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“Hell’s Paradise” Review
Yuji Kaku’s Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku is something of a breath of fresh air in the manga scene. With so much of market saturated by isekai, Hell’s Paradise offer’s something unique.
A shonen version of Homer’s The Odyssey, Hell’s Paradise tells the story of Gabimaru the Hollow — a ninja from a village notorious for raising the most efficient and ruthless ninja. Betrayed by his comrades, Gabimaru is condemned to die. His training and upbringing tell him this is acceptable. And, yet, he does not want to die. He has found something in life worth holding on to. He realizes he loves his wife, and he wants to be reunited with her.
Realizing his drive to live, and his skill, the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri recruits him to undertake a mission of mythic proportions. The objective is simple enough… to understand, that is — recover the Elixir of Life from the Pure Lands, and he will be pardoned for his crimes.
The land they journey to is both ethereal and foreboding. Teeming with flowers, gods, and sages, it is a forbidden land where death is a blessing when it blossoms, and a curse when you must beg for it.
Gabimaru and Sagiri must form a uncertain alliance to survive the island, and the other criminals sent to claim both the Elixir and the Pardon. But they are the least of the threats they must face.
This manga is very well done. The artwork and story are as close to perfect as possible. The story is as close to an epic as manga can come, and completely original.
Though this is an adult manga — with very adult scenes — I highly recommend it.
The major themes of this manga deal with people being more than they were raised to be, finding love and coming to believe they deserve to be loved, and learning to let go of who they’ve been told they are in order to embrace who they can become.
All 13 volumes of this manga series carry the same epic energy, and its conclusion is perfect. I was not left wanting after I completed it.
Rating: 10/10: Definitely Recommend
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Review: Taylor Swift’s, “Midnights”
By William Kinard
Cover art “midnight” by William Kinard
Taylor Swift’ is probably the greatest lyricist working in music today. Or, at least, in the top five. Her tenth album, Midnights, demonstrates just this. In my opinion, this album is in the same vein as seventh album, Lover, in that it gives her fans more pop. However, it’s like she merged Lover and Folklore to create a kind of syntho-pop lof-fi album that has strong elements of Folklore in it. And it is just lovely.
These are just my impressions of the songs on this album.
“Lavender Haze”
The words, “Meet me at Midnight…” open the first song on Midnights. It’s a greeting to for this album, and the opening to a song that expresses a desire for escape from being pulled in different directions by different people’s expectations. It also talks about how you don’t want to care about what other people say, but also do care.
“Maroon”
The opening that talks about cleaning incense off a vinyl, and it reminds me of the previous song. It meditates on buyer’s remorse within a lover’s relationship. Haunting and surreal.
There’s probably several academic articles that can be written on Swift’s use of colors in her songs and albums. This song should definitely be a part of any such papers.
“Anti-Hero”
I like this opening. It asks if you’re actually getting wiser with age, or if you’re just bull-shitting. I can’t help but feel that this is a song that dwells on depression and how it makes you think you’re your own worst enemy. Revenge is also another theme that is twisted into this song. “Anti-Hero” has barbs.
“Snow On The Beach” (Featuring Lana Del Ray)
This one reminds me of Cinderella.
I feel like the love she talks about in this song is like a dream. You don’t think about it when you’re in it, but after you wake up you realize it was surreal and disjointed. You try to assign meaning after the fact while acknowledging how strange it was.
Lana Del Ray’s hand can definitely be seen in this song. But I also am reminded of Birdy’s single, “Wings.” Birdy is definitely worth listening too if you like this song.
“You’re On Your Own, Kid”
This one is a throwback to the old Taylor Swift, albeit a bit more melancholic. That said, it’s like Swift is giving a reply to Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun,” and I’m grateful for that.
“Midnight Rain”
Just like “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” this one is an heir to the Lover album. If “Snow On The Beach” described a form of escapism this one confronts the reality of the different expectations two people can have in a relationship.
“Midnight Rain” thinks back to such a relationship, set in a town that echoes suburbia, at midnight, long after said relationship is over.
“Question…?”
I don’t really know what to make of this one. It just doesn’t resonate with me. It “sounds” good, but it just doesn’t leave an impression on me.
“Vigilante Shit”
This one is an heir to “Bad Blood.” It’s saturated with the theme of revenge and the femme fatale. I don’t really care for it, but I will say that it is better than “Bad Blood.”
“Bejeweled”
If there is a wholly “pop” or. “syntho-pop,” song on this album it’s this one. It boasts confidence, a positive mindfulness, and confident self-image for the singer and listener alike. It’s a favorite of mine, but I feel like it will divide her fans. They’ll either love it or hate it – just like Swift’s song “Starlight.”
“Labyrinth”
A meditation on love, regret for love, and the expectations have on you being in love. It’s a gentle, “uh-oh, here we go again.” Soothing to listen to, but kind of forgettable, after the fact.
“Karma”
This is probably the worst song on the album. It just doesn’t have any depth, and is only memorable in just how forgettable it is.
“Sweet Nothing”
A gentle song. It reminds me of lo-fi, and the audio-only version would be great to fall asleep to.
“Mastermind”
I’ve talked a lot about how some of these songs are heirs to other songs – well, here we go again. This one is an heir to “Love Story.” But unlike “Love Story,” the woman is not a passive player depending on her would-be-lover to get with her; rather, she’s in control of her own fate and love.
Whereas “Love Story” is upbeat, this one is gentle. I love that.
Conclusion
I really like the lo-fi feel this album has. It’s gentle, stern, and tempered all at once. It’s not a tame album, but it is consoling.
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5
Screen aglow,
Have you taken the time
To see the lavender from your window? -
4
Poppies bloom,
A scent of sleep
Carries the child to distant dreams. -
3
On frozen lake
The moon passes over,
Its light caressing ice. -
2
Fluttering moth
To Flame it flies,
From darkness it hides. -
1
The first second waited
For permission to pass
From God. -
Dream Journal, Entry 3
From some time in 2009.
This is an old dream I had.I was sitting in a theatre, listening to a professor giving his lecture on stage. The auditorium was structured so that each member of the audience was sitting in their own little room — and these rooms could double as showers. Many of the members of the audience were showering while the lecture was going on.
It was then that I fell asleep, and had a dream within my dream. I do not remember this second-layer dream, but I remember “waking up” into the first-layer dream. The professor was furious at me for sleeping in his lecture, so he went behind the curtain, removed his face, and revealed he was a triceratops, and ordered a golem to kill me.
Following that, I don’t remember much before waking up.
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Dream Journal, Entry 2
Date: Sometime between 2009 and 2010.
I remember this being a brief nightmare.
I was standing in the middle of a white room, where the walls held a lite glow. I felt something bad was approaching, but didn’t know what. A sensation crept up my back, and rested on my shoulder. It was a hand. When I turned around to see who it was, I saw my father; he was naked, and his mouth was split open in a Chelsea grin from ear-to-ear. Blood ran down his mouth, chin, and torso and he heaved and gurgled as he laughed.
I woke up with a start, and lay in bed wide awake for a while after that. -
Dream Journal: First Entry
From: Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Like many dreams, I remember it from the middle. My father and I were traveling to a city that doubled as a maze. We made it to a police station; our goal was to report a police officer for some crime he committed. We didn’t know which officer to report, but we had a picture of him. I opened the envelope, and saw that it was Andy Sipowitz.
From there we looked around the police station. I saw a small creature. It appeared to be a pig the size of a doll. It was just wandering around, and when I tried to follow it, it led me into an abandoned office. A cat — also the size of a doll — was also there; this cats front legs were missing, and it could only walk using its rear legs. The office was deserted — cleared out, would be a more accurate description.
I then met a young girl, hiding in the office. I knew her name was Mia — not because she told me, just because it was known in the dream. I knew her father had been the police captain, and that he had died. She was homeless, and living in the abandoned office with the small pig and small cat.
I left the office, feeling sad. I woke up after that.
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