There's an hour and 30 mins left of December 31st. Last #DecRecs vocaloid edition!
I just saw that Hitoshizuku x Yama△ has a new music video out for The Prayer Song for Rain. It's very pretty, and the song is nice too! Their songs tend to layer vocals really nicely. Many of their songs have English subs now, so you can follow along the story!
Last day of #DecRecs is Akatsuki no Yona (or Yona of the Dawn).
Yona, the titular character, grew from a naive princess who was sheltered by her father to someone who can command respect from armies. She had to run away with her bodyguard Hak after witnessing the murder of her father at the hands of the person she loved. Along the way, she realized that she cannot rely on Hak to protect her forever, and to protect him, she decided to search for the four dragons in the legends.
If you like main female characters who grows as the series progresses, gains strength not just learning how to fight but from maturity and the strength of their heart, if you like found family feelings (so much of it!), if you like childhood friends who grow up and then due to circumstances are now in a complex relationship with each other, if you enjoy a colorful cast of characters who work great with each other, if you like dragons...
You should read Akatsuki no Yona.
It's still ongoing. The anime barely covers the manga at all (it ends when it starts getting more interesting!), but it's still a great watch, so watch the anime too! Also, I am biased but Maeno Tomoaki's Hak, is so, so good! Idk if it's region locked, but you can watch Yona in Crunchyroll if you are in the U.S.
On the Very Idea of Religions (In the Modern West and in Early Medieval China) By Robert Ford Campany is one I think about a lot. Very helpful for me in terms of thinking about how "daoist" characters would understand their practices
In its essence, Gintama is a story about how three people deal with their war PTSD + death of their teacher. Lots of found family feels, and though everyone has their quirk (I mean, it is a comedy), everyone gets to shine like a hero at least once, if not multiple times. And for a mostly comedy series, some deaths are actually permanent. I laughed a lot but I also cried.
Idk if I can recommend Gintama to everyone because toilet humor can be really quite literally toilet humor (I know it's not for everyone), and it does take a few episodes to get into it (I can't tell you how many because it's different for everyone), and it's a very long series (but not as long as One Piece, so don't worry). But if you enjoy its humor and have some time to give it a try, the pay off is good because it gets funnier (some jokes take time to build the impact!).
This is not an anime that requires any introduction, but I know the length can put people off (especially since most ppl say "oh you need to watch 50 episodes first" which is utter nonsense because different people enjoy different things, and 50 episodes is not true of everyone). So, after typing a long love letter to Gintama, I'll just call it my anime #DecRecs for the day.
Today for #DecRecs I'm reccing Twig and Tale sewing patterns! I make a lot of them for my kid -- some time I want to try making an adult pattern for me. Their stuff is super cute and also practical. Plus I like that they use gender neutral language in all of their sewing patterns!
Actually I'm going to make this today's #DecRecs post: "Cut Him Out in Little Stars" is one of my favorite wangxian fics. The premise (Wei Wuxian is reborn as a comet; Lan Wangji waits for him every time) is really out there! But it works, oh, it works. If you decide to check it out, I will say that the first chapter covers a lot of the same material as canon and I think in that sense it was the weakest, and the fic really comes into its own after that. This fic is not what people usually mean when they describe AUs as "in space!" but. It gave me so many feelings about the enormity of both space and immortality.
The story is set in a world where people are anthropomorphic animals. The main character, Odokawa, is a taxi driver, and through driving people around, he gets involved in a case of a missing school girl, and then he gets tangled up with the police and the yakuza. It's only 13 episodes, and the story is very tightly told and the dialogue is solid (there's lots of taxi + passenger conversations). You will get hooked by ep 1. It gets to some dark places sometimes, can be a little heavy, so a bit of warning if you're looking for a lighthearted watch, this is not it. But if you're in the mood though, it's such a gem.
Also, Hanae Natsuki did great as Odokawa (the rest too, but Hanae, especially, imo).
Today's #DecRecs is The Washi Station! They have so many cute/fun /beautiful tapes! And collections with fun themes! I also appreciate that they work to support independent marginalized artists!
For today's #DecRecs I'm recommending the anime Seirei no Moribito / Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, a gorgeously animated fantasy story in one season. The story follows Balsa, a 30yo woman bodyguard, as she's tasked with protecting the young Prince Chagum on the run, and works to keep him safe while unraveling the circumstances putting him in danger in the first place (it's not just court intrigue--this is a fantasy, and Chagum is at the center of it).
There are so many found family feels here--this is a found family story that definitely DOES map onto nuclear family roles with Balsa getting hit with feelings about motherhood while confronting her own past at the same time that a sort of mystical spiritual birth is happening in the background. There are a lot of side characters as well, and there's a low-key romance but tbh, family is the focus.
Also, the fight scenes (Balsa fights with a spear and it's epic) are incredibly well animated
Hey, #DecRecs isn't quite over yet! I haven't been doing it so much recently because the Absolutive house got hit with covid, but things are improving, and I just observed that Owen King's extremely interesting book about an ill-fated proletariate revolution in a fascinating magical city is on sale for 99p on uk amazon today.
I wrote a review of it on my blog here, if you want to know more
Today's somewhat related to anime and manga recommendations (actually this is about BL) is Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia. I appreciate the fact that it includes the experience/perspective in SEA and South Asia as well. It's not limited to JP media, it also covers danmei and Thai BL
Before the day ticks over, today's #anime#DecRecs is Gankutsuou.
It's basically the Count of Monte Cristo in SPACE, told from Albert's perspective, and homoeroticism dialed up to eleven[1]. A tale of revenge, with an interesting style of animation. The opening and ending songs are great, the adaptation to the scifi space setting is seamless and interesting. If you enjoy the book, watch this. If you've never read the book, also watch this~
An all-time favorite film: The Fall from 2006, directed by Tarsem Singh.
It was a labor of love, almost entirely self-financed by the director. It made almost no money, but it's become a cult classic.
It's a gorgeous fantasy film that takes full advantage of the visual artform in a way that I rarely ever see. The settings, production design, costume design, cinematography, everything is gorgeous.
And it's got the loveliest story. In 1915, Lee Pace's Roy is a Hollywood stunt man who's been injured and is in the hospital. There he meets a little girl named Alexandria, a Romanian immigrant with a broken arm. They strike up an unlikely friendship, and he begins to tell her stories.
Wild stories of the kind that defy continuity and logic, the kind you tell a child. Through the story they build together, they help each other deal with their lives.
It's a story about the power of stories, specifically fiction, and I love it to death. It's one I can rewatch endlessly.
Today's rec is Biluochun, one of my favorite teas. It has delicate slightly fruity taste. The leaves are very cute too, they are fuzzy and all curled up!
Today's #DecRecs are anime out this year I enjoyed (that you probably have seen or heard of because other people definitely have talked about them).
Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
It's a Gundam, but you don't need to have watched any other Gundam to watch this! (Actually this is true for a lot of the Gundams). If I have to succinctly describe it, I guess it's ... Kids solving issues caused by adults and corporatocracy. But anyway, this show has stuff like, child soldiers! Economic disparity and groups of people forced into dire situations! Medical research turned into weapons! But also a death count that was surprisingly low (I was pleasantly surprised). Also suletta and mio, the main couple, confirmed ship sailed, which is nice. And will change how you see the Happy Birthday song and tomatoes (you will get it when you watch).
Vinland Saga, Season 2
I'm cheating a little because season 1 is not this year but season 2 is such a pivot I, I still wanna rec it. But don't watch s2 without s1!
S2 is interesting because after the very action packed, gory and violent S1 (don't let that scare you off though, unless violence is a deal breaker, because Vinland s1 is really good for different reasons, and has probably one of the most complex character I've ever seen in any media), S2 spends a lot of its time farming. One of the characters in s1 is now a slave, and he meets another new slave at the beginning of s2. Through his growing friendship with this person, he learns to live for a different reason than the revenge that kept him alive for the early part of his life. That's not to say s2 is not violent. It deals with slavery. There's war and conquest. There's a scene where a slave woman was beaten almost to death that was very hard to watch. So take this is your warning, I guess? I really should read the manga...
My rec today is the fic I received for Yuletide, which is a Tenar-focused Earthsea fic! The writer took a canon divergence suggestion I made and wrote about fictional religion which of course is my JAM. I am so fortunate that someone focused on my favorite character and a favorite subject!
Just learned about #DecRecs! To make up for yesterday, Day 1 of Dec Recs I'll recommend this Chinese short animated series "All Saints Street" with four seasons. An angel, vampire, mummy, zombie, and werewolf live together. What could go wrong? Really enjoy it for the combination of great art, slice of life, and the supernatural. There's also a comic. It's produced similar to "Hey your cat ears are showing" but more memes and skulls than wholesome uwu. https://anilist.co/anime/114555#anime
For Day 24 of #DecRecs, an electric fabric shaver/lint remover. They usually come with a necessary safety lock. Seriously comes in handy when my clothes are pilling. I try to avoid buying clothes and sometimes buy them second hand, so this helps me maintain my clothes for long term wear.
For Day 26 of #DecRecs: Narrative Absurdist/Weird Horror, in the format of one person talking about their experiences, sometimes other voice actors come into play. Usually my least favorite format, it means a lot if I end up sticking to it. In order of least to most scary.
🏠 John from Back Home: John starts leaving answering machine recordings for his childhood friend. We follow his relationship with his friend, his parents, and remembering who, or what, he really is. 9 ep and complete. https://www.johnfrombackhome.com/
🥛 The Milkman of St. Gaff’s: Howie is your local milk man, and he sometimes sleepwalks and has visions. Oh, but don’t mind that, he’s just trying to bring you milk from a very normal and average milk company. 43 episodes and ongoing. https://www.howiemilkman.com/
🐦 Leaving Corvat: Sleeper lived in the same town of Corvat all his life, working at a fast food chain. He musters up the courage to escape, only to find himself in the most bizarre circumstances. 20 episodes and ongoing. https://www.leavingcorvat.com/
🌆 I am in Eskew: David has found himself trapped in the strange and terrifying city of Eskew, unable to find his way home. Every day is a living nightmare. 30 episodes and completed. 30 episodes and complete. https://www.iamineskew.com/
Honorary mentions: Archive 81, TANIS, and Dreamboy #podcast#horror
For Day 27 of #DecRecs: Space Sci-Fi Podcasts
🧑🚀 Chaika: "a multi award-winning dystopian sci-fi drama of loss, isolation and hope, about a woman navigating a post-apocalyptic future" 13 eps and ongoing. https://y2kpod.com/chaika/
🌑 The Earth Collective: "The few million humans who remain have come together to form The Earth Collective. They travel across the surface of the planet in moving cities staying in perpetual sunlight, forever fleeing The Dark." 40 episodes and ongoing. https://www.theearthcollectivestory.com/
🛸 The Strange Case of Starship Iris: "In 2191, in a distant patch of space, a mysterious explosion kills nearly the entire crew of the science vessel Starship Iris. The only survivor is Violet Liu, an intrepid, sarcastic, terrified biologist." 19 episodes and ongoing. https://www.procyonpodcastnetwork.com/starship-iris
🤠 EOS 10: "Doctors in space, a deposed alien prince, a super gay space pirate and a fiery nurse who’ll help you win your bar fight." 37 episodes and potentially ongoing, between hiatus. http://www.stitcherpremium.com/eos #podcast#scifi#space