but her focus episodes show another side of her character (+ her self-realization as well)

Kanai-san is Hanabi’s crush who falls in love w/ Akane… he doesn’t do much until closer to the end, during Akane’s focus episodes

There’s also Sanae’s cousin and that one womanizer dude, but they aren’t around much (but still have contributions to different character arcs)

story:

the premise on paper definitely will turn some people off, since it’s about two people “dating” each other since they can’t be in relationships w/ who they truly love

not to mention said people they’re in love with are probably 4+ years older than they are (& how Hanabi calls Kanai-san “big bro / onii-chan”… yeah :/ )

also there *are* sex scenes in this show (albeit no actual private parts are shown), and they can get steamy at times ^^;

so yeah, because of these things, this show is definitely *not* for everybody. I don’t blame you if these things’ll turn you off from this show…

that being said, even though this show is about messed-up people in messed-up relationships, it’s very well directed and executed!

they do a really good job of selling the emotion and subtle drama in each scene (including exploring characters’ mindsets really well!)

even though it’s a character drama, they still manage to pull off cliffhangers occasionally! You just want to find out where it’s gonna go from there!

each character arc wrapped up really nicely, and you can tell that they’ve bettered themselves by the end of the show

the final episode itself was great, too! it’s a little bit of a downer that Hanabi and Mugi go their separate ways, but it ties in with the ending quite well~

it also helps that the anime in general is a complete adaptation of the source material! we don’t get enough of those these days~

Overall, I really enjoyed this series, and is definitely one of my AOTS picks! If you like dramatic shows centered around romance, then this is a good one to check out!

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans S2 - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 ( A- )

This was a really good second season and conclusion to IBO! Not to mention really sad & heartbreaking ;A;

art / animation:

Sunrise did a good job with visuals this season too! The quality is pretty much identical to last season (which is definitely a good thing!)

lots of muted & dark colors; really got the look of a gritty war-centered show down quite well~

Mars and Earth have distinct looks and feel to them too! (Mars has more dark, earth tones, Earth has brighter colors & more cool tones)

actions scenes are pretty good too; the mechas have good fluidity at times! (mostly Mika’s mech; the others have more stilted movements, since they’re, y’know, robots)

characters:

the Tekkadan crew’s back, and they’re still as likable as before~ (of course, this makes it even harder when each one dies ;~; )

Mika is as stone-faced and ready to kill as before… he does lose function of his leg and arm eventually (i think by the end of the 1st half) by using Barbatos too much

Orga becomes a bit different of a leader this season (as evidenced by his new suit!), as he commands from afar and has more negotiating talks w/ other factions

he wrestles w/ a lot of things happening around him, and what the best thing is to do at any given time… he goes through a lot ^^;

Takaki was previously just another guy in Tekkadan, but he got his own character arc during the season’s 1st half!

he had to lead a subsidiary group on Earth, which put him through a lot… in the end, he decides to leave Tekkadan so he can be helpful elsewhere & stay alive ;~;

there were a few new guys on Tekkadan at the start of the season, w/ the most notable being Hush

he wanted to catch up to Mikazuki, so he could be of more help, like his brother(?) that he admired ;~;

there’s some new faces in Gjallerhorn as well, w/ the most notable being Rustal Elion, Julietta, and Iok

Julietta seemed obsessed w/ doing anything Rustal wanted her to do, and Iok… got kind of annoying after a while (he just… wouldn’t… die!)

Iok’s eventual death was really satisfying though~

not to mention Rustal and Iok were responsible for a lot of terrible things that happened to Tekkadan this season (including literally killing them w/ hitmen >:( )

also Nobliss can just go and fuck off (and thankfully he died the most humiliating death imaginable)

I also gotta mention Gaelio, who wore a mask for most of the season (even though it was *really* obvious it was him) + helped stop McGillis

speaking of McGillis, he ramps up his plans this season and put his grand coup de tat into action

he’s more manipulative this season (involving the Bauduins & Tekkadan), but definitely fights to the bitter end (all by himself, even…)

story:

this season picks up not too long after where last season left off; Tekkadan is a more prominent organization alongside Taiwan & Gjallerhorn

their prior successes led to more people wanting to enter Tekkadan’s lifestyle, which wasn’t really what Tekkadan wanted :/

there’s a lot of political wheeling and dealing this season that was interesting to watch, but there’s no way I could remember all the details ^^;

this also applies to military strategy (mostly on Gjallerhorn’s end)

the first half’s main plot beats mostly composed of the Earth branch arc (centering around Takaki), and the Mobile Armor arc!

seeing the Mobile Armor(s) in action was pretty crazy (and scary…), and it took A LOT to take them down!

after that arc, I would’ve expected them to be more relevant in the 2nd half, but that didn’t really happen at all (asides from Dainsleif usage)

the second half sees McGillis’ coup and Tekkadan’s life to its conclusion; going up against the mighty Gjallerhorn, but falling short in the end…

*lots of characters die* during this half… and all of them are REALLY SAD (*especially* Lafter and Orga, who die by hitman gunfire)

each death scene is really effective, but Orga’s especially is SUCH A GOOD SCENE (he dies looking forward the whole time; even his blood moves forward ;~;7 )

I wish he didn’t die 2 episodes before the end, though… Mika & Orga should’ve been able to fight together at the end ;A;

almost every main character dies, including Mikazuki… Tekkadan dies w/ it, making the ending partially a tragedy

the finale has the end of the final fight + epilogue; the antagonists win in the end, but they work w/ Kudelia + others to help make a better world

it felt kind of weird for Gjallerhorn to change like that, considering the bad things they did? But whatever works, I guess :/

that being said, I liked seeing the surviving members of Tekkadan lead new lives, and Atra getting to takes care of her new son :’)

Overall, IBO was an emotional and action-packed ride from start to finish! I really enjoyed my first Gundam series~

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu S2 - 9 / 10 ( A )

one of my AOTY picks from 2016 strikes again with this great sequel & conclusion to the series!

art / animation by Studio Deen is very subdued and not very flashy (i.e. not much in motion, per se) but it still looks quite pretty

good use of muted colors (both pastel & dark), plus good use of soft shading!

backgrounds looked nice as well! the set pieces in general helped sell many scenes, both artistic & grounded ones~

also super shout-out to that awesome OP sequence! great scenes centering around Yakumo + unsettling music = MAGIC!!!

this season shifts back to modern(?) day, so we see much more of characters that we only saw in the 1st and last episodes of S1!

before we get to that though, let’s talk about Yakumo!!! what a great character / protagonist

he’s a stubborn old man on the outside, but a haunted soul on the inside, who can’t escape his past & the two main people in it

a lot of this show’s appeal was seeing how his story would progress (and finally, conclude)

we all wanted him to find his peace at his death (& even after it!)… it all worked out in the end ;~;

he’s complex in a lot of ways, which makes him interesting to watch for sure (especially after watching S1)

yet another mention to Akira Ishida totally rocking it in his performance; he does it all w/ this character!

Yotaro’s back!!! He’s such a chipper guy the whole way through, and he’s a joy to watch~

He can be very headstrong too, and can help force some sense into people!

The scene where he confronts the gang boss comes to mind

Another part I liked was the episode where he watched Sukeroku’s taped performance… I liked seeing how “into it” he was

He’s also very determined to keep rakugo alive into the future! He was a great foil to Yakumo in general :)

Konatsu is very short-tempered & snappy at times, but she has a caring heart deep down too~

I loved when she got to perform Jugemu!!! She was so happy getting to fulfill her dream! (She even did it again in the finale!)

Her becoming the first female rakugo performer in the end was another added bonus~

I have mixed feelings about her never learning the truth about her father (Sukeroku’s) death... There could’ve been some good character development to come from that, but at least she gets to keep a secret of her own in the finale :P

Speaking of that secret, her teasing about the possible identity of shinnosuke’s father in the finale… i don’t know how i feel about that :/

other supporting characters like Higuchi-san were enjoyable too, even if their contributions were more minor

I did like seeing Higuchi-san butt heads w/ Yakumo on multiple occasions over their viewpoints towards rakugo’s progression though! (It was intriguing drama :P)

I love characters staying relevant even in death, and Sukeroku (and Miyokichi to a lesser extent) are no exception

he’s a motivating factor for Yotaro, but is like a haunting ghost to Yakumo (which is a nice contrast~)

we got to see their development book-ended in episode 11 too~

I’m glad Matsuda-san got to see everything to the very end (including sending Yakumo off in the afterlife) :’)

As for the story, just like last season, this is a character drama first and foremost~

Unlike 3-gatsu no lion, however, there’s more of an overarching plot here (w/ Yakumo’s life story + how rakugo will survive past his death)

the plot was more enjoyable this time around, since we’re finally progressing the modern day timeline! This season picked up right where the 1st season’s finale left off~

it definitely can suck you in w/ its execution! Again, it’s very subdued / laid-back, but you can still sense the tension in the air during many scenes!

any scene involving Yakumo literally seeing things (or his run-ins with the shinigami) definitely grabbed & peaked my interest!

these scenes had a mysterious, almost supernatural vibe to them! It made them even more interesting to watch~

when red-eyed Sukeroku shows up in the OP, it can’t be good news… those cliffhangers were 2spoopy4me :P

I talk about Yakumo’s scenes a lot, but other characters like Yotaro had some really tense and heartwarming scenes at well!

I brought this up in the character section too, but scenes like Yotaro ranting to the gang boss, or Konatsu reciting Jugemu in front of the elementary school kids, were also great!

the transition to Yakumo’s final scene of life to death is kinda weird, but the scenes / episodes on both ends were really nice!

episode 11 was like a de-facto finale, as Yakumo (+ Sukeroku & Miyokichi) got to tie up loose ends in the afterlife, plus Yakumo got to do one last show to the dead crowd (+ Konatsu)~

the finale was a nice little epilogue showing both of Konatsu’s kids all grown up, and how rakugo will continue on~

This season was a great follow-up (& conclusion) to last season! This is definitely an AOTS pick for me (and possible AOTY pick… again ^^; ) If you’re looking for a great character-based historical drama, this is an easy recommendation for sure!

Tales of Zestiria the X S2 - 8.0 / 10 ( B )

this was a good second cour for ToZX! it had some good character focus stuff + action, and (will probably) conclude the story!

Note: This is based off the anime *only*, as I have not played the game(s).

art / animation still looks really nice, thanks to that Ufotable polish & magic~

The motion in action scenes were quite fluid, plus good special effects (i.e. fire, magic, etc.), which just makes it… really nice looking in general!

animation isn’t quite sakuga-tier, but it’s still more fluid than in most action anime!

it makes good use of muted colors (both warm & cool tones) as well, with nice backgrounds to boot!

plus the characters are drawn / rendered quite well~ (the CGI isn’t too bad either (i.e. dragons), aside from distance shots of people moving)

In terms of character development, Rose was definitely a main focus this season (in comparison to Alisha last season)

hell, most of the plot for the show’s first half (or more) was driven by her character arc!

we really get to see Rose change her mentality for the better, plus learn more about her past and explore her bond w/ Dezel!

speaking of Dezel, he ended up being a really entertaining guy himself (plus a good partner in crime for Rose~)

he had good development as well (along w/ his personality that grew on me over time), making it even sadder when he dies in episode 23 ;~;

Alisha doesn’t have as much screen time during that first half or so, but she definitely has her contributions in the second half~

she even gets her own armitization forms, which apparently weren’t in the games! \o/

During Rose’s character / story arc, Sorey had a good clash of ideals w/ Rose, which was interesting to see

It helped give him a new perspective, even if it didn’t change his ideals much in the end

Oh yeah, Zaveid *finally* came back and became a full-on party member this season! He’s still a cool fighter guy w/o a shirt :P

even then, he didn’t come in until the second half, but he definitely forged some bonds with Dezel (and Alisha too, I think?)

As for everyone else (including supporting cast), they were fine! No major developments, necessarily, but still good to have around

Story time! Like I said in the character section, Rose’s character arc was kind of a story arc in itself, taking up slightly more than the first half!

Even though the “main plot” was in the backseat, I still enjoyed this arc and finally learning about Rose (who we didn’t know much about during S1)

plus it had a tense climax w/ Rose trying to kill the man from her past… it ended sorta anticlimactically, but it wrapped things up regardless

The second half was definitely more skewed towards the main story, since there was the dragon in Ladylake(?), plus the final battle stuff itself

I almost forgot, there’s more Berseria references this time! Thankfully not full episodes this time, but just references for world-building

it sounds like these references though are from endgame stuff, meaning friends of mine playing Berseria had to stop watching to avoid spoilers…

I will say that this show does “the calm before the storm” pretty well, for the most part! Good character interactions + lead-up confrontations

also, considering Sorey is all about purifying everything, it’s fitting we get backstory for the final boss himself in ep. 24

As for the finale… as of when I’m writing this, the final episode hasn’t aired yet, and won’t for another month or so. So all we have for now is ep. 24 as a pseudo-finale...

That episode though was pretty good! It felt like a proper penultimate episode (i.e. the first part of the final fight), ending right on Sorey’s big power-up!

I have good reason to believe that the finale, when it comes out, will have a good sense of conclusion, so I’m not too worried~

I may update this review after that episode comes out, but time will tell if I get around to it ^^;

Overall, ToZX is a very solid fantasy action series! It doesn’t break much new ground, but its execution makes up for it to make an enjoyable experience~

Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil) - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+ / B- )

An enjoyable (and popular!) military action show which centers around a basically evil protagonist! It had some interesting elements to it, but there wasn’t enough of them to go above “meh” status for me :/

art / animation:

Studio NUT is a brand new studio, and this was not a bad first outing for them at all in this department!

the dark and muted color palette helps to realize this war-torn alternate world, along w/ this show’s darker tone

this setting is very heavily inspired by WWI / WWII… *insert Nazi comparison here* (it takes place closer to WWI years, though)

the characters themselves are rendered w/ a slight lean towards realism, but still have cartoonish elements to them

the former characteristic is most notable in the male designs, and the latter is definitely noticeable in the female designs (i.e. big eyes, “pouty” lips, etc.)

animation-wise, it’s nothing to write home about, for the most part.

there were a couple nicely-animated action sequences (w/ the best one being in ep. 11), but other that that, it was mostly standard fare

the CGI, though, is not very good… you don’t see it much, though, so that’s good at least

characters:

sure, there’s a decent sized cast here, but there’s really only one character worth mentioning specifically... and that, of course, is Tanya herself.

she’s ruthless, brutal, heartless, and willing to sacrifice her own to reach her goals… no wonder she’s called “Tanya the Evil!”

her personality (& the idea of the protagonist basically being a VILLAIN) is definitely one reason why this show became popular this season

her backstory adds an interesting layer to the mix too, as she was a heartless company owner in her past life! (plus she retains her memories from said life)

seeing what actions she would take next (or how she’d react to certain situations) was a big appeal for this show too

not to mention she has to “pray” to the very thing she hates in order to launch attacks w/ her gun >:3

oh yeah, I liked Serebryakova, the girl who was Tanya’s right hand girl!

Her cheery personality was a good foil for Tanya’s, plus she’s voiced by Saori Hayami~

there’s also those military officers / strategists, I guess

aside from Erich, who had the most suspicions about Tanya, the others just felt like… generic military guys :/

story:

the premise sets up Tanya, an evil corporate boss in her past life, in a war-torn world where she must fight in the military!

it’s all about Tanya trying to get revenge against God / “Being X”, and dis-prove its existence…!

this battle of ideals / wits was the most interesting of the show for me; my interest went up whenever Being X (or anything related) showed up

Being X not having a set form, and only showing up through possession of other things / people was a cool concept too!

however, I felt like we didn’t see enough of this aspect in the show… so it felt like a generic military show, most of the time :/

any plot points that didn’t relate to the Being X overarching plot (or Tanya herself) didn’t really grab my interest… the military stuff was kinda boring, in that regard

episode 11 was my favorite episode, as it had Tanya duking it out w/ the guy she seemingly killed earlier (plus he had Being X powers!)

I felt like that fight was too short for the buildup we had for it, though… it was a good fight, though!

the finale was definitely more quiet and reflective, but also was pretty open-ended.

Overall, I had a good time with this show; there were interesting ideas in here for sure, but they didn’t get as much focus / screentime as I would’ve liked… That being said, I can see why this show became quite popular! If you like military shows (or shows w/ evil protagonists), give the first 2 episodes a shot and see for yourself~

I also will be writing a Final Impressions post for Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, which also finished this season! I’ll update this post with the link when it’s done~

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sentrava · 7 years ago

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What’s On in Copenhagen: May 2018

Rejoice! May has arrived in Copenhagen and we couldn’t be happier about it. May is typically when the weather really warms up and the sun comes out. But even on the dreary days, there’s so much to do in the city at this time of year.

Take a look at all the best events happening in Copenhagen during May:

Sunday 15th April – Sunday 6th May

ECI 24H

Check out this ultra cool festival: 22 art shows in 22 days, where each one is mounted and then dismantled in 24 hours. All shows are held at LOKALE in Nørrebro, and both Danish as well as international artists will be represented.

Tuesday 1st May

International Worker’s Day/May Day

The annual celebration of activism and solidarity with industrial workers everywhere. In Copenhagen, crowds of up to 50,000 commemorate the occasion in Østerbro’s Fælledparken with speeches and even an address from the Prime Minister. Pack some beer and make a day of it.

Thursday 3rd – Wednesday 16th May

Copenhagen Architecture Festival

Back for its fifth year, the Copenhagen Architecture Festival is all about exploring how architecture is integrated into our daily life and shapes our world. The theme for this year is “home, housing, and belonging.” Check out our recommendations for the best tours, films and talks.

Friday 4th May

Up Sessions on the Rooftop

Starting May 4th and running every Friday through August, enjoy some drinks and good conversation on the rooftop terrace of Hotel Danmark. This is the perfect way to unwind after the week and take in a glorious view of Copenhagen.

Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th May

Forårsbazar

Grab a basket and fill it up with plants for this spring market in Østerbro! If your apartment needs a little green update for the new season, this is the place to do it. Even if you’re not planning to buy, there’s nothing better than a stroll around some lush greenery. Open both days from 10 am – 3 pm.

Saturday 5th May

Spring Market on Elmegade

From 10 am – 5 pm, take a stroll around one of the cutest pockets of Nørrebro, right by Sankt Hans Torv. There will be stands selling clothes, accessories and other goods, as well as food and some activities. Such a nice way to spend a Saturday!

Urbanfestival

This day-long festival on Amager includes events for kids such as a magician, a flea market, live music, good food and more. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by!

Sunday 6th May

Fashion Flea Market: Trendsales & Tradono

There are serious fashion finds to be had at this large indoor flea market. If you’ve been doing some spring cleaning for your wardrobe, you may have a few items you need to fill in. With designer names at very good price, this is the place to do it. The market runs from 10 am – 4 pm at Store Kannikestræde 19.

Monday 7th May

Drop-in Jazz Dance Workshop

This workshop, taught by choreographer and dancer Matthew Bailey, focuses on core strengthening. It will work within the jazz framework and vocabulary. You don’t need to be an expert dancer; just have the desire to improve your skills!

Thursday 10th May

Marie Key at Store Vega

Beloved Danish pop singer/songwriter Marie Key will be performing at Store Vega. Her breathy, sweet voice and clever pop songs make it easy to see why she’s become so popular in Denmark (she sings in Danish, by the way). Having seen her command the stage (Orange, no less!) at Roskilde Festival, we can confirm that she puts on a very good show.

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Bad Movie Club: The Apple at Husets Biograf

For fans of “How Did This Get Made” and all others who love a good bad movie, The Bad Movie Club at Husets Biograf is a real treat. This installation is “The Apple,” a totally bonkers film shot in West Berlin and released in 1980. It’s about…a singer…in the dystopian future of 1994…and an evil record company called Boogalow…also, there’s a lot of Biblical references…yeah, we don’t really get it either. But it’s weird and fun.

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Friday 11th May

RAR Brewing at Himmeriget

Himmeriget welcomes Maryland, USA-based brewing company RAR to the bar for the night. Try an array of their beers on tap as well well as cans that have been flown in to ensure freshness. This is a fun chance to try something you can’t usually get in Copenhagen.

Saturday 12th May

Jenny Wilson at Store Vega

Swedish pop-rock singer/songwriter Jenny Wilson is as fierce as they come, and her beats are too. We love her smart, fast-paced music and her message of fearlessness.

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Live Screening of Eurovision Finals at Husets Biograf

Enjoy watching the Eurovision finals, which take place in Lisbon this year, with other fans. Entrance is free, but it fills up fast so we recommend that you reserve a spot! Take a listen to Denmark’s entry, “Higher Ground,” by Rasmussen.

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Friday 18th May – Sunday 20th May

Cabonara Festival

Finally! The festival we’ve all been waiting for. It’s time to celebrate carbonara, and we are so here for it. No details yet, so check their Facebook page for updates.

Friday 18th May

OSHUN at Ideal Bar

Bringing hip hop, reggae, soul and pop into their excellent tracks, OSHUN comments on community, politics, and black women’s lives in the USA. If you haven’t already heard them, get on board.

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Saturday 19th – Sunday 20th May

FindersKeepers x Mad About Copenhagen Market

From 11 am – 5 pm on both days, check out this design and food market, hosted by FindersKeepers and Copenhagen foodies Mad About Copenhagen. Great design, fashion and art, plus the best food vendors in the city? That sounds like a great weekend.

Click Festival

This is definitely not your average festival. Celebrating contemporary art, science and technology, CLICK has an incredibly diverse and in-depth program over its two days. There are concerts, talks, workshops, interactive installations, and much more. The theme this year is “Xeno,” an exploration of what is alien or other. CLICK is located in Helsingør, so just a 45 minute ride on the train from central Copenhagen; it is possible to camp at the site.

Saturday 19th May

Movie Drink-Along: The Big Lebowski at Husets Biograf

What’s better than a sing-along? A drink-along, obviously. Have a few White Russias while shouting out lines like “This is not ‘Nam. This is Bowling. There are rules,” and “You’re out of your element, Donny!” and “This aggression will not stand!” Best night ever.

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Tuesday 22nd May – Sunday 27th May

Art Week CPH

If you’re an art fan, this is your big week! There will be exhibitions, parties, debates, and more. Be sure to check their website for the program release and other updates.

Tuesday 22nd May

Manu Crook$ at Ideal Bar

Is Manu Crook$ the first Australian rapper to make it on the international mainstream? Looks that way! See him at Ideal Bar, the perfect setting for a small but bouncing concert.

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Saturday 26th – Sunday 27th May

Bloom Festival

This festival celebrates nature over two days with talk by philosophers and scientists, music from classical composers, and time spent enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Søndermarken.

Saturday 26th May

Fortovsfest

A full day of fun for the whole family! This festival goes from 10 am – midnight and includes a flea market, live music, activities for kids, and food and drink available to buy. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for sunshine!

Balders Plads Flea Market

Peruse second hand clothes, accessories and home goods in this buzzy corner of Nørrebro. There are plenty of good cafes around, so enjoy a coffee or lunch and then have a day of low-key shopping between 10 am – 4 pm.

Rocky Horror Picture Show at Husets Biograf

Dammit Janet! This beloved cult film is the one that you’ll be singing for the rest of your days. There’s nothing quite like seeing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on the big screen and feasting your eyes on Tim Curry in all his steamy, sexy glory. Go sing along as loud as you can.

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Sunday 27th May

Rita Ora at Store Vega

British pop star Rita Ora brings her powerful presence and voice to Store Vega, where it’s sure to be a party. Get tickets before they sell out!

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Wednesday 30 May – Sunday 3 June

Distortion Festival

It’s that time of year again! Distortion is here, and your nights are about to get a little weird. As usual, the concerts are divided into Distortion Ø, which takes place at Refshaleøen, Distortion Club all over the city, and the street parties, in their annual locations. Buy your armband now and get ready to dance!

→ On the Joy of Distortion

Thursday 31 May – Saturday 2nd June

Heartland Festival

This isn’t in Copenhagen, but it’s too good for us not to tell you about it. Located on the island of Funen in the gorgeous Egeskov Castle, this festival combines music, art, literature and food for a totally unique weekend of beauty and learning. This year’s line up includes Patti Smith, Van Morrison, Lykke Li and Grizzly Bear. As if that weren’t enough, Tracy Emin, Kim Gordon and Salaman Rushdie will all be giving talks, and chef Christian Puglisi (among many other local favourites) has his hand in the food aspect of the event.

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Ongoing in May

Picasso Ceramics Exhibit at Lousiana Museum of Modern Art

The first exhibition in their 60 year anniversary celebration, the Picasso Ceramics is truly something to experience. A look at a lesser-known medium of the legendary artist, the ceramics are as wonderful, joyful, and historically important collection that every art and design lover should see.

High On Luxury: Lost Treasures of the Roman Empire Exhibit at Glyptoteket

Silver, gold, gems and luxury items created during the Roman Empire, celebrating artisan craftsmanship and decadence. If you’re in the mood to party, but in a super-cultured way, this is the exhibit for you.

Jesper Christiansen “Touchstone” Exhibit at GL Strand

Danish painter Jesper Christiansen is renown for his literary paintings that create almost-theatrical scenes and staging. “Touchstone” combines text with paintings to showcase the relationship between the words and visuals. A really interesting and unique museum experience!

Mathias Bengtsson “Organic Transformations” Exhibit at Designmuseum Danmark

This is a small exhibition in the hall between the lobby and the cafe of Designmuseum Danmark, but it’s really worth a visit. These incredible pieces are a blend of furniture and art; one-off pieces that utilise new technological advances to create awe-inspiring textures.

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If you’re a business or organisation that would like us to add your event to next month’s calendar, please contact us at hello [@] scandinaviastandard [dot] com. Thank you!

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andreialukeny · 7 years ago

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In Conversation with Dr. Wongakaew

Sitting at Istituto Marangoni within the dynamic environment of the university I sat down with the creative director, visual artist and stylist Manrutt Wongakaew, for a conversation about his journey in fashion and current affairs.

Born in Bangkok, Thailand he took his first degree in industrial design in architectural school which enabled him to be involved with interior graphic products, ceramics and textile design which he then chose as the subject of his thesis due to his interest in fashion. In 2000 he moved to London and attended CSM for a year for a portfolio preparation in order to become more familiar with the British system on research sketchbooks. With the will of pursuing a more fashion related course Dr.Wongakaew applied to MA Womenswear but as they said no the university suggested to reconsider fashion prints however, as he had done a textile degree previously he didn’t want to have that focus again. At that time he went to Pineapple dance studio at Covent Garden in the evening and one of the teachers recommended and encouraged him to audition for full time training for a dance degree.

I didn’t know anything about the dance world but I wanted to be in London.

She recommended Manrutt to audition at Sudo Centre, after getting the place he graduated from a BA in theatre dance yet he took took the most out of the experience so as he was studying he was also designing the sets, the choreography, the lights and the costumes. Since dancing at the age of 21 was considered late he decided to complete a Masters degree in Contemporary dance. Such led his family to encourage him to do a PhD since everyone in the family has one.

Moving to dance meant to a certain extent leaving the fashion aspects behind in Manrutt’s career yet he found a way to merge these two subject matter. As a result of his journey at this point there was a clear relation between both which was then fused for his Phd where he studied the way textiles perform and move differently depending on the way a model poses or walks. They pose a particular way to show the silhouette of the garment so theres a close relationship between fashion and dance.

Q) What lead you to choose London?

A) I originally thought of Paris, just to be different because my mum and my brother went to America and my sister was here so I wanted to go to Paris. But then I thought the amount of time for me to learn English, and then if I had to do that for French, I couldn’t. My sister had already been here in uk so it was easier having her to show me around.

I think I fell in love with London, I think theres something about the raw energy, the youth culture, the street fashion with the history of punk, the 60’s, theres a lot of vibrant sub-cultures… something rebellious about London. Almost like fuck you fashion attitude that I really admire.

I think Im quite rebellious myself so therefore I’m in tune with those energies. It’s now been 17 Years in London and i look back and I feel that without London I couldn’t have found my voice and still felt ok being me. So I think there’s something about diversity, freedom and passion.

Q) Have you always known fashion was what you wanted to pursue?

A) I think I have known from a young age. Fashion became my escape, growing up with my family was difficult; my parents are together but theres a lot of conflict within the family and I felt quite alone at those moments. I remember crying myself to sleep every night and what saved me through that was fashion. My first vogue magazine was an American Vogue from 1994 and there was a photo editorial of Peter Lindbergh for John Galliano at Christian Dior, theres a whole series and I remember I kept sketching those figures, all the time. That was my first escapism which brought me from the painful reality into a fantasy world. The trend now is more documentary like and minimalistic in terms of editorial, we don’t look much at what Tim Walker does or the 90’s of the big fantasies, and its my vision to bring those fantasies back to the fashion world. With the whole Gucci movement everyone is into colours and prints and that became a trend but I see it as my path, as my journey, its what I believe in. Because now a days when I look at a magazine it doesn’t transcend me a fantasy world anymore.

It’s my vision to bring what is in my rainbow world to here.

Q) What is fashion for you?

A) Fashion for me is a medium,

Fashion for me is the same as a watercolour for a painter so its a tool to express, to communicate to create to explore

and also of course fashion is a business and thats the challenging part because everything is under the capitalist society. You need to sell, you need to make profit, so the balance between the business and the creativity… that’s the challenge for us when we go into it. When I look at the work now a days its more tailored to commercialisation of fashion, they create things for clients for commercial purposes and sometimes people don’t really care about creativity anymore.

The way that I teach and my practice is I never look at trends, I don’t follow trends, I create something that has my signature and that will last beyond. So sometimes I’m struggling with telling my students to look at trend forecasts and whats going on outside. But its up to us weather we are doing things to only get a job and get rich or do we do things because we love it, my style is my signature. I feel like we are bombarded with images that we can’t digest in one day, so why would I keep exploiting labours and energy to make a shoot that means nothing to me apart from selling products. So if I don’t have impulse to create or say something I’d rather not create anything. Its nearly a fine art approach. Im not saying my thinking is right but it works well for me.

Q) How would you define the role of a stylist?

A) A stylist is like a curator that curates objects, people, clothing, items into the set. My problem with that is I don’t see myself as a stylist because sometimes when we talk about a stylist people think about someone that brings the garments to dress something. So with our course, Styling and Creative Direction degree I want you to be artists, and it’s an overarching concept, you don’t just dress the model, you need to have a concept, this is what I want to ask, this is how I built my team and this is what I want to convey. So as a stylist you can bring the clothes and just sit back, but in my personal projects I bring in concepts and I develop them. So it become more 360º so I see that as a creative director, I think part of the program here is to teach us to be that and I find it problematic when theres a lot of stylists outside that try to extend their role.

Q) From observing your work it is obvious that there is a big influence of dance, what other subjects influence you the most in styling and creative direction?

A) It’s always about the society we’re living in and about being human, because if you look at my website most of it is nearly as if they are wearing emotions. You can have a sense of joy, anger, confusion, anxiety, depression.

So fashion for me is a way of showing emotions and to portray how images provoke feelings.

There’s always a social or political sub-text, how fashion treats woman, sustainability, masculinity, pollution so there are all the sub-texts I circulate within my work.

Q) What has been your favourite project and why?

A) I have one, theres a community project I was asked to style and direct a shoot for tower hamlet. They worked with a clothing brand that promotes sustainable fashion by creating clothes from only one piece of cloth. So they worked with tower hamlet to create a project to train people with learning disability to go back to society. They asked me to come and I turned all these young adults into super heroes for a day, I believe we are all special in our own way and we have a special power; I keep saying that to every school I go to. People who don’t understand this power take it away because they don’t know how to deal with it, they feel threatened and jealous by it. But it’s not about how to control that power but to embrace and celebrate it, so to celebrate who we are. So I gave that power back to these young disabled adults after we dressed them, the brief was to see an honest smile.

Theres a lot of photoshoots with plus size-models and disabled models but what they do is they push the silhouette of high fashion to these models, they are not celebrating who they are as they claim to be.

With this project I asked them what is your special power. They were incredible in front of the camera and then we filmed them again and asked them how did that feel, one of them said “this is the best day of my life” and to see such smiles after performing with my direction was something amazing.

Q) What lead you to be a teacher and how does it impact you?

A) Last summer, I got a Facebook message from a friend of my landlord saying that he had a friend with a summer school and that they were looking for a teacher to teach Introduction to Fashion and Textile Design. He didn’t know anything about the course or the quality of the students but asked me if I was interested. I got the email on Wednesday night to start teaching Monday morning, in a international school that becomes a boarding school for 2 weeks.

Being there for 2 weeks allowed me to see their progress, and in the afternoons they had activities which I then joined. The struggle that I had been through with the industry for the last three years, I then passed that on to the young generation who are still looking for their identity. They want to be cool for school, they want to conform, they want to fit in, but of course theres also other people who don’t fit in, when I was in school i didn’t really fit in.

Teaching allowed me to be a nurturing parent to them and respond to what they needed rather than ‘this is what you need to learn’. If a student doesn’t want to learn there’s no point, I think it becomes mostly about listening to what they really want and finding a brief to tailor to that.

I remember for the final project, the brief said they had to do a dress out of paper, and I would ask people “if there was one thing that you could change in the world what it would be”; so that was the inspiration of the collection. I got a dress inspired by global warming, deforestation, terrorism, everything made of found objects and paper and it was unbelievable. Some of my fashion networks were surprised and that really ignited a fire in me. Because I really don’t like academia and I resisted that for a long time, but I really enjoy teaching. After summer last year I really wanted to do more, giving talks about fashion, identity, being human, community outside academic because I feel like I learn from school but I learn a lot from life, I feel like its my duty to bring that here to the university.

Q) What advice would you give to upcoming stylists?

A) Be yourself, be brave, be bold and be you. I think thats what is unique about us, our background, our experiences, no one can take away from us. Something for me is I never do safe because the markets are over crowded. How can we stand out?

If we do something safe it’s not going to get noticed but if I put something over the top but its not quite me thats not me either.

So my recommendation is to reach in, absorb what’s going on outside in terms of references and style and what’s going on in the society, what we believe in. Put that in a box shake it and that’s it, that’s you.

Moving into more serious matters….

Q) Fashion is increasingly in line with political and social change, movements and perspectives how do you view this?

A) Absolutely fashion is an art form so what art does is challenge, question, destabilise what’s going on in the world, so I think fashion is one medium to reflect that and I would value the content on this context over formal aesthetics.

Q) Condé Nast International has recently announced the code of conduct that protects models, do you think this will make a relevant change to what has come to be a big issue in the industry?

A) I find that in UK we have to do something for the sake of being politically correct but the subjects of racism, sexism, agism are all engrained in the society and specially fashion, so with the law to protect but the people still believing in those judgments things go underground.

I would believe it’s not about implementing the law but individuals to stand on their feet and say “these are my boundaries, these are my fees, of course you give me exposure but I cant pay my rent with exposure”.

So once we all sand up for ourselves that will create a community and a ricochet. We can enforce laws but we have to protect ourselves by being ourselves and say no.

Q) In a world that is more cosmopolitan than ever do you think the fashion industry is doing enough to embrace this diversity and what do you think still needs to be done?

A) Not enough at all, I see diversity as a way os us informing one and other to live all together so it’s not about fighting about our rights. I see it as a way to embrace and celebrate the differences, but it has become a marketing tool for many brands that don’t really care about diversity on the first place. It’s still pretty much dominated by white middle-upper class culture. To challenge that I see is to destabilise these boxes and showcase how we can appreciate and live with one and other.

Q) With online being the new reality and paper magazines being in decline how do you feel this reflects on the role of a creative director?

A) Theres a change in the media platforms but I still feel that something tangible, something old school print will come back. I will keep prints I like but I can live without these Instagram images and online magazines. And there are tones of them I can’t digest. I’m not going to print it but if I see an editorial I like I’m going to keep it, if I’m in the magazine i’ll keep it, not only the digital form. I think the fashion system is evolving, part of it is declining but it’s also allowing people like us to create a community to go back to old school, something tangible, something to exchange, something non-digital I think is on the way back.

Of course technology will carry on, Instagram, Gigi Hadid, the “you have to have x followers to walk my show” will carry on, let them be but I’m doing this.

Q) Social Media (especially Instagram) has been a indispensable medium by brands and even individuals in a professional matter but it is known that in a few years Virtual reality, 3D printing etc will be a big part of our daily life, are you curious about these changes and how do you think it will impact fashion?

A) Technology and 3D printing are tools that are there to help us but we don’t need to use them. What about the craftsmanship for building a prototype? When I come to school some students hate to draw, they can’t even draw, but they are brilliant at photoshop.

For me I’m really favoured of skills, of course times are changing but I think there’s something tangible in skills and something machines cannot do.

So we blame the next generations that we all look at the screen all the time, but then when I question it... when we teach them we make them look at the screen, looking for references, doing it digitally, so we have to change that.

Q) Fashion is one of the most polluting industries and numbers show there has been a decline of used clothes. Do you think people are not aware of the situation or is there a lack of interest in finding eco-solutions?

A) I think people are aware, others just don’t care. Human beings are lead to greed, corruption and consumption but not all of them... some of us want to make the difference.

Q) What is your view on brands and how they balance their creativity and the business aspect, are they becoming less genuine and merely business lead?

A) They are but we don’t have to accept it. We can choose people who we want to work with, grow with and become our community. Some people want to play games and climb the ladders, but that system is falling down.

So I want to encourage everyone to be entrepreneurial , to find what they really like, what they believe in and find how a way to turn that into their practice. And my question is how can we make that profitable and sustainable?

We might not need thousands of pounds to live, but as long as we have certain things covered I think that’s enough for me. So with this thats going on in the fashion world let them be but by being truthful and honest about ourselves it will allow other people to do the same and come together building something that is actually supportive and nurturing and this lack of genuineness will continue but we can change our perception and how we interact with one and other, be honest and be real!

All Images sourced by Dr. Manrutt Wongakaew’s official website: www.manrutt.com

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