K-Pop: ONEUS ‘PYGMALION’ Comeback

Promotional photo of (from left) Son Dongju (Xion), Yeo Hwanwoong, Lee Seoho, Lee Keonhee, and Kim Geonhak (Leedo). Copyright goes to ONEUS and RBW Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I would just like to thank ONEUS for one of the best birthday presents I could have ever gotten this year. A comeback the day before my birthday? First a concert near Valentine’s Day and then a comeback almost on my birthday? Seriously, I feel so spoiled by them. And this comeback is just as amazing as I knew it would be. This release was heavily anticipated by many for so many reasons, one of them being that this is their first comeback after they’ve all been through so much. They already had to tour as a recent five member group and they discussed how difficult that was for them. That aside, they were all extremely involved in this mini album! More so than they have been in previous releases. They really moved into an era where they are all more involved with every piece of their music and I’m so happy for them! Not only that but they’ve already gotten millions of views on their newest MV and this album actually also included a pre-release song that also had its own MV. Meaning, we have two MVs for one mini album and I’m so all over both of these! I’m going to get into this amazing album because the songs have been running in my head for the past few days! If you haven’t listened to this album yet or seen the MVs, go and do that already! What are you still doing here?

Intro: LETHE:

This intro is far too good and it gives a pretty solid taste of what the album is like. For this album they really went for more emotion evoking sounds and pieces. It seems that to do this they took a bit from movie soundtracks and really went for more epic pieces and a mix of orchestral sounds. This is pretty clear in the intro. This piece feels mysterious, almost noir, in sound and has a darker and more playful tone to it. The message of the intro also begins a trend throughout the album. This song talks about being tormented by the memories of someone and the desperation to erase those memories. This message is powerful and the desperation in it makes it well deserving of the more epic sounds for it. While this is still a short song, it absolutely packs a punch.

ERASE ME:

When I first heard this song, my brain wasn’t exactly sure how to piece it together. The verses are a bit slower and have a more sensual sound, while the chorus pieces are epic and loud. The chorus itself absolutely continues with the epic soundtrack feel and orchestral sounds. The use of emotional sounds like this was one of the things that brought me to ONEUS in the first place. This absolutely isn’t uncommon for their music and is probably one of the things they do most to convey specific emotions in their songs. This song is about wanting to erase the memories of someone and your time with them, and the torment of getting over that person. They even evoke emotions specific to TOMOON in this song by mentioning the severing of a red thread. If you didn’t know “Red Thread” is one of their most emotional songs describing their deep connection with each other and with TOMOON. So this mention was purposeful and adds to the deep meaning of the song. But the orchestral bits also give way to some EDM style beats for the dance break that seamlessly blends back into the orchestral sound. It is absolutely addicting. Something about it just clicked with my brain. I’ve had this song stuck in my head for two days now and it’s showing no signs of going away any time soon. And Seoho’s vocals in this song are insanely good and satisfying. This firmly cements him as one of the best current vocalists in K-Pop. And I liked that we got some of Geonhak’s lower harmonies back for this too.

ERASE ME MV:

ONEUS usually bases their MVs off of a certain aesthetic more than anything else. For this MV they went statuesque to fit with the theming. They also went for an icier feel to the background and a good mix of black and white outfits for the boys. My favorites of the outfits that they show in the MV have them all in flowy white shirts with suspenders. Keonhee specifically looks amazing here with his sleeves partially rolled up. Apparently their designers listened to all of the women who rightly say that a partially rolled up sleeve is one of the most attractive looks on a guy and absolutely ran with it. They all looked like various versions of Prince Eric from ‘The Little Mermaid’ and I am not quite sure how I survived it. It was also so nice to see Hwanwoong so easily slip into his new role as one of the main rappers here. He absolutely killed it and the emphasis they put on him made me so proud! I was worried about how the choreography would look for this song because it can be really difficult to choreograph for orchestral sounding pieces. I’ve only seen a couple of groups do it successfully and while ONEUS has done it before, they haven’t used such an orchestral impact in the chorus before. Obviously, ONEUS killed it here too. They have a more graceful style of dance that incorporates more lifts than other groups and it fit perfectly here. The dance didn’t feel clunky and it kept the flow of the song going very well. And oh my gosh Geonhak’s hair is so long, I absolutely love it! Can we also talk about how pristinely beautiful Xion looked in all of the mirror scenes? And Seoho at the end of belting that note? So satisfying. They all looked so damn good in this MV! How is this legal?

Unforgettable and MV:

The memories theme continues here with the idea of missing someone. But this one has more of a hopeful sound to it that feels very summery. It kind of feels like that type of emotional song that you feel like rolling down the windows and blasting on the way to the beach. It has a sentimental feel to it; a background sadness that makes me feel like this is absolutely a song you could shout sing to while crying. Or am I the only one who does that? …Anyways, this MV has a bit more of a story to it. And it’s absolutely unexpected. The MV feels a little bit like “I NEED U” by BTS, but if you didn’t know what was going to happen next because it’s told in real time instead of with flashbacks. We begin the MV with a bunch of shots of the boys having fun together. We do see individual shots of what looks to be them reminiscing, but we see a lot of them having fun in mostly abandoned areas. They added some choreography here which, again, I was nervous about the choreo matching with the song. But they were able to do it perfectly and they have such a graceful style that it matched the style of the song just fine. You see glimpses of sad scenes throughout, but any of the sadness that the boys portray is immediately cut off and you aren’t sure what to think. And then at the very end of it, they all meet up at one of their usual abandoned haunts and look up to find what is essentially the next major extinction event and watch as it happens. There are no clues that it’ll happen before this and I think it’s a very clear and clever symbol for erasing the memories. It was so interesting to have the MV unexpectedly end in that way!

ECHO:

This is the main song that Keonhee and Geonhak (Leedo) worked on. They talked about how proud of it they were in the most recent interview video that they came out with, especially with how the vocals came out. I love how calming and smooth this song feels which adds to the lyrics that talk more about spending time with someone you don’t want to let go of. The lyrics are also definitely full of innuendo. Apparently the song was originally supposed to be even more explicit, too! There’s a feeling of blissfulness with it and the light whistling and humming throughout adds an almost domestic feeling to it. Just adding to the pile of delusions of TOMOON. Though to be fair we already kind of were there after they released the domestic bed teasers of them during the MALUS promo (specifically Geonhak who wasn’t wearing a shirt). They are very good at making us all feel very delusional. I really like the more calming songs that still have a bit of a groove to them and this is one of those. The boys did such an excellent job on this one. I’m so proud of this mini album; there are absolutely no skips to be found here!

Halley’s Comet:

This is another one that really hits hard. I don’t know how to explain the feeling of the song beyond the fact that it really has Disneyland fireworks vibes. It has that hopeful sound with emotionally packed vocals. It makes you feel like you’re watching the climax of a Disneyland fireworks show. I would absolutely die if Disneyland actually did include this, because it would be perfect. Speaking of which, Hallie and I were just there for our birthday so expect more posts about that coming soon! The lyrics also feel absolutely worthy of a firework show. It references the sparkle of a memory of a person and talks about making their way back to that person, including outright saying that they love that person. And, once again, the vocals of all the boys here are phenomenal. The song almost made me cry the first time I heard it because their voices pack so much emotion in such touching lyrics. Thank you for another crying song ONEUS!

I am so incredibly proud of them and proud to be part of TOMOON with this release. To know how much they went through and how much they poured into this mini album is nothing short of incredible. I’m in complete awe of them. I firmly believe that ONEUS is one of the most underrated fourth generation groups right now. All of their songs are bops. This is a no skips group! They’ve all put so much work into each and every comeback, they tour for so long and go to so many events, and they still need larger numbers of fans to get them to stadium level. This is the goal everyone! I’m so glad that their MV for “ERASE ME” already had almost nine million views as of writing this. Let’s keep this going! I know I’m streaming the hell out of this album and their MVs and you should too! They deserve it! And if you haven’t checked them out completely yet, you should. They are all the absolute sweetest and have the most epic tracks as well as the most graceful dancing. It’s a powerful mix! Give them your time and attention! You won’t regret it!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Journey to ‘Ahsoka’

Screenshot of Thrawn, as voiced by Lars Mikkelsen, in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’. Copyright goes to Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm.

Hey! Hallie here!

Yesterday was May the 4th, or as us Star Wars fans know it, Star Wars day! Because I’m posting a day afterwards I’m adopting Return of the 5th rules though, which means I’m focusing my celebratory Star Wars post on the Dark Side. With all the buzz around ‘Ahsoka’ now that we just got a new trailer during ‘Star Wars Celebration’, I felt it was best to discuss one of my favorite Star Wars villains of all time, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn isn’t a force user, but dismissing him for that is just as smart as dismissing Leia for not wielding a lightsaber. He’s one of the most intimidating villains we’ve ever seen in the galaxy far, far away, and he’s by far the most intelligent. However, if you aren’t a fan of the Star Wars books or animated series, you may not have seen this character before the ‘Ahsoka’ trailer was released. So for those of you who aren’t familiar with this character, and for those of you who are but may not know his full story or just want to reminisce, here’s a look at how Thrawn made his way into the Star Wars universe.

Timothy Zahn and the Original ‘Thrawn Trilogy’:

Every time we talk about Thrawn, the first person we have to mention is his creator. That isn’t Dave Filoni, who created the series ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ where Thrawn first appeared on screen, but Timothy Zahn. Just like now, there have always been various authors willing and able to tackle storylines in the Star Wars series that fill in gaps between movies or tell entirely new stories of their own. In the nineties, Timothy Zahn was one of those major authors. Among other stories he created what is known as the Thrawn Trilogy, a series of books where Luke, Leia, and Han went up against the next most powerful threat in the Empire after Palpatine, Grand Admiral Thrawn. In these books Thrawn was dangerous not because of his power, but because of his strategic skills. Thrawn would study his enemies, their pasts, their tendencies, the history of their culture, the art of their culture, all to be able to get inside their heads. And it was incredibly effective. Every time Luke, Leia, or Han thought they had backed Thrawn into a corner, it was revealed he anticipated their plan and they played right into his hand. He was like an evil version of Sherlock Holmes, only ever able to be outsmarted when the characters targeted his need for control. I read these books a long time ago because my aunt was kind enough to lend me her old copies, and though Leia has always been my favorite Star Wars character, I can’t deny that Thrawn was the best part of this trilogy. He was fascinating to read about and scary in a way that felt more real than Palpatine with his force lightning. That’s all thanks to Timothy Zahn. But clearly, the Star Wars universe has changed since these books came out in the nineties. So how did Thrawn make his way into canon?

Disney and ‘Star Wars: Rebels’:

When Disney took over the Star Wars franchise, one of the first things they announced was that the books that had been written as side stories to the Star Wars movies were no longer canon. This angered a lot of fans, but in a way it made sense. Disney wanted as much room to play with the Star Wars timeline as possible, and so many books had been written by that point that it may have been limiting. Still, that left authors like Zahn out of Star Wars with nothing to show for the work they had put into fleshing out the universe. That is, until ‘Star Wars: Rebels’. When season three of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ came around and a new villain was needed to make the ending season feel intense, Dave Filoni and the creatives behind ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ settled on Thrawn. They were all huge fans of Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy and they thought the presence of that character was the perfect thing to up the stakes of the final ‘Rebels’ season. Though they didn’t consult Zahn when bringing the character into the animated show, a lot of love for the character was apparent in his writing. His intelligence and ability to anticipate the Rebels was very much intact. His strategy of learning about his enemies and even collecting art from various cultures were major parts of his character. They even threw in sneaky references to other characters from the trilogy. All that and they cast Lars Mikkelsen, who brought the perfect amount of intelligence and coldness to Thrawn’s voice. Zahn said in interviews he was flattered by and pleased with the use of Thrawn in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’. And fans were just as pleased with it. In fact, the reaction to Thrawn was so positive that they asked Zahn to come back and write another Thrawn trilogy, this time about how Thrawn came into power in the Empire. And best of all, it’s canon.

Thrawn Now:

Now that Zahn is back behind the writing for Thrawn, we have a lot of new content to enjoy. First there’s the first of Zahn’s canon Thrawn series’, which includes ‘Thrawn’, ‘Thrawn: Alliances’, and ‘Thrawn: Treason’. Then there’s the newest Thrawn series that just ended. That one, known as ‘Thrawn Ascendency’, includes the books ‘Chaos Rising’, ‘Greater Good’, and ‘Lesser Evil’. Then, ‘Ahsoka’ is coming to Disney+ in August. That series will pick up where ‘Rebels’ last left off, and for Thrawn, his return is a pretty big mystery. SPOILERS for the end of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’. At the end of season three, Thrawn was defeated by Ezra when Ezra used the Purgils, or space whales, to catch Thrawn off guard and hold him captive on an Imperial vessel. Unfortunately, Purgils are known for randomly jumping into the far reaches of space, which sent both Ezra and Thrawn together into the unknown. Both have been missing for a long time by the time ‘Ahsoka’ starts, so it’ll be interesting to see where the two ended up and how they managed to escape. I’m extremely excited to see Thrawn here for multiple reasons. One is, of course, the fact that this will be the first time we see live action Thrawn. Second is that he will once again be played by Lars Mikkelsen, who is such a good Thrawn that I can’t imagine anyone else playing him. And third, they consulted Timothy Zahn this time which means we get an even more accurate Thrawn. But ‘Ahsoka’ might not be the only place we see Thrawn in the near future. He’s been name dropped quite a bit in ‘The Mandalorian’, so we might see him across various series. Wherever he ends up, I’m excited to see the chaos he’ll bring to the Star Wars universe.

I adore the character of Thrawn and I really enjoyed exploring the history of Thrawn for this post! Part of this was definitely preparation for ‘Ahsoka’, but to be transparent, I’m also starting ‘Thrawn’, the first book Zahn wrote for Thrawn in canon, and I’m hoping to review it here on the blog soon! In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed your May the 4th and your Return of the 5th. Especially those of you who got to go to big events like ‘Star Wars Nite’ at Disneyland. I’m very jealous. Especially the people who were surprised with the secret characters, Luke, Leia, and Anakin. Seriously, so jealous.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Studio Ghibli: ‘Spirited Away: Live On Stage’

Screenshot of (from left) Satoshi Hashimoto and Kanna Hashimoto in ‘Spirited Away: Live on Stage’. Copyright goes to GKIDS and Studio Ghibli.

Hi! It’s Annie!

This event happened last week, but if you weren’t aware, the three hour stage production of ‘Spirited Away: Live On Stage’ was shown at select theaters as part of ‘Fathom Events’. This is a stage show from Japan that professionally adapted ‘Spirited Away’ into a full fledged theatrical phenomenon. Seriously, it was gorgeous and the attention to detail was unmatched. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an amazing on stage adaptation and that’s saying something considering I studied theatre in college. Japan double casts at least the main roles in most of their shows and this one wasn’t any different. I actually really love that this is something that they do because double casting in the US is often only done with parts played by children. (Though one of the reasons they do it is because there are more shows per week in Japan.) We’re starting to see more double casting for emotionally demanding roles, but overall double casting is just more humane to the actors. Almost every role that you play is emotionally demanding in some regard and usually also very physically demanding. This production in particular involved a lot of climbing and running across the stage, especially for the actresses playing Chihiro, so it was nice to know that they got a little bit of a break. Some theaters who participated in showing this event played it for the entire week, but most theaters only had two days. So they actually showed one cast on one day and the other on the next. For reference, I saw the first cast which was Kanna Hashimoto as Chihiro and Hiroki Miura as Haku. There will be some SPOILERS ahead for this, just in case you do find a way to stream this after the event is over or you plan to buy it!

The Adaptation:

If you’re worried that the play might vary too much from the original story, don’t be. There’s really nothing to be worried about there. There is no plot point left out and the set itself is insanely alike to the settings from the movie. The show is equipped with a massive rotating set that depicts the village, the stall where Chihiro’s parents become pigs, the bridge, the bathhouse, and even the bedroom where Chihiro and Lin stay within the bathhouse. It’s extremely ambitious to take on all of these places, but they somehow depict each place perfectly and really make the audience feel like they’re looking at a completely different set. The rotating set is taken away to reveal sets behind it for places like the train and Zeniba’s house. The set was gorgeous and looked straight out of the movie as well as including direct imagery from the movie. Almost all of the symbols on the bridge or within the bathhouse were kept. This production also made use of puppets that were all so good. The giant Haku dragon was a highlight of the entire production for me and I wanted my very own Boh mouse puppet, it was easily one the of the most adorable puppets I’ve ever seen. And the tiny soot sprite puppets also easily stole my heart. Calling back to the fact that this had an insane amount of details, Chihiro also takes off her socks only once in the boiler room but uses her shoes twice, just like the movie. An extremely small detail that just showed me the extent of research that every person involved put in. The live production had the same comforting and mystical feel that the movie gives me every time I watch it. Not only was it beautifully made for the stage, but they were careful to make it evoke the same emotions and feelings as the original work. This is the best you can get as far as adaptations go.

The Actors:

I thought everyone was amazing and also involved with the cast is Mari Natsuki who was actually the original voice actress for Yubaba! Everyone played their roles amazingly, but I really want to talk about the two leads. Kanna Hashimoto was a very believable Chihiro. Obviously, she is an adult playing a child but that never really comes across in the show at all. There was never a moment where I questioned whether or not she was playing Chihiro as too young or it felt like her own age slipped into the character. She was a believable little girl and a very believable Chihiro. There’s a moment in the movie when Haku gives Chihiro onigiri and as Chihiro eats it she begins to full on sob. This is a moment in the movie that never fails to get me to tear up. I full on cried with her during the live production because she really made you feel the moment as an audience member. But as amazing as the entire cast is, my favorite member of the cast was Hiroki Miura as Haku. I know, I know, I’m incredibly biased. I haven’t talked much about Ghibli before, but I really love it! And while ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ is my sister’s favorite movie, ‘Spirited Away’ is mine. Haku has been my favorite Ghibli character since I was introduced to the content, so going into this I was a little wary about Haku and how he was going to be as a character. Haku is a character type that I consider to be my kryptonite, which is the comfort character. The type of character who comes into a scene and you feel just as relieved as the main character to see them because it feels like everything’s going to be ok. This isn’t just a part of the character backstory or a detail of the character, this is a vibe that emanates from the character. It’s an energy you just sort of have to have that’s completely nonverbal. As an actor, emanating a nonverbal energy has to be one of the most difficult things to do. And yet, Hiroki Miura made me cry several times because he had that comforting energy in excess. He had this unwavering strength while playing Haku that also accompanied this extreme gentleness when dealing with Chihiro. Haku was a force any time he stepped on stage and I loved every moment of it. Hiroki Miura is also first and foremost trained as a dancer, so the graceful dragon transformation dancing he did was mesmerizingly beautiful. Especially when it began actually entwining with the fluidity of the puppet. I already loved the character of Haku but seeing Hiroki Miura’s take on Haku impossibly made me like the character even more than I already did. I can’t explain how emotional I got at seeing one of my comfort characters being brought to life in this way. It’s genuinely something I’ve thought about every day since I saw it!

The Message:

I think that one of the reasons why ‘Spirited Away’ is one of the most popular Studio Ghibli films is because the story is so relatable. At first glance it doesn’t necessarily seem that way. A lot of people have described it as being purely fantasy and have compared the story to ‘Alice in Wonderland’, but I think the story greatly differs from Alice’s adventures and are far more relatable to real life than some people give it credit for. I think, especially as we grow up, many of us can relate to suddenly finding ourselves in a dark place where we feel nothing but fear. The journey that Chihiro goes through is one from a place of intense fear to a place of determination and love. Unlike Alice who just wakes up at the end of her story, Chihiro is able to take her experiences with her in a very real way. She’s grown as a person and has become so much stronger. She’s made real connections on her journey and learned more about unconditional love and compassion. Chihiro won’t forget her journey not because it was strange, but because it was formative and a character building experience for her. And also because she can’t forget the kindnesses that she was shown. I think, whether we know it or not, we all have a Haku when we’re going through times like this. My Haku was a bit more literal in the form of Namjoon of BTS. If it weren’t for me listening to Namjoon’s words of advice and comfort, I would not have gotten as far as I did on my own personal journey. Namjoon was such a comfort to me and the reason why I was able to navigate certain things I had to do to get better. And the dragon comparison really fits him. Dragon eyes and all that. All of this hit me really hard while I was watching the live version because watching it in this form suddenly made the story feel even more personal to me. This is already a comfort movie to me, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch this live version without sobbing. I must have cried at least three times watching this in the movie theater. I think there’s something about something so comforting and with such hopeful messages being plopped into real life right in front of you, and being performed live at that, that makes it feel so much more real. If this story means as much to you as it means to me; you have to find a way to see this! Just be prepared to cry. Maybe bring tissues.

I really hope that more live theatre becomes accessible like this. If you live in the US you probably know that Broadway isn’t doing that well right now and it’s really no surprise. With the expenses involved going up, the prices also get majorly jacked up. Meaning that they’ve priced out most people who can no longer see those productions. When it comes to productions in Japan, I’ve always wanted to see one and haven’t been able to travel to Japan yet as much as I desperately want to. I wasn’t exactly sure what I thought this was going to be like, but it blew my expectations so far out of the water. This is probably my most emotional reaction to a piece of media, including live theatre, that I’ve had in a very long time. I think live productions can evoke those emotions better than a lot of other pieces of media. Because this is real emotions that you’re seeing in real time. This isn’t something that has been edited and cut together, so it really does come off as more emotionally raw. And I think that it’s a shame that there are so many people that still haven’t seen productions of this caliber because they truly can be life changing. I really hope that we see more productions like this so more people can be exposed to live theatre and can experience live theatre from places it’s difficult for them to get to. If this is somehow still in a theatre near you, you have to check it out! I promise you it is a hundred times better than most (all) movies you’re going to find at your local movie theater and it absolutely deserves the watch. It is emotional and gorgeous and I will be crying about it for ages. I want to say another huge shout out to everyone involved in this production! Now I’m going to go cry about it some more.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: Should Tech Come Back in Season 3 of ‘The Bad Batch’?

Screenshot of Tech from the season two finale of ‘The Bad Batch’ on Disney+. Copyright goes to Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve been talking a lot about ‘The Bad Batch’ recently. It’s, in my opinion, one of the most imaginative shows in Star Wars right now with some of the most fascinating storylines I’ve ever seen in the franchise. But if you’ve kept up with my posts on the show, you know that my relationship with it has been a bit rocky. I’ve criticized it for the spotty character development amongst the cast, and most recently, SPOILERS AHEAD, for killing off the character of Tech in the season two finale of the show. Despite my obsession with this show, I had an extremely negative reaction to Tech’s death and I made it very obvious in my review of the season. But Dee Bradley Baker’s take on the situation, which he shared at Star Wars Celebration, has a lot of fans wondering if the initial negative reaction of many fans might be incorrect. Should Tech come back? Or is it best for the character, and for the show, for him to stay dead? I certainly have my opinion, but let’s look at why I feel so strongly about Tech’s potential demise.

The Dee Bradley Baker Argument:

First we should talk about what was said at Star Wars Celebration. While many Tech fans zeroed in on the subtle hint from Michelle Ang, the voice of Omega, that this goodbye to Tech might not be permanent, many other fans turned their focus to Dee Bradley Baker’s statements about mourning Tech. Dee Bradley Baker, when talking about how much he would miss Tech, said that he consoled himself with the fact that Tech went out the way any clone would want to go out. Making an intentional decision to sacrifice himself for his brothers and his family. His last words were even “when have we ever followed orders”, fully cementing that this was a choice he made on his own as opposed to the control the Empire attempted to exert over the clones. A lot of fans found that this observation gave Tech’s death too much purpose for it to make sense to bring him back. But though I do admire Dee Bradley Baker and appreciate his opinion, I don’t believe this gives enough meaning to Tech’s death to justify it. Because the point of the clones is individuality in the face of being viewed as one unit of disposable beings, not for each clone character to end their story as “any clone” would want to. I appreciate that Tech died with the freedom to choose his death and the people he would die for, but I don’t want his death to focus on the clones as a whole. I want his death to focus on closing out his personal character arc. So the real question is, is his death a satisfying conclusion to the character arc Tech was given over the course of the most recent season?

Tech’s Character Arc:

Tech’s character arc for season two touched on a couple of things. First there was his emotional expression. The season opened on Tech having grown closer to Omega as a teacher and older brother. Through his relationship with Omega he frequently found himself at odds with her because of his more logical approach to most problems. This culminated in an argument halfway through the season, where Tech snapped at Omega for frequently bringing up her sadness over Echo’s decision to leave the Batch. In the resulting conversation Omega accused Tech of not caring about Echo’s departure, at which point Tech seemingly alluded to being on the autism spectrum by explaining that he processes emotions differently than everyone else but feels no less than they do. After that we saw Tech’s emotional side take center stage. He started to show support for Omega when the other members of the Batch doubted her, started to pursue a romantic relationship with Phee, and was the main advocate for getting Crosshair back from the Empire. The next thing his character arc explored started in episode one, where Romar Adell spoke to Tech about the people who existed outside of the Separatists during the war and were still thriving despite the rising Empire. It reminded Tech that there was more to life outside of war, leading to Tech discovering a talent in riot racing and a potential home on Pabu. So did his death address any of these storylines or bring them to a satisfying close? I don’t really think so. Despite trying to find a life for himself outside of the war he still died in the war against the Empire, and his decision to sacrifice himself was another case of logic and calculation first and foremost. I unfortunately don’t feel anything in his character arc really came full circle with his demise.

What We’re Losing if Tech Doesn’t Come Back:

This is the main thing I always look at when a character either dies or is written off a show. What did they bring to the show, and is it too costly for the show to lose? Tech, at the time he died in ‘The Bad Batch’, was one of very few fully developed characters. Season two did a lot of work explaining and exploring his character, but didn’t do much work for any of the other characters. As of now, Tech, Omega, and Crosshair are the only main characters that can boast satisfying storylines, whereas Echo was pushed to the side for most of the recent season, and both Hunter and Wrecker haven’t gotten much development since the beginning of the show. Moving past that, Tech also brings representation for the neurodivergent community. Even if you’re a fan who doesn’t believe that Tech’s statements in season two confirm him as on the autism spectrum, you still can’t deny that his mannerisms, responses in conversation, and reactions to unfamiliar situations are clearly inspired by neurodivergent tendencies. So either way, he represents the neurodivergent community and remains the only character in Star Wars who obviously does so. That representation is priceless, especially when the one romantic relationship we were getting in season two involved Tech. That’s not a storyline most neurodivergent characters get. In my opinion, an excellently written character like this who gives a voice to the underrepresented is not something the show can afford to lose.

A popular question Star Wars content creators are being asked right now is “Would you rather Tech stay dead or be tortured by the Empire?” I really don’t like this question. If you’re a Tech fan, your first inclination is never to say you’d rather he be tortured by the Empire. Clearly Tech himself would rather be at peace, and no one’s wishing the character suffering. But the question doesn’t address the real problem with Tech’s death. Because the problem isn’t that I’m not honoring the character’s sacrifice, but that I don’t feel the sacrifice makes sense for the character’s story. Now, this entire post is operating around the idea that Tech is dead. And I’m not sure I totally believe that. Falling deaths are suspicious when we don’t see a body, and Michelle Ang definitely had some interesting things to say during Star Wars Celebration. But I’m definitely afraid we won’t see Tech again and I firmly believe that if we don’t, it will be a giant mistake.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Star Wars: Sabine Wren Has Always Been Great

Screenshot of Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren in the ‘Ahsoka’ trailer. Copyright goes to ‘Star Wars’, ‘Lucasfilm’, and ‘Disney+’.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Sabine Wren has been my all time favorite Star Wars character since I was a young teenager. I personally get into media more because of characters than anything else, including plot. If a show, movie, book, or anything else doesn’t have a specific character that I feel attached to, it is much more difficult for me to get into that thing. And while I really loved the world of Star Wars and some of the characters; when I first binge watched the prequels and the original trilogy, I didn’t really feel super connected to any of the characters. Around this time ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ first started airing and suddenly I was absolutely into Star Wars because I loved the character of Sabine Wren. I fell in love with her immediately. And throughout the years many Star Wars fans have told me and other fans of ‘Rebels’ that we weren’t true fans of Star Wars because we liked the show or had favorite characters that came from the show. So imagine my absolute excitement when they announced Sabine Wren as a main character in ‘Ahsoka’, which is basically a semi-sequel of ‘Rebels’, and because of that the series began to be more widely accepted in the fandom. But Sabine isn’t just good now because she’ll be getting an increased amount of substantial characterization in a live action format. Sabine Wren was always great! Some people just didn’t see it. Here are some reasons why people in the Star Wars fandom have put Sabine down for years and why they’ve always been wrong.

“Mandalorians can’t wear pink!”:

Why not? Seriously, why not? One of the main arguments here, was that the only reason why they made her armor pink was to appeal to little girls. And whether or not that was part of their decision in deciding the coloring of her armor is neither here nor there. What do you have against the color pink? A lot of criticism has been thrown at particularly women over the years for trying to bring the color pink into fandom spaces where it “doesn’t belong”. But while a natural color that exists in nature that is simply a mixing of red and white somehow “doesn’t belong”, they are perfectly fine with literally any other color as long as it doesn’t feel too feminine for them. This fandom really has no excuse since Sam Jackson pulled purple into it. And it’s also a franchise in a fictional world! Introducing one color does not suddenly make that world less fun or less valuable. On top of that, we’ve known for a little while that Mandalorians forge their own armor. This wasn’t quite expanded on until ‘The Mandalorian’ was released, but it was part of the lore. In fact, Boba Fett’s armor is a bit more creatively painted than most other Mandalorian’s armor. Sabine Wren is an artist who no longer lives on Mandalor. Her armor being crazy colors is not only interesting to look at but entirely realistic. I personally think Mandalorian armor wouldn’t be as fun to look at if it all was silver like Din’s. There’s no reason to be offended by the color pink. None. And women should not be shamed for making OCs who wear pink or for liking characters who wear pink.

“Mandalorians don’t act like that!”:

I assume this was because Mandalorians have been largely portrayed to be pretty stoic. But ‘Clone Wars’ proved that Mandalorians weren’t all like this long before Sabine Wren came into the picture. I’m honestly not quite sure why Sabine was looked down on for having a more sassy and spunky personality type. Not every Mandalorian should act the same way and Boba Fett and Bo Katan definitely showed Mandalorians acting in a way that was more than just disciplined. I feel like once Din Djarin became a character, people used him to point fingers at other Mandalorians; saying that this is what they should have always been like. I think to say that content that has come before is completely wrong because you want an entire group of people within a franchise to act exactly the same way is a bit ridiculous. Let the writers be creative with what they want to do! Not only that, but people seem to forget that we’re talking about Dave Filoni here. A man who is widely accepted to be one of the best writers in Star Wars. I love that Sabine has a smart mouth and a creative side to her. It gives her more depth and character! There was so much done creatively to make Sabine Wren stand out from the moment she stepped on screen. You knew who she was just by looking at her, but they still had plenty of surprises in store. I love her characterization!

“Mandalorians don’t wield lightsabers!”

The idea that the Mandalorians have a darksaber was controversial from the moment it was introduced. And it’s still a question within the fandom of whether or not this should be a thing. But it is undeniably cool, whether or not you believe that force wielders should be the only ones who get to have lightsaber type weapons. Sabine, however, has wielded Ezra’s lightsaber on multiple occasions and I’ve seen people have issues with that too. However, Sabine went through a rigorous training process to learn how to wield a lightsaber. We see her train with both Kanan and Ezra, and struggle to learn how to adapt it to her own fight style. This is just another piece of her story that was very in depth and added to her characterization. I am so excited to see her wield Ezra’s lightsaber even more in the new series!

“She was made for kids!”:

I’m sure this is an accusation that has followed Star Wars content for years. Many fans have been accused of liking something for kids. So why then fling these accusations at other Star Wars fans? Star Wars has always been for whoever wants it! In fact, most content is like that. Being an adult is already a scam, so why tell people what they can and can’t watch and what they should and shouldn’t grow out of? Dave Filoni didn’t write ‘Rebels’ for kids, he wrote it for any Star Wars fan. There’s actually a series of videos that they came out with before the release of ‘Rebels’ that feature Filoni animatedly talking about what he was excited for and what he felt fans would be excited for. Just like ‘Clone Wars’; this isn’t a show just for children. ‘Ahsoka’ adapting it only proves that this has always been a completely valid and truly exceptional addition to the Star Wars universe. Seeing Ezra and Sabine grow up over the course of the series just made you feel like you were close with those characters. Sabine starts the series at sixteen and ends it at twenty-one. I am so excited to see her story continue even beyond that.

I love Sabine. She’s such a strong female character that they never stripped femininity away from. She kicked ass and wore pink and that is all that I ever aspire to do. I am one of those people who loves pastels, particularly pink, and I always have and will continue to wear it. She also showed a young me that you don’t just have to have one personality type to love pink. And on top of all of that badassery, she also had tons of character depth and was created to be relatable. I grew alongside her. And to now as a twenty-something see her come to life in this new way is so magical to me. But I should have never had to defend myself for Sabine being my favorite character. She shouldn’t be a character who is just accepted now that she’s getting the live action treatment. We need to stop judging people for what kind of Star Wars content they connect with the most. Sabine has always been great and I’m so excited to see her again and grow with her some more!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: Agust D ‘D-DAY’ Album Review

Screenshot of Min Yoongi in the music video for “Haegeum” from his new album ‘D-DAY’. Copyright goes to BIGHIT Music and Min Yoongi.

Hey! Hallie here!

I haven’t been reviewing all of the recent releases from the members of BTS, but we’ve seen them fully explore their beliefs, mental health, and identities with these last few album releases. As a BTS fan I’m extremely proud of them and more willing than ever to let them know that I appreciate all the sides of them that they choose to share with the fans. And I also think that all of them are coming out with some of their best work in general right now. Yoongi’s new album under the name Agust D, ‘D-DAY’, is no exception. This album is full of intense backing tracks, insane flow, and heart-wrenching messages. Despite the badassery of the songs in this album, I still cried while listening to it. The depth here is perfection and yet somehow no surprise coming from Yoongi. There’s so much to talk about here, so I’m going to get right into all the amazing things that gripped me while I listened to this album.

The Hard Hitting: The first half of this album is full of songs that are more fast paced and reject what society considers unacceptable. “D-Day” opens up the album swinging, with a song that mixes a slower pre-chorus with an extremely addictive beat. The song is specifically about looking to the future with not just hope, but determination. Letting go of the mistakes of the past, the feelings of inferiority, and what society considers “successful”. Instead, it encourages the listener to break out of these barriers and be reborn as their true self. Then there’s “Haegeum” the song on the album that has an accompanying MV. This song, for all of its insane backing track and fast-paced rap, is one of the most complex on the album. It discusses in depth the issue with sensationalizing controversy and blindly throwing hate at other people, but also with accepting everything society views as acceptable including capitalism. The song is meant to be a call to free yourself from the black and white thinking we constantly see on the internet and to form your own opinions. The MV flirts with the message of the song by showing Yoongi and his Agust D persona smoking and committing various crimes. All of these things could be considered controversial as major staples for a music video, but the song itself challenges why he should face extra scrutiny because of such minor things. The music video also parallels “Daechwita”, presenting a more modern take on a ruler, this time a possible mob boss version of Agust D, who is being actively stolen from by the scrappy poorer character, or Yoongi. We even get a scene at the end where Yoongi shoots Agust D. I have no idea what these parallels might mean, but I do find it interesting that these characters committed more acts of violence against each other this time around.

Then we have “HUH?!”, the song that features J-Hope. This song targets the people who purposefully attempt to undermine Yoongi’s, and by extension BTS’s, popularity by stirring up gossip. The song brushes off that behavior as ignorant while Yoongi and Hoseok rap about their success. I love hearing these two together, particularly because of how powerful and aggressive Yoongi’s style is as opposed to Hoseok’s ability to adapt to the beat with a more melodic sound. Another hard-hitting song on the album is “Polar Night”. The speed of the flow here sounds desperate and the beat is somber, but with a hip hop twist that keeps it moving. This song, more than any other, is about black and white thinking. It highlights how people firmly choose sides and make enemies of each other, spreading more hate than if we had stayed quiet. The song does warn against staying silent, but also points out how noise just to spread hate gets us nowhere as well. I find it interesting that, of these songs with the pace and “screw you” attitude of “Daechwita” we see a lot of criticism of the ways people treat each other on the internet. He warns against being hateful, but it’s more than that. He’s criticizing the way everyone now feels comfortable to throw out their opinions on the internet while dehumanizing the people they’re arguing against. The ability to wave off someone else’s opinion as being idiotic without opening the floor for a productive conversation creates an even more toxic environment than the one we started with and, as Yoongi points out, can deeply harm others. Although I do believe that some controversy can lead to justice, I do think that we as a society look for the next controversy with too much eagerness. I respect Yoongi for bringing attention to that fact.

The Soft and Sad: Our first softer song is “AMYGDALA”. It starts with a simple guitar backing track and Yoongi’s vocals, while digitized, stay melodic to add to this calmer, slower feel. This song feels extremely close to Yoongi. The lyrics talk about the hardships he’s faced in his life, from the way he feels about his mother’s heart surgery after his birth, to the accident he got into as a trainee, to his father’s cancer. He talks about how he deeply struggles with these things but was also able to endure them. It’s an extremely personal song, and I honestly just feel grateful that he felt comfortable sharing these difficult feelings with his fans. “SDL” takes everything in a completely different direction with a song with a sung chorus about love. It talks about a lost love, but also about how love can be broader than what we envision. It can come in the form of a life goal, a reason to get up in the morning, or a happy memory. This one is just cozy and nostalgic, which I appreciated after some of the more emotional songs earlier in the album. Then there’s “People Pt.2” featuring IU. I’m not surprised IU’s on this track because this one has the calmest and most jazzy feel to it, which fits her voice perfectly. Going between IU’s singing and Yoongi’s rap, the song also tackles the idea of love. But instead of exploring what love is, it explores whether love is meant to be temporary or permanent, and whether the sadness experienced in relationships is just dread to lose the ones we love. 

These last two songs made me the most emotional out of all of the songs on the album. The first is “Snooze”, a collaboration with the incredibly talented Woosung from The Rose as well as Ryuichi Sakamoto. This one Yoongi said he made for those in the industry who are younger than him, but it feels like he’s speaking to all of us who are uncertain about how to navigate the pressure we feel when we’re pursuing something we consider important. He tells the listener not to push themselves as hard as he pushed himself and not to make themselves miserable. He reassures the listener that it’s alright to rest and that he will be there to support them when things get hard. He talks about how life is unkind and the journey to following your dreams can be full of enemies, but he reminds us to make happiness where we can, allow ourselves to cry when we’ve run out of happiness, and reach a hand out to others who are also struggling. And ultimately, he tells us we’ll be ok. And that is what makes this song emotional for me. Because aside from the amazing lyricism, vocals, and gorgeous backing track, the song makes me think that even when times are darkest, I’ll be ok. At the end of the album we have Yoongi’s version of “Life Goes On” which, while sounding different, keeps the tone and parts of his verse from the BTS song. This addition to the album makes a lot of sense given that a good chunk of it was created during the pandemic. The lyrics here feel bitter sweet. He talks about how his relationship with his fans has been strong for a while, but he also talks about how he knows he will have to stop creating at one point and hopes that we won’t completely forget him once that happens. And of course we won’t. ARMY will be here for him, and for all of BTS, forever. I hope he will remember that for as long as we remember him.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Why These Fandoms are Important

Selfie social media image of (from front left) Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho, Park Seonghwa, (back left) Kang Yeosang, Choi San, Choi Jongho, and Song Mingi. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment and ATEEZ.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I find that when I’m writing about my favorite K-Pop groups, particularly ATEEZ, I often say that I don’t have the words to describe what they mean to me. And while that is most likely true and I most likely will never be able to formulate just how much these men have done for me and my life and how much I care about them; this post is hopefully a start in trying to put a little more of it into words. On top of that, I’ve written posts about the way K-Pop fans are often treated by people outside the fandom. How we are often demonized for having crushes on members and at the very beginning of this blog, I even wrote a post on BTS and the teenage girl argument. That post basically talked about how music that has mostly a fan base of women or even sometimes teenage girls is looked down on society for having those demographics. This can even be seen in fans of theme parks like “Disney adults”. Where, once again, because the demographic is mostly women, society finds it more socially acceptable to call it “cringey”. Unlike similar demographics of mostly men. (Ahem, sports.) My feelings are still similar, but they have also massively grown as I’ve had more experiences and as my ult group changed. Because people who love these groups, who say that they’ve had their lives change ever since they started stanning them, are not people to be scoffed at or thrown away. Your dismissal of these people is not only wrong, but it’s also problematic. And here’s why.

“They saved my life.”:

When anybody says this about anything fandom related, they are usually met with a fair bit of scrutiny. How could something so un-personal save your life? This especially feels to be the criticism directed at bands or K-Pop group stans. These groups don’t know you and if you have ever met them before it was very briefly. How could these men that you don’t know have saved your life? These people don’t really know, or remember, how important it is to feel that you aren’t alone when you are at your loneliest. Being in a fandom gives you a community that has your back; but being a fan of these groups offers you even more support than that. Most of these groups know that people are drawn to them especially when they’re going through rough times. And one of the reasons they know that, is because they are human beings who have also gone through rough times. ATEEZ was extremely important to me because they are my age. In fact, my sister and I were born in the same year as five of the eight members. Because of being so close in age to them I was able to understand their sense of humor better than any other group and their lyrics hit me at times I desperately needed them. “Turbulence” was a song that I absolutely bawled at the first time I listened to it, because it was that relatable. It was a song about not knowing where you were going with life and feeling lost. It came at a time where I was feeling so incredibly lost in my life. They have a song called “One Day at a Time” that offers comfort and encourages those experiencing sadness and depression to take it one day at a time. “Wave” is a summery fun song that’s actually about feeling hopeful when you’re struggling through a difficult wave in your life. “THANXX” was comforting at a time where I decided a direction for myself that not everyone in my family agreed with. It seemed like they had a song for every feeling that I was having. And most of the members had talked about experiencing those things at one point or another. When Mingi took a break because of his mental health, I completely understood because I was going through one of the worst times in my life. And when he made the difficult decision to come back, it helped inspire me to get better.

“They actually care.”:

Most people seem to think that this is a desperate hope and a rather pitiful thing to think. But I have no idea why people seem to think that this is impossible. Every K-Pop group and their fandom creates a community. A community that allows people to find people similar to them, to find enjoyment in the same things, and to feel closer together with a larger population of the world. It seems as though the people who don’t believe in the above statement, don’t actually count the group themselves as part of this community. So why would the people who create the community suddenly not be a part of the community? Fans are needed for concerts to be fun; what would be a concert without the cheering fans? Not only that, but they also know that the fans are the ones supporting them and always express their hopes to give back to them. I honestly don’t see a version of this where a group doesn’t care about their fans. But for ATEEZ, this absolutely goes beyond monetary. ATEEZ has done several events for their fans, is known for thanking fans and staff to the point of bowing to them, and have even given up their chairs for fans at an event where the chairs were crates that the fans were literally falling through. They were not asked. As soon as a second fan fell through the crates, Hongjoong and Yunho brought out their chairs which prompted the others to follow with theirs as well. Saying that they don’t actually care seems to be the defense mechanism of someone who doesn’t want to see the community as all that caring. And that should not be the problem of Atiny or any other K-Pop fan.

“They raised my standards.”:

I think we can all relate to this to some degree. When you enter any K-Pop fandom, the guys are probably going to raise your standards. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after Yunho. He’s so sweet, responsible, and absolutely forward thinking. I’ve absolutely loved how much he’s been participating in the Painted Man campaign ( a campaign that helps ensure the safety of women and children) with Hongjoong. ATEEZ has to be one of the most forward thinking groups out there and it shows. Yunho has provided me comfort in a way that I haven’t been able to get in daily life. Especially when it comes to actually feeling comfortable around men. I talked about this a little in the teenage girl argument post, but K-Pop groups absolutely do market themselves as dateable. This is something they know is part of their appeal and they jump on it. It’s one of the things that draws so many women to the groups and this is somehow framed as a bad thing in the minds of many people. Firstly, it is never the only reason someone becomes a fan of one of these groups. ATEEZ specifically created ‘HALA HALA’ to prove that they had plenty of talent behind their good looks and that it wasn’t the only reason for their success. But looks aren’t all of it. These groups often say things to women that men wouldn’t usually say or treat them better than any man has ever treated them before. I have barely been treated worse and less like a human in my life than when I try entering the dating field. Most of my female friends feel the exact same way. Women are frequently treated by men like we are needy and unneeded. Like we’re too “emotional” and absolutely replaceable. And this doesn’t just happen in dating; this is a regular reality to how men continue to treat women. Men will often come back and state that we must be going after the wrong type of men, but that’s such an idiotic comeback. There are no “type” of men who are exempt from this. This is how society has taught men to treat women and victim blaming certainly doesn’t help the situation. It makes me never want to date. How can people think that any part of queerness is a choice, when I would not choose to be attracted to men if I could? K-Pop idols actually have more respect for women because they know we’re, for the most part, the ones helping to raise them up. ATEEZ is aware and they help fight for us. Not many men I’ve met actually are feminist when it comes time to fighting against the way women are treated. Groups like BTS, ATEEZ, and Monsta X have and do, which absolutely sets my standards higher. Because women deserve better.

My Story:

I found ATEEZ when I was at a low point in my life. At a time where the pandemic had taken so much from me and I felt completely lost and directionless. ATEEZ were some of the first idols to come out and talk about it, and talk about it in a way that I understood. I was a young twenty something who had very little success and was just starting a new chapter in my life when I was hit with worldwide issues. They were the same. Yunho kept me happy and comfortable with him speaking about his own hopes and struggles while having cozy bedtime lives. He’s the golden retriever therapy idol I never knew I needed until I really very much needed him. Mingi started talking about his anxiety when I was going through the same thing. Their songs made me feel heard and no longer alone. I was able to grow as a person while they grew as a group. Not only that, but their storytelling appealed to the huge geek in me and their music had beats that completely distracted my anxiety. But more than that, they became a support group for me. When I attended my first of their concerts, I was in a bad place. Then I cried while watching Yunho sing “Still Here” and again when he cried because he had also been having a rough time and then again when he said that we should lean on him if we were having a rough time. Hongjoong made us all promise to be back when they returned the next year and I promised myself that I would be better by then. And I was. And part of it was because I felt that these eight men were there for me and understood me every step of the way. That was instrumental in me feeling better. To diminish and dismiss my story and the story of the many like me is a grave mistake. And I am finally at the point where I can confidently say that my experience is far more important than your opinion.

I will forever be grateful to ATEEZ for helping me through some of the toughest parts of my life. For assuring me that I wasn’t alone in my feelings when I absolutely felt that I was. And for giving me a place to grow as a person while they also grew as people. It’s been amazing to watch and be a part of. And seeing how lately they’ve been wanting to connect even more, like Mingi showing us his mother and his daily life in order for us to see that he’s human and Yeosang giving us more comeback looks without hiding his birthmark, have made me feel like this community is only becoming closer. But no matter how much they want to share with us (Boundaries are always ok!) I will continue to be here. I care about them and their success. I hope to give back some of what they gave me. Being an Atiny gives me a sense of belonging I’ve barely felt before. And that is so incredibly important. No matter what anyone else thinks.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: Star Wars Celebration News

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in the upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series on Disney+. Copyright goes to Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm.

Hey! Hallie here!

Star Wars Celebration, located in London this year, ended a few days ago and we got so much new information. From first looks at trailers, to in depth information about upcoming projects, to surprising reveals, there was news for every kind of Star Wars fan. I’m going to cover as much news as I can, but I’m going to keep this post to the television and movie reveals just because of the sheer volume of content we got out of Star Wars Celebration. With so many trailers and so much important news to get into, I’m going to jump right in. I’m so excited to talk about all of the new content! SPOILERS for various Star Wars franchises if you haven’t caught up with them!

‘Ahsoka’: This panel was mostly about bringing the cast up on stage, including some faces that hadn’t been announced yet, and showing off the new trailer. All of it was completely worth the wait. While we already knew Rosario Dawson was our Ahsoka and Natasha Liu Bordizzo would be taking on the role of Sabine, Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s mysterious character was finally confirmed. She’s playing Hera! And along with that exciting information we also saw Lars Mikkelsen take the stage to reveal he’s reprising his role as Grand Admiral Thrawn. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see both of these characters. Along with these reveals we also got confirmation Hayden Christensen will be coming back to play Anakin, the characters will be on the hunt for Ezra as played by Ewan Esfandi, and Wes Chatham, Ray Stevenson, and Ivanna Sakhno will also be part of this large cast. To top it all off, Chopper came on stage to take his rightful place amongst the cast. In other words, ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ fans are getting the validation they deserve with this series. It’s picking up right where the animated show left off and giving us a majority of the main cast in live action form. (Here’s your reminder that if you aren’t watching the animated Star Wars shows, you’re missing out.) The trailer was perfect. We got to see Ahsoka kicking ass with her dual white lightsabers, Sabine with her hair longer still worrying over her holo of the missing Ezra, Hera piloting like a badass with Chopper at her side, a mysterious lady Sith, and the back of Thrawn. Fans who were there also got to see all of Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn, not just his back, and Sabine wielding Ezra’s lightsaber. For the most part, this trailer felt like it belonged to the women of the story and I appreciate that immensely. This show is going to focus on so many female characters and I can’t wait for that representation.

Upcoming Movies: Three different movies were announced at Star Wars Celebration, although all of them are in early production so they only gave us a brief synopsis for each one. The most highly anticipated of these is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie, the director of several episodes of Ms. Marvel, who will be the first female director to tackle a Star Wars film. She will be making a film about Rey teaching a new generation of Jedi. Daisy Ridley’s back as Rey! Although there was definitely an immediate negative reaction from the toxic fanboys in the Star Wars community, that reaction was drowned out by praise from the majority of fans. While I love Rey, I felt her story was inconsistent and I think Daisy definitely deserves to return to this character to see those inconsistencies smoothed out. Now if they could just give John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran the justice they deserve after the treatment of their characters. Next, Dave Filoni, the director behind most of the animated Star Wars content, ‘Ahsoka’, various ‘Mandalorian’ episodes, and various ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ episodes, will be making a movie during the “New Republic”. This is the time period most of the Disney+ shows have been taking place in, and the movie’s rumored to close out the stories of ‘The Mandalorian’ and other Disney+ shows. And finally, James Mangold, director of ‘Logan’ and the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, will be making a movie about the first ever Jedi. All of these are interesting ideas, and though we don’t know much about them, I’m interested in all three so far!

‘The Bad Batch’: First, let’s talk Tech’s death. This was the major season two moment fans were waiting to hear the writers and actors discuss. Beginning the discussion on Tech, the entire panel noted that they had seen a lot of fans at Celebration upset by his death. His death even got the biggest audience reaction during the highlight reel at the beginning of the panel. The writers discussed how they had tried to talk themselves out of it but felt there was no way for there to be a “happy ending” if their last mission was essentially the Batch going up against Tarkin. Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of all the clones including Tech, talked about how losing Tech was particularly impactful for him because he relates to Tech the most out of the clone characters. He did say that he was consoled by the fact that Tech had gone out protecting his brothers and rejecting the idea of following orders. Omega’s voice actor, Michelle Ang, gave Tech fans some hope, however. While talking about how shocking she found Tech’s death, she said that it was surprising to discover he wasn’t coming back “at least for that episode”. Which possibly implies that Tech’s death isn’t permanent. Moving on to the big announcements though, ‘The Bad Batch’ will end after season three. That seems premature to me. The show gets better by the season but it still has some issues to work out, and more than that, the stories it’s telling feel far from over. The characters certainly aren’t in a position for their arcs to end, with Hunter and Wrecker having barely gotten any character development at all so far. But I digress. The exclusive teaser shown at the panel included shots of Crosshair and Omega imprisoned together, Hunter and Wrecker searching for them, the return of Rex, and Commander Wolffe. All of this is really exciting, but I can’t say I’m not concerned about next season. I suppose we’ll see what happens in 2024.

Other Shows: Aside from ‘Ahsoka’, the majority of the shows given time on stage during Star Wars Celebration didn’t have a lot to share with fans yet. ‘The Acolyte’, a show set in the High Republic era which the showrunner apparently described as ‘Frozen’ meets ‘Kill Bill’, brought their large cast on stage to briefly discuss their excitement to be joining Star Wars starting 2024. This cast consists of Amanda Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss who in a brief clip seemed to be using the force, and many more. Seriously, this cast is a big one, and with the emphasis on the Dark Side of the force during the panel, you can’t help but wonder who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. Next ‘Skeleton Crew’ was discussed. This one stars Jude Law as a Jedi, who will evidently run into a group of lost kids. These kids will be played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Robert Timothy Smith, and Kyriana Kratter. A lot of people are already comparing this one to ‘Goonies’ and I don’t blame them. ‘Andor’ didn’t have much to show yet, but it’s set to return in August of 2024 and fans at the panel were able to see a teaser that showed a bit of Cassian sneaking around and Mon Mothma. For fans of the Star Wars animated shorts that have been releasing, ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi’ will have a second season, as will ‘Star Wars: Visions’. ‘Star Wars: Visions’ is coming out incredibly soon, on May 4th actually, and this time around they reached out to animation studios around the world rather than just Japanese animation studios. I can’t wait to see what these artists do with this franchise.

That’s all the big news we got from Star Wars Celebration. Along with these large panels we also heard confirmation that the Lando Calrissian show, set to star Donald Glover, is still in the works and Glover is still very excited to be part of the project. We also know that Taika Waititi is still set to direct a Star Wars movie but isn’t in a position yet to talk about what he’s doing. Overall, we’re seeing major strides getting taken in the Star Wars universe. I really appreciated the fan reaction to Star Wars Celebration this year. Though there were a multitude of projects announced and all appealed to very different types of fans, each project was met with an outpouring of love and support. Even though I’m skeptical about some things, I really appreciate that Star Wars fans are beginning to accept that not every part of the franchise will directly appeal to their interests and that’s ok. I’m hesitant to say that we might be seeing less toxic fans in the fandom currently, but if Star Wars Celebration is any indication, we’re at least beginning to allow Star Wars to push the barriers of what can be done in the universe. That on it’s own could lead this franchise to some really amazing places.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Books: When the Movie is Better than the Book

Screenshot of (from left) Noah Centineo and Lana Condor in ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’. Copyright goes to Netflix and Jenny Han.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It’s probably more than well known on this blog that I am very into romcoms. Everything from cutesy romcom movies, to books, to K-Dramas, are usually right up my alley. So, no, I have no idea how it’s taken me this long to watch or read ‘To All the Boys’. Maybe because it was so hyped up that I was worried I would be disappointed. Maybe it’s because I’m not as much of a huge fan of Noah Centineo as a lot of people seem to be. That’s not at all to say that I dislike him though! But I was absolutely certain that I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of this story for almost no reason at all, and brushed it off for awhile. After people close to me told me several several times that I would probably like it, I decided to kick back after a long day of work and actually watch the movie. And I loved it! It’s adorable and very quickly became a comfort watch for me. I’m so glad that I gave it a shot. So I was very quick to pick up the book afterwards as well, and that was so different from the movie. And in my opinion, it is really not different in a good way. This post will have MASSIVE SPOILERS for both the movie and book versions of this story as well as for the book ‘This Time It’s Real’ by Ann Liang which I felt did a similar plot a bit better. If you haven’t read that book, go ahead and do that! I’m just going to get into it!

The Differences:

There are a lot of differences between the movie and the book, so buckle up. While the essence of the characters are the same, they are all definitely less likable than in the movie. There’s a much bigger disconnect between the three sisters, Peter Kavinsky is less charming and more of a typical jock, and Josh actually attempts to kiss Lara Jean instead of staying loyal to Margot. Kissing the sister of your ex who you still aren’t over is, to put it lightly, very very not cool. That’s actually straight up disgusting. The characters in general don’t seem to be very loyal to each other. Margot is very quick to treat Lara Jean badly when things don’t go her way and vice versa. Lara Jean in the book barely seems to like her best friend and only disagrees with everything she does. The only character who seems to remain just as likable is the Dad. And Peter is absolutely at fault for everyone thinking that Lara Jean and him had sex in the hot tub. Though he isn’t the one to create the rumor, he doesn’t actually do anything to try and stop it. This is actually used as an example of how sex is something that seems to bolster men at the same time it tears down women. And while this is important, Peter doesn’t actually seem to learn his lesson from this. But the main difference between the book and the movie is that the book has no ending. Let me repeat there is no ending here!

The Ending:

When I say there isn’t an ending, I’m not at all saying that it ends on a cliff hanger. There’s no cliff hanger for it to end on. This book is a very typical romcom and it honestly isn’t my favorite that I’ve ever read. It was such a typical rom com, that I didn’t find it to have much new or different in it compared to other stuff that I’ve read. The movie was able to completely embrace the cuteness of the romance and the innocence and reliability of Lara Jean that the book seemed to have a little bit of trouble with. It could very well be that Noah and Lana were able to make it better by bringing their own charisma to the roles. But the book itself felt very much like I was reading story beats without the depth of the actors that I desperately wanted. It almost felt like a joke when I got to the typical beat before the last beat in a romcom and the book just ended. You know that moment when the main character finally discovers that they’re in love with the other character no matter what they’ve done? What if the book just ended after that; how mad would you be? Probably just as angry as I was reading this book. The book has no reconciliation between the characters, there is no communication, no understanding, and definitely no getting together. Let me repeat; they never actually date at any point in this book. There are three books in the series, but that doesn’t justify this book having no ending. If you’re going to create a series of anything, each piece should be able to stand on its own and be good both by itself and within the series. Depriving one piece of an ending to try and get people to buy your next book makes that completely impossible. It also made me way too angry to buy the second book, especially when this one wasn’t my favorite to begin with. One of my absolute favorite scenes from the movie is actually the ending. “You gonna break my heart, Covey?” is one of the most swoon-worthy pieces of the entire movie! Not only that but it completes the first arc of Lara Jean in learning to be more confident in herself and expressing her feelings. Why would you instead put that in a second installment where she goes through a different arc? I think the simple fact that the movie has an ending while the book does not, really makes the movie better than the book.

Fake Dating:

Everyone loves a good fake dating plot in a romcom; it has to be one of my favorite romance tropes! And ‘This Time It’s Real’ by Ann Liang delivers this in a way that’s a little familiar when you think about ‘To All the Boys’. In ‘This Time It’s Real’ the fake dating plot begins not because of letters that get out, but it still begins because of writing. When Eliza writes a fake story for what’s supposed to be a real-life experience essay and the essay goes viral, she must suddenly figure out how to make her fake boyfriend from the essay come to life. In order to do this she makes an agreement with teenage television actor, Caz, to pretend to date in order to help her situation and keep past controversy about him at bay. This book takes similar issues from ‘To All the Boys’ and really fixes them for me. It makes the characters really relatable and gives them in depth issues. Eliza struggles with trust issues because she feels like people leave her all the time, which is something that any of us could relate to. I hardcore related to that issue! Caz feels as though his family is attempting to control his life. Not only that but the book also has the importance of family and sisterhood while having extreme loyalty and real-feeling conversations. This book has a great message about letting people in because people need people and also about allowing yourself to love. Something ‘To All the Boys’ hints at with Lara Jean being afraid of having something real in case it isn’t like she hopes, but it never really seems to be completely focused on. ‘This Time It’s Real’ has all the depth and cuteness that I wanted from ‘To All the Boys’ but with added bonuses, like the fact that it takes place in another country and incorporates other things that I love, like C-Dramas. And it actually has an ending! Bare minimum folks, but I’m still excited! I understand that ‘To All the Boys’ was necessary because books with Asian leads weren’t common when this book came out and this is something that we still really have to work on. I really respect it for that! I just wish that it was better.

I know I don’t usually go after books as much as I did with this, but reading this book was so frustrating to me. Especially after seeing how good the story could have been in the form of the movie. It felt almost like the author was attempting to force her readers to buy the second book by withholding the ending, and I am absolutely not supportive of that. But while I am definitely saying that this is a case of the movie being better than the book; I’ve never been a person really of the opinion that books are in general better than their movie counterparts. I know that’s really weird for someone who reads so much, but I’m just as much of a fan of movies! For example, I think the LOTR movies are just as good as the books and I think that they take out some of the unneeded description and make the world visually immersive. The Harry Potter movies I like better now because they take out much of JKR’s racist views. The book often has more details, but the movie usually adapts itself well to being a visual form of entertainment. I usually prefer it best when I like the book and the movie just as much as each other. But it really is interesting for me when I find a movie that I love where I genuinely am not a fan of the original source material for just plain not feeling very great to me. I apologize if you love this book, I know that it’s well loved, but I’m glad that I was able to find some enjoyment out of this story. Even if it wasn’t necessarily from the source material. And I know that’s how a lot of people who don’t take as much interest in books feel! Sometimes you don’t need the book to enjoy the other content, and I feel like this is good proof of that.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

ATEEZ: Happy Late Birthday, Seonghwa!

Promotional image of Park Seonghwa from ATEEZ. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

We are several, several days late on this now that we’re posting only twice a week on this blog, but we can’t let Seonghwa’s birth week go by without wishing the oldest member of ATEEZ a Happy Birthday! Seonghwa is one of the most calm and caring members of ATEEZ, often checking in on members when they’re having a bad day or making sure they have a space to express their frustrations. There’s a reason why he’s called the mom of the group. But he’s also extremely talented, not just as a lead vocalist with a wide range, but as a talented dancer and even as a rapper. I could talk for hours about his stage presence alone, which is so intimidating that he’s part of the group of members known as the “demon line”. But instead of focusing on all of the things I’ve praised him for so many times, I want to talk about his personal interests. The little things he invites ATINY to enjoy with him on lives that help us feel connected to him. So let’s talk about the things Seonghwa loves and the ways he’s generously shared them with us!

Legos:

This is a major one because it often is the center of most of his lives on YouTube. Seonghwa has spent many lives chatting with ATINY while calmly building lego sets. It’s become so common for him to spend lives this way, that recently Yunho snuck in during a live just so he could steal a lego and watch the chaos. He started building legos on lives as a form of also expressing his love of ‘Star Wars’, (Which I’ll get to in a moment,) so his focus was initially on building Imperial and sometimes Rebellion ships. But he was quickly noticed by Lego and has since started building other kinds of sets, many sent to him by the Lego company themselves thanks to the popularity of his lives! There’s something extremely personal about these lives compared to the other ones I’ve seen. He never ignores ATINY while he’s building his legos and always makes sure he’s keeping his eyes on the chat, but he also doesn’t feel the need to perform for ATINY or do something entertaining to keep their attention. Because of this, it really feels like you’re sitting with a friend while he’s doing an every-day thing he enjoys. Many ATINY praise these lives for giving Seonghwa the ability to connect with ATINY while also allowing him to spend his free time as he wishes. It’s nice to see an idol do something they love so genuinely in a casual environment, and it’s amazing that Seonghwa feels like he can do the things he loves so comfortably with ATINY. I love watching him build legos and I hope he got many more lego sets for his birthday that he can build during his future lives!

‘Star Wars’:

Seonghwa has never been quiet about his love of ‘Star Wars’. Like I said above, his trend of building legos on his lives all started with the ‘Star Wars’ lego sets he bought for himself. He’s filmed himself in the practice room twirling around a lightsaber with the lights off, has discussed going to the most recent ‘Star Wars’ movies on his own as a trainee, and has assigned ‘Star Wars’ characters to the ATEEZ members. If you’re curious, he gave Hongjoong Luke, Yeosang Leia, Jongho Han Solo, Mingi Obi Wan, San Padme, Wooyoung Jar Jar Binks (Ouch), Yunho Chewbacca, and himself Anakin. And if you couldn’t tell, Anakin/Darth Vader is his favorite character with Luke and Kylo Ren being close seconds. More recently, he discussed at an LA concert that he had wanted to go to Disneyland specifically to visit Galaxy’s Edge, the ‘Star Wars’ themed land in the park. He unfortunately wasn’t able to get in because the group didn’t realize they needed reservations to get into Disneyland, and he mentioned his disappointment at the concert. Fortunately for him, a mix of that and posting a picture of himself with his hood up labelled “Hwanakin skywalker” got the ‘Star Wars’ official Twitter account’s attention. They retweeted his post and named him an official Jedi Knight! While Seonghwa’s preferences tend to lean more towards the dark side of the force, he was still absolutely thrilled. Seonghwa has always been a hardcore ‘Star Wars’ fan and it was amazing to see his devotion to the series get rewarded with some official recognition. Hopefully he enjoys another year of being an official Jedi Knight.

‘Animal Crossing’:

This is a love Seonghwa’s only fully shared with us recently, but it’s made such a large impact on ATINY that we’re still talking about it weeks after he discussed it. Seonghwa has put a lot of his time and effort into his island on ‘Animal Crossing’. He even gave his villager on ‘Animal Crossing’ a bunch of his own costumes from ATEEZ music videos, resulting in a viral moment from his live where he sang “WONDERLAND” in a soft and adorable voice while he had his villager dance in his “WONDERLAND” costume. Because that moment went viral, Seonghwa hilariously recreated it on ‘Idol Radio’, a show hosted by Hongjoong and Yunho. The specific episode was about best friends, leading Hongjoong and Yunho to bring Seonghwa and Mingi respectively on the episode. Seonghwa taught all of them the ‘Animal Crossing’ dance and got all three of the other members to join him. I highly recommend hunting down this moment just to see this group of grown men dissolve into adorable laughter while they dance. He shared more than just that during his live, though. He showed off his villagers of which the gorgeous deer Diana is a favorite, and did an interior tour of his incredible house. He put specific emphasis on his gym’s punching bags just so he could sing “ROCKY”. On other lives he’s also sung the theme song for the game while making legos and attempted to speak in Animalese, the fictional language spoken in ‘Animal Crossing’ games. Seonghwa seems to love this game just as much as I do, and I’m so happy he decided to show us what his island looks like.

These are only some of the things Seonghwa loves that he’s talked about with ATINY. He certainly doesn’t have to share anything that he doesn’t want to. He deserves to keep some things private, and even with the things he does share with us, we shouldn’t assume that we know him. He still has personal boundaries we shouldn’t treat like we can ignore. But that makes what he does share with us even more important. We make him feel comfortable enough that he can express his passions to us, and on the other hand, he is kind enough to open up about them when he doesn’t have to. I really appreciate these moments he’s given us to connect with him, and I can’t wait to have more moments like this in the next year. Happy Birthday, Seonghwa! I hope you had an amazing day!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie