Tag: Slice of Life

K-movie Reco: Innocent Witness (증인)

K-movie Reco: Innocent Witness (증인)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I changed the drama reco of the month twice for different reasons. First I was going to review a K-drama called Partners with Justice. I changed it because I saw another drama which I couldn’t recommend enough and wanted everyone to watch as soon as they can. Realized I don’t have any pictures for that post.

I saw pictures for this one on my desktop and now I am writing this post because I cannot recommend this movie enough either. Anyway, I’ll get started.

Innocent witness tells the story of an autistic child Ji Woo (Kim Hyang Gi) who, inadvertently, witnesses the murder of an old depressed man living next door. His maid Mi Ran is charged with his murder but is acquitted thanks to her defense lawyer, Soon Ho (Jung Woo Sung). Later he realizes that he might have committed a mistake in disregarding Ji Woo as a witness because of her ‘disability’ while the girl might actually be speaking the truth. He takes initiative to get to know her, enter her world and finally reveals the truth behind the murder.

This is Soon Ho’s dad, such a liberal mind

Now, not to give out spoilers but it’s very apparent from the beginning who the actual murderer is. That is not even the main premise of the movie I would assume. What the movie does the best is to raise the awareness about these incredibly gifted people who had autism. Ji Woo has great hearing and can decipher even a whisper from the other corner of the courtroom.

And, so what?

Another thing it highlights is, how autistic people are regarded in the society. The girl’s statement was declared invalid because she was ‘mentally unstable’ during the first trial. Just goes on to show how much pain it must have taken the lawyers to prove her testimony as credible. And, as you might have already realized, I really love media which raises social awareness. And this movie does it ever so subtly, that you will empathize with the characters without even knowing it.

You might think it’s a thriller or action movie but it’s just a simply heart-warming movie with a focus on interaction between the two main characters. And darn, it manages to deliver it perfectly. What I loved the most was Kim Hyang Gi’s acting. It wasn’t awkward or deliberate. She executed her character with such finesse, that you just need to watch it.

Soon Ho developing friendship with Ji Woo be like

Once again, my high praise for this 129 minutes movie makes this post a recommendation. Some might find the first half a bit slow but it’s just two hours. Trust me, if you dig slice of life stuff, by the end, you will be melting. Ahhhh, can’t wait for you guys to watch it and comment on the post.

Conclusion: 10/10. Another interesting part is how the character of Soon Ho makes a 180 deg turn in his opinions about Ji Woo at the end. Dang, I’m gonna go watch it again now. Oh btw, this movie, in no way, is a mystery. I had taken it up because I thought so too but there were no regrets watching it. Just a heads up though.

Final Feelings: 😍

Watch here: I could not find the official streaming site for this. So, putting this link here: Innocent Witness

Such innocent yet powerful question!

Personal front: Aaarrrghhhh! I’m so sorry for missing posting for last three weeks. I did miss them because I was working on weekends but I had this notion in my mind that last weekend of October was fifth weekend of the month and only a personal update was due. I shall admit that I did not even try because of that, and I apologize for the delay.

Well, I finally got a Saturday off, although I need to work tomorrow. And now I do have some stock of posts since I didn’t post last three weeks. Let’s see how long can I maintain the streak this time. And I also need to finish these two short webnovels with 50-60 chapters each. The shorter ones are the best tbh.

Also, a patron of mine decided to buy me multiple ko-fis this week which is a very welcome thing for me. But, the transactions happened in various amounts on the same day. I refunded the amount thinking that it was a mistake, either your card got charged multiple times by mistake or it was an error on ko-fi’s behalf.

I have resolved this issue with ko-fi and apologize if you felt that my step was rude. I had no way to confirm if so many transactions on the same day were a mistake or not. I would not want my patrons to lose their money because of me. I know how hard it is to earn monies in this day and age. Once again, I thank each and every person here for your support.

Today’s song: Since I have started this job, I haven’t really listened to anything. Not old songs, not new ones either. It’s like, I’m just racing towards something, leaving behind other things that I have always loved. Let’s just post some song I’m hearing for the first time too today:

Webtoon Reco: My Letter (연의 편지)

Webtoon Reco: My Letter (연의 편지)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Your letter ch 2

O.M.G. Like how can one person write such a wholesome and most importantly complete story in just 10 chapters? And a while back I was talking about a good story line in less than 50 chapters.

You read that right. Just 10 chapters. Not novel chapters but webtoon chapters. This week I bring you guys a story which would make your hearts full. It started publishing back in Feb. I think I started reading this webtoon in March, but never realized that it would finish so soon, and I miss it. I truly miss it. Another Wednesday webtoon came to an end. And it had such an impeccable timing too. I can recommend it to my readers this week.

The webtoon, written by Cho Hyeon A tells the story of a girl called Sori. Kind and caring, Sori stands up for a girl being bullied in her middle school and becomes a victim herself while her friend transfers away. Ultimately Sori has to transfer from her middle school as well and she finds herself traumatized from her past experience and hence, a bit difficult to interact with people in new school.

Your letter ch 1
I don’t know how many times I have asked that question to myself till date. It’s so relateable…

Afraid that she might face similar situation again, she decides to keep to herself. And then she finds a letter under her desk in the class. This results in a treasure hunt where the guy who previously used to sit in Sori’s seat, takes her on an amazing discovery of magical places and new friends.

Apart from its pros of great art and amazing plot line, that you usually might find in my recommendations, this webtoon has an unusual charm to it. It takes you on a ride of nostalgia of your school days where you might or might not have formed great relationships, not with just classmates but people around, may be gardener or janitor. Also, the special corners in your school you might have shared only with very precious friends.

Your letter ch 3
Special friendships and special places 😌

Of course it raises the ever rampant issue of bullying. And I certainly am a fan of media that raise social issues or inspires one. So, it gets more points for that.

Regarding the art, the use of only 2-3 colors in each panel gives it a unique flavor in my opinion. It’s like finding happiness in really dull life/moments. And so, for me personally, the colors represent the dullness while the plot drives towards a happy ending. It gives the webtoon a dark vibe and fits really well with the overall theme of the webtoon.

As for cons, I don’t have any. It could have gone all wrong given that it’s just 10 eps but its delivery is just fantastic. By the time you even start to try to find any flaws, it gets over. It certainly gives Ghibli Studio productions like feeling. And it’s not even a 15 mins read, so I don’t think anyone reading this has anything to lose. Below is the official trailer from webtoons.com

Conclusion: It’s a really heartwarming story and while it’s a shame that it ended so soon, it doesn’t feel that bad. It was a nice ending and the webtoon truly deserves the rating it has on webtoons.com. I cannot recommend it enough. It’s just so precious that my heart warms up just thinking about it. I guess I’ll go read it again.

Final feelings: (づ ◕‿◕ )づ

Read here: Your letter on webtoons for free

Personal front: This is the first time I have finished writing the whole post before personal section, since I started it. I was perhaps dreading writing it? But right now I am going through really bad phase of my life. Without delving into much details though, I just hope it passes soon.

Anyway, a friend of mine earlier this week introduced me to two new boy groups called The Boyz and Stray Kids and OMG, I am finished. They’re such precious boys. I have officially become a noona fan (although I would be a noona fan to iKon too ;-; ).

I guess they would be my solace for now as Infinite and SuJu were in 2015? Or Exo were in 2017? Wow, I see a pattern here, odd numbered years. Hmm, that’s sad. Anyway, I’ll leave it at that.

Today’s song: Being a new fan I guess it will be songs from these two groups for a long long time. I am not going to lament on lack of songs to post now lol. Below is the song from Stray Kids which I have been listening non stop for some time now, on loop. Also, shout out to my friend who introduced me to these groups. It’s actually so much fun having fellow k-pop lovers.

Disclaimer: All the pics above are property of webtoons.com and Cho Hyeon A. Nothing here belongs to me. Today’s song is the property of JYP Ent.

Anime Reco: Natsume Yuujinchou (夏目友人帳)

Anime Reco: Natsume Yuujinchou (夏目友人帳)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Natsume Yuujinchou 1

I thought really hard what anime I should review this week. I even went to my myanimelist account to see if I should give preference to any of the anime I have watched previously and rated highly.

Then I was thinking of recommending “My Roommate is a Cat” airing this season. But as much as I would love to review that one, I usually don’t like reviewing on-going series, just in case I might have to change my rating. *Cough* The Golden Eyes *Cough*

Natsume Yuujinchou, by far, is one of the best anime I have ever watched. I eagerly wait for its new seasons and movies every year. (Thank God people actually pick it up for making next seasons rather than just letting it be (Skip Beat, I see you). I guess, it’s rather popular in Japan.

Everyone needs magic in their lives, and this one is the magic which can melt away all your worries and disappointments of the day and make you count your blessings in life. All you need is a hot chocolate, your warm bed and your laptop with this anime playing. What you’re going to read further is a rather long plot followed by a rave review, but it’s worth it, trust me.

Natsume Yuujinchou 2
Ah, the floof and the love and the happiness ❤

So, the anime is about this orphan boi Natsume Takashi who has power to see ayakashi and youkai (Japanese spirits and demons). He inherited it from his grandmother, Reiko Takashi. First season lays down his background and tells how he has to move from relatives to relatives because of his weird behavior as a kid. He would tell his foster families that there was an additional person in the house or would daze off into the space, much to the frustration of people around him. They would call him weird or creepy and sometimes, even question his sanity.

Finally, Natsume settles down with Fujiwara family who’re a childless couple and treat Natsume as his own. Initially, Natsume is distant from them, just in case they come to know of his ability and shun him as in the past. But he comes to realize that he truly cares for them and is hiding his abilities because he doesn’t want the youkai to hurt them.

Natsume Yuujinchou 3
Although, everything in this anime is lou, his foster family especially is all the feels

He inherits a powerful tool to control youkai called Book of Friends from his grandmother Reiko. Reiko was a lonely soul, ostracized by humans because of her ability, and hence, sought solace with youkai. She would challenge them in some kind of game and being powerful, ask them to give her their names on losing the game, thus obtaining absolute power over them.

Now Natsume takes upon him to return these names, because it’s a dangerous artifact, if it falls into the hands of any dangerous youkai or human alike. He has the aid of extremely powerful youkai called Madara (named as Nyanko-sensei by Natsume) who has promise from Natsume that he will get the book once Natsume dies.

Natsume Yuujinchou 4
Returning the names.

The story revolves around Natsume’s interaction with humans and youkai, him trying to find a balance between helping youkai and letting them be destroyed by humans since he had a rough childhood because of them. In the end, he realizes that he cannot really choose one and there are both good and bad youkai as well as humans.

Oh man, that plot took up so much space. And the anime spans 6 seasons and a few specials and movies as well. While it seems an arduous task to follow this anime, trust me, as soon as you get into it, you’ll experience the ultimate peace. From the OSTs to the soft coloring in the animation, everything is just mellow and peaceful and happy and just, life. The OSTs have been one of my favorite playlists and I listen to it whenever I am feeling down.

Natsume Yuujinchou 5
These two guys are friendship goals!!

Ah, I am melting away just thinking about it. But anyway, I only have praises for this anime. People whom I have recommended this anime had two extremely opposite reaction, either they really like it and felt really good after watching it, just like me, or they just couldn’t get into it. Some said it was too long, some said it couldn’t compare to Mushishi and hence, they dropped it.

I’ll urge everyone who wants to drop it or already has dropped it, to just give the whole first season try. If that doesn’t work, you really don’t have appreciation for slice of life anime T_T. Also, character development is too strong in this one. Not only Natsume evolves as the anime progresses, the characters around him do too, both humans and youkai. And their bonds too. At the end of the season, if you see all the youkai friends of Natsume gathered around him, you cannot help but cheer for him, and yourself for some reason lol.

Natsume Yuujinchou 6
Nyanko-Sensei who claims that he’s not a cat…

The only con I can think about it is the anime being too slow for some people. But that’s also the beauty of the anime. It’s made to make the audience slow down and reflect on life. That’s what slice of life is all about and this anime is the very definition of the genre.

Conclusion: As you can see from the review, I love the anime. There was a time I was watching it at least monthly to get through the tough times. Nyanko sensei is the most adorable character out there and you’ll fall in love with the oldie. The fur ball is also the comic element, so it’s not all serious or light-hearted. Don’t let the enormous number of seasons deter you. They all contain 13 episodes each, so it’s not that long. This marvelous piece of work needs more attention!

Final feelings: (o˘◡˘o)

Watch here: Crunchy roll has all the seasons. Start with first three here: Watch on Crunchyroll.

Personal front: I am late again today but I finally got my learner’s permit. Went to the same place. Good thing I went coz I was eyeing visiting this Payless Shoesource store. Sad that they’re closing down since I loved their collection. I went ahead and bought 4 pairs today. Guess I splurged too much but no regrets. I wanted to do my due, bidding goodbye to the chain. If I find some store not closing soon enough, I might buy more.

Anyway, time to learn driving soon and get that driver’s license. Been too long now.

In other news, I finally got a new module to work on at my company and have to start working with Arduino. Sounds exciting and I am waiting for my kit to arrive so that I can get into circuit building and stuff. I don’t have anything else to talk about tbh.

Since next Saturday is 5th Saturday of the month, it will be a full personal post. If you guys have any questions, comment below or send them to easasianlover@gmail.com. See you guys next week!

Today’s Song: Since this is Natsume Yuujinchou we’re talking about, time to post some cute OSTs. You will also get a feel of this anime through them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOmVEIdYmeg&list=PLzN14_DsGxhQYf6-Cn7iyATo6D5o8zrzs
Anime Reco: Chouyaku Hyakkuninisshu Uta Koi (超訳百人一首 うた恋い)

Anime Reco: Chouyaku Hyakkuninisshu Uta Koi (超訳百人一首 うた恋い)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Oh God! I started this post in 2014. Can you imagine? It’s a five year old post basically. Never got to complete it!

I am pretty sure it’s just another anime which never found the fame it deserves. Why? Of course because it’s a slice of life anime. Like I seriously don’t understand why that whole genre is so underappreciated. Please someone, solve this mystery for me.

Anyway, who wants a Japanese history lesson? Chouyaku Hyakkuninisshu Uta Koi, also called as Uta Koi, is a fun spin on the famous Japanese Hundred Poems (Hyakunin Ishhu) which are used for the famous Japanese card game Karuta. If you don’t recognize the name of the game, think the anime Chihayafuru.

Uta Koi 5
Is what Fujiwara no Teika said

And do you know who this anime features? The different poets of some of these 100 poems and the one who created the anthology – Fujiwara no Teika. Fujiwara no Teika tells the stories behind the poems, who wrote them, in what context and how.

Interestingly, they have chosen only the love poems for the anime (uta koi). But the hilarious take on these stories, especially our narrator Fujiwara no Teika makes the anime very lighthearted. Now that I am writing the review, I feel like watching it again. It might give me a new perspective on the anime and brush up my memory a bit, before I finish this review. Be right back.

All right, I am back after the first marathon of 2019. It was nice to refresh my memory of the anime. So, yeah. I love its OSTs. The opening and ending sounded so nice after so long. Passionate, Fiery, Historical.

Some people might be put off by the animation. It is inconsistent, the characters have very thick outer lines and when the characters walk, you can see that it’s the pattern of their clothes that moves rather than the character itself perhaps. So, people who have grown up watching the advanced development in current animation scenario, might not appreciate it that much.

But if you can overlook that part, this anime has much to offer. Apart from history lessons and the comedy, there are of course small heart breaking and lovely romance stories. Not to mention the wallpaper worthy backgrounds.

Gotta write a poem now!

I personally dig historical stuff, so I am going to totally recommend this anime to anyone and everyone. But I still reckon that this anime might be more for a seasoned anime watcher rather than newbies although I watched it in my 2nd year of anime watching and have had it in my hard drive since then.

Conclusion: I give this anime 11/10 just for the sounds and the comic history. I wish all my history lessons were this hilarious. Highly recommended for my readers. I actually picked up the translated version of the Pillow Book in my undergrad after I finished watching this anime. But that could just be me.

Final feelings: Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→

Watch here: Watch Uta Koi on CrunchyRoll for free

Personal Front: This week I celebrated my birthday and I had my two friends drive to Pittsburgh from far far away. These are the two friends whom I have given a shout out many times before on my blog. But I especially want to thank them this time. I can’t express anymore how much I love and cherish them. Words fall short when I want to tell them that. I just wish all the happiness in the world for my two buddies. ❤

Apart from that, I and my roommates went to an expensive restaurant to celebrate my birthday. The food was amazing though. Overall, this week had been full of fun and sleepless nights lol. I am using this weekend to finally complete my sleep so that I can recharge myself.

I also bade farewell to a lovely junior of mine yesterday. She’s shifting to California and was the last person I knew from my department. Seems like all my personal connections from my department at CMU are gone far away now. How I wish I could leave the city too. But I am actually very excited for the work I am doing currently. So, all is well. 😀

Today’s song: What to do, what to do, what to do indeed? An anime club friend of mine got me addicted to this LOONA’s newly released song. I got goosebumps the first time I saw the MV. Here it is:

Webtoon Recommendation: Super Secret (슈퍼 시크릿)

Webtoon Recommendation: Super Secret (슈퍼 시크릿)

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment
Super Secret Webtoon

This post was supposed to be the first post of 2019 but I somehow ended up reviewing a webnovel first. So, although I had written this post in the first week of January, I had to change the whole intro again, (basically write everything again). Oh well. I have moved some parts of my intro to the personal section of the post, if anyone’s interested

Anyway, today I bring this super cute 4-panel webtoon for you guys. Completed just a month back, it’s one of my favorite webtoons, kind of. I feel so happy for the characters. But damn, I’ll miss my Wednesday update every week.

Written by author by the name of “eon”, it is a rather short webtoon with 144 chapters only and a webtoon rating of 9.82!! So I guess it comes highly recommended from webtoon readers?

It is a heartwarming slice of life romcom (interesting combo tbh but I am seeing this combo popping up again and again these days) about a clumsy girl called Emma Ji whose parents live abroad and her childhood friend Ryan Nam who has been taking care of her, performing all duties of a mom, a dad and her best friend.

Super Secret funny 2
Lol, Emma admits it herself

As *two childhood friends who fall in love with each other but the girl doesn’t have a clue* cliche as it sounds, what sets it apart from other stories like this is that Ryan and his family have a secret. They’re supernatural beings. Ryan himself is a werewolf, his two sisters are witch and a nine tailed fox (Trust me, it’s not a spoiler! It is just a secret for Emma, not the readers XD XD). These guys helping Emma with her normal life while trying to keep their super secret a secret from everyone including Emma and her friends create real hilarious situations.

More than that, you really feel for Ryan. He is hopelessly in love with her. While our airhead Emma tries to just live her life, she’s totally obvious to Ryan’s or her own feelings. Added to the mix are problems that arise from Ryan’s secret, since in this universe, humans are not allowed to know about the existence of the supernatural beings.

There are of course ways to evade that rule but it involves so many complications that it often poses danger to Emma and her other hooman friends. Her friends also get involved with other super beings.

Super secret funny
Like you’re ever gonna do it >.>

What I really like about the webtoon is the art, which is super cute and fluffy despite being based majorly on humans (super beings in the form of humans, but you get my point, right?). And the author has really not bound the story and characters by any boundaries in the sense that even Ryan’s family contains all kind of beings, which is interesting in terms of procreation (Can you think of a Frankenstein and a Korean spirit/ Goddess with children who are nine tailed fox, witch and a werewolf? Unless they’re all adopted? No information there). I mean, it’s fine, don’t wanna go into nitty gritty stuff.

I also liked the comedy part. It’s not laugh out loud kind of comedy but just funny. You feel good reading it. I wouldn’t comment on character development because it’s not really a plot driven webtoon. I mean there is an overarching theme of how Emma discovers Ryan’s secret and their feelings for each other. But it’s not like you get to see people grow beyond their flaws and stuff.

Super secret 5
From the author’s postscript…

What I don’t like about the webtoon is that it wasn’t originally supposed to be this long. Near the end, there was a lot of stuff in the plot which seemed unnecessary to me, and the author admits it in the last chapter. They had planned it only for 50 chapters but it went on to become almost 100 chapters more. They’re not unbearable and I won’t know how it would feel to binge read it. Perhaps it would make more sense reading it all together?

But somewhere I did get lost in the plot. It seemed to be like every Korean drama where a point comes and you just want to skip to the end. It was not possible for me because I was obviously following it while it was publishing and reading one chapter per week.

Super secret funny 3
Uh, I might be slave to this cutesy art too XD

Conclusion: Personally, despite my reservations about the unnecessary additions of characters and plot to keep the editors happy and just for the sake of it, I really like it. In my weekly schedule, for months, this was the only webtoon that I followed that updated on Wednesday (I have started 2 new webtoons now, so Wednesdays don’t seem empty anymore). And I really looked forward to it every week.

So, I would still recommend my readers to give it a try. It’s not that long that you would feel that you’ve invested too much time reading it anyway.

Final feelings: (o˘◡˘o)

Read here: Super Secret on Webtoons.com

Personal Front: Well, as I mentioned earlier, this post was to go up in mid-Jan as I came back from India to US after a vacay of 3 weeks. I was feeling a bit of non-belonging-ness to either US or India, although I have lived some 23 years in India and 2.5 years in US (time indeed flies!!).

Like you know, I have mentioned this before but I don’t really get attached to places. Not my undergrad college, not Thailand, not my previous place of work, not here. And Pittsburgh is actually the place where I have spent 3rd longest time of my life at one place. It all seems very interesting to me.

Anyway, there is nothing much to tell on personal front otherwise. I am 1/5th through this book called “Common Stocks, Uncommon Profits” and I am loving it so far, more so because I finished those 60+ pages in 2 hours, thanks to an online friend.

I asked her to work for an hour on some project without getting distracted and being accountable to each other for the work we decided upon. It actually feels good to be accomplishing something like that. I see myself using this technique of productivity more often in the future.

Today’s song: Somehow got hooked to Taemin’s new song. Although I don’t like how changed he looks with regards to body (too thin and a bit shorter compared to before? I feel like he doesn’t have bones in his body anymore!), I am loving the sound. It feels okay putting on repeat and listening at length, plus the lyrics are so narcissist, that it inspires some confidence in otherwise under-confident me (Today I realized that the meaning of the song could be quite sensual as well):

Disclaimer: All the images used here are property of author eon and webtoons.com and have directly been taken from the website. Nothing belongs to me or the blog.