August Wrap-Up
what I read and watched last month
I have been doing these for almost a year now, and I still don’t know how to write an introduction. Anyway, August ended up being all over the place for me: there’s old YA, high fantasy, giant monsters, queer historical fiction and even a sports anime. There isn’t really a theme. Let’s just begin.
What I Read.
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare.
This book was so bad, that it cured my Shadowhunters obsession. I do still want to cover the rest of the series at some point because I like talking about bad books, but this one was so bad that it wasn’t even funny. It took me weeks to get through this monstrosity. The relationship drama is so contrived and forced, it just goes to show that Cassandra Clare doesn’t know how or is not interested in writing healthy, normal relationships. The lack of communication drives me up the wall, everyone is so stupid. 0.5/5 For the cool vampire lore.
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld.
The Leviathan trilogy is a steam-punk YA adventure set in an alternate history version of World War I, where one side has robots and the other side has bioengineered monsters. We follow Alek, a prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who’s on the run after his father’s assassination, and Deryn, a young girl who dresses up as a boy to join the English army. Netflix recently announced an anime adaptation for this series, and it’s been sitting on my TBR for a while, so I decided to finally check it out, and I’m glad I did. It’s a fun adventure with an incredibly creative setting, the descriptions of the beasts and the machinery are super vivid, and the characters are charming and have good dynamics. Over time, I have grown out of love with the “girl posing as a boy” trope, I just don’t think it’s that interesting, but Deryn is still likeable, and I’m sure she was very impactful to little girls back in the day. I would probably like this more if I were in the target audience, but still, it was good, and I’m excited to see where the story is going! 3.5/5.
Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
I can’t believe I’m almost done with Earthsea! Each book is amazing in its own way, and this one in particular made me appreciate Le Guin’s world building even more than I already did. Tales, like the title suggests, is actually a collection of short stories and two novellas set at different points in the history of Earthsea, with a lot of focus given to how the “rules” of magic came to be and the evolution of the gender divide between male and female practitioners of the magical arts. My favorite story was “On the High Marsh”, but all of them are equally wonderful and beautifully crafted. Each story is in conversation with the others, and together they tell a larger narrative about power and identity. I’m a broken record at this point, but this book was also a 5/5 for me. It’s not my fault that Earthsea is that good!
Batman: A Lonely Place for Dying.
I’m continuing my comics journey with more Batman, which has been a lot of fun. This arc directly follows up on the events of Death in the Family, and I appreciate how it explores the impact that Jason’s death left not just in Bruce but also in Dick, even though it feels like the writers want to brush Jason aside as quickly as possible. I understand that it’s a result of how the medium works and the fan response to Jason, but it’s kind of weird. I also didn’t connect with Tim like I did with Jason, he’s a little flat and too nice in my opinion, but I do enjoy when these stories get more into the detective part of Batman and Robin’s job. This further cemented Two-Face as my favorite Batman rogue, he’s a lot more compelling than the Joker, and his convoluted plans are quite entertaining. 3/5 Not my favorite, but it’s fine.
What I Watched.
Kaiju nº 8.
This was a solid first season, it had compelling characters, good pacing, beautiful animation and score, and a decent if somewhat predictable story. Our main character, Kafka Hibino, is a man in his early thirties that has given up on his childhood dream, until he meets a younger boy that pushes him to pursue his goal of joining the anti-kaiju force. But right before that, Kafka gets turned into a bug—I mean, a kaiju, and he has to figure out how to hide his new nature from everyone (I do enjoy a silly Franz Kafka reference). It’s refreshing to see an action Shonen that doesn’t revolve around teenagers, but the series still follows a lot of the usual tropes of the genre, and doesn’t really stand out. I’m curious about where the story is going, and I hope that there’s more to this than just another average battle Shonen. 3.5/5
Godzilla Minus One, directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
It’s a funny coincidence that I watched this the same month I watched Kaiju nº 8, I guess I was in a monster mood. Minus One is not really about the monster, though, it focuses on the human characters and their trauma. The movie revolves around a kamikaze pilot that ran away from his “duty”, which makes him feel dishonorable and unworthy of happiness. His war isn’t over until he fulfills his duty and dies for his country, or so he thinks. This is the main theme of the movie, the question of how much life is worth and whether sacrificing yourself is a good thing. The final message is that there’s no meaning in dying, only in living, and seeing the main character finally choose to live hit really hard. It was a very moving story, and I’m glad this is how I got introduced to the Godzilla franchise. 4.5/5
Farewell, my Concubine, directed by Chen Kaige.
This movie follows the troubled relationship between two Pekin opera actors and the evolution and decline of their art form throughout the chaotic 20th Century. It handles themes of queerness, artistic obsession, and the struggle between tradition and progress, as well as the effect that large scale events have on individuals.
Farewell is a tragedy, first and foremost. The “story within a story” aspect highlights this, it’s easy to see how the play that the characters perform is a microcosm of the entire movie. The king that has to see his nation be taken from him, the concubine that can’t bear to live without her king… just like Dieyi and Xiaolou have to see their beloved Pekin opera be overtaken by the changing times, just like Dieyi can’t see a life for himself outside Xiaolou. Why does the concubine have to die? / It’s just a play! These lines are the center of the movie, the crux of the conflict between these two. They have been putting up this performance for so long that the lines between them and their characters have blurred, and it’s Xiaolou’s attempt to separate himself from his role and to create some distance from Dieyi that causes them both so much pain. I also think the theme of actors and prostitutes “being the same” is fascinating. The way that Dieyi and Juxian are both the concubine to Xiaolou's king, how they are both doomed from the start, and despite their rivalry they still have these moments of tenderness and love, where you can see how they are just two sides of the same coin. I could talk about this movie for hours, but I fear I would just be pointing out the obvious. 5/5 If I think about Juxian and Dieyi for too long I start going crazy.
Ping Pong: The Animation.
This made me want to play table tennis, and I have never been interested in any sports before. Ping Pong is a beautiful coming-of-age story about two friends, Smile and Peco, who are very different but are able to connect through the sport they both love. Why do you play? Is it to be the best, or just for fun? What drives you? These two struggle to answer these questions and find meaning and motivation in life, while dealing with the expectations put on them due to their “talent”. It’s not just Smile and Peco that make this show so compelling, all the side characters are just as interesting, and they all have their own problems that they have to work through. One of my favorite parts of the show was Kong’s development and seeing him form meaningful bonds with his teammates. I expected him to be some sort of antagonist, but the show doesn’t put any of its characters in such a simplistic box, they are all given the same amount of depth and treated with kindness. As a whole, the story is deeply concerned with finding joy in what you do and connecting with others. There’s an underlying current of love and tenderness that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, like looking at old pictures of your friends. If you can look past the unconventional art style, I promise this show will change your life, and make you Google “where can I play table tennis in my city”. 5/5
Everyone else on Substack is saying goodbye to summer and sharing their favorite fall books, meanwhile we in the Southern Hemisphere are finally getting some warmth after almost freezing to death this winter. I will welcome in spring with some high fantasy and historical fiction; I’m currently enjoying The Elusive Samurai anime and once I’m done with Earthsea I’m planning to start The Kingkiller Chronicles. I will continue reading the Leviathan trilogy, but I’m going to put my Shadowhunters reread on hold for now so I can get to the other books in my ever-growing TBR. September is going to be a packed month!
Upcoming:
September 15: Explaining the Shadowhunters Chronicles, part 4: City of Fallen Angels (yes, it should have come out last month, but it took me too long to finish the book).
September 20: Reaction Channels and the Loneliness Epidemic, a little essay about a YouTube niche that I have recently been sucked into.
[Paid Subscribers] September 22: Full Earthsea Series Review.
September 29: Basic Guide to Fantasy, some pointers for people who want to get into the genre.
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