It Gets Harder and Easier as Time Flies

broderic on February 17, 2024

Let’s start this with the sad news. Yamashita Mizuki, Nogizaka46’s ace, announced her graduation today. I woke up, found out, and now I have to quantify my feelings about seeing off one of my absolutely favorite Nogizaka members ever.

Here it is. This one hurts the most, and the loneliness is the most largest I’ve felt from a graduation announcement. Except, it doesn’t. As an idol fan, especially being one for almost a decade, member graduations come with the experience. Be it the least member to their aces, graduation comes for all, and you get used to it. So used to it, you are immune to them. But once one of your oshimen announce graduation, the feelings come back and hits you again. Overtime, it doesn’t hurt as much, but it still does.

It is what it is. You’ve been through them. You’ll come through them. You’ll experience it with them. You’ll celebrate with them. You’ll smile with them. Come the graduation date, you’ll see them off onto bigger adventures knowing that the time was well spent.

So, it is Mizuki’s time.

I have been her fan since August of 2016 during the third generation’s SHOWROOM auditions. “Shi-chan” caught my eye on the very first day. And to be honest, has never quite let it go. That’s almost eight years. Even as my original Nogizaka oshimen graduated, she was there to anchor my fandom for the group. Now, it turns into supporting her on her bright future.

I wish her all the happiness in the world. Thanks, Mizuki.

ある雨の日

broderic on January 31, 2024

My new namesake. This matches my mood most of the time, and at this early hour I feel it. Someday. In the rain. It makes me smile.

Your Guide to Dim Sum

broderic on January 26, 2024

Gonna have to learn my dim sum, so here we are with two Asian chefs eating through everything on the carts at a dim sum joint in New York City. Before you go out to get dim sum watch this and hope that the place you are going to has just as many choices. Or you know, you can always get the shumai.

Link of the Day [1.25.24]

broderic on January 25, 2024

Analytics from my twitter feed say no one sees these when you post them so late in the day. So therefore, today’s comes up just about an hour earlier than yesterday’s. I guess maybe we’ll get an extra view?

Yeah!

But no one clicks through on their twitter feed. So no one’s gonna see this. But you’ll be missing out on something great.

A couple of weeks back, Nogizaka46’s TV show’s YouTube channel posted that they’re now going to include subtitles within a week of the showing. YES!

Yup, you too can now become as big a Nogizaka fan as me. The episodes go as far back as GomenFin back in 2021.

You’ve got a long way to catch up. What are you waiting for? Only click through!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-tVKL3zVywavzveUa688lwEMfRNajMpi&si=Qm_n4O9WFrp7K3pb

Link of the Day [1.24.24]

broderic on January 24, 2024

I write this on a MacBook Pro, one of the latest forms of the Apple Mac. It’s been 40 years since its introduction back in 1984. Once again that iconic of years reminds us of the iconic introduction commercial. So let’s all celebrate the Apple Macintosh.

https://mac40th.com

Best Films 2023

broderic on January 23, 2024

I guess I should post a blog post sometime this year. Considering that this year’s Academy Awards were announced this morning, my first post this year will be that list of best films from the past year. Like always, it’s a list of the films I thought were the best and achieved a rating of 4 or more stars. Unlike previous years during the pandemic, I did see a few more films this year, and it seems that I’ve seen more good ones than bad.

These are all 4 of 5 stars.

I enjoyed all these films. I did enjoy going to the theater. I want to try going to more movies this year.

The Boy and the Heron

broderic on December 27, 2023

With his return from retirement and with retirement seemingly forever suspended, Hayao Miyazaki brings about his latest film, The Boy and the Heron, ten years from his last. It is with a lot of anticipation that I went to the theater to watch. Is he still as great as story teller? Is he still one of the best anime directors, even film directors? Yes and yes. But.

The film is okay. It rehashes a lot of Miyazaki tropes. It felt like a mash up of Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Castle in the Sky. It was just fine. Glad he’s doing films, but sometimes I wonder if maybe he should retire for good. Let’s hope his next film, if there is one, may not be in another ten years.

3 of 5 stars.

We Are Marching!

broderic on December 15, 2023

In honor of the kaiju dominating the theaters, let’s go with Atarashi Gakko! and their latest, Tokyo Calling. Now you may ask yourself how does this remind you of kaiju? Well, if you clicked through and listen, you will know. Yeah, it’s got visuals on a miniature set, but also the song itself reminds me of the Godzilla theme with a sprinkling of the Mothra theme.

Anyhow…

We are marching! We are marching! We are marching!

Godzilla Minus One

broderic on December 8, 2023

It is deserving of the praise its been getting. Godzilla Minus One is a rare movie pulling off earth shattering spectacle with a dramatic, intimate story involving characters that you really feel for. It’s something that American movies can’t seem to get right — making the human element believable as the CG FX.

This Godzilla movie opens at the end of WWII in the dying embers of the Japanese empire. The main character is a kamikaze pilot who chickened out and finds himself face to face with Godzilla. He chickens out again and Godzilla ends up slaughtering his fellow soldiers. The main character is a survivor with PTSD from the war as a well as survivor’s guilt.

With a return to Japan post war, this film reminds us on the malevolent force that is Godzilla. Cribbing a few notes from the previous Godzilla film, Shin Godzilla, it makes the big one an unstoppable, dangerous monster. He just washes up on the shore and demolishes Tokyo like the first film. In the end, they have to stop Godzilla. They do via some plan, but he’ll be back.

Surprisingly, this film really hit you in the feels. I think it’s because we’re rooting for the humans and not the kaiju. You feel for them and hope they survive. It’s a good film and probably will be the best I’ve seen this year. We’ll see.

4 of 5 stars.