The Water Magician

I'm not sure what appealed to me about The Water Magician--it seemed soft somehow? But I thought I'd try it. I also *thought* it was fully released, but it isn't, dammit.

It is, honestly, standard isekai fare. Ryo is reincarnated into a fantasy world called Phi after an accident. The "angel" (?) who gives him the news doesn't realise until after he's off that Ryo has a hidden ability -- Eternal Youth, which, as far as I can tell, means the Fairy King likes him. They mythology of Phi is a bit of a mish-mash, given the Fairy King and demons, and multi-level dungeons, but fairly "normal" for isekai.

Ryo is quite OP and isn't totally obtuse, which is nice. I did like that the first part of the series was him sorting things out all by his lonesome at a remote cabin. Though, like every character that wishes for a "slow life", he is soon catapulted into anything but.

So, while it isn't groundbreaking in anyway and if you think about it objectively, a little underwhelming (there's fair bit where he's not even the focus, in some ways), I am liking it. There's no harem, though there is an elf girl that immediately sees how special he is (he is, after all, carrying a weapon and clothes from the Fairy King himself). She must figure largely at some point, but we've barely seen her other than her being his library buddy, but the entire end credit sequence is devoted to her so she must be "big". Or the animators just like elf girls.

There's a fair bit of "bromance" as he's pals with a talented fighter named Abel (he saved Abel after a shipwreck and then helped get him back home, which is how he was rousted from his cozy but lonely house). I do like their somewhat snarky and bemused relationship. 

I'm just about caught up on currently released episodes and this probably isn't one that I'd go out and buy the books for (unless they go a lot more in depth), but it is the kind of isekai I'd recommend to those who've never seen one -- it doesn't have the "ick" that a lot of them do.

Solo Camping for Two

So...I'm holding off on the Betrothed to my Sister's Ex until they are all released. I'm all caught up on Silent Witch (which I am enjoying a lot). I should finish Miss Night and Day but I've been in the mood for short episodes and not long ones. Not sure I'm going to finish Cinderella's Closet (or, if I do, it'll be after they are all released). And there's a few in progress ones that are up to the angsty bits and I've been putting them off. So...I started Solo Camping for Two. Which I just realised isn't fully released either. Sigh.

I honestly almost didn't go on after the first episode because the female character is really quite whiny and entitled. But let me go back to what it's about first...

Gen, the dude, loves to go camping by himself. It's how he escapes the humdrum of life in the city. On this particular fateful camping trip, he returns to his campfire to find a half dressed woman drying herself on his campfire (she fell in a river). She came to camp but got lost, showed up after the camping office was closed, and didn't bring a tent with her. Yeah. She's kinda useless, but she gloms onto him and complains when he's grumpy. 

Then she somehow convinces him to go with her another time so she can properly learn how to solo camp, hence the solo camping for two thing. In the first two episodes, I can't say I like her much. She demands a lot of a total stranger and whines. A lot. If it weren't for her cooking, I can't imagine why he agrees to any of it.

She gets a bit better (am starting on episode 4 now) as she learns. This show reminds me a bit of Laid Back Camp except it's obviously more adult (though not much, really...just has older characters) and the probability of some romance is high (her friends are pushing that button...I mean, fair, who starts camping one on one with a total stranger of the opposite sex?). It's a bit of slice of life and somewhat educational (I'm learning a bit about camping, which is not something I've ever done really). 

So I'd say it's getting better, but not that I love it. There does appear to be a live action version as well, so it must have been a fairly big hit. I wonder if she's any more palatable in the live action? Or if it's worse? I've not had great luck with Japanese live action shows.

I will, however, note that this might be the most apt casting I've seen compared to the anime art.

Right vibe, unlike the live action of Takane and Hana.

Officer Black Belt

Thought I'd do something different and watch a movie. I'd thought Officer Black Belt with Kim Woo-Bin was a drama series but saw it was actually a movie and figured it would be a good foray into something different. I've always heard good things about him, but hadn't really seen him in anything. He's well known for Uncontrollably Fond but I know he dies in it and it's a sad ending, so I haven't seen it. He's also in one that's just releasing that I'm more likely to watch now (as I liked him in this) called Genie, Make a Wish. He does make an appearance in A Gentleman's Dignity, but I didn't make it all the way through that one and looks like he was a smaller part in it and I don't remember him (honestly, I've mostly tried to put that hackneyed series totally out of mind). 

I'd say my only quibble about this film at all is that he's 36 and, while I'm not sure how old the character is supposed to be, I'm pretty sure it's a lot younger than that. Not that he looks old or anything and he can definitely kick ass, but he doesn't look like he's in his early 20s. 

But let me start over. He plays Lee Jung-Do, a prodigy at martial arts (3rd dan in, like, everything) and he delivers food for his dad's chicken restaurant and plays games with his friends. His nickname is Diarrhea, though thankfully they never explain why. His friends are "Moisture" and "Earthworm" and "Writer Kang". 

He happens to come upon a probation martial arts officer fighting an ankle-monitor wearing criminal and steps in and saves the day. So impressed with his abilities, the office recruits him. He's a bit unsure at first but quickly becomes gung-ho. He's a nice guy and helping people out fuels him. He's also intuitive, brave, and once this other world is revealed to him he can't go back to just having fun.

Long story short, there's some good bits with his older partner (Kim Sun-Min, played by Kim Sung-Kyun), a lot of kick-ass intense (and realistic) fight scenes, and he gets onto a task force tracking one particular horrible criminal who has just been released. This dude (played by Lee Hyun-Geol) is as bad as they come--he preys on children and he also gets right back to business once he is released. That actor has been in about a billion things and I feel like he's often a bad guy.

After the poor dude Jung-Do had saved the first time is killed and his partner has his neck broken (but survives) and Jung-Do himself is stabbed and beaten (not without taking out an absolute herd first), he goes a bit rogue with some help from his posse and succeeds in tracking down the escaped bad guy.

Some things are a bit light on plot and development -- but it's essentially a buddy cop movie where the good guys win and kick a lot of butt but also bad stuff happens. Kim Won-Bin has an easy charm about him and I can see why he's talked about so much. I'll definitely try some of his other stuff, though not Uncontrollably Fond. I don't enjoy tragedies, no matter how good the story or acting is. Officer Black Belt was a solid movie, especially if you like gritty, realistic fight scenes and seeing justice served.

Cinderella's Closet

Ok, so I'd been watching Ascendance of a Bookworm, where I'm up to episode 26. But I was getting a bit overloaded on it and I honestly do not love the High Priest character all that much as he just seems like he's scheming to get as much out of her as possible...and Main herself...she was a grown woman supposedly before but she feels more like a kid. It's, like, get a CLUE please. Also, you now know you have so much mana you're practically a mana battery and can do spells, basically, so why don't you do anything with that??

Anyway. All that to say I had to take a break. And I have just 4 episodes of Miss Night and Day left, but for some reason I didn't want to go back to that quite yet. So I thought I'd try a short episode JDrama called Cinderella's Closet. Maybe that was the deciding factor, actually -- the episodes are only about 20 minutes long. I've watched 5 of them now.

So...Haruka is a country girl gone to the big city for university (or maybe just to live? I thought it was for uni but looking back, I don't think I've seen a single scene where she's in class?). She was sporty before and thought moving there she'd have a chance to get more "girly" and experience all kinds of things -- like getting a boyfriend.

She has a crush on Kurotaki (sp? ...too lazy to look it up) who works with her at a cafe. He's kind of an "every dude" and handsome enough, though he's weirdly very connected for someone who also works at the same place she does when she's constantly complaining about how broke she is.

She winds up running into Hikaru, who is a cross dresser and equally beautiful either when dressed as a woman or a man. She doesn't actually realise at first that he is male. Through reasons, he winds up helping her with her makeup/confidence. And, at this point in the drama, she's dating Kurotaki but Hikaru has his own painful crush on her. Complicating matters is the reappearance of Kurotaki's old girlfriend, who is now a successful YouTube or whatever makeup artist personality. She obviously still has the hots for him. 

They've not particularly made Kurotaki out to be a bad guy; he was reluctant to date her when he thought she was putting him on a pedestal (she was). He was actually pretty self aware -- and he realises quickly that Hikaru's crush is Haruka. There's a brief plot bit where he runs into Hikaru as a guy and doesn't realise it's Hikaru--and Hikaru gives his name as Keisuke (or something like that), but they didn't prolong that deception for very long at all. I imagine that's because of the shortness of the episodes.

It's obvious that H&H will wind up together, though things will conspire against them for a while first. I am not entirely sure I'm going to finish it, but I might since it is so short (though it isn't all released yet). Matsumoto Leo as Hikaru is the biggest bright spot. He shines no matter what he wears and other than particularly loud and frequent exclamations of surprise, his acting is nice. Good expressive eyes. 

Ichika Osaki as Haruka is a bit more painful as it's that kind of flailing over-act-y style. When she has to show real emotion, she does good, but in a lot of the other moments, you kind of want to shake her. I guess, all around, the acting is a bit more unpolished? It'll be fine for a while and then there's bits where you just cringe. And she screams a lot. And when I say "a lot" I mean all the time.

That said, it's charming enough and I like the way they're handling Hikaru's character. Though he may be sharp tongued, he's a walking green flag.

It's been shit

I've been crying a lot today. It's been a lot. Mostly to do with the little dude and I don't want to get into specifics but I'm just at the end of my rope. I am lonely. I am lost. I've just had enough. I am unseen.

Secrets of the Silent Witch

Oooh look, it's not an isekai!

Yes, I added Secrets of the Silent Witch to my watch list and I am, sadly, caught up through episode 7 (somehow, I didn't notice it was still ongoing). 

Monica Everett is 16 with the requisite tragic backstory (it appears she was a cheerful, precocious child until she witnessed her father being burnt alive at the stake, all because his research into life-saving stuff/magic was misunderstood). She is intelligent and the first (and only) to master casting without chanting--which she did mainly because she is now painfully, cripplingly shy in front of people and can hardly speak in front of anyone without throwing up or fainting. Though she's now one of the revered 7 Sages, she lives the life of a recluse, though she pops up in emergencies to defeat dragons and whatnot.

That is, until another of the 7 Sages makes her go undercover to protect the second prince, who at first isn't sure if she's infiltrated his school to assassinate him or what.

But she slowly but surely wins over the Student Council (especially including the prince and his most loyal lapdog, Lord Ashley). I have no idea at this point if this will have any romance in it or not, but I would not at all mind if it goes the way of the silver haired tsundere instead of the blonde prince. 

She's also making friends for probably the first time in her life (poor dad was killed when she looked to be about 5? and it seems she was perhaps raised after that by an uncle who hated her). 

I wasn't sure about it at first because I don't love characters who have no backbone, but she's believable and is trying her best. I'm curious to see how it goes.

Dear Otome Shutting Down

Ah, I saw the notice that the Dear Otome app is shutting down this coming October. I haven't actually played any of them (Ninja Shadow, Love Tangle, Guard Me Sherlock, Lost Alice, Blood & Roses, Wizardess Heart, etc) in ages and ages (probably 2019?), but there was a period I'd spent a lot of time on them. I can't say any of them were particularly well written...in fact, some were atrocious. But they all had a bit of charm. Out of them, I'd say probably the Ninja Shadow one was the one I was least annoyed by. Still, it makes me a bit nostalgic and sad. 

A little bit of Zen in your life

It's been a bit of a rough time lately. Do I want to go into why? No, not really. I'll just leave it at that. So I decided to play my comfort game: Mystic Messenger. I hadn't done a full play through in quite a long time because, honestly, I need sleep. But the husband was gone to Madeira, I'm literally losing hair from some stressful situations, and I needed something. 

So I'm doing a Zen play through. Even though he's the first recommended route and a lot of people think 707 is the proper "canon" route, he's my favourite. He's been my phone lock screen for, eh, years. He probably shouldn't be the one I turn to for comfort...I mean, after all, if you just take it skin deep, he seems like a complete narcissist. But I've always felt like there was more to him than that and, no matter who's route you're in, he's always there supporting you. He always loves you.

I came across this Tumblr post today that goes into why there are some people who think Zen is the "true" route and, I gotta say, I really like this take. It also makes me sad, but I get it. Zen doesn't love the MC -- he loves YOU. That's some 4th wall breaking stuff and maybe is why the April Fool's DLC has always made me sad too. He's stuck somewhere and me, yeah, I'm stuck somewhere too.

I know it's just pixels and programming and, heck, it isn't even AI as how old is Mystic Messenger now? Holy cow, 2016. Just looked. Nine years ago. I've been playing it since 2018, though it's been awhile since I finished all the good routes. Eh, I can't even do the bad endings, at least not on purpose. I'll never be a completionist. Yoosung and all his Rika talk annoys the shit out of me but I still can't be mean to the poor boy.

Anyway. Not really sure where I was going with this. I guess I just needed to vent. And save that one Tumblr post because, hey, I get it. I do hope that Cheritz continue to keep the game out there even though they don't really update much of anything any more. I still prefer it over the Ssum (I only lasted about a month or so playing that one) and I will very much miss Zen when someday all that's left are the CGs and the app is shut down.

Hmmm. Maybe Zen is why Felix from Stray Kids is my fav KPop artist. He reminds me of him somehow. Except in interviews he seems the opposite -- not a narcissist at all; super sweet.

Edit: Eh, dammit. And I'm through the Party and husband is due back tomorrow so I really can't justify starting another route. I did enjoy visiting Zen again though. And he's inspired me to write something. It's for me -- not something I anticipate sending to an agent or editor, so I'm posting it on Wattpad.

Miss Night and Day

I'm not sure why, but Tastefully Yours hadn't tempted me back to watch another episode (maybe because the male lead seems like such a selfish jerk and I feel like if she knew what he was planning, she wouldn't forgive him? I dunno). I decided to try one that had interested me a while back: Miss Night and Day, as it seemed like it had humour, romance, and some drama. And it has some actors my age.

Lee Mi-Jin is in her late 20's and has been trying for 8 years to pass the civil service exam and get a job. She's put off everything else and worked hard, but she's got no luck. Then she gets taken in by a scammer (if it's too good to be true...). She's plucky but desperate. She winds up meeting a prosecutor (Gye Ji-Ung, played by Choi Jin-Hyuk who I've seen in some other things where he wasn't the main lead) who helps her out. 

But then things take a magical turn when a mystical cat (?) curses her (?) -- while wishing she could be someone else as she falls into a well after it. By day, she looks like a 50 something year old woman (the actress is 3 years older than me, thankfully) and she only looks like herself at night. That first day is traumatic as her parents think she's an intruder and she has no idea what's going on. 

Anyway, things happen and she winds up getting a job as a senior intern at the prosecutor's office. There's also her best friend (who is the first person to believe her when she sees the transformation for herself) who is a Beauty YouTuber/Streamer and a possibly disgraced but still worshipped Kpop Idol (who seems to be a decent guy and is likely to be the secondary male lead who probably gets paired with the best friend, if I had to guess) completing his military service as a civil servant in the office too.

And...there's the random serial killer who, it appears, killed the prosecutor's mother years ago and possibly had something to do with the disappearance of Mi-Jin's aunt (who's name and ID she's using as her 50 year old self). I swear, if you only watched Kdramas, you'd think there's an awful lot of serial killers out there and they all operate for large spans of time...

Anyway, I'm enjoying the disconnect between the 50 year old acting like an energetic 28 year old. I enjoy that actress anyway. And Jung Young-Joo and Jung Suk-Yong are her parents --- how many times have they played the parents in shows I've watched? I've lost count. But I like them, though they are generally always over the top (they are also 2 years older than me).

I've seen 3 episodes so far and it is moving along at a decent pace and I'm enjoying it. Will update later. I think the serial killer stuff will wear a bit thin, but it'll be okay.

Edit: I'm now around 10 episodes in. The romance between the leads is definitely slow burn and full of misunderstandings, though I didn't anticipate the Second Lead Syndrome that I'm seeing. Ko Won (the Kpop Idol guy) is actually very sweet and loyal and I honestly wouldn't have minded at all if the romance went that direction, though Mi-Jin, when she met him first as her "old" self" obviously feels kinda more maternal towards him? Maybe because her friend has been crushing on him for so long, how they met, and she'd already started to fall for Mr. Prosecutor. By the time Ko Won figures out what's going on (showing that *he's* paying attention, even if no one else does), the ship has already sailed. But I do actually very much like his character. He's done a lot for her and seems like such a sweet kid. But he does seem like a kid. Anyway, still enjoying the show, more than anything else I've tried in a while.

Edit: Okay! 14 September, but finally finished this one. I quite enjoyed it. It did have a couple of minor issues plus one surprise, but I'd definitely put this on the "good" list. Some notes, in no particular order:

• It took Male Lead approximately FOREVER to figure out the deal and he had to be just about hit over the head with it. Ko Won (the Idol) was done dirty in this show; he figured it out w-a-y before anyone else and was the greenest supportive always-a-bridesmaid green flag, but he was barely even in the last few episodes.
• And once ML did figure it out, his reaction was all mostly "why didn't you tell me" and O, woe, the effect on ME. I didn't actually think that was all that in character for him, to be fair, but it was annoying. Like, there was nothing from him on OMG, you've been going through a lot.
• The surprise was that best friend did NOT end up with the Idol she'd been crushing on forever; in fact, they never even met. But she did wind up with...drumroll...the comic relief prosecutor/investigator guy that worked with the ML who's gotta be 10 or 15 years older. Actually, I gotta look. Ok, Yoon Byung-Hee was born in 1981. And Kim A-Young in 1994. Yep, 13 years difference. They were truly the odd couple but also oddly endearing. I have no complaints, but I will colour myself surprised.
• The end did the we must break up for noble martyr reasons, then Female Lead must Improve Herself to then meet up again and immediately resume romance, with nary any contact in-between. I freaking hate that. And it was all in the last episode, so WHY do this anyway? What's the reasoning?

Anyway, I did enjoy it. I'm glad I watched it. I don't think I'd watch it again, but I would recommend it to people.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

I was underwhelmed a bit by Witch Watch so I picked up another new one: The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady. It's an isekai.

It is not, however, exactly how it is billed: "Noblewoman Euphyllia loses her title as heir to the throne. Silly Princess Anisphia secretly plots to restore Euphyllia's honor."

Euphyllia is, indeed, a noblewoman who was on track to become the next queen -- by marrying the Prince (who's name starts with A, though I've forgotten what it was, but you can just think of him as "Asshole"). She is the Genius Young Lady of the title. The Prince cancels their betrothal in a very public setting, pushing her aside for another Baron's daughter and claiming that she bullied the other girl (who's name I also have no idea what it is). It's obviously either fabricated or the machinations of someone. 

Anisphia or Anis is, also, indeed a princess. She renounced her claim to the throne because she has no magic. She's the isekai'd one and regains her memories at the magical age of 5, when it usually seems to manifest. She is an inventor and is working on "magicology" -- harnessing spirit stones that hold magic to make magical inventions so that potentially anyone could use magic. She's not really silly, though she is highly energetic and unorthodox.

When the Prince rejects Euphie, Anis immediately takes over and whisks her away and asks the King to "give" Euphie to her -- for an assistant. Though she apparently also has a crush. Not sure yet if the Yuri stuff here will be fully developed, but it is strongly suggested.

Interestingly, they are spending a fair bit of time on Euphie's transition from Queen to Be to Anis' assistant. I'm finding it interesting and engaging so far. Kinda glad that Anis isn't just "silly".  Will update once I've watched more.

Witch Watch

So...this one sounded interesting and I sort of like it, but am also having reservations. Witch Watch features a young witch returning back after time away studying and she takes her former childhood friend (?) as her familiar, as he's an oni. What she doesn't know, but the dude and her mom and the guy's dad know, is that there's a prophecy that she's going to have some doom befall her in the next year and this is possibly the only way to combat it. 

I do like Morihito Otogi, the ogre guy. He's deadpan, loyal, responsible, hard working, a bit lonely. The set up is okay, though the whole forced proximity living together without parental supervision is overdone (and given that they KNOW something bad is supposed to happen, seems kinda dumb -- the mom is back trying to get more power to prophesize some more and the dad is away in a foreign country for business).

But the witch girl, Nico, is painfully clueless, irresponsible, and mostly annoying. And in episode 3 they just introduced another childhood friend to be jealous of ogre boy. And she's got delusions of love but Moi boy is just trying to keep her in one piece. I'm sure they are an endgame couple, but so far I honestly want him to just do his duty and then be shut of her. The glimpses into their childhood show her to have been pretty much just as bad before. 

So...I dunno. I'll give it a couple more but if she doesn't gain at least half a clue, I may have to drop it. I think she's supposed to be endearing, but I'm old and she's just annoying.