[ANIME] Roujin Z (1991)

I mention Katsuhiro Ootomo because it's his work, not created with him as a director though. Some find the need to compare it to Akira, but I find it really weird. First of all, it's two completely different stories, second of all, Katsuhiro did not direct this and lastly same people who expect Akira would say stuff like - this looks too much like Akira, if th story really resembled it and they would never feel satisfied that way or another.

Roujin Z mainly tells a story of a young woman Haruko who takes care of an elderly man as a caregiver. When suddenly this elderly man, Mr Takazawa, is selected as a subject to take part in testing Project Z. This project was initially directed at making the process of taking care of elderly people who are not capable to physically take care of themselves easier, but it also raises the question of robotics and also the moral question of is it really correct to leave elderly to cold machines.

Young Haruko whose grandma died in a lonely way cannot shake the conviction that this is wrong and elderly people need the human care and support. This is why she tries to help Takazawa-san who sent a SOS message through the computer.

The story takes a humorous and almost absurd path when failing to do so Haruko finds several elderly me i her hospital capable of hacking the main computer of Project Z, this bio-computer actually is partially AI and capable of self-development, but being awakened in such a way the computer, which used the voice of deceased wife of Mr Takazawa decides to take him on a journey to the beach because this is everything Mr Takazawa had been dreaming about these days.

But one thing is to wish for it, another is how public witnessed a huge bed-robot-machine drives through streets of Japan, wreaking havoc and demolishing things because it's that huge, while police and participants of this project try to stop it and return it to its place.

This anime does not discuss but still raises the question of elderly care. Is it really alright to leave them in the care of machines, even if machines are capable of providing all the care needed and even offer some form of entertainment. Although Takazawa is the central figure of this anime, but mainly he doesn't even speak well and only repeats the same thing over and over again. So is it really correct to deprive him from fulfilling some lasting wish to visit the beach where he remembers the happiness he felt together with his wife.

It's the type of story that is ridiculous, but also sad.

Well, and they really crashed that city.

RATE: 8/10.

[ANIME] AKIRA (1988)

AKIRA is larger than anything. A true classic of anime in every sense. I re-watch it from time to time just to re-visit it and marvel at everything, at wonderful and gripping story, amazing animation and overall superior work of art.

When it comes to AKIRA it's the story you can explore and discuss, it revolves around many themes that feel modern even if it was released so many years ago. It also offers great visuals that you can marvel at decades later. This what makes anime a great one and a legend. If I had descendant I'd say - watch this :)

I'm on Katsuhiro Ootomo roll right now, we start with Steamboy, now Akira and later Roujon Z (I am well aware that it was not directed by him, but the story belongs to him), finishing with several selected shorter animations. I think it's a pity Katsuhiro did not release more, but I also understand that after Akira it was pretty hard to impress the public and meet exectations (although I think it's unfair towards any creator), even though I find his other works great too. He has so much to say when it comes to incorporations of technologies and innovations, the social impact, which can be found in many of his stories. No wonder he is one of the greatest when it comes to animation / story creation.

[ANIME] Koori no Jouheki / 氷の城壁 (2026) (Season 1)

The Ramparts of Ice

Koyuki Hikawa has trouble interacting with others, instead preferring to keep her distance and spend her time alone. However, when she meets Minato Amamiya, he suddenly starts trying to close the distance between them.

I may have liked the beginning, but in later parts it became more about emotional struggles in terms of love and I don't really care about it. And this is me not saying that the anime is bad, it's just a bit cliche what they did by the end of episode 14.

Let me start from good parts and what I liked:

• I didn't mind the darker approach, not for everyone school was all sunshine and flowers, for many it was a dark time of bullying and fights. In a microcosm it was a society, but also a limited one where people didn't bother thinking tey might hurt others or on the contrary were doing it on purpose. The high stress level does not excuse anyone from being a horrible human being and scarring someone for life. This made Koyun quite a layered character with her initial guarded self to opening up with someone and realizing that some of the things she did to another boy Minato (MMC) is something that was done to her. So it was a nice portrayal.
• I really liked the part where we get perspective from different point of views on the same situation. My biggest example is the bench talk between Miki and Koyun after which Koyun started dating boy named Igarashi. Miki at the time thought it was partially her fault that she pushed Koyun towards Igarashi, but through their talk we realize Koyun herself does not remember things as such and she started dating not for this reason.
• The main female character does ambiguous things instead of being one-dimensional.
• The story explains really well the circumstances of several characters and how they came to be as they are now, what they went through, at which stage they are now.
• Not to make matters too depressing anime includes many cute moments (mainly the chibi version or when a character suddenly does something more unexpected).

What made me a bit sad is the turn toward romance and the approach.

So we have four friends that formed their own circle: Girls Koyun, Miki and boys Minato, Yota. Then we have the following situation →

Koyun realizes Minato might like her, but she doesn't know how to approach this situation. At first Koyun misunderstood that Miki might like Minato and it will become a struggle for Yota and his feelings she is aware of.

Minato likes Koyun, but misunderstands for a long time that she might like Yota, since she makes the happiest and most comfortable face around Yota (the only logical misunderstanding that has some valid proof, instead of just being a speculation)

Yota has like Miki since middle school and was not ready to confess, but it just happened like that. He is the only one who has no misunderstandings about others.

Miki who was once ennamord in the fantasy that her best friend might be in love with the guy she appreciates as a friend too is now facing a confession and although she likes Yota, but does not see him as love interest (yet). So they left with this amniguous open ending for development for both parties.

The most cliche part is actually including a first year girl who has eyes for Minato and she does a lot of undermining like a hardworking villainous supporting role. She plants a seed of doubt when she sees Minato liking Koyun, but also wants Koyun to give way. Manipulative and selfish, does what she wants.

So from some emotional drama and how teenagers cope with life we switch to love~

Anyway, it was okay.

RATE: 7/10.

[SHORT REVIEWS] #32 (bit ranty)

WE START FROM 

ANIMATION

DNF (Dungeon & Fighter)

BIIIITCCHHHH LOOK AT THIS, JUST LOOK AT THIS

YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME. THIS LOOKS AMAZING. Surely can as well be a complete flop, but visually i wanna see it. This is a Chinese animation based on a game.

Koori no Jouheki / 氷の城壁 (2026)

Stylistically it looks exactly like Seihantai na kimi to boku. I can only bet on same author but I can't look up the info because mangaupdates has been down for forever now. I don't have any other reliable site for manga database type.

I saw the first episode and it tell a story of high school girl who was bullied before, especially because she is so petite compared to others. Although it looks like Seihantai the vibes are so different. Hurts to see a young girl being harassed by men around her and even if she says 'no' no one listens or jokes that she takes it too seriously.

Also, Seihantai has started airing and it's just as cute as ever~

UPDATE: I finished this anime. It was darker and gloomier in its' overall tone, even if it tried to use many cute moments to balance. But in general eventually it went in a direction  I didn't want to see, although it's pretty common and cliche. While we started from exploring the lives of the FMC and how she lived, it also gave a nice overview of others, even their own interpretation on certain events which was a nice move. But when it came to relationships it's where things got downhill for me. Because I don't give a damn about teenage relationship angst in school romance genre. Why I watch Seihantai is because they do not do it. Here I absolutely disliked the "misunderstanding" which exists solely to stumble people on their way to happiness and be exploited by newly appeared character a 1st year who had her eyes on Minato (MMC) and who basically undermines their relationship, while also maliciously approached Koyun (FMC). Then half-way through we know that Yota is in love with Miki, friends of main characters. But the problem is Miki likes Yota but so far not as a romantic interest. Kinda okay development, although again want to ephasize that it's angsty. On the other hand 1st year appears as a villanous female supporting character who makes the main couple stumble but progress at the same time. Because of her FMC is now hyperaware of Minato, while Minato is in a dilemma about Koyun looking as if she's in love with Yota. Btw his misunderstanding is the most valid out of all.

And the season ends with that. We moved away from emotional inner world of main characters and moved towards love~ But honestly I can't care less. I don't really plan to watch the second season in case theyr elease a new one.

Release that start in July.

THE GHOST IN THE SHELL (2026)

It's the closest in design of characters to original manga by Shirow Masamune. It's fantastic what this franchise became. Like any other it did not escape reboots etc. I tried to watch the Alternative Architecture one and I must say... it felt like they tried to tell a different story completely, while I was watching and getting bored I had a deep feeling that all the Sector 9 people did not meet like this at all.

I wish they would leave it alone one day, but I can't escape the appeal of trying the new releases, even if I know the chances of liking it will be small.

Just watch the original movie and also the first two seasons of anime and it'll be everything you need. With good story and good music. And major Kusanagi who looks like a woman and not a midget.

UPDATE: IT LOOKS AWESOME. It has absolutely different feel, even if the story and characters follow some of the storylines previously used, but the animation / character design make it look different, it's looks like classic 80's anime with animation being very high quality and the tone of the story also is goofier because of it, but it doesn't seem weird. The overall look is more colorful and fun so the goofiness doesn't seem weird.

UPDATE 2: They really went all out. Characers and the mood overall feel very different. We'll see how it goes.

Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku / 少女革命ウテナ アドゥレセンス黙示録

Something in me asked me to rewatch the Utena movie. I don't remember what triggered the idea.

This is the anime when anime is so anime.

When 'anime' becomes a verb.

This movie is totaly bizarre in what visuals it uses to convey the story. Some things are hard to accept, because it's the type of - are you trying to convey something through symbolism or are ou goofing around? It was always crazy to me how different the movie and series are. Because despite some silly parts of anime, it is mostly a normal anime and lacks the same crazy visuals (as far as I remember).

I will make a separate post about it because I want to include some juicy screenshots. After all despite the crazy story and what you see the quality of it is still amazing.

Also the passionate sapphic on-screen kiss.

Tenshi no Tamago / 天使のたまご

I think this is another example of anime that animes hard. Not going to create a separate post, though again visuals are amazing. But in a different way.

Who would have thought that this is directed by Mamoru Oshii. Yes, the one and only director of Ghost in the Shell.

Actually Angel's Egg may be a bit hypnotic, with the use of many silent long shots and almost silent movie when dialogue comes later in the movie.

Although if you want to joke about it when you start watching the first thought I had - girl, you dehydrated.

But again, this is what you want to show people when you mean when sometimes anime goes into philosophy and symbolism.

I also re-watched

Steamboy / スチームボーイ

Katsuhiro Ootomo is amazing to me. I can see how much work was put into this as it looks amazing, at least visually it makes me drool.

Story-wise it's a simple story of inventions, the different path the invention takes depending on scientist's goal. Scientific ambitions and their application in the world.

Many might not find the main charactr Ray appealing, though to me he is just a kid who is almost led by the nose by adults. Which is mortifying to think about. He believes what his grandfather says before he meets the father who obviously suffered from injuries, but he still complies with what his father says not really understanding the scope of invention or the direction of application before realizing that both sides want to achieve dominance and not for any good reason.

There is also Scarlett, a spoilt rich lady who absolutely has no preservation skills, too snob about her own position and also, I bet everyone hated her when she hit her own dog. She is honestly not likable, but also in a way the result of such upbringing and a kid who has no real grasp on things.

Otherwise I will try few from the summer season, but will see which one sticks and which not.

BOOKS

CHN

I still wait for three BL novels to be completed, that I mentioned previously in short reviews, those are my most anticipated.

These are trash finds, with.. mostly trashy stories. Most of them are garbage though. And mind you, I repeat this time and time again. Some trashy stories are entertaining, they may be poorly written and the plots are cliche, but there is something about them, some silliness and absolute madness that is entertaining, but others are simply bad. So these are mostly simply bad.

BUT WE WILL STRART FROM A GOOD FIND :D Which came as a big surprise. Considering this came from Qidian. I'm prejudiced, I know.

[BG] 女战神的黑包群 by 二谦 *Qidian

(mtl: Goddess of War's black envelope group)

Have you heard of red envelopes? Never heard of it outside of China where they give it as a form of good luck, especially on holidays like New Year. And red always bore auspicious meaning for them. I remember playing Time Princess where they also had a red envelope event and you grab envelopes which basically copies what they also used to do. So why back envelope. This is totally not auspicious to me, because of the content of those worlds. It's kinda risky too. But the idea of what is described is you are included in this group and from time to time black envelopes are distributed (by other users too), when you grab it you see a prompt with world title, like Innocent heiress, for example, then you're transported to this world and have minimum information and have to navigate on your own, meeting people with prompt on top of their heads meaning they are key figures in this script, from main characters to side characters. When FMC guesses correctly the prompt changes from something to 'reborn', for example. Like for example in the first arc she saw a girl with 'chaotic data' which later changed to 'reborn'. If you achieve success in doing your task the rewards will follow, some of them are pretty neet, although mainly FMC relies on her super mental strength, physical strength, her intellect and AI smart brain. As far as I could understand, when reaching certain level of task success she can distribute black envelopes herself, while doing so she prompted what she wanted to guess, I suppose. Because her brother is in a coma and she is doing this mostly for him, she heard of some miracle medicine and wanted to try it, but they don't have it, so she thought she might get it through this black envelop group.

This transmigration novel came as a surprise. It's not bad actually. Also / although it is fucking long (3k chapters), which I don't mind because I found the stories interesting so far. Also because of FMC's character it creates a lot of humorous moments.

Dong Shu, FMC is an Interstellar goddes of war, she is 3S type that suddenly had a balck envelope group added to her smart brain, she can travel to worlds and even get rewards, her main idea is that she might get something useful out of it to help her brother who is still in a coma.

Outwardly she is pretty intense, powerful and aloof. Quite cold-hearted too, since she's been through it all. But she also can have a moment of soft-heartedness (I assume some of it will be the result of different environment of worlds, periods she travels to). Her character portrayal is pretty direct, since she is a hardened individual she may not posses so many emotions towards others. But it doesn't mean she is like an ice queen, she has a touch of dark humor to her, likes to tease people sometimes.

When she travels she has her mental power with her as well as smart brain. First helps her a lot, while second may not be as helpful but still follows along.

The idea is also about her not having a clue about these worlds and trying to figure out what was the original wish of those people whose bodies she uses.

She may sound pretty overpowered, but the stories are still interesting. For example, I liked the approach in a story about the general. She landed as an orphan and knew that the main wish was to not let a general protecting the border perish in a court intrigue. Her idea is simple. She travels to border and startes meeting some key figures. One of them is supposedly a protagonist of this story a traversing girl who used the knowledge of future to conquer land. But because her tactics were too plundering it basically enriched only her, but left people devastated. I liked the approach of showing that not all traversers are acting for the good and that their actions may result in tragedy.

Although the story isn't without a flaw it's still interesting to follow. I'm already 170 chapters in and I think do far it is good enough.

What I liked that it retains individuality. I'm also surprised because I found it on Qidian, which is notorious to me for bad writing.

The only thing that sticks out to me is of course lack of editing, when the same thought or notion is reiterated several times, which may get you tired a bit.

Note: Although the author claims it's NoCP story and only first arc had a couple that lived their entire life. Later indeed FMC does not live in these worlds for long, which is explained. But it doesn't mean that others don't fall for her. She lives a glorious short life and she leaves mostly at a crucial time when she is the most needed. But otherwise the bodies she occupies would be dead anyway.

Note 2: I plan to have a separate post whenever I finish this or stop reading for some reason.

[BG] 恣爷的心尖宠又飒又野 by 林木十一 *Qidian

(mtl: Prince's beloved is both charming and wild)

I basically stopped around chapter 471. Chapters are short, but I still think the story drags quite a bit.

The story itself is about reborn FMC Lu Qingqiao, she fell a victim to her own relatives in her previous life, even if she treated them with utmost care it seems it wasn't enough to feed the greed. 

Lu Qingqiao is a famous throughout her city female CEO that inherited the mantle from her brother who is now in a coma, her parents unfortunately perished in a car accident. She became successful and took care of the second family, especially her cousin, but it's this cousin who schemed against her the most. FMC felt she was stupid to believe her and taking care of her in entertainment industry.

The first half is mainly about FMC who takes control of the situation even before she was schemed against. Using her knowledge she fights both sides. Her family actually takes a lot of time and it doesn't look like a good story because the narrative always changes as if FMC's cousin gained another wave of support, even if she was exposed doing some really nasty shit, but it always felt like their network is too short-lived. So the situation with FMC dealing with these scoundrels escalated and dragged for quite a bit.

Overall portrayal of FMC was quite good, she is a cool type of older sister, accomplished and unrestrained.

On the other hand is MMC Qin Zi, he is a heir to the infamous Qin family which has a lot of going on. He was living almost incognito when he was taken by FMC, because she remembered him from previous life and wanted to repay him, she believed he was a poor student and others also felt like that for the longest time. Even the several encounters when they almost came face to face, which got tired quite soon, made you think they're going to find things soon, but no, it took a while.

Another point is the basic over the top habit when authors write some out of ordinary stuff that should sound.. I don't know cool? Like, for example, when FMC connects to a famous genius doctor she allows him to take her brother away in hope of recovering from a coma. I have no idea why she said she was sent some gruesome photos of her brother, like what that doctor did to him, but tbh it wasn't that long before this bro not only woke up but also stood up. Rehab is a long and tedious process, everyone knows that. There's a lot of stuff like that, which is basically a big delusion.

[BG] 快穿之绿茶靠边站 by 洛轻辰 *Qidian

(mtl: The green tea should step aside)

TRASH. I just dropped this one pretty quickly.

FMC transimgrates into some secondary characters and her goal is basically exposing the green tea female protags that are described as nothing special, but they're acting both pitiful and try to be strong and basically they're "not like everybody else". Like for example the first arc describes some palace maid figure that attracted FMC's brother, the Emperor, but later she jumped into a river and disappeared, since FMC knew where to search for her she arrived. The woman is not a imple one, she used what she learned in the palace to earn money, basically selling recipes of palace Imperisal Kitchen to a restaurant. later she is all "oh, I'm such a pitiful little creature" while she sedued men left and right, even sleeping with them. So she is tossed around like that.

The way FMC exposed it I don't remember but I do remember I thought it made no sense and was rudimentary.

A complete waste fo time. Good thing I didn't spend much time reading.

[BG] 快穿好孕：绝嗣反派掐腰吻娇娇 by 叶若轩 *Qidian

(mtl: Pregnancy system - the villain who had no heirs now spoils his darling)

I am so free-wheeling with that mtl and title all-together, because this is the essence of the story in a sense.

Basically, I wanted some sweet novel and I don't discriminate against such novels, although most of the time where there is a task it always feels like fake love, because it's all a task and does not involve feelings that can be called truly pure.

Same here. Also such a mediocre story and plots. It feels like FMC is taking out a conflict out of her ass every few minutes so the reader will feel it's not an empty story, but it is.

I find plots like from the first arc truly ridiculous, worthy of a vertical drama. In first arc she plays a supporting role, her fiance is called again by a green tea girl when he leaves the wedding with no regard for his fiancee. Later on even thinks she should wait for him, forgive him and accept how things are. That it's already such a big consession that he makes her his legal wife, while his mistress can only be his mistress.

FMC instead hooks up with the villain of course, but honestly the way villains in these stories feel for FMC is so cheap, like that type of instant love and "she's not like other girls" rhetoric repeated so many times.

Also this has too few arcs and the last one dragged for so long for no apparent reason. I just feel sorry for my time, but I had such a cheap mood and something of this level was quite fitting, now I can rant about it. It just proves my initial impression of Qidian that I got years prior, out of many stories most of them will be like a cheap script for a vertical drama.

Second to last from the trash pile, this is not the worst of it all, just wait, the last one is a true gem of 'I'd break author's hands'.

[BG] 好孕快穿：娇软狐狸在位面被团宠 by 福禄果 *Qidian

(mtl: QT: The soft and delicate pampered fox)

Another waste of time. 

FMC is a fox from a transmigration bureau. You know what I hate about this one? Everything.

FMC does nothing and is said to have completed many worlds, it's just because of her nature that she couldn't have accepted the failure, now she is transferred to childbearing system. I can't help it, what Qidian recommends is what I see, usually it's always like that, based on what you read.

So FMC can't do shit. She even cooks thanks to the system by spending points (did not get how the system works, since she is asked to spend affection points?), she has no other talent except she thinks highly of herself and can seduce any man because she's a vixen. The girl is pretty proud about herself.

The arcs / worlds / plots are a shame to ever exist. I'm sure if the text had the self-delete option it'd opt for that. It's hard to watch how nonsense it is. Her male protagonists fall for her instantly almost. At least she attarcts her targets a lot. Then comes some nonsense script that is absolutely chopped as if they're basic notes left by author. Even if a cat was randomly smashing on a keyboard I'm sure it'd do a better job. 

I haven't seen such a self-absorbed FMC in a while. She really thinks she is a present to wish for. She can't do shit herself. Spends most of her points on pointless stuff, mainly beauty, otherwise how can you conquer a man without a face?

Another worst part is that after each task she returns and we hear about some dude that is like a head manager of her division. But at the end when she meets him he actually confesses to her and says some bizarre stull like he sent her to this branch so she can live several lives where she is pampered and loved. I honestly was skipping like crazy by that point not even paying attention if he was with her in those worlds or otherwise it's going to be fucked up anyway.

Fuck this author they can go to hell for their sins in writing.

[BG] 老婆是隐形大佬 by 苏家紫七 *Qidian

(mtl: My wife is a hidden boss)

I haven't met a pile of text, I can't call it a story, that would make me this mad, it's been a while.

This is so bad.

Why am I even mad though?

The thing is about the FMC. Author claims that FMC will et beter at communicating and she is having issues at first, but honestly FMC makes you think like she is soulless robot and a progrm that should be super smart, but she only does the commands others ask her to do.

And the most infuriating to me is how everyone praises her for being a sensible girl and a good child and may feel sorry for her, then pat her on her head. She is aloof but is kind inside and they find it endearing and cute. BUT TO ME THEY TREAT HER LIKE A DOG. Here, let me pat you on the head, because you're sensible. While FMC is non-existent at the beginning of the story. No worries, I saw the ending, which did not impress me and it was horrible, but also because FMC felt like a different person, opened and romantic.

I can understand the fact author wants her to change, but at the begining she feels like a girl who is so naive in her head, has no personal thoughts of her own, acts according to commands, is happy with bare minimum, does know nothing about life, should be super intelligent and dense at the same time.

Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with this author.

The story also makes you cringe and feel like all the moisture will be squeezed out of your face because how scrunched up you want to be.

This world should have more martial arts, above normal human level. And of course FMC is super-duper above anyone else. Of course she is too naive about the outside world to know these things and has no idea how strong she is.

It's not the end, she is also profecient in calligraphy, because of course in the small village she resides several prominent figures live a quiet life, one of whom is a character who is close to a shrew but is actually a famous painter. She taught FMC everything. But FMC never used this skill for gain because of course she is a sensible girl and listens to her master who says - we do not gain from things that did not come out of our sect, so instead of earning a good buck and never know hardships of course she never uses the chance.

But wait, it's not the end, she also was taught by some master a way of woodworking that is so rare and it's also worth a lot, but she usually just gives things she did herself away, while others marvel that these things may be left as inheritance for future generations.

So you never know if the girl is aware or not, but she lives by the rules.

So much so that when she first arrived her master told her - it's good to get even 60 points on your test and you can guess what this genius girl did - she went on and left part of the test blank just because she was told to.

This put her in a predicament that everyone thought she was a country bumpkin and stupid.

Author wanted to show growth without ever showing the inner world of FMC herself, we only hear any other character babbling, by the end we should conclde how cool the FMC is and she's a secret boss with many talents.

Bt FMC problem stemms from the story of her family, her parents died and she was sent to a village many kilometers away, also there is a rumor about her being a jinx that was never dispelled. So when she returns most of her family treats her as unwelcome... I mean.. duh. Her grandpa is the one responsible for the situation and it may be connected to the awesomeness of FMC, being a Guardian, the top position of a martial artist. But otherwise she grew up away with no strings attached and she was basically swindled of her inheritance left by her parents she probably doesn't really remember or cares about, just because others said sign the papers and she signed and relegated her rights. I don't know it just felt like such a heartless move, author at first never mentioned anything from her family and parents. Even taking her back because of a college exam fel like such a big hassle, making the girl go through so much. The idea that is told but not expressed is that she should be blaming herself as if she believes that she is indeed a jinx who caused her parents to die, this is why she stays away from others most of the time.

And I can't blame such a character, I can only blame the author for creating her like that. 

UPDATE:

I thought we're over with three books, but imagine my surprise when I saw this! Exected date of publication Feb '27. I am so hyped. I'm so happy for Patrice for securing another book deal.

MOVIES

When it comes to movies I was re-watching after several disappointments. And also there is so much going on around new releases but it's all controversy instead of praise and admiration from viewers, which is not a good sign. So I have no big expectations for movies that are released during this period or will be released later this year.

CUBE (1997)

Cube is not a movie I'd re-watch, I just stumbled upon it and thought okay I'll rewatch it. But honestly it's a good one. For such a minimal set and cast this movie has such a great concept and also execution.

Most of all I love that ball-crushing ending, which is on another level of ironic.

And most importantly this movie is unique, so any attempt at replicating it would be just a copy. I never saw the continuation to the series, which is unfortunate attempt at milking this movie, I also never paid attention to a release in 2021, I had no idea it existed before I searched for the poster.

Final Destination 2

Don't you think this movie is goofy? I find it goofy. I know it's quite gruesome and gory at times, but also it is goofy af. The way things stop working or something happens stopped being subtle. Although the first movie lacked in being subtle, but this time everything is too obvious. All the short-circuited outlets or locked doors, spilt liquids. Nothing is safe in this universe. It's interesting how in one scene they are in a flat that has ceiling installation ffs.

Also this movie doesn't shut up for a single second, it doesn't take a break, no-no-no, there is something going on almost all the time.

I find the scene in the elevator the funniest, I'm so sorry for saying this, but the way they tried to untie.. hair? It feels like it wasn't that tangled, but everyone was in a max panic mode making it feel like such unsolvable situation. The whole movie was done withthe same amount of panic.

Back to the Future 1, 2

Do you love these movies? I do. Good, old-school and fun. There is something about movies of those times that were experimenting on new concepts, were bold in their ideas, did not cower from being a bit silly-looking. But most importantly, they were good-natured. Right now things are often too serious. And I'm not saying it's bad, some movies would not fit for being a silly-type film. It's just the majority of movies right now are like that. Even if you see a man in a tracksuit and red hotpants everything should be serious (I'm talking about stuff like Superman, yeah, I can't help it, I'm not against humans with abilities, it's just the costuming that gets to me every time). Even the live adaptations throughout the years that no one needed still have to drag down the wonders of animation to realism no one asked for. And if anything flops it's always blamed on public nowadays too...

A lot of cinema feels stale unfortunately, from casting to acting to scripts and dialogues. Whenever something appears that stands out feels like a breath of fresh air. This is why I can't help but re-watch old stuff and be unapologetic about it. 

I know I'm lamenting too much. I just feel sorry. 

For 1985 these movies look amazing actually. Although the locations and sets look pretty simple, but the way they overlap in all three movies, especially with ever-changing timelines and several main participants, I think it is fantastic. I'm sorry but the way movie 2 re-creates the scene from 50's timeline but from a different angle is such a move. To me it looked amazing. 

I especially always appreciated how it played on how the fate of people will change depending on their decisions and intervention.

[ANIME] Witch Hat Atelier / とんがり帽子のアトリエ (2026) (Season 1)

Excuse me, EXCUSE ME!! This was fantastic, why I had no idea this story existed?

I totally don't get people who have anything bad to say about this show, to me it was many levels above other shows I watched recently.

And who cares if it ends on cliffhanger (spoiler), but you can read the manga, stop being a sour loser and read the material if you want, this anime is truly faithful to the source.

Animators who did the wonderful job poured blood and sweat into this, the show is done with so much care and brought the story and this world to life.

I honestly want to read the manga now after finishing.

Tongari Boushi no Atelier - a story of a little girl Coco living in a world that has magic and witches, she was given a book of spells by unknown witch. Coco has been enamored in magic her entire life, but believed she had no talent for it. Only one day to discover that her concept of how to cast the spell was entirely wrong.

note 1: can you even sit down and think about the fact that she came into contact with forbidden magic when she was a little girl? can you just sit and think that someone much older than her had plans for her and she accepted the gift, unknowingly putting herself in grave danger. I saw some ppl having comments about their teacher, but I want to ask the same people - are you okay? is any relationship between older people and your kids that involve teaching is bad? then don't bring your kids to school the next day. what the "eye witch" Iguin did to Coco is way more dangerous than Qifrey with his apprencticeship. he looks after the girls like any other teacher would, look back at the history and look around, don't make it sound weird.

note 2: I saw people criticizing Coco and other kids. and I want to ask - you adults have some brains in your heads or no? they're kids, what do you expect them to be?

By accident Coco discovers that witches don't use magic wands, instead they wield pens and magic ink that heps them to draw magic circles. The more intricate the magic circle is, the more complicated is the spell.

Being oblivious to danger she meets devastating consequences. The only way to solve her tragedy is for her to learn magic and maybe one day to have a chance and reverse it. This is how she joins three other girls and Qifrey becomes her teacher.

The story is very layered, although it involves some information of the world it is not overbearing, the plot starts rolling with good pace.

A lot of people criticize that 13 episodes is too little (I think this is the sign the show is good if you want to see more).

Some even say too little happened and I don't agree because you get so much information in those episodes. It's not only the plot points but also the small details about the world.

The main part is the conflict of allowed and forbidden magic. This is why the witches who use the forbidden magic are called brimmed hat witches. A hat is a symbol, it's like id. Some day in the past the world was facing danger, this is why the conflict broke out and consequently witches decided to completely conceal how the magic is cast and how it works. This is a nice detail that involves their clothing, because they wear cloaks and whenever they draw they do it blindly, which demands a great deal of practice.

We also get the glimpse of witches hierarchy, the structure of how they pass their examiations and achieve a freedom to do what they want (honestly that underwater city left me completely stunned and wanting to see more of this world).

Magic is also classified, not only by forbidden or not, but you can see how much detail went into it judging by elements alone. How each spell has to be drawn with precision, how every symbol makes changes to the spell possible. This also includes the cruelty of brimmed hats, because their magic is forbidden they might not even know what the result will be, but they never care if it's a fail or not.

We also know partially how this world treats witches, they're not just helpers people rely on and are easily recognized in the crowd by their hats, but people sometimes put too much faith in them. Judging from two incidents it becomes apparent that people, common people, expect a miracle from the witches, some gratifying instant effect and may becomes dissatisfied if you don't deliver. But there is also fear.

Although the world seem to be a bright place because our four main characters are little girls, but it doesn't mean this world is not without danger. Just what happened to Coco alone and the group later shows that danger may come from places unknown. 

I can't emphasize enough how cruel and dangerous it feels when we know the brimmed hats may target young naive girls who may think highly of magic and not realize they're about to be trapped.

Another point to discuss are characters. Will reiterate, main character are young girls, they're pretty distinct at first glance. Klutz, lively, flegmatic and dark cloud of ambition.

Although girls are very distinct at first glance each had her own story before she appeared in this place.

Don't get me started, but I still don't like Agott. Although she has her own reasons, but the girl is still vile and lacks any empathy for another human being. Her conflict with Coco for example, she may not know the reason why Coco was left with her memories and why she now tries to learn magic, but if she knew it makes matters worse. You know she relies on it to save her mother, but you disregard any of that just because you believe you're so self-important that you have the right to decide other person's fate. The way she did it was also full of treachery. Another example is the carriage accident, she basically stalled the adults who were on their way and tried to join to "prove her worth", but honestly I was also talking to my sceen saying - girl, lives are at stake, do you care about people or not? Even her words, she cared for a chance, for promotion, not for lives or anything else.

Even a sappy backstory won't make me like her more. Some kids may be bad.

Even Richeh has a better story development since she concentrated only on her own magic and spells she likes, but when the danger came knocking on the door sh realized how powerless she feels. Tetia is the most positive and lively so far along with Coco who is the king of klutz, sometimes she can't even walk normally.

You might think it is exaggerated, but I do not agree, some people are like that, even if they don't want to.

I like that Qifrey is not just a simple teacher, he also has agenda in finding the brimmed hats, but he is not so keen on sharing with other witches about his finds. But he genuinely cares for girls and tries to protect them, after all they depend on him.

It's a pity that outside of few characters others did not get enough screen time, but I'm sure they will appea more in the future.

Want to reitarate about the world. The small details are intricate and countless. From witches' attire to how they cast the spells to how they live and what items they use. Like, for example, Olruggio's rings that are activated when connected. Or the two semi-circles on the soles of their shoes so they can fly and many more. I also loved the details about the fashion and items filling the gaps. Maybe most characters will be wearing simple clothes, but look at the decor that surely adds to the abode.

Not to mention winged hats, I can't name them differently, they look fabulous.

The design of conus hats is more straightforward with small details I want to know more of. While brimmed hats feel more dangerous and mysterious.

Last but not least will be the animation. This studio felt like budget is unlimited. They delievered the movie-esque level of animation not many strive for. It's understandable to cut corners in this industry, but it felt like they went all out and not leaving any regrets behind. Was truly impressed by it.

I also find it amazing how many fanarts are out there as a reaction to this anime. So many beautiful and inspiring works. I applaude people for their creativity and am super amazed at the talent. 

PS: Maybe I should have made some screenshots, but I was so immersed that i forgot.

RATE: 10/10.

[SHORT REVIEWS] #31

Well, time for another short reviews. Though I don't know how to rename this section since it started resemble short reviews + what I want to read / watch. But I do update previous posts when I feel like it or remember something.

BOOKS

CHN

Status update from previous short reviews, some web novels I still wait to be completed:

- 权臣穿进豪门养子文学 by 二月竹. (BL) The story about powerful minister transmigrating to a modern world. Very melodramatic plot, which I like. Previously I described the plot in other short reviews, but shortly MC becomes an "illegitimate" son, but actually it's not true, his own father changed his identity because he secretly took back the child of his lover as his own and made everyone hate MC in this family, so they won't see anything strange. This MC was not only a powerful minister but helped unpopular prince reach the throne, had many misunderstandings about Emperor he chose tbh. Emperor transmigrated with him too (he also has a melodramatic backstory, because of his outburst he was institutionalized). Also this is the author of Backtracking and Infernal, I love their style tbh with this cat playing with mice type of story, a story of revenge for sure, since MC will avenge the original body. It is still on-going and I can't wait to read it in full.

- 漂亮替身玩转豪门修罗场 by 惗肆. (BL) A story about a bleck-bellied MC who navigates the world of wealthy. I read this author and consistently follow their works, usually I adore their more melodramatic plots and can't wait for this one. MC is really playful and has a lot of tricks. ML of this story is the only person who noticed hs true face, but does not obstruct. Also the main story is over and author arranges to write extras.

- 豪门前妻（重生）by 橘子舟 (Tangerine Boat). (BL) I was surprised to see this author writing something. But honestly their story is nothing new from their previous works, really such an old-school vibe. A bit whiney but talented MC who is reborn (really doesn't matter if he's reborn or not). And a domineering ML who pampers his wife. Some very cliche but shallow long misunderstanding, but also has a lot of questionable parts. At the moment of me typing it the story is fully available and also completely free on JJ. I completed this one. But it's not something I Would recommend to avid BL readers. Oh, forgot to mention, Tangerine Boat loves mpreg, so this one has it too. 

[BL] 穿为换亲寡夫郎后 by 且拂 *JJ

(mtl: Transmigrated into a widowed man of exchanged marriage)

Status: Ongoing

Progress: 16

It is freshly released story about a medical student (Chinese medicine) Li Fenglan who transmigrates into a book, where he has a reborn cousin who steals his husband. The original book is about a person who is an only child of a former Crown Prince, living incognito in seclusion in a small village. He was supposed to marry OG Li Fenglan because he found him pretty and also easy to manipulate. It's a basic story of a person who achieves success, but also has a lot of romantic followers before becoming the Emperor. Li Baocheng is reborn and remembers how his cousin (Li Fenglan) achieved success and became Empress (oh, forgot to mention, supposedly this is a novel with men who are like ger, can have children and fertility is indicated by red birthmarks, but there is no emphasis on this aspect so far, so I tend to forget it even exists), so when Li Baocheng was reborn he thought he struck gold and it was not too late to exchange husbands. Li Fenglan who had the plot knew much more and it didn't matter to him to lose this unfaithful and trashy husband, but what we know at the beginning is that one husband is destined to become an Emperor, while the other is destined to die (which of course is not completely true when it comes to the story that follows). Fenglan didn't find it a bad thing, he actually welcomed it instead, he didn't have to have a relationship with an unknown man. But to survive he has to navigate the ancient world. To help him further he bound Medical System.

Fenglan is a pretty smart person I must say, he analizes a lot of what is happening with the plot and the changes surrounding him. Like the Ji family, family of his husband, did not appear much in the story and he had no idea what happened to them, but he still wanted to help them survive. He deducted on their escape that Ji family most likely met with an accident even back in the village (the second child was pushed and almost hit his head, which Fenglan prevented), he also deducted from Baocheng's reaction that he was surprised to see the second child alive and conscious. Another secret comes from the jade pendant and ring. Fenglan realized that his mother-in-law must have a connection to a minister and her heirlooms were either stolen or taken on her way. I just like when characters can deduct things from reactions and events, although many may not be cunning, but he is observant and uses the plot knowledge and what he witnesses to his advantage.

The plot starts from the famine and escape, along the way Fenglan reveals more and more secrets, which promises lot of fun.

[BG] 绑定神豪系统后我成了豪门真千金 by 墨洙洙 *Qidian

(mtl: After binding the Rich system, she became a true rich heiress)

Status: Completed

Progress: DNF

Well, this is really such a shallow and unsatisfying story. Basic idea is of FMC Yun Zijing binding a rich system. All she needs to do is - spend money and get rewarded with unimaginable riches. Although it feels like a great dream come true, but such stories have one particular downside. This one followed the same path too. The main problem is when FMC herself doesn't have any substance ad then gets something for nothing it just ends there. Although the story tries to placate and say that this never marred her character, but I do not agree and she sometimes flaunts - oh, money not a problem - well, of course, since you never felt what really means to get it through your own efforts. She sometimes acts really weirdly, treating money as dirt, not knowing where these money came from, not really caring if one day they will run out etc. It took her some time to finally do something good with it too.

The other really shallow part is being favored by people. It's very easy to pinpoint the MMC of this story, just follow the person who "never treated well or paid attention to women before but with Yun Zijing he is different". Such pathetic reasoning. Although she gets skills and not only property and stuff like that, but she herself does nothing substantial to say - wow. She goes around and everyone marvels how she throws money around as if it's nothing big, her management skills are zero. Within very short time she gets people who do things for her (because system provides it). And I didn't want to read more, because it got really boring really quick and looking at the number of chapters this story has - 776 - it provides nothing.

Oh, and also the story of her being a true heiress, it's such a cliche and brainless plot that you may die from cringe.

Update: Recently, I found novel that also has a "rich system" in it, but it's written in a much better way, so this type of story can work if author cares to do so. I'm currently enjoying it and will make a separate post whenever I'm done, but let me introduce you to 豪门认亲？可我已经是千亿富婆了, in this story FMC Xu Youyou binds a system, which does allow her to scavange and bargain, but get some awesome rewards. I like the fact that system does not provide things out of nowhere. For example she took a lottery ticket first from a trash can okay. Her rewards are good but not super excessive in comparison to this novel I described above. FMC herself does not act as if she's some shit, even if she was reborn and this is the reason for her system binding. You can see that she still learns along the way.

[BG] 黑月光泄露心声后，所有人都慌了 by 以介景福 *Qidian

(mtl: After hearing true thoughts of a dark moonlight everyone panicked)

Status: Completed

Progress: Completed

Lu Sijian transmigrates into a book and binds villain supporting system, her task is to get as many negative points as possible, so she can return and get a money reward. But she had no idea that everyone from the main cast could hear her thoughts.

Lu Sijian transmigrated into a body of a person who recently woke up from a coma, while she was unware of what was going on, Mu Liangyue or the protagonist of this word has been harassed for years as she tried to do things, since Sijian was her benefactor. Later everyone around Sijian will see her true face and switch sides.

It could have been better if the story did not start to involve some really brainless plots, so the system comes from higher realm and Liangyue was chosen as protag for her kindness, as if she was somehing light and spotless. But things were pretty basic, Liangyue just brainwashed herself and tried to pay back for any good that came her way, she did so many things in return that it would make anyone look bad, as if return of gratitude became a sin for those who helped her. How can you treat her so harshly, she did so much for you to pay gratitude. Similar case waited for Sijian, even if she said that Liangyue did not need to do anything, it did not stop Liangyue and she did many presumptious things basically making Sijian look worse and worse.

Others who were won over by Liangyue dedication slowly realized what was going on.

Bt even if the main cast could hear her thoughts not everyone thought of her as innocent, on the contrary. I think this part could have been interesting, but the story really is nothing to rave over.

Even after finishing I ad to read synopsis to remind myself what happened in this story, this is how forgettable and disappointing it is with some priests from above who assigned Liangyue as protagonist, when actually Sijian was the original one. It actually is connected to the luck of this world they collect through this method. Honestly.. pointless.

Just MEH.

[BG] 协议结婚后，我上恋爱综艺爆火了 *Qidian

(mtl: After contractual marriage I became a sensation on a dating show)

Status: Completed

Progress: 43

Pretty okay story so far.

Pei Shi returned to Pei family for a while and already entered a contract marriage. Everyone thinks they're a plastic couple and they're not far from the truth. Getting into trouble the couple ends up on a dating show where everyone finds out who the real Pei Shi is and what is the truth of their relationship.

Pei Shi got into a huge accident, after which she binds an animal close to her husband every month. She can act wantonly howere she wants. What she doesn't know is that her husband can hear her thoughts.

So yeah #sweet romance, dating variety show, hearing thoughts.

Actually I didn't read much, but so far it's not bad at all. You know when you can clock melodramatic trashy plots right away, the same goes for authors that want to write relatively normal stories, so this is the exmple of one.

US

What's A Little Blackmail Between Friends by Lynn Morrison

Found on one of the searches, really was attracted by that title ahaha

These are more for the TBR list instead of having any thoughts about it at the moment.

Another Victorian period mystery. Love mysteries~ Always on a watch out for new books, will see how this one goes if it's any good or not.

The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

I remember I read one of their books, so want to see another one. The last was a pretty okay book to me. Also I love these lush flowers on the cover.

It has some interesting idea of a lover revival? What? Will see. This is a July release.

Darkest at Dusk by Eve Silver

First in the series of Revenant Roses.

Is it too obvious I was attracted by the cover? It promises romance, gothic, horror and paranormal. I'm in.

ANIMATION

Only 2 episodes left for Witch hat atelier to be completed, so I can watch it in bulk, meanwhile I'm happy to see season 2 of Seihantai na kimi to boku coming so soon. Yay. 

Nothing else from the anime season summer 2026 catching my attention. Either all posters look the same tbh or it's just not it. Also I set too many goals to watch.

But I do want to finally see Kubo and the two strings. 

MOVIES

The Batman (2022)

Really had this on my list since forever ahaha I wrote a separate post for it.

But shortly, it was a good watch. I expected to be super disappointed and my expectations were on the floor. Instead I got hooked by the atmosphere and how it was shot. I got to say, most of it is thanks to camera work and director's vision, otherwiese it wouldn't have worked the same. So I won't lie, I indeed enjoyed it. Ref. review.

Mr. K (2024)

I watched it on 16th, I actually put it back again and again because when I searched for it I saw that ratings are quite low. So I decided to watch in spite of it and actually I agree with the low ratings. I assumed there would be more, but who knew this would end in such a bizarre way.

Mr K is an Illusionist who registers at a hotel where he plans to have a performance, but later he gets lost in corridors and can't find the exit. The hotel with one entrance and no exit concept.

Artistic and bizarre.

Inhabitat by other people who never left the hotel actually, before Mr K finds the hotel slowly shrinking and tries to warn others.

At first people agree, then they seat and wait for him to do all the job and then they get angry for creating the problem.

Before he finds this fleshy tunnel in his own room.

I actually thought the way hotel transformed looked cool, but the rest of it, like the story, were quite basic, but the fleshy an** at the very end just made me laugh. I'm sorry, but what else does it look like, even the very last part where he pushes the unknown creature in its' sphere out, it all looked... very specific.