#Kpop Reviews

[serendipminie]

Minie's honest reviews: Riize's Talk Saxy

Song: 8/10 It's actually so good?!?! I didn't expect this. It's really really catchy (but so were Get A Guitar, Memories, etc.) The chorus isn't really my favourite part and the whole 'Talk Saxy' line is kind of cringey even with the pun aspect

Concept: 6/10 It was kind of generic? Kind of reminds me of Skz Maniac and Enhypen's Future Perfect street-smart concept. It was very visually appealing though

MV: 7/10 The setting was nice actually, the backdrops were nice, I really liked the lights and the room full of speakers. The lighting was well done

Line distribution: 8/10 The line distribution looks pretty even, although Wonbin and Shotaro are a little ahead of the rest of the members, as they were during Get a Guitar

Choreography: 7.5/10 It's energetic but not at the same time, I think they executed it pretty well. Doesn't look too hard to learn, so maybe this will be the next dance your resident Wonhyuk stan takes up :)

Outfits: 7/10 They're actually pretty cohesive, I like the red and black looks most of all. There's nothing particularly ugly, which is good! But please next comeback avoid the baseball caps please

Sohee: 8/10 I don't stan Riize yet, but lil floof Sohee has caught my eye just in case. I really like his look in this MV, almost more than in Get a Guitar. The hairstylist really did a good job

Overall enjoyment: 8/10 It's actually pretty good, I really liked the flow and it's super catchy yet chill at the same time

*Note: If there is any release, new or old, K-Pop or K-Band, that you would like me to review, please leave a comment (or DM me that works too)~

#minie's honest reviews #for my mutuals #riize #riize talk saxy #kpop #kpop reviews #mv reviews #riize sohee #minie's song recommendations

[naevisavis]

My kwangya conspiracy theory - (lee soo man come back from the exile idgaf no more!)

As we all know, aespa was meant to have a full album by 2021... AE1 this bitch was meant to come HOME and give us BANGERS!!!! Alongside my wifes naevis debut, however the full album and naevis debut never came and she got delayed for 3 years and counting as of now. why? the kpop succession era where we had a dramatic family backstabbing, my theory is bitter ass nephew chris lee. a man who couldn't handle being in his uncles shadow. Him w his sniper team who ended up essentially EXILING his uncle LEE SOO MAN... the face, the once-been singer who is one of the few succesfully celebrity transitioned ceo (imo because he left the limelight and churned out slavery idol contracts instead of like. Uhm, pulling a jyp... but it could've been worse he could've pulled a YG, which is like... uhmmmm!)

Our tax evasion and no.1 workers' rights violations. LSM. HE PUT SADISM AND MASOCHISM IN THE COMPANY... THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED SM. He produced a lot of bops, and for that, I'm gonna say king... anyways his eviction was very much clearly planned for a while, and chris lee took momentum of the time to kick him while he could. u dont get into a position of power without committing big fraud like that old man did, and he did not hide it! Why should he? It was an open secret anyways, he'd garnered a lot of hate and enemies... I'd sworn at him too. little did i know....

from the previous statements Chris Lee had released after the exiling; where he essentially blamed his uncle for aespas comebacks and full album delays, or the time where we were going to get the comeback chris delayed their title track by implying "the girls were very sad to the point of crying, because the title track had lyrics about sustainability" to which aespa then went on live to shade chris with something along the lines of "we were very sad about it. we cried, didn't we?" They said in a deadpan expression, giggling afterward. chris fucking lee, these women debuted with a song about killing a black snake.... you think they care that much about singing save the trees?

with lsm gone, so was yyj his loyal dicksucker of a dog... one of the main producers for aespas sound. how is this related, well ae1 was meant to come in 2021. During 2023 we got two mini albums that is theorized to be ae1 split in half, I agree and disagree. BUT it's because I don't fully believe it, some of these songs were meant to stay in the vault.... and in the vault are the real songs that were meant to be in ae1 but what I mean is they cannot be used because lsm n yyj own these songs which is why the recent two minis: myworld and drama have songs that should've been exchanged for others... NOW people say the drama title track was meant to be the tree song. I don't fully believe this and people have believed it because of a leaked snippet of what it could've been and have been making fun of it. I think that people r slow... stupid... u could say! Demos are demos they are not the final product, there must be multiple versions of the tree song + maybe the real one of what could've been for the ecofuturism slay....

#kpop reviews #kpooping #its in a joking tone #very tinfoil... but like....

[nayeonline]

mini reviews #005: 'Bite Me' - ENHYPEN

So welcome back to me actually reviewing things, and in honour of the (exam season caused) drought, I thought I would mix things up and review a boy group title track.

Enhypen and me have a weird history - I love some of their major releases, such as ‘Drunk-Dazed’, ‘Fever’, and ‘Given-Taken’, but ‘Future Perfect’ just wasn’t my thing at all, so going into this release I was prepared for both outcomes. I was… surprised?

‘Bite Me’ is a bass boosted, effortlessly cool, blood sucking release, that executes Enhypen’s (somewhat underutilised thus far) vampire concept perfectly. Curiously, the track references and incorporates elements of kpop boy group music from the whole spectrum of the industry - from  Tomorrow X Together to NCT 127, even with elements of Stray Kids -esque production to top it off. You would think this would make the song sound disjointed and unoriginal, but it does the complete opposite - it makes Enhypen’s sound the centre of the kpop boy group sonic universe instead of a patchwork of other group’s rejects.

On my first listening, I found the pre chorus anti drop moment a little forced and odd, but upon reflection that section really elevates the song creatively, and it removes any sense of the ‘I’m so cool’ energy appearing forced, a curse that plagues many a fourth generation boy group release. 

Overall, ‘Bite Me’ is a lot of fun, and despite my lack of in-depth knowledge of the members, I felt as if they suited this song very well vocally, and this groovier, darker style of music really works for their group dynamic. It’s not lost on me how this song is somewhat trying to replicate ‘Fever’, but I love that song, and while I don’t think ‘Bite Me’ quite measures up in terms of memorability or atmosphere created, I still think it’s a very strong release, and an excellent addition to their discography. (Side note: I LOVED the choreography with the back up dancers - this is the kind of creativity I want to see in kpop.) I give it an 8.5/10.

#kpop #enhypen #engene #niki #sunghoon #jungwon #sunoo #jay #jake #bite me #fever #given taken #drunk dazed #kpop review #kpop reviews #kpop thoughts #kpop bg #fourth generation #stray kids #nct 127 #txt

[seoulbeatscom]

ONF Begin Again in "Love Effect"

The last time we heard from ONF as a group was back in 2021 when the group’s profile was steadily rising with singles like “Beautiful Beautiful” and “Ugly Dance.” Then, in a rare — though not unprecedented move — the five Korean members enlisted in the military together, leaving U to keep up the social media accounts and fans without any releases for nearly two years. Enlisting together was certainly a gamble for the group who were finally finding their footing in an industry rife with heavier boy group concepts, and when the group returned this week with Love Effect, many fans were curious as to how the group would go about re-entering the K-pop market.

#onf #onf love effect #kpop #seoulbeats #kpop reviews

[yoongisleftearring]

Pink venom was good and I was really enjoying it then the last section came and all I could think was does teddy not get bored ?? I don't condone hate towards the man but I will comment on it. You have the biggest girl group in the world and you churn out the same songs over and over, it works so I get it but how is that fulfilling as a creator?

#or yg hire a range of producers #ive seen that he's been getting threats and all and that is not okay #this is kpop its not that deep #BUT for the sake of creativity i have to bring it up #the song was really good and the girls did so well obviously but there is a problem here #those girls are way too talented to let those talents ho to waste #blackpink #pink venom #also jennie kinda went off on the rap iwl #kpop reviews

[averagekpoppermideko87]

TXT 'Good Boy Gone Bad' | K-Pop Review

TXT returned with the title track Good Boy Gone Bad and Minisode 2: Thursday's Child 4th Mini Album in May. Good Boy Gone Bad comeback is very different from their previous comebacks. The overall comeback is PURE ANGUISH.

#TXT 'Good Boy Gone Bad' | K-Pop Review #txt good boy gone bad #txt #tomorrow x together #good boy gone bad #good boy gone bad title track #minisode 2: thursday's child 4th mini album #minisode 2: thursday's child #4th mini album #hybe labels #may 2022 #2022 release #average kpopper mideko #kpop reviews

[eonnianddongsaengpodcast]

E&D: Season 2 Episode 3 - Verivery, Yena, Nu'Est W, and B.A.P

Join us for another dive into the world of kpop. It's episode 3 time already!! I cannie believe it....this episode was a fun one, and full of fangirling, so we hope you enjoy it. We introduce a new fave bg of ours, Verivery - whose reactions always makes stuff enjoyable to watch. There's a solo comeback from Yena to dive into, which is a light break from some of the more angsty stuff we tend to listen to.

In the break, we recount the story of when D took E to the wrong temple, and only told her once they'd arrived.....dang it D!!!

From the archives, we explore a bit of the unique history of the group Nu'est and its popular sub-group Nu'est W. Then finishing out the episode is the dramatic and fantastical B.A.P, a group that shouldn't be missed due its epic and outstanding music videos, but we won't give any more spoilers than that.

00:48 - Introductions 05:11 - Verivery Series ‘O’ [Round O: WHO] 08:30 - VERIVERY - 'O' Official M/V 16:45 - Our Spring (잠깐, 봄 (Our Spring)) 20:31 - Yena 'Smiley' Album 23:19 - Yena - 'Before Anyone Else' Audio Track 23:12 - YENA (최예나) - SMILEY (Feat. BIBI) MV 31:24 - Topical Themed Discussion: Our Trip to Busan 23:30 - Gamcheon Culture Village 24:08 - Bungeoppang 34:29 - Haedong Yonggungsa Temple 35:30 - Beomeosa 38:42 - Nu'est W 'Who, You' Album 43:53 - NU'EST W(뉴이스트 W) - Dejavu M/V 49:50 - NU'EST W(뉴이스트 W) - ylenoL MV 54:34 - B.A.P 'Rose' Album 59:59 - B.A.P - 'DYSTOPIA' Audio Track 1:04:24 - B.A.P - 'WAKE ME UP' MV N.B: Please note all views are expressly our own. All music is sourced from Epidemic Sound.

Thank you for checking out the Eonni & Dongsaeng Podcast. If you have any thoughts about season one of E&D, please drop an ask into our inbox.

#kpop podcast #kpop #eonni and dongsaeng podcast #european podcast #kpop reviews #music #south korea #music review #pop music #new music #nuest w #b.a.p #yena #verivery

[fandom]

K-Pop

Rise of the 4th gen girl groups. 

BTS

Stray Kids

ATEEZ

SEVENTEEN +3

TWICE +1

BLΛƆKPIИK -2

ENHYPEN +4

NCT 127 +2

Red Velvet +6

Tomorrow X Together +7

EXO -2

NCT Dream

SHINee -8

LOOΠΔ -6

ITZY +3

Monsta X -2

æspa +4

Dreamcatcher +1

The Boyz -3

GOT7 -7

Girls' Generation +12

IVE

NCT U -3

ASTRO

STAYC +11

Everglow +12

IZ*ONE +5

ONEUS

Le Sserafim

Cosmic Girls +5

Pentagon -6

(G)-IDLE +8

Mamamoo -11

SF9 -4

OnlyOneOf +2

GFriend -7

Weki Meki

SuperM -12

VICTON -8

Apink

BIGBANG

A.C.E -19

Oh My Girl

VIXX

Infinite

CIX

Rocket Punch

DAY6 -21

TVXQ

Winner

The number in italics indicates how many spots a name moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded names weren’t on the list last year.

#year in review #kpop #tumblr2022

[yoonzise]

did you watch the movie exhuma? It was tremendous

#illust #illustrations #illustrator #art #zise #exhuma #kim goeun #goen kim #파묘 #movie fanart #movie review #fnaf movie #movie fandom #fanart #exhuma fanart #kpop #korean #korean movie #commisions open #commisionwork #taking commisions #artist #vgen artist #artists on tumblr #small artist #artist support

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - just RELAX BL, you're stressing me out

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top. However, I've put quite a few on hold for travel reasons.

Oct 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - Boyfriends are cute boyfriends. Reconciliation with daddy and then major brother drama. How exciting. Gah but that closing scene, these two are such great actors! 

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 8 fin - A perfectly serviceable final episode. I did love the red Chinese-style wedding to go with the “hia.” Also, just a little Thai 'poke poke poke' at China. 

Final thoughts?

This is a nice addendum to Cutie Pie, but it’s relatively incomprehensible even if you’ve watched that previous installment. I can’t imagine it will make any sense at all if you haven’t. Frankly, the most impressive thing about this show was the makeup team. MaxNat give excellent chemistry, all the high heat is well done, and the friendships are adorable, even if the story is nonsensical. It’s fine, I’m relieved it was only 8 eps. I enjoyed it for the pair but I will probably never rewatch. A weak 8/10

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Lucky Love ep 9 of 24 -Heartbroken (drunk) gay boy meets (fights) sister’s new chef. I love the femme bestie. Adorbs. This one seems pretty good actually. I like all the shots of Bangkok’s actual traffic. POV is a bit of a sad sack tho. 

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - There is something clever about this narrative in the way that they are each each other’s first and second loves, but also age gap kinda creepy (Thailand maybe leave this one for Japan?)

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 8 of 10 eps - So much whiny gay drama babies. However, it also manages to be painfully slow, through the simple act of having 90% of the show be boys sitting around staring at their phones. Then it suddenly got way higher heat than I expected. Honestly, this could’ve ended at 8 sps. I don’t see how extending the show is going to improve it in any way.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 11 of 12 (not a BL but I'm watching it anyway) - I don’t have faith in any couple. One of my favorite things about this show is watching how many boys Mark can kiss. I know everyone is focusing on Neo, but seriously baby boy got game. Meanwhile Boston’s dick must be made of self-lubing steal pipe; I remain entirely uninterested is TopMew; Mew’s fam demonstrate why a gay boy should never take advice from straight women; and the slut-shaming agenda continues. NO SINGING. No character in this show is happy when Boeing turns up, but the rest of us trash-loving muckrakers are thrilled.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - Oh it is so cute and so sweet and so aching. I really did not want the confession to happen, even though I knew it had to. There is an element of torture to this one that only Japan can execute with such precise softness.

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Viki) eps 7 of 10 - I remain charmed. But while the me of 2018 would have thought this one of the best BLs ever, the me of now is finding it a bit dated and nostalgic.

Bon Appetit (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Romance between an office worker and the man from his past next door who cooks well. It was a very sweet and cute tale of food as love in the All the Liquors family of KBL. I’m not wild about it, I did enjoy it, I was happy to have it show up on my dash, but ultimately it will simply become one of the KBL crowd. 8/10 

Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 10 of 13(?) - another one where they are separated for most of the show. Although the sides are giving win. 

Bump Up Business (Korea Gaga) 1-2 of 8 - from Idol Romance staring OnlyOneOf's Nine & Mill, this released as a movie in July in SK but is now being recut/reissued as a series. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity plagued by scandal. After that OmegaX Shoulder bullshizz business I am very wary of this show, but this pair is already better cast.

Out of the mouths of OnlyOneOf (!!!) babes...

As to the show? I don’t know. I mean I love the idea, am nervous about Korea (with that bubble) doing a meta critique of the BL industry, with K-pop idols, using an existing group. It just seems like there’s a lot of mines in this small field, and it could go horribly horribly wrong. I am enjoying it, but also anxious the whole time I’m watching it for culture/market reasons. That said, I did pretty much ask for this exact show. So I can't complain, now can I?  

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 5 of ? - I honestly don’t entirely understand what is going on. But it all seems to be the Psychotic Pretty Kitty’s fault. Oo caught in the act of drug-induced cheating - DRAMA. Dung should cut his losses and leave - cute doctor husband or not. Lovely kiss from the sides. I gotta say, this cast is hella pretty. I’m not mad that this team is kind of turning into GMMTV Vietnam.

It's Airing But...

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 8 of 12 - I will try to watch 8-12 and do a series review when I get back in November but... not sure I will be able to. Fingers crossed.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 8fin - completed, my final thoughts in Nov.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - in classic JBL fashion, I Cannot Reach You could not be reached. 

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) - Yukinori, a convenience store clerk was accidentally stabbed by a thug and nearly died. He returns home to find an angel waiting for him. The drama is an adaptation based on Harada’s manga of the same name (which I did not like). With only five episodes and a good chance this won’t end happily, I am going to wait and let you tell me how it goes. Binge it when it is complete if it's safe.

In Case You Missed It

GMMTV posted their initial 2024 line up, here's my round up of the BLs. It includes 2 JBL adaptations, 2 KBL adaptations (that they aren't admitting to) and vampires. If you want to know how I did on the predictions that's here and the answer is: very badly indeed.

I am watching the Y Journey: Stay Like a Local series. But they are essentially tourist board long-form advertisements. I enjoy the promo aspect with regards to the food. And seeing some of my favorite pairs do interesting other things is kinda fun. But the whole thing feels disingenuous when gay marriage is still not legal and it’s essentially the Thai government (making these ads) who is stopping that from happening. I have a similar feeling to iQIYI as a content provider. It’s not queerbaiting in the original sense of the term, but it’s pretty gross to use gay for advertising with a nationalistic propaganda agenda, when being gay is still not legal in your country. Yes I struggle to reconcile myself with this on the regular, and it’s an ongoing hypocritical struggle for my tiny withered tired old heart.

All that said, this week's installment, He’s Not Happy, did make me want to rewatch Make a Wish. There’s no kissing in this series but JudoFluke kiss beautifully, so If you haven’t seen Make a Wish, it’s very good and I recommend tracking it down.

Next Week Looks Like This

Upcoming October BL

10/26 My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thai iQIYI) 8 eps - nerd retreats from the world into an online game and makes friends with a little group, they meat in real life, one of them is hot, they fall in love, hottie turns out to be a gangster. Trailer

10/31 SHADOW (Thai Gaga) - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

We stan consent and talking about sex during sex. Thank you Venus in the Sky.

I guess Ray's getting his 3some? Only Friends

Dangerous Romance hitting up some old school tropes.

Naughty Babe giving us our beloved domesticity and tiny gay families. @heretherebedork you happy?

(Last week)

#this week in bl #Naughty Babe series review #thai bl #only friends #Venus in the Sky #Absolute 0 #OnlyOneOf #Kpop #Korean BL #Bump Up Business #i'm worried #Bon Appetit series review #Y Journey: Stay Like a Local #gmmtv 2024 #bl updates #bl reviews #currently airing bl #new bl #2023 bl #Taiwanese bl #japanese bl

[brigidandair]

So, I saw Damsel today...

**Spoilers and complete plot for the movie Damsel will be all over this post, so don't read if you care about spoilers. Also, this is based on one watch only, so if some timeline details are very slightly wrong, that is why, though the important parts I'll be discussing are not contingent on these details.**

I'm not usually one to closely review a movie, but this one left me with a lot of thoughts that kind of sum up a lot of my feelings about big budget movies in the past decade, so here I go.

First off, I did like Damsel. I enjoyed watching it. It was gorgeous to look at, and Millie Bobby Brown did a fantastic job with the role and script she was given. However, I was left feeling like there was something very important about the whole experience missing, and it took me a few moments to really put my finger on it afterwards. The plot was fine, if a bit predictable, and I did appreciate the focus on Elodie as a protagonist. I loved that the dragon was given a plausable reason to want to devour/kill princesses, and that the dragon wasn't slain at the end, even though the opportunity was presented. And oh my goodness, the costuming department did a phenomenal job.

What I want to do here is give a rundown of the plot, and to then give my thoughts, so if you've seen the movie and don't care for a rehash you can skip to the next set of dashes.

--------

So, basic plot: The film opens on a scene of a king and his entourage of knights are entering a sinister cave, where there dwells a fearsome dragon. The king declares that they will defeat the dragon, and his knights charge, but are immediately melted by the dragon's fire, leaving only the king. The king drives his sword into the ground, and falls to his knees, and the scene cuts away before we see what happens next.

Centuries later, Princess Elodie and her little sister Floria live in a kingdom that is beset with hardship. They are low on money and food, and their people are facing a hard winter. So when the king is contacted by the royal family of the kingdom of Aurea--a kingdom they had never heard of, but that seems to be very wealthy--with the proposal that Elodie marry the Aurean prince, the family immediately travels to Aurea to finalize agreements. Amongst the traveling party are Elodie, Floria, their queen stepmother, and the king.

Upon arrival in Aurea, Elodie is introduced to prince Henry, while the kings meet alone. However, when the king emerges from the negotiation chamber, his wife immediately notices that he seems upset and deeply disturbed, though he assures her that everything is in good order, the deal has been made, and their kingdom will soon have more gold than he ever dreamed of as compensation for their daughter's marriage to the prince.

The stepmother queen, sensing something is wrong, goes to Elodie and tells her not to marry the prince, but she has resigned herself to helping her people, even if it means marriage to a man she does not know. That night, she steps out ont her balcony and sees another tower, with another young woman doing the same, before the young woman's maid calls her back inside.

The next day, Elodie is married to prince Henry, and is told of a ritual that is performed after weddings up on a nearby mountain, that honors the trials of their ancestors. They travel up to the mountain, where Elodie is told of the story we witnessed at the opening of the film. When the ancestors of the Aurean people arrived on their island, it was inhabited already by a dragon, who set upon them, raining destruction for the insult of invading its land. Though the king was unable to slay the beast, he was able to broker an agreement. His people would be left alone if he were willing to sacrifice his three daughters to the dragon. So now, whenever a new royal heir is married, they make the trip up to the dragon's mountain, over the chasm that leads to its lair, to commemorate the sacrifice of that original king.

The queen motions to Henry, who then slices his palm, and once Elodie has done the same, they mingle their blood, symbolizing that their people have now become of one blood and line. The prince tells Elodie that, at this point, he is to carry her back across the chasm, and that she should close her eyes. But halfway across, he whispers that he is sorry, and then he throws her over the edge, down into the depths of the dragon's caves.

Elodie survives relatively unharmed, her fall having been broken by many roots and branches along the drop, but there seems to be no way out. Very shortly thereafter, she has her first encounter with the dragon itself, who epresses delight at the thought of getting to kill her, and Elodie is forced to run from the dragon's fire. She hits a dead end, and there she finds the body of the young woman she had seen the night before, half burned, and realizes that they were always ment to be sacrifices to the dragon. The dragon continues to taunt her, breathing more fire down the passage where she is trapped, but she notices a narrow hole in the cave wall that she manages to wedge herself through it, barely escaping and sustaining a severe burn on one leg. She rips part of her dress off, wrapping it around her wound, and continues.

From here, we get a lengthy series of scenes of Elodie navigating her way through the trecherous cave system, hounded at every turn by the dragon. She finds an area inhabited by bioluminescent slugs, which she gathers in another part of the dress that she tears off, to use as a lanter, and finally reaches a small cave where a princess before her has written on the wall that this place is safe, and that the dragon cannot reach there. Written on the walls are the names of dozens of other princesses that, over the centuries, have reached this cave before inevitably being caught and killed by the dragon. Next to the names is a rough map of the cave system, showing Elodie a passage marked with a sun, which she assumes is the way out. She takes time to rest here, falling asleep, but when she wakes up she finds her burned leg covered in the bioluminescent slugs. She tears them away in disgust, but notices that anywhere a slug has been, her wound has been healed. Her determination renewed, she continues.

Elodie follows the directions of the map, making her way to the presumed exit, but finds that there is no way down the sheer rock face. As some riders go by she screames to them for help, but the dragon appears and nearly kills her, forcing her to retreat back into the caves. In short order, she ends up in the cave we saw in the opening sequence, and Elodie finds a three broken dragon eggs, with the desicated corpses of the baby dragons that once inhabited them still in the debris. The scene cuts back to that opening sequence, showing us that before encountering the dragon herself, the king and his knights murdered the dragonlings as they hatched.

Elodie realizes that it was the king who had originally attacked the dragon, killing her only children, not that the dragon had been a tyrant. The only reason she had demanded three daughters was in recompense for the wrong that had been done to her. The deal that had actually been struck was that the humans could only be allowed to survive if, every generation, they continued to pay the same price so as to never stop feeling the pain of losing their children. The kingdom, however, has figured out a loophole. By taking princesses from other countries, they could simply mingle blood, fooling the dragon into thinking that the princesses were actual descendents of their line instead of girls that they only knew long enough to technically become part of their family before being sacrificed.

However, at this point, Elodie's father, having been overwhelmed guilt for selling his daughter, arrives at the caves to save her. Before he finds Elodie, the dragon shows up, killing the king's men and mortally wounding the king himself. The dragon resumes her search, and Elodie is given the time to bid farewell to her father as he dies, and he is given the opportunity to ask her for forgiveness, and to tell her to use the rope that they had used to enter the cave to escape. He tells her that Floria and her stepmother have a ship and are waiting for her. So Elodie forgives her father, and follows his direction, barely escaping as the dragon persues.

When the dragon realizes that Elodie has escaped, she begins to raze the mountainside, creating an inferno that is visible from the Aurean castle. The queen of Aurea sees the destruction, and takes action, going to the ship where Floria and the stepmother are waiting. She has her men kidnap Floria, cutting her son's hand and throwing her into the chasm in Elodie's place. When Elodie finally meets up with her stepmother and learns of Floria's capture, she immediately resolves to retrieve her sister, and she follows the same footsteps that she had taken before, returning to the dragon's main chamber.

The dragon, still set on getting Elodie herself and able to smell that Floria is of the same family as Elodie, sets Floria up as bait for Elodie, but Elodie sets up a distraction, drawing the dragon away. She goes to Floria, who has been injured by her fall into the chasm, and before they can get away, the dragon returns. Elodie takes up the sword her father had dropped before, and manages to position herself directly by the dragon's eye, determined to tell the dragon of how they have both been lied to. The dragon, however, does not believe her, and tey have a battle, where Elodie uses her ingenuity to trick the dragon into severely injuring herself with her own fire. As the dragon lay wounded on the ground, Elodie shows her the cut on her hand, and tells her that the dragon has only been perpetuating the violence that had so hurt her before, killing innocent daughters instead of exacting the revenge she had sought. The dragon tells her to end it, then, but Elodie refuses, instead retrieving some of the bioluminescent slugs and placing them on the dragon's wounds to heal her.

The scene shifts to another wedding, where the third and final princess is marrying the prince, unknowingly destined to become the last sacrifice. As the ceremony nears its end, Elodie, still in the rags of her own wedding dress, walks in. She gives a speech to those present, and tells the last princess to take her family and go. The queen declares that they are not afraid of Elodie, and she says that it isn't her they should be afraid of, right before the dragon arrives, killing the royal family and razing the castle to the ground.

In the aftermath, Elodie's stepmother is given rule of their kingdom, which now has all of the resources that Aurea once owned, and Elodie sails off on a ship, with the dragon flying beside her.

The End.

--------

So, what was wrong with this film? Plot-wise, nothing that would ruin it for me. It was a good story, and, like I said before, lots of fun to watch. But I was left feeling extremely empty. See, at its heart, this story was about the love and loss of children. The dragon was the last of its kind, left alone because of the unthinking cruelty of a king who viewed her as a beast, and cared not at all about the lives of her young. The dragon, though not innocent for all the dozens of lives she took over the centuries, was acting out of pain and loneliness, wishing only that that pain and loneliness be shared by those that inflicted it upon her. She was the one wronged, and the royal line of Aurea callously shunted their punishment off on the innocent and desperate. They did not deserve their prosperity, so the storyline had to lead to the breaking of that cycle, but the problem is that the film focused more on the retribution and that Elodie herself was badass than it did on any emotion.

And that's the big big thing. This movie left me empty because it was empty. Elodie was awesome, and she ended cycle of death, but we didn't know anything else about her. We get told she is clever, so that we don't question how her plans always end up working. We are told that she is capable, so that we don't question how she always manages to pull through. We are told that the prince is somewhat reluctant, but only barely, so that he doesn't seem too cartoonishly evil. We're not given enough to know the extent of his guilt, or enough to really know how complicit he is, or if it's really that his mother (who honestly is kinda cartoonishly evil) forcing the issue. It seems like we're supposed to kind of like him and feel bad that he doesn't want to kill these women, but it feels like it's only halfway suggesting the idea instead of developing aything. Elodie's stepmother is kind, but we are barely shown any of that, instead glossing over any real emotional connection in favor of action. She basically exists to give very heavyhanded foreshadowing, to tell Elodie when Floria is taken, and so they can say that Elodie doesn't have to be bound to royal duty after the death of her father, because there's someone else who can do it. And we're just told that Floria and Elodie are close. Floria seemingly exists solely as a plot device to make Elodie choose to face the dragon after her escape.

The glow slugs are a deus ex, somehow capable of healing life-threatening wounds on both humans and dragons in seconds, which seems to be just so they can pretend for a second that Elodie could really get hurt, but then have her in good enough shape to escape before her family leaves or the next princess is sacrificed. And also so that she can prove how badass she is by mortally wounding the dragon and having it at her mercy, but still have it up in moments, ready to come toast the real bad guys.

And Elodie's character is, unfortunately, also stuck with this same shallowness. She's intended to subvert the "damsel in distress" trope, and she kinda does...except that there are numerous times she is saved by pure luck, and the plotline of her having to go save Floria is just straight up doing the trope, just with a princess saving the damsel instead of a prince. I didn't even catch the names of the queen or king of Aurea, the prince's name (which is as bland as he is) is only spoken a couple of times, and the stepmother, who is arguably one of the more major characters aside from Elodie and the dragon, gets about 3 minutes of screentime and doesn't have a name that I can recall. Neither does the dragon, for that matter, though at least we get to see her more than the stepmother.

This is a story stripped down to its bare bones, and it's only as much of a huge shame as it is because there was real potential. I can't help but imagine how much better it could have been if given even another 45 minutes to help us understand and connect to our characters. I would have loved a real conversation with the dragon, getting to really feel her pain and experience the true cathartic acceptance and regret for what was done to her and what she did in response, instead of cutting away to the last wedding. I would have loved to see the dragon show any dimension of character other than anger and cruelty. I would have loved to see the prince wrestle with himself, or try to push back at all, or see the true struggle that Elodie's father experienced before he reached the conclusion that he'd made a mistake and needed to go save his daughter. Why did the ancestor king of Aurea choose to kill the dragon in the first place? It's implied by the end that the dragon was attacked unprovoked, but we don't really know. Was the dragon actually a hostile force that made them want to kill her, or was she simply there and the king wanted to eliminate a potential threat? Did no other princess ever try to talk to the dragon, espcially when they had a safe cave they could shout from, and the dragon conveniently seems to know when to immediately murder someone or let them speak for the plot? Why would the dragon continue to harbor such strong feelings for so long, and think she was truly achieving justice and exacting revenge when the humans were obviously thriving so?

And what do they plan to do from here? We know Elodie wants to travel and see the world, because she (once again) told us so, but is she doing that? And what of the dragon? We're told that she is the last of her kind, but how do we know there aren't any more elsewhere in the world? Is every gleeful murder of an innocent girl at her whim just forgiven and forgotten because she wasn't killing who she thought she was, and now centuries of hatred and bias has evaporated entirely, making her a friend of humankind? The ending could have been made better in seconds, should we have been given any kind of closure for either Elodie or the dragon in any way at all. Perhaps they're going off together to explore the world, to find out for sure if the dragon is truly alone or if there are more of her kind out there. Perhaps the dragon really does know, definitively, that she's the last, and so has decided to accompany the princess that ended the tragic cycle that defined her for so long, to keep her safe as she lives life the way she always wanted. Maybe the dragon has vowed to atone for her cruelty towards humans by going with Elodie, assisting the different peoples they encounter in their travels. Hell, even if a single narrated line was given that told us "and so they went on many adventures, and lived their lives to their fullest" it would be unsatisfying, but not as unsatisfying as the actual ending.

It just...it could have easily been vastly improved in almost every emotional sense. Caring about our characters, their motivations, their struggles, and the emotional heart of grief and loss could have made this a deeply moving film, but the focus was instead placed on the princess saving herself. And I get the desire to do so, the desire to subvert that trope, but a story can't be a full, satisfying arc with just that. It's the same problem we keep seeing with big budget companies and their attempts to cash in on social issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for any progress, even if it is largely a soulless cash grab, because any progress, however small it may be, is still heading towards an eventual shift in social consciousness, and thus permanent change. But this film wanted to get the brownie points for having a badass princess who doesn't need a prince to save her, and so they ONLY cared about that. It wanted to show off its budget and CGI, and "subvert" the trope, but it missed everything about why women might want a capable subversion of these longstanding, sexist tropes.

A capable woman isn't solely defined by the fact that she is capable. The point isn't to say "I can do anything a man can," but that's what this film makes it out to be. Elodie, and the entire story itself, is stripped of literally anything but what it needs to be to keep the plot moving. The story keeps saying it's about Elodie, and how she overcomes the obstacles in her way, but at the exact same time, it doesn't care about her at all. It cares about appearing to care about her story, and it's so frustrating to see all that potential wasted on such soullessness. It's like having every piece of a puzzle, but the filmmakers only bothered to put together the edge pieces, threw the rest in the garbage, and called that good enough. So instead of a beautiful, satisfying picture, we're left knowing that the rest of the pieces exist, but that they'll never be put in their rightful places, and that the beauty it could have communicated has been wasted.

So yeah, I liked this movie, at least in that I enjoyed the concept and the actual watching of it to a certain extent, but I wanted to love this movie. I hate how good it could have been, and that if it were given the love and care it needed, it could have been made into so much more.

At the end of everything, a story isn't just a spectacle. It's sharing and exploring our lives, ideas, and humanity through imagination and creativity. The beauty of fantasy is imagining what people would do when put into extraordinary situations, or at least imagining the extent of ourselves we wish we could be. A story like this one can be fun once in a while, but a truly good story, one that you remember and carry with you, usually remains because it resonates with you. And it just really sucks that Damsel denies its characters of their emotional cores, because when you eliminate the emotion of a story, the viewers are denied a connection to the humanity that makes that story worth telling.

#damsel netflix #damsel #this was entirely unplanned and unedited #and basically just stream of thought to sort out why i feel the way i do about this movie #so feel free to ignore it #not kpop #review-y brigid

[naevisavis]

tripleS evolution a review n some thoughts... 💭 this is first listen!

Invincible: I liked the mv! The little call backs to the previous subunits is cool. The song was okay, not one of my favorite title tracks they've put out... very chill, dreamy song.

Rhodanthe: Oh, they need to release an instrumental only version because GOD, it's soooo dreamy !!! It makes me so happy. It's a very cute song!

Heavy Metal Wings: i feel like this is a callback to the first subunit... AAA (MY FAVE SUBUNIT!!!), acid angels from asia since they mention being angels and the wings and all that. it's a nice song! It definitely showcases their vocals a little more.. tho obv autotune n a lot of vocal layering, which is normal, but anyways still nice to listen to. Whoever is doing the harmonies and the bg vocals she's like KILLING it like she's putting her whole heart into them 😭😭😭 so bless her!!!

37.5 Celsius: they need to release the instrumental of this one too !!! This one would do bangers on like a study playlist lol... it's a very relaxing song, not too much going on, the instrumental is mostly like the most catching(? Thing.

Moto princess: this one is a slightly different vibe to the other songs, but the beat still remains similar. It's more girl-crush feel if I can explain it? I think you can tell they're struggling on some of the notes when they go high on the chorus, not my favorite! But the lyrics are nice and fun

Oui (oui): oooooooh probably one of my favorites from this album !!! It's just really relaxing, they're singing in a whisper-ish way + when they go "oui oui" it sounds so goofy n cute lol and the rap is like whatever but it fits the song. Very cute!

Enhanced flower: this is a more ballad-ish song, starts very slow and slowly builds the beat up but still a slow chill song. This song really showcases their vocal tone very well since they didn't make them have that many high notes compared to the prev songs

Overall thoughts: the intro song does really well to set the tone and vibe of the following songs from this album. As such it's very cohesive! I don't think any song feels out of place at all. The instrumentals really shined, couldnt stop thinking about getting instrumentals only! While it's not one of my favorite comebacks from them, i can see the appeal and I like that they always try a different sound with each subunit !!

#kpop reviews

[nayeonline]

'Stamp On It' - GOT the beat REVIEW

‘Stamp On It’ is the second release from SM’s female supergroup GOT the beat, and the groups first mini album, featuring 6 songs including the title track. I was slightly conflicted about their debut song, ‘Step Back’ - there were many elements that I really enjoyed, including the production and the pre-chorus to chorus run and the bridge, but there were other parts that I felt needed some revision, such as the borderline misogynistic lyrics and the dance break. Overall it was a fun release that teased the group's chemistry. Going into this release I was nervous - they had some pretty serious backlash last time, but it’s a new year, and BoA, Taeyeon and Seulgi are there so… how bad could it be?

'Stamp On It'

The title track, like its predecessor ‘Step Back’ also explores the intersection between modern K-pop and hyperpop, and also features production from Dem Jointz, whose work I enjoy a lot. The production has its moments; I love the low piano and the processed vocal melody, but somehow I find it less cohesive than Step Back - it doesn’t work quite as well. I like the hooks in this song a lot, ‘put your stamp on it’ is a great tagline, and overall the lyrics are SUCH an improvement. My main issue with this song is the structure. The chorus is fun, but really needed a post-chorus to make it less abrupt, and the ‘breakdown’ bridge section feels extremely oddly placed and anticlimactic. I feel like I complain constantly that K-pop songs need to be longer, but ironically I feel that this song would have hugely benefited from losing 40 seconds or so. Overall I give this song a 6/10.

'Goddess Level'

‘Goddess Level’ opens snide and coy, tonally mocking the listener. It’s overwhelmingly confident, and doesn’t even come close to falling into the trap that many girl crush releases do, of sounding forced or like the girls are faking their personas. Karina brings an impressively expressive rap style, and BoA, Taeyeon and Wendy bring maturity. I love love love the ‘hahaha… please.’ The chorus isn’t my favourite, but I appreciate it for its creativity in production. The bridge is a classic build up punched up with a high note, and the final chorus is great. Definitely an upgrade from the title track, I give this song a 8/10.

'Alter Ego'

This song is so Rina Sawayama coded it's insane - which basically means I love it. It’s a solid pop song spiked with something darker, something addictive and obsessive. It’s very ‘girl group’, with vocal references to Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. The production assists in keeping it from sounding overly dated though, with stellar synth and percussion. This song really balances all the members where their other songs don't - Wendy and Winter feel more utilised on this track, with Winter especially feeling much more present with such great vocal expression that we don’t often see from her. I like it, so I’m going to give it a 8/10.

'Rose'

Rose is addictive from the first moment. It’s a whisper that dances to a echoed vibrato, and it oscillates from obsession to hatred with the subject. The older members, particularly Seulgi, mastered this track, Seulgi’s whisper vocals and louder notes work in perfect harmony and capture the song’s essence. Subversive production continues to be a theme on the record, and I love how the vocals in this song control the production in a way, bending and molding it to its will. The soundscape it creates is unparalleled in the album so far. Overall I give it a 9/10.

'Outlaw'

I consider myself a fan of hyperpop and unusual songs, but this song somehow surprised me. The chorus rolls its eyes and slurs its speech, and it’s just a load of fun. This song isn’t afraid to take risks and most of them pay off. I can tell this one will grow on me, and if it isn’t your favourite upon first listen, I encourage you to give it another shot. It’s very Charli XCX and the chorus is so much fun. I give this song a 8/10.

'Mala'

Mala is such a great closer for this album - a bit more chill and upbeat while still incorporating the style and audio aesthetics of the previous songs. It’s the most palatable to the average person, and has such a good hook.  It’s a bit more effortless than the other songs, and feels less in your face (even though we love in your face on occasion.) It’s a really good pop song and grounds the album as a whole - I give it a 9/10. 

Overall, this album is a really exciting experiment for GOT the beat, the groups associated, and SM groups at large. It makes me excited to see new Girls On Top units, and for aespa’s next release. The songs are fun although a little flawed, but their roots have undeniable potential, and the women involved are some of the most talented idols of all time. I can’t wait to see what these women do next in this group, in their own groups, and individually, and I literally could not ask for more from a supergroup release. Overall this album is an 8/10 from me, every song brings something new to the table.

#girls on top #got the beat #hyoyeon #taeyeon #boa #wendy #seulgi #winter #karina #red velvet #snsd #girls generation #aespa #kpop #stamp on it #kpop review #kpop reviews #kpop thoughts #kpop opinions #review #pop #music review

[gay-little-cloud]

some ss from the mv + lyrics i liked and wrote down. the song is so good it gave me goosebumps !

#mandatory comeback post #artms #i was gonna wait for loosemble comeback and post about both at the same time but !!!!! #omg #this is so good i couldnt wait #both the song and the mv are a masterpiece #an actual piece of art fr fr #pre1: birth #kpop #mv #comeback #review #screenshots #loona #heejin #kim lip #jinsoul #choerry #haseul #all the #artworks #are so pretty omg #the vibes are 100% my style #spooky #spooky kpop my beloved

[yoongisleftearring]

I completely forgot to mention skz's comeback 💀 but I lOVE IT. I had really high hopes going in because all in is literally one of their best tracks fight the wall. AND the fact it was a circus concept was giving me greatest showman vibes and I can't express how much I love that film.

But I was so good and I loved the way they played around with different deliveries for the rap.

But can I just say that I am not biased at all when I say this (that is a complete lie I am very much biased) but this is changbin's song. Am I right or am I right? I'm right, I know.

#im half joking about that last part #also felix looked SO good in this mv #and the STYLING OMGJDJDJ #basically circus=love #stray kids #circus #kpop reviews

[averagekpoppermideko87]

Young Posse 'XXL' | K-Pop Review

Young Posse 'XXL' is the second track from their second mini-album, 'XXL.' It also serves as the lead track. Both the track and album were released in March.

#Young Posse 'XXL' | K-Pop Review #young posse xxl #young posse #xxl #xxl lead track #xxl second mini album #dsp media #beats entertainment #march 2024 #april 2024 #2024 release #average kpopper mideko #kpop reviews #Youtube