Tonight, my buddy and I went to watch Wolf Children at our local theater. I went in knowing almost nothing about the film – just that it had a strong reputation among anime fans. And I’m happy to say, it absolutely lived up to the hype!
Wolf Children, directed by Mamoru Hosoda, is a beautifully animated film that blends fantasy and heartfelt storytelling. While some moments were lighthearted and a little whimsical, the movie also explored deeper emotional themes about family, identity, and growing up.
We usually see anime with subtitles and Japanese audio, but this time we saw the dubbed version and it was very acceptable!
If you’re a fan of anime films or just looking for a touching story with stunning visuals, I highly recommend checking out Wolf Children. Super!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO250 “Sony Headphones” Cedar Park, 2023
This year I got a set of Sony WH-CH520 headphones for Father’s Day. I wanted some wireless headphones that I can use with my phone and iPad, and even my Macbook Air and these Sonys fit the bill. The features I love:
Wireless: Bluetooth means I can connect to all my devices.
Lightweight: The plastic material is light, but seems robust.
Battery life: 50-hours! Impressive.
Looks good: They come in black, blue, or white. I chose white because they look so clean.
Microphone: I can use it to make phone calls.
Equalizer: Using the free Sony app, you can set your levels easily.
Price: At $59, these won’t break the bank.
I’ve only been using them for a short while, but I love them. They are very comfortable, and don’t make my ears hot. They also sound great! I have the bass enhancer activated (and bass boosted in the EQ). Very nice!
If you would like some nice, inexpensive on-ear headphones, the Sony WH-CH520 model is worth checking out!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/3.6, 1/120 sec, ISO320 “Huang Rong” Cedar Park, 2022
I finally watched all 52 episodes of the 2017 Chinese television series “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”. I enjoyed it quite a bit!
After reading the books (which I loved), I was curious to see how this latest re-telling of the Condor Heroes story would be. I was pleasantly surprised that the first episodes’ characters, plot, and overall feeling matched with what I had imagined in my mind when I read the books.
The kung fu moves were excellent and they spent a lot of effort in the flying effects, the spinning moves, and the choreography in general. It was interesting to me that in the books and also the live-action series, most of the kung fu is not meant to deal lethal blows. Even when fighting with weapons, the conflict was to show superiority, and trying to kill someone is a serious line that only the villains were willing to cross.
Speaking of the kung-fu, many of the moves has specific names, and in the tv show, they flashed subtitles when the person used the move. Pretty cool!
One criticism of the TV series I have is that the special effects were sometimes horrible. Laughably so! In fact, they were so bad, didn’t mind it so much after a while. They did their best! And the fighting was awesome, after all.
This adaptation stuck close to the book’s plot, but at the end I think they skipped over a lot. For instance, when Viper Ouyang was harassing our heroes in Mongolia, he suffered some hilarious indignities, however the TV show only showed one of them, and even that was toned down.
Overall, though, I thought the 2017 series was excellent. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the legendary wuxia series.
My friend and I went to see Pompo: The Cinéphile at the theater as part of our anime-watching habit. Whenever GKIDS has a special screening, he buys the tickets, and I buy the beer (the theater has beer on tap!). It’s something I really look forward to!
Anyways, I thought the movie was excellent. The plot is basically the making of a movie, but there are so many little inspirational nuggets thrown in that I was kind of blown away and even got a little emotional. What a movie! And maybe it was the beer too. But regardless, Pompo: The Cinéphile left me with a positive attitude and life seemed just a bit brighter.
I’ve been enjoying the classic series Legends of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong so much. I just started book four, A Heart Divided, which is the final book of the translated series. The story is so much fun!
The story is Wuxia, or ancient martial-arts heroes genre. Do you know the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? That is a good example of Wuxia.
When I started the first book, A Hero Born, I was a bit overwhelmed by the list of characters at the beginning. What was I getting myself into? But soon, I was caught up in the story, and the character list came in handy to refresh my memory.
I was very curious as to how they could describe the fast-paced action of the wuxia movies, but Jin Yong (and the book translators) do an amazing job of imaginatively describing and naming the different moves and it’s incredibly fun to follow along. I love the heroes, and love to hate the villains. My favorite character is Cyclone Mei, who is featured in the illustration above. She’s one of the villains, but… it’s complicated! 😀
I read the popular She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan, but didn’t enjoy the story or characters at all. The Legends of the Condor Heroes is way more my type of book.
There’s a Chinese television series from 2017 that I will watch after I finish the books. Besides spoilers, I don’t want my imagined versions of the characters to be influenced by the actors in the drama. I prefer to look to the illustrations (which are sparse) from the book.
