Media Round Up: It's Been a While
Mar. 22nd, 2021 10:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofgloryIt's been a bit since I did one of these! Media Round Ups are where I talk about things I've been watching and reading recently. I try to post one every two four weeks. This time I've let my notes pile up a bit.
The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay— This was fun and cute. I was somehow expecting it to be a fantasy adventure, but it’s like a Hilary McKay book -- about a family and their mundane problems but with magical elements thrown in too. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if I’d know what to expect.
The Moon Brightens for You episodes 4-14 — I’m really enjoying this! There's a lot of fun scheming, and a fair bit of swooshy action. I like almost all the characters. I’m not loving the plot involving the princess who is a romantic rival with the main character, as her character is an annoying stereotype. On the other hand the plot involves one of the characters being “leader of the martial arts world” and this may be giving me ideas for a CQL fic I don’t know how to write. (content note: snakes, bugs)
Barakamon vol 6- 18 by Satsuki Yoshino— I completed reading this slice of life maga, it was very good and soothing. I liked getting to know the characters and follow all of their journeys. There’s an element of rural economic troubles, that’s a constant background to the story which was interesting to see, but a little sad. I liked the ending a lot and felt that it really hit the mark thematically. (Content note: fatphobia, weight loss, bugs, animal hard in the context of fishing)
The Rise of West Lake: A Cultural Landmark in the Song Dynasty by Xiaolin Duan — This book was full of things I enjoy, like discussions about how people view nature, descriptions of built environments, and details of material culture. I enjoyed it tremendously. I thought the main argument could have been a little clearer, but I was happy just to wander around and enjoy all the details in this book.
Star Trek: Picard episodes 4-6— We decided to stop watching this. Neither of us really liked it. We didn’t really care about the characters or their relationships with each other. We were briefly excited in episode four when Seven of Nine and showed up, but she didn’t stick around.
Star Trek:Lower Decks episodes 1-10— This on the other hand is super fun! It is an animated show about people low in the chain of command on a ship.
So the thing about Star Trek is that it's always a little bit goofy --- this is more goofy than average, but in a really fun way. It made me realise that one of the reasons I wasn’t getting on with Picard was that it's not very goofy. In Lower Decks I also cared about the characters and their relationships right away, unlike Picard. Some of the humor in Lower Decks is a bit gross, for me but it goes by fast. We did have to skip one episode because there was too much embarrassment. But mostly the plots are very clever. I enjoyed this a lot! (Content note: vomiting, giant spider)
Scumbag Systems episodes 1-8— This the next thing my watch group picked. This is an adaptation of another MXTX novel. I’m glad I have people to watch this with as it's a bit confusing, but overall fun. I love how meta it is
The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay— This was fun and cute. I was somehow expecting it to be a fantasy adventure, but it’s like a Hilary McKay book -- about a family and their mundane problems but with magical elements thrown in too. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if I’d know what to expect.
The Moon Brightens for You episodes 4-14 — I’m really enjoying this! There's a lot of fun scheming, and a fair bit of swooshy action. I like almost all the characters. I’m not loving the plot involving the princess who is a romantic rival with the main character, as her character is an annoying stereotype. On the other hand the plot involves one of the characters being “leader of the martial arts world” and this may be giving me ideas for a CQL fic I don’t know how to write. (content note: snakes, bugs)
Barakamon vol 6- 18 by Satsuki Yoshino— I completed reading this slice of life maga, it was very good and soothing. I liked getting to know the characters and follow all of their journeys. There’s an element of rural economic troubles, that’s a constant background to the story which was interesting to see, but a little sad. I liked the ending a lot and felt that it really hit the mark thematically. (Content note: fatphobia, weight loss, bugs, animal hard in the context of fishing)
The Rise of West Lake: A Cultural Landmark in the Song Dynasty by Xiaolin Duan — This book was full of things I enjoy, like discussions about how people view nature, descriptions of built environments, and details of material culture. I enjoyed it tremendously. I thought the main argument could have been a little clearer, but I was happy just to wander around and enjoy all the details in this book.
Star Trek: Picard episodes 4-6— We decided to stop watching this. Neither of us really liked it. We didn’t really care about the characters or their relationships with each other. We were briefly excited in episode four when Seven of Nine and showed up, but she didn’t stick around.
Star Trek:Lower Decks episodes 1-10— This on the other hand is super fun! It is an animated show about people low in the chain of command on a ship.
So the thing about Star Trek is that it's always a little bit goofy --- this is more goofy than average, but in a really fun way. It made me realise that one of the reasons I wasn’t getting on with Picard was that it's not very goofy. In Lower Decks I also cared about the characters and their relationships right away, unlike Picard. Some of the humor in Lower Decks is a bit gross, for me but it goes by fast. We did have to skip one episode because there was too much embarrassment. But mostly the plots are very clever. I enjoyed this a lot! (Content note: vomiting, giant spider)
Scumbag Systems episodes 1-8— This the next thing my watch group picked. This is an adaptation of another MXTX novel. I’m glad I have people to watch this with as it's a bit confusing, but overall fun. I love how meta it is
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Date: 2021-03-22 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-22 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-22 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-22 11:33 pm (UTC)And yes! I had the same thing about some of the gross humour on Lower Decks but oh my goodness, isn't it a lot of fun? It was like a hug everytime I sat down to an episode
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Date: 2021-03-23 05:43 pm (UTC)Lower Decks was incredibly fun!
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Date: 2021-03-25 09:16 pm (UTC)I enjoyed "The Time of Green Magic" a lot, though I felt the magical realism elements didn't add that much to the story.
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Date: 2021-03-25 10:33 pm (UTC)You are so right about the magical elements not really adding anything to The Time of Green Magic