Captivated, By You(夢中さ、きみに。) Japanese Manga thoughts

  

   Yama Wayama has had a very fulfilling last few years. The author bursted on the manga scene with an art style that's original, paired with stories of everyday people connected by their choices in life. Captivated, By You is Wayama's one shot collection that helped put the spotlight on the newcomer in Japan.... I think a drama/film was made based on this manga too. 

  A couple of short stories about high school life and students who must live through everyday while finding life's meaning in simple occurrences.. 

  Captivated by You is a collection of short stories that starts off very very rocky... at least in my opinion. I'm pretty sure that many people will pick up this collection thinking that this manga is Boy's Love or Yaoi. Let's make one thing clear right now, Yama creates stories that could cross the line over into BL territory but the overall message isn't about sexuality. Anyways, I wasn't sure how to feel about Captivated after reading the first two stories, so good thing the stories get better over time. I quite enjoyed the characters and how they were a disturbance to school society without meaning to be. At first, readers will think that these stories have no point as well as direction however, the connection lies in the same characters that make constant appearances in multiple stories toward the end of the book. My favorite stories were Run Yamada! and the multiple part story about the cursed student that everyone avoided in fear of being cursed themselves. Theses stories are downright comedic yet tell in detail the deepening of an odd friendship containing two very different people. There's also a ton of jokes that you won't get unless you know a lot about Japanese pop culture. For example, One character was barely answering another character in a part of the story and the character asking the question thinks to himself, " What is he trying to be like Erika Sawajiri?".  A lot of English speakers won't know who she is but the joke is in reference to a Japanese actress, singer, and model who at the press conference for her newest drama was so angry that she barely answered reporters's questions. She didn't want to do that drama at the time but her agency made her causing her bad attitude. Erika was extremely popular in the early 2000s for her looks and acting ability. She known most for her starring role in the 2005 J-drama 1 Litre of Tears. Also, the Junji Ito joke that everyone should have laughed at if you're a fan of his work. Horror it'sself is actually a big spoof for the last stories because a lot of influence comes from other manga horror stories. The rumored cursed student was a play off the classic long winded shojo manga " Kimi ni todoke: from me to you"where the main female lead is supposed to look like girl who comes out the well in the Ring films so, the students avoid her. All of these shady jokes did my soul some good.... Yama even threw the J-pop idol company Johnny's Associates in there for good measure. The translators really should have had a reference page at the back of the book like they used to back in the day. If you were looking for sexually explicit Yaoi, you may call this manga boring or intellectual. What probably happened was you missed what Captivated, By You was trying to convey which is that  there's a place for everyone in this world, including a place for those society might call odd.    

   Yama's artwork is more on the sketch side of things to me. The sharpness in the strokes of the pen gives character's a mature adult feel as students. Some other people claim that the manga looks like a horror manga without the horror.... I don't see that at all. Is it mature? Yes. Is it head first into the dark horrors of your mind Junji Ito style? HELL NAW!  I'm trying to see the comparison.... Could be the use of the pen strokes that they both use. Ito is still on another level though. I'm sure Yama would agree. 

  Captivated, By You is a manga that you might have to read more than once to get value out of the pages. I loved certain stories more than others. Not everyone will get what I got out of my read though.  

Laughing Under The Clouds(曇天に笑う) Series + Films Thoughts

 

    Laughing Under The Clouds is a series that was created by KaraKara Kemuri. The overall series has many adaptions from the year 2014 to about 2018. Some examples including anime, stage play, live action film, three anime films, and a manga series that spawned two spin offs. 

   Three brothers live life together set in the feudal era of Japan as times began to change and more advanced technology makes an appearance.  They thought that their days would be full of laughter until an urban legend threatens to rip them apart..... 

    I've heard different opinions about the anime adaption but I wanted to check it out for awhile now. Only because the cover art caught my eye. I bought the films before I watched the anime too. Gosh, I'm glad that the show gave more than I expected. The first three episodes were really about building that stage to show the brother's love for each other... Or even the two younger brothers's love for their older brother. He's basically the parents that the two young brothers have. In the process of creating a family centered sort of anime, there's enough comedy to make a viewer think that this show is some kind of spoof. If you're someone who gives up on an anime after the first few episodes, I would warn you to hang in there a bit longer. A mystical demon dragon, betrayal, and romance spanning hundreds of years give the rest of the show a bit more to chew into. Laughing Under The Cloud isn't meant to be an action packed anime series though. We are just grateful enough that the story gives a good excuse to have action scenes. Even with this being said, the show fights to focus more on the cast of characters most of all. I've heard also that the manga has an ark that was just as confusing as a section of the anime where the episode decides to focus on two characters from years before. They tie into the main plot however, the sudden switch in storyline is very random and it takes some getting use to. 

    I could tell that the three films were produced by a completely different studio because the character models look a bit more updated compared to the series. The first film was my favorite because it takes place right after the series ends. Plus it gives you the starting look at where all the characters were after the events of the anime. The third film has the most action and romance. I did feel however that the ending wasn't has much of a solid close as the first film. Overall, all three films could have been OVA episodes if some scenes were cut out..... 

    Laughing Under The Clouds is one of those surprise anime that isn't as bad as you think it's going to be. There's enough here to keep you watching if you like drama and action. Don't expect mindless fight sequences all throughout the show though. 

Shota Shimzu(清水翔太) - Hope J-RnB/Pop Album Thoughts

 

Tracklist:

1.intro

2.Curtain Call feat. Taka(ONE OK ROCK) 

3.Koi Uta (恋唄; Love Song)

4.Homie

5.Lazy feat. ASOBOiSM, Kouichi Arakawa

6.Tokyo Night

7.Side Dish

8.Prologue (プロローグ)

9.Cherish Feat. Aimer 

10.outro

11.Hanataba no Kawari ni Melody no from THE FIRST TAKE (花束のかわりにメロディーを –) 

     I just wanted to hop on here to talk about my love hate relationship with Japanese singer Shota Shimzu. I've written other posts about him but none of his music has been really doing it for me as a fan of his earlier albums. Shota as an artists had a DEEP transition into a hip hop RnB rap phase that brought out the most autotune tracks out of the singer. His music wasn't the greatness that Shota has in him as a vocalists, so I jumped ship away from most of his releases. Fast forward to now, where Shota drops that news ahead of his album that he's done a song with not only Taka from J-rock band One Ok Rock but J-rock ballad singer Aimer as well.  The album is titled Hope and is his ninth studio album. Hope debuted at number 13 on the Oricon Chart and charted for two weeks. 

  Hope is a much more stripped down album compared to his last album. Stripped down in terms that the musical production is reduced to guitars ballads that showcase what made Shota loved by many in the early 2000s. He decided to dump the audio tune for his pure vocals.... Not that this style wasn't working for me sales wise, cause it was. Shota has at least managed to keep his releases in the teens range on the Oricon Chart. Meanwhile many artists who started before or with him, can't even get a top twenty spot on the charts.... Don't even get me started on Crystal Kay's wonderful cover album debuting to a number sixty one spot.(even if the album did manage to chart for a long time..)  Hope was still one of those albums that Shota needed in his career at this time. The compilation highlights his old artistry he might have run away from to stay relevant to the new generation of listeners. Curtain Call sounds like old Shota from the early days however, what's amazing about this track is how Taka was so easily able to match Shota's vocals even when he comes from a completely different background of music. They're slick simple harmonies over a guitar and a saxophone just felt like every early morning view. Aimer's feature was the same thing only Shota felt more in her element than his. This could have been because Aimer has a very unique musically style as well as vocal so she doesn't do too many collaborations. The other portions of Hope are a bit laid back or one could say slow moving with a bouncy moment here and there. Examples being Tokyo Night, Lazy, Homie etc.... Tracks here aren't too overproduced so you can appreciate the vocals overall. 

 

    

The Closet(클로젯) Korean Film Thoughts

 

   I asked for a localization of this film and finally my prayers were answered. The Closet directed and written by Kim Kwang Bin stars veteran actor Ha Jung Woo along side Kim Nam Gil. I believe that this film is Bin's debut film from what I've heard.....  

   A father and daughter move to the countryside to start over again. The father's wife had passed away in an accident that shook his daughter as well as himself to his core. There's a closet in the daughter's room that calls to her but little does she know the haunting secrets that lay dormant in that dark space..... 

   I thought that the closet was going to be a thriller film for some reason. You know a film that focuses more on the mystery using psychological traits instead of a straight out the gate horror film. The Closet delivers viewers both classic horror and a psychological thrillers that beings in questions then ends in clear thought out answers. A good chunk of the film gives the same chilly atmosphere as a film such as the Exorcist where ghosts go boo in the night.... Well in this case, laughs in the closet. Then the film does little twists to make you think that maybe the father wasn't all the way mentally there causing him to hurt his own child. He only hears voices because he made all of that up to block out the fact that he killed his own daughter. I won't tell you if this was actually the case of if she got spirited away. The Closet takes old ideas in cinema, digs them into a solid storyline to let a deeper subject about child mistreatment shine.  Some hair raising moments are in there to keep you entertained all the way to the satisfying ending. 

    Woo returns to his roots of playing emotionally unstable characters who find their power to overcome at the breaking point.  I wouldn't call this is best role but the character reminds fans such as myself why I look forward to his pure acting talent, Nam comes in the film as part comedic relief and half of the solution to the problem occurring.  He's an actor who has also proved time and time again that he has the ability to play a variety of roles that don't make his performance stumble. Lastly, the child actors are the real MVPS of the film. Got to applaud them for creating such a spooky feel for the film. Ha Jung Woo needed this film after the literal disaster Ash fall was.... He's better than that film. The Closet shows us all this clear as day.  

   I would recommend this film as one of Ha Jung Woo's best films that should be watched if you like him as an actor. The Closet is very re-watchable as well. It's one of the film that South Korea did right last year.