Shadows House is airing on Animax Asia

I actually never heard of this anime before but I am so glad I stumbled upon it when it was first aired on TV. Shadows House is an anime adaptation of Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by duo So-ma-to. The animated series is produced by CloverWorks.

The anime is about Living Dolls who are the servants of the denizens of Shadow House who all live in a grand mansion. Each Shadow person would have his or her own Living Doll not only to serve them but also represent them as the Shadow person is not visibly recognizable by face. The story focused on a new Living Doll named Emilico and her mistress, Kate. Together they uncover the dark secrets behind the mystery of the mansion and its inhabitants. I wish I could tell you more but as of the 4th episode that I've watched, not much has been revealed yet. Besides, I think it is best for you to enjoy the story yourself without any spoilers.

So far, I have enjoyed the story and the animation is nice visually too. I like the characters that have been introduced thus far with both Emilico and Kate are my favourites. That kind of make sense since the anime explored much of these two characters anyway in the first 4 episodes. I'm looking forward to get to know more about the rest of the characters especially Lou, she seems rather mysterious and interesting. I am also very much in love with the closing theme track "Nai Nai" by ReoNa. It's an awesome song.

The anime is licensed to Funimation outside of Asia. For Asian viewers, if you have Animax Asia, you can watch it there. It is airing every Monday and Tuesday at 8 pm (2 episodes airing on each day). It started airing on September 20th so 4 episodes have been aired so far. I'm sure they would have repeat airing afterwards but it's not too late for you to catch up with the series now if you haven't already.

For more info, you can check out Animax Asia website.

My 2020 Top 60 Songs: The Best From K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 30 - No. 21

Here's Part 4! We're past halfway through the list now so I hope I can finish this soon because 2022 is almost upon us and I'm still on the 2020 list. Okay, let's do this, let's go through the songs from number 30 until 21.

30 - Cool by Weki Meki

This is definitely edgier than what they used to release but I like it. It reminded me of their debut song, I Don't Like Your Girlfriend, which is also a lot edgier compared to their other songs like Picky Picky and Dazzle Dazzle. The styling for this music video is great too, I like the look that they went with.

29 - Black Mamba by aespa

This is a very strong debut. Seriously, they look like they have been in the industry for awhile but it's actually their debut. I like the concept and styling for the girls in the music video, but what I really find impressive is the camerawork for it especially when the camera followed them when they are dancing, it makes the music video somewhat unique for me. Also what's with the silhouette at the end? Are they hinting at a fifth member joining the group?

28 - How You Like That by Blackpink

How You Like That is the lead single from Blackpink's first Korean studio album. It's fun, it's funky, and has Blackpink's signature all over it, and what I mean by that is when you listen to the song, you know it's from the group because it has that sound that is familiar to them.

2021 PlayStation Showcase: What's Your Most Anticipated Game?

Did you watch the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event? I didn't catch the livestream but I did watched the video that they uploaded later and I must say, what a fantastic line-up of games!

There are altogether 18 games that were showcased but I'm going to pick half of it that I find interesting. Find out my list down below and you can click on the links to be directed to the individual game trailer on YouTube.

9) Marvel's Wolverine

This is a nice surprise. We see so little of it and yet it looks so good and promising. There are quite a few X-Men games before but I only ever play fighting games when it comes to X-Men characters. This game will probably be more focused and character-driven on the aforementioned title character based on the title. I wonder if it will have an original story, or adapted from a comic book series or movies?

8) Ghostwire: Tokyo

There are two things that stood out for me during the video for this game; one is the hand movement of the player character when in combat which looks very cool; and second the ghost design that the player will be fighting that reminiscent the ghosts from Japanese folklore and urban legend, which is also very cool. It seems to be very action-heavy but still have that horror element to it.

7) Tchia

This is a very cute game. The island setting looks very gorgeous and inviting. I'm not sure how the gameplay works, at first I thought it was just an exploration game where players can inhabit other creatures but as the video continue, it seems to have combat as well together with a very curious story. I'm intrigued.

6) Marvel's Spider-Man 2

This is another nice surprise, it was announced out of nowhere. I'm sure people have so many questions regarding this game but as it is schedule to be released in 2023, I don't think we will get much answer yet for now. This and Wolverine are being develop by Insomniac Games.

5) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake

To be honest, I don't know anything about the classic game that they are remaking but I hear so many good things about it, and read the excitement from people who had played the original game, that I am in turn become excited too. If the original game is as excellent as people claim it is, then this remake will be a special one for a lot of people.

4) Project Eve

Stylish character and stylish combat. The robot companion and the enemies' attacks reminded me of Nier: Automata while the character's combat styles reminded me of Devil May Cry series. Overall, this looks good.

3) Forspoken

The visuals for this game is just amazing. The open world, the enemies, the main character's design and most importantly, the power display that the main character is projecting. Not sure what's the story about other than the main character who got sucked into an unknown world and was asked to defeat a powerful...witch? Square Enix, the publisher of the game, described it as a "narrative-driven adventure" and it will focus on speed and fluidity travel of the open world. Sounds exciting!

2) Alan Wake Remastered

I always wanted to play this game and it seems now I have a chance! For someone who cannot afford to buy multiple consoles, this news is indeed a blessing. The remastered will have general improvements, support 4k resolutions, will include both DLCs and additionally will include a new commentary track by Sam Lake.

1) God of War: Ragnarök

I think most of the people watching the showcase will have this game as their most wanted game. The footage that they showed finally revealed some of the characters that will appear as well as the gameplay, which looks oddly familiar but at the same time feels updated and refreshing. This is going to be an amazing and emotional adventure for Kratos, Atreus and us (the players!) who will accompany them on yet another soon-to-be epic journey.

Which of the showcased games are you most excited about? If you missed the rest of the games revealed at the event, you can check them out below.

• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
• Rainbow Six Extraction
• Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online Remastered
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Bloodhunt
• Deathloop
• Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
• Gran Turismo 7

Perhaps you were looking forward to another game that wasn't featured in the event?

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is available now on HBO GO

Did you guys know that the 3rd Conjuring film, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is available now on HBO GO? I'm not sure for other countries but if you are in Malaysia and you are subscribed to HBO GO, you can already watch it! It's out on the platform on 27th August 2021 but I'm not sure for how long. If I'm not mistaken, new movies only available for one month in the US on HBO Max so I'm not sure if HBO GO will follow in the same direction.

By the way, just in case you don't know this, if you're already subscribed to the movie package with ASTRO subscription (which include HBO channel), you automatically get access to the platform by using your Astro ID.

This really is a nice surprise. We're still partly in lockdown and cinemas are still not open here so to get this movie technically for free is awesome. Another new movie that is recently available on the platform as well is Space Jam: A New Legacy. Isn't that great? I'm not sure if there will be any other movie released to the platform. We are expecting cinemas to open in October here so I think chances on any other new movie releasing on HBO GO are slim.

I haven't watch Space Jam yet but I did already watched The Conjuring 3 and I loved it! If you have access to HBO GO, go watch it and I hope you will like it too.

My 2020 Top 60 Songs: The Best From K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 40 - No. 31

Here's Part 3! Here are my favourite songs for 2020 from female K-pop groups, and in this part, I will be revealing songs at number 40 until 31. Let's go!

40 - Now or Never by April

It's from their summer special album 'Hello Summer' so the upbeat and high energy of the song together with the sunny, fun and chilling-by-the-beach concept of the music video really oozed summer vibe. It's kind of catchy too.

39 - D.B.D.B.DIB by Saturday

Saturday is really an underrated group, I mean, seriously all of their title tracks before this were really good. I don't think there is any one that I don't like before, and D.B.D.B.DIB is another cute song from them. It's fun, catchy, the music video is humorous and the girls look gorgeous. They really deserve more attention than what they are getting now.

38 - Secret Story of the Swan by IZ*ONE

I have to be honest, this is one of my least favourite songs from the group, but still, it's a catchy, upbeat, full of energy song that makes you want to get up and dance. The song also has a very curious title which begged me to google for its meaning, and my finding? Well, I have to apologize because I'm not exactly sure what it means. Anyone else care to explain it?

My 2020 Top 60 Songs: The Best From K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 50 - No. 41

Welcome to Part 2! Let's jump straight in. These are my favourite songs for 2020 from female K-pop groups.

Here are the songs from number 50 until 41.

50 - Don't Touch Me by Refund Sisters

Yes, it's just a project group but with a fabulous song like this, how can I not included it in my list? Four very charismatic singers band together to form a super group, it's like a dream team come true. The song and the fierce concept suit them very much. If you could form your own dream group, who would the members be?

49 - Cool by BVNDIT

It's an english song, and it's a really cool song! (no pun intended) You should check out the music video too, it's simple but creative and funny to watch. I don't think this was promoted in music shows because it was just a new music project from their company, but still it's a really nice song to listen to.

48 - Future by Girlkind

This is the second entry from Girlkind. Another one of their song, Psycho4U, charted at number 60 in my list. This is another dreamy and futuristic sound from them, kind of similar to Psycho4U. It's a very unique-sounding song with a cool concept. I think they might be experimenting with their songs and image for this comeback because this surely isn't your typical K-pop song.

God of War (2018) ~ video game review

Title - God of War

Played on PlayStation 4

God of War is a video game from Santa Monica studio published in 2018 by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's the sequel to God of War III but also somewhat of a reboot to the franchise. Different settings, different mythology, different antagonists, but same old Kratos, the fallen Greek God of War, now with a son and a new journey awaits him.

2020 is the year that I went back into console gaming and this game is the first game that I've completed story-wise. I feel like it's the perfect introduction for me to the games of this generation; it won a lot of awards, highly praised by critics and beloved by fans. Well, it also came free with the console bundle that I bought so yes, it make sense for this to be one of the first game that I played.

Although I have enjoyed a lot of playthrough of the games in the franchise on YouTube, my experience in playing the games myself is not much, I've only played the first God of War game on PlayStation 2 which I must say was an amazing experience, I love that game. But the franchise has evolved throughout the years and with the 2018 God of War, a lot has changed not just in gameplay but narrative-wise as well.

My 2020 Top 60 Songs: The Best From K-pop Female Groups ~ No. 60 - No. 51

Alright, it's that time again to countdown my favourite songs from female K-pop groups for 2020, and yes, I'm late as usual. I increase the number of songs again, it was 50 songs for the 2019 list and now it will be 60 songs. Why do I have to do this to myself? It's a fun documentation to make from my end so at least that's something.

Don't waste any more time, shall we? Here are the songs from number 60 to 51.

60 - Psycho4U by Girlkind

Dreamy and futuristic are two words that came to my mind when I listen to this song. The group is talented but very under rated in my opinion, hope they will get more recognition. The music video is obviously low budget but it's still good and artistic, do check it out.

59 - So What by LOONA

I feel like LOONA songs always have that international appeal to it and So What is no exception. The music video looks nice too with some very interesting locations like in a subway train and on a roof of a building with what seems like an abandoned building as the background. I think they filmed it in Thailand? Anyway, it looks nice and it gives different vibe than the regular K-pop music video that usually filmed in a studio.

58 - Butterfly by WJSN

It's hard not to like WJSN songs; they always sound good and pleasing to my ears. While Butterfly is a wonderful song, the music video for it seems more simplistic to me compared to their other releases, I wonder why is that?

My Top Films for 2020

It has been a bad year for movies in 2020; only a few of them were released in cinemas, most of them had vacated their original release schedule for future dates, and some of them had been released to streaming platforms instead. It was a mess. 

I had only been able to watch 5 movies total in cinemas in 2020, and 1 movie so far in 2021 (which I am going to include in my 2020 top movies list). Because of that, I would only have 6 movies for my 2020 list! I won't be including movies that were originally scheduled to be released in cinemas but then changed to release digitally for purchase or on streaming platforms. To be honest, I don't really buy movies digitally anyway, I'll usually wait for them to be released on HBO or something.

So here are the 6 movies that I've watched ranked from bottom to the top.

6 - The Grudge

Image source: Wikipedia

It's a slow-paced movie but interestingly, I kind of like it. I'm not sure if it will be in my top 10 list if it's a normal year (without the pandemic and cinemas are open as usual) but I genuinely like this movie. It's a slow burn but in my opinion it works. Interesting cast, interesting setting, and fascinatingly still creepy for a franchise that have been around for two decades now. Andrea Riseborough really stands out for me as one of the main actor in the movie, her performance was fantastic. I don't think I've watched a lot of movies that she starred in but I was surprised to find out that she is the same actress in Oblivion, the 2013 Tom Cruise movie. Wow, her transformation for this movie is shocking, she is like a chameleon.

5 - Soul

Image source: Wikipedia

For a movie dealing with the subject of death, Soul is surprisingly a very cozy movie. From the colourful settings on Earth, the warmth atmosphere in the "Great Before" (where the unborn souls prepare for life on Earth), to the heart-warming story about enjoying life...it is a pretty cozy film to sit through. The two main characters, Joe Gardner voiced by Jamie Foxx and 22 voiced by Tina Fey, are so likeable that it helped making this movie even more interesting. Other stand out characters are the soul counselors at the "Great Before" (or should I called them the "Jerry"s since they are all named Jerry) voiced by Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade, and Terry the soul counter (or should I say the "Great Beyond" accountant) voiced by Rachel House. The story is very uplifting and I really recommended it if you haven't already watched it.

4 - Wonder Woman 1984

Image source: Wikipedia

I love this movie and interestingly the villains stand out as much as the aforementioned hero in the film's title. They are more than just supervillains crave to conquer the world; they have tragic back stories that made me empathize with them. Yes, the film lacks elaborated fight scenes that usually filled these superhero movies but it definitely doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I would say that it does have enough action scenes to get me entertained but what's important to me is the story, and it managed to get me engaged until the end of the movie. I really, really love the villains though so I hope I get to see them again in future movies (fingers crossed).