Boku no hero academia season 4 is round the corner and since it gets me excited to review the episodes once again, let’s start by talking about it. A lot has happened in the past 3 seasons and the dynamics between the characters have gone myriads of changes. Amidst all this, however, one thing that has stayed the same is my favorite character list and no points for guessing *since you read the title; since you know where it’s leading* the one character ruling the list is Todoroki Shouto!
Order some coffee, put on your headphones and kick back because my.., this’ gonna be a long post.
It’s been a while since I have blogged so all that pent up agony of staying away from it has befallen this post and subsequently, you. Yes, you, I hope you didn’t spat your coffee upon sighting the title because I already know you disagree. So here, let me debate you on the subject. *Enough with the italicizing, blogger, you’re scaring the reader*
Continue reading “Boku no Hero Academia season 3 was an Overall Let Down”
*Rubs hands together* I smell a fanfiction ツ
So, there is a theory doing the rounds of the BNHA universe where fans are claiming that Dabi is Shouto’s older brother.
Well, I’m not the type to take fan theories seriously enough to dedicate an entire blog post to it but something about this one makes my tummy flutter. Maybe because it has to do with two of my favourite characters.
So, I have gone through a myriad of posts on various websites and collected them to showcase why people think so.
Continue reading “Dabi is Shouto’s Brother? Here’s what I think”
The third episode of the much-hyped Boku no Hero Academia is here! Err.. actually this review is going to be a mash-up of more than just that episode. I am going to review episodes 3 and 4 so I can talk in continuity about the series of events.
Starting up, the 3rd episode mostly revolves around the students working on their quirks, and Midoriya chan thinking about Kota kun and his hatred for heroes. While this is in action, the villains show up, as always, to ruin the harmony of the happy UA family.
Continue reading “Boku No Hero Academia Season 3 : Episode 3-4 Review”
Japan is dealing with what economists call a “demographic time bomb.” Through a vicious cycle of low fertility and low consumer spending, the country’s economy has gradually shrunk over the last 25 years. People are living longer, and they’re heaping greater social-security costs onto younger generations who aren’t having kids to replace them – thereby furthering the cycle.
Here are some of the most visible signs in daily life that the time bomb is ticking.
To put Japan’s widespread aging in perspective, 2017 marked the 47th straight year that the country has broken its own record for the number of centenarians, or people living past their 100th birthday.
In 2016, there were roughly 65,000 centenarians out of the total population of 127 million. The new total for 2017 stands at 67,824, The Asahi Shimbun reported in September. Japan has the highest…
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Sorry folks!
ごめんなさい
미안합니다!
I have been away from the blog for quite some time now so I suppose an apology is a befitting intro. I was tangled in a few real-life issues and hence, had no time to devote to my cherished, little blog.
But I’m back now as is the season 3 of Boku No Hero Academia! So, without further ado, let’s dive right into reviewing what have been some enthralling weeks of action and fun!
Continue reading “Boku No Hero Academia Season 3 : Episode 1-2 Review”
Yet another successful episode from Violet Evergarden!
Summary
As unsuited Violet is to the job of an Auto Memory Doll, we see the conviction in her trying to understand the meaning of the word, “love”. In episode 2, we get to meet other Auto Memory Dolls from Cattleya to Erica to Iris. The flagrant inability of Violet to interpret human emotions into suitable words is clearly expressed in the letter she writes for this woman who wants to play hard to get for a wealthy suitor. We see Erica defending Violet for she has a soft spot for her and the story only gets interesting from here on out!
Violet Evergarden – What is it about?
As is clear from its eponymous name, Violet Evergarden is a story of a girl by the same name who has only known life as a child soldier following commands and being useful. After the war is over and after injuries that render her armless, she suddenly finds herself grappling for an identity in the world without war as well as finds her commanding major MIA. What she is left with is prosthetic limbs made of adamantine and a former military man, Colonel Hodgins given the duty to put her in the watch of the Evergarden family.
So far all I can surmise from the first episode is that the plot revolves around Violet’s relationship with her commanding officer, Major Gilbert Bougainvillea.
My First Impression of Violet
At first, Violet reminds you of a child, away from the treachery of the world but as the episode progresses it gives you an insight of how she has been brought up as a child soldier. She has no sense of how the world functions when we see her attempting to take her clothes off in front of Benedict. In fact, she only thinks about doing her duties and being loyal to Major Gilbert as we see her writing a report to him with her bandaged fingers.
Personally, I was annoyed at how dumb they have made the character look with no social intelligence but as the episode reaches its climax, we see her taking her first steps in the world when she requests to become an Auto Memoir Doll. This is probably the first time Violet has thought for herself as is clear from the finishing epilogue of Hodgins and I breathe a sigh of relief. To see character development in the very first episode says a lot about the quality of the plot and sets a good pace for the series.
My growing crush on Gilbert
As we are introduced to Gilbert in the opening scene, he seems to be wearing a tormented expression which turns even more pleading when Violet spots a brooch of the same colour as his eyes. As soon as I saw the brooch on Violet, I knew Gilbert was in love with Violet and I was in love with him! I have always had a penchant for characters with tormented pasts and he seems to be one of them.
The Flawless Animation
The animation of Violet Evergarden hits with its breathtaking quality. Every scene is beautifully detailed be it the colour of Gilbert’s eyes or the bird eye’s view of the terrain. Even Violet’s prosthetic arm is intricately designed by the animators.
Intelligent Storytelling Tools
There are subtle nuances to the storytelling that have me riveted to it. Like when Hodgins puts his hands in his pocket on being asked about major Gilbert clearly puts across his discomfort with the situation. Then Cattleya’s narration over Gilbert and Violet’s scenes just add that extra edge to the storytelling tools used in the anime.
The last scene of the episode is worth mentioning since it sets the tone for the anime. Gilbert’s love confession at the brink of death is needless to say heartwarming and it only makes me more curious to find out what kind of characters these are and what is that binds them together.
All in all, the first episode of Violet Evergarden turned out great. It did what exactly the first episode should do. It hooked me in and I can’t wait to Binge-watch the rest of the series now!
Valentine’s Day just whizzed past by and like always, I was the sad caricature of a single, 20 something trying to console myself for the lack of a love life by pretending to have a good day. Yes, I was jealous of my friends receiving chocolates from loved ones and going out to celebrate. So, I did what I do best and that is to sulk and watch anime.
While catching up on blog posts from some of my friends, I stumbled onto this blog which recommends watching “I don’t understand what my husband is saying”. Since it is such a quick watch, I decided to give it a try and to my surprise, it turned out to be so entertaining.
So, I don’t understand what my husband is saying is a slice-of-life comedy series that revolves around the relationship of an Otaku and his businesswoman of a wife (wink wink: is this what my future looks like?). Given the first episode talks about Hajime being an otaku and the whole episode briefs about what it is like being married to an otaku, I thought the entire series will be a parody of the same. However, the episodes thereafter mark a drastic change from the introduction episode.
What I like about the series is despite the time constraint, it focuses on developing characters and even involves conflicts in their idiosyncrasies. I like how they mix up the crazy factor between Hajime and Kaoru. It serves as a balancing act to not end up disliking the other character.
The nice addition is the cross-dressing younger brother of Hajime. He is hysterical with his timing and what I really admire is he, in no way being mocked. There are so many moments with Miki that stand out.
Then Kaoru’s father is also a nicely done character. I cant find the post but I read somewhere how he is the Gordon Ramsay version of a father!
Hajime and Kaoru genuinely seem to be in love and take each other’s flaws as a regular part of their lives. This is where the series wins your heart because, at the end of the day, we know the protagonists love each other unconditionally.
I can understand why the animation is, well if not poor then definitely not very good. since the series lasts under the 4-minute mark, it makes sense to not allot a huge animation budget.
Given how you only need to shelve out somewhere like a half an hour for one season, it a good series to watch. I would definitely recommend it.
In one word : Breath-taking. Your Name is one of the very rare films that will last forever in the memories of everyone who has watched the magic of this film unfold on screen.
A well crafted and splendidly animated love story that transcends time and boundaries, Your Name is a movie you should not miss!
Synopsis
Your name is a interwoven tale of the lives of Taki and Mitsuha who are distanced by not just boundaries but time itself! In fact, by the time they fall in love, the destiny has pulled them in two different dimensions of time. Riveted yet? Read to find out more.
Taki and Mistuha are two teenagers, living in different parts of Japan, who wake up one day to realize they are swapping bodies. This little adventure ties their lives together and they start living their lives as each other until.. yes, the happy ending is far from within reach right now.. until the stars come falling..
And they are no longer swapping bodies. Taki starts to miss Mitsuha. As such, he sets out to meet her personally. But in his quest to find her hometown, he finds that she died 3 years ago, along with 500 other people when a comet came raining down on her town, itomori. Into it, yet?
From here on we see their struggle to see each other as well as save the town from the comet which nobody could predit would split and rain down on a town.
My reaction!
From the moment I read the synopsis, I had my reservations about how the plot will play out. Most of the films that deal with the concept of time travel either use some Deus ex machina to solve the paradox or fall flat on their faces. But Your Name handles the time travel aspect of the film so flawlessly and the transition from one part of the story to another is so smooth, it’s like watching a knife slice through butter.
From them realizing they are swapping bodies to them leaving information for each other, everything is so smart and straight-forward as well as well paced that you are trying to catch your breath.
The whole film is about love and most romantic films are never categorized as clever but this film beats that notion too. It is very cleverly told and some parts are so intelligent they leave you gasping.
Parts that made me cry
I hate to admit but yes, I’m the type to watch romantic, emotional movies and cry. And to tell you the truth, this movie made me shed ounces of tears. After the second half begins, you can find me shedding tears by pounds. By the time Taki realizes that Mitsuha is dead and he goes to find the shrine and drinks the sake made by her, I’m so emotionally attached to both of them, that when Taki trips and hits his head and is warning Mitsuha of the impending disaster, I burst in tears and I’m rooting for Taki to make it through to her.
Then when they meet at twilight and are finally able to see each other. It is the first time that they meet face to face and as a viewer it brings a rainbow of emotions out to see them interact.
Then the part that really made me cry my eyes out is when Mitsuha is trying to save the town and she realizes that she has forgotten Taki ‘s name. The same had happened earlier to Taki who was trying to recall Mitsuha’s name and while he got to write it on her hand, poor her, before she goes out to write her name on his hand, the twilight passes over and she disappears.
In her desperation to recall Taki’s name, she trips and comes tumbling down the hill. When she looks at her palm she finds out that instead of writing his name, taki has professed his love to her in writing. And then we see Mitsuha lament that this won’t make her remember his name. It is a heartbreaking moment to see them struggling so hard against soemthing as insurmountable as destiny.
The final moment when the grown up Taki and Mitsuha see each other at the train station and are finally able to be together is what puts an end to the waterworks.
Frankly, I have not cried so much watching a movie in the recent times and it is so heartwarming to find this movie.
Special mention to..
They are so many moments and little details that are worth mentioning. I love how Taki is introduced to us with a little bandaid on his cheek.
After the two of them are swapping bodies and leaving information for each other left, right and center, it is an intelligent way to show that they have developed a bond for each other when Taki is in Mistuha’s body and decides to not feel her breasts for her sake and ends up doing it anyways. It is both smart and hilarious. I love the face he makes every time he is caught by Yotsuha touching his breasts. Did I say, it is hilarious!
Then the seiyuus of the film need to get commended for the job they have done. I love how by the voice itself I can figure out if they are in each other’s bodies or not.
The animation is very beautiful. The Japan they have shown looks so enticing. Special mention should be given to the scenes with the comet. The sky looks breathtaking every time it is in the shot. The town of Itomori is so beautifully drawn that you would want to go there for a getaway!
The music by Radwimps is again a plus. Since Radwimps are a champion of the game, it is no surprise the music turned out so good. I had already listened to the music beforehand and the way it sits in different situations is so perfect.
Why your name!?
So why is the movie called Your Name? There are many times this has been explained in the movie. First of all, the fact that Taki and Mitsuha keep forgetting each other’s names throughout the movie is a good reason why the name is so important.
Secondly I think the major reason why the name is so important is because when Taki finds out that itomori was destroyed in the entire meteor shower. He for a short moment thinks that he was only dreaming about swapping bodies with a girl and the reason he associated the town was because he remembered hearing about it on news 3 years ago. But if it’s indeed true and he was really fantasizing about everything, how does he know Mitsuha’s name? He found it in the record books of all the dead people. How? How does he know the name of a complete stranger?
Well, it is these small little details that have been kept in mind that makes Your Name a masterpiece. The movie is full of such clever little parts and it is definitely one of the best movies to come out of Japan in the recent past.
I would give this movie a solid 4.5 stars out of 5 and everyone who is missing out on this movie is definitely doing himself wrong.
Orderly Chaotic Realm 