Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 20

Revenged Love Episodes 9-10 Review: Snake-Napping & Sexual Awakening

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The cat’s out the bag in ‘Revenged Love’! Scheming protagonist Wu Suo Wei (played by Zi Yu) admits he has romantic feelings for Chi Cheng (Tian Xu Ning), his ex-girlfriend Yue Yue’s (Sun Qian Yu) new boyfriend, even though the plan was to break them up and move on.

Quick Recap of ‘Revenged Love‘ Episodes 7-8: Suo Wei instigates both Yue Yue and Chi Cheng’s mother through anonymous texts to accelerate Chi Cheng’s breakup. He also works to free the captive pet snakes to stop Chi Cheng from being manipulated by his father. On the other hand, the two men get closer, and also decide to become business partners by starting an art firm together.

In episode eight, Yue Yue hires goons to kill the only pet snake still in Chi Cheng’s possession, hoping to spend a snake-free life once they get married. Suo Wei happens to be visiting when the goons come for “Little Vinegar.” He tries to fight them off and is rescued by Chi Cheng before things get out of hand. The episode ends with a romantic moment between the lead pair, with Suo Wei clearly beginning to enjoy Chi Cheng’s attention.

Episodes 9 & 10 of ‘Revenged Love’

Sarcastically titled “Snakes Aren’t More Important Than People,” episode 9 begins with Chi Cheng’s father receiving a call about some of his son’s pet snakes dying. Soon, Chi Cheng learns that a truck is being moved from his dad’s company, most likely to relocate his beloved snakes. So the primary focus of the episode is his efforts to get his snakes back. But as the previews suggested, Suo Wei follows him and is seriously injured by a snake. Chi Cheng rises to the occasion and proves that Suo Wei means a lot more to him than some of his snake children.

The whole pet snake business continues to be a comical part of ‘Revenged Love‘, with Chi Cheng’s friend Guo Cheng Yu (Zhan Xuan) trying to steal them. There’s an armed face-off between three sets of goons over the snakes, so viewers are served some action scenes, which both Tian Xu Ning and Zhan Xuan pull off with action-hero swagger, despite this being a goofy romantic comedy so far. Doctor Jiang Xiao Shuai (Liu Xuan Cheng) also happens to be at the scene and is clearly impressed to see the men in action.

“This is the first time I am falling for a man,” even Suo Wei admits with glee when he sees Snake-dad Chi Cheng fight for his babies. Ten episodes down, and the Revenged Love creators are doing a fantastic job of keeping a consistent comedic tone in the story, even through the tenser moments. Besides, the romantic tension between the lead protagonists sees significant progress in these episodes, obviously, since Suo Wei has moved past the denial stage but is still struggling to come to terms with his newfound sexuality.

Episode 10 of ‘Revenged Love’, in fact, is hilariously titled ‘Can You Turn Straight Again After Being Bent?‘, where most of the focus is on Suo Wei dealing with his strong attraction toward Chi Cheng. He turns to his beloved master Jiang Xiao Shuai for advice on the matter, looking to kill his feelings. But in a twist, Chi Cheng practically threatens Xiao Shuai to make sure he convinces Suo Wei to seal the deal with him, or else he will go back to his “old ways,” which means targeting the men Cheng Yu is interested in, i.e., Xiao Shuai.

Zi Yu is incredibly comically-cute as Suo Wei, the confused, goofball in love, who from being disgusted as Chi Cheng’s sexual advances, is beginning to actively seek out his attention, even though he isn’t ready to take things to the next level. Tian Xu Ning’s portrayal as the ‘crazy in love’ Chi Cheng is driving their onscreen chemistry. The secondary romance between Xiao Shuai and Cheng Yu doesn’t see much development, which is absolutely fine, since we still have more than half-of ‘Revenged Love’ to go.

Overall, these two episodes are very entertaining, driven both by a comical script and engaging performances by the lead actors.

You can watch ‘Revenged Love’ on YouTube or Viki.

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Head Over Heels Episode 6 Review: Ji-ho Protects, Seong-ah Fights Back

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Ahahahahah… how is it that love rivals Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo) and Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon) have more of what would classify as “cliched romantic drama moments” by this episode of ‘Head Over Heels?’ Now that teen protagonist Seong-ah (Cho Yi-hyun) has passed on her protective talismanic responsibilities to Ji-ho, the dude’s finding every excuse to touch Gyeon-woo to ward off evil spirits. So we get lots of pats, hugs, and even the classic falling into someone’s arms on the road, but this time with Gyeon-woo and Ji-ho.

Recap of ‘Head Over Heels’ Episode 5

Gyeon-woo catches Seong-ah performing a ritual dance alongside shaman Yeom-hwa, though the two women don’t actually know each other. Now that Gyeon-woo has discovered Seong-ah is a shaman, he brands her a two-faced liar and begins distancing himself. With five more days to go before the dangerous period, during which Gyeon-woo is fated to die, Seong-ah continues protecting him from evil spirits. A hilarious little sub-plot even sees her solve the baby ghost that’s attached to a classmate and poses constant danger to her crush. But new malevolent forces keep targeting Gyeon-woo, and with his growing resentment toward Seong-ah, her powers as his human talisman stop working.

Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon), who has a crush on Seong-ah, notices the tension between them. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, he steps in to mediate and even offers to become Gyeon-woo’s substitute talisman. Seriously, Ji-ho is shaping up to be the best character in ‘Head Over Heels‘. The episode ends with a touching moment, Seong-ah, heartbroken, cries alone in the rain until Gyeon-woo appears and quietly offers her his umbrella, hinting at a possible truce… and maybe the rekindling of their romance.

Episode 6 of ‘Head Over Heels’

This edition kicks off immediately from the rain scene, with Gyeon-woo not just offering his umbrella but inviting Seong-ah over for a cup of hot tea. While the two don’t exactly talk things out, the focus of the chapter is on Seong-ah finally discovering how Yeom-hwa has been tormenting Gyeon-woo since he was a child, and she takes a strong stand against the older shaman. With the help of her Spirit Mother Dongcheon (Kim Mi-kyung), the teen shaman also tries to contain the demonic entity lurking in the haunted house, a major danger to everyone in town. So viewers get lots of colorful, engaging shamanic rituals and supernatural elements in this segment of ‘Head Over Heels’.

Meanwhile, a large part of the episode is on the hilariously cute bromance between Ji-ho, as he tries to do his human talismanic duties by staying close to Gyeon-woo, creeping the latter out. That said, the feisty, energetic Choo Young-woo remains the central charmer in the series as Seong-ah, and she is back to scoring lost points with her first love, even though he nowhere near ‘Head Over Heels’ for her. Although with the evil shaman Yeom-hwa looming over them, and the dangerous cursed house filled with deadly spirits around the corner, there’s not a lot of time for romance right now!

At this point in ‘Head Over Heels’, I am feeling a little guilty that I haven’t mentioned Yoon Byung-hee’s portrayal of Do Ryeong, a flamboyant shaman. It looked like the character was going to be a cameo, but Do Ryeong has become a staple in the show, joining senior shaman Dongcheon in working to purge the cursed house of its evil deity and Byung-hee is simply brilliant in the part. He is comical, stylish, sassy, and wittily sarcastic when needed.

Overall, this was probably the most entertaining episode of ‘Head Over Heels’ yet, packing a lot of teen drama, comedy, and also supernatural suspense. The episode ends with a student breaching the safety talismans surrounding the creepy haunted house, which spells a lot of trouble for everybody. Things wrap up on an interesting twist, which bring lead pair Seong-ah and Gyeon-woo together, but under unpleasantly unexpected circumstances.

Watch ‘Head Over Heels’ on Prime Video.

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Alienated #4 Review: Grandpas, Graduation & a Missing Alien

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Plot overview of ‘Alienated’: Earth is deluged with the bodies of dead aliens, but one family finds a survivor and attempts to understand what happened to his species. What happens when their secret guest is discovered, especially at a time when alien cults and shrines are rising in popularity?

Issue #4 of Alienated by Taki Soma and John Broglia kicks off with a funny scene at a comic-con-like event to celebrate aliens and UFOs. It’s called an “annual Alien conference.” The obsession over the dead aliens continues to grow on planet Earth, which means if TJ’s live alien is discovered, all hell would break loose. And if you remember, Issue #3 had ended with a shocked TJ finding out his alien friend is missing.

Also Read: Alienated #3 Review: High on Potential, Light on Progress

So this chapter of the comic book series focuses on TJ recruiting his grandchildren Lily and Winter to help locate the alien before something disastrous occurs. Meanwhile, Frank, the old dude who basically kidnaps the alien, tries to communicate with the creature while also trying to get the word out in the media that he has a surviving alien with him.

After being ambivalent about this series so far, I can say this is probably the first time I definitely enjoyed reading an issue of Alienated. It’s entertaining to see how teens Lily and Winter are loyally attached to their grandfather and rush to his rescue when needed, even when the emergency is as bizarre as locating a missing alien. The kids even miss their graduation ceremony for the mission and get in massive trouble with their parents, but refuse to let TJ’s secret out.

The artwork continues to be engaging, and it helps that the creators use color, because quite frankly, the story isn’t exciting or gritty enough to work in black and white. Besides, for instance, toward the end of this issue, TJ hilariously dresses up like a thief out to rob a bank, in black shirt, black pants, black beanie, to rescue the alien, which wouldn’t have the same comical effect if this weren’t a color comic.

If you like the sound of a low-stakes sci-fi story about a grandfather and his grandchildren befriend an alien, who slowly learns to talk, ‘Alienated’ is a decent title to try out.

Alienated is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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Head Over Heels Episode 5 Review: Get A Friend Like Ji-ho

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Dangerous haunted houses, shamanic ritual dances, wacky ghosts, teen love, heartbreak, Korean fantasy-romance ‘Head Over Heels’ is delivering entertainment in multiple shades. And just when teen shaman Seong-ah (Cho Yi-hyun) starts to believe her first love, the handsome Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo), might finally be returning her feelings, her secret spills out, bringing their budding romance crashing down.

Recap of ‘Head Over Heels Episode’ 4: Gyeon-woo begins to warm up to the cute, stalker-ish, but adorable classmate Seong-ha, who unknown to him, is protecting him like a ‘human talisman’ and is also in love with him. The two start to hang out more, share some sweet romantic moments, sparking jealousy in Seong-ha’s friend Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon).

A parallel subplot shows Spirit Mother Dongcheon (Kim Mi-kyung) trying to solve the mystery of a haunted house inhabited by lethal cursed spirits. Turns out, evil shaman Yeom-hwa (Chu Ja-hyeon) has made a pact with a deadly demonic spirit, making it formidable and almost impossible to defeat. Flashbacks reveal Yeom-hwa knew Gyeon-woo since he was a child, mistreating him while claiming to ward off his misfortune, leading to his hatred for shamans. The episode ends with Gyeon-woo finally discovering Seong-ha is a shaman, marking a setback in their blossoming friendship.

Episode 5 of ‘Head Over Heels’

This edition starts with Gyeon-woo questioning Seong-ha’s intentions and distancing himself from her. Ji-ho notices the sudden frigidity between them and tries to help patch things up, but to no avail. Seong-ha tells Ji-ho she needs to protect Gyeon-woo for five more days from bad spirits and ghosts so he can avoid his fated death and turn his fortune around. However, she cannot say this to Gyeon-woo, since he is convinced she is a fraud and a liar.

Seong-ha is heartbroken, but despite the sad turn of events, she is determined to find ways to protect her crush. Besides, she also has a troublesome baby ghost to deal with, that’s attached to a classmate at school, putting Gyeo-woo at risk. So the focus of this episode of ‘Head Over Heels’ remains on the hot-and-cold relationships between the lead pair, with Cho Yi-hyun continuing to shine as the cute, energetic, emotional Seong-ha.

But it’s Cha Kang-yoon who’s likely winning over viewers as Ji-ho, head over heels in love with Seong-ha, yet selflessly supporting her efforts to protect Gyeon-woo. When the teen shaman can’t be around her cursed crush, it’s Ji-ho who steps in to help the lonely, miserable Gyeon-woo, patiently enduring his stormy moods and icy attitude. That said, Choo Young-woo is shouldering the tempestuous moods of Gyeon-woo with conviction through the series so far.

While not as entertaining as the first four episodes of ‘Head Over Heels’, the series is still pretty entertaining, and its beautiful cinematography keeps things engaging. There’s some progress in the haunted house sub-plot which gives viewers an eerie supernatural contrast against the teen romance problems the younger characters are grappling with.

Watch ‘Head Over Heels’ on Prime Video.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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‘Nyaight of the Living Cat’ Episode 1 Review: Beware the Purr-demic!

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Who knew cuddling a kitty could mean doom? From the looks of the first episode, you need to be a fan of two things to be able to enjoy the anime ‘Nyaight of the Living Cat’:

Apocalyptic talesCats!

Based on a manga written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots, the anime version is directed by Tomohiro Kamitani.

The plot’s wildly hilarious and mildly horrifying: a global pandemic, dubbed the ‘Nyandemic’ (died laughing when I read that), caused by a virus found in cats, begins to turn human beings into felines if they come in contact with cats. Set somewhere in the future, ’20XX’ according to the creators, ‘Nyaight of the Living’ unfolds in a world where 90% of humans are said to own pet cats, which makes the spread of ‘Nyandemic’ super easy.

Episode one opens with a tense scene of three friends running for their lives, reminding me of ‘Ghostbusters’, as two of them wear big backpacks that loos like proton packs. packs. Protagonist Kunagi (voiced by Masaaki Mizunaka) loves cats, so ‘Nyaight of the Living‘ comically explores how the cat-lover reluctantly fights the creatures he loves to survive the Nyandemic. He is accompanied by high school student Kaoru (Reina Ueda) – stern, strong, constantly reminding Kunagi they no longer live in a world where they can pet, stroke, cuddle, or go soft on cats. Do that, and you’re dead as a human!

Flashbacks in the second half serve to explain the connection between Kunagi and Kaoru, who, funnily enough, used to work in a cat café together. The animation is pretty simple, the designs doesn’t stand out like other animated shows currently airing (think ‘Dan Da Dan’ or the hyped ‘Lord of Mysteries’), but it has an engaging late-2010s nostalgia to it. The cats are all cute, so the show blends horror and humor well.

Overall, the opening edition is pretty fun. In fact, if you do love cats, you’ll have a blast watching it, it’s wild, comedic, and pure fun.

Watch ‘Nyaight of the Living Cat’ on CrunchyRoll.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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My Stubborn Series Review: Spice Over Plot, Baby!

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From love confessions, make-out sessions, aggressive flirtations, to full-blown quickies, the men in Thai series ‘My Stubborn’ do practically everything but work in their office. If you watch a lot of BL, videos titled ‘Thai BL on Crack’ might have popped up on your YouTube feed, where fans compile crazy moments – weird, hilarious, exaggerated, or bizarre – in Thai shows, and the entirety of ‘My Stubborn’ feels like ‘Thai BL on Crack’, with lots of sex. The creators make full use of the 18+ rating for this romance with lots of near explicit steamy scenes.

Some people have their their sexual awakening in a romantic setting by the beach or during a trip to the mountains or through their first love, and some people find what they want after being seduced by their older brother’s friend in the kitchen garden, like Jun in Thai Series “My Stubborn”.

Oat Pasakorn Sanrattana plays protagonist Jun, a cute intern, chased, harassed, confused, and sex-bombed by the older Sorn (Boat Yongyut Termtuo), a handsome senior at work who also happens to be an acquaintance. While already cozy with another woman, Sorn constantly gets intimate with Jun, eventually telling him they’re just “sex partners” but preventing Jun from forming a relationship with anybody else. Basically, Sorn spends most of his time being “in denial” about his feelings for Jun in ‘My Stubborn‘, stubbornly claiming Jun is too young to be taken seriously, although ironically, old enough to take to bed. So the primary conflict, if you could call it that, is the ‘situationship’ frustrations between the lead couple.

From the very first episode, ‘My Stubborn‘ sets itself up as a spicy, saucy ride, with minimal plot and maximum frisky business. Yoon Phusanu Wongsavanischakorn plays Jun’s older brother Tai. Though not biologically related, the two treat each other like family. Tai also works at the same company where Jun interns and finds himself caught in a romantic subplot with his close friend Champ (Punpun Punn Chirathanaphat). While Jun and Sorn’s relationship is messy, sweaty, and sexy, Tai and Champ’s dynamic lacks chemistry and feels painfully awkward. But at least that’s not the case between the lead couple.

Ironically, Yoon Phusanu previously starred in ‘Unforgotten Night’, a snooze-y attempt at ‘Fifty Shades of Grey‘-style steamy romance. In contrast, ‘My Stubborn‘ is practically a smut-fest. Twelve episodes long, this show is all spice and no story. If that’s something you’re up for, leads Oat Pasakorn Sanrattana and Boat Yongyut Termtuo turn temperatures up in their intimate scenes for the show. No modest K-drama shy dead-fish kisses here. “Do you know what the office’s fire escape staircase is for?” Sorn asks Jun in the final episode. When Jun innocently replies, “What?”, Sorn goes, “This,” and starts aggressively making out with him.

That said, ‘My Stubborn’ didn’t need twelve episodes. It could’ve been wrapped up in eight. Half the cast serves little purpose, and a lot of the content feels like filler. Still, if you’re tired of slow-burn romances where couples pine endlessly and want some fast-paced, NC-18 chaos – story or no story – this might just be your next guilty pleasure. And well, there’s always the fast-forward button.

Watch ‘My Stubborn’ on iQIYI.

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Lord of Mysteries Episodes 1-3 Review: Hectic, Cryptic, Erratic

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Phew! The first few minutes of Chinese animated series ‘Lord of Mysteries’ feels like we’re watching the second or third season of some hit fantasy story! Too much information overload about ‘Beyonders’, transmigrators, secret groups, alternate worlds, celestial planes, and what not. For a second I wondered if I had hit episode 2 instead of the first chapter.

From the opening episode of ‘Lord of Mysteries‘, this is the basic plot I pieced together: Protagonist Klein Moretti is a ‘transmigrator’, someone who can travel to a different place and era. So he is from the future, where computers and cellphones exist, but he finds himself in a steam-punk, medieval alternate reality in 1352 AD. Klein needs to figure out a way to go back home in the future, so he decides to take the help of Dunn Smith, the captain of a secretive group called the Night-Hawks, that operates under the guise of a security company. Dunn Smith is also a ‘Beyonder’, beings that have supernatural powers and can rise to the level of Gods.

The animation is quite engaging, although it also feels very AI-generated in some parts. The designs given ‘Lord of Mysteries’ a gritty steampunk era edge, mixing Victorian-era aesthetics with modern elements. At times, the animation movements feel slow, as if you’re watching someone else play a mystery fantasy game online. And the character designs are very similar to those one sees in Japanese anime, giving them a familiar touch.

A lot of the mystery in the first three episodes is surrounding a missing notebook belonging to the Antigonus family, a powerful aristocratic family, which could hold key to several unanswered questions. Titled ‘The Fool’, Episode one definitely doesn’t adequately or effectively establish the core conflicts, and themes of ‘Lord of Mysteries’, so the move to release two episodes at first was a good strategic move by the creators. Except for the fact that protagonist Klein Moretti can ‘transmigrate’ and wants to go back home, we really don’t know much about his character, which can either pique viewer’s curiosity or tire out those who seek quicker gratification from their shows. It’s a hectic and cryptic opening edition.

I’ll be honest, I was tired by the first few minutes of the second episode and decided to watch the rest of it a few days later, along with when the third episode came out. ‘Lord of Mysteries’ didn’t reel me in with the excitement of “oh I need to know what happens next, I don’t want to wait an entire week before the next edition drops!”. Things get slightly exciting in the second-half of episode 2, where Klein Moretti begins to have a more direction in life, but the pacing remains erratic.

Titled ‘Beyonder’, Episode 2 of ‘Lord of Mysteries‘ starts with Klein Moretti joining the Night-Hawks under Captain Dunn Smith after agreeing to become a ‘Beyonder’. He is then dispatched on his first mission, to rescue a kidnapped child, since the Night-Hawks also operate as a security company. He hopes access to the secretive institution run by powerful beings will help him find a way home, and of course, survive. Luckily, each episode of the series (so far) begins with a quick explanation of who ‘Beyonders’ are and how consuming certain potions can help mortals start off their journey to becoming almost God-like in abilities.

The animation begins to stand out a little better in episodes 2 & 3, which see more action, and the creators also mix a few different artistic styles, instead of sticking to one template. For instance, now that Klein Moretti is a Beyonder, he gains seer-like abilities which can help him locate people. When he exercises these powers, the animation switches to water-paint style palette, which adds an intriguing contrast to rest of the animation design.

Intriguing new characters, demonic entities, magic, spirituality, tarot reading, new ancient languages (sounds like a paradox eh), bizarrely varied powers, alternate realities…. ‘Lord of Mysteries’ piles on lots of elements in the first three episodes of this steampunk-fantasy series. The creators justify the title, because where the show is heading, is a big mystery. All the online buzz about it being the greatest animated show of the year feels far-fetched, although it sure offers some fresh material.

The overall tone of the series is bleak, serious, and dark. I am a little on the fence about how I feel about this animated series; its pacing is choppy, and character personalities don’t exactly stand out yet, and there are too many things going on. Fictional kingdoms, fictional historical personalities, and an overdose of names. After a long time, I took down notes for a review!

Stream ‘Lord of Mysteries’ if the idea of a guy from the future time-traveling to an alternate past, where powerful secret orders with supernatural abilities thrive, sounds exciting. As long as you are a patient viewer who prefers visual styles over substance.

Watch Lord of Mysteries on CrunchyRoll.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 12 Review: It’s Giving ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ With Bloodied Action

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Shit! This was a roller-coaster edition of ‘Good Boy’, which starts slow, making Dong-Ju’s (Park Bo-Gum) ‘athlete with the golden heart’ act a little cliched and tiring in the first half, before flipping the switch to ‘dark mode’, where things get bloody violent.

Recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 11

Well, the only thing you need to remember is that Dong-ju finally breaks villain Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se)! Thanks to Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi) following up on some crucial leads, he is finally able to get imprisoned criminal Golden-Bunny to reveal the scale of Joo-Yeong’s clout in Insung City. Dividing themselves into two teams – Han-na (Kim So-hyun) pairs with Man-sik (Heo Sung-tae), while Dong-ju and Jong-hyeon form Team B – the Olympian cops start hitting various locations to find out where Joo-Yeong must be parking all his cash, which helps him keep everyone, from the Mayor to the police commissioner, under his thumb. The episode ends on a hilarious high: the cops finally discover all the cash, while Joo-Yeong is left screaming in defeat for the first time.

Episode 12: Foul

This edition of Good Boy should’ve jumped straight to the aftermath of the season’s highest point: the police team celebrating their victory after seizing trucks full of illegal cash belonging to Joo-Yeong, crippling most of his criminal activities. Instead, the episode opens with a flashback to Jae-Hong’s (Tae Won-seok) Olympic days as a discus thrower. Dude wasn’t even part of the group’s mission to nail the villain’s hideout.

Anyway, the first half of this episode overdoes Dong-ju’s “good boy” act, showing just how overtly sweet, caring, bunny-like, golden-retriever-level lovable he is, which of course Park Bo-Gum pulls off with charm, but it’s beginning to get tiring. Viewers don’t need constant, blatant reminders of how amazing he is. Besides, sorry, but Dong-ju’s decision to shoulder everything alone and not have the decency to tell his team and girlfriend Han-na about his health issues isn’t admirable, it’s selfish. I am getting Bollywood’s ‘Kal Ho Na’ vibes with Dong-ju’s failing health, where he’ll probably die in the end and Han-na will end up with the wealthier Jong-hyeon. (Gosh, that will be such a cliche, but not surprising for a K-Drama)

Oh Jung-se, as primary antagonist Min Joo-Yeong, is more dangerous, despicable, and entertaining in this edition. He no longer finds Dong-ju amusing, and this chapter focuses on him hitting back at the cops. He is done with playing with his prey and is coming for Dong-ju’s blood with all his wrath. With his ‘Punch Drunk’ syndrome getting worse, our ‘Good Boy’ hero cop isn’t as invincible as before. Although, like I said in a few previous episodic reviews, he continues to heal and rise like Wolverine.

With his cash gone, he falls back on Drug Demon’s (Lee Ho-jung) new candy for revenue. Lee Ho-jung’s brief onscreen interactions with Bo-Gum’s Dong-ju are delivering great, unintended chemistry. The Good Boy falling for the Bad Girl, now that would be spicy, but clearly, it’s not going to happen!

Overall, this edition was a mixed bag. The last half is tense, packed with disturbing violence that quickly dilutes the elation of the police team’s victory against Joo-Yeong, who is now bent on serious retribution. An interesting twist is thrown in during the final minutes, with the villains using their bag of tricks to corner and batter Dong-ju. It’s the trusty, reliable Jong-hyeon who saves the day, but the future looks very bleak for the team’s fight against Ilsung City’s mafia. Although episode 12 ends with a confident, furious Han-na swearing on getting some heavy payback!

Watch ‘Good Boy‘ on Prime Video.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 1 Review: Killer Blend of Grief & Horror

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Think I got goosebumps towards the end of episode 1 of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ (光が死んだ夏), the anime adaptation of the horror-manga series by Mokumokuren, directed by Ryōhei Takeshita. The animation might not be the best, but it’s gloomy, creepy, and already hitting some strong emotional punches with its opening chapter.

Plot overview: Teenager Hikaru goes missing in the mountains for a week near Kubitachi, a quiet rural village. Once he returns, best friend Yoshiki realizes something is amiss. “You are not Hikaru. Are you?” he directly questions his friend. In response, an eerie entity partially leaps out of Hikaru’s body, exclaiming it was doing its best to imitate the boy and didn’t want to kill Yoshiki. Stunned, a grief-stricken Yoshiki resolves to accept the entity in Hikaru’s body, thinking it’s better to have this shell of a friend than nothing at all.

Titled ‘Replacement‘, episode one of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ establishes all of this in the very first few minutes, setting the pace for the bizarre horror manga, where a parallel subplot shows an organization working to hunt entities like the one inhabiting Hikaru’s body. So even though a scared Yoshiki (voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi) wants to hold on to the ghost-like Hikaru (Shûichirô Umeda), there’s a threat of him losing his friend all over again. What makes the entity more confounding is the fact that it retains all of Hikaru’s memories.

In just 23 minutes, the pilot episode of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ captures a myriad of themes and emotions – an unknown alien-like entity content on pretending to be a human, teen Yoshiki struggling to cope with his grief, loss, and the bizarre new circumstances, and a village full of people who seem to have some connection to supernatural events and beings.

The character animation in ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ stays true to the manga designs, while the overall animation quality feels slightly dated yet still engaging. Yoshiki is tall, with a dark mop of hair and sad eyes that accentuate his serious demeanor, while Hikaru’s cheery personality is reflected in his bright white hair and a cute snaggletooth. The episode is elevated by its background music and vivid ambient soundscape, filled with the hum of summer, chirping birds, and thrumming cicadas. Although the animation does go more modernist and psychedelic in the horror scenes depicting violence.

Overall, this is an excellent start to what promises to be a complex relationship between a regular human teenager and the entity that has taken over Hikaru, blending horror with deep emotional tension. Chiaki Kobayashi voice as Yoshiki is emotionally charged, serving as a gripping narrator for this horror-anime about loss, friendship, and loneliness.

Watch ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ on Netflix.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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‘Good Boy’ Episode 11 Review: Park Bo-Gum Goes Full Vigilante Mode

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Give Oh Jung-se’s stellar performance as the bad guy in Korean action-drama ‘Good Boy’ so far, maybe it was high-time viewers did get a flashback to his origin story in the crime ring. And we do get served, even though it’s not as exciting or substantial! And it does sort of help explain his soft spot for the boxer-cop-protagonist Dong-ju (Park Bo-Gum) and why he hasn’t gotten him murdered yet, although his patience is running thin.

Recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 10

The Special Investigation Team comprising former Olympic athletes, led by Man-sik (Heo Sung-tae), is finally disbanded. Everybody is demoted except for Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi), who is still recovering from his injuries after the dockyard shootout and asks ex-girlfriend Han-na (Kim So-hyun) if they can start over. The episode largely serves as a filler, with flashbacks and some lighter moments between characters. However, in the last few minutes, Dong-ju meets Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se), which inspires him with a new idea to hit back at the villain: he starts attacking his criminal businesses all by himself. The episode ends with Dong-ju making it to the news as an unknown hooded crusader taking down criminal establishments.

Episode 11: Countdown

This edition of ‘Good Boy‘ begins with a flashback of Dong-ju from his Olympian days in the boxing ring, where he talks about the best attack being one your opponent least expects. The story then shifts to the present, where Dong-ju hits another illegal establishment run by Joo-Yeong, taking on a mini-army of thugs by himself. His mentor Man-sik (Heo Sung-tae) quickly figures out that Dong-ju has been busting thugs, and so does crush Han-na (Kim So-hyun), who hasn’t been able to reach him. Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi) gets discharged from the hospital and gains new evidence that might help the team get leverage against the villainous Joo-Yeong.

Just like the last episode of ‘Good Boy‘, this chapter once again features Joo-Yeong inviting Dong-ju for a meal, warning him to stop his activities or he’ll end up dead. But our hero cop obviously tells him to sod off, cryptically saying “the countdown has begun.” Most of the episode then follows the disbanded special team getting back together outside their regular cop hours to aid Dong-ju in his new strategy: find where Joo-Yeong is hiding his cash so they can cripple his power.

While the primary focus is on the good guys, we one again get a brief flashback into Drug Demon’s (Lee Ho-jung) past too, which frankly is beginning to feel unnecessary at this point and maybe Joo-Yeong should’ve gotten a more substantial back-story. Regardless, this is overall a very entertaining episode, which is slowed down only during a romantic moment between Han-na and ‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju, because their onscreen chemistry felt more awkward for the first time.

Kim So-hyun is given an emotionally heavy scene, but she doesn’t quite deliver it with conviction, which ends up undercutting the steamy romantic moment that follows. For the first time in ‘Good Boy‘, the romance felt unintentionally cringe-worthy. Ironically, it’s the awkward teamwork between love rivals Dong-ju and Jong-hyeon that turns out to be far more entertaining, as the two spend the second half doing some solid groundwork together.

Anyway, the episode is largely entertaining, with a generous amount of comedy, some of which comes from the cops trying to track down a sneaky Russian who works for Joo-Yeong. Park Bo-Gum is comically cute and endearing in the last few minutes, where he and Lee Sang-Yi’s characters keep looking for a “smoking gun” against the antagonist, and Bo-Gum’s ‘Good Boy‘ hilariously keeps sending selfies to taunt Joo-Yeong. ‘Countdown‘ ends with one of the biggest high points of the series so far, which is very satisfying. But since there are five more episodes to go, things are probably going to get bad soon.

Watch ‘Good Boy‘ on Prime Video.

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