[Weekly Update] May 17th, 2020

Last time I check I was in March, what happened!?

ABOUT THE CHANNEL

• Hope you all enjoy our Mr. Vampire episode. It is one of our most requested film to talk about, and I finally get around to talk about it. Expectations were high and so was pressure to do it justice. 
• Truth be told, the video did not come out nearly as well as I hope it would be. I put off making this video for the longest time. At one point, before the channel started, a Mr. Vampire video was meant to be the first episode.
• That is because I actually don't have a lot I want to talk about the film. It is a great and enjoyable film that I can come back to time and time again. But outside of that, nothing truly stands out in this film.
• Still, I would love to talk more about this genre in the future. Maybe this Halloween, we'll go through the rest of the Jiangshi cinema. We'll see.
• For now, we still have one more feel good film in the pipeline. Next episode, we'll head to Japan for an underrated gem from a famous studio.

ABOUT MEDIA

• A passing mention of Junji Ito gets a lot of people talking about him in the comments. So let's talk about him before the inevitable video about film adaptations of his work.
• My first exposure to Ito's work is, like many others, The Enigma of Amigara Fault. In other words, "This hole was made for me". After that, I was on a Junji Ito spree.
• If you haven't read any Junji Ito story and are not afraid of horror stuff. Stop now, go read it.
• I recall YouTube channel Overly Sarcastic Production made a passing comment on how the best Lovecraftian works are never written by Lovecraft. Which is true. Because it's written and illustrated by Junji Ito.
• Much of Ito's work appeals to be about horrors beyond human understanding. But that often is just a hook. In reality, nearly all of his work has a comment theme: Desire. Often, about how desire makes things worse.
• Amigara Fault, for example, is pretty much about the battle between the Id and the Ego. It's about the defeat of love, and the victory of human urges. Specifically, fitting themselves into a perfectly shape hope. It's /r/OddlySatisfying, but in the most terrible way.
• "Army of Two" is about the desire to be together. A story that, in the current epidemic, has a newly added layer of meaning.  The story is a constant struggle for the character to choose between staying normal but alone, or die a horrible death but together.
• Not to mention, all of the Tomie stories are about different forms of desires. Envy, jealousy, possessiveness, and the strange human nature of wanting to smother cute things, which is called "cute aggression" scientifically.
• That's the other thing about Junji Ito's work that's so interesting. His ideas are always just beyond the scientific understanding. We know we have cute aggression, but we don't exactly know why. We also know human likes to fit things into perfectly shape holes. But we also don't know why.
• It's the same trick used by Lovecraft when he wrote Color Out of Space, back when electromagnetic radiation was a relatively new field of study, and wavelengths of light beyond the visible spectrum is only just becoming commonly known.
• Anyway, I think the most terrifying one is "Layers of Fear", which, I don't see a lot of people talk about, so I won't spoil it. But, well, it's about motherly love.
• And finally, my favourite is "Long Dream"... which I don't remember what it's theme is, but I'm kinda scare to go back to.
• What is your favourite Junji Ito story? There are so many to choose from, I'm certain there are many gems that has yet to become popular. Share it with us!

Anyway, I hope you all continue to do well. The pandemic situation here in Canada is... seeing some improvement, although not nearly as well as desired, and as always, Quebec excluded. Wash your hand often and remain vigilant. Let's get this over with as quickly as possible.