On April 9th, I received my first dose of the COVID vaccine. I went to a CVS Pharmacy that was in the next town over since all of the appointments relatively close to my house were completely booked for the next month or so. Given my immunocompromised state, it was imperative for me to get this vaccination gig started. Here are my experiences with it.
Initially I didn’t feel like I had watched very many things at all during the last three to four months. However, when I sat down and wrote them all out, I was pleasantly surprised with myself! I suppose all that post-op bed-resting did me quite a bit of good with regards to chopping down the leaning tower of unwatched anime titles. With the exception of two to three titles, the rest were all fresh new experiences, most of which were rather awesome all around.
There are two books on my weekend reading itinerary. One of them is a Japanese steampunk novel that has been on my TBR for over a year. My local library had a copy, so I snagged it the last time that I was here. The second book is the first novel in one of my favourite sword and sorcery trilogies of all-time, a trilogy that I love to read and re-read, especially when I’m having a difficult time dealing with real-life challenges
Let’s Make a Mug Too (やくならマグカップも) is the anime adaptation of the original shōnen manga series that revolves around high school girls and their love of pottery, taking place in the city of Tajimi in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan. The anime is being produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Jun Kamiya.
Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway (ひげを剃る。そして女子高生を拾う) is the anime adaptation of the original shōnen, romantic comedy novel series. It follows a twenty-six-year-old salaryman who gets rejected by his crush of five years. Feeling wholly disheartened, he gets drunk with his chum. On his way home, he comes across a lonesome high school girl that offers to have sex with him in exchange for a place to stay for the night.
I picked up the Netflix series after reading the first volume of the collector’s edition of the graphic novel, and while the comic can be a bit darker than its adaptation, I feel it’s one of those shows where the differences and direction can be respected and adored as a separate entity as it works wonderfully as a piece of live-action media.
Love in Focus (蓮住荘のさんかく) by Yōko Nogiri is a shōjo, romance manga series that revolves around a young teen named Mako who has a passion for photography. When a tragedy occurs in her personal life, she uses her passion as a means to distract her from the complexities of the emotions that follow.
These Snow White Notes (ましろのおと) is a shōnen, slice-of-life drama about a young man named Setsu Sawamura who grew up idolising his grandfather, a supremely gifted shamisen instrumentalist. When his grandfather passes away, his dying wish is for Setsu to stop playing the shamisen until he can realise what it means to him as a person and artist.
I have been discussing self-care for the better part of two years now, and it’s varied from coping with mental illnesses, fighting toxic urges and avoiding toxic people, fitting in morsels of time into a busy day to help rejuvenate one’s mind and emotional capacities, and a few more other topics. However, the one thing I have rarely discussed—and arguably one of the most important aspects of self-care—is self-love.
Jōran: Princess of Snow and Blood is an original seinen, politically intrigue-infused historical drama taking place in 1931 that follows a Tokugawa prince who holds absolute power. On one side there is a rebel group that’s determined to assassinate the prince and re-take the regime that he’s built via that power. Then there’s the other side, consisting of a consortium of secret government executioners that seek to extinguish the rebel group before they can make their move and demolish all that has been erected under the Tokugawa rule
I watched thirteen films and about eight seasons of TV shows, most of which while I was doing other things like Uni studies and blog work. I prefer to multitask as it helps my brain focus the best. There’s a good mixture of dramas and suspense titles in the mix here and I would even recommend the vast majority of the media I consumed; another indicator of a fun cinema-fuelled month.
There are approximately eighteen or nineteen titles on my Spring Simulcast Watchlist, which is tentative for sure, as it depends on streaming availability and time constraints. Either way, I wanted to put everything that sounded appealing to me to various degrees in one space so that I had a decent reference guide as there is such a colossal amount of shows hitting the deck over the next couple weeks.
