Comfort Entertainment: Which Members of ‘Free!’ are Actually Dateable?

Image of the characters from ‘Free! Eternal Summer’. Copyright goes to Funimation and Crunchyroll.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I actually really enjoyed writing my last post about ‘Ouran High School Host Club’ and I’ve really been looking into writing something similar. So this anime was one that I definitely watched for a while and was absolutely made for the fan service. While some hoped that the fan service for this particular show would lean more queer, unfortunately this didn’t happen. I have a suspicion it didn’t because it was mainly made to appeal to women, but the fan service did feel a bit like queer bait at times. But because of the purpose of this anime, I thought it was only fitting to address how dateable these characters actually are. Because, even though these characters were made to be attractive, this doesn’t always mean their personalities would make for good boyfriends. In fact, most of the time I would argue that it really really doesn’t. So, let’s just get into it! If you haven’t watched any of the seasons of ‘Free!’ and want to, this is your MAJOR SPOILER warning. Though I do find ‘50% Off’ on Youtube to be superior; it’s absolutely useless to talk about those versions of the characters as boyfriends. Because that would be disastrous.

Haru:

Haru is very dedicated to the water. No, I don’t mean swimming. He likes swimming. But he’s dedicated to the water. He’s very hard working when he wants to be and is a complete perfectionist when it comes to his talents. He doesn’t talk much, but what he has to say always seems to be of some importance. And though he’s brutally honest, he does have a sincere loyalty to his friends. So, does all this make him a great boyfriend? I think you might have noticed that I was really stretching for good qualities here. I don’t think Haru is a bad person, but there’s no point in time where he’s emotionally available to anyone around him. His best friend is Makoto, and even he has a lot of trouble getting through to him on various occasions. Haru’s one great love is the water. Sometimes disturbingly so. I just don’t see Haru ever caring for anyone romantically, I sincerely apologize to the Haru and Rin or Haru and Makoto shippers. I think it would take an enormous amount of work for Haru to even be the friend he should be towards the people in his life, never mind a romantic love interest towards anyone.

Makoto:

From petting adorable cats to helping old women, Makoto has got the nice boy vibes down. Makoto is constantly looking after his friends, making sure Haru gets to school on time, and attempting to dissuade his friends from doing anything dangerous. Definitely the one with anxiety, which I may or may not be able to relate to. Makoto loves swimming, but he’s much less obsessed with it than other members of the team. He’s far more inclined to do something else with his life, such as teach or help the community. He’s far and away the most responsible member of the team. As seen when he saved Rei from the ocean when Rei was attempting to teach himself. But does this mean he’s dateable? Absolutely it does. By far the most dateable member in ‘Free!’, and I would argue that he’s one of the most dateable anime characters I have ever seen. It does help that his dub voice is Johnny Yong Bosch. (Can you tell I’m a fan?) But that aside, Makoto is the absolute opposite of Haru in that he is actually emotionally available. He’s the friend that all of his friends go to for advice, and there are no limits to his loyalty or compassion. Makoto is not only kind, he’s also that golden retriever boyfriend we all want.

Nagisa:

The youngest member and by far the cutest. The one that everyone feels they have to take care of, but somehow Nagisa ends up taking care of them more often. I think it’s very safe to say that Nagisa is the glue that holds the team together. When several of them develop grudges for each other, this never seems to touch Nagisa. He just assumes he’s still friends with all of them and shrugs off the negativity. But does that make him mature enough to be a good boyfriend? I would say yes. I know, I know. I argued that Honey from Ouran was not dateable because he acted too young and Honey is a bit older than Nagisa. But I think there’s an important difference between acting like a toddler and just acting innocent. Nagisa never crosses the border into acting like an actual toddler for me. Could he stand to grow up? Probably. But I think Nagisa’s openness towards people different from him massively outweighs anyone else’s in the group. And I think that shows a maturity that many of the other characters in this anime don’t seem to have.

Rei:

Rei doesn’t come in until ‘Eternal Summer’ and is the last member to join the friend group. And that’s for a very simple reason; he doesn’t actually start out as a swimmer. He’s a member of the track club, and very much focused on that and his studies. Nagisa only sets his mind on the poor guy when the High School has too few swimmers to actually form a swim club. It’s hard to tell for certain why Nagisa focuses on Rei specifically. Though some fans have a few theories. But Rei has to actually learn to swim, and is often frustrated because he strives for so much perfection. He’s responsible with his studies, but does that make him mature enough to be good boyfriend material? Absolutely not. Nope. Rei’s level of perfectionism that he strives for is absolutely insane. And Rei makes it a point to note that he strives for this level of perfection in all facets of his life. Though he doesn’t always push it onto his friends, it’s also reasonable to assume that he would look for this in a romantic partner. Rei is another character who is emotionally unavailable because of that. I seriously couldn’t imagine anyone dating him happily.

Rin:

The last main character in this series and quite possibly the most popular. Rin is that bad-boy anti-hero that everyone loves. While he used to swim on the same team as Nagisa, Haru, and Makoto, he now goes to a completely different school. And you can bet he holds a grudge against Haru for forming a new team without him. Even though Haru arguably had very little to do with the forming of the new team. Rin is the most serious about a career in swimming than everyone else, which is why he decides to go to a High School with an elite swim team. So does his hard work and passion for his career show enough responsibility to make him seem like a good boyfriend? If you didn’t see this coming with what I said about Haru, I would be genuinely surprised. The answer is a definite no. His strong grudge and obsession with his old friend would make him a very unavailable boyfriend. To anyone except maybe Haru. But still, he’s pretty contentious. Rin seems to be more focused on holding his grudge than anything else, because he feels he doesn’t have anything else.

I think what I’ve learned about a lot of these anime shows, is that there are less characters that are actually boyfriend material than you think. Or at least, want to think. What I’m getting at here is just because someone looks attractive, doesn’t mean that they would be at all pleasant to date. I don’t think anything demonstrates this more than fictional characters. But I always have fun going through these characters and actually considering what it would be like to date these fan favorite characters. And sometimes the results of thinking about it, are just hilarious. Maybe this will become more of a series! I really love doing these! But until then, we’ll most likely have a lot more BTS news to share soon. What with the last day of the concert and then the important decision to be made at the end of this month. Let’s hope for good news!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi/Superheroes: Warner Bros. Discovery and DC

Screenshot of Gal Gadot as Diana Prince in ‘Wonder Woman’. Copyright goes to DC Comics and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Hey! Hallie here!

Just today we received the huge news that Warner Bros., the huge entertainment company behind the likes of the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Bladerunner’ franchises, was bought out by ‘Discovery’. You know, the company in charge of cool documentaries and addictive HGTV shows. This is definitely news that felt like it came out of nowhere, but by far the most interesting part of this announcement was the newly dubbed Warner Bros. Discovery’s immediate discussions about the DC franchise. Essentially, they want to completely overhaul it and they have a list of goals for this overhaul as well. There’s quite a bit to discuss, and a lot of uncertainty that comes along with it, so I’m just going to get right into this!

New Structure:

This is the main goal that came up amongst the reports of Warner Bros. Discovery’s plans for DC. The new heads of the company feel that one of the major reasons the DC Extended Universe hasn’t been going so well is because of a lack of structure. As a result, they seem to want to restart the franchise. Again. They also appear to be actively searching for a Kevin Feige-like figure to ensure that the franchise feels connected. This announcement is getting some mixed reactions and I can honestly say I feel pretty mixed on this myself. I don’t believe anyone can argue that the DC franchise hasn’t severely suffered from a lack of planning. ‘Batman v Superman’ was the first attempt to connect the first solo films that were part of the DC Extended Universe, and it suffered from terrible writing and shoddily put-together character connections. After that was ‘Justice League’ which, while better than ‘Batman v Superman’, suffered from either mediocre writing or bad writing depending on which version you’re watching. It also struggled with underdeveloped characters as a result of jumping into a team movie with only three of the characters having been previously explored. It really is no wonder that DC decided on a restart recently by recasting Batman and leaving Superman behind, but those decisions continue to make fans confused while they move forward with characters like Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, and the Flash. That said, I wouldn’t say the major issue with DC is shoddy planning. DC’s major issue has been tone and poor writing. We know this because DC has found major success in solo films that aren’t connected to each other, such as ‘Wonder Woman’ or ‘Suicide Squad’, because of good writing. In fact, with the new success of ‘Batman’, it feels like DC could really hit their stride putting focus on quality individual character projects. DC already tried the MCU approach. Maybe it’s time to go for something else.

Superman and Joker:

These are the two names that were prominently thrown around once the Warner Bros. Discovery merger happened. Apparently new execs are upset with the way DC was trying to drop Superman entirely. They also want more side-character exploration movies like ‘Joker’. I have very strong, very opposite feelings on both of these subjects. I definitely think that it was a bad idea for DC to try to drop Superman. Superman is one of the most popular superhero characters of all time, and it’s kind of ridiculous to picture a DCEU in any state without the Man of Steel. I did like Henry Cavill as Clark Kent, but I think there’s room to restart if they so choose. They just need a better script than ‘Man of Steel’, which definitely wasn’t the worst the DCEU had to offer, but was pretty bland as far as superhero movies go. There’s a lot they could do with Superman that could prove much more interesting, and I do think he’s a character worth bringing back. As for ‘Joker’, we DO NOT need more movies like it. If they’re talking about character deep-dives alone, I’m on board. I stated above that I think individual character films could be where DC hits its stride. What we don’t need, though, are more movies that glorify serial killers by making them “relatable”. That’s an entire genre of films that needs to go, and supervillains don’t get a pass on that just because they aren’t real. The toxic fanbase that surrounded this movie alone is enough to prove that Hollywood shouldn’t be making more movies like this. I’m just hoping that Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t talking about making more supervillain movies that celebrate the awful things they do just because they were mistreated.

What About the Current DC Projects?:

Currently there’s a lot of uncertainty around the projects that have been planned or are currently active within the DCEU. And there really isn’t a way to tell what this new merger means for them all. But some things seem more likely to stick around than others. For one, ‘Batman’ is a recent release and a huge success. I can’t imagine them shutting down that project so soon, even if they choose new creatives to head the ‘Batman’ projects in the future. Similarly, ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Suicide Squad’ are both franchises that are wildly popular and could easily stick around. ‘Wonder Woman’ has been solo enough that they can pretend her team-ups never happened, and love her or hate her, I don’t think Gal Gadot will be stepping out of the role of Diana Prince. As for ‘Suicide Squad’, the ‘Peacemaker’ series has been well received and we all know by now that Margot Robbie won’t be stepping down from the role of Harley Quinn. Also, ‘Shazam’ was very well received and hasn’t been tied into anything at all so far, meaning it would be easy to take that film, and all of its planned sequels and spin-offs, and carry it into the new DCEU. That said, other projects are harder to call. ‘The Flash’ might already be dead in the water because of Ezra Miller (Warner Bros. really needs to stop hiring him for their major projects). ‘Aquaman’ might also be seriously effected because of the controversy surrounding Amber Heard. But really, nothing is certain. While there are things that don’t seem likely to change, we still might see a bigger overhaul of the DCEU than any of us expect.

At this point, DC fans are getting really tired. The amount of fans who have recently expressed that they’re experiencing Joker fatigue is not small. In fact, the amount of times the Batman series as a whole has been reimagined is starting to tire out Batman fans. And fans of other DC franchises are likely to follow soon. All of that seems to indicate that DC really doesn’t need another revamp right now. Fans have seen enough revamps of most of the characters to last a lifetime. What DC fans want right now are good scripts and some sort of stability. I think that DC can do that with what they have now if they’re careful about what they plan in the future. But who knows? Maybe Warner Bros. Discovery will surprise us with a really amazing central storyline. Still, I’m more concerned for the DCEU than ever and I think I speak for most fans when I say that all I want at this point, is consistently good content.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

BTS: Concert Etiquette

Promotional concert image of Jin. Copyright goes to BTS and HYBE.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It’s really unfortunate that so many ARMY have to talk about what should be common sense right now. But I’ve made a fan-sign etiquette post in the past, so I feel it’s at least in my wheelhouse to also address concert etiquette. And while this post will be specifically referring to BTS, any of these points could easily be used for any concert. Really, all of this is common sense for any artist and any venue. We all need to remember to respect the people around us, the artists, and all of their safety as well as our own. It is no secret at this point that the concerts in Las Vegas have seen what is quite possibly the worst fan behavior from any BTS concert ever. And while I did see firsthand some of the issues on the first day, the second day was reportedly so much worse. At this rate, who knows what the last two days of this concert will look like with some of the safety measures they may have to take. And I, like many others, wonder if this will mean BTS may not come to Vegas on any future tours. Future tours that may be sooner than we think depending on the release of their new album and the decision about their military service that is reportedly coming sometime this month. So, if fans want them to ever return to Vegas, we all should be careful to follow these pretty obvious rules.

Don’t Throw Things:

My sister covered this a little bit in her post about the concert, but I’m going to go into more detail. Because this is really important and almost deserves a post in itself. At the LA concert someone threw a single flower at Jungkook which he caught. For some reason, this inspired hundreds of fans going to the Las Vegas concert to want their singular moment with the boys. The one flower inspired so many people to be delusional at the concert and put other people, including the boys, in danger in the hopes of getting noticed. Now the moving platforms used for ‘Telepathy’ are being covered in flowers. Flowers that the boys constantly step on and the boys could easily slip on. And for those of you with the hope that the boys would keep your gift; think again. The flowers sit on the moving platforms until the end of the concert, where they get cleaned up and thrown away by staff. There have been a couple of instances of the boys catching bouquets and taking them with them; but this only happens when the boys give that specific fan gestures consenting to the gift. Jungkook on day two even did the opposite, and attempted to gesture to fans to stop throwing things. This was an issue on day one, but it was even more of an issue on day two. This was because fans threw much more than flowers on day two. The boys got giant bouquets and things like headbands and plushies chucked at their heads. Jin and Yoongi were caught on video dodging quite a few. And Hobi got an ARMY bomb chucked at him. He posted a photo of himself after the concert where he appeared to have a bruise on his neck, though we don’t know for sure what it was from. Many fans assumed that the flying lightstick might have been the cause, but I wouldn’t recommend jumping to conclusions. Still, the possibility that it could be due to that, is a little terrifying. I’m going to make this clear. You aren’t an ARMY if you’re willing to sacrifice the safety of the boys for a glance. I would recommend not bringing anything to throw. Even though a couple fans did get consent to throw their gifts; it’s much safer for everyone to assume that you won’t be one of them. Also remember that Jin is in a cast. Throwing anything at him could risk hitting the cast and hurting him even more. Exactly why I say, I don’t consider you an ARMY if you put the boys in danger.

Don’t Crowd:

Speaking of the moving platforms, there’s another major safety concern that may mean we get the moving platforms removed from the rest of the tour and any tour after. People said that this also happened in LA, but I actually didn’t see this in my section when I was at the concert in LA. I did, however, absolutely see it during the concert in Las Vegas. People rushed to the railings or the sides of the floor when the boys were on the moving platforms. This created dangerous crowding, pushing, and could have easily lead to trampling. Not only that, it prevented other fans who were actually following the rules and staying in their seats from seeing them. I followed the rules of the venue and remained in my seat, and though I was closer to the moving platforms this time, I could see them far more clearly in LA when people weren’t crowding. In Vegas, I could barely see them when they were right in front of me. But I wasn’t going to be disrespectful to the boys or any of the other fans by leaving my seat. And I commend any other ARMY who also knew enough not to leave their seat. Please remember that this also could effect fans with mobility issues. Especially because some ARMY even crowded in the section for fans with mobility issues. Which is still a sentence I can’t believe. It’s not what the boys would want, and I guarantee the boys wouldn’t want to have an ARMY moment with someone who’s being disrespectful to the people around them.

Don’t Force Signs:

The other big issue that was reportedly even worse on day two. If you hold your sign over your head during the concert, you’re being disrespectful. This should be common sense. The people behind you have paid just as much money as you did, and blocking their view is never ok. Again, you are ruining the concert for another person for a glance. Do you think the boys would actually be happy about it? If you’re going to hold up your sign, it needs to be at chest level or over the railing if you’re in the front row of a section if the venue allows it. If you are at all blocking the view of someone else, please rethink the way you’re holding your sign. Especially if you’re sitting floor because there’s absolutely no way to see over a sign in that case. I know you want the boys to see your sign, but that is never more important than the experience of the ARMY sitting behind you. Ever. On top of this, it’s always important to bring an appropriate sign. If you wouldn’t show the sign to your entire family, you shouldn’t bring it. I guarantee, it will not be appreciated by any of the boys. Also, if you bring a sign dissing any member you aren’t an ARMY. That’s solo stan behavior. Even if you’re concerned about them, let them have their private lives. It isn’t your business.

I know that Las Vegas pushes the ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ mantra, but ARMY and BTS have worked hard to make the concerts a safe space for everyone. The maturity of ARMY is one of the things that I’m most proud of and one of the things that prove to people who disrespect BTS that their fans are mature by following the example of the boys. The issues that we are having in Vegas not only give us a bad name, but it also reflects badly on BTS themselves. If BTS have to avoid coming back to Las Vegas after this, or if it makes it in the news that they had to stop using the moving platforms for safety reasons, it’s going to make all of us look bad. And we especially don’t need that while such an important decision as their possible military exemption is being made. All of that on top of the terrifying lack of regard for general safety. We all knew that the Las Vegas crowds were going to be crazier than say, in Seoul or LA, but this is still ridiculous. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the boys decided not to go on Vlive after day two, even though they did every day after the concerts in LA. Let’s continue to show others that BTS concerts are safe spaces and that ARMY is respectful! My experience in LA was amazing, and even my Aunt who had been to several concerts admitted that the fans were the nicest and most respectful she had ever seen. Being in Vegas should not nullify this great reputation we have going! Let’s do it for the boys!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: PTD Las Vegas Day 1

Image from the ‘Permission to Dance’ music video. Copyright goes to BTS and Hybe.

Hey! Hallie here!

Annie and I are back from PTD Las Vegas! We attended Permission to Dance On Stage in LA and talked about it on this blog, so I’m not going to spend a ton of time on exactly what the concert was like overall. If you want to know more about that, I recommend you check that post out! This time I’m going to talk about some of the more specific shenanigans that happened on stage, as well as the other BTS events that occurred exclusively for their Las Vegas run! Before I get into this though, I want to talk to the ARMYS attending days three and four of the concert. Please DO NOT throw anything at the boys. I would think that this would be common sense, but the amount that was thrown at day one of the concert was ridiculous and I’ve seen that day two was even worse. There are videos of pretty much all of the members getting hit with or dodging flowers, bouquets, and stuffed animals aimed directly at their faces. Jin, who is currently in a cast, narrowly missed a headband lobbed at his face and someone threw AN ACTUAL ARMY BOMB at J-Hope. These boys could seriously get hurt. Namjoon already asked ARMYs to stop throwing things. The people who got permission from the members to throw something to them get a pass, but in the future, just don’t bring anything to throw. Also, if you’re rushing barricade or to the front of a first level section to get closer to the boys, feel bad. It’s so rude to everyone around you and creates potentially dangerous crowding. I’m sorry to halt this post to rant about this, but this is putting everyone in potential danger. Anyways, let’s get to the more positive stuff!

PTD Pop Up:

There are a ton of BTS events happening in Vegas right now, but my group got our tickets after the reservations for places like the cafe or the exhibition were already filled. Fortunately for us, the pop-up photo op event at AREA15 takes walk ins. You need to wait in an extra line if you don’t have a reservation, but the line was short and moved quickly. Inside everyone, regardless of whether you have tickets or not, has to wait in another line to get to the entrance to the main areas, but it also moves quickly. The photo ops in this pop-up are extremely interactive. A replica of the dry cleaners from the “Permission to Dance” MV is the first major fixture you run into, and its accurately decorated windows are almost just as fun as the purple interior with familiar balloon-filled dryers. You can get your “Dynamite” fill by taking a picture next to the basketball hoop that Yoongi hangs around, as well as inside the record shop that’s Namjoon’s domain. The record shop was one of my favorite fixtures both because of the “Dynamite” albums lining the walls and the record player sectioned off to the side. Next is the “Butter” section. Far and away my favorite part of this area was the elevator from the MV, which I saw many people dancing in. You can also take a picture with the huge “Butter” sign while globs of butter drip down from the ceiling. They actually move. And finally, the last room is full of screens showcasing the “Butter” music video. This room is awesome for taking pictures next to your bias, because seven of the eight screens inside have each member’s elevator dance break from the MV. And if you’re OT7, the eighth screen has all seven boys together. I’ll keep the other details a secret, but I seriously recommend this pop-up. And if you can get tickets to the exhibition, it’s literally a few steps away so you can do two of the biggest BTS events at once.

BTS Merch:

If you’re keeping track of the things being said about the Las Vegas concert, you already know that the lines for concert merch have been just as insane as they were in LA. People have been standing in crazy lines that stretch down for several blocks at odd hours of the morning in order to get the merch they want. But, as someone who couldn’t get to the concert any earlier than 4:30 in the afternoon, I got the merch I wanted pretty easily. For one, the pop-up I discussed above has a merch booth at the end that had no line when I went. This booth didn’t have any concert merch, but it still had plenty of Las Vegas specific stuff, as well as shirts for “Butter” and “In the Soop” that sold out on Weverse. At the concert lines for merch were still very long. I wound up sitting these lines out and instead hunting down the cafe selling BTS cookies. They had plenty of cookies to spare and I recommend getting one. They’re called ‘Cafe Lola’ and everything my group got was delicious, from the BTS cookies to the strawberry rose lemonade. After the concert my party went on another merch hunt and was directed to the main tent, which had no line at all. Even at the end of the concert, I only saw a few things completely sold out. First, if you’re a Jungkook fan, I don’t think you’ll be able to wait for merch as long as I did. Everything Jungkook specific was sold out. Second, if you want any of the fans or a blanket, you’ll also need to get there early. But there was plenty of other member-specific merch left for all six other members, and most of the tees and sweatshirts were still available. So don’t worry too much about missing your chance! Allegiant stadium seems to be much more organized and also seems to have more in stock.

The Concert:

Ok, I’ve rambled about the other experiences for long enough. Let’s talk about the concert. My group sat in one of the C100s sections. We sat in a similar section last concert, but we were even closer to the stage this time than we were at the last BTS concert we attended. Unfortunately, we had to wait an extra forty minutes to see exactly how close the members would be to us. During a few of the last MVs before the concert started, one of the screens went partially black and they had to stop the concert to take care of it right before the boys’ entrance. But ARMYs were polite and patient. We even practiced our wave! The concert contents didn’t have many surprises if you’ve seen their Seoul performance. We got to see all of their recent English songs, plus some “Be” and a whole lot of their most popular songs they didn’t get to perform live for ARMYs during the pandemic. All of it was mind blowing. I adore every performance of “Black Swan”, and the opportunity to see it closer up than I have before was heart-stopping. I seriously can’t get over the wing effects they do for each member during the opening. I also really appreciated the blow-up statuesque hands that stood behind the boys for “Fake Love”. And shout out to the on-screen effects for Las Vegas! They were much less distracting than the ones used in LA. Similarly, I appreciated how slowly the boys moved around the stadium during “Telepathy” in Las Vegas as opposed to the faster pace in LA. I felt like I had more time to get to see them.

And yeah, seeing the boys again made me insanely happy! The energy radiating off of all the members was electric. Even Jin’s chair couldn’t hide how happy he was to be performing in front of a crowd that could more easily express themselves (Sorry about that Seoul). We got to see Namjoon and Jin doing dorky body rolls, Jungkook lifted his shirt for all the thirsty ARMYs MULTIPLE times, Taehyung already started throwing things being chucked at him back at the audience (As he should), Jimin’s attractive confidence actually left me speechless at parts, and J-Hope and Yoongi were so unbelievably cool every time they rapped that I almost felt like I shouldn’t be in the same room as them. At the end of the concert all of the members expressed how much they love us, which was lovely as usual. But Namjoon brought up the Grammys, which was very interesting. The members seem kind of done with the Grammys at this point, and yeah guys me too. Namjoon told ARMYs that BTS didn’t come to Vegas for the Grammys, they came for ARMY. He also said that the Grammys could be haters if they wanted and that BTS doesn’t need them. My favorite thing he said, though, was that he could talk about his frustrations to his friends in private but he wasn’t going to insult the academy in public because he’s an adult. This was such a good dig to the pompous jerks who’ve been going on podcasts to hate on BTS ever since they lost the Grammy. We all know that the Grammys are dying and that BTS doesn’t need them. Just look at the way Vegas had already dedicated itself to BTS by the time the Grammys rolled in. But Namjoon just confirmed their irrelevance while calling out their childish behavior. I love him so much.

This is where I’m going to end this post. I had such a good time at this concert. I’m already going through post-concert depression again, which is never fun. But none of that diminishes how amazing of a time I had or how much this experience will stay with me for years to come. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be an ARMY. The members of BTS have pulled me out of some really dark times in my life and are constantly encouraging me to challenge my beliefs and to love myself. It means so much to me to take part in Hobi’s call and response at the beginning of each concert because he has been my hope in moments where I needed it most. But beyond BTS, ARMY has been such a warm and welcoming community and I won’t ever be able to repay BTS for introducing me to you guys. I very much hope that BTS goes on tour soon so as many ARMYs as possible get the experience of seeing the boys and this community in person.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

International Dramas: ‘Business Proposal’

Promotional image of (left) Ann Hyoseop and (right) Kim Sejeong. Copyright goes to Kross Pictures, SBS, and Netflix.

Hi! It’s Annie!

So lately I’ve been stuck in the middle of my favorite K-Dramas and watching ones that are actually new. After watching a few dramas that I liked but didn’t really love, I was seriously considering just stopping for a while and returning to some old favorites. But I was stopped in my tracks from doing this when Jungkook did a recent Q&A on his Instagram and recommended this drama. And then I had something else that was new to watch. I wasn’t really expecting much other than mild enjoyment from this, especially because the synopsis of the show didn’t sell me right away. I feel like I’ve been spoiled rotten because of shows like ‘Crash Landing On You’, ‘Itaewon Class’, and ‘Vincenzo’. But, only a few episodes in, I was absolutely convinced that this would become one of my favorite current dramas out there. And definitely one of my favorites in the romance genre. This show doesn’t shy away from certain tropes while completely subverting other ones, and I constantly questioned what would happen next and was on edge for the next episode. That’s not to say that there’s a lot of action here; it is mostly just very wholesome. So, I’m going to get into this, but before that here is your MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!

Synopsis: Hari is a fairly ordinary business worker who’s only big connection is her best friend, Youngseo, who comes from a very rich family. Youngseo’s family is determined to marry her off for financial gain, which has prompted her to ask Hari to go on all of her family set up blind dates in her place. Hari is used to acting crazy on these dates to scare off any potential suitors. But things get complicated when the CEO of Hari’s company is set up with her friend, and Hari’s crazy act seems to intrigue him more than drive him away. When he suddenly proposes marriage to who he things is Youngseo; Hari must now hide who she is at work and lie to everyone around her.

The Good:

The Female Lead- Finally! I’ve found another female lead that I absolutely love! I have to say, I was a little discouraged, especially after watching ‘Inheritors’ so recently. But Hari was full of personality, and she didn’t just give up when things got difficult. One of the things I really liked about Hari was how funny she was! I haven’t seen Kim Sejeong in anything before this, but she completely sold me here. Her comedic timing was always on point, she was excellent at conveying emotion without even having to say anything, and she’s just overall likable! It’s difficult not to like her, which works so well for the show because that’s one of the things that gets Hari into the most trouble. As awful as she tries to act, you can still see who she is underneath. I also really liked that the drama made sure to portray Hari as incredibly smart and capable. She’s one of the best workers in her field, so she doesn’t rely on Taemu for his stability. That was also very refreshing to see.

The Male Lead- Taemu was confusing at times, but he’s always adorable. It’s difficult to see what he sees in Hari’s act at first, but eventually you realize that he’s probably more observant than he lets on. Though his immediate need to marry her is still confusing. My favorite parts of Taemu’s character were mostly unspoken however. When Taemu first finds out that Hari has been lying to him, his immediate reaction is that he wants revenge. And watching his silent struggle between his determination for revenge and his want to help her was absolutely amazing. There’s this moment where Hari burns her hand and he panics, and the only reason you know he wants to help her is his widened eyes and a close up on his hand. It was all very ‘Pride and Prejudice’ with Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy and I loved every bit of it. It’s just hard not to love this very open and adorably awkward character. He seems reserved at first, but then you realize just how much he wears his heart on his sleeve.

The Second Female Lead- There are two main couples in this drama. There’s the main advertised one and then the secondary, which has so much time devoted to it that it barely feels secondary. And I have to say, I love these two characters just as much as the main ones. Youngseo is the sassy, confident, supportive friend that we all want to have and all want to be. She has the name of her family backing her, but her main goal is to become successful in her field by herself. Something else that was refreshing to see. The women in this drama were really badass! She has this rival, but this drama never does the female rivalry thing for too long. They eventually become semi-friends and it’s more comedic than anything. I absolutely laughed my ass off at “You know I have no chingu!”. Youngseo was more than stubborn, but seeing her flaws made me appreciate the depth of this character.

The Second Male Lead- I think Sunghoon might have been my favorite character in the entire drama. Firstly, it’s hard to get over this adorable and responsible glasses character that’s just trying to do his best. Sunghoon was constantly exasperated by the choices other characters made, because usually he had to clean up the mess, but he was supportive no matter what. Definitely the most loyal friend you could have. The kind of guy who would be by your side in a heartbeat if you need him. I find that the cool and smart glasses character usually is pretty stoic and seems like he doesn’t care. But while Sunghoon can be stoic, you never question how much he cares. He puts his all into every relationship in his life, which is often where he meets the most trouble. I love him. Definitely one of those characters that you feel like would give great hugs. Also, can we talk about the way he took off his glasses to kiss Youngseo?

The Romances- This show was really good at painting every romance as different but just as important. While the main romance is more of an unexpected thing that grows over time, the second romance is one that’s expected by both sides and only doesn’t happen earlier because of a communication issue. And both are treated as just as cute and given just as much time for you to gush over. Taemu wants to hate Hari but finds that he can’t, while Hari wants to avoid Taemu but finds that his presence is something she values. While both Youngseo and Sunghoon like the other but are convinced that the other person doesn’t like them. It’s so different, but it’s all developed brilliantly. When the couples in the show get together, it makes sense. It feels like the right time for them. They don’t try to throw everything off to throw in a random plot twist with either couple. When Taemu’s grandfather doesn’t approve, Hari becomes determined to make him approve instead of just taking it. And when Youngseo’s father calls Sunghoon to try and make him break up with his daughter, Youngseo decides to start her own business away from her family instead of break up. Even when their situations don’t feel natural, the show goes out of its way to make the connection feel natural and strong.

The Friendships- I don’t think I’ve seen more realistic or developed friendships in any other drama. I loved Hari and Youngseo’s friendship possibly the most, because female friendships are often skipped over or just not there at all in many shows both internationally and not. I don’t mean to pick on ‘Inheritors’ again, especially because I did like the show, but that show only seemed to have female rivalries. It was nice to see these characters go through trials together, scream over roaches together, and constantly be there for each other. Not just going to lunches, but also knowing each other’s parents and having sleep overs. Because that’s all stuff I can relate to. On the other hand, the male friendship was also amazing! Especially because the drama went out of its way to show both guys being vulnerable around each other, which is not how male friendships are often portrayed. To me, these portrayals of friendships felt like a step forward.

Trope Subversion: This happened so many times and it was either brilliant or almost parody. There’s a cliff hanger at the end of one episode where Taemu gets into a car accident. The entire series they had been setting up a possible tragedy, as his parents had died in a car accident in the rain and he is afraid of the rain because of this. And in this scene he is shown driving in the rain. But the next episode he has a fractured wrist and not much else and the situation is almost comedically dropped. You know it’s done in parody because throughout the drama, Hari’s parents are watching a very trope-filled drama that parallels what’s actually happening in the drama but it’s all very much more dramatic. So something will happen in that drama, and then the show will instead show a more realistic version. I thought it was both funny and very clever. Another way they did this was by actually improving some tropes. This drama doesn’t have many flashbacks, but when they do it’s always new and interesting information. They did a flashback sequence with the secondary couple, but it was shown from Sunghoon’s perspective when what the audience saw before was shown from Youngseo’s perspective. It made it actually interesting to watch the flashback sequences, which is something I never thought I’d say. This drama purposefully subverts tropes and I honestly hope that more dramas also do this in the future.

The Bad:

Rushing- One of the only elements of this drama that stood out to me as not feeling natural, was how quickly the romances escalated. I mean, Youngseo and Sunghoon went from drunkenly confessing to sleeping together in one night, which was an issue the drama pointed out but also never seemed to really regard as an issue. And then they got engaged after having only dated for a couple months. At least the main couple had more build up, and they did get engaged after the one year gap rather than just a couple months. But they also didn’t see each other for that year, so I still don’t know how to feel about it. For me, I’m ok seeing my favorite couples happily dating at the end of a drama. I don’t need them to be married to feel secure in their ending or to feel like their relationship may lead to marriage.

Year Gap- This was one trope that they didn’t subvert. Though I do have to admit, one of the reasons they used this trope was to subvert the ‘grandfather suddenly dying of a heart attack’ trope. But, I still wasn’t sure why they needed it. Year gaps feel like a lot less time after having been in quarantine for over two years, but I still didn’t see the need for separating the two main characters. Especially because it happened right before the show ended, and they have to end up together at the end, so it felt like it didn’t serve any plot purposes either.

Relationship Dynamics- Can we talk about the fact that he’s her boss? And instead of communicating with her after everything, he decided to use his position of power to make her life a living hell? This is a horrible power dynamic where he actually uses his power against her. This drama can be really really bad about showing toxic relationships in modern standards rather than healthy. Speaking of which…

Consent- I think it’s important to note that Youngseo was way too drunk that one night and Sunghoon absolutely saw how drunk she was. I don’t think that their first time together felt consensual and I think that’s less of a Sunghoon problem and more of a writing problem. But it is still an absolutely horrifying scene to watch. So much so that I think it probably needs a trigger warning.

There you go! Seriously not much for me to pick apart with this drama, until we get to the really problematic parts. I would like to thank Jungkook of BTS for the recommendation, because I absolutely loved it. If you’re in the mood to watch a cute romance, this should be on the top of your watch list. Just maybe skip a couple scenes. I really do think it’s a writing issue. Today my sister and I will be at the BTS concert in Las Vegas so hopefully we’ll have plenty to talk about when we get back! If you’re going on any of the days, I can’t stress enough how much you need to be safe! As someone who has lived in at least a decent proximity to Vegas all her life, it isn’t the safest place despite what they would have you believe. Be careful of what parts of the Strip you walk at night, especially if you’re alone, be careful about accepting anything from anyone, and also I would highly recommend continuing to wear a mask! Let’s all be safe out there tonight! I still can’t believe I’m seeing them again so soon!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: ‘Greedfall’ Review

Still of De Sardet from ‘Greedfall’. Copyright goes to Spiders, Focus Entertainment, and Game Source Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

‘Greedfall’ is one of those games that got pretty decent attention for a game made by a smaller developer, but also flew under most people’s radar. I didn’t even realize this game came out in 2019 until about a month ago, and I adore BioWare-style RPGs. Especially ones similar to ‘Dragon Age’ titles. Similar to ‘Dragon Age’, ‘Greedfall’ is a fantasy RPG complete with multiple skill trees, companions with loyalty missions, and choices that change the outcome of the game. There are a few major differences here though, mostly surrounding its emphasis on diplomacy, its important side quests, and its depiction of European colonialism. I’ve seen a lot of people be pretty hard on this game despite the knowledge that it was created by a team of only 30+ people, so I wanted to write my review to give you another perspective. While this game doesn’t have the quality of ‘Dragon Age’, and it is lacking in some departments, it’s still a really good time and if you haven’t played this game I think you should give it a try. But I’ll explain all of that below. Just know moving forward that I’ll keep this review mostly spoiler free and I’ll mark the spoilers throughout. Let’s get into this!

Gameplay:

I’ve said before that gameplay doesn’t concern me nearly as much as the story does in a video game, but horrible gameplay still makes a game feel unplayable so it’s still important to talk about. The gameplay in this game is what ‘Greedfall’ gets trashed for the most. I’ll tell you right now, it isn’t bad. The gameplay consists of unlocking various abilities with your skill tree and selecting them to use in battle. The skills you use most can be assigned to the D-pad for easy access during a fight. To use other skills, or just to list out battle commands for your character, you can pause combat. (You can’t control your companions during a fight, but they don’t go down as easy as companions in other games sometimes do.) Aside from those, you have the general dodge and attack buttons you can spam all you like. There’s also two bars that charge throughout battles, one allowing you to unleash a very useful strong attack, and the other showing you how much magic you can use until you have to wait for the bar to recharge. Really, none of it’s new for an RPG. And to be honest, there aren’t enough skills to make fighting feel unique and satisfying, especially hours into the game. The monotony of it is only increased by the very few enemy types you’ll encounter throughout the game. Some of the bosses even look the same. That said, it isn’t like this gameplay is game breaking. It’s just too simple. Which is definitely not the worst thing I’ve said about a game’s gameplay.

The gameplay of this game doesn’t just revolve around fighting, though. In fact, this game emphasizes that there are many ways to solve your problems and fighting might not always be the best option. ‘Greedfall’ takes your role as a diplomat very seriously and expects you to act accordingly. So if one of your companions suggests that you sneak into the back of a warehouse instead of possibly angering the faction that owns the warehouse by showing up unannounced, maybe you should listen to them. And if you find a disguise to help you blend in with the workers, why not take advantage of that instead? This is the gameplay in ‘Greedfall’ that really makes it shine. Knowing that there are many solutions to each problem and trying to find the one that will anger the least amount of people made missions so much more interesting.

The Story:

I saw some reviewers trash this story for being bland, but I definitely don’t agree with that. In this game you play as De Sardet, a royal from the land of Serene given the job of becoming a Legate and a diplomat over in a newly established settlement in New Serene. De Sardet is sent by their mother to try to discover a cure for a deadly disease called the Melchior, which has completely ravaged all of Serene and is killing their mother. Accompanying them to New Serene is their cousin, Constantin, who has been appointed the new leader and governor of New Serene and who grew up alongside De Sardet as a kind of younger brother. Once De Sardet lands on New Serene they discover a rivalry between their faction (The Congregation of Merchants), the other factions that have moved to the area, and the Natives of the island. These factions are fascinating and make up the bulk of the story. You discover quickly that the Merchant Congregation has earned most of its power by remaining neutral in most conflicts, which makes you the neutral party in the various rivalries you encounter throughout the game. The Bridge Alliance is a faction of scientists that seem interesting at first, but quickly become the most irritating, evil, and unforgivable faction on the island. I feel like the game tries to make each of these factions good and bad in different ways, but the Bridge Alliance just ends up being bad. Next is Theleme, which is the major religious faction on the island. Their religion directly contrasts with the Natives, which leads to some awful decisions, but play your cards right and they actually wind up as more understanding allies. Then there’s the Coin Guard, a mercenary faction of guards that offer protection to all factions and can be more than a little shady. My personal favorite are the Nauts, a very secretive but loyal band of pirates who honor time spent in their faction with facial tattoos.

The final faction, the Natives, are understandably furious at the way the other factions have invaded their land and mistreated them, but they’re also very wise and often much more reasonable than any of the other factions. And this is where we get to the European colonialism influences of this game. This isn’t one of those games that romanticizes this ideology or the time period in which white people were colonizing places they were not welcome and committing atrocities along the way. The clear villains in this game are always the white people trying to take advantage of the Natives while also attempting to strip them of their culture. But also, know that ‘Greedfall’ doesn’t do any of this perfectly. For one, while the Natives appear more like woodland elves in order to tie them to the fantasy lore in the game, that doesn’t disguise the fact that they’re representing a minority group that already sees stories about their trauma enough in the media. Also (SPOILER) De Sardet is revealed to actually be Native by birth about halfway through this game. Which feels like it’s a quick fix to attempt to make the player feel less like they’re intruding by constantly saving the Natives and making decisions for them as part of the choice-based gameplay, but winds up feeling weird when you note that De Sardet still comes from a place of privilege (END SPOILER). In other words, just remember that white people writing an allegory for the mistreatment of a minority group always winds up with major flaws.

The Characters:

There aren’t as many main characters here as there are in most BioWare games, but I do like what we see here. For one, De Sardet feels more like an actual character than a player character like the Inquisitor from ‘Dragon Age:Inquisition’. This is because De Sardet has a clear personality and rich history that influences the rest of the story. De Sardet’s close relationship with their cousin, Constantin, is an emotional force that impacts the entire game. And the way they reminisce about old times with both Constantin and Kurt, who has been their body guard and fight trainer for a long time, gives De Sardet added depth. As for Constantin himself, he’s a bit of a mixed bag. He can be endearing, but his pretentiousness can get annoying. (SPOILER) Especially after he’s diagnosed with the Melchior. The game attempts to tie his less caring and more haughty behavior to the fact that he’s dying and desperate to find a cure, but that doesn’t feel very believable when we saw him act similarly before he became sick. I ultimately found him a less sympathetic villain than intended (END SPOILER). Kurt, on the other hand, is my favorite companion. He’s usually kind and gives out excellent advice, but there are moments in the story where he can seem genuinely dangerous. I didn’t expect that level of complexity from him, but I love it. (SPOILER) The ‘Treason!’ mission, where he can either betray his own people and help you, or attempt to betray you before deciding he can’t do it, gives him one of the most shocking story twists I’ve ever seen from a companion (END SPOILER). Siora is another favorite of mine. I liked her background as a Native princess who wants peace, but I also loved the added knowledge she provided considering most missions involve the Natives in some way. I felt like her point of view was the most invaluable of all the companions.

My opinions of the other three companions is a bit more mixed. Aphra instantly comes off as a badass, but her distant nature doesn’t really help her stand out amongst your companions. Also, her story is mostly rooted in a problem she already solved in the past, namely abandoning the horrifically awful scientist who taught her. So sometimes her missions, which surround her new studies, feel unimportant. Vasco has a more heart-wrenching story that follows his desire to know his birth family because he was given to the Nauts at a young age. But the story is quickly resolved after Vasco meets one family member and sees that he’s a bit of an ass. That said, Vasco’s one of those snarky pirate captains I can never resist. Finally, Petrus is one of those guys you’re instantly suspicious of. He’s an older man who’s known for being a secretive and manipulative politician. I did like that his complicated morals became the backbone for his character growth as his story continued, but his story also revolves around an aspect of De Sardet I don’t like that I listed as a spoiler above. So I won’t get into it, but I do wish his story didn’t involve it. While we’re talking about characters let’s talk about romance! Of your five companions, four are romanceable. Characters playing as feminine De Sardet can romance Kurt, Vasco, and Siora. Characters playing as masculine De Sardet can romance Aphra, Vasco, and Siora. The romance I sprung for was Kurt. Some people dislike this romance because of the fact that Kurt is older than De Sardet and has known them since they were a child, but the game makes clear that Kurt isn’t THAT much older than De Sardet and didn’t decide to get to know them outside of their professional relationship until the events of the game. That was enough to resolve my worries, especially because Kurt is too sweet to resist. But romance scenes are limited to two short sequences, so don’t expect much.

Side Quests:

I don’t see enough people warning new ‘Greedfall’ players about this so here you go: Side quests are MANDATORY in this game. There are a couple side quests you can skip (The ones involving finding a bunch of random letters or finding all the campsites on all of the maps), but all other side quests need to be completed if you want any sort of good ending by the end of your run through. This is because all of the side quests tie to the different factions I explained above, and if you don’t take time to make sure relations with all of these factions are going well, they won’t feel any obligation to help you when things start getting rough at the end of your journey. Some people might hate this aspect of the game, but I found it refreshing. The reason why these side quests are so important is because they actually tell full stories that are worth exploring, which is nice compared to the fetch quests you find in other games.

This was a bit of a longer post but I definitely wanted to talk about as much of this game as possible. There’s genuinely so much to explore and love in this game. It has its flaws, and I did encounter a few glitches, but nothing was game-breaking and all of it was impressive for such a small team. It might not be ground-breaking and the player might not have all the customization capabilities and gameplay elements we’ve all come to expect in RPGs, but I don’t think that diminishes the excellent storytelling here. So if you like games like ‘Dragon Age’, consider this your newest recommendation!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

BTS: The Scammys Have Never Been Important

Image of (from left) Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jungkook, Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, and Kim Taehyung. Copyright goes to Hybe, BTS, and CBS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

So yesterday was another massive disappointment to many many people. I know the boys were again disappointed by last night’s events, and that’s what matters most to me. But, considering the likes of ‘Queen’ (yes, that ‘Queen’, the classic rock band headed by Freddie Mercury), never received a Grammy, I think it stands to say that the Scammys have always been irrelevant. And I personally feel that they, and all award shows like it, only prove their irrelevance in every passing year. I mean, just look at viewership this year. Though it wasn’t lower than last year’s record low viewership rating, it was only barely better. And it was also still lower than even the Oscars, which also had insufferably bad ratings this year. BTS is the most popular group in the world, so why is anyone judging their success based off an obviously dying tradition? I’m going to go fully into last night’s performance and all the BTS shenanigans, but I’m also going to go into why BTS winning or losing definitely does not matter. Let’s get into it!

BTS:

Last night was an amazing night for BTS! And I’m sure everyone could tell before they even got there. For those of you who don’t already know, Las Vegas (where the Scammys were held) has been transformed into a BTS carnival. There are BTS pop ups everywhere, the Bellagio Fountains are going to BTS songs, and there are posters and billboards as far as the eye can see. This is because their concert stint there is soon to start. (I have an announcement about that at the end.) In fact, the place the Scammys took place in this year is none other than the theatre being used for live-streaming the concert to those who couldn’t get tickets. One didn’t even need to step outside to know who was the boss. BTS showed up looking amazing. Namjoon’s hair is grey and I may or may not have screamed because I think that’s my favorite of his hair colors. Jimin also cut his hair! They were shown a couple times throughout the awards, including being shown massive respect by the host, Trevor Noah. He did lose a bit of his good intentions by mentioning that Namjoon had learned English from ‘Friends’ for the bazillionth time, but Namjoon seemed to brush it off. C’mon guys, we all know that Namjoon can speak English. America is the stupid country for not attempting to be multilingual. Can we move on? They were also asked plenty of collaboration questions on the red carpet, again belittling their existence from another country by suggesting that they need to collaborate with someone American. But, I digress. Especially with their performance slot and the Trevor Noah appreciation, this is far and away the most respect they’ve received attending the Scammys. It still wasn’t great and it still doesn’t inspire me to give them any more views. Especially considering they saved their award for almost last, only to not give them anything. Very obviously attempting to get fan viewership. It was even more obvious than last year. It is very clear who needs who.

BTS Performance:

Namjoon said that we would be seeing something entirely new on the red carpet, and that is exactly what we got. Though the song wasn’t new, it was still ‘Butter’, everything else about the performance was completely new. The entire thing was done in a secret agent style that I could watch all day. Jin is still wearing a cast from having shattered his finger, so he took the hacker position. We then saw Jungkook descend onto the stage and Taehyung, who was now virally flirting with Olivia Rodrigo, throw a card to Jungkook. (No, he didn’t catch the exact card Tae threw.) They then went into a fully fledged secret agent version of ‘Butter’, with Jin joining in a few times. This included a full jazzy dance break where they used this really cool looking jacket choreography and another dance break while avoiding lasers. This has to be one of my favorite performances they’ve ever done and it undeniably stole the entire show. BTS has an amazing talent of making each of their performances both uniquely interesting and immersive feeling. It feels like you’re watching a fully fledged production, even when they only perform one song.

Award Shows:

People seem to forget that award shows have nothing to do with talent, and never will. They have to do mostly with politics within the industry. I’ve said this before, but winning an award at any of these award shows says nothing about the talent of an artist. It does, however, say everything about how much that artist’s company bribed the old white men who are a part of the academies. In fact, most of the time voting is based off of imaginary standards that these old white men enforce. In movies, there’s even an entire genre of movies dedicated to pleasing the rich members of the academy. If you’re wondering why BTS didn’t win, the answer is simple. They aren’t white or American. The academy prefers you to be both, but they would much rather have an American win than someone from another country. It’s just another example of how American industries still refuse to recognize media from other countries. And if you think it’s messed up, the best thing to do is stop watching. It’s clear to any experts that all of these award shows probably won’t last much longer. The best thing we can do is prove that we’re not going to watch these award shows anymore. And this goes for any awards show, whether it’s the Scammys, the Oscars, or even the Tonys. No artist should have their success measured by how many awards they get. And BTS is the biggest example of this that the music industry has probably ever gotten. The proof was all around Vegas. The fact that a group powerful enough to take over Las Vegas received no award, is proof enough how irrelevant the award is. So why do people from other countries specifically still revere these shows? Because media in America is revered and America has always been unwilling to identify anyone from any other country as successful, especially not white populated countries. The more we all start to consume media from other countries, the more we’ll prove that these awards are insignificant. I personally believe BTS will be an important step in the Scammys finally dying out.

Anyways, just listen to BTS on this. Don’t feel too sad about them not getting an award. That award becomes more and more meaningless every year. And hopefully our boys will help these awards die out. I wish for that more that I wish for them getting one. For me, the academy just feels like another obstacle between the industry now and achieving equality in the music industry. But that aside, the most important BTS event this week was never the Scammys. Of course, it’s their concert that begins this weekend! Which I am happy to say my sister and I will actually be attending! We got surprised with tickets this weekend! I’m so excited! I hope that we’ll see some of you there! I still have no idea how I’m going to survive seeing Namjoon’s grey hair in real life.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi/Superheroes: Looking Back at ‘Bumblebee’

Screenshot of Hailee Steinfeld in Bumblebee. Copyright goes to Allspark Pictures, Paramount Pictures Studios, Tencent Pictures, Bay Films, and Di Bonaventura Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

Hailee Steinfeld has seen a lot of recent success in Hollywood. Between her voice acting role as Gwen Stacy in ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ and its upcoming sequel, and the huge success of ‘Hawkeye’, she’s become a staple in the Marvel universe. And besides that she’s received major acclaim from the LGBTQ+ community for Vi in the series ‘Arcane’ and for Emily Dickinson in ‘Dickinson’. Of course, none of this recent success is sudden. She’s slowly been making herself a big name in Hollywood for years now. But I do find that these roles in particular are somewhat overshadowing other roles she’s played in the past. So, as someone who’s never seen ‘Bumblebee’, I wanted to expand my knowledge of her previous blockbuster roles. Especially because ‘Bumblebee’ was surprisingly well received despite the collective agreement from most audiences that the ‘Transformers’ films had become unbearable. Overall, I thought this movie was pretty good! But, like the ‘Transformers’ films before it, it definitely wasn’t perfect. Before I get into this more, here’s your SPOILER warning. Let’s get started!

What I Liked:

Charlie: The main reason I watched this movie was for Hailee Steinfeld, and she definitely didn’t disappoint. Steinfeld always manages to come off as extremely relatable and likable in whatever role she plays. Charlie’s no exception. For one, Charlie’s love of excellent 80s songs made me instantly like her. But she’s also a misunderstood, depressed teen without ever feeling too angsty. At the time of the movie, her father has recently died from a sudden heart attack and her mother has begun dating again. Charlie most definitely isn’t over her father’s death and she isn’t on great terms with her mother because of it. While all of this does play a major role in Charlie’s character, it’s used tastefully. Charlie’s relationship with Bumblebee, the main driving force of the movie, doesn’t serve as a constant reminder of her father. Instead, her own curiosity and concern for Bumblebee drives their moments together. The scenes she does dwell on the tragedy are sweet, with Bumblebee serving as a cute supporter and comforter during her lowest moments. And, of course, by the end of the movie she overcomes her grief through her own bravery and her friendship with Bumblebee. I also enjoyed her relationship with her love interest, Memo. Memo is a lot more interested in her than she is in him, but she both appreciates his general kindness and stands up for her boundaries around him, which feels a lot healthier than many romances that start out this way. And while she does decide to give him a shot at the end of the movie, I loved that she was clear about how slowly she wanted to move in said relationship. Charlie is a much needed step up from the horrible female representation seen in other ‘Transformers’ movies.

Bumblebee: Bumblebee feels very much like E.T. in this movie. While he’s introduced in a few major battle scenes that are pretty frightening and destructive, Bumblebee loses both his voice and his memories right after the film starts. Afterwards, he becomes less of the badass fighter we see in other films and more of an adorable puppy dog stumbling his way through Earth. His big blue eyes are easy to fawn over right off the bat, and the way that he unsuccessfully tries to hide himself behind a tiny rock genuinely had me tearing up over the adorableness. I mean, in his first introduction to Charlie he responds to her holding her hands out to calm him by nuzzling against her palm. He’s seriously just a giant puppy. But the movie does do an excellent job of reminding the audience that he’s still the badass we saw in the first few scenes. When Charlie decided to prank one of her bullies by TPing her lawn and egging her car, Bumblebee takes everything a step too far by violently stomping on the car until it folds in on itself. He also makes the questionable decision of leading a cop on a high speed chase. Still, his intentions are good all the way through. The best part for me though, was watching him relearn how to talk through recorded dialogue and music. It was such an excellent throwback to the first ‘Transformers’ movies and it remains to be a really fun and interesting way to have the character communicate. And I did almost cry when Bumblebee re-introduced himself to Optimus by playing a recording of Charlie saying his name.

What I Didn’t Like:

Charlie’s Family: I think this movie was trying to show the audience that, while Charlie’s family doesn’t understand her, they’re still supportive and overall well-meaning. I don’t think that came across at all. Her mother felt uncaring and manipulative throughout the entire movie. From her first scene she doesn’t seem to care much about Charlie, instead giving more of her attention to Charlie’s brother. When Charlie expresses excitedly how close she is to finishing her father’s car, a project that’s taken her a long time and means a lot to her, her mother doesn’t do much more than scoff at her. Then, on Charlie’s birthday, her mom gets her a flowery helmet and tells her that she will be forcing Charlie to wear it from now on. Which is both a terrible present and a clear sign that she hasn’t attempted to learn anything about her daughter. After that, when Charlie actually goes out to get the car she wants for her birthday, her mom admonishes her and then uses the car without her permission the next day. Meanwhile her mom’s boyfriend aims plenty of underhanded insults at Charlie, including getting her a book about how to smile more as a birthday gift. Once again, a terrible gift that’s gag-worthy to any woman who’s been told to “smile more”. Her brother’s the typical annoying younger brother and he doesn’t serve much purpose. At one point he seems to actually want to help Charlie, but he winds up giving her away on accident fairly quickly without being of any help at all. In other words, I hate her family and I don’t see the point of them.

All the ‘Transformers’ Stuff: This sounds weird for a ‘Transformers’ movie, but hear me out. This movie worked great as a ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘E.T.’ sort of movie. Charlie and Bumblebee were an adorable pair to explore the whole “cute creature from a strange world has to learn about humans” plot line. But any time the film divulged from this for some human vaporization scenes with some pretty forgettable villains, or metal-screeching Autobots vs Decepticons fight scenes, it felt strange. The opening sequences immediately stood out to me as weird because the Bumblebee character we see there is so much different from the one we see in the entire rest of the movie. But even beyond that, it felt like any time Optimus Prime was mentioned it upset the flow of the movie. One minute I would be watching Bumblebee support Charlie while her bullies teased her about her father’s death, but in the next the military would be discussing the ramifications of a destructive war happening off-planet. It felt like two completely different movies. But I suppose that’s what happens when you try to tie a more personal, heartfelt film to the explosion fest you can expect from Michael Bay.

When looking back at reviews for this film, I saw a lot of reviewers debating whether they enjoyed the movie because it was genuinely good, or because it was much better than the other ‘Transformers’ films. As someone who hasn’t seen the other ‘Transformers’ films in a very long time, I think ‘Bumblebee’ was very enjoyable. Hailee Steinfeld proves that she can play awkward and down-to-earth well, and honestly who doesn’t want to hug Bumblebee after watching this movie? It does what it sets out to do. And even though I did feel like the basic ‘Transformers’ elements were too much of a tone shift, I can’t say I was expecting it all to go seamlessly together anyways given what I remember of the previous films. I’d definitely watch this one again. Am I excited for the sequel, though? Not really. I think making another one without Steinfeld kind of misses the point on what actually worked in this movie. Plus, dinosaur Transformers have always been a step too far for me.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

International Dramas: Inheritors (Heirs)

Promotional image of (from left) Krystal Jung, Lee Minho, Park Shinhye, Choi Jinhyuk, and Kim Woobin. Copyright goes to ‘Hwa&Dam Pictures’, ‘SBS TV’ and ‘Seoul Broadcasting System’.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I think this post has probably been a long time coming. Arguably, two of the most popular KDramas of all time are ‘Boys Over Flowers’ and ‘The Inheritors’. Both of them contributed to Lee Minho becoming possibly the most popular and famous actor in South Korea. And despite the fact that I have been a fan of ‘Boys Over Flowers’ for quite a while and have made several posts on it, I was a little hesitant to watch this one. I have no idea why. I think I had heard some mixed reviews on it and I wasn’t sure if I was up for a twenty episode show. But, after my friend realized that a portion of the drama was filmed just down the street from her house, it was natural that myself, my sister, and my friend got together and binge watched all of it over the course of two days. It’s always more fun to watch anything with company! And so I have finally watched this drama as well, and I definitely have a lot of thoughts. Especially as a California native, because the first portion of this drama takes place in, and was filmed in, California. And this also contains one of the most hardcore hate to love experiences I’ve ever had for a character. Here’s your MAJOR SPOILER warning. Let’s get into it!

Summary- Eunsang is a poor High School student who lives with her single mother who is mute. The family also consists of her sister, who has since moved to California to make something of herself. When Eunsang attempts to visit California, her still poor sister steals from her and abandons her with nowhere to go, leaving a nearby onlooker, Tan, to look after her. Tan is rich and belongs to an elite Korean family who have abandoned him in California in order to get him out of the way. After falling in love in California, they each return to find that Eunsang’s mother is actually working for Tan’s family and that pursuing a relationship might be more difficult than either of them think. Especially when they both end up enrolled in a High School full of other rich teens.

The Good:

Male Lead- As always, Minho has a very charming presence that’s difficult to ignore in any role he tackles. But this character is possibly one of my favorites I’ve ever seen from him! Though I like ‘Boys Over Flowers’, I have always found Jun Pyo to be a bit spoiled and I don’t think the end of the show completely redeemed him from some of his previous actions as a bully. So it was really nice to see Minho as such a warmhearted and sweet character from the beginning. Though Tan appears to be stand offish at first and often jokes around rather than taking things too seriously, he’s one of the most thoughtful characters in the show. The fact that he’s constantly fighting for his relationship and what he wants is admirable, and he often gives people second chances that don’t deserve it because he wants them to be kind. He wants to believe the best in people, and he doesn’t care if he’s treated badly for it because in the end he feels that if it benefits the other person, it was all worth it. Very selfless and charming. And absolutely clueless when it comes to romance, but he bumbles his way through quite adorably.

Second Lead- I hated Youngdo for the first half of this drama. Absolutely hated him. And one of my favorite things a drama can do, is make me absolutely fall in love with a character they made me hate early on. Not many dramas, or really any media in general, are actually successful at doing this, though many try. Youngdo was my favorite character at the end. I loved him so much, and I did end up suffering from SLS (second lead syndrome) by the end of it all. Youngdo is an incredibly awful bully at the beginning of the show. He’s violent, he’s manipulative, he’s got a massive ego. He is stuffed with every possible villain bully personality trait that there’s no way to possibly like him. I kept waiting for the redemption arc to begin and I thought it never would. And then he accepted his defeat in going after the main character, and this is actually when he started to change. He decided to start helping people for the benefit of them instead of himself. The show delved into his backstory and his abusive household. He even became so invested with the main couple that he would help them out if they needed it, but he was going to joke at their expense and that stuff was some of the funniest in the show. He even apologized to the guy he bullied and agreed to take the blame and guilt for the rest of his life. He accepted that this guy was never going to forgive him. I just wanted to give him the biggest hug by the end of the drama, and I almost wanted an entire spin-off just about him. Loved him. I don’t like him for the main character, but he’s definitely boyfriend material at the very end of the show.

Second Romance- The second romance is between Eunsang’s best guy friend, Chanyoung and Tan’s ex-girlfriend, Bona. They are introduced as a couple; so they are already together by the time the series starts. And they are such a good couple. I would argue that they are the only functional couple in the entire show. They are completely supportive of each other, and it’s clear that they are both very devoted to each other. But in a comfortable way. They have the feel of a couple that is already familiar with each other and completely knows the other person. They have one big fight in the series, but it doesn’t get to the point where they actually break up. They just accept that arguing is a part of most relationships. They are adorable and it’s hilarious to watch them poke fun at each other.

Platonic Relationships- That’s something that I loved about this show! They had the main female character’s best friend be a guy and he never became a love interest. We really need a lot more male/female platonic friendships in media in general and I was surprised to see one so good in a show that was almost ten years ago at this point. Especially considering that this is still an issue.

Side Characters- This show was great at side characters. I often miss the friendship and camaraderie of ‘Boys Over Flowers’, because most shows now mainly focus on the main characters and fall flat with the side characters. I was glad to see that this show also had that feeling of camaraderie. I already mentioned the secondary couple, but I also loved Myungsoo and Hyoshin. They are other High School students who are friends with the main characters, and both of them are hilarious and made me happy whenever they were on screen. Myungsoo isn’t a very deep character, but his constant lightheartedness and jokes were something I never got tired of. Hyoshin was a character who battled with both depression and unsupportive parents, and you couldn’t help but feel for him. I also loved the mental health representation there. He was also very dry and sarcastic. When Hyoshin and Myungsoo were together, I usually couldn’t stop laughing. Both of them had stolen my heart by the end.

Locations- This show very obviously had a pretty big budget. The locations in California and South Korea were all gorgeous. It’s such a pleasing show to just look at.

The Moms- The Moms in this drama were so good, and that doesn’t often happen. They also had an amazing friendship! It was the only real female friendship in the entire show!

The Bad:

California- This is where me being a California native comes in. And this is probably where the most commentary came from my watching group. The private rich High School that Tan goes to is actually a college. It is the University of Redlands, which is something that reads clearly throughout his time being there. They call the school something completely different and they apparently hold regular classes in lecture halls for some reason. The logistics of pretty much every single place they go is also completely wrong. The show says they are at Malibu when they are very clearly at Huntington Beach. And Tan lives on the beach, which is nowhere near Redlands which is very inland comparatively. Tan’s house also actually appears to be by Malibu Beach, though the beach he’s always surfing at is Huntington, which is over an hour away. They also hang out a lot at Balboa Park, which is actually in San Diego. A good two hours away from where they were portrayed to be. There’s even one ridiculous moment when the two main characters are running on Hollywood Blvd, then at the Grove, and then in Balboa Park. It was honestly more funny to me than anything else!

Female Lead- Once again, I couldn’t stand this female character. I started out really liking her. She seemed to have a lot of personality. It was the plot that ended up messing up her character in the end. She stopped having a personality and it felt like everything just happened to her. Her only reaction would be to do nothing, which frustrated both Tan and the audience. It felt like Tan was fighting so hard for the relationship, while she wouldn’t do anything for it at all. I started missing Jan Di’s yelling and standing up to other people for both herself and Jun Pyo. And me missing Jan Di isn’t something that usually happens. At the end I thought both the main male characters were too good for her. I wished they had both found someone more willing to fight for their relationship. Because she wouldn’t fight for either one of them. Friend or boyfriend.

Third Relationship- The brother character was one that I already felt needed more development. But the relationship with the tutor or teacher, really didn’t have anything to it. There was no depth and I didn’t understand its presence.

Rachel- There didn’t need to be two possibly jealous mean girls, Bona already had that covered some of the time, and every storyline with her felt forced. I loved this actress in everything else I’ve seen her in, so it was really weird for me to dislike her character here. But I would have been fine with Tan being forced to blind date rather than this addition. And pairing her off with Hyoshin just felt completely random. This either needed to be developed or cut entirely.

Too Many- There were just way too many characters that they tried to focus on. They needed to have less characters or really focus up on a couple storylines. There were times where I completely forgot certain characters existed. The show could have done with about six less characters. And I am absolutely certain that there are important characters I am completely forgetting to write about. But that is probably because I forgot they existed.

Female Friendships- There were almost none. In fact, all the teenage female characters all seemed to hate each other. I really wanted to see a lot more positive female relationships here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this drama even despite its problems. But it did have many problems, especially towards the end. I think that might have been because they were trying to meet the episode count. There was an episode about four from the end where it felt like it was ending. And I really do think that it should have ended there. Many of the last minute twists were unnecessary and I really do think that it could have done with some more focused storylines. But it was a fun watch and it was nice to see what all the hype was about! And seeing the California locations was something I enjoyed, and the mistakes were pretty funny too! I would definitely recommend it!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Studio Ghibli: Important Themes in ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’

Screenshot of Howl and Sophie from ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli.

Hey! Hallie here!

If you’ve seen the last post on this blog, you already know that my sister and I recently visited the Hayao Miyazaki exhibit at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. As a huge Ghibli fan, I nearly cried at multiple points and I really can’t recommend it enough. Ever since, Ghibli has been taking up most of my brain space. Primarily ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ as it’s my favorite film and the museum trip resulted in my obsession with not one, but two books on its creation. So why not dive into the deeper themes that I love in this film? I’ve talked about some of the things I’ll discuss here before, but never at this detail so hopefully I’m not repeating myself too much. Let’s get into this!

War:

We’re starting out with the most obvious of the themes here. Miyazaki is known for two prevalent themes throughout most of his movies. One is the importance of nature and the other is the pointlessness of war. This movie does less of the first within the main plot, but it does a whole lot of the second. In fact, it’s one of the largest differences between the movie and the book. The original book includes almost nothing about the brewing war in the background. Prince Justin’s kingdom is expecting an imminent war and Howl is recruited to help, but Howl’s only recruited to help find the missing Prince Justin (technically Turnip-Head although that’s more complicated in the book). All the time Howl spends at war in the movie is instead spent hitting on women in the book, hence where his reputation for eating hearts comes from. And that mysterious doorway? In the book it leads to his home town in modern-day Wales. But in the movie, it leads to the location of an active war. All of it ties back to the root of Howl’s heartlessness. In the book, Howl is unable to truly love anyone because of his lack of heart. But the movie condemns war by making Howl’s participation in the war the main result of his lack of heart. What’s most interesting about this, though, is that Howl doesn’t even join the war in the movie. He actively hides whenever an attempt is made to recruit him. Instead, he fights back against anyone who fights in the war. But the fact that he participates at all, even when fighting against the war, still turns him into a heartless monster. The fact that not even the good guys get a pass on what they do within the war very clearly shows how morally wrong Miyazaki feels war is at a base level. Though that’s easy to tell even without Howl considering all of the horrific imagery of burning villages, destroyed battle ships, and troubling propaganda raining from the sky that we see at other parts of the film.

Self-Confidence:

Sophie is my favorite character in any Studio Ghibli film, and part of that is because of the way she learns to empower herself throughout ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Sophie starts out the film constantly degrading herself. When she looks in the mirror she pulls her hat over her eyes because she isn’t pleased with how she looks. When Lettie warns her that Howl could have eaten her heart, she argues that he only eats the hearts of pretty girls. And she doesn’t just criticize her own appearance. She doesn’t allow herself to pursue the things she enjoys because she feels she’s only destined to lead a boring life. She works at the hat shop only because she’s the eldest daughter and feels obligated to, despite Lettie encouraging her to find something to pursue that she enjoys. This is even supported by the book, which adds the world-building mechanic that eldest sisters are never expected to go on any kind of adventure because of their obligations to their families. However, when Sophie becomes an old woman we see her begin to embrace her true feelings and desires because of her new old age. She scolds other people, including Howl, when they annoy her. She does what she wants regardless of the protests of others. She even talks back against the Witch of the Waste. As the movie progresses, her self confidence turns her into a younger and younger woman. At the beginning of the spell she appears hunched over and heavily wrinkled, but towards the end of the spell she stands straighter and her wrinkles become fewer. And in moments where she’s unafraid to be herself, including the moments where she stands up against Suliman while defending Howl or when she’s completely enamored by the flower garden, she turns completely young again. It’s only when she starts to doubt herself or talks poorly about herself that she reverts back to an old woman. And by the end of the film, her confidence is solidified. In essence, she saves herself from the spell put on her by learning to love herself. I adore her character development for taking this approach.

No Villains:

The only true villain in this movie is the war. Not even the character who represents the war, Madame Suliman, is truly a villain. Madame Suliman’s a complicated character. She isn’t in charge of the war occurring, but she does enforce the rule that all magic users must participate. She removes a lot of problems from the main characters’ shoulders by returning the Witch of the Waste to her original age and stripping her of her powers, but the way she does so is definitely morally ambiguous. Howl remembers her fondly as his teacher, but she also sends underlings to attack him and spy on him. And despite being the instigator of most of the violence in the movie, she opts to advocate for stopping the war immediately after Howl and Sophie overcome the obstacles she put in place. Similarly, the Witch of the Waste is clearly not completely evil. Despite being the initial party working to attack and spy on Howl, plus putting the spell on Sophie, we begin to see more from her once Sophie decides to pity her after her powers are stripped away. In refusing to leave her defenseless and opting to take care of her, Sophie befriends the Witch of the Waste. The Witch of the Waste doesn’t always reward Sophie’s efforts with good behavior. She still shows a worrying hunger for men’s hearts and she does steal Howl’s heart at the end of the film. But she also gets rid of the bug Sophie’s mom plants (though it weakens Calcifer), she frequently comforts Markl when he’s scared, she offers Sophie advice, and she gives Howl’s heart back to Sophie after seeing the trouble she’s caused. Miyazaki was adamant that the villains of this film be given redeemable qualities too, and the result is a beautifully hopeful view on how complicated humans can be.

These are only some of the main themes I’ve come to fully appreciate as I’ve dived deeper into the making of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. There are so many gorgeous aspects of this film that make it incredible to watch over and over again. Ghibli hardly ever disappoints when it comes to deep stories and well developed characters. To be honest, I could go through my favorite themes of many Studio Ghibli films, so don’t be surprised if you see posts like this in the future!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie