Shin Godzilla(シン・ゴジラ) Japanese Film Thoughts

 

   Shin Godzilla is the thirty first installment in the famous series. This film was directed by Anno Hideaki(Neon Genesis Evangelion) along with Higuchi Shinji . One of them wrote the script while the other created the special effects. Toho theater distribution company also helped to produce the film. A super star cast of Hasegawa Hiroki, Kora Kengo, Kunimura Jun, Saito Takumi, Ishihara Satomi, and Takenouchi Yutaka were asked to be in the film. I'm surprised a little bit at how well this film did in the Japanese box-office last year. It became the highest grossing film of 2016 in Japan and even challenged Your Name for top spot after being in the theater for a few weeks. The directors and actors continued to bathe the films successful reception by winning a landslide of awards, including film of the year.

   I watched Shin Godzilla or Godzilla: Resurgence with a mindset full of what I know about Godzilla based on the other films in the franchise. Thinking that using these films for reference alright was not a good idea. The thoughts caused me to think that Shin Godzilla would  be a film that consisted of scenes where Godzilla destroyed all of Japan. These scenes would make up maybe 90% of what I would see. Sadly, instead I go a strangely paced plot that leaves the viewer in bewilderment before asking for more. Godzilla makes his presence known pretty earlier on in the film then doesn't miss a beat causing damage.  Differences that this Godzilla brings to the series has to do with the monster's evolution. He looked funny during his first appearance but when you realize whats going on, Godzilla becomes as terrifying as his older versions. Big signs of deeper meanings are prevalent in the film using Godzilla as a symbol to represent the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan back then. Many Japanese viewers will connect to the damage shown that the monster does since its almost a replica of the devastating reality. My issue with Shin Godzilla is that the plot doesn't utilize the monster enough to me. After a certain point in the film, the plot becomes very dialogue heavy. Not that this is a bad thing if you have enough patience to watch these scenes. It's not boring but Godzilla takes a back seat to all the Japanese patriotism on top of random wacky jokes. Action fans will not like the dynamics of the new development so I say to play the waiting game till the action returns. Godzilla did less than what the characters took half the film discussing what they thought the thing would do. Shit does go down long enough to be rememberable considering how the American Air forces tries to stop Godzilla's lovely stroll through Japan. Gosh, he just wanted to go sightsee in  Tokyo……. I don't see why Japan couldn't let that happen…… Ok. Please, feel free to face palm my sarcasm. A canning resemblance to Korean film called The Host comes up based on the traits of the two monsters in both films. Godzilla being inactive took me out of the film a bit. Only because his inactivity allowed the dialogue of the characters to drag on turning this film into more drama than horror. At least the cast gave their best performances to give Godzilla time to start destroying stuff again.

   I would have never pick up a copy of Shin Godzilla if it had not been for the cast. This film almost went back on the self in the store but thoughtfully, I looked up more about the film on my phone then saw the cast and was sold. I've seen almost everyone in this film in other Japanese productions so i'm well aquatinted with them. Three languages are spoken in the film with Japanese being the dominate language. Some characters don't need to be speaking in English if it makes their acting cringe worthy. What got me was that the characters that were suppose to be born in Japan had better pronunciation than the character that was Japanese American. Interactions between the characters were similar to watching a debate. Every character had an opinion and the leaders in charge might as well have not even been there. My favorite parts of the action had to do with them going out in the field to Godzilla. Scenes like these were a nice break from all the talking. From a Japanese standpoint, I can see why their acting was praised so much. Japanese culture is referenced all over the script that translated over perfectly to it's target audience thanks to each actor's portrayal.

  Higuchi does Godzilla justice in the CGI showcase of the film. I actually thought that the special effects looked like a project that Hollywood could have worked on. Mind you, a few shots didn't get the best angles of our monster making him look a bit cheap however, Big G's battle scenes are ones for the money, if production just had the budget to make more of them.

  Shin Godzilla wasn't bad nor was the film fantastic. I personally had little problems with the film but nothing too awful that would cause me to hate my viewing experience. Things that go against my expectations to still turn out alright kill me. I'm done now…….

BOBBY(바비)- LOVE AND FALL Album Thoughts(K-pop)

 

Track List:
01. 사랑해 (I LOVE YOU) *Title
02. RUNAWAY
03. 다른 세상 사람
04. 텐데
05. UP (Feat. MINO)
06. SECRET (Feat. DK, KATIE)
07. IN LOVE
08. 수영해
09. FIREWORK
10. 내게 기대


 


   I wouldn't recognize Bobby if you pointed his picture out in an advertisement on the street. I'm not a big fans of Ikon and forgot about them until listening till checking out this guy's music. Ikon probably won't be in my iTunes any time soon but I do like Winner quite a bit. Bobby was the youngest "winner"(hehe) of South Korean rap competition Show Me The Money before joining Ikon. He just released his solo album Love And Fall after a year long break on solo activities and in the mist of YG Entertainment's scandal with their merchandise.

   Bobby's approach to his music caught my attention. He doesn't have a traditional way to singing and rapping that fits in with the norm of Kpop music. I was actually a little conflicted labeling this post as Idol Kpop. Bobby is a Korean Pop Idol that infuses indie with what is deemed mainstream music in Korea respectively. Love and Fall's song selection is composed of rap infused RnB swagger. I Love You's instrumental production puts me in mind of the song Winner released called Island(I didn't care of this song). Both songs consist of that tropical sounding pop beat influenced by music from the Caribbean. Bobby's style doesn't naturally work with this type of music. He makes it work for him like trying on new sneakers though. Runaway also seems to come from a more pop realm thats day and night when inserting Bobby into the equation. Producers at YG entertainment always try to create music that they think will make them quick cash. The title tracks on the album are cash cow tracks. Bobby at least makes the most of what he has by performing the tracks at the highest peak of confidence. I liked a couple of tracks that leaned toward a more Indie sound. when Bobby is making music based off his hip hop inspiration, he puts out really lit tracks perfect for people to come together to bust a move. Love and Fall as a whole is a little messy to me however. I think Bobby tried too hard to prove himself instead of letting the music flow naturally. One minute the album sounds like Kpop then there's a random rap collaboration with Mino from Winner that might make a good demo but shouldn't have made the final cut for the album. Bobby's sing rapping was where the gems in the album where created. I enjoyed all the tracks that didn't have an English title excluding I Love You and Runaway[INSERT ME LAUGHING]. Kind of funny coming from me as a nonkorean. Producers should have focused on this one style to me. I Love You and Runaway worked out unlike some of the other tracks that mess up the consistency of Love and Fall to me.

  Bobby's raspy voice got me here typing this post. I wouldn't have given him the time of day had I not heard his voice. Its life itself for me because his voice doesn't fit the norm. You still catch him singing despite  that. Bobby is like the male version of Singer/Rapper Jessi. She has a harsh raspy vocal too. Rapping Wise, Bobby is good. Just not different. There's too many deep raspy male rappers out in the Korean rap genre. Especially among idol boy groups.

   Love and Fall was alright. I'm going to keep listening to the tracks I liked the most. Ikonics must be proud of him. I'm proud too but my thoughts are my thoughts.

 

March Comes In Like a Lion(3月のライオン) Anime Thoughts

     March Comes in Like A Lion is the second work created by Umino Chica that I have watched. The first being Honey and Clover over a decade ago now. March Comes in Like a Lion was originally a 2007 manga that had a such a huge positive reception that an Anime was created. Soon after, a two part live action film also followed suit this year. The manga has not reached a conclusion yet so fans can still continue to enjoy what's to come from the series. Lets talk about the anime adaption for now(fingers crossed that the manga gets an English release under Shojo Beat label like earlier title, Honey and Clover.).

  I would write a short summery about this anime but the truth of the matter is that the plot is as simple as depression and loneliness. The main character is a boy that's pretty withdrawn from the world. He only knows how to play the traditional Japanese board game sport called Shogi. I'm going to guess that many western viewers know absolutely nothing about Shogi unless you're one of those huge Japanese culture buffs. You know the ones that have lived in Japan and lived, breathed, every damn thing Japanese. Yeah, well most anime fans have not done that…. yet. Shogi is a big part of the show and shown in a emotional fashion that connects to the main characters unstable emotional state. A big feature about this anime is that a big amount of the plot is shown through narration of the main character or sometimes other characters. Viewers have forced into the character's emotional war with himself as a core experience of March Comes in Like a Loin. It would be a lie if I said that the experience isn't anything short of sad. Then inside of his depression comes a exciting viewing time for the viewer because we have all been through times where we felt lost. Even the most confident person breaks down from time to time. The anime defiantly knocks our main guy down more than a few times but he also slowly finds his own way to slowly stand up again. Thanks solely to the characters around him, like his support system when times get tough. Light hearted times slowly make a presence in the show due to his "support system", A family of sisters that have their own deep scars. They don't let that stop their positive light from shining on the main character in his depressive state. Umino was always good at inserting wacky humor into sad situations then switching back and forth between both without a hint of awkwardness. The over the top humor doesn't come across as trying to hard either. Each try at human felt right at home in the plots progression to me. My biggest annoyance with March Comes in Like a Lion was the random way that the anime tries to explain the rules of Shogi using a elementary sounding song. I really love the always hungry cats in the anime but this sequence got on my nerves. That song almost had my shouting, "RECLAIMING MY TIME!". I'm also a fan of the progression of the anime explained the backgrounds of the characters so you find out why they are the way that they are. Our main guy worried me as I watched because he seemed to be getting stronger one minute while the next minute he's backtracking into depression. Best wishes for him in Season 2.

   Umino Chica's character designs have youthful look to me. They always have and I believe its because of the way she draws them. Her character faces are drawn using a round circular face. Perfect for the characters transformation into little Chibi size during the comedy scenes. Her drawings show maturity along with a lot of flexibility to be too cute for words. The sequences done for the moments of depression during the anime are masterpieces to me. The color schemes used for these scenes will hurt your heart. Don't get me started on the narration on top of that. Certain words that are used to hurt the main character create visual paintings for the viewers chance to relate to the pain that cuts the main characters from these words. I could enjoy March Comes In Like a Lion based on visuals alone. just so happens there's a solid story to back up it's beauty.

   Please note that this anime isn't for everyone. Since the anime is heavily based on dialogue, An anime fan that loves mostly action might get bored watching this anime. You also need to have an open mind for all the Japanese cultural references shown not only through the sport of Shogi but in the comedy aspect of the anime as well. I personally like the show for the emotional depth any human can easily relate to.

Primary(프라이머리) - Shininryu(신인류) Album Thoughts(K-indie)

Track List:
01. On
02. Baby
03. 상상해
04. ~42
05. 알아
06. 오늘은 왠지
07. 밤꽃 (Night Flower)
08. 미지근해

    Primary has work with tons of artists in the span of his career. He used to mostly work with artists outside of the Idol world until recently. POP is the first album that was released by Primary this year. If you don't know, Primary is a music producer. This album(POP) hires the aid of many more mainstream idol to be featured in the tracks. I was thrown off quite a bit by this new side of Primary. Sure, I gave a couple of music videos for the album a watch but came to the conclusion of repulsiveness. The songs didn't have strength in the music like the Primary I know. So just when I was going to put Primary on the shelf as a producer never to be listened to again, Shininryu pops out on nowhere like an apology to the long time fans of his greatness.

  Shininryu as an album is what Primary's music was suppose to sound like the first time around. No people, I'm not saying that Primary can't experiment with new sounds and artists. Just don't lose what makes you a great producer in the process. POP was an album that clearly was created to get Primary a more younger following. Even thought I believe that most Korean's in their twenties know about Primary based on the artists her has worked with in the past. Fans outside of South Korea need to realize that Idol Kpop isn't the majority of what is popular among the youth in Korea. Many twenty something year olds love more indie music or Rap/Hip Hop. Primary goes into the category of RnB mixed hip hop influence. Shininryu brings Primary back to listeners while he's doing down off a energy high. He's in a chill mood that comes across in the album. Most of Primary's albums feature artists that are either well known or not as well known in the mainstream. I don't know any of the artists that are featured on this album but there's a kind of charm to that. Their followings mean nothing here. Everything is all about the music unlike on the album POP. Each track features a different singer that all try to match the chill mood Primary seemed to be in at the time of production of Shininryu. The music as a whole really felt like a garage band was making sweet tunes with no pressure. All while Primary is the man in the middle of the music controlling everything. I really enjoyed the fun, laid back feel of the album. You can find something on Shininryu for everybody if you know good music.

   Every vocalist brought their A Game during recordings. I always noticed how Primary can produce a song for a singer that fits them perfectly while also keeping the music within his realm of expertise. Many of the vocalists sound totally different from each other too. Voices range from deep and raspy, to high and, smooth as well as male and female.

   I'm so overjoyed that Primary released two different albums for different listeners tastes in his music. I almost lost interest in his music when I heard POP. There was also a release of different videos of the artists performing their songs on Youtube. I'll post the ones that were my favorites here.

One Week Friends(一週間フレンズ。) Japanese Film Thoughts

 

   Based off the manga of the same name created by Hazuki Matcha, One Week Friends was made into a live action film this year that was directed by Murakami Shosuke and written by Izumisawa Yoko. The 2012 manga was also made into an anime that saw rave reviews even though the anime had pacing issues. I've sadly never seen the anime or read the manga. The cast was my only reason for watching this film. Yamasaki Kento returns to being the prince of high school drama themed films . Kawaguchi Haruna also joins along side Kento as the leading actress. While promising young actors and actress follow behind as the extended cast.


  A boy enters his second year of high school being in the same class as a girl that he had an interaction with before. He notices that they girl spends most of her time alone and never tries to makes friends. He vows to make friends with his classmate but the girl constantly pushes him away. Soon, she confesses to him that she looses her memories at the end of every week. He then still tries to befriend her despite her illness.

   I was honestly worried about how Kento would be portrayed in this film. Mind you I didn't know anything about the original story. So everything I saw was a brand new experience for me. One Week Friends's plot develops in a subtle progress. Its really a coming of age story involving high school students in the mist of school life. If it wasn't for the major conflict of the story, you would think that this film was a documentary showing Japanese kids in their normal educational environment. One Week Friends's plot talks about the true value of friendship that secures a strong overall presence in the film. I never talk about the soundtrack for films. That was until I saw how each musical score was used to dictate a different feeling for each scene in One Week Friends. Most of the music in the film is classical music performed by musicians that must have understood the film that they were creating music for. Music in One Week Friend is played so carefully causing the viewer to feel emotion even when the characters aren't speaking a line. I know that this is the norm in tons of other films too. This film makes the sequences more noticeable than other films though. On top of that, the plot keeps you wanting to connect to the cast of characters. You have a desire to learn more about all of them. One Week Friends is a story supported heavily by the cast of characters honestly .

   Lets go back to my worries about Kento staring in ANOTHER high school themed film. Fans of him know that he can play various different roles. One of his best roles was playing detective L in the TV drama adaption of Death Note.(Probably mentioned this before.) My problem here is that he does too many films that sometimes have the same concept. I liked most of the films that he stared in(except maybe one of two.) but Japanese high school films can either go really well or really bad fast. These type of films are super common in Japan and it's easy for a film like this to fall into the pit of mediocrity. Especially when the plot couldn't keep a person suffering with ADHD awake. J-school productions don't center around much anyway unless there's a specific conflict involved. Kento decides to take the road less followed, breaking out of the stereotypical hot guy who's a jerk role. His character this time around is a hundred degree turn in the opposite direction. The guy is the class clown that makes everyone laugh. There's a strong determination in his personality that makes his character an interesting viewing pleasure. Haruna plays the stone faced girl who loses her memories after each week. I thought the causes and effect of her illness was made to really be simply understood because of  the script. Her background relates back to her past school. No big surprise there right? She's a good actress but I wouldn't say that her and Kento had a chemistry made in heaven. Which was probably done on purpose through their acting. I would call it more spontaneous connection than romantic chemistry. Their relationship was never defined out loud as a romantic one as well. Romantic moments occur in this film for those that look for them. The connection between them just wasn't made to be defined in a cliche fashion to me. Keeping their feelings alive no mater if it's as friends or more than friends was more important than titles. Other characters that made appearances in the film were fun to watch because I keep wondering who would step in to cause a love triangle. I like how the film found a potential mate from a least expected place. Emotional driven characters always make for a great film.

   Nothing too special to report about when it comes to the way One Week Friends was shot. I did enjoy how a blackboard in a classroom was used to signalize the change in seasons. Change in seasons means change in time for the character's high school careers. This is done by having the blackboard showcasing a hand drawn scenery of a snowy landscape if the season approaching in winter, or there was a scene where the blackboard had a picture of a forest in the mist of summer. Art as a focus point of the film was a good idea.(Probably was in the manga too.)

   One Week Friends was a very cute film. It had me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside after watching the ending. The film is pretty decently acted film that's not too over the top using cliche romance. Romance without realism isn't true romance.

G.Soul(지소울) - Circles Mini Album Thoughts(K-indie)

Track List:
01. Tequila (Feat. Hoody)
02. 술버릇 (bad habit)
03. One More Interlude
04. Can`t (아직도 난)
05. Circles (제자리)
06. Found You (Prod by Deepshower)

   G.Soul is that guy in a group of people who you know about and seems chill but is easy to forget about. If you talk to him, he is the coolest guy ever then you forget about him again as life goes on. This is how I feel about G.Soul's music career. The singer was with JYP Entertainment for seventeen years as a trainer. He then debuted under a sub label for the company. Here comes 2017 with G.soul deciding to leave JYP for another record label. Nice move considering G.Soul never came across as a singer that could be manufactured into a mindless idol singer to me. Being an artist that lets his music do all the talking seems to be more of his style. I put him in the category with other Korean artists such as Day6 because both artists didn't do much promotion when they were under JYP entertainment. (But Day6 is becoming a little too idol boyband for me lately.)

   Circles is G.Soul's 3rd mini album to date after a fresh start on Jay Park's new sub label, H1GHR MUSIC. G.Soul still is cranking out the RnB hits that relax any listener after a long day. He has not only continued to perfect his craft but he has also evolved from release to release. Circles presents a RnB core sound that supports a more pop electronic composition. There isn't a time while listening to Circles that I didn't think that the album wasn't produced in someone's urban basement. The tracklist comes off as an album that G.Soul did for himself without any restrictions. Can't was chosen to the the title track for the album which sounds like nothing that's out in South Korea right now. The production of the track uses various music edits on top of a RnB base beat. Not to mention the group melody in the chorus that slays my soul every time it graces my ears. Tequila became my favorite song right from the start. It was the first track on the album too. You listen to this track then suddenly, your body gets possessed by that club beat. Soon those hips feel the damn holy spirit as they start shaking all over the place… LET ME STOP! Anyway, Defiantly a hot track that's good for turning up.


   

    I'm a huge fan of G.Soul's vocals. One of his best traits is that he was a genuine passion for music. Through that passion he sings Song lyrics using an emotional method that causes listeners to relate to the story he is conveying. He's an RnB/Soul guy in every way of the word. I felt that shit when he came out with Love Me Again awhile ago. Thankfully, my Korean was good enough to understand the lyrics as well.





      G.soul will be an artist that will have a career of longevity if he plays his cards right. He really is a fantastic vocalist who deserves to get his name out there in South Korea. Just don't get too commercialized to the point that it effects your music. Stay mysterious and stay humble man.

 

Timmy Xu(ZZ/許魏洲) - THE TIME Album Thoughts(Mando-rock)

Tracklist

1.那又怎樣
2.忘了我吧

3.黑暗邊緣 



   I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume that Heroin aka Addicted isn't coming back for a second season. Heroin will always be dear to my heart but I'm waiting to see what Johnny and Timmy do separately in their careers. Both have stated that they are working on films. Then Timmy decides to drop a new album called The Time. Following the huge success of his first album in China,  Many fans of Addicted wasted no time flocking to his new music as well.

  The Time does musically what Timmy's first album could not. It breaks off the shackles of pretty boy ballads brought on thanks to public expectations. This couldn't be helped since the album was released right in the middle of the hype surrounding Addicted. Which was a great move for album sales actually. What bothered me was most of the ballads from Timmy's debut felt forced like a mother trying to feed a child cough medicine when they are sick. Nobody likes to take that nasty cough medicine and no singer likes singing songs that don't speak their heart. Now, Walk Slowly was the best ballad on his debut album to me even though Timmy said himself that the song was very different from the music he was used to preforming. The me in the past did blind claps for The Light mostly because I was a fan of Addicted but I didn't care for some of the tracks in reality. The Time has it's music zip in-between ballads and rock&roll to find a safe place to manifest itself. There's only three tacks for now, as each track shows the next step in Timmy's musical career. I wasn't going to be too surprised if he fell into mediocracy after Addicted got banned for good. Timmy instead took the time to grow as a musician for his fans. I felt that I was listening to a stronger version of Timmy that has something more to bring to the table. Something more to prove to everyone out there. Tracks begin utilizing acoustic rawness of guitars leading into violins played in rhythm with gentle sounding piano. About two of the tracks could qualify as ballads but Timmy chooses to up the energy by the middle of the two songs. He does this by leading in a band to make everything come out louder, maybe even more emotional than his first album. The Time ends the same way his first album did, rocking out hard!! I like when he gets to rock out freely. Creating music like this is where he belongs.

   Vocals on the The Time have seen a new approach to singing for Timmy. There's more support from backup vocalists that wasn't present on his first album. Probably because the budget was nonexistent at the time. I caught those screams that Timmy did during one of the songs too. You have to love how he looks so clean cut but is a beast when he has his hands on a guitar.

   Loved this little three track album from the first listen. It still doesn't make any sense what the Chinese government did banning Addicted like that. Gay dramas are constantly being made in the country anyway. I also call bullshit when it comes to the Government's reason for banning the drama. Kids in China will be exposed to homosexuality wether the try to control what is broadcasted or nor. Gay people are everywhere so those Government officials better catch up to the rest of the world. You don't have to agree with homosexuality. Just please don't take rights away from people who are living their lives, not bothering anyone. Clearly the drama was well received based on the huge viewership it got. That was the real issue in my opinion. The Chinese government wasn't expecting a low budget web drama to garner so much popularity. Addicted probably had more viewers than the sorry ass propaganda dramas that the government wanted to keep broadcasting. I'll always support Timmy and Johnny with or without Addicted.

 

Lee Ki Kwang(Highlight)이기광 - One Mini Album Thoughts(K-pop)

Track List:
01. What You Like
02. One
03. 오해해
04. 꿈 (Feat. 승연 (Luizy))
05. Look at Me Now
06. Trick (Feat. 릴보이)
07. Only U

 

    I used to be a HUGE fan of B2ST many years ago. B2ST isn't even known as that anymore because the remaining members changed their name to Highlight. Some members left after I stopped really listening to the group. My reasons for stepping away from Highlight's music has to do with Lee Ki Kwang's past actions performing blackface on a Korean comedy show. That was all I needed to stop feeling the strong love that I had toward those boys for such a long time. I'm not "a hold on to a grudge type" of person but I didn't care for his ignorant apology. So here I am giving Lee Ki Kwang's second mini album a chance. If you didn't know, He was a solo artist under the stage name AJ back in the day. Two of his debut songs were my jams once upon a time. 

  One might has well be a continuation of AJ's career before he was placed in Highlight. Its an RnB mixed with hiphop album. The album starts with the title track called What You Like. this track was the reason I gave this album a listen. I liked the song's similarity to Kwang's old song, Dancing Shoes. It's a track that focuses on catchy melodies and urban beats to get listeners into the music. The rest of the album doesn't keep my interest though. My reasons ranged from tracks that lacked spark to a bigger problem.  As I listened to the album,  Kwang reminded me of why his solo career flopped so quickly. Lets take away his looks, dancing, abs, and group members. He's not a strong vocalist when you take away all the extra features. Which leads to the main reason why he was put in a group with boys who have stronger voices than his own. Kwang can sing good enough if the songs don't require outstanding vocal performance though. I'm not taking away the career that he has built but I don't forgive him for making fun of my race either. I don't believe he's racist at all truthfully. Just closed minded in my opinion. Maybe instead of making black people the butt of the joke for your own race(Koreans), You could go and work on your vocals more. Food for thought.

   Releasing a Lee Ki Kwang solo album was a safe move at the moment. Highlight has made enough money to compensate if this album flops. I respect his ability to be successful even though he's not the best at what he does to me. I'll also never watch him act for obvious reasons but best of luck to him in the future.  No hate here for Ki Kwang. Only disappointment along with awareness. Has he become more open minded over the past few years? Black kpop fans can wonder…… You won't find me losing sleep over him or wasting my life wondering if he is educated about the race's culture that he took the core foundation of his music from. I canceled my support for him long ago. This post is a privilege, not agreement to what he has done.