Tonda Gossa, folks.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas or happy holiday, and hope you have a fun New Years! Let's all hope for a good 2026!

Musings...

I've been delving back into denpa music lately, and it obviously lead me back to the fantastic Idol Hakkenden (I didn't know it had a live concert of the ost later on???). I had a realization though: since I had recently watched an old 2 episode ova called Assemble Insert (written by the same author as Patlabor, surprisingly!) I noticed the main character's design and the overall idea of twisting an idol singer into a different genre are noticeably similar to eachother! I wonder if there was some sort of inspiration between the two? Strange...

What media I been watching lately?

I took the plunge and watched the Utena film. It was a genuine masterpiece, wow. It helped me to contextualize a few of the more obtuse ideas from the show, and the animation and music were top-notch through the entire thing, with some of the most gorgeous visuals Ive seen in an anime movie in a long time. It felt nice to see the cameo of chuchu and Cow whats-her-name as well, the movie has some great humor in it as well. The entire climax of the film had me on the edge of my seat not knowing what was going to happen next simply due to how insanely creative everything about it was! Redefining the prince's castle as an obstacle rather than a lie was a beautiful change, and I fully understand "End Of The World" now, thanks to the movie's interpretation. I'm going to be thinking about this film for a long time.

I've heard before that the film is only a recap of the show but that is entirely false. There are several major characters from the show and some of the events are similar, but it's a brand new retelling with a lot of changes to major plotpoints and character personalities, and the order of events and how they play out. The setting is very different, and even Utena and Amemia's base designs are so different to the point that I wasn't sure if the main character was Utena at first (her movie outfit/hair looks phenomenal, though!) Amemia is characterized as way more of an abnormal unhinged puppet with no agency this time too, which was a fun change. I haven't felt that hyped watching an anime movie in years, man. But yeah, its not a recap movie whatsoever, its at the very least a recontextualization, definitely meant to be supplementary material to the show itself. Without watching the series first, you'd be completely lost.

As for Youtube content:

Wow, the latest Digital Circus was a doozie huh?

I cant think of much else notable I watched on yt this month, since it went by in such a blur.

Is that music I hear?

Just way too much Denpa music for me to pick any, look up any large yt playlist of denpa music lol

Hand Injury Update:

Well, I an still struggling with the pain of my arthritis and struggling to get the medication that will help me to function normally without the pain in my hands and wrists. I will need to find a way to get more funds to pay for medical bills and groceries. Things are getting pretty scary, financially.

Well... in closing

That's all I can think to talk about from this month. If you'd like to help support me and help me pay medical bills and buy groceries, please head over to my Patreon and donate there, plus you'll see tons of exclusive art and music there as well. Or if you know anyone who can help by donating to it, please link it to them. But if you don't or cant, then I understand.

Thanks for reading!