#q reviews

[qrious-k]

I just finished watching Dungeon Meshi Season 1!

Before I started this show, I had no idea Emily Rudd voiced Marcille! I really enjoyed her voice-acting work, even a more than her acting as Nami in the live action One Piece. I can't wait for season 2!

[qloverreviewsfilm]

"nah. i'm gonna do my own thing."

spider-man: across the spider-verse (2023) - 97%

when i first saw spider-man: into the spider-verse (2018) in theaters with a dear friend of mine, it was an amazing experience. i had been a lifelong fan of spider-man noir, and seeing him on screen made me so happy. that was my expectation going into it: "i hope noir is good." little did i know i was in for one of the most innovative movies of all time. not even most innovative animated movie (which it was) or superhero movie (which it was), just one of the most innovative movies i'd ever seen.

that being said, when they announced a sequel, i wasn't surprised at all. i wasn't surprised that it kept being delayed (animation at that level, yeah, it'll take a while). i was surprised, however, when they announced it was going to be in two parts- as opposed to just a second movie and a third movie. trilogies seem commonplace enough in modern film, but a trilogy where two of them are part of the same story... it was interesting! (godfather being the exception because part one and two really do feel like two whole stories on their own).

so, i saw spider-man: across the spider-verse (2023) in an empty theater at noon. i wished i could've gone to a packed showing, but i'm glad i got to have the one on one with the story. it allowed me to feel more immersed. immediately i was astounded at the movie, with gwen's world's colors and style, with the familiarity of her story as a spider-person without it feeling trite at all. i was immediately engaged, and it didn't ever stop.

i think, structurally (anyone who knows me knows i'm in love with the study of story structure), the movie takes a few blows. no scene feels out of place, but some feel they overstay their welcome. some of the overlapping dialogue didn't hit as well as i feel like the movie wanted, to me.

but those being my only critiques, i think that this movie (and its predecessor) are two of the most important movies in the meta-modern era. not only are they built on the expectation of referential storytelling, but they don't take themselves too seriously- they know what they are, 50% fun superhero rollercoaster, 50% serious storytelling. and they balance that so, so well.

and i don't even know what to say about the animation- it surpasses the first one tenfold. it's the most beautifully animated movie i've ever seen. i think this movie and the netflix show arcane are quite literally changing the animation industry for the better. i think animation in media can tell stories that lend themselves to the abstract, to the existential, to the philosophical in ways that live action may have trouble with. not that live action can't do those things, but it takes more skill and intention, in my opinion. i think it's easier for animation to tap into visuals that evoke emotions that aren't as familiar, and therefore more memorable.

maybe i don't know what i'm talking about. but what i do know is that i wish spider-man unlimited got some speaking lines, or more screen time at least. here's hoping he gets a good scene in beyond.

love, q <3

entertainment - 22/24

writing/characters - 17/20

acting/direction - 18/20

cinematography/aesthetic - 24/24

music/sound - 16/16

[soracities]

Fady Joudah, on his new poetry collection "[ ... ]", in an interview with Aria Aber for The Yale Review [ID'd]

[tvheadfalls]

been wanting to play around w pokemon ocs and remembered i could repurpose bailey. im imagining nettle just finishing the main campaign of a region while bailey was off basically doing the professor oak dex challenge. bailey where have you been. i havent seen you in weeks.

[sealingstaff]

【カードキャプターさくら】Qpotcafeとさくらちゃんのコラボカフェ前期に行ってきた！潜入レポ！

[goldenpinof]

via divine.gnosis' stories, 13/12/2024

[datshitrandom]

Darren Criss | (Favorite) Outfits | 2024

[crow-caller]

my anonymous assumption is that you read warrior cats as a kid in an attempt to fit in with all the other kids reading it but you never really got into it. you liked the roleplaying at recess that came from it though

you're nearly right but underestimating my autism. cats were my first special interest (*i highly doubt this is unique for autistic babies). my first word was kitty. I made a songbook where I wrote out the lyrics to varuous public domain singalong songs and changed most of the words to 'Cat' or 'Kitty'. I made a warrior cats role playing card game and played it on my own. I was roleplaying at recess and friends' houses until we were 'too old'. I missed it terribly.

my username is based on an incident that happened when I was in the woods pretending to be a cat.

I belong with the warrior cats.

[yikes077]

Happy Pride! Remember to catch all of your favorite queer shows this month, with all of your favorite queer characters! Shows such as canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled, and rupaul’s drag race!!! 

[aleapintoreverie]

days at the morisaki bookshop (2003) by satoshi yagisawa

july reads // summer vacay // rain sounds in the background

[quartings-main-blog]

Pseudo Harem Reviews: Episode 12 (Finale!!)

To preface this review, I just want to add that if you somehow haven’t watched this anime yet- Absolutely do!! It’s one of the sweetest most wholesome romcoms you’ll ever see in your life, and I can’t recommend it more!! Now-

ALRIGHT ANIME ADAPTATION, YOU WIN!! YOU WIN!!! I’M SORRY FOR NEARLY EVERY PACING CRITICISM I GAVE Q_Q!!! Wow, what a show! What a story!! What a journey!!! I’m so happy with everything in this episode! Actually moving the confession all the way back here, giving us an anime-original onscreen kiss, giving us a brand new scene of the wedding reception! All so so good!

If I had to still critique a few small things- first, I’m a bit confused that they cut the penultimate chapter. Despite all the flak I hear about it from the fandom, I actually liked the bonus little moral that Rin might be busy with work sometimes but it’s never as bad as you think and she’ll always have time for Eiji, namely during their college years. Second, and this is even more minor, I would’ve sworn Rin’s response to Eiji’s proposal was partly as the personas- maybe the director got it wrong, maybe I got it wrong, who knows?

Sidenote- Kiri stays winning with the anime as they added lines where she says her acting career is taking off too! Sidenote- it was very vaguely hinted at in the manga but with these added scenes did anyone get more of the vibe that she had a crush on Rin and jealousy of Eiji?

Now, back to what I liked! As soon as I saw we were getting no opening to save on time, I knew we were getting something good this week. The animation while still not flawless, was much better than usual- the show seems to still struggle on 4/5ths angles (just like the manga, which made it kinda hard for me to do fanart) and every lingering shot on Rin looked AMAZING. I think the studio knew what they were doing, putting so much extra focus on this finale! The soundtrack was really nice and subtle and the additional scenes were great!

It's been such a wonderful journey following this series along with everyone! Now to pray that we get the full Rin and Eiji version of the opening, a good dub, and hopefully some amazing new series from the mangaka! Just like with Rin and Eiji, the journey is never truly over!!

[quartings]

Creature Commandos Mid Season thoughts!

Last week's episode was the shortest but it felt like we got a lot out of it. This week's episode was the longest besides the finale, but honestly it just flew by given that we had the main plot, Weasel's backstory, and bringing Eric into the fold.

I liked the many, many cameos we got in the future vision and prison scenes, but honestly the thing that was most hyped in interviews, Weasel's backstory, felt a bit rushed to me. All the earlier flashbacks felt like bullet points that had to be sped through to get to the truly emotional final scene. I think the one thing that could have made the flashbacks even better is to show Weasel hanging out with the kids over the course of several weeks, rather than just a one-off meeting, to show him bonding more with them. This is one of those cases where I agree that this show needed either longer episodes or more episodes. I'm not even sure how the subplot with him and his attorney could get resolved on top of everything else.

I do want to talk about the things I did enjoy though! The whole plotline with Circe and Waller was really compelling and exciting, the animation was great as usual, it was fantastic to see Bride and Nina get closer, and despite how scummy he is, it was hilarious to see how socially maladjusted Eric is.

Especially with the surprise that next week's episode will cover Eric Frankenstein's backstory - honestly wasn't expecting one for him! That means Nina and Phosphorus' backstories will go all the way to the finale, which, I dunno, I would rather the finale be flashback-free once all the characters have had their individual episodes.

Also- I wanted to add that it seems like the fan theories about Ilana being Clayface were false, and that the Themiscyra professor lady might be the one who's secretly Clayface instead- probably planted by Circe to make her seem innocent.

Either way, I am pretty excited about the complication between Circe and the Princess, and which one, if not both, may be the evil one here! Personal theory- Ilana has scars in the future vision, which she’ll probably get later in the season to make the vision feel more possible.

[soracities]

Fady Joudah, on his new poetry collection "[ ... ]", in an interview with Aria Aber for The Yale Review [ID'd]

[chillinparker]

oh boy

[fearandhatred]

@knifeforkspooncup wanted angst fics so here's a rec list from the very few fanfics i have had time to read lmaoo. some of these are in my other rec list but that was a shorter and more general one so i'll put them here again

mourning doves by sleepyimpulse (22k words, 7 chapters)

“I’m sorry,” he registered himself saying between heaving sobs. “I’m so sorry, Crowley, I’m so sorry. Forgive me, please, please forgive me.” He hadn’t meant to say it like that, he knew the words were all wrong (he would never find the right ones). But the pain was coming at him in every direction and something, something had to give, and so he clung to Crowley like a life preserver. Crowley bent his body over Aziraphale’s and slowly, surely, pressed a kiss to his bloodied forehead. “I can’t,” he whispered, and Aziraphale went unconscious. (Aziraphale falls, post season 2)

i've recced this before and i'll do it again! this is my very first bookmarked gomens fic and it's so delicious. perfect amount of angst and such a thoughtful exploration of forgiveness

Ouroboros by midnightdragons (7k words, 1 chapter)

“Oh.” Muriel had frowned again, their voice confused. “Then . . . if they were special, why did he leave them?” Crowley thought that his expression must have spoken louder than any words ever could have, because Muriel had rushed to change the subject, and they hadn’t mentioned Aziraphale after that. An obligatory ‘Crowley coping terribly and Aziraphale coming to his senses’ fic because I finally watched s2 and I have a lot of Feelings (ft. Crowley being a sort-of parent to Muriel, sort-of friends with Nina and Maggie, and drinking enough alcohol to kill at least an entire civilization)

it is not a good omens angst rec list without a crowley breaking down post-season 2 fic :) and this is that fic. she is that girl

Zmija by Himitsu_no (3k words, 4 chapters)

Aziraphale would laugh and his fingers find their way into the red locks with practiced ease, and he'd bend to kiss the top of his head. "Did they do that, though? The evil deeds." Crowley would smile despite himself, eyes closed and leaning into the caress. "About a dozen, maybe. The rest were just... ordinary humans doing ordinary stuff." There'd be a long pause in which the angel would take it all in, and the demon would replay many of it in his mind with unease. Then Aziraphale would speak again, voice barely a whisper, "How long were you in Mesopotamia after the flood, my love?"

if u asked me to talk about this fic i would say 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 bc oh this hurt. idk if it's just me though because characters with kids is my sore spot lmao i have read this fic once and never again. gorgeous beautiful poetic heartbreaking don't even talk to me

Diffusing Lights, Confusing Times by snek_of_eden (15k words, 3 chapters)

Aziraphale pulled the door open slowly and stood in the entranceway. He wore an old-fashioned nightgown that was creamy in colour, and his eyes were cloudy with sleep. “Crowley…” He inhaled sharply when a drop of blood dripped on his bare foot, and Crowley winced. “Are you alright? Oh Heavens, are you bleeding?” Crowley mustered up a smile. He took a step forward, and his head began to spin. “Hey, Angel.” Then he stumbled into Aziraphale’s arms and everything started to turn fuzzy. *** Hell is terrible and Crowley turns to Aziraphale when he has nowhere left to go

basically what it says in the summary! hurt crowley and aziraphale comforts him. crowley is sad but aziraphale is also sad. angst and communication!! i don't usually read a lot of physical hurt/comfort but this is so good

when i knew love’s perfect ache by sugarskulled (1.8k words, 1 chapter)

A demon can't touch that which has been made holy by God. Crowley knows this well as anyone. And Aziraphale? Aziraphale is so holy it burns.

this is quite possibly my favourite good omens fic of all time i think about it so often bro. i love when problems don't just resolve themselves but they make it work. the angst is so good in both the fic itself and in the future implications of it (why does this sound like i'm writing a research paper)

something sweet and blue by perilit (7.2k words, 4 chapters)

Crowley’s not breathing. They don’t technically need to, but the lack of it is so jarring that for a minute, Aziraphale just stands there and trembles, overwhelmed. Lord, what have I done? Aziraphale returns from Heaven after a year away, and discovers Crowley has all but given up. Before he can put things to rights, he’ll have to coax Crowley back to living.

what? you want another post-season 2 crowley breakdown? fantastic. this is that but dialed up to 11. this is the kind of self-indulgent fic i search for because we will never see it in canon and it hurts so good

Haunted By Something Still Alive by WaitingToBeBroken (4k words, 1 chapter)

Aziraphale needs Crowley's help with raising the reincarnation of Jesus. Problem is, Crowley won't even look at him.

what's that? you want ANOTHER- ok no this isn't a crowley breakdown but it's him having to deal with aziraphale being back and the journey they take together. ft. nanny crowley!!!!!!! so many gorgeous moments in this

that concludes the angst recs for now. thank u for coming

[pynkhues]

https://x.com/nosepheratu/status/1856541271830962548

one can only hope

Given it seems like watching Sam rehearsing Harlequin altered Rolin's brain chemistry, I'd believe it, hahaha.