#sweden-is-the-dancing-queen

[copias-juicebox]

show me your moves, baby!

[astralbondpro]

ABBA // Dancing Queen

[aphshitpost]

who needs therapy when you have abba

hail abba

[putoutallthestars]

Flowers, Miley Cyrus (2023) 💐 I can buy myself flowers (You can dance) Write my name in the sand (You can jive) Talk to myself for hours (Having the time of your life) Say things you don't understand (Ooh, see that girl) I can take myself dancing (Watch that scene) And I can hold my own hand (Digging the dancing queen) Yeah, I can love me better than you can (in conversation with ABBA's Dancing Queen)

Solo dancing in an empty apartment is the ultimate therapy session 💃

[out-of-desire-unreleased]

dancing queen, the spins, 99 luftballoons

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

ABBA - Waterloo 1974

"Waterloo" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA, with music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics written by Stikkan Anderson. It is first single of the group's second studio album of the same name, and their first under the Atlantic label in the US. This was also the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. The title and lyrics reference the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and use it as a metaphor for a romantic relationship.

In 1974, "Waterloo" represented Sweden in the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Brighton, winning the contest and beginning ABBA's path to worldwide fame. The song differed from the standard "dramatic ballad" tradition at the contest by its flavour and rhythm, as well as by its performance. ABBA gave the audience something that had rarely been seen before in Eurovision: flashy costumes (including silver platform boots), a catchy uptempo song and simple choreography. It was the first winning entry in a language other than that of their home country; prior to 1973, all Eurovision singers had been required to sing in their country's native tongue, a restriction that was lifted briefly for the contests between 1973 and 1976 (thus allowing "Waterloo" to be sung in English), then reinstated before ultimately being removed again in 1999. Watch the performance in Swedish here. Sveriges Radio released a promo video for "Waterloo" that was directed by film director Lasse Hallström, whose first notable English-language film success was What's Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993. ABBA recorded the German and French versions of "Waterloo" in March and April 1974; the French version was adapted by Alain Boublil, who would later go on to co-write the 1980 musical Les Misérables.

The song shot to number 1 in the UK and stayed there for two weeks, becoming the first of the band's nine UK number 1's, and the 16th biggest selling single of the year in the UK. It also topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Unlike other Eurovision-winning tunes, the song's appeal transcended Europe: "Waterloo" also topped the charts in South Africa, and reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and the US (peaking at number 6, their third-highest-charting US hit after number 1 "Dancing Queen" and number 3 "Take a Chance on Me"). In 2005, at Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, "Waterloo" was chosen as the best song in the contest's history.

"Waterloo" is featured in the encore of the musical Mamma Mia!. The song does not have a context or a meaning. It is just performed as a musical number in which members of the audience are encouraged to get up off their seats and sing, dance and clap along. The song is performed by the cast over the closing credits of the film Mamma Mia!, but is not featured on the official soundtrack. It is also performed as part of the story in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, by Hugh Skinner and Lily James.

The Australian film Muriel's Wedding (1994), features "Waterloo" in a pivotal scene in which lead Toni Collette bonds with the character played by Rachel Griffiths. The film's soundtrack, featuring five ABBA tracks, is widely regarded as having helped to fuel the revival of popular interest in ABBA's music in the mid-1990s. "Waterloo" features prominently in the 2015 science-fiction film The Martian. The song plays as the film's lead, played by Matt Damon, works to ready his launch vehicle for a last-chance escape from Mars. In "Mother Simpson", the eighth episode of the seventh season of The Simpsons, Mr. Burns plays "Ride of the Valkyries" from a tank about to storm the Simpson home, but the song is cut-off and "Waterloo" is played, to which Smithers apologizes, advising he "must have accidentally taped over that".

"Waterloo" received a total of 89% yes votes!

(the video is posted by ABBA's own account, not Eurovision's = safe to watch)

[queensilvy]

*the intro to Dancing Queen*

Queen Silvia of Sweden almost immediately:

+ bonus silvy:

[your-mommy-ems]

Hiii im Emma the amount of fandoms I'm in is concerning. The amount of books i'm writing at once is also concerning. Point is you should just be concerned, enjoy your stay at my blog - here is a piece of cake 🍰

-> Im Emma/Ems or whatever nickname u want to give me I love giving people nicknames and petnames. Basic info -> She/her, minor, capricorn, intj, australian, ferrari girl, i will defend my babies warnette and evajacks until i die, a believer in sarcasm, i post about my writing sometimes, sometimes - cause im too lazy to write, im an ambivert and a joey lynch and damon torrance defender

Books -> [series] The inheritance games, acotar, shatter me, the folk of the air, pjo [im new to the fandom] the prison healer, caraval, ouabh, dance of theives, divine rivals, boys of tommen, the lunar chronicles, the red queen, the naturals, six of crows, devils night, boys of tommen [standalone] Better than the movies, the do over, betting on you (basically anything by lynn painter), the cheat sheet, powerless, the summer of broken rules and A LOT more. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Music -> taylor swift, gracie abrams, [recently getting into] maisie peters, tate mcrea, sadie jean, a little of lana del rey, chase atlantic, artic monkeys, guns and roses, conan gray. my music is all over the place lmao. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Movies/tv shows -> friends, b99, babysitters club, alexa and katie, fuller house, now you see me 1&2, oceans 11,12&13, knives out 1&2, mamma mia, adam project, red notice, enola holmes, and pretty much most chick flicks 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Other -> rain <3, christmas, baking/cooking, art -> I paint, sketch, and draw, whenever I feel like it. I mostly draw though. 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 Moodboards -> I love making moodboards here is the masterlist 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝Writing -> i have a few side blogs but my public writing blog is @the-ballad-of-us and i also have a secret one see if you can find it ;)

Misc -> my dream life is to runaway to paris or new york and open up a bookstore/cafe/flower shop. (and to be the rich hot aunt the everyone loves), I want to travel when I'm older! [places] -> London, Paris, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, New York, Bahamas, Japan, Korea, and a bunch more!, I spend an unhealthy amount of time on Pinterest and Tumblr, 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 -> If we're moots, we're best friends, no takes backs. -> I over use lmao, lol, <3, :), and ���� too much. im trying not to come on too strong and be rude lol (right there see? perfect example) -> My Wattpad -> My Pinterest -> I love talking to new people, and asks and dms (only for minors unless i agree to it :)) are always open <3 -> i most likely won't follow you back if you don't have an intro post, but if you want to get to know me just send me an ask :) 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Special people ->@skeelly - kris, @percabeths-blue-cookies - har, @a-beautiful-fool - lou lou, @moonlightt444 - mare bear, @nqds - nadsies, @mqstermindswift - nicky, @lost-in-reveriie - addy, @art-of-fools - mr o'hare, @reminiscentreader - jas, @myster3y - my wifey kiara, @sophiesonlinediary - soph, @deprivedofbraincellsandsleep - zia, @runwiththerain - ives, @doyoujustnotwantto - mihane, @that-multi-fandom-hijabi - nova my world manipulation partner, @hijabi-desi-bookworm - esme, @gergthecat - scout, @baboland - aria, @missedyour21st - fay, @daydream-of-a-wallflower - kat + all my other moots that i didn't tag but rlly wanted too [if you want to be added or removed just let me know!! <333

𓆝 this is a safe space for everyone!! ↳ Dni - if you're a racist, homophobe, sexist, pedos, ect..

love ya all <3

Emma

[paikothecateater]

I need cute headcanons about all of em. I wanna see em all as cutie patooties.

Oh! This I can do!

-Norway has some of the most diabolical nicknames for the others. He just loves nicknaming stuff. His worst one was to Denmark 'pookie' Denmark gives him the most disgusted look whenever he calls him that. He also does this thing whenever he sees Iceland where he acts super surprised and goes 'is that an Iceland!?'

- Sweden is a great dad, but I get the feeling like he'd be an even better girl dad. I can imagine Wy coming over to hang out with Sealand and Ladonia and then they all get distracted putting makeup on Sweden, and he can't move because he's too much of a girl dad.

-I already mentioned that Finland subconsciously skips when he's excited, but he also does subconscious little dances whenever he's excited about something.

-Denmark has some of the cutest habits ever. He automatically puts his arm around anyone who sits next to him. Nordic or not. This one needs explaining, so Denmark drives the Nordics around most of the time and shortie squad sits in the back. Speed bumps are hell. Norway is tall, so he's being concussed every time. Iceland is a motion sickness queen. Finland hits his head against the window. Now, Denmark does this thing where he'll deliberately slow to almost a stop at every speed bump while dedicating it to someone in the car. 'this one's for Finland!'

-Iceland has a cat voice, but he's super embarrassed about it. When he thinks he's alone he'll start talking to cats in a really sweet baby voice.

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

taylor swift lyrics x colors x textiles in art – gold

Tied Together with a Smile – Taylor Swift // Portrait of Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria – Frans Pourbus the Younger 💛 The Best Day – Fearless // Amarillis Crowning Mirtillo – Jacob van Loo 💛 Castles Crumbling – Speak Now // Madame Sophie of France – Jean-Marc Nattier 💛 State of Grace – Red // Louise, Queen of the Belgians, as Marie de Bourgogne – Jean Baptiste Madou 💛 End Game – Reputation // Princess Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart – Alexis Simon Belle 💛 So It Goes… – Reputation // King Gustav III of Sweden and His Brothers – Alexander Roslin 💛 Dancing with Our Hands Tied – Reputation // Noble Lady – Moritz Stifter 💛 Dress – Reputation // Portrait of Jemima Crew, Countess of Kent – Workshop of Godfrey Kneller 💛 Daylight – Lover // Portrait of Frances Theresa Stuart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox – Peter Lely 💛 invisible string – folklore // Princess Margareta – Oscar Björck 💛 invisible string – folklore // Portrait of Eleanor Maria Josepha of Austria – Benjamin Block 💛 gold rush – evermore // Portrait of Doge Francesco Venier – Titian 💛 coney island – evermore // Portrait of Princess Louise Marie of France – attributed to François-Hubert Drouais 💛 long story short – evermore // King Gustav III of Sweden – Alexander Roslin

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 80th birthday to Queen Silvia of Sweden!

Born on 23 December 1943, Silvia Renate Sommerlath is Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl Gustaf in 1976.

Silvia Renate Sommerlath was born in Heidelberg, Germany, as the only daughter of a German father and a Brazilian mother.

Silvia met Crown Prince Carl Gustaf during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He and Silvia announced their engagement on 12 March 1976 and were married three months later, on 19 June 1976 in Stockholm Cathedral. The wedding was preceded, the evening before, by a Royal Variety Performance, where the Swedish musical group ABBA performed "Dancing Queen" for the very first time, as a tribute to Sweden's future queen.

The King and Queen of Sweden have three children - Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine - and eight grandchildren - Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Prince Julian, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.

[ohshy]

Lay all your gloves on me~

Finally continuing my women’s circuit with Dancing Queen, meaning the minor circuit is now complete !! Watch out for her criss-cross punch and her platforms; she kicks.

Transcript under the cut:

Dancing Queen

Freja Carlson

She/her

45 years old

6’4 ft

215 lbs

13-9 (10 KO)

Jönköping, Sweden

Personality:

Amiable, empathetic, private, soft, genuine, thoughtful, absentminded, dreamy, avoidant

Bio:

A huge fan of ABBA, if that wasn’t already obvious, veteran Queen’s entire gimmick is based on that of 70’s pop and disco. She’s also by far the happiest person of perhaps the entire WVBA, despite being the lowest ranking champion of all circuits. Some even say that she’d be happy, even if she was THE lowest ranked boxer. That’s because every time she gets in the ring, she’s 17 again. That’s just how happy those Swedes are !

[theladysilvermoon]

Eurovision 2023 Semi-final 1:

Norway: SLAY MY QUEEN!

Malta: Obligatory sax guy

Serbia: Matrix/Ghost in the Shell vibes

Latvia: Sad boys need a hug

Portugal: Effie Trinket

Ireland: Golden boy

Croatia: My last two braincells

Switzerland: Tug of war

Israel: Mythical creature

Moldova: Ritual summoning dance

Sweden: The return of the Queen

Azerbaijan: Twin power

Czechia: Choose love over power!

Netherlands: Hauntingly beautiful

Finland: It's crazy, it's party

_________________________________

France: Viva la France!

Germany: Vampire wet dream

Italy: Diamonds are forever

[longliveblackness]

Esther Jones was known on stage by many names, including “Baby Esther,” “Little Esther,” “Farina’s Kid Sister,” and “Miniature Florence Mills,” is widely, although not universally, credited with being the inspiration for the Betty Boop cartoon character. Jones was born Esther Lee Jones in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, to William Jones and Gertrude Jones.

In 1928, the Jones family moved to Harlem, New York. At seven, Jones was later known for adopting the popular singing style, scat, which emphasized the baby-style of “b” and “d” sounds and nonsense syllables such as Boo-Boo-Boo’ and ‘Doo-Doo-Doo.’ Consequently, she was a sought-after child performer in the city, and was a fixtured entertainer in the famous Cotton Club and the Everglades Nightclub in New York City during the latter years of the Harlem Renaissance. She added to her entertainment fame by become an extraordinary black-bottom dancer.

In 1929, Jones was taken to Spain, where she was called “La Pandilla.” Later she performed before Sweden’s Queen Sophie Marie Viktoria and King Gustaf V, in Stockholm. Despite her notoriety, she also experienced blatant racism when denied a glass of milk in an American-operated restaurant in Stockholm. The business, however, was forced to close after her treatment there became public knowledge.

Jones performed at the Moulin Rouge, Casino de Paris, and the Empire in Paris, France. There she was dubbed the “Miniature Josephine Baker.” While in Europe, she was paid an average $750 per week for her performances and by age 11, Jones was the highest-paid child on stage globally. After performing, Jones would go backstage to play with dolls. Whenever she performed, both parents were in attendance.

In 1930, Fleisher Studios in Hollywood introduced the cartoon character Betty Boop. Jones, however, received no royalties or performing credits despite the fact that a lawsuit would eventually expose Betty Boop’s true origins. The lawsuit ironically was brought by Helen Kane, a white performer, who sued Fleisher Studios for appropriating her “Betty Boop” character without her permission and without the payment of royalties. Over the course of the Fleisher Studios v. Kane trial, it was revealed that Kane had begun mimicking Jones’ scat act and even sang the same song, “I Want to Be Loved By You’ including the “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” reference. When Kane lost the lawsuit, other studios felt emboldened to promote the Betty Boop character but it recognized neither Kane or Jones as the source.

In 1934, Jones, now 16, performed in Philadelphia at a midnight benefit performance for the NAACP. That same year, she gave a stellar performance at the American Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the request of then Ambassador Jefferson Caffery. Brazil’s President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, was in the audience and praised the performance and performer.

By 1940, however, the entertainment career of now 22-year-old Esther Jones, was over. She was no longer a child singing or dancing sensation. Esther Jones, now widely credited with influencing the iconic sex symbol Betty Boop, died in 1984 in New York City from liver and kidney complications. She was 66. Regardless of her role in the development of the Betty Boop cartoon character, Jones should be remembered as a child star with a brief but remarkable career in the entertainment industry.

•••

Esther Jones fue conocida en el escenario por varios nombres, incluyendo: “Baby Esther (Bebé Esther),” “Little Esther (Pequeña Esther),” “Farina’s Kid Sister (Hermanita de Farina),” y “Miniature Florence Mills (Florence Mills en miniatura). Generalmente, pero no universalmente, acreditada con ser la inspiración del personaje de caricatura, Betty Boop. Esther Lee Jones, nació en 1918 en Chicago, Illinois a sus padres William Jones y Gertrude Jones.

En 1928, la familia Jones se mudó a Harlem, Nueva York. A la edad de siete años, Jones fue reconocida por adoptar el famoso estilo de canto llamado ‘scat’ y resaltaba los sonidos de bebé que sonaban con ‘b’ y ‘d’, junto con sílabas que no tenían sentido como: Boo-Boo-Boo’ y ‘Doo-Doo-Doo.’ Consecuentemente, esto la convirtió en la artista infantil más buscada de la ciudad. Se convirtió en una presentadora fija en el famoso Cotton Club y el club nocturno Everglades en la ciudad de Nueva York, esto fue durante los últimos años del Renacimiento de Harlem. Le agregó más a su fama cuando se convirtió en una bailarina de black bottom (un paso de baile relacionado con el jazz tradicional).

En 1929, Esther fue llevada a España, dónde le llamaban “La Pandilla”. Poco después de eso, hizo una presentación en Stockholm frente a la Reina Sophie Marie Viktoria y el Rey Gustaf V de Suecia. A pesar de su notoriedad, también experimentó racismo muy evidente cuando se le negó un vaso con leche en un restaurante operado por americanos en Stockholm. Sin embargo, una vez que el trato que se le dio se hizo público, obligaron a que el negocio cerrara.

Jones se presentó en Moulin Rouge, Casino de Paris, and the Empire, ubicados en Paris, Francia. Es aquí donde le dieron el apodo de “Josephine Baker en miniatura”. Mientras que estuvo en Europa se le pagaban aproximadamente $750 por semana y con solo once años de edad, Jones era la artista infantil mejor pagada a nivel global. Después de sus presentaciones, ella se iba tras bastidores a jugar con muñecas. Sus padres siempre estaban presentes para las presentaciones.

En 1930, Fleisher Studios de Hollywood introdujo un nuevo personaje, Betty Boop. Y a pesar de que una demanda demostraría el verdadero origen de la caricatura, Jones nunca recibió crédito o derechos. Irónicamente, la demanda fue interpuesta por Helen Kane, una artista que había demandado a Fleisher Studios por apropiarse de su personaje “Betty Boop” sin su permiso y sin pagarle sus derechos. Durante el juicio Fleisher Studios v. Kane, se reveló que Kane había comenzado a imitar el acto de scat de Jones y que incluso cantaba las mismas canciones como ‘I Want to Be Loved By You’ incluyendo la referencia: “Boop-Boop-a-Doop”. Cuando Kane perdió la demanda, otros estudios se animaron a promover al personaje Betty Boop, sin reconocer a Kane o Jones como la fuente.

En 1934, Jones, ahora con dieciséis años de edad, hizo una presentación en Philadelphia para una noche de beneficencia de la Asociación Nacional para el Progreso de la Gente de Color (NAACP). Ese mismo año, a petición del embajador Jefferson Caffery, hizo una presentación estelar en la embajada americana ubicada en Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. El presidente Getúlio Dornelles Vargas se encontraba en la audiencia, elogió la presentación y también a la presentadora.

Para 1940, con veintidós años de edad, la carrera de Esther Jones en la industria del entretenimiento, ya se había acabado. Ya no era una sensación infantil que bailaba y cantaba. Esther Jones, ahora extensamente acreditada con ser la influencia del símbolo sexual, Betty Boop, murió en 1984 en la ciudad de Nueva York, por complicaciones renales y hepaticas. Tenía 66 años. Independiente de su rol en el desarrollo del personaje, Betty Boop; Esther Jones debería de ser recordada como una estrella infantil que tuve una carrera corta pero extraordinaria.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Roxette - The Look 1989

"The Look" is a song by pop duo Roxette; Sweden's second-best-selling music act after ABBA. It was released in early 1989 as the fourth single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). The album was an immediate commercial success in their home country, spending seven weeks at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart. "The Look" was written by Per Gessle as an exercise while learning how to operate the Ensoniq ESQ-1 synthesizer he had recently purchased, using a repeated A–G–D bass line as the song's core. The track's sixteenth-note rhythm was inspired by the work of ZZ Top. The original title was "He's Got the Look", with the lyrics using male pronouns. Gessle said this was done because he initially wanted Marie Fredriksson to sing the track. Both he and EMI Sweden had chosen to highlight Fredriksson as Roxette's lead vocalist. However, when recording the demo, Gessle realised the song "didn't fit her style that well, so I had a go and it sounded OK."

The singles from Look Sharp! at the time were only released in Sweden, Germany and France. However, an American exchange student from Minnesota named Dean Cushman returned from Sweden and gave his copy of the album to his local Top 40 radio station, KDWB-FM in Minneapolis. The station's program director Brian Phillips initially ignored Cushman's request to play a song from the album, leaving the CD unplayed in his office for several weeks. Phillips eventually listened to it after learning Cushman had come to the office requesting the return of his CD. Immediately impressed by the album's opening track, "The Look" was played by the station for the first time on US radio less than an hour later, and the response from listeners was overwhelmingly positive; the station immediately began receiving phone calls to replay the track.

KDWB began distributing the track to their sister radio operations, sending 500 copies to other stations throughout the United States. EMI America promptly signed the duo to a recording contract as a result of the airplay. The label had previously rejected Roxette as "unsuitable for the American market". The song had already entered the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 before official promotion began, peaking at number one on the chart eight weeks later. This made "The Look" the third number one single by a Swedish act on the Billboard Hot 100, following Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" (poll #152) in 1974 and ABBA's "Dancing Queen" in 1976.

The track went on to top the charts in 25 countries. It spent three weeks atop the New Zealand Singles Chart, and six weeks at number one in Australia, where it was certified platinum for sales in excess of 70,000 copies. It also topped the charts throughout Scandinavia. The song spent five weeks at number one in West Germany, and an additional five weeks at number two. It was a massive success in Spain and Switzerland, spending eight weeks at number one in both countries. It reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

"The Look" received a total of 80,5% yes votes!

[listening-to-thunder]

City Hunter 2024

Don't mind me I just watched a live action adaptation of the show I absolutely imprinted on as a little fan sprout in the late 80s/early 90s and I have feelings?! (Tl;dr - the adaptation is so faithful I am so happy.)

So yeah. I watched the (censored) French version of the City Hunter anime during summer vacations and then languished as Sweden did not have City Hunter (or anyone who had heard of City Hunter, other than my little brother). So I did stuff like...record it on VCR, pause the VCR, and trace character portraits off the prickly cathode-ray tube TV. (Screenshot technology has come a long way!)

Later on I read the entire un-censored manga (with the original names restored!) in French, and downloaded the Japanese songs from some pages I found on AltaVista (which took forever on modem), and brough the full set back in Japanese after I lived there for a while. And then I found out there is an official "megafan gets transmigrated into the story"-manga about City Hunter, and I read that, too.

Basically: I have had this story in my life forever, and watching the live action movie now gives me echoes of all those feelings I had as a lonely fannish kid. Which is a weird feeling, but not in a bad way, because the live action adaption (not the first, but the first Japanese one!) is...good? It's fun! And it's as faithful to the original story as it could possibly be while also being updated for the 21st century in the best ways?

Okay, I'm just gonna dive in!

I love how prominent Shinjuku is in the live action. It's gorgeously shot, and you can really feel a sense of place. The characters always talk about "this city", and Shinjuku is that city.

And right off the bat Suzuki Ryohei gets to shine in a fun, fast fight scene with a manga flair to it!

Everyone in Shinjuku knows Ryo-chan! And here's where I will admit to my own ignorance, because reading in translation at a young age I honestly don't know if the manga touched on how Shinjuku as a place where the queer community meets? But here the owner of the bar Ryo rushes through is a glorious okama!

Saeba Ryo and Makimura Hidekyuki and HI MY FEELS. (I will probably get back to how much I adore that Ryo is played by an actor who's hit 40 - but Andou Masanobu is nearly 50?! HOW.)

YES GOOD the iconic coat from the manga (that I like a lot more than the silly little anime jacket) running down the streets of Shinjuku as the equally iconic red car (an old Mini Cooper?) races past the neon lights.

Oh man I have cried about this scene so many times. And here I just love how they got the dramatic rain in, despite the circumstances and setting of Makimura's death being different. That's what a good adaptation does: keeps things recognizable to the existing fans, while transforming it to something new and exciting. (I almost didn't see it coming because I kept thinking "It's not raining"...!)

Not to be shallow or anything but...HOT DAMN. Suzuki Ryohei!!!!

This was so delightful! Everyone was having such fun with the Mokkori Dance, and I am thrilled that they found a way of showing this side of Saeba Ryo without making him a sex pest. The mood whiplash from drama to the most frivolous silliness is extremely City Hunter, and the movie wouldn't have felt right if they hadn't nailed this. (With Ryo nudity. I am. Not complaining at all.)

Kaori's stare. Ryo's confidence. Perfect. No notes.

And then we get some T&A... and it's QUEER AS FUCK?! Instead of a strip club, in 2024 the Shinjuku nightlife scene is beautiful people voguing with a fabulous drag queen MC!

Showing off Ryo's impossibly good aim by following the bullet through a crowded nightclub was fun but again: look at this Shinjuku!! It's queer and diverse and I love it.

I could not believe how Suzuki Ryohei somehow manages to move like a manga character? He is so fast and so believable as a supernaturally good shot! I also liked how Ryo hid his gun as soon as he'd fired it - the enemy had already spotted him, so it wasn't that he was afraid of giving himself away? But he doesn't want to have a gun out at a queer nightclub, where it could start a very understandable panic.

Again with the Shinjukuness of it all...! Ryo's car is parked outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (it was my favorite place to go hang out if I had time to kill in Shinjuku) - I think they're up in the observation deck, too?? The layers of nostalgia for me... it hits hard...

SPEAKING OF HITTING HARD I love that they gave Kaori her mallet!!! YES. (And they made up a cosplay event for it, where there was a tiny bit of T&A - but where the cosplayers themselves were making sure they looked as good as possible, showing off their assets!)

This is art to me.

Saeba Ryo. Stallion of Shinjuku. Blocking creepy otaku and audience alike from getting panty shots while not peeking under her skirt and also the horse head is his penis and...

This will take some processing. (While I giggle.)

THE most City Hunter shot of the entire movie. The crosshairs! Ryo shoving someone (Kaori) out of the way of a bullet! The bullet grazing his arm!! SHOOTING BACK AT THE SNIPER. Everything. Everything is perfect.

I am looking...respectfully...?

Their poses, the city... this whole scene felt like watching the manga come to life. Kaori needs a hug and Ryo hasn't gotten to the point where he can do "emotional support" in any other way than "revenge". Ahhhh the angst.

The movie's fights are so much fun to watch, because they have Ryo being a superhero with a gun (or: several guns), and then Kaori running around terrified but also so determined to actually fight. She shoves things on people! She hits that one guy with a pipe!! I love her so much.

IT'S THEM

FEELS ARE HAPPENING

(Ryo still doesn't do "hugging", but at least he's letting Kaori sob on him this time?)

Yes shooting a guy with an upside down revolver pointing behind you is exactly what I want from City Hunter, thank you! (Also the intensity Suzuki Ryohei brings out for Ryo's protective streak... It's so good...)

I just know that I am missing a ton of Easter eggs...! (I would be surprised if the framed drawing of a revolver isn't Hojo Tsukasa's art, though.)

And here we go! Now they're roommates! Kaori has her mallet! And her 80s manga outfit...! Aaah!!!!

Though they both wear shoes indoors which... I suppose even though they live there, the building isn't..."home"-coded? (I mean having that much real estate in the center of Shinjuku actually requires more suspension of disbelief than the gun magic...).

Anyway: it's THEM!

Sequel when? I really, really want one. They did such a fabulous job with this story, I want to see them do more!!