T.V. Show Review -- Supernatural: Season 1: Episode 1

Okay, for those of you who have not seen Supernatural, it is a dark suspense/horror show about two brothers who hunt monsters after their mother was killed when one of them was a baby. The show opens when the oldest (Dean) is 26 and the younger (Sam) has just passed the test to go to law school so probably about 22. I'll be reviewing the show episode by episode, and I'll try to do as many as I can within a week, but it all depends on time and energy so I doubt I'll be cranking a new one out every day.

Okay, so to get to the meat of my review. I gave this episode an 8 out of 10. It's up pretty high because I think it's a good kicking off episode but I took away for a couple of things which I found distracting. I'll get to that in a minute.

The episode starts with the event that catapulted the boys into the hunting biz in the first place, their mother's murder. The suspense and horror are on point in this scene as she sees a flickering light (one of the horror tropes I think actually works really well without the use of jump scare tactics) then realizes the man standing over her baby in his crib was not her husband. It is well acted when she runs to her baby and the scream is realistic enough to make you startle right along with her husband, who rushes to find his baby in the crib seemingly fine. Then the blood drips from the ceiling (another trope that works well in this scene) and he looks up to find his wife pinned right before she spontaneously combusts along with his house. He frantically removes the boys and then tries to save his wife to no avail. The scene then cuts to the present day as Sam celebrates his test results with his girlfriend and best friend. There was a line in this scene I didn't really like. Sam says "we're not exactly the Brady Bunch" talking about his dysfunctional family and his friend says "Well we're not the Huxtables" which I felt might be a bit of a micro-aggression but I couldn't be sure. Anyway, back to the script. Jess and Sam go home and Sam is attacked by an intruder and they fight. Before long, however, Sam realizes that the intruder is his brother Dean. Sam introduces Dean to Jess and the way Dean eyeballs her in her pajamas is kind of painful to watch, but it sets the mood for what his character is going to be like throughout the show. Dean tells Sam that their father is hunting and hasn't come back for a couple of days, and Sam sends Jess away to discuss the private family matter with his brother.

Here is where they do the exposition, in the form of an argument, on what has gone on in the past 18-20 years or however long it has been (I'm sure it had a caption at the very start but I'm not re-watching just for that). I didn't really like this route to exposition because it felt a little bit forced. People don't really argue like that. If I were to write it, I might go about it a bit different even if I were going to keep it in the dialog, but I feel like a better exposition might have been to have Sam say something about how they were raised and then show a flashback scene of the things he was talking about instead of him going into explicit detail about it. It just felt awkward. Maybe if Sam were telling someone else, but for an inside argument, naw. It doesn't work. 

Sam finally agrees to go with Dean to find their missing father and the scene cuts to show the monster at work. The monster this episode is definitely some kind of ghost who preys on men driving along a stretch of highway. She is a good looking woman, dressed all in white, tattered garments, the picture of a damsel in distress. The guy picks her up, she asks him to take her home. He drives her there only to find out it is abandoned some years ago. Something spooks him and he goes to leave but she appears in his back seat as he's driving away. He freaks out and crashes into the guardrail of a bridge. Then it cuts to the outside of the car and you see blood spatter across the windows indicating that the man has met a gruesome fate. The blood spatter without showing the actual massacre is another trope I think works really well to build suspense.

Then the boys show up. They come upon the abandoned car on the bridge surrounded by police cars and Dean pulls out a fake badge from a box in the glove compartment filled with such stuff. They go to have a look and Dean flashes the badge to the detective before asking him some questions. The detective observes "Aren't you a little young to be U.S. Marshals?" to which Dean responds by playing it off as a compliment that he looks younger than his actual age. Dean then says something derogatory to the detective for which Sam not so subtly stomps his foot. Having gotten their information they go to leave just as two FBI agents walk up and Dean makes an x-files reference (he calls them agents Scully and Mulder). They go to research the case on a public computer and find out that a woman jumped off that very bridge and committed suicide.

The boys go to get a hotel room just to find that their father has a room already paid for a full month. When they break into their dad's hotel room, they find out that their father had already solved the case, but are puzzled as to why he has not yet vanquished the monster (a lady in white, which is to say a woman who found out her husband was unfaithful, murdered her own children and then committed suicide). They are about to go dig up info on where the body is buried so they can salt and burn it, when Dean is arrested by the local cops who have by now realized that he is not a U.S. Marshal and that he is using a fake credit card. The cops grill him while Sam goes to talk to the husband of the woman suspected of being the lady in white.

While being questioned by the detective, Dean finds an important clue in their father's journal which the police are using to interrogate him. He then escapes custody by unlocking his handcuffs with a paper clip (a trope which I do not enjoy seeing as I think it is overused and implausible) when the detective has to rush off because they got a 911 call about shots fired. Turns out the call came from Sam which Dean jokingly admonishes him for. Sam is heading out to the burial site to dispose of the lady in white by salting her bones and burning them.

As Sam drives he passes through the ghost who stood in the road to block his car. Then she appears in his back seat and demands that he "take her home" he refuses. She takes control of the car and drives to her house anyway. He tells her she can't hurt him because he's never been unfaithful. She tells him he will be and proceeds to sexually assault him then try to rip out his heart. Just in time, Dean shows up and shoots at the ghost, which chases it away just long enough for Sam to drive the car into the farmhouse. There, the woman picks up a photograph of herself with her two children. Then she starts attacking the boys, but the children are there. They run to her and I can only assume what happens is that they've drug her down to hell because they disappear into a puddle in the floor with a fiery fury.

As they drive away, Dean tells Sam where their father's coordinates are and says if they book it they can be there by the next day. Sam says he has to get back for his Law School interview and Dean agrees to drop him off. The show ends as Sam, having just entered his apartment lays down on his bed. The same blood dripping from the ceiling makes him look up and see his girlfriend Jess trapped just as his mother had been before combusting in the exact same manner. As the firefighters douse the flames, Sam is at the back of his brother's car looking at weapons. Dean approaches and Sam tells him, "We'd better get a move on." an indication that he has changed his mind about going to law school in the wake of this tragedy. This is where the show ends.

Some final notes: I didn't really like the way Sam's character starts off. He comes off as a bit of a snob. Understandably, it is because he wants to get away from his childhood and the way he was raised, but I really like his character later in the show and was disappointed that he came off as a bit of a prick in this one. Dean comes off much better, even if he is that kind of character that just exudes toxic masculinity. I did like the way, even at this early stage, the Impala was treated almost like a character all to itself. This is an important detail as the show progresses and especially going into the 5th season finale, so I thought this was an especially nice touch. 

When they read the newspaper article about the woman's suicide it said that she left her two young children in the bathtub unattended for too long and they drowned, then the woman was so distraught that she took her own life. However, seeing the ages of the children when their ghosts showed up to drag their mom to hell, there's no way anyone would buy that story. A child of three or under might drown, but there's no way a child three years older than that would. Not in a bathtub at any rate. I also noticed that the husband while being questioned became aggressive when Sam suggested that the wife had murdered the children, I think this indicates that he knows his wife murdered their kids.  

MIA

So I've been gone a couple weeks. Not literally, just not blogging. I know that's bad for a blog and I really want to try to do reviews regularly, but I haven't been watching movies. I have watched a few shows, mostly anime. I'd love to do a specifically anime-related blog, but I feel that would have a different audience than live-action (even though I enjoy both). I did recently watch this Netflix show called Manifest which was intriguing. Another show I've been watching, which I just recently finished, is Atypical. I think Atypical is a better show than Manifest (better characters, better development, more realistic character arcs) but they are altogether different genres. While Manifest tends towards the supernatural and even the spiritual in some ways, Atypical is more about the humanity and presents a realistic depiction of realistic people with real flaws. I also just started a show called "Feel Good" which is intriguing at the offset. It's about a comedian named Mae who falls in love with a girl named George and the move in together without really knowing much about each other. In the first episode George finds out Mae is an ex-addict (from a skype call with Mae's mom in Canada) and refuses to introduce Mae to her friends (presumably because Mae is a girl, since George lies to her male friend about the gender and name of the person she's seeing). I haven't really watched past that point, but it has the potential to be an interesting show. As I watch, I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll even select it for a review.

One show I might review is Supernatural. I haven't seen all the early episodes and I'm still catching up on the more recent season, but I definitely have strong opinions about that show. Perhaps it is my religious upbringing (since the show relies heavily on Judeo-Christian mythology), or perhaps it is my love for dark cult type shows. Another one I should do a review on is Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. In fact, perhaps it would be better for me to start off with shows, both because they're shorter (episodes are typically less than an hour) and because they have more time to flush out the story and characters. I was doing a re-watch of The X-files with my Facebook group, but I didn't keep up and got desperately far behind, but that's another show I could definitely write a review on. Frasier is another one. I think this will be a good practice for movie reviews too, because I'll get used to figuring out exactly what worked and what didn't and if it was good or not so good. Episodic shows tend to have episodes that are stellar and ones that lack substance as well. 

At any rate, this is simply a filler blog post to let you know I haven't given up on the review thing yet. (oh and I haven't started reading anything yet, although a co-worker suggested what I assume is a YA novel which I might start reading.

Movie Review "The Half of It"

This gem (which came out in 2020) can also be found on Netflix, but it does not boast a star-studded ensemble cast like the last movie I reviewed, nor is it directed by the famous (or is it infamous?) Garry Marshal. This indie film, written and directed by Alice Wu, has a cast of relative unknowns, but big stars aren't what makes epic movies and this movie... Well, I'll let my review speak for itself.

I'm going to be honest. When I watched this movie for the first time, I was in love. The story, the characters, the setting, everything about it was perfect. I did not become disillusioned of this notion when I re-watched the film to show it to my children.

One of my favorite things about this story is the non-typical romance that exists within its borders, but does not play out like you might expect. Another thing is that it has a more realistic, bittersweet, ending. And a third thing is that the characters feel more like real people. The English teacher who knows Ellie is writing other kids papers but doesn't report her because "then I'd have to read whatever they wrote", the popular jock who thinks the entire world revolves around him, the popular pretty girl who doesn't really like being popular but goes along to get along, the less popular geeky jock who isn't the star of the team so no one really pays him any mind, the racist bully kids, the ultra conservative small town that seems like a black hole, and finally the main character.

The story follows teenage Chinese immigrant Ellie Chu who is very mature for her age because she has to be. Her father, who has found a roadblock in his career path (this is heavily implied to be because of discrimination) and whose wife has died years prior to the beginning of the film, is very obviously depressed. He sits around the house watching old movies while his daughter takes care of the responsibilities that should fall on his shoulders. Ellie makes money by writing essays for her classmates, which she passes out during band practice and by playing the organ for the local church's services. The opening scene, so important to pulling a viewer in, does its job to perfection. It sets up the whole movie:

As Ellie gets ready for school, she prints out copies of essays putting a different name on each. Then she checks items off a list she has written, gives herself a little pep talk and heads out the door to bike what seems like more than a mile to school. As she struggles uphill some racist bullies drive by yelling "chugga-chugga-chu-chu" this is both in reference to her Chinese name and the fact that her father works tending the railroad crossing. At school, she waits until the music teacher begins announcements and then passes out the essays folded inside the music books. Then, the choir begins to practice and the love interest comes on. The beautiful Aster Flores begins to sing "You Fill up My Senses" in an angelic voice and the camera pans, first to an enraptured Ellie, then outside to a young jock (Paul Munsky) who also seems entranced by the sound, so much so, that he lets an errant ball hit him. He is told to "pay attention" and goes back to practice.

Paul, who has never gotten up the courage to approach the beautiful Aster himself, asks Ellie's help in drafting a love letter. Ellie, who needs the money to pay the utilities before they are shut off, reluctantly agrees, and the triangle begins. Aster and Ellie exchange letters, but Aster believes she is communicating with Paul. Aster is dating a popular jock who is also rich but she doesn't feel as lucky as everyone else seems to think. She is looking for substance and the jock (Trig Carson) just doesn't bring that to the table. She finds an escape in "Paul's" letters and allows herself to get pulled in.

I really liked that this movie featured an LGBT main character without making that the primary focus for her arc. Yes, she is in love with Aster (at first from afar, more over time as she gets to know her through the letters), but there is so much more to her character. Her friendship with Paul also begins to blossom as they keep writing the letters and she resigns herself to cheering him on rather than getting what she really wants. As with any relationship rooted in deceit, things eventually come out. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't say more than that, but the climax was exceptional, and the ending was perfect.

I give this movie a 10/10, I would rate it higher if I could.

"Mother's Day" Movie Review

I chose this movie for my first review because I wanted to review something popular which I hadn't seen yet, so I was coming to it from a completely unbiased perspective. This movie can be watched on Netflix for the time being. I hope you enjoy my review.

This is a feel-good drama/comedy about several moms in Atlanta, Georgia who are all going through their own various life-dilemmas, all of which (for the purpose of a happy ending) get magically solved in the space of a week. Overall, I did enjoy this movie because I tend to like movies that make me experience a range of emotions. I enjoyed seeing several familiar faces from other shows or movies. That being said, this is a review and so I'm going to focus on some of the things I did not like about the movie as well.

The main story revolves around Sandy, a divorced mom who has a very friendly and open relationship with her ex-husband Henry. As her story opens he is shown ogling her and making a comment about her "hotness" this is a setup for the coming conflict for her character. Their dynamic seems to be: strict mom/fun dad, and this comes to a head when Henry announces out of the blue that he has gotten remarried to the much younger Tina. Sandy's 13 year-old son suffers from asthma, which plays a part in the conflict resolution for her character. Sandy's story was relatable, but her story could have been told just as well, if not better, without her very obviously still being in love with her ex. It is revealed at some point that the two have been amicably divorced for 11 years, and her still pining for Henry seems like a very worn trope. Sandy's issues with Tina could be confined to being seen as "replaceable" as a mom which is something Sandy admits aloud later in the movie before receiving good advice from a very unexpected place.

One of the main problems I have with the movie is how it treats the only two LGBT characters. The second family it follows are two sisters who have both moved far from home (Texas) to get away from their bigoted parents. One of the sisters (Gabi) is gay, and the other (Jesse) is in a bi-racial marriage with a man of Indian heritage (Russel). Both are afraid to let their parents know about their relationships which causes the main conflict for this family when the parents (Flo and Earl) show up on their doorstep in an RV as an unexpected Mother's Day surprise. Gabi and Max are a very stereotypical gay couple. They are quirky (creating a womb shaped float for the Mother's Day parade), Max is butch, while Gabi comes off as more feminine. But, worst of all, they seem to exist just for the conflict with Flo and Earl and the jokes about their unique parade float. Apart from that, Max gets no screen time whatsoever and Gabi gets less than her heterosexual sister. If the movie were actually being inclusive, they might have included a transgender mom as one of the characters, or at least flushed out the two lesbian moms a little more. I also take away points for one microaggression "Indians don't get divorced" spoken by one of the white female characters as they discuss the possibility of Jessie's marriage dissolving.

It also follows a grieving widower (Bradley) who is trying to take on the role of soccer mom, which his wife filled while she was alive, and also dealing with his older teenager's period (buying her feminine products), and her showing romantic interest in someone else for the first time. A lot of the responses this dad makes to raising his daughters are very stereotypical (getting embarrassed about buying tampons, being late to soccer practice even though their mom never was). Bradley mainly exists for comedic relief but there are a few tear-jerker moments concerning his grief and what it's doing to his family.

Finally, there is Kristin and Zack a couple who have been together for five years and have a child together but are not married. The main problem I have with this couple's arc is the huge emphasis it puts on marriage. I think this is the overall theme of the movie, because Sandy is fine with Henry's relationship with Tina when it was "casual" but as soon as they get married, she starts getting upset. There is also enormous pressure put on Bradley to "move on" from his wife's death, even though grieving is something everyone must do at their own pace.

As you would expect, all the familial conflicts (even the ones that seem the least likely) are resolved by the end and everyone gets what they want. Although this makes for a feel-good ending, it also feels more like a fairy tale. No one is a bad parent, not even the ones that literally threaten to disown their kids for bi-racial marriage or being gay. That is the most unrealistic element to this movie. Prejudice does not disappear overnight, although it can diminish by exposure. That and the adopted child/bio mom situation were the most obvious candidates for a bittersweet or unhappy conclusion. However, the writers decided that even those stories had to have a feel-good/happy ending where no one is a bad person and everything is resolved.

I will say that Sandy's situation and her reactions are the most realistic of anyone in the movie. Her arc (feeling that the step-mom is an intruder who has come to replace her, and her realization that being the bigger person and accepting this change is what is best for her kids) would have seemed more realistic if the situation had taken place over a longer period of time than a week. Even still, it was the best part of the movie, (although Bradley's situation did bring me to tears a time or two).

I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. It loses points for being pretty formulaic, but gains some for an unexpected twist for one of the character arcs (I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't seen it yet), although there was some pretty good foreshadowing and, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming.

Rebranding

So I'm thinking of rebranding, myself, this blog. I thought, what's better for "thoughts of a nobody" than doing movie and book reviews, maybe even a game review here and there. I already watch a lot of stuff, and I have opinions about everything I see or read. Sometimes I have trouble finding other people who are interested in the same things I am interested in so all the energy I have in me that wants to discuss it or expand upon it gets wasted and then I move on to something else. But what if I didn't have to lose that energy and could use it to expand my writing horizons?

Ideally, I would get paid to write the things I want, but it takes time and experience to be considered an expert. If I don't put myself out there and have a list of relevant writing to point towards, then how am I going to find paying work?

I do need to finish up my teaching course and get started on that career path, if possible. However, there is a dream career I've always had of being a published author. I can write books and self-publish them, but there is little profit or satisfaction in that. I wish to travel as soon as humanly possible and I would love it if that were something I did not have to take time away from work to do. As nice as paid vacation would be, it would only last a short while. Reviews would be the ideal way to work while traveling, because movies can be watched from anywhere. If I became well-known and respected enough I could even branch out to reviewing other things while I travel. I would love to review foreign films and media as well. There, my language skills could come in handy.

I am excited to start this new journey, but I am unsure of what to review first. If any of my readers would like to see my perspective on a particular film, please comment the name of it. I will probably start with older films because I have them readily available. I will try to post at least one review a week, starting on my day off this week which is Friday. If I receive a comment on one of my posts requesting a particular review, I will address it as soon as possible.

I may still interject with a personal blog post updating everyone to my changing circumstances, or at the very least, letting you know how this change is effecting my blog (positively or negatively). If I get the time, or the posts get popular enough I may start posting more than one a week. Thank you for your readership up to now, I hope you stay for this exciting new development.

Week 42: My Favorite TV Shows

I've divided my list into two sections. I have a ton of favorites, so I'll just list them and then a brief summary of the plot and why I liked that show.

(Live Action)

Sherlock
This show, which originally aired on the BBC and consists of only three episodes per season, is (in my personal opinion) the best modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective series. For anyone who isn't familiar with the name (have you been under a rock?), Sherlock is a British detective who has a good eye for detail. He solves crimes along with his friend Dr. John Watson (who serves as the everyman to contrast Holmes' genius). My favorite thing about the series is how perfectly they adapted certain things from the original to fit a modern society and still were able to craft compelling characters and intriguing plot lines as well as exquisite character growth and a perfect character dynamic between the leading characters.

Frasier

A very popular spin-off from the old TV show Cheers, Frasier focuses on a pair of psychiatrist brothers and their dysfunctional family dynamic. I love this show because it is full of the type of subtle humor and irony I find most appealing in a comedy. Most of the jokes are nuanced especially after the characters are well established. The only thing I really disliked about the show was that the character of Roz Doyle was often the butt of not so subtle slut shaming. 

The X-Files

A sci-fi show which follows a pair of FBI agents as they investigate unexplained phenomena. I fell in love with this show and its creepy allure as a teenager. I have always been interested in the supernatural and especially the possibility of extraterrestrial life. A couple lines from the show's iconic duo sums it up pretty well. Scully: "Have you ever entertained the possibility of finding life on this planet?" Mulder: "I've seen the life on this planet, why do you think I'm looking elsewhere?" (this isn't verbatim as I would have to look it up to find the exact wording).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

A teenage girl finds out she's been chosen to protect the people of the world by fighting vampires on a regular basis. There are a few things I love about this show. The lore and creep element are pretty cool. It has kickass characters (all except Xander, I cannot stand that guy) and even better villains (for the most part, I'll confess to thinking "really?" with a couple of them) and the lead is a strong, independent, female.

Breaking Bad

A show about a high-school chemistry teacher who ends up being one of the most dangerous drug dealers in the area after receiving a cancer diagnosis. What I loved most about this show was the realism. The progression of the characters felt real, the slow, but inevitable descent by the main lead Walter White who goes from sort of blah to vomit inducing villain. My favorite character in the show was Jesse (a small time meth cook who teams up with Walter when he's first starting out). The guy, even though he's a drug dealer, has the most scruples of anyone in the show. A particular episode sticks out in my mind where Jesse goes to collect from some addicts who owe them money and finds a young kid there. The fact that he stays almost until the police show up just to make sure the kid is okay, risking his own safety in the process. That cemented my love of the character.

Atypical

A more recent show about an Autistic teen and his family. What I like is this show doesn't sugar coat what it's like to be on the spectrum but it doesn't paint all autistic people with the same brush either. It is as unique a show as each of the characters it portrays.

Friends

A sit-com made in the 90's about a group of friends who live in New York. What I like best about it: Pheobe Greene. I rest my case. Actually, I also like the eventual romance between Chandler and Monica (never did like the Ross/Rachel ship, it was way too toxic from the get go). Chandler is my favorite character, probably because he's always cracking jokes to ease the tension (kind of like me).

Dr. Who

A show about time-travel. What's not to like? The last of his kind, a man (Timelord) calling himself the Doctor travels through time and space in what appears to be a police box no bigger than six feet in diameter, but which is quite expansive once entered. The TARDIS, as the machine is known can travel to any time period and anywhere in space. I have always been a sucker for anything time-travel related. My favorite episode? they travel back to Elizabethan England and meet Shakespeare.

The babysitter's Club

Based on a book series I read as a child, the Babysitter's Club follows a group of pre-teens as they form a babysitting business. Each girl in the club has her own challenges to face and the show focuses on a different girl per episode. What I liked best about this adaptation was that it had good LGBT representation and even featured an episode where one of them is babysitting for a little trans girl who gets sick and has to go to the hospital. There, the doctors and nurses unwittingly misgender her causing her dysphoria and prompting the babysitter (who is usually shy and non-confrontational) to speak up in her defense.

Supernatural

A show about two brothers that hunt monsters together. Having been raised in a religious household which appreciated both the old and new testament laws, I like this show because it is full of biblical easter eggs. I also love the character of Castiel, an angel who achieves character growth from his proximity to the two brothers and becomes an agent of free will even going against the other angels when necessary. My other favorite character is Chuck but I can't tell too much about him without spoiling the show for others who might want to watch.

The Good Place

A situational comedy about heaven and hell. The main character finds herself in heaven and realizes someone made a mistake so she spends her time trying to learn how to be good so she can stay. Along the way she makes some friends, some frenemies and learns about herself. I love this show because it is laugh-out-loud funny. The characters are all compelling and there is lots of character growth throughout the series. Some of the things I liked about the show are impossible to tell without spoiling it, so I won't dive that deep. 

Stranger Things

A supernatural series about a group of kids who get tangled in an interdimensional battle between good and evil. What I like most about this show is the way it handles suspense. My favorite characters are L and Nancy (although I hated her being with steve).

Last Week Tonight

A comedy news show, this program offers investigative journalism with a side of dry British wit. I like this show because it is super funny to me and also because of the in depth analysis it gives the topics it reports on.

Saturday Night Live

A sketch comedy show that has spanned decades. I love SNL, but how much often depends on the host because some of their stuff is hit or miss.

Umbrella Academy

A show about a dysfunctional group of adopted siblings who all have powers. My favorite character is Klaus, a narcissist with a chemical dependency problem whose antics liven up the show. His power is an ability to see and communicate with ghosts and since one of the siblings died, Klaus continues to see and talk with him even though no one else believes him.

Anne with an E

An adaptation of the classic Anne of Green Gables book series that has some interesting interpretations of the characters. In my opinion the best adaptation I've seen, even though it is merely inspired by the original and takes many liberties with the story line. I love how they introduce the issue of racism and homophobia and how Anne is so very open-minded to everyone. I feel like that fits her character so perfectly. I've heard that they canceled the show after season 3 and I really wish they hadn't because it was one of my favorites.

(Animated)

Rick and Morty

A spoof comedy with characters loosely based on doc and marty from back to the future. I love the character development especially as it relates to Rick and his family dynamic.

Steven Universe

A children's show about a boy who fights alien gem monsters with a group of his mom's friends while trying to unravel the mystery of his mother who was a gem but gave up her form so he could exist. All he has to piece together clues about his mom's past are the stories her friends or some of the gems he meets tell him. I like this show because, despite being a children's show, it has a unique storyline, good character development and good pacing.

Stein's Gate

You knew it was coming. This show is an anime about a guy who invents a way to send messages back in time. Although it is initially light hearted (the very first episode does hint at the darkness to come) it quickly escalates as changing timelines causes irreparable harm. I like the show for some characters and the time travel element as well as the changing timelines.

Log Horizon

Another anime about a large group of people playing an mmo who wake up inside a world identical to the game with no way to get out and no idea how they got there. They must learn to build a society and political system that will enable them all to thrive (they learn that they cant die as such because they are revived in the temple just like in the game, but "dying" does make you drop all your stuff). I love this show because it deals with various realities of forming a working government and societal cooperation that is necessary to thrive.

The Devil is a Part-Timer

This anime is about a devil king who is fighting a human hero and losing so he escapes through a portal to our world and finds that he has no magic so he ends up working at a fast food chain. I like it because the story is intriguing, the characters are unforgettable and it is really funny.

Wandering Son

One of the few anime I've found with accurate LGBT representation, this presents the story of a little trans girl who is struggling with her identity in a society that is conformist and conservative. From the reactions of the girl's older sister to how people lose their minds when she tries to go to school in a girl's uniform, this show is heartbreakingly realistic. I'm a sucker for a good tear-jerker and having two LGBT kids just made this show hit home even harder for me.

March Comes in like a Lion

This anime is about a professional shogi player (if you don't know what shogi is, it's kind of similar to chess but more complicated. I call it chess on steroids) who struggles with depression and the demons of his past. It comes from the genre known as "slice of life" which depicts realistic people and situations instead of fantasy ones. What I like about this show is, well everything. It has a gorgeous art style, beautiful animation, hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, memorable characters, good plot and an accurate portrayal of depression.

Natsume's Book of Friends

A show about a kid who can see yokai (Japanese mythical creatures) when no one else around him can, this show deals with societal ostracization and the joy of finally being accepted for who you are. I like the show's laid back style but it also has compelling story lines. Sometimes the yokai are friendly, sometimes they are not. My favorite character is Madara (a yokai that spends most of his time in cat form and protects Natsume from yokai who might wish him harm). Madara is often called Nyanko Sensei and other cat-like names. Other people can see Madara when he's in his cat or human form but not when he appears in his original (and much more formidable) yokai form.

Tanaka-kun is always listless

Another easy going anime, this is the story of a guy who just doesn't like expending energy. He spends most of his time sleeping or resting and doesn't even date because it seems like too much trouble. The show is a comedy about how the world around him reacts to him and how that changes or doesn't change the way he acts. I like the show because it is light and wholesome and because Tanaka is so relatable.

The disastrous life of Saiki-K

A comedic farce anime about a guy with god-level powers who just wants to be normal. This guy can read minds, teleport at will, turn people to stone for 24 hours just by looking at them, change the way the world works, lift heavy objects with ease, has x-ray vision and a bunch of other stuff and he hates it. He finds it difficult to hide his powers and is constantly trying to avoid situations where they might become evident. I like this show because it's sooo funny.

Charlotte

This anime is about kids who somehow have imperfect superpowers. The main character uses his power (the ability to inhabit another person's body for five seconds at a time) for personal gain and advancement until he is found and recruited to a school full of other kids with different abilities. They put him on the student council which is tasked with finding other students before the government (who wishes to experiment on them for scientific research or to use them as weapons) does. All the kids who develop abilities eventually outgrow them, so the school is designed to keep the kids out of harms way until their abilities go away. I like the show's plot progression. There are some heartbreaking moments, and I liked the character development as well.

Angel Beats

An anime about an afterlife designed to help kids who died tragically young move on to whatever's next, Angel Beats focuses on a group of students who are rebelling against whatever god might be in charge and do their best to disrupt the normalcy around them. I like this show because it is funny at times and sad at others. The only thing I'd really change about it is that it doesn't allow you to explore all of the group backstories instead focusing on a select few. Although the show would be decidedly longer if they had given backstories to all the kids in the group, I think it would have been that much better. I also love the opening song (which is played on piano) because it reminds me a bit of classical music.

Eccentric Family

An anime about a group of tanuki [raccoons which can shapeshift] and their familial relationships,  the mc has a crush on Benten, the human who ate his father, and admires humans even though humans are responsible for the death of many tanuki from new years  hot pot parties where tanuki is the main dish. I like this show because it has an element of absurdity,  it is somewhat laid back and yet also powerful and it has beautiful animation and art.

Hyoka

This anime follows a teen (houtarou oreki) who wants a bland life where he doesn't really engage if he doesnt need to. He tells a friend that the colorful high school life which includes clubs and dating is just not his scene. The friend is then understandably shocked when he joins the literature club at his older sister's request. He decides it would be more work to convince her he doesnt want to do it than just help her out. Besides, the club doesnt really have members so theres not a big risk that it will take up a bunch of time. He goes to the club room which is locked, so he gets a key but when he enters there is someone there. Eru Chitanda is one of the schools best students and her family is pretty well known, but this is the first houtarou has heard of her. As he gets to know the perpetually curious Eru, Houtarou begins to realize that maybe he actually does want a colorful high school life. What I like about this show is everything.  I like how perfectly the characters interact,  the animation, houtarou's character development,  the budding romance, and how the opening song and especially the accompanying animation so perfectly embodies houtarou's journey. *break out the tissues, this one's a tear jerker.

Week 27: My Favorite Quotes of All Time

It's hard for me to recall famous quotes, even if I really loved the quote when I heard it or read it. It's just not the way my brain works to recall specific sets of words. Rather, I often recall sequences of events and emotions with much more clarity. I have, however, compiled a few of the passages I've enjoyed reading (I had to search them up to get them exact) in various of my favorite books. I did not include movie quotes for this purpose. I was also unable to find some of the quotes that I remember liking very much and I do not own all the books. All the quotes are about different things and they certainly do not include all my favorite books, such a feat would be almost impossible. However, I did try to get as many as I could think of right at the moment and I may attempt to find more later and add them as I remember other of my favorite books.

"Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine she's white." John Grisham -- A Time to Kill (My memory of this quote is a little different to what I found, but it is delivered in the book by one of the jurors to their fellow jury members and in the movie it is the lawyers closing argument. I have excluded the explicit part of the quote, but those of you who have either seen the movie or read the book will understand.)

"People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for." Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird

"I am an invisible man. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." Ralph Ellison -- Invisible Man

"What are men to rocks and mountains?" Jane Austen -- Pride and Prejudice

 "Conventionality is not morality, self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." Charlotte Bronte -- Jane Eyre

 "Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness." Victor Hugo -- Les Miserables

"There are plenty of people, in Avonlea and out of it, who can attend closely to their neighbor's business by dint of neglecting their own; but Mrs. Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain." L.M. Montgomery -- Anne of Green Gables

"'Hide them all, then," he croaked. 'Keep her --them-- safe. Please.'

"'And what will you give me in return, Severus?'

"'In -- in return?' Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, 'Anything'" J. K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"'Why doesn't anyone turn on this Improbability Drive thing?' he said. 'We could probably reach that.'

"What are you, crazy?' said Zaphod. 'without proper programming anything could happen.'

'Does that matter at this stage?' shouted Aurthur.

"'Though your dreams be tossed and blown...' sang Eddie.

Arthur scrambled up on to one of the excitingly chucky pieces of molded contouring where the curve of the wall met the ceiling.

"'Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart...'

"Does anyone know why Arthur can't turn on the Improbability Drive?' shouted Trillian.

''And you'll never walk alone.... Impact minus five seconds, it's been great knowing you guys, God bless..... You'll ne...ver...walk...alone!'"  Douglas Adams -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy