Quick Review 2: Electric Boogaloo

Some reviews that don't warrant a full post here we goooooo (PANA=plat and never again)

Ni No Kuni II 
(April-June 2023)

The first game: great, emotional, story that makes sense. This game: uuuuuhhhhh????? I made a crucial mistake of not checking on the battle system before I bought this because I was not happy when I found out it's an action JRPG. This may be a PANA game.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy
(July-September 2023)

*rubs hands together* Oooh yeah!!!! It's impossible to not know about AA due to the objection memes but mainly you can't go about a single day reading about rivals to lovers yaoi fanfiction without at least mentioning the 2001 wonder which is wrightworth. It's a rabbit hole that has tempted me multiple times, but I never actually went about playing the games until I realized I own a PS4 and a PC and I have my own money now. Ignoring my personal feelings about owning video games (was very close to spending more time and money ordering a physical version), I thought "it's just a visual novel, it can't be too hard, and I've played worse games" so... here we are, 5 games later and brain chemistry forever changed.

After the disaster which was Ni no Kuni II, this was a salve of some sorts. Was I more relaxed or wound up? I couldn't say...

The line that started it all...

You play as the titular Phoenix Wright (also known as Nick) with his trusty companion/assistant Maya Fey, handling absurd court cases and dealing with equally absurd prosecutors and judges. There's long-time rival Miles Edgeworth, who launched the iconic ship with his 'unnecessary feelings' line; his sister Franziska; and mysterious white-haired anime man Godot. Nick also has to deal with comically incompetent detective Dick Gumshoe... actually, everyone has to deal with comically incompetent detective Dick Gumshoe. Sometimes Mia, Nick's mentor and Maya's sister, comes back from the dead as a spirit to save their sorry asses. Maya is sometimes replaced by Pearl, mostly when she's kidnapped and/or framed for murder (and so is the defendant).

The games are a rollercoaster from start to finish. Most games have a total of 5 cases (aa2 only has 4), the first episode being an introductory/tutorial case and the last usually a long one that ties all the other cases together into a neat bow. The cases may look cut and dry, but it never is, not even the tutorial ones. The question is never "is there a twist?" (because there's always a twist) but "how big is the twist?" or "how many twists are there?". 

With just three games packaged in a trilogy and costs less than your average triple A video game, you too can have your brain juices permanently changed forever, no prior gaming experience needed. I am serious. Play Ace Attorney. It's great.

Assassin's Creed III Liberation (HD Remaster)
(October 2023)

I've wanted to play this game since forever but I don't own a handheld and I wasn't going to drop my 'physical releases only' mentality back when the remaster released, so I paid the ultimate price, 9 years later, by paying for a digital release of AC3 remaster which has Liberation in the bundle. I'm not proud of that. The story's bland but the least they could do is spruce up the graphics and interface. I know they have AC3 and AC4 assets of Aveline, why aren't they using it??? And that god forsaken game interface... the original was released for the PSVita. FF Type-0 had a better remaster and it was originally a PSP game.

This is a PANA. At least now I have no regrets regarding not being able to play Liberation. And then I proceeded to finish AC4 too.

Bayonetta
(October 2023)

I'm in the habit of playing old ass games, so here we have a 14-year-old hack-n-slash featuring hot witches, f-bombs (which warrants its 18+ age rating) and sexual innuendo. I was really bad at the game during the first time and I still am during my second and third time. I don't play hack-n-slash and never will, this might be the only exception because I like tall, sexy women.

The mechanics are fun, although somewhat frustrating for my skill level; music is great; amazing character designs -- Bayonetta and Jeanne are hot as shit, the angels are so fucking ugly (in a holy abomination kind of way)... my only gripe? Platforming sections. I have scuffed depth perception and the 'floaty' jumps are not helping.

The premise is unique for it's time: hot witch with hair for clothes that also doubles as weapons. It knows which demographic it wants to tackle, which is why we have a single hand mode which does everything for the player with only one button... you get the idea.

Five Nights at Freddy's (movie)

I realized too late that it's a horror movie when I saw it with a friend, but I actually smiled through the whole thing. The scares are effective, the lore isn't botched, and for the first time in a long time, I could put two and two together to predict the story beats. Never played the games, never read the books, but I watch theory videos on the lore and own one of the complete guides, so I am sufficiently informed on the story.

Never thought we'd see the day where an indie video game gets a good movie adaptation.

This Is How You Lose the Time War
(October 2023)

This became a twitter sensation thanks to one Trigun fan and now we have Wolfwood cosplayers carrying the book and printing the cover on their Punishers. It's no masterpiece but it definitely got me good at the end. You want a real enemies to lovers story where the two girls legit want to kill each other, here's your book.

Short and sweet and not as frustrating as the other books in my reading list, it actually has a romance that bears fruit! What are the odds!

Ghost Trick
(November 2023)

By the creators of the original AA trilogy comes another mystery adventure game, this time with puzzles and time travel! It's not in visual novel format and more of a 2D point-and-click side scroller. You play as a ghost who possesses items and perform 'tricks' to move around the world, or sometimes, to save a recently deceased person from their fate. You do this by rewinding back to 4 minutes before their death, using ghost tricks to reverse the person's fate, oftentimes with hilarious (and unexpected) results. 

Majority of the game is all hehe-haha despite the overall theme of death, right until the last five-ish chapters, where it's just plot twist over plot twist over plot twist. There's even more twists than your average AA case so you know it's good. Also you don't expect a game like this to turn on the waterworks but I cry at the weirdest things, so I had puffy eyes the following morning after beating the final chapter.

Play Ghost Trick and have your brain juices permanently altered again (if you've played AA beforehand). Or, if you're dumb like me, prepare to be frustrated.

Fruits Basket
(February 2024)

Not making a separate post for this 20+ y/o manga. Everything that can be said or analyzed has been said and analyzed a thousand times over. I have always wondered what made this romantic shoujo so iconic, that a 2019 reboot was possible, almost 20 years later. Turns out you don't have to be a traditional shounen series to fucking decimate grown ass men.

It's everywhere on the internet, but I have never seen any major spoilers regarding the darker aspects of the story. What the romantic shoujo genre hides is a family curse and the ways people cope with abuse and loneliness. You can bet that every character in this story needs meds, therapy, couples therapy and then some for all the shit they had to go through. There has never been a shoujo series that made me cry literally every day for the 4 days I binge read it. 

The tears don't stop after you finish the manga oh no. The more you think about it the more you reach enlightenment. The opening song to the 2001 anime, the meaning of the title, the underlying message of love in all its forms, warm and pleasant and twisted and cruel. It is definitely up there in my anchor list alongside Tales of the Abyss.

If I had to complain about anything, it's the trope in furuba of adult-highschooler relationships... common and romantic (?) for its time but absolutely ick for us now. From the top of my head: Tohru's parents (student-teacher) and Arisa (17-18) and Kureno (26). Arisa at least doesn't get together with Kureno until she graduated high school, but there are no excuses for Tohru's parents, who were 8 years apart... but the younger party was at most 15-16 when they got married. WHAT. 90s-early 2000s shoujo manga is something else...

Look past this ick and you have a tearjerking, heartwarming story about people trying to find love.

Review: Promare (2019)

Current mood: I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW I WILL BE HERE FOR YOU WHEREVER YOU GO YEAH I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW-

Around the time Weathering with You is set to air in local theaters, something else was also airing around the same time in the US. It's not as popular as Makoto Shinkai's latest scenery porn film, it's colourful, it's loud, it's hammy, it's - PROMARE. It's a crime for it to not be aired in Malaysia I swear my countrymen have no tastes and don't know how to appreciate a good hammy movie (among other things). It's all over my twitter timeline, people in the US going to see it 5 times, 15 times, 24 times! The US gets extra showings because of its popularity, Japan just recently stopped airing it since its premiere in May and there are still showings in Taiwan!!! For the first time I wanted to pour my heart and soul and money onto a movie I really want to see and it's. not. AVAILABLE! I wanted to wait for the blu ray to release in February 2020 but I caved. I needed to see it. I need to experience it. Even though it's not in a theater. I'll still buy it when it releases so don't worry.

《闪光少女》？不错的电影哦！

嘿，三等半夜的看什么100分钟的中国电影……我就是那个笨蛋。《闪光少女》，看到名字都不会想看吧。听起来像什么青春爱情片，多多肉麻的那种。开始自己也有点怀疑内容会不会很狗血，不过……

其实是在twitter看到乐斗片段，觉得超酷的所以上网找到了电影，就看到凌晨2点。老实说开头介绍都很干脆，比中国大陆的连戏剧好很多很多。

大家都被名字给误导了，这可是关于民乐的电影啊！

A Great Way to End the Year

I still remember when in 2015 when the new Star Wars was announced and OH BOY I was so excited for the year to end so I could see a new movie from a recent fandom. The new movie was two years later, so I patiently waited for 2017.

Alternatively, in 2016, Fantastic Beasts came out and HOLY JESUS BALLS my hype was greater than the year before. Star Wars was a great space adventure but Fantastic Beasts was a dream. A series of films about my favourite fantasy textbook? Are you kidding me? I underestimated the movie's ability to make me have feels.

Enter Newt Scamander, a classic 'awkward British youtuber'. The man only briefly mentioned at the end of the textbook. He wouldn't be this interesting and cute if not for one thing - his interactions with his future spouse, Tina. I'm

You don't understand how these two wreck me. The first movie was so funny, so cute, so fluffy, it's no wonder why we shippers fell hard for these two fictional characters. That awkward gesture of touching her hair aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa MAH FUCKING HEART. His accidental flirts aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa STOP. STOOOOOP MY HEART IS BLEEDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is actually me whenever I think of them. These heart palpitations are definitely not good for my health. The best part is that we know they're married so yay for us! No sad otp ending!

Since the first movie ended in such a fluffy note I went into the second movie eager to see them again. Oh, Newt is denied access to USA? Who's free now? Who's not dead now??? Who's getting married now????? What is this heartbreaking misunderstanding????

Newt and Tina wrote letters to each other, some tabloid makes a fucking mess, Tina misunderstands and becomes distant, Newt doesn't understand, and since he has zero fucking social skills when it comes to Tina the love of his life, the two of them get awkward, Newt still doesn't get it, I'M PISSED.

Listen to me scriptwriters and storyboaders. You should just yeet the Grindelwald storyline and focus on Newt finding magical creatures because THAT'S WHAT THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE IS. Use Tina more. She's Newt's fucking wife. Queenie is a bombshell ditsy blonde HELL NO SHE'S NOT. She's not the kind of woman who would drop her morals for love as far as I'm concerned. Don't do my girl dirty like that.

I know this aint a love story, but it is a love story. Grindelwald and Dumbledore are definitely old flames, subtext my ass. "Closer than brothers" try to no homo outta that. And a blood pact??? A BLOOD FUCKING PACT??? Ok ok. 'It's platonic love' you say. Get this: What does Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised? The mirror that reveals ones' dreams? Oh yeah. His blood pact ritual with Grindelwald.

If taking Grindelwald out of the movie and focusing on Newt and Tina is not a good thing because the movie isn't a romantic fantasy, then putting in his stroyline also qualifies as a tragic romantic fantasy because it is. It is a good otp and I cried a lot for them but am I salty that they featured so little of Tina? YES. YES I AM.

Please. The scene in the ministry archives is really, really cute and all, but you know why I cried so much in the cinema when there's nothing to cry about? The misunderstanding. How many times are the two really in frame together? How many of these frames are interactions? How many of these interactions are not hostile? I'm tearing up thinking about it.

Oh and don't get me started on Leta. I was so sure she and Theseus would marry in the end, or if Leta actually joined the dark side, at least she would still be alive to marry Theseus one day (hopefully). But nope. Bitch has to die. Put in a 'I love you' vaguely directed at who knows Theseus or Newt for good measure.

ASDFGJKL;HJKLRTYUIO HHIFUIWHJJOSDIF UOJFKJF THIS MOVIE IS AN OTP MESS.














At least the ministry archive scene was really cute. It melted all my sadness away.

Year end money spending (aka Comic Fiesta 2017, and other stuff)

Ayy!!! It's the end of the year! Finals are close! I'm almost dead from the semester!

Out of all the new year resolutions I did for 2017... I only completed like, two? Granted I didn't make a physical list, but it's always at the back of my mind.

When the end of the year approaches, you know things get hectic. People clearing out paid leaves, stockdates, parents bringing their children to vacation and coming back last minute, back to school shopping, kids with unfinished holiday homework, extreme Christmas and new year sales... the usual.

For me a years' end marks the start of week-long planning in order to attend CF2017. Every damn year I spend a week deciding on outfits, commute and best routes so that I may get in and out as soon as possible. Record time for this year (on day 2) is 30 minutes.

A post shared by Red River (@yuefei.redriver) on Dec 17, 2017 at 1:48am PST

A post shared by Red River (@yuefei.redriver) on Dec 17, 2017 at 1:52am PST

The venue for CF2017 is great, KLCC has all the space to house various booths and ample of walking space (except for that one lane). However, as good as the place may be, the layout is stupid. The entrance is at the very far end, where the exhibitors are. After that you have the premium artist booths, then lastly the basic artist booths. The exit is around that corner. I have ZERO interest in the exhibitors. What I wanted the most was fanzines and doujinshi in the artist booth, and they're at the very far end of the hall. I'M PISSED. For two days I had to squeeze through hordes of sweaty people and some who just stand there in the middle of the lane to look at booths. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE. When I finally get to the artist booths there's another looooong queue for the cosplayer booths that block the lane, AGAIN.

The ticket price is another thing that shocked me. RM30 for a day. 2015 in MIECC was only 20. 20! The venue was decent! Last year at PWTC was 25, and even then the venue absolutely SUCKED. I hope the rise in price was because of the venue (KLCC is a great place in the city centre after all). I can't afford to attend CF if the ticket price goes any higher.

Living with my aunt was a new experience, in a weird way. Her home looks like a haunted house among the renovated buildings. Her bathroom reminds me of my grandmother's bathroom, and it has no shower or water tank. The kitchen has a broken stove and a refrigerator possibly from the 80s! The floor downstairs is like the one at home, and the stairs is made of wooden planks similar to my grandfather's now abandoned house. The floor upstairs has the classic early 2000s wood blocks which come off whenever you step them with wet feet. No big tiles, no ceiling fan, no water heater. I thought I was living at my grandmothers'.

Did I get any pictures of cosplayers? Yes, only one of Luna in her wedding dress. Then there was another Luna but she seemed busy so I didn't ask for a picture. I saw a few Promptos and a Ignis. Was hoping I'd see more western cartoon characters, but didn't find any. I'm always on the lookout for Steven Universe and Miraculous Ladybug cosplays. Also DDLC. If you are one of them, please tell me. I will want to take your picture. I was thinking to try cosplay this year because I have a lab coat but ditched the plan last minute because I didn't have the appropriate outfit. I was actually kinna stupid to not cosplay as Tae Takemi from P5. Really really stupid me. I keep thinking of Shinra from DRRR but Tae may be easier. Maybe. I have no idea where to get the strap heels tho.

After day 1 of CF me and aunt went to see The Last Jedi, because there's nothing left for us to do. I didn't know it came out on the 14th. The movie was great! I loved Rose! I loved Finn! I loved Poe! I loved Phasma! I loved everyone! And you know what! I don't care if people say SW has become SJW shit because it hasn't!!! Still a great movie!!! WHy can't we all just enjoy things??!!

TLJ could do without the potential Rose/Finn or Rey/Finn because I need platonic M/F relationships and if Rose/Finn is really a thing I don't want Rey to be the other jealous love interest. No. Stop it. We already have that in plenty of movies. Stop.

Last month I went to see another movie - Justice League. It was not in my watch list but since I've never gone out with my classmates in the middle of the night before I thought it wouldn't hurt to watch a superhero movie. Justice League was a little... eeehhhh... but still good in its own way. I have a few doubts and questions though...

One: does Aquaman have amblyopia??? His eyes has been bothering me since the first time he appeared on screen! Second: Flash is so cute. Ezra Miller is so cute. He is the DC equivalent of Marvel's Spiderman. Third: I love Batman, but I also love making fun of him. Whenever he comes on screen I do the signature throat cancer voice and say "I'm Batman" to my other two classmates sitting next to me. One is annoyed, one thought it was funny. Fourth: I love how everyone in the cinema agrees that Wonder Woman is the best. When she appeared on screen everyone cheered (softly). Fifth: best line in the whole movie, when Batman is asked what his superpower is, he answers "I'm rich." Sixth: My classmate finds my annoyance on Superman's shirtless-ness funny. I could not concentrate on the following scenes just because Superman loses his top but his pants are still intact and in good condition. HOW. Seventh: How can Superman's girlfriend fly away with him to the stratosphere and not die of oxygen deprivation??

Then comes a week-long Christmas holiday before our study break, which totals in two weeks of extra time to study. Bad news is, the one subject that needed the most study time is the first paper on the first day. And I haven't started on anything yet. I've been saying I'd get a PS4 since last year, but I might really buy one next year during my semester break. I have seven PS4 games sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to play them. Caligula OD is coming to PS4 soon, so I'm praying for a localization. There's Ni no Kuni 2, I might get the newest Dragon Quest (srsly I'm in need of more JRPGs to play), Nier Automata may be kicked out of my wishlist, but I really don't want to, because the music is great... but I suck at action games so...

Anyways my first paper is on the 8th so I better start studying eye lesions with plenty of gross pus on eyelids.


I'm featuring a new series of music I find interesting/obsessing/relevant to the current gaming scene. Guess which one this belongs to. Btw I've already heard this song waaaaaay before I knew of Death Stranding, in Thomas Sanders' Steven Universe playlist. Go listen to that playlist if you haven't. There's some amazing songs in there.

Review: Bakemono no Ko (movie)

Current mood: SO COOOOL!!!!!

I already have this movie in my watch list for a long time now. I just keep putting off watching the thing cuz YOI and DIU are more important. In the end I played myself because I didn't have time to watch anything... until recently. All my reports are finished, events are over, finals are near, but hey what's the fun of finals if you don't procrastinate?

Quick Review: Moana, Rogue One, Yuri on Ice

I do realise one is not like the others and YOI deserves a whole post dedicated to itself, but everyone already knows whats happening so.

MOANA
This recent Disney addition is nice to anticipate. Before this though I watched Gaijin Goombah's cultural video abour OverWatch's Roadhog and his Maui inspired skin. I do know Maui is a demigod who fished islands using his fishhook but apparently he is also a bratty and arrogant person?? Did I know that?

Life is being corrupted due to Maui's stealing of the Heart of Te Fiti. Since the ocean chose Moana, she has to find Maui and deliver the heart to him so that he could return it to its place. Many creatures want the heart for its power, but the most dangerous of them all is Te Ka, a monster of Lava. It obstructs the very entrance to Te Fiti, and when Moana finally reach the top of the mountain, hoping to find Te Fiti lying there... she isn't. She is gone. Moana realises Te Ka IS Te Fiti, just maybe a little corrupted. She returns the heart to Te Fiti, life is restored, Maui gets a new fishhook, Moana's people get to be wayfinders again!

20 minutes into the movie and I'm already crying. JFC. Also I'm disappointed that it's the chicken that gets more screen time. I thought Pua the pig is the animal sidekick. The songs are great, especially the ones sung in native language.

ROGUE ONE
I was not that excited to watch this one until I found out that Mads Mikkelsen (who is in Kojima's Death Stranding) is cast and I'm like??? Sign me up??? Rogue One addresses the events that lead to A New Hope in Star Wars. I never stopped to ask where the Death Star blueprints come from but oh well. This movie is going to explain it all!

Jyn Erso is the daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), an Imperial scientist working on the Death Star. He has placed a flaw in the weapon, but in order to pinpoint the location of the flaw blueprints would be needed. He sends an Imperial pilot with his message to Saw Gerrera, a war veteran, in hopes he will stop the weapon for him. Meanwhile Jyn is freed by the Rebel Alliance from Empire prison, but for a reason: they were informed about a weapon of mass destruction built by her father. If she helps them find him they will grant her freedom. She agrees.

At Saw's place Jyn and Saw watch the hologram message left by Galen before the place goes to ruin. They find Galen at his research facility where Rebels come and shoot the place up, killing imperial architects and soldiers, including Galen. Jyn tells the Alliance about the flaw and blueprints but most of the council is like 'meh u want us to believe an imperial scientist no way'. Since the Alliance can't do nothing without a majority vote, Jyn takes matters on her own hands and goes to get the blueprints herself. Accompanied by companions and some rogue rebels, Jyn locates the blueprint and transmits it to the Alliance battleship, knowing full well that she and her comrades won't make it out alive. And they did not.

The blueprint is then given to a princess all of us are familiar with. Roll credits!!!

Rogue One is a great movie. Darth Vader is in there and he chokes a person how awesome can it get? There is also a brief mention of Obi Wan in the Rebel Alliance by Bail Organa. Miss Dragon says her dad thinks its bad but??? How is it bad? You have all the references, Darth Vader appears and has dialogue??? Princess Leia appears at the end???

Also I don't expect myself to cry in Rogue One even though everyone dies. Tears started flowing at the end when I recognized Princess Leia and she turned around and I was like "WHHHAAAAAAAA" and sobbing. Feelings man, they are complicated.


YURI ON ICE
If you think I have pretty screenshots of this anime: no I don't. I can find some GIFs tho but no thanks. YOI tells the story of Japanese figure skater surname Katsuki given name Yuuri and his career as well as his relationship with his idol, 5-time champion Russian figure skater god Victor Nikiforov.

YOI at first glance, when it was announced looked like your typical fanservice sports anime. As much as I enjoy Free!, the show was embarrassing to watch. The first few episodes were really fanservice-y. Victor showing his ass, Victor flashing everything in the onsen, Victor being too close for comfort with Yuuri... I cursed myself for watching even though I know it's fanservice, but Kubo-sensei proved all of us wrong because...

It's not fanservice. It's gay. Yeah it's gay. So gay that it almost broke the internet. The build up is slow and unexpected because I didn't think it was real. That they kissed. After that it's official they are most definitely lovers. Only then we see the subtle signs and the way the characters talk episodes before: how Yuuri views Victor from literal god to equals in a span of a few episodes, how he doesn't mind all the physical contact... and his theme for that years' GPF: love. Some people are still in denial about their relationship but Kubo-sensei shut them up by giving us marriage proposals, more PDA, engagement rings, more PDA, and best yet, a prologue as to why Victor would want to coach Yuuri 'all of a sudden', plus Yuuri pole dancing in his underwear and drunk grinding on Victor. Basically it's Victor falling head over heels for Yuuri after a dance.

Also, this:


And I appreciate Kubo-sensei and the team's effort on making YOI a reality. 2016 is truly saved by great fictional things.

I'm torn between putting the OP or the insert song so have both.

Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (movie)

Current mood: FUCK THAT HEDWIG’S THEME MY GOD

Fantastic Beasts. Ah how long have I waited for it to happen. To think it was approximately one year ago that the reveal trailer was out and every HP fan had their eyes gouged out of excitement! I read the textbook ‘written’ by Newt Scamander, oh boy was it great! But definitely I should have flipped through the book once more before I went to see the movie.

QUICK REVIEW: Wolf Children, Kubo, Tsuritama, Kingsglaive

Quick review because I don't think I have much to write.


OOKAMI NO KODOMO AME TO YUKI
I am so late to this party. I already know what's in store for me but I'm just watching it for the feels. Boy was it an emotional ride. The parents' relationship is beautiful, it's not graphic (but I thought of omegaverse bc I'm full of sin) and it made me go 'awwww' until I remembered that wolf will die and I changed to 'NOOOOOO!!!!' The sad thing about this movie is not the struggles of the mother to protect her children, it is that they have to choose how to live their lives. The two of them tries to convince the other to live as a human and as a wolf respectively. The son used to be so unsure of his wolf side it is still a mystery how one accident can change his whole demeanor. The daughter in the other hand used to be more active as a wolf but soon decided to live as a human. It is sad that they can only choose one of the two, to live as a human or a wolf, but not both. It makes me think of people with mixed descent, but they cannot identify as any of their heritage because they are not 'black enough' or 'too fair' or they can only identify as one of their heritage but not both. It's sad. Of course you can identify as anything you wish but some people will always have something to say, so fuck them, be whatever you want to be.


KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
I did not plan to watch this one in theaters because dad will download it sooner or later... if not for tumblr. Kubo seems to have fairly positive reviews but its box office sucks as hell so to show my support I watched it during an outing with a friend. I had my tissues ready because every animated film I've seen has made me cry and I doubt Kubo will be an exception. Kubo's a little kid with no dad, his mom has lost her mind and he makes money by his magic musical storytelling. He is warned to return home before sundown but one day he lingers too long and as the moon hangs in the sky ghostly figures (I kid you not, ghostly figure complete with ghostly music and ghostly chants of "Kubo...", and suddenly the ghostly figure splits into TWO ghostly figures like what in the world am I watching is this a horror movie goddamn) chase him down but not before his mother realizing he is in danger and comes to the rescue. She sends Kubo away and sacrifices herself to save her son.

Kubo wakes to the call of a monkey, travels to find two sacred pieces of armor and a sword to defeat the Moon King. He meets a beetle with amnesia on the way and they fight the ghostly figures, who are Kubo's aunts. They are here to retrieve Kubo's other eye. The monkey is revealed to be none other than Kubo's mom in temporary form, and the beetle? Kubo's supposed-to-be-dead dad. Of course. Of course. If you thought Kung Fu Panda was confusing already with a goose having a panda for a son, have fun explaining how Kubo has a beetle and a monkey for parents. So the two aunts get rekt, Kubo's parents die (of course), and he rekts the Moon King so hard with ghosts the Moon King gets amnesia and becomes a human. How's that?

I already knew Kubo's mom is a god of some sort bc who comes down from the heavens to kill a mortal and falls in love with said human? It's like Altair and Vega all over again, except this time everybody dies. What the movie depicted was true in most cultures: that gods are emotionless pricks and think humans are trash. Well, we are trash but you bloody gods don't have a say on what we are because you made us like this (SICK BURN). All and all it's an awesome movie, Laika studios did a great job, but I was disappointed the voice cast did not feature more Asian talents.


TSURITAMA
I was hoping to see some slice-of-life or school life but instead I got fishing tutorials. Can't say I'm upset though.

Tsuritama is... bizarre (cue the music!!!) to say the least. At first I was like, "oh, looks like slice-of-life, let's see..." then it turned out to be "no way what is this where did this alien plot come from". Tsuritama is about this guy (Yuki) who subconsciously makes an ugly face when anxious. He gets dragged into fishing business by a self-proclaimed alien (Haru) into fishing business and learns to do so by Natsuki aka Fishing Prince. Akira is a mysterious agent observing Haru the alien. But we all know who the real star of the show is: Tapioca the duck.


KINGSGLAIVE FINAL FANTASY XV
Basically the next best thing after Advent Children. Took them 11 years ha!

Kingsglaive received mixed reviews from movie-goers: those who said it was bad CLEARLY did not realize its purpose as exposition. Like, damn! They go all, "oh this looks pretty lets watch it" with no idea what the movie is about. Cliffhanger ending? Well shucks, you uncultured human! One does not simply go see a movie without research!

So basically Kingsglaive expands on the events that happen in the crown city while Noctis is off with his bros to meet Luna, his betrothed. While Luna is supposed to be escorted to another place (to meet Noctis), the plan fails and the princess is forced to go to the crown city. Enemy troops attack the city. Nyx, a refugee and part of the king's glaive (cue the music!), is tasked with the princess' safety. Conspiracies unfold and the princess is out of the wreck hurt, but a-okay. The crown city of Insomnia falls alongside with its king. Luna continues her journey to meet Noctis alone.

Tl;dr, everyone save for crouching guy and Luna dies, the kings of old are assholes.

After seeing this movie its time to watch the anime Brotherhood! The final episode comes out soon this month! Brotherhood explains more on Noctis' childhood flashbacks and past relationships with his bros. After that do yourself a favor and buy the game when it comes out. I heard it spans 10 years... so everyone gets a goatee (or beard)! It took SE 10 years to finally finish this goddamn game, we fans hope it is worth the wait.

I can't even believe it is happening. The game started out as Final Fantasy versus XIII and features a really different Noctis & co. with Lunafreya's predecessor, Stella. It was just three years ago Stella's role was scrapped, and just when she got a new CG render in E3 too...

Final Fantasy XV for PS4 and Xbox One is coming out on 29th of November 2016.

Review: The Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie)

Current mood: WOW. I can't...

I never thought of watching this until one day I stumbled across its ending song in Youtube. Usually suggestions put me off but there was something about the movie poster that clicks. So I listened. And I got addicted. The song was beautiful. Then I remembered that I have seen the movie poster back when I was still a kid (about the same time I started using the PC, so maybe 7~9 I guess?), and IDK I felt nostalgic maybe? One of the reasons I could still recognize the poster was because of its selection of colors: blue with brief colors of the sunset. And the characters playing the violin with contrasting atmospheres.

Review: 5 Centimeters per Second (movie)

Current mood: NO BABY NO IT'S OK YOU CAN MAKE IT! AF FEELS!!!! *SLAMS ON LAPTOP*

5 Centimeters was already pretty famous in Tumblr due to the beautiful scenery and the tear-jerking motif of the film. Mostly all the GIFs I see on Tumblr are scenery porn, so I did not know what the protagonist looks like. I didn't even know how the story will go, except for the fact that they got train-blocked (lol). The movie has three episodes, each episode describes the 'distance' between the central protagonist of the episode.

Review: The Garden of Words (movie)

A faint clap of thunder,
Clouded skies,
Perhaps rain will come.
If so, will you stay here with me?

Current mood: WTF man you're basically ruining my OTP! Btw that protagonist is SO my type!

When it first came out in 2013 Tumblr was BURSTING with GIFs, I'm not even exaggerating here. GIFs with shoes, rain, scenery porn, time lapse and most of all, the couple and their interactions. And frick I know better than to watch that movie cause the feels train is REAL. Then again I got bored in the hostel so I downloaded the movie along with 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' which I've watched and got hit by feels train.