Wondering what to do with your upcoming free time? Good thing we have some suggestions for what you should be watching, playing, reading, listening to, etc.
Ben’s Anime Pick: To Your Eternity Season 2 – The second chapter in the story of Fushi the immortal and his friends is another anime must-see. Fushi continues to make connections with the people around him, learn about the immense power he wields, and encounter enemies both new and old. Season 2 of To Your Eternity also introduces some of the strongest supporting characters thus far; the flamboyant Prince Bon, the informant Messar and others make similar, prominent impacts upon Fushi and myself, just like the most memorable heroes that were introduced in the first season (Gugu is still my favorite though). And yes, the show continues to pack tons of heartache and devastating moments while simultaneously highlighting the importance and beauty of life itself. Few anime have been able to make me full-on sob at a moment’s notice, or are as consistently great as To Your Eternity, and I can’t wait to see where Fushi’s journey takes him in the already-announced third season.
Ben’s Movie Pick: Shin Godzilla – While everyone is still (rightfully) heaping all kinds of praise on the latest Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One, I figure now is a good time to shine some light on the irradiated monster’s previous Japanese outing. In my opinion, Shin Godzilla didn’t get the love it should have, stateside at least. Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s take of Godzilla is a consistently entertaining monster flick and sledgehammer subtle criticism of modern bureaucracy’s inherent failings. However, it still believes in humanity’s ability to come together and persevere when our backs are well and truly against the wall. This radically different version of the iconic kaiju is absolutely nuts, and I love the nods to Neon Genesis Evangelion, which Anno directed and Higuchi was a storyboard artist for. It may feel a little lacking when compared to Minus One, but it’s still one of the legendary kaiju’s best movies to date.
Lauren’s Theatre Pick: Waitress: The Musical – Waitress: the Musical, (or what I like to call “Adultery Within Reason: The Musical”) is an adaptation of the Keri Russell lead film for the stage, with original music written by the immensely talented Sara Bareilles. Bareilles takes over the lead role in this run of the show, bringing with her a few other new voices you’ll hear if you’re used to the Original Broadway Cast Recording — definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already to hear Jessie Mueller, Kimiko Glenn, and Keala Settle kill it as our three waitresses — something that I listened to an embarrassing number of times post moving on from the Centaurworld soundtrack (of which Mueller and Glenn feature). Getting to see the staging of these performances made me love them all the more — I know most people deservedly play “She Used to Be Mine” (a song in which our lead bemoans the loss of the promising young girl she once was) on repeat, but “When He Sees Me” is actually my favorite song from the musical; and seeing Caitlin Houlahan’s anxious aggression going through her tasks around the background-performer-filled diner adds a whole new level of hilarity to the lyrics about the difficulties finding your perfect match. The bad news is that the mouth sounds of pie chewing into a mic are strong in this, but if that and the occasional warzone reporting-esque, not so steadicam zooms is the price I must pay to finally see this musical (and watch Drew Gehling fight a prescription slip for a good 30 seconds) then I say the $15 ticket price for front row seats is more than worth it. Now record and digitally distribute Hadestown please!
So what do you think about these picks? What content did we miss over the past two weeks while we were spending time with these? Be sure to leave a comment below letting us know about everything (both current and simply new to you) you’ve been consuming lately!
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