Ryeong a.k.a “The ghost” /”Dead friend”

Thank you South Korea, you have yet again brought an amazing movie for me. If you’ve watched “the grudge” and “dark water” and liked them, you are gonna love this one.

After I’m done with my Asian horror movies watching fest, I’ll most definitely add this one on my new top chart.  You get a girl with amnesia, a confusing past, revengeful spirit , mysterious events and a very nice plot twist, as expected from Asian films.

I have to confess I am in no way used to Korean names so it got confusing at times, also cos they all seem more similar to me than Japanese do,  I’m sure that is cos I’m silly.

Anyhow, I don’t want to spoil you, but I want to recommend it, I enjoyed it so much, it has a great atmosphere, it keeps you interested and it’s an overall pretty good movie. Plus the lead character is…well, the twist was really nice, seriously.

 

 

Nancy’s ultimate top 8 Asian Horror Movies!

I just watched Sadako vs Kayako so I now must present to you my top 8.

Before anything, I won’t be including movies such as: Ichi the killer, Audition, Battle Royale, Sympathy for lady Vengeance and so on, because those are violent and bloody surely, but they lack the supernatural component,so they belong in another list! Along with most of Takashi Miike’s films.

I am leaving many movies out, yes, cos these ones are the ones I can recall most of what happened without having to watch again and made a bigger impression, but of course there are tons of good movies, like Whispering corridors, The stair of wishes or something like that, Tomie, etc.

1.- A tale of two sisters: Let’s begin with Korea, they bring to us this awesome and surely confusing tale, of well, two sisters, things are surely not what they look like. After spending some time in a mental institution the sisters come home.

2.- Ringu (The ring): Japan’s turn.What can I say? One of the first movies of this sort I’ve watched, the premise is simple, watch a tape, get cursed in X days, proceed to die. Ah vengeful spirits.

3.- Art of the devil (Long Khong): Thailand, why are you like this? Black magic, voodoo, hella lot of revenge, seriously one of the most gruesome films I’ve watched, and damn I’ve watched such things…Yikes! The one I remember the most is the part 2, my favourite, but any of the 3 will make it hard to sleep in peace.

Sorry about the cropping, it’s a bit hard to find the cover.

4.- One missed call: Japan surely is something else. I think this is one of my all time favourites, I must had watched it about 15 times, through the years.  You get a call, from your own phone, well, you get a voice message, then you die in X days (why won’t you kill people more quickly!) it’s interesting cos it tells a lot about how people make their relations and are using technology and blah blah. Plus the ringtone is cool AF.

5.- Sick Nurses: Oh another Thai beauty. I love this one because it feels like a parody, I think it’s one..I’m not sure. It’s really over the top, it presents the most commonly seen tropes in Asian horror movies, long hair, revengeful female spirit, deadly water, etc. Towards the end it turns really original and I just had to love it for it.

6.- Train to Busan: This is not what I would call terror, but it has zombies, plus it made me cry when I watched it alone in the cinema theater. Not cos it was so scary, but cos , as usually, Asian horror movies have a very sad part/backstory/ending. I loved every single minute of it. Another jewel from Korea.

7.- Shutter:  From Thailand, ghosts and cameras, a perfect match. It’s really creepy, I got to watch it in a cinema theater and loved it , (in Mexico we don’t always get this sort of movies shown on the big screen, sadly)

8.- The eye: This amazing title comes from Hong Kong/ Singapore , a blind woman who gets a cornea transplant and gets to see the world sounds lovely right? Yeah, except when you can see ghosts and terrible things. (hey it reminds me of Misaki Mei from “Another” anime)

Sadako vs Kayako

I was finally able to watch this in the original version ( a dubbed version in Chinese was available before, but nope) I have to say it was glorious, as a movie of that sort can be.

What started off as a joke, cos who in their right mind would put bad evil spirits to fight..ah Jason vs Freddy happened once..ok never mind that.  An April fool’s joke, the idea seemed so welcomed the producers decided to go with it.

I love Asian horror, Japanese, Chinese, from Vietnam, Korea, etc, and I’ve watched most of the Ringu and Ju-On movies (Sadako comes from Ringu and Kayako comes from Ju-on) so I was so excited about this, and it delivered.

The plot is as amazing as it sounds, a girl is cursed by the video tape (with logic and common sense horror movies wouldn’t exist, seriously, who willingly watches a freaking cursed tape and has the audacity to make a DVD copy!?) and another one is cursed by entering this house,so, the super cool spirit fighter guy along with snarky blind gifted girl come up with a plan.

Let’s make them fight! It’s easy, curse the other one with the opposite foe and then let’em fight over ya, what could ever go wrong?

I shall not spoil you, please do watch, I loved it to bits, the ending is a bit “…really?” but considering the plot, it’s just as expected. Tons of fun to be have here.

Oh I’ve had an epiphany… I’ll make my top 10 Asian horror movies !!!

13 reasons why

Si, me he unido al hype de esta serie, y aunque el post va en español, ni de coña voy a traducir el título, como saben trato de nunca hacer esto a menos que sea una salvajada como algunos títulos de anime (Watamote aka Watashi ga motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!, really?) y la razón de que sea en español es porque de esta serie se ha hablado hasta el hartazgo en foros y blogs de habla inglesa y creo que en México vemos todo esto distinto, o yo lo veo así. Aquí no hay proms, aquí las fiestas de los chavos ricos del salón no son un parteaguas en la vida de la gente (o al menos yo no he visto eso, será porque realmente casi no tenía amigos y me daba y me da igual eso de la popularidad)

 

Bueno, todo lo nuevo en Netflix, que yo he visto, me ha gustado mucho, Stranger things, Orange is the new black, algunos docus, entonces dije “vamoa ver la serie” y esperaba algo super cursi, sensiblería pura y barata y/o un bullying hardcore como el que se ve usualmente en filmes y series. Y no, les voy a contar lo que yo vi, spoiler free!!

Obviamente todo mundo sabe que Hannah está muerta, super muerta mortada, entonces esto no supone spoiler alguno, el asunto es que deja 13 cintas, si cintas como en cassette ( ¿me pregunto cuántos de los que ven la serie sabrán siquiera qué es eso?) con las 13 razones/personas por las cuales llego a la decision irrevocable de quitarse la vida.

Vemos la historia junto con Clay, un muchacho aparentemente simple, que la verdad, me dan un poco de ganas de patearle la cabeza a veces, joder, que yo las escucharía de un jalón, pero bueno, si fuera así no habría serie. Y vamos explorando con él y a través de los ojos de Hannah como se fueron sumando ciertas situaciones.

Aquí en México creo que el bullying es distinto, si lo hay, si a mi me tocó, pero como tenemos obviamente otra cultura, otro entorno social pues a lo mejor nos cuesta un poco ( a mi me costó, les digo) empatizar (ok en general me cuesta eso ¿ok?) con esta chica, pero creo que ese es el punto fuerte de la serie,  antes del final si llegué a pensar “Ay como exagera, ni es para tanto”, pero cuando todo termina, te mueves el engranaje mental un poco y te das cuenta que es fútil intentar comprender lo importante o poco importante que puede ser algo para alguien en específico. Porque todos somos individuos, aunque vivamos en sociedad y seamos seres sociales (unos menos eh) razón por la cual generalizar o desvirtuar los problemas de otros porque “podría ser peor” o mi favorito “hay gente a la  que si le va mal, porque____ lo tuyo no es para tanto” , a cada persona le afectan las cosas de cierto modo, si bien no es razonable andar cuidando todo lo que uno hace o dice, si sería bueno considerar que los demás tienen sentimientos y todo eso, tratar de, si no pueden ser super empáticos, al menos cerrar el pico y no empeorarlo.

Eso si, yo lloré al final (que llorona que soy) porque es cuando digamos me logré poner un poquitito en su lugar, y bueno, me recuerda un poco una película, que es de mis más favoritas, se llama “May” con Angela Bettis, es una temática distinta pero vaya, me hace pensar que hay personas que tal vez realmente sólo necesitan un buen amigo o amiga y toda su vida sería diferente o no habría llegado al punto de quiebre, pero la vida pasa como debe pasar así que es inútil sumirse en pensamientos tales.

Hay una serie de memes que algunos critican como ofensivos, insensibles (¡Joder! y ¿de cuándo acá los memes demuestran sensibilidad y son políticamente correctos?) a mi la verdad me parecen como cualquier meme, lo ves, te ríes, o no, y ya está.

 

Esta es mi pequeña contribución sobre esta serie, les recomiendo que la vean y desprecien a Bryce junto con miles de personas, ah , casi me olvido, los “malos” aquí son malos y todo pero, la serie, a mi parecer, logra hacerlos personajes tridimensionales con fallas, virtudes y vidas propias con sus propias cargas, como las personas normales vaya, así que tampoco es sólo odiarlos y ya (como a Ramsay Bolton, ese si que se pudra), tal vez Bryce sea el más fácil de aborrecer,pero incluso el mismo es producto de una cultura y entorno social que han facilitado su desarrollo en ese tipo de persona.

 

Nancy’s ultimate top 20 anime

 

DISCLAIMER: I’m not so good at making short reviews without spoilers, this is spoiler free so it’s..well, nothing seems as epic as it truly is, so please do watch them all and enjoy.

It’s true, how can one choose 1, 5 or 10?! I was thinking about using proper categories like, my top 5 yuri, top 5 wtf, etc but… some titles make a good mix of 2 or more genres ( Claymore what in the world) so, I’ll just write down the names of the best ones for me, with no particular order,I think, then sorta state why and a lame summary that’s it.

1.-  Yuri Kuma Arashi: Lesbian bears from outer space, brought to you by no other than Mr. Kunihiko Ikuhara, genius among geniuses. You have it all here, accompanied by the excellent music created by Miss.  Bonjour Suzuki. It’s funny, it’s deep, it carries meaning, it’s the best yuri I’ve seen. T-h-e    best. The metaphor with the invisible storm and a society that despises or even negates some form of sexuality is on point.  Sadly only 1 season but there’s manga drawn by one of my favourite mangakas, Miss. Morishima Akiko !!

2.- Shōjo Kakumei Utena/Revolutionary Girl Utena: They used to broadcast when I was way younger, I don’t know why but I never got around watching it, until yesterday, it’s marvellous, it’s just truly out of this world, again Ikuhara-sensei has translated whatever is inside his head onto a vivacious and unforgettable story. PS The shadow play girls have to be the very best characters after Utena herself, seriously.  39 episodes, a movie and manga.

3.- Jigoku Shoujo: Yes, it may be slightly repetitive at first but, a “little girl” that offers contracts to send the one you hate to hell? Come on! Of course…when you do this 2 graves are dug. It has 3 seasons, I loved each of them, I had to cry so much with the last one, but Emma Ai is one of the few characters I can actually recall their name, that says much. Also one of the best catchphrases of all time “Ippen shinde miru?” aka “Would you like to see what death is like?” gives me the chills

4.- Boogiepop Phantom: What in the actual fuck? A city with little colour, where memories entwine with the day to day life, and someone is known to be the equivalent to death itself. It’s confusing, it has a somehow slow pace, but it’s brilliant how they tie it all up together and bring up matters about life, death, existence and meaning.

5.- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Oh good grief, what to say about one of the most interesting creations in anime so far? Let’s see, if you know at least a bit about eastern religions you’ll notice the multiple references ( the angels come to attack earth for crying out loud) but it isn’t so simple, if you wanted something existentialist that questions the very point of being alive in the way we know it, please do check the series, the movies and the OVAS (the story is a tad different in the OVAS but still a must see).

 

6.- Serial Experiments Lain:  Oh dear Lain, a world where you can LIVE on the net, literally, cold gazes and un-engaged family and friends, one of those titles that really make you wonder. I’m only aware of 13 episodes series.

7.- Sasami-san@ganbaranai: So you have a hikkikomori girl, her older brother who seems like the ultimate siscon, a cyborg and some old deities. If you like to be told about japanese mythology in a less formal way, come on board. I loved this to bits. I’m aware of the light novels and anime only, I am sure there must be a game too though.

8.- Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei: Goodbye Mr. despair , it’s pure black comedy, this protagonist, a teacher attempts suicide often and is met by the most unthinkable characters, for example a hikkikomori girl who then he convinces to leave her house, so then she becomes a hikkikomori at her school. Name puns are used often, I believe it’s 3 series.

9.-Watamote (Watashi ga motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!): GEEZ speak of freaking long titles! Tomoko Kuroki is a very socially awkward girl, actually she seems to have legit social phobia, yet she wants friends, usually doesn’t end up too well, I have to mention the seiyuu, she’s FANTASTIC  Izumi Kitta really really good.  TV series, 1 OVA and manga.

10.- Wixoss:  Oh my, I like trading card games, when they involve granting a wish it seems even better, until you learn how much that wish really costs,that is. You like sorta dark magical girls (Madoka you’re next) ? Well, you’ll love this,   series 1 with 2 seasons, a movie that tells it all in a quicker way and a new series with 1 season but apparently there’ll be another one.

11.- Another: Oh how I loved another, I have a slight yet irrational fear of dolls, so this nailed it, also the mere idea that a whole classroom could agree to do something so… low. The atmosphere is great, you can breath the tension, the characters are all awesome, Misaki Mei is another name I don’t need to Google! Watch it all in one go with lights off.

12.- Madoka aka Puella Magi Madoka Magica: I got to watch this after watching Wixoss, oh boy, it’s all magical girls and happiness until the guilt trips and the killing begins isn’t it? Enjoy the series AND the movies for a better view.

13.- Excel Saga: What is this about? Hmm let me see, an “evil” organization wanting to take over the city, yes city first then the country then the world…but in reality it’s a huge ass parody, you should had watched a massive amount of B movies and anime with heavy cliches to get it, it’s pure genius I looove it specially cos Miss. Kotono Mitsuisihi (aka Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon, Misato Katsuragi NGE) lent her voice for such nonsense. She looks epic, she even dies a few times!

14.-  Higurashi ni Naku koro ni: Oh good lord, this is pretty confusing, honestly I have to re-watch it all, I *think* it’s 5 series, so yeah, need to watch again, but the thing is it’s spooky, the characters are fairly young so it gives this killer loli vibe, the music, specially the intro in the first season gives the chills, and it’s very interesting cos seriously, you should watch it all in a row to try and make sense. It’s just a bunch of little girls, it’s not like they are gonna go insane and torture and slice you up…or are they?

15.-  Kill La Kill: I watched this recently and I instantly fell in love with the oh so over the top tone, the ultimate exaggeration of cliches and the music soundtrack, it honestly has been one of the best (after Cowboy Beebop that is) plus the villain is so cool I liked her!! All action,all nudes, all comedy, all in all!

These 2 are the best.

16.- Black rock Shooter: Oi, this one, hmm, mix some drama, with alternate realities with messed up lives, with psychological issues, throw some action in, cool suits and an amazing soundtrack. Inspired by Hatsune Miku, in a darker version, this was born, the visuals are one of my favourites so far.

17.-  Madlax: I like a good share of wtfness in what I watch and read, and I like weird ass shit that goes on in the mind, sadly I can’t say much about this without spoiling, but beware of 3 very different people and how they are related, also one of the worst villans’s name ever .. Friday Monday. yeah that’s the name   . Bee train delivered well.

18.- Noir: So well it delivered Bee train they made it on the list with another title! This is more realistic, guns and secret organizations + secrets story, it’s not bloody but it does keep you on edge, plus the soundtrack is astonishing! It wasn’t yuri or shoujo ai even but there’s some les yay! in there.

19.- Claymore:  Dark fantasy and action comes to mind, women in shiny armours, hacking and slashing each other and some  phenomenal foes. If you like some blood and a deep backstory, this is for you. Sorta makes me think of Berzerk.

As epic as it looks

20.- Yuru Yuri: WHAT? you list nightmare fuel, wtf, epic action, guns and you come up with this? Yes I surely do, this is a very light hearted comedy, surely there are many others, but NO OTHER has managed to catch my attention for so long, and Gods I’ve watched so much anime. I even read the mangas (I love reading manga but I don’t always read the manga for a series I watched) , the characters are a lot of fun, you have the yuri that is not there but it is there, you get a lot of possible pairings, the siscon elder sister because come on, she’s the best. There’s puny jokes and anything they do is fun, even getting lost in the woods.

As silly as it looks and more.

So this is far from over, I just listed my personal favourite 20, but I want to add a special mention to the series that brought to us the greatest yandere of all times (at least for many of us) Mirai Nikki or Future Diary, it’s about some diaries (duh) that can tell you about the future and you have to win and blah blah ,the good thing is Gasai Yuno, she is batshit crazy, she’s skilled AF and she’s disturbed AF, but she also seems like a nice person and the end(s) are really heart warming.

A big thanks to everyone who made the fan art that I included here, I don’t know any names but I’m sure it’s all created by wonderful people, also I want to say there’s tons of lovely and awesome anime I’ve watched, the first titles that got me hooked, around 17 years ago, like Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, those hold a special place in my heart, and every show I’ve watched that made my day even better.

Thank you Japan!

 

 

 

Una mirada alternativa al fenómeno del “clavo saca a otro”

Una entrada bloggera mañanera, why not? Bueno, estaba pensando, para variar, y creo haber descubierto una posible manera en que ese asunto de sacar un clavo con otro, puede tener sentido, funcionar y ser sano.

No me refiero obviamente a cuando la gente se precipita locamente a ciegas, como en alguna película seguramente vieron, que hasta se casan con otra persona, tampoco me refiero al temido “rebound”, del cual yo misma he sido participe, con pésimos resultados por cierto, digan no al rebound pero digan si a no bannearse de la vida.

Ahora les explico, el rebound es, o fue para mi, negarme a sentir las emociones que correspondían a mi mente, alma y cuerpo experimentar, que eran el dolor de esa pérdida que parecía y se sentía tan catastrófica, y al no permitirme esto, me permití distraerme en relaciones con personas que nunca jamás en mi vida hubiera considerado para ni salir, hubiese estado yo bien de la mente.  He analizado esto a profundidad, entre la incertidumbre de “si alguien me podría querer alguna vez”, “esta puede ser mi última oportunidad” y la sensación de no ser “good enough” y por ende conformarme, bueno, pueden ver lo negativo ya mismo, pero uno tiene lo que cree merecer, y en esa época fue así.

Tenemos entonces lo ¿opuesto? No sé si es diametralmente opuesto, pero si es algo totalmente distinto. Creo que existe un turning point cuando nos damos cuenta de que podemos formar conexiones con otras personas ( no el burdo intento de imitar lo que alguna vez hubo con alguien, me refiero a la capacidad real que tenemos de hacer “click” con otras personas en su propio estilo) , de que merecemos amor (del tipo que sea, pero en este caso hablaremos del amor romántico) y apreciación por parte de más personas que esas que se han ido, que también tenemos más dentro para poder compartir con alguien más, las reservas de buenancia y amor que tenemos no se acaban nunca, sólo sentimos que se reducen o estancan pero esto me parece es causado por nuestra mente/ego.

Así pues, al menos para mi, es y ha sido muy sanador el hecho de darme cuenta, de recordar, lo siguiente:

• Todo pasa exactamente en el momento en el que debe de pasar y estamos listos para ello, lo sepamos o no.
• Nada del “último tren”, no hay que conformarse por temor a estar “solo”, siempre tendremos a la única persona sin la cual realmente no podemos vivir, si, nosotros mismos, suena super trillado pero es la mera neta.
• Siempre hay algo bueno a la vuelta de la esquina

¿Puede entonces existir un paralelismo entre procesar una pérdida afectiva y explorar una nueva conexión? Si, sin duda, hace algunos meses yo aún estaba un poco desanimada por ciertos eventos con cierta persona, pero no me cerré a la posibilidad de conocer a otras.  Ambas acciones no son excluyentes entre si.

Bueno, esto es todo lo que tenía que decir, les recomiendo leer el libro “Manual para no morir de amor”, de Walter Riso, es algo duro y seco, pero es como a veces entendemos mejor las cosas, al menos a mi me ayudó mucho, otra cosa es el amor propio y todo eso, que sigue siendo más o menos nuevo para mi, no estoy acostumbrada del todo, pero es lo que me recuerda el hecho de que merezco lo mejor, tú lo mereces, todos y todas lo merecemos. Otra buena lectura, aunque ya un poco más general es el libro de “Usted puede sanar su vida” de Louise Hay.

True dat

Y recuerden, “Love thyself!”

Updated checklist 2017

I am sure I have around 4 lists of what I search for in girls, but I couldn’t find them,  this is what I offer if you care to read lol.

So my list has changed..it used to ban bisexual girls but alas, people change, ideas too so:

1.- Honest and sincere to the point of awkwardness.  Then you know what you’re dealing with!

2.- Smart, smart, smart, a love for reading and crazy ass movies and music, otherwise what we gonna bond over with hm?

3.- She has to be cute looking.

4.- Non weed smoker

5.- A filthy pervert top/mostly top.

6.- It’s ok if she’s bi or pan or gay but not poliamorous or swinger cos I ain’t gonna do that and then it’s not gonna work out.

7.- Loving and affectionate but also passionate and stuff.

8.- Que hable inglés carajo xD

9.- If she eats meat then she does, but if she can be happy mostly eating what I eat that’s a damn plus.

 

Utena cos I’m watching that anime lol

Wow the list surely has changed a lot.