April 2023 Patron Newsletter and Staff Recommendations

Spring time means knuckling down for the hard work of premiere reviews. Thanks for all your support, patrons new and old! We couldn't do it without you.

How are you enjoying the mini-lecture podcasts? What kinds of things would you like us to tackle down the line?

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April Recommendations

Entangled with You: The Garden of 100 Grasses

Format: Manga (one volume, complete)

Picked by: Dee

What’s it about? A gently wistful boys' love (BL) short story collection about loneliness, longing, and bridging the gap between self and other. The main story is a quiet fairytale about a young man realizing the monster in the woods is not so monstrous at all. The other stories shift between fantasy and realism, depicting moments of sharp emotional connection: some fleeting, some enduring, some haunting, some hopeful.

Content considerations: Age-gaps between humans and non-humans; restrained depictions of racial prejudice; one story stars an adult and a high schooler, but it's not explicitly romantic.

Why we like it: The more I think about this pensive story collection, the more I appreciate it. The titular "Entangled with You" story is a "Beauty and the Beast" variant more interested in internal conflict (personal shame for judging others by appearance) than external prejudices. While I appreciate the way it subverts expectations by remaining steadfastly low-stakes, it's probably the weakest in the bunch.

The collection is at its best when it's focused on unspoken yearning or individuals struggling to understand each other, sometimes ending its tales in places of profound, sudden connection, other times in places of troubling ambiguity. Each tale touches on the gaps between two individuals; each asks how (or if) that space can be crossed; and each finds a different answer, not all of them happy, though none outright tragic either.

If you prefer your love stories steamy, action-packed, or more in the vein of a rom-com, Entangled with You likely won't be your cup of tea. But if you're in the mood for some contemplative fantasy with a focus on nebulous emotional bonds, definitely give this one a try. I suspect at least a few of its stories will stick with you for a while.

Castle in the Sky

Format: Anime movie (subbed and dubbed)

Picked by: Caitlin

What’s it about? Legend tells of a floating castle in the sky known as Laputa, beautiful and filled with powerful forgotten technology. Most people believe it’s just legend, except for the orphan Pazu. His father once reached Laputa and even managed to take a picture, but most everyone believed it to be a hoax. Pazu dreams of one day reaching Laputa like his father did, but it seems impossible… until a girl comes floating from the sky. Her name is Sheeta, and the crystal around her neck may just be the key to finding the floating island of legend.

Content considerations: “La puta” is profane in Spanish; gun violence; kidnapping; the pirates are way too into Sheeta for her age

Why we like it: Castle in the Sky, originally released in 1986, marks an historic moment for anime: the first film from Studio Ghibli. It’s a rip-roaring adventure with a male protagonist, in a way that few Ghibli films since then have been, while still demonstrating many of Miyazaki’s trademarks, such as his love of flight, fusing of fantasy and historical technology, and an intergenerational female cast.

It is that female cast that makes Castle in the Sky recommendable not just to general audiences, but for those looking for feminist-friendly work. In a lesser story, Sheeta would be little more than a living Macguffin, bringing the crystal to Pazu without wielding influence on the story past that. However, in many ways it’s just the opposite: just as much a coming-of-age story for Sheeta as it is for Pazu, as she uncovers her legacy and finds the strength to use her own power to protect herself and the world from people who would treat her as a tool. Plus, Ma Dola is fantastic: a cranky old lady who rules her pirate family with an iron first, who puts on a big show of caring only for herself but has a deep well of love to draw from.

Sheeta does remain soft and feminine throughout, even taking on a caretaker role when she join Dola’s pirate crew, so people who prefer their heroines with a sword in their hand may not find her to their taste. Plus, Dola’s boys take way too strong an interest in a twelve-year-old girl and while the dub may try to frame it as maternal, it’s pretty obvious that they all have crushes on her.