August Media Favourites/Recommendations

Hey guys!

Yet another busy month once again left me with less free time for ~media consumption~ than I'd've liked, so just two little recs that were easy to squeeze in when I had the chance to watch or play something!

Rilakkuma and Kaoru

Rilakkuma and Kaoru is a Netflix original stop-motion series following the daily lives of Rilakkuma and a few friends, as well as their roommate, Kaoru (Rilakkuma is the little brown bear you see on some Japanese stationary amongst many other products). It would've been easy to cynically assume this show was little more than a glorified form of advertisement for the Rilakkuma brand, something I likely would have done were it not for having previously seen Beyond Ghibli's video on it. The episodes are only 11 minutes, so I put one on in the background earlier this month when I wasn't sure what else to watch, and I fell in love.

Not only is Rilakkuma and Kaoru almost unbearably cute, it's the perfect blend of relaxing and uplifting and has served as a great pick-me-up when I needed one at different points throughout the month. Moreover, the titular Kaoru is an office worker seemingly in her late 20s or so, and so the episodes often focus on conundrums such as whether she wants to continue with her current job, whether she's happy staying single or wants to find a partner or simply whether she wants to spend her monthly budget on aircon or snacks. It's still too hard to find anime focused on adults' daily lives and I've enjoyed Rilakkuma and Kaoru so much more than I'd ever have expected to, often finding it genuinely therapeutic and reassuring in its exploration of these struggles. I can't say enough good things about this one and it won't even take up much of your time, so please do yourself a favour and check it out! It's guaranteed to make you smile.

A Short Hike

I picked up A Short Hike for my Switch after seeing a few YouTubers mention it, the latest in a series of shorter gaming experiences for me. It's a few-hour-long adventure game where you, well, go on a short hike. With so little time for the bigger titles I'm tackling right now (Umineko and The Great Ace Attorney primarily), I decided to give the hours I could grab over the last few weeks to this game instead, and it's been exactly what I needed. I'm one of many big, long-term Animal Crossing fans who eagerly awaited the release of New Horizons last year and played it with a fervour for maybe a few months before putting it down and ultimately falling drastically behind. I love Animal Crossing, but it's hard to justify giving it what little spare time you have when it could be going to something that feels more productive and cumulative -- in my case, often working towards tangible, linear progression in a story-based game I want to beat. Moreover, the more time that passes, the harder it feels to pick games like Animal Crossing back up. A Short Hike has been the perfect antidote to that, condensed enough not to feel overwhelming, but with enough variety and depth to its tasks and world that I truly do feel as though I'm escaping into it as I play, and being reminded of what I love about its obvious influences. It's a delightful little game clearly made with a lot of love which I do recommend first and foremost to other Animal Crossing fans, but also to anybody else looking for a nice way to relax and spend a few hours. It's definitely its own distinct experience, and one very worth having.

And finally, YouTube videos:

Why Minecraft is the Perfect Cottagecore Game by eurothug4000 (Another lovely, super enjoyable, super interesting video from Maria!)

The Game That Won’t Let You See All Of It by Jacob Geller (If you only watch one of these videos, watch this one. It made me cry!)

Hayao Miyazaki - How Animation Comes To Life by kaptainkristian (I don't know how I'm only now finding this channel, but this video is a piece of art in itself)

POV: we travel the world together by leena norms (A really cool video looking at books from all different countries and the idea that we can oftentimes learn more about and better immerse ourselves in a place by listening to the voices coming from it than we can by actually visiting, seeing as that's particularly difficult right now)

UK v USA: book covers (whose are superior?) by leena norms (And another great video from Leena about what constitutes "good" book cover design)

【Lambdadelta image song】 Hide and Seek 【AMV】Higurashi x Umineko by Natarin (As it says, a cool Satoko/Lambdadelta-centric AMV)

The Day Rue "Became" Black by Yhara zayd (An extremely important, well-researched and sobering video about Amandla Stenberg's casting as Rue in The Hunger Games and racism)

one heart broke; four hands bloody by  f̵̗͐r̶̙͉͒ã̶͓̚c̸̤̎̅t̷͉͊̐ú̶̝̣͠ŗ̸̛̟͊ḙ̷̀ḑ̵͎̀̎ (This channel makes the most amazing Higurashi edits, and watching them always feels like being punched in the gut. I recommend them all, but here's one focusing on Keiichi, Mion and Rena's relationship)

As always, I hope you all find something to enjoy here and talk later!