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Fujitani Naoki Deserved a Love Story That Wasn’t a Cliché

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Disclaimer: This is a fluff piece and contains story spoilers

Satoh Takeru plays musical genius Fujitani Naoki with such conviction in Japanese series ‘Glass Heart’, that he seems like a pan-sexual rock God, whose chemistry with both musical instruments and the people around him are immaculate. He could be in love with anybody. Or nobody.

‘Glass Heart’ could’ve soared if Fujitani Naoki’s romance wasn’t so flat. He’s the kind of character who skips meals, sleep, and water just to write his next song, so really, the most believable story-line would’ve been him not dating anyone at all. If he decided to marry his piano, it would be believable.

Also Read: Glass Heart Series Review: Reliable Music, Flimsy Romance

Instead, the writers of ‘Glass Heart’ (yes, I know it’s based on a novel by by Wakagi Mio, but surely the screenwriters could’ve made some tweaks to the tale) give Fujitani Naoki the most cliched romantic sub-plot. He falls for the drummer girl, Saijo Akane, which is foreshadowed in the opening seconds of the series.

The funny thing is, when Saijo tries to confess her feelings to Fujitani Naoki, he tells her that he doesn’t have the time or space for anything except for music in his life. Then why does he change his mind? The show never really gives us an explanation, nor does it deliver a solid build-up to Saijo and Naoki’s relationship. Sure, they enjoy jamming and playing music together, but he shares the same musical chemistry with pretty much every musician in ‘Glass Heart’.

In-fact, Satoh Takeru’s Fujitani Noaki had stronger screen sparks with Takaishi Akari, who plays Sakurai Yukino, a pop star with a crush on Naoki. The two of them have a scene where they jam to a song together in episode 4 of ‘Glass Heart’ and their comfort level is cozily interesting. Saijo watches them from the door and rightfully feels jealous. The song scene is embedded below.

The onscreen equation between Fujitani Naoki and drummer Saijo feels more teacher-student or mentor-mentee like throughout ‘Glass Heart’. Saijo is fresh, sweet, naive, still in college, optimistic, and her crush on the older Naoki makes sense… he is after all a good-looking, enigmatic musical genius.

If the show wanted a believable romance, it would’ve made more sense for Saijo to lean toward Sakamoto Kazushi (Shison Jun), the piano genius with a soft spot for the drummer. He’s basically a toned-down, younger Naoki, just without the quirky edge. Also, surprisingly, he even confesses his feelings, instead of being cryptic about where his heart lies.

Still, even Kazushi’s supposed crush feels a bit unconvincing. He spends the first few episodes irritated by Saijo, practically begging her to quit the band if she can’t keep up. Unless the writers were aiming for a classic “enemies-to-lovers” angle, the sudden switch to romantic interest was unnecessary. Sure, Saijo is adorable and musically gifted, but she’s hardly the type to inspire a mass bandmate meltdown of unrequited love.

Some of the earlier episodes made me wonder if something was brewing between Fujitani Naoki and his bandmate Takaoka Sho (Machida Keita). The two had such undeniable chemistry that if ‘Glass Heart’ had revealed they were secretly together all along, it wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow. They’ve worked together for years and clearly know how to play off each other.

The following were my top three contenders for Fujitani’s forever love

The Piano Sakurai YukinoTakaoka Sho

Writers really need to start getting more inventive with romantic plot-lines and stop serving us the same old band triangles. From his magnetic stage presence to effortless chemistry, Fujitani Naoki deserved a romance as bold as his music, not a predictable arc.

‘Glass Heart’ is streaming on Netflix.

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Gachiakuta Episodes 9-10 Review: Art Attack Time!

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

I have a renewed admiration for the artwork in ‘Gachiakuta’, especially since episode 9 was packed with graffiti and it makes the viewer notice the sheer amount of work animators have poured into the background designs. The edgy sketchbook style of this anime is always refreshing to watch from the other glossier stuff (although, I do love glossy animation too).

Also Read: Gachiakuta Episodes 7-8 Review: Jabber Loves the Hurt

Titled ‘The City of Graffiti’, episode 9 kicks off with a rare scene of protagonist Rudo washing his beloved gloves, exposing his scarred hands to the audience. The primary focus of the chapter is on Rudo, Enjin and a small crew of cleaners visiting ‘Canvas Town’, to meet Gob, an artist and spellcaster, to help them with their next mission.

But before that, we discover something creepy-cool about the neckbands the Cleaners wear as part of their uniform. I won’t spoil it here (especially if you haven’t read the original Gachiakuta manga by Kei Urana), but let’s just say it adds an extra layer of power to their bond.

What’s the next mission? To meet the woman who lives in “No Man’s Land” and might know how to get back to the sphere. Unfortunately, the Cleaners are met with tragic news in Canvas Town. So, the episode ends up being a mixed bag: it nearly makes you cry for a character you barely know, then flips the mood into a vivid celebration of art.

Canvas Town is chaos and creativity rolled into one, its streets are laden with artists painting nonstop, and walls exploding with graffiti. The animation for the chapter is absolute chef’s kiss. The episode also introduces a new character, Remlin Tysark, a young artist who first appears as a sniffling mess but soon pulls themselves together and surprises everyone with an energetic enthusiasm for making art.

Titled ‘Penta: The Desert No Man’s Land’, episode 10 of Gachiakuta opens with a light-hearted sequence of Remlin talking about art. Although Enjin has a hilariously hard time understanding anything! It could also be the generational gap. He he.

“Trust me it’s not worth it. If you try to go too deep into conversation with an artist, you’ll just end up more confused.” The mayor of Canvas Town warns Enjin when he gets worked up over Remlin’s ramblings about how each artist is unique. It’s definitely my favorite dialogue from these two episodes of Gachiakuta.

Anyway, after Rudo and crew finish their spell-casting work in town, they finally head to the feared No Man’s Land to gather intel on the Sphere. They also make a quick-stop at the Cleaner HQ to pick up Rudo’s new custom-made mask, which looks pretty rad.

Like most pockets of the ground, the ‘no man’s land’ is super dusty, thick with toxic air, piled high with endless heaps of trash, and crawling with giant trash monsters. Which means: it’s battle time!

The crew who accompany Rudo are Enjin, Riyo, Zanka, Delmon, Tamsy, Gris, Follo, and Tomme, which means we get tonnes of cool sequences of these cleaners fighting monsters. Actually… this edition only shows Enjin, Riyo and Zanka using their weapons to fight off the garbage-turned-villains. But well, they’re also the coolest, so that’s more than enough entertainment.

Overall, these episodes of Gachiakuta are fast-paced, with great gritty background music, and the animators are pulling their best-foot forward to bring Kei Urana’s imaginative dystopian world to life. Episode 10 closes on an ominous cliffhanger, leaving viewers eager to see if this mission takes a dark turn in the next chapter.

Watch Gachiakuta on Crunchyroll.

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Mahavatar Narsimha Review: A Divine Roar for Indian Animation

Ashley Suvarna (Instagram | Twitter)

Around two days before watching Mahavatar Narsimha, I got my hands on a copy of Ne Zha 2, an animated masterpiece that took the world by storm. So I was fresh off the hype train, and maybe a little concerned that I might end up constantly comparing this movie to the Chinese film and ruin my experience. After all, Indian animated films have had some stellar stories, though they always lagged several leagues behind the biggies like Pixar and DreamWorks in terms of production quality.

So when I say that during Mahavatar Narsimha’s entire two-hour ten-minute runtime, not for a single moment did I even think of Ne Zha 2, or any other comparable film for that matter, you can probably imagine how thoroughly the movie had my attention.

The story of Mahavatar Narsimha is a classic, one almost every Indian has grown up reading about. But for those who didn’t, it’s basically a tale of good vs evil where an almighty demon king who hates the god Vishnu, finds out that his own son has become an ardent devotee of Vishnu and tries every trick in the book to make an example out of him. The story is often taught as an example of divine intervention and the power of faith.

Right off the bat, Mahavatar Narsimha introduces us to the two demon brothers, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, sons of the great sage Kashyap and masters of the arcane arts. No lengthy ‘once upon a time’ infodumps, no fluff, the entire plotline focuses solely on the fate of these two brothers and doesn’t make the mistake of wandering into the vastness of Indian mythology for absolutely no reason.

The two demons set out to conquer the world with their immense strength, but Hiranyaksha crosses a line when he, with his brother’s blessings, kidnaps the goddess of the earth and holds her hostage within the depths of the cosmic ocean. Which is when Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, takes on the avatar of Varaha, a colossal boar who dredges the goddess out of the ocean while also making short work of Hiranyaksha.

Stung by the loss of his brother, Hiranyakashipu, once merely dismissive to Vishnu, begins to truly hate him. Through penance, he achieves the boon of near-immortality and becomes master of the three realms, creating a kingdom where the worship of Vishnu is punishable by death. Not knowing that his own little child, Prahlad, would some day become his antithesis and eventual doom. The tussle between Prahlad’s unwavering devotion and his father’s ego forms the meat of the story.

But let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the animation. I’ve heard the production team took almost five years to finish Mahavatar Narsimha, and let me tell you, they weren’t sleeping on the job at all. The visual quality is a significant jump from what we’ve generally come to expect from Indian animation. Was it perfect? Nah, not even close. I noticed plenty of issues, particularly in terms of facial animation and the way the characters moved clunkily in certain scenes. Not to mention some pretty subpar cloth and hair physics here and there.

But Mahavatar Narsimha’s makers offset all of that with some of the best VFX and action choreography I’ve seen in Indian animation. And the lighting… The team that did the lighting for this movie deserves a medal. And a hike. And a paid vacay to the Swiss Alps.

In fact, some of the set pieces like Prahlad’s chamber and the grand hall are so beautifully lit that you might just decide to overlook any flaws that may appear. Mahavatar Narsimha‘s animation may not have Pixar’s glossy smoothness, but that’s not what this film aims for. Instead, it draws inspiration from temple art and Puranic illustrations. Palaces are ornate, forests feel alive, and the last 20 or so minutes is a spectacle — fury, divinity, and raw power captured in every frame. Although I’d say I’m not a fan of how they make all the demons look like orcs from Warcraft.

Composer Sam C. S. delivers a soundtrack that perfectly balances devotion and drama in Mahavatar Narsimha. Prahlad’s bhajans are tender, while Narasimha’s entrance gets a snazzier version of a typical south Indian massy entry theme, thundering with percussion and chants that vibrate through the
theater. The music doesn’t just accompany the visuals; it elevates them, making even familiar scenes feel monumental.

The voice cast of Mahavatar Narsimha strikes the right tone: dignified, devotional, and dramatic without slipping into caricature. Hiranyakashipu’s arrogance chills, Prahlad’s sincerity inspires, and Vishnu’s voice commands reverence. I do appreciate the fact that the makers did not turn Hiranyakashipu into a straight up, Mogambo-style villain. He commits atrocities and is driven by hate, sure, but he’s also an illustrious leader, a supportive brother, an otherwise level-headed king, and most of all, a doting father who is as heartbroken by young Prahlad’s beliefs as he is furious.

This layered representation of both the devas and the asuras is a recurring theme in Indian mythology. Neither side is inherently good or evil, both demons and gods being ultimately defined by their actions rather than birth. Hiranyakashipu’s transition from a man who just wants his son to love him more than his enemy to a king who feels the pain of having to sacrifice his child, to an indifferent creature who just wants to get rid of the boy, the movie explores his entire emotional spectrum without making him feel too sympathetic as a character.

But I think the biggest takeaway from Mahavatar Narsimha is Prahlad. Not him per se, but his nature. See, in every Indian myth and scripture, a demon’s rise to power and eventual downfall is a planned event, a predestined outcome written by the masters of the cosmos. Even Prahlad growing upto be a soft-spoken, kindhearted devotee of Vishnu was no coincidence, but a result of destiny and divine intervention. It is also true that the god-sage Narad was the one who took advantage of Hiranyakashipu’s absence and advised the pregnant demon queen to chant the name of Vishnu under the guise that it would benefit her unborn child.

But to say that Prahlad’s undying affection for Vishnu was merely the result of third party influence would be an insult to his own devotion. The boy had many chances and a whole plethora of reasons to change his mind. He could easily have followed his father’s ways and inherited a legacy that granted him dominion over the gods, and yet, he willingly chose to remain Vishnu’s servant and admirer, even at the peril of his own life, even though he believed that as someone of the demon clan, his soul would not be worthy of heaven anyway.

This is not the god-fearing devotion that organized religion often uses to control its followers, or the selfish devotion where people become worshippers mainly because of the benefits it offers, either in life, or after death. This was sheer, unconditional love, one that is neither defined by neither logic nor emotion, neither deed nor consequence, transcending every single limit of spirituality ever set by both men and gods. And yet, the whole Mahavatar Narsimha experience leaves you with a larger question – is devotion just us following some kind of preset software coding, or is it something determined by our own free will?

Perhaps a wiser man might have the answer to that. All I as a viewer can say is, the big leaguers like Ne Zha 2 may be absolute blockbusters, but Mahavatar Narsimha has its own charm and profoundness that mustn’t be sullied by putting it on a comparison chart. It is not a perfect movie, the pacing occasionally drags, and some crowd scenes could have used more polish. But these are minor quibbles in a film that otherwise soars. Mahavatar Narsimha is devotional, thrilling, and deeply moving — a cinematic experience which proves that although Indian animation still has a long way to go, it might have finally come of age.

Mahavatar Narsimha is still playing in select theaters.

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Sakamoto Days Episode 21 Review: Hard Battle Mode On

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Hahahahaha…. we weren’t expecting Nao Toramaru to give up the title of ‘Sakamoto’s Number One Fan’ so fast to Shin in ‘Sakamoto Days’. She even offers him her prized Sakamoto doll, though Shin has no time for her otaku antics. The lighthearted moment crashes when the JCC exam spirals into bloodshed as special candidate Shinaya goes on a murderous rampage! Last week’s cliffhanger already revealed he’s being remote-controlled by Gaku, part of Slur’s brutal recruitment scheme.

Also Read: Sakamoto Days Episode 20 Review: Nao vs Shin in a Battle of Fans

Titled ‘Hard Mode’, episode 21 of ‘Sakamoto Days’ throws Shin, Nao, Mafuyu, and Joichiro Kaji (another specially recommended candidate) against the deranged Shinaya. Unaware that Gaku is pulling the strings, they’re caught in a slaughter test where survival alone marks someone “worthy” to join Slur’s side.

Interestingly, Kaji notices that Shinaya is asleep even though he is in fight mode, which makes no sense to him, while Shin also realizes something is off when he’s unable to read Shinaya’s mind. Meanwhile, Gaku is having the time of his life, gleefully beating the kids to a pulp.

This edition barrels forward with bloodied mayhem, as Shin scrambles to team up with the others and shut down Shinaya’s carnage. The climax delivers extra laughs along with the violence, when Sakamoto, who had been nonchalantly “camping” with his team, finally leaps into battle mode.

Watch ‘Sakamoto Days’ on Netflix.

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The Wrong Paris Review: Rom-Com Served With Reality-TV Tricks

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Aspiring artist Dawn thinks she’s headed to France’s City of Love when she signs up for a Bachelor-style reality show in ‘The Wrong Paris’, planning to turn the gig into a free ride for her dream art course. But as the title suggests, she lands in Paris, Texas, and her ironclad contract forces her to play along.

Directed by Janeen Damian (‘Falling for Christmas’, ‘Irish Wish’) and written by Nicole Henrich, ‘The Wrong Paris’ stars Miranda Cosgrove as Dawn, a small-town waitress who can’t afford to attend the Paris art school she’s been accepted into. To raise money, she auditions for a dating show called HoneyPot, where a group of women compete for an eligible bachelor’s hand. Her plan is simple, take the signing bonus and get eliminated early so she can head to college. But Trey (Pierson Fode), the show’s dreamy bachelor, has other ideas.

Between reality TV drama, a swoon-worthy hunk, and feelings she never planned for, Dawn’s carefully laid plans start to get a teeny bit complicated. ‘The Wrong Paris’ plays out like a fun, silly rom-com that spoofs dating reality shows, caricaturing its contestants as over-the-top stereotypes. Madeleine Arthur (she played Lana’s BFF in the ‘To All The Boys…’ movies) is a ditsy princess type literally named Cinderella, Madison Pettis takes on Lexi Miller, a clout-chasing influencer, and Christin Park plays Jasmine, Dawn’s nerdy roommate on the show.

Like dating shows, the film too pits the women against each other through wacky games and competitions, which often leads to chaos and cat-fights. Yvonne Orji plays Rachel, one of the casting directors and producers of Honeypot, and she hilariously cheers for Dawn to get together with Trey. And for a change, the the couple do have more in common than just good looks. They come from the same region, and share a lot of similar interests.

Miranda Cosgrove’s last starred in Netflix’s bland ‘Mother of the Bride’, where she had very little chemistry with co-star Sean Teale. However, Miranda is a more fun as Dawn and her onscreen chemistry with the hunky Pierson Fode is more watch-worthy. Trey (Pierson) feels like a Disney prince run through a Magic Mike filter: handsome, hot, shiny, shirtless, and tailor-made for women to bicker over on screen.

Just like director Janeen Damian’s previous romantic movies, ‘The Wrong Paris’ is ultimately very formulaic, and predictable. But the film has a breezy ending where Dawn gets to have her cake and eat it too.

Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘The Wrong Paris’ on Netflix.

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The Worst Ronin Review: Demons, Drunks, and a Headstrong Heroine

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The cover art for ‘The Worst Ronin’ (at least the edition I was reading) features two samurais, with one of them holding a smart-phone, ready to take a selfie. It’s set in a fictional Feudal Japan, where people have TV, phones, and wi-fi, but they still ride horses and skirmish with swords. Clearly, a fantasy-action tale not to be taken too seriously! And I read it in that vein.

Written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and illustrated by Faith Schaffer ‘The Worst Ronin’ follows sixteen-year-old Chihiro, as she volunteers to replace her dad on a mission to kill a demon devouring children and terrorizing a village. Chihiro hopes to get a spot at a Kesi Academy, a famous training center for Samurai, that doesn’t enroll women. Chihiro’s idol Tatsua, a legendary samurai turned penniless drunk is the only woman to have been at the Kesi Acadmey and Chihiro hires Tatsuo to help her defeat the demon.

Tatsuo’s character is hilarious, and she is, of course, the titular ‘Worst Ronin’, once a famed samurai celebrated for single-handedly cutting down dozens of soldiers, even inspiring a hit film about her exploits (this is retro-futuristic Feudal Japan, after all). Now, she’s just a drunk wanderer taking on random odd jobs. She is difficult to work with, so even though she accompanies Chihiro on her demon-slaying mission, she shows no faith in Chihiro’s skills, constantly pulling the poor girl’s self-esteem down.

Chihiro, on the other hand, is a fairly typical protagonist, over-enthusiastic, convinced she can take on the world, without quite having the skills to match her ambition. But through relentless practice, she slowly grows into the hero she longs to be. And when she isn’t sharpening her sword skills, she is on the phone, almost like a Gen-Z kid, but in ancient Japan.

Given the comical tone of ‘The Worst Ronin’, I thought the graphic novel would just be a silly, funny story about older Samurai Tatsuo annoying the hell out of teen Chihiro. But Maggie Tokuda-Hall also packs in some shocking deaths, and violence in the tale, which was a welcome surprise. The women get to battle both supernatural demons, and regular evil men in their journey.

The art is cute and lively, and though the story sometimes bounces all over the place, it works as a delightfully silly action-fantasy fueled by friendship, family, vengeance, and loyalty.

Rating for ‘The Worst Ronin’: 4 on 5 stars.

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Stay By My Side After the Rain Review: First Love, Identity Struggles, Soggy Side Plots

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

All right then, here comes another Japanese drama about an office worker with low self-esteem issues. Kanade Shinichiro-san, the protagonist of ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ is also in the closet, has never been in a relationship, and has given up on finding romance, because his ‘first love’ didn’t work out. However, love finds its way to him through a fateful chance meeting.

Based on Rakuta Shoko’s manga Ameagari no Bokura ni Tsuite (雨上がりの僕らについて), ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ is a 12-episode drama that follows shy, closeted Kanade Shinichiro (Ikeda Masashi), whose humdrum Tokyo routine is disrupted by an unexpected reunion with his hometown friend, Mashiro Kosuke (Hori Natsuki). Kosuke is thrilled to reconnect, but what he doesn’t know is that Shinichiro once loved him. With no interest in rekindling a platonic friendship, Shinichiro confesses in hopes of pushing him away, Kosuke flips the script, claiming he feels the same way.

‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ swiftly sets up its primary conflict and premise right at the start. In the final moments of the first episode, an anxiety-stricken, shamefaced Shinichiro hides his face and, through frantic tears, begs Kosuke to leave.

“I don’t want to fall for you again… so just leave me alone….”

The rest of the episodes follow the pair navigating the challenges of dating and starting a new life together as boyfriends. A bulk of the story also focuses on the sunny-faced, easygoing Kosuke’s difficult relationship with his mother (played by Kirishima Reika), while Shinichiro too is almost estranged from his entire family due to his inability to be himself around them. Amidst all their personal struggles, the cozy cafe where they cross paths again becomes their safe haven, a place for shared coffees, conversations and delectable sandwiches.

Ikeda Masashi’s portrayal of Kanade Shinichiro is painfully honest and relatable, especially when Shinichiro is gripped with self-doubt, fears, and general anxiety over his new relationship. But it takes time to warm up to Hori Natsuki’s interpretation of the more confident Mashiro Kosuke. There’s something about his delivery that makes Mashiro Kosuke’s personality and passions a little suspicious. Add to that the onscreen chemistry between the lead actors is more awkward than romantic.

The end credits song in each episode of ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ features a sweet montage of Shinichiro and Kosuke strolling around and casually spending time together, which reminded me of the ending sequence in ‘Cherry Magic’, the romantic comedy starring Kieta Machida and Eiji Akaso. I suspect my expectations may have been heightened by the visual similarity, but ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ is nowhere near as entertaining, romantic, or “feel-good” as ‘Cherry Magic’.

Now of course, ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ isn’t a romantic comedy, so laughs weren’t expected, but its dramatic intensity often comes from people orbiting the protagonists rather than the leads themselves. Aya (Yamada Maho), a pushy colleague of Shinichiro, unprofessionally pressures him to consider another coworker’s feelings, while Aizawa Sumire (Watanabe Miho), who has a crush on Shinichiro doesn’t accept his rejection with grace. Both these side characters are annoyingly entitled, demanding to know why Shinichiro can’t go out with Sumire, when he doesn’t owe them any kind of explanation. Thankfully, they grow up and become more supportive of Shinichiro later in the show.

One of the more compelling sub-plot in ‘Stay By My Side After The Rain’ is Kosuke’s fraught relationship with his widowed mother, Mitsuko, whose grief morphs into an unhealthy reliance on her son. Her constant demands threaten to stifle his identity, yet Kosuke hides the strain, presenting a cheerful front to others and clinging to his belief that hard work can conquer all. Shinichiro is surprised to learn this side of his partner and then two work to overcome their problem together, without becoming overbearing.

The cinematography for the show is simple, visually pleasant, with most of the story unfolding either at the cafe the couple frequent, or in their one-room apartments. There was potential for entertaining personal conflict between Kosuke and Shinichiro as they grew closer in the second half of ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’, but the writers sidestep it, choosing instead to dwell on their issues with others.

Oh and the intimate scenes between the lead couple is so bland, they should’ve simply not shown anything, instead of serving awkward kisses. Even as their romance progressed, the intimacy between the pair remained like they were two friends hanging out. Instead of stretching on for 12 episodes, ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ could’ve been wrapped in 9 or 10 episodes. Although the last chapter does have a heartwarming end, which is preceded by Shinichiro reconciling with his parents.

If you’re looking for contemporary gay Japanese romances, this is worth a shot, some recent shows in the same genre that I rated higher are: ‘Futtara Doshaburi: When It Rains, It Pours’, Our Youth-Miseinen, Hishakai Shindo (Depth of Field).

Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘Stay By My Side After the Rain’ on GagaOolala.

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‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 10 Review: Eerie Truths Uncovered

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Tanaka is a total psycho! Who the hell decapitates something that looks human right in front of a teenager?! Mokumokuren, the mastermind behind ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’, clearly wanted Yoshiki to suffer as much as possible. The poor kid just cannot catch a damn break.

Quick recap of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 9

Kurebayashi Rie saves Yoshiki and Hikaru from a ghostly spirit at the restaurant and tells them about her own tragic experience with the supernatural world. The boys then visit old man Takeda in their village to find out more about ‘Nonuki-sama’, the mountain deity they think Hikaru could be. Takeda however is angry, cryptic and soon twists into something monstrous, and in a shocking crescendo, ghostbuster Tanaka appear out of nowhere, slices through Hikaru’s neck in one brutal stroke. The final seconds leave Yoshiki frozen in horror, shattered by what he’s just witnessed.

Titled ‘Truth’, episode 10 of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ opens with a terrified Yoshiki picking up Hikaru’s decapitated head, while the weird greenish-red entity pours out like alien octopi tentacles out of the body. It’s a crazy, horrifying, sad visual scene, where Yoshiki, not too surprisingly, desperately tries to attach the head back to the body.

Both boys end up in the hospital, surviving the violent incident, while Tanaka curiously backs out of the scene. In a stroke of luck, a classmate mentions something about a different deity worshiped by the Kubitachi village in the past, which leads Yoshiki to a breakthrough. He finally comes close to learning more about the mystical Nonuki-sama, and ‘truth’ is dark, twisted, and quite shocking.

In this edition of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’, Yoshiki is lost in his own thoughts, digging relentlessly into his village’s secrets, but every page he turns only underscores the depth of his unshakable bond with with Hikaru. Dead, alive, deity, ghost, or something far stranger, Yoshiki clings to the entity with a devotion that’s unmatched. It’s tragic, and perhaps even terrifying. To Yoshiki, Hikaru is everything, and losing him is not an option.

The climactic minutes of this episode leads the boys to the village shrine, where the ominous interiors rattle Yoshiki to his core. For Hikaru, however, the place awakens buried memories, and with them, dark secrets long concealed by the village elders.

Overall, it’s another gritty episode, which gets over in a blink.

Watch ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ on Netflix.

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Saiyaara: Raaz 2 Is Better Than This ‘Good Girl’ Fixes ‘Bad Boy’ Drama

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The much talked about Mohit Suri film ‘Saiyaara’ has made its way to OTT and like many who missed it in theatres, I figured it was time to stream it.

Sabse pehele toh, what in the ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ opening was that?! Remember Bipasha Basu’s Radhika, abandoned at the altar by jerk Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor)? ‘Saiyaara’ takes it up a notch, its lead Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda) is left waiting at the registrar on her wedding day while her boyfriend bails to San Francisco, sending only his parents as messengers. He is flying off to a new job and a wealthier girlfriend. Talk about being a rotten shit-bag. All this drama in the first five minutes.

Cut to six months later, Vaani walks into a media office for what looks like her first-ever job interview, only to be offered an internship instead. So, wait, you’re telling me this young Mumbai girl is fresh out of college with a master’s in journalism, and she was already getting married? Why sister?! And mind you, we still haven’t even hit the 10-minute mark. To actor Aneet Padda’s credit, she gets the ‘heartbroken, jilted lover’ persona perfectly.

Enter hero Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), who storms into the same office, slams a journalist’s head against a table, and screams about reporters favouring ‘nepo’ kids over genuine talent. Which, I’m guessing, is the creators’ attempt at meta humour, because Ahaan Panday is Chunky Panday’s nephew. A nepo kid. But if Krish Kapoor is such an ordinary kid, why isn’t he slapped with charges for assaulting a journalist, while there’s plenty of visual proof of the act? Bollywood delulu logic.

Anyway… ‘Saiyaara’ is a bit like ‘Aashiqui 2′ meets Notebook’, where a superstar singer in the making falls in love with a girl battling serious memory issues. The lead pair grow close after Krish reads her diary without permission (for which she really should’ve smacked him, but doesn’t), and then hires her to write lyrics. While Krish works hard to achieve fame as a singer, Vaani’s memory deteriorates, and the two stumble through a formulaic script that isn’t enjoyable or believable.

For instance, at the fifteenth minute of ‘Saiyaara’, Krish Kapoor fights with all his band members, tells them to go to high hell right before a gig. So, he headlines the outdoor gig alone, and all the shoppers drop everything and start cheering him on, an unknown singer still, as if Michael Jackson himself has woken up from his grave to go busking at a Mumbai mall. Any indie musician working in the Indian music scene will scratch their eyes out at the absurdity of the spectacle. Forget that, remember Sonu Nigam singing on the streets of Mumbai disguised as an old man, and very few stopped to listen? Yeah, that’s how reality works.

Fine, by the very first half hour of ‘Saiyaara’ we must reconcile to the fact that this is a brainless, over-the-top Bollywood love story, where shy, forgetful, Vaani Batra falls for ‘bad boy’ singer Krish Kapoor… because who knows why. Although of course, she ‘fixes’ him with her kind presence and lyrics (yeah, it doesn’t really seem like it though, he continues to have anger issues until the very end of the film). The couple’s romance gets complicated because Vaani’s jerk ex re-surfaces from America and starts messing with her head.

At least the self-centered Krish’s obsessive love for Vaani in ‘Saiyaara’ makes sense: she is a girl, and a pretty one at that. Everything else is a bonus for him, especially how she keeps forgetting things, so it’s easier for her to tolerate his obnoxious, dominant, loud, annoying personality. An alcoholic absent father is thrown in the mix to justify his behavior. Of course.

‘Saiyaara’ is largely insufferable, filled with screams, fights, twists, and yeah, some nice songs. But you can just go stream the music on YouTube without having to watch this whole film, which is over-bloated at its 2 hour 30 minute runtime. This movie’s ‘watchable factor’ is in the same league as Netflix romances like ‘Nadaaniyan’ or ‘My Oxford Year’. But hey, if that’s your jam, you do you.

I remember Mohit Suri’s 2009 horror movie Raaz 2 being more entertaining than ‘Saiyaara’ (saw it in a theater back then).

Rating: 1.5 stars on 5. Watch something else on Netflix.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle Review – The Battle Bits Are Hoot-Worthy

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“This Infinity Castle is insane!” yells protagonist Tanjiro Kamado as he races through the dizzyingly maze-like dimension in the film’s opening minutes. His exclamation perfectly conveys the jaw-dropping animation that brings the castle’s endlessly stretching realm to life. The animators at Ufotable absolutely deliver, living up to, and perhaps even exceeding, all the hype surrounding this arc. Take a bow!

Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) fans will unanimously agree that the closing cliffhanger in the Hashira Training Arc was absolutely iconic: Nakime strums her wooden biwa, plunging the entire Demon Slayer Corps into the depths of Muzan’s Infinity Castle. It set up the perfect ending to build high anticipation for this movie, which promises to deliver the mother-of-all showdowns. Non-manga readers should brace themselves for lots of flashbacks, blood, and deaths, of both demons and slayers.

With a whopping 2 hour 35 minute runtime, the ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ movie opens with a sombre flashback of Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the corps now dead Big Boss, instructing Gyomei Himejima to brace for Muzan’s attack. “You must all endure a battle until the sun rises,” Ubuyashiki warns. With no sign of the fabled Blue Spider Lily, Muzan Kibutsuji of-course wants Nezuko, the only demon in history to laugh in the face of sunlight. But the Corps won’t let that happen, not without a fight to the death.

Ufotable has chosen to adapt the Infinity Castle arc as a trilogy of films, and this installment itself unfolds in three acts. The first act follows Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho squaring off against the psychotic Doma, an Upper Rank Two demon who looks like he’s cosplaying Harley Quinn. He’s got the blonde hair, the pretty face, a red-and-black jester patterned shirt, and of course, the crazy eyes, wicked laugh, and sadomasochistic streak. Shinobu’s beef with Doma is personal: he fatally wounded her sister Kanae Kocho, the former flower hashira.

In fact, all the Hashira vs. Demon face-offs in ‘Infinity Castle’ are deeply personal. The second act centers on fan-favorite Zenitsu (the hoots in the theater at his entrance were ear-splitting) as he battles the new Upper Rank Six, Kaigaku. Once his fellow trainee under Jigoro Kuwajima, the former Thunder Hashira, Kaigaku rises to Rank Six after Daki and Gyutaro’s deaths in the Entertainment District arc. He constantly mocks Zenitsu as a crybaby, unworthy of being a slayer, only to get his ass handed to him.

What defines this film is its animation, the Infinity Castle unfolds like a living labyrinth, its fluid 2D designs so seamless that viewers feel trapped in the maze alongside the slayers, as they frantically and breathlessly run across the endless corridors. The result is a visual head rush, heightened further by flashy battle set pieces. The pacing falters during emotional flashbacks, a now-familiar device in Demon Slayer arcs, where viewers are yanked away from a brutal showdown at its most intense moments.

In the climactic act, Giyu Tomioka joins forces with Tanjiro to clash their swords against Akaza, the Upper Rank Three demon who murdered Rengoku in ‘Mugen Train’. So for Tanjiro, it’s time to avenge his beloved senior. Elsewhere, the Ubuyashiki children frantically map the labyrinth of the Infinity Castle, relying on the Corps’ shrill but indispensable Kasugai Crows, whose eyes and wings play a decisive role in the war against Muzan Kibutsuji.

Were it not for the overlong flashback to Akaza’s human days, a detour that drags like the Infinity Castle corridors, this film would have hit near-perfect pacing. The finale slows to grant the ruthless Akaza an almost heroic redemption (which felt undeserved), with his forgotten human memories flickering to life after Tanjiro’s sermon mid-battle. The contrast is kinda comical, Giyu dismisses Akaza’s chatter with cold silence, while Tanjiro gives him moral lectures.

Akaza also gets some of the film’s coolest action sequences, amplified by an electric guitar riff that faintly echoes Dragon Ball Z’s iconic ‘Rock the Dragon’ English theme song, during his fight with Giyu and Tanjiro. And seconds later, Giyu unleashes a Water Breathing form that conjures a dragon. Co-incidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

Many principal characters are sidelined to brief cameos, Nezuko, Inosuke Hashibira, and even Gyomei Himejima, the strongest of the Hashira, is reduced to simply running through the castle in search of Muzan. The demon lord himself stays hidden, orchestrating events from the shadows, leaving no doubt that the true confrontations are being saved for the remaining two films.

Overall, ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ is a treat for longtime fans. But newcomers beware, you’ll need all 63 episodes and the Mugen Train film under your belt to fully enjoy it. And if you tap out halfway, well, this film was never meant for you, my friend.

Rating: 8.5 on 10. Watch Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle in theaters.

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