Hee hee, hoo hoo.
On the blog
Our Flag Means Death and the Treasure Hunt for Queer Genre Fiction – as a historical romance and comedy, Flag is playing in a different set of tropes and expectations to a lot of contemporary, realistic queer media, providing new storytlines to explore and reassurance to viewers.
A Pile of YA Novels with Non-binary Protagonists (Part 1) – in celebration of my thesis being ALMOST, ACTUALLY, FOR REALSIES THIS TIME done, here is a post about some of the cool books I read for it! We’ve got fantasy, rom-coms, cabin-in-the-woods horror, and more, all with non-binary heroes leading the way!
On AniFem
Spring 2022 3(ish) Episode Check-in – my impressions of Heroines Run the Show, Recipe for Happiness, and The Executioner and Her Way of Life as they forge ahead and round up their first acts.
Chatty AF Episode 162: Spring 2022 Check-in – aaand my impressions, alongside co-hosts Peter and Caitlin, of this season as it continues to its halfway point!
You can also find me on this month’s Patreon bonus mini-podcast chatting about and reccomending anime-adjacent media! Feat. magical girl shows made outside of Japan, books about girls in mechs, and… wrestling?
Webbed sites
But how do you get that pirate aesthetic? Nicole Rudolph will show you how, walking us through the typical attire of a 1710s gentleman, and making and showing off her own version of Stede’s glorious, decadent robe. She also has a Part 2 where she covers the typical attire of pirates themselves, so be sure to watch both to get the full picture!
A deep dive into Heartstopper and what makes it refreshing, focusing on the fact that it’s a teen show clearly aimed at teens, how it blends realistic depictions with romanticised imagery, it’s quintessential Britishness in a media landscape overwhelmingly driven by Hollywood and its shiny clichés, and how its success perhaps represents a way forward and a new generation of queer media.
Canipa’s industry insights are always super interesting; this one gives us a peek into the unusual co-studio relationship behind Spy x Family and the tricks of the trade they’re embracing to make the series as energetic and emotive as possible!
Asexuality in Manga and More: 2022 Addendum – a roundup of contemporary manga series that include asexual (and/or aromantic) characters and how these stories depict and deal with asexual issues. Coherent Cats’ bibliography of ace manga sure is getting long, and it’s exciting!
The Unexamined Loneliness of Heartstopper‘s Characters of Colour – this uplifting show has a wonderfully diverse main cast, yet Jaime Woo feels the way that their race informs Tao, Elle, and Tara’s social experience isn’t touched on with satisfying depth, leaving a notable gap in the series’ otherwise thorough and empathetic exploration of the problems that marginalised teens can face.
Norman Spotlights: Tamsyn Muir – I just love reading interviews with this author. This one has some really interesting insights about the genre-blending creative process behind Gideon and Harrow the Ninth, the nature of tragedy, Muir’s past fandom shenanigans, and navigating the expectations of being a marginalised writer while not necessarily writing “marginalised books”.
Queer Media, Escapism, and Self-Discovery in Sasaki and Miyano – Anthony Gramuglia on how this romance series opens a very meta conversation about the effects LGBTQIA+ fiction can have on its teenaged readers.
Why ODDTAXI‘s Opening Theme is the Secret Sauce to its Success – Kerine Wint breaks down the symbolism, hidden (or, it turns out, not-so-hidden) foreshadowing, and multi-layered lyrical significance woven into ODDTAXI‘s banger of an OP.
Death Notes on Camp: Repurposing a Classic – Lucas DeRuyter explores the new layers of appreciation that emerge when ostensibly dark and serious detective thriller Death Note is instead viewed through the lens of camp (I am in part responsible for the pun in the title, and that is an editing achievement I’m very proud of).
I’ve been listening to the Heartstopper soundtrack a lot. There are some bops on there, including this one:
And that’s all folks! Take care and I’ll see ya soon.
The Afictionado 