K-Pop: Today’s News Blow Up

Screenshot from the “Say My Name” MV of (from left) Choi Jongho, Jeong Yunho, Park Seonghwa, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong, Choi San, and Kang Yeosang. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment and ATEEZ.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I think the general K-Pop drama has been a little quiet for a while. Probably too quiet. For many of us that were hoping that this moment of bliss would last forever; that moment was broken this morning. And for those of us who were expecting the bomb to drop sometime; that was also this morning. I seriously can’t remember the last time I woke up to this amount of immediate K-Pop drama. And I have to say, I didn’t miss it. Though pointing all of this stuff out is absolutely necessary! The part that I didn’t miss was not the fighting against injustice part; it was the part where, for a while, K-Pop got a break from all the scandals and news articles, and people weren’t this disappointed. But stuff like this is going to happen every once in a while and I’m obviously going to go over everything that I woke up to this morning and my personal opinions on it. I’m getting tired of people not taking accountability and these are situations I want to call out myself. If you are triggered by possible racism, maybe skip the first two stories. (This warning only applies to POC.) Otherwise, I’m just going to get straight into it.

Crush and Racism:

Most people know by now that the most recent BTS collaboration was done by J-Hope and Crush. “Rush Hour” has gotten masses of views and the dance craze has taken K-Pop and the internet by storm. For those of you who don’t know, Crush is an artist that just got back from military service and he recently made a comeback and started going on tours. At this point everything was happy and fine, at least from what people could remember (I’ll get back to that in a second), and Crush gained even more fans from his collaboration with J-Hope. Not long ago, a video dropped of Crush at a concert high-fiving fans. The video immediately struck netizens as odd, however, when he seemingly pulled his hand away from two fans only to then start high-fiving the other fans as regular. On closer inspection people realized that the two hands he skipped over were significantly darker than those around them. Another video released confirmed that these two fans were Black women and a video from another angle showed that they weren’t being pushed, they were not throwing themselves at him, they were simply standing as normal and he skipped over them. Netizens, rightly, demanded for Crush to explain his actions in skipping these two fans and his apology and official statement was released this morning. His PR team needed to have looked over his apology so much better than they did. His apology should have been so much more specific than it was and should have taken accountability for the slight. If you are one of those people who are saying that people should have known from his actions before; leave people alone. A lot of his fans are new and most of his racism was a while back and got buried. There is no reason to shame anyone here.

Update: More videos were released made by unbiased fans that show he skipped over more than just the two fans and was doing a skip in multiple sections. Chances are, like Crush said, these were due to crowd control. The women who also posted the video have been proven to have a history of accusing multiple idols of racism because of not specifically interacting with them, even though they were in a crowd. I understand if you still feel either way about this, but I think this is a sign that we can put this behind us and stop worrying about it.

ARMY Involvement:

J-Hope liked Crush’s apology post earlier. A lot of ARMY are trying to bury the story and therefore Hobi’s involvement in it. Or, in the very least, are attempting to bury any criticism against Hobi for liking the post. I don’t think that’s right. BTS are human beings. They aren’t perfect. And we need to be able to both see that they make mistakes and have an open dialogue with them for when they make mistakes. Do I think Hobi is racist? Absolutely not! So if you are an ARMY who has been helping bury the Hobi criticism with supportive posts, maybe instead turn your efforts to boost Black voices. Because, no, Hobi didn’t do the worst thing he ever could have done by liking it; but he also isn’t a child that needs to be protected from his mistakes.

ATEEZ and “Say My Name”:

Now to the usual negative news we see if ATEEZ is involved. ATEEZ has been publicly stolen from once again. We’ve seen them stolen from several times before and it’s no secret why. ATEEZ has some of the most eye-catching imagery and choreography, and a decidedly unique concept that’s become increasingly popular. Atiny already knows, but ATEEZ’s signature dance move is probably the driving move that made the choreography for their song “Say My Name” so iconic. Recently, Vata, a choreographer, copied this move by adding it into his choreography for Zico’s song “New Thing”. He did not credit ATEEZ or the original choreographers, and he presented the work entirely as his own. Atiny were quick to spot this and call him out and it seems that even ATEEZ has known about his plagiarism. Recently at ‘Daegu K-Pop Concert’, ATEEZ both performed “Say My Name” and seemingly addressed the plagiarism in their performance of “The Real”. The first part of the dance break was given to Wooyoung who did the biting sign (a common signal used to call people out for copying) and then proceeded to do the driving move in “Say My Name”. He continued to show the biting sign when Yunho took over the second half of the dance break, also coming onto the stage with the “Say My Name” move. Seongwha could also be seen doing the biting sign afterwards. Today, one of the the original ATEEZ choreographers who created the move, Anze Skrube, came out also stating that he felt it was absolutely plagiarism and asked for credit to be given where it’s due. We’ll see if Vata responds but, as I said before, this is not the first time we’ve seen someone steal from ATEEZ and I doubt this will be the last. ATEEZ has carved a space out for themselves with such fresh and new ideas that we’ll continue to see people also attempt to capture that lightning in sometimes immoral ways. I just hope that ATEEZ and their hardworking staff will be credited from here on out.

I always hate having to deliver the bad news in this way, but it’s important to take K-Pop with all of its facets. In order to see K-Pop as a whole, we all have to acknowledge the good as well as the bad. If we don’t acknowledge the bad; it won’t get better. And it would be awesome to keep seeing K-Pop become better and better! But I also understand if you woke up this morning and became tired, upset, and disappointed by the news. Just remember that there is just as much good in this industry as there is bad! Let’s keep supporting the good and trying to make the bad better! And if you want to talk about it, our comments section is always a safe space for anyone who wants to express any of their opinions. Except for racist ones of course. That will not be tolerated and should no longer be tolerated and swept under the rug in K-Pop.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Book Adaptations: ‘Good Omens’ Season 2

Poster for season two of ‘Good Omens’ featuring Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley. Copyright goes to Amazon Studios, BBC Studios, Neil Gaiman, and the Terry Pratchett Estate.

Hey! Hallie here!

Like every other giant ‘Good Omens’ fan, I was impatiently anticipating the New York Comic Con panel that happened yesterday. This is my favorite show to ever be made and it was all I could think about for the past two weeks. I even rewatched the series and reread the book in anticipation for this panel. And the panel did not disappoint. We have so much new information, first looks at some of the new characters, a new poster that looks absolutely adorable, and new plot details for the upcoming season. We also know the season will be six episodes and will be coming out in summer of 2023! It’s less than a year away! Along with the information we learned from the panel, we heard some things from Neil Gaiman in interviews and on Twitter later in the day, so overall there’s lots to cover here. And, of course, I need to talk a bit about the controversy that’s surrounding the way the convention handled this panel when it comes to the viewers that joined via live stream. Let’s get into this!

New Characters:

We all already knew Aziraphale and Crowley were returning. There would be no ‘Good Omens’ without them. But this time we’re getting mostly new characters for them to interact with! I say mostly because it’s confirmed that we’ll be seeing Gabriel, as played once again by Jon Hamm, and also Beelzebub, this time played by Shelley Conn due to the busy schedule of Anna Maxwell Martin. Shelley Conn looks amazing as Beelzebub and they promised many more flies, so I’m very prepared to be delightfully disgusted by her. Amongst the new characters we have the angel Muriel, played by Quelin Sepulveda, who’s set to play a central role in the story of the season. She’s described as being gullible, a bit naive, and very excited to be visiting Earth for the first time. Apparently she’s been in Heaven at a desk for the last 6000 or so years, hoping for something new to happen and being somewhat incompetent at her filing job. She appears to be the angel that was talked about in the first blurb about the plot Neil Gaiman gave us, which is the angel that appears at Aziraphale’s bookshop without her memories. However, we heard nothing about her losing her memories in this panel, so there’s really no way of knowing how that plays into the character. Next we have two characters who sound as though they’ll be sharing a lot of their screen time. The first is Nina, played by Nina Sosanya, and the second is Maggie, played by Maggie Service. These actresses were both in season one as Sister Mary Loquacious and Sister Theresa Garrulous respectfully, and apparently the cast and crew got so close, and Neil Gaiman liked them so much, that he decided to write major roles for both of them. The characters are indeed named after the actresses so, according to Neil Gaiman, no one could argue with him about who would be playing those roles. Nina owns a coffee shop across from Aziraphale’s book store titled “Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death”. She also struggles quite a bit with her love life. Maggie owns a record shop right next to Aziraphale’s book shop, so close that Aziraphale is actually the landlord of the building, and she’s apparently very close with Nina. And finally, the lovely Miranda Richardson, who played Madame Tracy in season one, is returning to play Shax, the demon who takes over Crowley’s job on Earth. This cast sounds like so much fun and I can’t wait to meet the new characters!

The Plot:

The characters were the main focus of the panel, so what we know about the plot is pieced together from parts of the panel and various other interviews. We know the show will take place mostly in Soho where a mysterious angel, who is most likely Muriel, will enter Aziraphale’s bookshop without their memories. We also know from the tagline on the poster, “Something’s going down in the up”, that something will be going wrong in Heaven that the other characters will have to deal with. Neil Gaiman hinted at both a lot of time in Heaven and Hell, and a lot of time travel in this season, with various scenes exploring Aziraphale and Crowley throughout the years much like the cold open of episode three we got in season one. Though we don’t know much about the plot, Neil Gaiman was generous in sharing what the feel of this season will be. For one, he said the focus will be romance. Romance between who hasn’t been clarified yet, but for fans like me I’m just going to point out that Aziraphale and Crowley’s wings form a heart in the season two poster. I’m actually crying. In the panel he also mentioned that we’ll learn a lot more about Jane Austen than we knew before, which knowing what kinds of books she’s famous for, definitely feels in line with the romantic theme. Overall Neil called this season quiet, gentle, and romantic. In the same sentence he confirmed that he’s planning a season three which will be just as chaotic and high-stakes as season one, so he says this will be more of a reprieve in between the chaotic seasons. If you’re hoping for more than three seasons though, you’ll be disappointed to know that Neil is planning only three. Season two is made up of unique ideas from Neil meant to lead up to season three, which will be more of the content Neil talked about with Terry Pratchett for a hypothetical second book. Personally, three seasons sounds perfect. Not too short, but not so long that it risks getting bad or redundant.

The Season Two Clip and the Controversy:

We don’t have a trailer yet, which Neil said will come out once more VFX are complete and once the release date is a bit closer. What they did show at New York Comic Con was a clip from the new season. The clip starts with Maggie and Nina while Nina deals with relationship problems. The two then see Muriel dressed in an old-fashioned constable’s uniform walking to Aziraphale’s bookshop. When Muriel enters she meets Aziraphale, who immediately knows she’s an angel based on the odd way she’s acting. He attempts to help her with her ruse by urging her to accept some tea, at which point Crowley enters and becomes almost immediately exasperated by her. He asks Aziraphale for a private word and the two disappear behind a door. Before they close the door Muriel becomes distressed because she’s supposed to be keeping an eye on the two of them, but Aziraphale assures her they’ll tell her what they talked about later. According to those who were at the panel and saw the clip, the highlights of the clip are the interactions between Crowley and Aziraphale. Evidently Crowley walks in carrying plants, which have started the rumor that Crowley’s moving in with Aziraphale, and then sits on the arm of Aziraphale’s chair so he can lean on him. Though I haven’t seen the clip, I’m pretty sure we were already shown the two in this position in the first official image they released of the duo for season two. The problem with this clip is that it wasn’t shown to anyone online. That isn’t abnormal for a big convention such as this one, but considering that some of the people who were online payed for virtual tickets to the convention, you would think at least they would have been able to see it too. But no. They essentially wasted their money for the same experience that those who watched the live stream for free were getting. And the situation was made worse when the live stream cut off only minutes into the Q&A segment that Michael Sheen, David Tennant, and Jon Hamm joined via Zoom. Neil Gaiman has said that he’s trying to get the panel fully released because of the mistake, but he’s also adamant that the clip remain a mystery to most of us. It makes sense for a first look at a comic book convention, but I do feel bad for everyone who paid for the live stream.

That’s all the information we got from the panel! Aside from the new information they spent a lot of time reminiscing about season one of the show. It was really nice to hear about how Michael went from being asked to play Crowley to being asked to play Aziraphale. It was nice to hear about how close the actresses who played the satanic nuns got. In fact, it was nice to hear about how much the entire cast missed one another. I feel bad for the actors who weren’t able to return to the show due to scheduling conflicts, but the amount of actors returning makes me extremely happy. I can’t wait for season two! It’s less than a year away!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Update: For those who wanted to see Michael Sheen, David Tennant, and Jon Hamm’s Q&A, it finally went up! It’s only a few minutes but it’s a really funny watch. Jon Hamm also gave us so much information about Gabriel that they cut him off, but based on what he said, it sounds as though Gabriel is the angel who lost his memories. That definitely bodes badly for Heaven and sets up a really interesting dynamic for the show!

K-Pop: ‘Dreamcatcher’ Songs For Halloween

Screenshot of Lee Gahyeon and Kim Mini (JiU) from the ‘BEcause’ MV. Copyright goes to Dreamcatcher Company and Dreamcatcher.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Last post I said that I would probably do a post entirely dedicated to Dreamcatcher songs for Halloween, and this is that post. I can’t think of many groups this perfect for Halloween. From the debut of the group as we know it now, they’ve based most of their concepts on creepy and horror themes. A stark contrast from how the group initially attempted to debut, a couple members less and under a different name. They went from exceptionally cute and girly to the only group doing what they were doing at the time. Many of their MVs depicted them as dolls, trapped with only one not getting out in the end, in haunted houses, or even as mirrored versions of themselves attempting to take the place of the real ones like the movie ‘Us’. They’ve done entire Halloween concerts in amazing and hilarious costumes before and continue to go all out every Halloween. I can’t wait to see what they do this year! But for this post I’m going to focus on their creepiest songs and the accompanying MVs that go with them!

‘BEcause’:

One of the things that I love about this MV is that it almost creates an entirely different world to operate out of. The song ‘BEcause’ is a simultaneously fast paced and haunting song that details a love so creepy that it’s absolutely obsessive. The singer is very possessive about the person that they love and will do anything to have them and keep them. The way this is depicted in the music video is in the way of taking over another person’s life. Specifically, it depicts a very demonic looking JiU attempting to steal the life of Gahyeon, and sometimes even the other way around. The entire MV takes place in dark hallways or what looks to be an abandoned amusement park, haunted by the remnants of people who used to be there and were possibly taken over. Gahyeon is chased throughout the MV by an unknown force that may or may not be JiU while the haunted forms of the other bandmates show up. JiU appears to be running away from a similar force within mirrors. The story could go either way. Maybe Gahyeon is living the life intended for a trapped JiU or perhaps a mirror JiU is the one chasing the terrified Gahyeon. Either way, at the end Gahyeon sits rather dazed on a throne while JiU stands at her side. I thought the lyrics of obsession in love were cleverly changed into this metaphor for taking over someone’s life. This is probably my favorite ‘Dreamcatcher’ song right now too. I just can’t get it out of my head!

‘Deja Vu’:

This is one of their most creative MVs and one of my favorites too. The song is about holding pain over something that has happened that made somebody they love impossible to retrieve. The MV depicts this perfectly, instead depicting a kingdom. At the beginning of the MV we see Yoohyeon sit on a throne as black shoots out from behind it as if covering the kingdom in darkness. We then see the kingdom how it used to be, with a very pure looking JiU as ruler and Yoohyeon, a loyal knight to her dressed in black. This is interspersed with shots of JiU in a coffin, which foreshadows what’s to come. Yoohyeon suddenly turns on JiU and kills her, taking the throne for herself. Throughout the MV we also see the opposites of that where it looks like a paranoid Yoohyeon is afraid of JiU coming back to assassinate her and take the throne from her, starting the process all over again. While Yooheyeon seems to long for a time where she wasn’t the paranoid Queen and everything was alright before JiU died, we also see her maliciously take to the throne complete with an evil smile. I’m still so blown away with how much story they packed into this MV. I want an entire series based off of this plot, please!

‘Chase Me’ and ‘GOOD NIGHT’:

This is a two part story. ‘Chase Me’ is an ominous song that encourages the listener to come and find the girls as the lyrics laugh about the outrageous ways they’ll mess with the listeners mind. The MV depicts a man walking through a house as he tries to rest but is faced with images of the girls whichever way he turns, making it difficult for him to leave. He attempts to follow the girls and make them stop as he’s tormented by them, even taking an axe to chop down a door that he sees an image behind. With two of the girls flashing in and out together in the hallway and the man with the axe, it’s clear that the MV takes a lot of inspiration from ‘The Shining’. Some shots depict the girls using witchcraft to torture him and at the end we see a picture of the members of the group, confirming their apparent deaths in this universe. The next MV takes place where we left off, with the man with the axe attempting to chop down the door of a room. Upon his entrance he sees a study where he takes down a rather creepy book. The lyrics talk about the fun of trapping their prey like a doll forever, while he continues to be tormented. But then the script is apparently flipped. It seems as though the girls are trapped until they can take revenge on whoever this man is, making me wonder if he was the one who killed them in the first place. The girls are able to escape at the very end by trapping him in a mirror from which he can never escape.

‘Red Sun’:

This is a dance style MV where the lyrics once again ominously promise the listener will be trapped forever in a torturous existence. What really makes this MV creepy is the red bathed light over their all black costumes and the choreography. The choreography mostly is reminiscent of casting spells and witchcraft while Yooheyon is thrown around almost like a doll throughout. The eerie choreography mixed with the lyrics makes it one of their more eerie MVs despite not having a full storyline and only focusing on the extremely well thought out dance.

‘BOCA’ and ‘Scream’:

While Dreamcatcher started out mostly with creepy based songs, they are now more known for their important messages in their lyrics. ‘Odd Eye’ is about actually making a change rather that just claiming utopia, ‘MAISON’ tackles the dangers of climate change, and ‘BOCA’ is just as important. This one talks about bullying and the power of words as well as addressing the mental health issues in South Korea due to bullying. The MV shows the girls in a subway type area while they are being chased by faceless people. This horrifying imagery is meant to depict how people feel free to say cruel things when they are faceless on the internet. The second setting is a fantasy setting with a tree full of life and surrounded by water that they all seem to be attempting to protect as deities in gorgeous gowns. This life tree comes up again in other MVs, mainly because it’s shown to be burned and destroyed in ‘Scream’. The message as well as the creepy faceless people, makes this a must watch for everyone. ‘Scream’ follows ‘BOCA’. The guardians are still there but the tree has died after people completely forgot to say good things. The song is about the horror of increasing hatred and the song even compares this hatred to the devil, encouraging the listeners to open their eyes and stop the hate. Not only is the rock sound of this song amazing, the apocalyptic feel and darker theming really drive home the message while making this a perfect Halloween watch.

‘Dreamcatcher’ is really close here to releasing a brand new album. Considering their deep messages and the fact that it is actually in October; I really can’t wait! This is when ‘Dreamcatcher’ is at their most powerful, so I don’t think we can even expect how powerful this comeback will be. Their last album gave them their very first win, so hopefully we’ll see even more awards with this new one!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: ‘Andor’ Episode 1-4 Review

Screenshot of Diego Luna as Cassian Andor from the Disney+ series ‘Andor’. Copyright goes to Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve finally found enough time to watch the episodes of ‘Andor’ that dropped on Disney+ so far! The reactions to this series have been really interesting. I’ve seen a majority of positive reviews that not just praise the series, but feel as though it’s the closest we’ve gotten to the feel of the original trilogy since ‘Return of the Jedi’. On the one hand I understand this reaction. The original trilogy had a lot to say about society through its depiction of the Rebel Alliance, and none of the other Star Wars content have really matched that deep and dirty look into what it means to rebel against a giant political power. Except for the movie ‘Rogue One’ which provided those themes in a much more real and dark way, but didn’t have the time to fully flesh out many of its ideas and most of its characters. ‘Andor’ feels like a second try at ‘Rogue One’. A means of going for the same things ‘Rogue One’ was going for, but finally with the time to do it complete justice. But at the same time, is a series with the same feel as ‘Rogue One’ really the show to appeal to fans of the original three films? SPOILERS AHEAD!

Characters:

We’re dealing with a cast of morally gray characters so far and there really are no exceptions. First there’s our lead, Cassian Andor, who within the first few minutes of the first episode kills two Imperial security contractors even after the second one begs for mercy. While he doesn’t start off the series a member of the Rebel Alliance, he still very much hates the Empire, and the moves of small rebellion (Mostly stealing) he makes against them still require him to cover his tracks. And that doesn’t always mean he’s making moral decisions in order to do so. Really, the Cassian we meet at the beginning of ‘Andor’ is reckless and prepared to sacrifice a lot, even the people around him, in order to demonstrate his dislike for the Empire. I can definitely sense character development upcoming for him, though it isn’t like his childhood trauma doesn’t already explain some of his behavior. Our other main character so far is Luthen Rael, a spy who recruits Cassian to join a ragtag faction of the Rebel Alliance. Along with being extremely intimidating and suspicious, he also lives a double life working amongst the senators while giving threats to people as impressive as Mon Mothma. As for other characters, we’ve gotten quick looks at Bix Caleen, a badass who helps out Cassian but hasn’t been seen since her boyfriend was killed, Syril Karn, our villain who was interestingly fired from his job only four episodes in, and a younger Mon Mothma, who believes she can change things as a senator but is failing to do so. It’s a mix of characters with questionable morals and motivations, but the reasons for why they do the things they do are pretty clear. They just aren’t easy to connect to, especially not right away.

Story and Tone:

‘Andor’ so far is telling a slowly paced origin story of the Rebel Alliance. We’re talking, back when the Rebel Alliance could only spare eight people per faction at most. Cassian, due to his anti-Empire ideals as well as the way he frequently gets in trouble with the Empire, manages to get himself in the position of having to agree to work for Luthen Rael as part of the Rebel Alliance. As of now in the story, he’s in one of the previously mentioned small factions while they prepare a heist. That isn’t much plot progression for four episodes, but this is an extremely character-driven show that’s focused mostly on Cassian’s relationship with his adopted mother, his memories of losing everyone he knew as a child, and the friends he brushes off in modern day. It’s very effective at making the audience feel as though they know Cassian as well as they’d know a best friend. But it’s all a lot of doom and gloom. Which is where ‘Rogue One’ comes in. While both ‘Rogue One’ and ‘Andor’ go for a “there’s hope for the future” sort of message, both are pretty dreary in tone. That isn’t a dig at either. It really does make sense to show the harder parts of being part of the Rebel Alliance. But that isn’t going to appeal to every original trilogy fan. The original trilogy was made for kids, and as such, mixes in the harder war concepts with mystical powers and lighter characters. It isn’t cartoonish by any means, but it’s completely different tonally. So if you heard reviews of ‘Andor’ and aren’t expecting something depressing because of the feel of the original trilogy, here’s your warning.

Anti-Establishment:

Since I’ve been really going after the tone of this show, I should shine a light on why so many people are praising ‘Andor’ for going back “to the roots” of Star Wars. While I don’t dislike the most recent Star Wars trilogy, it had nothing to say. It didn’t have the corruption of the Republic and the Jedi’s fall from grace due to their position of power like the prequel trilogy did. It didn’t have the full on war against fascism that was presented in the original trilogy. It had all the fun stuff and nothing else. ‘Andor’ doesn’t have lightsabers or the fun elements you can find in the sequel trilogy. But it does have an anti-establishment message that makes us look at our own society and the ways that groups are being oppressed around the world. I’d argue that means more than any lightsaber fight could ever mean. But that doesn’t have to mean it’s your cup of tea. If you’re into more of the fun stuff, that’s ok! It’s good to be aware of what you like! But it’s so important to have media that challenges our society, and ‘Andor’ proudly joins the Star Wars content that has always strived for that.

After all of that, what’s my opinion of the show? It’s well written, well acted, and well executed. It’s slow moving, but it does a lot for its main character. It could do more for the side characters, but we’re only four episodes in. Its story is admirable and refreshing to see after the sequel trilogy. But it isn’t really my thing. I love seeing content tackle societal issues and the ways in which we view life, but I’m not always a fan of the more depressing shows that do these things. From the gray color palette to the brutal fight scenes, I’m just not always in the right frame of mind to truly get enjoyment out of ‘Andor’. But that doesn’t mean that it’s by any means bad. I feel it deserves a lot of praise. I just might not be the best person to give it.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop: Halloween Performances

Behind the scenes still of (from left) Jeong Yunho, Park Seonghwa, and Choi San for the ‘Black Cat Nero’ MV. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment and ATEEZ.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It is officially October which obviously means that it’s Halloween time! This is the month we all wait through September for, though I know many of us already started celebrating in September. My Halloween traditions for the month of October have changed drastically over the years. While some of my movie marathons are the same, I’ve definitely upped my game when it comes to choosing Halloween costumes and especially when it comes to music. I don’t think I ever had any must-listen songs for Halloween before getting into K-Pop, but now there’s a list that will haunt me all month. Literally. October only just started and I already have some of them stuck in my head. So, I’m going to go over some of my favorite Halloween K-Pop songs, their performances, and why they’re so iconic. This list will probably mostly have ATEEZ on it, though there will be a few groups. This is only because ATEEZ is well known for being the K-Pop Kings of Halloween despite the fact that most of them absolutely hate horror, which is relatable. So without further ado, here are my top picks for K-Pop Halloween watching/listening.

‘THE BLACK CAT NERO’-ATEEZ:

This song was originally sung by Kim Jongkook and his K-Pop group ‘Turbo’. Kim Jongkook was one of the judges on a competition show ATEEZ was on, and they covered his song as part of the competition to go with the general “legends of K-Pop” theme. This performance ended up getting a standing ovation from the judges and the watching audience, and the originator’s love for this cover led to a surprise collaboration over this song. Many K-Pop groups release Halloween performance videos around this season, it’s been around for a few years now, but not many of them take it to this level. Most Halloween performance videos depict our favorite K-Pop artists in costumes doing a dance practice; which is always adorable and I absolutely love it every time. But ATEEZ actually went full MV style on this one and the creepy song definitely fits the vibes. The description of the video cleverly hid the involvement of Jongkook by only giving him a special thanks and he actually doesn’t pop up until towards the end of the video. Instead we spend most of the video with a very vampiric looking ATEEZ (red lips, scratch marks, and hauntingly pale eyes) in what appears to be a church. This inter splices with them in a red light bathed graveyard. This song is definitely more hardcore than you usually expect from ATEEZ, with electric guitar being the most heavily utilized instrument in the background and more of an emo-rock feel to it. Just when you think the music video is over, Jongkook claws his way out of a grave to join the last chorus. The absolute Halloween themes along with the electric guitar have made this a Halloween tradition for every Atiny.

‘Wonderland’ (2019)- ATEEZ

This might be one of the most memorable performances that ATEEZ has ever done. If anyone commits to Halloween it’s them. While they have so many Halloween performances to choose from, I think this one might be the most popular. ‘Wonderland’ is quite possibly the most famous ATEEZ song and this features that song inter spliced with really creepy moments for the group who are all dressed as what I can only assume are demons. Hongjoong straight up looks like the Joker with how creepy his smile is throughout this, Seonghwa looks otherworldly with his wide eyes and contacts, Yunho almost looks like a zombie, San reminds me of the Mummy, and the others have pale makeup and almost skull like designs as well. The song is mixed with creepy music breaks for one of the members to do something generally scary. Hongjoong heads the first one where they all tilt their heads menacingly like dolls while Yunho picks it back up with thunder flashes. The second music break features Yunho eating what looks like a human finger before Seonghwa picks everything up again with thunder flashes and doll like movements. The song ends with them falling back on the floor dying, like how they started, though Hongjoong tears out his heart, smiles, and then twitches around a bit before actually joining the others. It is thoroughly creepy and though this was only a few years ago, this was surprising for a K-Pop group’s Halloween performance at the time. This performance alone set standards for future K-Pop Halloween performances and I seriously couldn’t be more proud of them. Also, I want to give Jongho props for sitting down and still looking creepy and belting for this performance through an injury.

‘Deja Vu’ (Vampire Version)- ATEEZ

This is also shot like an MV, because ATEEZ at the point of last year when this was made, had already fully embraced their role as the Kings of Halloween. Here they are more obviously dressed as vampires with pale skin and even black lips for some of them. They all wear puffy shirts and a few of them even don capes to make their more Dracula-esque vampire look complete. The beginning of the music video showcases them all separately in their garb before shooting to the actual dance video. I feel like ‘Deja Vu’, while not creepy in theme, already feels like it could fit in with Halloween very well. The song also has the lyric “I feel an endless thirst” which goes so well with vampires that it isn’t even funny. The song ends with crow sounds and seriously who told Seonghwa he could look that good in a corset??? There’s so much I could have chosen for ATEEZ. Their performance at the 2020 MAMAs felt very Halloween, especially with the mix of classical music and it ending with the very demon looking King Hongjoong sitting atop a throne. But I decided to stick with only direct Halloween performances for this post.

‘GOGO’ Dance Practice -BTS:

There are a couple of really iconic dance practice Halloween videos for BTS. I almost picked ‘War of Hormone’ because their costumes are more creepy overall. Especially Yoongi as Chucky. I swear, I will never get that image out of my head. But for the sake of not being too repetitive I only wanted to choose one dance practice and there’s still some controversy over ‘War of Hormone’ which is rightful. Especially because Namjoon doesn’t even really like the song anymore. This dance practice is my favorite anyways though, because it’s absolutely hilarious. It begins with all the members in a heated game of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ where they are all trying desperately not to be the last one standing. When Taehyung loses we finally see what this game was about. Six of them are dressed up as the seven dwarves while Taehyung dances in the middle as Snow White. Though Taehyung dressed up as Snow White is funny, I think the most hilarious part of this dance practice has to be how much each of the other members lose their very large costume slippers dancing to this song. Their reactions to wearing the costumes are also hilarious. Namjoon keeps whipping his head everywhere because of the hat that he’s wearing, Yoongi is laughing almost the entire time, Jin loses his slippers the most because he keeps tripping on them, Hobi looks annoyed at the slippers on several occasions for preventing his regular movement, Jimin has the same issue though he keeps laughing instead, Jungkook is completely unfazed, and Taehyung seems to be enjoying himself with far too serious facial expressions and tossing an apple around. By the end both Hobi and Namjoon have lost shoes, Taehyung bites the apple and falls on the floor causing everyone to fake cry, and Hobi stands over them all grinning maniacally with a money gun. I laugh so hard every time, it’s perfect.

‘GOOD NIGHT’ (Busking)- Dreamcatcher:

Dreamcatcher are certainly the Queens of Halloween and they do Halloween all year round. So when they come out with things specifically for the season, it’s always amazing. When it comes to songs, literally any ‘Dreamcatcher’ song will usually have a Halloween vibe to it and most of them are meant to be creepy. Around this season I find myself listening to ‘Scream’, ‘Red Sun’, ‘BEcause’, and ‘GOOD NIGHT’ especially a lot. While any of these songs or performances would be amazing, I’m sticking to the direct Halloween stuff. Dreamcatcher has had Halloween concerts, my favorite of which featured SUA dressed as Hell Boy and performing a cover of ‘Maria’. But since I’m not recommending entire concerts and it becomes increasingly hard to find videos of that concert specifically, I decided on this one. Dreamcatcher has been known to busk in amazing costumes on Halloween. This performance features Jiu as a bloody Alice, SUA as a scratched Red Riding Hood, Sihyeon as the Joker, Yooheyon as a jester clown, Gaheyon as Snow White, Handong as a Jiangshi or a Chinese hopping vampire, and Dami as a police officer. What really makes this, is that the song already has a creepy sound to it and the doll like choreography fits perfectly with the season. But my favorite part is the end, because our girls prove time and time again that they are professionals. After the sound goes completely out towards the end of the song, Jiu leads the confused others to complete the choreography while watching Insomnias sing the rest of it. I love this fandom! I may do an entirely different post about Dreamcatcher’s songs this month because they have so many and creepy is literally what their group does.

I cannot wait to see what each K-Pop group comes up with for this Halloween. Obviously I’m waiting excitedly for ATEEZ’s usual Halloween spectacular. Hopefully there will be more out this season to add to my growing traditions list!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: ‘Spiritfarer’ Review

Screen capture of Daffodil, Gustav, Atul, Gwen, Summer, and Stella from ‘Spiritfarer’. Copyright goes to Thunder Lotus Games.

Hey! Hallie here!

I really like to consume cozy media once we start getting into the Fall weather, and that includes video games. So earlier this month I decided to look for a calm, cozy game to help me get into the Fall mood. I was also looking for something that could replace ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ for me now that I’m at the point where the game is tedious and not very replayable. While searching on TikTok for cozy game recommendations, I found ‘Spiritfarer’, a game that involves foraging, farming, and crafting as well as cute animals, but has a larger story and message to get across on top of that. Plus, you actually get to hug the animal creatures in the game! Naturally, I was sold. I took my time with this game so I could really appreciate the calming nature of it, but now I’ve finished it and I really can’t wait to talk about it! Before I get into this review know that I will mark spoiler areas, and also know that this game deals with the heavy subject of death. Avoid this if that’s triggering for you. Let’s get into this review!

Story:

I feel like the story is kind of essential to explaining everything else, including the way this game works, so I’m going to jump right into the deep stuff. In this game you play as Stella, a girl who’s constantly followed by her cat Daffodil, after she’s recruited by Charon, the ferryman for the dead in Greek mythology, to take over his job and ferry spirits into the afterlife. Throughout the game you meet various spirits, all of whom become some kind of animal once they join you on your boat, and you help them come to terms with their lives until they’re ready to go through the mysterious Everdoor and pass on into the afterlife. This entire scenario is one of the reasons why this game is so sad. You get to know all of the characters you encounter very well, but you also know from the moment you meet them that you’ll have to say goodbye to them. And though some of the characters seem happier or more content right before they go through the Everdoor, others seem to deteriorate until it feels like the Everdoor is their only option.

SPOILERS: For example, Summer is a snake you meet early in the game. In life she was the wife of Stella’s aunt, but she battled with cancer and died at an old age from her illness. By the time she goes through the Everdoor, she’s come to terms with the cancer that killed her and is ready to move on. But later you meet Alice, a hedgehog who you slowly realize is struggling with the dementia that she struggled with in life. By the time you take her through the Everdoor, you have to help her walk from location to location, and the only way she’ll let you help her pass on is if you wear clothing she associates with her daughter so she’ll mistake you for her. Other characters invoke tears by other means, though. Stanley, an eight-year-old boy who appears as a mushroom, is immediately sad simply because of his age. And by the end of the game you realize Stella herself, who worked as an end-of-life nurse that either helped or personally knew all of the lovely characters you meet throughout the game, is also in the process of trying to pass on to the afterlife.

The game isn’t all doom and gloom, though. It’s sad simply because it deals with the concept of death. But all the characters are bright and funny, with distinct personalities that are fun to learn and even more fun to interact with. The game even has a goofy sense of humor that’s best unveiled as you travel around the game map and interact with background characters. And though the story does always come back to the sad parts about death, it is far more focused on admiring the lives of each character you meet and the people they strive to become even after death. So get out the tissues, but know this game won’t be as downright depressing as other games are.

Gameplay:

Like I said above, this is a foraging/farming/crafting game. But it definitely introduces enough new elements that it feels unique. Essentially, you’re given a large, customizable boat so you can ferry spirits into the afterlife. All the empty space on your boat is there so you can build what is basically an entire floating town. Amongst the things you can build on the boat are houses for every spirit you encounter, a kitchen, a farm, an orchard, a sawmill, and so much more. In order to get the materials you need to build these things, you need to sail your boat across the map to discover the many islands littered across it. On some islands you can buy the equipment you need from a greedy raccoon (That sounds familiar), while in others you can chop down trees, pick berries, and locate rare stones that you need for your endeavors. None of these islands feel similar, and all of the major locations have fun spirits to meet and stories to discover as well. As the game goes on you’ll be relying more on the materials you can grow or make yourself on your boat via easy mini games, but the game eases you into that nicely so you don’t feel rushed into building crafting stations for your boat.

Speaking of missions, all of them come from the spirits on the boat, who have various requests you must fulfill in order to help them pass on. Some missions are better than others, mostly because some characters are more likable than others, but none give you so many missions that you feel like a spirit is overstaying their welcome. Another nice thing about this game is, despite how much of the gameplay relies on gathering materials, it never feels grindy. None of the spirits will ever ask you to get a ridiculous amount of materials, and the materials you find or make are always plentiful enough that you don’t have to spend too much time gathering them. In other words, this game isn’t too difficult and doesn’t make you do anything that you don’t feel ready to tackle. It gives you plenty of things to do and plenty of missions to accomplish, but it lets you choose how much you want to do and how long you want to spend on each task. You don’t even have to ferry all of the spirits you meet to the Everdoor in order to complete the game. Just most of them. It’s a very mellow game that you can easily take at your own pace.

I loved ‘Spiritfarer’. The art style is gorgeous and hugging the characters in this game was so cathartic. It’s probably the most calming game I’ve played in a while. I love story-based games, and this is definitely one of those, but within the structure of the story it allowed me just enough freedom that I didn’t feel I was being pressured into anything. The game gave me time to explore, make things, sleep, play games, and chat with the spirits on my boat without making me feel like I had to rush to the next thing. And some of the characters I met are characters that will stick with me for a long time. This isn’t the happiest game, and there were definitely times I had to walk away from it for a while to process my emotions, but it isn’t the saddest game either. It’s just the right amount of meaningful, and that isn’t something you get from a cute platformer like this very often.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Current Projects

Promotional image of (left) Kim Hongjoong and (right) Jeong Yunho. Copyright goes to Idol Radio, KQ Entertainment, and ATEEZ.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Like most every K-Pop group right now, there’s a lot going on with ATEEZ. The K-Pop industry seems to be working overtime to fill the void of regular BTS content and the question of whether or not they will be exempt from the military is still in the air. It seems that every group is doing twice as much as they usually do. Personally I hope that this onslaught of giving idols even more work stops soon. If anything BTS should have been an example as to why it’s so important to not overwork idols and be aware of mental health. But that aside, ATEEZ keeps coming up with scores of new projects and more and more theories have been coming up about what might be next. So I’m going to go over some of the upcoming or current ATEEZ projects that I’ve been trying my best to keep up with this time around. They’ve been putting out so much I can’t always be on top of everything, but I certainly try to be! There will be some SPOILERS for ‘WANTEEZ’ in this post!

Idol Radio:

ATEEZ was one of the most popular guests on Idol Radio and quickly stole attention and hearts with how amazingly chaotic they were every time they appeared on the show. So it shouldn’t have startled me at all when they announced that Hongjoong and Yunho would be the new hosts for this season of the show. But I still couldn’t quite believe it and have been absolutely blown away by the content we receive of these two amazing dorks every week. I think we can all agree that Hongjoong and Yunho were perfect options for hosts. About twice a week they have new guests to meet with and new dances to learn from the corresponding comebacks. ATEEZ is well known in the industry for having some of the most difficult choreography of any group ever created and the members are known for learning choreography at record speeds. In other words, everyone has been impressed at our boys learning brand new choreography in about three minutes and dancing with the artists on the show. I am so happy that they’re getting more recognition for their dancing abilities from this show! We’re also getting adorable TikToks of HoHong, including one very recent ‘Sailor Moon’ one that absolutely sent me. ATEEZ? And ‘Sailor Moon’? How did I survive this??? Not to mention that the promotional photos for this caught me by surprise. I was expecting host-like and friendly photos but instead we got attractive almost ‘Deja Vu’ era photos of HoHong. I become more and more thankful every week for Yunho and Hongjoong being chosen as the season three hosts.

ATEEZ OST:

ATEEZ has right after each other announced two OSTs with a potential third one also coming soon. Both of them are already out for your listening pleasure and the first is called ‘Let’s Get Together’. I always love how versatile ATEEZ is between their more hardcore and darker themes, to their meaningful songs that explore deep themes, to their lighthearted hopeful songs. This is one of their more lighthearted tunes and reminds me a lot of songs like ‘Dreamers’ or especially ‘Be My Lover’ which was one of their collaboration songs with Kim Jong Kook. It has the feel of an ATEEZ song while definitely sounding like it could be the best song in an OST. San, Yunho, and Jongho get a lot of this chorus, but I found the OST here to be fairly well divided between the eight of them. With every new release it feels like they sing even more seamlessly with each other. This group is truly the perfect blend. Then Jongho singularly released his OST ‘Youth Fairytale’. This is not Jongho’s first time taking on an OST by himself, but this is probably the most upbeat of the songs he’s released. Instead of the slower love ballads we usually hear from him, we got pulsating beats and a lighter air to his voice. And of course, his voice is just as amazing as it always is. Jongho isn’t called one of the best voices in K-Pop for no reason. With how involved ATEEZ has started being in variety shows, general K-Dramas, and OSTs I wouldn’t be surprised to see much more from where all this came from. I know many of them loved their past acting gigs, so I wonder if we’ll see any of them back on our televisions screens sometime soon.

WANTEEZ Episode 7:

I know we’ve all been keeping up with the individual episodes of ‘WANTEEZ’ because I see it shared each week more than any of their past variety shows! They’ve been amazing and so diverse in content! But this most recent one was nothing short of adorable. This episode focused on testing their friendship by having them answer questions about each other and performing for each other with first impression dances. The big highlight from this episode that’s being spread everywhere right now is Wooyoung’s first impression dance which involved embarrassing the others with Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back’. I was half surprised that KQ was ok with it and half not surprised at all because we all expect this from Wooyoung. I’m in love with the fact that KQ has been approving of more of an uncensored ATEEZ than we usually see in most groups. They’re all adults and I’m all for stopping pretending like they aren’t! This also featured Yunho recreating the Digimon dance from his childhood that went viral not that long ago. Hongjoong and Yunho recreated this dance on the first episode of ‘Idol Radio’, but I’m always a sucker for each time he does it. Of course, most of the songs were chaotic in the best ways. But the end result of the episode was adorable. It was cute to see Yunho and Mingi and San and Wooyoung choose each other without the other knowing. And it was so amazing to see how close they all really are, even if they got a question wrong occasionally. San even knew what number that Yunho usually sets the thermostat to! Roommate goals! And Hongjoong and Seonghwa always being stuck together no matter what happens is hilarious and so perfect for them. Yeosang’s sarcasm always makes my day and Jongho got all the love from his hyungs this episode as well. It was one of the cutest episodes of this variety show so far! To say that I’ve been looking forward to this every week would be an incredible understatement.

Hair Changes and Theories:

At a recent K-Pop convention, and the couple of days before that, it was revealed that many of the members of ATEEZ had changed their hair. Mingi now looks like literal fire with his yellow to orange to darker orange hair, Yunho became the latest member of ATEEZ to join the Oreo Line (his little “Surprise!” on ‘Idol Radio’ literally took me out with how cute it was), Wooyoung’s hair is now a vibrant shade of pinkish red, and Seonghwa has gone a whitish grey color. With all of these hair changes, it’s become clear that it has to be for a reason. While some theorize that they could just be for the concerts coming up, many (myself included) feel that the timing is too far off for the concerts in particular. They usually dye their hair right before a project if they do it for that project; so the only thing that comes to mind is that it has to be an unannounced secret project. Some people are saying that it must be a comeback, but it would be wild to have a comeback so soon after their last album. While I would love a comeback, I would also kind of be worried if this was for a comeback. To me that would definitely say that ATEEZ is working way too hard. Especially with all of these other projects they’ve recently taken up and a tour on the horizon. But whatever it is, I hope that ATEEZ is excited about it and I know that I will be!

I’m hoping that after these upcoming concerts ATEEZ will get some kind of break. Because after these last few years of constant working, they really deserve one. And after this period of all these fourth generation groups being worked like this, I hope all of them get breaks. But, of course, I always love every piece of content that ATEEZ releases. It always brightens my day and gives me something to look forward to each week. And with struggling in getting back to normal life after everything that’s happened, it’s so amazing to have ATEEZ through it all. I can’t wait to see them in November. I can hardly believe that it’s only one month away at the same time it still feels like it’s so far away! I swore to go back to their concert after Hongjoong told us all to come back in LA so I’ve been waiting (kind of impatiently) for the concert. I seriously can’t wait to see these boys again!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: ‘The Last of Us’ Trailer Breakdown

Screenshot of Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie in HBO Max’s ‘The Last of Us’. Copyright goes to Naughty Dog, PlayStation Productions, and Sony Pictures Television.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’m really behind on so many streaming shows right now. I have every intention of giving ‘Andor’ a shot but I haven’t had the time, and I’m slowly falling behind on ‘Rings of Power’. And yet, somehow, I’m here getting excited about yet another show that’s soon to be streaming. ‘The Last of Us’ is one of two horror games I’ve ever played, and it’s definitely more firmly in the horror genre of the two. I’m not a horror fan. I don’t watch horror movies or shows. The only way to get me to consume anything with the word “horror” attached to it, is to promise me that it isn’t the main theme of the content. But there really is no getting around the fact that ‘The Last of Us’ is mainly a zombie apocalypse story full of really terrifying monsters. So how the hell did I come to love this game so much? Joel and Ellie. I watched a few cutscenes from the game and these two characters instantly convinced me to dive into a genre I usually can’t deal with. Their odd opposite personalities and fun banter draws you in from the moment you meet them, and as the game goes on, the father/daughter relationship that grows between the two grabs your heart and refuses to let go. Match that with some incredible performances and you have two of the best characters in video game history. Like everyone else, I’m not certain how this is going to translate to the streaming screen. After all, ‘The Last of Us’ is an already detailed story with a lot of immersive elements you just can’t replicate in a series. But this new trailer is giving me a lot of hope. If you want to know nothing about this plot before going in, SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Trailer:

I’m going to go shot for shot because this trailer is already giving us a lot of recognizable scenes from the game as well as some Ellie backstory moments that we got in the DLC. At the very beginning of the trailer we start out in the quarantine zone Joel ends up in after the tragedy of losing his daughter. It’s a really amazing recreation of one of the first places you ever see in the game. From the signs that warn against the cordyceps infection and the curfew hours, to the anti-military graffiti on the walls done by the Fireflies, to the dreary brick buildings. From there we see part of Joel’s face but the camera cleverly shows us his broken watch on his wrist first. It’s such an important piece of the character that just that watch alone feels like a reassurance that they’re going to get Joel right. Next we switch over to Ellie, who’s tellingly staring at more of the Fireflies graffiti. What I find really interesting about this is that Ellie has a chain attached to her ankle. In the original game Ellie has no such precaution on her, making it even more of a shock when Joel later discovers that she was bitten but is immune. Is this an indication that Joel will know right away that she was infected? Or is this just Ellie before she meets Joel? We see one of her eyes as she looks out the window, but it then cuts away to the military monitoring the quarantine zone gate. As a light goes by we skip to Joel, Ellie, and Joel’s partner-in-crime Tess, played by Anna Torv, attempting to sneak past the military and exit the quarantine zone where they hope to meet up with the Fireflies. One of my favorite shots in this entire trailer is the cityscape in its state of disrepair, which looks exactly like the game come to life.

Next we see someone surveilling a few locations in front of four TVs. I’m not certain who this could be, but some have guessed that it might be Bill, who we do see later in the trailer. After a shot of Joel and Ellie in a field with the remnants of some sort of civilization in front of them, we see Joel, Ellie, and Tess waiting out some Clickers in what looks like the museum area. The sound of the Clickers are absolutely on point and terrifying. This scene is also the first time we fully see Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie up close. Pascal looks so damn good as Joel. He’s already proven he can play a disgruntled, traumatized dad very well so I have no doubts he’ll completely blow us away with his Joel. I love Bella Ramsey’s Ellie as well. Some people are already sharing their hesitations with her, but I don’t agree. I think she looks so much like Ellie does in the game and there really is no way to tell if she’ll bring the same humor to the role until we watch it. From there we switch to an unfamiliar wintery bridge. In the game winter occurs while Joel is unconscious and Ellie ends up on her own for a long while. But here we see two people walking. Could the other person, unfortunately, be David? Afterwards we get quick shots of Joel in a city scape that’s directly from the game, and Ellie crying for a mysterious reason. Then we see Marlene, who is played by her voice actress Merle Danbridge! After that we get our first DLC material. It’s Ellie riding a carousel with Riley. I love the idea of bringing Ellie’s relationship with Riley, played by Storm Reid, more into the main plot! In our next shot we see Joel carrying his daughter, Sarah. Knowing her fate makes this moment really emotional, and the look of panic in Pedro’s eyes at the destruction around him really sells it.

After a brief shot of Joel with gun, we see Tess run behind a building looking beaten up. She looks alone here, which means this is also new! I’d also guess that Tess is the one speaking about it being their “last shot”, as Tess is the one to encourage Joel to take Ellie to the Fireflies. We briefly see Gabriel Luna’s Tommy in what appears to be the same sequence of Joel attempting to escape his home town while carrying his daughter. Then we see Nick Offerman as Bill apparently finding Joel in one of his traps. I’m very excited to see Nick Offerman in this. After that are a few more scenes I don’t recognize. One seems to be a flashback to before the apocalypse where a couple is having dinner. Maybe Joel and his ex? Or Ellie’s parents? Then we see Joel punching the shit out of someone with Ellie behind him. He looks to be getting out some rage, but what over we don’t know. We see Ellie crawling through a small space and then I was surprised to see Melanie Lynskey in this trailer! I really like her as an actress, and given that she’s still not listed as being in this show on IMDb, I’m very confused! Apparently she’s playing Kathleen, a new character who will be leading a resistance in Kansas City. After this surprising reveal is a mix of familiar battles from the game including Ellie with a gun, which may be later in the story given that it takes a while for Joel to allow Ellie a gun. We also see Joel running with Sarah, Tess in what looks like the scene of her death, Joel and Ellie being run off the road by hunters, and what looks like the scene where Joel comforts Ellie after she kills David in self defense. This scene is one of the most emotional scenes in the entire game and it looks like it’s being done justice by the actors. We also get shown a Clicker. Both disgusting and even better than I though it would look. Finally, we end with a cute close up of Joel and Ellie and a far-away shot of the two riding on their horse.

This trailer mainly gave us the characters and scenes we wanted to see. From what we saw it looks like we’ll be getting Ellie’s backstory with Riley alongside the main story events. It also looks like Tess will be given more to her story as well. She took up a surprising amount of the trailer for a character who doesn’t survive past one of the the opening sequences of the game. I would have liked to see more of Tommy and the community he builds with his wife, but he’s such a huge character that I can’t imagine them skipping out on him too much. We also didn’t really get to see the tragic brothers Henry and Sam, which is interesting. That said, every actor looks perfectly cast. The scenes and scenery they recreated from the game look perfectly done. There’s definitely more scenes in this trailer that feel like they’re exactly from the game than not, which does concern me that they’ll stick too closely to the game and not really justify this series’ existence. But there are new things here, especially new characters, that get me excited! I’ll be watching this from behind a pillow, but I really do want to watch this series now. Especially now that I know that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are apparently set up for cameo roles in two episodes! Hell yes!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Superheroes: Big Hero 6 VS Teen Titans

Screenshot from ‘Big Hero 6 The Series’. Copyright goes to Disney and Disney Animation.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I recently switched from re-watching ‘Teen Titans’ to watching the ‘Big Hero 6’ series that is currently on Disney+. Why? Because the original ‘Teen Titans’ series was kind of getting a bit repetitive for me. I know that a lot of superhero shows at that time were, but I was kind of looking for something with the same group dynamic and structure without the slight feeling that I was watching the same episode over and over. And that’s when I remembered ‘Big Hero 6’ is so similar. ‘Big Hero 6’ has always been one of my favorite superhero films for its college friend group dynamic, its combined San Francisco and Tokyo aesthetic, and the amazing science based powers they gave each character. (Yay women is STEM!!!) But after only a little inspection, it’s pretty clear to see that the movie adaptation of ‘Big Hero 6’ was probably influenced a little more by something else rather than the comics where the characters are extremely different. In fact, these characters seem to be very similar character tropes and have a similar young friend group dynamic to what we see in ‘Teen Titans’. While I doubt they would ever admit to it, I personally think that ‘Teen Titans’ most likely had something to do with the way the characters in ‘Big Hero 6’ turned out. And while I currently find myself to be enjoying the humor style of the ‘Big Hero 6’ series more, I feel like I have to compare the characters now that I’ve found the connection. So that’s what I’m going to do! SPOILERS for both franchises will be coming up!

Hiro vs. Robin:

The leaders and strategists of the group; neither Hiro nor Robin have the flashy superhero powers that other members of their group seem to. But what stands out here is that they seem to be equal with the rest of the group despite that. Robin is the true strategist of his group by assessing the villains they are up against, having strong hand to hand combat training, and carefully planning and designing each of the missions for his group. Hiro on the other hand strategizes with careful planning, but also designs and creates the suits and technology needed for the rest of the group. While each of them also have a say in creation and design, it’s Hiro who does most of the grunt work for their technology. Hiro and Robin also are the brooding members of their team. For Hiro it is entirely with good reason. Hiro was praised when the movie first came out because of how willing the writers were to tackle mental health as a theme. Hiro loses someone very close to him and it impacts the rest of the movie, pretty much culminating in a want for revenge. Robin is also on the revenge track, but his obsession with his foes culminates in a frustration that takes over his entire existence. Including working on plans without including his teammates. Robin has less clear brooding reasons, though it really makes sense since he was brought up by Batman. Either way, it is clear to see the similarities in creating Hiro, though Robin isn’t really younger than the rest of his team. Still, I think that Hiro comes across as more of a real character on multiple occasions. And Robin can get so obsessed with villains in the show that sometimes it feels like they become his only personality trait.

Wasabi vs Cyborg:

The most intimidating looking members on the team with probably the least intimidating personalities. Both Wasabi and Cyborg tower over the rest of their team mates and especially in battle look extremely intimidating. But Cyborg is a complete dork and Wasabi is a complete scaredy cat. Either way, not far into getting to know either of these men your intimidation for them fades practically immediately. Cyborg is know for his technological genius and the robotic parts of him that make him an upgrade from any other humans. Wasabi is known for his genius in both his work and his organizational skills. Both characters come really close to being just as smart as the leader. But they are both far too clumsy and unsure to take up a leadership position themselves. Though I could definitely see future leadership positions for either of them. Cyborg, unfortunately, is probably the most side-lined of all of the characters in ‘Teen Titans’. While the other members get copious episodes about themselves and their relationships to other members, Cyborg often gets left out. In fact, Cyborg doesn’t even appear in some Titans content, though some of it is because he’s been upgraded to a more important role within the Justice League. Still, it never seemed that he got enough time. Especially because the other members of the group kind of paired off. Wasabi doesn’t struggle from that. Wasabi has always been just as present as every other member of the group and even has been used as the main voice of reason or the primary comic relief. Also, his fear of heights is relatable. Another character that feels more real, but obviously he also has more time to do so.

GoGo vs. Raven:

GoGo and Raven even have the same purple shade of hair, though for GoGo it’s only a few streaks. These are the two women in the team who are possibly the most capable members of their respective teams and definitely the most badass. Both of them have a penchant for being more introverted and keeping to themselves while also picking up more of a gothic or badass aesthetic. GoGo frequently tells the members of her group to “woman up”, a phrase that I wish more people would use. She’s extremely intelligent, a real thrill seeker, and an entire episode of the series was dedicated to demonstrating that she never really got scared of anything. And even when she was, she was the first person to figure out a way out of it. GoGo is more selective about her displays of emotion or showing that she cares about other people, but she’s one of the first to get concerned when a member of her team has a real issue. Raven is also pretty selective at showing her emotions, but does truly care. Though Raven can’t show emotions rather than it being a choice, because she has the horrifying duty of constantly attempting to keep her demonic father and her inherited demonic powers at bay. Raven can’t take the responsibility off of other people, but she will try to soothe it. And she is the most powerful member of the team because of her demonic powers. Added onto this is her relationship with Beast Boy which is incredibly sweet and always demonstrative that she really has the capacity to feel emotions. Raven probably gets more overall time dedicated to her due to her difficulties with her powers, but I wouldn’t say by much. For me, it’s nearly impossible to choose between these two.

Honey Lemon vs Starfire:

Here we have the two extremely sweet members of the groups, or the Moms of the groups if you will. These two characters are specifically known for their positivity and lightheartedness, and their constant supportive nature of everyone else in the group. Either of these characters could easily be considered the heart of the group. They are the ones that bridge the gap between other members and mediate arguments. But I find that there’s a huge difference between these two. Starfire can be one of the most powerful members of the group, but if there’s ever a group member to be captured it’s usually her. Thought she often saves herself, she spends just the same amount of time waiting to be saved by someone else. Most likely because she’s the love interest for Robin, who is the leader and the one most likely to save everyone else. They use this device often for romance, but that doesn’t mean I like the use of this device at all. Starfire is also an alien which means they often use the fish-out-of-water trope to make her a bit more ditzy. Honey Lemon on the other hand is the chemist of the team. If someone needs to be saved, her chem purse creates cushions for others to land on or unique opportunities to get pedestrians out of dangerous situations. What I’m saying is that Honey Lemon is more of the savior than the one who has to be saved. She’s also the only person on the team with her particular science niche, meaning she’s treated more like an expert than a ditzy girl who doesn’t know anything about reality. I think that for far too long comics have put a line in the sand when it comes to positive and sweet female characters. We’ve been told that a character can’t be sweet and smart. Honey Lemon is the proof that this idea is, quite frankly, bullshit. And while I like Starfire, I think she plays more into the trope than proves it wrong. There’s a reason why Honey Lemon is one of my absolute favorite superheroes ever created. She’s sweet and loves pastels but she also never pretends to be less intelligent than she is. But I’ve ranted for too long about this. Honey Lemon is perfection, that is all.

Fred vs. Beast Boy:

Here we have the two lazier and more laid back members of the group. Neither of these characters are the brightest of the bunch by any means, but their laid back personalities and enthusiasm for the job make them valuable members of the group. In fact, it’s pretty clear that their respective groups wouldn’t be able to survive without them. Fred is the one who likes comic books and superheroes to begin with. While he doesn’t have the talent for science, he’s actually an English major specifically for creative writing (YES!!!), he has a huge passion for science and a respect for scientists. Without Fred in the group, Hiro probably would have never had the idea to turn their small friend group into a superhero group. And, on the other hand, Fred would have never been able to live his superhero dreams without his scientist friends making it a reality. But his comic book knowledge has proven to sometimes be the only knowledge to get the rest of the group through in a pinch. Beast Boy is a jokester who doesn’t really have the time for seriousness. He’s the one to cheer up another member who’s not feeling their best and the only one to not overthink a situation. Which, as an over thinker, I can tell you that it’s probably for the best. Beast Boy is able to balance and help characters like Raven who often need his brightness. Beast Boy is usually proven to be more helpful of these two though, as Fred has shown that he can’t protect anyone by himself and has to be supervised at all times. Though it is still difficult to choose between the two.

Result:

While I love ‘Teen Titans’, I think I have to go with ‘Big Hero 6’. Of course, I had a harder time choosing between some characters than others. You can probably tell that upon my recent rewatch of ‘Teen Titans’, I wasn’t a huge fan of either Robin or Starfire who I remembered liking a lot more than I ended up finding on my rewatch. I also found the tower to be stifling at times. Other than the obvious pro in the addition of the adorable Baymax; I like the overall city vibe of ‘Big Hero 6’. Everything about that group is just aesthetic from the city to the cafe. It really makes you wish that the locations were real. And the friend group being in college both makes it more realistic and reminds me of my own amazing college experience. I really love that the show takes time to explore each character and their relationships to each other without necessarily having romance. I also found the recent progresses in diversity in shows really show up in ‘Big Hero 6’. While I love both teams, and I think that Disney is kidding itself if they think that they weren’t inspired by ‘Teen Titans’, I think that ‘Big Hero 6’ in the end is an improvement on the tropes that span both shows.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop: “Rush Hour”

Promotional photo of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) and Shin Hyoseob (Crush) for the new single “Rush Hour”. Copyright goes to P NATION.

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re getting a lot of solo content from the members of BTS at the moment, and after quite a few collaborations, J-Hope is jumping in on the action! I really wasn’t expecting anything for a while after ‘Jack In The Box’ was released, and I honestly wasn’t sad about that because it meant Hobi was taking a break, but he’s briefly exited his break to collaborate with Crush! “Rush Hour” is one of those songs that feels like a perfect fit for J-Hope, so much so that I’m wondering how I functioned without this song in my life. This song is, first and foremost, Crush’s song so I’ll definitely be praising his work here as well. But I’m coming to this as an ARMY without much knowledge of Crush’s work, so keep that in mind! Let’s get into this!

The Song:

“Rush Hour” is a really fun funk song that could easily be placed up there with other funk greats like “Give Up The Funk” by Parliament or Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. It doesn’t take itself too seriously with lyrics from both Crush and J-Hope that stick to describing how much fun they’re having with their current successes, and that really works for the song. It’s a dance piece. Something that makes you want to get up out of your chair and learn the choreography in the MV. It really doesn’t have to be deep. Crush’s vocals cut through the energetic instrumental with a harsher cadence that makes him stand out during verses, before switching to the even more addictive tone for the chorus. He’s very talented at both flow and singing, and he’s clearly pulling out all the stops for his comeback after military service. When J-Hope jumps in he brings something completely different to the table, his voice and flow a bit more playful in the way it matches the background music. J-Hope has always been an expert at matching his verses to the individual sounds of each song, and the way he adapts to this one’s positivity and energy feels so natural to his personality and style. I especially love the end of his verse, where he goes from the more conversational-like sound in both verses, to something more sing-songy, to a rap flow reminiscent of his solo work. Each style blends together so seamlessly you almost don’t notice he’s doing it. Overall this song is just complete joy. Between Crush’s mastery over his voice and J-Hope’s killer verse, there really is nothing to dislike here.

The MV:

This is a really simple MV and I love how well it works for the song. There aren’t many sets in this MV, instead sticking to the same street corner with a few buildings in the back and plenty of cars to mess around on. Occasionally we’ll get other areas too, like a bus stop, that are indicated to be around this street corner as well. What makes this set so effective is the way that it feels lived in. There’s graffiti on the walls and scaffolding in the background with construction workers around it. The beginning of the MV starts with the backup dancers going about seemingly everyday activities. In one scene a cop chases down a few people. In another the dancers are briefly interrupted by a team of runners. Another thing that makes this MV striking is the lighting. It’s dark around all the sets, and lights are on in all of the buildings to indicate that it’s nighttime. But throughout the entire video the set is lit with a bright yellow light that feels like it’s highlighting the positive energy of the song. The dancing throughout is also fun but simple. There’s nothing too complicated here, but there’s happiness to be found in the fact that everyone can attempt this dance if they want. Not to mention that every single person in this MV looks like they’re having the time of their lives dancing to this song. But simple doesn’t mean there’s a lack of talent here. Every one of the dancers shows a mastery over the rhythm of this song that’s completely enviable. I especially loved watching J-Hope embrace his roots in dancing, something he’s talked about missing for a while, with his own moments to lead the dance crew with his crazy body control. He even threw in a dance move from “Mic Drop” that nearly made me squeal. There’s so much enjoyment to find in the simplicity of this.

Outfits:

The outfits in the MV get their own section just because I love them so much I feel like rambling a bit. They’re all very casual, and some of the dancers, like the construction workers, are wearing work clothes. But they’re all casual in the way that I want every single piece I saw in this video in my closet immediately. Crush himself shows off a matching flannel and shorts with a pleasing plaid pattern in the first part of the MV, all paired with bright yellow shoes and a matching fluffy bucket hat. It’s such a bold but casual style that it makes him eye-catching but still extremely approachable. The same goes for his end-of-MV outfit, where he shows up in a nostalgic mix of a patterned shirt underneath a plaid vest with bedazzled jeans. It feels 80s but in a very fun way. J-Hope wears a brown varsity jacket with various bedazzled details and matching brown pants when we first see him. Once again, it’s a casual style with pieces that certainly look bolder than if you were to catch Hobi on his day off, but still makes him look approachable. His final outfit is similar, with instead light-wash jeans, a brown sweatshirt, and some of his signature colored glasses. Old-fashioned colored glasses always look amazing on Hobi. There’s this amazing mix of comfort and personality in each piece worn in this video that I would love to emulate in my own personal style.

I will now stop gushing about this song. For now. It will likely come up in another post, though, because I’ve been listening to “Rush Hour” on repeat all day and I can’t see that stopping any time soon. I’ve said on this blog that J-Hope’s ‘Jack In The Box’ album may be my favorite album of all time partly due to its deeper themes. But sometimes you just need a song about enjoying life to lift you up. “Rush Hour” definitely lifted me up after a hard week, and I hope it did the same for everyone else who listened to it!

Don’t do anything until I get back!

Hallie