I loved the FLCL
"pronounced as FhooleeKoolee"
It's fast paced and omnipresent good vibes are incomparable. 
So cool to see a new season of it came out.

The animation style has a strong 3D feel, 
which usually I find repulsive,
but this one seemed like the production company is going for a middle-ground -
where the 2D animation still feels like handdrawn pictures with the 3D CGI movements.
It still feels awkward to watch,
but FLCL is too good for me to be bothered.

郭敬明导演's work is worth watching no matter how full of flaws they can be.
​云之羽 is as full of flaws as it is full of lovely aesthetics.
The actors are easy on the eyes. ;P
The cinematography for this story is impeccable.
The sets are gorgeous!
If you watch a lot of 仙侠剧 like I do,
you'd be able to identify some locations that were used in other epic shows.

The pace of the acting and storyline certainly feel quite slow,
but I don't really feel annoyed by it.
I actually don't mind slow-paced stories,
I don't really appreciate super-fast-paced ones that a lot of shows these day have.

Actors were recorded live and the show used the live recording, 
which made the story feel real and helps the audience feel present throughout the story.
But I find that they almost speak a little too softly -
it's as if they're always whispering.
Perhaps this is the director's intention - 
as the characters are either always scheming against each other,
or hiding the truth about themselves from others.

郭敬明 certainly proves again that he has quite the way with presenting his characters,
and is good at beautifying scenes and his actors.

I think, even on set, he's super strict with all the actors' diets,
even the 盒饭 prepared for the cast have little to no no salt
and offer all cast on-set with very oil-less and rather healthy choices,
so everybody could keep their weight down for the camera! 

The choice of actors for this show are pretty good.
I can't really find fault in most of them except 宫紫商’s actress 金靖's "本色出演".
Her comedic style certainly alleviates the drab pace and darker mood of the story,
but her body movements and facial expressions can be too overboard,
I don't think including her own style was necessary to the story in anyway, 
and almost reduces the elegance and beauty of the cinematography.
When she's serious, she's actually a really good character.
Any of those extra body movements and comedic acts -- i find - don't serve well to the show.

Other actors chose to play the other characters really fit their individual roles, 
their performance certainly feel more mature and well directed compared to their previous work

They are the offspring of samurai.
They lost everything to war with England as children.
So their lives begin again with the help with these warriors 
who teach them how to become strong again.
Ryo didn't have a name.
So he was given one by one of the other Ryos here.
They have "Ryo" in their name.
Ryo demonstrates his strength and tact as well as a heart of gold from the outset.
I look forward to following his journey of growth and development.

No love story gets better than this.

If you've liked somebody since day 1 when we you met,
if you always support each other and protect each other and look after each other in every little situation
if you are the sunshine for the other person in their darkest hours
if you care about each other like family since you were young adults
when life brings you together in one place after a year or so of separation
if you find joy and peace in each other
this is meant to be your love story.

And this is theirs.
純愛劇天花板.

It's based on a book that I ended up reading in one go in one day.
It was SO good, I couldn't stop reading it. 
Perhaps this is my ideal love story. 
​I truly appreciate theirs.

The show is better than the book for sure.
The story is of course original and unique by the author 
whose works have been adapted into sooooooo many live-action series
that swept through China heat wave after heat wave.
This one is another one that gathered a huuuuge amount of audience.
This show is sure to set the two main leads off into forever fame.

They started off not knowing each other's intentions,
coming together because of their need to stay

As they journey through their adventures and various encounters with all kinds of people,
they find themselves in all kinds of rut,
they end up rescuring each other's lives, 
and forming the strongest alliance of love and friendship. 
Their love and bond is one of self-sacrifice,
​complete trust,
and unbreakable dependence.

When asked in an interview, are you a dog person, or a cat person,
侯明昊 replied, cleverly and straight-up as always, 
I'm a dragon person.
And he couldn't be more right.

I can already tell this is gonna be a really good series.

A girl who can only study, 
easily gets lost on the Tokyo trains.
She's not from here, 
but she's got a grand plan for her whole life's career.

Stumbling across the kind-hearted bright-spirited protagonist,
she sees him as the mother-duck, and she herself - the lost duckling.

She made her speech at the opening ceremony without blinking,
and immediately went off stage and barfed out all her nervousness.

I laughed throughout the 1st episode.
It's a great beginning!
Can't wait to see the characters build up and develop into interesting relationships.

The lead characters are so easy going,
they make everyone else around them  feel at ease, too.
Ultimately, this is one about making friends and friendships
and Tokyo - nothing better than that.

It's been too long since the last season, it feels
so much so that I've forgotten most of what happened in the last season.
I just remember that Chise had a lot of devastating things happening to her because she tried to save people, and sacrificed a lot of of herself in the process.
Compared to the initial beginning stories when it first came out,
the last season was dark, and a period of a lot of growth for Chise - she was no longer the little girl.

This new season is much different.
It's brighter, lighter, happier, easier.
Chise's gone to college and met a lot of new people at college.
Even Elias joined her just to keep an eye out for her safety. 

I love the scene of them sleeping on a picnic mat under the canopy of a tree,
and harvesting pumpkins.
It's definitely an idyllic good life out in the countryside. 

wow...

I have a MAJOR crush on Net Siraphop.
He's one of the most good-looking well-styled actor I've ever seen, and incredibly sweet as a person. 
King - played by him - is everything a girl could ask for. 
He's very attractive to my eyes, 
he's very protective of his other half,
he's easy-going and takes care of things for you when you most need it,
he's very understanding and honest as well.
I guess it's Net himself that does it. but he does it so consistently - he never takes his eyes off of his other half.

Even in life, as actors, they seem very close.
And as actors, I even envy how a pair could have friendship and bond like Net and James after this show.
It's like Chalamet and Hammer's after CMBYN.
It's a life-changing show for them. 
​THe bond also.

This show is 🔥 and Net is incredibly 🔥
I've never seen someone could make a bathroom stall scene look so good.
This 1 will go far and go well.

​This is my 1st time watching a Thai show.
And it's a BL.
If you don't have an iQiyi account, 
you can watch the whole thing for free anyway on Youtube .

Girls that love BL
and some boys perhaps -
​those with a soft spot for things like this, would enjoy this one.

1. Lupin Zero - prequel to the Lupin III series
2. In/Spectre 虚構推理 ("Kyokou Suiri") - Season 2
3. Bungou Stray Dogs 文豪ストレイドッグス - Season 4!
4. Tsurune -  Tsurune: Tsunagari no Issha  - Season 2!

It's the Season of Season 2's !! ^0^
Amazing series' season 2, no less!

I started watching Lupin Zero in December 2022.
It was first screened as part of some New York festival.
But I was able to watch it on my usual streaming channel since the day of its release.
It's really good!!
Perhaps even a little better than the usual series.

It's centred on Lupin as a teenager, still in his high school days,
i.e. a story about how he started off his adventures as the later Lupin III.
The growing voice of teenage Lupin was so well depicted, too.
And the old school cartoon feel is so nostalgic and gives you a real sense of the anime world.

The main characters are quickly likeable, 
character designs are robust and actions fast for the 2020s generation.

It also carries all the fun you'd expect in a Lupin III series.
​As a long-time fan of Lupin III,
I could not recommend this Prequel series more. 

I loved the first season, and was so glad to see this coming out, 
& that the story has continued with more excitement to offer the audience.

The highlight of Season 2 of In-Spectre is most definitely Yuki-Onna - 雪女
She quickly became my favourite character.
The introduction of this new cp - I can already sense - may steal quite a lot of attention away from our main protagonists.

From the moment of her appearance in Episode 2, 
you can already tell 
雪女 is more than just gorgeous on the outside.
Her ease, kind-heartedness, appetite and lust for life are characteristics that I identify a lot with.
I cannot identify with her fair skin though.

Though I may look strange with blue eyes
​& I'm not a fan of invisible lenses, sorry, Contact Lenses (I was converting words directly from Chinese).
​I'm going to adopt her hairstyle for sure this year! 
Especially as white is the color of the year that I've picked for this year.

This also reenforces my desire to visit Japan in the snow next year.
It's a high priority on my travel-list in the 12 months ahead.
So I expect that I can pay Keiko & Kyoto a visit at this time next year!

If you get to Episode 3 - at 22:22 - that part filled my eyes with tears.
I 🤍 this character 雪女 so much.

This story made such a strong impression on me
that I could never forget the word Tsurune
so the momenet I saw this series came back
I immediately recognised it by its title.

The main character has a certain stillness to it that harmonises with the Art of Archery itself.
I particularly love their shooting hall,
the long court yard,
the protagonist's green eyes,
their sensei,
and the white owl.

Soak in the stillness and deep meaningfulness of archery
through this series.
I've been a lover of archery since a long time ago.
I should start practicing again soon,
especially as I live in walking distance from an archery court.

Make sure to check out the OST, the music in this series is incredibly beautiful !!
I've linked it here.

This anime is so thoroughly entertaining
the moment I saw a guy dragging a suitcase on Shijo city street with the chainsaw dog ポチタ"Pochita" 's plush toy of on top of his luggage, my heart jumped in excitement upon recognising that cute thing.

I spent the rest of my trip keeping an lookout for the chainsaw dog plush toy to bring home, 
because I wanted one so much once had I seen the anime's first 4 episodes on Netflix Japan (not available in NZ)
but I never eventually saw one at all.

This anime is pretty much in Tarantino style, but more.
It's a pretty nasty start in the 1st episode - as far as Tarantino often goes,
gory and irrationally cruel,
​and suffocatingly painful - which I don't like, 
but it gets so good at the end of Ep. 1 
it makes you look forward to the next episode so much.

The protagonist Denji's teeth are exaggerated,
but he's supposed to have turned into a half-悪魔 ie 
he's become a 魔人 "manji" after ポチタ merged with his body.

Pochita is sooooo cute,
and Denji is the chainsaw man because of Pochi.
His life was altered and completely renewed.
​
This bond is something that we probably all wish to have with our own puppy.
To live together forever i guess is that romantic notion our heart desires.
I wonder if the creator came up with this idea this way, if they had their own puppy.

Produced by the same crew as the German series Dark,
this show is as European as it goes.
Multi-lingual with cast from several different countries.
Everybody speaks their own native language,
a subtitle is provided.
This was key to the creators' concept - 
to paint an image of Europe as it should be - 
everybody together, working as one.

There is definitely a lot of historic backdrops that are clearly hinted at but never explicitly pointed out - e.g. the scar on Krester's face in reference to Conversion Therapy back then.

Krester's character is a deeply painful one to watch.
You can almost see pain throughout his being,
and the torturous journey within him.
His mother is a strong force, a religious force to say the least.
This would have made his life extremely difficult,
the scar on his face is as symbolic of his journey as his being.
I think that's why the Spanish counterpart rather cleverly named as Angel 
who is too overly charming and blatant with his desires,
who is so drawn to Krester right from the beginning.
Because of the 2 of them are such polar opposites.

My own favourite character is of course, Olek.
He seems to be the only pure being throughout the story.
He's gentle and kind without fail.
You almost want to approach him for help and support when you need it most.

The mystery of the story unfolds slowly, 1 episode at a time.
The symbology is dramatic and obvious.

​And,
this is definitely a sci-fi despite having a period piece backdrop.

1. 20th Century Girl
2. Spy Family

Spy Family Season 2 !

Originally going to be used as part of a terrorist bombing mission,
our protagonist and most adorable child in the world Anya
encounters this giant white fluffy and highly intelligent future-sentient dog.
A series of funny adventures ensue.

Season 1 must have captured so many hearts,
season 2 comes in full force with a high-energy 1st episode right at the start.
The laughs you will get from the 2nd instalment will not be fewer than the last.

20세기 소녀 - a Frist-Love Story that will hit you slow, deep and hard.

This story is as beautiful as the characters and the actors that portray it.
I think I were to choose a 1st love it would probably have happened just like this.
Though I certainly would have hoped for a happier ending.
I felt like the main character was sacrificed just to highlight the title and what it implies.
I truly wish they would be together.
I even thought perhaps the video tape was sent to her from New Zealand by the very person who took it from her.

It is a story about love,
it is a depiction of a time,
it is an ode to teenage friendship
and cherishing all the relationships we build.
It is also about pursuing your goals 
​even when life throws you with the hardest time.

Friendly warning:
watching this story unfold could make you look like a person that's gone insane,
it'd make you laugh for one minute and then you'll find yourself crying the next.
The main characters are so full of depth and real character
that you can't help but live and laugh and tearing up alongside them.
Some of the things they have to go through is not at all common or tolerable for their age,
because of each other, they fought through the tough times,
and came through giggling and thriving despite it all.

김태리 and 남주혁's acting is impeccable.
They certainly proved what it takes to be the top of the chain
​with their performance in some of these episodes.
Aside from all the light-hearted moments,
it's their portrayal of the hardest days,
and how their bond get them through the bad times,
that make them shine all the more as the stars they already are.

Korean only releases 2 episodes a week,
which is so hard for an audience.
It does stretch the screening time for longer,
instead of just 1 month for those shows from China.
But a week is truly a long wait for a story that's so captivating.
So if you're like me and hate the waiting, 
you could choose to start binging it in April -
​when all the episodes have been released.

20.03.2022 - it's finally happened!

Since watching <<镜·双城>>, 
watching 李易峰's previous work had become my daily routine.

I started off with 《盗墓笔记》where he played the 1st ever 吴邪,
the series is based on the very beloved and popular novel series.
It was refreshing watching 李易峰 play 吴邪, when 吴邪 was young
because the only other 《盗墓笔记》I watched had 朱一龙 as 吴邪,
who was at his oldest point, and was very unwell & dying.
朱一龙's acting is always immaculate and devoted,
but 李易峰's 吴邪 is youthful and he was naive and just beginning his tomb-visiting adventures.
The contrast between the highly experienced and rookie 吴邪 was surreal.

I am currently going through the 50+ episode <<青云志>>
I should wait till i finish reading the book before i watch the whole 2 series
but I couldn't help but diving in,
and now I'm hooked.
​
It is a great story with a diverse range of unique and robust characters.
張小凡 is most likeable.
He's humble to a fault,
yet you can't help but forgive him for his softness.
And much like 李易峰's 吴邪, 
he may have started off an inexperienced youth,
but he is well-meaning and intelligent, 重情重义, 呆萌, 纯真
luck also finds him when he needs it the most, 
and the often life-threatening incidents push him towards higher level of transformation and growth.

The dynamic between 張小凡 and 碧瑶 makes a definite page-turner,
while 張小凡's firm belief in trusting in 碧瑶 creates a key theme in the story -
when the world dictates good and evil, 
you can also use your own discernment
and make your own judgment about people, 
小凡 does it based on what he knows about 碧瑶, 
& 碧瑶's words and actions have been consistent throughout.

At the moment, I just finished Episode 22.
Almost half way through the whole 2 series.
Thanks to solid acting and overall good editing and plotline,
I'm going to follow the story all the way through.
​
Plus, there will never be a season 3, 
all the more motivation to finish the book.