Category: Blog

Mimi

December 16, 2025

Back by popular demand, “My Year in K-Pop: 2025” has actually been tricky to piece together. Damn that demand! Because I was anchored in this difficult year by Oh My Girl, I wanted to focus on their music in a special edition of the (theoretically) annual episode — a celebration, a thank-you. The plan was to count down their top five songs and, in between, introduce each member. The problem was twofold: one, a personal dissatisfaction with how I discuss idols, an issue I haven’t been able to resolve in six years in part because my enthusiasm had me barreling through any self-doubt. I may be reaching an age where other factors are competing with the enthusiasm, but whatever the case may be, I certainly can’t resolve this in the next few days, this episode being due before year’s end. Second, Oh My Girl is more complicated than I thought. I had two options: try to reconcile a celebratory episode with criticism, or do what I always do and ignore the problems. … More Mimi

How to Win ‘Physical: 100’

November 25, 2025

Be awesome. That’s how! I know there’s a cash prize and that’s technically the primary motivator, but these are athletes who bring their own sets of motivations to this new, weird game: they want to win, they want to prove themselves, and in the case of Physical: Asia, they want to do right by their team. Actually, and to the consternation of some, these athletes are also sometimes influencers, which brings an additional motivation. Now, I don’t begrudge anyone who’s made uncomfortable by the very concept of influencers, the worst of whom do immoral, even illegal things for attention and money, and once we reasonably assume that that doesn’t apply to the contestants of Physical: Asia, we may still be uncomfortable that these talented, determined people don’t make enough money with their day job and need a side hustle, one subject to the whims of the heartless algorithm and the court of public opinion (itself blunted by social media). … More How to Win ‘Physical: 100’

I Keep Ruining Video Games

November 16, 2025

Like any God-fearing millennial male, I am hopelessly nostalgic about the Xbox 360 era. And I say “era” because I also enjoyed the Nintendo Wii, and what defined both consoles – in my shining eyes, anyhow – was local multiplayer. Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, three Halos, two Gears, Guitar Hero. One of the highlights in that pantheon was Resident Evil 5. I knew enough about the Resident Evil brand to know that 5 was a tonal shift, from survival-horror to horror-themed action, but it was a great game. “Come on! Come on!” “Chris!” “Sheva!” “I need a herb!” Endless fun, at least when you’re trying to farm enough gold to upgrade all the guns. Still, Resident Evil 5 could be accused of starting the ball rolling off a cliff, leading to the extremely unfun Resident Evil 6 – doesn’t even control right, feels like shit to play – and then a soft reboot with Resident Evil VII: Biohazard and its current heights with the parallel remake line. The action direction ultimately proved to be wrong, but how could you blame the Capcom execs in the mid-2000s? Japanese games were dead, said Lord Inafune. Why not cater to the Call of Duty bros? Well, the bros was I. Though I’ve never really played a Call of Duty game, I was the problem. … More I Keep Ruining Video Games

What Can I Do?

November 2, 2025

When I used to ask “What can I do?” in response to the world’s terrible events, I’d imagine marching in the streets and all the dramatic scenarios which spin out from there. At that point, it’s a troubling question of constitution, and integrity. “Am I willing to risk my life – or more realistically, my job – for what I claim to believe in?” During the first Trump administration, though, I saw how much the real fight happens in courtrooms, by organizations like the ACLU and the SPLC. The best I can do there is donate money. For the more dramatic end, I’m not a frontline guy. At least, so far, I haven’t been called upon. ICE invaded my hometown (and in doing so, made national headlines) but hasn’t occupied where I currently live. I assume that if I were to join one of those protests against a horde of ICE agents and be detained, it would be for so long that I’d lose my job and, judging by how things are going, my citizenship. Whether or not I’m willing to give up my livelihood and back up my convictions with courage – as so many have elsewhere in the country – is something I have to decide, especially as the situation tilts ever toward state violence. … More What Can I Do?

IT’S HERE (again)

October 26, 2025

Donovan, my Baby Assassins partner-in-crime (the Miyauchi to my Tasaka, if you will, though maybe there’s a better duo to be), informed me a few days ago that the TV show, Baby Assassins: Everyday!, was eminently streamable on Hulu and HBO Max, and has been since October 16th. I was late. How could I not have known sooner? Where was the YouTube trailer? Where are the outlets meant to warn me? So, I’m here now to pass it along, realizing that perhaps I am one of those outlets. Not really, but seriously, what the hell happened? … More IT’S HERE (again)

Year of Shu Qi?

October 9, 2025

I’d been doing some mental leaps this past year when it comes to Taiwanese superstar Shu Qi’s film and TV projects. I knew that she wrote and directed her debut Girl, which recently won her Best Director at the Busan International Film Festival, and that she was starring in a Netflix series entitled The Resurrected, which released today. I did not put together that she was also starring in a movie entitled Resurrection, which opened at Cannes. That’s confusing! All three are really interesting, though; Resurrection appears to be some kind of avant garde sci-fi movie. And she’s spoken about Girl being a first for her, encouraged by longtime creative collaborator Hou Hsiao-hsien. … More Year of Shu Qi?

The ‘94 Line: War Stories

September 27, 2025

Mijoo. I have to hand it to Mijoo. Seulgi couldn’t get it done, nor Youngji or Hyojung. Well, they did so partially. As covered last time, Seulgi hosted Youngji and Mijoo on her Hi Seulgi YouTube channel, but Hyojung couldn’t make it. Since then, Youngji had Seulgi and Hyojung on her channel but no Mijoo (and no subtitles). At some point, Hyojung managed to gather everyone, but barely filmed it. Now, believe me, I understand. These are highly in-demand people, and the whole thing here is their friendship. When I hang out with my friends (let’s say I have them), I’m not gonna think to record it. Perhaps it takes a special occasion, like a birthday, and who else’s but Mijoo’s? As it turns out, she was responsible for the entire ‘94 Line to begin with. As Youngji puts it in the resulting video on Mijoo’s channel, linked above, she was too lazy to keep meeting up with everyone individually, and had them all get together as a group. And this includes Moonbyul now, as they rechristen the group: 9294*, with the asterisk a reference to “byul” which means “star.” How lovely! … More The ‘94 Line: War Stories

Critical Lore Question

September 12, 2025

My understanding of Baby Assassins was that it was, if not “a big deal,” then at least “known.” Using this very website as a record, my earliest awareness of the series dates back to 2022 (see: “Hydra review”), one year after the first movie released, and even by then, I felt late to the party. Note, in that review, I reference the movie without disclaiming that I hadn’t seen it, which might lead readers to incorrectly assume I had. Garsh, I just can’t let myself get away with anything, can I? I’m such a humble guy! I’d learned about it from an entertainment website like Polygon (which it wasn’t, as their earliest coverage is 2024), in an enthusiastic review or discussion. I suppose this is my mistake, thinking that such writing is somehow indicative of the national (or international) pulse. No, outlets like that are pretty small-time, despite all the damage wreaked by unethical games journalism. Regardless, I then assumed that there were tons of people out in the world whom I could chat with about Baby Assassins, or at least pose this burning question: “Who’s older?” … More Critical Lore Question

IT’S HERE

July 11, 2025

Well, August 26th. I kept seeing news stories about this yesterday and was getting angry like, “I know this is a movie, you don’t have to keep telling me — WAIT. This is a release date announcement!” and just about wept. Ghost Killer is also coming out soon, in a couple of weeks. … More IT’S HERE